We begin this week with several Gospels on the themes of poverty and the last coming first. In Monday’s Gospel (Matthew 19:16-22), Our Lord encounters the young man who asks about good deeds and gets more than he bargained for in return: two strong admonitions. First, only God is truly good; and second, if you want to follow Jesus, divest yourself. In Tuesday’s Gospel (Matthew 19:23-30), Jesus unpacks his response to that wealthy young man.
“Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
St John Eudes, whose memorial falls on Wednesday, is an example of a man who left everything in order to work for the salvation of souls, initially joining the Oratory (another great Oratorian, St Philip Neri, features on page 315 in Saint Who?). Then, in 1643, he founded the Society of Jesus and Mary (the Eudists) to provide much-needed seminary education. In response to the forbidding Jansenism of his time, he promoted the relationship between the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Tellingly, the Old Testament reading that day is Ezekiel 34:1-11, in which God accuses the shepherds of Israel of neglecting the flock entrusted to them. The Gospel (Matthew 20:1-16) speaks of the workers in the vineyard, and how those who come last to that work are as valued as those who came first. Either way, the challenge has been laid out: Christ needs devoted shepherds and tireless workers throughout history.
On Thursday, August 20, we go back to the 12th century to celebrate the last of the Church Fathers, St Bernard of Clairvaux, founder of Clairvaux, which became the template for 68 further monastic foundations. The meditation for that day (page 297) gives us a taste of St Bernard’s eloquent spiritual writing. It elaborates on the Gospel (Matthew 22:1-14) about the Kingdom of Heaven being like a wedding feast.
“Make haste, then, my brethren, make haste, I say, because not the angels only, but the Creator of the angels himself is awaiting you. The marriage indeed is ready, but the house is not yet full. There are others still awaited in order that the marriage may be filled with guests. God the Father is looking out for you with yearning, not alone for his exceeding charity wherewith he has loved us, as the apostle bears witness … but also for his own sake, as he tells us by his prophet, ‘It is not for your sake I will do this, O house of Israel, but for my holy name’s sake.’ For who can doubt the fulfilment of the promise which the Father has made to his Son in the words ‘Ask of me and I will give you the gentiles for your inheritance?’”
Friday, August 21, commemorates Pope St Pius X, whose pontificate included a strong emphasis on liturgical formation. His work to open the Eucharist more widely to the faithful, especially to children, was one of his enduring gifts to the Church.
His feast is followed immediately by the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 22, which, though not as prominent as the Assumption the week before, nevertheless reminds us of where the life of Mary, and thus her children, ultimately leads. As Pope Leo XIII explains in the meditation for that day (page 323): “In Mary we see how a truly good and provident God has established for us a most suitable example of every virtue. As we look upon her and think about her, we are not cast down as though stricken by the overpowering splendour of God’s power; but, on the contrary, attracted by the closeness of the common nature we share with her, we strive with greater confidence to imitate her.”
Magnificat’s long-running series “She Pondered These Things in Her Heart”, this month by Wendy-Irene Zepeda (page 329), provides a contemporary reminder of how women can do this. “We enfold in our tiny arms a creature with a soul that will live for all eternity. We care for and comfort a being who is capax Dei, able to know and love the infinite God. We introduce to life and love a person meant to live God’s life, to be filled with His all-powerful love, and to look for ever into His face. Mary knew this breathless incongruity more than anyone: the Child she held in the small circle of her embrace was himself the infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing God. Yet, in his humility, this was how he asked her to love him, as the tiny One in her arms.”
Finally, Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 16:13-20) reminds us of how the first pope grasped this essential truth, to be passed on down the ages by his successors.
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Magnificat is a spiritual guide to help you develop your prayer life, grow in your spiritual life, find a way to a more profound love for Christ, and participate in the holy Mass with greater fervour. If you are in the UK, you can subscribe here.
