A Heart-Shaped Tomato!

It was the year 387, when Monica saw seventeen years of her fervent prayers in tears being answered. She was overwhelmed with joy upon seeing her wayward son Augustine getting baptized by Saint Ambrose in Milan. Soon, they left for Africa, where she fell ill due to the land journey. While in Ostia, Monica announced that she did not want to sail back to North Africa and instead preferred to remain in Ostia until her death. Her sons were surprised to learn their mother’s decision because they were hoping to take her back to her homeland. She told them she wanted them to remember her at the Lord’s altar, wherever they were. Through this statement, Monica made it clear that remembering her at the Mass was way more important than her burial location.  When Monica knew she was nearing her death, she revealed to Augustine: “Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know what there is now left for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled.” A few days later, she fell seriously ill, and her soul breathed the last. Respecting her wishes, Monica was buried in Ostia but soon her body was moved to a hidden crypt in Santa Aurea in the 6th century. Later, Saint Monica’s tomb was transferred to the Basilica of Sant'Agostino in Rome. Monica, the patron Saint of Mothers, truly believed that she would be close to her sons during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Her unwavering faith in Christ is a profound example that shows prayer without ceasing and hope without doubting shall bear fruit one day.

Do you know how to handle little things that drive you nuts? The other day, I misplaced my car keys when I was in my office building, which is a huge place. It has a large first floor with many side rooms, an enormous basement, and various offices upstairs. There were so many places my keys could have been since I went up and down the stairs all day long. Saying a quick prayer, I retraced my steps, trying to remember where I laid my keys down. After walking around for a while, I suddenly remembered where I might have put them and ran upstairs to one of the offices. Sure enough, there were my car keys. Thank you, Jesus! I find that there is always a lesson lurking in the day's events—if I stop and reflect. Just as parents are alert for and use ‘teaching moments’ to educate their kids, so, too, does God use teaching moments to form us. They are often small grievances, for example, driving all the way to the store and realizing you forgot your wallet. Or worse, getting to the checkout with your cart full of groceries before you realize you don’t have your wallet. Or locking your keys in your car—and worse, seeing that you also locked your cell phone in there! Seeking Fervently… These small events can cause frustration and anger, or we can choose to see them in the light of God's training and disciplining us. If we choose the second option, we can say: “Okay, Lord. I choose to praise You and thank You because Ephesians 5:20 says: ’Giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’” When we lose our keys and are searching for them, we can say: “Thank You, Lord, for this trial of inconvenience.” As fervently as I am seeking for my keys, I want to fervently be seeking You. “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” (Psalm 27:8) If we can perceive God's loving hand in allowing these things to happen so that they can help train and discipline us, then we can smile and even laugh at daily annoyances. This is something that a priest taught me. Father Jack used to call his guardian angel ‘Laughing Boy’ because of these kinds of little mishaps. If he locked himself out of the car, missed a ride, or couldn't find a paper he needed, Father Jack would say: “Laughing Boy is at it again!” And he would chuckle. Father Jack had learned and taught us an important lesson–don’t take yourself too seriously. The ability to laugh at yourself and at the little grievances of the day helps to keep a smile on your face, and then you will radiate joy to those you meet. Remember, there is always a lesson. Take time to ponder and say: “Okay, God. Here I am. What are You trying to teach me in the events of this day?” Then look at how you responded. Did you learn something and grow in virtue, or did you react badly? Don't worry if you fail. There will be more pop quizzes tomorrow.

“Those who surrender to the service of the poor through the love of Christ will live like the grain of wheat that dies,” preached Romero in his last homily. During the time when Oscar Romero was appointed as the Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977, the country was suffering from a severe economic and political crisis. With the death of his friend Father Rutilio Grande by the paramilitaries, the Archbishop became an outspoken critic of the government. The prelate, during his trips abroad, exposed the human rights abuses prevailing in the country. When the military junta seized the country, he began a radio broadcast of his sermons, openly criticizing the government for torture and mass murders. The act gained him the sobriquet, ‘The voice of those without voices.’ In a sermon on 23rd March 1980, the Archbishop implored the soldiers to stop executing government orders and, as Christians, obey God’s orders instead. The next evening, Romero celebrated Mass in a small chapel at Hospital de la Divina Providencia, a Church-run hospital specializing in oncology. After delivering the sermon, as he moved to the center of the altar, a red car stopped before the chapel, and a gunman stepped out of the vehicle, firing two shots at the Archbishop. The bullets went straight through Romero’s heart, and he breathed his last at the altar. His legacy has since inspired Catholics and non-Catholics around the world to stand against human rights abuse and fight for peace and justice. During the canonization of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero in 2018, Pope Francis wore the same blood-stained belt that Romero wore when he was killed at the altar. The Catholic Church honors this heroic life as the Patron Saint of Persecuted Christians.

This is the best paradigm of master-slave dynamics the world has ever seen… In the early ‘60s, an emerging blue-rock band, The Rolling Stones, let loose a misogynistic song, Under My Thumb, that illustrates a certain social dynamic. We hear: Under my thumb The girl who once had me down Under my thumb The girl who once pushed me around … It’s down to me, yes it is The way she does just what she’s told, Down to me, the change has come She’s under my thumb, Ah, ah, say it’s alright. As offensive as these lyrics are, they contain a paradigm of the dominant consciousness of a society of how people relate to each other in the political, economic, and social domains. 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Hegel explained this dynamic with his notion of the master-slave dialectic, which said that one’s sense of self-worth is directed towards someone who is perceived as unequal to oneself. Like The Rolling Stones, Hegel is talking about very dark social relationships in which the ego seeks to be in control, to dominate others to obtain one’s needs and to obtain privilege and status. So, the world is divided into insiders and outsiders— those at the top and those at the bottom. Or, as Bruce Springsteen once sang: “Down here, it’s just winners and losers, and Don’t get caught on the wrong side of that line” (Atlantic City from Nebraska). For those who are on the winning side, they want to keep things the way they are because the status quo works to their advantage. So, the master-slave dialectic seems to work at all levels. Along God’s Way Now, even before Hegel et al., the authors of the Old Testament were concerned about this problem because their central story was the Exodus Experience, which was a movement from oppression to liberation in which God identifies with the oppressed and resists the oppressor. God, working through Moses, brings the people out of servitude and guides them to the Promised Land—a state of justice and human flourishing. In doing so, God overcomes the master-slave dialectic, which is the central work of the God of Israel. Now, fast-forward 1200 years to Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth, around 33 A.D., who appears in the hills of Galilee. On the lips of this young man who spoke as one having authority was the message that the Kingdom of God was at hand. That is, God’s way of ordering things is coming about, and this Kingdom is perfectly personified in Jesus. What God has in mind in how we organize ourselves radically differs from the master-slave dialectic. What does Jesus have in mind when he proclaims and lives in the Kingdom of God? The best source is the Sermon of the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel, chapters 5-7. In the Kingdom, we wouldn’t be hungry and thirsty for domination, but we would hunger and thirst for righteousness. Rather than clawing for the highest position, we should embrace mercy, tenderness, and compassion. Not stuck in the dreadful lex talionis: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” ethic, but if someone slaps you on the right cheek, show him the other. If someone takes your outer garment, give him your shirt as well. And love not just your neighbor but your enemy as well. With that background in mind, Jesus will put into action His teachings in a very strange episode during the Passover Meal by washing the feet of his disciples (cf. John 13:1-20). Jesus will radically overturn the master-slave dynamic by becoming the slave, the servant. At the Last Supper, He takes off His outer garment and puts a towel around His waist in the posture of a slave. Then He proceeds to do something that is so low that only the lowest slave would be expected to do. He begins to wash their feet. Peter was so shocked that he protested and said to Him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with Me.”(John 13:8) How To Be Kingdom People? Just as the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, the Washing of the Feet is a radical new beginning: Peter, do you want to be a member of the Kingdom of God that I proclaim? Do you want to participate in this new way of being? If so, you must pass through the waters of washing the feet of others and see yourself humbly serving them. The movement of the Exodus Experience to the Washing of the Feet leads us to the Eucharist. Knowing how challenging it will be to become Kingdom people, Jesus chose to be always with us. We hear in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: “On the night when He was betrayed, took a loaf of bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way, He took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’”(1 Corinthians 11:23-25) This is the climax of Jesus’ public ministry, which will express the fullness of the Kingdom of God. What does Jesus do when He sums up what His life and ministry are all about?  He gives himself away!  “This is My body”—for a first-century Jew, that meant this is me; this is my person.  “This is My blood”—everything I am is poured out for you. The Washing of the Feet is where the master becomes the slave. It challenges us to make our lives one of self-giving generosity as a template for all our relationships. Giving away His body and blood is our initiation into the dynamics of the Kingdom of God, which is why the Eucharist is the ‘fount and summit’ of our worship and life. How can we contrive to undermine the dynamics of the master-slave dialectic and give ourselves away?