33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) - 13 November
13th November 2022
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) - 13 November
“He who wants to win the world for Christ must have the courage to come in conflict with it.” - Blessed Titus Brandsma, Martyr
Photo: The martyrdom of Blessed Miguel Pro, Jesuit Priest, 23 Nov 1927.
A reflection on today's Gospel reading by the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J Sheen:
"No sage or mystic, no Buddha or Confucius has ever believed that his teaching would so awaken the antagonism of men as to bring about his violent death; but more important still, no human teacher has ever believed that his disciples would suffer a similar fate, just because they were his disciples. Mediocrity never arouses such hatred; animals generally do not destroy their own species; neither does man in ordinary relations. But man, being the golden mean between matter and spirit, has the power, however, to destroy both; he uproots the plants and slaughters the animals which are beneath him in dignity. But he can also hate and even kill whatever is above him in dignity. If, in his pride, he considers God as a challenge, he will deny Him; and if God becomes man and therefore makes Himself vulnerable, he will crucify Him. But Our Lord did not shrink from painting a microcosmic Crucifixion for His followers, as He paints a macrocosmic Crucifixion for Himself.
"What is of the world, the world never opposes. What is of God, the spirit of the world opposes, maligns, persecutes, and crucifies. The ransom He would pay for mankind would lead Him to two distinct courts of justice; in the interval between trials, He would be scourged. So too, the Apostles and all their successors through the centuries must expect nothing better.
"The Apostles were not yet persecuted, nor were they annoyed very much before the Crucifixion and Pentecost. But He told them the kind of treatment they were to expect of men later on. Hardly prepared for what would happen to Him, how could they even faintly imagine what would happen to themselves? This hatred of the world, He warned, would be disguised; they would be accused on judicial grounds, that is, hauled before courts in mock trials, charged with 'imperialism' or 'perverting the nation.' The instinct of justice in the human heart is so deep that, even in great deeds of injustice, the villains wear the mantle of justice. It was not so much that isolated bigots would persecute; rather, it is that men would organise juridically against them, His disciples, as they did against Him. Though the mask and disguise of the courts would be justice, the real reason for the hate would be the evil in their hearts.
"Men of the world did not begin with a conscious hatred of the Light, because Truth is as native to the mind as light to the eye. But when that Light shone on their souls and revealed their sins, they hated it just as the bank robber hates the searchlight the policeman has turned on him. The truth which He brought, men recognised as a claim on their allegiance, because they were made for it; but since they had perverted their natures by evil behaviour, His truth stirred their consciences and they despised it. All their habits of life, their dishonesties, and baser passions roused them in violent opposition to that Light. He told them therefore that He was not a Teacher asking for a disciple who would parrot His sayings; He was a Saviour Who first disturbed a conscience and then purified it. But many would never get beyond hating the disturber. The Light is no boon, except to those who are men of good will; their lives may be evil, but at least they want to be good. His Presence, He said, was a threat to sensuality, avarice, and lust. When a man has lived in a dark cave for years, his eyes cannot stand the light of the sun; so the man who refuses to repent turns against mercy. No one can prevent the sun from shining, but every man can pull down the blinds and shut it out.
"Our Lord next told them that in the continuing persecution against Him, they were not to be concerned as to how to answer their persecutors. No written-out statements, no prepared manuscripts will be necessary. He promised to speak to them through His Spirit.
"Foretelling, without telling how, that He would be betrayed by one who was so close to Him, He gave them a better view of the Cross by telling them that betrayers will be of their own household, that brothers will betray brothers.
"But as in His life there was never the 'Hour' of Calvary without the 'Day' of Victory, so neither would their defeat be permanent. ‘It is by endurance that you will secure Possession of your souls.’ (Lk 21:18)
"The possession of a soul means the undisturbed mastery of oneself, which is the secret of inner peace, as distinguished from a thousand agitations which make it fearful, unhappy, and disappointed. Only when the soul is possessed can anything else be enjoyed. Our Lord here meant patience in adversity, trial, and persecution. At the end of three hours on the Cross, He would so possess His soul that He would render it back to the Heavenly Father.
"At this point in His discourse to the Apostles, He made clear that since He came to die and not live, so they must be prepared to die and not live. If the world gave Him a Cross, then they must expect one; if the world would say He had a devil, they could expect to be called 'devils.'
"But the power to do harm would never affect the souls of the Apostles. As His own Resurrection would be a proof of that, He now gave them anticipated assurance. The body can be injured without the consent of the soul, but the soul cannot be injured without its own consent. The only thing to be feared is losing, not human life, but the Divine life which is God.
"There would be a vindication for the wrong done them; and all the hidden things would be revealed. The mercy of God that watches over the sparrows and counts the hairs of our heads had them under a watchful eye and Providence." (Life of Christ)
Prayer to St Michael the Archangel
St Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. 🙏💖💐
Prayer for Persecuted Christians by Archbishop William E. Lori, Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus
O God of all the nations, the One God who is and was and always will be, in Your providence You willed that Your Church be united to the suffering of Your Son. Look with mercy on Your servants who are persecuted for their faith in You. Grant them perseverance and courage to be worthy imitators of Christ. Bring Your wisdom upon leaders of nations to work for peace among all peoples. May Your Spirit open conversion for those who contradict Your will, that we may live in harmony. Give us the grace to be united in truth and freedom, and to always seek Your will in our lives. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our Lady Help of Persecuted Christians, pray for us. 🙏💖💐