The Gospel passage comes immediately after last Sunday’s Gospel when Jesus called Peter, “Blessed”, for proclaiming that Jesus was the Christ. He told him that he was the rock upon which Jesus would build His Church. He told Peter that his decisions on earth, Peter’s decisions on earth, would have power in heaven. Now in the passage that follows all this, Jesus calls Peter Satan. How did Peter fall so quickly? He fell because he was reasoning things out the way people of the world would reason. He was not thinking the way God thinks. He lacked wisdom. The way of the world would be, “Save your life. Don’t let anyone kill you.” The way of the Lord would be, “Make the sacrificial love of God real. Sacrifice yourself for others.” It is easy for us to think the way the world thinks. Everything around us tells us to take not give, to be concerned about ourselves first and others second, or third or fourth. Fit God in somewhere, if you care. That is the thought process of the world. “Times have changed, Father. I’m only doing what is perfectly acceptable by our society.” And with these words, the elderly lady explained away her present living condition. And with the same words, the young man justified his “wild” lifestyle, and with the same words the abuser justified his actions. And on and on and on. Add in whatever immoral behavior you can think of, and someone will say, “I’m only doing what is perfectly acceptable by society.” But what society is that? In what society is immorality acceptable? It is acceptable by the society that finds nothing wrong with hedonism, putting one’s pleasure before every other good in life, including respect for others, respect for country, respect for life. What is the society that so many claim for themselves? It is the society that is at best amoral, but which is mostly immoral. It is the society that is at best pagan, but mostly atheistic. When a person hides his or her immoral behavior behind the “acceptable by our society,” argument, that person is invoking the society that St. Paul calls “this age,” or, according to some translations, “the pattern of the world.” This is the world that Jesus Christ came to save. It is the world of selfishness, a world of pride, a world where God is not wanted. It is a world of darkness. It is a world to which we Christians cannot belong. We were joined to a new world when we were baptized. Each of us is a key part of the new world, the Kingdom of God. There are hundred, perhaps thousands of people in each of our lives who look to us to illuminate their darkness with the Light of Christ. The problem is that we can easily be enticed by all that is around us. We can easily reject all that is within us. And so we often straddle major issues in life. Even though we recognize our dignity as sons and daughters of God, we often let ourselves get involved in actions that are far less than holy. We think that we are OK, because we are firmly planted on the Lord’s dock, but the forces the other foot has stepped into draws us away from the dock, and we end up in the drink. We do not embrace Christianity for high theological reasons or arguments. We embrace Jesus Christ for one reason only: we are wounded by His Love. That is from an Irish saint, St. Columban: “Show me my hearts desire, O Lord, for I am wounded by your love.” Men of God, women of God, we have been wounded by Love. When we made the conscious choice of Jesus Christ, we set out on a course of action that does not allow turning back. But we don’t care. We are wounded by His Love. And we love it. He is within us, burning out for us to proclaim his presence. Even if we wanted to ignore Him, we cannot. We are His. Better is one day in your house, O Lord, better is one day in your house, than a thousand elsewhere. That is from Psalm 84. Better is one day savoring your presence in my life, than a thousand in a luxurious house gained through questionable business practices, gained immorally. Better is one day in your house than a thousand in the arms of an immoral love. Better is one day in your house, than a thousand as the most popular person in school with a talent for quietly destroying others. Better is one day in your house than a thousand parties where drugs and drunks are plentiful. And yet, still, a little devious voice within us that protests, “Does this all need to be so demanding? I am doing my part. I can back off some.” To this voice, we shout angrily as Jesus shouted at Peter, “Get behind me, Satan. God’s work is all that matters.” We are wounded by Love. And we love it. You duped us Lord, and we let ourselves be duped. We love it. We love you. Nothing else, no one else, my Lord, than a thousand elsewhere • AE
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Fr. Agustin’s Schedule for August 30, 2020.
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
9.00 a.m. English Mass
@ St. Peter Prince of the Apostles Catholic Church
11.00 a.m. English Mas
@ St. Peter Prince of the Apostles Catholic Church
4.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation
5.30 p.m. English Mass
@Trinity University
...
XXII Domingo Ordinario (Ciclo A)
La reacción de Pedro es, en cierto modo, explicable. De su amor a Cristo no se puede dudar. El domingo pasado escuchábamos su gran profesión de fe: "Tú eres el Mesías, el Hijo de Dios". Pero todavía no había entendido que el camino de Cristo es camino de renuncia y sacrificio, antes de ser de salvación y de gloria. A Pedro, como a nosotros, le gustaban los aspectos amables del seguimiento de Jesús, pero no el sacrificio. Le gustaba el monte Tabor, el de la transfiguración, pero no el Gólgota, el del dolor.... ¡Y algo asín nos pasa a nosotros!... La historia de Jeremías y de Jesús es la historia de tantos y tantos cristianos que, a lo largo de los siglos, han experimentado la dificultad de vivir su fe en medio de una sociedad indiferente o incluso hostil, y la historia de un cristiano de hoy, que quiere vivir su cristianismo con coherencia. Ser cristiano se ha ido convirtiendo cada vez más en una opción explícita por Cristo y por su estilo de vida, por su mentalidad y criterios de actuación. Pero supone que se acepta a la vez el riesgo y la dificultad, porque la escala de valores de Cristo no coincide con la de este mundo. No se trata de buscar el sufrimiento en sí mismo, sino de aceptar el seguimiento de Cristo con coherencia. Este es el punto. En la segunda lectura de este domingo el apóstol les aconseja a los cristianos de Roma que "no se ajusten a este mundo, sino que sepan discernir lo que es la voluntad de Dios, lo bueno, lo que agrada, lo perfecto”, ¡Ese es el mejor culto a Dios! El discernimiento cuesta, y conduce a decisiones que pueden resultar difíciles, porque lo cómodo es acomodarse a este mundo: sentarse a ver la vida pasar con un buen trago en la mano. Jeremías también pensó en abandonar el encargo profético para poder vivir tranquilo en su pueblo. Pero la Palabra de Dios le ardía dentro y escogió el camino difícil. Jesús pidió a su Padre que le ahorrara "el cáliz de su muerte", pero eligió el camino difícil: "No se haga mi voluntad, sino la tuya". Y Pedro, que al principio pensaba como los hombres y no como Dios y prefería las cosas fáciles, también le vendrá el tiempo en que, ya maduro en su fe y amor a Cristo dé el valiente testimonio del martirio. También a nosotros el mundo de hoy nos ofrece caminos mucho más fáciles y prometedores a corto plazo. Pero Cristo nos dice que si queremos seguirle tenemos que tomar cada uno su cruz. Lo que no podemos hacer es una selección de lo que nos gusta, evitando lo que nos parece más serio y exigente en el programa de vida de Jesús. La Eucaristía nos da la fuerza para poder seguir por ese camino, exigente pero coherente. Comulgar con Cristo, en la eucaristía, es comulgar también en lo que tenemos entre manos a lo largo de la semana. Con todas las consecuencias, aunque a veces eso suponga dificultad y renuncia. Pero, a la larga, es lo único que nos dará paz y alegría • AE
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