29th Week, Monday, Oct 17: St. Ignatius of Antioch
Ephesians 2:1-10 / Luke 12:13-21
Paul talks about Christians: We were saved by God’s grace.
One Good Friday morning, a Protestant minister set up a stepladder in order to drape the cross outside his church with a black cloth. Because of the shrubbery encircling the cross, the ladder was resting in an awkward position. The minister climbed the ladder and tossed the end of the cloth over the cross. As he did, the ladder slipped and began to tip. The minister threw his arms out and grabbed the vertical bar of the cross, saving himself from what could have been a serious fall. After he regained his bearings, the minister said his experience gave him a new appreciation of how we have been saved by the cross of Christ. He acquired a new understanding of what Paul talks about in today’s reading.
****
How aware are we of having been saved, in a personal way, by
the cross of Christ? On Calvary, Christ crossed out our sins, individually and
collectively.
****
Oct 17: Saint Ignatius of Antioch (c.45 -c.107)
A native of Syria, a zealous convert and a disciple of St John the
Evangelist, Ignatius was the third Bishop of Antioch. From 94 to 96 there raged
the second great persecution of Christians under the Emperor Domitian, and St
Ignatius was indefatigable in instilling hope and courage in the faithful, so
that they might profess the faith unwaveringly, even at the cost of life. After
a short period of peace, a third persecution ensued during his reign of Trajan
(98-117). St Ignatius once again proved himself the faithful and intrepid
leader of the Church in Antioch, both by word and example—“A Christian does not
live for himself alone. He belongs to God!”
His fearless reply to a derogatory remark made by Emperor Trajan was:
“Call me not a poor wretch, for I bear God within me!” Trajan sentenced him to
be devoured by wild beasts in the Coliseum.
Ignatius was then 62, and the journey to Rome proved quite an ordeal; but it
also took on the aspect of triumph for the large numbers of Christians who
turned out to meet him all along the way across Asia Minor and northern Greece.
Ready and eager to die for the Faith, Ignatius was heard to say to those who
were desirous of working for his release: “I am the wheat of the Lord and must
be ground by the teeth of wild beasts to become the pure bread of the Lord
Jesus Christ.”
***
It can be said that life is the most difficult exam. Many people fail because they try to copy others, without realizing that everyone has a different question paper. Who among us can say that we never desired to be richer, higher and have more. We get these desires not out of nowhere, but from looking at others and then wanting to get what they have and even be who they are.
In the gospel, Jesus has a teaching for us that will help us
in looking at life when He says: Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of
any kind, for a man's wealth is not made secure by what he owns even when he
has more than he needs.
Then He tells a parable about a rich man who had a
bountiful harvest and made plans for securing his future with his
wealth. And he was called a "fool" because he thought that his
wealth was the security for his soul, without realizing that his wealth may
belong to him but his soul belongs to God.
We can say that the rich man failed in the exam of life
because he was foolish enough to think that his wealth can save him.
But as the 1st reading will remind us, that is by the grace
of Jesus Christ that we have been saved through faith. Not by anything of our
own, but by a gift from God. Not by anything that we have done, so that nobody
can claim the credit.
Let us not be so foolish as to fail in the exam of life. We
must realize that there is no greater wealth in this world than peace of mind
and that God loves us with so much love and He is so generous with His mercy
that He has already given us a place in heaven. We only need to be grateful and
thankful to pass the exam of life.
****
Monday of 29th Week of Ordinary Time
SAVED BY GRACE
Introduction Ephesians gives us the very fundamental
message of our gratuitous salvation by the death and resurrection of Christ.
Life, real life, comes through him. We have not done anything to deserve it and
we can’t do anything to merit it. All we are, we are by the grace of God. It
goes perhaps against the grain of our human thinking, but we are dependent
beings, a gift from God living by the gifts of God. And yet, this should not be
humiliating, for it is in accordance with our human nature. We are dependent,
yes, but we are loved – and this is what changes everything. When Jesus speaks
out against the rich, he does not intend to condemn them but to liberate them.
What he denounces is not the fact that they have material goods, but their own
attachment to them and the use they make of their riches: for hoarding, for
selfish enjoyment, or – as some rich countries do – stockpiling wheat in silos
or using oil for economic and political pressure. The value of possessions is
relative to the goods of the kingdom, to justice and love. What counts is to be
rich and wise before God.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, we are your work of art. When we were vowed to
death through sin, you called us to life through the death of your Son. God,
open us to your love and life given for free as a gift without charge or regret
and give us thankful hearts. May we learn from you and your Son to place
ourselves in the service of our brothers and sisters, through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Commentary
Our psalm today speaks of God’s steadfast love, which
endures forever. If these were the sentiments of an Old Testament believer, how
much more do these words resound in the Christian heart? Paul speaks of his
pre-Christian life and that of his fellow Christians. This was a life lived in
the darkness of sin, subject to ethereal powers. Dominated by desires of the
flesh, we were, says Paul, “children of wrath,” destined for destruction. But
God in his great mercy has raised us up with Christ as Exhibit A of his
boundless grace in Christ Jesus. By that grace we have been saved through
faith. When we read this in conjunction with today’s Gospel, in our hearts we
know that there are better things in life than barns filled with grain. The
trouble is that we don’t always act that way. If we had an estate in the
Hamptons or a yacht that took us on a tour each year, they would be
overshadowed by that great gift of new life in Christ Jesus. Our hearts are
lifted up by philanthropists who use their fortunes on behalf of the less
fortunate. With their millions they are fighting our most devastating diseases
and giving hope to the desperately poor. They are not waiting for some future
date to make their bequests but acting now. This is a lesson from today’s
scripture. Yes, wealth is to be shared.
Points to Ponder
Using our goods for others
The danger of wealth
God’s greatest gift: our faith
Intercessions
– For grateful hearts, that we can thank God for changing us
from strangers to him into his sons and daughters in Christ, we pray:
– For loving hearts, that God has brought us peace with
himself, with one another, and even with ourselves, we pray:
– For wide-open hearts, with which we can love the many
brothers and sisters God’s grace has given us in the Church, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, you let us use these offerings as gifts from
your hands to eat and drink the life of your Son. Confirm us in your grace without
any claim to our own merits and let the Spirit of Jesus help us to live the
good life of your Son which you had meant us to live from the beginning and for
ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, what else can we do than give you thanks and
praise for speaking to us through Jesus and strengthening us with his bread of
life? May what we say and do and all of our lives be a gift to those around and
an act of gratitude to you, our God for ever and ever.
Blessing
All is grace, all is a gift freely given. Even the use of our talents and our work is God’s gift. Let us also give freely to our neighbor, like our love to the people close to us, but also our help to people who suffer, even if far away from us. And may almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.