Wouldn’t You Like to Have…?
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009Sunday, October 11, 2009
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Wisdom 7:7-11
Hebrews 4:12-13
Mark 10:17-30
A friend at work today was talking about his older brother who retired a few years ago after working for county government for many years. My friend was reflecting on how his brother was now set in his retirement with a generous pension that allowed him and his wife to travel and live comfortably. In the meantime, my friend, who is concerned about his own position, said, “What am I left with? a 401(k).”
In these uncertain economic times, we’d all like to have a little security, whether it comes from a paycheck or a pension. We’d like to know that everything hasn’t fallen apart, and that we can continue on.
In some ways, the man in the gospel is like that. He’s looking for the assurance that everything will turn out all right. In response, Jesus lays out the law, something the man insists he has been fulfilling all his life. There it is, the parameters in which to live that will lead to salvation. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. There is still more beyond the fulfillment of the law, that is, the insecurity of abandoning all that one has to follow Jesus. The implication is that when one leaves behind all that one has, there is nothing left but to rely on God alone. Following Jesus means leaving behind everything else. The calculation is that nothing will be greater than something, and that possessing nothing will, in the end, assure everything.
This Sunday, Pope Benedict will canonize one of those who gave up everything. At the age of 19, Jozef Damiaan de Veuster, more commonly known today as Fr. Damien of Moloka’i, left the family business in Belgium and entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. After he arrived in Hawaii in 1864 he was ordained and served as a “country” priest. In 1873 he answered the call to labor among the lepers of Moloka’i whom he served for sixteen years, dying among them just 120 years ago, in 1889. The official program for canonization describes Damien as a herald of hope-someone who wanted more not for himself, but for others.
The program states:
“The world knows rejected persons of all kinds: the incurably ill (victims of AIDS or other diseases), abandoned children, disoriented youths, exploited women, neglected elderly people, and oppressed minorities. For all who suffer, Damien remains the voice reminding us that the infinite love of God is full of compassion and consolation, confidence and hope, his a voice that denounces injustice. In Damien we can all recognize the herald of the Good News. Like the Good Samaritan, he went to the aid of those whom sickness had cast aside along the road. This is what makes Damien an example for all men and women who wish to be involved in the struggle for a more just, more humane world, a society more conformed to the heart of God.
“Servant of God, Damien is and remains for all the servant of the human person, the servant of a humanity that needs to live, but even more needs reasons for living.” (See: http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/libretti/2009/20091011.pdf)
In the gospel, Jesus invites the man who has followed the law all his life to leave behind what he would like to have. What Jesus offers is not things to live for, but rather, reasons to live.
Paul Michaels
Prayer
Father of mercy,
in Blessed Damien
you have given a shining witness of love
for the poorest and most abandoned.
Grant that, by his intercession,
as faithful witness of the heart of your Son Jesus,
we too may be servants of the most needy and rejected.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
Notices
CANONIZATION OF BLESSED DAMIEN DE VEUSTER
On Sunday, October 11, Pope Benedict will canonize Fr. Damien at a Mass in St. Peter’s square. The booklet for the celebration is on the Vatican website at: http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/calendar/ns_liturgy_calendar_en.html#OCTOBER%202009. Photos of the celebration will be posted in the same location.
CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES RESPONDS TO FOUR EMERGENCIES
Within the past week, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) had responded to four emergencies in the Asia Pacific region. The Philippines and Vietnam have been hit by typhoon Ketsana, while a tsunami struck Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga, and an earthquake affected the island of Sumatra. CRS is working with Caritas Internationalis to plan for the long-term reconstruction vital to recovery efforts even while providing immediate emergency relief. For more information, and to learn how you can encourage parishioners to help, visit: http://crs.org/.
LPi PARTNERS WITH PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIETIES
Liturgical Publications Inc (LPi) has partnered with the Pontifical Mission Societies (http://www.onefamilyinmission.org/) to distribute clip art and cover art in support of the World Mission Sunday Collection on October 19, 2009. To learn how your parish can receive free access to these materials, click here.