'You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.' Sunday Reflections, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

First Holy Communion

Holy Family Home for Girls, Bacolod City, Philippines

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

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Matthew 11:25-30 (English Standard Version Anglicised, India)

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

The Census at Bethlehem (detail)

Pieter Bruegel the Elder [Web Gallery of Art]

The Rule of St Francis states that brothers are forbidden to ride on horseback, unless compelled by manifest necessity or infirmity. Many years ago I asked a Capuchin Franciscan friar about this, thinking that it had something to do with the kindness to animals that we associate with St Francis. He explained to me that the horse was the 'Mercedes of the day' in the time of St Francis. So it was a matter of poverty, humility and simplicity for the Franciscan friars not to ride a horse.

Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem

Giotto di Bondone [Web Gallery of Art]

Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9, First Reading).

The gospels tell us that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday, as the Prophet Zechariah foretells in today's First Reading. Peter Bruegel the Elder in his wonderful painting The Census at Bethlehem shows our Blessed Mother, heavily pregnant with her Son, riding on a donkey led by St Joseph. Many paintings of the Flight into Egypt, such as that of Melchior Broederlam below, show Mary carrying the Infant Jesus on a donkey.

The Flight into Egypt

Melchior Broederlam [Web Gallery of Art]

In today's gospel Jesus says to the Father: you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. One of many experiences I had of this was in the spring of 1969 north of New York City. A fellow Columban priest had introduced me to a large Italian-American family whose house had that 'well lived-in' look about it. They invited me to the First Holy Communion of their youngest daughter, Betsy. I wasn't able to attend the Mass but joined the family with the other priest for dinner that evening. 

Here in Ireland it is the custom for children on their First Holy Communion day to visit their relatives and family friends who give them some money. We have an expression for someone who is tight-fisted (kuripot in the Philippines), 'He still has his First Communion money'. I discovered that at least in the New York area they have a similar custom. During the evening at Betsy's house I learned that she had received $100 that day, an enormous sum for her. Her mother told her that we two priests were missionaries and that missionaries depended on the money that people gave them.

When Betsy heard this she immediately wanted to give us her $100. We were both embarrassed and made an excuse that we didn't need the money right there and then. But the real gift that Betsy gave me, a gift I still have, though not as something hoarded but something living and to be shared, was her pure act of love on the day of her First Holy Communion. Like the widow in the gospels of St Mark and St Luke, she wanted to give everything she had. You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. 

The photo at the top was taken maybe thirteen years ago on Pentecost Sunday when I baptised and confirmed some of the girls in Holy Family Home for Girls, Bacolod City, run by the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of the Holy Family. Most of the girls there come from a background of poverty and the majority have experienced being abused before they were referred to the home by social workers. None of them owned the white dresses they were wearing that day. They were focused on receiving the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion. They knew they would be receiving Jesus Christ the Risen Lord himself, 'Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity', not a symbolic piece of bread. And what greater humility can God show than to come to us in the form of bread?

I was involved with Holy Family Home for Girls from the end of 2002 until June 2017 and I would say that that involvement was the biggest blessing from God in my life as a priest. So often I experienced there the truth of the words of Jesus today: You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. 

Again, that is an ongoing blessing from God, as is the blessing I received from God through Betsy 54 years ago. I met her some years after that and reminded her about the incident. She didn't remember it. But, with God's grace, I do. So often God reveals himself through persons, usually of 'no standing', who have no idea of how powerfully and profoundly they are sharing His love.

The Nativity

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

Going back to the words of Zechariah in the First Reading, Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, we also find a humble donkey present at the birth of Jesus. El Greco in the painting above has the animal in the shadows just to the left of our Blessed Mother.

Antiphona ad introitum   Entrance Antiphon  Cf Ps 47:10-11

Suscepimus, Deus, misericordiam tuam in medio templi tui.

Your merciful love, O God, we have received in the midst of your temple.

Secundum nomen tuum, Deus, ita et laus tua in fines terrae; iustitia plena est dextera tua.

Your praise, O God, like your name, reaches the ends if the earth; your right hand is filled with saving justice.

Traditional Latin Mass

Sixth Sunday After Pentecost

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 07-09-2023 if necessary).

Epistle: Romans 6:1-11. Gospel: Mark 8:1-9.

Baptism of Christ

Murillo [Web Gallery of Art]

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4; Epistle).