February 28, 2021
2^nd Sunday of Lent - Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

I saw a story recently about a doctor who many years ago was called to minister to a man who was dying.  Accompanied by his dog, the doctor went to the man’s home.  The doctor left his dog downstairs while he went upstairs to the man’s room and closed the door.  The man in the room realized that he was dying, and he told the doctor that he was afraid to die because he did not know what heaven would be like.  Just then, they could hear the doctor’s dog scratching on the bedroom door, trying to get in.  The doctor told the dying man, “Do you hear my dog scratching on the bedroom door?  He doesn’t know what your room looks like, but he still wants to enter the room.  Dying and going to heaven is something like that.  We don’t know what heaven is like, but we want to get into heaven.”

On the 2^nd Sunday of Lent each year, we have the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus.  This year we have the Gospel of Mark’s version of this story.  According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus had taken three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, up on a high mountain and he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white.  The three disciples got a glimpse of the glory of Jesus and perhaps of the life beyond, as the Old Testament leaders Moses and Elijah appeared to them, and they were conversing with Jesus.  The three disciples seemed to be terrified.  A cloud came and cast a shadow over them.  A voice came from the cloud saying, “This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him.”  The story of the Transfiguration is mysterious in some ways, but it seems to tell us about the true identity of Jesus and also about the need for faith on our part. 

First of all, God identifies Jesus as his “beloved Son.”  A little earlier in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus had asked his disciples who they thought he was.  Peter, as the spokesman for the disciples, said, “You are the Messiah.”  That is, Jesus is the Christ or Anointed one that the Jewish people were expecting to come.  However, the Jewish people tended to think that the Messiah would be someone who would be a military and political leader who would bring liberation from the Roman Empire and from other enemies.  Jesus is the Messiah, but he is more than that.  He is the Son of God.  He has both a human nature and a divine nature.  He has a spiritual mission to deliver us from the bondage of sin and to share his divine life with us.  He did not come to be a military or political leader.  He is indeed a king, but of a spiritual kingdom.  At times during human history, some Christian people did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God in the strict sense.  For example, in the 18^th century, during the time of the Enlightenment, some Christians, such as Thomas Jefferson, thought that Jesus was a moral teacher who was important, but no more than that.  We need to believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.

The theme of faith is an important one in all the readings for today.  Faith involves believing what God has revealed, because God has revealed it.  Faith also involves putting our trust in God and following his commands.  The first reading today from the Book of Genesis involves the testing of Abraham.  This is an unusual story.  Abraham had been promised by God that he would have many descendants and become the father of nations, but now he is asked to offer his beloved son and heir, Isaac, as a holocaust.  Abraham puts his trust in God and attempts to obey what he had been commanded to do, but he was stopped by an angel.  Thus, Isaac was saved and went on to be an ancestor of the Jewish people.  The faith of Abraham was rewarded.  Our second reading today from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans tells us that we can trust God’s love for us, as God did not spare his own Son, but handed him over for us.  In the story of the Transfiguration, the voice from the cloud says, “This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him.”  The disciples of Jesus were told to put their trust in Jesus, and we are to do the same.  After Peter and the disciples had identified Jesus as the promised Messiah, Jesus told them that he was going to Jerusalem where he would suffer much and be crucified, but he would rise on the third day.  Peter tried to talk Jesus out of this, but Jesus rebuked him.  Jesus also told his disciples and us that if we wish to be his disciple, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow in his footsteps.  So, if put our trust in Jesus, we realize that he had to suffer, die, and rise again to accomplish his mission and that we have to suffer in different ways in order to be his disciples.  Although the life of a disciple of Jesus can be difficult, we have the promise of eternal life.  In the Gospel of Mark, the disciples are somewhat slow in understanding who Jesus was and what it meant to be his disciples.  However, after the resurrection of Jesus, they had a much better understanding of Jesus and the mission of the Church.  They were willing to suffer to proclaim the good news of the Gospel. 

As we take part in the season of Lent once again, we pray that we will grow in faith during this season.  We pray that we will more deeply understand who Jesus is and what his mission in.  We pray that we will listen to him more closely and live as his disciples in a better way.  We pray that we will be faithful followers of Jesus and someday attain our goal of eternal life in heaven.
 

February 14, 2021
6^th Sunday – Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

We hear a lot these days about quarantine and isolation in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.  The word “quarantine’ comes from an Italian word meaning “forty.”  A quarantine originally meant a period of 40 days of separation from others that one had to undergo.  It seemed to be connected with the bubonic plague, which killed many people in the 14^th century and for centuries later.  In Venice the practice of quarantine was used.  Apparently, it was believed that anyone with the bubonic plague would die in forty days, so a ship coming into the Venice harbor was quarantined for forty days.  Anyone with the plague would be dead by that time, so it was safe to allow people to come ashore after forty days.  In our time, usually the quarantine is for fourteen days or even less.  Isolation, however, could last a long time.

At the time of Jesus, lepers were isolated from normal society until they could prove that they no longer had the disease.  The Jewish priests would be the judge of that.  The lepers had to cry out loud to others that they were “unclean.”  If the lepers were healed of their disease, the priest could declare them “clean,” and they were no longer isolated from society.  The people called “lepers” often had some other skin disease, and the other skin diseases were probably less dangerous, but the person had to be isolated anyway.  In the Gospel reading today from the Gospel of Mark, we find a leper coming to Jesus for help.  This story reminds us that Jesus can heal us and that leprosy in some ways is a symbol of sin.  But Jesus can heal us of sin also.

The leper had faith that Jesus could heal us, and thus he is an example for us.  We need to have faith in Jesus’ power to heal also.  Secondly, we find that the leper not only believed that Jesus could heal him, but he also approached Jesus and kneeling down, requested Jesus to heal him.  The leper said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”  The Gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus felt pity for the leper, stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it.  Be made clean.”  The leper was healed instantly.  Jesus told the leper to go to the priest so that he could be judged to be “clean,” and offer the required sacrifices and perform certain rituals.  He could then reenter society.  In today’s Gospel story, however, the leper immediately goes about and publicizes the whole matter, and this made it impossible for Jesus to enter a town publicly.

Yet Jesus did not primarily come to heal us of physical disease, although he can do that.  Jesus came to heal us of sin.  Leprosy us a symbol of sin.  However, Jesus had to suffer, die, and rise again to bring about our salvation.  Just as Jesus risked becoming unclean by touching the leper and healing him, so Jesus underwent a great risk in proclaiming his power to forgive sin.  Jewish religious and political leaders thought that this was blasphemy.  Only God could forgive sins.  Through faith, we realize that Jesus is the Son of God and thus had the power to forgive sins.  Jesus was willing to suffer and die so that his mission could be accomplished.  Through Baptism we receive the Holy Spirit and become children of God.  Through the help of divine grace, we can live a holy life and grow in virtue.  If we sin, we can still be healed.  In the early Church, if one committed a serious sin, such as murder, adultery, or apostasy, the sinner was isolated somewhat from the community and asked to perform public penance.  If the sinner performed the necessary penance, he could be readmitted to the community, usually at Easter time.  In our own time, if we commit a serious sin, we can receive forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) and can once again be allowed to receive the Eucharist and be an active member of the community.  Just as Jesus had to make sacrifices in order to save us, we may have to make sacrifices to bring the good news of the Gospel message to others.  In our second reading today, St. Paul says that he did not seek his own benefit, but that of others.  He made many sacrifices to bring the Gospel to others, and he had to undergo various sufferings and eventually martyrdom to accomplish his mission.  So, today we are asked to put our faith in Jesus and receive healing and also to share the good news with others, despite the cost to ourselves. The upcoming season of Lent is a special time in the Church year to receive mercy and forgiveness from Jesus and to make sacrifices so that we can live our faith in a better way and give better witness to Jesus to others.  Let us pray that this season of Lent will be a time of blessing and healing for us and for others.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one special way in which we can benefit from God’s mercy.

Today we once again give thanks for God’s mercy and forgiveness as seen in the public ministry of Jesus.  We give thanks that Jesus, the risen Lord, continues to be in our midst and that he continues to offer us mercy and forgiveness.  We pray that we will approach Jesus with faith and ask for his help during this holy season of Lent.  May the mercy of Jesus help us to live out our faith each day and someday attain the lasting joy of heaven.
 

January 31, 2021
4^th Sunday – Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

In recent weeks we have heard a lot about executive orders.  President Joe Biden has issued several executive orders in regard to federal policies and to federal lands or federal employees.  Governors can also issue executive orders.  In North Dakota Governor Burgum had an executive order requiring the wearing of a mask when we go out in public, but that order has now lapsed.  Those in authority can say or do things that have consequences for others.  Today’s liturgy presents Jesus in his early public ministry as a person who has authority.  He seems to be similar to the prophets of the Old Testament.  So, we will consider first who is a prophet and why a prophet has a special authority.  Secondly, we will examine how Jesus can be viewed as a prophet, and lastly, we will examine how we and members of the Church can have a prophetic role.

Our first reading today from the Book of Deuteronomy speaks of the qualifications of a prophet.  Moses says that the Lord would raise up a prophet like Moses, and the people are to listen to this prophet and act accordingly.  Someone has said that a prophet is not so much one who foretells the future, but rather one who tells forth what the Lord has told him.  Moses says that a prophet is one in whom the Lord puts his words in his mouth, and the prophet tells all the people what the Lord has commanded him.  In this sense, Moses is a prophet in that the Lord revealed certain things to Moses, such as the Ten Commandments, and Moses was commanded to tell the people what the Lord had told him.  Prophets receive some messages from the Lord and reveal these messages to the people.  All this gives the prophet a certain authority in that the prophet’s message comes from the Lord, and so the people are to obey what the Lord has commanded.  There were many prophets in the Old Testament times, both men and women.  Some famous prophets were Elijah and Elisha, who not only proclaimed what the Lord has revealed to them, but they also did mighty deeds, such as healing the sick.  Some prophets have sayings that have been put into writing, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah.

Jesus is presented as a prophet in the Gospel of Mark and in other Gospels as well.  Jesus speaks with authority and acts with authority.  At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus entered a synagogue in Capernaum on a Sabbath and taught.  The people were amazed because Jesus taught with authority, not like the scribes.  The scribes were Jewish experts on Jewish law and on the Hebrew Bible.  The scribes apparently taught by citing the authority of Scripture passages or by quoting well respected Jewish rabbis.  They did not teach on their own authority.  Jesus, on the other hand, taught on his own authority.  Through faith, we realize that Jesus was unique in that he had a divine nature as well as a human nature.  Jesus could reveal God’s ways in a way that no human could.  Jesus was also a prophet in that he acted with authority.  He could heal the sick and do other miracles.  In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus performs an exorcism by expelling a demon from a possessed man in the synagogue.  A main aspect of the mission of Jesus is to overcome the power of Satan and all demons.  The demons had to obey him, as Jesus was the Son of God.  Jesus through his death, resurrection, and ascension into glory defeated Satan and the forces of evil
We, as members of the Church, share in the prophetic role of Jesus.  Jesus has a kingly role, a priestly role, and a prophetic role.  The Church shares in all of these roles in some way through the power of Jesus.  The Church, especially its leaders, can speak with authority on matters of faith and morals.  The Pope and bishops who are in union with him can define what the beliefs of the Church are and can determine what is right and wrong.  At this time of the year, we make reference to the right to life of every human being, from the time of conception to natural death.  So, the Church reminds us that abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia and other evils are wrong.  We who are members of the Church share in that prophetic role also.  Many lay people take an active role in the prolife movement and in other moral issues.  We can have a prophetic role by the example we give in our daily life.  Many Catholics suffer or even face death by refusing to take part in what is evil.  So, we are encouraged today to exercise our prophetic role in our daily life and to listen to the members of the Church who teach with authority.

In our Eucharist today we give thanks that God has revealed himself to Moses and the prophets of the Old Testament.  We give thanks that Jesus in his prophetic role revealed his Father’s will to us by his words and actions.  And we give thanks that the Pope and bishops, the magisterium, exercise a special prophetic role to guide us in matters of faith and morals.  We are reminded that we also share in the prophetic role of the Church.  We pray that we may hear what Jesus reveals to us through Scripture and Tradition.  We pray that we may speak and act with authority in our daily life.  May we someday experience the fullness of God’s revelation in the heavenly kingdom.
 

January 24, 2021
3^rd Sunday – Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

We live in a time when there are some new developments.  A new President of the United States was inaugurated on January 20, which brings in a new administration, and there is a new Congress as well.  In the liturgy today, we also have something new.  The Gospel reading from the Gospel of Mark has Jesus beginning his public ministry in Galilee, but there is something else that is new.  On September 30, 2019, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter in which he declared that the 3^rd Sunday of the year would be the Sunday of the Word of God.  That took effect already last year, but I must confess that I didn’t notice it at the time.  But this year there was a reference to it from Bishop Kagan, and I was able to find the document on the internet.  Pope Francis’ letter is called “Aperuit Illis,” which comes from Luke 24:45, “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”   As Pope Francis mentioned, the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) gave a great impulse to this event.  Vatican II had a document called the Constitution on Divine Revelation.  In Latin the title was Verbum Dei, which means The Word of God.  This document shows how Scripture and Tradition are closely related, and it encourages us to study the Word of God.  So, today we are to focus on the Word of God in a special way.  First of all, we are strongly encouraged by the Church to study the Word of God.  Secondly, the Word of God calls us to repentance and to follow the right course in life.  Thirdly, the Word of God can teach us much about what pertains to our salvation and what the basic truths of the Christian faith are. 

At the time of Vatican II, the liturgy had a one-year cycle, with the same Sunday readings each year.  There were only two readings on Sunday and Holy Days, with the first reading usually from one of the Epistles of the New Testament and the second reading from one of the Gospels.  After Vatican II, the Sunday readings were on a three-year cycle, and there were three readings each Sunday, with the first reading usually from the Old Testament.  There were also special readings for each weekday Mass, with a two-year cycle.  All this is intended to make us more exposed to the Word of God.  Before Vatican II, many bishops and priests discouraged people from studying Scripture, lest people get the wrong ideas.  In my early years of priesthood, I recall meeting a woman who was a teacher and quite well educated, but she said that she first started to read the Bible, she hid her Bible under her pillow so that other people wouldn’t know she was reading it.  There were, of course, some Catholic people who read the Bible and did not feel guilty about it, but there may not have been many of them.  The emphasis has now changed, and there are a lot more study guides and helps than there were before.  We now have some good recent Catholic translations of the Bible and some good commentaries.  There are also several Bible study groups and classes on the Bible.  So, the Sunday of the Word gives even more encouragement to us to study the Word of God.

Secondly, the Word of God calls us to repentance.  In the first reading today from the Book of the Prophet Jonah, we find Jonah preaching to pagan people at the ancient city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, in modern-day Iraq.  The pagan people are converted and the city and the people are saved.  In the Gospel reading today, we hear that when Jesus started his public ministry in Galilee, his basic teaching was, “This is the time of fulfillment.  The Kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent and believe in the Gospel.”  Divine Revelation informs us about God’s will for us and the path we should follow.  It is easy for us to be absorbed in the world around us and overlook what is important.  We have many people in the world today who are not baptized and who are not aware of the basic goal of life.  Many people seem to be unaware that we have an inheritance in heaven and that we and other people have a special dignity.  The Hebrew word for repentance calls us to turn around and go on a different path.  The Greek word for repentance calls for a change of mind or a change of heart.  Thus, there are at least two aspects of repentance.  Firstly, we have to turn away from sin and worship of false gods.  Secondly, we have to realize that God is offering us salvation now, especially through Jesus Christ.  Conversion is needed for us to achieve our basic goal in life.

Secondly, the Word of God can teach us much about our faith and what we are to do to achieve the goal of eternal salvation.  One preacher said that the word “Bible” stands for “Basic Information Before Leaving Earth.”  Both the Old and the New Testament can be instructive in regard to God’s plan of salvation.  God chose a special people, the Jewish people, to be his chosen people to receive Divine Revelation and to follow the right path in life.  The New Testament gives us even further information how all people can receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  Jesus, through his suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension into glory makes it possible for us to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  God’s ways are often different from the way of worldly wisdom.   It is important to study God’s Word, both in terms of Scripture and in the life and teaching of Jesus, as Jesus is indeed the Word of God made flesh.  The Word of God gives us much information about what is God’s will and how we are to put it into practice.

So, today on the Sunday of the Word of God, let us be thankful that God revealed himself to us, especially through the Word of God.  Let us pray that we will study that Word and apply it to our lives.  Let us pray that we will live as faithful disciples of Jesus and that someday we will receive that divine inheritance in heaven that Jesus promised to us.