July 2023 - Newsletter by kansasmonks

k ansas

monks July 2023

Dear Friends, The Catechism tells us that a virtue is a “habitual and firm disposition to do the good” (CCC, 1803). Whatever else we say about a virtue, it is not a quality one gains in a single moment. It is habitual. This means that a virtue only develops as a habit, as a repeated and deliberate action. One of the key ingredients for developing virtues is stability. Virtue requires practice, and practice means engaging in the same activity deliberately so as to perfect an action. This is why it is one of the vows of Benedictine monasticism. Our father, St. Benedict, knew that we could not grow in holiness and relationship to Christ unless we were able to practice the disciplines of discipleship. He knew that a monk could not truly enter into the monastic life unless they could focused on the good before them, and were not allowed to escape difficulty. Stability of life also has a way of focusing our attention on what is really going on in ourselves and in the world around us. When things are familiar and expected, we can see clearly through the clutter of our feelings and distractions. Stability allows us to concentrate on the decisions before us and react with something deeper than impulse. Stability is as much about resisting the “grass is always greener” mentality as it is about fully giving oneself to the circumstances the Lord provided. If we are to grow in virtue, which is the foundation for holiness, then we need to create stability in our lives. This will look differently for each person.

I encourage you to pray about how your life can take on greater stability so that you can grow in virtue and holiness. As you explore ways of practicing stability and growing in virtue, please consider becoming a “partner in stability” with St. Benedict’s Abbey. Stability in giving is a good way of growing in generosity. It also helps us plan and budget. If you’d like to learn more about this program, contact Garrick Lambert (donate@kansasmonks.org | 913-360-7887) at the Abbey. In Christ,

IN THIS ISSUE Sung Lectio Divina

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Beer & Bierocks

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Friar Gives Monks Retreat

On Stability 7-8 Commentary on July

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St Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, KS

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SUNG LECTIO DIVINA

Sung Lectio Divina

Continuing the Conversation with the Choirmaster

By James R. A. Merrick

n the first part of my conversation with Br. Florian on the Communio series of videos which record the Schola chanting and explaing the Communion antiphons for Sunday Mass, we discussed why music is important for the celebration of the liturgy. Far from being a mere ornamentation of the Mass, song is the fullest expression of the meaning of the liturgy because liturgy is a work of love. The Book of Revelation gives the Church one of her favorite images for understanding the Mass, calling it the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb.” In the Holy Eucharist, Christ is united with His Bride, the Church. The Mass is a nuptial event, wherein Christ expresses His love for us through His sacrifice on the altar and we express our love in response through hymns, prayers, and acclamations. I wanted to know more about chant specifically and why the schola felt it important to invite those who worship with them on Sundays to chant the antiphons. Most Catholics do not experience chant as a common part of their parochial worship. If they are familiar with it at all, it is likely they visited a monastery or picked up an album of chant which from time to time top the Billboard charts.

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This often reduces chant to something charming, nostalgic, or merely aesthetic. One listens to chant, in other words, to relive the past, feel cultured, or to set the mood for prayer. But chant is not a style of music so much as a way of proclaiming the Word of God in the context of music. While the early origins of chant are not well known, it is generally agreed that the precedent for chant was inherited from Jewish worship, especially worship in the Temple. It was common in the ancient world to sing sacred texts. Putting words to music brings out their meaning more profoundly and makes them more memorable. These pedagogical aspects of chant should not to be ignored. But it was above all the awareness that the words of Scripture were sacred, inspired by God Himself, that led Hebrews to chant them. They felt the need to honor what God spoke to them, to receive His words with awe and proclaim them with dignity. They couldn’t just speak the words flippantly or carelessly but needed to savor them and linger over their meaning. Brother Florian pointed out that key aspects of chant are not principally musical, that is, designed to sound beautiful, but are in service of the words of Scripture.

was on celebrating the Mass in the common language of the people rather than in Latin. “In the absence of vernacular musical settings of the antiphons,” Br. Florian said, “most parishes chose to sing other vernacular songs, rather than the Latin Gregorian chants, for their vernacular masses.” Yet within the last two decades or so there has been growing interest in Gregorian chant. “Catholic composers, such as Adam Bartlett,” noted Br. Florian, “are creating new simple vernacular settings of the mass antiphons, which draw inspiration from the original Gregorian melodies but are simple enough to be sung by a whole congregation.” The project of the Communio videos, which capture the schola chanting and then meditating on the Communion antiphons, is meant to participate in this renewal. St. Benedict’s Abbey hopes that by disseminating the Communio videos more broadly on YouTube, Catholics throughout the world will rediscover both the beauty and power of chant to communicate Sacred Scripture. At the very least, they show just how well the words of Scripture are expressed through chant and help those unfamiliar experience the value of this aspect of our great Catholic heritage.

St Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, KS

CONVERSATION WITH THE CHOIRMASTER

Chant allows the words to be enunciated clearly, calls attention to the heart of the text, and gives time to let the words penetrate our minds. Rather than rattle off the words of Scripture quickly and formulaically, as though efficiency were the highest value, chant prompts us to slow down and recognize the significance of Scripture. It is, said Br. Florian, a kind of sung lectio divina. This makes chant especially suited to the fulfillment of the aims of the Second Vatican Council which sought to provide the faithful with greater access to Sacred Scripture and prioritized the proclamation of the Word of God. The Council also declared Gregorian chant “specially suited to the Roman liturgy” and said it “should be given pride of place in liturgical services” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, paragraph 116). In light of the Council’s aims and Br. Florian’s claim that chant is a time-tested way of proclaiming Sacred Scripture, we might wonder why it is so seldom a feature of post-Conciliar parochial worship? It seems chant was lost well before Vatican II. According to Br. Florian, while the antiphons were a required part of the pre-Vatican II Mass, in practice the priest would say them or pray them silently. After the Council, Gregorian chant was made optional and the focus

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PENTECOSTAL PARTY

Beer & Bierocks

Atchison Rediscovers Ancient Vigil for Pentecost By James R. A. Merrick

urveying the lights, laughter, and libations on the front lawn of the abbey guesthouse, I glimpsed something of a renewal of Catholic culture and community. It was May 27th. We had all just celebrated the Vigil for Pentecost at the abbey church with its prophecies and prayers and were now enjoying a simple, joyful afterparty with beer and bierocks. Around a small fire, a few monks were joined by a few professors in singing folk tunes. It is sometimes said that the Catholic Faith civilized the West, especially through Benedictine monasteries. If so, then the lifeblood of Western culture is the liturgy. For the beating heart of those monasteries was what St. Benedict called “the work of God.” The liturgy is not a style of worship. It is, indeed, the work of God. It is the means by which God perpetuates the events of our salvation, making grace present to us today. The liturgy of the Church is like a time machine, allowing participants to be with the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land and to walk alongside Jesus as He taught and finished the work of our salvation in the Paschal Mystery. The liturgy also gives us a taste of the future, inviting us to join the angels and saints in heaven in their eternal adoration of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Just as God’s saving acts in history generated the people of Israel, so too the liturgy of the Church generated Christendom. The liturgical life of the Church gave people a framework by which to share aspirations and burdens. The liturgy gave them a context for processing their joys and sufferings.

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Unfortunately, Western culture has become detached from the liturgy and the Catholic culture which incubated Western civilization has been in decline. Secular culture, with its cycles of consumption and entertainment, now sets the terms of our hope and faith. It tells a story of salvation as historical liberation from oppressive tradition through material prosperity, technological convenience, and socio-economic liberalization. As we watch the modern West transition from a post-Christian to an anti-Christian culture, it’s easy to feel stunned and paralyzed. What happened? How did Christianity and Western culture collapse so quickly? What can be done to stave off the revolution? Perhaps most disturbing is how we find ourselves captivated by the same cultural amusements that replaced the liturgical life of the Church and loosened the bonds of faith, hope, and love. If we are to be resilient in the face of aggressive secularism and Western cultural decline, we need to rediscover the liturgical life of the Church that united and inspired Christian communities in times past. The life of Christ here with us must be more glorious than the latest iPhone. The mystical Body of Christ must be a more robust community than what is found on social media and in the comments section. It is a hopeful sign that the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey have chosen to revive the Vigil for Pentecost and its accompanying festivity, suggesting that Benedictines will again have a role in the revitalization of Catholic culture and western civilization.

internally as the Holy Spirit had done at Jerusalem” (ibid., 252). While we have a long way to go in recovering this Catholic imagination and its ancient customs, and liturgical creativity isn’t what it once was, it is wonderful that the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey are focusing on the “work of God” and the liturgical heart of the Church by restoring this ancient vigil. The modern version, first translated into English in 2011, isn’t exactly the ancient or medieval rite, but it is a small step toward rebuilding Catholic culture in our day. God willing, we will one day set aside our smartphones to pick flower petals drop them from the Holy Ghost Hole out of a joyful awareness of the wisdom given by the Holy Spirit. For in customs such as these we are given not just a charming change of pace but an opportunity to recognize and express our appreciation of what God gives us through the events of our salvation.

St Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, KS

PENTECOSTAL PARTY

What exactly are the monks reviving? Devotion to and adoration of the Holy Spirit. The Feast of Pentecost predated Christianity. It was one of the major Jewish feasts, celebrating the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai as well as the fruits of the earth. As the Apostles gathered in Jerusalem for the feast, they heard the sound of a rushing wind, an echo of the storm on Mt. Sinai. Then the Holy Spirit was given to them in the form of flaming tongues descending upon their heads. Now they celebrated the fulfillment of the Law, which St. Paul variously describes in his epistles, and its spiritual fruits. The gift of the Holy Spirit was nothing short of apocalyptic. It created unity among the alienated Jews and Gentiles, forging a bond of peace that constitutes the mystical Body of Christ. It fulfilled prophecies that everyday people would be blessed with visions and wisdom. It empowered Christians to face joyfully persecution and martyrdom. It brought about a holiness and moral integrity that seemed naturally impossible. The early Christians would do something extraordinary to celebrate such an incredible gift. According to Fr. Francis Weiser in his Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, there was a vigil for Pentecost as early as the third century. The original vigil was an echo of the great Easter vigil. The same prophecies were read and it was another occasion for baptisms. During the Middle Ages various attempts were made to recreate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. In some cases, doves or pigeons were released into the Church during the singing of the sequence hymn, Veni Sancte Spiritus. In other instances, the choir would hiss, hum, or compress windbags to reenact the sound of the Holy Spirit rushing into the nave. More commonly, a wooden dove would be lowered from the so-called “Holy Ghost Hole” in the center of the nave. As it swung around the church, flower petals rained down upon the people, signifying the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In a few towns in central Europe, some churches dropped pieces of burning wick or straw out of the Holy Ghost Hole to symbolize the flaming tongues that landed upon the Apostles. Fr. Weiser dryly remarked that this practice “was eventually stopped because it tended to put the people on fire externally, instead of

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MONASTIC RETRET ON GRATITUDE

Friar Gives Monks Retreat Gratitude Begins and Ends with God, He Says By James R. A. Merrick

e live in a time of great ingratitude. According to Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., who led the monks on their annual retreat at the end of May, the greatest cause of ingratitude is ignorance of God. A former roommate of Abbot James at Benedictine College, Fr. Hofer is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph. He is also Associate Professor of Patristics and Ancient Languages at Dominican House of Studies in Washington D.C. He remembers fondly his time at Benedictine College and with the monks of St. Benedict’s who, he says, were important for his intellectual and spiritual formation. Two monks were especially mentors. Fr. Matthew Habiger, O.S.B. taught Fr. Hofer moral theology. The late Fr. Denis Meade, O.S.B., who served as the campus chaplain during Fr. Hofer’s studies, was also a great counselor and professor, teaching Fr. Hofer three courses: Jesus called Christ, Church History, and Vatican II. Both Fr. Habiger and Fr. Meade connected Fr. Hofer with the Dominicans in D.C. since they had spent some time with them. Fr. Hofer’s return to St. Benedict’s Abbey to lead this year’s retreat was very special, and he expressed deep gratitude for the invitation. He preached on the need for gratitude in the religious life and in our time more generally. He looked at the three movements in gratitude, identified by St. Thomas Aquinas: (1) recognition of a good; (2) expression; and (3) repayment. According to Aquinas, all three dimensions need to be present for gratitude to take root in our souls and become a virtue. Asked what aspect of gratitude most people struggle with today, Fr. Hofer said the first. Gratitude begins with recognizing something as good, he said, and most people today find themselves dissatisfied with their lives. How, then, do we recover a sense of the goodness of our life and its blessings? Gratitude begins with loving God, he exhorted. The love of God allows us to trust God’s Providence and be satisfied by His glory which will focus us on the good in our lives.

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Stabilitas, Part 1

By Br. Angelus Atkinson, O.S.B.

Suscipiendus autem in oratorio coram omnibus promittat de stabilitate sua et conversatione morum suorum et oboedientia, coram Deo et sanctis eius…

When he is to be received, he comes before the whole community in the oratory and promises stability, fidelity to monastic life, and obedience, in the presence of God and his saints…

The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 58, vv.17-18: The Procedure for Receiving Brothers

his is how St. Benedict describes the moment of a monk’s profession. The monk professes to keep, with the aid of God’s grace, these three vows: stability, conversatio morum (variously rendered as “conversion of life” or “fidelity to monastic life,” understood to encompass chastity and poverty), and obedience. Each expresses the fundamental decision of the monk to respond wholeheartedly to the great grace of receiving from Jesus Christ the same invitation addressed to the young man of the Gospels, “If you wish to be perfect”—that is, complete, fulfilled—“go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21). The living of the vows, therefore, is the concrete expression in the flesh of the monk’s life both of his desire to more completely adhere to the person of Jesus Christ, who has fascinated and seized his life through the circumstances of his own personal history, and of the taste of the realization here and now in this life of this “treasure in heaven,” that heaven, the deepest, truest depths of things, becomes part of the experience of earth. St. Benedict writes of this in the conclusion of the prologue to his Rule: “...as we progress in this way of life and in faith we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.” Thus, in the faithful living of the vows the monk is given the gift of participating, in this life, in the sublime reality of the life of God, which Christ, in whom “all things hold together” (Col.1:17), makes possible for those who believe in and follow Him. More than merely a means of opening the monk to this experience, the vows also give, in a certain way, the form of this experience: stability, conversion, and obedience. And so it is possible, and important, to ask: What is it about the vow that communicates the life of God? Why and in what way does it lead one into a deeper experience of God’s definitive word which gives meaning to all of life, the life of life, Jesus Christ? For the purpose of this reflection, we will begin to ask this of the first vow, stabilitas. Of the three, stability can seem, at first blush, the strangest vow. It is unique, in a certain sense, to the Benedictines as compared to other religious orders which later developed. Mendicants and preachers travel from place to place, proclaiming the Gospel where they are sent, but monks are called to stay in the monastery. The Abbot may sometimes send them out on a mission (cf. RB Chapter 67: “Brothers Sent on a Journey”), but this is by way of exception. What is regular is to stay, and this is not merely practical but has always carried a great sense of spiritual weight. This is documented from the earliest experience of Christian monasticism found in the lives and sayings of the desert fathers, those early hermits and

St Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, KS

THE MEANING OF STABILITY

The Vows

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LIVING THE LITURGY TODAY

ascetics who lived in the Egyptian desert in the third century. Consider two sayings, from many on this subject, from the great father of monasticism, St. Anthony of the Desert: When the Holy father Anthony lived in the desert, he was overcome with many sinful thoughts. He said to God, “Lord, I want to be saved but these thoughts will not leave me alone. What can I do in my sickness? How can I be saved?” A short while later, when he got up to go out, Anthony saw a man like himself sitting at his work, getting up from his work to pray, then sitting down to work again, and getting up again to pray. It was an angel of the Lord sent to correct and reassure him. He heard the angel say to him: “Do this, and you will be saved.” When he heard these words, Anthony was filled with joy and courage. He did this, and he was saved. Just as fish die if they stay too long out of water, so the monks who loiter outside their prayer chambers or pass their time with men of the world lose the intensity of their inner peace. So, like a fish going toward the sea, we must hurry to reach our prayer chamber. If we delay outside, we will lose our interior watchfulness. So we see stability is integral to the earliest experience of monasticism, and some of the fruits of it. But the question remains, Why? Jesus himself said, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20). He seems to affirm an instability as regular to His life. If the Benedictine vows are a passage to identification with Christ, how can stability be essential to the monastic, and therefore Christian, life? We will turn to this question in the next newsletter. 

Living the Liturgy Commentary on the Liturgical Year By James R. A. Merrick

THE MONTH OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

uly is the month dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. It’s difficult to say when exactly months were associated with different devotions in the Catholic calendar, but the 19th century is a safe bet, for at least this devotion anyways. Indeed, while

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a feast dedicated to the Blood of Jesus was celebrated in 16th century Spain, it wasn’t universal until 1849. In 1848, Pope Pius IX was exiled from Rome after it was seized by the Italian republican army during the First Italian War of Independence. With him was a priest of the newly founded Fathers of the Most Precious Blood, founded in 1815 by now Saint Gaspare del Bufalo. The missionary fathers were tasked with reviving devotion in the Papal States. This advisor encouraged the Holy Father to make a vow to extend the feast of the Precious Blood to the entire Church if God returned the Papal States to his control. The Pope never made the vow, but after the French army vanquished the republicans on June 30th, 1849, Pius IX nevertheless made the feast part of the General Roman Calendar. In 1969, however, the feast was removed from the calendar on account of it being thought redundant of Corpus Christi celebrated in June.

2 JULY - 13TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

n the Gospel of John we are told by Jesus that we must be “born again” of the Spirit in order to enter into the Kingdom of God. At a time when ancestry predominantly determined whether one was a member of God’s family, the words of Jesus indicate that the New Covenant will now be decided by receiving one’s life from the Spirit of God through the waters of Baptism. The Baptismal font is the womb of Christians, the place in which the Holy Spirit conceives the children of God. In the Gospel appointed for today, from Matthew 10, we see one of the implications of spiritual birth. Recall from the month of June that this portion of Matthew’s Gospel sees Jesus establishing leaders of His Church and giving to them authority. As Scripture scholars have noted, Jesus called twelve Apostles because He was reconstituting the people of God. The people of Israel were descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel, who were simply the families established by the twelve sons of Jacob. In today’s Gospel, we discover how the familial bonds that once obtained for the people of Israel are transformed into apostolic bonds. It is not blood relation that makes one a member of the family of God, but one’s acceptance of the Apostolic ministry. During this month of July when we are to meditate on the Precious Blood of Jesus, this first Sunday of July gives us an opportunity to reflect on the way in which the spiritual family of God, the family of the Church, supersedes the natural family. The bonds we have through blood and biology are not as significant as the bonds we have through Christ’s Blood and His Holy

St Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, KS

LIVING THE LITURGY TODAY

Why are we devoted to the “Most Precious Blood of Jesus?” In Sacred Scripture, blood is identified as the source of life for animals and therefore understood as sacred (Deuteronomy 12:23). Precisely because blood was seen as the sacred essence of life, it was significant in sacrificial and covenantal rituals in the Old Testament. When covenants were ratified, they were often ratified in blood. When Israel entered into a covenant with God, this was ratified by splashing blood on the altar, representing God, and then on the people, indicating that they now shared blood and life. Because a covenant establishes a “blood-bond” between parties, violation of the covenant required death. Quite simply, to break a covenant was to break family relations and therefore required a real cutting off of the transgressing party. In the sacrificial system of Israel, it was understood that the blood of the sacrificial animal was a substitute for the blood of the Israelite who transgressed the covenant. In this sense, the animal died so that the transgressor could be spared. As the Letter to the Hebrews from the New Testament makes clear, this system was ultimately inadequate and temporary since the blood of animals could not really atone or create a blood bond. The Blood of Jesus is “most precious,” therefore, because it is the blood of the Messiah, the true Israelite. More than this, it is the blood of the humanity of the eternal divine Son of God. It is therefore of infinite merit and lifegiving power. This is why there is no longer any need for sacrifices. The sacrifice of Christ, the shedding of His Blood, is definitive, perfect, perpetual. It is by His Blood that our sins are forgiven and the New Covenant between God and humankind is established. The greatest devotion by which we can grow in our appreciation of the Precious Blood of Jesus is the Holy Mass. This would be a great month to try to assist at the Mass more frequently and more intently. Alongside Mass, you might consider praying both the Chaplet and the Litany of the Most Precious Blood. Another beautiful prayer to take on this month is the Offering of the Precious Blood for Souls which begs God that on the day it is said a sinner be converted, a soul in Purgatory be freed, a dying soul would receive a happy death, a soul in peril of mortal sin would be protected, and a doubter would receive assurance.

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Spirit. The natural family is good and God given. But it is insufficient for salvation. To be saved is to have God as one’s Father and to be a member of His family, which is the mystical Body of His Son, the Church. Our union with Christ brings us into a spiritual union with all those who are in Christ. Now the family of the Church, the body of our brothers and sisters in Christ, is more real and permanent than our biological family. This is why Jesus says in today’s Gospel that to prefer one’s blood relatives over relation to Christ is an act unworthy of Him: “Jesus said to his apostles: ‘Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.’”

9 JULY - 14TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

he Liturgy of the Word commences with an important prophecy from Zechariah. It declares that the Messiah will enter into Jerusalem peacefully on a donkey. The Psalm provides us with a wonderful response to this reading, calling us to proclaim Jesus’ name as God and King forever. We might pause a moment and reflect how Christ as he rode into Jerusalem enters today into the center of our souls. Like the great city of Jerusalem, we are buzzing with activity and uncertainties. We might find ourselves hoping for Christ to enter triumphantly on a war horse conquering all of foes and woes. But he comes to us meekly, proclaiming peace. He often speaks to us silently, simply, subtly. When we recognize Him, the words of today’s Psalm should be on our lips: “I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.”

16 JULY - 15TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

ast week’s Gospel gave us the image of Jesus as a humble king, entering into our hearts not as a conquering warrior but as friend and peacemaker. This week we see Jesus as farmer, sowing the seed of the Gospel. The point of the Parable of the Sower is that Christ is actively spreading His Word, actively proclaiming the Good News of salvation, and that genuine reception of this message requires a fertile and good heart. The image of God as a sower planting a seed is very common in the Old Testament and is especially

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connected to the coming of the Messiah and the restoration of Israel. When the Kingdom of Israel was defeated, the people were scattered in exile as a punishment for their infidelity to God. God promised, however, to restore a faithful remnant. One of the most important prophecies along these lines is found in Isaiah 55:10-13, the first part of which is, not coincidentally, today’s first reading. By the time of Jesus’ ministry, many of the exiled Israelites had returned to the land of Israel. There may have been an assumption, then, that the prophetic promise of a great return from exile had already occurred. However, this parable of the Kingdom of God indicates that it had not. The use of the seed and Word imagery picks up on the prophecies about the restoration of Israel around a faithful remnant, indicating that only those who receive Jesus’ message and bear fruit are the faithful remnant, not just anyone living in ancient Palestine. This parable includes an element of warning and judgment. The message of the Kingdom of God preached by Jesus distinguishes good from bad soil, good from evil hearts. There is a warning to till up and fertilize the soil of one’s heart, rooting out worldly cares and developing virtues, so that the seed can sprout, root, and bear fruit. We are all surely aware that our hearts can grow hardened or indifferent from time to time. Putting this in the terms of the parable, suffering and trials can make us bitter while the cares of the world can come to supplant love for Christ. We need to have good practices of prayer, penance, and scriptural meditation

23 JULY - 16TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

nce again we have a parable of the Kingdom that concerns sowing seed. In this case, Jesus sows the good seed of His Word but then an enemy comes in and sows weeds. We surely can relate to ways in which God’s work in our lives and in the world is always subverted. Just when God sets us out on a good, holy path, the Devil comes along to distract or dissuade us with trials, fears, and frustrations. This parable sounds a stronger note of judgment than last week’s. In Jesus’ explanation, He tells us that the “good seed” is the children of God, that is, those who have faithfully received God’s Word. The “weeds,” however, are those who “cause others to sin and are evildoers.” When harvest time comes—the Day of Judgment—the angels will separate the wicked weeds from the righteous wheat and will cast the former into the “fiery furnace.” We labor not in a pure but compromised world and Church. All around us are weeds planted by the Enemy, wicked persons who refuse or contort Christ’s teachings. We must bear this in mind, however uncomfortable and unfashionable it is. The modern notion of individualism often carries with it a belief in the fundamental innocence of the human person, explaining that people do evil things only because they are agitated by having to conform to traditional or oppressive social structures. But this parable paints a different picture. We have to be aware that evil exists and that there are evildoers who would like to cause us to sin. We cannot simply assume, then, that every liberation from some past constraint will necessarily promote goodness. Once again, then, receiving the seed of the Word is hard work. It requires great attention, discernment, and wisdom. As the Catechism tells us, we are required to form our consciences.

30 JULY - 17TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

e continue to follow the teachings of Jesus about the Kingdom of God in Matthew’s Gospel. Today we are given two images for the Kingdom of

God, a man who discovers buried treasure and a merchant who finds a “pearl of great price.” In both cases, the man must sell everything he has in order to attain what he has discovered. These images occur amidst a number of other parables or images of the Kingdom which emphasize the insignificance or hiddenness of the Kingdom. These are the parables of the mustard seed and the leavened bread. With these images, Jesus is telling the people of Israel that the Kingdom of God will not appear as they expect. It will be much more humble, much more hidden than a grand national awakening and triumph. In the case of today’s reading, we see that the Kingdom of God is found almost by accident. It is forgotten or overlooked by others. Its value doesn’t seem worth the risk. What is perhaps overlooked is the great vulnerability and self-denial that is required for one to possess the Kingdom of God. To sell all one has, aside from the difficulty of relinquishing one’s hard-earned fortune, meant putting oneself in a position of incredible insecurity. We do not get the sense that the man or the merchant purchases the Kingdom to resell it to make a greater fortune. Rather they sell all they have because they have found something priceless. Much could be said about the theme of the hiddenness and pricelessness of God’s Kingdom. But today we might focus on how the Lord often brings us to crucibles when we are required to give up something we love in order to follow His will more wholeheartedly and firmly. We are often tempted to follow the Kingdom of God while also indulging in the building of our own little kingdoms on the side. As time goes on, our attentions turn more and more to the preservation of our personal kingdom. The Lord often brings us to a point when we have to choose, when we have to sell all we have in order to attain God’s kingdom. The great grace of these moments is that we see the great value of God’s Kingdom and are allowed to lay down our ambitions to attain something of eternal value. Just as Christ shed His Precious Blood for us, so we with adoring hearts can shed our selfish desires in order to serve God. 

St Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, KS

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LIVING THE LITURGY TODAY

so that our hearts are always ready to receive the Word of Christ.

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Abbot’s Table XI April 6, 2024

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