Just for Today, September 7

Delight in the Lord and he will give thee the requests of thy heart (Ps. xxxvi, 4). For if thou wilt be delighted in truth, and receive more abundant consolation from Me, behold, in the contempt of all worldly things, and in the renouncing of all those mean pleasures, thou shalt be blessed, and an exceeding great comfort be derived to thy soul. And the more thou withdrawest thyself from all comfort in things created, the more sweet and the more powerful consolations wilt thou find in Me.
-Bk. III, ch. xii.
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St Teresa had care of the statue of the Child Jesus in the cloister. On the eve of her Profession, Soeur Marie du Sacre-Coeur noticed with surprise that she had arranged the same candles which had burnt on her Clothing day, instead of the new pink ones provided. The Saint sent her the following note in explanation: "The others mean far more to me. They looked so fresh and pink on my Clothing day; my Father had given them, and he was present, and all was joy. Now their colour has faded. Are these any rose-coloured joys for your little Teresa to be found on earth? No, there is nothing left but heavenly joys; created things, which are empty and vain, have given place to the great reality, which is uncreated."
-Letters.
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For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.

Thoughts of St Augustine for September 7

Wherefore, although those things which are ill, so far as they are ill, are not good, yet is it good that there be not only things good, but things ill also.
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Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-September 7

A man of prayer, says David, is like a tree planted near the running waters which brings forth fruit in due season. Mark the words "in due season"; that is at the time when he ought to bear such a pain or such an affront.
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

Words, just words-Deeds, just deeds...

Will we be told, "Why, it's only cloth..."?

This morning, Republicans tell me that a worker at Invesco Field in Denver saved thousands of unused flags from the Democratic National Convention that were headed for the garbage. Guerrilla campaigning. They will use these flags at their own event today in Colorado Springs with John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Just like the mantra, "It's only tissue!"

This flag flap is indicative of the professed "patriotism" marxists and socialists claim to possess. Most everyone, excepting ignorant, educated into imbecility liberals know that there is a proper way to dispose of flags...This speaks to the heart of the respect Obama and company truly have for this country.

Does anyone really expect to see the US flag, a symbol of America, treated with dignity and respect by those who also see to it that the most defenseless babies can be brutally butchered and murdered under the "color of law."

There are evil forces which have been unleashed in our country and the world - does anyone really expect that we will receieve generous blessings from our heavenly Father when we refuse to protect our own unborn little one from genocidal murder and experimentation?

Which is it? “Madam Speaker" or "Moral Theologian?”

The uproar continues over the recent statements of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi [who describes herself as an "as an ardent, practicing Catholic" and] who defended her pro-abortion stance or, to be more nuanced, her “pro-choice” stance supporting a woman’s “right” to choose between having a child or an abortion....

In view of the reactions to her statements, Mrs. Pelosi later issued through her spokesman, Brendan Daly, a communiqué saying: “While Catholic teaching is clear that life begins at conception, many Catholics do not ascribe to that view....”

Besides rejecting the infallible teaching on abortion, this so-called "ardent Catholic" also renounces Church teaching regarding the immorality of sodomy and homosexual acts by defending same-sex “marriage.”

On identifying herself with dissident Catholics who reject the Church’s Magisterium, the House Speaker seems to believe that her status as a politician supersedes that of a Catholic or that as a politician she is exempted from the dictates of natural law and divine law.

She has succumbed to the vice of pride and believes eveything Satan whispers in her ears...And yet she remains unrepentant and unpunished...and the faithful remain scandalized by bishops who fail in their duties to deny Holy Communion to these outspoken advocates of heresies!

Gospel for Saturday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial: Our Lady's Saturday

From: Luke 6:1-5

The Law of the Sabbath

[1] On a Sabbath, while He (Jesus) was going through the grainfields, His disciples plucked and ate some ears of grain, rubbing them in their hands. [2] But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are You doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" [3] And Jesus answered, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: [4] how he entered the house of God, and took 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 with him?" [5] And he said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
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Commentary:

1-5. Accused by the Pharisees of breaking the Sabbath, Jesus explains the correct way of understanding the Sabbath rest, using an example from the Old Testament. And, by stating that He is "Lord of the Sabbath" He is openly revealing that He is God Himself, for it was God who gave this precept to the people of Israel. For more on this, see the notes on Matthew 12:2 and 12:3-8.

[The notes on Matthew 12:2 and 12:3-8 states:
2. "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.

3-8. Jesus rebuts the Pharisees' accusation by four arguments-the example of David, that of the priests, a correct understanding of the mercy of God and Jesus' own authority over the Sabbath.

The first example which was quite familiar to the people, who were used to listening to the Bible being read, comes from 1 Samuel 21:2-7: David, in flight from the jealousy of King Saul, asks the priest of the shrine of Nob for food for his men; the priest gave them the only bread he had, the holy bread of the Presence; this was the twelve loaves which were placed each week on the golden altar of the sanctuary as a perpetual offering from the twelve tribes of Israel (Leviticus 24:5-9). The second example refers to the priestly ministry to perform the liturgy, priests had to do a number of things on the Sabbath but did not thereby break the law of Sabbath rest (cf. Numbers 28:9).]
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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.

Just for Today, September 6

The lover looks not at the gifts, but turns himself to the Giver, above all goods.

-Bk. III, ch. v.
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One day she was throwing rose petals up at the crucifix in the garth. "Are you hoping to obtain some grace?" we asked her.

"Oh! no," was her quick reply, "it is to please Our Lord. I do not give in order to receive."

-Esprit de Sainte Therese.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.

Thoughts of St Augustine for September 6

There is no thing done, then, unless the Almighty will it to be done, either by allow­ing it to be done or himself doing it. Nor is it to be doubted that God does well, even in suffering those things to be done which are done ill.
_________________________
Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-September 6

Desire always to increase in love for Jesus Christ. Holy desires are the wings with which souls fly to God. St Aloysius Gonzaga became a Saint in a short time through the great desire he had of loving God.
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

Archbishop Niederauer Responds to Speaker-turned-theologian Pelosi

And he ignores Canon 915...

Archbishop addresses recent comments made by House Speaker Pelosi

Last month, in two televised interviews and a subsequent statement released through her office, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and a [professed] Catholic residing in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, made remarks that are in serious conflict with the teachings of the Catholic Church about abortion. It is my responsibility as Archbishop of San Francisco to teach clearly what Christ in his Church teaches about faith and morals, and to oppose erroneous, misleading and confusing positions when they are advanced....

While heaping praises on Pelosi as a farmer shovels manure, he does say
that the authority to teach in the Catholic Church belongs to the bishops, not to heretical or apostate Congress members who claim to be Catholic. He also indicates - Newsflash! - that Pelosi's interpretations are completely wrong and that Catholics who obstinately persist in grave error should not receive communion...

Then he provides Pelosi a major out by stating that Catholics who are honestly confused, doubtful, or uncertain may receive Holy Communion. How difficult can it be to understand that abortion is intrinsically evil? Is Pelosi, second in line to be President of the US following the VP, honestly confused, doubtful, or uncertain about this clear teaching of the Church?

I regret the necessity of addressing these issues in so public a forum, but the widespread consternation among Catholics made it unavoidable.

One would have hoped he was making the statement for the salvation of her soul and the souls of those she helps lead to eternal damnation.

Accordingly, as her pastor, I am writing to invite her into a conversation with me about these matters.

Send her a summons to appear while she is in town! Forget the "invitation" - she's been promoting the butchering and murder of the innocent unborn for years!

It is my obligation to teach forthrightly and to shepherd caringly, and that is my intent.

It is not charity to let one continue down the path of perdition, especially when she leads others to follow her.

One wonders, though, what actions the Archbishop will take if she refuses his "invitation"? Will he protect the faithful from additional scandal? Will he protect the Blessed Sacrament from more sacrilege?

Pray that the Holy Spirit enlightens his intellect and faith and provides him the courage and strength to do what he is charged to do.

News Updates, 9/5

Transplants and Brain Death. "L'Osservatore Romano" Has Broken the Taboo
The pope's newspaper has called into question whether cessation of brain activity is enough to certify a death. And with this, it has reopened the discussion on taking organs from "warm cadavers" while the heart is still beating. The scholars of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences are even more critical. And, when he was a cardinal, Ratzinger...

Diocesan newspaper editor cautions faithful
Voters Guide “Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good” Deceptive

“Lifelong Catholic?” Where's Abp. Niederauer?San Francisco mayor plans to help launch drive against Save Marriage Initiative

Spain moves to amend strict abortion law
Attorneys, doctors providing Socialist gov't with advice

McCain to make full-throttle push for Catholic vote
Winning the Roman vote means winning the Oval Office

French watching gay groups ahead of papal visit
Radical militants feared to be planning 'condom shower'

Pope Benedict carries an organ donor card
Vatican article had raised issue of organ transplants

Pop star writes of friendship with ex-priest
Cliff Richards now lives with him as his 'companion'

Documents held in L.A. priest abuse cases
Archdiocesan lawyers are fighting to keep records sealed

Obama Ad: McCain will outlaw abortion
Spot is airing widely in at least seven swing states

Nuns, bikers form unlikely bond in Milwaukee
'We're a good mix, even though we're...different'

Man holds vigil for girlfriend-turned-nun
Italian travels to Montecassino in order to lure her back

Gospel for Friday, 22nd Week In Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: St. Laurence Justinian, Bishop and Confessor

From: Luke 5:33-39

A Discussion on Fasting

[33] And they (the scribes and the Pharisees) said to Him (Jesus), "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink." [34] And Jesus said to them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? [35] The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days." [36] He told them a parable also: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. [37] And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. [38] But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. [39] And no one after drinking old wine desires new; for he says, `The old is good.'"
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Commentary:

33-35. In the Old Testament God established certain days as days of fasting--the main one being the "day of atonement" (Numbers 29:7; Acts 27:9). Fasting implied total or partial abstinence from food or drink. Moses and Elijah fasted (Exodus 34:28; 1 Kings 19:8) and our Lord Himself fasted in the desert for forty days before beginning His public ministry. In the present passage Jesus gives a deeper meaning to the word "fasting"--the deprivation of His physical presence which His Apostles would experience after His death. All through His public life Jesus is trying to prepare His disciples for the final parting. At first the Apostles were not very robust and Christ's physical presence did them more good than the practice of fasting.

Christians should sometimes abstain from food. "Fast and abstain from flesh meat when Holy Mother Church so ordains" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 495). That is the purpose of the fourth commandment of the Church, but it has a deeper meaning, as St. Leo the Great tells us: "The merit of our fasts does not consist only in abstinence from food; there is no use depriving the body of nourishment if the soul does not cut itself off from iniquity and if the tongue does not cease to speak evil" ("Sermo IV in Quadragesima").
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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.

Just for Today, September 5

Never promise thyself security in this life, though thou seemest to be a good religious, or a devout hermit.

Oftentimes, they that were better in the judgement of men, have been in greater danger by reason of their too great confidence. So that it is better for many not to be altogether free from temptations, but to be often assaulted, that they may not be too secure; lest perhaps they be lifted up with pride, or take more liberty to go aside after exterior comforts.
-Bk. I, ch. xx.
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"I know that if I gave way deliberately to the least infidelity, my mind would become so darkened that I could no longer accept death."

As the Prioress showed surprise at these words, she added: "I am speaking of a sin of pride. If, for instance, I were to say: "I have acquired such or such a virtue and can practise it," or, "My God, I love Thee too much ever to entertain for a moment a thought against faith!" I feel that I should at once be assailed by such terrible temptations that I should give way. To avoid such a disaster, I have only to say humbly with my whole heart: "My God, I beseech of Thee, let me not be unfaithful!"
-Conseils et Souvenirs.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.

Thoughts of St Augustine for September 5

We sin from two causes, either from not yet seeing what we ought to do, or from not doing what we already see ought to be done.
_________________________
Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-September 5

Jesus Christ says that where a person esteems his treasure to be, there also he keeps his affections. Therefore the Saints, who neither esteem nor love any other treasure than Jesus Christ, center their hearts and all their love on the Blessed Sacrament.
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

October 18-The Worldwide Rosary For Unborn Babies

Contact: Patrick Benedict, Saint Michael the Archangel Organization, 901-725-4115

MEDIA ADVISORY, Sept. 4 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Worldwide Rosary For Unborn Babies prayer event, initiated by the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 18th. Support has come in from various places, including Lithuania, Czech Republic, and India. Information about the pro-life prayer event is available in 9 languages(English, French, Italian, Korean, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Tagalog) at the website www.SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org.

The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization was contacted about the October 18th Rosary prayer event by Rev. Prof. R. C. Wanjohi of Kenya, who said: "Human Life International Kenya will participate in the Worldwide Rosary For Unborn Babies prayer event." Another person to contact the Organization was Clare Tallon of England who wrote: "I am glad such an event for innocent unborn babies is being held and hope that everyone who can, will take part."

Participants in the Worldwide Rosary For Unborn Babies prayer event will pray the Rosary during the 9:00 a.m. hour on October 18th. The Rosary will be prayed for the following intention: For an end to the surgical and non-surgical killing of unborn babies. (If necessary, one may pray the Rosary at another time on October 18th.)

"In addition to participating, people are encouraged to ask others to be participants," said Patrick Benedict, President of the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization and a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee. "The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization needs much help so people throughout the world will know about this pro-life prayer event," concluded Benedict.

The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization's website is: www.SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org. The mailing address is: P. O. Box 41257; Memphis, Tennessee 38174; U.S.A. (If a person needs a response, it is asked that a stamped, self-addressed envelope be included.)

News Updates, 9/4

Pope Benedict launches crackdown on Medjugorje
Priest at center of visionary claims has been suspended

Vatican contests claim that Newman was gay
Holy See is furious at allegations from activists

“Understands the truth about the human person”
Kmiec stands by his endorsement of Obama & culture of death

Former Planned Parenthood President Off Medication, Becomes Omniscient
Says Sarah Palin Forcing Daughter to Keep Baby

Vatican asked to re-open debate on brain death
Big question: does it mark the definitive end of life?

Republicans rebuff McCain on abortion
Party platform goes further than presidential nominee

Accused priest returned for World Youth Day
Abuse occurred at Catholic boarding school in Australia

Rhode Island bishop leaps into public arena
'When we teach, we don't take a public opinion poll first'

Upstate NY priest accused of abusing young boys
Also charged with unlawfully providing alcohol to children

Vatican: Economic gap requires response
One of the most dramatic situations the world is facing

Quebec MP Raymond Gravel chooses priesthood over Parliament
Vatican forced homosexual advocate to pick his path

Gospel for Thursday, 22nd Week In Ordinary Time

From: Luke 5:1-11

The Miraculous Catch of Fish and the Calling of the First Disciples

[1] While the people pressed upon Him (Jesus) to hear the word of God, He was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. [2] And He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. [3] Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, He asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat. [4] And when He had ceased speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." [5] And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." [6] And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, [7] they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. [8] But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." [9] For he was astonished, and all that were with Him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; [10] And so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." [11] And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
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Commentary:

1. "Just as they do today! Can't you see? They want to hear God's message, even though outwardly they may not show it. Some perhaps haveforgotten Christ's teachings. Others, through no fault of their own, have never known them and they think that religion is something odd. But of this we can be sure, that in every man's life there comes a time sooner or later when his soul draws the line. He has had enough of the usual explanations. The lies of the false prophets no longer satisfy. Even though they may not admit it at the time, such people are longing to quench their thirst with the teachings of our Lord" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 260).

3. The Fathers saw in Simon's boat a symbol of the pilgrim Church on earth. "This is the boat which according to St. Matthew was in danger of sinking and according to St. Luke was filled with fish. Here we can see the difficult beginnings of the Church and its later fruitfulness" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii sec. Lucam, in loc."). Christ gets into the boat in order to teach the crowds--and from the barque of Peter, the Church, He continues to teach the whole world.

Each of us can also see himself as this boat Christ uses for preaching. Externally no change is evident: "What has changed? There is a change inside our soul, now that Christ has come aboard, as He went aboard Peter's boat. Its horizon has been expanded. It feels a greater ambition to serve and an irrepressible desire to tell all creation about the "magnalia Dei" (Acts 2:11), the marvellous doings of our Lord, if only we let Him work" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 265).

4. "When He had finished His catechizing, He told Simon: `Put out into the deep, and lower your nets for a catch.' Christ is the master of this boat. He it is who prepares the fishing. It is for this that He has come into the world, to do all He can so that His brothers may find the way to glory and to the love of the Father" ("Friends of God", 260). To carry this task out, our Lord charges all of them to cast their nets, but it is only Peter He tells to put out into the deep.

This whole passage refers in some way to the life of the Church. In the Church the bishop of Rome, Peter's successor, "is the vicar of Jesus Christ because he represents Him on earth and acts for Him in the government of the Church" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 195). Christ is also addressing each one of us, urging us to be daring in apostolate: `"Duc in altum. Put out into deep water!' Throw aside the pessimism that makes a coward of you. `Et laxate retia vestra in capturam. And pay out you nets for a catch.' Don't you see that you, like Peter, can say: `In nomine tuo, laxabo rete': Jesus, if You say so, I will search for souls?" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 792).

"If you were to fall into the temptation of wondering, `Who's telling me to embark on this?', we would have reply, `Christ Himself is telling you, is begging you.' `The harvest is plentiful enough, but the laborers are few. You must ask the Lord to whom the harvest belongs to send laborers out for the harvesting' (Matthew 9:37-38). Don't take the easy way out. Don't say, `I'm no good at this sort of thing; there are others who can do it; it isn't my line.' No, for this sort of thing, there is no one else: if you could get away with that argument, so could everyone else. Christ's plea is addressed to each and every Christian. No one can consider himself exempt, for whatever reason--age, health or occupation. There are no excuses whatsoever. Either we carry out a fruitful apostolate, or our faith will prove barren" ("Friends of God", 272).

5. When Christ gives him these instructions, Peter states the difficulties involved. "A reasonable enough reply. The night hours were the normal time for fishing, and this time the catch had yielded nothing. What was the point of fishing by day? But Peter has faith: `But at Your word I will let down the nets.' He decides to act on Christ's suggestion. He undertakes the work relying entirely on the word of our Lord" ("Friends of God", 261).

8. Peter does not want Christ to leave him; aware of his sins, he declares his unworthiness to be near Christ. This reminds us of the attitude of the centurion who confesses his unworthiness to receive Jesus into his house (Matthew 8:8). The Church requires her children to repeat these exact words of the centurion before receiving the Blessed Eucharist. She also teaches us to show due external reverence to the Blessed Sacrament when going to Communion: by falling down on his knees Peter also shows that internal adoration of God should be also be expressed externally.

11. Perfection is not simply a matter of leaving all things but of doing so in order to follow Christ--which is what the Apostles did: they gave up everything in order to be available to do what God's calling involved.

We should develop this attitude of availability, for "Jesus isn't satisfied `going halves': He wants the lot" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 155).

If we don't give ourselves generously we will find it very difficult to follow Jesus: "Detach yourself from people and things until you are stripped of them. For, says Pope St. Gregory, the devil has nothing of his own in this world, and naked he comes to battle. If you go clothed to fight him, you will soon be pulled to the ground: for he will have something to catch you by" ("The Way", 149).
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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.

Just for Today, September 4

Temptations are often very profitable to a man, although they be troublesome and grievous: for in them a man is humbled, purified, and instructed. All the saints have passed through many tribulations and have profited by them: and they who could not support temptations have become reprobate, and fell off.

There is not any Order so holy, nor place so retired, where there are not temptations and adversities.
-Bk. I, ch. xiii.
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On the eve of Profession - which is usually spent in holy joy and peace before the dawn of the great day - ­I suddenly saw my vocation as a delusion, a dream. The devil - for it was assuredly he - inspired me with the conviction that the life of a Carmelite was quite un­suited to me, and that I was deceiving my Superiors by continuing in it in spite of having no vocation.

I was plunged into such darkness that I could only see one thing clearly, which was, that not being called to the religious life, I must go back to the world. My distress was indescribable and I did not know what to do. However, I did the very best thing by revealing this temptation to my novice mistress; I called her out of choir, and feeling much ashamed told her in what state I was. Luckily she saw through the temptation, and laughingly reassured me.

My act of humility instantly put the devil to flight; he had tried to make me conceal the trial and so fall into the trap, but he himself was caught, for I told all to Mother Prioress as well, and her consoling answer dis­pelled any lingering doubts.

-The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme).
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.

Thoughts of St Augustine for September 4

It is not human, but the divine judgement, which must weigh what sins are light and what are heavy.
_________________________
Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-September 4

Whenever we behold ourselves unusually favoured by God, we must humble ourselves the more. Thais, who was first a sinner and then a Saint, humbled herself so profoundly before God that she dared not even mention his name; so that she had not the courage to say, "My God," but she said, "Thou who hast made me, have mercy on me."
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

Bishop Vasa: Modern look at abortion not same as St. Augustine's

BEND — It is not possible this week to write about things related to the Catholic Church without making special note of the comments of a high-ranking U.S. official regarding abortion. This official, drawing from the rich tradition of the teachings of Saint Augustine, implied that he would have permitted abortion up to three months after conception...

I certainly commend the public official for going to Saint Augustine, a great theologian and philosopher, for views on morality but Augustine’s views need to be read and adopted in context. It is highly disingenuous, deceptive and intellectually dishonest to take this ecclesial sound bite from 1,500 years ago and treat it as if it is the last definitive word on the subject. This is particularly true since Augustine himself “vigorously condemned the practice of induced abortion” despite the unavailability of accurate scientific information. Furthermore, according to Bauerschmidt, Augustine also called the use of means to avoid the birth of a child “evil work.” It would appear that the public official conveniently missed that part and thus does not allow Saint Augustine to form any part of her understanding of the evil of either abortion or contraception while boasting that this is precisely what she has done....

Selective reading, selective beliefs - a cafeteria style approach to the Catholic faith. Yet Pelosi and her abortion promoting comrade "Catholic" legislators still scandalize the faithful by the sacrilege of receiving Holy Communion...

A person may work very admirably to alleviate poverty but this does not justify ignoring the greatest poverty which is the one which fails to recognize the value of life. A person may work very admirably to promote social justice but this does not justify turning a blind eye to the greatest injustice openly operative in our society which is the unjust deprivation of the pre-born of their most basic constitutional right, the right to life.

They walk in lockstep with the evil one...and think they are "ardent, practicing Catholics."

Pro-Death Obama Slams McCain on Abortion "Rights"

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Barack Obama has launched a broadside against John McCain’s opposition to abortion rights and moved one of the most divisive issues in modern American politics to the airwaves on a large scale for the first time in this presidential campaign....

“Let me tell you: If Roe vs. Wade is overturned, the lives and health of women will be put at risk. That's why this election is so important,” says the nurse-practitioner who narrates Obama’s ad. “John McCain's out of touch with women today. McCain wants to take away our right to choose [to murder unborn babies]. That's what women need to understand. That's how high the stakes are....”

Obama supports abortion rights....[and infanticide after babies are born]

McCain aides didn’t respond to a question about the ad, but Republican Party communications director Danny Diaz responded by attacking Obama's opposition to an Illinois bill that advocates said would protect babies who survived abortions...

Perpetuating one of the greatest moral evils of all time. Who but an agent of Satan would engage in promoting fear that the demonic "right" to commit the genocidal murder of the innocent unborn might be abolished for all time for the good of society?

News Updates, 9/3

Vatican newspaper urges reconsideration of "brain death"
A signed front-page article in L'Osservatore Romano has called for a fresh debate on the medical criteria for "brain death." The article is noteworthy for several reasons

Vatican discipline for priest involved with Medjugorje
Father Tomislav Vlasic, a Franciscan priest who was prominent in the first efforts to publicize the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje, has been placed under interdict by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith because of his flagrant disregard for ecclesiastical discipline.

Chains of love
Same-sex inmates will be allowed to wed under guidelines being developed for California prisons

Silencing the opposition
YouTube bans videos critical of Planned Parenthood

Mosul: two Christians kidnapped and killed
Family of one hostage already paid ransom of US $20,000

Former Catholic priest faces 60 new sex charges
Arrested in May and charged with boarding school abuse

Poll: Catholics think Palin good choice for McCain
Survey report claims presidential race is a 'dead heat'

Armed robbers kill Catholic priest, three others
Bandits shot Nigerian cleric point blank in the forehead

Catholics to fight assisted suicide initiative
Washington parishes passing the collection basket

Archdiocese offers program for victims' families
Clinical social worker will conduct the free sessions

Belleville diocese may face second sex abuse trial
Bishop Edward Braxton could not be reached for comment

Vatican: Revive Christianity's artistic tradition
Archbishop proposes sacred art presentation in Venice

Pressure to stop anti-Christian attacks in India
Four more churches destroyed as violence spreads

Gospel for September 3, Memorial: St Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor

Old Calendar: St. Pius X, Pope

From: Luke 4:38-44

The Cure of Peter's Mother-In-Law

[38] And He (Jesus) arose and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they besought Him for her. [39] And He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she rose and served them.

Other Cures

[40] Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. [41] And demons also came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But He rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that He was the Christ.

Jesus Preaches in Other Cities in Judea

[42] And when it was day He departed and went into a lonely place. And the people sought Him and came to Him, and would have kept Him from leaving them; [43] but He said to them, "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose." [44] And He was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
______________________________

Commentary:

38-39. In the public life of Jesus we find many touching episodes (cf. for example Luke 19:1; John 2:1) which show the high regard He had for everyday family life.

Here we can clearly see the effectiveness of prayer on behalf of other people: "No sooner did they pray to the Savior", St. Jerome says, "than He immediately healed the sick; from this we learn that He also listens to the prayers of the faithful for help against sinful passions" ("Expositio In Evangelium Sec. Lucam, in loc.").

St. John Chrysostom refers to this total, instantaneous cure: "Since this was a curable type of illness He displayed His power through the way He brought healing, doing what medicine could not do. Even after being cured of fever, patients need time to recover their former strength, but here the cure was instantaneous" ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 27).

The Fathers saw in this lady's fever a symbol of concupiscence: "Peter's mother-in-law's fever represents our flesh affected by various illnesses and concupiscences; our fever is passion, our fever is lust, our fever is anger--vices which, although they affect the body, perturb the soul, the mind and the feelings" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc.").

On the practical consequences of this St. Cyril says: "Let us receive Jesus Christ, because when He visits us and we take Him into our minds and hearts, even our worst passions are extinguished and we are kept safe to serve Him, that is, to do what pleases Him" ("Hom. 28 In Mattheum").

43. Our Lord again stresses one of the reasons why He has come into the world. St. Thomas, when discussing the purpose of the Eucharist, says that Christ "came into the world, first, to make the truth known, as He Himself says: `for this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth' (John 18:37). Hence it was not fitting that He should hide Himself by leading a solitary life, but rather that He should appear openly and preach in public. For this reason He tells those who wanted to detain Him, `I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.' Secondly, He came in order to free men from sin; as the Apostle says, `Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' (1 Timothy 1:15). This is why Chrysostom says, `Although Christ might, while staying in the same place, have drawn all men to Himself to hear His preaching, He did not do so--in order to give us the example to go out and seek the lost sheep, as the shepherd does, or as the doctor does, who visits the sick person.' Thirdly, He came so that `we might obtain access to God' (Romans 5:2)" ("Summa Theologiae", III, q. 40, a. 1, c.).
___________________________
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.

Just for Today, September 3

Thou must be content to be made a fool for Christ, if thou wilt lead a religious life. .
-Bk. I, ch. xvii.
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I am very glad, Celine, that you do not feel any natural attraction for Carmel now that you are about to enter; this is a delicate attention on the part of Our Lord who is enabling you to make Him a gift. He knows that it is more blessed to give than to receive. How blessed also to suffer reproach for the sake of Him who loves us, and to pass for fools in the eyes of the world! The foolish world, judging us by its own stand­ard, calls us by this name, but let us take comfort in the thought that we are not the first. The only crime of which Herod accused Our Lord was madness...and in a sense he was right. It was indeed madness for the King of Glory, seated above the Cherubim, to seek out poor human hearts in which to set up His throne. Was He not infinitely happy with the Father and the Spirit of Love? Why come down on earth to make sinners His intimate friends?

We could never go to such lengths of folly to repay our Bridegroom; compared with His, our actions are quite reasonable. Let the world then leave us in peace, for it is the world :which is foolish, knowing nothing of all Jesus has done and suffered to save it from perdition.
-Letters.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.

Thoughts of St Augustine for September 3

He also gives alms who pardons one who sins.
_________________________
Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-September 3

To derive advantage from pious books it is necessary to read them slowly and with attention. To receive nutriment from food it must not be devoured, but masticated. You must masticate and ponder well what you read, applying to yourself what is inculcated.
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

First Catholic internet TV station goes live

A US company has launched what it claims to be the world's first exclusively internet TV station.

IBL News reports that Amigot Corp New York has designed and engineered for a group of businessmen of Indiana, Real Catholic TV.com, said to be the first television station ot its kind on the internet.

Starting September 1, the station features daily news, daily political commentary, daily features on saints and history as well as regular episodes on morality, movie reviews, entertainment, apologetics and much more....

A segment titled "Shepherd's Voice" has videos of Bishop Schneider, Bishop Vasa, Archbishop Chaput and Bishop Choby...Worth checking out.

News Updates, 9/2

“I just don't have the energy"
Sacramento bishop asks pope to let him retire

Vatican warns of growing 'Christianophobia'
Must be fought with same determination as anti-Semitism

Crisis: Ireland is running out of priests
Catholic Church is being forced to accept radical change

Bishop: English Church has lost its way
Catholics must 'act courageously' to rediscover mission

'Holy water' still flows at Lourdes replica
Dozens flocking daily to Bronx church grotto for healing

Controversial mosque gets go-ahead in Germany
Architect: 'Minarets will remain as tall as planned'

Christians fighting against 'slavery' in India
Recent Hindu violence has international repercussions

Biden risks refusal of Holy Communion in hometown
Bishop of Scranton believes in refusing pro-abort pols

Palin's religious denomination? None of the above
McCain's anti-abortion running mate is 'unaffiliated'

Catholic Church rejects Mumbai 'miracle'
Image of Divine Mercy appeared to bleed on holy day

Gospel for Tuesday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: St. Stephen of Hungary, king and confessor

From: Luke 4:31-37

Jesus Preaches in Capernaum

[31] And He (Jesus) went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And He was teaching them on the Sabbath; [32]and they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.

The Cure of the Demoniac

[33] And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice, [34] "Ah! What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are, the Holy One of God." [35] But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. [36]And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this word? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." [37] And reports of Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
________________

Commentary:

33-37. Jesus now demonstrates by His actions that authority which was evident in His words.

34. The demon tells the truth here when he calls Jesus "the Holy One of God", but Jesus does not accept this testimony from the "father of lies" (John 8:44). This shows that the devil usually says something partially true in order to disguise untruth; by sowing confusion in this way, he can more readily deceive people. By silencing and expelling the demon, Jesus teaches us to be prudent and not let ourselves by deceived by half-truths.
___________________________
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.

Just for Today, September 2

O most blessed grace, which makest the poor in spirit rich in virtues, and renderest him who is rich in many good things, humble of heart.
-Bk. III, ch. lv.
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"What do you think of the many graces which have been showered on you?"

"I think that the Spirit breatheth where he will" (John iii, 8).

-Conseils et Souvenirs.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.

Thoughts of St Augustine for September 2

There are many kinds of alms, which when we do we obtain help that our sins be forgiven us. But there is nothing greater than that, whereby we from the heart forgive that which each man hath committed against us.
_________________________
Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-September 2

Good books are, as it were, so many letters of love that the Lord sends us; in them he warns us of our dangers, teaches us the way of salvation, and inflames us with divine love. Whoever, then, desires to be saved and acquire divine love should often read these letters of paradise.
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

Dr Edward Peters: Sarah Palin's RC baptism, & notes on Bristol's situation

Sarah Palin's probable Roman Catholic baptism and her life spent outside the Church is of little import in assessing her character. Unlike the case of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who seems to have left the Church as an adult, Palin's parents apparently took her out of the practice of the Faith while she was yet a child, so Palin cannot be said to have decided against her Catholic identity, nor can anything be concluded about her remaining outside of full communion. Her "re-baptism" at age 12 or so, if that's what it was, would not however be recognized by the Church (1983 CIC 845.1)...

Read more about it here.

Don’t Blame the Bishops, Catholic Means Pro-Life.

By Father Thomas D. Williams

You are unlikely to ever come upon a group called Mohammedans for Polytheism or Environmentalists for Seal Slaughter. A Muslim who espouses a multiplicity of deities has, ipso facto, placed himself outside the Muslim confession. Polytheism is not an Islamic thing. An environmentalist who patronizes anti-ecological activities is not an environmentalist at all, but a subversive. This is because the monikers “Muslim” and “environmentalist” mean something; they carry with them a series of necessary consequences. Certain terms — like “Muslim” and “polytheism” — simply can’t be squared, and combining them is nonsensical.

The recent ecclesiastical backlash to Nancy Pelosi’s unfortunate remarks on Meet the Press should have surprised no one, least of all Speaker Pelosi herself. Her attempts to squeeze abortion rights into Catholic moral teaching were no more credible than trying to pass apartheid off as a legitimate goal of the civil rights movement. The bishops — some seven have weighed in on the matter so far — had no choice but to speak out....

People — including apparently some “ardent” Catholics — seem to forget how central the pro-life issue is to Catholic morality and why that is so. We are not quibbling here about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. It is no exaggeration to say that the inviolability and sacredness of innocent human life is to Catholic morality what the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is to Catholic dogma. Both are not only non-negotiable; they are foundational. I would challenge Speaker Pelosi to come up with any moral question on which the Church has expressed itself with greater clarity than on the intrinsic evil of abortion....

The evil of abortion is compounded by the magnitude of the problem. Though completely reliable statistics are unavailable, conservative estimates place the number of legal abortions performed worldwide each year at 25-30 million, a figure that alone makes abortion a social problem of staggering proportions. “Humanity today offers us a truly alarming spectacle,” wrote Pope John Paul in his 1995 encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae, “if we consider not only how extensively attacks on life are spreading but also their unheard of numerical proportion.” The legal, systematic elimination of the most vulnerable members of society is the most heinous crime known to man. To fail to oppose it is to make oneself complicit in it.

The most disturbing element of Speaker Pelosi’s comments, however, was not her historical fudging, her disingenuous misrepresentation of Catholic moral teaching or her implicit adoption of cafeteria Catholicism. It was her insouciant dismissal of the moral significance of abortion. She said that in the end, it didn’t matter when life begins anyway. Her exact words were: “The point is, is that it [when life begins] shouldn’t have an impact on the woman’s right to choose.” No matter when human life begins, a mother’s right trumps a baby’s, and that right includes the choice to destroy the child. This is irreconcilable not only with Catholic morality, but with the most basic natural ethics....

One might also ask what qualifies Pelosi to speak as an "ardent, practicing Catholic" seeing that most, if not all, of her positions regarding the nautiral moral law are at odds with the right reason. Perhaps, Archbishop Niederauer can explain it next week, after studying the matter?

Gospel for Monday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: St. Giles, hermit and abbot; Twelve Holy Brothers, martyrs

From: Luke 4:16-30

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. [22] And all spoke well of Him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

[24] And He said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. [25] But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; [26] and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. [27] And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." [28] When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. [29] And they rose up and put Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow on the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down headlong. [30] But passing through the midst of them He went away.
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Commentary:

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 merits, 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 recognizes 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 redeem 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 people 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 persons 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).

22-29. At first the people of Nazareth listened readily to the wisdom of Jesus' words. But they were very superficial; in their narrow-minded pride they felt hurt that Jesus, their fellow-townsman, had not worked in Nazareth the wonders He had worked elsewhere. They presume they have a special entitlement and they insolently demand that He perform miracles to satisfy their vanity, not to change their hearts. In view of their attitude, Jesus performs no miracle (His normal response to lack of faith: cf., for example, His meeting with Herod in Luke 23:7-11); He actually reproaches them, using two examples taken from the Old Testament (cf. 1 Kings 17:9 and 2 Kings 5:14), which show that one needs to be well-disposed if miracles are to lead to faith. His attitude so wounds their pride that they are ready to kill Him. This whole episode is a good lesson about understanding Jesus. We can understand Him only if we are humble and are genuinely resolved to make ourselves available to Him.

30. Jesus does not take flight but withdraws majestically, leaving the crowd paralyzed. As on other occasions men do Him no harm; it was by God's decree that He died on a cross (cf. John 18:32) when His hour had come.
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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.

Just for Today, September 1

(Christ.) Son, thou hast many things still to learn, which thou hast not yet well learned.

(Disciple.) What are these things, O Lord?

(Christ.) That thou conform in all things thy desire to My good pleasure; and that thou be not a lover of thyself, but earnestly zealous that My will may be done. Desires often inflame thee, and violently hurry thee on; but consider whether it be for My honour or thy own interest that thou art more moved.

-Bk. III, ch. xi.
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My year of novitiate, which had seemed so long, at last came to an end, but Mother Prioress told me that my Profession was out of the question, as our ecclesias­tical Superior would not allow it. I was obliged, there­fore, to wait for another eight months.

At first I found it hard to make the sacrifice, but soon God enlightened my soul. I was meditating at the time on P. Surin's Foundations of the Spiritual Life. One day during prayer I understood how much self-love there was in my longing to make my vows. If I belonged to Jesus as His little plaything, to rejoice and comfort Him, I ought not to force Him to do my will instead of His own. I also understood that a bride should be adorned with jewels on her wedding day, and I had not thought of this. I therefore said to Our Lord: I will no longer ask to make my Profession; I am content to wait, but I do not want our union to be put off through my fault, so I will prepare a bridal dress resplendent with dia­monds and precious stones. When it is rich enough, Thou wilt take me for Thy bride.

-The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme).
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For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.

Thoughts of St Augustine for September 1

Cry we therefore with the spirit of Charity, and until we come to the inheritance in which we are always to remain, let us be, through love which becometh the free-born, not through fear which becometh bondmen, patient of suffering.
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From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-September 1

In prayer God hears our petitions, but in reading we listen to his voice. We cannot always have at hand a spiritual Father, nor can we hear the sermons of fervent preachers, to direct us and give us light to walk well in the way of God. Good books supply the place of sermons.
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From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

The Miraculous Picture of Our Lady of Quito

On April 20, 1906, thirty-six boys attending the boarding school of the Jesuit Fathers at Quito, Ecuador, together with Father Andrew Roesch, witnessed the first miracle of this famous picture: while in the refectory they saw the Blessed Mother slowly open and shut her eyes.

The same miracle occurred several times after this, once more in favor of the boys at the school, but this time in the chapel, to which the picture had been taken. Subsequently the canonical process of examination was carried out by the ecclesiastical authorities, and the Vicar General ordered the .picture to be transferred in procession from the College to the Church of the Jesuit Fathers.

At the church the prodigy was repeated several times before the crowds gathered there, and many conversions took place. Again and again the wonder repeated itself, at one time for three consecutive days. At Riobomba, the same wonder was witnessed before a re­production of the picture by more than twenty persons, among whom was the president of the municipality.

In Quito this picture is known as the Dolorosa del Colegio.
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Prayer To Our Lady Of Sorrows

O Mary, Mother of Sorrows, I beseech Thee, by the bitter agony thou didst endure at the foot of the Cross, offer to the Eternal Father in my name, Thy Beloved Son, Jesus, all covered with blood and wounds in satisfaction for my sins, for the needs of Holy Church, the conversion of sinners, the relief of the souls in Purgatory and for the special grace I now implore. Amen.
Our Father,
Hail Mary,
Glory be to the Father.

CUM PERMISSU SUPERIORUM
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This information was take from the back of the Holy Card which bears this picture.

Gospel for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: Matthew 16:21-27

Jesus Foretells His Passion and Resurrection

[21] From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. [22] And Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to You." [23] But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men."

[24] Then Jesus told His disciples, "If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. [25] For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. [26] For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? [27] For the Son of Man is to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay every man for what he has done.
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Commentary:

23. Jesus rejects St. Peter's well-intentioned protestations, giving us to understand the capital importance of accepting the cross if we are to attain salvation (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:23-25). Shortly before this (Matthew 16:17) Jesus had promised Peter: "Blessed are you, Simon"; now He reproves him: "Get behind me, Satan." In the former case Peter's words were inspired by the Holy Spirit, whereas what he says now comes from his own spirit which he has not yet sloughed off.

24. "Divine love, `poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us' (Romans 5:5), enables lay people to express concretely in their lives the spirit of the Beatitudes. Following Jesus in His poverty, they feel no depression in want, no pride in plenty; imitating the humble Christ, they are not greedy for vain show (cf. Galatians 5:26). They strive to please God rather than men, always ready to abandon everything for Christ (cf. Luke 14:26) and even to endure persecution in the cause of right (cf. Matthew 5:10), having in mind the Lord's saying? `If any man wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me'" (Matthew 16:24) ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 4).

25. A Christian cannot ignore these words of Jesus. He has to risk, to gamble, this present life in order to attain eternal life: "How little a life is to offer to God!" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 420).

Our Lord's requirement means that we must renounce our own will in order to identify with the will of God and so to ensure that, as St. John of the Cross comments, we do not follow the way of those many people who "would have God will that which they themselves will, and are fretful at having to will that which He wills, and find it repugnant to accommodate their will to that of God. Hence it happens to them that oftentimes they think that that wherein they find not their own will and pleasure is not the will of God; and that, on the other hand, when they themselves find satisfaction, God is satisfied. Thus they measure God by themselves and not themselves by God" ("Dark Night of the Soul", Book 1, Chapter 7, 3).

26-27. Christ's words are crystal-clear: every person has to bear in mind the Last Judgment. Salvation, in other words, is something radically personal: "He will repay every man for what he has done" (verse 27).

Man's goal does not consist in accumulating worldly goods; these are only means to an end; man's last end, his ultimate goal, is God Himself; he possesses God in advance, as it were, here on earth by means of grace, and possesses him fully and forever in Heaven. Jesus shows the route to take to reach this destination--denying oneself (that is, saying no to ease, comfort, selfishness and attachment to temporal goods) and taking up the cross. For no earthly--impermanent--good can compare with the soul's eternal salvation. As St. Thomas expresses it with theological precision, "the least good of grace is superior to the natural good of the entire universe" ("Summa Theologiae", I-II, q. 113, a. 9).
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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.

2nd Reading, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: Romans 12:1-2

Solidarity in the Mystical Body

[1] I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.[2] Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
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Commentary:

1. In the New Testament Christians are clearly called to offer sacrifices to God-- no longer sacrifices of animals, as in the Old Law, but offerings of themselves. This new kind of worship must take a spiritual form, as Jesus told the Samaritan woman, rather than a purely material form: it must be something living, holy, not merely external and formal, and pleasing to God (cf. Jn 4:23). "It is by the apostolic preaching of the Gospel that the people of God is called together and gathered so that all who belong to this people, sanctified as they are by the Holy Spirit, may offer themselves 'a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God' (Rom 12:1)" (Vatican II, "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 2).

The basis of this priestly meaning of Christian life is to be found in the sacrament which makes us members of Christ's body: "Through Baptism all of us have been made priests of our lives, 'to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ' (1 Pet 2:5). Everything we do can be an expression of our obedience to God's will and so perpetuate the mission of the God-man" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 96).

Every day the Christian can and should offer himself along with Christ in the Holy Mass: "If the oblation whereby the faithful in this Sacrifice offer the divine victim to the heavenly Father is to produce its full effect [...] they must also offer themselves as victim, desiring intensely to make themselves as like as possible to Jesus Christ who suffered so much, and offering themselves as a spiritual victim with and through the High Priest himself" (Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 25). From this it follows that the whole Christian life and the struggle which it implies are imbued with deep priestly significance: "If I renounce everything I possess, if I carry the cross and follow Christ, I have offered a holocaust on the altar of God, or if I burn up my body in the fire of charity [...] I have offered a holocaust on the altar of God [...]; if I mortify my body and abstain from all concupiscence, if the world is crucified unto me and not me unto the world, then I have offered a holocaust on the altar of God and I am become a priest of my own sacrifice" (Origen, "In Lev. Hom.", 9, 9).
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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.

1st Reading, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: Jeremiah 20:7-9

Jeremiah’s fifth “confession”

[7] O Lord, thou has deceived me,
and I was deceived;
though art stronger than I,
and thou hast prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all the day;
and every one mocks me.

[8] For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.

[9] If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
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Commentary:

20:7-18. This last, very dramatic “confession” is one of the most impressive passages in prophetical literature. It (especially vv. 14-18) has features in common with Job 3:1-10. It could have been uttered around 605-604 BC when Jeremiah was being persecuted by King Jehoiakim. Despite all his efforts, Jeremiah feels that he has failed; he believes in God – but could it be that he never received a special call? It is a time of inner crisis for Jeremiah. He laments his vocation, for it has led to his persecution (vv. 7-9); then he makes an act of trust in God despite the harassment he is suffering (vv. 10-13); the passage ends with a series of imprecations (vv. 14-18).

The prophet confides his feelings to God and complains about his calling (v. 7a). It looks as if God has misled him (v. 7b): the prophet has made enemies on every side. When he proclaims the word of God no one listens: reproach and derision are the only response he gets (v. 10). He would like to walk away. Yet he cannot, for God is like a “burning fire” in his heart (v. 9). Despite all his difficulties, his zeal for the Lord wins the day: it only goes to prove that those who have experienced desire to make him known to others – to those who once knew him and have forgotten him, and to those who have never heard of him. That is the message that Theodoret of Cyrus takes from this passage, recalling the example of St. Paul: “The same happened to St. Paul as he stood in silence in Athens. His soul burned within him when he saw the terrible idolatry that was practiced in that city (cf. Acts 17:16). The prophet had the same experience” (Interpretatio in Jeremiam, 20, 9). And when Origen reads this passage and asks himself whether God could ever deceive someone, he explains: “We are little children, and we must be treated as little children. God, therefore, entrances us in order to form us, although we may not be aware of this captivation before the appropriate time comes. God does not deal with us as people who have already left childhood, who can no longer be led by sweet words but only by deeds” (Homiliae in Jeremiam, 19, 15).

In spite of everything, Jeremiah is sure that God will never forsake him (v. 11). From what he says, we can see that there is an inner tension between his experience of all kinds of sufferings (vv. 14-18) and the conviction that God will never leave him (vv. 12-13). What he says in v. 18 could suggest that he is utterly depressed, but what he is doing is baring his soul to someone whom he loves and trusts entirely, even in the midst of total darkness and a sense of powerlessness. Events will show this to be the case: Jeremiah did not give up his ministry but persevered in it to the end of his life. He admits his limitations but he stays true to God: this bears out what the Lord will tell St. Paul when he feels the situation is beyond him: “My power is made perfect in your weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).

Meditating on this “confession” of Jeremiah, St John of the Cross concludes that sometimes God’s purposes are impossible to understand: “It is very difficult to attempt to understand fully the words and deeds of God, or even to decide what they may be, without falling often into error or becoming very confused. The prophets who were entrusted with the word of God knew this well; their task of prophesying to the people was a daunting one, for the people could not always see what was spoken coming to pass. Therefore, they mocked and laughed at the prophets, as Jeremiah says: I have become a laughingstock all the day; every one mocks me (20:7). Although the prophet speaks as though resigned to his fate, in the voice of a weak man who is unable to bear any longer the vicissitudes of God, he makes clear the difference between the prophecy and its fulfillment and the common sense that the divine sayings contain, because he knows that the prophets were often taken as mischief-makers” (Ascent of Mount Carmel, 2, 20, 6).
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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.