Using the meek to confound the proud

Well, here it is the 3rd Tuesday of the month and that meant a meeting in Fresno. My usual routine is to travel to Fresno on Monday night, then get up and go to the 6:45AM Mass before the meeting starts at 8AM. But I didn’t finish my tasks early enough yesterday to drive safely down, so I got up at 5 this morning, showered, shaved and got to Fresno at about 7:15. I intended to make the 5:30 Mass in Fresno before coming back to Stockton, but the meeting didn’t end until 6:30!!! So, as a result, I didn’t get to Mass today or receive the Eucharist. Bummer. But I did get to listen to the Mass on EWTN on the way down and hear the homily—at least I was able to get the Liturgy of the Word. Of course, since it was a long meeting I didn’t get a chance to meditate on the Word much. I’ll attempt to come up with something on them after I copy and paste the following I found on the website of the Capuchin Brother’s on the Feast Day of one of the Doctors of the Church: I’ll do it in honor of my guardian angel and Alicia’s fiancé, Lorenzo.

SAINT LAURENCE OF BRINDISI
CAPUCHIN PRIEST
Born Julius Caesar Russo, Saint Laurence entered the Venetian province of the Capuchin Friars in 1575. Ordained in 1582, having completed his ecclesiastical studies as well as becoming most proficient at Hebrew, Greek, German, Bohemian, Spanish and French. Laurence began to preach throughout Northern Italy and beyond. His success at preaching is attributed to his extensive use of Sacred Scripture. Between 1599 and 1613 Laurence established the Order in Bohemia, Austria and Germany, thereby reclaiming many souls from Protestantism. He also displayed his skill as a diplomat when in 1614 he was able to restore peace between France and Spain. In fact, it was in true Franciscan fashion, as a missionary of peace, that he finally died at Lisbon whilst on a mission to Spain on behalf of the oppressed people of Naples. Laurence was for the majority of his Capuchin life a major superior in which office he continually strove to stabilise the Order, balancing the rigour of primitive Capuchin life with the needs of the time. He is likewise remembered for his great theological work "Opera Omnia" of fifteen tomes in size and characterised yet again by the prolific use of Scripture.

In the life of St Laurence of Brindisi, we see a man full of the courage and daring of Christ whose spirit carried him throughout the long and arduous years that he was engaged in a most trying apostolate. Of him it can be truly said that he possessed the special gifts that adorned the Churches' first Apostles and men were moved to the practice of virtue more by his example than by his words. Especially noticeable in Laurence's approach to life was his spirit of fortitude which enabled him to announce the Good News fearlessly and constantly, even among the very Jews of Rome.

Laurence's power and effectiveness as a preacher which was witnessed to the Christian life derived from the intense interior life he managed to observe during the course of his busy life. The two great loves of his life were the Mass and the Blessed Virgin. The Eucharistic Sacrifice was the centre of his existence; he had on rare occasions been know to spend up to four hours saying Mass and in 1610 in Genoa on Christmas Day, he took a staggering 16 hours celebrating in Ecotacy, weeping with love and adoration. Also extraordinary was Laurence's love for Mary, from whom he attributed receiving his vocation, his success in the apostolate and especially his knowledge of Hebrew. He regarded Mary as the font of Mercy and the kindest of Mothers.

It belonged to Pope John XXIII in our own day and age to further honour this amazing son of St Francis by proclaiming him Doctor of the Universal Church. Our Lord chooses the humble of the earth to confound the proud. In St Laurence of Brindisi he called a humble son of St Francis to further increase the light of Christ in the world by his powerful preaching and prolific writings.

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Now, on to the readings:
Ex 14:21-15:1

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so turned it into dry land. When the water was thus divided, the children of Israel marched into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. The Egyptians followed in pursuit; all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and charioteers went after them right into the midst of the sea.

In the night watch just before dawn the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloudupon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic; and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly drive. With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians.

Then the LORD told Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their charioteers." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth.
The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea, when the LORD hurled them into its midst. As the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh's whole army that had followed the children of Israel into the sea. Not a single one of them escaped. But the children of Israel had marched on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.

Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day from the power of the Egyptians. When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore and beheld the great power that the LORDhad shown against the Egyptians, they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses.

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

Mt 12:46-50

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside,wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you."

But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."

I can’t help it. Every time I read the story of the parting of the Red Sea, I picture Charleton Heston as Moses holding up the staff to keep the waters parted and to serve as inspiration to the Israelites to keep moving forward toward the Promised Land.

I never realized until the last couple of years, though, that Moses was probably not the bold, self-assured man that good ole Chuck Heston portrayed him as. Instead, he was just an ordinary, humble man who said, “Yes!” when God asked him to lead the people.

As the article on St. Laurence points out, Our Lord chooses the humble of the earth to confound the proud. It’s why He chose to be born of a virgin in a stable. What could confound people more?