Fortnight for Freedom 2017: Daily Homily Notes and Commentaries

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1 Fortnight for Freedom 2017: Daily Homily Notes and Commentaries Weekday Masses from June 21 to July 4, 2017 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops N.B.: The final reflection for each day is taken from the Pray-Reflect-Act handouts, which are available at Wednesday, June 21, 2017 Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga St. Paul: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Jesus Christ: Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. We, disciples of Christ, are called to serve the Lord with our whole lives, holding nothing back, letting go of our desire to serve ourselves. Saint Aloysius Gonzaga was not interested in the wealth or status he stood to inherit by his birth into the nobility. Rather, he pursued a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and lost his life while caring for victims of the plague. He shows that true freedom is experienced when the kingdom of God is first in our lives. Christians are committed to caring for the vulnerable, and migrants and refugees are some of the most vulnerable. The Church has long sought to serve the unique needs of people on the move, from providing for basic needs, to assisting with resettlement, to offering legal services to help newcomers navigate the system of their host country. In recent years, safety concerns have led to laws and regulations that restrict the Church s ability to offer these services. In some cases, even giving an undocumented person a ride to Mass could be criminal. These kinds of policies are not only inhumane; they restrict the freedom of the Church. The Church is called to serve the vulnerable, and the government should recognize the Church s right to offer this service. Thursday, June 22, th Week in Ordinary Time; Optional Memorial of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More-- also Saint Paulinus of Nola St. Paul is zealous for the truth of the gospel, fervently desiring that the Corinthian community be wholly devoted to Jesus Christ. Jesus instructs us to petition God for the coming of his kingdom. In our prayer, it is God s kingdom, God s will, that we most deeply desire to see on earth. There may be times when God s kingdom is in tension with earthly kingdoms. God s kingdom is first. It is good to love one s country, but ultimate loyalty is due only to Christ and his kingdom. Nationalism becomes idolatrous when loyalty to the nation is more important than loyalty to Christ. Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher show us what faithful citizenship looks like. They loved and served their country. But when they 1

2 were forced to choose between God s Church and the king, they were faithful to the Church. May their example continue to illuminate the path for us, as we seek to faithfully serve our Church and country. Friday, June 23, 2017 Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus The commandments of God are meant to instruct the people of God in the way of true freedom. God loves us, and by obeying his commandments, we open ourselves, with the help of God s grace, to receiving God s love and growing into a deeper friendship with him. No one knows the Father except the Son. We come to know the Father by knowing the Son, and in this way, we are drawn ever more deeply into fellowship with the Triune God. And we know the Son by gradually allowing ourselves to be conformed to him, by obeying his commandments and imitating his life of total self-giving. Acts of healing were central to the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. He restored sight to the blind, made the lame to walk, and cured leprosy. These miracles revealed that Jesus has come to restore the broken areas of this fallen world. The ministry of healing has continued in the Church. Christians have developed healthcare ministries dedicated to the study and practice of medicine. Indeed, the Church invented the hospital as we know it. Catholic hospitals today are often attacked for not performing abortions and other harmful procedures. Catholic medical professionals - like nurse Cathy DeCarlo - have been forced to violate their consciences and participate in abortions. Catholics serve in healing ministries out of fidelity to Jesus Christ. It is unthinkable that we would undermine our mission to heal by destroying innocent life and harming the persons for whom we are called to care. Saturday, June 24, 2017 Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist From [his] mother s womb Isaiah had a transcendent calling: to gather back to God his scattered people. This is one of the main missions of the Church as well: to gather all the nations into the peace of God s kingdom. We do not belong to the politics of division, but to the one House of God. The preaching of the Baptist is a powerful example for us of the proper way to gather God s people: we must proclaim a message of repentance which is essentially a message of hope. Knowing our unworthiness and our limitations opens the door for the Holy Spirit to work through us. In the Gospel, Zechariah was set free by his obedience, following the angel s command to name his son John, contrary to the customs of the time. Formed by the example of his parents humble obedience, John the Baptist became a holy prophet, and the hand of the Lord was able to work great things through him. 2

3 We must stand up for the civil right to be free from government coercion. At the same time, we Christians must be mindful that our freedom comes from Christ, and so we are always free when we remain in Christ. When a government attempts to force us to violate our consciences, we must witness to the truth. A state that coerces the conscience of its citizens radically oversteps its proper boundaries. Rather than resist as a revolutionary, the Christian bears patient witness to the truth, even if that witness leads to punishment. The martyrs are great examples of this. The key to martyrdom is witness to truth. In this respect, we are all called to be martyrs. Monday, June 26, th Week in Ordinary Time The Lord promises to bless Abram and to bless all nations through Abram. Here we see a fundamental principle that runs throughout Scripture: the many are blessed by the few. The chosen nation is God s instrument for bringing the whole world into communion with himself. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, calls us to attend to our interior lives, to our spiritual wellbeing, so that we can bless others. In this passage, he does not say that the Christian should not help to remove the splinters from others eyes. Rather, he tells us to cultivate a proper vision of how we can serve by first examining our own lives and letting God s grace heal us. Religious freedom is rooted in the nature of the human person. Human beings have a capacity to seek and hold fast to truth. A natural desire compels each one of us to reach out and grasp the truth about God. Creation itself bears witness to the reality of God, drawing us out, inviting us to listen for God s voice. And God speaks to us. Because God has created us for communion with Him, we have a corresponding duty. The right to religious freedom flows from this duty to seek the truth. Religious freedom means immunity from coercion, but its source and summit is the truth about God. Tuesday, June 27, th Week in Ordinary Time; Optional Memorial of Saint Cyril of Alexandria God promises to Abram that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars. God made a promise, and today, we can look and see that God has been faithful to the promise. Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This wise saying is so simple. It is easy to grasp the idea. And yet, because we tend to be turned inward, it can be difficult to live out. This exhortation provides us with a good basic guide for thinking about religious liberty. Americans expect that they will be free to live from their deepest convictions. Nobody expects that the government will coerce them into violating their consciences. When we speak up on behalf of religious freedom, we are echoing these words of Jesus: let us all do to others as we would have others do to us. Let us let each other pursue religious truth in peace. 3

4 In July 2015, Pope Francis said, Today we are dismayed to see how in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted, tortured and killed for their faith in Jesus. [I]n this third world war, waged piecemeal, which we are now experiencing, a form of genocide I insist on the word is taking place, and it must end. Today, Christians are among those religious minorities confronted with persecution, despite their having been critical to the vitality and pluralism of the region since the earliest days of Christianity. Wednesday, June 28, 2017 Memorial of Saint Irenaeus This exchange between God and Abram is one of the most momentous events in all of Scripture. Abram questions how he can be blessed, and God responds by reiterating his promise to Abram and confirming that Abram will have offspring. Abram believes, and he follows up on this belief by entering into a covenant with God. God speaks, Abram responds in faith, being enveloped in darkness, and it is the Lord himself who establishes the covenant. Abram s faith issued forth in an action in his case, the offering of sacrifice in response to God s command. Likewise, Jesus teaches that true faith should lead to fruit. Lives that are rooted in Christ and nourished by the Holy Spirit will produce good fruit. We are most firmly planted in Christ when we find our place as members in his body, the Church. Saint Irenaeus was a missionary to southern France in the second century, and became the second bishop of Lyon. During his lifetime, the Christians in his region not only suffered persecution from the Roman Empire, but also faced a disheartening struggle against the false teachings of Gnostic Christians. Saint Irenaeus was a courageous bishop who strengthened his flock amidst these tribulations. God has created people with a capacity to exercise reason. The Christian commitment to reason and service has meant that education is a central aspect of the Church s mission. One of the Spiritual Works of Mercy is to teach. In the U.S., Catholic schools have played an important role in offering hope in impoverished, primarily urban, areas. Catholic schools have been significant anchor institutions in many neighborhoods, and thus they benefit even those who are not their students. Catholic leaders played a leading role in ensuring that African-American children could have access to quality education. Education is what Catholics do, and it is difficult to imagine an America without Catholic schools. Catholic schools need the space, the freedom, to operate in accordance with Catholic convictions if they are to continue to be a source of vitality for our society. Thursday, June 29, 2017 Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul Paul speaks of himself as being poured out. He has competed well, finished the race, kept the faith, and longed for [the Lord s] appearance. In these 4

5 statements, Paul is striving but it is the Lord who brings about success. We must do all that we can in our longing for the Lord, while turning over any accomplishments completely to the Lord. Notice that the images Paul uses imply effort, even struggle. Living out our own faith is rarely a passive, relaxed event. If we wish to draw others into our faith and way of life, we must be sure that we ourselves are striving to live the whole of our faith, not just the comfortable and easy parts. Peter s profession of faith comes not from flesh and blood but from Jesus own heavenly Father. Our faith is not dependent on human opinion, but on God. There is still need to use human reason to make the important decisions in our world, but the faith which purifies that reason is divine. We need both. Matthew s Gospel reminds us that Peter, who died a martyr s death in the Roman persecution, is the rock upon which the Lord built his Church. In that case, the willingness to embrace and undergo struggle in the face of opposition is part of the foundational fabric of the Church. If we live our faith fully, like Peter, it will always demand more of us than an hour a week. The Church is the body of Christ, the pilgrim people of God. She is not simply another charitable organization. The Church is called to carry forward the mission of Jesus Christ in all times and places. Much current work for religious freedom involves asking for exemptions from the state. But we should keep in mind that the government is not granting us rights. Rather, the state is rightly acknowledging the right of the Church to fulfill her purposes. As Pope Francis, echoing Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, has said, the Church is not merely an NGO. The Church is empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out the mission of Christ, and a well-functioning government will recognize its own limits and allow the Church the space to do her work. Friday, June 30, th Week in Ordinary Time; Optional Memorial, First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church The covenant that God makes with Abram requires something of Abram and his descendants. The males will be marked by circumcision, and Sarai is given a new name, Sarah. God makes the promise and establishes the covenant, but he also demands a response from his people. At this point, God has not given anything like the Decalogue or the commandments. Rather, we see that being set apart by means of circumcision is itself the sign of the covenant. Echoing the Old Testament writings on Moses, Jesus comes down from the mountain and is acknowledged as one having authority. Jesus heals the leper of his physical malady, yet he goes further. By instructing him to go and offer sacrifice, Jesus integrates the leper into good standing in his community. Jesus brings physical, social, and spiritual healing. This day after the great solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the Church honors the early Roman martyrs killed during Nero s persecution. Most of their names are unknown to us, but their courageous witness laid the groundwork for the eventual 5

6 flowering of the faith in the territory of the Roman Empire. This ought to give us inspiration and hope. Catholic Charities in Boston excelled at finding families for difficult-to-place children. Catholic Charities sought to place children in homes where they would flourish, and so they placed children in homes with a married mother and father. After Massachusetts redefined marriage, Catholic Charities was given an impossible choice: do what you believe to be wrong for children or end your adoption services. They chose the latter. Intolerance from the state for religious views has real consequences, and in this case, it is vulnerable children who have suffered. Saturday, July 1, th Week in Ordinary Time; Optional Memorial of Saint Junípero Serra Following the formation of the covenant between God and Abraham, Scripture displays a characteristic practice of the people of God, namely, hospitality. When this story is taken with the June 30 reading, we see an image of the Eucharist. God calls Abraham, Abraham responds and offers sacrifice, and then Abraham enjoys communion with others. The Church continues to find ways to offer hospitality to strangers and, as individual Christians, we are called to practice hospitality in our own homes. In no one in Israel have I found such faith. The centurion echoes the faith of Abraham. He humbles himself before Jesus, saying that he is not worthy to let Jesus into his home, and professes his faith in Jesus to heal by the power of his word. This is a pattern for the missionary disciple. We humble ourselves and ask Jesus to simply give us a healing word. Moreover, this passage reveals the power of intercession. The centurion comes on behalf of someone else, understanding that Jesus can heal the servant by speaking to him. This is another pattern that appears in Scripture, which persists in the Church in our prayers for others. Saint Junípero Serra, canonized here in the United States by Pope Francis, had a great love for the people of the new world. May his prayers and his example of zeal for souls inspire in us the same love for the people of our country. In St. Matthew s gospel, Jesus tells his followers that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for him. In other words, we serve Jesus when we serve others, especially the poor and vulnerable. Taking it a step further, if we treat the poor and vulnerable with callous disregard, then we are scorning Jesus. Over the course of two thousand years, the Church has set up institutions, such as adoption services, hospitals, schools, refugee resettlement services, and more, ways to obey Christ s call to serve. We serve the world, not just as individuals, but as communities. Missionary discipleship is a communal activity, and it is often carried out in institutions. Religious freedom here in the U.S. is, at its core, about the space to carry out our ministries. We are called to serve others, and we work for religious freedom so that we may have the room to offer this service. 6

7 Monday, July 3, 2017 Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle Christians live in this world always holding to the vision and promise of the next. Our faith in heaven affects how we live on earth. And every action and decision we make either builds up or tears down our preparedness, our openness, to the heavenly kingdom. This vision and promise is rooted in the witness of the Apostles. Like Thomas, many in our world today question what we believe because, they say, our beliefs lack visible proof. May our lives and witness to the Gospel be so filled with courage, conviction, and compassion that these things provide proof positive that we are indeed God s hands, eyes, and lips in this world. Because of Thomas s initial hesitation to believe the news that Jesus had risen, he has come to be known to countless generations of Christians as Doubting Thomas. This is unfortunate, since his eventual encounter with the Risen Lord inspired Thomas to make one of the most unequivocal declaration of the divinity of Christ in the New Testament: My Lord and my God! May those who disagree with us or feel threatened by us come to experience the abiding presence of the Risen Lord firsthand through our faith, our joy, and our love for others. In Mexico, religious freedom violations have risen recently, with some statistics indicating it continues to be a dangerous country for Catholic priests and lay leaders. Many religious freedom violations are linked to the Law of Uses and Customs, which stipulates that indigenous communities can retain their traditional form of government, allowing the religious majority in local communities to make life difficult for religious minorities. To further complicate the situation, some illegal cartels attempt to force religious institutions to become fronts for money laundering, and to challenge Church programs and teachings that offer alternatives to a life of violence. In 2016, three priests were murdered and there was an increase in reported extortions, threats, and abductions of religious. The Bishops of Mexico issued a statement in February 2015, calling for all elements of government and civil society to combat corruption in all its forms. They have urged authorities to find comprehensive and inclusive solutions to the violence afflicting so many individuals and families. Tuesday, July 4, th Week in Ordinary Time; In the Dioceses of the United States of America: Independence Day In the story of Lot s escape to Zoar, we see a figure of the Exodus story, in which God fulfills his promise to shield his people from the destruction that befalls the wicked. The passage also points out that God delivers Lot, because God is mindful of Abraham. As the Church, we are the children of the promise, and so on this Independence Day, we ask God to be mindful of his people and to deliver our countrymen and women from spiritual destruction. The story of Jesus rebuking the storm reminds us that Christ is truly the Lord of heaven and earth, the king of kings. On Independence Day, it is good to 7

8 remember the great women and men who established this country and to be thankful to live in a country where religious freedom has been understood to be the first freedom. At the same time, it is always important to keep in mind that Christ alone is the Lord. In fact, the Church has professed and borne witness to the development of doctrine on religious freedom in part because Christians have reflected for centuries on our duty to love and serve our country while remaining God s servants first. Religious freedom is for everyone. The Church teaches that religious freedom is rooted in the nature of the human person, and therefore it is a fundamental human right. When we speak up for religious freedom, we do so not only for ourselves, but because we are called to defend the dignity of every individual and community that seeks the truth about God, including those who are not Catholic. 8