Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
GospelLuke 17:11-19 (English Standard Version
Anglicised: India)
On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along
between Samaria and Galilee.And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distanceand lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus,
Master, have mercy on us.”When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And
as they went they were cleansed.Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned
back, praising God with a loud voice;and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him
thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.Then Jesus answered, “Were
not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?Was no one found to return and give praise to God
except this foreigner?”And he said to him, “Rise
and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
I've told this story before on this blog and on retreats I have given but the incident in question had a profound impact on me. It happened on the morning of Holy Thursday 1990 atHoly Family Retreat House, Lahug, Cebu City, which is run by the Redemptorists. I had gone up there after breakfast to do some business and as I was going in a woman approached me asking for some help. I made some excuse as I entered.
When I was inside I could see the woman through the glass doors sitting on the step (in photo above), her daughter, aged 13 or 14, beside her and resting her head on her mother's shoulder. I could see that, like the two peasant girls in Millet's painting above, they were heavily burdened - but with tiredness and hunger.
My business didn't detain me and when I was going out the two stood up. I gave the mother enough to buy breakfast for the two of them. The daughter looked at me with the most beautiful smile I've ever seen and said,'Salamat sa Ginoo - Thanks to the Lord!'
The radiance of this girl's smile compared to the look of dejection she had earlier was like the contrast between the colours of the painting by Adolf Fényes and that of Jean-François Millet above. What struck me profoundly was that she wasn't thanking me. She was thanking the Lord, and inviting me to do the same, because he had responded to her prayer and that of her mother, Give us this day our daily bread.
In the First Reading, which on Sundays and solemnities is always related to the Gospel, Elisha reacts very strongly to Naaman's gratitude after he was cured of leprosy: Then [Naaman] returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant”.But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused (2 Kings 5:15-16).
Naaman was grateful to God for his cure but wanted to reward Elisha. In de Grebber's painting we see Elisha turning away from Naaman almost in horror. Perhaps he overreacted but he had a profound sense of the fact that it wasn't he who had healed the Syrian general but God whose servant and instrument he was. Elisha wanted only God to be praised and thanked.
And indeed it was a young girl, probably around the same age as the one I met in Cebu City, who had directed Naaman to the Lord through his servant Elisha. In the verses preceding those read today we read: Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife.She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:2-3 ESVUK).
The young girl in Cebu expressed her gratitude for what I had given her mother by praising God directly and by inviting me to join her in her prayer of praise and thanksgiving. In doing so she gave me a far greater gift than any that Naaman could have offered Elisha, a profound awareness that everything we have is a gift from God.
I had never met the girl and her mother before nor have I seen them since. But that meeting has been for me what I call an 'ongoing grace from God' ever since. The girl would now be in her mid 40s. Please say a prayer for her and her mother and for their family. And may each of us thank God each day for everything we have, above all for the gift of our Catholic Christian faith.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the greatest act of thanksgiving - Eucharist - that we can offer to God.
Ave verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum, immolatum in cruce pro homine cuius latus perforatum fluxit aqua et sanguine: esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.
Hail, true Body, born of the Virgin Mary, having truly suffered, sacrificed on the cross for mankind, from whose pierced side water and blood flowed: Be for us a foretaste [of the Heavenly banquet] in the trial of death!
Traditional Latin Mass
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 10-09-2022 if necessary).
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:4-8. Gospel: Matthew 9:1-8.
GospelLuke 17:5-10 (English Standard Version
Anglicised: India)
The
apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”And the Lord
said, “If you had faith like a grain of
mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and
planted in the sea’, and it would obey you.
“Will any one of you who has a servant[ ploughing
or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once
and recline at table’?Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare
supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and
drink, and afterwards you will eat and drink’?Does he thank the servant because he did what
was commanded?So
you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We
are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”
In the summer of 1964, after my third year in the seminary, I spent a couple of weeks working in theMorning Star Hostel in Dublin. It was within walking distance of my home. I had been in the Legion of Mary for most of my five years in secondary school and used to rejoin my praesidium (the basic branch of the Legion) during summer vacations. In the summer of 1964 I spent a week on Peregrinatio pro Christo in a parish in Liverpool and in 1965 did the same in a parish in Paisley, Scotland. My last experience of Peregrinatio was in Pewsey, Wiltshire, in the southwest of England in 1966.
Morning Star Hostel has had a small number of what are called 'indoor brothers' taking care of the men who stay there. These are laymen, Legionaries who devote themselves full-time to this work. I remember two from 1964, Tom Doyle and Sid Quinn. The old webpage about the Morning Star - the page doesn't seem to be there anymore - gave a short biography of Tom, along with a photo. It describes him in these terms: Tom Doyle was the manager of the hostel for about 50 years and he is regarded as an unknown saint by most if not all the people who knew him.
Tom Doyle (1905 - 1992)
I didn't get to know Tom or Sid well, certainly not their inner lives, though I did join them at prayer, which is central to the lives and work of members of the Legion of Mary and at all meetings. Sid knew my father as they had grown up in the same area, where I also grew up. Most of the people in our neighbourhood were what were called 'working class'. But I saw the utter dedication of Tom and Sid, or 'Brother Tom' and 'Brother Sid' as they were know within the hostel. During Legion meetings and Legion work members address and refer to each other as 'Brother' and 'Sister' but not outside of that.
As Pope Francis might put it, Tom and Sid well knew 'the smell of their sheep'. That might be the smell of alcohol, the smell of unwashed bodies. Sometimes for Tom it might be the smell of his own blood: Rows and scuffles and fist fights were regular occurrences and poor Tom had the responsibility of calming every storm. No doubt Tom who was small in stature was on the receiving end of some of those blows and it is well known that near the end of his life one of the residents very badly beat him up so that he had to spend time in hospital but when he came out he made himself the best friend of that resident!
Things have changed somewhat for the better in the Morning Star since I worked there during the summer of 1964 as you can read here. The dedication of the members of the Legion of Mary who look after it is still very much there.
When I read the words We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty in today's gospel I thought of Tom Doyle and Sid Quinn. The words of Jesus seem to be in contrast with what he says elsewhere, especially in St John's Gospel, where he calls us friends, where he asks Peter, Do you love me? Feed my lambs.
When I used the material above three years ago Liam Hayden, a friend who was my classmate in primary school and who was deeply involved all his adult life with the Legion of Mary along with his wife Moira, some of their children following in their parents' footsteps, posted this comment: I was very close to both men and they had a profound effect
on my development as a person and as a legionary, especially in 1969 when I took
leave from my job to volunteer as an indoor brother for a year. I went on
holiday with both on separate occasions and they were, to my mind, saints of
the Church and both are interred, at their own insistence, in the Morning Star
plot in Glasnevin cemetery Dublin.
Thanks for reminding me of a priceless interlude in my life.
Liam died of Covid on Holy Saturday 2021. May his generous soul rest in peace.
There are 'unknown saints' like Tom Doyle and Sid Quinn throughout the world, many of them for example taking care of aged parents or of their children with severe disabilities, who gladly say We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.
These have fanned into flame the gift of God, to use the words of St Paul in today's Second Reading.
Bonus est Dominus, Palestrina Antiphona ad communionem Communion Antiphon Lamentations 3:25
Bonus est Dominus sperantibus in eum,
The Lord is good to those who hope in him,
animae quaerenti illum.
to the soul that seeks him.
Traditional Latin Mass
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 10-02-2022 if necessary).
Epistle: Ephesians 1: 1-6. Gospel: Matthew 22:34-46.
GospelLuke 16:19-31 (English Standard Version
Anglicised: India)
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“There was a rich man who was clothed
in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus,
covered with sores,who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich
man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.The poor man died and was carried
by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was
buried,and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his
eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.And he called out, ‘Father Abraham,
have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water
and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember
that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like
manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.And besides all this, between us and you a
great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you
may not do so, and none may cross from there to us.’And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to
send him to my father's house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest
they also come into this place of torment.’But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and
the Prophets; let them hear them.’And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone
goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’He said to him, ‘If they do not
hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if
someone should rise from the dead.’”
An Indian Missionary of Charity who was based in Hong Kong for some years told me of something that happened there shortly before Christmas 2009. Yang was what Sister called a ‘street-sleeper’, ie, someone living on the streets. Strictly speaking he wasn’t, as he had a little place where he lived with his mother. Both were Buddhists. Yang was in poor health and couldn’t get a job. He mixed mostly with those who were ‘street-sleepers’.
He first came across the Missionaries of Charity when they were distributing lunch-boxes to very poor people in the street. He began to come to their place regularly for a meal and made a point of coming to the annual Advent celebration when gifts would be distributed and a meal provided. Yang’s mother often wondered where he got his regular meals. ‘From Sister’ was his answer to her queries but she didn’t know who ‘Sister’ was.
Yang didn’t attend the Advent celebration in 2009 because he was in hospital but he asked his mother to go in his place. When she arrived the celebration was over but the Sisters had kept one meal in case someone would arrive late. So they gave it to her.
A day or two later, around 19 0r 20 December, Yang died. Some time after that his mother came to the Sisters to express her profound gratitude to them for their kindness and hospitality to her son and to herself.
Yang and his mother experienced the personal love of Jesus for them through the Missionaries of Charity who took care of the many Lazaruses outside their door. And Sister told me that food never ran out. It was constantly supplied by hotels and restaurants.
Pope Benedict gave his Angelus talk on this Sunday's gospel on Sunday, 30 September 2007, in Castel Gandolfo. I have highlighted some parts of the text and added [my own comments].
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today, Luke's Gospel presents to us the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus (Lk 16: 19-31). The rich man personifies the wicked use of riches by those who spend them on uncontrolled and selfish luxuries, thinking solely of satisfying themselves without caring at all for the beggar at their door.
The poor man, on the contrary, represents the person whom God alone cares for: unlike the rich man he has a name: "Lazarus", an abbreviation of "Eleazarus", which means, precisely, "God helps him". [The rich man is sometimes called 'Dives', the Latin for 'rich', but that was not his name. Jesus in the parable gives a name to the poor man who was considered a nobody by the rich man.]
God does not forget those who are forgotten by all; those who are worthless in human eyes are precious in the Lord's. The story shows how earthly wickedeness is overturned by divine justice: after his death, Lazarus was received "in the bosom of Abraham", that is, into eternal bliss; whereas the rich man ended up "in Hades, in torment". This is a new and definitive state of affairs against which no appeal can be made, which is why one must mend one's ways during one's life; to do so after serves no purpose.
This parable can also be interpreted in a social perspective. Pope Paul VI's interpretation of it 40 years ago in his Encyclical Populorum Progressioremains unforgettable. Speaking of the campaign against hunger he wrote: "It is a question... of building a world where every man... can live a fully human life... where the poor man Lazarus can sit down at the same table with the rich man" (n. 47). [From Dr Martin Luther King Jr's 'I have a Dream' speech, 28 August 1963: 'I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.']
The cause of the numerous situations of destitution, the Encyclical recalls, is on the one hand "servitude imposed.... by other men", and on the other, "natural forces over which [the person] has not sufficient control" (ibid.).
Unfortunately, some populations suffer from both these factors. How can we fail to think at this time especially of the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, affected by serious floods in the past few days? [Today, hunger and drought in the Horn of Africa, hunger and war in Yemen, devastating floods in Bangladesh and Pakistan.] Nor can we forget the many other humanitarian emergencies in various regions of the planet, in which conflicts for political and economic power contribute to exacerbating existing, oppressive environmental situations.
The appeal voiced by Paul VI at that time, "Today the peoples in hunger are making a dramatic appeal to the peoples blessed with abundance" (ibid., n. 3), is still equally pressing today.
We cannot say that we do not know which way to take: we have the Law and the Prophets, Jesus tells us in the Gospel. Those who do not wish to listen to them would not change even if one of the dead were to return to admonish them.
May the Virgin Mary help us to make the most of the present time to listen to and put into practice these words of God. May she obtain for us that we become more attentive to our brethren in need, to share with them the much or the little that we have and to contribute, starting with ourselves, to spreading the logic and style of authentic solidarity.
+++
Pope Benedict writes above: those who are worthless in human eyes are precious in the Lord's. These words surely apply to my friend Lala in the Philippines whose official birthday is on Tuesday, the feast of St Vincent de Paul, and about whom I posted yesterday.
Dives and Lazarus
Sung by Maddy Prior
Above is an old English ballad based on the parable. Some of you may recognise the melody as the same one used for the Irish song The Star of the County Down. I found the lyrics of the song here but adjusted them in places. Ballads have variations. 'Divès' becomes 'Diverus' at times.
As it fell out upon a day,
Rich Divès made a feast,
And he invited all his friends,
And gentry of the best.
Then Lazarus laid him down and down
And down at Divès' door:
'Some meat, some drink, brother, Diverus,
To bestow upon the poor.'
'Thou art none of my brothers, Lazarus,
That liest begging at my door;
No meat, no drink will I give to you,
Nor bestow upon the poor.'
Then Divès sent to his merry men,
To whip poor Lazarus away;
They had no power to strike one stroke,
But flung their whips away.
Then Lazarus laid him down and down
Even down at Divès' gate:
'Some meat, some drink, brother, Diverus,
For Jesus Christ’s sake."
'Thou art none of my brothers, Lazarus,
That liest begging at my gate;
No meat, no drink will I give to you,
For Jesus Christ’s sake.'
Then Divès sent his hungry dogs,
To bite him as he lay;
They had no power to bite at all.
They licked his sores away.
As it fell out all on a day,
Poor Lazarus sickened and died;
There came an angel out of heaven,
His soul therein to guide.
'Rise up! rise up! brother Lazarus,
And go along with me;
For you've a place prepared in heaven,
To sit on an angel's knee.'
As it fell out all on a day,
Rich Divès sickened and died;
There came two serpents out of hell,
His soul therein to guide.
'Rise up! rise up! brother Diverus,
And go with us and see;
A dismal place prepared in hell
From which thou canst not flee.'
Then Divès looked up with his eyes
And saw poor Lazarus blest;
'Give me one drink, brother Lazarus,
To quench my flaming thirst.
'O, was I now but alive again
In the space of one half hour!
O, then my peace would be secure
The devil should have no power.'
+++
The lines Thou art none of my brothers, Lazarus, / That liest begging at my gate; / No meat, no drink will I give to you, / For Jesus
Christ’s sake surely show us the reality of sin.
And the regret of Dives in the last verse: O, was I now but alive again / In the space of one half hour! / O, then my peace would be secure / The devil should have no power reminds us that our sins have consequences, some eternal if we do not repent. It reminds us too of the importance of the sacrament of confession and of availing of it often.
Traditional Latin Mass
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 9-25-2022 if necessary).
Entrance to Holy Family Retreat House, Cebu City
Peasant Girl Bringing Basket
Apostle Paul
