Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
SUME ET SUSCIPE
My dearest Lord! how long - O how long! before I shall have given myself to Thee without reserve?
When shall I have lost sight of all desire save that of resting quietly and silently on Thy Will?
Thou knowest my heart, beloved Lord. Thou knowest that my only desire is to sacrifice all to Thee. I do not wish to wait until years have passed to make to Thee a complete holocaust of all I hold most dear.
Take me now, my dearest Lord. Take possession of my heart that I may love all that leads to Thee; that I may seek and love to be unknown, unused, unsought, except by Thee, my cherished Spouse.
Take my will that I may accept from Thy hands all things sweet or bitter, every event and every circumstance - that I may accept them all with joy, and love, and resignation.
Take my intellect that I may think of Thee, aspire to Thee, be mindful of Thee every moment of my life.
Grant, my beloved Lord, that I may do all that depends upon me to become a perfect offering to Thee. No matter how long my life may be, let no murmur escape my lips, no unkind thought take shelter in my heart, no self-seeking lurk within my soul, but with a smile upon my brow, let me walk courageously on towards Thee my divine, my hidden Lord.
Lord Jesus! My Crucified God! Behold me at Thy feet. Lay Thy hand upon me and bless me. Whisper to my heart that from this day Thou wilt begin Thy work in my soul and that I shall be Thy blind instrument, Thy slave, Thy crucified and hidden Spouse.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Gospel for Tuesday, 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial: St Timothy and St Titus, Bishops
From: Mark 3:31-35
The True Kinsmen of Jesus
[31] And His (Jesus') mother and His brethren came; and standing outside they went to Him and called Him. [32] And a crowd was sitting about Him: and they said to Him, "Your mother and Your brethren are outside, asking for You." [33] And He replied, "Who are My mother and My brethren?" [34] And looking around on those who sat about Him, He said, "Here are My mother and My brethren! [35] Whoever does the will of God is My brother, and sister, and mother."
________________
Commentary:
31-35. In Aramaic, the language used by the Jews, the word "brethren" is a broad term indicating kinship: nephews, first cousins, and relatives in general are called `brethren' (for further explanation cf. note on Mark 6:1-3). "Jesus did not say this to disown His mother, but to show that she is worthy of honor not only account of having given birth to Jesus, but also because she has all the virtues" (Theophylact, "Enarratio In Evangelium Marci, in loc.").
Therefore, the Church reminds us that the Blessed Virgin "in the course of her Son's preaching received the words whereby, in extolling a kingdom beyond the concerns and ties of flesh and blood, He declared blessed those who heard and kept the word of God as she was faithfully doing" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 58).
Our Lord, then, is also telling us that if we follow Him we will share His life more intimately than if we were a member of His family. St. Thomas explains this by saying that Christ "had an eternal generation and a generation in time, and gave preference to the former. Those who do the will of the Father reach Him by Heavenly generation [...]. Everyone who does the will of the Father, that is to say, who obeys Him, is a brother or sister of Christ, because he is like Him who fulfilled the will of His Father. But he who not only obeys but converts others, begets Christ in them, and thus becomes like the Mother of Christ" ("Commentary on St. Matthew", 12, 49-50.)
___________________________
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.
From: Mark 3:31-35
The True Kinsmen of Jesus
[31] And His (Jesus') mother and His brethren came; and standing outside they went to Him and called Him. [32] And a crowd was sitting about Him: and they said to Him, "Your mother and Your brethren are outside, asking for You." [33] And He replied, "Who are My mother and My brethren?" [34] And looking around on those who sat about Him, He said, "Here are My mother and My brethren! [35] Whoever does the will of God is My brother, and sister, and mother."
________________
Commentary:
31-35. In Aramaic, the language used by the Jews, the word "brethren" is a broad term indicating kinship: nephews, first cousins, and relatives in general are called `brethren' (for further explanation cf. note on Mark 6:1-3). "Jesus did not say this to disown His mother, but to show that she is worthy of honor not only account of having given birth to Jesus, but also because she has all the virtues" (Theophylact, "Enarratio In Evangelium Marci, in loc.").
Therefore, the Church reminds us that the Blessed Virgin "in the course of her Son's preaching received the words whereby, in extolling a kingdom beyond the concerns and ties of flesh and blood, He declared blessed those who heard and kept the word of God as she was faithfully doing" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 58).
Our Lord, then, is also telling us that if we follow Him we will share His life more intimately than if we were a member of His family. St. Thomas explains this by saying that Christ "had an eternal generation and a generation in time, and gave preference to the former. Those who do the will of the Father reach Him by Heavenly generation [...]. Everyone who does the will of the Father, that is to say, who obeys Him, is a brother or sister of Christ, because he is like Him who fulfilled the will of His Father. But he who not only obeys but converts others, begets Christ in them, and thus becomes like the Mother of Christ" ("Commentary on St. Matthew", 12, 49-50.)
___________________________
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.
Principles and Practices - January 26
A Way To Self-Knowledge
To live in continual fear of yourself, of your own judgement, of your proneness to sin; and of the countless enemies, against whom you are of yourself utterly powerless, of their great experience in this warfare, their wiles, their capabiliry of transforming themselves into angels of light, their innumerable snares and traps which they secret1y spread in the very way itself of holiness.
-The Spiritual Combat.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
To live in continual fear of yourself, of your own judgement, of your proneness to sin; and of the countless enemies, against whom you are of yourself utterly powerless, of their great experience in this warfare, their wiles, their capabiliry of transforming themselves into angels of light, their innumerable snares and traps which they secret1y spread in the very way itself of holiness.
-The Spiritual Combat.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 25
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
ST. TERESA OF THE CHILD JESUS
Marie Frances Teresa Martin was born on January 2, 1873, at Alencon, France; entered the Carmelite Convent at Lisieux on April 9, 1887, and died there in the odor of sanctity on September 30, 1897; was beatified by His Holiness, Pope Pius XI, on April 29, 1923, and canonized by him on May 17, 1925.
THE MISSIONS
The Little Flower was filled with the spirit of the Crusader, she "longed to die on the field of battle in defense of Holy Church - to raise on heathen soil the glorious standard of the cross."
Her every movement, her prayers, her letters, were filled with constant solicitude for the salvation of souls.
She always had in mind the obstacles, the struggles, the crosses the missionary priests daily encounter in their lives, hence they were never forgotten in her prayers, sacrifices and sufferings.
One day, at a time of indisposition, while walking for exercise in the convent garden, she acknowledged to an associate nun that every step she took gave her pain, but what gave her strength to continue the exercise in spite of the suffering was because: "I offer each step for some missionary. I think that possibly over there, far away, one of them is weary and tired in his apostolic labors, and to lessen his fatigue I offer mine to the Good God."
At her canonical examination she said among the reasons why she entered Carmel, one was "to pray for missionary priests and their work for the salvation of souls."
She did not burden herself with great austerities, but "lived her Carmelite life with an apostolic aim."
This solicitude followed her everywhere; in her prayers, works, sacrifices, sufferings:
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
ST. TERESA OF THE CHILD JESUS
Marie Frances Teresa Martin was born on January 2, 1873, at Alencon, France; entered the Carmelite Convent at Lisieux on April 9, 1887, and died there in the odor of sanctity on September 30, 1897; was beatified by His Holiness, Pope Pius XI, on April 29, 1923, and canonized by him on May 17, 1925.
THE MISSIONS
The Little Flower was filled with the spirit of the Crusader, she "longed to die on the field of battle in defense of Holy Church - to raise on heathen soil the glorious standard of the cross."
Her every movement, her prayers, her letters, were filled with constant solicitude for the salvation of souls.
She always had in mind the obstacles, the struggles, the crosses the missionary priests daily encounter in their lives, hence they were never forgotten in her prayers, sacrifices and sufferings.
One day, at a time of indisposition, while walking for exercise in the convent garden, she acknowledged to an associate nun that every step she took gave her pain, but what gave her strength to continue the exercise in spite of the suffering was because: "I offer each step for some missionary. I think that possibly over there, far away, one of them is weary and tired in his apostolic labors, and to lessen his fatigue I offer mine to the Good God."
At her canonical examination she said among the reasons why she entered Carmel, one was "to pray for missionary priests and their work for the salvation of souls."
She did not burden herself with great austerities, but "lived her Carmelite life with an apostolic aim."
This solicitude followed her everywhere; in her prayers, works, sacrifices, sufferings:
"I made a covenant with God that the poor missionaries...may profit thereby...Jesus desires that the salvation of souls should be achieved by our sacrifices and our love...Let us offer our suffering to Jesus to save them. Let us live for them, let us be apostles!...Jesus wills that we should have part with Him in the salvation of souls."This thought always remained uppermost in her heart.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Noteworthy-Justice Roberts Hints He Could Overturn Roe
Chief Justice John Roberts last week made it clear that the Supreme Court over which he presides will not hesitate to sweep away its own major constitutional rulings when doing so is necessary to defend America’s bedrock governing document.Full article here.
The announcement of that guiding core principle means two very big things. First, Roberts and his fellow strict constructionists on the court are now armed and ready with a powerful rationale for overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion ruling if Justice Anthony Kennedy or a future justice becomes the fifth vote against Roe.
Secondly, successfully placing Roberts atop the high court is beginning to look like former President George W. Bush’s most important legacy – a gift that will keep on giving for conservatives for decades.
In last Thursday’s 5-to-4 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling dismantling the McCain-Feingold campaign law, Roberts joined with fellow Bush appointee Justice Samuel Alito to issue a separate concurrence “to address the important principles of judicial restraint and stare decisis implicated in this case.”
While Roberts conceded that “departures from precedent are inappropriate in the absence of a ‘special justification,’” he quickly added that “At the same time, stare decisis is neither an ‘inexorable command’… nor ‘a mechanical formula of adherence to the latest decision’ … especially in constitutional cases,” noting that “If it were, segregation would be legal, minimum wage laws would be unconstitutional, and the Government could wiretap ordinary criminal suspects without first obtaining warrants.”
Instead, under the “stare decisis” judicial doctrine of respecting past rulings, “When considering whether to re-examine a prior erroneous holding, we must balance the importance of having constitutional questions decided against the importance of having them decided right.” The chief justice declared: “stare decisis is not an end in itself.”....
If Roberts really did just establish clear restrictions on the power of faulty Supreme Court precedents, it might not just mean a mechanism for the eventual conquest of Roe v. Wade, and victory for pro-lifers; a whole series of widely ranging liberal decisions going back to the activist Warren Court era could eventually be in jeopardy too.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Gospel for Jan 25, Feast: Conversion of St Paul, Apostle
From: Mark 16:15-18
Jesus Appears to the Eleven. The Apostle's Mission
[15] And He (Jesus) said to them (the Eleven), "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. [16] He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. [17] And these signs will accompany those who believe; in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; [18] they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
________________________
Commentary:
15. This verse contains what is called the "universal apostolic mandate" (paralleled by Matthew 28:19-20 and Luke 24:46-48). This is an imperative command from Christ to His Apostles to preach the Gospel to the whole world. This same apostolic mission applies, especially to the Apostles' successors, the bishops in communion with Peter's successor, the Pope.
But this mission extends further: the whole "Church was founded to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth for the glory of God the Father, to make all men partakers in redemption and salvation.... Every activity of the Mystical Body with this in view goes by the name of `apostolate'; the Church exercises it through all its members, though in various ways. In fact, the Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well. In the organism of a living body no member plays a purely passive part, sharing in the life of the body it shares at the same time in its activity. The same is true for the body of Christ, the Church: the whole body achieves full growth in dependence on the full functioning of each part' (Ephesians 4:16). Between the members of this body there exists, further, such a unity and solidarity (cf. Ephesians 4:16) that a member who does not work at the growth of the body to the extent of his possibilities must be considered useless both to the Church and to himself.
"In the Church there is diversity of ministry but unity of mission. To the apostles and their successors Christ has entrusted the office of teaching, sanctifying and governing in His name and by His power. But the laity are made to share in the priestly, prophetical and kingly office of Christ; they have therefore, in the Church and in the world, their own assignment in the mission of the whole people of God" (Vatican II, "Apostolicam Actuositatem", 2).
It is true that God acts directly on each person's soul through grace, but it must also be said that it is Christ's will (expressed here and elsewhere) that men should be an instrument or vehicle of salvation for others.
Vatican II also teaches this: "On all Christians, accordingly, rests the noble obligation of working to bring all men throughout the whole world to hear and accept the divine message of salvation" ("ibid.", 3).
16. This verse teaches that, as a consequence of the proclamation of the Good News, faith and Baptism are indispensable pre-requisites for attaining salvation. Conversion to the faith of Jesus Christ should lead directly to Baptism, which confers on us "the first sanctifying grace, by which Original Sin is forgiven, and which also forgives any actual sins there may be; it remits all punishment due for sins; it impresses on the soul the mark of the Christian; it makes us children of God, members of the Church and heirs to Heaven, and enables us to receive the other Sacraments" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 553).
Baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation, as we can see from these words of the Lord. But physical impossibility for receiving the rite of Baptism can be replaced either by martyrdom (called, therefore, "baptism of blood") or by a perfect act of love of God and of contrition, together with an at least implicit desire to be baptized: this is called "baptism of desire" (cf. "ibid.", 567-568).
Regarding infant Baptism, St. Augustine taught that "the custom of our Mother the Church of infant Baptism is in no way to be rejected or considered unnecessary; on the contrary, it is to be believed on the ground that it is a tradition from the Apostles" ("De Gen., Ad Litt.", 10, 23, 39). The new "Code of Canon Law" also stresses the need to baptize infants: "Parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptized within the first few weeks. As soon as possible after the birth, indeed even before it, they are to approach the parish priest to ask for the Sacrament for their child, and to be themselves duly prepared for it" (Canon 867).
Another consequence of the proclamation of the Gospel, closely linked with the previous one, is that "the Church is necessary", as Vatican II declares: "Christ is the one mediator and way of salvation; He is present to us in His body which is the Church. He Himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism (cf. Mark 16:16; John 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse to enter it, or to remain in it" ("Lumen Gentium", 14; cf. "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 4; "Ad Gentes", 1-3; "Dignitatis Humanae", 11).
17-18. In the early days of the Church, public miracles of this kind happened frequently. There are numerous historical records of these events in the New Testament (cf., e.g., Acts 3:1-11; 28:3-6) and in other ancient Christian writings. It was very fitting that this should be so, for it gave visible proof of the truth of Christianity. Miracles of this type still occur, but much more seldom; they are very exceptional. This, too, is fitting because, on the one hand, the truth of Christianity has been attested to enough; and, on the other, it leaves room for us to merit through faith. St. Jerome comments: "Miracles were necessary at the beginning to confirm the people in the faith. But, once the faith of the Church is confirmed, miracles are not necessary" ("Comm. In Marcum, in loc."). However, God still works miracles through saints in every generation, including our own.
__________________
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.
Jesus Appears to the Eleven. The Apostle's Mission
[15] And He (Jesus) said to them (the Eleven), "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. [16] He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. [17] And these signs will accompany those who believe; in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; [18] they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
________________________
Commentary:
15. This verse contains what is called the "universal apostolic mandate" (paralleled by Matthew 28:19-20 and Luke 24:46-48). This is an imperative command from Christ to His Apostles to preach the Gospel to the whole world. This same apostolic mission applies, especially to the Apostles' successors, the bishops in communion with Peter's successor, the Pope.
But this mission extends further: the whole "Church was founded to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth for the glory of God the Father, to make all men partakers in redemption and salvation.... Every activity of the Mystical Body with this in view goes by the name of `apostolate'; the Church exercises it through all its members, though in various ways. In fact, the Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well. In the organism of a living body no member plays a purely passive part, sharing in the life of the body it shares at the same time in its activity. The same is true for the body of Christ, the Church: the whole body achieves full growth in dependence on the full functioning of each part' (Ephesians 4:16). Between the members of this body there exists, further, such a unity and solidarity (cf. Ephesians 4:16) that a member who does not work at the growth of the body to the extent of his possibilities must be considered useless both to the Church and to himself.
"In the Church there is diversity of ministry but unity of mission. To the apostles and their successors Christ has entrusted the office of teaching, sanctifying and governing in His name and by His power. But the laity are made to share in the priestly, prophetical and kingly office of Christ; they have therefore, in the Church and in the world, their own assignment in the mission of the whole people of God" (Vatican II, "Apostolicam Actuositatem", 2).
It is true that God acts directly on each person's soul through grace, but it must also be said that it is Christ's will (expressed here and elsewhere) that men should be an instrument or vehicle of salvation for others.
Vatican II also teaches this: "On all Christians, accordingly, rests the noble obligation of working to bring all men throughout the whole world to hear and accept the divine message of salvation" ("ibid.", 3).
16. This verse teaches that, as a consequence of the proclamation of the Good News, faith and Baptism are indispensable pre-requisites for attaining salvation. Conversion to the faith of Jesus Christ should lead directly to Baptism, which confers on us "the first sanctifying grace, by which Original Sin is forgiven, and which also forgives any actual sins there may be; it remits all punishment due for sins; it impresses on the soul the mark of the Christian; it makes us children of God, members of the Church and heirs to Heaven, and enables us to receive the other Sacraments" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 553).
Baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation, as we can see from these words of the Lord. But physical impossibility for receiving the rite of Baptism can be replaced either by martyrdom (called, therefore, "baptism of blood") or by a perfect act of love of God and of contrition, together with an at least implicit desire to be baptized: this is called "baptism of desire" (cf. "ibid.", 567-568).
Regarding infant Baptism, St. Augustine taught that "the custom of our Mother the Church of infant Baptism is in no way to be rejected or considered unnecessary; on the contrary, it is to be believed on the ground that it is a tradition from the Apostles" ("De Gen., Ad Litt.", 10, 23, 39). The new "Code of Canon Law" also stresses the need to baptize infants: "Parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptized within the first few weeks. As soon as possible after the birth, indeed even before it, they are to approach the parish priest to ask for the Sacrament for their child, and to be themselves duly prepared for it" (Canon 867).
Another consequence of the proclamation of the Gospel, closely linked with the previous one, is that "the Church is necessary", as Vatican II declares: "Christ is the one mediator and way of salvation; He is present to us in His body which is the Church. He Himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism (cf. Mark 16:16; John 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse to enter it, or to remain in it" ("Lumen Gentium", 14; cf. "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 4; "Ad Gentes", 1-3; "Dignitatis Humanae", 11).
17-18. In the early days of the Church, public miracles of this kind happened frequently. There are numerous historical records of these events in the New Testament (cf., e.g., Acts 3:1-11; 28:3-6) and in other ancient Christian writings. It was very fitting that this should be so, for it gave visible proof of the truth of Christianity. Miracles of this type still occur, but much more seldom; they are very exceptional. This, too, is fitting because, on the one hand, the truth of Christianity has been attested to enough; and, on the other, it leaves room for us to merit through faith. St. Jerome comments: "Miracles were necessary at the beginning to confirm the people in the faith. But, once the faith of the Church is confirmed, miracles are not necessary" ("Comm. In Marcum, in loc."). However, God still works miracles through saints in every generation, including our own.
__________________
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.
Principles and Practices - January 25
Speak and Then Listen
Even though a person has lived very far from God he must not be afraid to approach Him with the familiarity of love. Speak to Him in your prayers about your difficulties, needs, and troubles, and even about the distaste you have to His service. You cannot speak to Him too freely or confidently. He loves the simple and childlike of heart; it is with them that He converses. If you are one of these put aside all ideas of intellectual or elevated thought. Open your heart to Him and tell Him everything. When you have spoken to Him listen to Him for a while.
-Fenelon.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Even though a person has lived very far from God he must not be afraid to approach Him with the familiarity of love. Speak to Him in your prayers about your difficulties, needs, and troubles, and even about the distaste you have to His service. You cannot speak to Him too freely or confidently. He loves the simple and childlike of heart; it is with them that He converses. If you are one of these put aside all ideas of intellectual or elevated thought. Open your heart to Him and tell Him everything. When you have spoken to Him listen to Him for a while.
-Fenelon.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 24
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
PRAY FOR
The victory of the Church; the conversion of her enemies; the multiplication of saints; greater fervor and zeal in priests and religious; more laborers in Christ's Vineyard; missionaries; the perseverance of the just; the [thousands] dying each second; the conversion of Jews, pagans, heretics, all unbelievers; the rich and the poor; souls in temptation; souls in despair; lukewarm Catholics; poor sinners; the souls in purgatory.
Pray much for the Intentions of the Holy Father; to pray for these is to pray for all the needs of the time and for all the interests of the Sacred Heart.
Form the habit of living peacefully in the presence of God and you will pray always.
-Notre Dame Institute, Worcester, Mass.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
PRAY FOR
The victory of the Church; the conversion of her enemies; the multiplication of saints; greater fervor and zeal in priests and religious; more laborers in Christ's Vineyard; missionaries; the perseverance of the just; the [thousands] dying each second; the conversion of Jews, pagans, heretics, all unbelievers; the rich and the poor; souls in temptation; souls in despair; lukewarm Catholics; poor sinners; the souls in purgatory.
Pray much for the Intentions of the Holy Father; to pray for these is to pray for all the needs of the time and for all the interests of the Sacred Heart.
Form the habit of living peacefully in the presence of God and you will pray always.
-Notre Dame Institute, Worcester, Mass.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Gospel for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21
Prologue
[1]Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, [2]just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, [3]it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, [4]that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.
[14]And Jesus returned in the power of the Holy Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning Him went out through all the surrounding country. [15]And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Jesus Preaches in Nazareth
[16]And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He went to the synagogue, as His custom was, on the Sabbath Day. And He stood up to read; [17]and there was given to Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, [18]"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, [19]to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." [20]And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. [21]And He began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
_______________________
Commentary:
1-4. St. Luke is the only evangelist to give his book a preface or prologue. What is usually described as the "prologue" to St. John is really a summary of what the Gospel contains. St. Luke's prologue, which is very short and very elegantly written, describes why he has written the book--to provide an orderly, documented account of the life of Christ, starting at the beginning.
These verses help us realize that Jesus Christ's message of salvation, the Gospel, was preached before it came to be written down: cf. the quotation from Vatican II's "Dei Verbum", 19 (p. 21 above). God, then, wanted us to have written Gospels as a permanent, divine testimony providing a firm basis for our faith. "He does not tell Theophilus new things, things he did not previously know; he undertakes to tell him the truth concerning the things in which he has already been instructed. This he does so that you can know everything you have been told about the Lord and His doings" (St. Bede, "In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
2. The "eyewitnesses" the evangelist refers to would have been the Blessed Virgin, the Apostles, the holy women and others who shared Jesus' life during His time on earth.
3. "It seemed good to me": "When he says `it seemed good to me' this does not exclude God's action, because it is God who prepares men's will [...]. He dedicates his Gospel to Theophilus, that is, to one whom God loves. But if you love God, it has also been written for you; and if it has been written for you, then accept this present from the evangelist, keep this token of friend- ship very close to your heart" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc.").
16-30. For the Jews the Sabbath was a day of rest and prayer, as God commanded (Exodus 20:8-11). On that day they would gather together to be instructed in Sacred Scripture. At the beginning of this meeting they all recited the "Shema", a summary of the precepts of the Lord, and the "eighteen blessings". Then a passage was read from the Book of the Law--the Pentateuch -- and another from the Prophets. The president invited one of those present who was well versed in the Scriptures to address the gathering. Sometimes someone would volunteer and request the honor of being allowed to give this address--as must have happened on this occasion. Jesus avails Himself of this opportunity to instruct the people (cf. Luke 4:16ff), as will His Apostles later on (cf. Acts 13:5, 14, 42, 44; 14:1; etc.). The Sabbath meeting concluded with the priestly blessing, recited by the president or by a priest if there was one present, to which the people answered "Amen" (cf. Numbers 6:22ff).
18-21. Jesus read the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 where the prophet announces the coming of the Lord, who will free His people of their afflictions. In Christ this prophecy finds its fulfillment, for He is the Anointed, the Messiah whom God has sent to His people in their tribulation. Jesus has been anointed by the Holy Spirit for the mission the Father has entrusted to Him. "These phrases, according to Luke (verses 18-19), are His first messianic declaration. They are followed by the actions and words known through the Gospel. By these actions and words Christ makes the Father present among men" (John Paul II, "Dives In Misericordia", 3).
The promises proclaimed in verses 18 and 19 are the blessings God will send His people through the Messiah. According to Old Testament tradition and Jesus' own preaching (cf. note on Matthew 5:3), "the poor" refers not so much to a particular social condition as to a very religious attitude of indigence and humility towards God, which is to be found in those who, instead of relying on their possessions and merts, trust in God's goodness and mercy. Thus, preaching good news to the poor means bringing them the "good news" that God has taken pity on them. Similarly, the Redemption, the release, which the text mentions, is to be understood mainly in a spiritual, transcendental sense: Christ has come to free us from the blindness and oppression of sin, which, in the last analysis, is slavery imposed on us by the devil. "Captivity can be felt", St. John Chrysostom teaches in a commentary on Psalm 126, "when it proceeds from physical enemies, but the spiritual captivity referred to here is worse; sin exerts a more severe tyranny, evil takes control and blinds those who lend it obedience; from this spiritual prison Jesus Christ rescued us" ("Catena Aurea"). However, this passage is also in line with Jesus' special concern for those most in need. "Similarly, the Church encompasses with her love all those who are afflicted by human misery and she re- cognizes in those who are poor and who suffer the image of her poor and suffering Founder. She does all in her power to relieve their need and in them she strives to serve Christ" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 8).
18-19. The words of Isaiah which Christ read out on this occasion describe very graphically the reason why God has sent His Son into the world -- to re- deem men from sin, to liberate them from slavery to the devil and from eternal death. It is true that in the course of His public ministry Christ, in His mercy, worked many cures, cast out devils, etc. But He did not cure all the sick peo- ple in the world, nor did He eliminate all forms of distress in this life, because pain, which entered the world through sin, has a permanent redemptive value when associated with the sufferings of Christ. Therefore, Christ worked miracles not so much to release the people concerned from suffering, as to demonstrate that He had a God-given mission to bring everyone to eternal salvation.
The Church carries on this mission of Christ: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). These simple and sublime words, which conclude the Gospel of St. Matthew, point out "the obligation to preach the truths of faith, the need for sacramental life, the promise of Christ's continual assistance to His Church. You cannot be faithful to our Lord if you neglect these supernatural demands--to receive instruction in Christian faith and morality and to frequent the sacraments. It is with this mandate that Christ founded His Church [...]. And the Church can bring salvation to souls only if she remains faithful to Christ in her constitution and teaching, both dogmatic and moral.
"Let us reject, therefore, the suggestion that the Church, ignoring the Sermon on the Mount, seeks a purely human happiness on earth, since we know that her only task is to bring men to eternal glory in Heaven. Let us reject any purely naturalistic view that fails to value the supernatural role of divine grace. Let us reject materialistic opinions that exclude spiritual values from human life. Let us equally reject any secularizing theory which attempts to equate the aims of the Church with those of earthly states, distorting its essence, institutions and activities into something similar to those of temporal society" ([St] J. Escriva, "In Love with the Church", 23 and 31).
18. The Fathers of the Church see in this verse a reference to the three per- sons of the Holy Trinity: the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of the Lord (the Father) is upon Me (the Son); cf. Origen, "Homily 32". The Holy Spirit dwelt in Christ's soul from the very moment of the Incarnation and descended visibly upon Him in the form of a dove when He was baptized by John (cf. Luke 3:21-22).
"Because He has anointed Me": this is a reference to the anointing Jesus received at the moment of His Incarnation, principally through the grace of the hypostatic union. "This anointing of Jesus Christ was not an anointing of the body as in the case of the ancient kings, priests and prophets; rather it was entirely spiritual and divine, because the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him substantially" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 77). From this hypostatic union the fullness of all graces derives. To show this, Jesus Christ is said to have been anointed by the Holy Spirit Himself--not just to have received the graces and gifts of the Spirit, like the saints.
19. "The acceptable year": this is a reference to the jubilee year of the Jews, which the Law of God (Leviticus 25:8) lays down as occurring every fifty years, symbolizing the era of redemption and liberation which the Messiah would usher in. The era inaugurated by Christ, the era of the New Law extending to the end of the world, is "the acceptable year", the time of mercy and redemption, which will be obtained definitively in Heaven.
The Catholic Church's custom of the "Holy Year" is also designed to proclaim and remind people of the redemption brought by Christ, and of the full form it will take in the future life.
20-22. Christ's words in verse 21 show us the authenticity with which He preached and explained the Scriptures: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus teaches that this prophecy, like the other main prophecies in the Old Testament, refers to Him and finds its fulfillment in Him (cf. Luke 24:44ff). Thus, the Old Testament can be rightly understood only in the light of the New--as the risen Christ showed the Apostles when He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (cf. Luke 24:45), an understanding which the Holy Spirit perfected on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:4).
___________________________
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.
Prologue
[1]Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, [2]just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, [3]it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, [4]that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.
[14]And Jesus returned in the power of the Holy Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning Him went out through all the surrounding country. [15]And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Jesus Preaches in Nazareth
[16]And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He went to the synagogue, as His custom was, on the Sabbath Day. And He stood up to read; [17]and there was given to Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, [18]"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, [19]to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." [20]And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. [21]And He began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
_______________________
Commentary:
1-4. St. Luke is the only evangelist to give his book a preface or prologue. What is usually described as the "prologue" to St. John is really a summary of what the Gospel contains. St. Luke's prologue, which is very short and very elegantly written, describes why he has written the book--to provide an orderly, documented account of the life of Christ, starting at the beginning.
These verses help us realize that Jesus Christ's message of salvation, the Gospel, was preached before it came to be written down: cf. the quotation from Vatican II's "Dei Verbum", 19 (p. 21 above). God, then, wanted us to have written Gospels as a permanent, divine testimony providing a firm basis for our faith. "He does not tell Theophilus new things, things he did not previously know; he undertakes to tell him the truth concerning the things in which he has already been instructed. This he does so that you can know everything you have been told about the Lord and His doings" (St. Bede, "In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
2. The "eyewitnesses" the evangelist refers to would have been the Blessed Virgin, the Apostles, the holy women and others who shared Jesus' life during His time on earth.
3. "It seemed good to me": "When he says `it seemed good to me' this does not exclude God's action, because it is God who prepares men's will [...]. He dedicates his Gospel to Theophilus, that is, to one whom God loves. But if you love God, it has also been written for you; and if it has been written for you, then accept this present from the evangelist, keep this token of friend- ship very close to your heart" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc.").
16-30. For the Jews the Sabbath was a day of rest and prayer, as God commanded (Exodus 20:8-11). On that day they would gather together to be instructed in Sacred Scripture. At the beginning of this meeting they all recited the "Shema", a summary of the precepts of the Lord, and the "eighteen blessings". Then a passage was read from the Book of the Law--the Pentateuch -- and another from the Prophets. The president invited one of those present who was well versed in the Scriptures to address the gathering. Sometimes someone would volunteer and request the honor of being allowed to give this address--as must have happened on this occasion. Jesus avails Himself of this opportunity to instruct the people (cf. Luke 4:16ff), as will His Apostles later on (cf. Acts 13:5, 14, 42, 44; 14:1; etc.). The Sabbath meeting concluded with the priestly blessing, recited by the president or by a priest if there was one present, to which the people answered "Amen" (cf. Numbers 6:22ff).
18-21. Jesus read the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 where the prophet announces the coming of the Lord, who will free His people of their afflictions. In Christ this prophecy finds its fulfillment, for He is the Anointed, the Messiah whom God has sent to His people in their tribulation. Jesus has been anointed by the Holy Spirit for the mission the Father has entrusted to Him. "These phrases, according to Luke (verses 18-19), are His first messianic declaration. They are followed by the actions and words known through the Gospel. By these actions and words Christ makes the Father present among men" (John Paul II, "Dives In Misericordia", 3).
The promises proclaimed in verses 18 and 19 are the blessings God will send His people through the Messiah. According to Old Testament tradition and Jesus' own preaching (cf. note on Matthew 5:3), "the poor" refers not so much to a particular social condition as to a very religious attitude of indigence and humility towards God, which is to be found in those who, instead of relying on their possessions and merts, trust in God's goodness and mercy. Thus, preaching good news to the poor means bringing them the "good news" that God has taken pity on them. Similarly, the Redemption, the release, which the text mentions, is to be understood mainly in a spiritual, transcendental sense: Christ has come to free us from the blindness and oppression of sin, which, in the last analysis, is slavery imposed on us by the devil. "Captivity can be felt", St. John Chrysostom teaches in a commentary on Psalm 126, "when it proceeds from physical enemies, but the spiritual captivity referred to here is worse; sin exerts a more severe tyranny, evil takes control and blinds those who lend it obedience; from this spiritual prison Jesus Christ rescued us" ("Catena Aurea"). However, this passage is also in line with Jesus' special concern for those most in need. "Similarly, the Church encompasses with her love all those who are afflicted by human misery and she re- cognizes in those who are poor and who suffer the image of her poor and suffering Founder. She does all in her power to relieve their need and in them she strives to serve Christ" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 8).
18-19. The words of Isaiah which Christ read out on this occasion describe very graphically the reason why God has sent His Son into the world -- to re- deem men from sin, to liberate them from slavery to the devil and from eternal death. It is true that in the course of His public ministry Christ, in His mercy, worked many cures, cast out devils, etc. But He did not cure all the sick peo- ple in the world, nor did He eliminate all forms of distress in this life, because pain, which entered the world through sin, has a permanent redemptive value when associated with the sufferings of Christ. Therefore, Christ worked miracles not so much to release the people concerned from suffering, as to demonstrate that He had a God-given mission to bring everyone to eternal salvation.
The Church carries on this mission of Christ: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). These simple and sublime words, which conclude the Gospel of St. Matthew, point out "the obligation to preach the truths of faith, the need for sacramental life, the promise of Christ's continual assistance to His Church. You cannot be faithful to our Lord if you neglect these supernatural demands--to receive instruction in Christian faith and morality and to frequent the sacraments. It is with this mandate that Christ founded His Church [...]. And the Church can bring salvation to souls only if she remains faithful to Christ in her constitution and teaching, both dogmatic and moral.
"Let us reject, therefore, the suggestion that the Church, ignoring the Sermon on the Mount, seeks a purely human happiness on earth, since we know that her only task is to bring men to eternal glory in Heaven. Let us reject any purely naturalistic view that fails to value the supernatural role of divine grace. Let us reject materialistic opinions that exclude spiritual values from human life. Let us equally reject any secularizing theory which attempts to equate the aims of the Church with those of earthly states, distorting its essence, institutions and activities into something similar to those of temporal society" ([St] J. Escriva, "In Love with the Church", 23 and 31).
18. The Fathers of the Church see in this verse a reference to the three per- sons of the Holy Trinity: the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of the Lord (the Father) is upon Me (the Son); cf. Origen, "Homily 32". The Holy Spirit dwelt in Christ's soul from the very moment of the Incarnation and descended visibly upon Him in the form of a dove when He was baptized by John (cf. Luke 3:21-22).
"Because He has anointed Me": this is a reference to the anointing Jesus received at the moment of His Incarnation, principally through the grace of the hypostatic union. "This anointing of Jesus Christ was not an anointing of the body as in the case of the ancient kings, priests and prophets; rather it was entirely spiritual and divine, because the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him substantially" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 77). From this hypostatic union the fullness of all graces derives. To show this, Jesus Christ is said to have been anointed by the Holy Spirit Himself--not just to have received the graces and gifts of the Spirit, like the saints.
19. "The acceptable year": this is a reference to the jubilee year of the Jews, which the Law of God (Leviticus 25:8) lays down as occurring every fifty years, symbolizing the era of redemption and liberation which the Messiah would usher in. The era inaugurated by Christ, the era of the New Law extending to the end of the world, is "the acceptable year", the time of mercy and redemption, which will be obtained definitively in Heaven.
The Catholic Church's custom of the "Holy Year" is also designed to proclaim and remind people of the redemption brought by Christ, and of the full form it will take in the future life.
20-22. Christ's words in verse 21 show us the authenticity with which He preached and explained the Scriptures: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus teaches that this prophecy, like the other main prophecies in the Old Testament, refers to Him and finds its fulfillment in Him (cf. Luke 24:44ff). Thus, the Old Testament can be rightly understood only in the light of the New--as the risen Christ showed the Apostles when He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (cf. Luke 24:45), an understanding which the Holy Spirit perfected on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:4).
___________________________
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.
Principles and Practices - January 24
The Only Way
Let intellectual culture continue to advance, let the natural sciences continue to grow in breadth and depth, and the human mind expand as much as it may, it will never go beyond the elevation and the moral culture of Christlanity as it shines resplendent in the Gospels.
-Goethe.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Let intellectual culture continue to advance, let the natural sciences continue to grow in breadth and depth, and the human mind expand as much as it may, it will never go beyond the elevation and the moral culture of Christlanity as it shines resplendent in the Gospels.
-Goethe.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 23
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
YOU ARE NOT PRAYING ENOUGH
The world is running to destruction for want of Prayer.
By Prayer-
YOU can stem the tide of iniquity.
YOU can conquer the enemies of Holy Church.
YOU can change this pagan world in to a Christian world.
YOU can save thousands of souls. God is waiting for a prayer or a little sacrifice of yours to save souls from hell.
Make all that you do a prayer by willing it.
"Pray without ceasing."
-Thess. v. 17.
"Let nothing hinder you from praying always."
-Ecclus. xviii. 22.
"The Lord is nigh to all them that call upon Him: to all that call upon Him in truth. He will do the will of them that fear Him; and He will hear their prayers and save them."
Ps. cxliv. 18, 19.
Short prayers are free from distractions and are most efficacious.
Sacred heart of Jesus I trust in Thee!
Indulgence: 300 days.-Pius X, Dec. 26, 1907.
My God, I love Thee.
Indulgence: 300 days.-Benedict XV, Dec. 30, 1919.
My God and my All!
Indulgence: 50 days.-Leo XIII, May 4, 1888.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph!
Indulgence: 7 yrs. 7 q.-Pius X, June 8, 1906.
Divine Heart of Jesus, convert sinners, save the dying, set free the souls in Purgatory.
Indulgence: 300 days.-Pius X, Nov. 6, 1906.
Mary, our Hope, have pity on us!
Indulgence: 300 days.-Pius X, Jan. 8, 1906.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
YOU ARE NOT PRAYING ENOUGH
The world is running to destruction for want of Prayer.
By Prayer-
YOU can stem the tide of iniquity.
YOU can conquer the enemies of Holy Church.
YOU can change this pagan world in to a Christian world.
YOU can save thousands of souls. God is waiting for a prayer or a little sacrifice of yours to save souls from hell.
Make all that you do a prayer by willing it.
"Pray without ceasing."
-Thess. v. 17.
"Let nothing hinder you from praying always."
-Ecclus. xviii. 22.
"The Lord is nigh to all them that call upon Him: to all that call upon Him in truth. He will do the will of them that fear Him; and He will hear their prayers and save them."
Ps. cxliv. 18, 19.
Short prayers are free from distractions and are most efficacious.
Sacred heart of Jesus I trust in Thee!
Indulgence: 300 days.-Pius X, Dec. 26, 1907.
My God, I love Thee.
Indulgence: 300 days.-Benedict XV, Dec. 30, 1919.
My God and my All!
Indulgence: 50 days.-Leo XIII, May 4, 1888.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph!
Indulgence: 7 yrs. 7 q.-Pius X, June 8, 1906.
Divine Heart of Jesus, convert sinners, save the dying, set free the souls in Purgatory.
Indulgence: 300 days.-Pius X, Nov. 6, 1906.
Mary, our Hope, have pity on us!
Indulgence: 300 days.-Pius X, Jan. 8, 1906.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Friday, January 22, 2010
Gospel for Saturday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
From: Mark 3:20-21
His Relatives Are Concerned About Jesus
Then He (Jesus) went home; [20] and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. [21] And when His friends heard it, they went out to seize Him, for they said, "He is beside Himself."
____________________
Commentary:
20-21. Some of His relatives, whose outlook was too human, regarded Jesus' total commitment to apostolate as excessive: the only explanation, they thought, was that He was out of His mind. On reading these words of the Gospel, we cannot help being moved, realizing what Jesus did for love of us: people even thought Him mad. Many saints, following Christ's example, have been taken for madmen--but they were mad with love, mad with love for Jesus Christ.
___________________________
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.
His Relatives Are Concerned About Jesus
Then He (Jesus) went home; [20] and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. [21] And when His friends heard it, they went out to seize Him, for they said, "He is beside Himself."
____________________
Commentary:
20-21. Some of His relatives, whose outlook was too human, regarded Jesus' total commitment to apostolate as excessive: the only explanation, they thought, was that He was out of His mind. On reading these words of the Gospel, we cannot help being moved, realizing what Jesus did for love of us: people even thought Him mad. Many saints, following Christ's example, have been taken for madmen--but they were mad with love, mad with love for Jesus Christ.
___________________________
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.
Principles and Practices - January 23
We Must Start With God
The worship of man's spirit - of his mind and will - is of first and paramount importance. Without this, outward religion is empty ana vain. Only, therefore, where there is a true notion of God can there be true worship.
As regards his notion of God, man is not morally free. He may not accept any notion of God except the true one.
He may not fashion a God out of his own wishes and fancy, nor thus make a God of his own - as, alas! too many do nowadays.
God is not made either out of wood or stone or out of mere notions that enter a man's mind. God is a self-existing fact. To this fact man must conform all his ideas and notions of God.
-Brosman.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
The worship of man's spirit - of his mind and will - is of first and paramount importance. Without this, outward religion is empty ana vain. Only, therefore, where there is a true notion of God can there be true worship.
As regards his notion of God, man is not morally free. He may not accept any notion of God except the true one.
He may not fashion a God out of his own wishes and fancy, nor thus make a God of his own - as, alas! too many do nowadays.
God is not made either out of wood or stone or out of mere notions that enter a man's mind. God is a self-existing fact. To this fact man must conform all his ideas and notions of God.
-Brosman.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 22
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH
O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, pour down Thy blessings abundantly upon Thy Church; upon the Supreme Pontiff, and upon all the clergy; give perseverance to the just; convert sinners; enlighten unbelievers; bless our parents, friends, and benefactors; help the dying; free the souls in purgatory; and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Amen.
Indulgence: 300 days, once a day.
Pius X, June 16, 1906.
Divine Heart of Jesus, convert sinners, save the dying, deliver the holy souls from purgatory!
Indulgence: 300 days, each time.
Pius X, Nov. 6, 1906.
O good and merciful God, in a spirit of humble resignation, I accept from Thy loving hands all the trials and sufferings of this day. I offer them to Thee in union with the sufferings of Jesus during His sacred Passion and on Calvary.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee. Mary our hope, have pity on us.
OFFERING
Eternal Father! I offer Thee the precious blood of Jesus Christ in satisfaction for my sins, and for the wants of Holy Church.
Indulgence: 100 days, every time.
Pius VII, Res. Sept. 2, 1817.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH
O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, pour down Thy blessings abundantly upon Thy Church; upon the Supreme Pontiff, and upon all the clergy; give perseverance to the just; convert sinners; enlighten unbelievers; bless our parents, friends, and benefactors; help the dying; free the souls in purgatory; and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Amen.
Indulgence: 300 days, once a day.
Pius X, June 16, 1906.
Divine Heart of Jesus, convert sinners, save the dying, deliver the holy souls from purgatory!
Indulgence: 300 days, each time.
Pius X, Nov. 6, 1906.
O good and merciful God, in a spirit of humble resignation, I accept from Thy loving hands all the trials and sufferings of this day. I offer them to Thee in union with the sufferings of Jesus during His sacred Passion and on Calvary.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee. Mary our hope, have pity on us.
OFFERING
Eternal Father! I offer Thee the precious blood of Jesus Christ in satisfaction for my sins, and for the wants of Holy Church.
Indulgence: 100 days, every time.
Pius VII, Res. Sept. 2, 1817.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Gospel for Friday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
From: Mark 3:13-19
Jesus Chooses Twelve Apostles
[13] And He (Jesus) went up into the hills, and called to Him those whom He desired; and they came to Him. [14] And He appointed twelve, to be with Him, and to be sent out to preach [15] and have authority to cast out demons; [16] Simon whom He surnamed Peter; [17] James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, whom He surnamed Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; [18] Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, [19] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.
________________________
Commentary:
13. "He called to Him those whom He desired": God wants to show us that calling, vocation, is an initiative of God. This is particularly true in the case of the Apostles, which is why Jesus could tell them, later on, that "you did not choose Me, but I chose you" (Jn 15:16). Those who will have power and authority in the Church will not obtain this because first they offer their services and then Jesus accepts their offering: on the contrary, "not through their own initiative and preparation, but rather by virtue of divine grace, would they be called to the apostolate" (St. Bede, "In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
14-19. The Twelve chosen by Jesus (cf. 3:14) receive a specific vocation to be "people sent out", which is what the word "apostles" means. Jesus chooses them for a mission which He will give them later (6:6-13) and to enable them to perform this mission He gives them part of His power. The fact that He chooses "twelve" is very significant. This is the same number as the twelve Patriarchs of Israel, and the Apostles represent the new people of God, the Church founded by
Christ. Jesus sought in this way to emphasize the continuity that exists between the Old and New Testaments. The Twelve are the pillars on which Christ builds His Church (cf. Gal 2:9); their mission to make disciples of the Lord (to teach) all nations, sanctifying and governing the believers (Mt 28:16-20; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:45-48; Jn 20:21-23).
14. The Second Vatican Council sees in this text the establishment of the College of the Apostles: "The Lord Jesus, having prayed at length to the Father, called to Himself those whom He willed and appointed twelve to be with Him, whom He might send to preach the Kingdom of God (cf. Mk 3:13-19; Mt 10:1-42). These apostles (cf. Lk 6:13) He constituted in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which He placed Peter, chosen from amongst them" (cf. Jn 21: 15-17) [...]. "That divine mission, which was committed by Christ to the apostles, is destined to last until the end of the world (cf. Mt 28:20), since the Gospel, which they were charged to hand on, is, for the Church, the principle of all its life for all time. For that very reason the apostles were careful to appoint successors in their hierarchically constituted society." ("Lumen Gentium", 19-20). Therefore, the Pope and the bishops, who succeed to the College of the Twelve, are also called by our Lord to be always with Jesus and to preach the Gospel, aided by priests.
Life in union with Christ and apostolic zeal must be very closely linked together; in other words, effectiveness in apostolate always depends on union with our Lord, on continuous prayer and on sacramental life: "Apostolic zeal is a divine craziness I want you to have. Its symptoms are: hunger to know the Master; constant concern for souls; perseverance that nothing can shake" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 934).
16. At this point, before the word "Simon" the sentence "He formed the group of the twelve" occurs in many manuscripts (it is similar to the phrase "He appointed twelve" in v. 14) but it is not included in the New Vulgate. The repetition of the same _expression and the article in "the twelve" show the importance of the establishment of the Apostolic College.
___________________________
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.
Jesus Chooses Twelve Apostles
[13] And He (Jesus) went up into the hills, and called to Him those whom He desired; and they came to Him. [14] And He appointed twelve, to be with Him, and to be sent out to preach [15] and have authority to cast out demons; [16] Simon whom He surnamed Peter; [17] James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, whom He surnamed Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; [18] Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, [19] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.
________________________
Commentary:
13. "He called to Him those whom He desired": God wants to show us that calling, vocation, is an initiative of God. This is particularly true in the case of the Apostles, which is why Jesus could tell them, later on, that "you did not choose Me, but I chose you" (Jn 15:16). Those who will have power and authority in the Church will not obtain this because first they offer their services and then Jesus accepts their offering: on the contrary, "not through their own initiative and preparation, but rather by virtue of divine grace, would they be called to the apostolate" (St. Bede, "In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
14-19. The Twelve chosen by Jesus (cf. 3:14) receive a specific vocation to be "people sent out", which is what the word "apostles" means. Jesus chooses them for a mission which He will give them later (6:6-13) and to enable them to perform this mission He gives them part of His power. The fact that He chooses "twelve" is very significant. This is the same number as the twelve Patriarchs of Israel, and the Apostles represent the new people of God, the Church founded by
Christ. Jesus sought in this way to emphasize the continuity that exists between the Old and New Testaments. The Twelve are the pillars on which Christ builds His Church (cf. Gal 2:9); their mission to make disciples of the Lord (to teach) all nations, sanctifying and governing the believers (Mt 28:16-20; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:45-48; Jn 20:21-23).
14. The Second Vatican Council sees in this text the establishment of the College of the Apostles: "The Lord Jesus, having prayed at length to the Father, called to Himself those whom He willed and appointed twelve to be with Him, whom He might send to preach the Kingdom of God (cf. Mk 3:13-19; Mt 10:1-42). These apostles (cf. Lk 6:13) He constituted in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which He placed Peter, chosen from amongst them" (cf. Jn 21: 15-17) [...]. "That divine mission, which was committed by Christ to the apostles, is destined to last until the end of the world (cf. Mt 28:20), since the Gospel, which they were charged to hand on, is, for the Church, the principle of all its life for all time. For that very reason the apostles were careful to appoint successors in their hierarchically constituted society." ("Lumen Gentium", 19-20). Therefore, the Pope and the bishops, who succeed to the College of the Twelve, are also called by our Lord to be always with Jesus and to preach the Gospel, aided by priests.
Life in union with Christ and apostolic zeal must be very closely linked together; in other words, effectiveness in apostolate always depends on union with our Lord, on continuous prayer and on sacramental life: "Apostolic zeal is a divine craziness I want you to have. Its symptoms are: hunger to know the Master; constant concern for souls; perseverance that nothing can shake" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 934).
16. At this point, before the word "Simon" the sentence "He formed the group of the twelve" occurs in many manuscripts (it is similar to the phrase "He appointed twelve" in v. 14) but it is not included in the New Vulgate. The repetition of the same _expression and the article in "the twelve" show the importance of the establishment of the Apostolic College.
___________________________
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.
Principles and Practices - January 22
The Real Ways
Hold thyself in low esteem, renounce the pleasures of the senses; detach thyself from the vain cares of this world, and thou shalt gain true peace of mind.
-St. Sisoes.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Hold thyself in low esteem, renounce the pleasures of the senses; detach thyself from the vain cares of this world, and thou shalt gain true peace of mind.
-St. Sisoes.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 21
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
SUSCIPE
Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my whole will.
Thou hast given me all that I am, and all that I possess.
I surrender it all to Thee, that Thou mayest dispose of it according to Thy will.
Give me only Thy love and Thy grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will have no more to desire.
(-St. Ignatius Loyola.)
Indulgence: 300 days, once a day.
Leo XIII, May 26, 1883.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
SUSCIPE
Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my whole will.
Thou hast given me all that I am, and all that I possess.
I surrender it all to Thee, that Thou mayest dispose of it according to Thy will.
Give me only Thy love and Thy grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will have no more to desire.
(-St. Ignatius Loyola.)
Indulgence: 300 days, once a day.
Leo XIII, May 26, 1883.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Gospel for Thursday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
From: Mark 3:7-12
Cures Beside the Sea of Galilee
[7] Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed; also from Judea [8] and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing all that He did, came to Him. [9] And He told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him; [10] for He had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon Him to touch Him. [11] And whenever the unclean spirits beheld Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." [12] And He strictly ordered them not to make Him known.
_____________________
Commentary:
10. During our Lord's public life people were constantly crowding round Him to be cured (cf. Luke 6:19; 8:45; etc). As in the case of many other cures, St. Mark gives us a graphic account of what Jesus did to these people (cf. Mark 1:31, 41; 7:31-37; 8:22-26; John 9:1-7, 11, 15). By working these cures our Lord shows that He is both God and man: He cures by virtue of His divine power and using His human nature. In other words, only in the Word of God become man is the work of our Redemption effected, and the instrument God used to save us was the human nature of Jesus--His Body and Soul--in the unity of the person of the Word (cf. Vatican II, "Sacrosanctum Concilium", 5).
This crowding round Jesus is repeated by Christians of all times: the holy human nature of our Lord is our only route to salvation; it is the essential means we must use to unite ourselves to God. Thus, we can today approach our Lord by means of the sacraments, especially and pre-eminently the Eucharist. And through the sacraments there flows to us, from God, through the human nature of the Word, a strength which cures those who receive the sacraments with faith (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa theologiae", III, q. 62, a. 5).
___________________________
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.
Cures Beside the Sea of Galilee
[7] Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed; also from Judea [8] and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing all that He did, came to Him. [9] And He told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him; [10] for He had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon Him to touch Him. [11] And whenever the unclean spirits beheld Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." [12] And He strictly ordered them not to make Him known.
_____________________
Commentary:
10. During our Lord's public life people were constantly crowding round Him to be cured (cf. Luke 6:19; 8:45; etc). As in the case of many other cures, St. Mark gives us a graphic account of what Jesus did to these people (cf. Mark 1:31, 41; 7:31-37; 8:22-26; John 9:1-7, 11, 15). By working these cures our Lord shows that He is both God and man: He cures by virtue of His divine power and using His human nature. In other words, only in the Word of God become man is the work of our Redemption effected, and the instrument God used to save us was the human nature of Jesus--His Body and Soul--in the unity of the person of the Word (cf. Vatican II, "Sacrosanctum Concilium", 5).
This crowding round Jesus is repeated by Christians of all times: the holy human nature of our Lord is our only route to salvation; it is the essential means we must use to unite ourselves to God. Thus, we can today approach our Lord by means of the sacraments, especially and pre-eminently the Eucharist. And through the sacraments there flows to us, from God, through the human nature of the Word, a strength which cures those who receive the sacraments with faith (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa theologiae", III, q. 62, a. 5).
___________________________
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.
Principles and Practices - January 21
The First Way
Our Lord said: 'He who seeth Me seeth the Father.' Christ is God, and to think of Christ is to think of God. Learn to picture Our Lord from the scenes of the Gospel.
We think of characters in books who have influenced us for good. The recollection helps. We recall words and acts. We muse upon them. Why not do the same with the words and acts of Our Lord?
To know Our Lord properly must sooner or later make us love Him deeply. When we know and love Him like that we shall want to think of Him frequently. Let us make Our Lord real. Then we shall practise the presence of God.
-Anonymous.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Our Lord said: 'He who seeth Me seeth the Father.' Christ is God, and to think of Christ is to think of God. Learn to picture Our Lord from the scenes of the Gospel.
We think of characters in books who have influenced us for good. The recollection helps. We recall words and acts. We muse upon them. Why not do the same with the words and acts of Our Lord?
To know Our Lord properly must sooner or later make us love Him deeply. When we know and love Him like that we shall want to think of Him frequently. Let us make Our Lord real. Then we shall practise the presence of God.
-Anonymous.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 20
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
ST. THERESA'S BOOK MARK
Let nothing disturb thee,
Nothing affright thee,
All things are passing;
God never changeth;
Patient endurance
Attaineth to all things;
Who God posesseth
In nothing is wanting;
Alone God sufficeth.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
ST. THERESA'S BOOK MARK
Let nothing disturb thee,
Nothing affright thee,
All things are passing;
God never changeth;
Patient endurance
Attaineth to all things;
Who God posesseth
In nothing is wanting;
Alone God sufficeth.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Gospel for Wednesday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
From: Mark 3:1-6
The Curing of the Man with a Withered Hand
[1] Again He (Jesus) entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. [2] And they watched Him, to see whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. [3] And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come here." [4] And He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. [5] And He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. [6] The Pharisees went out, and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against Him, how to destroy Him.
____________________
Commentary:
5. The evangelists refer a number of times to the way Jesus looks at people (e.g. at the young man: Mark 10:21; at St. Peter: Luke 22:61, etc). This is the only time we are told He showed indignation--provoked by the hypocrisy shown in verse 2.
6. The Pharisees were the spiritual leaders of Judaism; the Herodians were those who supported the regime of Herod, benefiting politically and financially thereby. The two were completely opposed to one another and avoided each other's company, yet they combined forces against Jesus. The Pharisees wanted to see the last of Him because they considered Him a dangerous innovator. The most recent occasion may have been when He pardoned sins (Mark 2:1ff) and interpreted with full authority the law of the Sabbath (Mark 3:2); they also want to get rid of Him because they consider that He lowered their own prestige in the eyes of the people by the way He cured the man with the withered hand. The Herodians, for their part, despised the supernatural and eschatological tone of Christ's message, since they looked forward to a purely political and temporal Messiah.
___________________________
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.
The Curing of the Man with a Withered Hand
[1] Again He (Jesus) entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. [2] And they watched Him, to see whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. [3] And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come here." [4] And He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. [5] And He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. [6] The Pharisees went out, and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against Him, how to destroy Him.
____________________
Commentary:
5. The evangelists refer a number of times to the way Jesus looks at people (e.g. at the young man: Mark 10:21; at St. Peter: Luke 22:61, etc). This is the only time we are told He showed indignation--provoked by the hypocrisy shown in verse 2.
6. The Pharisees were the spiritual leaders of Judaism; the Herodians were those who supported the regime of Herod, benefiting politically and financially thereby. The two were completely opposed to one another and avoided each other's company, yet they combined forces against Jesus. The Pharisees wanted to see the last of Him because they considered Him a dangerous innovator. The most recent occasion may have been when He pardoned sins (Mark 2:1ff) and interpreted with full authority the law of the Sabbath (Mark 3:2); they also want to get rid of Him because they consider that He lowered their own prestige in the eyes of the people by the way He cured the man with the withered hand. The Herodians, for their part, despised the supernatural and eschatological tone of Christ's message, since they looked forward to a purely political and temporal Messiah.
___________________________
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.
Principles and Practices - January 20
The Unchanging Friend
What a wonderful privilege it is to have Jesus for our Friend, to know that He is ready and anxious to help us in all our sorrows and pains, even should they come from the result of sin committed by us. He loves us, and He is our God, our Refuge and our Hope. Why should we be sad when we know that, no matter what our crosses are, nor how friendless and lonely we may be, Jesus still stands beside us - a Friend to the very 1ast.
-Knoff.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
What a wonderful privilege it is to have Jesus for our Friend, to know that He is ready and anxious to help us in all our sorrows and pains, even should they come from the result of sin committed by us. He loves us, and He is our God, our Refuge and our Hope. Why should we be sad when we know that, no matter what our crosses are, nor how friendless and lonely we may be, Jesus still stands beside us - a Friend to the very 1ast.
-Knoff.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 19
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
SELF-SURRENDER
"Into Thy hands I commend my spirit."
Jesus came on earth as our Master, and He wills that we should learn from Him the lesson of full and entire submission to the will of God. His life was one uninterrupted act of self-abandonment, beginning with the "Ecce venio" of the Incarnation, "Lo, I come to do Thy will," till the final commendation of His soul on the cross.
Like Him, we must yield ourselves as living sacrifices to God, content, as far as our will goes, to accept health or illness, wealth or poverty, interior peace or the conflict with temptation.
God knows what is best, and He can and will provide the necessary means of sanctification for each of the souls that are so dear to Him, and this thought should help us to cast all our care on Him.
-Madame Cecilia: Cor Cordium.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
SELF-SURRENDER
"Into Thy hands I commend my spirit."
Jesus came on earth as our Master, and He wills that we should learn from Him the lesson of full and entire submission to the will of God. His life was one uninterrupted act of self-abandonment, beginning with the "Ecce venio" of the Incarnation, "Lo, I come to do Thy will," till the final commendation of His soul on the cross.
Like Him, we must yield ourselves as living sacrifices to God, content, as far as our will goes, to accept health or illness, wealth or poverty, interior peace or the conflict with temptation.
God knows what is best, and He can and will provide the necessary means of sanctification for each of the souls that are so dear to Him, and this thought should help us to cast all our care on Him.
-Madame Cecilia: Cor Cordium.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Monday, January 18, 2010
Gospel for Tuesday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
From: Mark 2:23-28
The Law of the Sabbath
[23] One Sabbath He (Jesus) was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way His disciples began to pluck ears of grain. [24] And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" [25] And He said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and hungry, he and those whowere with him: [26] how he entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" [27] And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath; [28] so the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
______________________
Commentary:
24. Cf. note on Matthew 12:2. [Note on Matthew 12:2 states: "The Sabbath": this was the day the Jews set aside for worshipping God. God Himself, the originator of the Sabbath (Genesis 2:3), ordered the Jewish people to avoid certain kinds of work on this day (Exodus 20:8-11; 21:13; Deuteronomy 5:14) to leave them free to give more time to God. As time went by, the rabbis complicated this Divine precept: by Jesus' time they had extended to 39 the list of kinds of forbidden work.
The Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples of breaking the Sabbath. In the casuistry of the scribes and the Pharisees, plucking ears of corn was the same as harvesting, and crushing them was the same as milling--types of agricultural work forbidden on the Sabbath.]
26-27. The bread of the Presence consisted of twelve loaves or cakes placed each morning on the table in the sanctuary, as homage to the Lord from the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Leviticus 24:5-9). The loaves withdrawn to make room for the fresh ones were reserved to the priests.
Abiathar's action anticipates what Christ teaches here. Already in the Old Testament God had established a hierarchy in the precepts of the Law so that the lesser ones yielded to the main ones.
This explains why a ceremonial precept (such as the one we are discussing) should yield before a precept of the natural law. Similarly, the commandment to keep the Sabbath does not come before the duty to seek basic subsistence. Vatican II uses this passage of the Gospel to underline the value of the human person over and above economic and social development: "The social order and its development must constantly yield to the good of the person, since the order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons and not the other way around, as the Lord suggested when He said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The social order requires constant improvement: it must be founded on truth, built on justice, and enlivened by love" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 26).
Finally in this passage Christ teaches God's purpose in instituting the Sabbath: God established it for man's good, to help him rest and devote himself to Divine worship in joy and peace. The Pharisees, through their interpretation of the Law, had turned this day into a source of anguish and scruple due to all the various prescriptions and prohibitions they introduced.
By proclaiming Himself `Lord of the Sabbath', Jesus affirms His divinity and His universal authority. Because He is Lord He has the power to establish other laws, as Yahweh had in the Old Testament.
28. The Sabbath had been established not only for man's rest but also to give glory to God: that is the correct meaning of the _expression "the Sabbath was made for man." Jesus has every right to say He is Lord of the Sabbath, because He is God. Christ restores to the weekly day of rest its full, religious meaning: it is not just a matter of fulfilling a number of legal precepts or of concern for physical well-being: the Sabbath belongs to God; it is one way, suited to human nature, of rendering glory and honor to the Almighty. The Church, from the time of the Apostles onwards, transferred the observance of this precept to the following day, Sunday--the Lord's Day--in celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
"Son of Man": the origin of the messianic meaning of this _expression is to be found particularly in the prophecy of Daniel 7:13ff, where Daniel, in a prophetic vision, contemplates `one like the Son of Man' coming down on the clouds of Heaven, who even goes right up to God's throne and is given dominion and glory and royal power over all peoples and nations. This _expression appears 69 times in the Synoptic Gospels; Jesus prefers it to other ways of describing the Messiah--such as Son of David, Messiah, etc.--thereby avoiding the nationalistic overtones those expressions had in Jewish minds at the time (cf. "Introduction to the Gospel according to St. Mark", p. 62 above).
___________________________
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.
The Law of the Sabbath
[23] One Sabbath He (Jesus) was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way His disciples began to pluck ears of grain. [24] And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" [25] And He said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and hungry, he and those whowere with him: [26] how he entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" [27] And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath; [28] so the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
______________________
Commentary:
24. Cf. note on Matthew 12:2. [Note on Matthew 12:2 states: "The Sabbath": this was the day the Jews set aside for worshipping God. God Himself, the originator of the Sabbath (Genesis 2:3), ordered the Jewish people to avoid certain kinds of work on this day (Exodus 20:8-11; 21:13; Deuteronomy 5:14) to leave them free to give more time to God. As time went by, the rabbis complicated this Divine precept: by Jesus' time they had extended to 39 the list of kinds of forbidden work.
The Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples of breaking the Sabbath. In the casuistry of the scribes and the Pharisees, plucking ears of corn was the same as harvesting, and crushing them was the same as milling--types of agricultural work forbidden on the Sabbath.]
26-27. The bread of the Presence consisted of twelve loaves or cakes placed each morning on the table in the sanctuary, as homage to the Lord from the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Leviticus 24:5-9). The loaves withdrawn to make room for the fresh ones were reserved to the priests.
Abiathar's action anticipates what Christ teaches here. Already in the Old Testament God had established a hierarchy in the precepts of the Law so that the lesser ones yielded to the main ones.
This explains why a ceremonial precept (such as the one we are discussing) should yield before a precept of the natural law. Similarly, the commandment to keep the Sabbath does not come before the duty to seek basic subsistence. Vatican II uses this passage of the Gospel to underline the value of the human person over and above economic and social development: "The social order and its development must constantly yield to the good of the person, since the order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons and not the other way around, as the Lord suggested when He said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The social order requires constant improvement: it must be founded on truth, built on justice, and enlivened by love" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 26).
Finally in this passage Christ teaches God's purpose in instituting the Sabbath: God established it for man's good, to help him rest and devote himself to Divine worship in joy and peace. The Pharisees, through their interpretation of the Law, had turned this day into a source of anguish and scruple due to all the various prescriptions and prohibitions they introduced.
By proclaiming Himself `Lord of the Sabbath', Jesus affirms His divinity and His universal authority. Because He is Lord He has the power to establish other laws, as Yahweh had in the Old Testament.
28. The Sabbath had been established not only for man's rest but also to give glory to God: that is the correct meaning of the _expression "the Sabbath was made for man." Jesus has every right to say He is Lord of the Sabbath, because He is God. Christ restores to the weekly day of rest its full, religious meaning: it is not just a matter of fulfilling a number of legal precepts or of concern for physical well-being: the Sabbath belongs to God; it is one way, suited to human nature, of rendering glory and honor to the Almighty. The Church, from the time of the Apostles onwards, transferred the observance of this precept to the following day, Sunday--the Lord's Day--in celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
"Son of Man": the origin of the messianic meaning of this _expression is to be found particularly in the prophecy of Daniel 7:13ff, where Daniel, in a prophetic vision, contemplates `one like the Son of Man' coming down on the clouds of Heaven, who even goes right up to God's throne and is given dominion and glory and royal power over all peoples and nations. This _expression appears 69 times in the Synoptic Gospels; Jesus prefers it to other ways of describing the Messiah--such as Son of David, Messiah, etc.--thereby avoiding the nationalistic overtones those expressions had in Jewish minds at the time (cf. "Introduction to the Gospel according to St. Mark", p. 62 above).
___________________________
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.
Principles and Practices - January 19
How God Helps
Remember that no penitent soul can perish. And no soul that loves God can be lost. Let us read the traces of God's loving Hand in all our ways - the events, the changes, the chances of this troubled life. It is God that dispenses all. Any suffering in this world, rather than to perish in the world to come. Any shame now rather than the shame before Christ at His coming with the holy angels.
-Cardinal Mannng.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Remember that no penitent soul can perish. And no soul that loves God can be lost. Let us read the traces of God's loving Hand in all our ways - the events, the changes, the chances of this troubled life. It is God that dispenses all. Any suffering in this world, rather than to perish in the world to come. Any shame now rather than the shame before Christ at His coming with the holy angels.
-Cardinal Mannng.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 18
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
PATIENCE IN ADVERSITIES
Receive all adverse things lovingly, as most precious gifts sent to thee from God.
Think not that anything happens to thee except by the dispensation of Divine Providence; for, unless the Lord permitted it, thou wouldst suffer no adversity.
When our common enemy inflicted on the blessed Job the loss of his goods and of his children, the holy man said not, the Lord gave, and the devil hath taken away; but what saith he? "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; as it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job. i. 21).
Be not angry with men who injure thee; but, recognizing in them the instruments of the divine dispensations, love them, and give thanks to God. Regard with the eyes of thy heart Him Who allows thee to be tried by troubles, rather than those who trouble thee.
Although God may purify, and prove thee, He does not forsake thee. For "the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart, and He will save the humble of spirit" (Ps. xxxiii. 19).
Perhaps thou knowest not now why He thus bruises and chastises thee; but, when thou art come to Him, thou wilt recognize that those scourges with which He now tries thee, came only from His love of thee. He permits no misfortune, however, trifling, to happen without its being for the exceeding advantage of him who suffers it, if he is patient. The humble endurance of interior dereliction is more pleasing to Him than great sweetness of devotion. He will not suffer thee to be tempted beyond thy strength, provided thou trustest not in thyself, but in Him; provided thou art patient, and waitest in holy confidence for His help.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
PATIENCE IN ADVERSITIES
Receive all adverse things lovingly, as most precious gifts sent to thee from God.
Think not that anything happens to thee except by the dispensation of Divine Providence; for, unless the Lord permitted it, thou wouldst suffer no adversity.
When our common enemy inflicted on the blessed Job the loss of his goods and of his children, the holy man said not, the Lord gave, and the devil hath taken away; but what saith he? "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; as it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job. i. 21).
Be not angry with men who injure thee; but, recognizing in them the instruments of the divine dispensations, love them, and give thanks to God. Regard with the eyes of thy heart Him Who allows thee to be tried by troubles, rather than those who trouble thee.
Although God may purify, and prove thee, He does not forsake thee. For "the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart, and He will save the humble of spirit" (Ps. xxxiii. 19).
Perhaps thou knowest not now why He thus bruises and chastises thee; but, when thou art come to Him, thou wilt recognize that those scourges with which He now tries thee, came only from His love of thee. He permits no misfortune, however, trifling, to happen without its being for the exceeding advantage of him who suffers it, if he is patient. The humble endurance of interior dereliction is more pleasing to Him than great sweetness of devotion. He will not suffer thee to be tempted beyond thy strength, provided thou trustest not in thyself, but in Him; provided thou art patient, and waitest in holy confidence for His help.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Catholic Relief Services Forms Partnership With Death Peddlers?
Unbelievable!!! But then, I not surprised at anything coming from the USCCB anymore...
The following was received via email from Randy Engel, Director, U.S. Coalition for Life:
___________________________________
The CCHD scandal is about the USCCB GIVING Money to the Death Peddlers
The CRS scandal is about the USCCB TAKING Money from the Death Peddlers
The CRS scandal is about the USCCB TAKING Money from the Death Peddlers
On Thursday, January 7, 2010, the following e-mail concerning the "partnership" of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation was sent by the U.S. Coalition for Life to the Most Rev. Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CRS, and Thomas Price, CRS Senior Communications Manager: Can you tell me why Catholic Relief Services is in a partnership with two of the world's greatest promoters of abortion and population control? Why the glowing promotion of two of the world's most anti-life foundations? Randy Engel, Director, USCL
The next day, the USCL received a response from Mr. Price which reads in part:
Thank you for your letter of concern on the Gates Foundation and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. As an official agency of the Catholic Church, Catholic Relief Services strictly adheres to the teaching of the Catholic Church and the policies of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Our first Guiding Principle states that "all human life is sacred and possesses a dignity that comes directly from our creation and not from any action of our own, …" The Catholic Church often participates in humanitarian initiatives that include a large range of partners — and we do not always agree with everything they stand for. However, the work that is undertaken directly with any of our partners always strictly adheres to Church teaching. We do not provide or promote artificial birth control and would never accept funding from any donor that would compromise the agency's adherence to Catholic teaching. …" Sincerely, Tom Price
THE SIN OF COMISSION AND OF OMISSION
According to the CRS official website (www.crs.org), the Gates Foundation is "guided by the belief that every life has equal value." CRS praises the foundation's work "to help all people lead healthy, productive lives," and "to ensure that all people… have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. …"
In exchange for perpetuating this glorious deception and maintaining a silence on the Gates/Buffett world-wide killing machine, CRS has received in excess of $40 million for global and agricultural development and financial services for the poor from 2003 to 2009. Compared to the billions Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett and his family spend on their true passion – baby killing and. population control – it's a drop in the bucket, of course, but I'm sure they consider their money well spent.
In reviewing the anti-life record of the Gateses and Buffetts, one they have successfully keep out of the public eye, thanks to organizations like CRS, it's difficult to avoid the conclusion that "they never met an anti-life, anti-family enterprise that they did not love (and eventually fund)."
A PROFILE OF THE DEATH PEDDLERS
Starting with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation directed by the Gateses and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett, father of Howard G. Buffett., here is a sampling of the anti-life organizations and activities it has supported, with a brief commentary on each:
· International Planned Parenthood Federation – $41,876,150 since 1998. Supports a total anti-life agenda world-wide. Organizes massive anti-life initiatives the world over.
· Planned Parenthood Federation of America – $12,984,000 since 1998. Does not include millions for PP abortion centers in Gates' home state of Washington and elsewhere. Performs over 200,000 surgical abortions per year and supports a full anti-life agenda including contraception, sterilization, abortifacients, live human embryo and fetal experimentation, sex education, divorce, fornication, infanticide, homosexuality, eugenics, infanticide, pornography, in vitro fertilization.
· U.N. Fund for Population Activities and Americans for UNFPA – $56,681,272 in 2000. An indirect grant to UNFPA of $2,200,000,000 for "reproductive health" and mass population control programs.
· Pathfinder International – $1,585,000 in 1999, 2009. Among top deadliest abortion providers, trains abortionists, procures abortion and sterilization equipment. Promotes "reproductive options" among adolescents.
· International Projects Assistance Services – Promotes "sexual and reproductive rights."
· Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Urban Reproductive Health Initiative – Pushes population control in Africa and South Asia .
· Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – $9,864,398 (2009-2011). Sponsors world-class population control conferences which push modern fertility control techniques, abortion and sterilization including female condoms, injectable abortifacients, and "menstrual regulation" kits.
· Population Communications International – $3,775,000. Specializes in population control propaganda for mass media.
· Family Health International – Specializes in mass sterilization and abortifacients and "menstrual regulation" kits.
· Family Care International – $14,643,712. Seeks to promote and defend "abortion rights" and mass population control projects.
· Stem Cell and Cloning Research – $400,000 donation for California campaign in favor of state supported programs of human embryonic stem cell research and cloning projects
· EPF: The Inter-European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development – $1,598,245. To promote "reproductive health care" around the world. According to the EPF, "in February 2002 it signed up to the "See Change" campaign; an initiative started by Catholics For Free Choice with the objective of changing the status of the Vatican at the United Nations. Following this, the parliamentary groups in Sweden and Spain both held parliamentary hearings on the role of the Vatican City in UN decision-making and its obstruction of progress on reproductive health and rights issues."
As a member of the elite Club of Rome, Bill Gates is dedicated to the war against the proliferation of people, but he has other side interests as well include the promotion of the vice of homosexuality.
In 1989, Microsoft was one of the first companies in the world to offer employee benefits to same-sex domestic partners and to include sexual orientation in its corporate nondiscrimination policy. The company has supported and sponsored pro-gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues activities and programs including GLEAM, an organized employee resource group for homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender employees. As part of its Diversity Initiatives Program, GLEAM partners with Microsoft's executive leadership teams to define and implement corporate diversity initiatives companywide, such as the company's GLBT Pride Month celebration and GLBT-specific diversity training.
In July 2007, Bill Gates used part of his Microsoft fortune to purchase 56.3% of PlanetOut, a homosexual activist publishing company that runs a number of "gay" publications and services and is a major provider of hard core homosexual pornography.
Now, let's turn our attention to the anti-life organization, services and research funded with the Warren Buffett billions:
· Buffett money has funded important clinical trials for RU-486, (Mifepristone/Mifeprex), the so-called "abortion pill," putting the lethal drug on the fast track in the U.S. and abroad.
· Two million dollars to Family Health International helped finance mass experimental sterilization programs in third world countries using the dangerous chemical quinacrine hydrochloride. The drug is banned in the U.S. and Canada .
· Population Communications International – Specializes in population control propaganda for mass media.
- German Foundation for World Population – Population control programs directed at youth "as agents of change."
- International Projects Assistance Services – Promotes sexual and reproductive rights. Buffett gave IPAS $20,000,000 for the manufacturer and distribution of manual abortion suction pumps for use in poor countries.
· Population Council – $3,500,000. One of the oldest population control and abortion research agencies in the United States .
· Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice – $700,000. Recruits and engages churches and clergy in supporting abortion rights.
· NARAL – $1,500,000. A promoter of abortion rights in the United States .
· Catholics for a Free Choice – $485,000. Money used to challenge and undermine Catholic opposition to abortion.
· Center for Reproductive Rights – $737,000. Carries out pro-abortion litigation. Helped strike down Nebraska 's ban on partial-birth abortion/infanticide.
· National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy – $250,000. A pro-abortion group that targets teens.
· Family Health International – $20,000,000. Specializes in mass sterilization and abortifacients and "menstrual regulation" kits and abortion vacuum aspirators.
· Family Care International – Promotes abortion and mass population control projects.
· Pathfinder International – $582,000. Promotes abortion rights and services.
· Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation – Provides millions of dollars for abortion rights groups including many of the above groups.
· Access Project – $496,000. Promotes abortion rights and services.
· GIRE – $485,000. Promotes abortion rights and services in Mexico .
The record is clear – the hands of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett are soaked with the innocent blood of millions of unborn children. The only question that remains is "Is the body count high enough for CRS to dump the death peddlers as donors?"
THE TRAGEDY OF CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES
The objective of this mailing is to persuade the American Bishops, especially those who serve on the Board of Directors of CRS, to publicly reject any and all donations from the Gates and Buffett Foundations and any other corporation or government entity that funds and promotes anti-life, anti-family and anti-God programs, services, and research in the United States and abroad. The message is simple - "Just say no"…. to the death peddlers.
As with the scandal-ridden Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Catholics should withhold all funding of Catholic Relief Services until this blatant injustice is publicly corrected. The CRS National Diocesan Campaign is usually held on the 4th Sunday of Lent. This will give CRS officials time to take action.
Unlike the CCHD, which should be disbanded, CRS, founded in 1943, has a long history of legitimate service to the Church especially in regard to refugee settlement and emergency disaster relief programs. The tragedy is that it has become just another compromised entity of the American Bishops' national bureaucracy which systematically poisons everything it touches. The removal of the Bill and Melinda Gates and Buffett Foundations from the roster of CRS partners/donors list is important, but the problems with CRS run much deeper and are unlikely to be resolved by the liberal, leftist establishment and staff that runs and controls the USCCB.
As things stands now, faithful Catholics need to look elsewhere for legitimate Catholic charities and missions to support.
|
USCL Action Alert
Please send your letters, e-mails, and faxes asking Archbishop Timothy Dolan to take the lead in severing all CRS, and other USCCB agency ties with the Gates and Buffett Foundations. They are not the only anti-life partners that CRS has teamed up with, but they are the worst.
A list of bishops who serve on the Board of Directors of CRS is provided below. If your bishop is on that list, please make him your top priority. If not, please send your communication to Archbishop Dolan, 1011 First Avenue, New York , NY 10022.
Phone: 212-371-1000. CRS Board of DirectorsMost Rev. Timothy Dolan - Chairman Most Rev. J. Kevin Boland Most Rev. Timothy Broglio Most Rev. Patrick R. Cooney Most Rev. Daniel Flores Most Rev. Martin D. Holley Most Rev. Joseph E. Kurtz Most Rev. Denis J. Madden Theodore Cardinal McCarrick Most Rev. Michael J. Sheehan Most Rev. George L. Thomas Most Rev. John Charles Wester
|
*The USCL wishes to express its appreciation to LifeSiteNews for their August 1, 2003 article "Buffett Foundation donations, 2001-02."
** For additional information contact Randy Engel, Director, US CL at 724-327-7379 or rvte61@comcast.net.
###
End of Email
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Gospel for Monday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
From: Mark 2:18-22
A Discussion on Fasting
[18] Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to Him (Jesus): "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" [19] And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. [20] The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. [21] No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. [22] And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins."
__________________
Commentary:
18-22. Using a particular case, Christ's reply tells about the connection between the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament the Bridegroom has not yet arrived; in the New Testament He is present, in the person of Christ. With Him began the Messianic Times, a new era distinct from the previous one. The Jewish fasts, therefore, together with their system of religious observances, must be seen as a way of preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah. Christ shows the difference between the spirit He has brought and that of the Judaism of His time.
This new spirit will not be something extra, added on to the old; it will bring to life the perennial teachings contained in the older Revelation. The newness of the Gospel--just like new wine--cannot fit within the molds of the Old Law.
But this passage says more: to receive Christ's new teaching people must inwardly renew themselves and throw off the straight-jacket of old routines.
19-20. Jesus describes Himself as the Bridegroom (cf. also Luke 12:35; Matthew 25:1-13; John 3:29), thereby fulfilling what the Prophets had said about the relationship between God and His people (cf. Hosea 2:18-22; Isaiah 54:5ff). The Apostles are the guests at the wedding, invited to share in the wedding feast with the Bridegroom, in the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Matthew 22:1-14).
In verse 20 Jesus announces that the Bridegroom will be taken away from them: this is the first reference He makes to His passion and death (cf. Mark 8:31; John 2:19; 3:14). The vision of joy and sorrow we see here epitomizes our human condition during our sojourn on earth.
___________________________
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.
A Discussion on Fasting
[18] Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to Him (Jesus): "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" [19] And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. [20] The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. [21] No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. [22] And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins."
__________________
Commentary:
18-22. Using a particular case, Christ's reply tells about the connection between the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament the Bridegroom has not yet arrived; in the New Testament He is present, in the person of Christ. With Him began the Messianic Times, a new era distinct from the previous one. The Jewish fasts, therefore, together with their system of religious observances, must be seen as a way of preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah. Christ shows the difference between the spirit He has brought and that of the Judaism of His time.
This new spirit will not be something extra, added on to the old; it will bring to life the perennial teachings contained in the older Revelation. The newness of the Gospel--just like new wine--cannot fit within the molds of the Old Law.
But this passage says more: to receive Christ's new teaching people must inwardly renew themselves and throw off the straight-jacket of old routines.
19-20. Jesus describes Himself as the Bridegroom (cf. also Luke 12:35; Matthew 25:1-13; John 3:29), thereby fulfilling what the Prophets had said about the relationship between God and His people (cf. Hosea 2:18-22; Isaiah 54:5ff). The Apostles are the guests at the wedding, invited to share in the wedding feast with the Bridegroom, in the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Matthew 22:1-14).
In verse 20 Jesus announces that the Bridegroom will be taken away from them: this is the first reference He makes to His passion and death (cf. Mark 8:31; John 2:19; 3:14). The vision of joy and sorrow we see here epitomizes our human condition during our sojourn on earth.
___________________________
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.
Principles and Practices - January 18
Generosity Always
Blessed are they who give the flower of their days and their strength of soul to God.
-Cardinal Newman.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Blessed are they who give the flower of their days and their strength of soul to God.
-Cardinal Newman.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 17
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
A PRAYER
Lord, give me a generous spirit,
A strong heart willing to share,
The chalice of bitter sorrow,
The Cross Thou didst meekly bear.
O make my beloved ones holy,
And pleasing, dear Lord, to Thee;
May we live a life that will merit
Thy face in glory to see.
May none O Jesus, O my sweet Jesus!
Be missed from Thy chosen band;
But all who have lived here together,
Be one in our Father-land.
And O may we meet those in Heaven,
Who to our hearts have been dear,
May all we have loved be united
In that bright Eternal sphere.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
A PRAYER
Lord, give me a generous spirit,
A strong heart willing to share,
The chalice of bitter sorrow,
The Cross Thou didst meekly bear.
O make my beloved ones holy,
And pleasing, dear Lord, to Thee;
May we live a life that will merit
Thy face in glory to see.
May none O Jesus, O my sweet Jesus!
Be missed from Thy chosen band;
But all who have lived here together,
Be one in our Father-land.
And O may we meet those in Heaven,
Who to our hearts have been dear,
May all we have loved be united
In that bright Eternal sphere.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
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