29th Week, Wednesday, Oct 22; ST JOHN PAUL II
Romans 6:12-18 / Luke 12:39-48
Salvation is not automatic; We need to cooperate with God's grace.
A man dressed in evening clothes was walking through the slums of New York. He came upon two boys dragging a huge box filled with kindling wood. Feeling sorry for them, he grabbed the rope and began to help pull the box. A minute later one boy let go of the rope and began kicking a can down the sidewalk. Then the other boy let go of the rope and began hitting the box with a stick. At that point, the man let go and walked away. He wanted to teach the boys that he wasn't their substitute, but their helper.Paul alludes to a point similar to this in today's reading God's grace has freed us from sin, but we must still do our part. Salvation is a team effort. We must cooperate with God's grace.
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How cooperative with grace are we? “God gives every bird its food, but he doesn't throw it in the nest.” Josiah Hollan
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Persons who have been set free from the slavery of sin, says Paul, should live in the grace of God as free persons. They can only serve what is right and good. They should live as a free and responsible Christians.
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To be responsible means to be answerable or to be accountable to someone or to a group of people. A responsible person is able to consciously make decisions, and behaves in such a way as to seek to improve oneself and also to help others do likewise. Most importantly, a responsible person accepts the consequences of his or her own actions and decisions.
Servants are expected to be responsible persons, otherwise they will be sacked by the master. In the gospel parable, the responsible servant is obviously rewarded by the master by being placed over everything the master owns.
Whereas, the irresponsible and untrustworthy and unfaithful servant is obviously punished. And we too must see ourselves as servants of the Lord, and the 1st reading reminds us not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies or command our obedience to bodily passions or desires.
We must be responsible for our actions because we are accountable and answerable to God and also to the people who will be influenced by our actions. God gave us this great gift of free will and choice. Let us be responsible in using it to do God's will and be obedient and faithful to Him.
God will reward us for our obedience and faithfulness, and for being responsible for what He has given us.
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In the Gospel, Luke speaks of the vigilance of Christians and their leaders. They are responsible for the grace and the talents God has given them. And, says Jesus, the more has been given to us, the more is expected of us, the more we have to be responsible for those entrusted to us.
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A human being is a combination of body and soul: the physical element and the divine element. God created the universe by uttering words; but the human being was created by His own hands. Therefore, human beings are the only creatures in the universe with the fingerprints of God’s own hand. A human being is blessed and filled with many divine qualities. However, human beings tend to forget the divine element that abides in their body and soul, and seek only physical pleasures like eating and drinking, which could lead to condemnation. Humans have received more than any other creature in the universe; hence, more is expected of human beings. We must give more than expected and expect less than wanted.
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Prayer
Our God and Father, in the generosity of your creative imagination you distribute among people a variety of gifts and talents of mind and heart and grace. Convince us, Lord, that what we have received, we have received for others, that if we have been given more, we are not greater or better, only responsible for more. Help us to use what we are and have in the service of others. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
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OCTOBER 22: POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II
Saint John Paul II is perhaps one of the most well-known pontiffs in recent history, and is most remembered for his charismatic nature, his love of youth and his world travels, along with his role in the fall of communism in Europe during his 27-year papacy.
The Nazi occupation forces closed the university in 1939 and young Karol had to work in a quarry (1940-1944) and then in the Solvay chemical factory to earn his living and to avoid being deported to Germany.
In 1942, aware of his call to the priesthood, he began courses in the clandestine seminary of Krakow, run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, archbishop of Krakow. At the same time, Karol Wojtyla was one of the pioneers of the “Rhapsodic Theatre,” also clandestine.
The Cardinals elected him Pope at the Conclave of 16 October 1978, and he took the name of John Paul II. On 22 October, the Lord’s Day, he solemnly inaugurated his Petrine ministry as the 263rd successor to the Apostle. His pontificate, one of the longest in the history of the Church, lasted nearly 27 years.
Driven by his pastoral solicitude for all Churches and by a sense of openness and charity to the entire human race, John Paul II exercised the Petrine ministry with a tireless missionary spirit, dedicating it all his energy. He made 104 pastoral visits outside Italy and 146 within Italy. As bishop of Rome he visited 317 of the city’s 333 parishes.
He had more meetings than any of his predecessors with the People of God and the leaders of Nations. More than 17,600,000 pilgrims participated in the General Audiences held on Wednesdays (more than 1160), not counting other special audiences and religious ceremonies [more than 8 million pilgrims during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone], and the millions of faithful he met during pastoral visits in Italy and throughout the world. We must also remember the numerous government personalities he encountered during 38 official visits, 738 audiences and meetings held with Heads of State, and 246 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers.
His love for young people brought him to establish the World Youth Days. The 19 WYDs celebrated during his pontificate brought together millions of young people from all over the world. At the same time his care for the family was expressed in the World Meetings of Families, which he initiated in 1994.
John Paul II successfully encouraged dialogue with the Jews and with the representatives of other religions, whom he several times invited to prayer meetings for peace, especially in Assisi.
Under his guidance the Church prepared herself for the third millennium and celebrated the Great Jubilee of the year 2000 in accordance with the instructions given in the Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio adveniente. The Church then faced the new epoch, receiving his instructions in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio ineunte, in which he indicated to the faithful their future path.
With the Year of the Redemption, the Marian Year and the Year of the Eucharist, he promoted the spiritual renewal of the Church.
He gave an extraordinary impetus to Canonizations and Beatifications, focusing on countless examples of holiness as an incentive for the people of our time. He celebrated 147 beatification ceremonies during which he proclaimed 1,338 Blesseds; and 51 canonizations for a total of 482 saints. He made Thérèse of the Child Jesus a Doctor of the Church.
He considerably expanded the College of Cardinals, creating 231 Cardinals (plus one in pectore) in 9 consistories. He also called six full meetings of the College of Cardinals.
His most important Documents include 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions, 45 Apostolic Letters.
He promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the light of Tradition as authoritatively interpreted by the Second Vatican Council. He also reformed the Eastern and Western Codes of Canon Law, created new Institutions and reorganized the Roman Curia.
On April 27, 2014 he was canonized by Pope Francis during a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square.
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We usually like to be notified in advance if someone wants to pay us a visit. Then we will tidy up our house or office and prepare something to welcome and entertain our guests. But if someone visits us without prior notice, then we may be caught in an inconvenient or untimely situation. But for those servants in the gospel passage, they knew that their master will return from the wedding feast, just that they did not know when would it be.
Jesus is telling us to be ready and alert always and He will visit us in the form of persons whom we don't usually pay much attention to or whom we don't usually have time for. We must be ready and alert and be aware that it is in such persons and situations that Jesus is paying us a gracious visit. Because whenever Jesus pays us a visit, it is always a visit that comes along with His blessings of love and peace and joy. It may be at an inconvenient and unexpected time, but it will always be a God-filled and blessed moment.
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Let us Pray: Lord our God, Jesus your Son has broken down the barriers dividing peoples and nations, but why are we still so far apart, even within our own households? He has brought us close by his blood, but why does his one body remain a dream far removed from reality? God, let us not be aliens to one another, bring us together, help us to demolish the walls of hatred and exploitation, of distrust and power that divide your people, that we may be all one in Jesus Christ our Lord.
