Opposites attract

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 36 Care of the Sick
Mass: Am 7:12-15; Resp Ps 85; Ep 1:3-14; Mk 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two.

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time

Readings of the day: RB 5:1-13

Mass: Jm 4:13-17; Resp Ps 49/Mt 5:3; Mk 9:38-40

Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

(Resp Ps 49/Mt 5:3)

Pope Francis writes about this Beatitude and its relationship to holiness in Gaudete et Exsultate, 67-70. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, grant us purity of heart.

The Gospel invites us to peer into the depths of our heart, to see where we find our security in life. Usually the rich feel secure in their wealth, and think that, if that wealth is threatened, the whole meaning of their earthly life can collapse. Jesus himself tells us this in the parable of the rich fool: he speaks of a man who was sure of himself, yet foolish, for it did not dawn on him that he might die that very day (cf. Lk 12:16-21).

Wealth ensures nothing. Indeed, once we think we are rich, we can become so self-satisfied that we leave no room for God’s word, for the love of our brothers and sisters, or for the enjoyment of the most important things in life. In this way, we miss out on the greatest treasure of all. That is why Jesus calls blessed those who are poor in spirit, those who have a poor heart, for there the Lord can enter with his perennial newness.

This spiritual poverty is closely linked to what Saint Ignatius of Loyola calls “holy indifference”, which brings us to a radiant interior freedom: “We need to train ourselves to be indifferent in our attitude to all created things, in all that is permitted to our free will and not forbidden; so that on our part, we do not set our hearts on good health rather than bad, riches rather than poverty, honour rather than dishonour, a long life rather than a short one, and so in all the rest”.

Luke does not speak of poverty “of spirit” but simply of those who are “poor” (cf. Lk 6:20). In this way, he too invites us to live a plain and austere life. He calls us to share in the life of those most in need, the life lived by the Apostles, and ultimately to configure ourselves to Jesus who, though rich, “made himself poor” (2 Cor 8:9).

Being poor of heart: that is holiness.

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

Saint Frances of Rome (1384-1440)

Readings of the day: RB 31:13-19

Mass: Ho 14:2-10; Resp Ps 81; Mk 12:28-34

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

It seems to me a cellarer in a monastic community (see RB 31)is someone who has taken seriously the first and second of all the commandments. The cellarer is the sister or brother chosen to be responsible for the care of all the monastery’s goods, a tall order in and of itself. The qualities required of the cellarer are many. What follows here are some of the them: she should be ‘wise and mature in behavior, sober and not an excessive eater, not proud nor apt to give offense nor inclined to cause trouble, not unpunctual, nor wasteful but living in fear of God and able to show the community all the love a mother would show to her family.’ Important as well is that the cellarer ‘should care for own spiritual progress’. In other words, she continually seeks the God she loves and is better able, through a life of prayer, to love and serve her sisters who vary in age, temperament, and state of health. Clearly, the cellar is not looking out for her own interests.

Lest one think the responsibility of the cellarer is a one-way street, the position is a relational one. Each community member should also discern the difference between wants and needs when making any requests of the cellarer. Making demands upon another is not usually the best course of action. Still, St Benedict writes this: The cellarer should not cause ‘annoyance to the community. If one of the community comes with an unreasonable request, the cellarer should, in refusing what is asked, be careful not to give the impression of personal rejection and so hurt the petitioner’s feelings’, for ‘among the most important qualities the cellarer needs to cultivate is humility and the ability to give a pleasant answer even when a request must be refused.’ Regarding humility, the cellarer always keeps in mind that although her ‘responsibility embraces all that is delegated by the abbess there must be no attempt to include what the abbess has forbidden.’ Put another way, the cellarer does not operate in a vacuum.

Provided here are only bits and pieces of St Benedict’s chapter on the cellarer. An exercise might be to take a closer look at the entire chapter and see how the qualities required of the cellarer transfer to your responsibility as mother, father, teacher, colleague, manager, supervisor, mentor, etc. ‘Well said, teacher, you are right in saying, He is the One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.

THOSE WHO ARE WISE UNDERSTAND THESE THINGS;

THOSE WHO ARE DISCERNING KNOW THEM.

FOR THE WAYS OF THE LORD ARE RIGHT,

AND THE UPRIGHT WALK IN THEM,

BUT TRANSGRESSORS STUMBLE IN THEM.

(Ho 14:10)

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

Readings of the day: RB 28 The Treatment of Those Who Relapse

Mass: 2 K 5:1-15ab; Resp Ps 42-43; Lk 4:24-30 

But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.

Picture if you will the scene in today’s Gospel. I see this: Jesus speaks to the people. He challenges their way of thinking and doing. Not liking what Jesus has to say, the people become filled with fury—they rise up, drive him out of town, lead him to the brow of a hill ready to hurl him down headlong! Jesus calmly passes by and goes away. Meanwhile, the people are busy quarreling among themselves and don’t even notice Jesus’ absence. 

A few things to ponder during this Third Week of Lent:

How do we respond to correction? Are we indignant wanting to dismiss the messenger; drive her away from our midst? Are we busy making excuses for our behavior? Does our pride get in the way of growing in relationship with God and those with whom we live and work? Can we admit we have made mistakes or are wrong?

Boasting of God is perfect and complete when we take no pride in our own righteousness but acknowledge that we are utterly lacking in true righteousness and have been made righteous only by faith in Christ.

(St Basil the Great)

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time

Readings of the day: RB 7:59

Mass: 1 Kings 10:1-10; Resp. Psalm 37; Mark 7:14-23

The Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord.

It’s difficult not to be influenced by what others say. If we’ve never met someone, for example, and a friend says, ‘Oh, you’ll like him,’ or, ‘she is rude,’ we sometimes just take the opinion as final word. Then we end up not caring for the man we’re supposed to ‘like’, and being fond of the ‘rude’ woman. The Queen of Sheba would have nothing to do with all the hubbub surrounding King Solomon; she would find out for herself and form her own opinion; she would put him to her test, with hard questions. Off goes the queen with a very great retinue—camels bearing spices, very much gold, and precious stones. It must have been quite a sight. The queen proceeds to tell Solomon all that was on her mind. Solomon answers all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he could not explain to her. Impressed (the NRSV relates ‘there was no more spirit in her’), the queen proclaims: ‘The report was true which I heard in my own land of your affairs and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it; and behold, the half was not told me; your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report which I heard.’ Furthermore, ‘Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you on the throne of Israel for ever.’ 

It has been said: ‘Seeing is believing.’ Thomas believed when he saw and touched the wounds of Jesus (Jn 20:24-29). The Queen of Sheba believed only after seeing King Solomon in person, testing him with subtle questions. Sometimes we just have to see for ourselves. Important throughout is keeping an open mind and heart when meeting all people: the wise and not so wise, the slim and stout, young and old, the rich and poor, the good-looking and better-looking, the witty and dull, the outcast and downtrodden. There is a piece of wisdom in all of us—something in each person that tells us something about God which no one else can.  I think of the 1969 single by John Lennon, ‘Give Peace a Chance.’ All we are saying is give peace a chance. All we are saying is give people a chance. Everyone. 

Then she gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again did spices come in such quantity as that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.