• Sirach 24: 1-4, 8-12. Wisdom proclaims her life with God before the creation of the world. Afterwards she wandered the world restlessly until she fixed her abode at the Jerusalem temple.
• Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18. Before creation God predestined us in Christ as the object of his love and as his very own adopted children Paul prays that we can be enlightened in the great hope to which God has called us.
• John 1:1-18. In the beginning before creation the Word was with God and the Word was God. This Word came to dwell in our midst and offered us a share in his fullness.

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzalez

This week’s readings we celebrate the mystery of Christ as the “Logos” or as John put it in his Gospel, “The Word.”  Last week we reflected on Jesus as the child of Mary and Joseph and his role within the dynamics of the Holy Family. This week we contemplate Christ as “The Word” that became flesh and the “Logos” that is the second member of the Holy Trinity. Within these reading the contemplative philosopher among us will be drawn to the words of Sirach who himself was a famous Jewish Philosopher in the second century BC. Sirach, who like Socrates was drawn to wisdom, comprehends the vast mystery that is the Divine Wisdom.

The first man never finished comprehending wisdom, nor will the last succeed in fathoming her. For deeper than the sea are her thoughts; her counsels, than the great abyss.

In reflecting over these readings we are forced to consider the concept of predestination. Paul’s letters to the Ephesians talk to us about how we have already been “destined” by the Will of God to be His adopted children. Sirach and John reinforce this notion by remind us that the “Logos,” The Wisdom of God, has been active at the foundation of the world in carrying out God’s destined plan for creation. And yet, in Jesus’ public ministry, we hear Jesus inviting us all to share in God’s perfection. Throughout the Gospel, in the Beatitudes, in the Last Judgment reading of Matthew, in the Good Samaritan parable in Luke, in the exhortations made by Paul, James and Peter in their respective epistles, time and time again we are freely invited to partake in the Kingdom of God by living a life of charity and social justice. This is the theological tension that our faith has wrestled with regarding “Predestined Grace” and “Free Will,” the same tension that brought about the great split between the Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations. How should we understand our motivation and incentive towards an expression of Love through acts of charity and social justice if our salvation is indeed predestined?

This past week I had the pleasure of speaking to a neighbor who is also an architect and who in the last few years designed architectural plans for his new house. It surprised me to learn that as he began the construction of his new house unforeseen conditions popped up everywhere forcing him to redesign his plan again and again. Ultimately his goal was accomplished and a new house was built for his family but the final plan had evolved greatly from his initial design. As he was telling me his I thought of the passage in Jeremiah where God instruct Jeremiah to visit a potter’s house. As the potter shaped his clay Jeremiah witnessed the potter reshaping it because the original design did not come out as plan. God reminded Jeremiah that as the Potter did to this clay so too can God act with regards to His own creation.

The wisdom of God is beyond human comprehension. God’s wisdom has us destined towards a perfect social union. Yet this union is based on our ability to freely develop this union. God’s revelation, and more specifically the revealed example of Jesus Christ, offers us the plan for constructing this union which of course God designed and which he may have to redesign based on the unforeseen conditions of our own free actions. Actions of charity and social justice are not methods for us to achieve our own salvation but rather they are the expressions of God’s ultimate social plan (the Kingdom of God) which we are invited to live out. The Biblical passages mentioned in the second paragraph remind us what actions are expected from this union. We may not be able to fully comprehend the final plan, but fortunately for us God supplements our ability to reason with the revelation of “The Word” that became flesh and whose “life was the light of the human race.”

• Wisdom 7:7-11. I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me and in her company all good things.
• Hebrew 4:12-13. God’s word is sharper than any two-edged sword. It judges the heart. Nothing is concealed. For everything we must render an account.
• Mark 10:17-30. One thing more you must do. Go and sell what you have and give to the poor. Whatever we have given up to follow Jesus, will return to us a hundred more in this life, plus persecution, and in the age to come, everlasting life.

Thoughts for your consideration: By John Gonzalez

God’s gift of Wisdom is at the heart of this week’s lectionary readings. We understand that Grace happens when God freely bestows his gifts upon us. Catholic tradition tells us that there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit that aid us in our struggle to follow Christ and redeem our humanity: broken by sin and the great temptations of self-indulgence. We require these gifts of God in order to achieve our ultimate purpose and calling which is to be one with God and all of creation. This week’s readings will help us comprehend the prominent role of the gift of Wisdom in the midst of this struggle.

This first reading reminds us of the great value placed on Wisdom by Solomon. If you had one wish in the world what would you wish for? According to this reading the answer would have to be Wisdom. The goodness that comes from Wisdom is not measurable by common social standards. The only appropriate way to consider the value of this gift is if you accept that under the guidance of Wisdom the ultimate sense of goodness flows from it. But having said this we must ask ourselves, “What is goodness”?

In our Christian spirituality and ethics, goodness is not defined as something that is self-gratifying or that simply produces our own personal happiness. Goodness is better understood under what Catholic social teaching calls, “the common good.” Mystics like St. Paul of the Cross would use the term, “the Divine Good” to describe the same concept. Good is a subjective term. What is good for me may not be good for another. So the concept of Divine or Common Good denotes another form of goodness that is not subjective. We would consider this to be a Goodness that is universal or an ultimate form of goodness from which everything that happens to ourselves and all humanity and indeed all creation can have the deepest meaning. So that even in our suffering people like St. Paul of the Cross can say that even in our suffering we may be serving the “Divine Will that can will only the greatest good.”

The Gospel account has a rich young man approach Jesus in pursuit of this greater good. Jesus offers him the Ten Commandments, but the young man has made it that far and now he wants to take the plunge into ultimate goodness no doubt believing that he is ready for the challenge. What Jesus does when he tells him to give all his belongings to the poor is to humble him into realizing the mystical challenge that is the common good. To serve God and the great good that comes from God is to be at the service of all creation, thus “many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” For our part we must intentionally make that choice, to constantly see ourselves in relationship to God and to be at the service of all. As we can tell from the Gospel passage this radical call to goodness unnerves even the Apostles who begin to wonder if there is any hope in achieving this relationship with God. At that point Jesus will remind them that “for mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” So on our own we cannot hope to achieve this greater good. That is why we must have the grace of God’s wisdom to help guide us in this journey.

This may be unnerving and quite daunting but the second reading reminds us of how powerful and ever present the wisdom of God is. By faith we are told to accept that ultimately all things will be held accountable to the Divine Will. So we must not be afraid to ask for this great gift and to humble ourselves by allowing ourselves to be forged by this gift from God.

It is worth mentioning that just preceding this second reading, if we read the rest of Chapter 4 from this letter, we are told about the context from which God’s Divine Will is offered to us. The context is within the solitude of God’s rest. Sometimes, especially in our culture, we feel that we are beyond this ultimate wisdom. God does not seem to be speaking to us anymore. According to this chapter God is ever present and ever alive in our world, but we need to make time to first hear God’s wisdom in order to actually comprehend it. Solitude has been a prominent Christian value. For that reason the Passionists and other Catholic religious communities have upheld the importance for Christians to have an opportunity to engage in retreats periodically and to have spiritual direction in order to spend some intentional time in developing one’s relationship towards God. Many Catholic Religious communities have retreat centers that offer a variety of spiritual themes including silent retreats specifically designed to give each person the opportunity to hear God’s voice. Consider this spiritual option from our tradition as you reflect on the lectionary readings and contemplate how God’s wisdom is speaking to you.

Questions for your Reflection:

• Place yourself in the position of the rich young man. Consider your own hopes and expectations of your faith and imagine that Jesus is asking you to stretch those expectations further. How would you respond to call by God that makes you uncomfortable?
• How do you understand the “Common Good?” Take a moment to reflect on the concept of goodness from the perspective of the other. Consider something good for someone you know and love that may make demands on you. Now consider the good for people on the other side of the world that may make demands on your own society. How does this make you feel?
• What is your experience of spiritual exercises like Retreats or Spiritual Direction? Have you ever taken advantage of these services that our Church and the Religious community have to offer? If you would like to visit resources on these services visit either www.passionist.org if you live in the western part of the United States or www.thepassionists.org if you live in the eastern part to find these resources close to you.

• Wis. 2:12, 17-20. The just person, characterized by gentleness and patience, is tested, persecuted and even killed by the self-confident wicked.
• James 3:16-4:3. Jealousy and strife beget inconstancy, conflicts and vile behavior. Wisdom is innocent, peaceable, impartial and sincere.
• Mark 9:30-37. Jesus’ announcement of his passion and death leaves the disciples speechless. In the meanwhile they argue who was the most important among themselves. Jesus’ reply: whoever welcomes a child for my sake, welcomes me.

Thoughts for your consideration: By Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, CP

There is a saying to the effect that, should a butterfly flap its wings in one part of the world, there will be repercussions of that infinitesimally small action elsewhere in the world.  This assertion is based on the principle that everything is connected, so that nothing happens in isolation.

There are concerns of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC) associated with this assertion.  And today’s biblical readings lend themselves to an illustration of this principle, and this example.

For instance, the gospel depicts Jesus in a teaching mode regarding His disciples.  Having just warned them about what lay ahead for Him (sufferings, death and Resurrection) He discovers, surely to His chagrin, that there was absolutely no linkage whatsoever between His remark and the disciples’ receptive capacity, as they focused on their advancement in His company.  So He decided to do some linkage of His own, advocating a sense of  lowliness on their part, by esteeming the value of an insignificant child whom He embraces, for  achieving status with Him and His Father by their doing likewise.  He suggests an interconnection here between their external behavior and an interior mindset.

St. James, likewise, focuses on relationships in the behavior patterns of his correspondents.  He notes the foul practices and disorders erupting in their midst, escalating into wars and conflicts.  In his opinion, they derive from within: their passions, their ambitions, and their jealousy.  Like Jesus before him, he appeals to a matter of the heart (the wisdom of prayer) as a solution for these external troubles.

The author of the book of Wisdom gives his own witness to the interconnections prevailing between the inner and the outer phases of our lives, by posing the case of a just person who criticizes others for their transgressions and violations of their training, thereby rousing their anger.  So they decide to try his/her gentleness and patience by violations and torture, to see whether such a one’s interior trust in God will suffice to sustain abuse from without.

Each of these scenarios is an instance of a butterfly flapping its wings, impacting another phase of life.  Such was the case when Jesus embraced a child so as to change the disciples’ conduct; and when James proposed to his correspondents that they secure a bit of wisdom so as to improve the way they acted; and when the Wise Man praised the example of the just person’s patient, trusting relationship with God before the persecution undergone for upholding righteousness.

There are JPIC issues at stake here: interpersonal rivalries threatening comradeship, disorders escalating into wars and conflicts, social disruptions deserving criticism.  None of these exist in isolated fashion, separated from the rest of life.  They emerge out of ambition, passion, and hatred.  They too resemble the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, but instead of initiating values of harmony, peace and order residing within they are initiating a negative set of values which will also have powerful repercussions. What we do here and how we behave in the moment is crucial. Immediate actions and attitudes may seem insignificant but whether we realize it or not, they are impacting our internal mindset and external surroundings.

Questions for your Reflection:

• What set of values dictate our behavior and attitude toward ourselves, each other and the world? Can we name these values? How do we maintain consistency in applying these values?
• None of us can claim to be impervious to negative attitudes. Prayer, solitude, meditation and retreats are organized ways to process these moments. How do we integrate these methods to specifically address our own negative attitudes? Should we consider promoting these methods within our own family and local community?

Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15
Mark 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35b-43

Thoughts for your consideration:

This week’s lectionary readings remind us of the value of life. We have heard it summarized so many times before that our God is the God of life. In the book of Wisdom and in the Gospel reading we are told about this unconditional allegiance that God and Christ have for the promotion and preservation of life. Furthermore in the book of Wisdom we are told that “the generative forces of the world are wholesome.”

Of course one question that many of us will probably ask ourselves as we hear this passage is: “then what about the reality of death and destruction in our world?” How do we reconcile this divine ideal regarding life with the reality of death? Is the presence of death an affirmation of our irreconcilably corrupt nature? That does not leave us with a very hopeful theology; it would also negate the reconciliation of God and humanity through the death and resurrection of Christ. Do we then ascribe death to another divine influence? This would fly in the face of our monotheistic faith. While we believe that God exists in a mystical relationship that we call the Trinity we, like our Jewish and Muslim brethren, fully subscribe to One God.

The book of Wisdom offers us an insight into the presence of death in the midst of life when it qualifies that “righteousness is immortal.” If we can humble ourselves to accept that God’s ways are not our own then perhaps we need to redefine what life is. Life is not merely existence. For God life is existence with meaning, or better yet a divine purpose. To be truly alive is to exist for God. To exist for God is in turn to exist for all and with all of creation; to live in a form of ultimate harmony where Creation and the Trinity can live as one.

The second reading takes us further into this qualification of what it means to truly live. To enter into this mystical relationship with God and creation, a relationship that the gospel constantly invites us to, we must live for the service of all so that we can all live as one. We must all live simply, so that others may simply live. As Paul reminds the Corinthian community, their own abundance must serve the needs of their brethren in need, just as we would want their abundance to serve our own needs. True life is one that is lived in righteousness towards one another. Paul is discussing righteousness in terms of material generosity and charity. In Mark we hear of Jesus achieving righteousness through healing the sick and dying. These are just two areas of righteousness that call for our attentiveness. 

As we believe in one God so too must we acknowledge each other as members of one global community. It is our Christian responsibility to see to it that our abundance serves the needs of all. Currently in our nation we are struggling over the issue of universal healthcare. Certainly we can discuss the details of how we can construct a healthcare system that can work best with the political and economic structures that we have. But we must not compromise our Christian responsibility to promote the quality and meaning of life through a universal healthcare system. Christ did not reprimand the woman with a hemorrhage who touched his cloak; instead he affirmed her faith and maintained her desire to be healthy. Now we as a nation are given this opportunity to provide for the health of our brothers and sisters in need. If our abundance is meant to serve the needs of others then we must take this opportunity to see that all have access to a good and universal healthcare system.     

Questions for Reflection in your Faith Sharing Group:

• When have your encountered people who are in need of healing or health care and have not had access to it?  
• Where do you see unnecessary death in our world?