September 25, 2011 Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm25; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32 ?? ??????? Lastweek we heard Isaiah and Jesus telling us that God’s justice is not like humanjustice. This week Jesus and Ezekiel tell us God does want human fairness andintegrity after all. To illustrate this, Jesus presents a story of a man withtwo sons who are asked to go out into the vineyard and work today. The firstson says “no” but later changes his mind and obeys the father’s wish;the second son says “of course I’ll do it” and never gets around tocarrying it out. ????????? Jesusis equating this story to a religious problem of his day, that of taxcollectors and prostitutes being welcomed into the kingdom of God before thereligious authorities. The sinners are the ones who originally say”no” because they choose to do what is more conducive to theirdemands of life; the chief priests and elders say “yes” but theiractions do not represent the positive choices they have declared. In otherwords, their words are actions are far removed from the will of God – even ifthey are teaching such things in God’s name. ????????? Thehonesty of the first son is healthy. I admire his freedom. I have often foundmyself wanting to say “no” immediately but I end up saying”yes.” He is honest about not wanting to go into the vineyard to workfor his father. He is clear about wanting to do something else instead. There’snothing wrong about saying what you want or don’t want, however it does nothave to be the last word. People’s choices evolve. Perhaps he changes his mindbecause of his relationship with his dad. Decisions like these are not made ina vacuum. We need time to sift through our deliberations regardless of whetherwe are introverts or extroverts. We consider the process, relationships, andgoals. Tax collectors and prostitutes changed their minds when they heard ofthe righteousness John the Baptist spoke about; the chief priests and elders,hearing the same words, would not let their hearts be touched. ????????? Wealways have to keep out hearts open to life’s opportunities. Closing downwithin ourselves serves no one and never brings a person happiness. Look at thefather in this story. He makes the same invitation to both sons and only one ishonest with him. The dad makes the same offer and holds out hope that both willaccept it, and he allows for free choice to guide their decisions. God does notact by force or coercion and we know from experience that it is better torespond affirmatively to God’s invitations because we can trust that God isacting for our well-being, even if we initially don’t want what God wants forus. God only wants to give us good things. The more we open ourselves to God’sdesires, the happier we will be because we will inherit the best things inlife. ????????? Jesuswas our best example of someone being open to God’s will. Paul encourages us tohave the same attitude of Christ who didn’t consider being God as something tobe grasped because he was content to take on our human condition. Rather, Paulasks us to do nothing out of selfishness (which is not the same as expressingself-interest), but to look out for the interests of others as you would lookafter your own interests. When we act like the first son who considers thefather’s request and changes his mind, we put the interests of another beforeour own. Somehow we can see our choices more clearly and a flip switches oninside of us to guide us to make the right decision. Good things await us whenwe know what we want and have enough gumption to put our interests aside foranother person’s needs. We become more like Christ who became more like God. Themes for this Week’s Masses FirstReading: In Zechariah, the Lord declares his envy for Zion.He will return to her and dwell within Jerusalem to be their God. Many peoplewill see Jerusalem’s righteousness and fidelity and will be drawn to the cityto implore the favor of the Lord. People of every nationality will burn withdesire to be near the Lord. In Nehemiah, King Artaxerxes grants his request totake leave to rebuild the holy city in Judah. After mustering financialsupport, Nehemiah is granted permission. In Baruch, exiles during theBabylonian captivity pray for mercy as they realize how badly they have sinnedbecause they did not heed the voice of God. The Lord addresses his waywardpeople saying that all the sins they committed against him can be blotted outwhen they turn ten times the more to God. The Lord will bring them back andgive you enduring joy. Gospel: Jesus settles the argument among the disciples about which of them is thegreatest by calling a child to his side and elevating the least among them asthe greatest. The disciple John reports that he tries to stop someone from castingout demons in the name of Jesus; Jesus says to let him be. Knowing his lastdays are coming, Jesus journeys resolutely to Jerusalem. On the way, he stopsin a village that will not receive him. He must move on. Along the way someonejoins him and says, “I will follow you wherever you go,” and Jesustells them that the Son of Man has no place to rest his head. As more villagerejections come, Jesus blasts the inhospitable words of the people. He declaresthat a fate worse that Sodom and Gomorrah will come upon them. Jesus is greetedwith good news as the seventy-two missioned disciples return with reports ofmany demons exorcised because of his name. Jesus thanks the Father that manypeople are believing in the will of God. Saints of the Week Monday: Cosmas and Damian, martyrs (d. 287) , were twins whobecame doctors. They were noted because they never charged anyone a medicalfee. They died in the Diocletian persecution. Great miracles have beenattributed to them and the Emperor Justinian is claimed to be healed throughtheir intercession. Tuesday: Vincent de Paul, priest (1581-1660), was a French peasantwho selected to be chaplain at the Queen’s household after his ordination. Heprovided food and clothing to the poor, including prostitutes, the sick,disabled, and homeless. He founded the Congregation of Missions (Vincentians)to preach and train clergy and he co-founded the Daughters of Charity withLouise de Marillac. Wednesday: Wenceslaus, martyr (907-929), was raised aChristian by his grandmother while his mother and brother were opposed toChristianity. His brother opposed him when he became ruler of Bohemia in 922.He introduced strict reforms that caused great dissatisfaction among nobles andpolitical adversaries. His brother invited him to a religious ceremony where hewas killed in a surprise attack. Lawrence Ruiz and15 companion martyrs (seventeenth century) , were killed inNagasaki, Japan during 1633 and 1637. Most of these Christians were friends ofthe Dominicans. Lawrence, a Filipino, was a husband and father. He and theseother missionaries served the Philippines, Formosa, and Japan. Thursday: Michael,Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels are long a part of Christian and Jewishscripture. Michael is the angel who fights against evil as the head of all theangels; Gabriel announces the messiah’s arrival and the births of Jesus andJohn the Baptist; and Raphael is a guardian angel who protects Tobias on hisjourney. Together, they are venerated to represent all the angels during athree-day period. Friday: Jerome,priest and doctor (342-420), studied Greek and Latin as a young man afterhis baptism by Pope Liberius. He learned Hebrew when he became a monk and afterordination he studied scripture with Gregory Nazianzen in Constantinople. Hebecame secretary to the Pope when he was asked to translate the Bible intoLatin. Saturday: Teresaof Avila, doctor (1873-1897) , entered the Carmelites at age 15 and died atage 24 from tuberculosis. During her illness, Pauline, her prioress, asked herto write about her life in the convent. These stories are captured in “TheStory of a Soul.” He focused on her “little way” of pursuingholiness in everyday life. This Week in Jesuit History · ???????? Sep 25, 1617. The death of FranciscoSuarez. He wrote 24 volumes on philosophy and theology. As a novice he wasfound to be very dull, but one of his directors suggested that he ask ourLady’s help. He subsequently became a person of prodigious talent. · ???????? Sep 26, 1605. At Rome, Pope Paul Vorally declared St Aloysius to be one of the “Blessed.” The officialbrief appeared on October 19. · ???????? Sep 27, 1540. Pope Paul III signed theBull, Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae ,which established the Society of Jesus. · ???????? Sep 28, 1572. Fifteen Jesuits arrivedin Mexico to establish the Mexican Province. They soon opened a college. · ???????? Sep 29, 1558. In the Gesu, Rome, andelsewhere, the Jesuits began to keep Choir, in obedience to an order from PaulIV. This practice lasted less than a year, until the pope’s death in August,1559. · ???????? Sep 30, 1911. President William HowardTaft visited Saint Louis University and declared the football season open. · ???????? Oct 1, 1546. Isabel Roser was releasedfrom her Jesuit vows by St Ignatius after eight months.?

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