CATHOLIC CHURCH MUST REMAIN TRUE TO JESUS IN A WORLD THAT REJECTS US

Leave a Comment / CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING, CATHOLIC COMMENTARY

 

SERMON ON THE MOUNT

BLESSED ARE YOU WHEB THEY PERSECUTE YOU AND HATE YOU FOR MY SAKE

I have been thinking recently why the society I live in and the government that is there to serve the “common good” are so often unfriendly and sometimes, even threatening, to a practicing Catholic who puts God’s Law and his conscience first.

At the same time, I worry how much pressure there is in the Catholic community on the Church Magisterium to water our doctrine down to accommodate the world and other religions.

Over the last few decades some practices, centuries old, have changed.  Fasting Days in the Catholic Church were reduced some time ago.  Holy Days of Obligation have been reduced as well.  Homilies on sin or hell are remote and spare.  Today, you see in some dioceses across the globe accepting same-sex marriages, inviting divorced and remarried Catholics without an annulment invited to receive Holy Communion and Protestant spouses of Catholics invited to receive with their spouses.  And the beat goes on…

I just don’t see how becoming more like every other denomination is attracting more to the Catholic Church. What must attract people to the Catholic Faith is its authenticity to the Gospel, its sacraments, and its liturgy, the Mass. A watered down Catholic Church is a “lukewarm” Church.

Jesus was counter-cultural. “You have heard it said, but I say to you.”  Jesus taught with authority.  His authority came from the Father.  “Who sees me, sees the Father.”  Jesus founded a counter-cultural Church on Peter, the Rock and promised the Holy Spirit to guide it on earth from error.   Catholic Church teaching condemns abortion, contraception, divorce and remarriage, same sex marriage and gender identity theory.

All right, so we pull ourselves up, tighten our belts, and go forward as soldiers of Christ.  What can we expect? Jesus gave us the answer. “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first….. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. John 15:18 – 23 Well that isn’t very comforting is it?  But why do we expect more than our Savior who gave His all for all of us?

Hold on, there is more…Jesus also tells us what happens if we persevere

to the end.  “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you because of me Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven, they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11

]Catholicism remains the staunchest opponent to the culture of the times. Our doctrines are stubborn things, even for some inside the Church who would like to change them. The Rock of Peter, whatever the human limitations may be.  By God’s own promise, the gates of Hell slam against the Rock but cannot prevail.

REFLECTION

PHILLIPIANS 2:6-12

Taking the form of a slave,

coming in human likeness;*

and found human in appearance

he humbled himself,

becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.*

Because of this, God greatly exalted him

and bestowed on him the name*

that is above every name,

That at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,*

of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth

And every tongue confess that

Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

 

ELECTIONDAY NOVEMBER 5 2024

CATHOLIC COMMENTARY

PRAYER BEFORE AN ELECTION

King of kings, we come before you to ask for your help. Give us your wisdom to elect leaders who will stand for us and who will lead by example.

Open our eyes to see what’s good for us as a nation.  Let candidates respect the dignity of each and every human life, along the long continuum from conception to natural death. 

 Protect us from those who want leadership for selfish reasons, for power and financial gain at the expense of developing the nation.

 I pray that you may scatter any plans set by the devil to disrupt the election process. 

Let the candidates accept the outcome of the elections without creating tension and violence and your Holy Spirit guide us in our decision making. Amen.

 FORMING A CATHOLIC CONSCIENCE

I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts” Jeremiah 31: 33

CATHOLIC CATECHISM

CCC 1776 “Deep within his conscience, man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. For man has in his heart a natural law inscribed by God. This natural law is inscribed in every human heart and mind by God.

CCC 1782 Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. “He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters.”

CCC 1785 The Conscience must be informed. The education of the conscience is a lifelong task. In the formation of conscience, the Word of God is the light for our path!

COMMENTARY

For the last 50 years or so, Presidential Election have been a dilemma for Catholics. In 1980 Ronald Reagan declared he was Pro-life. Now we have Donald Trump declaring himself Pro-life. Neither Ronald Reagan or Donald Trump are pro-life but may be better described as anti-abortion.

Many people who call themselves ‘pro-life’ may just be against abortions. They may not care about the already born–the rights of gays. minorities, immigrants;— they may support the death penalty, and they care very little about nuclear weapons, war, the environment, and animal rights.

I ask you to not only consider abortion but also life issues for the already born which seems a lot harder for some to support.  I suggest we reflect on Cardinal Bernardin 1983 Seamless Garment protocol.

SEAMLESS GARMENT

“Those who defend the right to life of the weakest among us must be equally visible in support of the quality of life of the powerless among us: the old and the young, the hungry and the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and the unemployed worker.

Today We know that Kamala Harris and the Democrat party are aggressively, unapologetically anti-life before birth. The Democratic party has called for abortion on demand through the full term of the pregnancy.

On the Republican side, the former President continually goes about demeaning and dismissing the human dignity of those already born.

In border disputes Trump won’t let into the country as refugees those not like him. Pope Francis rebukes this practice, “People who build walls are not Christians.

If you truly live your Catholic faith, you will not find complete alignment with any political party, and that is okay.  look at how each party supports human life from conception through natural death, freedom of religion, the freedom of conscience, the family, and the poor.

Finally, do vote. Pope Francis in recent airline interview 9/23 …it is generally said that not voting is ugly, it’s not good. One must vote. And one must choose the lesser evil. Which is the lesser evil? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know; each person must think and decide according to their own conscience

“Our defense of the innocent unborn needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless of his or her stage of development.

In 2018 Pope Francis spoke further of Pro-Life position in Encyclical Gaudete et Exsultate

Equally sacred are those already born, the lives of the poor the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection”

—

Our kingdom is not on earth, provided by the state, but awaits us in heaven provided by God.  The State is one thing; The Church is another. The First Amendment reads in part: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof

Pope Francis  Gaudete et Exsultate, #101March 2018”

Christians from the very beginning lived, believed, and practiced their faith in the most pagan of societies.  We must work hard to influence public policy that they conform more to God’s Laws and Jesus’ teachings but we must not despair if state institutions and secular society are not there yet.

The journey continues, homeward bound, practicing our faith with the grace of Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to the beat of the old Christian hymn.

 

ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS!

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before.

 

 

 

saint francis of assisi

CATHOLIC FEAST DAYS

FRANCIS OF ASSISI

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI FEAST DAY OCTOBER 4

INTRODUCTION

Thursday October 4 is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi.  Most of us know in general about Francis love for God’s creation, the animals, BROTHER sun, SISTER moon, and all that God has made.  Many parishes will be blessing pets today.  Pets are gifts from God to lift our spirits on our journey. Thank God for our pets!

 

BACKGROUND

 

In 1182, Francis was born to a wealthy cloth merchant of Assisi, Pietro Bernardone, and his French wife, the Lady Pica.  Francis was a young man of charm and wit with a consuming desire to be a knight after the fashion of his heroes, the legendary knights’ errant of the court of King Arthur and the court of Charlemagne.

 

In his twentieth year, Francis rides off to battle against the neighboring city of Perugia.  Assisi is routed and Francis is taken prisoner.   While in prison, Francis becomes ill. Francis is ransomed by his Father and released from prison.

 

After imprisonment and ill health, the world had lost some of its splendor for Francis.  It is in this desperate desolation that Francis begins to hear new voices within his old voices of vain glory and legendary tales of courtly love.  God’s voice became louder and clearer.

 

One day Francis hears God’s voice, “Francis! if you wish to know my will…  all that now seems sweet and lovely to you will become intolerable and bitter… but all that you used to avoid will turn itself to great sweetness and exceeding joy.”

 

Another time while praying in the chapel of San Damiano, Francis hears, “Francis repair my house which is falling into ruin.”  Francis begins selling his Father’s goods to raise money for repairs then resorts to begging for stones of the townspeople. Enraged at his son’s begging, Pietro drags his son before the Bishop.

 

Francis strips himself of his clothes before the Bishop and lays them at his father’s feet and utters the most dramatic words of his life,

 

“Listen to me everybody!  Until now I have called Pietro Bernardone my father.  But now that I am determined to serve God, I return not only his money but all the clothes I have from him.  From now on, I can walk naked before the Lord, no longer saying “my father,” Pietro Bernardone, but, ‘our Father who art in heaven!‘

 

Thus begins the journey of Francis from his father’s house to the house of his heavenly Father.  For Francis the Heavenly Father is fully revealed in Jesus Christ and thus the journey home is in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. .

 

Francis began to understand better God’s call to “rebuild his Church”  was more specific vocation to rebuild the spiritual life of the Church by bearing witness in imitation of Christ to the saving power of the Gospel

FRANCIS EMBRACES LEPER

 

One day Francis was riding across the plains of Assisi, he perceived a leper coming straight towards him.  In Francis’ day a leper had to ring a bell and shout, “Unclean.”  Society had embedded in Francis an incomparable loathing for all persons afflicted with this illness.

 

As Francis saw the leper approach his first reaction was horror then he remembered the resolve he made to attain perfection and to be a soldier of Christ meant victory over one self.  Francis dismounted his horse, kissed the leper, and gave him alms.

 

In this decisive moment of illumination Francis suddenly perceived in this leper the embodiment of God’s beauty, a human being to be loved and cared for tenderly.

 

By embracing the leper, the Saint learned to embrace all people just as Jesus did. For Francis the meaning of Creation is found in the person of Jesus Christ.  It is in and through Jesus Christ that we discover the meaning of our own humanity and that of every other creature.

 

ST FRANCIS ASSISI PEACE PRAYER

 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

PARABLES 3

SCRIPTURE

REJOICE WITH ME FOR I HAVE FOUND MY LOST SHEEP

LUKE 15:4-10 

What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?

And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy  and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’

I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

REFLECTION

Jesus is a master story teller. In this parable Jesus tells the unbelievable story of a shepherd leaving most of his flock to search for one missing one who has probably been eaten by a wolf.  That shepherd would soon be fired. But the point of God’s love for each and every one of us is unmistakable. Praise God!

What kind of God do we have that will go after just one person…Thank God who seeks until one finds God again.

He knocks until we open the door…no matter how far away or how long…God never stops calling us home…Hear Him…Listen to Him…

Repent and be saved…the kingdom of heaven is at hand…Come home…

PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

MATTHEW 25:14-30

“It will be as when a man who was going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one—to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.

After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five.* He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’

His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’

Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’

Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’

His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!* So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?

Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

REFLECTION

God gives gifts to us according to our ability/personality and according to God’s plan for salvation…Do we bury these gifts…keep them for ourselves or are we light to the world…

God created us according to His Holy will.. each different with special gifts that display God’s glory…God’s gifts are super abundant…

What are my gifts…how am I sharing them…do I bury some….do I reject some…

Do I gift others…This little light will shine, Let it shine, Let it shine

Let us hear one day, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter my kingdom

 

TYPOLOGY THE PROMISE OF A SAVIOR

SCRIPTURE, THE STORY OF OUR SALVATION

JESUS READS FROM THE SCROLLS

 When reading the Bible, you may have noticed some people and events seem familiar like you have already read something similar.  Well, that is true if you read from both the Old Testament and the New Testament and there is a name for this experience.

In the New Testament the Old is perfectly fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ The technical name for seeing the New Testament in the Old Testament is called typology. Typology is the study of the Bible as a unified whole with Christ at the center.

 I will now share with you a few of the types found in the Old Testament. There are many more if you wish to search ie. David on donkey, Jesus on donkey…

 ADAM

 Jesus is the New Adam giving us life rather than death.  Early Christian writers spoke of Jesus as the New Adam. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans:

 The first Adam was disobedient which resulted in original sin and death. Jesus was obedient which resulted in salvation and life. Just as through one person sin entered the world, and the many died…, how much more did   the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person, Jesus Christ, overflow for the many… Romans 5:8.

 

 ABRAHAM

 The LORD said to Abram: Go forth* from your land, your relatives, and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing Genesis 12:1-2

 Abraham was a type of Christ in that he was the prototypical stranger and foreigner. Like the Redeemer, He functionally “had nowhere to lay his head.”  Abraham was to be the Father of many nations.  Jesus came to call all nations, the everlasting Father of all.

 

 ISAAC

 Sometime afterward, God put Abraham to the test and said Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. And there offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you Genesis 22:1-2

Isaac was a type of Christ in that he was the promised “son of Abraham.” The promises of God were given directly to Abraham with respect to His son . Just as Isaac’s birth was the result of the supernatural power of God so too was it true of Jesus. Isaac carried the wood on his back for the sacrifice as Jesus carried his cross. Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the angel

 

MELCHIZEDEK

Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine, and being a priest of God Most High, he blessed Abram with these words:  Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand.” Genesis 14:18-19

“The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: ‘You are a priest forever'”-in the order of –  Melchizedek …. It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners…Hebrews 7:17-22

Melchizedek offers bread and wine to Abraham as Jesus offered bread and wine in thanksgiving at Last Supper

Moses receives Ten Commandments

Moses’ mission was to free Israel from slavery to Egypt.  Jesus delivers us from the slavery of sin.

 Then the LORD said to Moses: Come up to me on the mountain and, while you are there, I will give you the stone tablets on which I have written the commandments intended for their instruction. Genesis 24:12

In the New Testament Jesus explains the Ten Commandments more fully in the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down…, He began to teach them, saying: The Beatitudes*… Matthew 5:1-2

 

JONAH

 “This is the word of the LORD that came to Jonah, “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; their wickedness has come up before me.” Jonah 2:11

Jonah tried to run away from his mission, “But the LORD sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and he remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.  On the third day Jonah was “resurrected” from the belly of the fish.

The story of Jonah and the whale from the Old Testament prefigures Christ’s burial, the stomach of the whale as Christ’s tomb: Jonah was freed from the whale after three days, so did Christ rise from his tomb after three days.

After Jesus’ death He was placed in a tomb.

 “Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it (in) clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed.” Matthew 27:60

On the third day Jesus rose from the dead.

“After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.…..  Then the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.  He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.” Matthew 28:1-10

 DAVID 

 David was a shepherd from Bethlehem who was chosen by God to be the King of Israel. David was a mighty warrior King. David was a shepherd/King who ruled over God’s people in faithfulness.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the King of Kings who rules over God’s people in perfect covenantal faithfulness.

 PRAYER TO JESUS LORD AND SAVIOR

Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God, that you died on the cross to rescue me from sin and death and to restore me to the Father.

 I choose now to turn from my sins, my self-centeredness, and every part of my life that does not please you. I choose you.

Please forgive me. Live in me. Love through me.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

FEAST OF THE EXHALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS SEPTEMBER 14

CATHOLIC FEAST DAYS

JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS

WE ADORE YOU O CHRIST, AND WE BLESS YOU

BECAUSE BY YOUR HOLY CROSS YOU HAVE REDEEMED THE WORLD!

 BACKGROUND

 The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is celebrated every year on September 14. This feast recalls two historical events: the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena, mother of emperor Constantine, and the dedication of churches built by Constantine (335) on the site of the Holy Sepulcher and Mount Calvary.

After the death and resurrection of Christ, both the Jewish and Roman authorities in Jerusalem made efforts to obscure the Holy Sepulcher, Christ’s tomb, in a garden near the site of His crucifixion. According to tradition, Saint Helena, Mother of Emperor, Constantine, nearing the end of her life, decided under divine inspiration to travel to Jerusalem in 326 to excavate the Holy Sepulcher in an attempt to locate the True Cross.

In celebration of the discovery of the Holy Cross, Constantine ordered the construction of churches at the site of the Holy Sepulcher and on Mount Calvary. Those churches were dedicated on September 13 and 14, 335, and shortly thereafter the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross began to be celebrated on September 14.

 REFLECTION

The cross reminds us of many things: atonement, forgiveness, love, mercy, redemption, salvation, and hope.  This instrument of torture, designed to disgrace and dismiss the worst of criminals, became the life-giving tree that reversed Adam’s Original Sin when he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. God loves us even to death on the cross. LOVE is what the crucifixion is all about,

Christians display the cross in their homes.  They wear it on their person.  They make the sign of the cross before prayer and on entering Church with the waters of Baptism. With the sign of the cross we remind ourselves and witness to others that we have set ourselves apart from worldly rule and pledge our very selves to God’s reign in heaven.

At Mass, the same sacrifice offered on Calvary is offered in an “unbloody manner.” We offer ourselves with the priest to the Father in sacrificial atonement for our sins.  When we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we do not simply unite ourselves to Christ; we nail ourselves to the Cross, dying with Christ so that we might truly rise with Him.  “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23).

God did not spare His own Son from suffering.  God takes upon Himself all the hate, bitterness, resentment, violence, and sins of this world.  God has promised in the end, there will be redemption, vindication, immunity from suffering, and eternal life.

Suffering in this world is inevitable.  God did not promise us a “rose garden” without thorns.  But He did promise to nurture, feed, and prune that rose garden as He brings it to the fullness of glory in heaven.

At Jesus’ death, the Temple veil before the “holy of holies” was split in two from top to bottom revealing the inner heart of God.  There is no longer a veil between us and God’s heart.  The cross of Jesus fully reveals what God looks like!

The cross of Jesus doesn’t just reveal God’s unconditional love for us; but also reveals that vulnerability is the path to intimacy with God.

God is not about condemnation and crushing every evil by force.  “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn* the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:17   God is like a gentle mother coaxing her child to take that next step in learning to walk.

J

ESUS CHRIST SAVIOR OF THE WORLD

O HAPPY FAULT THAT EARNED FOR US SO GREAT, SO GLORIOUS A REDEEMER!

SAINT AMBROSE

EASTER VIGIL PROCLAMATION

 

 

 

 

 

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 4

SCRIPTURE

Renewal in Christ.*

—you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; darkened in understanding, and alienated from the life of God…. because of their hardness of heart, they have become callous and have handed themselves over to… every kind of impurity to excess.

That is not how you learned Christ…. you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on* the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.

REFLECTION

Repent and believe in the Gospel! Turn back to God. Seek God rather than what appeals to self, especially addiction to anything. Stop worrying about matters in this world, prepare for matters in the next world.  Eternity is forever, no time out.

Protect me from my own careless thoughts, words, and actions.  Give me a wise discerning heart to see the world as you see it. Lord have mercy!

I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Rules for the New Life.

Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger, and do not leave room for the devil.

The thief must no longer steal, but rather labor, doing honest work* with his [own] hands, so that he may have something to share with one in need.

No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear…. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

REFLECTION

Jesus is the light of the world. Let that light shine on the darkness of sin and leanings towards sin. May this light disperse the darkness, Let me take in that light that I may be a light to others in this world

As we are forgiven in Christ we must forgive those who offend us. The Our Father says it best, Forgive us our trespasses  as we forgive those who trespass against us, Be careful what you pray for!

 

 

SAINT (MOTHER) TERESA OF CALCUTTA

CATHOLIC FEAST DAYS

FEAST DAY SEPTEMBER 5

 INTRODUCTION

Mother Teresa is one of my favorite saints.  Years ago, she inspired our whole family, teenage girls included, to spend time in the poorest of poor nations, Haiti, to work with the poor and dying.  One of the places was a hospice run by the Missionaries of Charity the order Mother Teresa founded.

Our family has never been the same since. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:25

BACKGROUND

Born in Skopje (North Macedonia) in 1910, MOTHER TERESA joined the Sisters of Loreto in Dublin in 1928 and was sent to India, where she began her novitiate. She taught at St. Mary’s High School in Calcutta from 1931 to 1948, until leaving the Loreto order to begin the Missionaries of Charity.

In 1946, Mother Teresa had a mystical encounter with Christ on a train to Darjeeling September 26, 1946 in which He asked her to take her love for Him a large step further.

He asked her to leave the convent of Loreto and begin an order which would serve the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta.

During the time of her mystical experiences leading to the founding of the new order, she experienced deep spiritual union and the sensible awareness of God’s Presence in her life.

Here is a small sample of Jesus’ words to Mother Teresa during this time: “My little one – come – carry Me into the holes of the poor. –  Come be My light – I cannot go alone – they don’t know Me – in your love for Me – they will see Me, know Me, want Me…. For them I long –”

During her lifelong service to the poorest of the poor, Mother Teresa became an icon of compassion to people of all religions; her extraordinary contributions to the care of the sick, the dying, and thousands of others nobody else was prepared to look after, has been recognized and acclaimed throughout the world.

REFLECTION

 GOOD NEWS QUOTES OF MOTHER TERESA

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Each person is Jesus in disguise. I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This one has leprosy.  I must wash him and tend to him….

 It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us…Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.

 People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway…. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.  The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

 Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. At the hour of death when we come face-to-face with God, we are going to be judged on love; not how much we have done, but how much love we put into the doing….

Mother Teresa’s 1979 Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech

Lord, make me a channel of Thy peace that, where there is hatred, I may bring love; that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness; that, where there is discord, I may bring harmony; that, where there is error, I may bring truth; that, where there is doubt, I may bring faith; that, where there is despair, I may bring hope; that, where there are shadows, I may bring light; that, where there is sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted, to love than to be loved; for it is by forgetting self that one finds; it is forgiving that one is forgiven; it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

CONCLUSION

We are each called and equipped by God to not only survive our personal Calcutta, but to contribute to those around us whose individual Calcutta intersects our own.   There is no need, then, to travel to far-off lands to contribute… Wherever we are, with whatever talents and relationships God has entrusted us, we are each called not to do what Mother Teresa did, but– to love as she loved in the Calcutta of our own life. 

 Made in the very image and likeness of God, We, on earth, are God’s love, God’s compassion, God’s will, God’s caregivers, His smile, His tears.  We must show the presence of God in this world until He comes again at the end of time

 

 

 

WOMEN IN THE CHURCH

CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING, CATHOLIC COMMENTARY

A GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES HEBREWS 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us

and persevere in running the race that lies before us.

 INTRODUCTION

 This month of August we have celebrated two feasts of Mary Mother of God.  Mary is the model to all women saints in the great cloud of witnesses.  Mary’s devotion and prayer life was exemplar!

When she asked Jesus’ assistance at Cana wedding feast fully confident that Jesus would answer her and He did with gallons and gallons of good wine.  Mary is the best intercessor with Jesus and so are many of the women in our lives Grandmothers, Mothers, Sisters, Wives, Aunts…… Our mothers are praying for us right now because that is what mothers do.

 COMMENTARY

 Where would the Church be without Mother Mary, Mother Teresa,\Therese, the Little Flower,  Faustina,  Bernadette. Joan of Arc, and Clare of Assisi to name a few women in the “cloud of witnesses.”

There are certainly passages in the Old and New Testament that could be interpreted as painting women as less than equal to men.  But that was in a culture thousands of years ago in the Middle East.  We would have a better understanding of women’s place in God’s kingdom (Church) by focusing more on Jesus’ interchanges with women in the Gospels.

Jesus, himself, did not discriminate against women but engaged them in His Public Ministry: Jesus raised the widow’s son at a funeral procession in Nain Luke 7:11; Jesus healed the woman suffering years of blood loss Mark 5:24-34; and forgave the Woman caught in adultery John 8:1-11 without any discrimination.

Breaking the sexist and racial customs of his day, Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well, offering her “living water”

John 4:5-42.

JESUS AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AT THE WELL

To the degree that a Christian treats women in a discriminating or exploitive way, they separate themselves from Jesus Christ.  Jesus treated women with openness, respect, acceptance, and tenderness. In this way he honored the dignity that women have always possessed according to God’s plan

WOMEN MINISTRY IN THE CHURCH OF JESUS

Over 85 percent of those responsible for altar preparation are women. Over 75 percent of adult Bible study leaders and participants are women. Over 85 percent of those who lead or assist in ministries designed to help the poor, visit the sick, comfort the grieving, and minister to the handicapped are women.  

 PAUL LETTER TO EPHESIANS

Women have had a particular problem with St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 5:22-25 that talks about wives being subordinate to husbands, kind of a poor way to put it for 21st century folks.  Early Church Fathers said that Scripture can be rightly interpreted in a variety of ways, but that any understanding of a passage that undermined love of God or love of neighbor ought to be rejected.

Paul is really not placing women in a slavish role to their husbands but trying to compare a marriage couple to the Church the bride, and Christ the bridegroom.  The key verse is verse 25, “Husbands love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her”

The Catholic Church teaches the proper recipient of Holy Orders is a baptized male as Jesus is.  The reservation of priestly ordination to men is perhaps the grievance most often brought up by critics of the Church. The Church does not discriminate against women. Are women less holy than men, of course not, less intellectually capable, of course not?

While on earth, Jesus ordained only men, Women were among the earliest and most courageous followers of Jesus, yet he did not call them to be among the Twelve. Even his own Mother, who according to Catholic belief is the greatest human person in all of history, was not among the Twelve nor ordained a priest.

Jesus’ Church today cannot go beyond Jesus.  Some will argue it is a cultural thing.  We don’t live in First Century Middle East.  But as I stated earlier Jesus was not bound by the usual social norms and broke them all the time.  Also women priestesses of pagan gods were common place in the time of Jesus.

 CONCLUSION

The First Letter to the Corinthians (I Corinthians 12:12) indicates, just as the human body has different members and each member a different purpose, so, too, the various parts of the body of Christ have many missions, prophets, teachers, healers, helpers, administrators…, all essential, valuable, and vital for life of Church, Christ’s Body.

 The bottom line is this…. most saints in heaven are not ordained clergy. The layperson can participate actively and fully in the Church as a layperson, and may they do so with vigor and zeal! The Spirit bestows different gifts on different people. Below are just a few women saints that have gone before us and pray as intercessors.

St Monica Model of Prayer

St Monica the Mother of St. Augustine is remembered and honored for her outstanding Christian virtues of grieving mothers, difficult marriages, victims of abuse and conversion of relatives.

St Therese of Lisieux (Little Flower)

Model of Faith

 At the heart of Therese’s understanding of the spiritual life is the principle that holiness can be appreciated and accomplished not only in the performance of mighty deeds but in a willing surrender to the purposes of God as we engage the seemingly ordinary experiences of life.

Mother Theresa of Calcutta Model of Works

St Theresa did amazing works of charity…feeding the poor. nursing the sick and housing the homeless through her order, The Missionaries of Charity, for over 45 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MARY QUEEN OF HEAVEN FEAST DAY AUGUST 22

CATHOLIC FEAST DAYS, MARY MOTHER OF GOD

                                                              MARY CROWNED QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

INTRODUCTION

 Centuries before the birth of Christ, Isaiah foretold the coming of the Messiah-King: “A child is born to us [he said], a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace”… This Messiah would be in the royal line of David, and his reign would have no end Isaiah. 9:6-7.

Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of David who came to fulfill the Davidic Kingdom. The whole point of the genealogy in the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel is to show Jesus is royalty; he is the heir to David’s throne. Matthew 1:1

When the angel Gabriel appears to Mary, he explicitly links the birth of the child to the fulfillment of God’s promise to King David:

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Luke 1:26-33

 First century Jews would have known, under the reign of David’s royal family, the kingdom was ruled by both a King and a Queen. Unlike in modern-day kingdoms, however, the queen of Israel was not the king’s wife but his mother. She was known as the “Queen Mother.”

The pre-eminence of the king’s mother may seem odd from our modern Western perspective, In the Near East, however, most ancient Near-Eastern kings practiced polygamy. King Solomon had seven hundred wives 1 Kings.11:3

Imagine the chaos in the royal court if all seven hundred were awarded the Queen-ship! But since each king had only one mother, one can see the practical wisdom in bestowing the Queen-ship upon her. In the historical books of the Old Testament, the Queen mother holds a position of great honor.

According to the Old Testament, the Queen mother was also a powerful intercessor with her son, the king.  In Hebrew tradition, Mary is Queen Mother. Mary’s royal office is made even more explicit in Luke’s account of the Visitation. Elizabeth greets Mary with the title “the mother of my Lord” Luke 1:43. Elizabeth is recognizing the great dignity of Mary’s role as the royal mother of the king, Jesus

In the royal court language of the ancient Near East, the title “Mother of my Lord” was used to address the Queen mother of the reigning king (who himself was addressed as “my Lord”  2 Sam. 24:21.

In the last book of the Bible, Book of Revelation, we have the confirmation of what prophets and evangelists have been writing for centuries. a woman clothed with the sun and wearing a crown of stars is standing above the moon and the stars “in heaven.” Revelation 12:1

 Just as Jesus is a heavenly King who reigns over a heavenly kingdom, so Mary, Jesus’ mother, can rightly be described as Queen of the kingdom of heaven.

REFLECTION

 What God has accomplished in Mother Mary, He also wants to accomplish in us. From Heaven, Mary encourages each of us to say Yes to God’s plan for our lives just as she did so long ago.

Understanding Mary as Queen mother sheds light on her important intercessory role with Jesus, her Son. Just like the queen mother of the Davidic kingdom, Mary serves as advocate for the people in the Kingdom of God today.

Mary helps us to share in the Lord’s victory over sin. Rising above those sins, we begin to acquire self-mastery, true purity of heart, and a newfound ability to give ourselves to others in love and in service. All of this is who Mary is and why she reigns in Heaven.  There is no better intercessor than the Queen Mother! Mary awaits us! Bring us safely home, Mary! Amen!

Regina Caeli – Queen of Heaven

Queen of heaven, rejoice. Alleluia.  Pray to God for us, Alleluia.

O God, it was by the Resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that you brought joy to the world.

Grant through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his Mother, we may attain the joy of eternal life.

Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.