NOVEMBER 5, 2017
4:30 PM, 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES
Released in late September 1969, the album Abbey Road was the eleventh album recorded by the Beatles, and would turn out to be the last album recorded by all of them together.
The final song of the final medley on the second side of this final album is titled: The End.
After a series of instrumentals, the final words are sung:
And in the end, the love you takeis equal to the love you make.
Today is the 31st Sunday of Ordinary time – the first Sunday in the month of November, the month that begins with All Saints Day and All Souls Day; and provides us with the goal of asking the prayers of the saints in Heaven, while we ourselves offer prayers for not only our loved ones – but also for all the souls in Purgatory
Our first reading is taken from the prophecy of Malachi. The word malachi means “my messenger.” This book is the last of the Old Testament prophets. It would be over 400 years before the coming of St. John the Baptist, and the arrival of Our Lord. The overall focus in the Book of Malachi is an effort to repair the broken relationship between God and His people.
Despite the Temple being recently restored following the Babylonian Captivity, the people and their leaders have taken a blasé attitude toward their relationship with God – dishonoring His name, His temple, and His steadfast love … by failing to honor God’s covenant and providing half-hearted service.
Malachi calls them to step up their game as we hear at the end of today’s reading:
Have we not all the one father?Has not the one God created us?Why then do we break faith with one another …In the Gospel, Jesus calls out the Pharisees and the leaders of the people. They claimed to have a privileged relationship to God, yet their idea of honor and of service had become distorted and corrupted.
This is Jesus’ final public discourse before His passion, death, and resurrection.
His words echo the call of Malachi, saying:
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. …you have but one Father in heaven. …you have but one master, the Christ.In the Epistle – which is considered to be the first written by St. Paul – he emphasizes his parental role – telling the Thessalonians that he was attentive to their needs like a mother, and emphasizing his paternal role in providing God’s Word to them
not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God.November calls us to contemplate our own end – through what are often called The Four Last Things. Not in a morbid or dark way, but rather by evaluating our own relationship with God and with neighbor. What is often translated as justice or righteousness – carries in the original language a heavy emphasis on right relationship.
We must constantly be on guard against the temptations and the corruptions of the world. Lest our responsibilities and duties as Christians – followers of Christ – become twisted into authoritarian powers. Leadership and inspiration should never be corrupted into mere management and control … to avoid running the risk of distorting our vocation – our calling from God – into an occupation – something that just fills up our life.
As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – let us pray that the infinite graces of so great a Sacrament will strengthen us to fulfill our baptismal roles of Priest, Prophet, and King. May we never sink into the morass of worldliness, but rather focus on our Christian duties, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and the call of God … which has been placed on each and every one of our lives.
Because, “in the end, the love [we] take, is equal to the love, [we] make.”
