Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
God of might, giver of every good gift,
put into our hearts the love of your name,
so that, by deepening our sense of reverence,
you may nurture in us what is good
and, by your watchful care,
keep safe what you have nurtured.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . . .
The prayer which the Church uses today to gather and offer all the prayers of the people to the Lord asks for two key graces to be nurtured by divine Providence: love of God’s name, and the grace which aids that love, a deepened sense of reverence. Jesuits, ever praying with the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola in mind, often seek the grace of reverence. Reverence, according to St. Ignatius, is indispensable for us if we are going to truly live our lives fully. In what he calls the Principle and Foundation, he says that the whole reason for us being created, the very meaning of our existence, is to “praise, reverence and serve God, our Lord.”
The exhortation to reverence also seems to boom loudly from the readings today, from Sirach’s call to humility as the path to relationship to God, to the description we hear in the letter to the Hebrews of the awe-inspiring majesty of the God to whom we draw close when we pray. All of this prepares us for Jesus’ words to those inclined to seek places of honor and esteem: “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11) Indeed, the image of the presumptuous wedding guest, seating himself at the table of honor only to be booted to allow for a different guest, is a parable which our ears need to hear. Particularly in our day there is much competition to gain name recognition, honor, and popularity. Electronic media not only makes such notoriety easier to acquire than before, it also makes it far more lucrative. Yet, Christ Jesus, God made man to show us what it means to live truly and fully, lived humbly and told His disciples not to seek places of honor, not to assume their superiority to others, not to look for repayment for their generosity. He tells them this so that they may follow Him. May we pray for the grace of reverence, of humility and awe before our God, seeking only to love and serve Him.