Matthew Williams – Page 6 – Meditation on Daily Mass Readings

May 9, 2021April 23, 2021

Overflow

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

Sometimes we may be downcast by the state of the world; belief and trust in God may appear contradicted by the sheer number of people who live in misery and in rejection of His grace.

But in the readings today, we see God’s promise play out gloriously. Jesus redefines love, not as some sort of strong superficial attraction, not as a desire to “be with,” but as the willingness to lay down one’s life for the beloved; in other words, radical choice for the beloved’s welfare. This is the love with which He loves us; this is the love for one another that He asks of us.

The psalm tells us how the outpouring of that love plays out in God’s plan of salvation: “The Lord has revealed to the nations His saving power.”

And in the first reading, after Cornelius falls prostrate before the disciples, the Holy Spirit rushes in–with reckless abandon, it seems–He rushes in to fill the hearts of the receptive Gentiles, and all give praise and glory to God for His marvels.

To understand God’s overflowing bounty, goodness, generosity, love, we shouldn’t turn our eyes to those who reject Him, but rather to those who accept Him, with all His gifts and all His demands. Those who do so unconditionally, in absolute trust, are never, ever disappointed–but rather, invariably overwhelmed by the unexpected scope of His goodness.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Tell Jesus how sorry you are for all the times you haven’t trusted in Him, that you’ve listened to the siren song of the world’s cynics and naysayers, seeking comfort in a dim view. Ask Him for the gift of infallible trust in that goodness that He has proven to you, and to the world, time after time.

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May 8, 2021April 22, 2021

Rejection

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

The spread of Christianity in the early Church was messy. Paul and Barnabas were in the midst of spreading to the new Gentile Christians the happy news that they didn’t need to be circumcised–but then, Paul orders his new companion Timothy circumcised so as not to upset the Jews. Also, while it is beautiful that they are led very directly and explicitly by the Holy Spirit, that Spirit is not leading them into every place to preach, at least not yet–according to the first reading, He explicitly directs them away from certain places.

Even after Jesus’ Resurrection, even after Pentecost, the world is a dangerous place for Christianity; the pervasive culture is against the Gospel. Then, and now. It is tough to navigate.

As Jesus explains it in today’s gospel: “Because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.”

The Church teaches us clearly and explicitly in its social doctrine that as Catholics, we are called to make the world as just a place as we possibly can, bringing the principles of the Gospel into public life.

We can point to times in history when this effort has enjoyed some degree of success. There are kings and queens who have been saints…and in the Western world, we have enjoyed for many years the freedom to practice our faith.

But we should not be surprised, much less discouraged, when the world hates Christianity and all it stands for, and us by extension. This fact sits squarely within God’s providential plan. He knew it, planned for it: That the world by and large would reject Him until the end of time. In the midst of this hatred, though, He calls His chosen ones to Himself.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus for patience and serenity in the midst of this inimical world, which in its majority rejects His teaching. Tell Him you give Him your whole life and your whole self, that He may leverage you to help with the salvation of His chosen ones.

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May 7, 2021April 22, 2021

Too Much to Ask?

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

We know that Jesus summed up the Commandments of God with the priority of loving God above all things, and loving one’s neighbor as oneself (cf. Mk 12:29-31).

On the evening of the Last Supper, the night before Jesus’ death, to which St. John dedicates a disproportionate amount of his gospel, Jesus makes this general Commandment more insistent, urgent, and intimate with His special friends. After telling them what it means to be His friends, in today’s gospel, He gives them His Commandment to them as friends: “Love one another.”

Later, in Jn. 17, throughout the chapter, Jesus prays for His friends: He prays that they be one, as He and the Father are one.

What is the name “Christian” supposed to mean, if not “friend of Jesus”? Thus, to the degree that we seek intimate friendship with Him, His command likewise to us is “Love one another.”

Why, over the centuries and still today, why do we Christians insist on pitting ourselves against one another? Why do we insist on splintering, dividing, separating, pointing fingers, finding fault? Why do we place our differences above our brotherhood?

Why do we do all this, when the ONE thing that Jesus asked for on the night He began His intense suffering, was that we be one in Him?

The answer: Because we treasure our pride above our friendship with Him. Otherwise, our only desire would be to strive mightily to fulfill His highest priority request–indeed, His Commandment.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Filled with sincere sorrow, ask Jesus for forgiveness for all the times when, even in your own mind, you have focused more on the faults of your brother or sister, rather than the opportunity to support them and love them as they are.

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May 6, 2021April 21, 2021

Remain in His Love

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

“Remain in my love.” If we follow His Commandments, we will remain in His love. So Jesus tells us in today’s gospel.

In the first reading, we see the early Church striving to do just that: Remain in His love, by keeping His Commandments.

Some of the believers focus on the Jewish Law–of which, as Jesus said, no letter or portion of a letter will ever be abolished (cf. Mt. 5:18). According to that Law, new believers should be circumcised.

St. Peter makes an impassioned plea, however, for new Gentile believers not to be burdened with the onus of circumcision–since they have received the Holy Spirit without having met this demand.

So, how is the Church to obey Jesus’ Commandments in this circumstance? How is it to remain in His love?

It turns out, the joyful truth is that remaining in Jesus’ love means welcoming every person, without conditions of culture or national social norms. As Jesus predicted in the Gospel, all sorts of people from all the byways would be welcomed to the wedding feast. Still, they would be thrown right out again if they failed to put on the “wedding garment” of belief in Him, and of His new Law of Charity.

The fruit of the new Commandment of Jesus, to love God and our fellow humans, is beautifully captured in today’s psalm, which captures the joy of welcoming the Gentiles into the flock of Christ: God’s marvelous deeds are proclaimed to all the nations.

So, how do we remain in Jesus’ love? How do we keep His Commandments? Through self-sacrificing love for our brothers and sisters, especially in all that favors their salvation in Christ.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to help you to live a life of selfless service, in obedience to His New Commandment. Ask Him to give you the wisdom to see past human customs and traditions to the heart of what His Law of selfless love requires of you.

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May 5, 2021May 4, 2021

A Spirit of Listening

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

The first apostles ran into the same human struggles that we believers run into today.

In the first reading, we see that Jewish believers held that Gentile converts to Christianity needed to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas debated against this.

How could this discussion come to pass? If all the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, how was there debate? Was the Spirit debating against Himself?

When we sense the Spirit acting in us, especially if we are new to this phenomenon, we can be so impressed and impacted, that we think of ourselves as infallible, guided perfectly by His light.

Upon filling us with Himself, however, the Holy Spirit does not transform us completely with His omnipotence and omniscience, though He does enhance our understanding and will with His gifts. A true sign of a maturity in our relationship with the Holy Spirit is the clear awareness that we are not He; that we are subject to Him, with our continued human frailty and imperfection; and also, that He works in others, to whom we must humbly listen in order to gain in the truth.

We do not hear that the believers in the first reading were scandalized at the differences of opinion that they underwent. Rather, as Paul and Barnabas headed up to Jerusalem to debate the matter further, they were filled with joy at the conversion of the Gentiles, and they spread that joy in all the communities that they visit.

Ultimately, the matter is resolved, in that Gentile converts are not forced to undergo circumcision.

Paul and Barnabas provide a model of humility for us: The presence of the Holy Spirit in us should lead us to listen more attentively, not less so, to the good counsel coming from the hearts of our fellow Christians. And maturity in our relationship with the Holy Spirit is the result of remaining united to Christ, the vine, as described in today’s gospel.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to fill you with His Holy Spirit, and in doing so, with the humble understanding of your ongoing imperfection of judgement and will; and the limitations of your place in the economy of salvation.

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May 4, 2021April 20, 2021

Peace

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

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.”

And the incredible power of that peace is what comes through in the first reading. Because of the explosion of the faith and the numbers of new converts around the time of Pentecost, we can falsely perceive that the faith spread easily in apostolic times, like fire across dry grass. Conversely, St. Paul compares the experience of birthing the faith in His audience to labor pains (cf. Gal. 4:19). Resistance to the Gospel, among Jewish and pagan leaders alike, is impossibly intense, and even where the Apostles are successful, the communities that form are not huge.

And yet, after being stoned and left for dead, St. Paul and his companions rejoice. The travel a wide circuit, and then return to the very location where the stoning occurred. They gather the Christian community together there and recount all the wonders that God has done.

It is not about a lack of hardship, or sheer numbers, that they are rejoicing. Their joy harkens back to Christ’s promise: “My peace I give you. Not as the world gives to I give it to you.” With their hearts united to their Master’s through the Holy Spirit, they see that through their fulfillment of His will, He is reaching those whom He has chosen, those who are prepared to receive His saving message. His will, the will of the sovereign Creator, is being accomplished, and this is enough to bring them great peace.

Is it enough for us to have peace as well? If not, the answer no doubt lies in drawing still closer to His Heart in our daily encounter with Him.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to reveal to you the peace He wants to bring to your heart. Ask Him to remove the obstacles of attachment to your own will and any priorities that do not align to His, through a powerful indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

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May 3, 2021April 20, 2021

Proclamation

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

In a way, the readings of today, on the Feast of St. Philip and James, reach their climax in the psalm.

In today’s gospel, Philip’s horizons are broadened–he asks to see the Father, and Jesus explains His own relationship with the Father. But then He goes on to explain the action of the Father, and of the Son. As the Son proclaims the Kingdom of God, it is the Father in Him doing His works. But then He explains to Philip that His disciples will do even greater works, as He returns to the Father–and that whatever they ask in His name will be done. Philip receives the unexpected explanation that He will extend Jesus’ mission, in a glorious way.

In the first reading, which takes place chronologically after the Gospel passage, we hear how Jesus appeared to the Apostles–and James is mentioned by name. So, Jesus not only empowers His disciples to do greater things than He has done; He also reveals His glorious, resurrected self to them. He empowers them; He reveals Himself to them.

It is in the psalm that we discover what Jesus preparation of His disciples leads to. “Their message goes out to all the earth.” “Through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message.”

This is what we celebrate on today’s feast: That the effect of the empowering of the disciples, and the revelation of the glorious resurrected Christ, is the evangelization of the world. St. Philip and St. James, along with the other Apostles, are the very embodiment of this evangelizing mission.

If Jesus is empowering us and revealing Himself to us in our Christian life, especially our prayer life, He is doing so to equip us to aid Him in the massive and worthy task of the evangelization and salvation of humanity.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Tell Jesus that you don’t want to keep Him all to yourself. Tell Him that you accept His request to focus all the energy of your love on union with God, and also on the evangelization and salvation of your fellow humans. Tell Him that you understand that your spiritual path ultimately leads necessarily to service, and ask Him to help you remain faithful to that call.

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May 2, 2021April 19, 2021

The Vine

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

Jesus gives us the key to bearing fruit for eternity in today’s gospel. Fruit for eternity is nothing more or less than the eternal life of our brothers and sisters; fruit that would not bud and ripen without our contribution.

And what is our contribution? Jesus does not tell us to rush out and conquer the heathen. What is the activity, then, that is key to bearing fruit for eternity?

It is to remain in Him. Far from a passive activity, this is the act of reserving real time to be in conversation with Him every day, and frequent reception of His life in the sacraments. If we receive His life in us in this way on a constant basis, we are joined to Him as our vine; we become His branches that bear fruit.

Branches don’t conjure fruit out of nothing. Nor do they craft it like clay on a potter’s wheel. They simply let the fertile sap of divine life course through them, and the fruit appears from that life in them. Even so, even though it is merely the life of the vine than brings about the fruit, each branch is co-responsible for the fruit, which would not appear in its absence.

“Do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Mt. 10:19-20) The Holy Spirit is that divine life coursing through us.

Observe Barnabas in today’s first reading. Saul the persecutor claimed to have converted to Christianity. Everyone suspected a trick. Barnabas simply went to Saul, took charge of him, and brought him into the fold. How did he know to do that? Through some savvy calculation? No, he knew from the Holy Spirit–from the divine life in Him.

It is that same divine life that provides the confidence in our heart of which John speaks in the second reading, confidence to know that we are pleasing to God in spite of our bewildering and discouraging weaknesses, when we are not in sin.

We don’t need to conjure up a Christian mission for ourselves. If we stay firmly united to the vine, that vine itself will provide it for us. The divine life in us is everything.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Tell Jesus that you want to remain united to Him, the vine, but are very conscious that you are able to fall away in your weakness. Ask Him to take charge of keeping you forever one with Him.

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May 1, 2021April 19, 2021

Randomness

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

We may think ill of Philip for demanding of Jesus that He show him the Father. After all, Jesus had been working miracles in His Father’s name for a long time now. Did Philip not realize that the Father was with Him? As Jesus Himself asks, ““Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip?”

But in a way, Philip’s wanting that extra bit of encouragement is understandable. It happens to us, too. No matter how much we have experienced Christ in our own lives, the pitiless randomness of the hand of evil and of misfortune is a formidable power to shake our faith. How can I believe myself to be protected by the hand of Providence, when so much random evil seems to befall me? Not to mention the evils that happen to so many others in the world?

Evil is real, and it does have a certain random pitilessness to it. When evil was introduced into the world with original sin, a massive rupture in nature came with it, that makes our lives in many ways a misery. This earth as a dwelling place is, as an ancient hymn calls it, a “valley of tears.”

In promising His providential action in our lives, God does not promise to eliminate all suffering in our lives, and all misfortune. To do so would be to reverse human freedom by eliminating its effects.

But, as St. Paul says, we know that “all things work for good for those who love God.” For those who love God, He curates their lives so intimately, attentively, and personally, that all that befalls them becomes an occasion of grace and even joy.

So we see it to be in the first reading, when St. Paul and St. Barnabas are preaching. The Jewish leaders shout them down to the point that the preachers announce that they are moving on to the Gentiles with their message–and the Gentiles rejoice. Then, those same leaders stir up the faithful Jewish people to initiate a persecution, and Paul and Barnabas are exiled, right as they are starting to reach the hearts of the Gentiles.

Yet, curiously, the two saints’ reaction is not one of anger and frustration–though they did shake the dust from their feet in protest, per Jesus’ command in the Gospel (cf. Mt. 10:14). Rather, they “were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” They sensed the action and plan of the Holy Spirit leading them on the path of Providence, even amid the evil that befell them.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus for unshakable faith, that no evil or misfortune can threaten. Tell Him that you are ready to walk the path that He walked, subject to the randomness and evil of the world, and to carry your cross behind Him. And, tell Him that you trust Him to take care of you.

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April 30, 2021April 16, 2021

The Path

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

Jesus pronounces consoling words in today’s gospel.

He is preparing a place for us; there are many mansions in His Father’s house. There is no shortage, whereby we need to compete for a place.

Those of us who are realistic about the path of salvation know that it is a narrow one, and difficult to follow, per Jesus’ own words (cf. Mt. 7:14). Many, perhaps per Jesus’ words the majority, do not find it. Thomas seems a little anxious about this today in the gospel: “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”

But then Jesus gives us one of His most consoling utterances in the whole Gospel, because it is made in the context of a discussion of the path of salvation: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

We all know that we can gravely sin and thereby choose eternal condemnation and suffering. This can seem terrifyingly possible at times. But is immensely consoling to know too that as long as we cling actively to Jesus, who is the Way, He will not allow us to go astray or make choices for our own condemnation.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Tell Jesus about your greatest fears regarding eternal life, both for you and for your loved ones. Then, give these fears completely to Jesus, and tell Him you trust Him to keep you on the path that you want to be on.

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