Every youngster knows what this weekend is: Halloween.
"Halloween," celebrated
around the world, is a contraction of All Hallows' Eve. Basically, it's an
old-fashioned way of saying "the
night before All Saints' Day," November 1.
And so, if your children or grandchildren go trick or treating, be sure they have a fun and safe time, and ask them to tell you something about their baptismal name saint
Sometimes we ask ourselves: what’s the one thing I want to be remembered for? Or if I could rescue one item from my burning house, what would it be? Such questions reveal what’s really important to us.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus was asked “Which is the first of all the commandments?” The scribe is asking Jesus to prioritize God's commandments. Without hesitating, Jesus quotes the She’ma, a prayer still recited today by Jews:
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
That prayer is the farewell address of Moses to his people in the passage from the Book of Deuteronomy we heard. Think about it. What would we want to say in our farewells to those we love?
And Jesus quickly adds a quote from the holiness code in the Book of Leviticus: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The scribe responds: You are right…to love God and to love your neighbor is worth “more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” I think it's amusing that the scribe tells Jesus, “you're right.”
The letter to the Hebrews speaks about Jesus Christ, our high priest, who through his death and resurrection opened up to all humankind eternal life with God.
Yes, in the mystery of death is eternal life. God called you and me out of nothingness for a specific purpose and an unimaginable future. The crucified/risen Christ anticipates this future that can be ours.
We might better experience our future by becoming more aware of the presence of God as we go about our daily routines: yes, work, shopping, travel, exercise, meals with family and friends.
A contemporary author emphasized the importance of the present moment in this poem:
I have no yesterdays … time took
them away;
tomorrow may not be, but I have today.
Make the most of today; practice
random acts of kindness.
Take time today to pray; it brings
us closer to God.
Take time to be friendly and
hospitable; it’s the source of much happiness;
take time to work; it’s the price of
success.
And take time to do acts of kindness; it’s the key to heaven.
Yes, let's make the best of each moment today.
One way is to begin practicing the presence of God. The great masters of Christian spirituality say this practice is an art. And where better to begin than in this liturgy.
Yes, we can experience the divine presence all around us in nature and in people, but we encounter the living Christ in a privileged way in the liturgy. The Risen Christ is present as we gather: remember the words, wherever two or three gather in my name, there I am in their midst. The triune God dwells in each of us, through our life of discipleship. That is why hospitality is so important. We connect as sons and daughters of God our Father, disciples of Jesus, in a way that expresses the unity of the mystical body of Christ, our global faith community.
Christ invites us through the presider to worship our heavenly Father. It is really Christ who invites us to sing and pray with him.
We encounter the living Christ in the word. Yes, we hear the reader's voice but it is Christ speaking. We ought to listen with open ears and open hearts: listen attentively because Christ has a word, perhaps a single word, meant for each of us, a word that hits home.
Then Christ reveals his presence to us in the reality of his body and blood which he offers to us as spiritual nourishment.
Our Catholic tradition teaches us that the bread and wine truly become the reality of Jesus Christ. It is a mystery—not fully explainable. Christ offers us himself in the meal we call communion. This is an intensely personal and communal moment in which we are deeply united with Christ and also with all who share this sacred meal worldwide. Communion links us through the sacramental body of Jesus Christ to his mystical body.
Yes, this liturgical gathering connects us to a worldwide faith community.
If we experience this presence of the living Christ, then we shall practice the art of the presence of God more readily in our daily routine.
May God grace us abundantly so that we can do this as we go about our routines and make the best of each moment today. Amen.
