Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Luke 11: 14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, 
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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In 1954, William Golding published a novel about a group of boys stuck on a remote Pacific Island.

Their makeshift community quickly deteriorated into chaos as the boys’ worst instincts overtook any sense of common good.

They fought amongst themselves for power, food, and survival.

That inner demon stifling the boys’ unity was known as the, “lord of the flies,” which also provided the book’s title.

Golding used this idea – the “lord of the flies” – to describe that malicious instinct seemingly written into our human nature, dating back to the Book of Genesis. 

Consider what happened to the first set of brothers on earth, Cain and Abel. 

When God found Abel’s sacrifice to be more pleasing than Cain’s, the “lord of the flies” took over; Cain killed his brother Abel in a jealous rage.

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This same cynical instinct is at work in the Gospels.

Jesus is doing something incredible – he’s driving a demon out of a tortured man! Instead of celebrating the good that Jesus is doing, some within the crowds accuse him of cozying up to the devil himself.

“By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons,” they say.

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That “lord of the flies” instinct, which disregards our neighbor’s good, still arises within us.

Common examples include gossip; tarnishing a person’s reputation; speeding or cutting other drivers off the road; being rude or ungrateful.

It’s a humbling point, but the Gospel invites us to consider ways in which we work against our neighbor or the common good, then counteract that impulse with charity.

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What is something kind, positive, or generous that I can do for someone else today? How can I work for greater unity in the world around me?

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This is what makes us pleasing in the Lord’s eyes – striving to be our better selves.

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Saint Bruno, whose feast day we celebrate today, was the founder of the Carthusian order in the 11^th century.

They follow the strictest rule of life in the Church.

Carthusians live in one of twenty-five monasteries peppered throughout the world, mostly tucked away in the mountains. Each monk is given a cell set apart from their other religious brothers or sisters, living out their life in near total silence.

The monks only gather as a community on three occasions: to pray Morning and Evening Prayer, and to share a meal on great liturgical feasts, such as Christmas and Easter.

Why do the Carthusians insist upon living in such prolonged silence? Or, more importantly, what can they teach us today?

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They remind us that the most difficult battle we face often lies within. Mastering our own spiritual life is, in a sense, the beginning and end of the Christian journey.

Instead of judging the actions of other people, we should begin by looking at ourselves. 

So much of the good and the evil that takes place in our world starts as a tiny seed planed in someone’s heart.

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In the silence, we are able to discern the will of God, ridding ourselves of anything displeasing to Him, while embracing what is good.

In honor of St. Bruno, perhaps we can all spend a few moments in silence today, seeking to better understand ourselves.

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Saint Bruno, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Into Great Silence (2) Into Great Silence

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Gospel: Mark 10: 2-16

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
“Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” 
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?” 
They replied,
“Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her.”
But Jesus told them,
“Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment. 
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh. 
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate.” 
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. 
He said to them,
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery.”

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
“Let the children come to me;
do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these. 
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it.”
Then he embraced them and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When I first read this Gospel passage, my mind drifted to an old Rodney Dangerfield comedy skit, when he turned to the audience and said:

“My wife tells me she’s leaving me.”

To which I responded, “What, is there somebody else?”

She said, “There’s gotta be!”

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When confronted with hard teachings from Jesus, it’s always helpful to start with a little humor.

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But the Pharisees had a knack for asking Jesus questions for which there was no good answer. They were always rooted in the controversial topics of his day:

“Teacher, if a woman marries seven different brothers, whose wife will she be in the resurrection?”

“Should we pay taxes to the emperor?”

And today, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

If Jesus were living in 21^st century America, the Pharisees might ask him, “Teacher, are you a Democrat or a Republican? What is your stance on immigration? COVID? The vaccine? The Second Amendment?”

Any answer Jesus gives will get him in trouble with someone. Today’s Gospel is no exception. 

Ultimately, what the Pharisees are doing is pitting Jesus against two different sides: God’s perfect dream for humanity versus the reality we all live in: a post-Garden of Eden, imperfect world.

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I remember being ten years old sitting on my living room couch after school, trying to process the sudden and surprising truth that my own parents were getting divorced.

That taught me a tough lesson: nobody’s perfect, not even the adults I idealized most, my parents.

But no one lives up to God’s ideals in every facet of life; we all fall short somewhere. Divorce is only one example.

Perhaps the best approach, then, is to honor both sides: to embrace God’s dream for us while also acknowledging the fact that, in spite of our best efforts, we’re still imperfect.

We’re all broken somewhere and need to be put back together. 

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The Japanese have a fascinating art form called Kintsugi. 

When a dish breaks, for example, they don’t just throw it away and buy another one. They piece it back together using glue mixed with gold.

They say that breakage and repair are all part of the history of that object. The focus is not on why the object broke, but on the fact that it was restored.

I find that to be a beautiful way to understand Christianity, and the difference that God can make in our lives.

Like a broken bowl, haven’t we all been cracked beneath the surface somewhere?

Whether our marriage has ended in heartbreak, we are overcome by addiction, we struggle with loneliness or low self-esteem, or we feel the pain of loss, life has a way of breaking us.

But broken hearts – and by extension, broken lives – can be restored. It’s what our faith is all about.

“For I did not come to call the righteous,” Jesus says, “but sinners.” The broken ones. The ones who understand their need for God’s mercy.

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So, where are the cracks in our moral or spiritual lives? In what ways are we broken?

Or, better said, in what ways do we need to be put back together?

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The Pharisees had a knack for asking Jesus questions for which there was no good answer. Their mission, it seems, was to box him into a corner. Because of their hardness of heart, God couldn’t do any good for them.

But we who see Jesus as the Divine Healer can be put back together. Those marks of gold and glue become part of our story – and, I’m sure, a beautiful one at that.

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Image credits: (1) Pantocrator (2) Rayden Solicitors (3) The Expulsion of Adam and Eve, National Gallery of Art (4) Onmanorama