My next Sunday Mass (14th August) is at 9:45 a.m. at St. Patrick's, and I will also be celebrating the 8:30 mass on Monday, Independence Day!
Saturday 13 August 2011
Sunday 7 August 2011
Jesus Calms the Disciples
You may have heard this one before: Three Buddhist monks were watching a flag.
The first monk said: "The flag is waving."
The second monk said: "No, it is the wind that is waving the flag."
The third monk said: "You are both wrong. It is your minds that are waving."
It is interesting that in most of the Gospel stories related to the calming of the sea, Jesus actually calms the disciples first! This is made very clear by Matthew.
In Matthew's version of the incident, the boat clearly represents the Church, the waves and wind represent the persecution of the early Christians (the same wind and water try to knock down the house that was built on the rock i.e. Peter). However, by calming the disciples first, Jesus gives us the important message that the real winds and waves are not external, but internal i.e. the storms of fear, doubt, guilt and sorrow within our own heart. If we manage to keep our hearts steady, it is not difficult to calm the storms that attack our lives from outside.
The first monk said: "The flag is waving."
The second monk said: "No, it is the wind that is waving the flag."
The third monk said: "You are both wrong. It is your minds that are waving."
It is interesting that in most of the Gospel stories related to the calming of the sea, Jesus actually calms the disciples first! This is made very clear by Matthew.
In Matthew's version of the incident, the boat clearly represents the Church, the waves and wind represent the persecution of the early Christians (the same wind and water try to knock down the house that was built on the rock i.e. Peter). However, by calming the disciples first, Jesus gives us the important message that the real winds and waves are not external, but internal i.e. the storms of fear, doubt, guilt and sorrow within our own heart. If we manage to keep our hearts steady, it is not difficult to calm the storms that attack our lives from outside.
Saturday 6 August 2011
Monday 1 August 2011
Tradition
"Without our traditions, our life would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof!"
In today's Gospel (Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14), Jesus reacts strongly against those who exalt human traditions at the expense of the Divine Law. Since the Catholic Church accepts Tradition as a source of revelation, are we not contradicting this teaching of Jesus?
In the first place, we need to understand that there are traditions and there is Tradition with a capital T. The Catholic Church does not hold that traditions with a small 't' are sacrosanct. They are an expression of the spirit of the community at any one point in time, and should be retained to the extent to which they are helpful or meaningful. One example would be the Latin Mass, which was retained until the 1960s but was displaced by the vernacular liturgy which was found to be more helpful and / or meaningful (not that Latin mass is meaningless).
Secondly, we have Tradition with a capital T, that broad stream flowing from the life and example of Jesus and the apostles. This Apostolic Tradition is of the same value as Scripture itself - since, in fact, we would not have had any scripture if tradition had not passed it on to us. This difference between traditions and Tradition was overlooked by Martin Luther when he said Sola Scriptura - Scripture alone. Scripture itself was created and transmitted by Tradition in this sense.
Tradition can be a source of life and strength if we are able to integrate ourselves into it and feel that we are a part of it. It demands a certain amount of sacrifice - namely our individual expression, which we give up, to a certain extent. But in return, it gives us a hundredfold, as we become part of a community's self-expression which stretches back to the time of the apostles and will continue for as long as the world exists. It helps us to overcome our alienation and our loneliness, and thereby makes us - not just another brick in the wall, but another cell in a living body, the body of Christ.
In today's Gospel (Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14), Jesus reacts strongly against those who exalt human traditions at the expense of the Divine Law. Since the Catholic Church accepts Tradition as a source of revelation, are we not contradicting this teaching of Jesus?
In the first place, we need to understand that there are traditions and there is Tradition with a capital T. The Catholic Church does not hold that traditions with a small 't' are sacrosanct. They are an expression of the spirit of the community at any one point in time, and should be retained to the extent to which they are helpful or meaningful. One example would be the Latin Mass, which was retained until the 1960s but was displaced by the vernacular liturgy which was found to be more helpful and / or meaningful (not that Latin mass is meaningless).
Secondly, we have Tradition with a capital T, that broad stream flowing from the life and example of Jesus and the apostles. This Apostolic Tradition is of the same value as Scripture itself - since, in fact, we would not have had any scripture if tradition had not passed it on to us. This difference between traditions and Tradition was overlooked by Martin Luther when he said Sola Scriptura - Scripture alone. Scripture itself was created and transmitted by Tradition in this sense.
Tradition can be a source of life and strength if we are able to integrate ourselves into it and feel that we are a part of it. It demands a certain amount of sacrifice - namely our individual expression, which we give up, to a certain extent. But in return, it gives us a hundredfold, as we become part of a community's self-expression which stretches back to the time of the apostles and will continue for as long as the world exists. It helps us to overcome our alienation and our loneliness, and thereby makes us - not just another brick in the wall, but another cell in a living body, the body of Christ.
Saturday 30 July 2011
Tuesday 26 July 2011
Extract from tomorrow's reading (Matthew 13:44-46)
13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
13:46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The Gospel of Thomas (an ancient text, most probably not by Thomas, and not received by the Catholic Church) reads as follows:
Thomas 76: "The Kingdom of the Father is like a man, a merchant, who possessed merchandise and found a pearl. That merchant was prudent. He sold the merchandise and bought the one pearl for himself."
The Gospel of Thomas is particularly negative towards merchants and 'worldly' people: this merchant is considered wise because he gave up his merchandise! However, this change of emphasis does indicate - from a different perspective - what Jesus might have meant. In the version preserved by Matthew, the focus is not so much on one who possesses merchandise getting rid of it in order to gain the Kingdom, but rather on the surpassing value of the Kingdom itself. Matthew's emphasis is correctly brought out by St. Jerome: "Not that the finding of a new pearl is the condemnation of the old pearls, but that in comparison with it, all other pearls are worthless."
St. John Chrysostom further remarks that the point of the parable is that "when a man is dispossessing himself of his goods [for the sake of the Gospel], he is to know that the transaction is gain, not loss."
[Pearls in the days of the Roman Empire were more valuable than they are today.]
This parable does not occur in any other Gospel, yet most scholars believe there is no reason to doubt that it is an authentic parable of Jesus. The exact words that Jesus used are difficult to find, however, since it occurs only in Matthew and Thomas.
13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
13:46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The Gospel of Thomas (an ancient text, most probably not by Thomas, and not received by the Catholic Church) reads as follows:
Thomas 76: "The Kingdom of the Father is like a man, a merchant, who possessed merchandise and found a pearl. That merchant was prudent. He sold the merchandise and bought the one pearl for himself."
The Gospel of Thomas is particularly negative towards merchants and 'worldly' people: this merchant is considered wise because he gave up his merchandise! However, this change of emphasis does indicate - from a different perspective - what Jesus might have meant. In the version preserved by Matthew, the focus is not so much on one who possesses merchandise getting rid of it in order to gain the Kingdom, but rather on the surpassing value of the Kingdom itself. Matthew's emphasis is correctly brought out by St. Jerome: "Not that the finding of a new pearl is the condemnation of the old pearls, but that in comparison with it, all other pearls are worthless."
St. John Chrysostom further remarks that the point of the parable is that "when a man is dispossessing himself of his goods [for the sake of the Gospel], he is to know that the transaction is gain, not loss."
[Pearls in the days of the Roman Empire were more valuable than they are today.]
This parable does not occur in any other Gospel, yet most scholars believe there is no reason to doubt that it is an authentic parable of Jesus. The exact words that Jesus used are difficult to find, however, since it occurs only in Matthew and Thomas.
Sunday 24 July 2011
My first post - On The Wisdom of Solomon
In the course of a homily in the seminary, I learned that a priest must beware of sliding downhill through the three phases known as "fit," "fat" and "phut". At the moment I am putting on weight so I should take care lest I enter the second stage before my time.
King Solomon is also said to have moved through three phases in his life: Wisdom, Wealth and Women. While he was still young, he made the right choice and opted for wisdom. His wisdom gave him great wealth and political power. But even wisdom cannot help one who chooses to be unwise. Solomon, blinded by his power and wealth, forsook the divine gift of wisdom and made the wrong choices - especially in his choice of women to associate with - and finally died in disgrace. Or so the Bible tells us. On account of his mismanagement, the country was furious with the Davidic dynasty, and in the reign of his son and successor Rehoboam (922 BC onwards) the ten northern tribes rose in rebellion and the Kingdom was divided.
King Solomon is also said to have moved through three phases in his life: Wisdom, Wealth and Women. While he was still young, he made the right choice and opted for wisdom. His wisdom gave him great wealth and political power. But even wisdom cannot help one who chooses to be unwise. Solomon, blinded by his power and wealth, forsook the divine gift of wisdom and made the wrong choices - especially in his choice of women to associate with - and finally died in disgrace. Or so the Bible tells us. On account of his mismanagement, the country was furious with the Davidic dynasty, and in the reign of his son and successor Rehoboam (922 BC onwards) the ten northern tribes rose in rebellion and the Kingdom was divided.
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