Reminder: Marti Gras Meet & Greets after each Mass tomorrow – serving King Cake, beads and fellowship.

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Ash Wednesday – March 6
Day of Fast and Abstinence

Mass with Ashes
At the Church: 7 AM, 12:10 PM, 7 PM
At Pierrepont House (55 Pierrepont St): 1:30 PM

Families & Children Service with Ashes: 4 PM

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Think Out of the Box: see what you can do to Celebrate, Reflect, Worship, Connect and Act this Lent. Share our flyer attached here: Lent Flyer 2019 – St. Charles Borromeo

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Special Mass for Victims of Clergy Abuse

There will be a Mass for victims of abuse this

Saturday March 9, 2019 at Noon at the Church 

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First reading

Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time

March 3, 2019

Sirach 27:4-7

 

It is a general if not quite universal characteristic of elites that they wish not only local acclaim, but to be recognized as a member of cosmopolitan or even international leadership. This is revealed by common taste and shared ideas. A good hotel in Seville will provide the same services and amenities and look much the same as another in New York. There might be some nods to local customs and taste, but the toiletries are all the same.  There may be some changes in emphasis on major ideas, but cultural elites strive to attain commonality if not unanimity on the basics. The “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” of the United Nations was signed in 1948 by 46 of the then 58 members with none voting against it. There were different interpretations as subsequent history has shown, but there was nonetheless a common language

We see this as well in the Bible. The cultural elite of the ancient near east – which encompassed Egypt, Assyria and Babylon as well as the Israelites – prided themselves by living by wisdom.  This usually consisted of the sayings of sages and wise men commenting on how to live a good and virtuous life. We find this wisdom in Proverbs, Job, The Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes and some of the Psalms. There are some references to the Jews’ particular understanding of God, but very little that an Egyptian or Persian follower of wisdom could not agree. The Torah or Prophets were not quoted in any explicit way. This was true for so long that dating the origin of these sayings is almost impossible.

Until the Greeks. After the conquests of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) and the kingdoms which followed, a radically different world view emerged. Often called Hellenism, it was the official way of life of the cultural elite of the Greek Kingdoms. This included the Seleucid Empire which ruled Judea, and the elite of Jerusalem would be enticed to embrace it.

This is where we are today with Sirach. He lived most likely in Jerusalem around 200 BC; he is one of the great intellectual and cultural heroes of Judaism. He understood the threat to the integrity of his faith and became a teacher of the young Jewish elite. Think of him as the earliest Jesuit: give me a boy and I will make the man.

Although he was a man who could quote Homer and the sages of Egypt, he did not seek merely to show that Jewish wisdom was compatible with that of the Greeks. If he played by those rules, the young men would soon give up Judaism. He taught that what the Greeks called wisdom or philosophy needed the revealed word of God and the worship of the God of Israel to be complete.

At the very beginning of the Book Sirach says:

¹ All wisdom comes from the LORD

and with him it remains forever.

⁵ To whom has wisdom’s root been revealed?

Who knows her subtleties?

⁶ There is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring,

seated upon his throne:

⁷ It is the LORD; he created her,

has seen her and taken note of her.

 

This is a forthright statement about the connection between wisdom and the God of Israel. It would have been considered a development over previous understandings but not a radical shift. Note however the following:

¹ How different the man who devotes himself

to the study of the law of the Most High!

He explores the wisdom of the men of old

and occupies himself with the prophecies;

 

Sirach 39:1

 

The study of the law would previously have been considered too provincial to be “Wisdom”. A young cosmopolitan would never have quoted it even among Jewish friends.

 

⁵ He travels among the peoples of foreign lands

to learn what is good and evil among men.

⁶ His care is to seek the LORD, his Maker,

to petition the Most High,

To open his lips in prayer,

to ask pardon for his sins.

Then, if it pleases the LORD Almighty,

he will be filled with the spirit of understanding;

He will pour forth his words of wisdom

and in prayer give thanks to the LORD

Sirach 39:5–6 (NAB)

Sirach goes further. If the young aristocrat were to travel, he should seek to learn from all. Remember, Sirach did not distain what we would call secular learning but must always judge it by the traditions of his people. When he does so he realizes that the LORD offers him a covenant and a relationship.  Therefore, he must pray – converse with Him –  and realize that he can be forgiven. Thus, wisdom can enter his life.

Recognizing this relationship with the Lord he emphases, as no other Jewish wisdom teacher did, the importance of temple worship. Nowhere else do we see a call to revere the Temple worship and the priesthood:

²⁹ With all your soul, fear God,

revere his priests.

³⁰ With all your strength, love your Creator,

forsake not his ministers.

³¹ Honor God and respect the priest;

give him his portion as you have been commanded:

First fruits and contributions,

due sacrifices and holy offerings. Sirach 7:29–31 (NAB)

But as the prophets he does not believe that the mere saying of words of offering and the right sacrifice is enough. Justice and charity are needed to complete worship. This is the essence of wisdom.

¹ To keep the law is a great oblation,

and he who observes the commandments sacrifices a peace offering.

² In works of charity one offers fine flour,

and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise
Sirach 35:1–2

The Law, worship, and charity is the background and context for everything in Sirach even in the most secular parts. Today’s reading is in a section on business dealings. Sirach is not pro-business: he thinks that it leads to injustice and greed. He often heavy-handedly suggests that his young students enter public service. Nonetheless, he offers shrewd advice.

The chapter begins with:

¹ For the sake of profit many sin,

and the struggle for wealth blinds the eyes.

² Like a peg driven between fitted stones,

between buying and selling sin is wedged in.

³ Unless you earnestly hold fast to the fear of the LORD,

suddenly your house will be thrown down.
Sirach 27:1–3

It is by following the law of God and maintaining worship that we can engage in business but one we should always be on guard: assume dishonesty and let people reveal themselves in their speech.

⁵ As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace,

so in his conversation is the test of a man.

⁶ The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had;

so too does a man’s speech disclose the bent of his mind.

Sirach 27:5–6

It has been my good fortune to know many people with different religious beliefs than mine or indeed no explicitly religious belief at all. They are good people whose moral behavior would not have significantly differed from my own and in some cases demonstrated superior virtue. What is the difference? I think, indeed hope and pray, that my acts reveal more than anything about me, but about the LORD whom I worship. As Sirach has shown us, Wisdom and Worship are inseparable, and in the acts of the believer reveal not the presence of personal virtue as much as the presence of the source of virtue.

A Note to Parishioners

Last week, the Diocese of Brooklyn published a list of over a hundred priests who have been creditably accused of molesting children since 1916. Fr. Charles Kraus who served as pastor of St Charles from 1989–2007 was on that list. He was in the section of those for whom the accusations were made and investigated only after their deaths. Although “credible” is open to several interpretations, those who have performed the investigations are well respected professionals and there is no reason to doubt their conclusions. Although many, if not most, of our parishioners were not members of the Parish during his tenure, a good proportion of us, whether from this Diocese or not, will discover that at least one priest we know will be revealed as a predator. I am one of you. A priest who I grew up calling Uncle and who was a great and positive influence on me was also on that list. I am devastated.

Let me first assure everyone that St. Charles has instituted every procedure mandated by the Diocesan Safe Environment office. Maureen Pond and her staff at the Parish Religious Education Office are to be particularly commended for their diligence. We all commit ourselves to continuing vigilance.

We must also pray for those who have been victimized. The Diocese has an annual Mass of hope and healing for the survivors. This year it will be at St. Athanasius Church on April 30th Further information will follow. We will also have a Mass for everyone touched by this horror at St. Charles on the first Saturday of Lent – March 9^th – at 12:00 Noon. For hope, we too need healing.

 

First Reading

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Feb 24, 2019

1 Samuel 26: 7-9, 12-13, 22-23

 

We return today to the world of the prophet Samuel and the beginnings of kingship in Israel. Let us briefly review the situation. After the Israelites had settled in the Promised Land, around 1250 BC, they formed a confederation of tribes. These were independent but would form alliances when there was an external threat. This worked for almost 140 years, but by 1100, foreign powers – especially the Philistines – obtained superior weapons and were more efficiently organized. In order to respond effectively they needed a centralized government, which at that time meant a king. As we said previously, the Scriptures were ambivalent at best about kingship, but the books of Samuel make it clear that God’s people must always be led by God.

The first king is Saul. He is a formidable warrior and military commander. He improves the states’ fighting ability but does not set up structures of government. He organizes an army but not a court. He is acting like a chieftain not a king, both administratively and spiritually.

This is shown by the incomprehensible destruction of the city of Amalek.

⁸ He took Agag, king of Amalek, alive, but on the rest of the people he put into effect the ban of destruction by the sword. ⁹ He and his troops spared Agag and the best of the fat sheep and oxen, and the lambs. They refused to carry out the doom on anything that was worthwhile, dooming only what was worthless and of no account. 1 Samuel 15:8–9 

 

Saul was instructed to destroy the city state of Amalek totally: a ban of destruction. He did so, but kept the king alive and took all that was worthwhile. Samuel confronts him and he lies to him. He said that he had taken the sheep and oxen to offer them as sacrifice to God. After Samuel pressures him, he admits the real reason:

 

²⁴ Saul replied to Samuel: “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed the command of the LORD and your instructions. In my fear of the people, I did what they said. 1 Samuel 15:24

He shows himself a weak leader afraid of his people but also a faithless person. He reveals this by referring to God as “your God” to Samuel and “their God” to the people,  but not his God. He completely alienates himself from God when he consults a witch to contact the deceased Samuel. Samuel tells Saul that

¹⁷ The LORD has done to you what he foretold through me: he has torn the kingdom from your grasp and has given it to your neighbor David. ¹⁹ Moreover, the LORD will deliver Israel, and you as well, into the clutches of the Philistines. By tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, and the LORD will have delivered the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.” 1 Samuel 28:17–19

This is not the first time that Saul has been told that David is to replace him, yet he does not stand aside. He does not realize that his authority comes from God. He is a king who in every way does not understand what it is to be a king.

We can now better understand today’s passage from 1 Samuel. Saul had become very jealous of David, who, although originally hired as a singer to relieve Saul’s headaches, has proven himself a capable military leader. So much so that when he returned from one particularly impressive victory:

⁷ The women played and sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” ⁸ Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought: “They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me. All that remains for him is the kingship.” 1 Samuel 18:7–8

 

Saul is clearly showing that he has put his own feelings ahead of the kingdom. David has by this time fled the presence of Saul and gathered an army of those alienated by Saul around him. When David sees Saul’s army, he and Abishai, a trusted lieutenant

went among Saul’s soldiers by night and found Saul lying asleep within the barricade, with his spear thrust into the ground at his head and Abner and his men sleeping around him. 1 Samuel 26:7

Abishai sensibly suggests that they kill Saul on the spot and end David’s persecution. David says to him:

⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not harm him, for who can lay hands on the LORD’S anointed and remain unpunished? ¹⁰ As the LORD lives,” David continued, “it must be the LORD himself who will strike him, whether the time comes for him to die, or he goes out and perishes in battle. ¹¹ But the LORD forbid that I touch his anointed  1 Samuel 26:9–11a

 

They took his spear and water jug and returned to their camp. David understands and respects the meaning of kingship more than the king himself.  He particularly understands that the king was chosen, anointed and installed by God Himself and his office should be determined by God alone.

 

David calls over to Saul in his camp:

 

¹⁹ Please, now, let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the LORD has incited you against me, let an offering appease him; but if men, may they be cursed before the LORD, because they have exiled me so that this day I have no share in the LORD’S inheritance, but am told: ‘Go serve other gods!’ ²⁰ Do not let my blood flow to the ground far from the presence of the LORD. Samuel 26:19–20

 

Note that David’s concern is that he may be forced to serve another king and will serve their gods as well. In our terms, he may lose his faith. This God-centeredness is the major difference between David and Saul.

 

This week the Pope has met with the presidents of every bishops conference in the world to remind them what being a bishop is. He is a shepherd and like the good shepherd must be prepared to lay down his life for the sheep. He will always be human and thus imperfect. The Bible reveals both Saul and David to be deeply flawed men. David however is aware of his frailty and deep sinfulness as revealed by the story of Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, but he ultimately has the humility to ask for forgiveness and to recognize his responsibilities. The Bible uses this comparison again and again. Both Judas and Peter betray Jesus at the end. Both realize this, but Judas is unable to ask for forgiveness and kills himself. Peter reconciles with Jesus and becomes the first Pope. We ask this of our leaders, not that they embrace perfection, but with true humility embrace Jesus.