Gospel for Saturday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Matthew 13:24-30

The Parable of the Weeds

[24] Another parable he (Jesus) put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; [25] but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. [26] So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. [27] And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' [28] He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' [29] But he said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. [30] Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
*************************
Commentary:

24-25. "The situation is clear: the field is fertile and the seed is good; the Lord of the field has scattered the seed at the right moment and with great skill. He even has watchmen to make sure that the field is protected. If, afterwards, there are weeds among the wheat, it is because men have failed to respond, because they--and Christians in particular--have fallen asleep and allowed the enemy to approach" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 123).

25. This weed--cockle--looks very like wheat and can easily be mistaken for it until the ears appear. If it gets ground up with wheat it contaminates the flour and any bread made from that flour causes severe nausea when eaten. In the East personal vengeance sometimes took the form of sowing cockle among an enemy's wheat. Roman law prescribed penalties for this crime.

28. "When the careless servants ask the Lord why weeds have grown in his field, the explanation is obvious: 'inimicus homo hoc fecit: an enemy has done this.' We Christians should have been on guard to make sure that the good things placed in this world by the Creator were developed in the service of truth and good. But we have fallen asleep--a sad thing, that sluggishness of our heart while the enemy and all those who serve him worked incessantly. You can see how the weeds have grown abundantly everywhere" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 123).

29-30. The end of this parable gives a symbolic explanation of why God allows evil to have its way for a time--and for its ultimate extirpation. Evil is to run its course on earth until the end of time; therefore, we should not be scandalized by the presence of evil in the world. It will be obliterated not in this life, but after death; at the Judgment (the harvest) the good will go to Heaven and the bad to Hell.
**********************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

UNFPA Demands Abortion Rights for Children as Young as 10

The latest from the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute:

UNFPA Demands Abortion Rights for Children as Young as 10

Two recent publications circulating at the United Nations demonstrate a growing focus on young people as a way of advancing the abortion agenda. The reports, one by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and another by a radical lobby group, both call for a greater focus on the "sexual and reproductive" rights of youth, a term that UN agencies frequently misinterpret as including abortion. Youth are defined in the UNFPA report as "aged 10 to 24 years."

UNFPA's report, entitled "The Case for Investing in Young People as part of a National Poverty Reduction Strategy," states that "UNFPA's madate [is] to promote youth development, including recognition of their health/reproductive rights and sexual and reproductive health." UNFPA explains that promoting abortion as a human right is advantageous because a "rights-based approach" "entails an obligation on the part of governments and other actors to realize these rights." The report applauds the government of Mozambique's program of "health services that serve the reproductive health needs of adolescents."

UNFPA urges improvements in the "sexual and reproductive health" of young people as a solution to several pressing world problems, such as gender inequality, the spread of HIV/AIDS, and lack of access to education. These issues are currently being addressed by the UN through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The report states that "UNFPA advocates may need to point out to policy makers the direct connections between preventive action in relation to young people's sexual and reproductive health and achieving the MDG targets."

The second report, "Learning to Speak MDGs," was released by a radical Canadian lobby group called the Youth Coalition. The report was produced with "generous financial support" from the Ford Foundation. The report explicitly calls on governments to ensure the "legal status of safe abortion services."

The Youth Coalition's report also claims that the "ABC" method used in Uganda has been ineffective and even detrimental. The report states that "unsound national and donor driven policies, such as the Abstinence – Be faithful – Use Condoms when necessary (ABC) approach have heavily contributed to the impact of HIV/AIDS among young people." However, Uganda's ABC strategy is almost universally viewed as the single largest success in reducing HIV infections, from 18% in 1992 to 5% by 2001.

The two reports demonstrate a renewed strategy of pushing for abortion rights on behalf of young people. Other pro-abortion groups, such as the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), have recently released similar publications. For instance, a recent AGI study on adolescents, defined as "between the ages of 10 and 19," in Malawi suggests that abortion should be legalized, as "[m]ost abortions are performed under unsafe conditions because abortion is illegal…except to save a woman's life."
----------------------------
Copyright 2005 - C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute).
Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.
Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute
866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 427
New York, New York 10017
Phone: (212) 754-5948 Fax: (212) 754-9291
E-mail: c-fam@c-fam.org Website: www.c-fam.org

Pius V's Latin Mass Scheduled at Youth Day

ROME, JULY 21, 2005 (Zenit.org).- At least 3,000 youths and 60 priests of a group supportive of the Latin Mass of Pope Pius V plan to attend World Youth Day in Cologne, an official says.

Armand de Malleray, of St. Peter's Fraternity, who is delegate general of the Juventutem association, announced the news to ZENIT.

The first Juventutem group was made up of followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who met in Brazil. For the past three years, Juventutem has been in full communion with the Church of Rome. Its members will attend the Aug. 21 Mass presided over by Benedict XVI.

More.

Gospel for July 22, Memorial: St. Mary Magdalene, Disciple of the Lord

From: John 20:1-2, 11-18

The Empty Tomb

[1] Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. [2] So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."

The Appearance To Mary Magdalene

[11] But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; [12] and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. [13] They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." [14] Saying this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. [15] Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing Him to be gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." [16] Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). [17] Jesus said to her, "Do not hold Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God." [18] Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that He had said these things to her.
************************
Commentary:

1-2. All four Gospels report the first testimonies of the holy women and the disciples regarding Christ's glorious resurrection, beginning with the fact of the empty tomb (cf. Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1ff; Luke 24:1-12) and then telling of the various appearances of the risen Jesus.

Mary Magdalene was one of the women who provided for our Lord during His journeys (Luke 8:1-3); along with the Virgin Mary she bravely stayed with Him right up to His final moments (John 19:25), and she saw where His body was laid (Luke 23:55). Now, after the obligatory Sabbath rest, she goes to visit the tomb. The Gospel points out that she went "early, when it was still dark": her love and veneration led her to go without delay, to be with our Lord's body.

11-18. Mary's affection and sensitivity lead her to be concerned about what has become of the dead body of Jesus. This woman out of whom seven demons were cast (cf. Luke 8:2) stayed faithful during His passion and even now her love is still ardent: our Lord had freed her from the Evil One and she responded to that grace humbly and generously.

After consoling Mary Magdalene, Jesus gives her a message for the Apostles, whom He tenderly calls His "brethren". This message implies that He and they have the same Father, though each in an essentially different way: "I am ascending to My Father"--My own Father by nature--"and to your Father"--for He is your Father through the adoption I have won for you and by My death. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, shows His great mercy and understanding by gathering together all His disciples who had abandoned Him during His passion and were now in hiding for fear of the Jews (John 20:19).

Mary Magdalene's perseverance teaches us that anyone who sincerely keeps searching for Jesus Christ will eventually find Him. Jesus' gesture in calling His disciples His "brethren" despite their having run away should fill us with love in the midst of our own infidelities.

15. From Jesus' dialogue with Mary Magdalene, we can see the frame of mind all His disciples must have been in: they were not expecting the resurrection.

17. "Do not hold Me": the use of the negative imperative in the Greek, reflected in the New Vulgate ("noli me tenere") indicates that our Lord is telling Mary to release her hold of Him, to let Him go, since she will have another chance to see Him before His ascension into Heaven.
*******************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

HOPE, Recalling Easter

Easter-HOPE

"There you shall see Him, as he told you." St. Mark, 16:7.

Some years ago a popular English novelist wrote a book called WHEN IT WAS DARK. The story centers about the efforts of a wealthy atheist and unbeliever who tried to discredit and disprove Christianity. He tried to do this by showing that the Resurrection of Jesus never really happened. Certainly he was attacking the very foundation stone of all faith in Christ.

This wealthy unbeliever of the novel hired several archaeologists, that is, men who study the relics and ruins of the past, to fake the discovery of the body of Jesus in the neighborhood of Jerusalem. On the tomb which these scientists falsely maintained they had discovered, these deceivers carved an inscription declaring that the owner of this tomb had stolen the body of Jesus and had hidden it there.

The novel then goes on to describe the horrible effect of such a discovery, if it were true. In powerful passages he shows how the Christian Church would crumble and collapse, how men and women would go back to lust and cruelty and animal ways, and how the flame of hope would die out in every human heart.

In this story, which was pure fiction, we see just one of the scores of attempts to disprove the first Easter. The fact remains, the sound, certain, unassailable fact that Christ really did rise from the grave. There is no fact in history more certain than that. No fact has been the object of fiercer attack from atheists, unbelievers and anti-Christians like the Resurrection. This Easter morning we know it is true, and, knowing it is true, we take hope.

Among the sentiments in our heart today hope stands out strongly. Hope is a supernatural confidence that God will give us salvation and all the means necessary for it. The virtue of hope is a confident expectation that we will gain heaven, and that God will give us the means to gain heaven.

1. In all hope there are two elements:

A. The desire for some valuable good in the future, like getting a certain job or passing an examination.

B. Confidence that future good will be attained. Hope, as you can see, and as St. Paul tells us, will cease in heaven.

2. Consider supernatural, spiritual, religious hope:

A. Its object is a future good, the gaining of heaven. It includes the confident expectation that our sins will be forgiven, that we will triumph over temptation, that we will receive graces and virtues needed for salvation, that our bodies will rise again, and that body and soul will enjoy an eternity with God. Included is the spiritual confidence that God will give us certain temporal helps to this end, like health, good disposition, education.
B. Our hope must be:

i. Living: it must spur us on to a life that will merit heaven.

ii. Firm: it continues to glow in the face of difficulties.

iii. Accompanied by distrust of self.

iv. Effective: cooperating as far as we can with God's help.

v. Complete: including all phases and times of life.

This is the kind of hope that stirs our hearts this Easter morning. We, too, hope for a resurrection with Christ. Seeing our Lord rise from the grave, we have a firm, living, complete and effective trust that we also will rise.

How can we have such a hope? How can we trust so simply and completely that God will take us to heaven?

3. We have solid reasons for our hope:

A. God knows all things; He knows our temptations and our weakness.

B. God can do all things; He offers us all the helps we need to fulfill our hope.

C. God is boundlessly kind and loving; He is more willing to help us than we are to ask His help.

D. He has promised us eternal life and the means to it. He expressly promised us eternal salvation. (I John, 2 :25); the resurrection of our bodies, (St. John, 5 :28); the forgiveness of sin (St. Luke, 15 :7) ; and temporal goods (St. Matthew, 6 :25-32).

E. But our greatest ground for hope is the truth we celebrate today the glorious, thrilling fact that Christ rose from the grave by His own power.

In the face of that fact, we will never doubt God's power and goodness; we will never despair; we will never grow feeble in confidence. On the other hand, we will never presume on His goodness by committing sin or by a false, rash confidence. A happy Easter means a hopeful Easter.

As the angel told the followers of Christ at His empty tomb:

"Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he goes before you into Galilee; there you shall see him, as he told you."

Yes, there in Galilee; and there on the altar, and there at the Communion rail, you shall find Him, as He told you.

Indeed, take away the resurrection of Christ as that novelist did in his story WHEN IT WAS DARK and the world will be dark indeed. Then we would have to scratch the word "hope" out of our dictionaries and our literature; we would have to take the thought of hope out of our prayer, should there be any prayer. Then we would have to dim the light of hope in the eye and the spark of hope in the heart. Then, truly, the world would be dark.

But, thanks to the risen Christ, the world is not entirely dark. Today a light, a dazzling, divine light shines through the darkness of the world. Today we underline every word of hope in our literature and our liturgy; today we see the light of hope in the eyes of all Christ's followers; today we feel the flame of hope in our hearts.

May you continually recall and thank God for giving us that glorious Easter, with all its blessings and graces, but especially, may we we have a heartfelt, holy hope that you and I shall one day rise with Him, that you and I shall one day see Him-just as He told us. Amen.

Adapted from:
Prayers, Precepts and Virtues by Fr. Arthur Tonne (1949)

Oh! My Aching Back!

Two boys were helping their father carry the logs which he had just finished chopping for the fireplace. Johnny, age eleven, stood with arms outstretched while his father placed the logs on his arms. His older brother, Bobby, who was fourten, stood impatiently in line waiting for the younger brother to get on the move. Johnny kept waiting while his father put piece after piece of wood on his arms. Finally Bobby, with an air of superiority looked down at his little brother and gave him a nudge in the back as he growled, "Get going, that's enough for you."

Johnny looked around at his bigger brother with a grimace of protest and replied, "Mind your own business, my father knows how much I can carry."

Anyone who thinks of the words of the Lord's Prayer realizes just how true this fact is when we are dealing with God. Our Father knows how much we can carry.

Sometimes the load we bear may seen very heavy. At times it may seem more than we are able to carry. And there is always someone ready to agree with us that we are having a really rough time. They sympathize with us and assure us that they would never be able to do the things we do. If we take these people seriously we may be looking up to God with a "See here, Lord" attitude. "This is getting to be too much. Why do I always have to bear these things? Why do I get the dirty end of the stick? Other people make mistakes and prosper. I try to do what is right and never seem to get anywhere."

Never forget that the manufacturer knows his product best. He knows how much it will withstand and what it should not be subjected to in the line of tests. After all he makes these things.

Well, God made you and me. He knows how much we can take, and more than this as an all-knowing God He knows just how much is good for us. He will not overload us with more than we can carry.

When we begin to think that things are getting a mite too rough or when someone tells us how hard we have things, just remember the confidence of the little boy in his father. Remember, too, that our Father knows just how much we are able to carry.

From Contact with God, by Fr. James D. Moriarty

Canadian Government Adopts Culture of Sodom and Gomorrah

Canada Gay "Marriage" Bill to be Signed Into Law Today

OTTAWA, ON, July 20, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a late-night Tuesday vote the Canadian senate voted 47-21 to pass the same-sex "marriage" bill C-38. Three of the 95 sitting senators abstained from the vote. The law will come into effect as soon as royal assent is given to it.

Royal assent????

More from LifeSiteNews here.

Gospel for Thursday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Matthew 13:10-17

Parable of the Sower (Continuation)

[10] Then the disciples came and said to Him (Jesus), "Why do You speak to them in parables?" [11] And He answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given. [12] For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. [13] This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. [14] With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: `You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive. [15] For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.'

[16] But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. [17] Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
********************************
Commentary:

10-13. The kind of Kingdom Jesus was going to establish did not suit the Judaism of His time, largely because of the Jew's nationalistic, earthbound idea of the Messiah to come. In His preaching Jesus takes account of the different outlooks of His listeners, as can be seen in the attitudes described in the parable of the sower. If people were well disposed to Him, the enigmatic nature of the parable would stimulate their interest; and Jesus later did give His many disciples a fuller explanation of its meaning; but there was no point in doing this if people were not ready to listen.

Besides, parables--as indeed any type of comparison or analogy--are used to reveal or explain something which is not easy to understand, as was the case with the supernatural things Jesus was explaining. One has to shade one's eyes to see things if the sun is too bright; otherwise, one is blinded and sees nothing. Similarly, parables help to shade supernatural brightness to allow the listener to grasp meaning without being blinded by it.

These verses also raise a very interesting question: how can divine revelation and grace produce such widely differing responses in people? What is at work here is the mystery of divine grace--which is an unmerited gift--and of man's response to this grace. What Jesus says here underlines man's responsibility to be ready to accept God's grace and to respond to it. Jesus' reference to Isaiah (Matthew 13:14-15) is a prophecy of that hardness of heart which is a punishment meted out to those who resist grace.

These verses need to be interpreted in the light of three points: 1) Jesus Christ loved everyone, including people of His own home town: He gave His life in order to save all men; 2) the parable is a literary form designed to get ideas across clearly: its ultimate aim is to teach, not to mislead or obscure; 3) lack of appreciation for divine grace is something blameworthy, which does merit punishment; however, Jesus did not come directly to punish anyone, but rather to save everyone.

12. Jesus is addressing His disciples and explaining to them that, precisely because they have faith in Him and want to have a good grasp of His teaching, they will be given a deeper understanding of divine truths. But those who do not "follow Him" (cf. note on Matthew 4:18-22) will later lose interest in the things of God and will grow ever blinder: it is as if the little they have is being taken away from them.

This verse also helps us understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, a parable which gives a wonderful explanation of the supernatural economy of divine grace: God gives grace, and man freely responds to that grace. The result is that those who respond to grace generously receive additional grace and so grow steadily in grace and holiness; whereas those who reject God's gifts become closed up within themselves; through their selfishness and attachment to sin they eventually lose God's grace entirely. In this verse, then, our Lord gives a clear warning: with the full weight of His divine authority He exhorts us--without taking away our freedom--to act responsibly: the gifts God keeps sending us should yield fruit; we should make good use of the opportunities for Christian sanctification which are offered us in the course of our lives.

14-15. Only well-disposed people grasp the meaning of God's words. It is not enough just to hear them physically. In the course of Jesus' preaching the prophetic words of Isaiah come true once again.

However, we should not think that not wanting to hear or to understand was something exclusive to certain contemporaries of Jesus; each one of us is at times hard of hearing, hard-hearted and dull-minded in the presence of God's grace and saving word. Moreover, it is not enough to be familiar with the teaching of the Church: it is absolutely necessary to put the faith into practice, with all that that implies, morally and ascetically. Jesus was fixed to the wood of the Cross not only by nails and by the sins of certain Jews but also by our sins--sins committed centuries later but which afflicted the Sacred Humanity of Jesus Christ, who bore the burden of our sins. See the note on Mark 4:11-12.

16-17. In contrast with the closed attitude of many Jews who witnessed Jesus' life but did not believe in Him, the disciples are praised by our Lord for their docility to grace, their openness to recognizing Him as the Messiah and to accepting His teaching.

He calls His disciples blessed, happy. As He says, the prophets and just men and women of the Old Testament had for centuries lived in hope of enjoying one day the peace the future Messiah would bring, but they had died without experiencing this good fortune. Simeon, towards the end of his long life, was filled with joy on seeing the infant Jesus when He was presented in the temple: "He took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said, `Lord now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation'" (Luke 2:28-30). During our Lord's public life, His disciples were fortunate enough to see and be on close terms with Him; later they would recall that incomparable gift, and one of them would begin his first letter in these words: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life; [...] that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this that our [or: your] joy may be complete (1 John 1:1-4).

This exceptional good fortune was, obviously, not theirs but of special merit: God planned it; it was He who decided that the time had come for the Old Testament prophecies to be fulfilled. In any event, God gives every soul opportunities to meet Him: each of us has to be sensitive enough to grasp them and not let them pass. There were many men and women in Palestine who saw and heard the incarnate Son of God but did not have the spiritual sensitivity to see in Him what the Apostles and disciples saw.
****************************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

Judge John G. Roberts - A Great Choice for Supreme Court Justice

From the Thomas More Law Center:

ANN ARBOR, MI — The President’s nomination of Court of Appeals Judge John G. Roberts, a solid conservative, to replace the retiring Sandra Day O’Connor, is already causing great consternation among pro-abortion groups and Liberals.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Thomas More Law Center, a public interest law firm located in Ann Arbor, Michigan commented, “I applaud President Bush for keeping his promise to the American people to appoint judges who will interpret the law and not act as super legislators. Judge Roberts has an impeccable legal career. If there is going to be fight over the President’s choice for Supreme Court, this is a fight worth joining.”

Those opposing the President’s nominee, point to Robert’s legal positions in briefs he co-authored as a U. S. Deputy Solicitor General to overturn Roe v. Wade and the so-called Lemon Test dealing with prayers at high school graduations.

In Rust v. Sullivan, a case dealing with a rule prohibiting federally funded family planning clinics from discussing abortion with patients, Robert’s brief argued the “we continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled.”

In Lee v. Weisman, a case dealing with the constitutionality of prayers at high school graduations, Robert’s brief urged the court to rule that such prayers were constitutional and did not involve any coercion.

Roberts, 50, graduated from Harvard Law School in 1979 and clerked for Judge Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The following year he clerked for Justice William Rehnquist. Following his clerkship experience, Roberts served as Special Assistant to United States Attorney General William French Smith. In 1982 President Reagan appointed him to the White House Staff as Associate Counsel to the President, a position in which he served until joining the DC firm of Hogan & Hartson in 1986.

Roberts left the firm in 1989 to accept appointment as Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States, a position in which he served until returning to the firm in 1993. He was appointed to a seat on the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in May 2003.

Roberts is a practicing Catholic, married with two children.

Is Harry Potter Officially Evil?

Regarding a new article he has posted, Jeff Mirus of CatholicCulture writes:

Well, love me or hate me, folks. In this week's CatholicCulture.org Highlights column, I give the lie to recent news reports that Pope Benedict XVI has made a pronouncement on the Harry Potter series.

It's not that I have any desire to bash those who hate J. K. Rowling's novels, although I admit that I personally enjoy them. But I very seriously dislike efforts by anybody to misuse Church authority to support their own pet ideas, when in fact Church authority does not support them.

You can read the column here:

Has the Pope Condemned Harry Potter?

Jeff Mirus
President
Trinity Communicationos

Gospel for Wednesday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Matthew 13:1-9

Parable of the Sower

[1] That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. [2] And great crowds gathered about Him, so that He got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach. [3] And He told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. [4] And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. [5] Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, [6] but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away. [7] Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. [8] Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. [9] He who has ears, let him hear."
*************************
Commentary:

3. Chapter 13 of St. Matthew includes as many as seven of Jesus' parables, which is the reason why it is usually called "the parable discourse" or the "parabolic discourse". Because of their similarity of content and setting these parables are often called the "Kingdom parables", and also the "parables of the Lake", because Jesus taught them on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. Jesus uses these elaborate comparisons (parables) to explain certain features of the Kingdom of God which He has come to establish (cf. Matthew 3:2)--its tiny, humble origins; its steady growth; its worldwide scope; its salvific force. God calls everyone to salvation but only those attain it who receive God's call with good dispositions and who do not change their attitude; the value of the spiritual benefits the Kingdom brings--so valuable that one should give up everything to obtain them; the fact that good and bad are all mixed together until the harvest time, or the time of God's judgment; the intimate connection between earthly and heavenly aspects of the Kingdom, until it reaches its point of full development at the end of time.

On Jesus' lips, parables are exceptionally effective. By using parables He keeps His listeners' attention, whether they are uneducated or not, and by means of the most ordinary things of daily life He sheds light on the deepest supernatural mysteries. He used the parable device in a masterly way; His parables are quite unique; they carry the seal of His personality; through them He has graphically shown us the riches of grace, the life of the Church, the demands of the faith and even the mystery of God's own inner life.

Jesus' teaching continues to provide every generation with light and guidance on moral conduct. By reading and reflecting on His parables one can savor the adorable humanity of the Savior, who showed such kindness to the people who crowded around to hear Him--and who shows the same readiness to listen to our prayers, despite our dullness, and to reply to our healthy curiosity when we try to make out His meaning.

3-8. Anyone who has visited the fertile plain to the west of the Lake of Gennesaret will appreciate Jesus' touching description in the parable of the sower. The plain is crisscrossed by paths; it is streaked with rocky ground, often with the rocks lying just beneath the surface, and with the courses of rivulets, dry for most of the year but still retaining some moisture. Here and there are clumps of large thorn bushes. When the agricultural worker sows seed in this mixed kind of land, he knows that some seed will fare better than others.

9. Jesus did not explain this parable there and then. It was quite usual for parables to be presented in the first instance as a kind of puzzle to gain the listener's attention, excite his curiosity and fix the parable in his memory. It may well be that Jesus wanted to allow his more interested listeners to identify themselves by coming back to hear Him again--as happened with His disciples. The rest--who listened out of idle curiosity or for too human reasons (to see Him work miracles)--would not benefit from hearing a more detailed and deeper explanation of the parable.
********************************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

CHRISTIANS DENY CATHOLICS ADOPTIONS

The Mississippi branch of Bethany Christian Services, an adoption agency affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of America, denies Catholic couples the right to adopt children. The agency receives monies collected from “Choose Life” license-plate fees, some of which have been collected from Catholics. More than 40 Catholics have complained to the Catholic League about this practice.

More.

Gospel for Tuesday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Matthew 12:46-50

The True Kinsmen of Jesus

[46] While He (Jesus) was still speaking to the people, behold, His mother and His brethren stood outside, asking to speak to Him.* [48] But He replied to the man who told Him, "Who is My mother, and who are My brethren?" [49] And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Here are My mother and My brethren! [50] For whoever does the will of My Father in Heaven is My brother, and sister and mother."

(*Other ancient authorities insert verse 47, "Some one told Him, `Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to You.'")
**************************************
Commentary:

46-47. "Brethren": ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and other languages had no special words for different degrees of relationship, such as are found in more modern languages. In general, all those belonging to the same family, clan and even tribe were "brethren".

In the particular case we have here, we should bear in mind that Jesus had different kinds of relatives, in two groups--some on His mother's side, others on St. Joseph's. Matthew 13:55-56 mentions, as living in Nazareth, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas ("His brethren") and elsewhere there is reference to Jesus' "sisters" (cf. Matthew 6:3). But in Matthew 27:56 we are told that James and Joseph were sons of a Mary distinct from the Blessed Virgin, and that Simon and Judas were not brothers of James and Joseph, but seemingly children of a brother of St. Joseph.

Jesus, on the other hand, was known to everyone as "the son of Mary" (Mark 6:3) or "the carpenter's son" (Matthew 13:55).

The Church has always maintained as absolutely certain that Jesus had no brothers or sisters in the full meaning of the term: it is a dogma that Mary was ever-Virgin (cf. note on Matthew 1:25).

48-50. Jesus obviously loved His Mother and St. Joseph. He uses this episode to teach us that in His Kingdom human ties do not take precedence. In Luke 8:19 the same teaching is to be found. Jesus regards the person who does the will of His Heavenly Father as a member of His own family. Therefore, even though it means going against natural family feelings, a person should do just that when needs be in order to perform the mission the Father has entrusted to him (cf. Luke 2:49).

We can say that Jesus loved Mary more because of the bonds between them created by grace than because He was her son by natural generation: Mary's divine motherhood is the source of all our Lady's other prerogatives; but this very motherhood is, in its turn, the first and greatest of the graces with which Mary was endowed.
***************************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

Reading for Monday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Exodus 14:5-18

The Egyptians in Pursuit

[5] When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharoah and his servants was changed toward people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" [6] So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him [7] and took six hundred picked chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. [8] And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he pursued the people of Israel as they went forth defiantly. [9] The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-ha-hiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

[10] When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were in great fear. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord; "and they said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, in bringing us out of Egypt? [12] Is not this what we said to you in Egypt. 'Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." [13] And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord which he will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. [14] The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still."

Crossing the Red Sea

[15] The Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. [16] Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go on dry ground through the sea. [17] And I will harden the heart of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horse men. [18] And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."
**************************************
Commentary:

14:10-14. The Egyptians get so close that the Israelites are terrified; this produces their first crisis of faith: the liberty they seek means giving up a quiet life in Egypt. Moses begins to reveal himself not just as a charismatic leader but as a mediator between the people and God. The words of v. 13 underlie the theological virtue of hope: God is the one who acts, man has to stand firm in faith; he has no reason to fear. As the Letter to the Hebrews teaches, Jesus is the model of faithfulness and hope: "Therefore [...] let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb 12:12)

14:17-18. The military language and the depiction of God as a warrior should cause no surprise: it is a daring anthropomorphism which shows that God is almighty and therefore can deliver the elect from any danger that threatens: "You, too, if you distance yourself from the Egyptians and flee far from the power of demons," Origen comments, "will see what great helps will be provided to you each day and what great protection is available to you. All that is asked of you is that you stand firm in the faith and do not let yourself be terrified by either the Egyptian cavalry or the noise of their chariots" ("Homiliae in Exodum", 5, 4).
************************************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

Gospel for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: Matthew 13:24-30

The Parable of the Weeds

[24] Another parable he (Jesus) put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; [25] but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. [26] So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. [27] And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' [28] He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' [29] But he said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. [30] Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
***********************
Commentary:

24-25. "The situation is clear: the field is fertile and the seed is good; the Lord of the field has scattered the seed at the right moment and with great skill. He even has watchmen to make sure that the field is protected. If, afterwards, there are weeds among the wheat, it is because men have failed to respond, because they--and Christians in particular--have fallen asleep and allowed the enemy to approach" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 123).

25. This weed--cockle--looks very like wheat and can easily be mistaken for it until the ears appear. If it gets ground up with wheat it contaminates the flour and any bread made from that flour causes severe nausea when eaten. In the East personal vengeance sometimes took the form of sowing cockle among an enemy's wheat. Roman law prescribed penalties for this crime.

28. "When the careless servants ask the Lord why weeds have grown in his field, the explanation is obvious: 'inimicus homo hoc fecit: an enemy has done this.' We Christians should have been on guard to make sure that the good things placed in this world by the Creator were developed in the service of truth and good. But we have fallen asleep--a sad thing, that sluggishness of our heart while the enemy and all those who serve him worked incessantly. You can see how the weeds have grown abundantly everywhere" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 123).

29-30. The end of this parable gives a symbolic explanation of why God allows evil to have its way for a time--and for its ultimate extirpation. Evil is to run its course on earth until the end of time; therefore, we should not be scandalized by the presence of evil in the world. It will be obliterated not in this life, but after death; at the Judgment (the harvest) the good will go to Heaven and the bad to Hell.
**********************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.