About Friar Musings

Franciscan friar and Catholic priest at St. Francis of Assisi in Triangle, VA

A New Moral Compass

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Friar Musings

This coming Sunday is the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time in which we are reading the second part of the “Sermon on the Plains” that began in Luke 6:17. In yesterday’s post we laid out the construct of Hellenistic ethics and Jewish Wisdom traditions. Neither seem to describe Jesus’ instructions. If the Hellenistic “golden rule” and the Jewish wisdom of Sirach do not seem to describe Jesus’ message, it only points out how radical the message was in its day. Continue reading →

For what should we pray?

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Friar Musings

The first reading all week is from the Letter of James. Today’s “installment” is just one of many insights the letter carries about the human condition: “Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation” (James 1:12).

Temptation: no one wants it, no one can avoid it, and it isn’t going away. When St. Paul refers to the “thorns in his side” (2 Cor 12:7) I think, in part, he is talking about temptation. When Paul asked God to take them away, the answer was simply “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor 12:9) Continue reading →

Reciprosity

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Friar Musings

This coming Sunday is the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time in which we are reading the second part of the “Sermon on the Plains” that began in Luke 6:17. We set the context for the gospel in yesterday’s post.

27 “But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Continue reading →

Until the end

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Friar Musings

This week all the first readings are from the Letter to James. The book is less letter and far more a work akin to the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament. Consider the opening of James which is from the first reading for today: “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4) Continue reading →

The Sermon on the Mount – part 2

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Friar Musings

This coming Sunday is the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Lectionary Cycle C. The gospel taken from St. Luke is a continuation of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount whose most remembered part is in the gospel of the 6th Sunday. The remainder of the Sermon is covered on the 7th and 8th Sundays, but they are not always celebrated. The Ordinary Time Sunday readings for the period between the Baptism of the Lord and Ash Wednesday depend on the date established for Easter. In 2022, Easter falls relatively late and so this is one of those years when we celebrate the 7th Sunday (…and the 8th!) Continue reading →

Ever closer to blessings

Posted on February 13, 2022 by Friar Musings

“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.”(Luke 6:20)

Almost a quarter of a century ago, I was in the midst of formation to become a lay missioner with Franciscan Mission Service as a prelude to my time in Kenya. Fr. Joe Nangle, a Franciscan friar, was our speaker that morning. We had begun the day with the Eucharist and the gospel was the same gospel we heard this morning. “Blessed are you who are poor… for yours is the kingdom of God.” Fr Joe told us that if he could only have one verse of Sacred Scripture for our formation, this would be it. Within were the two great challenges to all Christians, but perhaps especially so for Christians from the affluent countries of the world: to learn to see the poor and to learn to see the kingdom of God in the world. And then he told us this story. Continue reading →

The Stirring of Reforms in Prague

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Friar Musings

This is part of an ongoing series of posts about the 16th century Reformations that shook Christianity and civil society. If you would like to “catch up” on the series, you can see all the posts here.

The knowledge of Wycliffe and the Lollards reached deep into the Holy Roman Empire and found a home among Jan Hus, a Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague. It was there that he came into possession of the banned works of Wycliffe which Hus translated into the Czech language. 1408, Pope Gregory XII warned Archbishop Zajic of Prague that the Church in Rome had been informed of Wycliffe’s heresies and of King Wenceslaus’ sympathies for non-conformists. In response, the king and University ordered all of Wycliffe’s writings surrendered to the archdiocesan chancery for correction. Hus obeyed, declaring that he condemned the errors in those writings. Yet at the same time, disavowing himself of the theological errors, Hus tried to reform the church by delineating the moral failings of clergy, bishops, and even the papacy from his pulpit. Archbishop Zajíc tolerated this, and even appointed Hus as preacher to the clergy’s biennial synod. Continue reading →

Being Open

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Friar Musings

In today’s gospel we encounter Jesus outside the Galilee in the area of Decapolis, an area of Hellenistic thought and faith practice. Jesus meets someone, “a deaf man who had a speech impediment”

“he looked up to heaven…and said…’Ephphatha! (that is, ‘Be opened!’) And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.” (Mark 7:34-35)

In terms of the mission of Jesus and the later mission of the Apostles and disciples, it is touchstone and summary: be willing to leave the comfort of your neighborhood, persistent when encountering people not initially open to hearing the Word of God, look to heaven in prayer for ways to remove the barriers, and empower the listener to speak plainly the Word of God to others. Continue reading →

A final thought on the Sermon

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Friar Musings

This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time. The posts this week have been longer than average. So perhaps is it time for final thought. The following quotes come from Walter Pilgrim (Good News to the Poor: Wealth and Poverty in Luke-Acts).

The clear social distinctions drawn here are between the haves and the have-nots, the possessors and the impoverished, those favored by society and those despised. The new and surprising element is the way in which the norms and values of society are turned upside down. The promised blessings belong to the suffering poor, while the coming woes are pronounced upon the contented rich. According to one commentator, this marks the first time in Jewish religious literature that the poor are directly called the blessed (Hengel Property). [p. 76] Continue reading →

The long arc of one’s life

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Friar Musings

Yesterday’s reflection began: What lies in the heart of men? If we would rely on the introduction from the popular radio series the Shadow, our answer would be – “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” In a way the history of the reign of King Solomon is a story that connects to that ominous question.

Our first readings for a while now have been from 1 Kings. As we had heard in 2 Samuel the story of King David, our foray into the Book of 1 Kings continues the narrative of the Kings of Judah and Israel, the one charged with ensuring the people of the nation were faithful to the covenant of God. The narrative begins with the transition of kingship from David to Solomon, a story of ambition, betrayal, assassination, but eventually Solomon ascends the throne. Here is a synopsis of the this week’s first readings: Continue reading →

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