26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) - 1 October
1st October 2023
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) - 1 October
“Man’s salvation and perfection consist in doing the Will of God, which he must have in view in all things and at every moment of his life. The more he accomplishes this Divine Will, the more perfect he will be.” - St Peter Claver
A reflection on today's scriptural readings by the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J Sheen:
"All love on this earth involves a choice. When, for example, a young man expresses his love to a young woman and asks her to become his wife, he is not just making an affirmation of love; he is also negating his love for anyone else. In that one act by which he chooses her, he rejects all that is not her.
"There is no other real way in which to prove we love a thing than by choosing it in preference to something else. Words and sighs of love may be, and often are, expressions of egotism or passion; but deeds are proofs of love.
"When God put Adam and Eve in the garden, the preservation of their gifts was conditioned upon fidelity to Him. But how to prove fidelity except by choice - namely, by obeying God’s will in preference to any other will.
"In the freedom of choosing a fruit to a garden was hidden the test of their love. By their decision, they proved they loved something else more than God.
"After the resurrection, Our Lord prefaced the conferring of the powers of jurisdiction on Peter as the Rock of the Church, by asking the question: ‘Simon, Son of John, lovest thou Me more than these?’ (John 21:15). Three times the question is asked because three times Peter had denied Our Lord. Once again, love is tested by preference.
"[On Calvary] Jesus could have believers if He would give up the Cross, but without the Cross, Jesus could not be the Saviour. But as He did not fall down before Satan, neither did He come down from the Cross, for perfect love is the choice of Divine Love. He would choose the Father’s will either to this wealth or His bodily comfort. And that is why: ‘Greater love than this no man hath, that he lay down His life for his friend’ (John 15:13).
"Now His love was not just declared by word, but proven by deed. He could enjoy the fruit of perfect love: ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.’
"For us, there can be but one conclusion: it is not enough to bear a Christian name, we must also merit the name. ‘Not every one that saith “Lord, Lord” shall enter into the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 7:21). We can prove we love Our Lord only by choosing Him in preference to anything else. The condition of returning to the Father’s hands on the last day is the choice of His Cross and all that it implies.
"At any moment of our existence, we can test whether we are truly Christian, and that test will be the obedience to His commandments: ‘He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him … And My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him’ (John 14:21, 23).
"In the text: ‘He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me,’ the possessive adjective is to be noted. The commandments are not abstract laws separable from His person; they are one with Him.
"‘If you love Me, keep My commandments.’ Perfect love is therefore quite distinct from obedience to commandments as laws. Laws are for the imperfect; love is for the perfect. Law is for those who want to know the minimum; love is for those who are interested in the maximum. Laws, therefore, are generally negative: ‘Thou shalt not …’ Love is affirmative: ‘Love the Lord, thy God, with thy whole heart.’
"Imperfect Christians are concerned only with keeping the laws of the Church; they want to know how far they can go without committing a mortal sin; how near they can get to hell without falling in; how much wrong they can do short of punishment; how they can please God without displeasing themselves.
"The perfect Christian is never interested in borders or the minimum because love is never measured. Mary Magdalen did not count out the drops of the precious ointment as she poured them on the feet of Our Divine Saviour. Judas did; he counted the cost. But Magdalen, because she loved, broke the vessel and gave everything, for love has no limits. St Paul, in like manner, could think of no better way of describing the love of Christ for sinners than to say: ‘He emptied himself’ (Phil. 2:7).
"There is no law that those who love should give gifts to their beloved; there are no laws that mothers should love children. Where there is love, there is no law, because love has no limits.
"There was no boundary to the Cross; the arms outstretched even into infinity portrayed the universal efficacy of redemption. There was no counting the cost: ‘Not My will but Thine be done.’ He even refused to touch a drink that might have dulled His senses, and thus deprive His will of complete self-devotion for men.
"Like Magdalen, He broke the chalice of His life and poured out ‘plentiful redemption’ (Ps 129:7). Such perfect love could be compensated only by a return to perfect love: ‘Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.’
"The essence of Christianity is love, yes! But not love as our world understands it; not loving those who love us, but loving even those who hate us. Love is not in the organism, but in the will; not in affection, but in intention; not in satisfaction, but in preference to the choosing of God above everything.
"Every soul then, even those who irritate, annoy, and hate us must be looked upon as a potential lover of Christ, and every Christian must be regarded as a kind of consecrated Host.
"The most degraded man on the face of the earth is precious, and Christ died for Him. That poor soul may have made the wrong choice, but that is not for us to decide. While he has life, he has hope. He might not seem loveable to us, but he is loved by God.
"The perfection of all virtue is charity; love of God and love of our neighbour. Whether or not we, like Christ, shall deliver our soul into the Father’s hands on the last day, depends on the use we make of our freedom.
"When we abuse it, our conscience tells us that we are our own worst enemy. ‘Now I know that when I nailed Thee to a Cross, it was my own heart I slew.’ All sin is self-mutilation.
"Most of us are kept back from a perfect love of God, ‘fearful lest having Him, we should have naught else beside.’ There is a fear of losing something by obedience to Him; a hesitation of venturing all on God. Could we but see that when we have the sun, we need not the candle, then all would be easy.
"God grant us the light to see that in loving Him we have everything, and with that light, the grace to die with His words on our lips: ‘Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.’"
(The Cries of Jesus from the Cross)
Prayer to Know God's Will
O God, You are our Creator. You are good and Your mercy knows no bounds. To You arises the praise of every creature. O God, You have given us an inner law by which we must live. To do Your will is our task. To follow Your ways is to know peace of heart. To You we offer our homage.
Guide us on all the paths we travel upon this earth. Free us from all the evil tendencies which lead our hearts away from Your will. Never allow us to stray from You.
O God, judge of all humanity, help us to be included among Your chosen ones on
the last day.
O God, Author of peace and justice, give us true joy and authentic love, and a lasting solidarity among peoples. Give us Your everlasting gifts. Amen. 💐🙏💖
Food for thought
In our life there are two choices put before us: To do God’s will or to rebel and say I will not. Many ask, ‘But what is God’s will?’ or ’What does God want?’ The answer can be summed up in the words Christ spoke, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’ and ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ How do we show our love for God? We obey all His Commandments and the words of Jesus. How do we show our love for our neighbour? With acts of charity and mercy. It is when we refuse to do these things that we go against God’s will and put ourselves in spiritual danger. Each day we are presented with numerous opportunities to do God’s will. Do we delight God’s heart by faithfully obeying Him, or do we follow the example of Lucifer and cry, ‘I will not serve’?