Is my way of being as a follower of Jesus evident to those around me? Sunday Reflections, 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Regina Pacis - Queen of Peace

University of Bonn [Wikipedia; photo]

Pope Francis has called for Ash Wednesday, 2 March, to be a day of prayer andfasting for peace in Ukraine.

Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for peace in Ukraine.

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Luke 6:39-45 (English Standard Version Anglicised: India)  

Jesus told a parable to his disciples:

“Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye’, when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Peach Tree in Blossom

Vincent van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]

I have used this story before on Sunday Reflections. I heard it from the late Fr Giuseppe Raviolo SJ, an Italian Jesuit who worked in Mindanao, Philippines, for many years and was one of the founders, in 1985, of St John Vianney Theological Seminary in Cagayan de Oro City there. More than 40 years ago he and I and some other priests were on a team together giving a directed retreat to seminarians. We stayed in a dormitory that was far from being 'Five Star'. He reminded me very much of St Pope John XXIII in girth and in personality and was always a delight to be with. I feel a great sense of gratitude to God for having known this wonderful man who lived his priesthood so joyfully.

Fr Giuseppe Raviolo SJ 

[Source]

During the Vietnam War Father Joe, as we called him, had been rector of the major seminary in Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, when it was capital of the then South Vietnam. When the North Vietnamese army moved into Saigon the soldiers were divided into groups of three with a standing order that if any of the three tried to surrender the others were to kill him. One particular group of three found themselves surrounded by soldiers either of the American army or the army of South Vietnam, I forget which. One of them ran forward and surrendered and his two comrades did not shoot him. They two were captured. 

Later the other two asked the soldier who had surrendered why he had taken such a risk. He told them that he knew they were Christians and would not shoot. This man was a Buddhist and his two companions were Catholics. These two had discussed the order to kill and had decided that it would be wrong to do so. As Catholic Christians they saw that as murder. These were soldiers of a Communist army, without any chaplains.

Clearly they had been well formed as followers of Jesus despite living under a Communist regime that restricted the activities of the Church. Vietnam has a long history of persecution with figures of between 100,000 and 300,000 martyrs being given. The second-century theologian Tertullian wrote, The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church. Jesus says to us in today's gospel, No good tree bears bad fruit. The two Catholic Vietnamese soldiers were the fruit of the tree produced by the seed that was the countless martyrs among their ancestors.

And their Buddhist companion showed that he understood Jesus who said, The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good. He put his life in the hands of his two companions because he knew they were Christians. Would anyone do the same with me simply because I am a Christian?

I see some of the words of Pope Benedict XVI in his Angelus reflection in 2007 on last Sunday's gospel being lived out in the incident involving the three North Vietnamese soldiers: One then understands that for Christians, non-violence is not merely tactical behaviour but a person's way of being, the attitude of one who is so convinced of God's love and power that he is not afraid to tackle evil with the weapons of love and truth alone. 

The way of being of those two Catholic soldiers as followers of Jesus was evident to their Buddhist comrade. Is my way of being as a follower of Jesus evident to those around me? 

The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good. 

The Sorrowful Mother, Страдальна Мати

Ukrainian Lenten Hymn

Lent

Lent begins on Wednesday 2 March. For the people of Ukraine it has already begun in a very real sense. Pope Francis has asked us to make Ash Wednesday a day of prayer and fasting for Ukraine. 

It is a day of fasting and abstinence every year. The Pope has asked us to focus through that on the urgency of the situation in Ukraine where the majority of people are Christian, mostly Orthodox. About ten per cent are Catholics, most of them members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

You will find the rules for fasting and abstinence here. The rule about abstinence on Fridays during Lent may vary from one country to another.

These rules are not an expression of legalism but a call to generosity and to share in the fasting and abstinence of Jesus himself during his forty days in the desert.

Traditional Latin Mass

Quinquagesima Sunday 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 02-27-2022 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.  Gospel: Luke 18:31-43.

Christ Healing the Blind

Nicolas Colombel [Web Gallery of Art]