DAILY READING and REFLECTIONS For Wednesday, November 12, 2014 32nd Week in Ordinary Time - Psalter Week 4 (Red) Feast of Saint Josephat, Bishop and Martyr Readings: Tit 3:1-7; Ps 23:1-6; Lk 17:11-19 Response: The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. Rosary: Glorious Mysteries Verse: Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you. SAINT OF THE DAY: Saint Josephat of Polotsk, Bishop and Martyr Birth: 1580 - Death: 1623 Josaphat, an Eastern Rite bishop, is held up as a martyr to church unity because he died trying to bring part of the Orthodox Church into union with Rome. In 1054, a formal split called a schism took place between the Eastern Church centered in Constantinople and the Western Church centered in Rome. Trouble between the two had been brewing for centuries because of cultural, political, and theological differences. In 1054 Cardinal Humbert was sent to Constantinople to try and reconcile the latest flare up and wound up excommunicating the patriarch. The immediate problems included an insistence on the Byzantine rite, married clergy, and the disagreement on whether the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son. The split only grew worse from there, centering mostly on whether to except the authority of the Pope and Rome. More than five centuries later, in what is now known as Byelorussia and the Ukraine but what was then part of Poland-Lithuania, an Orthodox metropolitan of Kiev and five Orthodox bishops decided to commit the millions of Christians under their pastoral care to reunion with Rome. Josaphat Kunsevich who was born in 1580 or 1584 was still a young boy when the Synod of Brest Litovsk took place in 1595-96, but he was witness to the results both positive and negative. Many of the millions of Christians did not agree with the bishops decision to return to communion with the Catholic Church and both sides tried to resolve this disagreement unfortunately not only with words but with violence. Martyrs died on both sides. Josaphat was a voice of Christian peace in this dissent. After an apprenticeship to a merchant, Josaphat turned down a partnership in the business and a marriage to enter the monastery of the Holy Trinity at Vilna in 1604. As a teenager he had found encouragement in his vocation from two Jesuits and a rector who understood his heart. And in the monastery he found another soulmate in Joseph Benjamin Rutsky. Rutsky who had joined the Byzantine Rite under orders of Pope Clement VIII after converting from Calvinism shared the young Josaphats passion to work for reunion with Rome. The two friends spent long hours making plans on how they could bring about that communion and reform monastic life. The careers of the two friends parted physically when Josaphat was sent to found new houses in Rome and Rutsky was first made abbot at Vilna. Josaphat replaced Rutsky as abbot when Rutsky became metropolitan of Kiev. Josaphat immediately put into practice his early plans of reform. Because his plans tended to reflect his own extremely austere ascetic tendencies, he was not always met with joy. One community threatened to throw him into the river until his general compassion and his convincing words won them over to a few changes. Josaphat faced even more problems when he became first bishop of Vitebsk and then Polotsk in 1617. The church there was literally and figuratively in ruins with buildings falling apart, clergy marrying two or three times, and monks and clergy everywhere not really interested in pastoral care or model Christian living. Within three years, Josaphat had rebuilt the church by holding synods, publishing a catechism to be used all over, and enforcing rules of conduct for clergy. But his most compelling argument was his own life which he spent preaching, instructing others in the faith, visiting the needy of the towns. But despite all his work and the respect he had, the Orthodox separatists found fertile ground with they set up their own bishops in the exact same area. Meletius Smotritsky was named his rival archbishop of Polotsk. It must have hurt Josaphat to see the people he had served so faithfully break into riots when the King of Poland declared Josaphat the only legitimate archbishop. His former diocese of Vitebsk turned completely against the reunion and him along with two other cities. But what probably hurt even more was that the very Catholics he looked to for communion opposed him as well. Catholics who should have been his support didnt like the way he insisted on the use of the Byzantine rite instead of the Roman rite. Out of fear or ignorance, Leo Sapiah, chancellor of Lithuania, chose to believe stories that Josaphat was inciting the people to violence and instead of coming to his aid, condemned him. Actually his only act of force was when the separatists took over the church at Mogilev and he asked the civil power to help him return it to his authority. In October 1623, Josaphat decided to return to Vitebsk to try to calm the troubles himself. He was completely aware of the danger but said, If I am counted worthy of martyrdom, then I am not afraid to die. The separatists saw their chance to get rid of Josaphat and discredit him if they could only stir Josaphats party to strike the first blow. Then they would have an excuse to strike back. Their threats were so public that Josaphat preached on the gospel verse John 16:2, Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. He told the people, You people want to kill me. You wait in ambush for me in the streets, on the bridges, on the highways, in the marketplace, everywhere. Here I am; I came to you as a shepherd. You know I would be happy to give my life for you. I am ready to die for union of the Church under St. Peter and his successor the Pope. But aside from words, Josaphat insisted that his party not react in anyway that did not show patience and forbearance. When the separatists saw that they were not getting the violent response they had hoped for they decided to wear Josaphat and the others down as they plotted more direct action. A priest named Elias went to the house where everyone was staying and shouted insults and threats to everyone he saw, focusing on calumniating Josaphat and the Church of Rome. Josaphat knew of the plot against him and spent his day in prayer. In the evening he had a long conversation with a beggar he had invited in off the streets. When Elias was back the next morning of November 12, the servants were at their wits ends and begged Josaphats permission to do something. Before he went off to say his office he told them they could lock Elias away if he caused trouble again. When he returned to the house he found that the servants had done just that and Josaphat let Elias out of the room. But it was too late. The mistake had been made. Elias had not been hurt in anyway but as soon as the mob saw that Elias had been locked up they rejoiced in the excuse they had been waiting for. Bells were rung and mobs descended on the house. By the time they reached the house, Elias had been released but the mob didnt care; they wanted the blood they had been denied for so long. Josaphat came out in the courtyard to see the mob beating and trampling his friends and servants. He cried out, My children what are you doing with my servants? If you have anything against me, here I am, but leave them alone! With shouts of Kill the papist Josaphat was hit with a stick, then an axe, and finally shot through the head. His bloody body was dragged to the river and thrown in, along with the body of a dog who had tried to protect him. The unsung heroes of this horrible terrorism were the Jewish people of Vitebsk. Some of the Jewish people risked their own lives to rush into the courtyard and rescue Josaphats friends and servants from the bloodthirsty mobs. Through their courage, lives were saved. These same Jewish people were the only ones to publicly accuse the killers and mourn the death of Josaphat while the Catholics of the city hid in fear of their lives. As usual violence had the opposite affect from that intended. Regret and horror at how far the violence had gone and the loss of their archbishop swung public opinion over toward the Catholics and unity. Eventually even Archbishop Meletius Smotritsky, Josaphats rival, was reconciled with Rome. And in 1867 Josaphat became the first saint of the Eastern church to be formally canonized by Rome. FROM THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE: READING 1, Titus 3:1-7 1 Remind them to be obedient to the officials in authority; to be ready to do good at every opportunity; 2 not to go slandering other people but to be peaceable and gentle, and always polite to people of all kinds. 3 There was a time when we too were ignorant, disobedient and misled and enslaved by different passions and dissipations; we lived then in wickedness and malice, hating each other and hateful ourselves. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour for humanity were revealed, 5 it was not because of any upright actions we had done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own faithful love that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit 6 which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 so that, justified by his grace, we should become heirs in hope of eternal life. RESPONSORIAL PSALM, Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6 1 [Psalm Of David] Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 In grassy meadows he lets me lie. By tranquil streams he leads me 3 to restore my spirit. He guides me in paths of saving justice as befits his name. 4 Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me. 5 You prepare a table for me under the eyes of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup brims over. 6 Kindness and faithful love pursue me every day of my life. I make my home in the house of Yahweh for all time to come. GOSPEL, Luke 17:11-19 11 Now it happened that on the way to Jerusalem he was travelling in the borderlands of Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered one of the villages, ten men suffering from a virulent skin-disease came to meet him. They stood some way off 13 and called to him, Jesus! Master! Take pity on us. 14 When he saw them he said, Go and show yourselves to the priests. Now as they were going away they were cleansed. 15 Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice 16 and threw himself prostrate at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. 17 This led Jesus to say, Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? 18 It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner. 19 And he said to the man, Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you. REFLECTIONS: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God) OPENING PRAYER: God of power and mercy, protect us from all harm. Give us freedom of spirit and health in mind and body to do your work on earth. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. ON READING 1: Titus 3:1-7 (Respect for Lawful Authority, Renewal of the Christian Life in the Holy Spirit) Titus 3, 1-8. In the last part of the epistle St. Paul deals with the way believers conduct themselves in society at large ( vv. 1-8 ); he warns Titus to see that the Church does not become a place where people argue (vv. 9-11); and finally he gives him some little personal commissions and messages (vv. 12-14) and ends with the usual words of farewell (v. 15). The scheme of the first section ( vv. 1-8 ), like the previous chapter, is as follows: first he describes the requirements of Christian living, specifically the attitude towards civil authority and ones fellow-citizens (vv. 1-2); then he gives the theological reasoning behind it (vv. 3-8): for a Christian, moral behavior is a consequence of faith. Titus 3, 1-2. Respect for lawful authority (cf. Roman 13:1-7; Tim 2:2; 1 Pet 2: 13-14) was particularly difficult and meritorious in the situation in Crete, where the local population (many of them Jews) were not at all happy with their Roman overlords. However, the freedom of the children of God (cf. Rom 8:21) which the Christian acquires at Baptism does not mean he has to be opposed to existing structures: the main thing it leads him to is personal improvement: The acute need for radical reforms of the structures which conceal poverty and which are themselves forms of violence, should not let us lose sight of the fact that the source of injustice is in the hearts of men. Therefore it is only by making an appeal to the moral potential of the person and to the constant need for inner conversion, that social change will be brought about which will truly be in the service of man. For it will only be in the measure that they collaborate freely in these necessary changes through their own initiative and solidarity, that people, awakened to a sense of their responsibility, will grow in humanity (SCDF, Libertatis Nuntius, 11, 8 ). Gentleness and courtesy are expressions of the new commandment of love; they show that a person is spiritually mature, and they are very effective in drawing souls closer to Christ. To criticize, to destroy, is not difficult; any unskilled laborer knows how to drive his pick into the noble and finely-hewn stone of a cathedral. To construct: that is what requires the skill of a master (St. J. Escriva, The Way, 456). Titus 3, 3-7. The main subject of the chapter is the theological basis of social obligations (vv. 1-2); every Christian should bear witness to salvation history, to the change from sin to grace, and the change from an era of slavery and error to the era of freedom and rebirth ushered in by Christ. The old regime is sketched out in a very vivid way (v. 3), showing the effects of sin on man in his three dimensions: in relation to himself, sin makes a person foolish, rebellious, wayward, a slave; in respect of God, he becomes hateful in his rebellious pride; and as far as others are concerned he becomes their enemy -- hating one another. However, the coming of Christ has opened up a new panorama (vv. 4-7). As elsewhere in these letters (cf. 1 Tim 3:15; Tit 2:11-14), we have here a hymn to Christ which may well have come from primitive Christian liturgy or from a confession of faith. It summarizes Christian teaching on the Incarnation, the Redemption and the application of salvation to the individual. According to this text, the Incarnation is the revelation of God our Savior, who makes known his goodness (benignity, a word which often occurs in the Old Testament and sometimes in the New: cf. Rom 2:4; 11: 22; Gal 5:22; Eph 2:7) and loving goodness (literally philanthropy, a word taken from Greek). The Redemption is referred to in Old Testament language: he saved us in virtue of his own mercy. Finally, the Christians access to salvation is something gratuitous: without any prior merit on our part, Gods mercy has sought us out (v. 5; cf. note on Rom 3:27-31); Baptism is the door to salvation, for it is the sacrament of regeneration and renewal (cf. Eph 5:26); the Holy Spirit sent by Christ (cf. Jn 14:26) makes the waters of Baptism effective; his grace gives life to the soul and entitles it to eternal life (cf. Gal 4:7; Rom 8:16-17). The Council of Trent specified that justification is not only the remission of sins, but sanctification and renovation of the interior man through the voluntary reception of grace and gifts whereby a man becomes just instead of unjust and a friend instead of an enemy, that he may be an heir in the hope of life everlasting (De Iustificatione, chap. 7). The magnificent resume of faith in Christ contained in Titus 3:3-7 also helps Christians see how to approach their work and social involvement; the Second Vatican Council has reminded us once again that the promised and hoped-for restoration has already begun in Christ. It is carried forward in the sending of the Holy Spirit and through him continues in the Church in which, through our faith, we learn the meaning of our earthly life, while we bring to term, with hope of future good, the task allotted to us in the world by the Father, and so work out our salvation ( Lumen Gentium, 48 ). ON THE GOSPEL: Luke 17:11-19 (The Ten Lepers) In today’s Gospel, Luke gives an account of the cure of the ten lepers, of whom only one thanked Jesus. And he was a Samaritan! Gratitude is another theme which is very typical of Luke: to live in an attitude of gratitude and to praise God for everything which we receive from Him. This is why Luke says many times that people were admired and praised God for the things that Jesus did (Lk 2, 28.38; 5, 25.26; 7, 16; 13, 13; 17, 15.18; 18, 43; 19, 37; etc). The Gospel of Luke gives us several canticles and hymns which express this experience of gratitude and of thanksgiving (Lk 1, 46-55; 1, 68-79; 2, 29-32). The setting of this episode explains how a Samaritan could be in the company of Jews. There was no love lost between Jews and Samaritans (cf. John 4:9), but shared pain, in the case of these lepers, overcame racial antipathy. The Law of Moses laid down, to prevent the spread of the disease, that lepers should live away from other people and should let it be known that they were suffering from this disease (cf. Leviticus 13:45-46). This explains why they did not come right up to Jesus and His group, but instead begged His help by shouting from a distance. Before curing them our Lord orders them to go to the priests to have their cure certified (cf. Leviticus 14:2ff), and to perform the rites laid down. The lepers obedience is a sign of faith in Jesus words. And, in fact, soon after setting out they are cleansed. However, only one of them, the Samaritan, who returns praising God and showing his gratitude for the miracle, is given a much greater gift than the cure of leprosy. Jesus says as much: Your faith has made you well (verse 19) and praises the mans gratefulness. The Gospel records this event to teach us the value of gratefulness: Get used to lifting your heart to God, in acts of thanksgiving, many times a day. Because He gives you this and that. Because you have been despised. Because you havent what you need or because you have. Because He made His Mother so beautiful, His Mother who is also your Mother. Because He created the sun and the moon and this animal and that plant. Because He made that man eloquent and you He left tongue-tied .... Thank Him for everything, because everything is good ( St. J. Escriva, The Way, 268 ). Luke 17, 11: Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. Luke recalls that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, passing through Samaria to go to Galilee. From the beginning of his journey (Lk 9, 52) up until now (Lk 17, 11), Jesus walks through Samaria. It is only now that he is leaving Samaria, passing through Galilee in order to reach Jerusalem. That means that the important teachings given in these last chapters from the 9th to the 17th were all given on a territory which was not Jewish. To hear that must have been a great joy for Luke’s communities, which were from Paganism. Jesus the pilgrim continues his journey toward Jerusalem. He continues to eliminate the differences or inequalities which men have created. He continues on the long and painful road of the periphery toward the capital city, from a religion closed up in itself toward an open religion which knows how to accept others as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the same Father. This openness is manifested also in the acceptance given to the ten lepers. Luke 17, 12-13: The calling out of the lepers. Ten lepers went close to Jesus; they stopped at a distance and called out: “Jesus, Master! Take pity on us! The leper was a person who was excluded; was marginalized and despised; and had no right to live with the family. According to the law of purity, lepers had to go around with torn clothes and uncombed hair, calling out: “Impure! Impure!” (Lv 13, 45-46). For the lepers to look for a cure meant the same thing as to seek purity in order to be able to be integrated again into the community. They could not get close to others (Lv 13, 45-46). Anyone who was touched by a leper became unclean and that prevented him from being able to address himself to God. By means of crying out they expressed their faith in Jesus who could cure them and give them back purity. To obtain purity meant to feel again accepted by God and be able to address him to receive the blessings promised to Abraham. Luke 17, 14: The response of Jesus and the cure. Jesus answered: Go and show yourselves to the priest!” (cf. Mk 1, 44). The priest had to verify the cure and bear witness to the purity of the one who had been cured (Lv 14,1-32). The response of Jesus demanded great faith on the part of the lepers. They had to go to the priest as if they had already been cured, when in reality their bodies continued to be covered with leprosy. But they believed in Jesus’ word and went to the priest. And it happened that, along the way, the cure took place. They were purified. This cure recalls the story of the purification of Naaman from Syria (2 K 5, 9-10). The prophet Elisha orders the man to go and wash in the Jordan. Namaan had to believe in the word of the prophet. Jesus orders the ten lepers to present themselves to the priests. They should believe in the word of Jesus. Luke 17, 15-16: Reaction of the Samaritan. “One of them, seeing himself cured, turned back praising God at the top of his voice; and threw himself prostrate at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan”. Why did the others not return? Why only the Samaritan? According to the opinion of the Jews of Jerusalem, the Samaritan did not observe the law as he should. Among the Jews there was the tendency to observe the law in order to be able to merit or deserve or acquire justice. Thanks to the observance, they already had accumulated merits and credit before God. Gratitude and gratuity do not form part of the vocabulary of the persons who live their relationship with God in this way. Perhaps this is the reason why they do not thank God for the benefits received. In the parable of yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus had formulated the same question: “Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told?” (Lk 17, 9) And the answer was: “No!” The Samaritan represents the persons who have a clear conscience that we, human beings, have no merits or rights before God. Everything is grace, beginning from the gift of one’s own life! Luke 17, 17-19: The final observation of Jesus. Jesus observes: “Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God except this foreigner?” For Jesus, to thank the others for the benefit received is a way of rendering praise that is due to God. On this point, the Samaritans gave a lesson to the Jews. Today the poor are those who carry out the role of the Samaritan, and help us to rediscover this dimension of gratuity of life. Everything that we receive should be considered as a gift from God who comes to us through the brother and the sister. The welcome given to the Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke. For Luke, the place which Jesus gave to the Samaritans is the same as that which the communities had to reserve for the pagans. Jesus presents a Samaritan as a model of gratitude (Lk 17, 17-19) and of love toward neighbour (Lk 10, 30-33). This must have been quite shocking, because for the Jews, the Samaritans or pagans were the same thing. They could have no access inside the Temple of Jerusalem, nor participate in the worship. They were considered as bearers of impurity, they were impure from birth, from the cradle. For Luke, instead the Good News of Jesus is addressed in the first place to the persons of these groups who were considered unworthy to receive it. The salvation of God which reaches us through Jesus is purely a gift. It does not depend on the merits of any one. FINAL PRAYERS: Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing. In grassy meadows he lets me lie. By tranquil streams he leads me. (Ps 23,1-2) Lord, Grant that I may see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly.” -- ”Prayer for What I Want,” from Hearts on Fire It is by God’s mercy that we are saved. May we never tire of spreading this joyful message to the world. -- Pope Francis Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. -- St. Jerome The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever in everlasting silence; and in silence the soul has to hear it. --St. John of the Cross
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 21:51:48 +0000
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