By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted August 29, 2025

(See the readings for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

“Downton Abbey,” “Upstairs-Downstairs,” “Gosfield Park” and most recently the HBO series “The Gilded Age” all share a similar setting of the upper class and lower class structures of particular societies. In these novels, series and movies the class distinctions and societal norms that govern their members are dramatically portrayed.

Though charity and kindness, mercy and compassion are not limited to one class or the other, there are clear boundaries between the two. In these portrayals there is a clear but invisible line that should not be crossed.

Many societies impose these invisible lines. Not every society uses wealth to do so. Some might use racial or ethnic lines. Some might use religious lines. Some might use educational lines. Some might use political lines. It might be good to think in these general, though not absolute, terms in considering Jesus’ parable in this Sunday’s Gospel.

Jesus is in the home of one of the “leading” Pharisees for dinner. He is a guest. He has been invited. It is in this setting that he offers two lessons. The first is on humility, the second on charity.

The lesson in humility is multifaceted. As a guest one should not presume anything of self-importance. The guest is one who accepts the graciousness of the host. The surroundings should matter little. As a guest, one subjects oneself to the charity of the host. Therefore one should take the lowest seat, for all that is received is a gift. If, according to the host’s graciousness one is moved to a “higher” place, then so be it. In the big picture it does not matter.

In humility, the guest recognizes the gift of the invitation, the gift of the companionship, the gift of the meal. His or her thankfulness is receiving whatever is offered, not presuming on the host’s generosity. In this case, societal status is trumped by the guest’s humility.

The lesson in charity is seen in the second part of the Gospel. Here Jesus turns upside down the presumptions of distinction. Here charity is seen in its purest form. In pure charity, the motive is helping someone in need. It is pure in that nothing is expected in return. The shock value of Jesus’ parable is that the people who he suggests inviting have literally nothing to offer in return for the invitation.

The context in which Jesus offers this lesson is important. It is probable that the guests of the “leading Pharisee” are the upper echelon of that town or society. Jesus is challenging them to cross the invisible line in love.

The first reading may lend us some additional insights into this teaching. Sirach writes: “My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.” Humility helps us to go beyond a person who shares with others, a gift-giver, to a person who treats others with compassion. He or she genuinely cares for the other person, as a person, and then is able to see the needs of that person and seek to help them.

Perhaps the family of our own St. Katharine Drexel can provide us with an illustration of people who took these words to heart and manifested the power of humility and charity. Her father Francis Drexel and her step-mother Emma Bouvier were “high society.” Katharine was often referred to as an heiress. The family finance business, Drexel and Company, was well established and highly profitable. Her uncle Anthony founded Drexel University.

Charity was the hallmark of this family. Every year, Emma would spend about $30,000 (in 19th century money) in gifts to the poor. This was not done through some agency or at a distance. She was hands-on: Three days a week Emma would welcome the poor to her home and distribute assistance as needed.

Katharine and her sisters grew up in a home where humble charity was paramount. She would later use her inheritance to fund the work of the order she founded, the Sisters of the Most Blessed Sacrament. They too would cross that invisible line to help two groups of people most in need at that time: Native Americans and African-Americans. The effects of their humble charity continue to this day.

Humble charity seeks to benefit the good of another without reference to self or self-interest; it is pure. Jesus is the paramount example of this humble charity as he who had everything emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, to give life to all. He calls us to share in this ministry by looking beyond those invisible lines to see a fellow human being, a brother and sister, and to help them in their need.

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel, and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Read more reflections by Msgr. Joseph Prior here.