So Many Blessings

Deacon Tom Writes,

“So Many Blessings”

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

I imagine the Pharisees were feeling pretty happy with themselves thinking they had trapped Jesus with their cleverness. “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar on not?” Jesus dodges the ideological controversy surrounding this question with a practical and rational response.  “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God”. Pretty cleaver answer, isn’t it? But one that also gives us plenty to think about, as Jesus’ answer seems to suggest that we are indebted to both Caesar and God; we live in this world while holding ourselves accountable to the higher standards required of the Kingdom of heaven,

It is not complicated to fulfill our civic responsibilities. We vote, serve on juries, and obey the law. We may run for office or serve on committees that support local elections. 

All and all it is fairly simple. When we claim to be good citizens we may at times be called upon to show proof that we indeed are upholding our civic responsibilities. The same goes for our spiritual lives. We have received many spiritual benefits or perhaps “blessings” is a better description. Yet, if we reflect about our lives, do we ever recollect that we are indebted to God for all that we have received? In all truth we have an obligation to God that requires some sort of “repayment”? If we answer yes, then how do we go about doing this? How can we ever repay God for all that he has done for us? Fortunately we Catholics have many ways of doing this. We can say the Rosary or a Novena or we can sit silently before the Blessed Sacrament. We can go live in a monastery or in a Catholic Worker house. We can read the Liturgy of the Hours or Lectio Divina or even volunteer at a soup kitchen or at Hospice. We can protest the injustice in our world caused by war, poverty, and hunger by working with people who suffer from those conditions.

We Catholics have many ways to show our love for God with the thought that we are trying to repay him for the love he has shown to us. And if we look to Psalm 116 we will see that it asks the very same question, “How can I repay the Lord for all the good done for me”. Then the Psalm goes on to give us this answer…. “I will lift up the cup of salvation…. I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the Lord.” The Psalmist points to the one way that seems the most fitting to thank God for the many blessings given us and that is by our coming to Mass and actively participating in the Liturgy. There we give God the perfect gift, the most worthy sacrifice possible and one of his own choosing – Jesus himself. And, when the Mass has ended, we are sent out to engage the world bringing God’s love, mercy, and compassion to everyone we meet. This, I believe, is a most fitting response to the bountiful blessings that come to us from the hand of God.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom