Fr. Gabriel hears Confessions before Saturday Mass from 4 - 4:45 pm.
Fr. Gabriel will hear Confessions before or after Mass by request.
Fr. Gabriel will hear Confessions before or after Mass by request.
Dear Beloved Family of St. Anselm,
Our readings this Sunday plunge us into the middle of a shouting match. Amaziah, a priest of the royal shrine of Bethel in Israel (the northern kingdom), is throwing out Amos, a Judean prophet, telling him to go home and make a living. Amos replies that he is no prophet, that is, no court prophet in the employ of the king, but a shepherd and farmer, called by God to "prophesy to my people Israel." The gospel passage immediately follows the story of Jesus' rejection as a "prophet without honor," who then commissions his twelve disciples to adopt the prophetic lifestyle of itinerant preachers.
In Mark's Gospel, the "formation" of the disciples unfolds in stages. They are called to follow Jesus and become people who fish for humans (1:16-20); later, they are called "to be with him" and are given power over evil (3:13-19). At this point, their mission parallels Jesus' mission: preaching repentance, confronting the power of evil, and healing the sick. Jesus will later tell them that they, too, will be rejected by their loved ones (13:9-13). The lack of material support, food, money, sack (briefcase), and their dependence on hospitality from others are signs of their total reliance on God and their freedom. Unlike Amaziah, they are not prophets for hire. By shaking the dust from their feet, the disciples symbolize to those who do not welcome them that they are subject to God's judgment. This lifestyle seems strange and even harsh to us today, and it was not normative even in the early Church. Still, it has lasting value. First, the Twelve are to represent in their lives the actions of Jesus, even though Jesus is not with them.
Today, people often ask where Jesus is amid the conflicting messages among Bishops and priests who cannot teach the truth of the gospel for fear of rejection. For instance, where are the priests and Bishops, prophets who can proclaim clearly, as taught by the Catechism, that to receive the Eucharist in the Catholic liturgy is to espouse publicly the faith and moral teachings of the Catholic Church and to desire to live accordingly?
The rejection of the disciples and the advice to continue to other places remind us that we must not play to the gallery to be accepted by society (think of the underground Church in China and other nations without religious liberty). Though thrown out of the shrine, Amos moves on. He delivers his most vigorous denunciations of those who "trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to ruin" (Amos 8:4). Awareness of God's call, traveling light, and risking rejection-these are the "carry-ons" for true prophets.
Let us pray for the courage to stand firm when our deepest religious commitments are brought into conflict or misunderstanding, even with family and loved ones. Moreover, in our contemporary culture of material excess, let us pray in the week ahead about ways that we may travel light as a community of disciples.
Amen.
St. Anselm Catholic Church | Founded 1907
97 Shady Lane, #1061, Ross, CA 94957
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