Nature as Teacher

 ""Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates." Lk 13:30

Jesus often uses images from nature to help his disciples understand his message. This is no accident. Because most of his disciples were illiterate, he could not urge them to read the Torah more carefully, but being illiterate did not mean they were unintelligent. Rather, they came from a class of people who had no access to education. In fact, they may have been brilliant in ways we could never imagine, but because they were illiterate, Jesus would have had to use stories, songs, and images from their everyday lives to help his followers grasp the content and power of the good news.

No wonder Jesus talked about learning from the fig tree. Because many leaders in the Jewish community of Jesus' day were locked into a narrow interpretation of the Torah (the law and prophets), they were unable to learn from the wisdom Jesus embodied and proclaimed. Even sadder, they dismissed Jesus' disciples as poor fisherman who knew nothing about the law or the prophets. At the very least, the Jews who refused to look beyond their own artificial boundaries needed to be pruned in order to let go of branches that were unproductive and were sucking the life out of the fig tree.

Today, ask yourself about your own prejudices. 

Have you know people without much formal education that taught you in ways you would never have expected?

The Persistent Widow

 "Because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her." Lk 18:5

Weariness afflicts us all from time to time. An adult child can't find a job or worse, a path of peace to walk. A marriage has become drudgery or a friend seems always to be needy, and no matter how often we try to stay positive, our energy seeps away and life becomes an unending series of tasks to complete, not an adventure. We smile thinly when friends ask how we are, but the best part of the day is getting in bed and going to sleep. Some of our struggles come to everyone, but others seem never ending and we wonder where God is in all that is happening within and around us.

We can be sure that God will always be as faithful to us as he was to the Jews of old. While we might grow weary and seek solace in places and people that offer only temporary relief, God will not abandon us, and Jesus' coming among us is the proof.

Today, take a few moments to remember how faithful God has been to you.

What circumstances in life make you most tired and doubtful?

Living and Dying Well

 "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it." Lk 17:33

The instinct to survive is strong. Very few people when facing the end of their life let go without a struggle. Although we see friends and family wrestle with cancer and wonder why they are willing to try almost any treatment, the fear of the unknown can overwhelm the best of intentions. In our everyday lives, we are urged to diet, exercise and relax regularly in order to live more healthily, and while this is understandable and good, we can become obsessed with preserving our lives.

Jesus is clear about all of this. While it is important to care for ourselves, we also need to examine our motives. Spending thousands of dollars for gym memberships and exercise equipment that we rarely use and ingesting all kinds of vitamins and herbs in the transparent attempt to resist the natural process of aging can be a not so subtle way of denying God's place in our lives.While it is important to eat well and reasonably, to walk regularly and care for our body as a gift from God, we ought also acknowledge and accept the reality of our own deaths.

The Christian who reads the Gospel with an open heart knows that the most basic Gospel challenge is to think and act on behalf of others, especially the suffering. Not to respond to the people of the Philippines because we are so obsessed with our own well being and fear of death is an offense against God and God's people. Only after meditating regularly and deeply on death and accepting its inevitability can we be sure that our efforts at self care are balanced with a heartfelt concern for others.

Today, give some time you don't have to help someone struggling to survive.

What are your biggest fears about death?

Suffering for God's Sake

 "First, he must suffer greatly." Lk 17:25

Rejection is always painful whether it comes from a superior, a coworker or a family member. Usually we become defensive and angry even if we saw the rejection coming for a long time. We also struggle to understand it and put it in a category that protects us from further harm. But rejection comes to everyone in life and unless we learn to accept it for what it is, we will struggle with it more than necessary.

The Apostles and disciples find it almost impossible to understand, much less accept, what Jesus is saying. The Lord has been a successful preacher. People follow him from place to place and his promise to set them free reminds them of God's promise through Moses to the Jews in Egypt. While they might not have thought of Jesus as the new Moses, neither did they expect him to suffer greatly and be rejected. No doubt they resisted his message for fear that they too would undergo the same trials.

Although the call to discipleship involves suffering, we do not have to be afraid. The Lord promises to accompany his disciples until the end of time. As long as we stay close to the Lord through prayer, service and worship, there is nothing to fear.

Today, listen without fear even to difficult messages.

What has been your best response to suffering

St Frances Xavier Cabrini

 “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?" Lk 17:18

Two things marked the early life of Mother Cabrini. She was frail and sickly as a child and only four of her 10 siblings survived adolescence, but neither situation shuttered her imagination. When her father would read to his children about the great men and women who left their homelands to go around the world as missionaries, Frances dreamed of joining them. Frances' faith was bigger than her weakness.

Faithful to her parents until their death, Frances helped them on their farm and went to school, but soon after their death she began to explore a religious vocation. Rejected at first because of her poor health, Frances persevered and soon the local bishop asked her to found a new congregation of religious women. Sure that Frances' efforts would benefit the local church, the bishop was excited by Frances' new congregation, but Frances had bigger ideas. Soon after making vows, she added the name Xavier to Frances, after the famous Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier, and went to Rome to establish a convent. Soon after, still hoping to go the Orient as a missionary, Frances was asked to help Italian immigrants in the United States. Resistant, she asked the Pope Leo XIII for help in discernment, and the Pope assured her that she should go West to the United States, and from this point her life exploded with activity and zeal.

St Frances Xavier Cabrini was a brilliant organizer and administrator. She founded 68 missions and, though she hated ocean travel, crossing the Atlantic more than thirty times. Her work took her to New York, South America, Chicago and New Orleans, and all of this with failing health. A woman of our times, Frances Xavier continues to inspire women and men of the 21st century with passion and zeal.

Today, pray for the young to accept the call to discipleship.

What do you think are the most important tasks of the 21st century church?

St Josaphat

  "First, he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation." Lk 17:25

How we respond under pressure is often the measure of our faith and courage. St Josaphat, a 17th century martyr, reminds us of this. Committed as a bishop to the cause of trying to heal the Great Schism, of reuniting Rome and Constantinople, he first reformed both the local church to which he was assigned and his own life. Though some thought he was too demanding, his personal witness to frugality and honesty convinced many of his cause, but not all.

Josaphat was killed by a mob who were certain that one of their number had been abused and imprisoned by those committed to reconciliation with Rome. After his martyrdom, thrown into a nearby river along with a dog that had tried to protect him, it was Jews who rushed into the courtyard of the bishop and rescued many of Josaphat's followers, and it was Jews who mourned his passing. Because they recognized his goodness before God, the Jews refused to be intimidated or drawn into a fight not of their making while many Catholics for whom Josaphat died in fear of their lives abandoned their faith.

Today, stand up for someone whose name is being dragged through the mud.

What are your biggest challenges to live faith despite the cost?

St Martin of Tours

  "For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires." Ti 2:11

St Martin of Tours was a "conscientious objector." Conscripted into the Roman army against his will at 15 , Martin was discharged 8 years later after refusing a bonus given to soldiers on the eve of battle. Severus quotes Martin's response to his commanding officer. "I have served you as a soldier; now let me serve Christ. Give the bounty to those who are going to fight. But I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight."(1)

Imprisoned for his refusal to take up arms, Martin offers to stand unarmed at the front of the troops as they ready themselves for battle, but when the two armies forged a peace, his gesture was never needed and Martin was discharged from the army. This story was so compelling in the early church that Martin became and remains one of our church's most popular saints.

Like Jesus in today's gospel who reminds us, "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it," Martin challenges us not to cling even to that which we have earned. How many coats, unworn for years, hang in our closets? How much food sits in our pantries or cupboards unused for months? While most of us will not be asked to lay down our lives for the sake of the gospel, we need to pray regularly to be ready for whatever the Lord does ask.

Today, let go of a worn out thought that troubles you.

What gives you the courage to live the Gospel despite the cost?