Dear Folks,
Now we are past Matthew 10 and are into Matthew 11. Chapter 10 was about being attacked by those who did not want to hear the Gospel. Chapter 11 challenges people unwilling to hear the Gospel. In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of things revealed to the childlike that have been hidden from the learned and the clever. The Dunning-Kruger effect is about people who know the least being the most likely to overestimate how much they know. I think sometimes one of the biggest obstacles to learning is the assumption that we already know. I think that one of the marks of a good education is a frustration with how much we don’t know. There has been much debate about what Jesus means when He speaks of becoming like a little child (See Matthew 18:1-5). It is certainly a call for humility. I would also suggest that children are so often wonderfully curious. I’ve noticed they take in a lot of what is around them (I was warned not to say anything around them that I don’t want to hear repeated). Perhaps one of the things that Jesus calls us to is hungrily soaking up what we can about being disciples.
Next week we will get into Matthew 13. This chapter is packed with parables, and some might be more familiar than others. It is worth reading as a chunk, and then pondering the
point Jesus makes in verses 51 and 52.
As we continue to open up after the lockdown, we shall continue to refine our practices based on experience and based on changing directives as they change.
There has been some discussion of streaming the Mass less often, and by the end of July the thought is to stream perhaps one weekday Mass each week for shut-ins. We are trying to
strike the balance between reaching as many people as possible on the one hand, and avoiding defining down the practice of the faith on the other. Some of you remember when there was no Saturday night Mass. It was added with a view to giving access to those whose work schedule on Sunday did not allow them to get to Mass, and they could at least come to the vigil. However, what wound up happening is many people come on Saturday evening so they can sleep in and lounge around the house in their bathrobe on Sunday. People have actually told me that this is what they do. The Lord’s Day has now become their personal
day. What was supposed to help people connect to the Lord’s Day has now diminished the meaning of the Lord’s Day for many people. We want to avoid doing that again.
Of course, this is 2020, and all plans are subject to change when our situation changes and we learn new things. This is Fourth of July weekend, and a good time to remember that, whatever difficulties our country may be going through, whatever flaws in our practice of the American ideals, we are very blessed to have this country. It is important to remember how many people have
sacrificed so that we could have these blessings, and may that inspire us to use the gifts we have to pass this country on to the next generation in the best possible shape.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim
Fr. Jim Wyse 