MESSAGE TO THE CLERGY, RELIGIOUS & FAITHFUL OF THE DIOCESE OF PALM BEACH
The Diocese of Palm Beach stands firm with our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, and strongly rejects the disrespectful and violent attacks that Donald J. Trump has directed against the Holy Father. These attacks also constitute a grave violation of the religious freedom enshrined in the Constitution of the United States and, as such, harm the rights of the American Catholic faithful.
I ask you, which do you prefer? When you take off a bandage or band aid, do you rip it off or do you gently soak it off?
There are times for one way versus the other but this morning I wish to soak it off gently. In our gospel portion today, Jesus’ corrections for us are on “full force“. Jesus today is not attacking us. He is removing infection. And he goes deeper than behavior. He touches the mind, the body, the heart, and even the will.
Brillo-pads
My arms (show them) are like Brillo-pads. Nurses when applying bandages or setting a line, usually gasp at the thought of placing and removing a bandage on a matt of hair.
Dream, goal, plan
We dream to enter into the kingdom of heaven as a key hope of the faith. When can we enter the Kingdom? Our goal is the Here and Now. The plan is to avoid the four pitfalls Jesus names. The Kingdom isn’t far off and in the distant future but in the here and now. Yet, so is Gehenna pitfall and so many live there in the here and now. Gehenna is not future punishment; it is our present disintegration.
Choosing the Quality of Life
This is the choice described by Sirach:
Whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him (Sir 15:16b-17).
Making A Life For Yourself
In our gospel portion today, Jesus gives us the distinct differences between making a prison for ourselves and being liberated in God’s love. Prison or freedom in God.
Go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny (Mt 5:24b, 25-26).
If we combine the four warnings of Jesus, we can see the way of a personal prison, a personal Gehenna:
Anger – a fiery Gehenna existence, a consuming fire with no warmth.
Lust – is a fragmentation of our affection, shattering the crystal vase of endearment.
Adultery – is a forgetting the treasure that is love, losing it in the fields of indifference.
False Oaths – is a fractured trust in yourself or in others, pledging against the very vice we possess.
If we combine the four remedies of Jesus, we can see the way of of faithful liberation:
Anger – is cooled by reconciliation with your brother, forgiving him, and seeking his forgiveness.
Lust – evaporates in the appreciation of beauty that we don’t need to take possession of it.
Adultery – loses its appeal by the restoring love to be given, receive anew love given.
False Oaths – The interior resolve is beyond any oaths, restores proximity to fidelity. No more words. Do.
Reflection
Yet we do speak a wisdom to those who are mature, but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. This God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom (1 Cor 2:6, 10; Mt 11:25).
The way of Life is not of this fiery world or of the wisdom of the Age: Anger, lust, infidelity and swearing are things that make for a firey and horrible world. The currency of the modern world is anger, deception and appropriation. It was only two weeks ago that we encountered The Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, as the way of the Blessed.
Who goes to court with a complaint about another and yet you yourself are thrown into prison?
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him… [otherwise] you will be thrown into prison (Mt 5:25).
Personal Reflection
The habits of anger, lust, infidelity and lying are the pattern we must overcome.
The habits of anger, lust, infidelity, and dishonesty do not heal themselves. They loosen their grip when we stop pretending we can save ourselves.
This is why the Lord gives us himself. Not as a prize for the perfect, but as nourishment for the divided heart.
In the Eucharist, Christ does not shame our weakness— he enters it, steadies it, and teaches us how to live free.
Greetings on this the Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Readings: 1 Kings 11:29-32; 12:19; Psalm 81:10-11ab, 12-13, 14-15; Mark 7:31-37
Summary
“Hear, O Israel.” Perhaps the most foundational command ever given…
What we say and what we hear matter a great deal in how we act. Tragedy comes from closed or untrained tongues. Difficulty comes from inability to hear clearly.
Israel went into rebellion against David’s house to this day. So Israel went off to their tents (1 Kgs 12:19, 16f).
Rebellion is a great word to describe the situation in Israel in those days, and even so today. If you never read the interchange between Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel and Rehoboam, you miss the political instability. If you skipped over (as our selection today does), you would be unaware of this exchange:
Your father put a heavy yoke on us. If you now lighten the harsh servitude and the heavy yoke your father imposed on us, we will be your servants.” (1 Kgs 12:4).
From the Elders, the advice.
King Rehoboam asked advice of the elders who had been in his father Solomon’s service while he was alive, and asked, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” They replied, “If today you become the servant of this people and serve them, and give them a favorable answer, they will be your servants forever.” (1 Kgs 12:6-7).
From the young soldiers, the advice:
My father put a heavy yoke on you, but I will make it heavier. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.’” (1 Kgs 12:11).
Reflection
Yikes, right?!
In our gospel portion today, Jesus treats the root cause: privately, personally, specifically.
Rehoboam would not listen. The deaf man could not listen. One led to division; the other to restoration by way of the divine groan.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And [immediately] the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly (Mk 7:32-35).
I wonder what his first words were? Praise. I can only imagine praise to the Lord.
Personal Reflection
Lord, Holy Physician, open my eyes, unplug my ears, and free my tongue to praise you and live in the freedom of God’s love!
Greetings on this the Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Readings: 1 Kings 11:4-13; Psalm 106:3-4, 35-36, 37 and 40; Mark 7:24-30
Summary
He said to her, “Let the children be fed first (Mk 7:27).
Reflection
The gospel portion today is generally understood to be the recognition of the prior claim the Jewish people have on the relationship (time, energy, resources) with Jesus and the Gentiles are after and the Greek, a Syrophoenician, request is granted due to her faith. It is an excellent commentary on the progressive elaboration of the mission of Jesus and a recognition of the specific, unique, and long-lived divine-human relationship of the Lord and the people of Israel.
And so it is. Let us go deeper.
Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter (Mk 7:25-26). The woman does not argue for rights; she appeals to mercy.
Personal Reflection
Jesus reveals how the theology unfolds. The first children are not displaced — but the vulnerable are never excluded. In our gospel portion today, Jesus asserts the vulnerable (woman, foreigner, child) as first to receive his blessing that day. It is a great warning to me and to all Christians. Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls (Jam 1:21bc).
It is NOT Christian first. It is first Christ and his mission.
Greetings on this the Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Readings: 1 Kings 10:1-10; Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40; Mark 7:14-23
Summary
The queen of Sheba, having heard a report of Solomon’s fame, came to test him with subtle questions. She came to Solomon and spoke to him about everything that she had on her mind. King Solomon explained everything she asked about, and there was nothing so obscure that the king could not explain it to her (1 Kgs 10:1, 2b, 3).
It must have been a wonder to see and hear Queen Sheba and King Solomon discuss things. It is clear the Queen possessed a deep intelligence and inquisitiveness as well as a certain disquiet that demands answers. She brought these subtle questions forward to the King. No doubt they enjoyed word play and mutual discovery of truth (the question is a source of truth as is the answer, in ever deepening cycle of exchange). I would have loved to be in their presence and watch and listen to them talk. Happy are your servants, happy these ministers of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom (1 Kgs 10:8). The Queen is modest too. She was his equal in desire for wisdom.
The Queen came to see if the stories of wisdom are true. And she delighted in the clarity and interior resonance truth brings.
So too, and in a more substantial way, Jesus. It is fair to say many came not to be in wonder but to challenge in disbelief. Fair enough. But it does force a certain crispness and brevity in reply. Truth prefers to be delivered in soft waves but wisdom can hit quite unadorned if needed. Soft waves like Sheba’s exchange; sharp like Jesus’ correction.
He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” (Mk 7:14-15).
Jesus makes clear that all these traditions disguise the most important moral understanding. What comes from within matters most.
Reflection
“But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles. From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.” (Mk 7:20-23).
I don’t know about you but I want to be somewhere in between Queen Sheba and those challenging Jesus. Our psalmist comes to our aid today. If evil comes from within, then so must holiness. The heart is not only the source of corruption — it is the sanctuary God desires. Look carefully at ‘make justice dawn for you’ – from within.
The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom. (PS 37:30a).
Commit to the LORD your way; trust in him, and he will act. He will make justice dawn for you like the light; bright as the noonday shall be your vindication. (PS 37:5-6)
Personal Reflection
I want to approach Jesus like Queen Sheba, confident, trusting, and inquisitive. I want to come away from Jesus happy to have been in his presence. And like Sheba and Solomon, exchange priceless gifts with Jesus, love for love, honor for honor, and respect for respect. Always in response to these gifts he gives first.
Greetings on this the Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin Readings: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30; Psalm 84:3, 4, 5 and 10, 11; Mark 7:1-13
Summary
Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth? Regard kindly the prayer and petition of your servant, LORD, my God, and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant, utter before you this day. Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees; and favor me with your law. (1 Kgs 8:27a, 28; PS 119:36, 29b).
The Tradition of the Elders
In our gospel portion today, Jesus is describing two distinct problems we habitually fall into:
Traditions becoming more important than relation.
Law becoming an unchanging thing, either in its intent or its application.
This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on (Mk 7:6-7, 13a).
Reflection
Our theology and practicum are not set in amber – as a fly trapped and frozen in time.
It is living and breathing, faithful to its source, and adjusts to the Sign of the Times.
To honor is both a verb and a noun. What we do and who we are. We are to honor the Lord and our Mothers & Fathers – i.e., all people.
Personal Reflection
May I not trap myself in the amber of my faith traditions. Rather be open to new ways of expressing the love and honor due the Lord an all persons.
Our faith journey are steps of Ascent to the Altar and to the Lord
Greetings on this the Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Readings: 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13; Psalm 132:6-7, 8-10; Mark 6:53-56
Summary
They came to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant from the city of David (which is Zion). The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, the inner sanctuary of the house, the holy of holies, beneath the wings of the cherubim. There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they went forth from the land of Egypt. (1 Kgs 8:1b, 6, 9)
In our first reading today we have the Ascent. King Solomon has brought the Ark of the Lord to Jerusalem, to the new Temple, to provide a permanent place for the Lord to abide with them. The Ark contained the Two Stone Tablets – the Commandments – within it. The Lord then did reside within the Holy of Holies, in smoke, in presence and in the Law.
Graduale “song of the steps”
The original gradual is from the Jewish liturgical tradition. The 15 steps of the Temple correspond to the Songs of Ascent – Psalms 120-134 – where at each step a psalm was sung. The gradual nature of faith and growth. The Progressive Elaboration of the Divine life and the Human participation in that life. He has come to dwell with us. Wherever they started Judea, Galilee, Egypt or Babylon they all ascend to, arrive at, Jerusalem and the Holy Temple.
Reflection
Advance, O LORD, to your resting place, you and the ark of your majesty (PS 132:8).
After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret. People immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. They laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed (Mk 6:53, 54b-55, 56b).
This is our resting place, in the Lord.
Personal Reflection
Our faith journey is a graduale – an ascent. Step by step we move toward the Lord. We enthrone him in our hearts. We place before him our hopes and needs and all we love. And he allows us to touch his tassel and cloak that we may be healed.
Talking honestly reveals who we are, and the right path forward reveals itself.
Greetings on this the Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Readings: 1 Kings 3:4-13; Psalm 119:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; Mark 6:30-34
Summary
So God said to him: Because you asked for this—you did not ask for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies—but you asked for discernment to know what is right— I now do as you request. I give you a heart so wise and discerning that there has never been anyone like you until now, nor after you will there be anyone to equal you. In addition, I give you what you have not asked for: I give you such riches and glory that among kings there will be no one like you all your days. And if you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and commandments, as David your father did, I will give you a long life. Solomon awoke; it was a dream! He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, sacrificed burnt offerings and communion offerings, and gave a feast for all his servants (1 Kgs 3:11-15).
Prayer is honestly talking with and listening to the Lord
What we ask for is important. It reveals the condition of our heart. It makes clear the response of the Lord. How abundantly he desires to aid us and help us on our pilgrim journey. But our ‘Ask’ must be what our hearts are thinking (for good or ill – the truth as we see it) so that the blessing may flow and corrections (if needed) may be attained.
Reflection
What a marvelous gospel portion today: The Return of the Twelve.
Sacred Oils
The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught (Mk 6:30).
What a wonderful report they gave! Sent by Jesus to change the world and change the world they did!
And, yet, there is more divine-human cooperation ahead – for them and us.
A nice photo from Mass and my brother deacon Antonio, faithful Kathy and Fr Ray who I know now 20 years
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things (Mk 6:34). The Twelve realized they are being given a model to follow. Teach, heal and love.
Personal Reflection
May today we contribute to the Kingdom. Teach, heal and love as you can for all you can.
