Showing posts with label Sacraments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sacraments. Show all posts

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Mary responds to the message of the angel, rather to the Lord, "May it be done to me according to your word." She may not know the full implication of her response, nor how exactly this is to come to be, but she is submissive and obedient. She is not passive, though, despite the passive voice of her translated response. In the Greek New Testament, this is in the 'middle' voice - a voice that implies that while another performs the action, the subject will cooperate with the actor. Mary will cooperate, she will help the Lord bring about salvation.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

We have been given so much treasure, and we will be judged not one how much we have or how much we returned to the Lord, but rather on whether we tried or not. The first two responded to the master's gift by doing their best, and one is not judged as inferior to the other - both receive the same words of praise. But the third servant does not even try. He hides the money. Not only is it that he does not appreciate the money, he does not even appreciate the master. Note his words are thinly veiled insults.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

ZENIT - Pope's Address to German Seminarians

On his recent trip to Germany, Pope Benedict XVI gave a speech to seminarians. Here are some highlights:

The seminary is therefore a time for training; also, of course, a time for discernment, for learning: does he want me for this? The mission must be tested, and this includes being in community with others and also of course speaking with your spiritual directors, in order to learn how to discern what his will is. And then learning to trust: if he truly wants this, then I may entrust myself to him.

A time for discernment, a time for learning, a time for vocation ... and then, naturally, a time for being with him [Jesus Christ], a time for praying, for listening to him. Listening, truly learning to listen to him -- in the word of sacred Scripture, in the faith of the Church, in the liturgy of the Church -- and learning to understand the present time in his word.

Studying is essential: only thus can we stand firm in these times and proclaim within them the reason for our faith. And it is essential that we study critically -- because we know that tomorrow someone else will have something else to say -- while being alert, open and humble as we study, so that our studying is always with the Lord, before the Lord, and for him.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Word of God is effective, and will fulfill its purpose. But note that while the word is effective, the ground of the human heart may not allow the seed of the Word enter in and grow there. There are times when our hearts are packed down, unable to receive the seed. At times, we may have let other things fill up our lives that there is no depth to the let the seed sink in. Other times, we let the seed get choked out by the anxieties of the world. But when we have allowed Christ to prepare us, to remove our shallowness and anxiety, we can receive the word and let it grow in us, responding to the Lord's loving call for our lives.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

A Great News Source - NEWS.VA

The Vatican has release a great resource for news at NEWS.VA.
From Cathlic Culture's Review of the site: "News.va is a service provided by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, in cooperation with the media offices of the Holy See, including, Fides News Agency, L'Osservatore Romano, the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican Information Service, Vatican Radio, the Vatican Television Center (CTV) and the Internet Office of the Holy See. The purpose of News.va is to feature on one website the latest news selected and aggregated from the Vatican media, which continue to operate their own unique websites. News.va is an instrument of evangelization at the service of the papal ministry and is intended as a service for all."

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Sequence for Corpus Christi

I love the sequence the Church gives for this feast. Written by St. Thomas Aquinas, it is theologically packed with Scriptural allusions, theological understandings, and (even in translation) beautiful poetry.

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

Corpus Christi, 2011

How holy is these feast in which Christ is our bread. When we receive the Eucharist, we recall Christ's death and resurrection, being present in mystery at these sacred events, letting them have a profound influence in our lives, grace flooding the interior depths of our lives. We receive a glimpse of the eternity to which Christ calls us, if we are faithful and respond to the loving Father's will for our lives. May we know what we receive, and live what we know.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Third Sunday of Easter

Stay with us... Cleopas and his companion beg the unknown companion to continue the conversation that had begun on the way to Emmaus. They can't put words to what they are feeling yet, but this one was speaking truth to them, revealing to them the reason and prophetic utterances of Scripture that say that the Messiah must suffer and die. It was in the Eucharistic breaking of bread (or at least at a meal with strongly Eucharistic themes), that they suddenly realize why their hearts burned within - it was the Risen Lord Jesus. They go forth, despite the hour, and rush back to Jerusalem to share the news.
The Lord continues to walk with us, though certainly not in the same way. If we listen to Him in our prayer, He explains all that is happening. In the Eucharist, He nourishes us, and calls us to action.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Holy Saturday, 2011

From the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday:


Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: ‘My Lord be with you all.’ Christ answered him: ‘And with your spirit.’ He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Archbishop Sheehan's Document on Marriage and Cohabitation

Marriage, as a vocation, is under attack. Achbishop Sheehan of Sante Fe has released a beautifully written document on the three forms of cohabitation: Without civil marriage, married civilly, and divorced and remarried. It is worth a read; I highlight here the following:

The Church must make it clear to the faithful that these unions are not in accord with the Gospel, and to help Catholics who find themselves in these situations to do whatever they must do to make their lives pleasing to God.

First of all, we ourselves must be firmly rooted in the Gospel teaching that, when it comes to sexual union, there are only two lifestyles acceptable to Jesus Christ for His disciples: a single life of chastity, or the union of man and woman in the Sacrament of Matrimony. There is no “third way” possible for a Christian. The Bible and the Church teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman and opposes same sex unions.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Second Sunday of Lent

Jesus is transfigured, and gives Peter, James, and John a glimpse of His glory. He tells them not to share what they have witnessed until after He rises from the dead. The transfiguration most likely allowed them to see through the scandal of the cross, eventually, to believe in the Resurrection. But look what their first response was to the Crucifixion - one denied knowing Jesus, one presumably hid, while one stood at the foot of the Cross in worship. Let us follow the example of John, and recognize Jesus in our midst, and worship Him.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Be holy, be perfect, be merciful... We are called to be fulfilled in Christ, to come to perfection. This does not mean that we cease to have flaws, or that we suddenly know and see all, but rather that we are exactly who we are to be. We rest in God. This is holiness. Out of that rest, we in turn meet the needs of others in mercy. This, too, is holiness. So, we allow the Lord to build us into His holy Church, and find in Him rest, peace, mercy, and perfection.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Father to My Mother

I have tried not to post too many personal things here, as I am trying to keep this blog general, but I know that I must write the following.
My mother is in the hospital, having had a heart attack, and she continues to have something abnormal with her heart. The doctors are going to be running an angiogram today, and possibly an angioplasty. Hopefully, nothing more drastic will be needed.
Yesterday, I visited her (she is 2 and 1/2 hours away, and with weekend Masses, it was difficult to get there earlier). I took my anointing kit in to the hospital, just in case. But I was hesitant because this was my mother. I have received so much from her: my faith, my life, and the ability to know, receive, and give love. But I could not bring myself to ask her if I could anoint her. (In the course of the conversation, however, it was revealed that the priest chaplain had been there to anoint her.) I hate to admit, but I was relieved. At the end of our visit, she asked for a prayer and a blessing, which I gave. But I struggled to find the words, to choke back the emotions, and to do my priestly duty.
As I priest, I have visited many hospital rooms, anointed countless people, given many blessings. In none have I struggled so much as I did last night. After prayer and reflection, letting the experience stir in my heart, I still do not have a full answer, but in part, it was a struggle because now the roles were reversed: I was to be her spiritual father, to bring her to the our heavenly Father and beg for her. This woman, again, gave me everything, and now I was asked to give back. It was not out of selfishness, but out of the recognition of her vulnerabilities, and my own. Certainly, I was willing to give back, but in doing so, I had to admit something that I perhaps did not realize. I do not recall having a "hero complex" with my father, but I know that I have had one (and possibly still do) with my mother. As she asked for the prayer and blessing, I had to let that go.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Sunday, January 9, 2011

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.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Holy Family

The feast of the Holy Family gives us the opportunity to ponder the mystery of the Incarnation, that the Son of God would submit Himself to a human father and mother. The Holy Family thereby provides a model of all families - bonded by their mutual love and obedience to the Heavenly Father's will and plan.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

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?