Optional Memorial of St. John of Capistrano, priest
Old Calendar: St. Anthony Mary Claret
From: Luke 12:35-38
The Need for Vigilance and the Parable of the Steward
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [35] "Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, [36] and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. [37] Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. [39] If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants!"
___________________________
Commentary:
35-39. In the preaching of Christ and of the Apostles we are frequently exhorted to be watchful (cf. Matthew 24:42; 25:13; Mark 14:34)--for one thing, because the enemy is always on the prowl (cf. 1 Peter 5:8), and also because a person in love is always awake (cf. Song of Songs 5:2). This watchfulness expresses itself in a spirit of prayer (cf. Luke 21:36; 1 Peter 4:7) and fortitude in faith (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:13). See the note on Matthew 25:1-13.
[The note on Matthew 25:1-13 states:
1-13. The main lesson of this parable has to do with the need to be on the alert: in practice, this means having the light of faith, which is kept alive with the oil of charity. Jewish weddings were held in the house of the bride's father. The virgins are young unmarried girls, bridesmaids who are in the bride's house waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. The parable centers on the attitude one should adopt up to the time when the bridegroom comes. In other words, it is not enough to know that one is "inside" the Kingdom, the Church: one has to be on the watch and be preparing for Christ's coming by doing good works.
This vigilance should be continuous and unflagging, because the devil is forever after us, prowling around "like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). "Watch with the heart, watch with faith, watch with love, watch with charity, watch with good works [...]; make ready the lamps, make sure they do not go out [...], renew them with the inner oil of an upright conscience; then shall the Bridegroom enfold you in the embrace of His love and bring you into His banquet room, where your lamp can never be extinguished" (St. Augustine, "Sermon", 93).]
35. To enable them to do certain kinds of work the Jews used to hitch up the flowing garments they normally wore. "Girding your loins" immediately suggests a person getting ready for work, for effort, for a journey etc. (cf. Jeremiah 1:17; Ephesians 6:14; 1 Peter 1:13). Similarly, "having your lamps burning" indicates the sort of attitude a person should have who is on the watch or is waiting for someone's arrival.
___________________________
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.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Thoughts and Counsels - October 23
We should be cordial and affable with the poor, and with persons in humble circumstances. We should not treat them in a supercilious manner. Haughtiness makes them revolt. On the contrary, when we are affable with them, they become more docile and derive more benefit from the advice they receive.
-St. Vincent de Paul
_________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Vincent de Paul
_________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for October 23, Look Up
On the 16th of July, 1848, there lay dying in an island of New Guinea, in Oceania, a Vicar Apostolic belonging to the Society of Mary, Monsignor Colomb, a Savoyard of extreme valor; he had risked his life several times among people who were very difficult to convert and had offered himself as a victim for their salvation.
He directed his missionaries above all by confidence. "A look towards heaven will do you more good than twenty contemplations on hell," he said to them. To missionaries who had left all to evangelize the extreme outposts of Christianity the bishop could speak in that way.
Cannot I, a religious, profit by his counsel, particularly if I have difficulty in ridding myself of certain fears, and if I lack confidence? Can I not make use of his advice?
There is no need to ignore the dogma of the punishment of sin, nor to neglect the opportunity of recalling it to sinners, and even, now and then, to faithful souls, but all moments are not equally opportune for the consideration of every dogma.
I would fail in the virtue of hope if I doubted my eternal salvation. If I look forward to it in all confidence, I am not in the least presumptuous - confiding in my merits or in a certain imaginary assurance - I simply trust to the Divine mercy, force myself to live well and maintain my soul in peace.
The problem is not only that of my own salvation. If I don't reach it after all I have received, who will? The true problem is whether, after all my graces, I will be the saint God desires me to be; if I will draw after me all the souls that God has made dependent on my personal sanctity.
I must think rather of the heights than of the abysses. I must encourage myself with the thought that multitudes are attached to my life and that I ought to conduct them up to the heights foreseen and desired by God.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
He directed his missionaries above all by confidence. "A look towards heaven will do you more good than twenty contemplations on hell," he said to them. To missionaries who had left all to evangelize the extreme outposts of Christianity the bishop could speak in that way.
Cannot I, a religious, profit by his counsel, particularly if I have difficulty in ridding myself of certain fears, and if I lack confidence? Can I not make use of his advice?
There is no need to ignore the dogma of the punishment of sin, nor to neglect the opportunity of recalling it to sinners, and even, now and then, to faithful souls, but all moments are not equally opportune for the consideration of every dogma.
I would fail in the virtue of hope if I doubted my eternal salvation. If I look forward to it in all confidence, I am not in the least presumptuous - confiding in my merits or in a certain imaginary assurance - I simply trust to the Divine mercy, force myself to live well and maintain my soul in peace.
The problem is not only that of my own salvation. If I don't reach it after all I have received, who will? The true problem is whether, after all my graces, I will be the saint God desires me to be; if I will draw after me all the souls that God has made dependent on my personal sanctity.
I must think rather of the heights than of the abysses. I must encourage myself with the thought that multitudes are attached to my life and that I ought to conduct them up to the heights foreseen and desired by God.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Hillary's Record on Issues of Faith?
My previous post on "Hillary's National "Catholic" Steering Committee" linked to the Clinton site but did not include an attached "document" that discussed "Hillary's record on issues of faith." This document was also not on the website as far as I could tell. And the "Faith and Values Steering Committee" is not a "Catholic Steering Committee."
She wants us all to know that she stood with Mother Teresa (will we see that picture again this year?) and she commends the USCCB's call for being overrun by illegal immigration. She claims to have stood by Cardinal Bernardin (that should make faithful Catholics enthusiastic). Of course, she's found on the opposing team (the pro-death, pro-Satan) when it really comes to protecting the innocent life of the unborn.
If it weren't so sad it might be comical. And I would not be surprised to learn that many Christians will be seduced by her claims and rhetoric...
So, here is the document I received (absent the "Hillary for President" garbage). I'll let others do the dissecting of the distortions and alleged righteousness:
==============================
Hillary's record on issues of faith
A Person of Faith
Hillary Clinton grew up in the United Methodist Church, going to church every Sunday, attending Sunday School and learning about the world through her youth group. She learned the Golden Rule and the power of prayer at an early age. Her faith has sustained her throughout her life.
“I am very grateful that I had a grounding in faith that gave me the courage and strength to do what I thought was right, regardless of what the world thought.” — Hillary Clinton
A Person of Action
Hillary has spent her life promoting the common good; helping others as a young attorney at the Children’s Defense Fund, a volunteer registering new voters in the South, a Sunday School teacher, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, and United States Senator.
Hillary is a powerful voice for peace, human rights, women, children, and families.
• Promoting Peace and Championing Human Rights. As First Lady, Hillary has worked for peace in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and the Middle East. She has stood with religious leaders, including Mother Theresa, Bishop Tutu, Cardinal Bernardin, and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to protect human rights, alleviate poverty, and confront HIV/AIDS and its devastating effects on families and communities.
• Bringing Hope to Others. As First Lady, Hillary spoke out against the degradation and abuse of women and stood up for the powerful idea that women's rights are human rights. She has advocated for access to microfinance programs that enable the poor to start their own businesses and fought against human trafficking which is modern day slavery.
• Protecting America’s Children. Hillary worked to ensure the safety of prescription drugs for children and made sure kids get the immunizations they need through the Vaccines for Children Program. She reintroduced the Kinship Caregiver Support Act to provide families with the guidance they need to obtain health care coverage for the children in their care, apply for housing assistance, locate childcare, and enroll children in school. Hillary has fought the Bush Administration’s attempts to make drastic cuts to afterschool programs and has spoken out against the culture of violence and sex in the media.
• Supporting Our Families. Hillary proposed expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act to include 13 million more workers, which enables more caregivers to take time off to care for a new baby or elderly relative. She fought to stop George Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security and she supports middle-class tax cuts, including marriage penalty relief, Alternative Minimum Tax Reform, and a new tax cut for savings. She also proposed to expand paid family leave.
• Lifting People Out of Poverty. 36 million Americans live in poverty. Half the world — nearly 3 billion people — live on less that two dollars a day. Our faith calls us to action. Inaction against the horrific indignities of poverty is not an option. Hillary Clinton will bring the nation and world together to address and support those who suffer in poverty.
Welcoming People of Faith
Hillary is reaching out to people of all faiths to join her campaign and join together to achieve our shared goals. People of Faith are supporting Hillary for President because they are ready for change and know that Hillary is ready to lead. Join this important effort at www.hillaryclinton.com/faith
A Vision for the Common Good
As President, Hillary will be a public servant who strives to help all Americans reach their God-given potential.
“It is the values of faith, family, justice, and equal opportunity that have molded me to go to work to bring opportunity for all Americans.” — Hillary Clinton
• Hillary believes that it is time to end the war in Iraq. If President Bush does not end the war, when Hillary Clinton is President, she will. Her plan would bring U.S. troops home, work to bring stability to the region, and replace military force with a new diplomatic initiative to engage countries around the world in securing Iraq's future.
• Hillary knows health coverage is a moral issue, not just an economic one. Hillary's American Health Choices Plan covers all Americans and improves health care by giving choices, lowering costs and improving quality. It speaks to American values, families, and jobs.
• Hillary commends the call by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops to reform our immigration policy in a way that does not demonize individuals. She believes in a fairer process for people seeking to come to America, especially for those whose families have been torn apart. She supports a path to earned citizenship for those who are here, working hard, paying taxes, respecting the law, and willing to meet a high bar for becoming a citizen. Hillary does not support schemes that would penalize churches and hospitals for helping the truly needy.
• Hillary will invest in education. Hillary believes that voluntary pre-kindergarten for all children is not only the smart thing to do, but the right thing to do. She is a champion of higher education and has worked to promote retention and graduation for non-traditional students who are more likely to be balancing school with work or family responsibilities.
• Hillary has helped children move from foster care to adopted homes with safe and loving families. First Lady Hillary Clinton led the effort to enact the Foster Care and Adoption Reform Act, which doubled the number of adoptions out of foster care. U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton cosponsored the Adoption Promotion Action, which created incentives to adopt children with special needs. She applauds the work of Catholic agencies that assist women coping with a crisis pregnancy. Hillary has worked to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, especially teen pregnancies.
• Hillary believes we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation. As President, she will lead the charge to stop climate change by investing in clean energy technologies, increasing our fuel efficiency, and establishing a national market-based program to reduce global warming pollution.
• Hillary supports the funding of faith-based programs that promote the common good, such as feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless.
• Hillary will bring America together. The common good is based in the scriptural imperative to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” Hillary knows that one of the most important rules to follow is the Golden Rule. Hillary will bring America to the table in dialogue and compassion. We need change in America. Hillary is the leader who can bring us change.
###
Now, I'm feeling sick and dirty...
She wants us all to know that she stood with Mother Teresa (will we see that picture again this year?) and she commends the USCCB's call for being overrun by illegal immigration. She claims to have stood by Cardinal Bernardin (that should make faithful Catholics enthusiastic). Of course, she's found on the opposing team (the pro-death, pro-Satan) when it really comes to protecting the innocent life of the unborn.
If it weren't so sad it might be comical. And I would not be surprised to learn that many Christians will be seduced by her claims and rhetoric...
So, here is the document I received (absent the "Hillary for President" garbage). I'll let others do the dissecting of the distortions and alleged righteousness:
==============================Hillary's record on issues of faith
A Person of Faith
Hillary Clinton grew up in the United Methodist Church, going to church every Sunday, attending Sunday School and learning about the world through her youth group. She learned the Golden Rule and the power of prayer at an early age. Her faith has sustained her throughout her life.
“I am very grateful that I had a grounding in faith that gave me the courage and strength to do what I thought was right, regardless of what the world thought.” — Hillary Clinton
A Person of Action
Hillary has spent her life promoting the common good; helping others as a young attorney at the Children’s Defense Fund, a volunteer registering new voters in the South, a Sunday School teacher, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, and United States Senator.
Hillary is a powerful voice for peace, human rights, women, children, and families.
• Promoting Peace and Championing Human Rights. As First Lady, Hillary has worked for peace in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and the Middle East. She has stood with religious leaders, including Mother Theresa, Bishop Tutu, Cardinal Bernardin, and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to protect human rights, alleviate poverty, and confront HIV/AIDS and its devastating effects on families and communities.
• Bringing Hope to Others. As First Lady, Hillary spoke out against the degradation and abuse of women and stood up for the powerful idea that women's rights are human rights. She has advocated for access to microfinance programs that enable the poor to start their own businesses and fought against human trafficking which is modern day slavery.
• Protecting America’s Children. Hillary worked to ensure the safety of prescription drugs for children and made sure kids get the immunizations they need through the Vaccines for Children Program. She reintroduced the Kinship Caregiver Support Act to provide families with the guidance they need to obtain health care coverage for the children in their care, apply for housing assistance, locate childcare, and enroll children in school. Hillary has fought the Bush Administration’s attempts to make drastic cuts to afterschool programs and has spoken out against the culture of violence and sex in the media.
• Supporting Our Families. Hillary proposed expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act to include 13 million more workers, which enables more caregivers to take time off to care for a new baby or elderly relative. She fought to stop George Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security and she supports middle-class tax cuts, including marriage penalty relief, Alternative Minimum Tax Reform, and a new tax cut for savings. She also proposed to expand paid family leave.
• Lifting People Out of Poverty. 36 million Americans live in poverty. Half the world — nearly 3 billion people — live on less that two dollars a day. Our faith calls us to action. Inaction against the horrific indignities of poverty is not an option. Hillary Clinton will bring the nation and world together to address and support those who suffer in poverty.
Welcoming People of Faith
Hillary is reaching out to people of all faiths to join her campaign and join together to achieve our shared goals. People of Faith are supporting Hillary for President because they are ready for change and know that Hillary is ready to lead. Join this important effort at www.hillaryclinton.com/faith
A Vision for the Common Good
As President, Hillary will be a public servant who strives to help all Americans reach their God-given potential.
“It is the values of faith, family, justice, and equal opportunity that have molded me to go to work to bring opportunity for all Americans.” — Hillary Clinton
• Hillary believes that it is time to end the war in Iraq. If President Bush does not end the war, when Hillary Clinton is President, she will. Her plan would bring U.S. troops home, work to bring stability to the region, and replace military force with a new diplomatic initiative to engage countries around the world in securing Iraq's future.
• Hillary knows health coverage is a moral issue, not just an economic one. Hillary's American Health Choices Plan covers all Americans and improves health care by giving choices, lowering costs and improving quality. It speaks to American values, families, and jobs.
• Hillary commends the call by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops to reform our immigration policy in a way that does not demonize individuals. She believes in a fairer process for people seeking to come to America, especially for those whose families have been torn apart. She supports a path to earned citizenship for those who are here, working hard, paying taxes, respecting the law, and willing to meet a high bar for becoming a citizen. Hillary does not support schemes that would penalize churches and hospitals for helping the truly needy.
• Hillary will invest in education. Hillary believes that voluntary pre-kindergarten for all children is not only the smart thing to do, but the right thing to do. She is a champion of higher education and has worked to promote retention and graduation for non-traditional students who are more likely to be balancing school with work or family responsibilities.
• Hillary has helped children move from foster care to adopted homes with safe and loving families. First Lady Hillary Clinton led the effort to enact the Foster Care and Adoption Reform Act, which doubled the number of adoptions out of foster care. U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton cosponsored the Adoption Promotion Action, which created incentives to adopt children with special needs. She applauds the work of Catholic agencies that assist women coping with a crisis pregnancy. Hillary has worked to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, especially teen pregnancies.
• Hillary believes we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation. As President, she will lead the charge to stop climate change by investing in clean energy technologies, increasing our fuel efficiency, and establishing a national market-based program to reduce global warming pollution.
• Hillary supports the funding of faith-based programs that promote the common good, such as feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless.
• Hillary will bring America together. The common good is based in the scriptural imperative to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” Hillary knows that one of the most important rules to follow is the Golden Rule. Hillary will bring America to the table in dialogue and compassion. We need change in America. Hillary is the leader who can bring us change.
###
Now, I'm feeling sick and dirty...
National Coalition of American Nuns on Liturgical Translations
To Each U.S. Roman Catholic Bishop Regarding English Translations For The LiturgyFor our enlightenment and the enlightenment of bishops? More drivel from yet another dying group of malcontents intent on trying to destroy the Church.
Dear Bishop,
We are writing to you, each U.S. bishop, the U.S. Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, the International Committee on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in regard to the new Vatican-ordered translation of the Liturgy.
The Vatican-appointed translators have not produced a translation that is understandable to Catholics in the pews. We understand that, according to a 2005 poll of bishops, 47% of the U.S. bishops rated it "fair or poor".
The media has reported that even some bishops are complaining that some texts contain "clunky and archaic language". For example, why would the words "consubstantial to the Father" be used in the Creed? What meaning do these words have for 21st century English speaking Catholics?
Why use a medieval expression like, "We pray you bid" in the new Missal? This is not the way people speak today in the English-speaking world. We need to follow the liturgical principles set forth in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy from the Second Vatican Council.
Article 21 of that document states, "Christian people, as far as possible, should be able to understand them (texts and rites) with ease". The proposed text, "he who was born ineffably of the inviolate Virgin," is not easily understandable to Christian people, much less to the youth who are leaving the Church because of its irrelevancy.
Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie, PA., chair of the U.S. Bishops Committee on the Liturgy, has said the proposed changes by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy are "not acceptable". We agree. We ask you to make the translations appropriate, meaningful, and significant for today's Catholic.
Jeannine Gramick SL,
Donna Quinn OP,
Beth Rindler SFP
For the Board of the National Coalition of American Nuns
Source. - (Warning-Proceed at your own risk!)
Suspended priest threatens to expose Vatican homosexual network
Rome, Oct. 22, 2007 (CWNews.com) - An Italian priest who was suspended from his post in the Roman Curia last week has claimed that he has a list of active homosexuals working at the Vatican.Sounds a bit like 'extortion' to me - 'back off or I'll squeal'...a bit unusual for the 'lavender mafia' - I thought nobody talked...
...the disgraced cleric has pushed his claim further, saying that he has a “dossier” on the homosexual network and the priests involved. That information, he said, should make the Vatican “tremble...”
Bingo a big business for Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
Federal tax returns filed by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence show their biggest moneymaker over the years has been “Revival Bingo” and that, in 2005, San Francisco Catholic Charities received a $1000 donation from the “leading order of queer nuns.”
The information comes from the group’s Form 990, a form required by federal law to be filed every year by tax-exempt charities...
For the 2005 calendar year, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence reported a total income of $129,380, with an end-of-year balance of $55,330 after expenses. Of the total income, the group reported gross receipts of $33,212 for 10 bingo games -- an average of more than $3300 per game...
More at California Catholic Daily here.
Gospel for Monday, 29th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Luke 12:13-21
Parable of the Rich Fool
[13] One of the multitude said to Him (Jesus), "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me." [14] But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or divider over you?" [15] And He said to them, "Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." [16] And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; [17] and he thought to himself, `What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' [18] And he said, `I will do this: I will store all my grain and my goods. [19] And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.' [20] But God said to him, `Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' [21] So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
_________________________
Commentary:
13. This man is only interested in his own problems; he sees in Jesus only a teacher with authority and prestige who can help sort out his case (cf. Deuteronomy 21:17). He is a good example of those who approach religious authorities not to seek advice on the way they should go in their spiritual life, but rather to get them to solve their material problems. Jesus vigorously rejects the man's request--not because He is insensitive to the injustice which may have been committed in this family, but because it is not part of His redemptive mission to intervene in matters of this kind. By His word and example the Master shows us that His work of salvation is not aimed at solving the many social and family problems that arise in human society; He has come to give us principles and moral standards which should inspire our actions in temporal affairs, but not to give us precise, technical solutions to problems which arise; to that end He has endowed us with intelligence and freedom.
15-21. After His statement in verse 15, Jesus tells the parable of the foolish rich man: what folly it is to put our trust in amassing material goods to ensure we have a comfortable life on earth, forgetting the goods of the spirit, which are what really ensure us--through God's mercy--of eternal life.
This is how St. Athanasius explained these words of our Lord: "A person who lives as if he were to die every day--given that our life is uncertain by definition-- will not sin, for good fear extinguishes most of the disorder of our appetites; whereas he who thinks he has a long life ahead of him will easily let himself be dominated by pleasures" ("Adversus Antigonum").
19. This man's stupidity consisted in making material possession his only aim in life and his only insurance policy. It is lawful for a person to want to own what he needs for living, but if possession of material resources becomes an absolute, it spells the ultimate destruction of the individual and of society. "Increased possession is not the ultimate goal of nations nor of individuals. All growth is ambivalent. It is essential if man is to develop as a man, but in a way it imprisons man if he considers it the supreme good, and it restricts his vision. Then we see hearts harden and minds close, and men no longer gather together in friendship but out of self-interest, which soon leads to strife and disunity. The exclusive pursuit of possessions thus becomes an obstacle to individual fulfillment and to man's true greatness. Both for nations and for individual, avarice is the most evident form of underdevelopment" ([Pope] Paul VI, "Populorum Progressio", 19).
___________________________
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.
Parable of the Rich Fool
[13] One of the multitude said to Him (Jesus), "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me." [14] But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or divider over you?" [15] And He said to them, "Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." [16] And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; [17] and he thought to himself, `What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' [18] And he said, `I will do this: I will store all my grain and my goods. [19] And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.' [20] But God said to him, `Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' [21] So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
_________________________
Commentary:
13. This man is only interested in his own problems; he sees in Jesus only a teacher with authority and prestige who can help sort out his case (cf. Deuteronomy 21:17). He is a good example of those who approach religious authorities not to seek advice on the way they should go in their spiritual life, but rather to get them to solve their material problems. Jesus vigorously rejects the man's request--not because He is insensitive to the injustice which may have been committed in this family, but because it is not part of His redemptive mission to intervene in matters of this kind. By His word and example the Master shows us that His work of salvation is not aimed at solving the many social and family problems that arise in human society; He has come to give us principles and moral standards which should inspire our actions in temporal affairs, but not to give us precise, technical solutions to problems which arise; to that end He has endowed us with intelligence and freedom.
15-21. After His statement in verse 15, Jesus tells the parable of the foolish rich man: what folly it is to put our trust in amassing material goods to ensure we have a comfortable life on earth, forgetting the goods of the spirit, which are what really ensure us--through God's mercy--of eternal life.
This is how St. Athanasius explained these words of our Lord: "A person who lives as if he were to die every day--given that our life is uncertain by definition-- will not sin, for good fear extinguishes most of the disorder of our appetites; whereas he who thinks he has a long life ahead of him will easily let himself be dominated by pleasures" ("Adversus Antigonum").
19. This man's stupidity consisted in making material possession his only aim in life and his only insurance policy. It is lawful for a person to want to own what he needs for living, but if possession of material resources becomes an absolute, it spells the ultimate destruction of the individual and of society. "Increased possession is not the ultimate goal of nations nor of individuals. All growth is ambivalent. It is essential if man is to develop as a man, but in a way it imprisons man if he considers it the supreme good, and it restricts his vision. Then we see hearts harden and minds close, and men no longer gather together in friendship but out of self-interest, which soon leads to strife and disunity. The exclusive pursuit of possessions thus becomes an obstacle to individual fulfillment and to man's true greatness. Both for nations and for individual, avarice is the most evident form of underdevelopment" ([Pope] Paul VI, "Populorum Progressio", 19).
___________________________
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.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Thoughts and Counsels - October 22
Being all members of the same body, with the same head, who is Christ, it is proper that we should have in common the same joys and sorrows.
-Ven. Louis de Granada
_________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-Ven. Louis de Granada
_________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for October 22, Peace Through the Gospel
There was in Jerusalem, along with the leper hospital kept by the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, another leper hospital kept by Moravian sisters, a Protestant religious order. The largest number of patients in the hospital were Turks, but there were also Jews. One day a Christian of about twenty-two came. The doctors believed they could cure him. Alas! The leprosy reappeared in a terrible form and he became blind. What was God doing then? Were not the Turks going to conclude the uselessness of faith?
Teach him Braille? His fingers were dead and had lost tactual sensitivity. What was to be done? The Sisters read him a little from St. Paul. He wanted to learn the texts by heart. From then on, he never grew weary. Apart from the others he meditated and prayed. And the Sisters, pointing to him, remarked: "Surrounded by the Turks who had on his account blasphemed Christ, he lives in such peace, he is so good, so cheerful, that he can tell them what none among us has been ever able to do, 'It is my faith in Jesus which makes my leprosy so sweet to me. It is with Him that I accept what Allah has chosen for me and I bless Him for it.'"
Often we might wish that God would take away our cross. He grants a greater grace; He gives us the strength to accept it. For certain sick persons, for example, who are cured at Lourdes, how many return home with their infirmity! But they return with a greater courage to support their trial, and this miracle of the moral and spiritual order is, if we understand it well, superior to the sudden restoration of health.
Am I sufficiently penetrated with the Gospel? Have I drunk deeply enough, and with a soul sufficiently alert, at the sources of faith, of peace, of hope?
Ah! if only I knew the sacred words, by heart, or rather, if only the holy words were the very heart of my heart! How essential it is for me to know my Gospel, to meditate these Good Tidings, to learn to read and retain!
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Teach him Braille? His fingers were dead and had lost tactual sensitivity. What was to be done? The Sisters read him a little from St. Paul. He wanted to learn the texts by heart. From then on, he never grew weary. Apart from the others he meditated and prayed. And the Sisters, pointing to him, remarked: "Surrounded by the Turks who had on his account blasphemed Christ, he lives in such peace, he is so good, so cheerful, that he can tell them what none among us has been ever able to do, 'It is my faith in Jesus which makes my leprosy so sweet to me. It is with Him that I accept what Allah has chosen for me and I bless Him for it.'"
Often we might wish that God would take away our cross. He grants a greater grace; He gives us the strength to accept it. For certain sick persons, for example, who are cured at Lourdes, how many return home with their infirmity! But they return with a greater courage to support their trial, and this miracle of the moral and spiritual order is, if we understand it well, superior to the sudden restoration of health.
Am I sufficiently penetrated with the Gospel? Have I drunk deeply enough, and with a soul sufficiently alert, at the sources of faith, of peace, of hope?
Ah! if only I knew the sacred words, by heart, or rather, if only the holy words were the very heart of my heart! How essential it is for me to know my Gospel, to meditate these Good Tidings, to learn to read and retain!
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Cardinal Rigali: Pro-choice supporters worshipping false idols
People who support abortion, euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research are worshipping “modern-day false idols,” Cardinal Justin Rigali said in Lincoln Saturday.More here
“(They are) putting their faith in human ingenuity and technology,” rather than following God and moral principles, he told about 350 people attending the annual Nebraska pro-life convention.
Opposition to embryonic research is not a religious position, but a moral stance based on scientific facts, Rigali said...Even an embryo has the full complement of DNA that make a human being, he noted.
He also talked about the incorrect concept of freedom espoused by those who support abortion choice. “Freedom of choice is invoked against the freedom of someone to be born,” he said in the interview. “The most basic freedom is the freedom to exist, to live.” That freedom, Rigali said, is denied when an unborn child in aborted.
“The cause of life cannot be served by destroying life,” he said in his speech.
Notes from a Cultural Madhouse-They don’t know their onions
From California Catholic Daily, Christopher Zehnder writes:
It would certainly be of tremendous benefit for us to become acquainted or reacquainted with the writings of G.K. Chesterton, who has been called the "Apostle of Common Sense". The common thread in Chesterton’s writings is common sense.
When reading the above article on "common sense", I could not help but be reminded of Chesterton and of the work of Dale Ahlquist, whose books and program on EWTN bring the "Apostle of Common Sense" to so many who might otherwise not know of this man and his works defending both the Church and common sense...
While it is on my mind, allow me to post a link to Recovering The Lost Art of Common Sense , an excerpt from Common Sense 101: Lessons From G.K. Chesterton , by Dale Ahlquist. Enjoy!
It may mark me as naïve, but I believe Archbishop George Niederauer when he says he did not know that the two clown-like figures to whom he gave communion at Most Holy Redeemer church on Oct. 7 were members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. At least, I think the archbishop had his doubts, and giving the clowns the benefit of the doubt, gave them communion. . .Article is here.
...If there’s anything society seems to lack in our post-modern day, it’s common sense. “They don’t know their onions,” as my grandfather used to say. And, indeed, it’s not just “they” who can’t tell the difference between a Cippolini and a Vidalia, its we Catholics. Sometimes I think we have even less common sense than most people in the world. . .
Common sense is a function of tradition, something to which the Catholic Church is said to be committed beyond all sense. Tradition is that which is passed down from generation to generation. . .
Yet there is nothing so questioned and despised today as tradition. Tradition is immediately suspect in our time because it is thought of as a set of unexamined assumptions. . .
It would certainly be of tremendous benefit for us to become acquainted or reacquainted with the writings of G.K. Chesterton, who has been called the "Apostle of Common Sense". The common thread in Chesterton’s writings is common sense.
When reading the above article on "common sense", I could not help but be reminded of Chesterton and of the work of Dale Ahlquist, whose books and program on EWTN bring the "Apostle of Common Sense" to so many who might otherwise not know of this man and his works defending both the Church and common sense...
While it is on my mind, allow me to post a link to Recovering The Lost Art of Common Sense , an excerpt from Common Sense 101: Lessons From G.K. Chesterton , by Dale Ahlquist. Enjoy!
1st Reading for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: Exodus 17:8-13
A Battle Against the Amalekites
[8] Then came Amalek and fought with Israel at Rephidim. [9] And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand." [10] So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. [11] Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. [12] But Moses' hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat upon it, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. [13] And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
___________________
Commentary:
17:8-16 In addition to shortages of food and water the Israelites also had to cope with attacks from other groups in the desert over rights to wells and pastures. Their confrontation with the Amalekites shows that the same God who has alleviated their more pressing needs (hunger and thirst) will protect them from enemy attack.
The Amalekites were an ancient people (cf Num 24:20; Gen 14:7; 36:12, 16; Judg 1:16) who were spread all over the north of the Sinai peninsula, the Negeb, Seir and the south of Canaan; they controlled the caravan routes between Arabia and Egypt. In the Bible they appear as a perennial enemy of Israel (cf. Deut 25:17-18; 1 Sam 15:3; 27:8; 30) until in the time of Hezekiah (1 Chron 4:41-43) the oracle about blotting out their memory finds fulfillment (v. 14). The mention of Joshua leading the battle and of Aaron and Hur helping Moses to pray point to the fact that after Moses political-military and religious authority will be split, with the priests taking over the latter.
With the rod in his hand, Moses directs the battle from a distance, but his main involvement is by interceding for his people, asking God to give them victory. The Fathers read this episode as a figure of the action of Christ who, on the cross (symbolized by the rod), won victory over the devil and death (cf. Tertullian, "Adversus Marcionem", 3, 18; St Cyprian, "Testimonia", 2, 21).
___________________________
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 Battle Against the Amalekites
[8] Then came Amalek and fought with Israel at Rephidim. [9] And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand." [10] So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. [11] Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. [12] But Moses' hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat upon it, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. [13] And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
___________________
Commentary:
17:8-16 In addition to shortages of food and water the Israelites also had to cope with attacks from other groups in the desert over rights to wells and pastures. Their confrontation with the Amalekites shows that the same God who has alleviated their more pressing needs (hunger and thirst) will protect them from enemy attack.
The Amalekites were an ancient people (cf Num 24:20; Gen 14:7; 36:12, 16; Judg 1:16) who were spread all over the north of the Sinai peninsula, the Negeb, Seir and the south of Canaan; they controlled the caravan routes between Arabia and Egypt. In the Bible they appear as a perennial enemy of Israel (cf. Deut 25:17-18; 1 Sam 15:3; 27:8; 30) until in the time of Hezekiah (1 Chron 4:41-43) the oracle about blotting out their memory finds fulfillment (v. 14). The mention of Joshua leading the battle and of Aaron and Hur helping Moses to pray point to the fact that after Moses political-military and religious authority will be split, with the priests taking over the latter.
With the rod in his hand, Moses directs the battle from a distance, but his main involvement is by interceding for his people, asking God to give them victory. The Fathers read this episode as a figure of the action of Christ who, on the cross (symbolized by the rod), won victory over the devil and death (cf. Tertullian, "Adversus Marcionem", 3, 18; St Cyprian, "Testimonia", 2, 21).
___________________________
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.
2nd Reading for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Staying True to Scripture
[14] But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it [15] and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. [16] All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Dedication to Preaching
[1] I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2] preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching.
___________________
Commentary:
14-15. "Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed": this is sound advice--that Timothy should not relinquish the truth which he learned from his mother and from the Apostle: "Religion, of its nature, must be passed on in its entirety to children with the same fidelity as it has been received by the parents themselves; we have no right to take religion and do with it what we will; rather, it is we who must follow religion wherever it leads us" (St Vincent of Lerins, "Commonitorium", 5).
Assiduous meditation on the Word of God and reflection on our experience in the light of faith make for deeper understanding of revealed truth; but the essential meaning of the truths of faith does not change, because God does not contradict himself. Progress in theolog y consists in obtaining this deeper understanding of the content of Revelation and relating it to the needs and the insights of people in each culture and period of history. In this connection Paul VI wrote: "We also insisted on the grave responsibility incumbent upon us, but which we share with our Brothers in the Episcopate, of preserving unaltered the content of the Catholic faith which the Lord entrusted to the Apostles. While being translated into all expressions, this content must be neither impaired nor mutilated. While being clothed with the outward forms proper to each people, and made explicit by theological expression which takes account of different cultural, social and even racial milieu it must remain the content of the Catholic faith just exactly as the ecclesial Magisterium has received it and transmits it" ("Evangelii Nuntiandi", 65).
16. Due to the conciseness of the Greek language (which often omits the verb to b e), this verse can also be translated as "All scripture inspired by God is profitable"; cf. the RSV note. Paul is explicitly stating here that all the books of the Bible are inspired by God, and are therefore of great help to the Church in its mission.
The books of Sacred Scripture enjoy special authority because "the divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself. To compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all the while he employed them in this task, made full use of their powers and faculties so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more. Since, therefore, all that the inspired authors, or sacred writers, affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture, firmly, faithfully and without error, teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scripture" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 11).
Therefore, the Bible is very useful in preaching and teaching, in theological research and for one's own spiritual advancement and that of others. Referring to the training of future priests, the Second Vatican Council recommends that they "receive a most careful training in Holy Scripture, which should be the soul, as it were, of all theology" ("Optatam Totius, 16).
St Gregory the Great has this to say about Scripture's usefulness "for teaching": "Anyone preparing to preach in the right way needs to take his points from the Sacred Scriptures in order to ensure that everything he says is based on divine authority" ("Moralia", 18, 26). And the same Father says elsewhere: "What is Sacred Scripture if not a kind of letter from almighty God to his creature? [...] Therefore, please study and reflect on the words of your Creator every day. Learn what the will of God is by entering deep into the words of that God, so as to desire divine things more ardently and set your soul aflame with great yearning for heavenly delights" ("Epistula ad Theodorum Medicum", 5, 31).
Scripture is also profitable "for reproof", St Jerome writes: "Read the divine Scriptures very often, or, to put it better, never let sacred reading matter out of your hands. Learn what it has to teach, keep a firm hold on the word of faith which accords with doctrine, so as to be able to exhort othe rs with sound doctrine and win over your opponents" ("Ad Nepoitanum", 7).
17. "Man of God": see the note on 1 Tim 6:11. This description shows the basis of a priest's dignity. "The priestly vocation is invested with a dignity and greatness which has no equal on earth. St Catherine of Siena put these words on Jesus' lips: 'I do not wish the respect which priests should be given to be in any way diminished; for the reverence and respect which is shown them is not referred to them but to Me, by virtue of the Blood which I have given to them to administer. Were it not for this, you should render them the same reverence as lay people, and no more....you must not offend them; by offending them you offend Me and not them. Therefore I forbid it and I have laid it down that you shall not touch my Christs" (J. Escriva, "In Love with the Church", 38).
1. The last chapter of the letter, summing up its main themes, is in fact St Paul's last wi ll and testament and has the features of that type of document: it begins in a formal manner (vv. 1-5), protests the sincerity of his dedicated life (vv. 6-8) and concludes with some very tender, personal messages (vv. 9-22).
The opening is couched in a solemn form (also found in 1 Tim 5:21) similar to a Greco-Roman will, laying on the heirs an obligation to carry out the testator's wishes: "I charge you"; a series of imperatives follows. To underline the importance of what the testator is requesting, God the Father and Jesus Christ are invoked as witnesses, guarantors of the commitments which will devolve on the heirs. By swearing this document the testator is performing an act of the virtue of religion, because he is acknowledging God as Supreme Judge, to whom we must render an account of our actions.
"Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead": a graphic, catechetical expression (cf. Acts 10:42; 1 Pet 4:5), confessing belief in the truth that all men without exception will undergo judgment by Jesus Christ, from whose decision there is no appeal. This has become part of the Creed; in a solemn profession of faith, the "Creed of the People of God", Pope Paul VI elaborated on this article of faith as we have seen in the commentary on 2 Thessalonians 1:5 above.
2. "Preach the word": that is, the message of the Gospel, which includes all the truths to be believed, the commandments to be kept and the sacraments and other supernatural resources to be availed of. In the life of the Church the ministry of the word has special importance; it is the channel God has established whereby man can partake of the Gospel; priests have a special duty to preach the word: "The people of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of the living God, which is quite rightly sought from the mouth of priests. For since nobody can be saved who has not first bel ieved, it is the first task of priests as co-workers of the bishops to preach the Gospel of God to all men. In this way they carry out the Lord's command, 'Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation' (Mk 16:15) and thus set up and increase the people of God" (Vatican II, "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 4).
"In season and out of season", that is, even in adverse circumstances (cf. v. 3), or when hearers are disinclined to accept the Christian message. Timothy and, like him, all other sacred ministers, ought to behave towards the faithful in accordance with the demands of Christian life and doctrine. "What do men want, what do they expect of the priest, the minister of Christ, the living sign of the presence of the Good Shepherd? We would venture to say that, although they may not explicitly say so, they need, want and hope for a priest-priest, a priest through and through, a man who gives his life for them, by opening to them the horizons of the soul; a man who unceasingly exercises his ministry whose heart is capable of understanding, and a man who gives simply and joyfully, in season and even out of season, what he alone can give--the richness of grace, of divine intimacy which, through him, God wishes to distribute among men" (A. del Portillo, "On Priesthood", p. 66).
___________________________
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.
Staying True to Scripture
[14] But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it [15] and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. [16] All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Dedication to Preaching
[1] I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2] preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching.
___________________
Commentary:
14-15. "Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed": this is sound advice--that Timothy should not relinquish the truth which he learned from his mother and from the Apostle: "Religion, of its nature, must be passed on in its entirety to children with the same fidelity as it has been received by the parents themselves; we have no right to take religion and do with it what we will; rather, it is we who must follow religion wherever it leads us" (St Vincent of Lerins, "Commonitorium", 5).
Assiduous meditation on the Word of God and reflection on our experience in the light of faith make for deeper understanding of revealed truth; but the essential meaning of the truths of faith does not change, because God does not contradict himself. Progress in theolog y consists in obtaining this deeper understanding of the content of Revelation and relating it to the needs and the insights of people in each culture and period of history. In this connection Paul VI wrote: "We also insisted on the grave responsibility incumbent upon us, but which we share with our Brothers in the Episcopate, of preserving unaltered the content of the Catholic faith which the Lord entrusted to the Apostles. While being translated into all expressions, this content must be neither impaired nor mutilated. While being clothed with the outward forms proper to each people, and made explicit by theological expression which takes account of different cultural, social and even racial milieu it must remain the content of the Catholic faith just exactly as the ecclesial Magisterium has received it and transmits it" ("Evangelii Nuntiandi", 65).
16. Due to the conciseness of the Greek language (which often omits the verb to b e), this verse can also be translated as "All scripture inspired by God is profitable"; cf. the RSV note. Paul is explicitly stating here that all the books of the Bible are inspired by God, and are therefore of great help to the Church in its mission.
The books of Sacred Scripture enjoy special authority because "the divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself. To compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all the while he employed them in this task, made full use of their powers and faculties so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more. Since, therefore, all that the inspired authors, or sacred writers, affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture, firmly, faithfully and without error, teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scripture" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 11).
Therefore, the Bible is very useful in preaching and teaching, in theological research and for one's own spiritual advancement and that of others. Referring to the training of future priests, the Second Vatican Council recommends that they "receive a most careful training in Holy Scripture, which should be the soul, as it were, of all theology" ("Optatam Totius, 16).
St Gregory the Great has this to say about Scripture's usefulness "for teaching": "Anyone preparing to preach in the right way needs to take his points from the Sacred Scriptures in order to ensure that everything he says is based on divine authority" ("Moralia", 18, 26). And the same Father says elsewhere: "What is Sacred Scripture if not a kind of letter from almighty God to his creature? [...] Therefore, please study and reflect on the words of your Creator every day. Learn what the will of God is by entering deep into the words of that God, so as to desire divine things more ardently and set your soul aflame with great yearning for heavenly delights" ("Epistula ad Theodorum Medicum", 5, 31).
Scripture is also profitable "for reproof", St Jerome writes: "Read the divine Scriptures very often, or, to put it better, never let sacred reading matter out of your hands. Learn what it has to teach, keep a firm hold on the word of faith which accords with doctrine, so as to be able to exhort othe rs with sound doctrine and win over your opponents" ("Ad Nepoitanum", 7).
17. "Man of God": see the note on 1 Tim 6:11. This description shows the basis of a priest's dignity. "The priestly vocation is invested with a dignity and greatness which has no equal on earth. St Catherine of Siena put these words on Jesus' lips: 'I do not wish the respect which priests should be given to be in any way diminished; for the reverence and respect which is shown them is not referred to them but to Me, by virtue of the Blood which I have given to them to administer. Were it not for this, you should render them the same reverence as lay people, and no more....you must not offend them; by offending them you offend Me and not them. Therefore I forbid it and I have laid it down that you shall not touch my Christs" (J. Escriva, "In Love with the Church", 38).
1. The last chapter of the letter, summing up its main themes, is in fact St Paul's last wi ll and testament and has the features of that type of document: it begins in a formal manner (vv. 1-5), protests the sincerity of his dedicated life (vv. 6-8) and concludes with some very tender, personal messages (vv. 9-22).
The opening is couched in a solemn form (also found in 1 Tim 5:21) similar to a Greco-Roman will, laying on the heirs an obligation to carry out the testator's wishes: "I charge you"; a series of imperatives follows. To underline the importance of what the testator is requesting, God the Father and Jesus Christ are invoked as witnesses, guarantors of the commitments which will devolve on the heirs. By swearing this document the testator is performing an act of the virtue of religion, because he is acknowledging God as Supreme Judge, to whom we must render an account of our actions.
"Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead": a graphic, catechetical expression (cf. Acts 10:42; 1 Pet 4:5), confessing belief in the truth that all men without exception will undergo judgment by Jesus Christ, from whose decision there is no appeal. This has become part of the Creed; in a solemn profession of faith, the "Creed of the People of God", Pope Paul VI elaborated on this article of faith as we have seen in the commentary on 2 Thessalonians 1:5 above.
2. "Preach the word": that is, the message of the Gospel, which includes all the truths to be believed, the commandments to be kept and the sacraments and other supernatural resources to be availed of. In the life of the Church the ministry of the word has special importance; it is the channel God has established whereby man can partake of the Gospel; priests have a special duty to preach the word: "The people of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of the living God, which is quite rightly sought from the mouth of priests. For since nobody can be saved who has not first bel ieved, it is the first task of priests as co-workers of the bishops to preach the Gospel of God to all men. In this way they carry out the Lord's command, 'Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation' (Mk 16:15) and thus set up and increase the people of God" (Vatican II, "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 4).
"In season and out of season", that is, even in adverse circumstances (cf. v. 3), or when hearers are disinclined to accept the Christian message. Timothy and, like him, all other sacred ministers, ought to behave towards the faithful in accordance with the demands of Christian life and doctrine. "What do men want, what do they expect of the priest, the minister of Christ, the living sign of the presence of the Good Shepherd? We would venture to say that, although they may not explicitly say so, they need, want and hope for a priest-priest, a priest through and through, a man who gives his life for them, by opening to them the horizons of the soul; a man who unceasingly exercises his ministry whose heart is capable of understanding, and a man who gives simply and joyfully, in season and even out of season, what he alone can give--the richness of grace, of divine intimacy which, through him, God wishes to distribute among men" (A. del Portillo, "On Priesthood", p. 66).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Gospel for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: Luke 18:1-8
Persevering Prayer. Parable of the Unjust Judge
[1] And He (Jesus) told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. [2] He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; [3] and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him saying, `Vindicate me against my adversary.' [4] For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, `Though I neither fear God nor regard man, [5] yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.' [6] And the Lord said, "hear what the unrighteous judge says.
[7] And will not God vindicate His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them? [8] I tell you, He will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
___________________
Commentary:
1-8. The parable of the unjust judge is a very eloquent lesson about the effectiveness of persevering, confident prayer. It also forms a conclusion to Jesus' teaching about watchfulness, contained in the previous verses (17:23-26). Comparing God with a person like this makes the point even clearer: if even an unjust judge ends up giving justice to the man who keeps on pleading his case, how much more will God, who is infinitely just, and who is our Father, listen to the persevering prayer of His children. God, in other words, gives justice to His elect if they persist in seeking His help.
1. "They ought always to pray and not lose heart." Why must we pray?
"1. WE MUST PRAY FIRST AND FOREMOST BECAUSE WE ARE BELIEVERS.
"Prayer is in fact the recognition of our limitation and our dependence: we come from God, we belong to God and we return to God! We cannot, therefore, but abandon ourselves to Him, our Creator and Lord, with full and complete confidence [...].
"Prayer, therefore, is first of all an act of intelligence, a feeling of humility and gratitude, an attitude of trust and abandonment to Him who gave us life out of love.
"Prayer is a mysterious but real dialogue with God, a dialogue of confidence and love.
"2. WE, HOWEVER, ARE CHRISTIANS, AND THEREFORE WE MUST PRAY AS CHRISTIANS.
"For the Christian, in fact, prayer acquires a particular characteristic, which completely changes its innermost nature and innermost value. The Christian is a disciple of Jesus; he is one who really believes that Jesus is the Word Incarnate, the Son of God who came among us on this earth.
"As a man, the life of Jesus was a continual prayer, a continual act of worship and love of the Father and since the maximum_expression of prayer is sacrifice, the summit of Jesus' prayer is the Sacrifice of the Cross, anticipated by the Eucharist at the Last Supper and handed down by means of the Holy Mass throughout the centuries.
"Therefore, the Christian knows that his prayer is that of Jesus; every prayer of his starts from Jesus; it is He who prays in us, with us, for us. All those who believe in God, pray; but the Christian prays in Jesus Christ: Christ is our prayer!
"3. FINALLY, WE MUST ALSO PRAY BECAUSE WE ARE FRAIL AND GUILTY.
"It must be humbly and realistically recognized that we are poor creatures, confused in ideas, tempted by evil, frail and weak, in continual need of inner strength and consolation. Prayer gives the strength for great ideas, to maintain faith, charity, purity and generosity. Prayer gives the courage to emerge from indifference and guilt, if unfortunately one has yielded to temptation and weakness. Prayer gives light to see and consider the events of one's own life and of history in the salvific perspective of God and eternity. Therefore, do not stop praying! Let not a day pass without your having prayed a little! Prayer is a duty, but it is also a great joy, because it is a dialogue with God through Jesus Christ! Every Sunday, Holy Mass: if it is possible for you, sometimes during the week. Every day, morning and evening prayers, and at the most suitable moments!" (John Paul II, "Audience with Young People", 14 March 1979).
8. Jesus combines His teaching about perseverance in prayer with a serious warning about the need to remain firm in the faith: faith and prayer go hand in hand. St. Augustine comments, "In order to pray, let us believe; and for our faith not to weaken, let us pray. Faith causes prayer to grow, and when prayer grows our faith is strengthened" ("Sermon", 115).
Our Lord has promised His Church that it will remain true to its mission until the end of time (cf. Matthew 28:20); the Church, therefore, cannot go off the path of the true faith. But not everyone will remain faithful: some will turn their backs on the faith of their own accord. This is the mystery which St. Paul describes as "the rebellion" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) and which Jesus Christ announces on other occasions (cf. Matthew 24:12-13). In this way our Lord warns us, to help us stay watchful and persevere in the faith and in prayer even though people around us fall away.
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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.
Persevering Prayer. Parable of the Unjust Judge
[1] And He (Jesus) told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. [2] He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; [3] and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him saying, `Vindicate me against my adversary.' [4] For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, `Though I neither fear God nor regard man, [5] yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.' [6] And the Lord said, "hear what the unrighteous judge says.
[7] And will not God vindicate His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them? [8] I tell you, He will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
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Commentary:
1-8. The parable of the unjust judge is a very eloquent lesson about the effectiveness of persevering, confident prayer. It also forms a conclusion to Jesus' teaching about watchfulness, contained in the previous verses (17:23-26). Comparing God with a person like this makes the point even clearer: if even an unjust judge ends up giving justice to the man who keeps on pleading his case, how much more will God, who is infinitely just, and who is our Father, listen to the persevering prayer of His children. God, in other words, gives justice to His elect if they persist in seeking His help.
1. "They ought always to pray and not lose heart." Why must we pray?
"1. WE MUST PRAY FIRST AND FOREMOST BECAUSE WE ARE BELIEVERS.
"Prayer is in fact the recognition of our limitation and our dependence: we come from God, we belong to God and we return to God! We cannot, therefore, but abandon ourselves to Him, our Creator and Lord, with full and complete confidence [...].
"Prayer, therefore, is first of all an act of intelligence, a feeling of humility and gratitude, an attitude of trust and abandonment to Him who gave us life out of love.
"Prayer is a mysterious but real dialogue with God, a dialogue of confidence and love.
"2. WE, HOWEVER, ARE CHRISTIANS, AND THEREFORE WE MUST PRAY AS CHRISTIANS.
"For the Christian, in fact, prayer acquires a particular characteristic, which completely changes its innermost nature and innermost value. The Christian is a disciple of Jesus; he is one who really believes that Jesus is the Word Incarnate, the Son of God who came among us on this earth.
"As a man, the life of Jesus was a continual prayer, a continual act of worship and love of the Father and since the maximum_expression of prayer is sacrifice, the summit of Jesus' prayer is the Sacrifice of the Cross, anticipated by the Eucharist at the Last Supper and handed down by means of the Holy Mass throughout the centuries.
"Therefore, the Christian knows that his prayer is that of Jesus; every prayer of his starts from Jesus; it is He who prays in us, with us, for us. All those who believe in God, pray; but the Christian prays in Jesus Christ: Christ is our prayer!
"3. FINALLY, WE MUST ALSO PRAY BECAUSE WE ARE FRAIL AND GUILTY.
"It must be humbly and realistically recognized that we are poor creatures, confused in ideas, tempted by evil, frail and weak, in continual need of inner strength and consolation. Prayer gives the strength for great ideas, to maintain faith, charity, purity and generosity. Prayer gives the courage to emerge from indifference and guilt, if unfortunately one has yielded to temptation and weakness. Prayer gives light to see and consider the events of one's own life and of history in the salvific perspective of God and eternity. Therefore, do not stop praying! Let not a day pass without your having prayed a little! Prayer is a duty, but it is also a great joy, because it is a dialogue with God through Jesus Christ! Every Sunday, Holy Mass: if it is possible for you, sometimes during the week. Every day, morning and evening prayers, and at the most suitable moments!" (John Paul II, "Audience with Young People", 14 March 1979).
8. Jesus combines His teaching about perseverance in prayer with a serious warning about the need to remain firm in the faith: faith and prayer go hand in hand. St. Augustine comments, "In order to pray, let us believe; and for our faith not to weaken, let us pray. Faith causes prayer to grow, and when prayer grows our faith is strengthened" ("Sermon", 115).
Our Lord has promised His Church that it will remain true to its mission until the end of time (cf. Matthew 28:20); the Church, therefore, cannot go off the path of the true faith. But not everyone will remain faithful: some will turn their backs on the faith of their own accord. This is the mystery which St. Paul describes as "the rebellion" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) and which Jesus Christ announces on other occasions (cf. Matthew 24:12-13). In this way our Lord warns us, to help us stay watchful and persevere in the faith and in prayer even though people around us fall away.
___________________________
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.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Thoughts and Counsels - October 21
We should never abandon, on account of the difficulties we encounter, an enterprise undertaken with due reflection.
-St. Vincent de Paul
_________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Vincent de Paul
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From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for October 21, All Things But Means
A certain young sick priest was not able to say Mass; he did not feel, however, that he deserved the pity heaped on him. To a young girl who could not follow her vocation on account of illness, he wrote, mindful of his own affliction, as well as hers, "You see everything is only a means."
Ah, if I were able to understand that well, in what a spirit of faith, and in what peace would I live!
In Faith: Everything has but one goal, the glory of God. Health or sickness, success or failure, happiness or persecution, death or life, these are all means. If they are able to serve - and they are always able to serve, in procuring the glory of God - I ought not attach more value to one than to the other. If God wishes me to be ill, powerless, reduced to insignificance, to incapacity, could there be any more effective means then, than sickness, powerlessness, nothingness, for procuring the glory of God? They are the most excellent, they are freer from selfish whim and self-satisfaction.
In Peace: Instead of always seeking for one thing more than another, for what delights rather than what wounds; instead of pitying myself and losing my spiritual poise when suffering strikes me, I should abandon myself peacefully into the hands of the Lord; provided that He be content, that His glory be procured, why should I care? Should He deign to send me what is most crucifying, far from losing heart, I will regard it as a particular mark of His goodness for me.
I will keep a clear view of the goal, of the end. Everything is but a means.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Ah, if I were able to understand that well, in what a spirit of faith, and in what peace would I live!
In Faith: Everything has but one goal, the glory of God. Health or sickness, success or failure, happiness or persecution, death or life, these are all means. If they are able to serve - and they are always able to serve, in procuring the glory of God - I ought not attach more value to one than to the other. If God wishes me to be ill, powerless, reduced to insignificance, to incapacity, could there be any more effective means then, than sickness, powerlessness, nothingness, for procuring the glory of God? They are the most excellent, they are freer from selfish whim and self-satisfaction.
In Peace: Instead of always seeking for one thing more than another, for what delights rather than what wounds; instead of pitying myself and losing my spiritual poise when suffering strikes me, I should abandon myself peacefully into the hands of the Lord; provided that He be content, that His glory be procured, why should I care? Should He deign to send me what is most crucifying, far from losing heart, I will regard it as a particular mark of His goodness for me.
I will keep a clear view of the goal, of the end. Everything is but a means.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Sisters of Perpetual (Self) Indulgence now teach theology
Pope says political field is for laypeople, but church must guide
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Involvement in politics is a role reserved to laypeople, but Catholic Church leaders must explain and promote the moral principles that will contribute to the common good, Pope Benedict XVI said.
"The church, while recognizing that it is not a political agent, cannot abstain from taking an interest in the good of the whole civil community in which it lives and works," the pope said in a message published Oct. 18...
Pope Benedict said the most pressing issues include "respect for human life and the attention that must be paid to the needs of the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman."
Gospel for Saturday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, priest
Old Calendar: St. John Cantius (Kanty), priest
From: Luke 12:8-12
Various Teachings of Jesus (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [8] "And I tell you, every one who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; [9] but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. [10] And every one who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. [11] And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; [12] for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
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Commentary:
8-9. This follows logically from Christ's previous teaching: worse than physical evils, worse even than death, are evils of the soul, that is, sin. Those who out of fear of temporal suffering deny our Lord and are unfaithful to the demands of the faith will fall into a greater evil still: they will be denied by Christ Himself on the Day of Judgment; whereas those who are penalized in this life because of their faithfulness to Christ will receive the eternal reward of being recognized by Him and will come to share His glory.
10. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists in maliciously attributing to the devil actions which have God as their origin. A person who does that prevents God's pardon from reaching him: that is why he cannot obtain forgiveness (cf. Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:28-30). Jesus understands and excuses the weakness of a person who makes a moral mistake, but He is not similarly indulgent to someone who shuts his eyes and his heart to the wonderful things the Spirit does; that was the way these Pharisees acted who accused Jesus of casting out demons in the name of Beelzebul; it is the way unbelieving people act who refuse to see in Christ's work a sign of the goodness of God, who reject the invitation God offers them and who thereby put themselves outside the reach of salvation (cf. Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26-31). See the note on Mark 3:28-30.
[The note on Mark 3:28-30 states:
28-30. Jesus has just worked a miracle but the scribes refuse to recognize it "for they had said `He has an unclean spirit'" (verse 30). They do not want to admit that God is the author of the miracle. In this attitude lies the special gravity of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit--attributing to the prince of evil, to Satan, the good works performed by God Himself. Anyone acting in this way will become like the sick person who has so lost confidence in the doctor that he rejects him as if an enemy and regards as poison the medicine that can save his life. That is why our Lord says that he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not forgiven: not because God cannot forgive all sins, but because that person, in his blindness towards God, rejects Jesus Christ, His teaching and His miracles, and despises the graces of the Holy Spirit as if they were designed to trap him (cf. "St. Pius V Catechism", II, 5, 19; St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa Theologiae", II-II, q. 14, a. 3).]
___________________________
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.
Old Calendar: St. John Cantius (Kanty), priest
From: Luke 12:8-12
Various Teachings of Jesus (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [8] "And I tell you, every one who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; [9] but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. [10] And every one who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. [11] And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; [12] for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
_______________________
Commentary:
8-9. This follows logically from Christ's previous teaching: worse than physical evils, worse even than death, are evils of the soul, that is, sin. Those who out of fear of temporal suffering deny our Lord and are unfaithful to the demands of the faith will fall into a greater evil still: they will be denied by Christ Himself on the Day of Judgment; whereas those who are penalized in this life because of their faithfulness to Christ will receive the eternal reward of being recognized by Him and will come to share His glory.
10. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists in maliciously attributing to the devil actions which have God as their origin. A person who does that prevents God's pardon from reaching him: that is why he cannot obtain forgiveness (cf. Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:28-30). Jesus understands and excuses the weakness of a person who makes a moral mistake, but He is not similarly indulgent to someone who shuts his eyes and his heart to the wonderful things the Spirit does; that was the way these Pharisees acted who accused Jesus of casting out demons in the name of Beelzebul; it is the way unbelieving people act who refuse to see in Christ's work a sign of the goodness of God, who reject the invitation God offers them and who thereby put themselves outside the reach of salvation (cf. Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26-31). See the note on Mark 3:28-30.
[The note on Mark 3:28-30 states:
28-30. Jesus has just worked a miracle but the scribes refuse to recognize it "for they had said `He has an unclean spirit'" (verse 30). They do not want to admit that God is the author of the miracle. In this attitude lies the special gravity of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit--attributing to the prince of evil, to Satan, the good works performed by God Himself. Anyone acting in this way will become like the sick person who has so lost confidence in the doctor that he rejects him as if an enemy and regards as poison the medicine that can save his life. That is why our Lord says that he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not forgiven: not because God cannot forgive all sins, but because that person, in his blindness towards God, rejects Jesus Christ, His teaching and His miracles, and despises the graces of the Holy Spirit as if they were designed to trap him (cf. "St. Pius V Catechism", II, 5, 19; St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa Theologiae", II-II, q. 14, a. 3).]
___________________________
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.
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