It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home … and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. For me the image of the gatekeeper engages my imagination of the coming night watch – in an ancient city silhouetted against a setting sun as the lanterns and home lights cast their first shadows against the coming night. Continue reading
Writing earlier about St. Francis Xavier, I was reminded about a Franciscan missioner, John of Montecorvino, whose feast was November 29. Mention John of Montecorvino and most people – even most Franciscans – will say “who?” John was the first Catholic missionary to China, centuries before the efforts of other Catholic religious orders. It is a compelling story. If you would like to read an interesting and accessible account of the travel within the context of an art historian comparing 13th century Italian and Chinese art, read Lauren Arnold’s: Princely Gifts & Papal Treasures: The Franciscan Mission to China & Its Influence on the Art of the West, 1250-1350 – fascinating book.
Tomorrow should be Feast of St. Francis Xavier SJ, however, the 1st Sunday of Advent is celebrated. I remember in March of 2013 while returning from a meeting of the priests of the deanery, the radio announced that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit, had been elected and taken the name Pope Francis. My first thought was, “that’s a great choice” to take the name of one of the amazing saints of the Jesuit order, Francis Xavier, one of the church’s most widely traveled missionaries. I remember thinking that it was a sign that the universal (katholica) church would increasingly focus its attention on the world of the southern hemisphere.
This coming Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Advent in the new Liturgical Year. The biblical scholar Pheme Perkins offers us a final thought [Mark, 694-5]: Continue reading
In this 34th week of Ordinary Time, in the shadow of the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, we have been reading from the Book of Daniel, a book used in conjunction with Revelation to conjure predictions of the end of the world… depending on whether you are post-millennial, pre-millennial, or amillennial…but then that is a topic for another post. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Advent in the new Liturgical Year. 34 It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. 35 Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. 36 May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” Continue reading
Today is the feast of St. Andrew, the one named the Prōtoklētos – or “first called.” Andrew is so designated because as it tells us in the Gospel of John (John 1:35–42) Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, whose testimony first led him to follow Jesus. Andrew at once recognized Jesus as the Messiah and hastened to introduce him to his brother, Simon Peter. Jesus called; Andrew answered: Apostle, missionary, martyr. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Advent in the new Liturgical Year. Jesus concluded his response by stressing the responsibility of maintaining vigilance. The duty to watch draws its force from the fact that “no one knows” the critical moment of God’s decisive intervention. Perhaps one is surprised that the lack of knowledge includes “nor the Son.” Early on the clause “nor the Son” attracted the attention of theologians anxious to trace the christological implications in the confession of ignorance, but that inquiry misses the point. Continue reading
The gospel readings so far this week have been from Luke 21, a chapter that is prophetic, apocalyptic, and sometimes seen as Wisdom literature. The context is in the middle of the last week of Jesus’ life. As the disciples are admiring the Jerusalem Temple, Jesus tells them: “All that you see here—the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” (Luke 21:6) Jesus offers a description of this time – a description that was the final verse of yesterday’s gospel: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.” (vv.10-11) Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Advent in the new Liturgical Year. This gospel reading begins with “But of that day or hour…” clearly referencing something already mentioned. Our Sunday passage does not include the first two verses of what scholars hold should be part of the pericope (narrative) of the passage:
“30 Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32 But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:30–32)
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