Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, “A great prophet has arisen in our midst,” and “God has visited his people.” This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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I wonder what moved Jesus to perform this miracle.
Usually, he heals someone after a display of faith: think of Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law, or the Centurion’s servant, or the paralytic lowered to the feet of Jesus by his friends.
In each case, someone else took the initiative, asking for Christ to offer his healing power.
But today Jesus takes the initiative. He breaks into a funeral procession, brings a dead man back to life, then hands him back to his mother. Why would he be compelled do this?
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Perhaps he saw his own future – and by extension, Mary’s future – that day.
The Gospel tells us that this woman was a widow. After burying her son, she’d have neither her husband nor her child to provide for her, meaning she’d be reduced to a life of begging.
Maybe Jesus saw his mother, Mary, in that weeping widow’s face.
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Consider another interesting detail.
People have been raised from the dead before. In the Old Testament, for example, the prophets Elijah and Elisha both brought a person back to life. But they were only able to do so afterpraying to God.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus doesn’t pray. He simply says, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
Meaning, the same power given to Elijah and Elisha by God is already present in Jesus, which causes some within the crowd to exclaim, “God has visited his people!”
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God still visits his people through us. So, how might we extend his compassion to widows or those grieving today?
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Image credits: (1) Admiral Farragut Academy (2) pravmir.com (3) Community Tool Box, The University of Kansas
Brothers and sisters: In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact that your meetings are doing more harm than good. First of all, I hear that when you meet as a Church there are divisions among you, and to a degree I believe it; there have to be factions among you in order that also those who are approved among you may become known. When you meet in one place, then, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper, for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper, and one goes hungry while another gets drunk. Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink? Or do you show contempt for the Church of God and make those who have nothing feel ashamed? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I do not praise you.
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my Body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my Blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
The Word of the Lord.
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Saint Paul admonishes the Corinthians more than any other Christian community that he formed.
In today’s first reading, for example, he criticizes them for being divided, drunk, and arrogant. “In this matter,” he says, “I do not praise you.”
What makes the Corinthians’ behavior so serious is the fact that they’re acting in this way, either instead of – or even while – celebrating Mass.
Paul warns them not to “eat the Body or drink the Blood of the Lord in vain,” lest they bring judgment upon themselves.
“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,” he says, “that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my Body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
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There are times when we all make mistakes, as the Corinthians did, which is why we begin Mass by calling to mind our sins.
When Mass begins, how aware are we of our need for the Lord’s mercy? Do we ever receive communion out of routine, forgetting it’s the Body and Blood of the Lord?
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Prior to communion, the priest always prays silently at the altar, “May the receiving of your Body and Blood, Lord Jesus Christ, not bring me to judgment and condemnation, but through your loving mercy be for me protection in mind and body, and a healing remedy.”
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May we all echo those words today, thanking God for the Mass and praising Him for his mercy is without end.
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Image credits: (1) (2) The Last Supper, Juan de Juanes (3) To Jesus Sincerely
Then he said, “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns, who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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How many of us adults have said, “I can’t believe I did that as a kid!”??
Safely into our adulthood, we look back upon the foolish things we did as children, and wonder why we ever did it… or how we got away with it… or even how we survived.
Now, I won’t give any examples lest the younger ones get some ideas!
But we all know youngsters can do the most foolish things. How many parents here today have said to your child, “You did what!?!”
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One reason why children do foolish things is because their brains are still developing. While this doesn’t eliminate responsibility, psychologists say that the human brain – and by extension, the human conscience – isn’t fully developed until the age of 25.
It takes time – decades – for humans to fully grasp the consequences of their actions and the effect our decisions have on other people. It’s one reason why youngsters occasionally get into trouble, even those with a good head on their shoulders.
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Consider the Prodigal Son in today’s Gospel. I’d imagine he’s somewhere between his teenage and young adult years.
On the surface, he seems to have everything he needs – a loving father, a roof over his head, and food on the table.
But he feels his life is claustrophobic; he sees not what he has, but what he thinks he doesn’t have… his freedom.
He’s desperate to break out. To discover the world. To live life on his own.
However, there’s something holding him back: he needs money. Presuming his father’s wealth, accumulated over years of hard work, automatically belongs to him, he says, “Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.”
Normally, the son would’ve received his inheritance after his father’s death. But he wants it now. So, he says, basically, “Dad, I wish you were dead.”
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Like a foolish kid, the boy fails to recognize the consequences of his actions. He’s broken his father’s heart, he’s risking his own life, he’s wasting hard earned money, and he’s leaving all of his responsibilities to someone else on the farm.
He’s terribly self-centered, living in a world of “me,” not “we.”
But his father lets him go. Forcing him to stay would only deepen his sense of imprisonment. But he’s not a slave. He’s free – as we all are.
So, off he goes to find some first century form of Las Vegas, where he can eat, drink, and, supposedly, be merry.
Crushed, his father must’ve prayed that all of those seeds of love he planted in his son’s heart would one day inspire him to return.
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Jesus tells us that God has that same type of anguish over us whenever we fall spiritually, exercise poor judgement, or experience a moral lapse.
God lets us go. Our free will allows us to make wrong choices, even decisions that hurt other people. Still, God never stops loving us. He never stops scanning the hills, waiting – hoping – we will come home.
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Imagine this father leaving his lantern lit in the window at night, just in case his son returns. That little flame burning bright symbolizes his love, his constant awareness of his son’s absence, his eagerness to forgive him.
When his son arrives, his father never asks him where he’s been or what he’s done; he simply embraces him with inexpressible joy.
Similarly, there is nothing that we can do to keep God from kissing us, from embracing us, from wrapping the finest robe around our bodies, and putting sandals on our feet.
But that embrace presumes we’ve repented, leaving our sins behind.
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Like the Prodigal Son, when have I made a foolish decision? Or been tempted to leave my Father’s embrace?
Or not foreseen the consequences my actions have on other people?
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Imagine the prodigal son years later, maybe a father himself, looking back, saying, “I can’t believe I did that as a kid!” Finally, he’s learned there’s no place like home.
The same is true for us. Ultimately, nothing in this world can satisfy our hungry hearts. As Saint Augustine reminds us, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O Lord.”
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Image credits: (1) Return of the Prodigal Son, Pompeo Batoni (2) Diana Leagh Matthews (3) Pinterest
