THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

 Daniel 12:1-3; Psalm 16:5, 8-11; Hebrews 10:11-14, 18; Mark 13:24-32

We are coming to the end of the Church’s Liturgical Year. The Church’s Liturgical Year ends with the week of Christ the King (Thirty-Fourth Sunday), after which the Advent Season begins.

Today’s readings invite us to reflect on death and its reality. It is a reality we all must accept. Ecclesiastes 3:2 says, “There is a time for everything, … a time to be born and a time to die.”  Therefore, we are invited to prepare ourselves spiritually and physically. Jesus says in the gospel, “But that day or the hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). Two things we know with absolute certainty are that we came into the world on a certain day, and we will depart the world on a certain day.

When we talk about the end of the world, do we mean that there will be such a time when the world will come to an end? The world has existed for over 4.54 billion years. It is, rather, more helpful if we pay attention to the end of our individual world (end of life), which occurs every day, than follow the line of thought of apocalyptic preachers who preach about the imminent end of the physical world.

There are two important ways of preparing for the end of life. They are physical preparation and spiritual preparation.

Physical preparation means putting in place a clear Will or Testament to prevent any form of misinterpretation and disagreement when one dies. Doing this, where possible or necessary, in a legal way to grant the document legal authenticity is important. Are there retirement arrangements, insurance contracts, and other businesses that need to be made and secured? These, and many more, need to be done while the individual is hale and hearty to prevent unnecessary wrangling over the deceased’s Will, property, and intentions.

Spiritual preparation means to live a life here on earth that will lead us to everlasting life. The first reading and the gospel tell us that at the end of life, “Some will live forever, others shall be in an everlasting horror and disgrace” (Daniel 12:2). “And he will send out his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky” (Mark 13:27). A sure way to be one of the elects (saints) and live forever in the presence of God is to live a good Christian life while in the mortal body.  For those who spiritually prepare themselves for death, the Preface 1 of the Mass of the Dead promises, “Indeed, for your faithful, Lord, life is changed not ended, and, when this earthly dwelling turns to dust, an eternal dwelling is made ready for them in heaven.”

There are people who do not believe that there is any form of life after physical death and do not believe in the existence of heaven and hell. About such people, Jesus says, “Hypocrites! You interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t interpret the present time?” (Luke 12:56). Every people and every culture have some form of punishment or another for those who commit offense and good reward for good work. How then does anyone deny any form of punishment or good reward in the afterlife? In addition to the teaching of the Bible about hell, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “The chief punishment of hell is the eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs” (CCC 1035).

For us believers, let us live our lives in joyful hope for the coming of our savior Jesus Christ who promises us in John 14:1-3, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.” St. Paul, also, encourages us, “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him; this God has revealed to us through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

Whether God grants us a long life or a short life, may he grant us the grace of a happy death by which death has no sting and no victory over us (1 Corinthians 15:55). At the hour of our death, may he call us and bid us come to him, that with his saints we may praise him, forever and ever. (Anima Christi). May St. Joseph, patron of a happy death, pray for us. Amen.

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

1 Kings 17:10-16; Psalm 146:7-10; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44

1 Kings 16:29-33 summarized the disastrous reign of King Ahab. For that reason, Elijah prophesied, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except by my word” (1 Kings 17:1). One may ask why this prophecy which would bring suffering to the people. The lesson is that when bad leaders are allowed into power or allowed to stay in power, the people suffer.

Under God’s direction, Elijah went to Jordan. When the drought became severe in Jordan, God sent him to Sidon. As we read in the first reading, it was in Zarephath, Sidon, that Elijah met the widow and asked her for something to eat. The widow made it clear to Elijah how bad the situation was, “As the Lord, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a few sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.” Then, Elijah assured her, “Do not be afraid. … For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” It came to pass as Elijah prophesied (1 Kings 17:13-16).

The first reading brings to mind Jesus’ words in Luke 4:25-26, “I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.” It is noteworthy that the widow who showed Elijah great generosity and trust was not an Israelite but a Canaanite. I am sure that there were families in Israel and in Sidon who were not impoverished and could have taken good care of Elijah. Yet, God chose to send Elijah to the poor widow. This means that God can use anyone for his good plan. Let us not have excuses when God wants to use us.

In many ways, God sends ‘Elijah’ to us. Do we share the little we have with the ‘Elijah,’ or do we drive the ‘Elijah’ away?

In the gospel, Jesus says about the widow, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood” (Mark 12:43-44).

The generosity of the two poor widows are perfect examples of sacrifice and faith. Both widows, generously, gave from their whole livelihood. There are many testimonies of multiplication of ‘flour’ and multiplication of ‘oil’ after sharing with the needy and after giving for God’s work. Jesus says in Luke 6:38, “Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.” We often say, “Givers never lack.”

The widows teach us that the little we have and sincerely able to give is mighty in the eyes of God. Therefore, let us not hold back the little we can afford to give. Have faith in God that your jar of flour shall not go empty, nor your jug of oil run dry.

It is not only material possessions that we are invited to share with one another. We are, also, invited to, generously, share our talents, ideas, knowledge, time, understanding, care, cooperation, assistance, presence, and services.

Finally, St. Paul encourages us the best way to give, “Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do … without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). St. Paul, further, advises us, “Do everything without grumbling or questioning …” (Philippians 2:14).

There are some public donations in which the information or some information about the donations can be made public, if the giver chooses. There is nothing wrong with that. However, Jesus cautions us, “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (Matthew 6:1-4).

Blessed are they who sacrifice to give for the work of God and for the wellbeing of the needy; they will receive from God; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing will be poured into their lap. Their jar of flour shall not go empty, nor their jug of oil run dry. Amen.

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Psalm 18:2-4, 47, 51; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28-34

The Book Deuteronomy contains laws and exhortations Moses gave to the Israelites that would guide them when they arrived at the Promised Land. Today’s first reading contains the central statement of belief of the Jewish people known as Shema Israel. “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Moses went further to instruct, “Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:7).

The Hebrew word ‘Shema’ means listen or hear or pay attention or focus on or respond to what you hear. You call me ‘Father.’ Yes, I am your spiritual father. You are my spiritual children. Therefore, whether you like it or not, I will not stop repeating to you, continually, the word of God with my whole heart, and my whole being, and my whole strength. I recite it to myself continually; whether I like it or not. So, do the same to yourself and to your children, whether you like it or not and whether they like it or not. That is the command!

At the time of Jesus, some teachers and interpreters of the law emphasized that the more burnt offerings and sacrifices the people offered, and the more tithes the people paid, the closer they were to God. The scribe, an interpreter of the law, most likely wanted to know Jesus’ opinion. Jesus replied by quoting the Shema Israel and added Leviticus 19:19, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The amazed scribe acknowledged that to love God and to love one’s neighbor as oneself are “worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” We recall that Jesus, in Luke 11:12, condemned the Pharisees, “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and love of God.” Even now, does Jesus not condemn prosperity preachers whose priority is on their congregation’s paying of tithes over and above love of God and love of neighbor?

Love of God and love of neighbor are like the two hinges of a door. One of the hinges is love of God, and the other hinge is love of neighbor. If any of the hinges is absent, the door seizes to function. 1 John 4:19-21 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

At creation, God said, “Let us create man in our image, in the likeness of ourselves…” (Genesis 1:26). We share in God’s divine nature. Therefore, we have done to God what we have done to others since each of us is God’s image. In Matthew 25:40 Jesus teaches, “In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” In Acts 9:4-5, Jesus asked Saul, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul asked Jesus, “Who are you, Lord?” Jesus replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Jesus did not ask Saul why he was persecuting the Christians, but “Why are you persecuting me?”

We can see the power of love of neighbor in the following texts: “Above all, let your love for one another be intense (strong), because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). “We are aware that we have passed over from death to life because we love our brother. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer…” (1 John 3:14-15). “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18).  “And now, these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

The word ‘love’ is the most used and abused word. All kinds of evil, atrocities, senseless things, and bad decisions are committed in the name of love.  But there is such a thing as genuine love, which is why St. Paul tells us, “Let love be genuine…” (Romans 12:9). Jesus teaches us what genuine love is where he says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son…” (John 3:16). “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John15:13).

The kinds of genuine love we must pursue: (1) Sacrificial love, which is a total self-giving that sometimes culminates to ultimate sacrifice. Doing good to those who hate us is a type of sacrificial love. (2) Unconditional love, which is a selfless act of love that does not require anything in return. (3) Altruistic love is a kind of love that involves taking helpful actions to support and benefit others, often at one’s expense. Whatever anyone calls love or does in the name of love, which does not fall within these three kinds, is counterfeit love! One may ask about reciprocal love. Reciprocal love, which is love in return for love, has a selfish undercurrent.

I would like to conclude with this story: A boy was asked to donate blood to his sister so that his sister would not die. After donating the blood, the boy asked his dad, “When am I going to die.” The boy had thought that for him to donate blood to the sister so that she might not die would result to his own death. Yet, he did not object when the request was made of him. St. Ignatius prayed, “To give without counting the cost.” This boy teaches us the meaning of the prayer.

COMMEMORATION OF ALL SOULS, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

Wisdom 3:1-9; Psalm 23:1-6; Romans 5:5-11; John 6:37-40

We celebrated the Church Triumphant (All Saints) yesterday. Today, we pray for the Church Suffering, the departed souls in Purgatory. The Catholic Church teaches that we assist the souls of the dead who are in the condition of purification in Purgatory by offering Eucharistic sacrifice for them, and undertake almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance on their behalf (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1032). Today’s celebration enables us to pray for countless departed souls that Masses are not requested or offered for.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (CCC 1030). “The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031).

Communion with the departed is a common practice in many cultures. Praying for the departed existed in the Jewish belief far before Christianity. We read in 2 Maccabees 12:43-46, “Judas then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, in as much as he had the resurrection in mind; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. …Thus, he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin.”

Indications of the existence of Purgatory are, also, found in the New Testament. For instance, we read in Revelation 21:22, “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. ... Nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those who will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” At our death, none of us is clean and worthy to enter the “City of the Lord God Almighty.” “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Each soul, therefore, goes through a purification before entering the glory of God. The location of Purgatory and the duration that souls spend in Purgatory are beyond human knowledge since it is a mystical reality.

The notion of purgatory was not alien to many ancient cultures. I come from Mbaise, the part of Igboland of Nigeria, where before Christianity, the traditional seventh month (Onwa Asaa), which is coincidentally the month of November, was dedicated to celebrating the dead. Throughout the month, certain ceremonies were for releasing souls from whatever might have withheld them from joining the ancestral realm to transmute and join them. When the Catholic missionaries taught the people about purgatory, it was not difficult for many of them to connect and understand.

Originally, Halloween celebration was a feast of holy souls. The word ‘Halloween’ is derived from ‘All Hallowed (Holy) Souls’ Eve.’ Remembrance of the dead was celebrated on the eve of All Saints. Nowadays, Halloween is mostly celebrated in a secularly non-Christian way.

As Christians, we are a people of hope. Therefore, today’s celebration is a celebration of hope; that, indeed, God’s love is everlasting, even, in the afterlife. The first reading guarantees that by God’s grace and mercy, the faithful shall be purified, and they shall abide with God in love (Wisdom 3:9). St. Paul assures us in the second reading that “Hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5).

In our celebration, we believe in the fulfilment of the words of Jesus in today’s gospel, “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day” (John 6:37-39).

Let us pray:  Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let your perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; Psalm 24:16, 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

The Catholic Church holds and teaches that the Church exists simultaneously in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory. The Church in heaven is called Church Triumphant, the Church on earth is called Church Militant, and the Church in purgatory is called Church Suffering. The unity of the Church in heaven and the Church on earth is called the Communion of Saints. Our celebration today is based on this unity. The unity and communion continue tomorrow, November 2, with the special commemoration of All Souls, the Church Suffering.

In today’s celebration, we pray that the saints in heaven intercede for us. They were close to God while on earth. Now, they are with God in heaven; they intercede for us. That is why Catholics pray through their intercession.

In the first reading, St. John saw “a vision of heaven, and of a great multitude, which no one can count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue” (Revelation 7:9). Only a few saints out of the multitude of saints in heaven are canonized and celebrated. Today, we celebrate all saints. Indeed, our loved ones who have gone before us and our ancestors are included. Therefore, it is not out of place to plead with our departed loved ones and our ancestors who lived a godly life to intercede for us.

There are people who do not believe in communion with the saints or the power of the saints to intercede for us. There is no way we can imagine that the saints in heaven, which St. John gives us a tiny picture in his vision, have nothing to do with us on earth. How do those who do not believe in the power of the saints to intercede for us explain the mystery behind the countless prayers answered by God through the intercession of the saints? Ordinarily, we believe in the power of prayer by human beings, which is why we ask for prayers from one another. If God hears the prayer of sinners on earth, even more he hears the prayers of the saint in his presence. Also, the belief in the power of intercession of the ancestors (known as Ndichie among the Igbos of Nigeria) existed among many African peoples before the coming of Christianity. Such belief system cannot be dismissed as meaningless or a pagan practice.

It is for this reason that the Catholic Church teaches that we take or include saints’ names for Baptism and Confirmation, and name places after the saints so that those saints we hold dear as patrons may intercede for us, and we strive to imitate the life they lived. It is more spiritually benefiting to choose saints’ names for the sacraments and for patronage.

The Church Militant is a pilgrim church. Our destination is the Church Triumphant. Therefore, while on earth, we need to live lives that will enable us to join the Church Triumphant in heaven. The second reading says, “Everyone who has this hope based on him [strives to make himself/herself] pure, as he is pure” (1 John 3:3).

In the gospel, Jesus gives us the beatitudes that can guide us in our striving on our journey on earth and enable us to join the Church Triumphant. How wonderful our world becomes if our leaders and our rulers, and everyone are guided by the beatitudes.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit;” is an invitation to be humble.

“Blessed are they who mourn;” is an invitation to grieve/regret over sin and evil and to make efforts to stop them or distance from them.

“Blessed are the meek;” is an invitation to be gentle and agreeable.

“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness;” is an invitation to stand for truth and justice.

“Blessed are the merciful;” is to be kind and compassionate.

“Blessed are the clean of heart;” is an invitation to be honest.

“Blessed are the peacemakers;” is an invitation to be peaceful and to become an instrument of peace.

“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely;” is an invitation to remain steadfast during opposition and persecution.

St. Theresa of Lisieux advises that to become a saint, or to go to heaven, is not only achieved by doing extraordinary and mighty deeds, but also by doing small things with great love. She calls this “the simple way: a simple and direct path to heaven.” St. Joseph Marello is attributed as saying, “Saints do ordinary things in extraordinary ways.”

Also, Miriam C. Hunter writes, “Why are the saints, saints? Because they were cheerful when it was difficult to be cheerful; patient when it was difficult to be patient. And because they pushed on when they wanted to stand still and kept silent when they wanted to talk. And because they were agreeable when they wanted to be disagreeable…”

We can add that saints are saints because they forgave when it was difficult to forgive. And they lived their life in total surrender to God.

Oh, when the saints are matching in ……

THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

Jeremiah 31:7-9; Psalm 126:1-6; Hebrews 5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52

The first reading is a part of Prophet Jeremiah’s prophecy of consolation to the exiled people of Israel. Jeremiah consoled them to be hopeful and look forward to their redemption from their Babylonian captors and oppressors.  “Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, the blind and the lame in their midst, …” (Jeremiah 31:8).

The first reading is also Jeremiah’s prophecy about Jesus, the redeemer, who was to come to liberate the world from sin, affliction, and sorrow, as exemplified in the healing of the blind Bartimaeus in today's gospel. Bartimaeus’ story is symbolic. Bartimaeus represents all of us.

Homeless Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside and begging for alms. He must have heard about the great things Jesus was doing in various towns. On hearing that Jesus was passing, the name and the man he had heard about, he didn’t want to miss the single moment opportunity. Bartimaeus did not even know, as Scripture scholars tell us, that that was to be Jesus’ last journey through Jericho.  Bartimaeus began to cry out to him. To draw Jesus’ attention, he called him by his ancestral name, “Son of David.” The gospel makes it clear that “many people rebuked him, telling him to be silent.” He refused to be silenced. He refused to be discouraged. The reading says, “He kept calling out the more.” Jesus stopped. I imagine that Jesus stopped to know who kept shouting his name and his ancestral name. Jesus said, “Call him.” The cloak the blind man was wearing shows that the weather was cold. But when Jesus sent for him, there was an immediate interior and exterior transformation. He suddenly became warm.  “He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.” Jesus asked him what he wanted. Bartimaeus replied, “Master, I want to see.” (Another translation says, “Lord, let me recover my sight,” which suggests that Bartimaeus was not born blind.) He did not ask for money or food or accommodation or any material thing. Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” When he recovered his sight, immediately he followed Jesus on the way. Bartimaeus was no longer going to follow his own way, which might have made him lose his sight.

Is Bartimaeus’ faith not challenging to us? He teaches us how to call on the Lord in our helplessness. Like Bartimaeus, let us refuse to be discouraged. Let us refuse to be silenced. Let us not give up, and withdraw into self-pity, and blame others for being the reason we gave up. Bartimaeus teaches us persistency and perseverance. He teaches us that if we follow the way of Jesus, we will not lose our sight. Jesus promises us, “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Bartimaeus grabbed the last miracle Jesus did in Jericho. Do not allow Jesus to pass you by. Stop him and grab your own miracle!

Like Bartimaeus, what we need, more than anything else, is the restoration of our inner eyes. Although we are not physically blind, we are suffering from blindness of the spirit, blindness of the heart, and blindness of the mind.

We are blind when sin obstructs our relationship with God.

We are blind when we do not see God’s signs, and when we do not see what God wants us to see.

We are blind when we do not see those around us who need our help.

We are blind when we do not see God’s hand in our lives.

We are blind when we do not accept the truth.

We are blind when we are unable to see the big picture.

We are blind when we are unable to see reality.

We are blind when we are opinionated and narrow-minded.

We are blind when we lack perception and discernment.

We are blind when we lack insights and initiatives.

We are blind when we are gullible (easily deceived).

We are blind when we lack self-control and are overtaken by fear or sentiment or ego or power or such vices as anger, greed, lust, jealousy, envy, selfishness and so on.

We are blind when we live in denial of our blindness.

The irony is that we do not acknowledge our blindness. When Jesus confronted the Pharisees for their blindness, they denied it and said to Jesus, “Surely, we are not blind, are we? (John 9:40). We are like the Pharisees. We deny our blindness. Healing and deliverance cannot take place when we live in denial.

Let us pray:

O Lord, open the eyes of our spirits, hearts, and minds to realize our various blindness so that we can be healed as Bartimaeus was healed. As scales fell off from Saul’s eyes and his sight was restored, may scales fall off from the eyes of our spirits, our hearts, and our minds that we may see again. Direct our inner eyes to find our desires, which you have approved. May we not seek blindly or seek in vain. O Lord, deliver us from every danger and from our afflictions as you delivered the Israelites from their Babylonian captors and oppressors. Amen.

TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

 Isaiah 53:10-11; Psalm 33:3-5, 18-18, 20, 22; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45

Today is World Mission Sunday. Pope Pius XI instituted World Mission Sunday in 1926 to be an annual day of prayer and expression of support for the Catholic Church’s missionary vision and character. It is a Sunday that is set aside for Catholics all over the world to recommit themselves to the Church's missionary activities through prayer and offering. We are invited, constantly, to pray for the success of the Church’s missionary activities in every part of the world. We pray for missionaries and missionary institutions and pray that the Lord of the harvest sends more laborers for his harvest (Matthew 9:37-38).

We pray for seminaries and religious houses formators, seminarians, novices, and candidates. We also pray for men and women of goodwill who sacrifice their talents and resources to support God’s work in the missions. In addition to our prayers, we are, also, invited to offer material and financial support to the Church’s missionary activities. We are all missionaries, either by going to the missions or by praying for missionaries or by giving to support or sustain the missions.

Pope Francis’ theme of reflection for this year’s World Mission Sunday is, “Go and invite everyone to the banquet” (cf. Matthew 22:9). The pope says, “The Church, for her part, in fidelity to the mission she has received from the Lord, will continue to go to the ends of the earth, to set out over and over again, without ever growing weary or losing heart in the face of difficulties and obstacles.” He adds, “The mission for all requires the commitment of all.”

The pope prays, “May all of us, the baptized, be ready to set out anew, each according to our state in life, to inaugurate a new missionary movement, as at the dawn of Christianity!”

In the first reading, Isaiah prophesied Jesus’ mission. The Messiah was going to suffer, and be crushed (crucified), and give his life. By doing so, the will of the Lord shall be accomplished, many shall be justified, and their guilt he shall bear. From the apostles and the early Church until our time, the Church has followed in the footsteps of Christ for the sake of the Kingdom. The Church has continued to suffer persecution and martyrdom. That is why the Church on earth is called “Church Militant.” Pope Francis requests that everyone’s involvement and commitment are needed. Persecuted Christians and difficult missions need our support.

Only a few persons give up houses or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land to go on mission in faraway places for the sake of the Gospel. Therefore, another level of mission is to be a missionary in the environment one finds him/herself. That is, to make disciples in the power of the Spirit right wherever we live, worship, work, study, eat, refresh, play, and so on. Witnessing Christ in one’s environment is a very important missionary activity. The words of Moses to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 30:11-14 is very relevant to many people who are on mission in their environment. “For this command which I am giving you today is not too wondrous or remote for you. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to the heavens to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?’ Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?’ No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.”

In a broader sense, mission means aim or intention or motive. This meaning helps us to understand the interaction between Jesus and the sons of Zebedee. They requested from Jesus, “Grant that in your glory we sit one at your right and the other at your left.” The disciples of Jesus believed that Jesus was a political messiah. James and John, like the other disciples, believed that Jesus was to carry out a revolution, overthrow the Romans, and restore the kingdom and the glory of Israel. They were, surely, not thinking about the heavenly glory of Jesus. Their discipleship at that time was out of ulterior motive. They lobbied to occupy the highest positions when Jesus overthrows the Romans. We all know the adverse results of people who, with deceptive motives, bulldoze their way into positions of power and authority. Wrong aim, wrong motive, bad mission! Jesus says, “… whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all” (Mark 10:44).

Finally, mission means task and goal. God gives each of us a task (mission) at every stage of our lives. Anyone who is unable to identify his/her mission must pray for the grace to do so and the grace to accept it and carry it out. God who gives the mission (task) gives the grace. Our young ones must have a vision of their God assigned goal (mission) as early as possible and work towards achieving it. A builder cannot make a headway if he/she has no drawing (vision) to work with. Mission is impossible without a vision. It is only when someone has a destination in mind that he/she can figure out the way to reach it.

For the Church’s mission and our personal mission, the second reading encourages us to “confidently approach” Jesus Christ, the High Priest, who is on “the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace for timely help” (Hebrews 4:16). For without him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).