By Fr. Jose “Joesum” Sumampong, Jr.
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for November 26, 2017 (Solemnity of Christ The King):
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Kindly open your Bible and Read Mt. 25:31-46
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Points for Reflection: I am sharing to my dear readers four stories which have been parts of my collections to help you reflect as the Universal Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ The King, the final Sunday of the liturgical year A.
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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are a famous set of meditations. Written 400 years ago, they’ve changed the lives of millions of people. One of the meditations is entitled “The Call of the King.” It’s made up of two parts.
The first part concerns a great earthly leader who puts out a call for volunteers to join him in a great and noble cause. If we updated the imagery St. Ignatius used, it would go something like this:
Imagine that a dynamic young leader emerges. It is clear to all that this leader is not only immensely talented but also genuinely dedicated to helping others, especially the poor and the powerless.
The young leader’s appeal cuts across every ethnic and economic group. Everyone trusts him. Everyone recognizes that the “hand of God” rests on his shoulder.
Imagine that this leader appears on television and addresses the nation. With remarkable insight and compassion, he spells out programs for eradicating injustice and corruption, freeing our cities of crime, reforming our prison system, and erasing poverty.
Even the most realistic politicians are amazed at his grasp of the problems and his insight into how to deal with them. They conclude that if anyone can transform society, this young person can do it.
The leader concludes his address by appealing for volunteers to join him in his great and noble cause.
And so the first half of the meditation ends with St. Ignatius asking this question
of those making his spiritual exercises:
Would you help such a leader? Would you give freely of yourself, your time, and your money to advance his cause? (Mark Link)
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If we were to look for a modern example of such a leader, we could hardly do better than to point to Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Forty years ago she began working alone among the poorest of the poor
and the lowest of the low in the slums of-Calcutta, India.
She spent every cent she had on an old shack, turning it into a school for small children. It had no tables, no desks, no chairs. Mother Teresa’s chalkboard was the shack’s dirt floor, which she rubbed smooth with an old rag and wrote on with a pointed stick.
Mother Teresa’s example attracted other young women. In 1950 the Holy Father gave her permission to found the Missionaries of Charity.
During a period when other religious orders dwindled in numbers, her order grew rapidly. It now has over 3,000 nuns and brothers, working among the poor in over 70 countries. And over 3 million volunteers assist them.
The most recent figures indicate that Mother Teresa’s single dirt-floor school has expanded to 100 fully equipped schools, 750 mobile medical units, 120 leprosy clinics,
and 150 homes for abandoned street people. Her most recent undertakings include
setting up a home in New York City for abandoned victims of the AIDS virus.
Mother Teresa is living proof that the psychology behind St. Ignatius’ famous meditation is as valid today as it was 400 years ago.
People are still attracted by noble leaders. They are still moved to great heartedness by noble causes. They are still looking for someone, like Mother Teresa, to inspire them and to motivate them. (Illustrated Sunday’s Homilies)
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In 1976, which was the bicentennial year of the birth of USA, a musical entitled 1776 was playing to full houses on Broadway.
The play dealt with those critical days in USA’s history when their forefathers debated whether or not to declare their independence from England.
At one point in the debate, the future of our nation was like a great tottering wall. It could fall backward into the past and continued domination by England or forward into the future to newfound hope and freedom.
One night John Adams was terribly worried about the outcome. Standing all alone in the darkness of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the great debate was raging, he began to sing in words like these:
“Is anyone out there? Does anyone care? Does anyone see what I see?” (Mark Link)
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Two taxidermists stopped before a window in which an owl was on display. They immediately began to criticize the way it was mounted. Its eyes were not natural; its wings were not in proportion with its head; its feathers were not neatly arranged; and its feet could be improved. When they had finished with their criticism. the old owl turned his head. .. and winked at them … (IMPROVING ON GOD, Pulpit Helps)