August 30, 2015
• Deuteronomy
4:1-2,6-8 • Psalm 15 • James
1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 • Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 •
[__01__] In this Gospel reading, Jesus debated with
the Pharisees about the true meaning of law and the commandments.
On
the one hand, our Savior and his apostles were accused of blasphemy, of
law-breaking, of infidelity to the commandments.
That
is, the disciples of Jesus were have been noticed for lack of compliance – or
attention – to the rules of handwashing.
Thus,
Jesus is asked, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of
the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” (Mark
7:5)
We
might note that Jesus does not excuse their lack of compliance. Perhaps, he has
rushed them off to to the ritual cleansing water so that they would have had
clean hands.
We
know that Jesus has great respect for Jewish Law and the Temple.
We
read in Catholic Tradition, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
Like
the prophets before him Jesus expressed the deepest respect for the Temple in
Jerusalem. It was in the Temple that Joseph and Mary presented him forty days
after his birth.(Luke 2:22-39) At the age
of twelve he decided to remain in the Temple to remind his parents that he must
be about his Father's business.(Cf.
Luke 2:46-49) He went there each year during his hidden life at
least for Passover.(Cf.
Luke 2:41) His public ministry itself was patterned by his
pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the great Jewish feasts. (Cf. John 2:13-14; 5:1, 14; 7:1, 10, 14;
8:2; 10:22-23.) (CCC 583)
[__02__] Nevertheless, our Savior goes on to declare
that the cleanliness of one’s hands or cup or home is not our greatest
objective, but rather the purity of our heart, our intentions, our souls.
[__03__] In Catholic teaching about married life and
family life, we also learn that one’s marriage and one’s family is also not a
matter of what we do superficially or publicly or even verbally / vocally.
Of
what does Jesus accuse the Pharisees?
…that they honor me only with their lips but their hearts are far from
me. (cf. Mark 7:6; also: Isaiah 29:13)
In
other words, they are superficial.
Thus,
to our families, to our spouses, kindness is important, kind words are
important and not only when other people are watching, noticing, seeing us in
public, in the store, at the bus stop, outside of school…but also in the
privacy of our own home.
More
important is the inside, the interior of the heart, our cup, our dish, the
precious china and Waterford glass of home.
This
is determined not only by what we say but also by what we mean and how we act.
[__03.01 /C-1-*__] When we love another person, we strive to
listen to him, to her ..and also to listen to God – in our consciences. Loves teaches us to listen to conscience
which our families cultivate and develop in us – inside of us -- and not to powers which can overcome us
from the outside.
[“Familiaris
Consortio, n. 5”]
St.
Paul writes in Romans about the lesson of Christian virtue and the importance
of an interior life of prayer for our conscience, for our action …and for
conscientious action … “And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed
in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and the
acceptable and the perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
[__06__] In this regard, when husband and wife are
joined in marriage, they are also called to make a gift that is only possible
because they recognize an eternal-unending dimension in their commitment, in
their sacrament of matrimony.
John
Paul II writes that this sacramental – or divine – dimension does not hinder
their freedom but rather sets them a new understand, a new theology of love and
God and sets them free from, say, from other THEORIES …
Meaning,
for example, the theory of SUBJECTIVITY… that my marriage must be measured
against my subjective opinion, my expectations… or my plan. Is not marriage and
family a gift from God?
Also,
the sacramental or divine dimension sets us free from the THEORY OF RELATIVITY
..not Einstein’s theory of relativity …but a relativity by which I measure my
relationships and compare my relationships to other.
So,
in this regard, the sacramentality of marriage is not an onerous burden but a
way for us to be free from pure SUBJECTIVITY and RELATIVITY.
In
this regard, marriage and self-giving are not only plan or your plan or plan
but truly the plan of 2 or 3 gathered in God’s name. (cf.
Matthew 18:20)
[__07__] In marriage and in the traditions of
Catholic marriage, John Paul II writes that the Church seeks the truth, which
is not always the same as the majority opinion.
Have
not our mothers and fathers and grandmothers and grandfathers taught us this …
that what is good for you, for me, for the family is not determined by what
choices are on sale, or available, or even attractive.
Have
not our families – our parents – instructed us to make choices that – at first
– made us unhappy …. But that, by doing so, we learned what was truly the right
choice, the prudent choice, the dignified choice, and the life-giving choice?
[__09__] Next
month, Pope Francis will begin his journey to the United States as part of the
World Meeting of Families.
This
will be a time when our Holy Father will remind us – through his visits to the
White House, Congress, the United Nations – that the Church – that though all
of us are in a sense governed by these institutions … that these institutions can organize our
society, and can strengthen our communities … we are also called to listen to
CONSCIENCE and not to POWER.
This
invites all of us renew our commitments to love, to sacrifice, to an
understanding of God’s plan.
[__10__] Pope John Paul II reminds us that the
struggle for every family to raise children, to live in peace, to bind up
wounds, to forgive other family member is not simply a struggle between GOOD
and EVIL. Though, at times, our families, our parents our spouses will point
out – and teach us ..what is GOOD / EVIL.
Pope
John Paul II reminds us that the struggle for every family is not simply a
struggle for PROGRESS ..though every family does hope for PROGRESS ..to make
economic progress, to allow one’s children to have greater opportunities.
While
family life introduces us to these struggles,the struggle between GOOD / EVIL
..and the struggle for PROGRESS, the struggle in family life – and in marriage
– is, simply, the struggle to be free, because everyone has his or own free
will.
The
family is a place where we learn about our individual
identity and our communal
relationships. Pope Francis observes that our mothers, in a profound way, teach
us about how to ensure that our sense of “being an individual” does not morph
into …or become some sort of amped-up self-centeredness. Individual means – in the dictionary – that
which cannot be divided. Yet, Pope Francis points out … our mothers are, from
the moment of our conception and birth … dividing themselves (Pope
Francis, 7 January 2015, General Audience)
And,
do not both parents – in devotion to children – divide themselves, share
themselves…thus laying down their lives for us in times of of both happiness
and conflict, especially at times when the freedom of one member of the family
bumps against the freedom of another member of the family? In the family, we
have the miracle of being divided, of being multiplied, of gaining a great
return on the investment of our love by God’s grace.
In
the Gospel, Jesus declares, “He that hath two coats, let him give to him
that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do in like manner.” (Luke
3:11)
IN
FAMILY LIFE … we also have the opportunity of freely learning from each other,
of freely sacrificing for the other, that all of us may place God’s gift in the
center of our family and accept God’s wisdom poured into our hearts into the
cup which the Lord purifies, internally, by his grace. [__fin__]
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