PAPAL MESSAGE: PROPOSING VOCATIONS IN THE LOCAL CHURCH

Pope Benedict XVI's Message for the 48th WOrld day of Prayer for Vocations has been posted. At this time, I am not able to read it or comment on it, but I am certain it is worth your time to read!

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

We are to be salt and light... Just as salt preserves and enhances flavor, we are to preserve the morality of God, and enhance the culture around us with the awareness of God. We are to let the light of Christ, the light of the world, shine forth from us, shining into the darkness of the world still in the grips of sin, and lead others to Christ. We preach Christ Crucified, a message of utter simplicity, and complexity - Christ who saves us by His cross, because of his love for us!

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

John the Baptist failed to recognize Jesus as the Savior. He needed the signs at the Baptism of the Lord in order to recognize Him. Once he does, though, he does not holy back from continuing to call out for Jesus' name.

Baptism of the Lord

As Christ is Baptized in the Jordan, He transforms the waters so that they can transform us. He gives us the Sacrament of Baptism that we can be set free from sin and death. But Baptism also begins our Christian Vocation. When we were baptized, we rejected Satan, his works, and his promises, which means that we cannot go back, and we are emersed into Christ's life, death and resurrection.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

His name shall be Jesus... What is in a name? The Angel announces to St. Joseph that the child conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary is by the Holy Spirit, and that His name will be Jesus - God Saves. Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity not only is "God with us" Emmanuel, but is the reminder that God longs to save His people. His purpose, is His name.
Few of us are so blessed to have our names reveal our vocations. But the Lord, all the same, calls us my our names. More than an unique identifier, He gives us an unique purpose in life. Like St. Joseph, we are invited to accept Jesus and Mary into our lives, and like him, may we live our vocations out!

Third Sunday in Advent

Rejoice and be glad, Christ reveals Himself as the one who is to come, and provides the proof: The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. The Lord Jesus made these happen in His day. He does the same in our day. What proof is He giving to us to show that He is real, and are we able to follow Him?

Second Sunday of Advent 2010

Prepare the way of the Lord... The Baptist's cry, in fact his whole life, was an invitation to the people to prepare their hearts and minds for the Messiah. It is not enough, though, to simply acknowledge one's sins, but to produce the fruits of repentance: Forgiveness, love, charity, just to name a few. We ask the Lord to help us produce those fruits, and we also ask John's intercession, that like him, that we may recognize Christ who comes to us in mystery (John recognized Jesus Christ while in the womb).

First Sunday of Advent 2010

Stay Awake, be prepared! The Lord tells us that we should keep watch. As we begin Advent, perhaps there are 7 things we out to do:
Pray
Reconciliation
Eucharistic adoration and Mass
Prepare for Mass by reading the Gospel
Alms-Giving
Resisting Consumerism
Eating less/Fasting

If we do these, we will be prepared!

Christ the King, 2010

Jesus Christ is our eternal priest and universal king, and the time is coming when He will submit His kingdom to our Heavenly Father. When that time comes, will we be in alignment with Christ, and be submitted with the rest of creation, or stand outside, grinding and wailing our teeth. This good thief in today's Gospel provides a model - he submits himself to Christ, and while his prayer is to simply be remembered, he finds forgiveness and peace.

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

The days are coming when we will be challenged in our faith. Jesus warns that the challenge may come from familiar places - our family. When the day comes, will they have enough evidence to convict us of our faith in Jesus Christ? Instead of fear of that day, we are to persevere in the faith, and to trust in the Holy Spirit to give us the words of testimony.

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

In our Gospel this weekend, Jesus Christ explains that marriage is a earthly institution, that people marry here, but in Heaven it will not be so - they will be like the angels. Not a merely sentimental statement, Jesus is most likely referring to the fact that the angels exist to praise and worship our Heavenly Father, and they are not created through procreation. This helps us find 'ends' (the philosophical reason) of marriage, unititive and procreative, are for here, and helps us to understand why the Lord would call some men and women to celibacy: as a witness of the way we shall all live in heaven. As we look at the seven brothers in Maccabees, we hear of their faith in the Resurrection, knowing that to break the law to continue to live (at least for now) has eternal consequences. Let us live aware of heaven, and make our decisions in the light of eternity.

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner." When we let the Lord in, when we admit who we are in light of His Holiness, we also begin to let Him work in our lives, justifying (making us right with God) us. He forgive our sins and makes us holy. When we are filled with pride, or when we act like salvation is a mere matter of being better than the other person, we fail to let God help us. This parable of the Pharisee and the Publican draws this out. Interestingly enough, consider the 'prayer' of the Pharisee - he spoke the prayer to himself. Certainly, he had a high opinion of himself! We do not need to be better than the other person, just better than we are!

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The rich man, enjoying his wealth and ignoring the beggar at his door, recognizes the beggar too late. As the beggar Lazarus was comforted in Heaven, the rich man was tormented in Hell, eternally separated from God. Still, he begs Abraham to make Lazarus come to his aid. Abraham refuses - it is too late.

Perhaps, more than any other parable, that is a main point of this parable: Now is the time to repent, to change our lives and recognize not only our need for God, but the need of those at our doors. Now is the time to discern God's will for us and to do it. While we may not yet be in a full, lifelong vocation, we can be taking a step to that vocation by listening to the Law and the Prophets.

Assumption 2010

The Blessed Mother is assumed into Heaven, body and soul. It is only fitting, as the most perfect vessel for the Incarnation of Christ, having been prepared from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception. It is not of her own accord, but rather because she said yes to the Lord.



(Icon of the Dormition - the Eastern Churches' term for the Assumption - calling to mind her 'sleeping' and being taken into Heaven. Note that Christ her Son is at her side, along with the Apostles.)

Sometimes, one considering a vocation, forgets that God not only loves those who follow Him, but He takes care of them. He shows His love of the Blessed Mother by honoring her thus, and he will take care of us, too.

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Following Jesus Christ requires everything: as he has no place to lay His head, we are asked to have detachment from 'stuff'; as He is the author and giver of life, we are asked to leave the dead; and as we follow Him, we are asked to not look back to what we left behind.

Twelveth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus asks a question, "Who do you say that I am?" It is the question every Christian must answer, and from that we must follow Him by taking up our cross daily. If we get the answer wrong, say answering it that He is a mere teacher, a historical man with no real impact other than intellectual pursuit, then following Him makes no sense. But if we answer correctly, knowing that He is both Lord and Savior, we would ultimately be unable to do anything but to follow Him. But first, before we can answer the question, we must experience Jesus Christ - which we do in prayer, sacraments, service, and Scripture. May we know the Lord Jesus, and follow Him always!

Corpus Christi, 2010

As we celebrate Corpus Christi this weekend, we celebrate the source and summit of our Catholic faith. Everything we are is from and leads to the Eucharist, and as such we ought to ask if we are allowing Jesus to be such in our life.

From the Sequence:

Sion, lift thy voice and sing;
Praise thy Savior and thy King;
Praise with hymns thy Shepherd true:
Dare thy most to praise Him well;
For He doth all praise excel;
None can ever reach His due.
Special theme of praise is thine,
That true living Bread divine,
That life-giving flesh adored,
Which the brethren twelve received,
As most faithfully believed,
At the Supper of the Lord.
Let the chant be loud and high;
Sweet and tranquil be the joy
Felt to-day in every breast;
On this festival divine
Which recounts the origin
Of the glorious Eucharist.

At this table of the King,
Our new Paschal offering
Brings to end the olden rite;
Here, for empty shadows fled,
Is reality instead;
Here, instead of darkness, light.

His own act, at supper seated,
Christ ordained to be repeated,
In His memory divine;
Wherefore now, with adoration,
We the Host of our salvation
Consecrate from bread and wine.

Hear what holy Church maintaineth,
That the bread its substance changeth
Into Flesh, the wine to Blood.
Doth it pass thy comprehending?
Faith, the law of sight transcending,
Leaps to things not understood.

Here in outward signs are hidden
Priceless things, to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things, are all we see:-
Flesh from bread, and Blood from wine;
Yet is Christ, in either sign,
All entire confessed to be.

They too who of Him partake
Sever not, nor rend, nor break,
But entire their Lord receive.
Whether one or thousands eat,
All receive the selfsame meat,
Nor the less for others leave.

Both the wicked and the good
Eat of this celestial Food;
But with ends how opposite!
Here 'tis life; and there 'tis death;
The same, yet issuing to each
In a difference infinite.

Nor a single doubt retain,
When they break the Host in twain,
But that in each part remains
What was in the whole before;
Since the simple sign alone
Suffers change in state or form,
The Signified remaining One
And the Same forevermore

Lo! upon the Altar lies,
Hidden deep from human eyes,
Angels' Bread from Paradise
Made the food of mortal man:
Children's meat to dogs denied;
In old types foresignified;
In the manna from the skies,
In Isaac, and the Paschal Lamb.

Jesu! Shepherd of the sheep!
Thy true flock in safety keep.
Living Bread! Thy life supply;
Strengthen us, or else we die;
Fill us with celestial grace:
Thou, who feedest us below!
Source of all we have or know!
Grant that with Thy Saints above,
Sitting at the Feast of Love,
We may see Thee face to face. Amen

Trinity Sunday, 2010

As we celebrate Trinity Sunday this weekend, we rejoice in the teaching of the Church that helps us to give words for the reality of the Trinity. While we know that the Trinity is an ineffable mystery, we understand that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons in one substance. Each Member works together for every act of salvation, each in their own way. They love each other perfectly, and out of that love, they created, redeemed, and sanctified us, enabling us to spend eternity with them!

The Lyrics of the Te Deum, recited on Sundays and Holy Days at the end of the Office of Readings, can provide us with some beautiful meditations.

We praise Thee, O God: we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship Thee and the Father everlasting.
To Thee all Angels:
to Thee the heavens and all the Powers therein.
To Thee the Cherubim and Seraphim cry with unceasing voice:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Lord God of Hosts.
The heavens and the earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory.
Thee the glorious choir of the Apostles.
Thee the admirable company of the Prophets.
Thee the white-robed army of Martyrs praise.
Thee the Holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge.
The Father of infinite Majesty.
Thine adorable, true and only Son
Also the Holy Ghost the Paraclete.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
Thou having taken upon Thee to deliver man
didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
Thou having overcome the sting of death
didst open to believers the kingdom of heaven.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God
in the glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We beseech Thee, therefore, help Thy servants:
whom Thou has redeemed with Thy precious Blood.
Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints in glory everlasting.
Lord, save Thy people:
and bless Thine inheritance.
Govern them and lift them up forever.
Day by day we bless Thee.
And we praise Thy name forever:
and world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, this day to keep us without sin.
Have mercy on us, O Lord: have mercy on us.
Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us:
as we have hoped in Thee.
O Lord, in Thee have I hoped:
let me never be confounded.

Pentecost Sequence

For our prayer, I am posting the Pentecost Sunday Sequence. It is a beautiful prayer of the Church.

Come, O Holy Spirit, come!
From Your bright and blissful Home
Rays of healing light impart.

Come, Father of the poor,
Source of gifts that will endure
Light of ev'ry human heart.

You of all consolers best,
Of the soul most kindly Guest,
Quick'ning courage do bestow.

In hard labor You are rest,
In the heat You refresh best,
And solace give in our woe.

O most blessed Light divine,
Let Your radiance in us shine,
And our inmost being fill.

Nothing good by man is thought,
Nothing right by him is wrought,
When he spurns Your gracious Will.

Cleanse our souls from sinful stain,
Lave our dryness with Your rain,
Heal our wounds and mend our way.

Bend the stubborn heart and will,
Melt the frozen, warm the chill,
Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful who in You,
Trust with childlike piety,
Deign Your sevenfold gift to send.

Give them virtue's rich increase,
Saving grace to die in peace,
Give them joys that never end. Amen. Alleluia.

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Christ promises two gifts in today's Gospel passage - the gift of peace, and the presence of an Advocate, the Holy Spirit. He does not give these as the world gives, with strings, expectations, or the threat of withdrawing it. All the same, have we accepted those gifts - have we asked for his peace and the Holy Spirit? If He is giving us the Advocate (in Greek, Paraclete) to 'call to' (the literal meaning of both words) our side, shouldn't we call Him, especially in matters of how we are to live?