St. Joh of the Cross
Spirituality

Where St. John of the Cross lays the smackdown on me

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

In reading St. John of the Cross’ commentary on Stanza 39 of his poem “The Spiritual Canticle,” I am being treated to the description of the glory of what is our true call and the process of deification/theosis under the guidance of the Holy Spirit …

Then I read this:

“O souls, created for these grandeurs and called to them! What are you doing? How are you spending your time? Your aims are base and your possessions miseries! O wretched blindness of your eyes! You are blind to so brilliant a light and deaf to such loud voices because you fail to discern that insofar as you seek eminence and glory you remain miserable, base, ignorant, and unworthy of so many blessings!”

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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 434

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

pope-francis2-300x187

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc., which I also cross-post on Jimmy Akin’s blog.

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 19 October 2022 to 25 October 2022.

Angelus

General Audiences

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “The habit of reviewing one’s own life forms the outlook, sharpens it, enables it to notice the small miracles that the good Lord accomplishes for us every day. #Discernment #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex, 19 October 2022
  • “Let us #PrayTogether for all those who have lost their lives due to the violent flooding that has hit #Nigeria, and for all those affected by this devastating calamity. May our solidarity, and the support of the international community, not be lacking.” @Pontifex, 19 October 2022
  • “Let us #PrayTogether for missionaries who, sent to different parts of the world, write a story of love in the service of the Gospel with their own lives. #OctoberMissionary” @Pontifex, 20 October 2022
  • “Our communities are also called to go out to the various types of “boundaries” there might be, to offer hope to those stationed on the existential peripheries, who have not yet experienced, or have lost, the strength and the light that comes with meeting Christ #OctoberMissionary” @Pontifex, 21 October 2022
  • “Together with Saint #JohnPaulII, today let us entrust to the Mother of God the most difficult cases, harmonizing ourselves under her gaze by praying the #HolyRosary.” @Pontifex, 22 October 2022
  • “I have registered for World Youth Day, which will take place in Lisbon in August 2023
    Dear young people, I invite you to register for #lisboa2023 to rediscover the joy of the fraternal embrace between peoples. @jmj_pt @laityfamilylife Image” @Pontifex, 23 October 2022
  • “I follow the persistent situation of conflict in Ethiopia with trepidation. May the efforts of the parties for dialogue lead to a genuine path of reconciliation. May our prayers, our solidarity and the necessary humanitarian aid not fail our Ethiopian brothers and sisters.” @Pontifex, 23 October 2022
  • “Today is World Missionary Day, on the theme: “You shall be my witnesses”. I encourage everyone to support missionaries with prayer and concrete solidarity, so that they may continue their work of evangelization and human promotion.” @Pontifex, 23 October 2022
  • “The pharisee and the publican of #TodaysGospel (Lk 18:9–14) concern us closely. Thinking of them, let us look at ourselves: let us confirm whether, in us, as in the pharisee, there is the conviction of one’s own righteousness that leads us to despise others.” @Pontifex, 23 October 2022
  • “Let us beware of narcissism and exhibitionism, based on vainglory, that lead even us Christians always to have the word “I” on our lips: “I have done this, I said it, I understood it”… Where there is too much “I”, there is too little God. #Angelus” @Pontifex, 23 October 2022
  • “Tomorrow, Tuesday 25 October, I will go to the Colosseum to pray for peace in Ukraine and in the world, together with representatives of the Christian Churches and Communities and world religions, gathered in Rome for the “Cry of Peace” meeting. #PrayTogether” @Pontifex, 24 October 2022
  • “Prayer is that quiet source of strength which brings #peace and disarms hate-filled hearts.” @Pontifex, 25 October 2022
  • “The plea for #peace cannot be suppressed: it rises from the hearts of mothers; it is deeply etched on the faces of refugees, displaced families, the wounded and the dying. And this silent plea rises up to heaven.” @Pontifex, 25 October 2022

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My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Luke 18:9–14
The Weekly Francis

My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Luke 18:9–14

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Luke 14:25–33 ESV – Bible Gateway

This is another parable unique to the Gospel of Luke and continues with another parable concerning prayer.

The Catechism has a nice synopsis of this series of parables:

§2613 Three principal parables on prayer are transmitted to us by St. Luke:

— The first, “the importunate friend,” invites us to urgent prayer: “Knock, and it will be opened to you.” To the one who prays like this, the heavenly Father will “give whatever he needs,” and above all the Holy Spirit who contains all gifts.

— The second, “the importunate widow,” is centered on one of the qualities of prayer: it is necessary to pray always without ceasing and with the patience of faith. “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

— The third parable, “the Pharisee and the tax collector,” concerns the humility of the heart that prays. “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” The Church continues to make this prayer its own: Kyrie eleison!

As is often the case, Jesus presents the parable with both some humor and a twist. The twist is mostly lost on us now since the word Pharisee is now used only as a term of derision. During Jesus’ time, the Pharisees were widely respected and viewed as striving to be holy and righteous. Jesus thus presents the parable as a contrast between what society viewed as a righteous man of God and someone despicable and beyond redemption like the tax collectors.

While tax collectors still are not seen as admirable, Peter Kreeft points this out:

They were empowered and encouraged by Rome to raise the taxes as much as they could, and everything above and beyond the legal minimum that Rome demanded, they could keep themselves. They were literally legal thieves. They were hated as the lowest of the low. There weren’t even any jokes about them, as there are a lot of lawyer jokes in our society, because lawyers aren’t really hated all that much, but publicans were. What they did was too serious for jokes.[1]

John Bergsma looks at this central aspect of the Pharisee’s prayer:

Jesus tells this parable in an almost humorous fashion. The proud Pharisee speaks his “prayer to himself.” He mostly talks about himself in his prayer; in fact, he is praising himself and even praying to himself! The Pharisee has gotten himself confused with God. That’s the essence of pride.[2]

Brant Pitre adds to this understanding:

Although the Revised Standard Version says that the Pharisee stood and prayed with himself, the literal Greek here is actually pros heauton. So it’s literally “he prayed to himself,” whereas the tax collector prays to God. [3]

To see what is so fundamentally wrong with the Pharisee’s prayer, we can look at some of St. Teresa of Avila’s definitions of prayer:

“For mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.”[4]

What I have come to understand is that this whole groundwork of prayer is based on humility and that the more a soul lowers itself in prayer the more God raises it up.[4]

There is no friendship with God in the pharisee’s attitude. Imagine a friend coming up to you and then announcing all the good things he does and how he is more righteous than others in following the law. Patting his own shoulder at the same time in self-congratulations while pointing out others he holds in disdain. At the same time, this friend never even mentions you. This is no friend at all. His prayer is like a boomerang returning to himself.

Returning to Brant Pitre:

“He prayed to himself.” That’s the essence of idolatry— to make oneself God and to take God off the throne.[3]

In contrast, the Publican is both humble and repentant. He is truly speaking to God as a friend and seeking forgiveness for how he has wronged him. He does not withhold anything from him and opens himself up for mercy. He does not try to justify or excuse his failures, yet he walks away justified. As Peter Kreeft writes: “Don’t ask God for justice; ask him for mercy. Because you will get what you ask for.”[1]

Brant Pitre comments on the last line of this parable:

So in fact—just to be clear here too—when Jesus uses the word “exalt,” the Greek hypsoō literally means to lift yourself up, and then tapeinoō —to humble yourself—means to bring yourself down.[3]

John Bergsma gives a good summation of the contrast between the two men:

Jesus’s point is not that it is good to collaborate with an oppressive regime and cheat the poor, nor that fasting is bad and greed, dishonesty, and adultery are good. Jesus’s point is that pride can overshadow all other sins, and that if we have attained all other human virtues but retained pride in ourselves, we are like someone who has not even begun the spiritual life.[2]

St. Francis de Sales, in his “Introduction to the Devout Life,” wrote:

The vain Pharisee held the humble tax collector to be a great sinner, or even perhaps an unjust man, an adulterer, or an extortioner. But he was greatly deceived, for at that very time the tax collector was justified.

Alas! Since the goodness of God is so immense that one moment suffices to obtain and receive his grace, what assurance can we have, that he who was yesterday a sinner is not a saint today?

The day that is past ought not to judge the present day, nor the present day judge that which is past: it is only the last day that judges all.

Returning to the Catechism:

§2559 “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or “out of the depths” of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that “we do not know how to pray as we ought,” are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. “Man is a beggar before God.”[5]

Sources

  1. Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C, 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time  ↩
  2. The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C, John Bergsma, 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time  ↩
  3. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre, 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time  ↩
  4. St. Teresa of Avila, “The Book of Her Life”  ↩
  5. St. Augustine, Sermo 56, 6, 9: PL 38, 381.  ↩
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Stack Overflow of Love
Spirituality

Stack Overflow of Love

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

In St. John of the Cross’s commentary on his poem “The Spiritual Canticle,” he reflects on Stanza 36.

That is: That I be so transformed in your beauty that we may be alike in beauty, and both behold ourselves in your beauty, possessing then your very beauty; this, in such a way that each looking at the other may see in the other their own beauty, since both are your beauty alone, I being absorbed in your beauty; hence, I shall see you in your beauty, and you will see me in your beauty, and I shall see myself in you in your beauty, and you will see yourself in me in your beauty; that I may resemble you in your beauty, and you resemble me in your beauty, and my beauty be your beauty and your beauty my beauty; wherefore I shall be you in your beauty, and you will be me in your beauty, because your very beauty will be my beauty; and thus we shall behold each other in your beauty.

At this point, near the end of his poem, it shifts from a description of the intensifying of spiritual marriage to the beatific vision.

This is such a poetical description of this increasing love. Still, as a programmer, I can’t help but see this as a feedback loop, Infinite recursion, and a stack overflow of love. Even my abstract thinking of this is not immune to pondering how apt this is as a description of continuing following in love with Jesus. A description of sanctity that is continuously nourished by the bridegroom.

Previous stanzas describe the process of detachment that has led up to this point, where the soul is divided by nothing, nada, as John would say. So a form of “divide by zero” that is not an error.

The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross – ICS Publications

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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 433

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc., which I also cross-post on Jimmy Akin’s blog.

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 30 September 2022 to 18 October 2022.

Angelus

Apostolic Letter

General Audiences

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “I carry within me the sorrow of the Ukrainian people and present them in prayer to the Lord through the intercession of the Holy Mother of God. May the Spirit transform the hearts of those who hold the outcome of the war in their hands, that the hurricane of violence might cease.” @Pontifex, 12 October 2022
  • “Ношу в собі біль українського народу та за заступництвом Пресвятої Богородиці представляю його у молитві Господеві. Нехай же Його Дух зможе перемінити серця тих, в чиїх руках лежить доля війни, щоби зупинився ураган насильства.” @Pontifex, 12 October 2022
  • “Я ношу в себе боль украинского народа и, заступничеством Пресвятой Богородицы, приношу ее в молитве Господу. Пусть Его Дух преобразит сердца тех, в чьих руках находится исход войны, дабы утих ураган насилия.” @Pontifex, 12 October 2022
  • “The Lord has a great desire for us – to make us sharers in his own life. In our dialogue with Him, we learn to understand what we truly want from our lives. #Discernment #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex, 12 October 2022
  • “Evangelization is never a mere repetition of the past. The joy of the #Gospel is always Christ, but the routes this good news can travel on through time and history are different. #OctoberMissionary” @Pontifex, 13 October 2022
  • “May we never grow weary of bearing witness to the newness of Jesus, to the newness that is Jesus! Faith is not a lovely exhibit of artefacts from the past, but an ever-present event, an encounter with Christ that takes place in the here and now of our lives!” @Pontifex, 14 October 2022
  • “Everything in the Church is born from prayer, and everything grows thanks to prayer.” @Pontifex, 15 October 2022
  • “How often we send instant messages to the people we love! Let’s do this with the Lord too through short prayers of aspiration so that our hearts remain connected to Him. And let’s not forget to read His responses in the Gospel to receive a Word of life.” @Pontifex, 16 October 2022
  • “In the #GospelOfTheDay (Lk 18:1–8), Jesus offers us the remedy to rekindle a tepid faith: Prayer. Yes, #prayer is the medicine for faith, it is the restorative of the soul. It needs to be constant prayer, however.” @Pontifex, 16 October 2022
  • “Almighty God abundantly blesses all those who break bread with those who are hungry. #WorldFoodDay” @Pontifex, 16 October 2022
  • “Poor people are not “outside” our communities. They are brothers and sisters whose suffering we share, in order to alleviate their difficulties and marginalization, so that their lost dignity might be restored, and to ensure their necessary social inclusion. #EndPoverty” @Pontifex, 17 October 2022
  • “Let us #PrayTogether with the children of every continent who today are reciting the Rosary for peace in the world. Let us entrust to Our Lady’s intercession the suffering people of Ukraine and other people who are suffering due to war,violence and misery #1millionchildrenpraying” @Pontifex, 18 October 2022

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My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Luke 18:1–8
Scripture

My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Luke 18:1–8

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Luke 14:25–33 ESV – Bible Gateway

John Bergsma gives us the context for this passage:

We are nearing the end of Luke’s “travel narrative,” and in two weeks, Jesus will be in Jericho, the eastern gateway to Judea, just a day’s walk from Jerusalem. As he nears the end of the journey, he teaches on prayer. Prayer will be so important in the dramatic events about to transpire in Passion Week: Jesus will pray all night in Gethsemane and urge his Apostles to do the same.[1]

I find it fascinating that often the parables Jesus tells are in response to a question he is asked, but in this case, he is preparing them to pray continuously and not to lose heart, “not to give up in the midst of evil.”[2]

CCC §2098: The acts of faith, hope, and charity enjoined by the first commandment are accomplished in prayer. Lifting up the mind toward God is an expression of our adoration of God: prayer of praise and thanksgiving, intercession and petition. Prayer is an indispensable condition for being able to obey God’s commandments. “[We] ought always to pray and not lose heart.”[3]

In this parable, Jesus sets up the characters of the unrighteous judge. A man whose priority is only himself as he neither respects God nor man. In contrast, we have the widow who is begging for justice against an adversary, somebody who is either persecuting her or withholding something she is owed.

One common thread and a component of social justice, as expounded by the Old Testament, is that the widow and others who are vulnerable are to be protected and cared for.

22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. (Ex 22:22–24, ESV-CE).

The unrighteous judge finally relents due only to her strong persistence.

Brant Pitre teases out an interesting element in the underlying language used:

Now the RSV says “wear me out”, but the Greek actually says, “lest she come” and the word here is hypopiazō, and the New American Bible gets this right. The New American Bible says “lest she come and strike me.” But the literal Greek actually “lest she come and give me a black eye.” That’s what hypopiazō means. It’s a boxing term. So Paul actually uses this elsewhere when he talks about boxing the air or shadowboxing, this imagery of punching. So she’s not the persistent widow, she’s the violent widow, and perhaps you’ve known some old ladies like this, who you don’t…you don’t want to mess with them. That’s the kind of woman that’s being described here. Basically, this judge is afraid that if he doesn’t give this woman a verdict, she’s going to come and do physical violence against him. She’s going to give him a black eye. [2]

This parable is also another example of a rhetorical technique Jesus uses here and in other places:

Jewish literature, and in later Rabbinic literature, was something called the qal-va-homer. It’s a Hebrew expression; it means “from the lesser to the greater.” In Latin, we talk about the a fortiori argument. In other words, it’s saying, if this is true for this lesser thing, then how much more true is it for the greater? [2]

We saw the usage of this in Luke 11, comparing how a father knows how to give good gifts to his son. “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus is telling us to be persistent in prayer and to trust and wait for how he will answer those prayers.

I like how Peter Kreeft looks at why we need to pray.

This reason—the reason why God does not give us the things we pray for until we pray for them—is the same reason why he does not give us the good things we work for until we work for them. Work and prayer both work by the same principle. God instituted both prayer and work for the same reason. God sees that we need not only the things we work for, like food and shelter and clothing and security, but also that we need work, meaningful work. God instituted prayer for the same reason he instituted work: to give us the dignity of being real causes, active coworkers and cooperators with him. We become strong, wise, patient, and persistent only by work. And the worker is more important than the work. What we ourselves become by working is more important than the work we do because we have intrinsic value and our work, however important, is only a means to a further end. “You can’t take it with you when you die” is true of all our work, but it’s not true of ourselves. We take ourselves with us everywhere, even to heaven.[4]

Bishop Baron in his commentary on this passage, writes:

One reason that we don’t receive what we want through prayer is that we give up too easily. What could be behind this rule of prayer? Augustine said that God sometimes delays in giving us what we want because he wants our hearts to expand. The more ardently we desire something, the more ready we are when it comes, the more we treasure it. The very act of asking persistently is accomplishing something spiritually important. So when the Lord seems slow to answer your prayer, never give up.

There is also a strong correlation between the First Reading of Exodus 17:8–13.

Pope Benedict XVI points out that Moses, with both arms lifted up in prayer, strikes a pose on the mountaintop much like Christ on the Cross. So we can see Moses here as a type of Christ, prefiguring the great prayer to the Father that was the Passion and Crucifixion, the great prayer which definitively defeated the enemy of God’s people. We participate in that great Prayer of Christ on the Cross at every Mass.[1]

If we start to become weary in prayer, we must never forget that we are always in community. That we need others to lift our arms up in prayer when we start to falter. We can never do this on our own. It is God who is giving us the grace to pray in the first place. There are several examples in the Old Testament where prophets start to despair and become fatigued, and God revitalizes them. He will do the same for us, and we can never be constant in prayer with this.

The last line of this Gospel passage is rather striking “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” This is in contrast to the prevalent myth of progress, where everything is going to improve more and more over time. Jesus warns in several places of a mass apostasy that is to come before the end of the world and his second coming.

CCC §675: Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.[3]

Our constancy in prayer is not dependent on the times we live in. We are always called to adore and praise God, give thanksgiving and make intercessions for ourselves and others. There is no time so dark that this is not true, and no time seemingly bright in contrast that this is not true.

One last note, this from St. Augustine:

The widow may be said to resemble the Church, which appears desolate until the Lord shall come, who now secretly watches over her. But in the following words, And she came unto him, saying, Avenge me. we are told the reason why the elect of God pray that they may be avenged; which we find also said of the martyrs in the Revelations of St. John, (Rev. 6:10.) though at the same time we are very plainly reminded to pray for our enemies and persecutors. This avenging of the righteous then we must understand to be, that the wicked may perish. And they perish in two ways, either by conversion to righteousness, or by punishment having lost the opportunity of conversion. Although, if all men were converted to God, there would still remain the devil to be condemned at the end of the world. And since the righteous are longing for this end to come, they are not unreasonably said to desire vengeance.[5]

Sources

  1. The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C, John Bergsma  ↩
  2. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre, “The Twenty-ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)”  ↩
  3. Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed). United States Catholic Conference.  ↩
  4. Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C  ↩
  5. St. Agustine, Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers: St. Luke  ↩
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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 432

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc., which I also cross-post on Jimmy Akin’s blog.

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 5 October 2022 to 11 October 2022.

Angelus

General Audiences

Homilies

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “It is important to know the passwords of our heart, what we are most sensitive to, to protect ourselves from those who present themselves with persuasive words to manipulate us, but also to recognize what is truly important for us. #Discernment #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex, 5 October 2022
  • “Today we remember #StFaustinaKowalska. Through her, God taught the world to seek salvation in his mercy. Let us remember this especially when thinking of the war in #Ukraine. Let us trust in God’s mercy which can change hearts. #Peace” @Pontifex, 5 October 2022
  • “#Prayer and self-knowledge enable us to grow in freedom.” @Pontifex, 6 October 2022
  • “In the school of the Virgin Mary, let us treasure in our hearts the joyful, luminous, sorrowful and glorious mysteries of the Lord Jesus so as to become faithful disciples like her.” @Pontifex, 7 October 2022
  • “During this month of #prayer for the missions, let us learn to cultivate moments of silence and of contact with the Lord so that he might inspire us with the ways and means to be always faithful to our vocation as missionary disciples. #OctoberMissionary” @Pontifex, 8 October 2022
  • “Bishop Scalabrini, #FatherOfMigrants, looked forward, looked torward a world and a Church without barriers, without strangers, convinced that in sharing the journey of emigrants, it is not only problems that need to be seen, but also a providential plan.” @Pontifex, 9 October 2022
  • “Always include: in the Church as well as in society, still marked by such inequality and marginilization. Include everyone. Today, on the day on which Scalabrini becomes a saint, I think of migrants. Their exclusion is scandalous, it is sinful and criminal.” @Pontifex, 9 October 2022
  • “Right now, there is a migration in Europe that is making many people suffer and moves us to open our hearts: the migration of the Ukrainians fleeing from the war. Let us not forget war-torn Ukraine today.” @Pontifex, 9 October 2022
  • “Facing the danger of nuclear war, let us learn from history. Even 60 years ago there were huge tensions, but the way of peace was chosen. As the Bible says: “Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it” (Jer 6:16).” @Pontifex, 9 October 2022
  • “The Salesian Brother Artemide Zatti, filled with gratitude for all he had received, wanted to say his own “thank you” by taking upon himself the wounds of others. Cured of tuberculosis, he devoted his entire life to caring for the sick with tender love.” @Pontifex, 9 October 2022
  • “The Christian faith always asks us to walk together with others, to move beyond ourselves toward God and toward our brothers and sisters, and to know how to be grateful, overcoming the dissatisfaction and indifference that disfigure our hearts. #GospelOfTheDay (Lk 17:11–19)” @Pontifex, 9 October 2022
  • “I assure my prayers for the victims of the mad act of violence that took place three days ago in #Thailand. With deep emotion, I entrust their lives to the Father, especially the little children and their families.” @Pontifex, 9 October 2022
  • “Let us #PrayTogether that the Lord might shake us from an individualism that excludes others, to awaken deaf hearts to the needs of their neighbour. Let us overcome the fear, the indifference that kills, the cynical disregard that condemns to death those on the fringes!” @Pontifex, 10 October 2022
  • “I call on all people of goodwill to mobilize for the abolition of the death penalty throughout the world. Society can effectively repress crime without definitively depriving the offenders of the possibility of redeeming themselves. #EndDeathPenalty” @Pontifex, 10 October 2022
  • “Immersed in the mystery of the Church, Mother and Bride, let us also say with Saint John XXIII: Gaudet Mater Ecclesia! May the Church be overcome with joy. If she does not rejoice, she would deny her very self, for she would forget the love that begot her. #VaticanCouncilII” @Pontifex, 11 October 2022

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My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Luke 17:11–19
Scripture

My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Luke 17:11–19

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Luke 1711–19 ESV – Bible Gateway

This passage continues Jesus’ travel narrative as he passes through Samaria onto Jerusalem. When he enters a village, ten lepers shout out at him from a distance. As we learn, one of these men is a Samaritan. There is an interesting dynamic here, as the Navarre commentary references. “There was no love lost between Jews and Samaritans (cf. Jn 4:9), but shared pain, in the case of these lepers, overcame racial antipathy.”[1] When pain or sin brings us low, we reevaluate our assumptions. So often, these assumptions are mostly made up of what separates us from others. Characteristics that are of no real importance are emphasized over our common humanity. Even when there are serious theological disputes, this should not prevent us from seeing others as persons. Pain can sharpen our awareness not only of our own humanity but look beyond ourselves to see others more fully.

It seems likely that this group of lepers had heard stories about Jesus, the miracle worker. That he was something more than those who claimed to be able to do the same.

Peter Kreeft puts this succinctly:

Although only this one of the ten lepers added praise and gratitude to faith, all ten lepers were healed by their faith in Jesus. That faith was shown when they met Jesus’ test. Jesus did not heal them then and there, as soon as they asked (also in a loud voice—the text says they “raised their voices”) “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” The fact that they come to Jesus for a healing expresses one level of faith. The fact that they call him “Master” expresses a higher level of faith. But the fact that they all obey him and go off to show themselves to the priests who will certify that they are cleansed—the fact that they do that before they are cleansed; the fact that it is only on the way to the priests that they receive the miracle—that shows that their faith was on a still higher level. They trusted Jesus so much that they believed they were to be healed, and acted as if they were healed, even before it happened.[2]

The leper’s response is amazing in that they had a level of faith that did not demand an instant cure and proof that something momentous had happened in this encounter. They trusted in him and acted as if they had already been healed.

John Bergsma notes the reason that Jesus gave the command he did to them:

In this, we note the fact that Jesus upholds the written law of God and the authority structure of the Old Covenant, while it stands. Jesus was well aware of corruption in the priesthood, and several chapters earlier (Luke 10), he told a story of a priest and Levite who just “passed by on the other side” (v. 31, 32; RSV2CE). Despite that, the written word of God by Moses had a procedure for the cleansing of leprosy, and Jesus follows it. There is a lesson here. Jesus understands authority and authority structures. Individuals may be corrupt, but that doesn’t justify anarchy in society or in the Church.[3]

We are also a long way off from Jesus when we sin and stand at a distance from him. He hears us when we shout in our pain and bids us draw closer to him. For us, he does this through the Church and the sacraments. There are multiple levels of healing that can occur when we do so.

This story in Luke goes on to illustrate a distinction between the leper from Samaria and the other nine.

Brant Pitre points out a couple of notable differences in their reactions:

And so what happens is one of the ten lepers, who happens to be a Samaritan, realizes that the person he needs to thank for being cleansed is Jesus of Nazareth. So he turns back and he goes to Jesus. Notice what he does. He praises God—literally glorifies God—and gives thanks to Jesus by falling at his feet.
…
He does something kind of striking, he falls on his face. In other words, he gets prostrate before Jesus. That’s a strange thing to do either for a Jew or a Samaritan. Because by the first century AD, Samaritans—like the Jews—are monotheists. They only believe in one God. They actually have accepted the five books of Moses as Scripture and they worship the One God in their temple at Mount Gerizim. And so Samaritans, just like Jews, they’re not like pagans. They don’t fall prostrate before other human beings and take on a posture of worship to another human being.[4]

The Venerable Bede comments on this passage:

He fell upon his face, because he blushes with shame when he remembers the evils he had committed. And he is commanded to rise and walk, because he who, knowing his own weakness, lies lowly on the ground, is led to advance by the consolation of the divine word to mighty deeds. But if faith made him whole, who hurried himself back to give thanks, therefore does unbelief destroy those who have neglected to give glory to God for mercies received. Wherefore that we ought to increase our faith by humility, as it is declared in the former parable, so in this is it exemplified in the actions themselves. [5]

This action of one leper is an echo of the healing of another leper.

The miracle thus recalls Elisha’s healing of Naaman the Syrian (4:27), who likewise was cleansed from a distance after obeying the command of the “prophet in Samaria” to “go” (2 Kings 5:3, 9–14). … Similarly, Naaman had returned and confessed the true God (2 Kings 5:15). Jesus is thus a prophet like Elisha. Moreover, the man also thanked (Greek eucharisteō) Jesus: glorifying God and thanking Jesus are now linked together. In doing so, he literally fell “on his face” (RSV)—like the earlier leper (Luke 5:12)—before Jesus.[6]

The other lepers perceived Jesus as a prophet, an instrument of God. They had turned to God for healing and received it. They had the virtues of faith and hope. Still, they were standoffish in their relationship with God. God had always intended a personal relationship with his people, but the Israelites balked at this, preferring mediators like Moses to go up to the mountain to interact with him. The leper from Samaria perceives something more and provides worship and glory to God. He is moved to love God directly in the personhood of Jesus. The others were thankful to God in a generic sense, this leper is moved to the theological virtue of charity and loves God directly.

Jesus says to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” This leper thus receives even greater healing. Jesus had already noted that the ten were cleansed, indicating the curing of leprosy. The greater cleansing is to be freed of our sins.

It is not indicated that the Samaritan leper goes on to fulfill Jesus’ command to show himself to the priests. Perhaps he perceived, in some way, that Jesus was the true high priest and that by returning to him, he had done as Jesus ordered. Still, the parallel for us is that when we have sinned gravely, we can go directly to Jesus and make a perfect act of contrition and be forgiven, but even then must avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation as soon as we are able.

Sources

  1. Navarre, Saint Luke’s Gospel (2005)  ↩
  2. Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C  ↩
  3. The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C, John Bergsma  ↩
  4. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre  ↩
  5. Venerable, Presbyter and Monk of Yarrow, A.D. 700. Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers: St. Luke  ↩
  6. The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz  ↩
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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 431

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc., which I also cross-post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 5 May 2022 to 4 October 2022.

Angelus

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “#Prayer is an indispensable aid for spiritual #discernment, especially when it involves the affections, enabling us to address God with simplicity and familiarity, as one would speak to a friend. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex, 28 September 2022
  • “Jesus feeds the multitude (Lk 9:10–17) and asks the disciples to ensure nothing is wasted. When food is not wasted, but is shared fairly, with solidarity, no-one is deprived of what they need, and the community can meet the needs of its poorest members. #FLWDay” @Pontifex, 29 September 2022
  • “Let us today entrust ourselves to the #HolyArchangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, so they may protect us in the fight against the devil’s seductions, help us bring the Good News, and take us by the hand on life’s journey so we may cooperate in God’s plan of salvation.” @Pontifex, 29 September 2022
  • “Sometimes we human beings believe that we are the masters of everything, or on the contrary, we lose all self-esteem. #Prayer helps us to find the right dimension in our relationship with God, our Father, and with all Creation.” @Pontifex, 30 September 2022
  • “Altius, citius, fortius – communiter. #SportForAll OJIRmiS Speech” @Pontifex, 30 September 2022
  • “We elderly people often have a special sensitivity for care, reflection, and affection. We are, or we can become, teachers of tenderness. In this world accustomed to war, we need a true revolution of tenderness. #IDOP” @Pontifex, 1 October 2022
  • “#ПомолимсяВместе, уповая на милосердие Бога, способного изменить сердца, и на материнское заступничество Царицы мира, духовно объединяясь с верующими во всем мире. #Украина #Россия #Мир” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “#МолімосяРазом, уповаючи на милосердя Бога, Який може перемінити серця, та на материнське заступництво Цариці миру, духовно єднаючись із вірними в усьому світі. #Україна #Росія” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Let’s #PrayTogether, trusting in the mercy of God, who can change hearts, and in the maternal intercession of the Queen of Peace, spiritually united with the faithful all over the world. #Ukraine #Russia #Peace
    pRGQjaN angelus” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “После семи месяцев военных действий давайте использовать все дипломатические средства, даже те, которые, возможно, до сих пор не использовались, чтобы положить конец этой ужасной трагедии. #Украина #Россия #Мир” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Нехай же після семи місяців бойових дій в #Україні будуть введені в дію всі дипломатичні засоби, навіть ті, які, можливо, не застосовувалися досі, щоби покласти край цій величезній трагедії. Війна сама у собі є помилкою та жахіттям! #Росія #Мир” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “After seven months of hostilities in #Ukraine, let us use all diplomatic means, even those that have not been used so far, to bring an end to this terrible tragedy. War is an error and a horror! #Russia #Peace” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Политических лидеров стран я настоятельно призываю сделать всё возможное, чтобы положить конец продолжающейся войне, не втягиваться в опасную эскалацию, продвигать и поддерживать диалог. #Украина #Россия #Мир” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Політичних лідерів країн наполегливо прошу зробити все те, що в їхніх силах, аби покласти край війні в #Україні, не дозволивши втягнутися в небезпечну ескалацію, та просувати й підтримувати діалог. #Росія #Мир” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “I urge the protagonists of international life and the political leaders of nations to do everything possible to bring an end to the war, without being drawn into dangerous escalations, and to promote and support initiatives for dialogue. #Russia #Peace” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Опечаленный безмерными страданиями украинского народа в результате агрессии, я с такой же уверенностью обращаюсь к президенту Украины, призывая его быть открытым для серьёзных мирных предложений. @ZelenskyyUa” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Глибоко засмучений величезними стражданнями українського населення внаслідок зазнаної агресії, скеровую такий же сповнений довіри заклик до Президента #України бути відкритим на серйозні мирні пропозиції. @ZelenskyyUa” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Profoundly saddened by the immense suffering of the Ukrainian people as a result of the aggression they have suffered, I address an equally confident appeal to the President of #Ukraine to be open to serious proposals for peace. @ZelenskyyUa” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Мое обращение адресовано в первую очередь президенту Российской Федерации; я призываю его остановить эту спираль насилия и смерти, в том числе и ради любви к своему народу. #Украина #Россия@KremlinRussia_E” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “My appeal is addressed first and foremost to the President of the Russian Federation, imploring him to stop this spiral of violence and death, also for the sake of his own people. #Ukraine #Russia @KremlinRussia_E” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Да начнутся переговоры, способные привести к решениям, не навязанным силой, а согласованным, справедливым и стабильным, основанным на уважении человеческой жизни, а также суверенитета и территориальной целостности каждой страны и прав меньшинств. #Украина #Россия” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Нехай почнуться переговори, здатні привести до вирішень, які не нав’язані силою, а є узгодженими, справедливими та стабільними, що ґрунтуються на пошані до людського життя, як також до суверенітету та територіальної цілісності кожної країни, а теж до прав меншин. #Україна #Росія” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Let negotiations begin that will lead to solutions that are not imposed by force, but consensual, just and stable, based on respect for human life, as well as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country, and the rights of minorities. #Ukraine #Russia” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Я глубоко сожалею о серьёзной ситуации, возникшей в последние дни, и об очередных действиях, противоречащих принципам международного права. Это умножает риск ядерной эскалации, вплоть до неконтролируемых и катастрофических последствий во всём мире. #Украина #Россия” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Я рішуче засуджую серйозну ситуацію, що останніми днями створилася через чергові дії, суперечні з принципами міжнародного права. Так посилюється загроза ядерної ескалації з неконтрольованими і катастрофічними наслідками на світовому рівні. #Україна #Росія” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “I deeply deplore the grave situation that has arisen in recent days, with further actions contrary to the principles of international law. The risk of nuclear escalation thus increases giving rise to fears of uncontrollable and catastrophic consequences worldwide #Ukraine #Russia” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Война в Украине стала крайне серьёзной и угрожающей, и это вызывает большую обеспокоенность. Во имя Бога и во имя чувства человечности, живущего в каждом сердце, я вновь призываю к немедленному прекращению огня. # Украина #Россия #Мир” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Війна в #Україні стала настільки серйозною, нищівною і загрозливою, що викликає велике занепокоєння. У Боже ім’я та в ім’я почуття людяності, що мешкає в кожному серці, повторюю заклик негайно досягнути припинення вогню! #Росія #Мир” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “The war in #Ukraine has become so serious, devastating and threatening as to cause great concern. In the name of God and of the sense of humanity that dwells in every heart, I renew my call for an immediate ceasefire. #Russia #Peace” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Мій заклик, насамперед, звернений до Президента Російської Федерації, благаючи його зупинити, також і з любові до свого народу, цю спіраль насильства та смерті. #Україна #Росія @KremlinRussia_E” @Pontifex, 2 October 2022
  • “Let us #PrayTogether that the Church, ever faithful to the Gospel and courageous in preaching it, may live in an increasing atmosphere of synodality and be a community of solidarity, fraternity, and welcome. #PrayerIntention https://t.co/RZlReEgtOe Video” @Pontifex, 3 October 2022
  • “As we seek to save the planet, we must not neglect those who suffer. Carbon dioxide is not the only pollution that kills; inequality also fatally damages our planet. #SeasonOfCreation” @Pontifex, 3 October 2022
  • “#SaintFrancis of Assisi, who saw himself as brother to the sun, the sea and the wind, sowed seeds of peace everywhere, and walked alongside the poor, the abandoned, the infirm, the outcast, the least. Let us follow his example! #FratelliTutti #SeasonofCreation” @Pontifex, 4 October 2022

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Punditry

My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Luke 17:5–10

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Luke 17:5–10 ESV – Bible Gateway

There are a couple of ways of looking at the parable of the mustard seed and the lesson Jesus meant to impart.

Peter Kreeft’s take is:

Yet Jesus’ reply takes them down a peg. He says that their faith is smaller than a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds. If they had even that much faith, they could work miracles: they could move mountains, or at least trees.[1]

He later continues on this point:

Jesus is constantly taking his Apostles down when they feel up and taking them up when they feel down. That’s because he gives them what they need, not what they want or what they expect. He always moves us on to see what we didn’t see before. That’s why we need him—not to tell us where we are right but to tell us where we are wrong. We already know where we are right but we don’t know where we are wrong.[1]

On the contrary, John Bergsma interprets it this way.

However, I don’t think our Lord was trying to discourage us and tell us that our faith was insignificant. Rather, the purpose of our Lord’s words is consolation, not rebuke. The point he is making to the disciples is this: You don’t need much faith to be effective! Just give me a little bit of faith, and I can do great things for you! Just as I took five loaves and two fish and fed five thousand, I can also take a mustard seed of your faith and transplant a tree into the ocean.[2]

The interpretation also seems to depend on how St. Luke is placing these parables together and whether the parable of the mustard seed and the unprofitable servant are supposed to be thematic or juxtaposed together. It seems to me that maybe there is a both/and here of Jesus commenting on their level of faith and also encouraging them in that even a little faith, with God’s help, can perform miraculous deeds.

The second parable seems to be easier to grasp the meaning. I find it interesting the reversal pointed to in verse 7 that the servant can make not expect to be treated like a master at the end of a day of work, especially as Jesus is the master who has lowered himself and become like a slave to us. I am thinking of Philippians 2, where Paul refers to Jesus as emptying himself, by taking the form of a servant and how he humbled himself.

This second parable looks like a rebuke toward spiritual pride with them thinking that their place as disciples of Jesus is well-earned on their part.

… sometimes those who do great works of faith think they are doing God a favor. Jesus says in a different place, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’” (Matt 7:22, RSV2CE) These are works of faith. However, to these individuals, Jesus responds, “I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers” (v. 23).[2]

I have found this parable striking and always a good reminder for myself. God has created us for his glory. We can not grant God any favors, and he does not require any of our works. It is when our finger slips from pointing at ourselves to pointing towards him for all good things that we then give him the glory he is owed. It really can be both strengthening and encouraging to remember that he can take our small faith and magnify it to do his will. That he was the one who first moved us toward faith, and he can expand that faith like a mustard seed into doing great things in his name. We can not even exist for one second without him.

From the Navarre commentary on Luke:

Jesus is not approving this master’s abusive and arbitrary behaviour. He is using an example very familiar to his audience to show the attitude a person should have towards his Creator: everything, from our very existence to the eternal happiness promised us, is one huge gift from God. Man is always in debt to God; no matter what service he renders him he can never adequately repay the gifts God has given him. There is no sense in a creature adopting a proud attitude towards God. What Jesus teaches us here we see being put into practice by our Lady, who replied to God’s messenger, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1:38).[3]

Return to John Bergsma:

We don’t do God favors by serving him. Paul says, “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains,”—alluding to a version of our Lord’s teaching in Luke 7—“but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor 13:2, RSV2CE). Great works of faith do not add to God’s glory. Nor does our holiness.[2]

Brant Pitre ponders that:

So perhaps that might be the answer to the pairing of these two parables. One teaches the virtue of faith; the other teaches the virtue of humility. And those two things really do go together, because it takes humility to put trust in God and to trust that no matter what happens in this life, no matter what happens in this world, at the end of the day, God is the one who is in command. God can do impossible things with the tiniest gift of faith if we trust Him. So I think that’s what Jesus is trying to call the apostles to here in the Gospel for today, to humility and to faith in God.[4]

Sources

  1. Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C  ↩
  2. The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C, John Bergsma  ↩
  3. Navarre, Saint Luke’s Gospel (2005)  ↩
  4. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre  ↩
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