Veiled and Unveiled (Luke 12:1–3)
1
Meanwhile, so many people were crowding together that they were
trampling one another underfoot. He began to speak, first to his
disciples, "Beware of the leaven - that is, the hypocrisy - of the
Pharisees.
2 "There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.
3 Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.
Explanation by Pope Francis:
Hypocrisy is the leaven that causes men and women to be self-centered and indifferent to the world around them. It is a leaven that grows inward, a leaven that grows without a future because in selfishness, in looking inward, there is no future.
The Pharisees of the time, were those who were “closed in on themselves” and whose only concern was their own selfishness and security.
"Be on guard against the leaven of hypocrisy" which cares only about appearing good, and instead choose the “leaven of the Holy Spirit” that “makes us grow, with all the difficulties of the journey, even with all our sins, but always with hope.”
“The Holy Spirit is precisely the deposit of that hope, that praise, that joy. In their hearts, these people who have the Holy Spirit as their leaven, are joyful, even in problems and difficulties,” he said. “The hypocrites have forgotten what it means to be joyful.”
Explanation by Mike Landry (Catholic School Chaplain from Spruce Grove):
When it comes to what you do, the initial question I put to you is one of integrity: are you a person who lives with integrity (wholeness)? Are you the same person on Friday or Saturday night as you are on Sunday morning? I once heard it put really well: “who you really are is what you do when no one is watching?” This sense of isolation is an illusion, because we never really are alone: God is ALWAYS watching. This is why we can be judged for our careless words and what we have done and said in darkness will be proclaimed on the housetops. When Gaudium et Spes was published during the Vatican II, it discussed the ringing topics of the day: war, marriage, family, and politics. The ringing topics of our day are things like the internet, human suffering, the sanctity of marriage, atheism… and you need to engage them through every means at your disposal. (What ways do you see to engage the world?)
In the end, our words and our actions need to go together. To be the young Church relating to others, those who are around you should see your faith in what you do and say. At certain moments it’s a question of living with integrity as I’ve mentioned above- and at other times it’s a question of being able to explain to people what we really believe. St. Peter writes “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15) – and here I would simply ask you whether you can explain to others why you believe in God, why you follow Jesus, why you are Catholic?
Whom to fear (Luke 12:4–7)
4 I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more.
5 I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.
7 Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.
commentary by Pablo T. Gadenz, Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Trenton (NJ) :
What might lead disciples to deny Jesus is fear of being persecuted (see 11:49). However, Jesus tells them, his friends (see John 15:15), that they should not be afraid of those who can only kill the body. Rather, the one to be afraid of is God, who has the power to cast into Gehenna. The word derives from the “Valley of Hin-nom” (Hebrew ge-hinnom, Josh 15:8), located south of Jerusalem. Idolatrous sacrifices of children by fire were carried out there under the evil kings Ahaz and Man-asseh (2 Chron 28:3; 33:6) before Josiah’s reform (2 Kings 23:10). Jeremiah prophesied that because of God’s judgment the valley’s future would also be marked by death and defilement (Jer 7:31-33; 19:2-13). The valley thus became an image for the place of final punishment of the wicked, described as a place of unquenchable fire (see Isa 66:24). This is the sense of “Gehenna” in the New Testament (Matt 5:22; 23:33; Mark 9:43; James 3:6), and hence it is translated “hell” in many English versions.
Explanation by Father Raymond De Souza (https://newcovenantjournal.blogspot.com/):
Isn’t it true how often we need to be reminded of this great love our God has for us? This is a constant challenge, to grow in our knowledge of the depths of this love, its perfection, its infinite nature, its purity and genuineness, and the fact that we can do nothing to earn this love.
Part of what prevents me from realizing this love and appropriately responding to this love :
I am too focused on myself, or too focused on how I want things to be, or how I would prefer things to work out. Also, because of my self-indulgences, I do not give the needed space to look beyond the superficial desires that I have to properly understand the deep yearning within me for God, and too often settle for superficial gratifications, rather than persevering in pursuit of the lasting truths of God, in Christ, and the heavenly kingdom.
Or, as is often the case, my own sinfulness can make me doubt that God could love me always, infinitely, unconditionally.
Of course, these are the things we are to be ‘wise’ about… Be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. (Matthew 10:16) The demon has many deceits to keep us doubting God’s love; many deceptions to prevent our perseverance in responding to God’ love.
I’m curious how often in the Gospels Jesus tells us: Do not be afraid. Courage, your sins are forgiven. Persevere. So again today, we are encouraged to grow in the knowledge of God’s love. We are instructed to be courageous in living our faith. The Lord again today patiently directs our own perseverance.
Know that God is always with you. Know that God is always faithful. As you grow in the many ways God reveals these truths to you in the silence of your heart, and the hidden moments of your day, proclaim them in and through your life.
Therefore, do not be afraid…Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. (Matthew 10:26-27)
Another explanation by Christian blog "For the love of his truth" (https://fortheloveofhistruth.com):
Jesus then goes on to tell us once again how important His children are to Him by referring back to the lowly sparrow—a small bird that his audience deemed quite unimportant.
Please look very carefully at the words of the Creator of the universe in verse 31; if you’ve given your life to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then He is talking to you. Matthew 10:31 — Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Now let’s put this all together as it relates to the subject of the amazing security of the beloved child of God and the relationship He offers through Christ Jesus.
If the Lord God Almighty, Who is in absolute and total control of every nanosecond of every event in the entire universe, takes the time to care for the lowly little sparrows, then how much more will He listen to, and respond to, His precious sons and daughters that Jesus engraved on His palms at His crucifixion (cf. Isaiah 49:16).
Let’s also keep in mind at this point that God transcends any emotion we could possibly have by infinity. As such then, let’s look at this incredible bit of comfort; if we as fallen; depraved; degenerate; corrupt, and evil creatures care for and love our own children, here Jesus is saying: Then how much more will your perfectly loving Father in Heaven care for you, no matter what your situation might look like at the moment. That’s the incredible security of the children of God!
There is nothing that is happening to you that He is not ultimately in control of—the Lord is saying to you: Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Unforgivable sin (Luke 12:8–12)
8 I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.
9 But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
10 Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11 When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say.
12 For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say."
The Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches believe blasphemy against the Holy Spirit to be an unforgivable sin (i.e., eternal sin). According to the Catholic Catechism #1864, there are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss. Catholics commonly give a list of six specific sorts of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, to wit, with Thomas Aquinas:
- Despair: believing that one's evil is beyond God's forgiveness - which consists in thinking that one's own malice is greater than Divine Goodness. It is a diffidence in the mercies and power of God as also, in the merits of Jesus Christ, as if they were not of force enough to save us. This was the sin of Cain, when he said, “My sin is greater than I can deserve pardon".
- Presumption: if a man wants to obtain glory without merits or pardon without repentance. A foolish confidence of salvation, without leading a good life, or any care to keep the commandments; such as they entertain who think they will be saved by faith only, without good works.
- Resistance to the known truth, for instance to argue obstinately against known points of faith, or to prevent the way of our Lord by forging lies and slander, as Heretics do, when they teach the ignorant people, that Catholics worship images as God, and give Angels and Saints the honour which is due to God; or that the Pope for money gives us pardon to commit what sins we please; that all which, greater falsehoods cannot be invented.
- Envy of a brother's spiritual good, i. e. of the increase of Divine grace in the world, for instance sadness or repining at another’s growth in virtue and perfection; such as sectaries seem to have when they scoff and are troubled at the frequent fasts, prayers, feasts, pilgrimages, alms-deeds, vows, and religious orders of the Catholic Church, calling them superstitious and fooleries, because they have not in their churches any such practices of piety.
- Final Impenitence, i. e. the specific purpose of not repenting a sin, to die without either confession or contrition for our sins.
- Obstinacy, whereby a man, clinging to his sin, becomes immune to the thought that the good searched in it is a very little one. A wilful persisting in wickedness, and running on from sin to sin, after sufficient instructions and admonition. For instance "The blasphemy of the Spirit" by which the Pharisees attributed the miracles of Christ, wrought by the Spirit of God, to Beelzebub the prince of devils. Now this kind of sin is usually accompanied with so much obstinacy, and such wilful opposing the Spirit of God, and the known truth, that men who are guilty of it, are seldom or never converted: and therefore are never forgiven, because they will not repent. Otherwise there is no sin, which God cannot or will not forgive to such as sincerely repent, and have recourse to the keys of the church.
The Church further believes there is no offence, however serious, that cannot be taken away by Baptism, or absolved from in the Confessional—that no one, however wicked and guilty, may not confidently hope for forgiveness. Note that while Our Lord did declare blasphemy against the Holy Spirit unforgivable, He did not except it from the sins that may be forgiven by Baptism and Penance (Mt 16,19; Mt 18,18; Joh 20,23). Thomas Aquinas explains that its unforgivability means that it removes the entrance itself to these means of salvation—however, it cannot hinder Almighty and Merciful God to take away this obstacle by sort of a miracle. This is affirmed by the Catechism which says that Christ desires "the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away from sin." The Sacraments of Baptism and Penance, notably, take away any sin if received.
comments by Father Vincent Hawkswell (Priest at St. Patrick's Parish, Vancouver):
There are two common errors about God’s forgiveness. One is presumption, something we often apply to our own sins. In practice, it usually entails a belief that God forgives us because our sins are not really that bad – and therefore we can continue to sin.
The other is despair, something we apply more often to the sins of others. In practice, it usually entails ceasing to believe that God will forgive those whose sins are too great – say, abortionists.
Both presumption and despair confuse forgiving with excusing. It is true that when God forgives us, he brushes away our offences like a cloud, our sins like a mist; he rolls our disgrace away from us.
There is no sin so small that God will overlook it. There is no sin so small that we can retain it in heaven. We cannot enter heaven clinging to even one of them.
But there is no sin so great that he will not forgive it. “Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow,” he said; “though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.”
Whether, by our standards, our sins be small or great, God’s forgiveness is available through “the ministry of reconciliation” that Christ has “entrusted” to his Church.
The sacrament of penance, administered by the Church, “requires the sinner to endure all things willingly, be contrite of heart, confess with the lips, and practice complete humility and fruitful satisfaction,” says the Catechism. The prodigal son is our example.
For most of us, it is perhaps confession “with the lips” that is the most difficult. However, “contrition of heart” is not enough, for we are body as well as soul.
As priests, we try to make confession as easy as possible. But even if it is difficult, surely it is worth it to hear those consoling words: “God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself and sent his Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church, may God grant you pardon and peace; and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
comments by Francis Martin, president of Father Francis Martin Ministries (FFMM), "commentary on the Gospel of John":
The Holy Spirit is essential to the Church’s mission in the world, lesus has chosen his disciples and appointed them to bear the fruit of holiness and love (John 15:16) and bear witness in the world, which is often hostile to the gospel. The only way we will be able to do this is through the power of the Holy Spirit. To grow in holiness and love, each of us needs to get to know the Holy Spirit more deeply and invite him into our lives. To those who call upon him in faith and confidence, the Spirit gives a personal, experiential knowledge of the risen Jesus, who is Lord of heaven and earth (Matt 28:18): nowadays this is often called “baptism in the Holy Spirit”. The Spirit makes the reality and power of the risen Jesus come alive in the hearts of believers. Through his gentle yet powerful activity, the Holy Spirit empowers Christians to live lives of love and holiness and, through their lives, to bear witness in the world to the Father’s love revealed in Jesus.
Disputed inheritance and the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-22)
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me."
14 He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?"
15 Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions."
16 Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
17 He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?'
18 And he said, 'This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods
19 and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!"
20 But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?'
21 Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."
22 He said to (his) disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear.
The rich farmer in this parable is portrayed negatively, as an example of greed. By replacing his existing barn, he avoids using agricultural land for storage purposes, thus maximising his income, as well as allowing him to wait for a price increase before selling. St. Augustine comments that the farmer was "planning to fill his soul with excessive and unnecessary feasting and was proudly disregarding all those empty bellies of the poor. He did not realize that the bellies of the poor were much safer storerooms than his barns."
comments by Pope Francis (Homily of 22 October, 2018):
How does this man reason? Luke’s passage provides the answer: “he thought to himself: ‘My soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry’. In other words, live the good life, all for yourself, with your god: eat, drink and enter into that exasperated consumerism [which] does not stop, knows no limits.
However, God sets the limits: God said to him: ‘Fool!’. — How many times is the word ‘fool’ used in the Gospel? — This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have stored up, whose will they be?’. In response, the Pope observed, his wealth will end up in the hands of his heirs who will fight over those treasures considered to be like a god. That man becomes the slave of money is not a fairytale which Jesus invents: this is the reality” also today, he stressed.
There are many men and women who live to worship money, to make money their god: many people who live only for this and life has no meaning. So is he who lays up treasure for himself’ — says the Lord in the Gospel — and is not rich toward God. In reality, they do not know what it means to be rich toward God.
Let us just look at starving children who have no medicine, have no education, who are abandoned. This is idolatry, but it is an idolatry which kills and makes ‘human sacrifices’ because this idolatry causes many people to starve to death, he said.
Our prayers must be strong: “Lord, please touch the hearts of these people who worship… the god of money. Also touch my heart so that I may not fall into that, that I may be able to see”. There is war, always, here, family war. We all know what happens when an inheritance is at stake. Families become divided and end up hating each other.
Our prayers must be strong today, these days when the media shows us many, many calamities, many injustices; let us just think of the children: Lord, may you convert the hearts of these people, that they may know you and not worship the god of money.
The Birds of Heaven (Luke 12:23-34)
23 For life is more than food and the body more than clothing.
24 Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds
them. How much more important are you than birds!
25 Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your lifespan?
26 If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest?
27 Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them.
28 If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
29 As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore.
30 All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides.
32 Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
34 For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be
Comments by by Fred S. Schaeffer, parishioner at Vero Beach, Florida (https://rcspirituality.net):
This is a beautiful passage of Scripture where Jesus tells us that we do not need to worry. But, human as we are, everyone worries. We worry too much, we worry so much that when we enter into that quiet relationship with Jesus, we cannot concentrate solely in Him. In the human psyche, we are constantly struggling with problems of one sort or another. To place these problems on the back-burner for a time, we find nourishment in our quiet life with Jesus. He told us not to worry our soul must be awakened and thus we pray to the Holy Spirit for spiritual enlightenment, so that we may understand these inner prayer relationships. So that God may lift the veil for us and we may see His goodness and Grace with the eyes of the soul.
The soul is the inner being of each and every person where a direct relationship may exist between ourselves and God. For those who love God, that relationship exists. For those who do not love God, the relationship from us to God is minimal or none, but God loves us just the same. He does not love the sin in us, but He loves all of us unconditionally.
Comments by Catholic blog new-wood blogspot:
Jesus says that where our treasure is, there also is our heart. What do you value in life? How well are you living according to those values? Your actions, not your words, show what you treasure and how you are directing your heart. The good life, Jesus is saying, is far different from what our popular culture promotes. Only when we let go of our desire to control every detail of life, only when we let go of our desire for acquiring more "things," only when we let go of our fears and embrace the spiritual journey will we find freedom from anxiety and true fulfillment. You will look at the birds and the flowers, your family and friends, and see in them the face of the Creator, and you will be filled with gratitude for all you have been given. Gratitude is key: it chips away at all the inner walls we have built in our vain efforts to maintain control, and opens us up to see the potential opportunities in uncertainty. It also builds trust, so that for many of us focusing on things for which we are grateful can be the easiest entry point to the spiritual journey. Our ultimate destiny is not to by surrounded by our possessions. Look at the birds of the air. Look at the flowers. They know. There is much they can teach you. Pray for an increase in gratitude and trust; if that is what you treasure, your heart will lead you there.
Parable of the Faithful Servant (Luke 12:35-48)
35 "Gird your loins and light your lamps
36 and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
38 And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.
39 Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
40 You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
41 Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"
42 And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time?
43 Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
44 Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk,
46 then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
47 That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely;
48 and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.
On the 'ordinary level' of this analogy, Jesus is explaining that a Master can put a chief servant in charge to the Master's place while the Master is away.
In this parable, Jesus is responding to Peter, who clearly is the spokesman for the rest of the Apostles, and Jesus responds with this Parable speaking of a singular chief steward. This chief steward is even said to have the task of delegating food to the household. This is a beautiful description of the duty and role of the Pope. This is an obvious proof that Jesus entrusted Peter with "more responsibility" that others, and in turn demands those who fill the Papal office have have "more demanded" from them.
Sure you can say every Christian can be inserted into this parable, and that's true to an extent, but any attempts to downplay or eliminate the overtones of hierarchy is simply doing violence to the text. The parable is saying Peter is the "master of the house," the chief steward, to which the other 11 are immediately under him, and collectively they run the Lord's House, the Church.
comments by Edward Sri, professor of theology and Scripture:
This is true in our parable just as it often is in real life. While the master is away his servants are left unsupervised. Each has a task assigned to him, but choices can be made about the use and misuse of the time given for fulfilling them. Because we possess free will, the option is always there to serve ourselves instead of others.
Besides this, many young people choose not to worry about death or religion until they get old. Occasionally even parents will excuse their children’s reckless behavior as a time of sowing wild oats. One can imagine the wicked servant calculating his actions along these lines. Nevertheless, it is vain optimism to think that we will have time to straighten out our act before the end.
Jesus warns us against such forms of presumption. Neither the day of our death nor the hour of Christ’s return is known to us. Life must be lived in a state of moral and spiritual preparedness. The time to serve others rather than ourselves is now, not later. No one knows for sure if later will come.
comments by Rev. Father Joseph Levine (St. Peter Catholic Church):
The faithful and prudent steward is set in contrast with the wicked servant who deciding that the master is long delayed gets drunk and begins to mistreat his fellow servants. (cf. Mt 24:48-51)
Our Lord’s teaching in these various passages reveals us the nature and the right use of human freedom. Human freedom is not absolute but is set in a context of subordination to God, Our Creator and Lord, and the task he has assigned us; that assigned task is not the task of isolated individuals but of servants who make up an ordered household.
The right use of human freedom is determined by our relationship to God and by the good order of his household. In this light, in order to make good use of his freedom, the good and faithful servant needs to recognize the task assigned and freely apply his native intelligence and other skills to the fulfillment of the task.
The wrong use of freedom by the wicked servant involves the rejection of the task and the pursuit of his own will, which inevitably will end up harming the other members of God’s ‘household’ and ultimately himself. The wicked servant, even if he freely chooses to abandon the task, ends by getting ‘drunk’, that is he forgets his true identity as a member of God’s household and enslaves himself to his fancies and desires. At that point he would hardly be capable of performing the assigned task, even if he chose to do so, precisely because he is lacking in virtue; even if he were driven to his work by a whip, he would do a poor job.
The virtues are the character traits that make the fulfillment of our task easy and enjoyable. The virtues truly set us free to fulfill the task assigned to us by God. The law of God guides us in the acquisition and practice of virtue and thus marks the path to true freedom.
Repentance, in the fullest sense, requires more than recognizing that I have broken God’s commandments in particular ways; it requires recognizing that, by violating God’s commands, I have rejected the task he has assigned me; it means recognizing the ways in which I have refused to fulfill my part as a member of the household of God; it means recognizing the ways I have abused my freedom and so made myself a slave of my own desires and passions.
Repentance, however, is not just a matter of recognizing the wrong I have done, but of turning my life around. If I recognize that I have abused my freedom, then now I must beg the Lord to free from my chains so that I might begin to use my freedom rightly; if I recognize that I have refused to do my part as a member of God’s household, then now I must take up and embrace the task that has been entrusted to me.
Turning my life around through repentance also requires that I seek forgiveness for my sins; I must seek forgiveness not only for having offending God, but also for having introduced disorder into his household. That is one of the reasons why God requires confession of sins to a priest, who stands as both the representative of God and of the Church.
Not only must I seek forgiveness of sins, I must be willing to receive that forgiveness, which involves opening myself to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who purifies my heart and frees me from the desires that enslave and gives me the power to take my place as a free servant in the Lord’s household.
Comments by Reverend Paul A. Hottinger (St Margaret Mary Parish):
Now you may have wondered from time to time why so many of the saints found poverty to be such a great virtue. Well, the reason is that the gospel clearly has this idea that the more you are entrusted with, the more God demands from you. And so the deduction was that the best way to live, the freest way to live, is with the least amount of anything that we would have to render an account for. So the whole idea that the modern world has, that modern society has, of it’s really good to get rich, was simply rejected out of hand. If one is rich, that is therefore a great responsibility.
Now, for example, Pope Gregory I—who was a very wealthy man, he came from a wealthy family—he joined a monastery, but he was so talented that the popes didn’t allow him to stay in the monastery. They sent him to Constantinople as the papal nuncio. Later on, he came back to Rome and he was elected pope because he was clearly the most talented, capable person and they needed his talents. But he rued that day, and he complains about it. He said back when he was a monk he was able to concentrate on God contemplate the gospel, and so on. He was free. He was a free man. But now, he is burdened. As pope, he has no time. No time for prayer, and not only that, but his burdens—one of his burdens, he says, is that he has to talk to so many people and actually they are frivolous and so all he is doing is chatting about frivolous matters and this is nothing but a great waste of time.
Now he took his role of pope very seriously. For example, his family owned Sicily, the island, most of it. It was a huge farm. So he decided as pope, as bishop of Rome, which by that time had no other temporal ruler—theoretically, it was the emperor in Constantinople but practically, it was the pope. He saw all kinds of poor people in Rome, people who needed food, so he set up for all of his family holdings to be turned into a project to bring food to Rome every day so everyone there could eat. In a way, he sacrificed his family fortune for the good of the poor in Rome. So he really did great things, and he did many other things: collecting various chants and reforming the liturgy and doing all kinds of things. So he really spent his time well and yet, he was sorry that he had to do that. But he wanted to live this out. He knew that much would be required of him because much was given to him. He had family wealth; he was bishop of Rome; he was the temporal ruler for all intents and purposes of central Italy. And so he lived this life and this gospel, but would have preferred a different life, would have preferred one of simplicity and poverty and peace and quiet.
Now we don’t always choose the circumstances of our lives. But the point of the gospel is we have to work with what we have, but we are always, always servants. We are never a master. In this way, society can delude us into thinking we can achieve something: mastery, mastery over nature; being the head of the household; somebody; Mr. this or Ms. that; a person of grand importance. This gospel says, well really, nobody is that important. Everybody is a servant. Some servants mistreat their fellow servants, beating their menservants and maidservants. Everybody else is a fellow servant. If we think we’re special, if we think we’re above others and treat them that way, we are deluded. And, of course, our society is full of deluded people—and even in high places.
That’s what this gospel is talking about. We’re all called to be servants. The less we have, the freer we are. The more we have, the more responsibilities. Much will be required and even more will be demanded of those who have the most. So in thinking about what we want to do with our lives, and we should bring this up to our young people, in thinking about what life’s about, this has to be taken into consideration. Whatever we do, it has to be for God.
[Papal infallibility:
The Pope is said to occupy the "chair of Peter" or the "Holy See", since Catholics hold that the pope is the successor of Peter. Also, Catholics hold that Peter had a special role among the apostles as the preserver of unity, and that the pope therefore holds the role of spokesman for the whole church among the bishops, whom Catholics hold to be the successors of the apostles.
In Catholic theology, papal infallibility is one of the channels of the infallibility of the Church. The infallible teachings of the Pope must be based on, or at least not contradict, Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture. The Catholic Church does not teach that the Pope is infallible in everything he says; official invocation of papal infallibility is extremely rare.
The Latin phrase ex cathedra (literally, "from the chair") was proclaimed by Pius IX in 1870 as meaning "when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, [the Bishop of Rome] defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church."
The solemn declaration of papal infallibility by Vatican I took place on 18 July 1870. Since that time, the only example of an ex cathedra decree took place in 1950, when Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary as an article of faith.
Regarding historical papal documents, Catholic theologian and church historian Klaus Schatz made a thorough study, published in 1985, that identified the following list of ex cathedra documents
- Tome to Flavian, Pope Leo I, 449, on the two natures in Christ, received by the Council of Chalcedon;
- Letter of Pope Agatho, 680, on the two wills of Christ, received by the Third Council of Constantinople;
- Benedictus Deus, Pope Benedict XII, 1336, on the beatific vision of the just after death rather than only just prior to final judgment;
- Cum occasione, Pope Innocent X, 1653, condemning five propositions of Jansen as heretical;
- Auctorem fidei, Pope Pius VI, 1794, condemning seven Jansenist propositions of the Synod of Pistoia as heretical;
- Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX, 1854, defining the Immaculate Conception;
- Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII, 1950, defining the Assumption of Mary.
]
A message which will be a source of conflict (Luke 12:49-53)
49 "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!
50 There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
51 Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
52 From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three;
53 A father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
Comments by Bishop Robert F. Morneau:
Jesus came that we might have life, life in great abundance (John 10:10). But there is a deep, universal paradox here. As we hear in Luke’s Gospel, it would appear that division, not peace, is Jesus’ real mission.
We need to ponder and to pray over this paradox. The poet T.S. Eliot provides an insight: “Beneath the bleeding hands we feel/The sharp compassion of the healer’s art.” The surgeon cuts away the cancer, a bloody “divisive” act, indeed. Yet the motive is not to inflict pain and suffering. Rather, it is to bring healing, to further the fullness of life. No false tenderness allows the healer to withhold the knife; no good parent avoids disciplining his or her child. To bring health and peace, pain must be inflicted.
So Jesus causes “division” wherever there is an unhealthy, unholy union. Out of compassion and love, the Lord separates us from everything that keeps us from the love of the Father. This may appear cruel but it is in fact a great act of kindness, a divine kindness.
Pope John XXIII spoke often about peace, the peace that is the Kingdom of God. In his encyclical Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), he maintains that peace demands four elements: truth, freedom, charity and justice. Jesus came to inaugurate that Kingdom; he came to express truth, to incarnate love, to foster freedom and to promote justice. In this mission there would be much “division,” since people often opted for untruth and indifference, slavery and injustice.
Each of us must distinguish graced division from divisions that are simply destructive. The surgeon’s knife separates a diseased organ or a tumor from the body—a moment of grace. The slave trader separates children from their parents—a horrendous sin. Moses placed before his people a choice of life or death (Deuteronomy 30:19). We are given the same choice: to be agents of life and peace or instruments of death and chaos.
Just before Communion we pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you.” So when we read, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division,” we know that Jesus is making reference to what is called a false peace, one in which relationships are not harmonious. Jesus will have nothing to do with such unions—he will split them apart out of love and for the sake of truth.
The human condition that we are steeped in is ambiguous. Choices, at times, have to be made that in fact cause division and pain. We need but note the work of the following Christians: Alan Paton in his opposition to apartheid in South Africa; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler; Martin Luther King, Jr., in his ministry to secure human rights; Thomas Merton in his stand against nuclear war; Dorothy Day, who fought against the status quo that kept so many in radical poverty. All of them came to bring not peace, but “division.” These disciples of Christ fought for the big “peace,” the Kingdom of God.
God’s word is a two-edged sword. God’s word admonishes us in our sin; God’s word consoles us in our desolation. God’s Word—Jesus—is the divine instrument bringing us to life, even if, momentarily, our “peace” is disturbed. When Jesus looked across the night fire into Peter’s eyes, we can feel the “division” of that glance. Unlike Judas who saw only his betrayal of Jesus, Peter saw within that gaze the eyes of compassion and forgiveness.
It is a good spiritual exercise for all of us to write out our mission statement. What has God called us to be and to do? Why have we come upon this earth? Surely, a major task we have all been given is to bring peace, right relationships.
Knowing the times and Settle with your accuser (Luke 12:54–59)
54
He also said to the crowds, "When you see (a) cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain - and so it does;
55 and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot - and so it is.
56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
58 If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison.
59 I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."
comments by Anthony S. Layne (Catholic author of the "Outside the Asylum"):
“Discerning the signs of the times” is the favorite activity of many people. In particular, “the signs of the times” are always telling certain Catholics that the Church should change its teaching on x, y or z. But as we unpack this passage, we find that “interpreting the present time” isn’t a license but a warning.
In the parallel passage in Matthew 16:2-4, Jesus tells the Pharisees and Sadducees, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Here Luke follows it up with a comparison to a debtor being hauled into court for judgment.
In Matthew 5:25-26, the instruction to settle is presented as a kind of general lesson in the Sermon on the Mount. Both Matthew and Luke use opheilo “debt” as a synonym for sin or trespass; when we sin against God, we do Him an offense for which He is due recompense.
Our baptism has washed us of original sin, yet we live in the wreckage of original justice. Our flesh, as St. Paul tells us, is constantly at war with us, desiring things that are not good for us, or good things in amounts and at times that are not good, desiring to abuse ourselves and others to satisfy disordered appetites:
For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with my mind, serve the law of God but, with my flesh, the law of sin (Rom 7:18-25 NAB).
Having made ourselves opponents to God, we must then settle with him before the Day of Judgment comes. Happily, after his resurrection, Jesus gave his Church a means of reconciling us with God, when he breathed on his apostles and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:22-23). We confess our sins, and repair our relationship with God through penance, receiving in return absolution.
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| Duccio Di Buoninsegna - "Christ Accused by the Pharisees" (1308) |
2 "There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.
3 Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.
Explanation by Pope Francis:
Hypocrisy is the leaven that causes men and women to be self-centered and indifferent to the world around them. It is a leaven that grows inward, a leaven that grows without a future because in selfishness, in looking inward, there is no future.
The Pharisees of the time, were those who were “closed in on themselves” and whose only concern was their own selfishness and security.
"Be on guard against the leaven of hypocrisy" which cares only about appearing good, and instead choose the “leaven of the Holy Spirit” that “makes us grow, with all the difficulties of the journey, even with all our sins, but always with hope.”
“The Holy Spirit is precisely the deposit of that hope, that praise, that joy. In their hearts, these people who have the Holy Spirit as their leaven, are joyful, even in problems and difficulties,” he said. “The hypocrites have forgotten what it means to be joyful.”
Explanation by Mike Landry (Catholic School Chaplain from Spruce Grove):
When it comes to what you do, the initial question I put to you is one of integrity: are you a person who lives with integrity (wholeness)? Are you the same person on Friday or Saturday night as you are on Sunday morning? I once heard it put really well: “who you really are is what you do when no one is watching?” This sense of isolation is an illusion, because we never really are alone: God is ALWAYS watching. This is why we can be judged for our careless words and what we have done and said in darkness will be proclaimed on the housetops. When Gaudium et Spes was published during the Vatican II, it discussed the ringing topics of the day: war, marriage, family, and politics. The ringing topics of our day are things like the internet, human suffering, the sanctity of marriage, atheism… and you need to engage them through every means at your disposal. (What ways do you see to engage the world?)
In the end, our words and our actions need to go together. To be the young Church relating to others, those who are around you should see your faith in what you do and say. At certain moments it’s a question of living with integrity as I’ve mentioned above- and at other times it’s a question of being able to explain to people what we really believe. St. Peter writes “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15) – and here I would simply ask you whether you can explain to others why you believe in God, why you follow Jesus, why you are Catholic?
Whom to fear (Luke 12:4–7)
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| Archibald Thorburn - A Pair of Sparrows and a Greenfinch (1927) |
5 I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.
7 Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.
commentary by Pablo T. Gadenz, Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Trenton (NJ) :
What might lead disciples to deny Jesus is fear of being persecuted (see 11:49). However, Jesus tells them, his friends (see John 15:15), that they should not be afraid of those who can only kill the body. Rather, the one to be afraid of is God, who has the power to cast into Gehenna. The word derives from the “Valley of Hin-nom” (Hebrew ge-hinnom, Josh 15:8), located south of Jerusalem. Idolatrous sacrifices of children by fire were carried out there under the evil kings Ahaz and Man-asseh (2 Chron 28:3; 33:6) before Josiah’s reform (2 Kings 23:10). Jeremiah prophesied that because of God’s judgment the valley’s future would also be marked by death and defilement (Jer 7:31-33; 19:2-13). The valley thus became an image for the place of final punishment of the wicked, described as a place of unquenchable fire (see Isa 66:24). This is the sense of “Gehenna” in the New Testament (Matt 5:22; 23:33; Mark 9:43; James 3:6), and hence it is translated “hell” in many English versions.
Explanation by Father Raymond De Souza (https://newcovenantjournal.blogspot.com/):
Isn’t it true how often we need to be reminded of this great love our God has for us? This is a constant challenge, to grow in our knowledge of the depths of this love, its perfection, its infinite nature, its purity and genuineness, and the fact that we can do nothing to earn this love.
Part of what prevents me from realizing this love and appropriately responding to this love :
I am too focused on myself, or too focused on how I want things to be, or how I would prefer things to work out. Also, because of my self-indulgences, I do not give the needed space to look beyond the superficial desires that I have to properly understand the deep yearning within me for God, and too often settle for superficial gratifications, rather than persevering in pursuit of the lasting truths of God, in Christ, and the heavenly kingdom.
Or, as is often the case, my own sinfulness can make me doubt that God could love me always, infinitely, unconditionally.
Of course, these are the things we are to be ‘wise’ about… Be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. (Matthew 10:16) The demon has many deceits to keep us doubting God’s love; many deceptions to prevent our perseverance in responding to God’ love.
I’m curious how often in the Gospels Jesus tells us: Do not be afraid. Courage, your sins are forgiven. Persevere. So again today, we are encouraged to grow in the knowledge of God’s love. We are instructed to be courageous in living our faith. The Lord again today patiently directs our own perseverance.
Know that God is always with you. Know that God is always faithful. As you grow in the many ways God reveals these truths to you in the silence of your heart, and the hidden moments of your day, proclaim them in and through your life.
Therefore, do not be afraid…Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. (Matthew 10:26-27)
Another explanation by Christian blog "For the love of his truth" (https://fortheloveofhistruth.com):
Jesus then goes on to tell us once again how important His children are to Him by referring back to the lowly sparrow—a small bird that his audience deemed quite unimportant.
Please look very carefully at the words of the Creator of the universe in verse 31; if you’ve given your life to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then He is talking to you. Matthew 10:31 — Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Now let’s put this all together as it relates to the subject of the amazing security of the beloved child of God and the relationship He offers through Christ Jesus.
If the Lord God Almighty, Who is in absolute and total control of every nanosecond of every event in the entire universe, takes the time to care for the lowly little sparrows, then how much more will He listen to, and respond to, His precious sons and daughters that Jesus engraved on His palms at His crucifixion (cf. Isaiah 49:16).
Let’s also keep in mind at this point that God transcends any emotion we could possibly have by infinity. As such then, let’s look at this incredible bit of comfort; if we as fallen; depraved; degenerate; corrupt, and evil creatures care for and love our own children, here Jesus is saying: Then how much more will your perfectly loving Father in Heaven care for you, no matter what your situation might look like at the moment. That’s the incredible security of the children of God!
There is nothing that is happening to you that He is not ultimately in control of—the Lord is saying to you: Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Unforgivable sin (Luke 12:8–12)
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| The Descent of the Holy Spirit (1545) by Titian |
9 But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
10 Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11 When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say.
12 For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say."
The Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches believe blasphemy against the Holy Spirit to be an unforgivable sin (i.e., eternal sin). According to the Catholic Catechism #1864, there are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss. Catholics commonly give a list of six specific sorts of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, to wit, with Thomas Aquinas:
- Despair: believing that one's evil is beyond God's forgiveness - which consists in thinking that one's own malice is greater than Divine Goodness. It is a diffidence in the mercies and power of God as also, in the merits of Jesus Christ, as if they were not of force enough to save us. This was the sin of Cain, when he said, “My sin is greater than I can deserve pardon".
- Presumption: if a man wants to obtain glory without merits or pardon without repentance. A foolish confidence of salvation, without leading a good life, or any care to keep the commandments; such as they entertain who think they will be saved by faith only, without good works.
- Resistance to the known truth, for instance to argue obstinately against known points of faith, or to prevent the way of our Lord by forging lies and slander, as Heretics do, when they teach the ignorant people, that Catholics worship images as God, and give Angels and Saints the honour which is due to God; or that the Pope for money gives us pardon to commit what sins we please; that all which, greater falsehoods cannot be invented.
- Envy of a brother's spiritual good, i. e. of the increase of Divine grace in the world, for instance sadness or repining at another’s growth in virtue and perfection; such as sectaries seem to have when they scoff and are troubled at the frequent fasts, prayers, feasts, pilgrimages, alms-deeds, vows, and religious orders of the Catholic Church, calling them superstitious and fooleries, because they have not in their churches any such practices of piety.
- Final Impenitence, i. e. the specific purpose of not repenting a sin, to die without either confession or contrition for our sins.
- Obstinacy, whereby a man, clinging to his sin, becomes immune to the thought that the good searched in it is a very little one. A wilful persisting in wickedness, and running on from sin to sin, after sufficient instructions and admonition. For instance "The blasphemy of the Spirit" by which the Pharisees attributed the miracles of Christ, wrought by the Spirit of God, to Beelzebub the prince of devils. Now this kind of sin is usually accompanied with so much obstinacy, and such wilful opposing the Spirit of God, and the known truth, that men who are guilty of it, are seldom or never converted: and therefore are never forgiven, because they will not repent. Otherwise there is no sin, which God cannot or will not forgive to such as sincerely repent, and have recourse to the keys of the church.
The Church further believes there is no offence, however serious, that cannot be taken away by Baptism, or absolved from in the Confessional—that no one, however wicked and guilty, may not confidently hope for forgiveness. Note that while Our Lord did declare blasphemy against the Holy Spirit unforgivable, He did not except it from the sins that may be forgiven by Baptism and Penance (Mt 16,19; Mt 18,18; Joh 20,23). Thomas Aquinas explains that its unforgivability means that it removes the entrance itself to these means of salvation—however, it cannot hinder Almighty and Merciful God to take away this obstacle by sort of a miracle. This is affirmed by the Catechism which says that Christ desires "the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away from sin." The Sacraments of Baptism and Penance, notably, take away any sin if received.
comments by Father Vincent Hawkswell (Priest at St. Patrick's Parish, Vancouver):
There are two common errors about God’s forgiveness. One is presumption, something we often apply to our own sins. In practice, it usually entails a belief that God forgives us because our sins are not really that bad – and therefore we can continue to sin.
The other is despair, something we apply more often to the sins of others. In practice, it usually entails ceasing to believe that God will forgive those whose sins are too great – say, abortionists.
Both presumption and despair confuse forgiving with excusing. It is true that when God forgives us, he brushes away our offences like a cloud, our sins like a mist; he rolls our disgrace away from us.
There is no sin so small that God will overlook it. There is no sin so small that we can retain it in heaven. We cannot enter heaven clinging to even one of them.
But there is no sin so great that he will not forgive it. “Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow,” he said; “though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.”
Whether, by our standards, our sins be small or great, God’s forgiveness is available through “the ministry of reconciliation” that Christ has “entrusted” to his Church.
The sacrament of penance, administered by the Church, “requires the sinner to endure all things willingly, be contrite of heart, confess with the lips, and practice complete humility and fruitful satisfaction,” says the Catechism. The prodigal son is our example.
For most of us, it is perhaps confession “with the lips” that is the most difficult. However, “contrition of heart” is not enough, for we are body as well as soul.
As priests, we try to make confession as easy as possible. But even if it is difficult, surely it is worth it to hear those consoling words: “God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself and sent his Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church, may God grant you pardon and peace; and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
comments by Francis Martin, president of Father Francis Martin Ministries (FFMM), "commentary on the Gospel of John":
The Holy Spirit is essential to the Church’s mission in the world, lesus has chosen his disciples and appointed them to bear the fruit of holiness and love (John 15:16) and bear witness in the world, which is often hostile to the gospel. The only way we will be able to do this is through the power of the Holy Spirit. To grow in holiness and love, each of us needs to get to know the Holy Spirit more deeply and invite him into our lives. To those who call upon him in faith and confidence, the Spirit gives a personal, experiential knowledge of the risen Jesus, who is Lord of heaven and earth (Matt 28:18): nowadays this is often called “baptism in the Holy Spirit”. The Spirit makes the reality and power of the risen Jesus come alive in the hearts of believers. Through his gentle yet powerful activity, the Holy Spirit empowers Christians to live lives of love and holiness and, through their lives, to bear witness in the world to the Father’s love revealed in Jesus.
Disputed inheritance and the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-22)
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| The Parable of the Rich Fool (1627) by Rembrandt |
14 He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?"
15 Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions."
16 Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
17 He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?'
18 And he said, 'This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods
19 and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!"
20 But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?'
21 Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."
22 He said to (his) disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear.
The rich farmer in this parable is portrayed negatively, as an example of greed. By replacing his existing barn, he avoids using agricultural land for storage purposes, thus maximising his income, as well as allowing him to wait for a price increase before selling. St. Augustine comments that the farmer was "planning to fill his soul with excessive and unnecessary feasting and was proudly disregarding all those empty bellies of the poor. He did not realize that the bellies of the poor were much safer storerooms than his barns."
comments by Pope Francis (Homily of 22 October, 2018):
How does this man reason? Luke’s passage provides the answer: “he thought to himself: ‘My soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry’. In other words, live the good life, all for yourself, with your god: eat, drink and enter into that exasperated consumerism [which] does not stop, knows no limits.
However, God sets the limits: God said to him: ‘Fool!’. — How many times is the word ‘fool’ used in the Gospel? — This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have stored up, whose will they be?’. In response, the Pope observed, his wealth will end up in the hands of his heirs who will fight over those treasures considered to be like a god. That man becomes the slave of money is not a fairytale which Jesus invents: this is the reality” also today, he stressed.
There are many men and women who live to worship money, to make money their god: many people who live only for this and life has no meaning. So is he who lays up treasure for himself’ — says the Lord in the Gospel — and is not rich toward God. In reality, they do not know what it means to be rich toward God.
Let us just look at starving children who have no medicine, have no education, who are abandoned. This is idolatry, but it is an idolatry which kills and makes ‘human sacrifices’ because this idolatry causes many people to starve to death, he said.
Our prayers must be strong: “Lord, please touch the hearts of these people who worship… the god of money. Also touch my heart so that I may not fall into that, that I may be able to see”. There is war, always, here, family war. We all know what happens when an inheritance is at stake. Families become divided and end up hating each other.
Our prayers must be strong today, these days when the media shows us many, many calamities, many injustices; let us just think of the children: Lord, may you convert the hearts of these people, that they may know you and not worship the god of money.
The Birds of Heaven (Luke 12:23-34)
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| Tiffany Studios - Field of Lilies (1910)- Richard H. Driehaus Gallery of Stained Glass, Chicago |
24 Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds
them. How much more important are you than birds!
25 Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your lifespan?
26 If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest?
27 Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them.
28 If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
29 As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore.
30 All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides.
32 Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
34 For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be
Comments by by Fred S. Schaeffer, parishioner at Vero Beach, Florida (https://rcspirituality.net):
This is a beautiful passage of Scripture where Jesus tells us that we do not need to worry. But, human as we are, everyone worries. We worry too much, we worry so much that when we enter into that quiet relationship with Jesus, we cannot concentrate solely in Him. In the human psyche, we are constantly struggling with problems of one sort or another. To place these problems on the back-burner for a time, we find nourishment in our quiet life with Jesus. He told us not to worry our soul must be awakened and thus we pray to the Holy Spirit for spiritual enlightenment, so that we may understand these inner prayer relationships. So that God may lift the veil for us and we may see His goodness and Grace with the eyes of the soul.
The soul is the inner being of each and every person where a direct relationship may exist between ourselves and God. For those who love God, that relationship exists. For those who do not love God, the relationship from us to God is minimal or none, but God loves us just the same. He does not love the sin in us, but He loves all of us unconditionally.
Comments by Catholic blog new-wood blogspot:
Jesus says that where our treasure is, there also is our heart. What do you value in life? How well are you living according to those values? Your actions, not your words, show what you treasure and how you are directing your heart. The good life, Jesus is saying, is far different from what our popular culture promotes. Only when we let go of our desire to control every detail of life, only when we let go of our desire for acquiring more "things," only when we let go of our fears and embrace the spiritual journey will we find freedom from anxiety and true fulfillment. You will look at the birds and the flowers, your family and friends, and see in them the face of the Creator, and you will be filled with gratitude for all you have been given. Gratitude is key: it chips away at all the inner walls we have built in our vain efforts to maintain control, and opens us up to see the potential opportunities in uncertainty. It also builds trust, so that for many of us focusing on things for which we are grateful can be the easiest entry point to the spiritual journey. Our ultimate destiny is not to by surrounded by our possessions. Look at the birds of the air. Look at the flowers. They know. There is much they can teach you. Pray for an increase in gratitude and trust; if that is what you treasure, your heart will lead you there.
Parable of the Faithful Servant (Luke 12:35-48)
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| Etching by Jan Luyken illustrating the parable of the faithful servant, from the Bowyer Bible. |
36 and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
38 And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.
39 Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
40 You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
41 Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"
42 And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time?
43 Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
44 Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk,
46 then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
47 That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely;
48 and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.
On the 'ordinary level' of this analogy, Jesus is explaining that a Master can put a chief servant in charge to the Master's place while the Master is away.
In this parable, Jesus is responding to Peter, who clearly is the spokesman for the rest of the Apostles, and Jesus responds with this Parable speaking of a singular chief steward. This chief steward is even said to have the task of delegating food to the household. This is a beautiful description of the duty and role of the Pope. This is an obvious proof that Jesus entrusted Peter with "more responsibility" that others, and in turn demands those who fill the Papal office have have "more demanded" from them.
Sure you can say every Christian can be inserted into this parable, and that's true to an extent, but any attempts to downplay or eliminate the overtones of hierarchy is simply doing violence to the text. The parable is saying Peter is the "master of the house," the chief steward, to which the other 11 are immediately under him, and collectively they run the Lord's House, the Church.
comments by Edward Sri, professor of theology and Scripture:
This is true in our parable just as it often is in real life. While the master is away his servants are left unsupervised. Each has a task assigned to him, but choices can be made about the use and misuse of the time given for fulfilling them. Because we possess free will, the option is always there to serve ourselves instead of others.
Besides this, many young people choose not to worry about death or religion until they get old. Occasionally even parents will excuse their children’s reckless behavior as a time of sowing wild oats. One can imagine the wicked servant calculating his actions along these lines. Nevertheless, it is vain optimism to think that we will have time to straighten out our act before the end.
Jesus warns us against such forms of presumption. Neither the day of our death nor the hour of Christ’s return is known to us. Life must be lived in a state of moral and spiritual preparedness. The time to serve others rather than ourselves is now, not later. No one knows for sure if later will come.
comments by Rev. Father Joseph Levine (St. Peter Catholic Church):
The faithful and prudent steward is set in contrast with the wicked servant who deciding that the master is long delayed gets drunk and begins to mistreat his fellow servants. (cf. Mt 24:48-51)
Our Lord’s teaching in these various passages reveals us the nature and the right use of human freedom. Human freedom is not absolute but is set in a context of subordination to God, Our Creator and Lord, and the task he has assigned us; that assigned task is not the task of isolated individuals but of servants who make up an ordered household.
The right use of human freedom is determined by our relationship to God and by the good order of his household. In this light, in order to make good use of his freedom, the good and faithful servant needs to recognize the task assigned and freely apply his native intelligence and other skills to the fulfillment of the task.
The wrong use of freedom by the wicked servant involves the rejection of the task and the pursuit of his own will, which inevitably will end up harming the other members of God’s ‘household’ and ultimately himself. The wicked servant, even if he freely chooses to abandon the task, ends by getting ‘drunk’, that is he forgets his true identity as a member of God’s household and enslaves himself to his fancies and desires. At that point he would hardly be capable of performing the assigned task, even if he chose to do so, precisely because he is lacking in virtue; even if he were driven to his work by a whip, he would do a poor job.
The virtues are the character traits that make the fulfillment of our task easy and enjoyable. The virtues truly set us free to fulfill the task assigned to us by God. The law of God guides us in the acquisition and practice of virtue and thus marks the path to true freedom.
Repentance, in the fullest sense, requires more than recognizing that I have broken God’s commandments in particular ways; it requires recognizing that, by violating God’s commands, I have rejected the task he has assigned me; it means recognizing the ways in which I have refused to fulfill my part as a member of the household of God; it means recognizing the ways I have abused my freedom and so made myself a slave of my own desires and passions.
Repentance, however, is not just a matter of recognizing the wrong I have done, but of turning my life around. If I recognize that I have abused my freedom, then now I must beg the Lord to free from my chains so that I might begin to use my freedom rightly; if I recognize that I have refused to do my part as a member of God’s household, then now I must take up and embrace the task that has been entrusted to me.
Turning my life around through repentance also requires that I seek forgiveness for my sins; I must seek forgiveness not only for having offending God, but also for having introduced disorder into his household. That is one of the reasons why God requires confession of sins to a priest, who stands as both the representative of God and of the Church.
Not only must I seek forgiveness of sins, I must be willing to receive that forgiveness, which involves opening myself to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who purifies my heart and frees me from the desires that enslave and gives me the power to take my place as a free servant in the Lord’s household.
Comments by Reverend Paul A. Hottinger (St Margaret Mary Parish):
Now you may have wondered from time to time why so many of the saints found poverty to be such a great virtue. Well, the reason is that the gospel clearly has this idea that the more you are entrusted with, the more God demands from you. And so the deduction was that the best way to live, the freest way to live, is with the least amount of anything that we would have to render an account for. So the whole idea that the modern world has, that modern society has, of it’s really good to get rich, was simply rejected out of hand. If one is rich, that is therefore a great responsibility.
Now, for example, Pope Gregory I—who was a very wealthy man, he came from a wealthy family—he joined a monastery, but he was so talented that the popes didn’t allow him to stay in the monastery. They sent him to Constantinople as the papal nuncio. Later on, he came back to Rome and he was elected pope because he was clearly the most talented, capable person and they needed his talents. But he rued that day, and he complains about it. He said back when he was a monk he was able to concentrate on God contemplate the gospel, and so on. He was free. He was a free man. But now, he is burdened. As pope, he has no time. No time for prayer, and not only that, but his burdens—one of his burdens, he says, is that he has to talk to so many people and actually they are frivolous and so all he is doing is chatting about frivolous matters and this is nothing but a great waste of time.
Now he took his role of pope very seriously. For example, his family owned Sicily, the island, most of it. It was a huge farm. So he decided as pope, as bishop of Rome, which by that time had no other temporal ruler—theoretically, it was the emperor in Constantinople but practically, it was the pope. He saw all kinds of poor people in Rome, people who needed food, so he set up for all of his family holdings to be turned into a project to bring food to Rome every day so everyone there could eat. In a way, he sacrificed his family fortune for the good of the poor in Rome. So he really did great things, and he did many other things: collecting various chants and reforming the liturgy and doing all kinds of things. So he really spent his time well and yet, he was sorry that he had to do that. But he wanted to live this out. He knew that much would be required of him because much was given to him. He had family wealth; he was bishop of Rome; he was the temporal ruler for all intents and purposes of central Italy. And so he lived this life and this gospel, but would have preferred a different life, would have preferred one of simplicity and poverty and peace and quiet.
Now we don’t always choose the circumstances of our lives. But the point of the gospel is we have to work with what we have, but we are always, always servants. We are never a master. In this way, society can delude us into thinking we can achieve something: mastery, mastery over nature; being the head of the household; somebody; Mr. this or Ms. that; a person of grand importance. This gospel says, well really, nobody is that important. Everybody is a servant. Some servants mistreat their fellow servants, beating their menservants and maidservants. Everybody else is a fellow servant. If we think we’re special, if we think we’re above others and treat them that way, we are deluded. And, of course, our society is full of deluded people—and even in high places.
That’s what this gospel is talking about. We’re all called to be servants. The less we have, the freer we are. The more we have, the more responsibilities. Much will be required and even more will be demanded of those who have the most. So in thinking about what we want to do with our lives, and we should bring this up to our young people, in thinking about what life’s about, this has to be taken into consideration. Whatever we do, it has to be for God.
[Papal infallibility:
The Pope is said to occupy the "chair of Peter" or the "Holy See", since Catholics hold that the pope is the successor of Peter. Also, Catholics hold that Peter had a special role among the apostles as the preserver of unity, and that the pope therefore holds the role of spokesman for the whole church among the bishops, whom Catholics hold to be the successors of the apostles.
In Catholic theology, papal infallibility is one of the channels of the infallibility of the Church. The infallible teachings of the Pope must be based on, or at least not contradict, Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture. The Catholic Church does not teach that the Pope is infallible in everything he says; official invocation of papal infallibility is extremely rare.
The Latin phrase ex cathedra (literally, "from the chair") was proclaimed by Pius IX in 1870 as meaning "when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, [the Bishop of Rome] defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church."
The solemn declaration of papal infallibility by Vatican I took place on 18 July 1870. Since that time, the only example of an ex cathedra decree took place in 1950, when Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary as an article of faith.
Regarding historical papal documents, Catholic theologian and church historian Klaus Schatz made a thorough study, published in 1985, that identified the following list of ex cathedra documents
- Tome to Flavian, Pope Leo I, 449, on the two natures in Christ, received by the Council of Chalcedon;
- Letter of Pope Agatho, 680, on the two wills of Christ, received by the Third Council of Constantinople;
- Benedictus Deus, Pope Benedict XII, 1336, on the beatific vision of the just after death rather than only just prior to final judgment;
- Cum occasione, Pope Innocent X, 1653, condemning five propositions of Jansen as heretical;
- Auctorem fidei, Pope Pius VI, 1794, condemning seven Jansenist propositions of the Synod of Pistoia as heretical;
- Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX, 1854, defining the Immaculate Conception;
- Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII, 1950, defining the Assumption of Mary.
]
A message which will be a source of conflict (Luke 12:49-53)
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| Dorothy Day with Mother Teresa in 1979 |
50 There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
51 Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
52 From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three;
53 A father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
Comments by Bishop Robert F. Morneau:
Jesus came that we might have life, life in great abundance (John 10:10). But there is a deep, universal paradox here. As we hear in Luke’s Gospel, it would appear that division, not peace, is Jesus’ real mission.
We need to ponder and to pray over this paradox. The poet T.S. Eliot provides an insight: “Beneath the bleeding hands we feel/The sharp compassion of the healer’s art.” The surgeon cuts away the cancer, a bloody “divisive” act, indeed. Yet the motive is not to inflict pain and suffering. Rather, it is to bring healing, to further the fullness of life. No false tenderness allows the healer to withhold the knife; no good parent avoids disciplining his or her child. To bring health and peace, pain must be inflicted.
So Jesus causes “division” wherever there is an unhealthy, unholy union. Out of compassion and love, the Lord separates us from everything that keeps us from the love of the Father. This may appear cruel but it is in fact a great act of kindness, a divine kindness.
Pope John XXIII spoke often about peace, the peace that is the Kingdom of God. In his encyclical Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), he maintains that peace demands four elements: truth, freedom, charity and justice. Jesus came to inaugurate that Kingdom; he came to express truth, to incarnate love, to foster freedom and to promote justice. In this mission there would be much “division,” since people often opted for untruth and indifference, slavery and injustice.
Each of us must distinguish graced division from divisions that are simply destructive. The surgeon’s knife separates a diseased organ or a tumor from the body—a moment of grace. The slave trader separates children from their parents—a horrendous sin. Moses placed before his people a choice of life or death (Deuteronomy 30:19). We are given the same choice: to be agents of life and peace or instruments of death and chaos.
Just before Communion we pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you.” So when we read, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division,” we know that Jesus is making reference to what is called a false peace, one in which relationships are not harmonious. Jesus will have nothing to do with such unions—he will split them apart out of love and for the sake of truth.
The human condition that we are steeped in is ambiguous. Choices, at times, have to be made that in fact cause division and pain. We need but note the work of the following Christians: Alan Paton in his opposition to apartheid in South Africa; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler; Martin Luther King, Jr., in his ministry to secure human rights; Thomas Merton in his stand against nuclear war; Dorothy Day, who fought against the status quo that kept so many in radical poverty. All of them came to bring not peace, but “division.” These disciples of Christ fought for the big “peace,” the Kingdom of God.
God’s word is a two-edged sword. God’s word admonishes us in our sin; God’s word consoles us in our desolation. God’s Word—Jesus—is the divine instrument bringing us to life, even if, momentarily, our “peace” is disturbed. When Jesus looked across the night fire into Peter’s eyes, we can feel the “division” of that glance. Unlike Judas who saw only his betrayal of Jesus, Peter saw within that gaze the eyes of compassion and forgiveness.
It is a good spiritual exercise for all of us to write out our mission statement. What has God called us to be and to do? Why have we come upon this earth? Surely, a major task we have all been given is to bring peace, right relationships.
Knowing the times and Settle with your accuser (Luke 12:54–59)
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| Enrique Galwey Garcia - A storm premonition (1917) |
55 and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot - and so it is.
56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
58 If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison.
59 I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."
comments by Anthony S. Layne (Catholic author of the "Outside the Asylum"):
“Discerning the signs of the times” is the favorite activity of many people. In particular, “the signs of the times” are always telling certain Catholics that the Church should change its teaching on x, y or z. But as we unpack this passage, we find that “interpreting the present time” isn’t a license but a warning.
In the parallel passage in Matthew 16:2-4, Jesus tells the Pharisees and Sadducees, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Here Luke follows it up with a comparison to a debtor being hauled into court for judgment.
In Matthew 5:25-26, the instruction to settle is presented as a kind of general lesson in the Sermon on the Mount. Both Matthew and Luke use opheilo “debt” as a synonym for sin or trespass; when we sin against God, we do Him an offense for which He is due recompense.
Our baptism has washed us of original sin, yet we live in the wreckage of original justice. Our flesh, as St. Paul tells us, is constantly at war with us, desiring things that are not good for us, or good things in amounts and at times that are not good, desiring to abuse ourselves and others to satisfy disordered appetites:
For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with my mind, serve the law of God but, with my flesh, the law of sin (Rom 7:18-25 NAB).
Having made ourselves opponents to God, we must then settle with him before the Day of Judgment comes. Happily, after his resurrection, Jesus gave his Church a means of reconciling us with God, when he breathed on his apostles and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:22-23). We confess our sins, and repair our relationship with God through penance, receiving in return absolution.
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