If you look up the origins of the word “humility,” you will find that it is related to humus, dirt or earth. Gardeners and farmers know that it is a particularly rich kind of soil, composed by the decay of leaves and other organic material that has fallen on it. Too often we misunderstand it to mean not accepting compliments, relentlessly putting ourselves down, failing to accept our gifts in a positive way. None of this carries with it the meaning of being grounded in reality. Both our limits and our abilities, our grace and even our sin fall upon our lives to enrich us. In their different ways, Sirach and Jesus tell us to accept our lives, to be aware of who we are. Rather than presuming we deserve a higher-up place at the table, we ought to wait to be called to our rightful place, to be blessed with the joy of the righteous.

The term “fair-weather friend” might need a technological-era updating. Perhaps “short attention span friend” would work. In our world of multiple communication platforms, it somehow has become increasingly easy to lose track of friends. We shouldn't be surprised when we reach out and they've moved on due to our indifference. The God who is love and whose covenant is one-hundred percent about relationship is depicted in the same way by Jesus today.

Tomorrow is the Solemnity of the Assumption. Mary stands with the “great cloud of witnesses” described in Hebrews: those who kept their eyes firmly fixed on Jesus. We may not be thinking of Mary when we hear Jesus’ harsh words in today’s Gospel, but when she said “yes” to Gabriel, it carried the risk of the rejection and division that Jesus describes. As the early Christians surely knew, to hold Jesus as the sole leader and perfecter of faith meant that you would likely find yourself divided from those in your household who held other beliefs.

“Teach us to number our days aright.” Is there a more wise and prudent prayer for people of all ages than this verse from today’s responsorial psalm? As we savor the lovely but limited days of summer we are reminded that nothing lasts forever. In today's first reading, the master teacher (Qoheleth) asserts “All things are vanity!” while the Gospel of Luke describes the ease with which our possessions can possess us. The second reading makes the point as well: “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” We see the problem of wealth from both sides today —from the viewpoint of the wealthy person who inevitably has to leave his riches to someone else and from the perspective of the potential inheritor who is at odds with his brother over how to divide their inheritance. The problem is clear; the wisdom is also.

Have you ever watched a master chef at work or a professional musician or athlete and wondered “How do they do that? They make it look so easy.” We are naturally attracted to someone who excels at something, a person whose heart is obviously in their work, and we can’t help but wonder if we are capable of anything like that. This was likely true for the disciples as well. They had seen Jesus at prayer on many occasions (this is especially true in Luke's Gospel) and it was obvious that someone, somehow was shaping/transforming the life of their teacher. Abraham, too, gives us an example of a conversation with God that goes beyond the ordinary approach to divine petitioning. Meanwhile, Psalm 138 assures us that when we cry for help God will answer—for Christ has become our mediator and we are one with him in baptism.

Summer is in full swing and tent camping is often a memory-making part of it—sometimes just because of the difficulties of putting up the tent! In today’s first reading we see Abraham sitting at the entrance to his tent and welcoming three unexpected strangers. By the end of the story God's covenant with Abraham is renewed with the promise that Sarah will give birth to a son.

Love God. Love neighbor. This is our call, the sum of all it means to live as Christ’s holy people in the world. Moses told the people that the law —all that sums up this call to love God and neighbor—isn’t far off, something distant and hard to reach. It is in our hearts and minds, on our lips. We have only to live what has been instilled in us through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, the fullness of God's love that dwells in us through Christ.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus sent the seventy-two out to prepare people’s hearts and minds for him. The disciples whom he sent were to rely on the hospitality of those whom they served, and above all, to proclaim the kingdom of God. When they returned, joyful that so many had been healed through Christ's power, Jesus told them that true joy is to know our names are written in heaven.

We return to Ordinary Time this Sunday, and with this new season we focus on what it means to be a person who is called by God for some definite purpose. Elisha recognized God's call in Elijah's greeting and prepared immediately to follow. The people who came to Jesus seemed ready to follow, yet each had reasons to linger behind. As people who are given the freedom to follow or to stay behind, we must ask ourselves what we are ready to do for the sake of Christ and the call of the gospel. What are you called to do at this time in your life? Are you prepared to leave behind the things that get in the way of living as a Christian?

The crowd that followed Jesus to the deserted place was fed, body and spirit. Jesus wanted them to know that in his presence they would find care and compassion. He would not let them go hungry. Like Abram who encountered God in the bread and wine offered by Melchizedek, they experienced first-hand the abundance of God’s love. These sacred meals prefigured the meal most profound, the supper shared by Jesus and his disciples on the night before he died, the feast in which we share in the Eucharist. Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. On this day, we appreciate anew the great love of Jesus Christ for us and for the world and experience first-hand the presence of Christ in the sacred meal.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We say these words as we make the sign of the cross, the sign of God’s saving love for us in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. God who created the heavens, earth, and all who dwell in it. Jesus Christ, through whom we are offered salvation and peace. The Holy Spirit, who breathes life, leads us to the truth, and strengthens us to live as God’s holy people. On this Solemnity, let us pause to reflect upon the mystery of the Holy Trinity, three persons in one God. As we name the mystery, may we come to know God’s love more deeply and live it more profoundly.

In today’s Gospel Luke, the author of Acts, links the “time of Pentecost” to the Jewish Feast of Weeks. This was a harvest festival, fifty days after Passover. The feast became a celebration of God's gift of the Torah, the law of Moses, remembering Exodus 19. Luke suggests that just as the Feast of Weeks was a culmination of Passover, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was a culmination of the Resurrection.