The Good Word

Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time IAugust 21, 2025 – Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope Hello and welcome to the Word, bringing you the Good News of Jesus Christ every day from the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province. I am Fr. Karl Esker from the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY. Today is Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of Pope Saint Pius X.A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew. Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’ Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen.”The gospel of the Lord. Homily Our readings today begin with the joy of living in God’s grace, but end with a sad commentary on fruits of human pride and weakness. In the first reading we begin with the warrior judge Jephthah and his successful campaign to free the tribes of Israel from their enemies; and in the gospel we just heard, Jesus compares the Kingdom of heaven to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. Wedding feast are usually joyful occasions; they certainly are in my family. And we enjoy getting together on other occasions to share food and each other’s company. Jesus was no different. He often accepted invitations to dine with saints and sinners alike. And at the Last Supper, he left us a memorial of his loving presence, when he said: “Do this in memory of me.” So, we join together weekly, or even more often to hear the word of God and partake of this ritual meal through Holy Communion, in anticipation of the banquet that awaits us in the Kingdom of heaven. Saint Pope Pius X is remembered for encouraging frequent communion and for lowering the age of First Communion to seven or eight years old. However, Jesus’ parable is not about peace and joy. The king is hurt when those invited ignore his invitation and then enraged when he sends a second invitation and some mistreat and even kill his servants. The parable, as told by Matthew, includes a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem for its rejection and crucifixion of Jesus. Joy returns when the king sends his servants out into the streets to invite all they can find, good and bad alike, and the hall is filled with guests, which signifies the Church’s mission to all the world. But even then there is a discordant note. One guest refuses to accept the wedding garment, and is cast into the darkness outside. Not all who call themselves Christian accept to live love of God and neighbor as Jesus taught. And not all appreciate the Eucharist for the great gift that it is. Some ignore it, and others, more interested in their farm or business, make no attempt to fashion their life according to the one they receive. And poor Jephthah from the first reading? The joy of his victory was cut short, because of a foolish vow he had made. He had promised: “whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites shall belong to the LORD. I shall offer him up as a burnt offering.” To his dismay, his only daughter was the one who came out to greet him. Sadly, so as not to lose face, Jephtah did as he had vowed; but the sacred author later noted that those who truly know the Lord, know that God dos not accept human sacrifice. We claim not to believe in human sacrifice today, but how many families are still being sacrificed on the altar of greed, war and cruel government policies. Today’s scriptures offer us a promise and a warning: God is always ready to offer his people life and grace, but we often let our misconceptions and prejudices get in the way. The kingdom of heaven is not just about heaven, but the joy of living the way of the Lord here

We live in a time when many people believe that the existence of God is unknowable, that human reason is incapable of knowing whether God exists or that God does not exist. This is not something new. Edith Stein, the towering intellectual saint and martyr the Church honors today, lost her faith in God during her teenage years, despite being brought up in a devout Jewish home. She was the youngest of eleven children. Her widowed mother encouraged all her children to think critically and encouraged them in their studies. Edith’s studies were interrupted by World War I. She became a volunteer nurse at an infectious disease hospital in her home town in Germany. Confronting the suffering of her patients must have been a major factor in choosing the topic of empathy for her doctoral thesis. Even with graduating summa cum laude from the University of Freiburg, she was denied a teaching certificate due to her gender. Instead, Edith became a teaching assistant to her university professor, the renowned philosopher and mathematician, Edmund Husserl. . Edith was constantly writing and studying, but it was not until she read the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila that her life changed dramatically. She was moved to convert to Catholicism and, eventually, to enter into the convent of the Discalced Carmelites. She took the name, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, honoring her patron saint. Her sister, Rosa, also converted and became a tertiary of the Carmelites, living outside the convent, but assisting the sisters in their mission. During the turbulent years of World War II, the leadership of the Carmelites grew concerned for the safety of St. Teresa Benedicta and her sister. They transferred them from Cologne to the Netherlands, thinking that their Jewish backgrounds would not under as much scrutiny. Soon after their transfer, however, the Dutch bishops wrote a strongly worded public letter condemning the abuses of the Nazi regime. Edith Stein also wrote a letter to Pope Pius XI, pleading that Pope must make a similar public statement against the Nazis. It is not known whether the Pope read the letter or not. It was not long after the Dutch bishops letter that the Gestapo rounded up 244 people of Jewish descent in the Netherlands, including Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and her sister, Rosa. They were sent to Auschwitz and murdered just a week later in the gas chambers, probably on August 9th, 1942. In a statement to her Carmelite superiors, Edith wrote: “I beg the Lord to take my life and my death…as atonement for the unbelief of the Jewish People, and that the Lord will be received by his own people and his kingdom shall come in glory, for the salvation of Germany and the peace of the world…” Even after her arrest, she was offered an escape plan, but refused, stating: “If somebody intervened at this point and took away (her) chance to share in the fate of (her) brothers and sisters, that would be utter annihilation.” The writings of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross fill 17 volumes. A woman of integrity, she followed the truth wherever it led. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1999 and is one of six patrons saints of Europe. St. Teresa Benedicta, pray for us. Blessings, Fr. Kevin MacDonald, C.Ss.R.

Los Dominicos “Perros del Señor” Hoy es la fiesta de San Domingo. San Domingo fundó el grupo religioso católico que se llaman Los Dominicos. Pero el nombre que el mismo San Domingo les dio fue La Orden de Predicadores. Los padres dominicos hacen lo que Jesús nos dice en este evangelio. Porque Jesús, sabiendo que él iba dar su vida en la cruz para que conozcamos su amor le dijo a Pedro y sus demás discípulos: "El que quiera venir conmigo, que renuncie a sí mismo, que tome su cruz y me siga…. el que quiera salvar su vida, la perderá…. el que pierda su vida por mí, la encontrará. Esto mismo es lo que hacen los Dominicos hoy en día.Tengo un amigo Dominico que se llama Padre Tadeo Padre Tadeo predica la palabra de Dios. Mas que eso él VIVE la palabra de Dios, viviendo las bienaventuranzas y las obras de la misericordia. Un ejemplo de eso es que Padre Tadeo escribe y visita desde casi veinte años a un preso, Gary, que tiene cadena perpetua en la cárcel. Hay un apodo que tienen los Padres Dominicos. Se han llamado los Perros del Señor. El origen de este apodo es un sueño que supuestamente tenía la mamá de San Domingo tenía durante su embarazo. Ella soñó que un perro salió de su vientre llevando una antorcha prendida. Sea como sea la autenticidad de este sueño nos habla de la fidelidad de los Dominicos a Jesús y a la Iglesia. Porque al igual que la fidelidad de un perro o perra a su dueño o a su dueña los Padres Dominicos son siempre fieles a la palabra de Dios que predican. Nos enseñan perder nuestras vidas viviendo el amor y el espíritu de sacrificio de Jesús. Nos enseñan hacerles caso a estas palabras de Jesús: el que quiera salvar su vida, la perderá..y… el que pierda su vida por mí, la encontrará. Otra cosa es que el Santo Rosario empezó con la Virgen María apareciéndose a San Domingo. Ella le dijo que usara el rezo del Santo Rosario para combatir errores en contra de nuestra fe católica. Oremos: San Domingo, Virgen María ayudenos seguir a Jesús fielmente y ganar nuestra vida con Uds., el Padre ,Espíritu Santo y todos los demás Santos. [email protected]

El Dolor y la Tristeza de TodosJuan Bautista fu el primo de Jesús. Jesús amó mucho a su primo Juan. Es mas Jesús dejó que su primo Juan lo bautizara. Hoy le dicen a Jesús que su primo Juan es muerto. Herodes lo había matado porque le decían cosas malas que estaba haciendo. Imagínense! El querido y bien amado primo de Jesús lo han matado. ¿Pueden imaginar la tristeza de Jesús? Por eso Jesús, lleno de tristeza, quiere ir con sus discípulos y orar y compartir con su propio Papá, Abba celestial la tristeza que siente por la horrible matanza de su valiente primo Juan Bautista. Pero no dejan en paz a Jesús. La gente tiene hambre, hambre de la palabra de Jesús…de Dios. Además la gente de entonces, como la gente de nosotros hoy día tenemos hambre también.Por eso Jesús olvida su tristeza. En vez de descansar él solo. Jesús satisface el hambre del pueblo. Hay un mensaje muy claro para nosotros acá. Porque muchas veces nosotros también somos tristes. Muchas veces la enfermedad o la misma muerte de alguien que queremos mucho nos llena de dolor y de tristeza. Pero si seguimos este bello ejemplo de Jesús pondremos nuestro dolor, nuestra tristeza al lado. Veremos, por ejemplo, el dolor y el hambre y el terror de la gente en Palestina, en Gaza. Pensaremos en la vergüenza que sienten mucha gente del estado de Israel al ver el maltrato de sus vecinos sean cristianos, sean musulmanes. Al igual que Jesús aprenderemos a sentir el dolor y la tristeza no únicamente de nosotros, sino que veremos y nos llenaremos por la tristeza y la opresión de nuestros hermanos y hermanas en muchos lugares del mundo. Jesús, enséñame a sentir el dolor de [email protected]