Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.”
And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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The Japanese have a fascinating custom called Kintsugi.
When an object breaks, they don’t throw it away; rather, they piece it back together using gold flecked with glue. They say that breakage and repair are all part of the history of the object; the focus is not on the breakage, but on the fact that the object was repaired.
In fact, some artists will intentionally break an object in order to celebrate the art of restoration.
Or, using today’s Gospel imagery, the art of forgiveness.
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Much like breathing, forgiveness is an exercise essential to healthy living in this world, because none of us is perfect. We’ve all made mistakes; we all carry regret; we’ve all been hurt.
Sometimes, we need to forgive people – even those who are not sorry – in order to expel any anger from our heart. But today Jesus addresses a fuller exercise of forgiveness whereby there is reconciliation.
“If your brother or sister repents,” he says, “forgive them.”
Forgiveness in this sense acknowledges there’s been a break in a relationship, but both parties desire to repair it.
The Apostles acknowledge how hard it can be to let hurt feelings go, even if the other person is sorry, causing them to cry out, “Increase our faith!”
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May God soften our hearts, so that our outlook is never centered on the fact that we’ve been broken.
Rather, on the possibility of being restored.
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Image credits: (1) Cara Ray’s (2) Zen Art Gallery (3) Our Sunday Visitor
Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me. At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome.
This feast is unusual because we’re not celebrating a person or an event; rather, a building. A church. In fact, the most important church in the world. Not Saint Peter’s as some might expect, but another church in Rome, Saint John Lateran.
Etched into the façade of the church’s entrance are the words, “The mother and head of all the churches of the city and of the world.”
It’s the oldest church in the Western world dating back to 324 AD, and is the official cathedral of Rome. It may seem like an abstract feast to us, but diving into the church’s history may, in fact, lead to a fruitful meditation for our own lives today.
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Over the course of 1700 years, the church of Saint John Lateran suffered from destruction and deterioration. At the end of the 9th century, it was nearly split in half by an earthquake. Two fires in the 14th century almost torched it to the ground.
During World War Two, it served as a safe haven and bomb shelter for victims of war. And more recently, it was damaged by bombs planted by the Mafia.
In spite of all the calamities it has suffered, that church stands strong and tall. It has been renewed, even rebuilt, while preserving its ancient roots, serving as a rich symbol of the Catholic Church itself.
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We all know the Catholic Church has endured various trials, even in our own time – from the earthquake of public scandal, ruining the faith of many, to the persecution of innocent Christians.
In fact, more Christians were killed in the 20th century than all previous centuries combined!
In spite of these challenges, the Church survives and, often enough, thrives. Yet, there are also times when it needs to be rebuilt. As the Lord said to Francis of Assisi some 800 years ago, “Rebuild my Church.”
It’s a call the Lord is renewing in our modern age. “Rebuild my Church!”
We hear this call echo within our own Archdiocese. Many of you have heard me speak about Cardinal Tobin’s strategic plan, We Are His Witnesses.
Over the last several decades, a variety of factors have eaten away at the religious appetite in America, leading to a general decline in Mass attendance, Sacraments, and priestly ordinations.
As a result, we as a Church need to ask ourselves, “How can we evangelize – how can we hand on – our Catholic faith to the next generation? And how can we bring those back who have left? How can we be his witnesses?”
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We must learn what Saint Francis once did: Church renewal is not a matter of stacking stones or replacing roofs.
Zeal for Christ must consume us.
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus causes quite the stir.
Imagine tables being overturned; coins bouncing across the floor; turtledoves flapping their wings, rattling their cages; nervous bystanders staring with their jaws dropped; tempers flaring; and Jesus in the center of it all, chasing moneychangers out with a whip!
He knew his actions would provoke a response. Seeds for plotting his death were planted. Irate, the religious leaders question Christ’s authority after he makes the wild claim that the Temple would be destroyed and rebuilt in three days.
With hindsight, the disciples realize that the Lord was speaking about the temple of his body.
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Although Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that the cleansing of the Temple took place at the very end of Jesus’ public ministry, and likely so, John places it at the very beginning, reminding us that this is one of the first things a “zealous” disciple must do:
Clean house; turn tables; remove things that prevent us from keeping God as first in our lives, to the point we can say with Saint Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ living in me.”
Is there a table or two – an attitude, a habit, a sin – that needs to be overturned within me?
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It was this type of zealous faith that led to the construction, even reconstruction, of Saint John Lateran. In spite of earthquakes, fires, even dirty bombs, generations of faithful Catholics have preserved this precious house of worship.
But they also understood that which is truly irreplaceable is not some architectural masterpiece.
But the faith that built it.
It’s the same faith that has renewed our parish, and can renew our Archdiocese.
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May zeal for Christ consume us, for We are His Witnesses, the living stones of the Church, the Body of Christ on earth.
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Of all the Gospel parables, this is the most difficult one to understand. Why would Jesus praise a dishonest steward?
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Recognizing that his master is about to fire him, the dishonest steward devises a plan, not only to repay some of his master’s debts, but also to forge business relationships of his own, securing his future.
When facing a crisis, this steward is shrewd, bold, and creative.
Jesus laments that people are often not as concerned about facing the spiritual crisis of divine judgment and eternal life. “The children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation,” he says, “than the children of light.”
It’s a temptation anyone can succumb to, striving for material growth and worldly success more than for eternal life.
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Without faith, this will always be true.
But Christians recognize that we must live with split vision. We face the same concerns as the rest of society – work, bills, family, leisure – but we must also keep an eye on spiritual growth, which begs the question:
Is my vision balanced? Do I work as hard at being a good Christian as I do at being successful?
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Consider a few concrete examples.
Some men pride themselves on being good mechanics; they believe they can fix anything. Jesus might ask us today, “Brothers, are you as good at fixing the wounds in your family or the wounds in your heart as you are at fixing the kitchen sink?”
Many women pride themselves on their ability to dress well or to turn their house into a tastefully decorated home. The Lord might ask them, “Sisters, are you equally as creative in cultivating Christian virtues – charity, patience, and forgiveness?”
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“The children of this world are prudent,” Jesus says. They’ll do whatever it takes to succeed.
May we be as prudent – if not more – in caring for our souls.
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Image credits: (1) Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (2) TableTalk Magazine (3) Amazon.com
