March 19, 2023
4^th Sunday of Lent - Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

One of our priests is the process of receiving a doctoral degree in theology from the University of Louven in Belgium.  He has been working on his dissertation for several years.  Recently, he met with the research committee at the University of Louven.  If everything goes well, he will defend his dissertation this fall and receive his doctoral degree. After that, he will resume teaching at the University of Mary in Bismarck.  It has been a long process, but all the effort involved seems to be worthwhile.

Sometimes the journey of faith is somewhat complicated.  The liturgy today features the story of the man born blind from the Gospel of John.  The blind man knew nothing of Jesus to begin with, but Jesus made clay with his saliva and rubbed it on the eyes of the blind man.  Jesus told the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam.  The blind man did, and he suddenly was able to see.  The blind man was brought to the Pharisees, and the Pharisees objected that the man was healed on the Sabbath, so Jesus could not be from God.  The Pharisees claimed that healing was work, and no work was allowed on the Sabbath.  However, the blind man said that Jesus was a prophet.  The Jewish leaders checked to see if the man had indeed been blind since birth.  The parents said that this was the case.  The Jewish leaders questioned the man again.  He asked if they wanted to become a disciple of Jesus, but the Jewish leaders said that they were disciples of Moses, not of Jesus, and they threw the man out.  Jesus found the man born blind and asked him if he believed in the Son of Man.  When the man born blind realized that Jesus was speaking of himself, the blind man said, “I do believe, Lord.”  Then the man born blind worshiped him.  Jesus said that he had come into the world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.  The Pharisees asked if this applied to them, and Jesus seems to say that it did and their sin remains.  This story seems to refer to the Christian experience of faith.  We come into the world born blind as far as faith is concerned.  Through Baptism, we are given the gift of faith and we are able to understand spiritual things.  However, our faith can be challenged by nonbelievers.  Yet the challenges to our faith can help us to gain a deeper faith and to explain our faith to others.  In the Lenten season, we have people preparing to join the Church through Baptism or through a profession of faith.  They study their faith and grow in faith and then make their commitment.  We who are already members of the Church are encouraged to grow in faith, through study, prayer, penance, and good works.  At Easter we will be asked to renew our faith and to be willing to share our faith with others, even if we meet opposition.

So, in our Eucharist today we once again give thanks for the gift of faith and for the fact that we are no longer blind in regard to our knowledge of God and his Son Jesus.  We give thanks for all who have helped us on our journey of faith.  We pray that we will grow in faith during this Lenten season and that we will remain faithful disciples of Jesus.  We pray that someday we will experience the fullness of God’s Kingdom.

 
 

March 12, 2023
3^rd Sunday of Lent - Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

Recently, there was a RCIA group here from Saint Mary’s parish in Bismarck.  RCIA refers to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.  This is a program to prepare adult converts to join the Catholic Church.  They usually receive some sacraments at the end of their preparation, such as Baptism, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Eucharist, and confirmation.  The new converts often spend several months studying the faith to prepare for this.  They have sponsors and teachers to help them.  I knew the mother-in-law of one of the new converts.  His wife is an active Catholic, and they have been married for at least twenty years.  It has taken a long time for this man to make a major step.  The process of conversion can be a gradual process.  The story of the Samaritan woman at the well in the Gospel of John illustrates how faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world can be a gradual process.  In the early Church, the potential converts, catechumens, often went through a long period of preparation.  Lent was usually the final stage of their preparation, and the catechumens would be baptized at Easter. 

Water plays an important role in the readings for today.  In the first reading from the book of Exodus, the Israelites had doubts that God could provide rain in the desert.  Moses was told by the Lord to strike a rock, and water came forth.  God could produce water and food, even in the desert.  Our Gospel reading features the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob in Samaria.  Jesus and his disciples had stopped there about noon.  The disciples went into the town to buy some food, but Jesus stayed by the well and asked the woman to give him a drink.  She was surprised by his request, both because she was a Samaritan and because she was a woman.  The Jews considered the Samaritans to be heretics, since they had intermarried with pagans and had adopted some of their customs.  The Samaritans did accept the first five books of the Bible, that is, the Law or Torah, but not the rest of the Old Testament writings.  Also, at the time of Jesus, Jewish men did not normally speak with a woman in public, especially with a stranger.  This rather long story tells us at least three things: (1) Jesus came to be the Savior of all people, so each person is important, no matter who they are; (2) it is important to grow in our faith, as the Samaritan woman did; and (3) we are to share our faith with others so that they too may receive salvation.

First of all, Jesus came to save all people.  Jesus preached mainly to the Jewish people, but occasionally he reached out to a non-Jewish person.  Jesus promised the Samaritan woman “living water.”  This seems to refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The Samaritan woman was interested in this living water and was open to what Jesus could give to her.  Later on, the apostles and other disciples would preach to both Jews and non-Jews or Gentiles.  The Acts of the Apostles tells us that early on the deacon Philip preached in Samaria with considerable success, and Peter and John came to Samaria so that the Samaritans could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Eventually, the Gospel message was preached throughout the world, getting to places such as North and South America, Asia, Australia, and Africa.   In the early Church and even today, Easter was a time when many people joined the Church through Baptism or a profession of faith.  People of different backgrounds are welcome.

Secondly, it is important to grow in our faith.  The dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan women showed that she gradually grew in faith.  At first, she realized that Jesus was greater than her ancestor Jacob.  Then she realized that Jesus was a prophet, as he knew that she had had five husbands.  Then she realized that he was the promised Messiah, and finally that he was indeed the Savior of all people.   Those joining the Church, especially at Easter, go through a lengthy period of instruction, sometimes as long as two or three years.  Children preparing to receive different Sacraments usually have a time of instruction before receiving each Sacrament.  Also, we know that we are encouraged to keep learning more about our faith and growing in faith through the Sacraments and prayer and various spiritual exercises, especially during the Lenten season.

But as we grow in faith, we are encouraged to share our faith with others, so that they too may receive salvation from Christ.  The Samaritan woman shared her faith with her own people, and it led to many of them having faith in Jesus.  Here at the abbey, we had missionaries at the Fort Berthold Reservation for over 100 years, and in 1960 we sent monks to Bogotá, Colombia to start a bilingual school there.  The school is still going strong, and a second school has been added.  The Diocese of Bismarck has a mission in Kenya that is doing quite well, and it receives financial support from the people of the Diocese of Bismarck.    There are, of course, many other missionary efforts around the world, and the Church continues to grow.  We are encouraged to share our faith with others by word and example.  Here at the abbey we host various groups and individuals.  Hospitality can be a way of sharing our faith.

Today we are once again called to give thanks for the salvation Christ has won for us and for the gift of faith.  We pray for all who will be received into the Church at Easter time.  We pray that we will grow in faith during this holy season and that we will be able to share our faith through word and example.  We pray that we will live as faithful disciples of Christ and that someday we will enjoy the fullness of his Kingdom in heaven.
 

January 22, 2023
3^rd Sunday – Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

In September of 2019, Pope Francis announced that the 3^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time would be known as the Sunday of the Word of God.  Pope Francis said that it is important to hear and read the Word of God, but we also need the right environment to receive the Word of God.  It is important that we can reflect on the Word of God silently and allow the Holy Spirit to work on us so that we will be to respond in the right way to what we have read or heard.  The 3^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time is a good Sunday to reflect on the Word of God, as the readings for this Sunday usually find Jesus beginning his public ministry in Galilee.  We find that Jesus chose the right environment so that his message could be heard.  He also chose disciples to hear and understand his message more fully, and eventually he sent out these disciples to proclaim God’s Word to others.

So, first of all, Jesus needed the right environment to proclaim his message and begin his public ministry.  Galilee, in the northern part of Israel, was better suited for the mission of Jesus than the area where John the Baptist preached.  Galilee was the area where Jesus spent most of his first 30 years, so he was familiar with the area and the people there, as he had lived in the village of Nazareth.  Galilee was an area where there was a mixed population, with many Gentiles as well as Jewish people.  About 734 BC this area had been conquered by Assyria, and many Gentiles began to live there.  Also, the area contained some major roads and trade routes, and many of the people could speak both Aramaic (the language of Jesus and many Jews) and Greek.  The area was more open to new ideas that the area around Jerusalem.  Galilee was a considerable distance from Jerusalem and the Jewish religious and political leaders, so Jesus could speak more freely.  As Isaiah had prophesized, it was an area where the light of the Word of God could shine.  If we are to follow Jesus, it is important for us to provide the right environment to hear and understand the Word of God and the Gospel message.

Soon after Jesus began his public ministry, he began to call disciples.  He called Simon Peter and his brother Andrew and James and John, sons of Zebedee.  They were fishermen, but they immediately left their nets and boats behind.  Jesus also calls us to be his disciples.  We are to leave everything behind, that is, everything that can interfere with answering the call of Jesus.  In the world of today, it may be difficult to set other things aside and focus on the Word of God.  The word “disciple” means “a learner”, and being a disciple means that we must learn more fully what the Word of God is all about.  We are also called to make a personal commitment to Jesus and not just study the Word of God.  The Word of God calls us to make a personal application of the message of Jesus to our daily life.  As we are called by Jesus, we have to discern what our vocation in life might be.  We might be called to religious life or to ordained ministry or to some lay ministry.  We might be called to marriage or to the single life in the world.  We might have some special profession, such as being a nurse or teacher or farmer or some other profession.

Lastly, the disciples will be sent out.  Jesus suggests that the background of being fishermen should be helpful in the mission they will have.  That is, they will become “fishers of men.”  In the second reading today from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul says that he was sent by Jesus to preach the Gospel, to bring the Good News to everyone.  The apostles continue the mission of Jesus, and that is true for the Church today.  So, it is important that we understand the message and example of Jesus and that we share this by word and example.

So, today we give thanks that Jesus came into the world to bring us salvation from sin.  We give thanks that Jesus found the right environment to begin his public ministry and that he found disciples who would continue his mission.  Today we are also to be thankful for the Word of God and our own call to be disciples of Jesus.  We pray that Jesus will help to find the right environment to hear his message and that the Holy Spirit will help us to response to the Word of God in the right way in our everyday life.  May we be able to live as disciples of Jesus and someday share the fullness of his kingdom.
 

January 19, 2020
2^nd Sunday – Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

On Saturday, December 31, 2022, the last day of 2022, Pope Benedict XVI died in Rome.  His funeral was the next week on Thursday, January 5, 2023.  I seem to sense someone objecting, “Wait a minute!  Isn’t Pope Francis the pope?”  Yes, Pope Francis is the pope, but for almost ten years, we have had a retired pope, namely, Pope Benedict XVI.  Usually, a pope dies in office.  It is highly unusual to have a retired pope in addition to the reigning pope.  The last time we had both a reigning pope and a retired pope at the same time was in the 15^th century, about 600 years ago.  Yet, since Pope Benedict XVI had been retired for about ten years, we probably got used to it, and we did not consider it unusual.  One event in the Gospel accounts that is rather unusual is the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordon by John the Baptist.  All four Gospels refer to the Baptism of Jesus, but the Baptism of John was a baptism of repentance.  People would confess their sins, and they would be baptized.  Yet, Jesus is the Son of God, and he did not have any sins.  So, why would Jesus be baptized?

The Gospel reading today from the Gospel of John gives us a rather unusual account of the Baptism of Jesus and what followed that event.  The Gospel of John does not even mention the Baptism of Jesus.  We find John the Baptist acting as a witness to Jesus after the Baptism of Jesus.  The other Gospels mention that Jesus was baptized, and they say that the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus in the form of a dove.  They also say that there is a voice from heaven saying about Jesus, “This is my beloved Son.”  In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist gives testimony about Jesus, saying that Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”  John the Baptist says also the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus (at his Baptism) and remained upon him.  This was a sign for John the Baptist that Jesus would be “the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.”  John goes on to declare that Jesus is the Son of God.  Let us briefly indicate what these descriptions of Jesus might mean.

The term “Lamb of God” can refer to at least two things from the Old Testament and the Jewish faith.  In the second half of the Book of Isaiah, there are four poems or hymns that speak of “the servant of the Lord.”  We have a portion of the second poem in our first reading today.  In the fourth poem in Chapter 53, verse 7 of Isaiah, we are told that the servant of the Lord, “like a lamb led to slaughter or a sheep silent before shearers, he did not open his mouth.”  The passage seems to say that the servant of the Lord would suffer for his people.  In the Book of Exodus, Chapter 12, there is mention of slaughtering a lamb at Passover time.  Its blood would be put on the doorposts of the Hebrew people, and they would be spared from the death of the firstborn.  So, the blood of Jesus saves us from damnation and brings about salvation.  The term “The Lamb” is used several times in the Book of Revelation to refer to Jesus.

John the Baptist also mentioned that the baptism of Jesus would be more powerful than his baptism, since Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit.  In Christian baptism we receive the Holy Spirit and sanctifying grace.  Our second reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians tells us that the Corinthians and us have been sanctified in Christ Jesus and are called to be holy.  So, we and other Christians are part of the Body of Christ and we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us grow in holiness.  The Second Vatican Council Decree on Ecumenism tells us that the best way for us as Catholics to work for greater unity with other Christians is what is called “spiritual ecumenism.”  That is, we are called to pray with and for other Christians, but we are also called to conversion of life and to grow in holiness so that we can set a better example for others, especially for those who are not part of the Catholic Church.  We are aware that a member of the Catholic Church commits a serious sin, the media will usually publicize the incident.  We can also work for unity by working together with non-Catholic Christians in social projects that help people in our society, such as feeding the hungry and protecting the rights of the unborn and of other people.

Lastly, John the Baptist calls Jesus “The Son of God.”  We realize that Jesus has both a divine and a human nature.  Jesus was able to offer himself on the cross for our salvation and to rise from the dead.  As the risen Lord, Jesus continues to be with us and to help us in our daily life.  Today we once again give thanks for the salvation that Jesus has won for us and for being called to be his disciples.  We pray that we can be an effective witness to Christ.  Today we pray that we and other Christians may have greater unity and that we can work together to help meet the needs of others.  We pray that someday we will experience full unity in the Kingdom of heaven.