From the Pastor's Desk | September 22, 2024

Gospel Reflection 

We are currently in Year B of the liturgical reading cycle which means, for the majority of Ordinary Time, we read through the Gospel of Mark.  In today’s Gospel, taken from the ninth chapter of Mark, the disciples argue over which of them is the greatest.  Jesus knew what they were arguing about, and so He asked them about it to soften the confrontation.  

In Luke’s Gospel, this same argument occurs twice, first in chapter 9 (verses 46-48) and during the Last Supper in chapter 22 (verses 24-30).  It is interesting that, in Luke’s Gospel, this same argument occurs more than once.  Why?  The answer is easy - human nature.  It is certainly human to be focused on the self.  It is human to jockey for position, power, authority, prestige, or recognition.  It is human to try to keep up with others.  It is human to desire to be first.  To be first, to be the best, to be recognized are all human desires. 

Jesus, however, asks us not to think as humans think, but rather, to think as God thinks - to follow in God’s footsteps.  What did God do?  I hope that answer is obvious to all of us but recall Paul’s letter to the Philippians, “...he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found in human appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:7-8).  We are called to do the same - to put ourselves at the service, not of ourselves or our desires, but of God and others.  Love - to will the good of the other - requires sacrifice.  It requires that we lay down our lives in service of both God and those around us.  This is the summation of the law that Jesus came to fulfill.   
 
To get love right requires that we first place ourselves in right relationship to God.  We see this in the Gloria that we sing every Sunday at Mass.  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.”  We first must exalt God (not ourselves).  We must give God right reverence, worship, and praise.  And, we do that through the work of the liturgy every Sunday.  When we place ourselves in right relationship to God - exalting Him and not ourselves - then peace abounds among the people (amongst ourselves) because we truly realize who is great and worthy of praise.

To get love right requires that we not only meditate on but live out what Jesus will ultimately judge us on - how great or little we loved.  We see this most explicitly in Matthew 25.  “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25:35-36).  We have the opportunities, here in the parish, to extend ourselves and live this love through the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, the bread ministry, GriefShare, and Forty Days for Life, just to offer a few examples.  

To get love right requires that we humble ourselves daily, just as God humbled Himself, and so I end this reflection with the Litany of Humility (a very difficult prayer I might add…): 

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,
    Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,
    Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

Know of my prayers for you all! 
Fr. Ryan