Letters From Home

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for the Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch by Dr. Scott Hahn.

Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com

Readings:
Exodus 17:8-13
Psalm 121:1-8
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Luke 18:1-8

The Lord is our guardian, beside us at our right hand, interceding for us in all our spiritual battles.

In today’s Psalm we’re told to lift our eyes to the mountains, that our help will come from Mount Zion and the Temple—the dwelling of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

Joshua and the Israelites, in today’s First Reading, are also told to look to the hilltops. They are to find their help there—through the intercession of Moses—as they defend themselves against their mortal foes, the Amalekites.

Notice the image: Aaron and Hur standing on each side of Moses, holding his weary arms so that he can raise the staff of God above his head. Moses is being shown here as a figure of Jesus, who also climbed a hilltop, and on Mount Calvary stretched out His hands between heaven and earth to intercede for us against the final enemy—sin and death (see 1 Corinthians 15:26).

By the staff of God, Moses bested Israel’s enemies (see Exodus 7:8–12; 8:1–2), parted the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:16) and brought water from the Rock (see Exodus 17:6).

The Cross of Jesus is the new staff of God, bringing about a new liberation from sin, bringing forth living waters from the body of Christ, the new Temple of God (see John 2:19–21; 7:37–39; 19:34; 1 Corinthians 10:4).

Like the Israelites and the widow in today’s Gospel, we face opposition and injustice—at times from godless and pitiless adversaries.

We, too, must lift our eyes to the mountains—to Calvary and the God who will guard us from all evil.

We must pray always and not be wearied by our trials, Jesus tells us today. As Paul exhorts in today’s Epistle, we need to remain faithful, to turn to the inspired Scriptures—given by God to train us in righteousness.

We must persist, so that when the Son of Man comes again in kingly power, He will indeed find faith on earth.

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for the Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus by Mr. Clement Harrold.

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The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for Friday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time by Dr. John Bergsma.

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The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for Thursday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time by Dr. Scott Hahn.

Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for Wednesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time by Dr. John Bergsma.

Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for Tuesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time by Dr. Shane Owens.

Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for Monday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time by Dr. Scott Hahn.

Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com

Readings:
2 Kings 5:14–17
Psalm 98:1–4
2 Timothy 2:8–13
Luke 17:11–19

A foreign leper is cleansed and in thanksgiving returns to offer homage to the God of Israel. We hear this same story in both the First Reading and Gospel today.

There were many lepers in Israel in Elisha’s time, but only Naaman the Syrian trusted in God’s Word and was cleansed (see Luke 5:12–14). Today’s Gospel likewise implies that most of the ten lepers healed by Jesus were Israelites—but only a foreigner, the Samaritan, returned.

In a dramatic way, we’re being shown today how faith has been made the way to salvation, the road by which all nations will join themselves to the Lord, becoming His servants, gathered with the Israelites into one chosen people of God, the Church (see Isaiah 56:3–8).

Today’s Psalm also looks forward to the day when all peoples will see what Naaman sees—that there is no God in all the earth except the God of Israel.

We see this day arriving in today’s Gospel. The Samaritan leper is the only person in the New Testament who personally thanks Jesus. The Greek word used to describe his “giving thanks” is the word we translate as “Eucharist.”

And these lepers today reveal to us the inner dimensions of the Eucharist and sacramental life.

We, too have been healed by our faith in Jesus. As Naaman’s flesh is made again like that of a little child, our souls have been cleansed of sin in the waters of Baptism. We experience this cleansing again and again in the Sacrament of Penance—as we repent our sins, beg and receive mercy from our Master, Jesus.

We return to glorify God in each Mass, to offer ourselves in sacrifice—falling on our knees before our Lord, giving thanks for our salvation.

In this Eucharist, we remember “Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David,” Israel’s covenant king. And we pray, as Paul does in today’s Epistle, to persevere in this faith—that we too may live and reign with Him in eternal glory.

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for Saturday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time by Mr. Clement Harrold.

Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com