October 18, 2020
29^th Sunday – Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

As you may know, Monsignor James Shea, the president of the University of Mary, lives in a house about a mile south of the campus.  The house is owned by the University of Mary.  The house was purchased in an unusual way, according to one story I heard.  It seems that the owner of the house had not paid his income taxes, and he was faced with a big bill from the Internal Revenue Service.  The owner needed cash in a hurry, and the University of Mary was able to pay the full amount for the house in cash and thus was able to purchase the house rather quickly.  The moral of the story seems to be that we need to pay our taxes.  Today’s Gospel reading has a story about taxes.  Jesus was asked by Pharisees and Herodians in Jerusalem if was lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar.  The question is described as an attempt to entrap Jesus, since the answer could upset a lot of people one way or the other.  The census tax was a tax paid to the Roman government who ruled Palestine.  An affirmative answer would upset those Jews who were opposed to a foreign country ruling the Jews, while a negative answer would be upsetting to the government and to the Jew who supported the government, such as the Herodians.  The census tax had to be paid with Roman coins, and these coins had the image of the Emperor on them.  Jesus avoids the trap by saying that one should “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  Yet, his answer goes beyond paying taxes and may be difficult to fully understand.  Jesus seems to be saying that we should repay to the government (Caesar) what belongs to it and to God what belongs to him.  What does this involve?

On the one hand, we owe a lot to the civil government, whatever it may be.  Scripture often has a positive view of civil authorities that may shock some people in our country today.  In the first reading today from the second part of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, there is a very favorable view of Cyrus, the ruler of Persia in the sixth century before Christ.  The author calls him the Lord’s “anointed,” which is a term usually applied to Jewish kings, such as Saul and David.  Cyrus is a pagan who does not worship the God of Israel, but Cyrus conquered Babylon and allowed Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and the surrounding area about 538 years before Christ.  Thus, Cyrus is an agent of the Lord who helps the Jewish people to return to their homeland and rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem and offer fitting worship to the Lord.  The New Testament has several passages that speak of our duties to civil government.  One famous passage is St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Chapter 13, verses 1-7.  Romans 13:1 says “Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God.”  The passage from Romans goes on to say that we should pay taxes and give respect and honor to those to whom respect and honor is due.  In our time this seems to mean that we should show respect for presidents, governors, and other elected officials.  We should also should show respect to civil officials, such as those in the military or law enforcement or in some government position, such as the Internal Revenue Service.  St. Paul is saying that civil government can help preserve order in society and thus protect citizens, including Christians.  The First Letter of Peter, Chapter 2, verses 13-17, also makes references to our civic duties.  Verse 13 says that we should be subject to every human institution, and verse 17 says, “Give honor to all, love the community, fear God, honor the king.”
The second part of the answer of Jesus is even more important than the first part in that we are ro repay to God what belongs to God.  In a later passage from the Gospel of Matthew that we will hear next Sunday, we are told that the two great commandments are, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  In other words, we are to put God first, and do his will in every situation, despite the difficulty involved.  If there is a conflict between what the civil authority commands and what God commands, we have to follow what God commands.  In the early Church, it was considered a crime by the Roman government to be a Christian.  Thus, if one publicly confessed that he or she was a Christian, that person could be tortured and killed.  There were many martyrs and there were many Christians who suffered in other ways.  In our own time, governments may command what is contrary to God’s laws.  After World War II, there was a Communist government in Albania for many years that outlawed religious worship.  It was even against the law to pray.  Some things may be legal, but are contrary to the law of God, such as abortion and assisted suicide.  So, we have to keep in mind that we are not only citizens of some country, but we also citizens of heaven, and we are made in the image and likeness of God.  We have an immortal soul, with intellect and free will, and we have a promised inheritance in heaven.  Our main goal is to get to heaven, even though it may be difficult and painful to do so.  However, we do have help in living in followers of Jesus.  Jesus established a Church and gave us Sacraments to give us grace and strength to carry out the will of God to the best of our ability.  With God all things are possible.

So, in our Eucharist today, let us give thanks that we have certain rights and duties in terms of the country we live in, but also as disciples of Jesus.  Let us pray that we will carry out our civic duties and be good citizens.  Let us also pray that we will give to God what is due to him in every situation, even if this is difficult to do.  Let us pray that with the help of God’s grace, we will be able to carry out our duties to God and someday be found worthy in enter into the fullness of God’s kingdom.
 

October 11, 2020
28^th Sunday – Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

In the book entitled What’s So Amazing about Grace by the Protestant author Philip Yancey, there is a story about a woman who was engaged to be married.  Her fiancé lived in a different city, so she had the task of reserving a place for the wedding dinner.  She had to tell the place involved how many guests were expected at the dinner, and she had to pay the cost in advance.  A few weeks before the wedding, the person she intended to marry changed his mind and canceled the wedding.  She went to the reception hall that she had reserved, but she was told that by that stage her money was non-refundable.  So, she decided to have the dinner despite the circumstances.  Several of the original guests canceled out, so she, with the help of some friends, invited homeless people and other poor people to come to fill the hall.  All who came had a good time, and the main course that evening was chicken.

Today we have a story about a king who invited guests for his son’s wedding banquet.  The same basic story is also found in the Gospel of Luke, but the Gospel of Matthew has added certain details that seem to make it an allegory about the history of salvation.  In St. Luke’s version, it is a man who was having a banquet and who sent out one servant to invite people to the banquet.  Several people had an excuse for not coming, so the man sent his servant to invite poor people to fill up the banquet hall.  In the version of the story from the Gospel of Matthew, the king sends out more than one servant to invite the guests, but they refuse to come.  The king then sends out other servants to invite the guests, telling them that everything was ready.  Some of the guests invited ignored the invitation, while others mistreated the servants and killed them.  So, the king sent out his troops to kill those murderers and burned their city.  Then the servants went out and invited the people they found, good and bad alike.  All this seems to remind us that in the Old Testament prophets and others invited people to obey God and to follow his ways, but
God’s representatives were ignored or mistreated.  At the time of Jesus, many people rejected him and the apostles and others proclaiming the Gospel message.  So, others were invited to take the place of those who originally were invited but refused to come.  What are we to make of this story today?  The story reminds us that God has a plan of salvation, which began with God choosing a special people, the Israelites, to share his blessings in a special way.  Many of the chosen people did not cooperate with God’s plan.  In due time, God sent his Son, Jesus.  But many of the chosen people rejected him.  The Gospel story today to directed once again to the chief priests and elders of the Jewish people.  These people rejected Jesus while people who were tax collectors or sinners repented and followed Jesus. 

One basic theme in today’s reading is that everyone is invited to share in the blessings of salvation.  Already in the Old Testament, as seen in the reading from Isaiah today in the first reading, a heavenly banquet was the symbol of everyone sharing the happiness of heaven, especially at the end of the world.  This would be a time when death would be destroyed and all at the banquet would be free from tears and would experience lasting happiness.  The Gospel story reminds us that in the early Church, the apostles and other Christian disciples realized that Gentiles or non-Jewish people would be invited to be part of the Church and to someday enjoy lasting happiness in heaven.  Everyone is invited, so missionaries throughout the history of the Church have gone to other countries and to other continents, so that now the Catholic Church has over a billion members and is spread throughout the world.  The mission of the Church is not yet completed, but everyone is invited to take part in God’s plan of salvation.

Yet, the Gospel of Matthew adds another dimension to inviting everyone to share in the heavenly banquet.  One man who entered the dining hall was thrown out because he was not wearing a wedding garment.  This may seem to be unfair to us. It is hard to know what this wedding garment was.  Some Scripture scholars believe this simply means that one should wear a clean garment.  Some Scripture passages talk about the holy ones wearing a white garment.  All this may be symbolic of living a holy life.  In the Gospel story, the servants were told to invite everyone, good and bad alike.  The idea seems to be that the bad people need to repent if they were will be found worthy on judgment day to enter into heaven.  It is a theme in the Gospel of Matthew that one has to do good deeds and bear good fruit to enter into heaven.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says it is not the one who says, “Lord, Lord,” that will be saved but the one who does the will of our heavenly Father.  Those of us who are members of the Church are to keep in mind that salvation is not automatic.  Some Protestants seem to think that “Once saved, always saved,” but that is not the teaching of the Catholic Church.  As disciples of Jesus, we are to repent of our sins and to strive to follow the teaching and example of Jesus.  All this may seem to be very difficult and even unfair, but help is available to us.  We have the help of God’s grace in the Sacraments and in our daily life.  In our second reading today from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, St. Paul says, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.”  St. Paul goes on to say, “My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

So, today we are to thank God that he has a plan of salvation that includes us.  We are to give thanks that we are invited to share in God’s life now and in the world to come.  We pray that, with the help of God’s grace, we will be able to repent of our sins and be able to perform good deeds and someday be welcomed into God’s Kingdom forever.
 

October 4, 2020
27^th Sunday – Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

One of the biggest crop failures of all time was the Great Irish Potato Famine, which began in 1845.  This famine was caused by a fungus-like organism, and in 1845 only half a crop of potatoes was produced in Ireland.  In the next seven years three fourths of the crop was lost to this disease.  There were two major problems for the Irish farmers: (1) the Irish depended heavily on potatoes for food, and (2) most of the Irish farmers were tenant farmers who had small farms.  If these farmers were unable to pay their rent to the owners, they would be evicted from their farms. The owners of the land lived in England or were English who had settled in Ireland.  As a result of the Potato Famine, over one million people in Ireland died of starvation or malnutrition and over one million people left the country for places like the United States, Canada, Australia, and England.  The population of Ireland went from eight million people in 1845 to six million twenty years later.

Our liturgy this Sunday has two stories or parables about tenant farmers.  In the first story from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, the people of Israel are portrayed as a vineyard and the Lord is the owner.  Even though the vineyard was well cared for, it produced wild grapes.  Some modern translations say that it produced rotten grapes.  In either case, the owner will turn it into a ruin.  Eventually, Judea and Jerusalem would be conquered by Babylon.  In the second story from the Gospel of St. Matthew, the vineyard produced grapes, but the tenant farmers refused to pay their rent to the servants sent by the owner.  Instead, the tenant farmers mistreated the owner’s servants, and when he sent his son, they killed him.  This story is directed once again to the chief priests and the elders of the Jewish people, and the story seems to describe the history of the Jewish people.  The people and their leaders did not give a good return to the Lord and mistreated those sent by God, such as the prophets.  When Jesus, the Son of God, came the chief priests, the elders, and many of the people rejected Jesus and had him put to death.  In the conclusion of the story, Jesus says, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”  Jesus also quotes the Scripture verse that says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”   Jesus now creates a new Israel with himself as the head.  In Chapter 15 of the Gospel of John, Jesus says that he is the vine and his disciples are the branches.  He goes on to say, “Without me you can do nothing.”

We are members of the Church and disciples of Jesus.  We are expected to bear good fruit.  We will be called to judgment when we pass from this world to the next.  It is important for us to reflect on how we can avoid producing bad fruit and on how we can produce good fruit.  We can learn from the history of the Jewish people and from the history of the Church and from our own experience.  In regard to avoiding bad fruit, we know that the Israelites often worshipped false gods, and this was a major problem.  We are to worship the true God and avoid false religions and anything connected with the occult.  There is a danger in this country in regard to mixing in non-Christian religious practices and in engaging in superstitious practices.  Secondly, we know that the Jewish people did not always follow the Word of God and do what they were commanded to do.  The Jewish law commanded the people to treat the poor, widows and orphans, and aliens with respect.  Some people ignored these commands.  In our own time we are called to be generous in helping those in need and showing concern for others.  Finally, the Jewish people sometimes did not heed what was told them by representatives of God, especially the prophets.  In some cases, the prophets were mistreated.  There is a danger that we do not heed God’s representatives and give them proper respect.

We can learn from the past on how we are to produce good fruit.  We are to heed what God has told us through the Word of God and through Church leaders.  We are to do the will of God to the best of our ability.  We are to be guided by Scripture and by the teaching or Magisterium of the Church, which consists of the teaching of the popes and bishops in union with them and by the teaching of Church Councils, such as the Second Vatican Council.  Above all, we are called to follow the teaching and example of Jesus.  To do this, humility is needed on our part.  Jesus was willing to suffer and die on our behalf.  He sought to serve others, rather than to be served.  We also are called to follow the example of Jesus and to lay down our lives for others.  St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is today, is known for serving the poor and for practicing poverty and simplicity in his own life.  Our second reading today from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians calls us to have no anxiety and to make our petitions known to God.  For us to bear good fruit we are to turn to God in prayer and present our needs.  Jesus has said that he is the vine and we are the branches.  So, we have to abide in Jesus and stay connected with him.  We do this in a special way in the Sacraments, especially in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  Many saints mentioned that the Eucharist was a great source of strength and blessing for them.

So today we once again give thanks for God’s plan of salvation.  We give thanks that Jesus, the Son of God, came to be our Savior and to reveal God’s will to us more fully in his teaching and example.  We pray that we will welcome Jesus into our life each day and that we will be more closely united to him.  We pray that with the help of Jesus we will do God’s will each day and bear good fruit in our daily lives.  We pray that someday we will be welcomed in to Christ’s kingdom forever.
 

September 27, 2020
26^th Sunday – Abbot Daniel Maloney, OSB

This year is an election year.  One very unusual election, at least as far as North Dakota was concerned, was the 1920 election, 100 years ago.  A party called the Non-Partisan League won the top offices and apparently control of the Legislature.  Historians say that this was the first Socialist state government in the United States.  One result was the passing of a bill to create a state bank and a state mill and elevator.  Many citizens were upset by this and a recall election was held before the 1922 election.  Three of the top officials, including Governor Lynn Frazier and Attorney General William Langer, were recalled, that is, removed from office.  However, it should be noted that these two politicians were later re-elected a number of times to prominent positions.  Also, North Dakota is still the only state in the United States with a state bank.  All this does show that political officials are accountable and can be removed from office, even though our system is imperfect.  Even Church officials can be removed from office, if they are found to be deficient in the performance of their duties.  In recent times, some bishops and even Cardinals have been forced to resign their office.  Our readings today remind us that we are accountable to God, along with all other people.  We will be judged by God and will have to give an account of our lives.  We may be liable to judgement even in our time here on earth. 

Our Gospel reading today from the Gospel of Matthew concerns a dispute between Jesus and the chief priests and the elders of the Jewish people.   The chief priests and the elders were the religious leaders of the Jewish people, and they were instrumental in bringing about the condemnation and death of Jesus.  The Gospel reading comes after Jesus has entered Jerusalem shortly before his death.  In the passage just before this passage, the chief priests and elders question the authority of Jesus, who had cleansed the Temple and taught the people.  Jesus said he would give the basis of his authority if they would tell him if the preaching of John the Baptist was of God or just of human origin.  The chief priests and elders had not heeded the call to repentance by John the Baptist, so they realized that if they said that the preaching of John the Baptist was of God, then they would have to explain why they did not heed his preaching.  If they said that John the Baptist’s preaching was of human origin, they would upset the people who tended to believe that John the Baptist was a prophet sent by God.  So, the chief priests and elders had said that they did not know if the preaching of John the Baptist was from God or of human origin.  So, Jesus did not reveal the source of his authority to them.   The parable of the two sons is aimed at the chief priests and elders.  One son refused at first to obey his father’s command to go out and work in the vineyard.  But later he repented and did go out and work in the vineyard.  The second son that he was going out to work in the vineyard, but he did not do so.  The chief priests and the elders agree that the first son did the father’s will, even though he had first refused to go out and work in the vineyard.  Jesus applies this to the preaching of John the Baptist.  Jesus said that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of the chief priests and the elders since they believed in the preaching of John the Baptist and repented, while the chief priests and elders did not change their minds and repent. 

In terms of our own lives, it is important to realize that God is merciful and gives us a chance to repent.  The first reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel tells us that if the virtuous turn away from virtue to commit iniquity, they will die.  However, if the wicked person turns away from a wicked life and does what is right and just, that person will preserve his life.  Jesus, like John the Baptist, preached to those who were considered lost, like tax collectors and prostitutes, and some repented and were saved.  Some religious Jews did not approve of this.  But this has been the approach of the Church throughout the centuries.  If people like pagan Gentiles repented and accepted the Gospel message, they could be saved.  But if people turned to evil, they could be lost.  So, we are to heed God’s call to repentance in our Christian life.

While God is merciful, we are to be humble in our approach.  Our second reading today from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians calls us to imitate the humility of Jesus.  So, we are to seek the interest of others and to regard others as more important than ourselves.  We are to show love to others and work for unity.  Jesus humbled himself by taking on our lowly human nature and by being willing to suffer and die on the cross for our salvation.  As followers of Jesus, we are to realize that we are sinners and we need God’s help in order to enter the kingdom of God.  I heard part of a program on Catholic Radio the other day, and someone had a question about how we can be sure that we will be saved.  The answer said that while some Protestants have thought that certain types of religious experience could guarantee that we are saved, the Catholic response is that we cannot be certain that we are saved.  We cannot even be sure that we are in the state of grace.  So, we have to be humble and turn to God for the help we need through prayer and the Sacraments.  We also have to be humble enough to admit that we cannot judge others as far as their salvation is concerned.  We have to leave judgment to God.  We are to have hope for ourselves and others due to God’s mercy.   We have a responsibility to know what the will of God is and to form our consciences correctly.  We are also responsible for following the dictates of our conscience.  So, we are accountable to God and to others for doing God’s will to the best of our ability.

So, in our Eucharist today, we once again give thanks that Jesus came to be our Savior and the Savior of the entire human race.  We realize that we are accountable and will be called to judgement when we pass from this life to the next.  We pray that we will trust in God’s mercy and that we will be humble enough to admit that we are sinners and to turn to God for his help.  We also pray that we will be humble in our dealings with others.  We pray that we will heed God’s call and follow the example of Jesus in our daily life.  May Jesus someday welcome us into the fullness of his Kingdom.