Feast of Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop; Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Priest; BVM

The Responsorial Psalm sings: “O God, let all the nations praise you!” (Psalm 67), and Leviticus 25: 1-17 gives us one reason, among many, to do it: the wisdom of his laws; the values they teach for the enhancement of life on earth.

The law of the jubilee year made it impossible for a few rich families to acquire all the land, leaving others landless. On the fiftieth year, all land reverted to its original owners. This was God’s way of teaching us that he created the earth for all his children, and wants all his children to enjoy it on equal terms. God is telling us to value people over property. 

If only every Christian in every country began, in the spirit of this law, to value people and help people above all other things, the whole world would be transformed. And in fact, our baptismal consecration as priests commits us to make our every interaction with every person in our lives an act of ministry. If we think of ourselves primarily as salespeople, managers, technicians, investors, entrepreneurs, or moneymakers, without clearly ordering and subordinating all these activities to the good of other people, we simply have not accepted to be what God calls us to be. Our basic identity is to be Christ, to let him continue his life and mission in us as prophet, priest, and king until the “reign of God” is established over every area and activity of human life on earth. If we just make ministering to people our first priority 24/7, the whole world will soon cry out, “O God, let all the nations praise you!” 

In Matthew 14: 1-12 we see a frightening image of ourselves. We would probably not cut off a man’s head to look good by fulfilling a rash, drunken promise as Herod did. But we cut off people’s income to merge companies for a more profit; we cut people’s lives short by choosing pollution over the cost of prevention; we cut the poor out of a proportionate share in planetary income by letting profits dominate policies, foreign and domestic; we go to war and kill combatants and civilians to protect our “national interests” — which tend to be the economic interests of the rich and powerful. In chronic ways, we sacrifice people to prosperity, and the good of other nations to our self interest. People say, “The rich are getting richer and the poor poorer,” and whether it is true or not, it is hard to find strong, dedicated, and voluntary movements in business circles to counteract this trend. In any predominantly Christian country, the existence of a large poor population proves that Christians’ consecration to ministry is not yet our conscious focus in all we do. When it is, then “All the nations will praise you, O God!”  

Initiative: Be a priest. Let helping people be your goal and preoccupation.

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings, Lectionary #406, on the USCCB website here

Fr. David M. Knight (1931-2021) was a priest of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, a prolific writer, and a highly sought after confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master. He authored more than 40 books and hundreds of articles that focus primarily on lay spirituality and life-long spiritual growth.