Twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time

Here are the readings for the
27th Sunday of Ordinary Time,October 3, 2010:

Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
Psalm 95: 1-2, 6-9       
2 Timothy 1: 6-8, 13-14
 Luke 17: 5-10

• Have you ever felt like your faith was the only option left to you? 
• When have you felt like a servant? What was challenging, what was life-giving about it for you?
• In what ways can you see yourself as a minister in your life right now?

The topic for this week's Catechumenate Session is the Sacrament of Holy Orders. It is very likely that you will see representatives of each of the three orders at our 9:30AM mass this week! (Don't forget, ALL candidates and catechumens please come forward for dismissal after the homily.)

St. Vincent dePaul

Yesterday's readings touched on compassion, empathy and concern for others as essential Christian attributes. We highlighted how the Catholic Church seeks to embody that through our social teachings and charitable works. Today is the feast of a saint known for his works of charity, so I invite you to go back to last year's post for some background on St. Vincent dePaul.

Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Here are the readings for the
26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, September 26, 2010:


Amos 6: 1a, 4-7
Psalm 146: 7-10     
1 Timothy 6: 1-16   
 Luke 16: 19-31 

• The name Lazarus means "he whom God helps". In what circumstances or for what issues are you reluctant to help or indifferent to the needs of another? 
• The psalm this week proclaims the favors of the Lord for those in various need. In what way has God helped you, for what do you praise God at work in your life?
  
  The Catechumenate Session this weekend is on Catholic Social Teaching.
  We are also celebrating of Rite of Acceptance and Welcome at the 11:30 mass this Sunday!

Blessed John Henry Newman

Yesterday in England, Pope Benedict XVI presided at the beatification ceremony of John Henry Cardinal Newman. "Beatification" is the next-to-last step in the canonization process, the way the Catholic Church formally recognizes saints. Newman was a 19th Century English academic and convert from Anglicanism.

Many public colleges and universities have a "Newman Center" nearby- the local presence of the Catholic Church providing campus ministry. As an undergraduate, I was deeply blessed by finding the Newman Center in Chapel Hill (sorry, NC State fans!), a place that was for me both a welcoming 'home' and an opportunity to grow, learn and develop my gifts and faith. Newman Centers across the country continue that tradition of encouraging intellectual, spiritual and social development of the person that complements and sometimes challenges the education being fostered on the campus.

A few words from Pope Benedict's homily during the ceremony:

In Blessed John Henry Newman,  "that tradition of gentle scholarship, deep human wisdom and profound love for the Lord has borne rich fruit, as a sign of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit deep within the heart of God's people, bringing forth abundant gifts of holiness."

"His insights into the relationship between faith and reason, into the vital place of revealed religion in civilized society, and into the need for a broadly-based and wide-ranging approach to education were not only of profound importance for Victorian England, but continue today to inspire and enlighten many all over the world. I would like to pay particular tribute to his vision for education, which has done so much to shape the ethos that is the driving force behind Catholic schools and colleges today. Firmly opposed to any reductive or utilitarian approach, he sought to achieve an educational environment in which intellectual training, moral discipline and religious commitment would come together."

Cardinal Newman was a scholar and prolific writer, so there are many quotes that could be chosen, on the primacy of one's informed conscience or on the importance of the laity, for example, but let's end this post with this one:

“Here below, to live is to change,
and to be perfect is to have changed often.”

John Henry Newman, pray for us!

Twenty-Fifith Sunday of Ordinary Time

Here are the readings for the
25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, September 19, 2010:

Amos 8: 4-7
Psalm 113: 1-2, 4-8     

1 Timothy 2: 1-8  

Luke 16: 1-13

• When have you felt cheated or treated unjustly, and how did you feel?
• In what ways do you factor God into your decisions about finances, careers, relationships?
• When is it easier to leave God out of the equation?

St. Catherine of Siena wrote in Dialogues I,7 from God's perspective:

...I have given many gifts and graces, both spiritual and temporal, with such diversity that I have not given everything to a single person. ...I have willed that one should need another and that all should be my ministers in distributing the graces and gifts that [they] have received from me.

The theme for the Catechumenate session this week is Stewardship.

Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Rembrandt van Rijn
The Return of the Prodigal Son c. 1662

Here are the readings for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, September 12, 2010 
Exodus 32: 7-11, 13-14
Psalm 51: 3-4. 12-13, 17, 19     

1 Timothy 1: 12-17  

Luke 15: 1-32

• There are three parables included in this Sunday's Gospel. What insight about God do you understand from each of them? 
• How have you experience reconciliation in your life? (as a child, in relationships, at work)
  
  The topic for this Sunday's Catechumenate Session is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Mystagogia group will NOT be meeting at 10:45am, but will be helping serve the Migrant Ministry meal at St. Bernadette's on Sunday evening. The next Inquiry session is Tuesday September 14.

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today is the day we celebrate the birthday of Mary, mother of Jesus. (That means that exactly 9 months ago, we celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary!) Christians have celebrated the life of this important woman since the 6th century, choosing a September date to fit with the beginning of the Eastern Church's new year.

There aren't many historical facts known about Mary's birth and early life, although pious stories abound. Her parents were Joachim and Anna (or Anne), and her conception and birth were nothing out of the ordinary, with one big exception. We believe that at the moment of her conception, God preserved her from original sin.
Please click here for a previous post about the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

So, what do you get the Mother of God for her birthday??! I'm sure she'd be pleased with a prayer of thanks for her courage, strength and love in saying 'yes' to God. And if you're looking for an 'official' one...

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

Blessed are you among women,
and blest is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners

now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

Here are the readings for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, September 5, 2010:

Wisdom 9: 13-18b    

Psalm 90: 3-6, 12-17      

Philemon 9-10, 12-17    

Luke 14: 25-33

The Gospel is a continuation of Jesus' remarks and parables at the Pharisee's dinner party that we heard in last week's Gospel. (Don't take the best seat, don't do nice things just to get paid back, etc.) And we talked about the sense of freedom that can come from not being burdened by expectations and constant status-checking. In this week's reading, Jesus cranks up the heat another notch or two: you can't follow me unless you hate your family and your possessions! OUCH.

"Hate" is a strong, emotional word for us. The Semitic expression Jesus used is better indicted by a state of detachment. He's giving fair warning to all would-be disciples about where we have to place our priorities, and he's making no promises that such a choice will be all rainbows and sunshine. Who/what do you prefer: faithfulness to God, or protecting your investments, or fulfilling myriad social obligations? Even with this warning, Jesus isn't demanding 'all or nothing' (never talk with your parents again!), but keeping things in the proper perspective. If loving God IS your first priority, your lifestyle is going to sort itself out in a way that results in you being loving to family as well. And if your possessions don't own you, the freedom in that detachment allows you to be generous, trusting, and open to the hospitality of others.

And what does Jesus tell us by the parables about the builder and the armies? Slow down - know what you're getting into, take stock of your own gifts and fortitude, make sure you can make this commitment. Living deeply as a Christian carries a cost, our own cross to bear, and if we don't plan to have integrity about it, people WILL notice (e.g. cut off in traffic by the car with the fish symbol?! Nice.... really Christian!).

Discouraging? The Good News is that God doesn't leave us to flounder on our own... see the reading from the Book of Wisdom:

...Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high? And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.

• In what sense might self-renunciation lead to fuller self-discovery?
• Is it possible to view the cross you bear as an eventual means to redemption (as Jesus' cross was the means for the redemption of us all?)?

There is no Catechumenate session this weekend. Have a happy and safe Labor Day holiday.