JOSEPH HOLLCRAFT’S BLOG

Miseries: Talaiporia (Gk.): meaning “hardship”, “trouble”, “calamity”, or ‘misery”

From the earliest days of her teaching, the Church has always taught that misery, which oppresses man, cannot be separated from our fallen nature and inclination to sin (CCC, 403). Thus, Christ bore our misery and iniquity making them his own (CCC, 1505), and in so doing, atones for man’s fallen nature. In a mode of living in solidarity with the poor, we are to remove all selfishness that is “incompatible with the poor”, and give willingly that we might alleviate misery (CCC, 2445).

There are two accounts of talaiporia in the New Testament. In his lone treatment of miseries, Paul teaches that the ways of the wicked are nothing but “ruin and misery” (Rom.3:16). Interestingly, Paul uses parts of the body to illustrate that every aspect of the unrighteous person uses his senses and faculty to bring ruin upon the larger body of Christ (cf. Rom.3:11-18). Paul condemns the ways of the wicked who live according to the letter of the law, and fail to live according to the grace of the law (Rom.3:21-31).

One of the principle obstacles that lead man into self-centeredness and a blinded lifestyle is an over emphasis on riches. The idea that we are more by increasing in material goods is a slap in the face to those who go without the essentials to live. We are not more, by what we add, but by how we subtract. Being more is not about having more, but having less. Assured of this great truth of the spiritual life, James calls down divine judgment and misery upon those who hoard wealth for their own personal interest and gain (cf. James 5:1-6). One of the overarching calls of the faithful Christian is to be at the service of the poor and those who have less. Such a call has at its core, the vocation to serve Christ! Recall the words from Scripture: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt.25:40).

This 26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time comes with it a particular message to our contemporary age and current economic crisis: Whatever means you may have in material goods, wealth, and even your time, be sure you are discerning ways in which you could be alleviating the tension and suffering of those who have been stricken by the worst. It is a time where we need to be thinking about ways we can offer the hand of Christ. Remember Christ’s words: “For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward” (Mk.9:41).

“part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery’s shadow or reflection: the fact that you don’t merely suffer, but have to keep on thinking about t hefact thta you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.”–C. S. Lewis

Primary Texts Consulted

• Catholic Bible. Suggested trans. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 1997.

Greatest: Meizon (Gk.): meaning “elder”, “greater”, “greatest”, or “more”

Greatness is charity, the most supreme of all the theological virtues (CCC, 1826). Placing faith and hope at its service, charity is the greatest virtue because it is the social commandments that demands we lose ourselves for the sake of the gospel (CCC, 1889, 2055). Greatness is achieved when God is the goal of all our desires (CCC, 2550).

The above Greek term can be found 45 times in the New Testament with 29 coming from the gospels. This study will focus in on Mark’s usage of greatest. The first use of greatest can be found in Mark’s parable of seeds, where he illustrates that the Kingdom of God’s greatness, in its size and volume, will blossom forth out of the most humble beginnings (we see this in the calling of the first twelve) (Mk.4:32). After already introducing the term greatness and tying it with simplicity, Mark forges on with the same theme in his most explicit statement on true greatness: that to be like a child, trustworthy and arms open wide, ready to be counted last to be counted first, is to achieve true greatness (Mk.9:33-37). Lastly, Mark concludes his threefold treatment of “the greatest” by giving it a practical definition: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mk.12:31) (cf. CCC definition). Our entire faith-based lifestyle ought to be a living commentary to this one great commandment.

This 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time places the whole discussion of being great at the heart of true wisdom. Such wisdom finds its ingenuity by living under the authority of another to gain insight by discipline and law. Only when we live in the poverty of status and prestige do we become great like that of a little child, being obedient to parents. Christ places the child at the center of the Kingdom of God structure to remind all believers that the powerless will always be closest to God’s heart, because by nature, the child is lenient upon their parents for all things. So let us claim the revolutionary categories of greatness that Christ prescribes for us in today’s gospel: not wanting in the categories of power and prestige, but wanting in the categories of service and humility.

“There is a great man that makes every man feels small, but the real great man is the man who makes every man feels great.”

G.K. Chesterton

Primary Texts Consulted

1. Catholic Bible. Suggested trans. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 1997.

Profit: Ophelos (Gk): meaning “advantage”, or “profit”. It conveys a sense of benefit by accumulation.

The treatment of profit is vast in the CCC as each of the four pillars contains some aspect of this word. Whether it is the literal sense and its economic quality (cf. CCC, 2424, 2426, 2432), or the spiritual sense in the context of merit and spirituality, profit is very prevalent in the CCC. For this brief look at profit, I will look at the pre-eminent definition concerning the moral life in Christ. The CCC draws from the biblical text below from James to highlight that we profit in our actions by engaging the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. In the case of the spiritual works of mercy: instructing, advising, consoling, comforting, or corporal works of mercy: feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, burying the dead, we profit by coming to the aid of our brothers and sisters who are most in need (cf. CCC, 2447).

Profit can be found numerous times throughout the bible, but it is the aforementioned Greek, ophelos, that can be found three times in the New Testament. In Paul’s lone use, he puts into question the worth of suffering if there is no heavenly reward (1 Cor.15:32). Paul’s theology is replete with instruction on the redemptive value of suffering. James places the question of profit at the heart and center of his catechesis on faith and works. He illustrates the question of justification by examining the relationship between faith and works, and how they are interdependent upon each other. Essentially, one cannot be independent of each other and expect to profit a life in Christ (cf. James 2:14-18). As the Ignatius Commentary to James’ epistle explains: “just as faith apart from works is dead, so works apart from faith is dead. If we have right doctrine, but fail in right living, our doctrine is useless. So too, if we are careful about life but careless about doctrine, that will not benefit us either” (Hahn and Minch, 17).

In this 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, we are called to examine the nature of profiteering in Christ. The closing verse to the gospel of Mark sets the tone to understand how we are to gain this advantage in Christ: “for whoever will save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life will save it” (Mk.8:35). This chief paradox of the Christian faith crystallizes for us the path to gain Christ: deny self, pick up our cross and follow Christ (cf. Mk.8:34). The central theme to this weeks reading goes no farther then understanding that profit is gained by losing self in abandonment to Christ and trusting in his ways not our ways.

“Price is a crazy and incalculable thing, while value is an intrinsic and indestructible thing.”

–G.K. Chesterton

Primary Texts Consulted

1. Catholic Bible. Suggested trans. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 1997.
3. Hahn, Scott and Minch, Curtis. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The letters of St. James, the First Letters of St. Peter and the Letter of St. Jude, RSV, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2008.

No Partiality: Prosopolepsia (Gk.): meaning “respect of persons”. The word also communicates the error in being partial:“the fault of one who when called on to give judgment has respect of the outward circumstances of man and not to their intrinsic merits, and so prefers, as the more worthy, one who is rich, high born, or powerful, to another who does not have these qualities.”

Respecting one another is at the very heart of the cardinal virtue of Justice. Justice is that virtual compass that gives people their due. The CCC states that Justice towards men disposes one to respect the rights of others and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good” (CCC, 1807). This moral virtue invites us to seek God above all else and simultaneously steer away from the provocative ideology that true happiness is found “in human fame or power, or in any human achievement - however beneficial it may be - such as science, technology, and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love” (CCC 1723). The CCC goes on to quote Cardinal Newman in a most insightful statement on improper behavior towards wealth: “All bow down before wealth. Wealth is that to which the multitude of men pay an instinctive homage. They measure happiness by wealth; and by wealth they measure respectability” (CCC, 1723). Therefore, with the grace of our Lord in the gift of fortitude, we rise up to the challenges that surround us all in loving each individual as created in the image and likeness of God (cf. CCC, 1889).

 We find the above Greek term four times in the New Testament. Three from the apostle to the Gentiles (Paul), and one from the first bishop of Jerusalem (James). In his treatment of God’s righteous judgment, Paul makes clear that the Jews, because they are the Jews, do not have the upper hand on the Gentiles, because they are gentiles. Rather, God’s favor will rest with those who live in God’s righteousness (cf. Rom.2:1-16). In his letter to Ephesians, he strikes a chord with the need for the master/slave relationship to be understood in light of our relationship with God who is the master of all persons. In this case, Paul appears to be making a case for the dignity of the human person, no matter what status in society (cf. Eph.6:5-9). In his last charge, Paul reminds us that no matter what our position is here on earth, God shows no partiality and every last penny will be paid according to our merit here on earth (cf. Col.3:25). In the last usage found in the NT, James juxtaposes the poor and the rich as God would see them, and in so doing, exhorts the faithful to show no favoritism towards the wealthy (cf. James 2:1-5). James calls for the principle of solidarity towards one another realized in the virtues of justice and charity. 

This 23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time affords us the opportunity to remind ourselves that life here on earth is not the accumulation of things, but rendering service to persons; not the accruing of wealth, but the gift we can give to the poor. Over the course of our lives, God gives us multiple opportunities to render service to him in truth and charity. Let us not fail in our opportunity to reach out to the person who might be living in the margins of society, or those folks most in need. Oppression of the poor takes place because we fail to live in spiritual poverty. With that singular grace that comes to us from being a child of God, let us be united with our brothers and sisters in Christ expecting nothing in return, but only the joy of doing the Father’s will.

Furthermore, God’s call to show no partiality towards any one person also includes the respect for persons from natural conception to natural death. God has granted us a great power in the freedom to choose, and we ought to see this truth in light of the dignity of life. To make a choice has a profound moral quality to it, and we must respect that each decision we make ought to be rooted in the gift of life.

“If there is a lack of respect for the right to life and to a natural death, if human conception, gestation and birth are made artificial, if human embryos are sacrificed to research, the conscience of society ends up losing the concept of human ecology and, along with it, that of environmental ecology. It is contradictory to insist that future generations respect the natural environment when our educational systems and laws do not help them to respect themselves.”

–Pope Benedict XVI

Primary Texts Consulted

• Catholic Bible. Suggested trans. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
•Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 1997.