Give Me The Car Keys, You’re Drunk: Homily 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

  

Ez 33:7-9

Ps 95

Rom 13:8-10

Mt 16:15-20

 

I grew up, lived, and worked in Eastern and Central Pennsylvania until I was in my mid-forties. Much of that time was spent on the edge of Amish enclaves located along Rt. 45 between Lewisburg and State College.  Regular travelers on 45 learned to be alert for the black buggies traveling on the shoulder. 

 

An outsider does not enter into or become close to an Amish community.  Their communities are closed to those whom they call 'The English.'  Their lifestyle is simple, non-technology dependent, and led according to church teaching.  One of the misunderstood features of Amish life is the practice of 'shunning' a church member who repeatedly sins by violating church ordinances. This particular part of Matthew's gospel is used as justification for the practice that is meant to maintain  the good of the community.

 

The errant individual is confronted in the step-by-step manner outlined in the gospel.  Only after repeated attempts at correction at higher levelswill the individual be shunned, cut off from social interaction with the community, from worship with the community, or even being able to do business.  However, the individual is not completely abandoned. Even when shunned the community will help if needed.  If the individual confesses and repents he or she or she will be welcomed back.  Only the completely unrepentant who refuse to confess will be excommunicated.  While many feel shunning to be harsh and inhumane, sometimes the only way to prevent the sinner from worse is through the remedy suggested in Matthew.

 

We see a corollary is the first reading from Ezekiel in which the prophet is warned that he will be held equally guilty if he does not correct the sinner, whereas if he offers correction but the sinner persists, the sinner will be lost but the prophet will be blameless. 

 

Were the topic of shunning to be introduced into cocktail party conversation  many would roll their eyes  and allude to cruelty, perhaps with an "oh myyy gawwwwwd.'  Oftentimes they would add, "I never judge others,"  a sanctimonious lie that is among the biggest virtue signaling lies possible . . . but that is another homily.

 

We have the same responsibilities to confront sinners as outlined in Ezekiel and Matthew.  Are we culpable--legally and/or morally--for another's sin?  Most of the time we are not.  But there are times when action on our part could have made a difference, saved a marriage, or saved a life.  Consider drunk driving.

 

Driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or prescription drugs is a serious and lethal problem in the United States.  Texting while driving is not much better.  Bars, bartenders, friends who over-serve, and that special class of idiot parents who purchase alcohol for teenagers' parties, are being included in the legal blame and prosecuted for deaths and injuries stemming from their action or inaction. 

 

Confronting a drunk driver is critical. Refusing to allow the individual to drive involves an act of judgment of his or her behavior. The penalty may involve confiscating the car keys, offering a place to stay over night, or calling Uber and even footing the bill. Too frequently this kind of action doesn't go well.  Sometimes it goes very badly. Friendships have been ruptured and family bonds strained.  But action is necessary to prevent death or injury to the driver or others. 

 

Paul elaborated on four of the ten commandments in his letter:  adultery, killing, stealing, and coveting. Among the four, adultery is the most fascinating. 

 

Adultery is the family gift that keeps on giving, though what it frequently gives is nothing anyone wants:  pain, separation, divorce, mistrust, loneliness, and for any involved children, a lot more difficulty than society is willing to admit.

 

About thirty-five years ago I was attending a medical meeting a few hundred miles from home.  I was not prepared to run into a colleague, who was not attending the meeting, walking down the street hand-in-hand with a woman most definitely not his wife.  There was a fascinating moment of guilty discomfort on his part--she had no idea who I was or why he suddenly let go of her hand--or why he became obviously anxious.  His marriage ended not long after our accidental encounter. The kids became alienated from their father, and the financial costs were huge.  It also ended any further socialization between us except for a nod when passing in the hallways of the hospital. 

 

It is never easy or pleasant to correct another, who is publicly sinning be it drunk driving or adultery be it the formalized shunning practiced by the Amish or saying, "Give me your keys, you are in no condition to drive." The confrontation frequently involves pain. It may result in screaming accusations along the lines of:  Who are you to judge me?"  But sometimes it is necessary so as to prevent greater pain, greater sin, and greater hurt.  

 

____________________________________

Have been watching the Penn  State-Marshall game for the past while.  Penn State winning 45-0.  No contest obviously.  But still wish I were there.  In 2014 I arranged my travel home from Chad so as to be able to attend the Penn State - UCF game in Dublin's Kroke Park.  It was wonderful.  A period of exhaustion intereferred with my taking as many photos as I would have liked but I got some.  

 

I was blown away by the lines of the Samuel Beckett Bridge so much . . . 

 . . . once my roommate Paul returned to U.S. I spent several hours exploring and shooting.

The pub at which we ate. 

Poster advertising the game and welcoming us.  There were at least three times as many PSU fans in Kroke Park as UCF.  We won on a field goal that went through the uprights with no time on the clock.  Didn't realize I could still jump that high.  

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD 

 

 

Late Have I Loved Thee: Homily for 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

  

Jeremiah 20:7-9

Ps 63

Rom 12:1-2

Mt 16:21-27

 

Among the most useful bits of advice given in theology school was that when preparing to preach, write a paper, or even for personal devotion, it is important to read more than one translation of the readings. This is particularly true in English in which there are multiple translations that vary tremendously in style, grammar, wording, and sometimes with the agenda of the translator.  There are revisions of revisions, new versions of old versions, new versions of revised versions, and so on.  Some are written in lofty and elegant language while others approach slang.  At times one version of a reading may resonate more with a reader than an alternative.  

 

At times it helps to pay attention to subtle shades of meaning of a particular word or phrase.  Depending on the translation they can have a significant impact on our understanding of the reading.  Sometimes a reading from a different source works better than the one found in the lectionary.  Such is the case today. 

 

We just heard, “You duped me O Lord and I let myself be duped.”  Duped is not in common use today.  I suspect it is unfamiliar to those  who are not native English speakers, and possibly unfamiliar to a lot of native speakers as well.  Duped means tricked or fooled. The King James Version and the Catholic RSV use: “O Lord, you have deceived me and I was deceived.”  A version in common English is accusatory when it writes, “You tricked me Lord and I was really fooled.”  However, The Jerusalem Bible gets it right:

 

“You have seduced me Yahweh, and I let myself be seduced.”

 

Deceived. Duped.  Tricked.  Seduced. There is conceptual overlap to be sure but each has distinct nuances of meaning.  Deceived has entirely negative connotations of being lied to. Duped also suggests a dishonest approach that takes advantage of another. Calling someone a dupe is never a compliment.  Tricked is well, tricked, pulled the wool over the eyes, fooled,  the old switcherooni.

 

Seduced is the only one of these that truly works when applied to God.  Seduced has multiple meanings, among which one finds: to win over, to attract powerfully and insistently.  “You attracted me powerfully and I allowed myself to be attracted.”  “You won me over . . . “ There is no hint that God lied, was dishonest,engaged in subterfuge, or used trickery. 

 

You attracted me strongly and I allowed myself to be attracted. 

You called to me in a powerful voice and I followed. 

You waited until I came to my senses.

 

So much better than hinting that God pulled a fast one, tricked, or deceived.  God calls. God beckons. God invites.  He wins over. He does not trick, deceive, or dupe. 

 

Saint Augustine got it right. In one of his most eloquent and resonant  passages, that was the second reading in the breviary on his August 28 memorial. He wrote:

 

“Late have I loved you,

O beauty ever ancient ever new . . .

You were within me but I was outside. . .

You were with me, but I was not with you . . .

You called, you shouted and you broke through my deafness . . .

You breathed your fragrance on me . . .

You dispelled my blindness . . .

You touched me and I burned for your peace . . . “

 

There certainly is nothing suggesting trickery, chicanery, or duping in Jesus’ words to the apostles. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” 

 

Jesus is not promising an easy life, a life free of pain, suffering, or trial.  He is telling it like it is, like it was, and like it will always be for those who choose to follow him, for those who allow themselves to be seduced. 

 

“God forbid that this should be so . . . .”

 

Peter’s denial of Jesus’ statement of reality earned him a harsh rebuke.  We are not to think as Peter did.  Rather we are to accept the reality that it ain’t easy and it ain‘t gonna be easy.  But we know that. We have known that from the beginning. No deception or chicanery involved.

 

Paul gives sage advice against taking the easy way, the soft way, the way of those who deceive and dupe when he advises, “Do not conform yourselves to this age.”  Especially this age in the U S of A, an age in which “sin” “immoral” and “wrong” have been stripped of all meaning.  Indeed, in the cases of abortion, killing the sick elderly, and puberty blockade for confused children, sin and immoral have been elevated to the level of virtue for some.    

 

“You have seduced me and I allowed myself to be seduced.” 

 

When we can say that we can also sing with the psalmist:

 

“I will bless  you while I live;

lifting up my hands,

I will call upon your name.

As with the riches of a banquet

shall my soul be satisfied,

and with exultant lips

my mouth shall praise you.”

 

______________________________________________

There were no homilies the past two weeks as I was at the monastery in VT and had no public Masses.  Things settling to normal again.  

 

Photos were taken in Australia in 2011 during tertianship.  After two days in Sydney we were taken to Seven Mile Beach in Gerroa, NSW.  None of us was Australian. To describe our reaction to the place as happy shock captures it.  Glorious place.  

 

Sunset the first or second night.  The camera never left my side for the ten days of our stay

This silhouette captures childhood in black and white

The view from the property on which we stayed.

Fr. Jack SJ, MD

Walkin’ on the Water: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

   

1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a

Ps 85

Rom 9:1-5

Mt 14:22-33

 

"Lord let us see your kindness and grant us your salvation."

 

Psalm 85 brings the two readings and the Gospel together.  Each reading is about faith fraying along the edges or faith that seemed to be lost.  Each of the speakers:  Elijah, Paul, and Peter could have easily uttered the psalm response from his position of desperation, discouragement, or fear.  We can identify with those feelings and add a few of our own. 

 

Things can't be worse for Elijah.  He fled to escape the wrath of the evil Jezebel

who wanted him dead.  While in hiding an angel instructed him to eat and prepare for a journey.  All Elijah wanted was to die.  He was despondent and had lost hope.  His faith was shaky.  He ate only because the angel demanded that he do so.  Then, he began a journey of forty days. 

 

The Jewish Study Bible notes that when unencumbered and alone a man could walk between 15 and 25 miles per day Multiplied by 40 days, Elijah walked between 600 and 1000 miles.  To put the distances into perspective, it is about 500 miles south from Boston to Washington, DC and 1000 miles west to Chicago. 

 

What went through his mind during that arduous trek? What goes through our minds during the 40-day journeys we are forced to take during life, the journeys of chemotherapy, chronic pain, or the seemingly endless journey of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's?

 

Elijah's encounter with God in a whisper rather than an earth-shaking event is one of the remarkable images in the Old Testament.  Elijah had to be open and willing to hear that whisper.  He had to be attuned to and ready for it.  Similarly, we have to be prepared and willing to hear the voice of God in a whisper, in the brief moment of quiet that interrupts the background noise that complicates our lives. 

 

Paul’s discouragement that his people rejected Jesus is palpable.  His distress was such that he would have been willing to have himself cut off from Christ if they would accept the great gift of salvation. We all know Paul’s frustration. We know the pain when no one will listen to us.  We know the frustration of being met with opposition by everyone in our lives: family, friends, co-workers and so on.  We know that feeling of radical loneliness  when we plead: "Lord let me see you kindness and grant me your salvation."  Today’s Gospel take place immediately after Jesus fed the multitude with a few loaves and fishes.  The crowd had dispersed.  He dismissed his disciples and went up the mountain alone to pray.  Something important happens here, something we fail to notice much of the time. Pope Benedict XVI wrote that we know from the Gospels that Jesus frequently spent nights alone in prayer and  conversation with His Father.  He suggests that Jesus’ speech, preaching and ministry grew out of that silence and matured within the accompanying solitude.

 

While Jesus was praying the apostles were crossing the 4 1/2 mile wide Sea of Galilee.  They were a few miles off-shore and in no position to swim if the boat capsized.  It was very late.  The fourth watch of the night was between 3:00 and 6:00 AM.  Thus they had been struggling to cross--and Jesus had been in prayer--for hours. 

 

We can identify with their terror when they saw Jesus walking on the water toward them. And then, as we heard,  Peter acted. when he ”got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.”  But his faith wavered when he saw how strong the wind was.” Fear replaced faith. This brings up the difficult question, “What is faith.”

 

Australian Trappist Fr. Michael Casey makes an important point:  “Faith has to grapple constantly with the doubts we may experience when we hear the words of the poet Robert Browning  God is in his heaven—all’s right with the world.'  So often it doesn’t seem that way.”  Many times in our lives it doesn’t seem, or didn’t seem, that God is in his heaven or that anything is right with the world. 

 

Casey goes on to define faith:  “Faith means letting go of our ambition to control, understand, or even cope with what happens. Faith means releasing our anxieties into God’s hands and seeing all that happens as coming from the hand of God. The fact that I cannot comprehend the logic of events means simply that my intellect is limited.  Our relationship with God is often undermined by fears about impending disaster”

 

It is terrifying to be wheeled into an operating room.  It is panic-inducing to hear a diagnosis of cancer. No one can describe the emotions upon the death of one’s child.  Our faith wavers and, like Peter, we begin to sink.  Our faith may waver when we realize the seriousness of our situation.  We may suddenly doubt as the river rises above flood stage in our lives. 

 

Faith does not mean that life will go smoothly.  Faith is not a shield against trauma. Faith does not protect us from pain nor is it a Berlin wall against the anguish of grief. Faith is an umbrella over us during these crises. Peter’s faith was strong when he jumped out of the boat because he wasn't thinking about it too much. When he began to intellectualize and pay attention to the storm he tried to take control.  For the moment his faith vanished.  And then he prayed; “Lord.  Save me!”  We also try walk on the waters of a stormy lake at night. In those moments

we can only plead as did the psalmist:

 

"Lord let us see you kindness and grant us your salvation."

 

 _____________________________________________-

Photos are from tertianship in Australia in 2011.  We were there for 8 months, half of the time in Sydney and the rest scattered all over the country.  These are from all over the country but not Sydney.  That is a separate topic. 

 

 

Rainbow after a violent storm arcing over Out Lady of the Angels, the church at which I spent five weeks during the second 'experiment.'

Oil rig visible from the porch of the church rectory. 

The beach at Warrnambool was magnificent and only a short walk from the church at which I was giving retreats in daily life for three weeks. 

Sunset at Sevenhill, South Australia where we made the long retreat. 

Walking after Mass at Sevenhill.  The camera was part of my anatomy during the entire thirty days there either hanging from my shoulder of under the chair. 

Sunrise at Gerroa, NSW.  Beautiful place at which we spent the first ten days of the retreat getting to know each other.  

 

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration

  

6 August 2026

Dn 7:9-10, 13-14

Ps 97:1-2, 5-6,99

2 Pt 1:16-19

Mt 17:1-9

 

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, draws us into a mystery that is well beyond our understanding or comprehension.  The Transfiguration represents the fulfillment of the prophecy we just heard in the reading from Deuteronomy that  also tried to describe something beyond the ability of words and images. "The Son of Man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.  His dominion is everlasting; his kingship shall not be destroyed."

 

"His dominion is everlasting; his kingship shall not be destroyed."

 

On this Feast we recall Jesus appearing in brilliant glory; speaking with Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets in front of three of His disciples.

 

Imagine the scene: Dazzling light.  Moses, Elijah, and Jesus conversing. What were they saying? How did their voices sound?  Place yourself with the apostles. Stand on the mountain with them.  The tension is increasing, it is almost unbearable.  And then you hear God's voice: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."  The Father confirms that Jesus is the Christ, the Beloved Son of God, the one whom Peter confessed him to be in the previous chapter of Mark's Gospel.

 

And then the Father gives you a mission: "Listen to him." 

 

Like the apostles, you are stunned into silence and overcome with awe.  Jesus--the Nazorean and teacher, Son of Mary and Wonder Worker, Jesus, the carpenter, healer, and prophet who was given no honor in his native place, was revealed in his Divinity. 

 

But, there is another transfiguration, there is another revelation, we must recall today. That event was also marked by blinding light, overshadowed by a cloud, and a deafening sound led to a stunned silence. 

 

On August 6 the Church recalls that Jesus was revealed in his Divinity on a mountain.  On August 6, 1945 the human race revealed its depravity at Hiroshima.  The world would never be the same.  Hiroshima captured in one event the sum total of human sin from the fall of Adam and Eve. 

 

The event of Hiroshima, and three days later, Nagasaki, condensed the cumulative horrors of all the wars of the past centuries, into a single and singular event.  This time God did not give mankind a mission from the cloud.  There was a terrible silence. There was a void. 

 

Or was there?

           

The voice of God was obscured by the explosion.  It was not silenced. 

 

Almost 2000 years since Jesus' incarnation, birth, passion, death, resurrection and ascension, and eighty-one years since Hiroshima, God's mandate to the apostles, and thus His mandate to us: “listen to him” is more compelling and urgent  than it was for the shaken apostles.  Hiroshima and Nagasaki demonstrated man's capability for destruction on an unimaginable scale, a scale that is unique to our present time and technology.

 

"This is my Son; listen to him.”     

 

As we listen to Jesus, as we take his teaching to heart and allow that teaching to transform us, we move a bit closer to the eschatological glory of  the transfigured Jesus. At the same time we move that much farther from the apocalyptic destruction of the nuclear bomb, the human destruction of  past genocides in Armenia, Rwanda and Burundi, the unbearable memories of WWII and many others throughout the world up to and including Ukraine and the Middle East.

 

And, as we heed God's mandate to listen to his beloved Son, we begin to move further from the systematized attacks on morality and vulnerable human life being waged in the U.S. today, abortion, the planned killing of the elderly, and the castration of prepubertal children for the sake of a perverted agenda.

 

"The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory."

 

"The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth."

 

"This is my beloved Son,

listen to Him."

 

____________________________________________

I won't try to elaborate why the Feast of the Transfiguration is so deeply meaningful for me, even before I began working with the monks at the Charterhouse of the Transfiguration in Vermont. I'm not certain I can put the reasons into words anyway.

The photos are from the Charterhouse over the past years

 

 

 

A depiction of the Transfiguration on the staircase leading to the Church.  It is about five feet high and proportionately wide.  Note the quote at the bottom.  

The miracle of Transubstantiation

Taken from the choir stall to which I was assigned on my first visit ten years ago.  It never changed.  The books are in Latin, Gregorian Chant, and are huge.  

 

Have a Blessed Feast

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD 

 

Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola_2026

  

Feast of St. Ignatius

31 July 2026

 

AMDG.  Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam, To the Greater Glory of God. These four words comprise the Jesuit motto.  We frequently use AMDG at the beginning or end of a letter.  My vow ring is engraved with it. 

 

Ignatius of Loyola was a complex man.  Born in 1491or 1492, his youth was spent learning to be a soldier and a member of the royal court.  He admits to being very vain regarding his appearance in his younger years, preferring the 16^th century equivalent of skinny jeans so as to look good. Though mostly uneducated, he could read and had very fine penmanship.  At twenty-two years of age the hot-headed Basque was injured while leading his overmatched men in the Battle of Pamplona.  It was one of the most blessed injuries in the history of war. 

 

While convalescing in the castle of Loyola he was gradually drawn to the desire to follow in the footsteps of Christ, he discerned a call to do great things for the Greater Glory of God.  It is a fascinating story. 

 

Because he had not had an adequate education he went back to the equivalent of junior high school in his twenties to learn the Latin and Greek he needed to go to University.

 

Ignatius was charismatic.  A group of men gathered around him at university to do the Spiritual Exercises that he composed while in Manresa following his conversion.  Some of these men, including Sts. Francis Xavier and Peter Faber, were among the original nine companions when the Society of Jesus was established in 1540. 

 

Two days ago we heard the well known Gospel narrative of Martha and Mary.  Mary at prayer as she sat at Jesus' feet, Martha grumbling and whining as she did the work of preparing the meal.  In St. Ignatius we see a combination of Mary's contemplation of Jesus' word and Martha's busy-ness in response to demands of work without the complaining. 

 

The totality of Ignatius’ presence to Jesus word was like Mary’s.  Like Martha he had many distractions. He wrote 7000 letters, was composing the Jesuit Constitutions, missioning men throughout the world, and answering hundreds of questions as the Society grew.  At times he had to put his foot down.  All novices read his famous letter on obedience, a 4000 word missive that he wrote to young Jesuits in Portugal who were in a rebellious mood. But it was the fruit of his prayer that influenced world history in ways that can never be overestimated. 

 

Despite the enormous demands of the rapidly growing Society, establishing schools, dealing with hostility from other orders and the occasional pope, missioning men throughout the world, and writing the constitutions for the Society, he was disposed to hear and contemplate the word of God in the midst of and despite many distractions,

 

His health was not good.  Yet, he continued to pray and work without grumbling, always to the Greater Glory of God. Ignatius died in 1556, age 65.  He had been named the first general of the Society in 1541 and was still holding that office at the time of his death.  Jesuits pray a number of prayers written by Holy Father Ignatius. One of these is the Prayer for Generosity that outlines how to live AMDG.

 

"O Lord, teach me to be generous

To serve you as you deserve

To give and not to count the cost

To fight and not to heed the wounds

To toil and not to seek for rest

To labor and not to ask for reward

Save that of knowing I do your holy will."

 

 __________________________________________

 

 

 

The injured Ignatius at Pamplona.  The French were so impressed with his tenacity that they helped transport him back to the castle of Loyola.

Parts of the castle and the dome of the basilica.  Took this because of the trees.  Ya' don't see these in Northern New England

Sometimes I get distracted by something small, like a flower. 

Statue of Ignatius situated way above the main altar.  Could only get this with a 150 mm lens and standing almost directly below it. 

The castle and the dome of the basilica.  Loyola was a photo bonanza both in the basilica as well as the landsccape.  

 Happy Feast!

 

 Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

 

Going to try this again

I don't know what the problem is with this web site The print doesn't show up normally. But am going to try yet again. This is the homily from this past Sunday. Will also give a shot at the photos. 

 

That was one serious find:  Homily for the 17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12

Ps 119: 57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130

Rom 8:28-30

Mt 13:44-52

 

We make most daily decisions, without much effort: do I cross now or wait until that car passes?  Orange or apple juice?  Take a nap or exercise?  Other choices however, require discernment and thought.  We have all made life changing choices and will do so in the future.  Among the most important of those choices is the choice for or against Jesus.

 

The first reading and gospel both involve life-changing choices. 

 

God asked Solomon what he desired.  He was young, nothing more than a kid.  Despite that he did not ask for things most of us would want: a long healthy life, riches, or a great car.  Solomon asked for understanding,  he asked for the wisdom to discern between good and evil, and the ability to be a good leader.   His request pleased God.  It was granted.  We can only pray that our national leaders--BOTH parties--desire the same as opposed to the ugly and uncivil power struggles characterizing life in the U S of A.  Imagine legislatures praying for the wisdom to be good leaders rather than legalizing human sacrifice on the altar of abortion rights, the killing of the sick and elderly, rather than worshipping power, and encouraging the perverse and bizarre.

 

Every choice we make involves a cost.  Sometimes we anticipate that cost while other times it comes as a surprise.  When we make a particular choice other options  are closed off.   Sure we can change our minds about orange vs. apple  juice, or even have both, but the most important choices close off the other possibilities.  Choosing to marry a particular person closes off the choices among all others. Choosing to enter religious life closes off the option to marry and have a family,

 

The three short gospel parables are about choices. While they are related each has a unique message.  Unlike their usual response the apostles replied 'yes'

when Jesus asked if they understood. Repetition seems to have had an effect. 

They finally got it,  just as we get it and begin to understand what Jesus is telling us the more we listen to His word.

 

The first two parables bring to mind an event that blew the art world and the  Society of Jesus out of the water in 1990 when Dublin's Leeson Street Jesuit Community sent a painting that had been hanging in the dining room for sixty years to be cleaned.  It was thought to be a copy of a long-missing Carravagio painting called "The Taking of Christ." 

 

But one of the art restorers noticed something.  It WAS the missing painting worth tens of millions of pounds.  It was both the treasure discovered accidentally in a field and the pearl of great price noticed by an expert. 

 

What about buried treasures?

 

At the time the gospel was written invasions were a regular threat.  One way to keep a treasure safe was to bury it in a field.  Of course before selling the field it was important to remember that and where it was buried. Today we hear stories of very valuable objects found at flea markets, in attics, and at estate sales.

Indeed, Antiques Road Show is premised on this gospel passage.  

 

When the man realized what he had found buried he went away happy, chose to sell everything he had, and purchased the field so as obtain the treasure.  When we realize the value of the Kingdom of Heaven, when we truly understand and commit ourselves to following Jesus, we too can go off happy, knowing that we have found the most valuable of treasures.  

 

The man’s discovery in the field was an accident.   Not so for the merchant. He was an expert on a quest to find pearls. He found an exceptional one  and realized, on the basis of his expertise and knowledge, that this was the real thing.

He had found the pearl for which he was searching.   He too chose to act and commit to a course of action so as to obtain it.

 

The merchant’s excitement mirrors that of the one who discovers Christ later in life or the one who, having been baptized rediscovers what he or she had given up during that spiritual chaos known as young adulthood.  As a result he returns

to active participation in the sacraments.   Both of these figures made irrevocable choices.  Neither could have repurchased what he had sold. Neither could ever go back to the time before the decision.

 

The final parable is a bit different.  All of us can identify with fishing though few have experienced fishing with a drag net.   A drag net picks up everything: 

fish, plant life, and all kinds of inanimate objects.  After the net is hauled ashore

the fishermen go through the contents, keep the good fish, discard those that are not good, and dispose of the garbage. This parable recalls last week's gospel

about the weeds and the wheat. When the field was harvested the weeds were thrown into the fire and the wheat bundled into barns.

 

Politics, good, and evil, virtue and sin, have coexisted since the beginning of time. That will never change.  Our dilemma is whether or not we choose to trust

in the promises of Christ as described by Paul, “We know that by turning everything to their good God cooperates with all those who love him,

with all those that he has called . . .”  

 

Accepting or refusing God’s grace is our free choice.  We can never be forced

to accept or cooperate with that grace.  However, all the other important choices in our lives depend on that decision. 

 

___________________________________________________________

 

 

The photos are all from sv. Višarje, a three-country pilgrimage site in Italy just across the borders of both Austria and Slovenia.  Extremely beautiful place where I spent ten days doing some work with kids learning ENglish.  I was the only native speaker.  It was photo heaven.