Fr Kevin Kilgore

***

Gospel: Matthew 5: 1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 
He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

The Saints are the merciful, the clean of heart, and the peacemakers, whom Jesus blesses in today’s Gospel.

Some examples include: 

Peter, the first Pope, who led the Church on earth for thirty years, then offered his own life for Jesus on a cross.

Paul, the greatest missionary of his time, who walked an estimated 10,000 miles on foot spreading the Gospel.

Francis of Assisi, an instrument of God’s peace, who rebuilt the spirit of the Church.

And Teresa of Calcutta, a modern-day Saint, who showed the world how to love the poor.

These men and women changed the world. And, rightly, they’re revered as Saints.

***

But most of the Saints were ordinary men and women like us.

Saint Conrad was a doorman. For 40 years, he stood and welcomed pilgrims to a Marian shrine in Germany.

Saint Zita was a cook.

Other Saints were barbers, farmers, maids, soldiers, and soccer players. 

There’s nothing extraordinary about what they did: we can all welcome people coming to church, cook a meal in our soup kitchen, till the land in our backyard, or kick a soccer ball.

What’s the difference? What made them Saints? 

***

They did ordinary tasks with extraordinary love, living out that great prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi. We’ve heard it many times, but maybe a particular line will strike you today:

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.”

Bring the love of God wherever you go today, and you, too, can be a saint.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Catechist’s Journey, Loyola Press (2) Living Stones (3) QuoteFancy

***

Gospel: Luke 13: 18-21

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?
To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.
When it was fully grown, it became a large bush
and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.“

Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
It is like yeast that a woman took
and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

There’s a story of an early Christian hermit, whose name was Telemachus. He dedicated his life to prayer, living in the desert. One day, he felt the Lord calling him to Rome.

So, Telemachus left his desert cell and made his way to the Colosseum, where he witnessed gladiators fighting to their death, while bloodthirsty crowds cheered them on.

He was horrified.

Telemachus literally threw himself into the arena and tried physically separating one gladiator from another. Enraged, the crowds started throwing stones at him until he was beaten to death.

When the emperor got word of the story, he was so moved that he eventually ended the gladiator games.

***

Telemachus became like the mustard seed in today’s Gospel. He was the smallest of seeds, the most unimportant of people, but he changed an entire culture – and saved innocent lives.

***

It’s also the story of the Church.

What began with the Twelve Apostles has exploded into a community of more than 1 billion Catholics around the world – a growth of more than 1 million percent!

***

What does this say to us?

If one person can change an entire culture, if twelve can change the world, then imagine what the Lord might do through us.

See yourself like a mustard seed – small on its own, but with God, a force to be reckoned with. 

***

***

Image credits: (1) Catholic Medical Mission Board (2) Media Storehouse (3) Desert Streams Ministries

***

Gospel: Luke 13: 10-17

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.
And a woman was there who for eighteen years
had been crippled by a spirit;
she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,
“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath,
said to the crowd in reply,
“There are six days when work should be done.
Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”
The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites!
Does not each one of you on the sabbath
untie his ox or his ass from the manger
and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,
ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day
from this bondage?”
When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated;
and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Why must Jesus break the Law?

***

It was forbidden to do any work on the Sabbath. Even healing a woman bound by Satan for 18 years was considered “work.”

If she’d been hunched over for that long, then why couldn’t Jesus just wait a day and keep the peace?

***

His heart burned with compassion. There was an urgency in him; when the Lord saw how much this woman suffered, he simply had to act.

But Jesus also wanted to stand in contrast to the religious authorities, whose hearts were chilled by legalism. They cared more about following man-made rules than caring for a neighbor in need. So, Jesus teaches them a foundational lesson in faith.

Faith without works is dead.

We cannot please God while ignoring those who suffer.

***

I’m sure we all know someone who’s hunched over like this woman.

Their backs are nearly breaking because of loneliness; stress; isolation; fear; or some other burden.

Do our hearts burn with compassion for them like the Lord’s does?

Even a simple phone call; a kind word of encouragement; or a generous tip at dinner can lighten another person’s burden.

***

Today’s Gospel reminds us: love for God frequently expresses itself through love of neighbor.

So, how might I put my faith into action today? 

***

***

Image credits: (1) Faith Magazine (2) Pinterest (3) Pixels