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Online GivingThe ending of today’s Gospel speaks about “the new and the old.” Jesus is saying that a person “instructed in the kingdom” has wisdom both old and new; in other words, that person learns from the past as well as from the present. Let’s look at each of those.
We learn from the past by studying it. So, the wisdom of the Kingdom comes first from the scriptures. The more familiar we are with the word of God, the more wisdom we possess. Along with studying the scriptures, we must pray over them and ask the Spirit to show us how they apply to our lives. We can also learn from the lives of the saints and writings of the Church. The saints may have lived extraordinary lives, but they all began as ordinary people who gave their lives to Christ. The writings of the Church, though sometimes very technical, contain the wisdom of centuries of living the faith. If you only have time to go to Mass on Sunday, just listening to the homily can help to apply the scriptures to your life.
One way we can learn from “the new” is to learn from our mistakes. That includes learning from our sins. When we are truly sorry, we make an effort to change our ways. You might say we have to learn a new way to respond to that situation. In the Bible, the word repentance itself means a change of heart, a new way of seeing and doing things.
We can also learn from the mistakes and the successes of our friends. As we share our faith with them, we share the stories of our lives, both good and bad. These stories can teach how to live our faith (or how not to!). One of the advantages of having friends whom we trust enough to confess our faults to is that we do not have to figure out life on our own. God can speak to us through a friend or relative whose advice we seek. A truly wise person is one who has received a lifetime of good advice. -Tom Schmidt, Diocesan Publications
TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION
Most parishes are now aware of the catechumenate and the journey of new faithful in the RCIA, but this form of sacramental initiation disappeared from view in the thirteenth century along with many other ancient practices. Life back then was hard, and often too short, and priests were increasingly insistent about the responsibility of parents to baptize children in danger of death. Since everyone in that society was under unimaginable threat from famine, warfare, and plague, the liturgical rites changed quickly. Everyone was in danger of death all the time. No longer were babies immersed in fonts, being lowered into the water, although the ritual books never backed down from immersion. Infusion was the new way, a simple pouring of a few drops of water on the child’s forehead.
The catechumenate collapsed, being reduced to the recitation of the Creed and an Our Father at every baptism. Amazingly, any provision for adult baptism was shelved, so that as late as the 1950s, a person being baptized was presumed to be an infant, unable to answer for him or herself. Questions of creed and commitment were put to the godparents, not to the person being baptized. Even Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, famous adult converts, remained mute at their baptisms while their sponsors answered for them. In hindsight all this appears strikingly odd, yet it was accepted as the way things were. We have good reason to give thanks for the vigorous reforms of the last fifty years! -Rev. James Field, Diocesan Publications
July 29 – SAINT MARTHA (first century)
Whether you find Martha Stewart admirable or annoying, she has the perfect patron saint. Luke describes Martha—saint, not Stewart—as “burdened with much serving” (Luke 10:40). About Mary, seated, listening to Jesus, Martha complained, “Do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?” Jesus’ response, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things . . . Mary has chosen the better part” (10:41, 42), suggests to some the superiority of the contemplative life, leaving the rest of us, supporting families, earning livings, helping others, as “second-class” Christians. But Luke introduces Martha and Mary immediately after Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, whom Jesus recommends as a model of practical compassion, concluding, “Go and do likewise” (10:37). Go and do! Sit and listen! Discipleship is never either/or but both/and. Jesus ministered in prayerful silence and hospitable service. Monastic calendars add Mary and Lazarus, calling all three “hosts of the Lord,” recalling their welcome of Jesus to their home in Bethany, reminding us whom we welcome whenever we extend summertime hospitality! -Peter Scagnelli, Diocesan Publications
