Eschatology or is it "S"chatology

The other day, Monday of the second week of Advent, the readings from Mass included a section from the book of the prophet Isaiah:

                The desert and the parched land will exult;

                the steppe will rejoice and bloom.                

                They will bloom with abundant flowers,

                and rejoice with joyful song.

                The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,

                the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;

This, of course, reminded me of my poem "S"chatology, which I posted five (5) years ago today:

                            'S'chatology

                              Sharon, desert spring and bloom
                                 the respite on the walk
                              Smiling rays that fill the room
                                 with laughter and with talk

                              Sing over by the window
                                 She's sure to help you out
                              Speaking softly, voice so low
                                 Too intimate to shout


                               Sitting close with lives entwined
                                  with whispered dreams exchanged
                               Slowly breathing love enshrines
                                  the hearts both scared and pained


                               Sharon's splendor, Carmel's fruit
                                  A wearied, anguished love
                               Softly spoken words take root
                                  Bring mercy from above.

Zacchaeus revisited

Last year I posted a reflection regarding Zacchaeus. On Tuesday of this week, the Gospel reading from Mass was again the story of Zacchaeus.

This prompted me to think again about several things.  

The Gospel reading includes:

At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.

Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. 

Zacchaeus was a wealthy man.

About 25 years ago, when my daughter was taking CCD in our parish, she told me one day (and I assumed it was because she had been taught this) that rich people can't be saved.

About 15 years ago, I was teaching CCD to 6th graders in my parish, and they said exactly the same thing to me:  Rich people can't be saved.

I told my daughter at the time that she better hope that what she thought wasn't the case because she was 'rich.'

To the 6th graders I took a different approach.  We were using a pamphlet provided by the CCD office dicussing saints.  On the cover of the pamphlet were images of several Saints, including Francis of Assisi, Katherine Drexel among others.

I pointed out that both Francis, and Katherine were extremely wealthy young people, yet the Church had declared them Saints.  I pointed out how Francis had renounced his inheritance, while Katherine had used hers in service of the Church's mission to educate black and indian children.

Zacchaeus was a wealthy man.  But it was to him that Jesus came and spoke:

Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.

He followed up that statement and ended the Gospel passage by saying:

Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.   For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.

The rich are called to salvation too.

Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and the so-called "Common Era"

 Rosh Hashanah, the head of the Jewish Year, began at sundown on 18 Sept 2020.  My calendar, the 2020 Religious Arts Calander, indicates that this began year 5781.

Yom Kippur begins this evening, 27 Sept 2020, at sundown.  On Friday of the 25th week in ordinary time, 25 Sept 2020, the office of the readings included a section from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel:

On the tenth day of the month beginning the twentyfifth year of our exile, fourteen years after the city was taken, that very day the hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me in divine visions to the land of Israel, where he set me down on a very high mountain.

Yom Kippur is the 10th day after Rosh Hashanah, the head or beginning of the Jewish year.  Ezekiel is having these visions on Yom Kippur.

It is interesting to note he doesn't say the year is 571 BC, or 571 BCE.  No, he sets the year as relating to the year "the city was taken," and the "year of our exile."

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, is not the 1st of January, and it doesn't begin at midnight with a ball drop at Times Square in NYC.

The Jewish calendar is not 'common' with the calendar that we use.  The Jewish year is 5781, not 2020.  The Jewish day is not midnight to midnight, nor are the months in the Jewish calendar named January, February, March etc.  The Jewish months are named Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, etc.

Jewish months do not follow the rule:

Thirty days has September, April, June and November...

No, Jewish months are a lunar cycle, new moon to new moon.  Islamic months are also lunar.

It is an error to label the years in our calendar CE for Common Era, and BCE for Before Common Era.

We follow the Gregorian Calendar.  In the Gregorian Calendar it is appropriate to use the terms Before Christ (BC), and the Year of our Lord, Anno Dominum (AD).

Would that we as a culture would recognize this truth, and act accordingly.

Our Temporary Home

The other day, Wednesday 13 May 2020, the non-biblical reading from the Office of readings in the Liturgy of the Hours was a section of a letter to Diognetus.  Liturgically, it was an optional memorial for Our Lady of Fatima, but I read from the Wednesday of the fifth week of Easter.

The letter includes:

Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs.  They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life.  Their teaching is not based upon reveries inspired by the curiosity of men.  Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine.  With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in whether it is Greek or foreign.

And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives.  They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through... 

This little subsection reminded me of several things.  

Firstly, there is my Bishop, George Murry SJ, who is currently facing his third bout with Leukemia, and has written a regular column in the Diocesan newspaper with the heading On The Road to Jerusalem.  You understand, that we are on the road to the Heavenly Jerusalem, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.

Secondly, I recalled the video below by Kerry Underwood entitled Temporary Home.

Windows in rooms we're passing through.
This is just a stop on the way to where we're going
I'm not afraid because I know
This is our temporary home.

My dad reminded me several times, maybe many times, that  "This too shall Pass."

The heavenly Jerusalem shall never pass away, but all the difficulties of this place will pass away.  

So, whether it is school shootings, World Wars, Race riots, or the Wuhan virus and the consequences of the governments response to it, THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

Because, this is our temporary home, not where we belong, windows in rooms we're passing through.  This is just a stop, on the way to where we're going......

Re-posting -- Easter : Eight Days a week

I posted this, originally in 2018, but I was reminded of it again this week, so I'm reposting it today.

␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥␥

When I was young, the Beetles had a popular song entitled Eight Days a Week.  Here's a video of it.

It so happens that the Church celebrates Easter for Eight Days in a row, 8 days a week.  She calls it an Octave.  The Readings from Mass on Next Saturday,  7 April 2018 have a heading which reads:
Saturday in the Octave of Easter.
The Gospel readings for Mass during this week  are full of readings involving Easter Day.  

Monday:

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news to his disciples.

Tuesday:

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.  And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been.

Wednesday:

That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.

Thursday

The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.

While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

Friday:

Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.  He revealed himself in this way.  Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.

Friday's does not so much deal with Easter Day, but as another post resurrection appearance of Jesus.

Saturday:

When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.  She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping.

Sunday:
(The eighth day of Easter)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

8 Days a week, I love you.
8 Days a week are not enough to show I care.

Jesus cares for us so very much.  Peter tells us:
Cast all your cares on him, because he cares for you.

Our hearts are crushed

The Catholic Bishops of Ohio have written a letter:

suspending temporarily all publicly celebrated Masses/liturgies, at least through the celebrations of Holy Week and Easter.

They go on to write:

This decision is not taken lightly and, as your bishops, causes us great sadness. However, after consultation with the governor and health officials we are convinced that this is the most prudent and necessary action.

For me, someone who participates in the Sacred Liturgy almost every day, this is not just a sadness, it is heart breaking.  

Kathryn Lopez, at NRO wrote on about a similar decision on the ides of March:

I am certain that that’s one of the last things Cardinal Dolan wanted to have to do, keep people from Mass. It’s counter to the priestly heart. But he also has a responsibility to keep people safe, and cooperate with civic authorities (in ways not counter to conscience)

I do not bear the shepherd's yoke, or wield his crozier, and have no desire to do so.  But as the ancients have said:

We can not live without the eucharist.

It is nearly impossible to live without the eucharist.  It crushes the human heart to be cut off from the land of the living.

But it is important to remember that the eucharistic sacrifice continues in the daily offerings of priests and bishops throughout the world.

What is life? What is eternal life?  'To know the only true God, and him who He has sent, Jesus Christ.'

May this temporary suspension end quickly!

Reflection 12 Feb 2020 -- The Queen of Sheba

The Readings from Mass today include the visit by the Queen of Sheba to Solomon.  The section from 1 Kings begins:

The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon’s fame, came to test him with subtle questions.

The reading then closes with the Queen saying to Solomon:

In his enduring love for Israel, the LORD has made you king to carry out judgment and justice.”  Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty gold talents, a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones.  Never again did anyone bring such an abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Jesus speaks about this visit in a different Gospel from the one we read today during Mass:

At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here.

Yes, Jesus is 'something greater than Solomon.'  He is, as we recite every Sunday during the Creed:

God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made.

When we have seen Him, we have seen the Father.

It is this Jesus who is speaking in todays Gospel reading:

He said to them, “Are even you likewise without understanding?  Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)  “But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.  From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”

Let us listen to Jesus, then, and avoid those actions that defile us; keeping the Commandments, practicing virtue, saying only the good things men need to hear.