Reflection for Sunday – October 13, 2024

October 10, 2024Denise MackSunday Readings Homilies

Readings: Wisdom 7: 7-11; Hebrews 4: 12-13; Mark 10: 17-30
Preacher: Deni Mack

A man I know well exemplifies today’s Wisdom reading and Psalm 90! He now awaits God’s eternal embrace. Today’s first reading from Wisdom describes Dick’s life. He prayed and prudence was given him and the spirit of Wisdom came to him. All good things together came to him in Wisdom’s company. Dick gained Wisdom of heart.

Dick worships with deep faith. On Monday, he took his regular walk slowly down New York city sidewalks to his parish church. When he stumbled and fell a stranger helped him up. He continued his walk, climbed the stairs to church, turned his walker around, sat in it, and struggled to stand for the Gospel. A saintly parishioner, a nurse, saw him bleeding and watched a lump appear on his head and grow. She comforted him, called an ambulance and got him to hospital where CAT scans reveal that there is nothing they can do. He sleeps much of the time, apparently is in no pain and when he wakes, he says, “I love you” to the love of his life.

Dick is full of gratitude, appreciation and joy. He, his wife, children and grandchildren show love and share their wisdom with kindness. Recently he put together a team of lawyers to defend Annunciation House in El Paso. His legal team challenges Texas Attorney General Paxton’s efforts to shut down the very oasis where refugees find asylum. Annunciation House is well documented by Rochester women religious such as St. Janet Korn who volunteered there. That is just the most recent example of how God blesses his gifts and how Dick serves humanity, professionally as well as personally.

God seems to have fulfilled today’s psalm in the person of this 91-year-old child of God, brother, husband, father, friend and colleague. Dick has been filled with kindness and is very glad. His work is seen by law students from New York to the west coast. God has prospered the work of Dick’s hands and the wisdom of his soul from Kyiv to Nairobi. Dick is a founder of the International Senior Lawyers Project; they honored Dick with their lifetime achievement award. The keynote speaker at the award ceremony, a former United States president, did his homework; he praised specific ISLP’s vital services to humanity.

Dick is, by far, not the only one who has lived these scriptures. Margie, a Jewish woman of incomparable compassion was indeed a tikkun olam, repairer of the world. Among her many gentle contributions to humanity is her sponsoring Afghanistan families and supporting girls through Mercy High School. God prospered Margie’s work. She researched the gravesites of Jews who survived the holocaust and are buried in Mt. Hope cemetery. Margie was a book reviewer, par excellence and a mensch of a friend; she was an educator and curator working in art museums. Margie, too, lived a life that Wisdom praises in today’s reading; Margie is an answer to todays’ psalmist’s prayer: she prayed and prudence was given her and the spirit of wisdom came to her. Margie was filled with kindness and was very glad. Her work was seen by lovers of beauty, and by all of us who are inspired by holocaust survivors and refugees’ strength and resilience.

Among the dearest people of Wisdom who have graced our world is St. Teresa of Avila whose feast day is this Tuesday. Teresa founded 17 convents and was spiritual director to St John of the Cross who was 27 years her junior. They both suffered suspicion and interrogation by the inquisition. Her wise words and deeds inspire and empower us as we say with her, ” Christ has no body now but mine.”

Both Dick’s and Margie’s words and deeds evoke St. Teresa. I’ve been with Dick several times at church when an usher hurried down the steps to carry Dick’s walker up and inside and at the end of Mass another usher carried his walker down the steps with gallant graceful charm. Each time, Dick thanked each usher by name and announced with joy, “You are doing the corporal works of mercy.” He was glad to praise another, like today’s psalmist prayed. Paraphrasing Teresa, Christ has no hands but ours.

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Denise Mack

DENI MACK, D. Min., served 20 years in Faith Formation and RCIA and 20 + years as Pastoral Associate. Deni and her husband Ron have four children and eleven living grandchildren. While working full-time for the church Deni earned three Masters degrees (Education, Scripture, Divinity) and a Doctorate in Ministry (Spiritual Theology). She isnow Pastoral Associate Emerita.

“Nothing is more challenging, takes more out of me and seems to reach more people with God’s love than preparing, with care, homilies for the people of God.I am delighted this website gives voice to people applying biblical faith to life who love to tell the stories.Thank you for this opportunity.

I sit with the scripture and find it lives in people all around us.The cloud of witnesses we meet in daily life are joined to those in scripture and tradition; we are all one family.At least eight people a day ask for bus passes or food or rent assistance from our parish.We listen attentively and learn from them.Together we develop networks and partnerships to not only meet immediate needs but challenge the systems that keep people poor.The light of the Gospel shines on each person and event.People’s struggles drove me to accept a priest’s invitation to accompany his return to Seminary in 1972 and still they drive my dependence on God and desire to grow in compassion, love and service in response.”