Author: admin

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Suffering can bring out the best in us.

Think about how united our nation seemed after the horrific tragedy of 9/11. 

Or consider how so many in the Bahamas responded to Hurricane Dorian. Neighbors risked their lives looking for survivors; people rationed their food and water to ensure others could live another day.

It’s a strange truth, but often enough when we suffer together the best in us comes out. There’s always strength in numbers.

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Consider what happens to the Israelites in our first reading. 

They’re being attacked by a foreign army – a terrifying sight. But instead of retreating, they band together.

Imagine these otherwise ordinary fathers and sons marching into battle, adrenaline pumping through their veins, swords raised high, shouting chants of valor.

They know they’re outnumbered, but they’re not afraid. Off in the distance is the prophet Moses, standing high upon a hill, his hands wrapped around his staff, his arms raised in prayer.

Every time Moses raises his staff, Israel advances forward. 

But whenever he lowers it they begin to lose. This staff, which Moses calls the “staff of God,” gives Israel the strength they need to win.

But Moses begins to tire. Though Israel is depending upon him, he simply cannot keep his arms raised for the duration of the battle.

He’s not only tired from aging and frequent fighting; he’s also tired from battling the infidelity of his own people. Time and again Israel puts Moses to the test.

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Maybe some of us have felt like Moses.

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We find ourselves in the midst of a battle, some personal challenge that has worn us down. Though our hands were once raised high in prayer, it’s difficult to endure.

We’ve become weary.

Maybe we’ve tried repeatedly to forgive someone, to grow in patience, to become sober, to stay healthy, to stay in a marriage. 

Though we once raised our hands high in prayer like Moses, our arms have begun to drop. 

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Enter the second half of the story. 

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Realizing that Moses is weary, Aaron and Hur come to his aid. They bring him a rock to sit upon and hold his arms up high for him until the battle is won.

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Herein lies the lesson for us.

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We’re not meant to endure our challenges in life alone. Just as Israel was unfairly attacked, often enough bad luck or unfortunate circumstances cross our path.

Think of the thousands of families affected by 9/11 or those reeling in the Bahamas.

Even locally, there are 900,000 people in New Jersey who are “food insecure.” 

As Pat Braun mentioned to our parish in the announcements last weekend, there are thousands of people around us – all within 10 miles of here – in need of a helping hand.

As their brothers and sisters in Christ, we have the opportunity to hold their arms up, so to speak, to lift their burdens through organizations like SOS, our parish outreach program. 

On an even more personal level, there may be some present here at Mass in need of our support, someone to hold their arms up in prayer while enduring a particular trial.

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Who has helped me in my hour of need?

And with a grateful heart, how might I help another person, whether it’s someone in my family, a friend, or someone I encounter through SOS?

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Picture a weary Moses being supported by Aaron and Hur. They stay with him until the battle is won. Victory was a team effort.

In a similar way, we must band together. No matter how big or small our burdens may be, we can lift almost any burden together; there’s always strength in numbers.

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Saint Ignatius of Antioch, whose feast day we celebrate today, was one of the very first Christian martyrs, mauled to death by lions in a stadium in Rome.

All for love of Jesus.

Before his death, Ignatius wrote many letters to various Christian communities, making some of the earliest references to the practice of the Eucharist, teaching us that the very first Christians did in fact celebrate Mass.

They believed the Eucharist was the promised presence of Christ, which gave people like Ignatius the strength they needed to endure the many trials of life and faith, including being mauled to death.

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But perhaps his most famous quote was this:

“Do not have Jesus Christ on your lips and the world in your heart.”

Much easier said than done.

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The scribes and Pharisees never learned this lesson. They spoke of God, but were obsessed with things of this world – money, power,  image, and so on.

They were religious on the outside, but were spiritually dead within. Their religion was one of appearances, hence the “woes” from Jesus in today’s Gospel.

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While it’s easy to criticize these religious figures from long ago or even some in our present day, we, too, face the same temptation – namely to, “have Jesus Christ on our lips but the world in our hearts.”

In what ways am I still drawn to the world – be it a desire for success, pride or pleasure?

And how might I cling to the will of God, instead?

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We may not be mauled like Ignatius, but we are all attacked by doubt, temptation, and fear from time to time. May the same Lord who inspired Ignatius of Antioch inspire us to follow him this day, amen.

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How many of us have seen the newly released documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old? 

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Using real footage from World War One, the movie weaves together seamlessly horrific images of war with very human stories of youth and friendship.

As one commander remarked, “When they came to us, they were frightened children. They had to be made into soldiers.” 

Some were as young as 15.

Watching these boys scramble through muddy trenches together while under fire made it easier to understand the old adage, “There are no atheists in foxholes.”

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While not universally true, suffering has a way stripping away the things that divide us. 

In fact, suffering can unite us.

That’s been true in foxholes, cancer wards, the Bahamas, and even in today’s Gospel.

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In the Gospel, ten people are afflicted with leprosy, a devastating disease that cripples your hands and feet and makes your skin look like it’s boiling. 

Nine of the people with leprosy were Jewish. And one of them was a Samaritan.

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Jews and Samaritans hated each other.

Any honorable Jew in good health would never associate with a lowly Samaritan; Samaritans were losers.

Yet we find this Samaritan welcomed into the colony of the nine. Why?

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Leprosy destroyed their prejudice. 

Like dodging bullets in a foxhole, these men were united in their suffering. They were no longer Samaritan or Jew; they were brothers.

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That’s a lesson every society could learn from, including our own.

Think of how much time is spent in the news cycle or at the water cooler talking about how different we are.

We’re divided along racial, social, political, economic, and religious lines. But when these externalities are stripped away, we’re all the same within.

On the surface, we could say every person is made in the image and likeness of God – and therefore equal.

But is there something else, even something more uncomfortable, which unites us?

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Sin.

As Saint Paul says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Though our sins may be different and vary in frequency, at some point each of us has been guilty of judging our neighbor, either with disdain or a jealous eye.

What the Gospel challenges us to do, then, is to let go of any prejudice or judgment in our hearts, accepting the fact that we’re all in need of redemption. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God.

Instead of seeing what divides us, then, focus on what unites us – namely our need for redemption.

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The other side of the coin is this: we’re also in need of love.

That cranky neighbor, the rebellious teenager, and the person who unfairly cuts you off on the road – they’re all like me…they’re all like you. 

They’re all sinners in need of love.

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How much time do I spend thinking about the faults of others? 

And how might I shift that focus to loving my neighbor instead?

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“There are no atheists in foxholes.” Nor are they black or white, rich or poor; they’re a band of brothers. Their suffering unites them.

Similarly, there should be no judgment among Christians. We know we’re all in need of redemption and love.

Seeing ourselves as equals before God, how might we better love one another this week?