Monthly Archives: May 2016

Monday of the 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Year II)
James 3:13-18 | Psalm 18:8-10, 15 | Mark 9:14-29

If there are any wise or learned men among you, let them show it by their good lives, with humility and wisdom in their actions. (James 3:13)

This passage is another instance where the Jerusalem Bible seems to be missing a shade of meaning that’s covered in many other translations:

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom. [New American Bible, Revised Edition]

Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew, by a good conversation, his work in the meekness of wisdom. [Douay-Rheims – King James Version is almost identical]

Does any of you lay claim to wisdom or learning? Then let him give proof of his quality by setting a good example, living peaceably as a wise man should. [Knox Bible]

In all other translations, humility is painted as a consequence of wisdom, not an independent quality as might be inferred from the JB translation. In particular, it’s hard to be arrogant when one realizes just how much one doesn’t know. For us Catholics, all it takes is some contemplation on the omnipotence and omniscience of God, but even atheist scientists are regularly humbled by making important discoveries…only to uncover still more questions in the process.

Today’s reading also draws a connection between the humility of true wisdom and the creation of peace. This becomes quite clear when we consider two common approaches to peacemaking:

• Peace by fiat: “Your problem with him is pretty obvious, and so is his problem with you. I suggest you do ABC, and he does DEF, problem solved. OK?”
• Peace through bridge-building: “I don’t know your problem with him, nor do I know his problem with you, so why don’t we all sit down over a good meal and talk things out?”

One has a higher probability of success than the other.

Lord, you search us and you know us, you discern our purpose from afar. (Psalm 139) Remind us that heavenly wisdom begins in love for others, and grant us the courage to act in humility, to love in tenderness, to serve in completeness. Amen.

P.S. If you’re wondering why today’s blog title sounds familiar…

And yes, Mac Davis was actually taking a dig at folks who thought too much of themselves.

Pentecost Sunday (Year C)
Acts 2:1-11 | Psalm 103:1, 24, 29-31, 34 | Romans 8:8-17 | John 14:15-16, 23-26

Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you. (Romans 8:10-11)

Christianity is rich in symbols, and two of the foremost are of course the wind and flame connected with the Holy Spirit. The wind aspect is in fact embodied in the Hebrew רוח הקודש (ruach ha-kodesh, lit. “spirit of holiness”), for ruach can also be translated as “breath”. This concept of “breath as spirit” goes all the way back to Genesis, wherein:

God fashioned man of dust from the soil. Then he breathed into his nostrils a breath of life, and thus man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

For some reason, all of us adults have unlearned the fullness of breathing like a child, and some of us have experienced the sudden burst of life when we consciously start to use more than a small fraction of our lung capacity. It’s no surprise that most effective exercise routines across all cultures emphasize the important of proper breathing techniques. This is no new-age mumbo-jumbo, just a cold hard fact: without breath, there is no life, physical or spiritual.

So on this festival day, let us ask God to breathe the Holy Spirit upon us, just like the powerful wind from heaven that flooded the room wherein the apostles met on Pentecost all those years ago. Just remember to breathe deep, lest the Spirit – and new life – pass you by.

Veni, sancte spiritus. Amen.

St. Matthias, Apostle
Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 | Psalm 112:1-8 | John 15:9-17

Having nominated two candidates, Joseph known as Barsabbas, whose surname was Justus, and Matthias, they prayed, ‘Lord, you can read everyone’s heart; show us therefore which of these two you have chosen to take over this ministry and apostolate, which Judas abandoned to go to his proper place’. They then drew lots for them, and as the lot fell to Matthias, he was listed as one of the twelve apostles. (Acts 1:23-26)

Decisions, decisions…

“Eh, they use tikam-tikam to choose apostles meh?” That was an honest reaction from a Catholic friend who belatedy noticed what Acts 1:26 actually said. Indeed, given the modern mechanics of a papal election, where every cardinal is guided by the Holy Spirit to make an independent nomination, or even a secular election where every voter is free to make an informed choice, using “luck of the draw” to elect a replacement for Judas Iscariot seems almost flippant.

Note, however, that it’s implied that both Barsabbas and Matthias were qualified for the job. As Acts 1:21-22 notes, both men had been with Jesus all through His earthly ministry, so both were equally able to testify to His divinity and resurrection. I suspect that the apostles were actually praying for the Holy Spirit to illuminate any aspect of either man that might give him an edge over the other, so that they could make an informed choice as with any proper election. Only when no “advantage” came to light, did they draw lots to make a fair choice between two equals.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

There are two common practices that are related to this apostolic election. Both involve opening the Bible and reading a passage at random, but to two very different ends:

• Sortes Sacrae (Holy Lots) – letting scripture foretell your fate
• Spiritus Sanctus (Holy Inspiration)1Yes, it’s also the name of my blog. No, it’s not a coincidence. – letting scripture guide your actions

As you might imagine, Mother Church is very much against one of these, and actively encourages the other.

Lord, You are the source and inspiration of sacred scripture. Kindle in us the burning desire to spend time daily with Your Word, that it may inform our actions and inspire our sharing with others. Amen.

Friday of the 7th Week of Easter
Acts 25:13-21 | Psalm 102:1-2, 11-12, 19-20 | John 21:15-19

Not much is known about Porcius Festus, the governor of Judaea who sent St. Paul to Rome to appeal to Nero’s judgement at the latter’s request, but one phrase in his account to King Agrippa of the events leading up to this stands out for me:

Not feeling qualified to deal with questions of this sort […] (Acts 25:20)

The Romans we’re familiar with from the Bible tend not to be very humble, especially with regards to their perceived authority and knowledge (and especially when they lack thereof). It’s not hard to imagine some other governor saying, “You’re an idiot, Paulus! People don’t rise from the dead! I don’t care if you’re Roman-born, you just disrupted my lunch routine, so off to the Jews you go.”

The same could be said of most people nowadays, especially when they’re online. Not a day goes by without someone taking umbrage with someone else for some (usually trivial, absurd and/or mistaken) reason, and channeling their inner Judge Dredd, unleashes a very dark stream of consciousness that leads only to embarrassment, furious backpedalling, and possibly several related firestorms.

We’re not privy to Festus’ personal opinion of St. Paul, but St. Luke records that:

[he] was anxious to gain favour with the Jews, so he said to Paul, ‘Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried on these charges before me there?’ (Acts 25:9)

Despite all that, and to his credit, he still extended to St. Paul the fundamentals of civil and lawful treatment, regardless of any private biases or favour-currying.

So did Pope St. John Paul II, who was shot four times on this day 35 years ago, yet forgave his would-be assassin and successfully persuaded the Italian president to pardon him.

If only more people today would do the same…

Lord, You showed abundant love to all during Your stay on earth, reserving Your wrath only for the truly deserving and the demonic. Remove the dark lens of hatred and prejudice from our eyes, so that we can see others for who they really are, our kin under God despite our occasional disagreements, so that we too can show our love and understanding to them especially in trying situations. Amen.

Thursday of the 7th Week of Easter
Acts 22:30, 23:6-11 | Psalm 15:1-2, 5, 7-11 | John 17:20-26

He was a sharp one, that St. Paul. Not many people would have thought to pit different factions in the Sanhedrin against each other, and foment sufficient unrest to get the local Roman tribune to physically haul him out of mortal danger.

Some might even call it devious. After all, shouldn’t St. Paul have kept quiet and gone to his death, just like Jesus his Lord and Master?

I think not. Christ’s mission on earth was to teach all who would listen about the Father’s love, and offer His life in the end for the salvation of all. St. Paul’s mandate…was just the first part of that. To accomplish that in the face of virulent Jewish hostility would require a certain level of “street smart” to ensure both that his message reached as many ears as possible, and that he would live long enough to complete his earthly mission. His shrewd linking of the Father with the Athenians’ “Unknown God” at the Areopagus speaks to the former, and he was not above using his Roman citizenship to metaphorically “get out of jail free”.

I believe we too are called to do the same. As Christians, we certainly don’t have a license to lie, cheat and steal, but we can still come up with innovative ways to get the message of Christ across. For instance, this post’s title seems to contradict a previous exhortation, but I’m really drawing your attention to a critical difference between “martyrdom as Christian testimony” and “martyrdom as suicide-by-evangelisation”.

In short, we should share Christ’s message, but not crucify ourselves in the process. There’s no reason media apostolates like the Daughters of St. Paul should have all the fun, yeah? ?

Lord, you have the message of eternal life. Help us find new and creative ways to share that message with others around us, and thereby find joy in the process of evangelisation. Amen.