Matthew Williams – Page 24 – Meditation on Daily Mass Readings

November 9, 2020October 23, 2020

Wellsprings of Grace

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

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, which occurred in the year 324, not long after Christianity became legal in Rome.

Today’s readings are all about the Temple, and on this feast, we may say about the church building by extension.

The association throughout these readings of Temple with the body of the Christian, and Christ Himself, is mesmerizing. Jesus shows zeal for the Temple building in the Gospel passage, and then immediately goes on to speak of His body as the Temple. St. Paul tells us that our bodies as Christians are temples, with Christ as the foundation.

The first reading is profound in its significance, especially when joined with the other two. The fresh water presents a vivid foreshadowing of the saving grace of Christ, which turns the salt water–the human soul ruined by sin–into fresh water–the sanctified soul.

Leveraging St. Paul’s image, let us imagine that we are actually the superstructure of the Temple described in the first reading. The living water flows directly out from under the foundation of the Temple, from Christ. But as the singular Jewish Temple converts in Christianity to a multiplicity of churches, so too does each Christian, a temple built on the foundation of Christ, produce a new embodiment of Christianity, from which Christ’s grace flows as foundation.

Said more directly, the abundant grace of Jesus Christ flows in all its life-giving and redeeming power from the very existence of every holy Christian, whose “temple superstructure” occasions a new opportunity for the one foundation–Jesus Christ–to plant Himself and act in the world.

While there was only one act of salvation that produced sufficient saving grace for all, and one Savior, Jesus Christ, every holy Christian becomes a multiplier for that saving grace to flow out anew from a brand new dwelling for Christ in the world, a brand new wellspring of His infinite grace.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Contemplate how your life has the opportunity to augment the impact of Christ’s infinitely powerful saving grace in the world, and thank Him for making you a meaningful partner in His plan of salvation, which he didn’t have to do. Ask Him with urgency to consummate the work of sanctification in you, so that you magnify His impact in the world rather than lessening it.

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November 8, 2020October 21, 2020

Ready

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

There are few themes more prevalent in Scripture than life after death in eternity. And today’s readings are all about that.

St. Paul assures us that those who “fall asleep” in Christ will be brought into the presence of God.

The Church has always understood today’s Gospel passage about the ten virgins to represent mindfulness of eternity: That we need to be prepared for God to call us in death to eternal life at any moment.

This gospel warns us not to be presumptuous–not to assume mindlessly that we have a lock on Heaven, turning our thoughts only to worldly concerns. If we are brutally honest, Jesus’ unmistakable message in this passage is that if preparation for eternal life is not our focal concern, there is every chance in the world that we will not make it into Heaven, just as the careless virgins did not make it into the wedding feast.

If this message feels a bit dire, the first reading makes the goal feel more appealing, and more reachable. In the book of Wisdom, the personification of Wisdom is often understood to be the Holy Spirit. Wisdom, this reading tells us, is not elusive–not hiding from us, not some sort of puzzle to be figured out. Rather, Wisdom makes her rounds pursuing us. Wisdom is always hunting for someone who is on the watch for her, and hastens to make herself available.

Wise is the adjective applied to the virgins in the gospel who are ready for the bridegroom’s return. If we put the first reading and the gospel together, we must bear in mind on the one hand that those who unwisely focus only on worldly matters, neglecting their prayer life, sacramental life, and life of charity toward others which equate to preparation for eternity, will not reach Heaven. On the other hand, however, those who are seeking this preparation get a big boost. The Holy Spirit hastens to their aid and infuses them with strength and wisdom; they do not walk the road of preparation alone. His faithful presence and aid is our hope of success.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Praise Jesus full of gratitude for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who gives a guarantee of strength and wisdom to those who actively seek God; thank Jesus for being so trustworthy, and for not leaving us alone in our confusion and weakness as we strive to put our relationship with God and charity at the top of our priority list in preparation for eternity.

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November 7, 2020October 20, 2020

Dishonest Wealth

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

It may seem scandalous, but for God, providing for our material needs is something of an afterthought. It’s not that He forgets to do it. Rather, it is simply a given–not the focus of His divine zeal.

We see in this sense how close Paul is to the mind and heart of God in our first reading today. He is excited that the Philippians have taken care to look after his material welfare. But it’s not because he was afraid of going without: “Not that I say this because of need.” He is equally happy in material poverty or abundance because he knows with absolute certainty that he receives all he needs from God: “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.”

Rather, he is excited because he is “eager for the profit that accrues to your account.” He knows that through their generosity, the Philippians are drawing nearer to Jesus, the Generous One.

When Jesus sums up material things in the Gospel passage as “dishonest wealth,” and tells us to make friends with it, he is essentially telling us the message that the Philippians are living out in the first reading: Material things have a new purpose with the advent of the New Testament, namely, to increase Love. Everything earthly is passing away and is, in this sense, “dishonest” in its promises of happiness. But through generosity, it can be used for true happiness, which comes from Love.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Examine with Jesus how you use your material gifts. Is your main focus your own comfort and advancement? Or is it Love? Ask Him how you can use the “dishonest” wealth of this world to increase the only wealth that is “honest” in the sense that it brings true, lasting happiness: Love.

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November 6, 2020October 20, 2020

Shortcut

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

Sometimes, Scripture reminds us that Christian life is really quite radical.

In today’s first reading, Paul doesn’t specifically speak about gluttony or other sins of excess. But he does speak about those for whom “their God is their stomach,” people whose “minds are occupied with earthly things.” Christians who aren’t focused on Heaven, where our true “citizenship” lies.

But isn’t that you and I? How often we think more about what’s for dinner than whether our day has impact for the salvation and sanctification of our neighbor–or even their earthly welfare. We plan for our next vacation, the age at which we’ll be able to retire in comfort, but rarely, perhaps, is our day obsessed with using our short time on earth to prepare ourselves and others for that which matters: Eternity.

Like the dishonest steward in today’s gospel, we are squandering the Master’s property–that is, the gift He has given us of our time on earth–and if we are brutally honest, we merit the same dismissal applied to that steward.

So, what are we to do? We look around, like that steward, at the other servants around us, and we realize that they too are in deep debt with the Master. So we begin to work at diminishing their debt.

We can diminish the burden of sin which is the debt owed to the Master, to God, both by our brothers and sisters on earth, and by the souls in Purgatory. We can do so by praying and sacrificing for them tirelessly; by forming the habit of offering every hangnail, every stubbed toe, every suffering of any kind for others, that their hearts may be converted to the Lord and their sins may be forgiven.

This opportunity hearkens back to the lesson of the Our Father: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We could say, per today’s gospel, “Forgive us our worldiness, because we have spent our lives helping to alleviate the burden of sin that others carry.”

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Elsewhere, St. Paul tells us, “Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 2:5) The attitude of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, can be summed up as passionate love for His Father and the salvation and welfare of every human. In the midst of our worldliness and sinfulness, a shortcut to intimacy with Him is self-giving for our fellow persons, in line with His passionate love. Contemplate Him carrying His cross to Calvary. Ask Him why He cares so much, in the midst of so much obliviousness and ingratitude. Ask Him how you can make up for your worldliness by growing in effective self-offering to Him for others.

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November 5, 2020October 19, 2020

Paul’s Copernican Revolution

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

Starting a project over from from scratch is a pain.

Especially when you’ve invested significant time, even years, of your life into the project.

But sometimes, we start over because our investigations lead us to an epiphany that we can take the whole goal of the project to an incomparably higher level.

Lockheed Martin is actively working on a safe, compact Cold Fusion technology that will make nearly infinite clean energy portable. Imagine working your whole life on introducing a technology that makes fossil fuel emissions cleaner, and then you discover that this Cold Fusion technology is not only feasible but just three years from release (note: this technology is not this close in reality). Lockheed Martin recruits you, telling you that your engineering skills are just what they need as their project lead to finish the project. Do you refuse? On the contrary, as you accept the offer, are you excited? A little sad about wasted years of your life? Maybe some of both?

St. Paul went through something like this. He was immensely gratified by the heights of Jewish practice that he had reached. But then he was surprised by something a whole level better: The grace of the Messiah, of Jesus Christ. And he says, “But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

The story is even more dramatic than this, because in discovering and accepting Christ, Paul has deep regrets: He has contributed to the persecution and death of Christians.

Rather than inclining him away from his newfound treasure due to shame, however, this circumstance attached Paul’s heart even more thoroughly to Jesus Christ. Today’s Gospel passage tells us why: At the conclusion of the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, Jesus says, “In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The unexpected new paradigm of Jesus turns Paul’s understanding of righteousness completely on its head. He learns that Jesus is most proud of him and excited about him because he is a sinner who has repented, not in spite of that fact.

The Jesus revolution is like the Copernican revolution in the Renaissance, when Europeans discovered that the earth revolved around the sun, not vice-versa–Paul discovered that true religion revolves around the action of God in Christ, not around the action of man to uphold the Law.

The Jesus revolution that Paul experienced never really ends. It is always new for us, because we never become fully accustomed to the fact that in our religion, it is He who does all the heavy lifting, and to enjoy his endless bounty, all we need to do is give our authentic and practical “yes” to Him every day.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Think of the burdens of responsibility, and the corresponding worries, that most weigh you down. Dialogue with Jesus about them, and introduce them in prayer into the Jesus revolution: The realization that He is the protagonist of these problems’ solution, not you.

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November 4, 2020October 17, 2020

Take It Up

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

Let’s be honest: St. Paul might not get an “A” in Advanced Writing class at Harvard. He’s guilty of a run-on sentence here and there. Sometimes there are different concepts combined into one sentence. To be fair, he did his writing at a time when standards were a bit different. Anyone who has studied classical Latin knows that run-ons were the order of the day.

This makes it all the more fun to tease out the depths of his heart through his words. His theology is rich; his spirituality, profound.

For example, what do we take from these words?

“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For God is the one who, for his good purpose,
works in you both to desire and to work.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning,
that you may be blameless and innocent.”

So, so often we think our work as Christians is to try to deduce moral perfection and work toward it. But there is a reason to be fearful, to tremble, to stand in awe. It is a joyful fear, if there is such a thing; a joyful awe. The awe-inspiring thing about Christianity is that “God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.” This is why we must not grumble or question. Ours is to draw near to Him, as near as we can possibly come each day. Approach the Eucharist and dialogue with Him in the intimacy of our hearts after Communion. Spend solid chunks of time with Him in dialogue and prayer. And then, ours is to trust Him, in fearsome awe: For He is the one who, for his good purpose, will create good desires in us and accomplish what He wants in us. He has got it all figured out.

So much better than trying to inject exquisite, cold, dry little moral niceties deduced from our own two-dimensional intellect into our day, as some sort of substitute for true meaning. He alone, and what He does in us, is that meaning.

In the Gospel today, Jesus furthers our understanding of why we are to approach our Christian vocation with fear and trembling, and He does so in a rather sobering way. We are to be willing to sacrifice even the noblest things that are dearest to us for Him, as we take up a real cross of suffering in life to follow Him. That work that Paul describes God doing in us in not always fun, and is certainly not easy. It involves the cross of radical detachment.

But, as Paul elsewhere says, “If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him.” And what a glorious life it is–even here on earth, so much more fulfilled and happy than a life without Him. With a yet far happier and more glorious eternal life to follow.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: The path God has planned for each of us is awe-inspiring. On the one hand, filled with His tender and loving guidance, which itself is the source of our happiness. On the other hand, full of increasing detachment, sacrifice, and some suffering as well. Think of Jesus in prison on the night before He died. Talk to Him there. In the intimacy of that setting, ask Him how better to take up your own cross and follow Him.

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November 3, 2020October 17, 2020

The Blood of God

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

The dynamic of Christ’s saving act is awesome, filled with drama, and merits deep meditation and consideration. It is beautiful that we can undertake this reflection in the presence of, and in dialogue with, the very Person who is Protagonist of the act.

Prior to this act, there is a dynamic within the Blessed Trinity of self-outpouring and self-giving that feeds an eternal union, union which is the profound fulfillment of each of the three Persons.

It is said that to God, who is infinite, nothing can ever be added, and this is true.

Yet, upon the incarnation of God, a new ability was in a sense added: Added to the divine self-outpouring was the ability to suffer in that act of self-outpouring.

In one of the most beautiful readings in Scripture, today’s first reading, St. Paul poetically tells us that as a result of this, “God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.”

But Jesus didn’t take on this new ability, suffering, for His own exaltation. He took it on for ours. By the power of His saving act, He gives us this same dynamic: By pouring out our lives as He did in obedience to God for others, we attain that same eternal exaltation–in our human flesh, like Jesus–of which St. Paul speaks.

It is a breathless dynamic–one that takes us leagues outside our comfort zone. It is because of the great challenge that this dynamic involves for us that, according to Jesus in the Gospel, many souls decline from it. They find other things to do, other things to focus on. Without great fanfare, they decline the invitation of Jesus.

Contemplation of this reality should cause us sorrow and inspire us to fervent prayer and sacrifice for others, that God will give them absurd, gratuitous amounts of grace and stimulus to reconsider and accept His invitation, from which alone happiness comes.

But also, in a way, it should cause us excitement. The destiny to which God calls us and in fact brings us through Christ’s saving dynamic is not run-of-the-mill. It is a glorious one, one that merits God taking on the new ability to suffer, one that merits the very blood of God Himself.

Ideas for conversation with Jesus: Tell Jesus that you want to hear and follow His call in its fullness. That you don’t want to cheapen it in any way by cutting corners, or by giving in to mediocrity. Ask Him for the courage and strength to see your calling through to its utter fulfillment.

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November 2, 2020October 17, 2020

The Day of the Dead

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

All Souls Day. On this day we commemorate specifically, as can be seen from our readings, all those Christian souls who have passed on from this life, who have gone before us. We think of and pray for the dead.

The readings are not all about Purgatory. They are about the dead, and how their hope in God is not in vain. The readings are all about hope.

The readings are not all about Purgatory, but this day is. If it were not so, there would be no All Souls Day–only yesterday’s feast, All Saints Day. The definition of a saint is one who is in Heaven. If all faithful Christians who passed were in Heaven, All Saints Day and All Souls Day would be the same thing.

Yet, this is not “Purgatory Day,” but rather, “All Souls Day.” The focus is not on the difficult purification that souls must undergo after death prior to reaching Heaven but rather, appropriately, on the value of the faithful Christian soul itself, how God cherishes it, and how He holds it in His hand.

As such, we could thing that Purgatory is something of an eccentric, even embarrassing doctrine, one that no one really understands and no one knows what to do with.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. The first reading underscores the meaning of Purgatory perfectly: “As gold in the furnace, He proved them.”

Purgatory is actually critical and central to what is essential to Christian doctrine: Namely, the process of salvation and sanctification.

Jesus came to shed His blood for us. This was a big deal. He wasn’t going to do that and leave us in a state of half-baked mediocrity.

No, Jesus came for the big prize. He came for our complete purification and sanctification in order to realize–as the object of the game–our complete exaltation. He wanted nothing less for us than a true and transforming participation in the divine nature. You don’t get that unless your free will is completely and totally centered on Him, purified from any other attachments. The big prize.

To insist, however, that this purification come to complete fulfillment in this broken world, full of the fruits of sin and constant temptation, would be harsh. Most of us who are striving to choose God consistently, and keep away from the complete rejection of His path for us that is serious sin, will, however, die with some attachment to creatures and some habits of lesser sin that we have not shaken. These habits constitute weaknesses and impurities that would cause undo suffering in the presence of God.

“As gold in the furnace, He proved them.” There are some who posit that the purifying fire of Purgatory is the presence of the fullness of God’s love itself, which causes suffering in our souls due to their unworthy attachments. That this love itself is what burns away the impurities in the gold.

Whatever the case, Purgatory–purification after death–is a mercy, both because God does not allow us to be condemned due to our minor attachments, and because He allows us a finite period after death by which our souls reach the fully sanctified state for which He created us. It is a mercy because, despite minor faults with which we may die, we still come to reach the fullness of the elevated destiny won for us in Christ–the glory of which we cannot even begin to fathom here on earth.

There is a further mercy about Purgatory: The Church teaches us that we can lighten/shorten the time of souls’ purification through our prayers for them. One can infer here that our prayers bring special grace to fortify these souls, as protein does a body builder, as they go through their spiritual “workout” after death. Prayers for the dead are our way of participating in mercy of God by which He prepares them for profound eternal union with Himself.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Think of persons you have loved, who have passed. Speak to Jesus about them, about the reasons He loves them so much, what He loves about them. Ask Him to speed their period of purification, if it is still ongoing (and if not, to apply your prayers to another soul in need). Consider visiting a cemetery today or in the next couple of days. If you do and you pray for your special departed friend there, fulfilling some basic requirements you will find here, you can win for them immediate culmination of their purification and entry into Heaven. Also: Read through the readings for today again, and praise God for the hope He gives to us for eternal salvation and sanctification.

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November 1, 2020October 14, 2020

Saints: Oddballs…or Not

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

On this feast of All Saints, there are two common themes that jump out from the readings: 1) The joy of those who choose God and heaven–the saints–is to see the face of God; and 2) Those who choose God and heaven–the saints–really stand out from others in the world as exceptions; they’re really different.

The second point in a way relates to the first. It is already very different to derive happiness primarily from–well–looking at someone. Yet this is what we see in the first reading and the psalm. “Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face,” says the psalm. And in the first reading, we see a horde of white-robed folks standing, looking at God, and saying, “Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

Most people on the planet seem, at least on the practical level if not on the theoretical, to define happiness as self-enrichment, whether financial or otherwise–development of talents and potential, development of influence, more kids, more exposure to travel, etc.

By contrast, most people wouldn’t see happiness defined as standing and praising someone.

Perhaps the two definitions aren’t as far apart as they seem, though. If we take a closer look at the self-enrichment definition of happiness, it’s all about new experiences, and the ability to have them: Achievements, travel, more luxury, parenthood, etc. The unique attribute of the experience of God is that, unlike anything else, it is infinitely and constantly new, surprising, and wonderful. Whereas praising something that is old hat would be boring, the most spectacular new experiences in our lives evoke spontaneous expressions of awe. For example, seeing Niagara Falls for the first time. This is a dim reflection of what it is like to behold the face of God for eternity.

So much so, that Catholic doctrine defines heaven as the “beatific vision” (beatific = blessed, or happy).

Further on the second point, how the saints are different: In the gospel, Jesus contrasts the ways of the saints sharply with the ways of the world. Meekness, poverty, hunger/thirst, persecution. But the drastic contrast does not lie in any lack of desire for happiness on the part of the saints. Rather, the saints make a decision not to center their aspirations for happiness on experiences that become boring very, very quickly, as is the case with all self-enriching experiences on this earth. Rather, they choose a path that corresponds to enjoying forever the one experience that never becomes tiresome.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Reflect on your life and what drives you. Can you truly say that your heart is centered on enhancing the one experience that lasts and brings happiness, which is your relationship with God? Does your life mirror the beatitudes from today’s gospel? Or do you focus on going from novel experience to novel experience, like so many others in the world? How did Jesus live in this regard? Talk to Him about your life and how He may want you to adjust your priorities. Talk to Him about whether or not your relationship with Him really is the pearl of great price, worth sacrificing all other “riches” to obtain.

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October 31, 2020October 13, 2020

Worthy is the Lamb

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

Blessed Carlo Acutis, the modern Catholic computer programmer with an especially deep devotion to the Eucharist, once said, “Sadness is looking at oneself, happiness is looking at God. Conversion is nothing but a movement of the eyes.”

A movement of the eyes. Jesus and St. Paul talk all about this in today’s readings. In the gospel, Jesus uses the circumstance he observes of people grabbing places of honor at a party to make this point. It is not wrong to wish to be honored. But we do not attain honor by exalting ourselves–rather, by taking the lowest place and working from there.

This is a huge irony that merits a moment’s consideration. On the one hand, Jesus actually encourages the quest for honor and greatness, by pointing out which approaches are effective in attaining it, and which are not. On the other hand, however, the means he points out for attaining greatness and honor is precisely NOT to appropriate it.

So, as we quest for true greatness and meaningful honor, how do we acquire the counterintuitive habit of looking to stay in the background? Blessed Carlo says it best. We do so by moving our eyes from ourselves–even though it is we ourselves who want to be happy–to the Person who actually makes us happy, Jesus Christ. If He is our joy, if our basis for personal security comes from Him and His love for us, we naturally want to see Him grow in our own and others’ estimation–our life becomes all about Him. And then, He takes care of the rest, including any need we have for honor and greatness. For one loving glance from Him confers more true greatness and honor than the adoring cheers of a crowd of thousands.

This is how St. Paul found His sense of personal greatness. On the one hand, in perfect line with today’s gospel, he considered himself the least of the apostles (1 Cor. 15:9). On the other hand, today we see that he is equally content with death or life, because “to me, life is Christ.” His eyes are on Christ, and so he has no complexes in his own regard. He doesn’t need to focus on building his own image.

When we fall in love with the divine greatness, the infinite mercy and tender providential care of Jesus, our own honor and greatness becomes a non-issue–a given. Because true greatness is neither a fruit of our own self-aggrandizing, nor even of our achievement. Like the theological virtues, it is a gift bestowed on us in the act of drawing near to Him who defines the stature of every created thing.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Take you eyes for a moment off your own sense of self-worth and achievement, and consider the worth of Jesus: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing.” (Rev. 5:12). Consider Him glorified in Heaven for His divinity first of all, but also for His loving, merciful, sacrificial act of redemption. Then consider that, crazily, He respects you, even admires you as His Father’s great creation–even imperfect as you are. Consider that you need no other source of self-esteem. Adore Him for His greatness; thank Him for His love for you.

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