Matthew Williams – Page 23 – Meditation on Daily Mass Readings

November 19, 2020November 2, 2020

The Scroll

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

There are all sorts of levels of imagery and symbolism in Scripture and, by extension, in the reality of Christian life. For example, Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac in the Old Testament symbolizes God the Father’s sacrifice of His own Son for us–and also the unquestioning obedience of Mary at the Annunciation, which enabled this sacrifice.

In our own lives, these layers of meaning exist as well; when we are in the grace of God and seeking to listen to the Holy Spirit in His guidance of our lives, He imbues our ordinary lives with profound layers of significance as our self-offering creates resounding echoes in the economy of salvation. But, whereas Scripture presents itself to us as eminently symbolic, often the only thing we think of in our day-to-day is our mundane, external reality as it presents itself to us.

It is worthwhile, in our contemplative prayer, to consider what deeper things God may be leveraging the gift of our lives to do. But likewise, sometimes it is worthwhile to look at Scripture simply at face value, and consider that one of the marvelous things about it is that the symbolic moments portrayed actually happened. Consider, for example, that the falling of the walls of Jericho in the book of Joshua symbolize/foreshadow the reopening of the path to salvation in Christ, and conquest of Satan’s monopoly on human reality (cf. Jsh. 6). But also, the walls of Jericho have been discovered archaeologically, physically, really.

In today’s Gospel, Jerusalem can symbolize the people of Israel of Jesus’ time, and the tragedy that they did not accept Him. Further, it can symbolize those hard in heart of all times and ages who refuse to hear His invitation and turn to Him for salvation.

But also, Jerusalem actually did fall to destruction some 30-plus years after the events of today’s Gospel passage.

A fascinating thing is that the face-value course of events and the deeper meaning are linked and related. Jesus ties the destruction of Jerusalem as such to its rejection of “what makes for peace”–that is, humble obedience to God and acceptance of Jesus’ Messianic message.

Through His sacrificial offering, Jesus re-opens the door to salvation for us. But, as the first reading notes, He is also given the gift to break open the seals to the scroll. The scroll symbolizes the correct interpretation of all reality as one great plan from God that makes sense. All of it, with all these layers of meaning, only makes sense as a complete story inasmuch as Jesus’ saving act unlocks and defines that meaning.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Consider that your earthly life has layers of meaning within the plan of salvation that you may not often contemplate very deeply. Ask Jesus, the great Unsealer of the Scroll, to help you through the action of the Holy Spirit to penetrate some of that meaning so that you can offer your life all the more consciously and intentionally to Him each day.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

November 18, 2020November 2, 2020

The Lion, the Calf, the Man, and the Eagle

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

The particular, personal role of each of His disciples in the plan of salvation is precious in the eyes of the Lord. In today’s first reading, we have the four living creatures presented: Man, ox, lion, eagle. St. Irenaeus is the one credited with first identifying in these images the Four Evangelists, the writers of the gospels. Each image beautifully brings out something special about the evangelist in question.

St. Matthew is associated with the man (sometimes depicted as a winged man, like an angel). His gospel brings out the human lineage of Christ, thereby emphasizing the fact that Jesus was truly man, with all that this implies.

St. Mark is associated with the lion. He emphasizes the prophetic announcement of John the Baptist, the “voice crying out in the desert.” Mark brings out the prophetic nature of Jesus’ mission, like that of a lion roaring.

St. Luke is associated with the bull or ox, with a nod to the calf from today’s reading. He begins his gospel with the sacrificial duties of Zechariah in the temple, and with Mary’s sacrificial obedience at the Annunciation and the Holy Family’s sacrificial offering in the Temple at the Presentation, which are foreshadowings of Jesus’ priestly sacrifice on the cross. The ox/bull/calf represents Luke’s emphasis on the sacrificial nature of the mission of Christ and, by extension, every Christian.

Finally, St. John is associated with the eagle. In his gospel, John ascends into the loftiest contemplation of the divine mysteries associated with Jesus, for example, in his contemplation at the beginning of his gospel of the eternal Word becoming flesh. The eagle represents the spiritual heights to which John soars.

The Holy Spirit so cherished each of these individual nuances and roles that He immortalized them in Scripture–not only in today’s reading from Revelation, but also in Old Testament prophecy (cf. Ez. 1:5-14).

Often, we rightly consider today’s Gospel passage, the parable of the talents, in the light of guarding against falling short of what God expects of us in the cultivation of our resources for fruit in evangelization and salvation. But we also see here a reflection of the cherished personal character of each individual’s mission, character, and trajectory in the Christian life, displayed in the distinct personal gift of “talents” that God makes to each servant.

What does Jesus cherish about your particular role in His plan of salvation? What gifts has He given you for the fulfillment of His plan, and how would He like them to be employed?

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Consider your particular vocation, and also the themes that come up for you again and again in your contemplative prayer. Ask Jesus how these play into what He particularly cherishes about the divine work He is performing in you, and your role in helping bring others to Him. Ask Him to help you grow in wisdom concerning the implementation of your gifts in His service.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

November 17, 2020December 12, 2020

Turnaround

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

Today’s readings are all about repentance.

The message of the first reading is clear: A half-hearted living of the Christian life is the lowest form of nakedness, blindness, and poverty; this form of Christianity is a hell on earth that finds its fulfillment in eternity. We are called to wake up from mediocrity and attachment to worldliness and give our whole hearts to Christ and His people.

Marvelously, this is precisely what Zacchaeus does in the Gospel passage. Joy comes to his house as he reckless divests himself of all his ill-gotten gains and gives to the poor, his heart detached from his worldliness by the encounter with Christ’s merciful grace.

We are called to be causes of Zacchaeus events through our prayer for sinners and our witness of Christian life. And we have a short time to do it. There is no freedom experienced by the human person like the radical freedom experienced by the person liberated from worldly attachments.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask the Lord to help open your eyes to the opportunities in your life to bring souls closer to Him. Also, resolve with Him to offer all your Masses, prayers, and all the ample sufferings this life provides for the conversion of sinners.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

November 16, 2020October 29, 2020

Love is All You Need

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

As we read the first reading, we are feeling pretty good for the seven churches in Asia. They’ve endured and held on, without growing weary. They’ve shown good judgement in flushing out preachers claiming to be apostles who are not authentic.

But then things get a little dramatic. Their lampstands will be snuffed out if they do not repent of failing in the one area that matters: They have lost the love they had at first.

This reminds us of St. Paul’s famous lines: “If I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.”

Love. That’s it. Love for God, love for others. Focus on these two things in our lives. Love for God as hunger for the complete possession of Him, stoked in prayer; and love for neighbor, in the unconditional and ardent desire for the happiness, temporal and eternal, of the persons around us.

The blind man in today’s Gospel passage is a good example of longing. He longs to have his sight restored, and he has hope in Jesus of Nazareth. So when others are telling him to keep silent, he shouts all the louder: “Son of David, have pity on me!”

Jesus healed him because of his faith in Jesus’ power and because of his persistence. How much more will Jesus give us authentic holiness, that is, union with God, if we ask it of Him with the same sort of passion, the same sort of dogged persistence.

In a homily once, St. Augustine said, “Love, and do what you will.” If we understand love properly, these are all the words we need to live by. Conversely, do what you will without love, no matter how noble, and it will not have value.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Tell Jesus how hard it is for you to grasp what it is to love God and love neighbor in its fullness, and even harder to live this love to the extent that you do grasp it. Tell Him with trust and confidence that you know that He is love itself in human form, and ask Him to transform your heart so that it will become full of that love which fills His Heart.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

November 15, 2020October 29, 2020

Talented

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

In today’s second reading, St. Paul cautions us that the day of our accounting before the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. The children of the night, of darkness, will be caught unprepared, asleep; the children of light, of the day, by contrast, will be ready.

Jesus talks about that day of reckoning in the gospel. It can be perhaps a bit frightening to realize that it will not be enough merely to have avoided sin to enter the Kingdom of God. We actually have to produce something through the investment of our talents. Having produced is what readiness for the Lord’s coming means.

So, what does fruitfulness mean? The word talent is used: Do we need to develop our talents for athletics, music, art, learning, etc. to the maximum in view of that day? Many do this, but are not on the path to which Jesus refers.

Let’s look at the ideal disciple of Jesus, the Virgin Mary. How did she embody today’s gospel? She did not focus on the development of all her human potential in terms of skill development. She simply looked to give herself fully to the will of God: “I am the handmaid of the Lord.” She was conscious of the exalted nature of her mission, but most of her activities and days were quite ordinary.

What are the talents to which Jesus refers? The greatest gifts we have are the faculties of our soul, our intelligence and will. These come in different shapes and sizes, just like the different numbers of talents in the gospel. But whatever our inventory, this is what we are called to give to God and to His will every day, by which they are sure to bear fruit. We are to give Him our freedom wholeheartedly with our will. We are to give our intellect to His truth. If we do this, it does not matter how spectacular our activities or achievements in the world’s view. Also, it doesn’t matter if we die with our “talents” (potential for developing skills) not fully tapped in this or that area. God will bring fruit for souls, as He did with the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Thus it is that in the first reading, the value of a virtuous wife is extolled. It’s not about whether she sits home weaving flax or succeeds as a Fortune 500 CEO. Either of these is of equal value if she undertakes it in virtuous, loving obedience to God’s will. And the same goes for husbands, for men.

“Seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” (Mt. 6:33)

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Reflect on the most mundane activities in your life, as well as the most stimulating and interesting stuff of your dreams. Place them at the feet of Jesus and ask Him the value He places on each. Ask Him to help you dwell in His Heart and His will through your daily gift of self renewed in your moments of contemplative prayer, so that your gift of self opens the door for Him to bear the fruit He wants in so many souls.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

November 14, 2020October 28, 2020

Judge Snivelpuss

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

You have to love Jesus’ judge in the Gospel parable. “Lest she finally come and strike me.” This guy is afraid of a little old widow coming and bludgeoning him. So, he helps her even when he doesn’t feel like it.

The image is even funnier when we see that Jesus is comparing this judge to Almighty, Omniscient, All-loving God. But the hyperbolic image is poignant precisely because of the chasm of contrast that separates the nature of this small-spirited judge and the grandiose magnanimity of our God.

We wouldn’t expect much of the judge in the parable. But if harried enough, we can expect even him to act. How much more, then, can we expect indulgence from our loving God if we come to Him insistently with our requests!

Jesus’ image points out how utterly absurd it is to fail to trust that God will fail to respond to our insistent, repeated requests. Yet how weak our trust is. We think of God as an arrogant, aloof judge who is too lofty and wise to spare time for our petty concerns, and is actually annoyed when we pester Him with them. And it is precisely this image of God at which Jesus takes aim in today’s parable–it is precisely this image that he successfully obliterates.

Mother Teresa’s work for the poor was an eloquent testimony of the goodness of God, of His concern for every human. It is not just to lawyers in suits that this good Judge will attend. He cares about the needs of every miserable creature Mother Teresa and her nuns have scraped off the streets, whether or not these poor persons knew to ask Him for help. And Mother Teresa’s nuns successfully channel His love to these souls.

Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity do not discriminate when they give aid on the basis of religion. Many of those receiving their aid are not Christian. But St. John’s letter today points out that it is also not wrong to give aid to Christians because they are Christian. There are two reasons to single out Christians and Christian causes for charity: 1) Faithful Christians in themselves become works of charity, inasmuch as their faithfulness in and of itself draws grace down from Heaven on others; and 2) Christian faith is radical and often rejected in the world, and as such Christians are particularly vulnerable. As Jesus Himself said, “And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” (Mt. 10:42)

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: We are called to trust in God’s detailed attention to our needs, His response to our prayers, and His openness for us to pray insistently even for the same needs day after day. We are also called, as St. John reminds us in his letter today, to reflect that divine benevolence in our attention to others, and in particular to care for the needs of Christians.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

November 13, 2020October 28, 2020

Separation

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

Jesus does this a lot, and it is annoying to our refined worldly sensibilities. He preaches on a separation at the end of time/end of our lives in stark contrast to the amalgamation/non-separation of people here on earth. This amalgamation will persist until the very last day, as in the days of Noah: “They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark.”

But the annoying part is that the separation is coming, and Jesus just won’t stop talking about it.

Perhaps if we were gods, we would do things differently. Perhaps we would set things up such that things persist just as they are right into eternity. Perhaps we would make it such that, to avoid the radical result of condemnation of many, the few who radically choose Jesus would be deprived of the monumental transformation and exaltation that comes with the reward of the beatific vision in eternity.

But we are not gods. We must trust and obey. And pray and sacrifice ceaselessly for the eternal happiness of our fellow humans, attained through conversion. In the way God has in fact set things up, we may glimpse how worthwhile and different eternal happiness is from happiness, even spiritual happiness, here on earth–that God would sacrifice so much that we may attain it.

In the first reading, St. John reminds us that we don’t need to be particularly clever or invent anything new to make the choice for Christ and follow Him. We need only persevere in fulfilling His Commandment of love (cf. Mt. 22:37-40). “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” (Jn. 15:10)

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Contemplate eternity. Imagine, as best you can, heaven and hell. Drink in the mystery that there is in fact a separation in the end, and some will go to heaven, and others, hell. Be open with Jesus: Ask Him why He set things up this way. And ask Him for the grace to be effective not only in reaching heaven, but especially in assisting others in choosing this path.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

November 12, 2020October 26, 2020

Burning Love

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

They say that some old couples who have been married many years begin even to look like each other.

Much more so the saints, who have consistently dedicated time every day to draw near to God. They do not just begin to “look” like Him–the divine love which burns in Christ’s heart begins to burn in theirs as well; spontaneously, they handle each situation with the very love and attitude of Christ.

We have vivid evidence of this in today’s reading from St. Paul, who is undertaking the simple task of transferring a Christian from his own service back to that of Philemon. In the letter accompanying the transfer, he says:

“So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me. And if he has done you any injustice or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, write this in my own hand: I will pay.”

In this simple act, Paul’s attitude beautifully mirrors Christ’s attitude toward you and me in the very act of our redemption: “If he owes you anything, charge it to me. I will pay. Welcome him as you would me.”

If we understood the enrichment of heart that awaits us, we would not miss a day of contemplative prayer. And yet, since even under intense exposure to the grace of God, our hearts grow at the pace of grass in the noonday sun, it often takes real faith to trust that God is working our transformation when we do not deserve it.

When our faith in this interior transformation is weak, we look outside to try to see signs that God is transforming the world. We look for signs in the political sphere. When all the while, as Christ tells us in today’s gospel, “Behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Read the first reading in the light of Christ’s redemption, seeing Christ’s attitude toward us reflected in Paul’s attitude toward Onesimus. Would you like to have a heart like that–so spontaneously conforming to the love of Christ? Ask Jesus for the gift of perseverance in prayer. Ask Him to be your strength as you strive to be faithful to your daily touch points with Him, so that your heart will burn with the same love for others that characterizes Jesus Christ, and which He shares with His intimates.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

November 11, 2020December 12, 2020

Thanks

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

Gratitude is the awareness that we have received more than that to which we are entitled, remembrance of the person who has given it to us, and expression of appreciation to that person.

We have all had the experience of really wanting something, receiving it as a gift from someone, and rejoicing more in the thing itself than the giver–forgetting all too soon the giver’s thoughtfulness and generosity.

Lasting gratitude appears as a rare virtue. In today’s gospel, only one of the cleansed lepers–given a truly amazing, life-changing gift–returns to give thanks. The others might have been appreciative for a moment, but they have soon forgotten the giver, and perhaps the fact that their new, healed condition is a gift.

St. Paul points out one of the key effects of permanent, ongoing gratitude. In recognizing that the redemption we have experienced is a free gift from a Giver, and not some achievement of our own, we are able to treat others–including those not living the Christian life–with respect and esteem. We recognize in them that their worth is defined, not by any defect we may perceive in them, but by how God cherishes them, in His great desire to give them the gift He has given to us.

When we clearly perceive God’s intense, unmerited, and unconditional love for us, and are grateful for it, we can see how He loves others in the same way, and learn to treat them accordingly.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus for the gift of persistent, undimming gratitude for His gifts. Ask Him to send His Holy Spirit to give you the same love for sinners–that is, all humans–that He has. Ask Him to fill you with esteem for every fellow person on earth that corresponds to the unconditional intensity with which He loves every person.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams

November 10, 2020October 24, 2020

Ordinary People

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

Catholic spiritual theology teaches us that we can attain, even in this life, profound and exalted union with God, as an initial experience of the union with Him that will come to true and final fulfillment in eternity.

This may lead us to a notion that we are to be something notably spectacular as we walk the earth, constantly impressing with our heroic virtue and aura of amazingness.

We can forget that all glory in the end belongs to and comes from God, and that our role is wonderfully humble and simple.

In the first reading, St. Paul doesn’t speak of impressive acts of heroic virtue or stretch goals of saintly action. He talks about basic self-control, dignity, temperance, balance.

Similarly, in the today’s gospel, Jesus teaches us to take the path, not of the heroic knight, to be awarded riches and lands for his glorious and storied exploits in service of the king, but rather the humble servant who has a simple job to do and simply does it.

It is the great paradox of the Gospel that if we want to attain to glory and an exalted, transforming relationship with God, all we need to do is live our daily life in great simplicity, for others, with a commitment to daily prayer and sacramental life. For “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Lk. 14:11)

No one exemplifies this dynamic better than Mary, the simple girl of Nazareth, the “handmaid of the Lord” who spent her life in the most ordinary and unremarkable way, but has been greatly glorified in Heaven due to her absolute daily gift of self to God.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Examine your aspirations in dialogue with Jesus. Ask Him if you are not overly anxious to sense that you are doing something impressive with your life. Ask Him if the daily gift of your simple vocation is enough for Him to do great things. Ask Him for the gift of an ordinary life of service in humility, joyfully recognizing at the same time that all His eternal glory is His unmerited gift to you.

Follow the Author on Twitter:
Follow @mvhaywilliams