Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr

Today's Mass Readings

Our memorial of the first century Bishop and Martyr Irenaeus may seem very distant and disconnected from our present experience. “After all,” we might say, “what can someone who lived in the earliest centuries of the Church have to tell us today?” Perhaps the question with reference to the liturgy of the Eucharist is answered by the way Irenaeus understands and presents the person of Jesus. His gift to us is introducing Christ with a special emphasis which is so needed today.

Irenaeus clearly argued that Christ was the new Adam, and that by taking on our humanity, Christ was able to restore and go beyond the intended human qualities meant for the first Adam. This meant that anyone, responding to grace to choose rightly, could achieve close union with person of Christ through the gift of our own humanness. His famous quotation, “The glory of God is man fully alive” continues to speak to us and calls us to a basic stewardship and reverence for our humanity and our union with all humanity. It also means caring for our common home.

In this context of reverence and stewardship, today’s Gospel example of Jesus curing a leper is another teaching moment about humanness. It is not just about physical healing but Jesus is helping someone take their rightful place in the human family. In our own small way do we give glory to God by helping someone by word and deed feel more alive, more human? If we don’t or can’t, why not?

Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB