Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop
Lectionary: 485
Reading 1
Philippians 2:1-4
Brothers and sisters:
If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also everyone for those of others.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 131:1bcde, 2, 3
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Alleluia
John 8:31b-32
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 14:12-14
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.
He said to the host who invited him,
"When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
The Reward of Eternal Glory
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.” Luke 14:12–14
Is Jesus telling us that it is sinful to invite friends and family to a dinner party? Certainly not. He is teaching us about something much deeper. Throwing a dinner party for others is good when our motive is love. But if the goal of the dinner, or any other act of charity, is vainglory, then the vanity we achieve from such an act is the payment we will receive. Sadly, the “payment” of vainglory is sought and obtained by many in various ways. Jesus’ lesson teaches us that our only motive for the good we do should be the humble and hidden motive of loving service.
As a result of the temptation to pride, we can easily find ourselves being inordinately concerned about what others think about us. Holding a lunch or dinner for friends, family, and your wealthy neighbors is simply an illustration of the sin of pride at work. Within this context, Jesus is speaking about a person who performs some act for the sole purpose of building up their self-image and obtaining praise and flattery from others. This form of “glory” is truly vain in that it is not only worthless to the good of the soul, it is also damaging.
Why do you do what you do? Are your good actions done so that others will see and praise them? Do you go out of your way to show people how good you are? Are you overly concerned about the opinions of others? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then you might be struggling with pride more than you realize.
On the contrary, are you content with doing some good deed that is hidden from the eyes of others? Can you take delight solely in helping others, even if no one knows about it? Are you motivated to serve and give of yourself for the exclusive reason that you want to make a difference in the lives of others? This is what Jesus means when He says you should hold a banquet for the poor, crippled, lame, blind, and everyone who is unable to repay you. In other words, when you are not able to receive the “reward” of vainglory, that is good. That must be your goal.
Reflect, today, upon how strong your desire is for notoriety. Consider some scenario where you worked hard day and night for some time to do some good work. Imagine that the good work accomplished great benefits for others. Then imagine that no one knew you were behind that good work and, therefore, you received no gratitude or acknowledgment. How would you feel? Ideally, you would rejoice for two reasons. First, you would rejoice that you were able to serve and make a difference. Second, you would rejoice that God and God alone was aware of your act of charity. When God sees our goodness and selfless service, He puts Himself in debt to us in a certain sense. The “debt” that God takes on is His gratitude and love which are expressed to us through eternal rewards of His making. Seek to obtain these eternal rewards by striving to serve in the most hidden and humble ways possible. Those rewards infinitely surpass the fleeting rewards of vainglory.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
POOR ME
“When you have a reception, invite beggars and the crippled, the lame and the blind.” —Luke 14:13
According to Jesus, feeding the poor is a personal responsibility. The poor must be our personal friends (see Ps 41:2, NAB). We should try to get to know them by visiting them, while encouraging them to call or drop in on us. The government and Church are not to take our place in feeding the poor but to supplement our individual efforts.
We should open our homes to the poor and serve them with our own hands. We can supplement this by writing a check to a social service agency, but a check can never take the place of hands-on, in-house service to the poor.
Jesus described His ministry as preaching Good News to the poor (Lk 4:18). He said that on Judgment Day our personal service to the poor would make an eternal difference (Mt 25:34ff). Jesus freely chose to become poor (2 Cor 8:9). In our personal ministry, we must always make it a priority to “be mindful of the poor” (Gal 2:10) and have “a preferential love for the poor” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1586). We cannot love Jesus without loving the poor. They are God’s presence in our midst, a challenge with eternal consequences, and a precious opportunity to love Jesus. Love the poor.
Prayer: Jesus, give me a profound respect for poor people, irrespective of their circumstances.
Promise: “Never act out of rivalry or conceit; rather, let all parties think humbly of others as superior to themselves, each of you looking to others’ interests rather than to his own.” —Phil 2:3-4
Praise: The members of a church named after St. Charles Borromeo began perpetual Eucharistic adoration over a decade ago. Many healings and conversions have resulted.
Reflection 3
The Servants of the Word
You Will Be Repaid at the Resurrection of the Just
Who do you honour at your table? The Lord is always ready to receive us at his table. As far as we can tell from the Gospel accounts, Jesus never refused a dinner invitation! Why, in this particular instance, does Jesus lecture his host on whom he should or shouldn't invite to dinner? Did his host expect some favor or reward from Jesus? Did he want to impress his neighbors with the honor of hosting the "miracle worker" from Galilee?
Generous giving doesn't impoverish - but enriches the heart
Jesus probes our hearts as well. Do you only show favor and generosity to those who will repay you in kind? What about those who do not have the means to repay you - the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged? Generosity demands a measure of self-sacrifice. However, it doesn't impoverish, but rather enriches the soul of the giver. True generosity springs from a heart full of mercy and compassion. God has loved us first, and our love for him is a response of gratitude for the great mercy and kindness he has shown to each one of us. No one can outmatch God in his generous love and kindness towards us. Do you give freely as Jesus gives without seeking personal gain or reward?
Prayers
Most glorious God, You came to earth to suffer and die. In that act of perfect love You brought about the greatest good ever known. You offered this holy service of love in the most hidden and humble of ways. As a result, You are now glorified forever. Help me to share in Your acts of humble and hidden service so that I, too, may one day share in the glory of Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, your love never fails and your mercies abound. You offer us the best of gifts - peace, pardon and everlasting friendship with you at your banquet table. Fill me with gratitude for your great mercy and kindness towards me. And may I never fail to show kindness and mercy towards all I meet so that they may know the mercy and goodness you offer them as well.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 307: Conversing with a Divine Friend
How do you pray? There are many good ways to pray. Here are some common ways: attending the Holy Mass or another Liturgy, praying the rosary or other chaplets, reading the Scripture meditatively, reciting beautifully written prayers, sitting in silence before our Lord, falling prostrate before Him especially in the Holy Eucharist, etc. One additional way to pray is to have a conversation with our Lord, speaking everything on your mind. It’s true that He knows all your needs, He knows all your thoughts and He knows you far better than you know yourself. But, at times, you will find it a blessing to converse with Him anyway. You may choose to go through your life, all of your concerns, all of your questions and confusions, and speak them directly to our Lord. This form of prayer helps to clarify life, as long as you seek to listen while you speak. But speaking all of your concerns is a wonderful act and will be most useful as you invite God into every part of your life (See Diary #1485-1489).
So how do you pray? Reflect today upon the various methods you use and ponder whether there are other ways that you might add. Especially consider sitting down and conversing with our Lord as you would a friend. Think about even the psychological benefit that comes by speaking everything on your heart, expressing every concern, and presenting every question you have to God. There is value in the conversation. You may not have perfect understanding of His answers, but God knows what you need and by coming to Him with everything, you can be assured that He will listen and respond.
Lord, teach me to pray. Help me to know how much You love me and desire to hear from me about every burden of my soul. I desire to bring all to You, dear Lord, to lay it at Your feet and to abandon myself into Your gentle Hands. Thank You for always listening. Jesus, I trust in You.
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