24th Week, Tuesday, Sept 17:
1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31 / Luke 7:11-17
Paul speaks about Christ's body; We are all members of one body.
On Good Friday, April 5, 1985, 8,000 radio stations across the world played the song "We Are the World" at the same time. The purpose was twofold: to raise funds to feed Ethiopian famine victims and to show the unity of the human family, rather than its division. Paul would have applauded the gesture on the part of the disc jockeys of the world.
What he says about the body of Christ in today's reading applies equally to the family of humankind. We are all members of the same family and should begin to use our talents for the good of the entire family.
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How are we using our own special talents for the good of the body of Christ and the family of humankind? "If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it.' 1 Cor 12:26
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For You, Mother
Nothing in the gospel narrative suggests that anyone asked Jesus to raise the son of the widow. This is one of the rare occasions wherein Jesus takes the initiative, without being asked by anyone, to heal or raise someone to life. What moved him to do so? I wonder if the scene provoked in him the future scenario of his own mother at his death: Here is a widow, just like his mother. She has lost the only son – Jesus’ own mother would lose her only son. I wish to think that Mother Mary was present with Jesus at Naim (or the disciples narrated it to her later) and the scene would be etched in her heart; and when her turn came to be the widow who lost her only son, she would recall the scene and find consolation and hope. What greater gift can a son leave for his mother than the assurance that she would have him again, alive!
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Human beings are indeed an interesting and amazing species. They are the only species on earth to have intellect and will. Humans are also the only species known to build fires and cook their food, as well as the only known species to clothe themselves and create and use numerous other technologies and arts. Yet at its most fundamental, the human being is body and soul. Neither takes precedence in importance and neither is also inferior to the other.
Hence when St. Paul used the analogy of the human body to describe the Church, he was wise to mention that in the one Spirit we were all baptized and the one Spirit was given to us all.
Yet at the finality of death, when the soul leaves the body, the body becomes a lifeless thing and over time it will also decompose and disintegrate.
Nonetheless, we believe in the resurrection on the Last Day and we have to leave it to the mysterious power of God to gather up our remains for the resurrection (unless we are still alive by then).
When Jesus brought the young man back to life in the gospel, He showed not only compassion. Jesus showed that He is the Lord of life and that He has power over death. We may be alive but we can just choose to be mediocre and just exist on earth, or we can choose to be loving and life-giving. When we choose the latter, then we are truly offering our bodies as a living and loving sacrifice to God.
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Prayer: God our Father, you entrusted your Good News to St. John Chrysostom. Loyally and without fear, he sowed your word as a seed that it might bear fruit also when it was accepted reluctantly. Give us trust in your word, make it grow in us that it may become in all of us really good news to live by. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen
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Saint Robert Bellarmine
Feast day September 17
It is said that Robert Bellarmine was so short that he used
to stand on a stool to be seen over the high pulpits of Europe. But he was a
giant in many other ways.
Robert, born in Italy in 1542, was the third of ten children
in a family in which prayer and serving others were priorities. He entered the
Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, in 1560. Robert was a brilliant student at the
Roman College and eventually taught at the University of Louvain in Belgium.
His sermons and his defense of the faith were so powerful that people were
attracted from all over, and many were converted. Robert was ordained in 1570,
became rector at the Roman College in 1592, and was named superior of the
Naples province in 1594. By 1598, he was named a cardinal, and in 1602, he
became archbishop of Capua. He was called to Rome in 1605 to work in defense of
the Church against heresies. Robert, who was advisor to five popes, was
involved in many controversies. One involved the teachings of the scientist
Galileo, who was also Robert’s friend. In 1931, Robert was declared a Doctor of
the Church.
Like Saint Robert, let us use all our gifts from God. May we study hard, pray often, and serve others so that the world will see the greatness of our God.
