We should reflect on all our actions, exterior and interior, and before we commence, examine well if we are able to finish them.
-Ven. John Tauler.
________________________
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)
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Meditation for July 21, The Glance of Jesus
Jesus, when quite a little Baby, looked at His Mother; what grace, even then, and what eloquence in that silent conversation of an ordinary Baby with its mother. What a picture! I could dwell upon it a long time--and why not remain there?
Jesus looked at the young man who had come to confide to Him his desires of a perfect life. The Savior, the Gospel tells us, also loved him. See that picture. "Fine, My son, I commend you for your thirst for good." Have I not also received in my life the blessing of a glance from Jesus through His particular predilection--the day I decided my vocation? Let me go back to that blessed moment. That look, that special love of Jesus, it still continues. Each day Our Lord looks upon me and loves me.
Jesus looked on Peter. When Peter brought Andrew to Christ, the Gospel tells us, He looked into the eyes of the Apostle. It was the first of a series of looks Jesus gave Peter; there was a look of love when St. Peter affirmed the divinity of the Savior; a look of displeasure when St. Peter seemed to count upon a post of honor that was purely temporal; a look of reproach in the atrium of the house of Caiphus after the triple denial; a look of pardon after the miraculous draught of fishes at the moment of the triple interrogation: Peter lovest thou Me?
Jesus looked on Veronica. He was ascending Calvary; His eyes were veiled with tears, with spittle and with blood...a woman braved the crowd, broke through the hedge of soldiers, wiped the face of the poor Condemned. "Thank you, Veronica! Oh, how grateful I am to you!"
Jesus looked on Magdalen at the home of Simon the Pharisee, at the banquet when he poured perfumes upon Him, wiping His I feet with her hair; at the Cross, when despite His head's suffering from the crown of thoms, the Savior discovered the little group at the foot of the gibbet; at the Tomb when He called Magdalen by her first name, "Mary! Mary!" and she cried out, "Oh, my Good Master! Rabonni!"
And how many other glances Jesus bestowed. I will choose those for meditation which best reveal to me His Divine Face, His Divine Heart.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Jesus looked at the young man who had come to confide to Him his desires of a perfect life. The Savior, the Gospel tells us, also loved him. See that picture. "Fine, My son, I commend you for your thirst for good." Have I not also received in my life the blessing of a glance from Jesus through His particular predilection--the day I decided my vocation? Let me go back to that blessed moment. That look, that special love of Jesus, it still continues. Each day Our Lord looks upon me and loves me.
Jesus looked on Peter. When Peter brought Andrew to Christ, the Gospel tells us, He looked into the eyes of the Apostle. It was the first of a series of looks Jesus gave Peter; there was a look of love when St. Peter affirmed the divinity of the Savior; a look of displeasure when St. Peter seemed to count upon a post of honor that was purely temporal; a look of reproach in the atrium of the house of Caiphus after the triple denial; a look of pardon after the miraculous draught of fishes at the moment of the triple interrogation: Peter lovest thou Me?
Jesus looked on Veronica. He was ascending Calvary; His eyes were veiled with tears, with spittle and with blood...a woman braved the crowd, broke through the hedge of soldiers, wiped the face of the poor Condemned. "Thank you, Veronica! Oh, how grateful I am to you!"
Jesus looked on Magdalen at the home of Simon the Pharisee, at the banquet when he poured perfumes upon Him, wiping His I feet with her hair; at the Cross, when despite His head's suffering from the crown of thoms, the Savior discovered the little group at the foot of the gibbet; at the Tomb when He called Magdalen by her first name, "Mary! Mary!" and she cried out, "Oh, my Good Master! Rabonni!"
And how many other glances Jesus bestowed. I will choose those for meditation which best reveal to me His Divine Face, His Divine Heart.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Antonio Gramsci Is Alive And Well In The Academy And The Fourth Estate In America
[Note: The term Fourth Estate refers to the press, both in its explicit capacity of advocacy and in its implicit ability to frame political issues.]
At Catholic Citizens of Illinois (CCI) we read an article by Gary L. Morella concerning an aspect of life here in the US. CCI states:
Read the article here.
At Catholic Citizens of Illinois (CCI) we read an article by Gary L. Morella concerning an aspect of life here in the US. CCI states:
Antonio Gramsci is the godfather of Italian Communism. Realizing that Christian culture could not be defeated by a system so obviously oppressive and inferior as Marxism, Gramsci recommended that Communists do whatever they could to gain control of the pillars of society and alter them from the inside out in order to covertly bring about global socialism. These pillars are education, the media, organized religion and government.Unfortunately, as much as I agree with this analysis, I suspect that only a few actually understand this and a sizeable majority will remain clueless.
Looking back over the last 75 years, it is easy to see Gramsci's fingerprints in the US State Dept of the 1940's and 1950's, which was infested with Communist agents and sympathizers. His presence is obvious the universities, newspapers, and even the US Congress of today.
As for the Catholic Church, the destruction of the last 40 years since Vatican II as it relates to the Sacraments and the collapse of discipline is an "inside job" right out of Gramsci's playbook.
CCI readers are encouraged to better understand Gramsci because of the success of his ideas: socialism and de-Christianization have seeped in and become dominant in Western nations without any shots being fired. Fixing this requires a better understanding of how it happened in the first place.
Read the article here.
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost: The Fruits Of Hearing Mass
By The Rev. H. G. Hudson
____________
"This man went down to his house justified." St. Luke xviii, 14.
We have in today's Gospel, dear brethren in Jesus Christ, a lesson imparted by our blessed Lord Himself on the right dispositions in which we ought to go to Church. Now, for a Catholic, going to Church means first and foremost hearing Mass; for Holy Mass is the great and central act of worship of the Catholic Church.
So today I shall speak to you on the subject of the Holy Sacrifice. And I shall treat of the Holy Mass today, not so much as the means by which our Divine Lord's Sacramental presence is brought amongst us, or as the means by which we are enabled to give to God a perfect worship, and worthy praise and thanksgiving, but rather from the point of view of the immense blessings and benefits that it brings to our souls--that character of the Mass because of which it can be more truly said of a Catholic who has devoutly heard Mass than of any other: "This man went down to His House justified."
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not only a sacrifice of worship and thanksgiving; it is also what is called a Sacrifice of Propitiation. That means, it is a sacrifice offered for sin, to make satisfaction to God for our sins, and also to obtain from God all blessings, graces and benefits, spiritual blessings and graces, and, under certain circumstances, also earthly blessings and benefits.
Let us take first the idea of propitiary sacrifice, making satisfaction and atonement to God for our sins. It is a point of Catholic faith that the Holy Mass does this. The Council of Trent laid this down in the following words:
To this the Catholic replies: "That is true, but we Catholics do not say that the Holy Mass is a different sacrifice from that of the Cross. We say it is the same sacrifice, carried on, reproduced in a wonderful and miraculous manner, instituted by Jesus Christ Himself, when, at the Last Supper, taking bread, He said: ‘This is My Body, which is given for you,' and likewise taking the chalice, said, 'This is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins,' and gave His Apostles the command, 'Do this, in remembrance of Me.'" It is the same sacrifice as that of the Cross; the Victim offered is the same, Christ Himself; and the Great High Priest who offers Himself is the same Christ Jesus who offered Himself on the Cross.
Only the manner of the offering is different. And the manner of the offering is different in two ways: First, on the Cross Christ died and shed His Blood, and in the Mass Christ does not actually die, nor actually shed His Blood. Having died once, He dies no more; death has no more dominion over Him. But His death and His Blood-shedding are vividly and truly represented and set before God and before us in the Mass, and this is by the separate consecration of the Bread and Wine, by which Christ's own true Body and Blood, and Christ Himself are truly made present on the Altar. The Sacred Host on the Altar, and the Precious Blood in the Chalice are a picture of the death and blood-shedding on Calvary; and not a mere picture, but a picture that contains the reality; we should rather call it a re-enacting, a reproduction, in mystic, wonderful fashion, of that blood-shedding and that death.
Secondly, on the Cross Christ won our salvation; in the Mass what He won is applied to each individual soul through the ages.
Thirdly, on the Cross Christ alone offered Himself; but in the Mass He associates with Himself in making that great offering His Church, His priests, and the faithful individually.
But let us come to the question how, while it is perfectly true that the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross perfectly satisfied and made atonement for the sins of the whole world, yet it is also true that the Holy Mass is also a propitiatory sacrifice, making atonement for sin. I think I can best explain this by drawing out for you the Catholic and the Protestant view of the way in which all that Jesus did for us upon the Cross is conveyed to our' souls.
When Christ died we did not exist; we were in the far-off future. Now a period of nearly 2000 years separates us from the time of His Passion and Death. How is what He did then to be conveyed to my soul now? How are those precious drops of cleansing Blood which flowed down on the hill of Calvary to fall upon me? How are the graces, which He then won, to be brought into my soul, and the pardoning atoning power of the Cross to cover my evil deeds and thoughts and words, done and thought and spoken so many hundred years afterwards?
The Protestant says that I am to lay hold on these fruits of Christ's Passion by faith; that I, individually and personally and alone, am to plead in prayer here on earth before God the death of my Saviour, while He pleads it before the throne of God in heaven. Actually, I am separated by long centuries from what was done on Calvary; and by all the distance that lies between earth and heaven from the pleading of the human voice of God-made Man before the Throne.
God, my brethren, might have ordained that it should be so. But He has not. He has found and ordained a way more wonderful, more loving, more in accordance with human needs and with human nature. The Protestant view makes things more difficult, more far-off, and, let me say, less humane, less human, less in accord with the whole dispensation of the Incarnation and with the character of a Saviour who is not only God, but also Man, our Brother, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh.
So the Catholic view of the matter, the Catholic doctrine of the matter, which we know to be the true view and the true doctrine, is this: By a wonderful invention of Divine wisdom Christ Himself in Holy Mass, present on the Catholic Altar, pleads His death and the merits of that death, not only in heaven, but here in our midst; and He leaves us not alone, individually and personally only, to plead His death before God, but associates us with Himself in that pleading, our prayers, etc.; associates us with His holy Church, whom He purchased on the Cross to be His Bride. This pleading of the Holy Mass is a pleading in which indeed we can and do take an individual personal part, an intimately personal part by uniting our wills and intentions and prayers with the priest who bears Christ's Priesthood and acts in Christ's Name and Person when offering Mass--but it is a pleading, a representation, a setting before God of the Death of Calvary, a reproduction of the Sacrifice of Calvary by Christ in our midst, by Christ among us, by Emmanuel truly God WITH us.
In that offering anew of the Death of Christ we are not separated from Him in His Humanity and Divinity by centuries of time nor by the distance that stretches between earth and heaven; but Christ, and Christ's death and what He did upon Calvary are brought down here in the midst of us, and done again, not in the same manner as they were first done, as I have shown you; .yet truly done, truly enacted day by day, through the ages for each succeeding generation of God's people in the Church.
And in this way, by the Holy Mass, to say nothing now of the Sacraments, Christ's Blood and Merits, and all He did and won for us upon the Cross, are conveyed to and applied to our individual souls, bringing us into such nearness to God that, if the children of Israel could say, still more we can say of ourselves in the Church, "Truly, there is no nation so great, that hath its gods so nigh them, as our God is present to all our petitions" (Deut. iv, 7), and of every Catholic church as truly as of the great Temple of Solomon it can be said: "The Lord hath said, 'I have chosen this place to Myself for a house of sacrifice. . . . My Eyes shall be open and My Ears attentive to the prayers of him that shall pray in this place; for I have chosen and have sanctified this place, that My Name may be there forever, and My Eyes and My Heart may remain there perpetually."
The Holy Mass, then, is truly a propitiatory, a sacrifice for sin, because it is the pleading by Christ here amongst us of the Sacrifice of the Cross; a pleading that consists in a real offering of Himself again and again; a pleading and an offering in which He associates us with Himself so that our offering and His go up before God as one.
And by that pleading all spiritual graces and benefits are given to us. By the offering of Holy Mass pardon is obtained for the greatest sins, since through the Mass the graces of contrition and a good confession are granted. By the Holy Mass sinners are reclaimed and the just obtain perseverance! God's just anger is warded off, and His rightful chastisements averted; the temporal punishment of Purgatory is done away, light refreshment and peace are given to the faithful departed.
Is it any wonder, I ask, that the Church demands our presence on Sundays and holydays when this great thing, this compendium of God's merciful works, is done in our midst?
One more word. Since our blessed Lord has deigned to associate us personally and individually with Himself and with His Church, so that we can make His offering our own by joining our wills and intentions with His own and His Church's in the Holy Mass, it follows that, particularly in matters that affect ourselves personally, the amount of grace and blessing which we obtain individually depends to a certain and real extent upon our own devotion and attention in hearing Mass. What a strong reason for making the most of every Mass we hear--trying more and more to understand what the Mass is; not being content with a mere perfunctory presence, or mere perfunctory prayers at Mass, uniting ourselves heart and soul with Jesus our High Priest in the four great objects of the Holy Sacrifice--the worship and praise of God; thanksgiving for all His benefits, especially the supreme benefit of Redemption; the obtaining of all we need; and the making of satisfaction and reparation to God through Christ for all our many sins and daily faults.
__________________
Adapted from Plain Sermons by Practical Preachers, Vol. II(©1916)
Nihil Obstat: Remegius Lafort, S.T.D
Imprimatur: John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
____________
"This man went down to his house justified." St. Luke xviii, 14.
We have in today's Gospel, dear brethren in Jesus Christ, a lesson imparted by our blessed Lord Himself on the right dispositions in which we ought to go to Church. Now, for a Catholic, going to Church means first and foremost hearing Mass; for Holy Mass is the great and central act of worship of the Catholic Church.
So today I shall speak to you on the subject of the Holy Sacrifice. And I shall treat of the Holy Mass today, not so much as the means by which our Divine Lord's Sacramental presence is brought amongst us, or as the means by which we are enabled to give to God a perfect worship, and worthy praise and thanksgiving, but rather from the point of view of the immense blessings and benefits that it brings to our souls--that character of the Mass because of which it can be more truly said of a Catholic who has devoutly heard Mass than of any other: "This man went down to His House justified."
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not only a sacrifice of worship and thanksgiving; it is also what is called a Sacrifice of Propitiation. That means, it is a sacrifice offered for sin, to make satisfaction to God for our sins, and also to obtain from God all blessings, graces and benefits, spiritual blessings and graces, and, under certain circumstances, also earthly blessings and benefits.
Let us take first the idea of propitiary sacrifice, making satisfaction and atonement to God for our sins. It is a point of Catholic faith that the Holy Mass does this. The Council of Trent laid this down in the following words:
"If anyone shall say that the Sacrifice of the Mass is only one of praise and thanksgiving, or the bare commemoration of the sacrifice offered on the Cross, and not also propitiatory, or that it ought not to be offered for the living and the dead, for punishments and satisfactions and other needs, let him be anathema."Here the Protestant comes in and says: "This is wrong; Christ offered Himself for our sins, and to obtain for us all graces, blessings and benefits once for all upon the Cross; there I is no other sacrifice needed."
To this the Catholic replies: "That is true, but we Catholics do not say that the Holy Mass is a different sacrifice from that of the Cross. We say it is the same sacrifice, carried on, reproduced in a wonderful and miraculous manner, instituted by Jesus Christ Himself, when, at the Last Supper, taking bread, He said: ‘This is My Body, which is given for you,' and likewise taking the chalice, said, 'This is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins,' and gave His Apostles the command, 'Do this, in remembrance of Me.'" It is the same sacrifice as that of the Cross; the Victim offered is the same, Christ Himself; and the Great High Priest who offers Himself is the same Christ Jesus who offered Himself on the Cross.
Only the manner of the offering is different. And the manner of the offering is different in two ways: First, on the Cross Christ died and shed His Blood, and in the Mass Christ does not actually die, nor actually shed His Blood. Having died once, He dies no more; death has no more dominion over Him. But His death and His Blood-shedding are vividly and truly represented and set before God and before us in the Mass, and this is by the separate consecration of the Bread and Wine, by which Christ's own true Body and Blood, and Christ Himself are truly made present on the Altar. The Sacred Host on the Altar, and the Precious Blood in the Chalice are a picture of the death and blood-shedding on Calvary; and not a mere picture, but a picture that contains the reality; we should rather call it a re-enacting, a reproduction, in mystic, wonderful fashion, of that blood-shedding and that death.
Secondly, on the Cross Christ won our salvation; in the Mass what He won is applied to each individual soul through the ages.
Thirdly, on the Cross Christ alone offered Himself; but in the Mass He associates with Himself in making that great offering His Church, His priests, and the faithful individually.
But let us come to the question how, while it is perfectly true that the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross perfectly satisfied and made atonement for the sins of the whole world, yet it is also true that the Holy Mass is also a propitiatory sacrifice, making atonement for sin. I think I can best explain this by drawing out for you the Catholic and the Protestant view of the way in which all that Jesus did for us upon the Cross is conveyed to our' souls.
When Christ died we did not exist; we were in the far-off future. Now a period of nearly 2000 years separates us from the time of His Passion and Death. How is what He did then to be conveyed to my soul now? How are those precious drops of cleansing Blood which flowed down on the hill of Calvary to fall upon me? How are the graces, which He then won, to be brought into my soul, and the pardoning atoning power of the Cross to cover my evil deeds and thoughts and words, done and thought and spoken so many hundred years afterwards?
The Protestant says that I am to lay hold on these fruits of Christ's Passion by faith; that I, individually and personally and alone, am to plead in prayer here on earth before God the death of my Saviour, while He pleads it before the throne of God in heaven. Actually, I am separated by long centuries from what was done on Calvary; and by all the distance that lies between earth and heaven from the pleading of the human voice of God-made Man before the Throne.
God, my brethren, might have ordained that it should be so. But He has not. He has found and ordained a way more wonderful, more loving, more in accordance with human needs and with human nature. The Protestant view makes things more difficult, more far-off, and, let me say, less humane, less human, less in accord with the whole dispensation of the Incarnation and with the character of a Saviour who is not only God, but also Man, our Brother, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh.
So the Catholic view of the matter, the Catholic doctrine of the matter, which we know to be the true view and the true doctrine, is this: By a wonderful invention of Divine wisdom Christ Himself in Holy Mass, present on the Catholic Altar, pleads His death and the merits of that death, not only in heaven, but here in our midst; and He leaves us not alone, individually and personally only, to plead His death before God, but associates us with Himself in that pleading, our prayers, etc.; associates us with His holy Church, whom He purchased on the Cross to be His Bride. This pleading of the Holy Mass is a pleading in which indeed we can and do take an individual personal part, an intimately personal part by uniting our wills and intentions and prayers with the priest who bears Christ's Priesthood and acts in Christ's Name and Person when offering Mass--but it is a pleading, a representation, a setting before God of the Death of Calvary, a reproduction of the Sacrifice of Calvary by Christ in our midst, by Christ among us, by Emmanuel truly God WITH us.
In that offering anew of the Death of Christ we are not separated from Him in His Humanity and Divinity by centuries of time nor by the distance that stretches between earth and heaven; but Christ, and Christ's death and what He did upon Calvary are brought down here in the midst of us, and done again, not in the same manner as they were first done, as I have shown you; .yet truly done, truly enacted day by day, through the ages for each succeeding generation of God's people in the Church.
And in this way, by the Holy Mass, to say nothing now of the Sacraments, Christ's Blood and Merits, and all He did and won for us upon the Cross, are conveyed to and applied to our individual souls, bringing us into such nearness to God that, if the children of Israel could say, still more we can say of ourselves in the Church, "Truly, there is no nation so great, that hath its gods so nigh them, as our God is present to all our petitions" (Deut. iv, 7), and of every Catholic church as truly as of the great Temple of Solomon it can be said: "The Lord hath said, 'I have chosen this place to Myself for a house of sacrifice. . . . My Eyes shall be open and My Ears attentive to the prayers of him that shall pray in this place; for I have chosen and have sanctified this place, that My Name may be there forever, and My Eyes and My Heart may remain there perpetually."
The Holy Mass, then, is truly a propitiatory, a sacrifice for sin, because it is the pleading by Christ here amongst us of the Sacrifice of the Cross; a pleading that consists in a real offering of Himself again and again; a pleading and an offering in which He associates us with Himself so that our offering and His go up before God as one.
And by that pleading all spiritual graces and benefits are given to us. By the offering of Holy Mass pardon is obtained for the greatest sins, since through the Mass the graces of contrition and a good confession are granted. By the Holy Mass sinners are reclaimed and the just obtain perseverance! God's just anger is warded off, and His rightful chastisements averted; the temporal punishment of Purgatory is done away, light refreshment and peace are given to the faithful departed.
Is it any wonder, I ask, that the Church demands our presence on Sundays and holydays when this great thing, this compendium of God's merciful works, is done in our midst?
One more word. Since our blessed Lord has deigned to associate us personally and individually with Himself and with His Church, so that we can make His offering our own by joining our wills and intentions with His own and His Church's in the Holy Mass, it follows that, particularly in matters that affect ourselves personally, the amount of grace and blessing which we obtain individually depends to a certain and real extent upon our own devotion and attention in hearing Mass. What a strong reason for making the most of every Mass we hear--trying more and more to understand what the Mass is; not being content with a mere perfunctory presence, or mere perfunctory prayers at Mass, uniting ourselves heart and soul with Jesus our High Priest in the four great objects of the Holy Sacrifice--the worship and praise of God; thanksgiving for all His benefits, especially the supreme benefit of Redemption; the obtaining of all we need; and the making of satisfaction and reparation to God through Christ for all our many sins and daily faults.
__________________
Adapted from Plain Sermons by Practical Preachers, Vol. II(©1916)
Nihil Obstat: Remegius Lafort, S.T.D
Imprimatur: John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Gospel for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: Matthew 13:24-30
The Parable of the Weeds
[24] Another parable he (Jesus) put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; [25] but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. [26] So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. [27] And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' [28] He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' [29] But he said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. [30] Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
___________________
Commentary:
24-25. "The situation is clear: the field is fertile and the seed is good; the Lord of the field has scattered the seed at the right moment and with great skill. He even has watchmen to make sure that the field is protected. If, afterwards, there are weeds among the wheat, it is because men have failed to respond, because they--and Christians in particular--have fallen asleep and allowed the enemy to approach" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 123).
25. This weed--cockle--looks very like wheat and can easily be mistaken for it until the ears appear. If it gets ground up with wheat it contaminates the flour and any bread made from that flour causes severe nausea when eaten. In the East personal vengeance sometimes took the form of sowing cockle among an enemy's wheat. Roman law prescribed penalties for this crime.
28. "When the careless servants ask the Lord why weeds have grown in his field, the explanation is obvious: 'inimicus homo hoc fecit: an enemy has done this.' We Christians should have been on guard to make sure that the good things placed in this world by the Creator were developed in the service of truth and good. But we have fallen asleep--a sad thing, that sluggishness of our heart while the enemy and all those who serve him worked incessantly. You can see how the weeds have grown abundantly everywhere" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 123).
29-30. The end of this parable gives a symbolic explanation of why God allows evil to have its way for a time--and for its ultimate extirpation. Evil is to run its course on earth until the end of time; therefore, we should not be scandalized by the presence of evil in the world. It will be obliterated not in this life, but after death; at the Judgment (the harvest) the good will go to Heaven and the bad to Hell.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
The Parable of the Weeds
[24] Another parable he (Jesus) put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; [25] but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. [26] So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. [27] And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' [28] He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' [29] But he said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. [30] Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
___________________
Commentary:
24-25. "The situation is clear: the field is fertile and the seed is good; the Lord of the field has scattered the seed at the right moment and with great skill. He even has watchmen to make sure that the field is protected. If, afterwards, there are weeds among the wheat, it is because men have failed to respond, because they--and Christians in particular--have fallen asleep and allowed the enemy to approach" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 123).
25. This weed--cockle--looks very like wheat and can easily be mistaken for it until the ears appear. If it gets ground up with wheat it contaminates the flour and any bread made from that flour causes severe nausea when eaten. In the East personal vengeance sometimes took the form of sowing cockle among an enemy's wheat. Roman law prescribed penalties for this crime.
28. "When the careless servants ask the Lord why weeds have grown in his field, the explanation is obvious: 'inimicus homo hoc fecit: an enemy has done this.' We Christians should have been on guard to make sure that the good things placed in this world by the Creator were developed in the service of truth and good. But we have fallen asleep--a sad thing, that sluggishness of our heart while the enemy and all those who serve him worked incessantly. You can see how the weeds have grown abundantly everywhere" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 123).
29-30. The end of this parable gives a symbolic explanation of why God allows evil to have its way for a time--and for its ultimate extirpation. Evil is to run its course on earth until the end of time; therefore, we should not be scandalized by the presence of evil in the world. It will be obliterated not in this life, but after death; at the Judgment (the harvest) the good will go to Heaven and the bad to Hell.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
2nd Reading, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: Romans 8:26-27
Christians are Children of God (Continuation)
[26] Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. [27] And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
_____________
Commentary:
"The action of the Holy Spirit may pass unnoticed because God does not reveal to us his plans, and because man's sin obscures the divine gifts. But faith tells us that God is always acting. He has created us and maintains us in existence, and he is leading all creation by his grace towards the glorious freedom of the children of God" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 130).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Christians are Children of God (Continuation)
[26] Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. [27] And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
_____________
Commentary:
"The action of the Holy Spirit may pass unnoticed because God does not reveal to us his plans, and because man's sin obscures the divine gifts. But faith tells us that God is always acting. He has created us and maintains us in existence, and he is leading all creation by his grace towards the glorious freedom of the children of God" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 130).
___________________________
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, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
God, Just and Forbearing (Continuation)
[13] "For neither is there any god besides thee, whose care is for all men, to whom thou shouldst prove that thou hast not judged unjustly; [16] For thy strength is the source of righteousness, and thy sovereignty over all causes thee to spare all. [17] For thou dost show thy strength when men doubt the completeness of thy power, and dost rebuke any insolence among those who know it. [18] Thou who art sovereign in strength dost judge with mildness, and with great forbearance thou dost govern us; for thou hast power to act whenever thou dost choose. [19] Through such works thou has taught thy people that the righteous man must be kind, and thou hast filled thy sons with good hope, because thou givest repentance for sins.
___________
Commentary:
12:12-27. This passage is imbued with very solid faith in the goodness and power of God, who is the only God, almighty, and has to account to no one for what he does (vv. 12-14. Here the book of Wisdom connects up with sapiential tradition (cf. Job 9) and with prophecy (cf. e.g. Is 45:13; Jer 18: 5-11). His all-embracing power does not make God an unjust tyrant: on the contrary, God is always righteous (vv. 15-17). Nor is his justice in any sense at odds with his mercy and kindness. He shows this in his dealings with Israel, especially, but also in his dealings with mankind at large, whose evil actions he punishes gently, to give people a chance to change (vv. 18-25). However, he will indeed punish those who are obdurate in their unbelief and wickedness (vv. 26-27). We find the same teaching in the New Testament (cf. e.g., Mt 16:15-16).
___________________________
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.
God, Just and Forbearing (Continuation)
[13] "For neither is there any god besides thee, whose care is for all men, to whom thou shouldst prove that thou hast not judged unjustly; [16] For thy strength is the source of righteousness, and thy sovereignty over all causes thee to spare all. [17] For thou dost show thy strength when men doubt the completeness of thy power, and dost rebuke any insolence among those who know it. [18] Thou who art sovereign in strength dost judge with mildness, and with great forbearance thou dost govern us; for thou hast power to act whenever thou dost choose. [19] Through such works thou has taught thy people that the righteous man must be kind, and thou hast filled thy sons with good hope, because thou givest repentance for sins.
___________
Commentary:
12:12-27. This passage is imbued with very solid faith in the goodness and power of God, who is the only God, almighty, and has to account to no one for what he does (vv. 12-14. Here the book of Wisdom connects up with sapiential tradition (cf. Job 9) and with prophecy (cf. e.g. Is 45:13; Jer 18: 5-11). His all-embracing power does not make God an unjust tyrant: on the contrary, God is always righteous (vv. 15-17). Nor is his justice in any sense at odds with his mercy and kindness. He shows this in his dealings with Israel, especially, but also in his dealings with mankind at large, whose evil actions he punishes gently, to give people a chance to change (vv. 18-25). However, he will indeed punish those who are obdurate in their unbelief and wickedness (vv. 26-27). We find the same teaching in the New Testament (cf. e.g., Mt 16:15-16).
___________________________
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, July 19, 2008
Just for Today, July 20
Lord, I will suffer willingly for Thee whatsoever Thou art pleased should befall me. I will receive with indifference from Thy hand good and evil, sweet and bitter, joy and sorrow; and will give Thee thanks for all that happens to me.
-Bk. III, ch. xvii.
_____________
"They say of you that you have never suffered much." With a smile she pointed to a glass containing a draught of a bright red colour: "To look at it," she said, "one would think it a delicious drink, yet it is exceedingly bitter. It is a figure of my life; to others it has seemed bright and happy, as though I drank from the cup of delight, yet all the while it was most bitter. I speak of bitterness, but my life has not been embittered, for I knew how to draw joy and comfort from it all."
-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.
-Bk. III, ch. xvii.
_____________
"They say of you that you have never suffered much." With a smile she pointed to a glass containing a draught of a bright red colour: "To look at it," she said, "one would think it a delicious drink, yet it is exceedingly bitter. It is a figure of my life; to others it has seemed bright and happy, as though I drank from the cup of delight, yet all the while it was most bitter. I speak of bitterness, but my life has not been embittered, for I knew how to draw joy and comfort from it all."
-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 and Counsels - July 21
Meditation for July 20, Chaff and Wheat
An ancient proverb of Palestine divided the disciples of the Rabbi into four classes.
The sponges: the pupils who absorbed absolutely everything, non-essentials as well as essentials.
The funnels: the pupils for whom the instructions entered at one ear and left by the other.
The strainers: the pupils who let the wine run through keeping only the dregs, that is, those who retained only what was of secondary importance.
The sifters: the pupils who kept everything important, passing over only what was negligible, the chaff.
Let me examine myself. In which class do I belong? Whether in regard to profane or sacred knowledge, is everything in its right place in my mind? Is it all clear; in its proper order of importance; intelligently understood; intelligently ordered?
How often even among the pious, the order of values is troubled; they forget to put first things first, having, as they say, only the devotions of a good man or good woman.
For a religious individual more than that is necessary.
Above all, if I am to form others, I must first acquire myself what I should impart. I must be rich in pure and nourishing wheat and cast aside only that which I will not need.
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
The sponges: the pupils who absorbed absolutely everything, non-essentials as well as essentials.
The funnels: the pupils for whom the instructions entered at one ear and left by the other.
The strainers: the pupils who let the wine run through keeping only the dregs, that is, those who retained only what was of secondary importance.
The sifters: the pupils who kept everything important, passing over only what was negligible, the chaff.
Let me examine myself. In which class do I belong? Whether in regard to profane or sacred knowledge, is everything in its right place in my mind? Is it all clear; in its proper order of importance; intelligently understood; intelligently ordered?
How often even among the pious, the order of values is troubled; they forget to put first things first, having, as they say, only the devotions of a good man or good woman.
For a religious individual more than that is necessary.
Above all, if I am to form others, I must first acquire myself what I should impart. I must be rich in pure and nourishing wheat and cast aside only that which I will not need.
"O Jesus, You who were the most perfect Teacher, grant that I may be an attentive pupil, docile and intelligent according to Your Wisdom and Your law. Give me a clear and profound understanding of Your Gospel that all in my mind and in my actions may be in its right place and have that degree of value You have given it."_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Gospel for Saturday, 15th Week in Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: St. Vincent de Paul, confessor
From: Matthew 12:14-21
Jesus, the Suffering Servant of Yahweh
[14] But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, how to destroy Him. [15] Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed Him, and He healed them all, [16] and ordered them not to make Him known. [17] This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: [18] "Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. [19] He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will any one hear His voice in the streets; [20] He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick, till He brings justice to victory; [21] and in His name will the Gentiles hope."
___________________
Commentary:
17-21. Once again the sacred text points out the contrast between the contemporary mistaken Jewish notion of a spectacular messianic kingdom and the discernment which Jesus asks of those who witness and accept His teaching and miracles. By providing this long quotation from Isaiah (42:1-4), the Evangelist is giving us the key to the teaching contained in Chapters 11 and 12: in Jesus the prophecy of the Servant of Yahweh is fulfilled: the lovable and gentle teacher has come to bring the light of truth.
When narrating the passion of our Lord, the Gospels will once again remind us of the figure of the Servant of Yahweh, to show that in Jesus the suffering and expiatory aspect of the death of the Servant finds fulfillment (cf. Matthew 27:30, with reference to Is 50:6; Matthew 8:17 and Isaiah 53:4; John 1:38 and Isaiah 53:9-12; etc.).
17. Isaiah 42:1-4 speaks of a humble servant, beloved of God, chosen by God. And in fact Jesus, without ceasing to be the Son of God, one in substance with the Father, took the form of a servant (cf. Philippians 2:6). This humility led him to cure and care for the poor and afflicted of Israel, without seeking acclaim.
18. See the note on Matthew 3:16.
[Note on Matthew 3:16 states:
16. Jesus possessed the fullness of the Holy Spirit from the moment of His conception. This is due to the union of human nature and divine nature in the person of the Word (the dogma of hypostatic union). Catholic teaching says that in Christ there is only one person (who is divine) but two natures (divine and human). The descent of the Spirit of God spoken of in the text indicates that just as Jesus was solemnly commencing His messianic task, so the Holy Spirit was beginning His action through Him. There are very many texts in the Old Testament which speak of the showing forth of the Holy Spirit in the future Messiah. This sign of the Spirit gave St. John the Baptist unmistakable proof of the genuineness of his testimony concerning Christ (cf. John 1:29-34). The mystery of the Holy Trinity is revealed in the baptism of Jesus: the Son is baptized; the Holy Spirit descends on Him in the form of a dove; and the voice of the Father gives testimony about His Son. Christians must be baptized in the name of the Three Divine Persons. "If you have sincere piety, the Holy Spirit will descend on you also and you will hear the voice of the Father saying to you from above: "This was not My son, but now after Baptism he has been made My son" (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, "De Baptismo", 14).]
19. The justice proclaimed by the Servant, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, is not a noisy virtue. We can see the loving, gentle way Jesus worked His miracles, performing righteousness in all humility. This is how He brings about the triumph of His Father's Justice, His plan of revelation and salvation--very quietly and very effectively.
20. According to many Fathers, including St. Augustine and St. Jerome, the bruised reed and the smoldering wick refer to the Jewish people. They also stand for every sinner, for our Lord does not seek the sinner's death but his conversion, and his life (cf. Ezekiel 33:11). The Gospels often bear witness to this reassuring truth (cf. Luke 15:11-32), the parable of the prodigal son; Matthew 18:12-24, the parable of the lost sheep; etc.).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
From: Matthew 12:14-21
Jesus, the Suffering Servant of Yahweh
[14] But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, how to destroy Him. [15] Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed Him, and He healed them all, [16] and ordered them not to make Him known. [17] This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: [18] "Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. [19] He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will any one hear His voice in the streets; [20] He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick, till He brings justice to victory; [21] and in His name will the Gentiles hope."
___________________
Commentary:
17-21. Once again the sacred text points out the contrast between the contemporary mistaken Jewish notion of a spectacular messianic kingdom and the discernment which Jesus asks of those who witness and accept His teaching and miracles. By providing this long quotation from Isaiah (42:1-4), the Evangelist is giving us the key to the teaching contained in Chapters 11 and 12: in Jesus the prophecy of the Servant of Yahweh is fulfilled: the lovable and gentle teacher has come to bring the light of truth.
When narrating the passion of our Lord, the Gospels will once again remind us of the figure of the Servant of Yahweh, to show that in Jesus the suffering and expiatory aspect of the death of the Servant finds fulfillment (cf. Matthew 27:30, with reference to Is 50:6; Matthew 8:17 and Isaiah 53:4; John 1:38 and Isaiah 53:9-12; etc.).
17. Isaiah 42:1-4 speaks of a humble servant, beloved of God, chosen by God. And in fact Jesus, without ceasing to be the Son of God, one in substance with the Father, took the form of a servant (cf. Philippians 2:6). This humility led him to cure and care for the poor and afflicted of Israel, without seeking acclaim.
18. See the note on Matthew 3:16.
[Note on Matthew 3:16 states:
16. Jesus possessed the fullness of the Holy Spirit from the moment of His conception. This is due to the union of human nature and divine nature in the person of the Word (the dogma of hypostatic union). Catholic teaching says that in Christ there is only one person (who is divine) but two natures (divine and human). The descent of the Spirit of God spoken of in the text indicates that just as Jesus was solemnly commencing His messianic task, so the Holy Spirit was beginning His action through Him. There are very many texts in the Old Testament which speak of the showing forth of the Holy Spirit in the future Messiah. This sign of the Spirit gave St. John the Baptist unmistakable proof of the genuineness of his testimony concerning Christ (cf. John 1:29-34). The mystery of the Holy Trinity is revealed in the baptism of Jesus: the Son is baptized; the Holy Spirit descends on Him in the form of a dove; and the voice of the Father gives testimony about His Son. Christians must be baptized in the name of the Three Divine Persons. "If you have sincere piety, the Holy Spirit will descend on you also and you will hear the voice of the Father saying to you from above: "This was not My son, but now after Baptism he has been made My son" (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, "De Baptismo", 14).]
19. The justice proclaimed by the Servant, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, is not a noisy virtue. We can see the loving, gentle way Jesus worked His miracles, performing righteousness in all humility. This is how He brings about the triumph of His Father's Justice, His plan of revelation and salvation--very quietly and very effectively.
20. According to many Fathers, including St. Augustine and St. Jerome, the bruised reed and the smoldering wick refer to the Jewish people. They also stand for every sinner, for our Lord does not seek the sinner's death but his conversion, and his life (cf. Ezekiel 33:11). The Gospels often bear witness to this reassuring truth (cf. Luke 15:11-32), the parable of the prodigal son; Matthew 18:12-24, the parable of the lost sheep; etc.).
___________________________
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.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Just for Today, July 19
Love is swift, sincere, pious, pleasant and delightful; strong, patient, faithful, prudent, long-suffering, courageous, and never seeking itself: for where a man seeks himself, there he falls from love.
-Bk. III, ch. v.
______________
I had noticed that Mother Prioress seemed to take special pleasure in talking to one member of the Community, and apparently liked and trusted her more than she did me. I told the Saint how this hurt me, expecting sympathy, but to my astonishment she said: "No doubt you think that you love our Mother very much?"
"Of course! Otherwise I should not mind if others were preferred to me."
"Very well; I will show you that you are making a mistake; you do not love her but yourself. When we really love someone, we rejoice at their happiness and would make any sacrifice to secure it. If you loved our Mother sincerely and unselfishly for her own sake, you would be glad if she found pleasure even at the expense of your own feelings. Therefore, if you see that she prefers talking to others rather than to you, do not be hurt by this apparent neglect."
-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.
-Bk. III, ch. v.
______________
I had noticed that Mother Prioress seemed to take special pleasure in talking to one member of the Community, and apparently liked and trusted her more than she did me. I told the Saint how this hurt me, expecting sympathy, but to my astonishment she said: "No doubt you think that you love our Mother very much?"
"Of course! Otherwise I should not mind if others were preferred to me."
"Very well; I will show you that you are making a mistake; you do not love her but yourself. When we really love someone, we rejoice at their happiness and would make any sacrifice to secure it. If you loved our Mother sincerely and unselfishly for her own sake, you would be glad if she found pleasure even at the expense of your own feelings. Therefore, if you see that she prefers talking to others rather than to you, do not be hurt by this apparent neglect."
-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 and Counsels - July 19
We should offer ourselves and all we have to God, that He may dispose of us according to His holy will, so that we may be ever ready to leave all and embrace the afflictions that come upon us.
-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 July 19, Gentleness
"All men are so constituted that they want to be treated with gentleness; man is made that way, we cannot change him." St. Vincent de Paul.
According to the words of St. Francis de Sales, gentleness requires us to know how to repress the movements of anger, but if necessary how to manifest anger. Did not Our Lord one day call St. Peter, Satan. We may not be actuated by anger, however, but only by duty.
We must also know how to be affable and courteous to all.
We ought to excuse those who have caused us displeasure and not brood at all, over the sorrows which weigh us down.
We ought to succeed not only in forgiving injustices and affronts but also in treating kindly those who caused them.
If such is the rule, for every soul having the spirit of Him who wishes us to be meek and humble, how much more should this ideal be faithfully practiced by a religious soul.
"A Sister of Charity who grieves her sister...is no longer a Sister of Charity," said St. Vincent de Paul. "No, she is no longer a Sister of Charity, she only wears the habit of one."
A religious who is not in the literal sense of the word, and in the smallest matters, a sister of charity is not a religious.
One might almost think she follows a master who has said "Learn of me for I am disagreeable, gloomy and of an untractable disposition." She is surely not a follower of Him of whom it was said "Let us go to the Gentle One."
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
According to the words of St. Francis de Sales, gentleness requires us to know how to repress the movements of anger, but if necessary how to manifest anger. Did not Our Lord one day call St. Peter, Satan. We may not be actuated by anger, however, but only by duty.
We must also know how to be affable and courteous to all.
We ought to excuse those who have caused us displeasure and not brood at all, over the sorrows which weigh us down.
We ought to succeed not only in forgiving injustices and affronts but also in treating kindly those who caused them.
If such is the rule, for every soul having the spirit of Him who wishes us to be meek and humble, how much more should this ideal be faithfully practiced by a religious soul.
"A Sister of Charity who grieves her sister...is no longer a Sister of Charity," said St. Vincent de Paul. "No, she is no longer a Sister of Charity, she only wears the habit of one."
A religious who is not in the literal sense of the word, and in the smallest matters, a sister of charity is not a religious.
One might almost think she follows a master who has said "Learn of me for I am disagreeable, gloomy and of an untractable disposition." She is surely not a follower of Him of whom it was said "Let us go to the Gentle One."
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
More "Humanae Vitae" Dissent from Professed Catholics
‘Catholics for Choice’ to publish open letter to Pope criticizing Humanae VitaeThe “utter failure” has been because of bishops' and priests' rebellion against this irreformable teaching of the Church and the lack of courage by ecclesiastical authority to discipline those rebels and traitors...now we are left with apostates and heretics who claim to be Catholic while embracing and promoting every immoral abomination known - infanticide, divorce, homosexuality, euthanasia, and on and on...
New York, Jul 18, 2008 / 02:50 pm (CNA).- A group of Catholic dissenters plans to publish an open letter to Pope Benedict XVI in a major U.S. and a major Italian newspaper criticizing Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae on the fortieth anniversary of its promulgation, July 25. The group Catholics for Choice (CFC) claims that the encyclical’s teaching against contraception has been an “utter failure” that endangers women’s lives and leaves millions at risk of HIV. However, a major pro-life leader said the group’s accusations were hard to take seriously.
According to the version of the open letter obtained by CNA, CFC argues that there is a “paradox” in Humanae Vitae because “most Catholics use modern contraceptives, believe it is a moral choice to do so, and consider themselves Catholics in good standing.” The letter asserts that the encyclical has been an “utter failure” in convincing Catholics to abandon contraceptive use....
The fact that many "Catholics" use contraception cannot imply that it is right - it merely confirms that many are ignorant or willfully obstinate regarding the Church's teachings.
Priestettes Converging in Boston for Another "Party"
Three aspiring Catholic priests will be anointed and prayed over this weekend in an ordination liturgy that will resemble the traditional in most ways but one: The three being ordained are women.Uhh...wrong! The delusional women will not be ordained as priests nor can they be considered Catholic. They might be considered witches, priestettes, clowns or escapees from a mental ward, but Roman Catholic priests they are not nor will they ever be.
But the women being ordained say they are acting because they feel called to the priesthood and compelled to resist what they view as a wrong church teaching."Compelled to resist..." Too bad they can't be "compelled to resist" the promptings and lies of those who confirm them in their prideful rebellion.
"We're part of a prophetic tradition of disobeying an unjust law," said Gabriella Velardi Ward, a 61-year-old Staten Island architect with two children and five grandchildren, who will be ordained along with Gloria Carpeneto of Baltimore and Mary Ann McCarthy Schoettly of Newton, N.J....What in the blazes is this "prophetic tradition" that these self-indulgent drama queens talk about? Since I'm not a woman, I wonder if this malfunction of the will and intellect could be menopausal in nature? It seems to be mostly leftovers from the 60s and 70s who embark on this "priestette" journey to hell.
"Excommunication or not, I will still be a validly ordained priest and still will be able to serve the people of God," she said.Signs of severe mental disturbance - the inability or unwillingness to see reality. The FACT that she will NOT be a validly ordained priest is the reality that she refuses or is unable to admit. Her children should do her a favor and have committed for observation and evaluation.
The ordination will be Sunday afternoon in Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street in Boston's Back Bay. The church is affiliated with two Protestant denominations, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Church of Christ.Will any of the excommunicants or their supporters from St Louis be attending? Will the Boston archdiocese set up a "surveillance" operation to take pictures and video or will these nuts post it all the web themselves?
This will be just another excommunication party!
News Updates, 7/18
Catholic League rushes to defense of Deal Hudson
'Catholics put a premium on forgiveness, reconciliation'
Pope denounces 'squandering' of resources
Makes repeated references to the environment at WYD
Freedom and tolerance cannot be separated from the truth, Pope Benedict XVI warns
"This is fuelled by the notion, widely held today, that there are no absolute truths to guide our lives..."
Bishop Vasa: World Youth Day is time to pray for religious fidelity
"a disconnect when someone insists that they have a personal appreciation for the person of the Holy Father while adamantly rejecting the very things which he is teaching and upholding."
Benedict is encouraging Anglican converts
More evidence that Catholic liberals are panicking
Pope Benedict urges Anglicans to 'avoid schism'
Sends message of support to Canterbury archbishop
She’s recommended by Call to Action
Eclectic nun to speak at retreat center owned by San Francisco archdiocese
Fr Ian Ker: Neocatechumenal Way: 'The Age of the Neocats'
"This recently approved and rapidly growing ecclesial movement will play a decisive role in the future of the Catholic Church"
Accused Catholic priest restored to ministry
Investigation fails to substantiate abuse allegation
Polish priest charged with sex attack on young woman
Allegedly fondled a 16-year-old girl on an airplane
Catholic School Principal Caught In Gay Tryst
Picked the backyard of a vacant home to conduct their group sex.
Abortionist charged with manslaughter
Cape Cod woman died after abortion procedure
£350,000 for Lourdes shrine ended up in priest's bank account
Treasurer of the Catholic shrine of Lourdes at the centre of a major fraud inquiry
'Catholics put a premium on forgiveness, reconciliation'
Pope denounces 'squandering' of resources
Makes repeated references to the environment at WYD
Freedom and tolerance cannot be separated from the truth, Pope Benedict XVI warns
"This is fuelled by the notion, widely held today, that there are no absolute truths to guide our lives..."
Bishop Vasa: World Youth Day is time to pray for religious fidelity
"a disconnect when someone insists that they have a personal appreciation for the person of the Holy Father while adamantly rejecting the very things which he is teaching and upholding."
Benedict is encouraging Anglican converts
More evidence that Catholic liberals are panicking
Pope Benedict urges Anglicans to 'avoid schism'
Sends message of support to Canterbury archbishop
She’s recommended by Call to Action
Eclectic nun to speak at retreat center owned by San Francisco archdiocese
Fr Ian Ker: Neocatechumenal Way: 'The Age of the Neocats'
"This recently approved and rapidly growing ecclesial movement will play a decisive role in the future of the Catholic Church"
Accused Catholic priest restored to ministry
Investigation fails to substantiate abuse allegation
Polish priest charged with sex attack on young woman
Allegedly fondled a 16-year-old girl on an airplane
Catholic School Principal Caught In Gay Tryst
Picked the backyard of a vacant home to conduct their group sex.
Abortionist charged with manslaughter
Cape Cod woman died after abortion procedure
£350,000 for Lourdes shrine ended up in priest's bank account
Treasurer of the Catholic shrine of Lourdes at the centre of a major fraud inquiry
Gospel for Friday, 15th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis (USA)
Old Calendar: St. Camillus of Lellis, confessor; St. Symphorosa and her Seven Sons, martyrs
From: Matthew 12:1-8
The Question of the Sabbath
[1] At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears of grain and to eat. [2] But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath." [3] He said to them, "Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him: [4] how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? [5] Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? [6] I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. [7] And if you had known what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. [8] For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
_____________________
Commentary:
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). On the other two arguments, see the notes on Matthew 9:13 and Mark 2:26-27, 28.
[The notes on Matthew 9:13 states:
13. Here Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, keeping the hyperbole of the Semitic style. A more faithful translation would be: "I desire mercy MORE THAN sacrifice". It is not that our Lord does not want the sacrifices we offer Him: He is stressing that every sacrifice should come from the heart, for charity should imbue everything a Christian does--especially his worship of God (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Matthew 5:23-24).]
[The notes on Mark 2:26-27, 28 states:
6-27. The bread of the Presence consisted of twelve loaves or cakes placed each morning on the table in the sanctuary, as homage to the Lord from the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Leviticus 24:5-9). The loaves withdrawn to make room for the fresh ones were reserved to the priests. Abiathar's action anticipates what Christ teaches here. Already in the Old Testament God had established a hierarchy in the precepts of the Law so that the lesser ones yielded to the main ones.
This explains why a ceremonial precept (such as the one we are discussing) should yield before a precept of the natural law. Similarly, the commandment to keep the Sabbath does not come before the duty to seek basic subsistence. Vatican II uses this passage of the Gospel to underline the value of the human person over and above economic and social development: "The social order and its development must constantly yield to the good of the person, since the order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons and not the other way around, as the Lord suggested when He said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The social order requires constant improvement: it must be founded in truth, built on justice, and enlivened by love" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 26).
Finally in this passage Christ teaches God's purpose in instituting the Sabbath: God established it for man's good, to help him rest and devote himself to Divine worship in joy and peace. The Pharisees, through their interpretation of the Law, had turned this day into a source of anguish and scruple due to all the various prescriptions and prohibitions they introduced.
By proclaiming Himself `Lord of the Sabbath', Jesus affirms His divinity and His universal authority. Because He is Lord he has the power to establish other laws, as Yahweh had in the Old Testament.
28. The Sabbath had been established not only for man's rest but also to give glory to God: that is the correct meaning of the _expression "the Sabbath was made for man." Jesus has every right to say He is Lord of the Sabbath, because He is God. Christ restores to the weekly day of rest its full, religious meaning: it is not just a matter of fulfilling a number of legal precepts or of concern for physical well-being: the Sabbath belongs to God; it is one way, suited to human nature, of rendering glory and honor to the Almighty. The Church, from the time of the Apostles onwards, transferred the observance of this precept to the following day, Sunday--the Lord's Day--in celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
"Son of Man": the origin of the messianic meaning of this _expression is to be found particularly in the prophecy of Dan 7:13ff, where Daniel, in a prophetic vision, contemplates `one like the Son of Man' coming down on the clouds of Heaven, who even goes right up to God's throne and is given dominion and glory and royal power over all peoples and nations. This _expression appears 69 times in the Synoptic Gospels; Jesus prefers it to other ways of describing the Messiah--such as Son of David, Messiah, etc.--thereby avoiding the nationalistic overtones those expressions had in Jewish minds at the time (cf. "Introduction to the Gospel According to St. Mark", p. 62 above.]
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Old Calendar: St. Camillus of Lellis, confessor; St. Symphorosa and her Seven Sons, martyrs
From: Matthew 12:1-8
The Question of the Sabbath
[1] At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears of grain and to eat. [2] But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath." [3] He said to them, "Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him: [4] how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? [5] Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? [6] I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. [7] And if you had known what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. [8] For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
_____________________
Commentary:
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). On the other two arguments, see the notes on Matthew 9:13 and Mark 2:26-27, 28.
[The notes on Matthew 9:13 states:
13. Here Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, keeping the hyperbole of the Semitic style. A more faithful translation would be: "I desire mercy MORE THAN sacrifice". It is not that our Lord does not want the sacrifices we offer Him: He is stressing that every sacrifice should come from the heart, for charity should imbue everything a Christian does--especially his worship of God (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Matthew 5:23-24).]
[The notes on Mark 2:26-27, 28 states:
6-27. The bread of the Presence consisted of twelve loaves or cakes placed each morning on the table in the sanctuary, as homage to the Lord from the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Leviticus 24:5-9). The loaves withdrawn to make room for the fresh ones were reserved to the priests. Abiathar's action anticipates what Christ teaches here. Already in the Old Testament God had established a hierarchy in the precepts of the Law so that the lesser ones yielded to the main ones.
This explains why a ceremonial precept (such as the one we are discussing) should yield before a precept of the natural law. Similarly, the commandment to keep the Sabbath does not come before the duty to seek basic subsistence. Vatican II uses this passage of the Gospel to underline the value of the human person over and above economic and social development: "The social order and its development must constantly yield to the good of the person, since the order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons and not the other way around, as the Lord suggested when He said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The social order requires constant improvement: it must be founded in truth, built on justice, and enlivened by love" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 26).
Finally in this passage Christ teaches God's purpose in instituting the Sabbath: God established it for man's good, to help him rest and devote himself to Divine worship in joy and peace. The Pharisees, through their interpretation of the Law, had turned this day into a source of anguish and scruple due to all the various prescriptions and prohibitions they introduced.
By proclaiming Himself `Lord of the Sabbath', Jesus affirms His divinity and His universal authority. Because He is Lord he has the power to establish other laws, as Yahweh had in the Old Testament.
28. The Sabbath had been established not only for man's rest but also to give glory to God: that is the correct meaning of the _expression "the Sabbath was made for man." Jesus has every right to say He is Lord of the Sabbath, because He is God. Christ restores to the weekly day of rest its full, religious meaning: it is not just a matter of fulfilling a number of legal precepts or of concern for physical well-being: the Sabbath belongs to God; it is one way, suited to human nature, of rendering glory and honor to the Almighty. The Church, from the time of the Apostles onwards, transferred the observance of this precept to the following day, Sunday--the Lord's Day--in celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
"Son of Man": the origin of the messianic meaning of this _expression is to be found particularly in the prophecy of Dan 7:13ff, where Daniel, in a prophetic vision, contemplates `one like the Son of Man' coming down on the clouds of Heaven, who even goes right up to God's throne and is given dominion and glory and royal power over all peoples and nations. This _expression appears 69 times in the Synoptic Gospels; Jesus prefers it to other ways of describing the Messiah--such as Son of David, Messiah, etc.--thereby avoiding the nationalistic overtones those expressions had in Jewish minds at the time (cf. "Introduction to the Gospel According to St. Mark", p. 62 above.]
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Just for Today, July 18
The devil never sleeps, neither is the flesh yet dead: therefore thou must not cease to prepare thyself for battle, for on the right hand and on the left are enemies that never rest.
-Bk. II, ch. ix.
_________________
For several days she had suffered great mental anguish, and often implored us to pray and get prayers said for her: "If one only knew how necessary it is to pray for those in their agony! How much we need that verse of the hymn at Compline: Procul recedant somnia et noctium phantasmata (Far off let idle visions fly; no phantom of the night molest)! I think the devil must have obtained permission from Almighty God to tempt me by the extremity of my suffering to fail in patience and faith."
-Novissima Verba.
__________________
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.
-Bk. II, ch. ix.
_________________
For several days she had suffered great mental anguish, and often implored us to pray and get prayers said for her: "If one only knew how necessary it is to pray for those in their agony! How much we need that verse of the hymn at Compline: Procul recedant somnia et noctium phantasmata (Far off let idle visions fly; no phantom of the night molest)! I think the devil must have obtained permission from Almighty God to tempt me by the extremity of my suffering to fail in patience and faith."
-Novissima Verba.
__________________
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 and Counsels - July 18
It is true that God promises forgiveness if we repent, but what assurance have we of obtaining it tomorrow?
-Ven. Louis de Blois.
________________________
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 Blois.
________________________
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)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)