Ordinary 23

The Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 2016 – Cycle C Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalm 33; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 12:32-48

Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, better known to us as Mother Teresa of Kolkata, is being canonized a saint by the Catholic Church today.  Founder in 1950 of the religious congregation, Missionaries of Charity to serve “the poorest of the poor” and the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Teresa has been described in terms of a “living saint”, a symbol of hope for the poor and the most admired person of the century.  She is not without her critics though in regard to her understanding of suffering and poverty, the medical conditions her congregation provides for the poor, the sick and the dying, making the city of Kolkata synonymous with poverty, or her stance on abortion.

Yet in declaring a person a saint, that is, living in the full presence of God which is the hope of every Christian is not solely about human action or perfection.  Our holiness originates in God in whose image we were created.  Therefore we hear throughout Sacred Scripture the command: “Be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy” [Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:16].  Our holiness originates in a God who offers us an invitation and longs and waits for a response.  A response that is not fully perfected in this world due to our sin, our blindness and our character flaws but a genuine holiness nonetheless experienced whenever we move beyond ourselves and our self-interest for the good of another person.  In the words of the poet T.S. Eliot, “a tremor of bliss” [verse play, Murder in the Cathedral].

Teresa’s path in holiness began in a very practical manner.  Ferdinand Perier, Archbishop of Kolkata, to assess her commitment insisted on a period of lengthy prayer, meditation and spiritual consultation.  Do we ever enter into such a period of prayer and consultation so as to discern major, or even smaller, decisions in our life, particularly those decisions that affect other people?

The archbishop also requested that she reflect on and write answers to a number of questions he would offer her.  Further asking that Teresa keep her responses simple, using few words.  In the spiritual life, there is great value in writing down our reflections.  In this way our thoughts can look back at us.  Brevity?  Brevity in the answers was to force a distillation and purification of Teresa’s motives.

The archbishop’s questions have relevance for our own lives.  He began by asking Teresa, what exactly and in detail do you want to do? 

Have any of us ever reflected on our own lives in such a manner?  What do I want to do with my life?  And this is not a once and for all question and answer.  Does it not reoccur throughout our lives?  Teenagers facing college are asked, what do you want to do with your life?  Does not that question arise again at midlife, at the loss of employment, with the onset of a debilitating illness, at retirement and even in our senior years?  What exactly and in detail do you want to do? 

The archbishop asked a related question in regard to the means by which Teresa was to bring about her desire to care for the sick, the poor, the dying, the beggars and the street children.  Such a practical question may not seem very spiritual.  We have regretfully divorced the spiritual from the natural, as we have faith from science rather than realizing they are two aspects of this one grand creation.  They can and need to dialogue and comment on each other, enriching each other for a fuller understanding by us of God’s action and design for our lives.  It is one thing to ask, what do you want to do? and it is another thing to ask, how are you going to get there?   How are you going to get there, is a spiritual question.

Teresa’s answer to the question, what kind of people she would recruit for this work results in a similar practical answer: people who are strong in body and mind with plenty of common sense.  Have you ever considered common sense a spiritual attribute?  It is found throughout the writings of our Christian tradition from Scripture in books such as Proverbs and Sirach to the writings of the saints and monastics.  Google the Rule of Saint Benedict.  Written for monastic life in the 6^th century, it is still the rule under which monastic orders live today.  There you will find chapter headings on such everyday matters as how many Psalms are to be prayed at night and in what order; on manual labour; what kind of person the monk  should be who provides the food and drink of the monastery; when meals should be taken; on receiving guests; on the measure of food and drink; on clothes and shoes; and how the monks are to sleep.  All very practical and common sense issues, many of which can be incorporated into our contemporary life.  What part does common sense play in your life and decisions?

What are the possibilities of success, the archbishop asked.This is an interesting question in the light of what Teresa will say in the future.  “We are called upon not to be successful, but to be faithful.”  Success is a quality sought after in the corporate, sports, academic and political worlds.  Reflecting on the crucified Christ, by any human standards Jesus was a failure.  For the Christian conformed to Jesus, our lives should be marked by faithfulness to God.  A faithfulness which can result in ridicule, violence, criticism, avoidance or worse, indifference.

How Teresa answered these and the other questions of the archbishop is not important.  What is important is how do you and I answer them and live those answers out.  They are the key to our path in holiness.