Bulletins from August 2023

The “confession” of Peter (“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”) was inspired by God, an inspiration to which Peter listened. However, Peter was slow to understand the implications of the truth that he had spoken. Peter’s heart was usually in the right place and from time to time his words were there, too. The challenge for Peter – and for us and all believers – is, in colloquial terms, “to say what we mean and mean what we say,” or to be those who hear the word of God and keep it, with all of its consequences – sometimes demanding and costly and at other times, the source of great joy and reward.

The polarization we experience in the Church and society is not healthy and does not contribute to the building up of the world, our nation or the Church into the very best that we can be. Instead, it tears us apart, reducing us to less than the sum of our parts. The recent experience of World Youth Day was an antidote to the kind of thinking that fosters a “we versus them” life. Young people from almost every nation gathered in a kind of chaotic harmony; every language under the sun was spoken, although English was clearly the most prevalent of all. The diversity of cultures was enriching and eye- opening, especially for the youth. As Pope Francis mentioned, they themselves are a sign of hope for a better world, not based on the politics of fear and division. I mention this in light of the readings we hear this weekend. The Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, declares that “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7). In our reading from the gospel of Matthew, Jesus praises the faith of a woman who was a Canaanite, a non-believer, and granted her request that he heal her daughter. As the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” Saint Paul broke down the barriers that had separated the Jews and the non-Jews who believed in Jesus. We need to translate these biblical passages into our lives, our politics and our faith. Where do we draw imaginary lines that exclude others for reasons of ethnicity, language, sexuality, or any other distinction? The politics of exclusion cannot be our way. As Pope Francis repeatedly stated in Lisbon earlier this month, the Church is for all. . . “Todos, todos, todos!”

Therefore, dearly beloved, may you too always rejoice in the Lord (Phil 4:4). And may neither bitterness nor a cloud of sadness overwhelm you, O dearly beloved Lady in Christ, joy of the angels and crown of your sisters! Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance! And transform your whole being into the image of the Godhead itself through contemplation! So that you too may feel what His friends feel as they taste the hidden sweetness which God Himself has reserved from the beginning for those who love Him. (Saint Clare of Assisi) These words of Saint Clare are an invitation to each of us toward unit (“communion”) with the Lord. As we observe the Feast of our Patroness this weekend, we focus at the Eucharist on her great devotion to the Eucharistic Mystery. Remembering that “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving,” we consider these words of Saint John Paul II: Her whole life was a Eucharist because. . . from her cloister she raised up a continual “thanksgiving” to God in her prayer, praise, supplication, intercession, weeping, offering and sacrifice. She accepted everything from the Father in union with the infinite “thanks” of the only begotten Son. May our celebration this weekend of our Patroness, Saint Clare, lead each of us – and all of us together – to a deeper appreciation of the gifts that God gives us. May this help us to join our lives with hers in giving thanks to God in all that we are.

When August 6 falls on a Sunday, the whole Church celebrates the Transfiguration of the Lord. Otherwise, it receives little more fanfare than a weekday at the beginning of August. We also hear the gospel of the Transfiguration each year on the Second Sunday of Lent. The Transfiguration is more than an historical accounting of an event in the life of Jesus and Peter, James and John. As it was a sign of hope to them, so it is for us; in facing His darkest days, Jesus remained faithful, not taking the easy way out. In the same way, we can find encouragement in the glory that we will share one day. An old Latin expression, quoted sometimes during Lent, comes to mind: Per crucem ad lucem – Through the cross to light. We live in the hope that no matter how things turn out in our lives and the life of our world, they will turn out well. If despair gives way to hope, then we have undergone a transfiguration to the depths of our being. Like Peter, we try to capture those moments, to hold on to them for ever, but they will pass, but not totally if we allow those “mountaintop” moments to change us.