Fr Kevin Kilgore

***

Ephesians 1: 1-10

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
to the holy ones who are in Ephesus
and faithful in Christ Jesus:
grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.

In Christ we have redemption by his Blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.

The Word of the Lord.

***

***

Saint Ignatius, whose feast day we celebrate today, was the bishop of Antioch, located in modern-day Turkey.

He lived as part of the second generation of Christians, who followed in the tradition of Saint Paul by writing pastoral letters to various Christian communities. (As Paul does in our first reading today).

Like Paul, Ignatius was martyred in Rome – he was mauled by lions: and we can still read the text of his letters today.

***

One of the great insights Ignatius offers us is the early Christian belief in the Eucharist.

In his Letter to the Romans, he writes, “I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ… and for drink, I desire his blood.”

Elsewhere, in his Letter to the Smyrnaeans, he writes plainly, “The Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ.”

***

Ignatius offered his life for this belief. Because of his witness, and other Christians like him, the sacrifice of the Mass has been handed on to Christians for two-thousand years, even to us here today.

May Ignatius intercede on our behalf that we, too, would see Christ fully present in the Eucharist, profess our faith publicly, and find ways to hand on this – our one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic faith to the next generation.

Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr, pray for us.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Catholic News Agency (2) Southampton City Art Gallery (3) Catholic Answers Shop

***

Gospel: Luke 11: 42-46

The Lord said:
“Woe to you Pharisees!
You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
Woe to you Pharisees!
You love the seat of honor in synagogues
and greetings in marketplaces.  
Woe to you!
You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”

Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply,
“Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.”
And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law!
You impose on people burdens hard to carry,
but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

In the Old Testament, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, which the Israelites were invited to follow as a sign of their covenantal relationship. Examples ranged from keeping the Sabbath holy to honoring one’s mother and father.

As time passed, the religious authorities meticulously interpreted how these commandments should be followed, lest a person sin. 

As a result, the list of commandments ballooned from 10 to over 600! Keeping every single one of them became tedious, expensive, and frankly, exhausting.

This is not the point of religion.

Our relationship with God is meant to be life-giving, not oppressive and burdensome, which is why Jesus is so critical of the scribes and Pharisees, who essentially hijacked their religion. 

***

“Woe to you!” he says. “You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” 

Just as a person was rendered ritually impure after touching a grave – and therefore unable to worship God for seven days – interacting with these religious authorities left a person spiritually dead.

***

Perhaps this leaves us something to ponder: How are we different from the scribes and Pharisees? In what ways does this faith community lead others towards – not away from – God?

And elsewhere – in our families, in the workplace, in our social circles – how do we make God known in gentle, merciful ways?

***

This is the role of a Christian: to be a bridge-builder, not a bridge-burner, between the human and divine.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Christian Ethics Today (2) Jesus With the Scribes and Pharisees, Missio Dei, Public Domain (3) Church in the Valley

***

Gospel: Luke 11: 37-41

After Jesus had spoken,
a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home.
He entered and reclined at table to eat.
The Pharisee was amazed to see
that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish,
inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
You fools!
Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Saint Teresa of Avila, whose feast day we celebrate today, is one of the great female theologians in the Church.

In fact, she holds the distinct honor of being a Doctor of the Church, meaning her teachings and writings are of particular importance or theological depth.

One of her most popular works is The Interior Castle, where she likens the soul to a castle made of a single diamond. Within that castle, there are seven different rooms, each one leading a soul closer to God. 

Outside of this castle, there are venomous creatures that spend their existence trying to prevent us from ever entering within, reducing us to a shallow existence.

***

In today’s Gospel, Jesus accuses a Pharisee of never entering his “interior castle,” because his understanding of religion is built entirely upon the externals of the Law.

For example, according to the Law, a person’s hands had to be washed in between each course of a meal.

First, water had to run down one’s hands from the wrists to the finger tips. Then the palms were to be cleansed by rubbing them together with more water. Then water had to run down the hands third time.

For a Pharisee, to omit even the slightest detail of handwashing was considered a sin. 

At this particular dinner, Jesus leaves his hands unwashed to prove a point. If this Pharisee were half as committed to purifying his heart as he was to washing his hands, then he’d be a saint! 

In modern lingo, we might accuse him of being religious, but not spiritual; he’s law-abiding, but not compassionate. As Jesus says to him, “You cleanse the outside, but inside you are filled with plunder and evil.”

This poor man’s interior castle is dusty and dark.

***

What is my own inner life like? Do I find myself inching my way closer to God? Or is my devotion weakened by temptation, fear, or worldly attachments?

***

The ultimate meaning of life, Teresa says, is to experience union with our Creator who loved us into existence.

With Teresa’s intercession, how might we move even deeper into our interior castle today?

***

***

Image credits: (1) Saint Teresa of Avila, Catholic Online (2) Bodiam Castle, East Sussex, England, iStock (3) Rooted Thinking