Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Baldwin of Ford (?-c.1190), Cistercian abbot, then Bishop
Homily 6 on the Letter to the Hebrews, 4,12

“You cleanse the outside… Did not he who made the outside make the inside too?”

The Lord knows the thoughts and intentions of our heart. For there is no doubt that he knows them all but we know only those he reveals to us through the grace of discernment. For a person’s mind does not always know what is inside him and even when he is dealing with his own thoughts, whether they be voluntary or not, he thinks of them in a way that does not always correspond with reality. His gaze is so darkened that he doesn’t even discern with precision those that reveal themselves clearly to his mind.

For it often happens that, for some human reason or for a reason coming from the Tempter, by means of his own thinking a person sets out on something that only appears to be pious but, in the eyes of God, does not deserve at all the reward promised to virtue. That is because certain things can take on the appearance of true virtue, as moreover also of vice, and can deceive the eyes of the heart. Through their seductions, they can trouble the vision of our intelligence to the point that it often considers realities to be good that are in fact bad and, conversely, they can cause our minds to see something bad where in fact there is no evil. That is an aspect of our poverty and ignorance that we must deplore a lot and greatly fear…

Who can verify whether the spirits come from God unless the one who has received discernment of spirits from God?… That discernment is at the source of all the virtues.

21 posted on 10/10/2016 11:17:59 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

'All sin is due to sensual pleasure, all forgiveness to hardship and distress.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

22 posted on 10/10/2016 11:19:24 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

23 posted on 10/10/2016 11:19:59 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

24 posted on 10/10/2016 11:20:32 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 11
37.	And as he was speaking, a certain Pharisee prayed him, that he would dine with him. And he going in, sat down to eat.	Et cum loqueretur, rogavit illum quidam pharisæus ut pranderet apud se. Et ingressus recubuit.	εν δε τω λαλησαι ηρωτα αυτον φαρισαιος τις οπως αριστηση παρ αυτω εισελθων δε ανεπεσεν
38.	And the Pharisee began to say, thinking within himself, why he was not washed before dinner.	Pharisæus autem cœpit intra se reputans dicere, quare non baptizatus esset ante prandium.	ο δε φαρισαιος ιδων εθαυμασεν οτι ου πρωτον εβαπτισθη προ του αριστου
39.	And the Lord said to him: Now you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but your inside is full of rapine and iniquity.	Et ait Dominus ad illum : Nunc vos pharisæi, quod deforis est calicis et catini, mundatis : quod autem intus est vestrum, plenum est rapina et iniquitate.	ειπεν δε ο κυριος προς αυτον νυν υμεις οι φαρισαιοι το εξωθεν του ποτηριου και του πινακος καθαριζετε το δε εσωθεν υμων γεμει αρπαγης και πονηριας
40.	Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without, make also that which is within?	Stulti nonne qui fecit quod deforis est, etiam id quod deintus est fecit ?	αφρονες ουχ ο ποιησας το εξωθεν και το εσωθεν εποιησεν
41.	But yet that which remaineth, give alms; and behold, all things are clean unto you.	Verumtamen quod superest, date eleemosynam : et ecce omnia munda sunt vobis.	πλην τα ενοντα δοτε ελεημοσυνην και ιδου παντα καθαρα υμιν εστιν

25 posted on 10/11/2016 4:29:22 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

37. And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him, and he went in, and sat down to meat.
38. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed before dinner.
39. And the Lord said to him, Now do you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
40. You fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?
41. But rather give alms of such things as you have; and, behold, all things are clean to you.

CYRIL; The Pharisee, while our Lord still continued on speaking, invites Him to his own house. As it is said And while he was speaking, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him.

BEDE; Luke expressly says, And he spoke these things, to show that He had not quite finished what He had purposed to say, but was somewhat interrupted by the Pharisee asking Him to dine.

AUG. For in order to relate this, Luke has made a variation from Matthew, at that place where both had mentioned what out Lord said concerning the sign of Jonah, and the queen of the south, and the unclean spirit; after which discourse Matthew says, While he yet talked to the people, behold his mother and his brethren stood without desiring to speak to him, but Luke having also in that discourse of our Lord related some of our Lord's sayings which Matthew omitted, now departs from the order which he had hitherto kept with Matthew.

BEDE; Accordingly, after that it was told Him that His mother and brethren stood without, and He said, For he that does the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother, we are given to understand that He by the request of the Pharisee went to the dinner.

CYRIL; For Christ, knowing the wickedness of those Pharisees, Himself purposely condescends to be occupied in admonishing them, after the manner of the best physicians, who bring remedies of their own making to those who are dangerously ill. Hence it follows, And he went in and sat down to meat. But what gave occasion for the words of Christ was, that the ignorant Pharisees were offended, that while men thought Him to be a great man and a prophet, He conformed not to their unreasonable customs. Therefore it is added, But the Pharisee began to think and say within himself, Why had he not first washed before dinner?

AUG. For every day before dinner the Pharisees washed themselves with water, as if a daily washing could be a cleansing of the heart. But the Pharisee thought within himself, yet did not give utterance to a word; nevertheless, He heard who perceived the secrets of the heart. Hence it follows, And the Lord said to him, Now do you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

CYRIL; Now our Lord might also have used other words to admonish the foolish Pharisee, but he seizes the opportunity and framed his reproof from the things that were ready before him. At the hour, namely, of meals He takes for His example the cup and the platter, pointing out that it became the sincere servants of God to be washed and clean, not only from bodily impurity, but also from that which lies concealed within the power of the soul, just as any of the vessels which are used for the table ought to be free from all inward defilement.

AMBROSE; Now mark that our bodies are signified by the mention of earthly and fragile things, which when let fall a short distance are broken to pieces, and those things which the mind meditates within, it easily expresses through the senses and actions of the body, just as those things which the cup contains within make a glitter without. Hence also hereafter, by the word cup doubtless the passion of the body is spoken of. You perceive then, that not the outside of the cup and platter defiles us, but the inner parts. For he said, But your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

AUG. But how was it that He spared not the man by whom He was as invited? Yes rather, He spared him by reproof, that when corrected He might spare him in the judgment. Further, He shows us that baptism also which is once given cleanses by faith; but faith is something within, not without. The Pharisees despised faith, and used washings which were without; while within they remained full of pollution. The Lord condemns this, saying, You fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

BEDE; As if He says, He who made both natures of man, will have each to be cleansed. This is against the Manicheans, who think the soul only was created by God, but the flesh by the devil. It is also against those who abominate the sins of the flesh, such as fornication, theft, and the like; while those of the Spirit, which are no less condemned by the Apostle, they disregard as trifling.

AMBROSE; Now our Lord as a good Master taught us how we ought to purify our bodies from defilement, saying, But rather give alms of such things as you have over: and behold, all things are clean to you. You see what the remedies are; almsgiving cleanses us, the word of God cleanses us according to that which is written, Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you.

CYPRIAN; The Merciful bids us to show mercy; and because He seeks to save those whom He has redeemed at a great price, He teaches that they who have been defiled after the grace of baptism may again be made clean.

CHRYS. Now He says, give alms, not injury. For almsgiving is that which is free from all injury. It makes all things clean, and is more excellent than fasting; which though it be the more painful, the other is the more profitable. It enlightens the soul, enriches it, and makes it good and beautiful. He who resolves to have compassion on the needy, will sooner cease from sin. For as the physician who is in the habit of healing the diseased is easily grieved by the misfortunes of others; so we, if we have devoted ourselves to the relief of others, shall easily despise things present, and be raised up to heaven. The unction of almsgiving then is no slight good, since it is capable of being applied to every wound.

BEDE; He speaks of "what is over and above" our necessary food and clothing. For you are not commended to give alms so as to consume yourself by want, but that after satisfying your wants, you should supply the poor to the utmost of your power. Or it must be taken in this way. Do that which remains within your power, that is, which is the only remedy remaining to those who have been hitherto engaged in so much wickedness; give alms. Which word applies to every thing which is done with profitable compassion. For not he alone gives alms who gives food to the hungry and things of that kind, but he also who gives pardon to the sinner, and prays for him, and reproves him, visiting him with some correcting punishment.

THEOPHYL. Or He means, "That which is uppermost." For wealth rules the covetous man's heart.

AMBROSE; The whole then of this beautiful discourse is directed to this end, that while it invites us to the study of simplicity, it should condemn the luxury and worldliness of the Jews. And yet even they are promised the abolition of their sins if they will follow mercy.

AUG. But if they cannot be cleansed except they believe on Him who cleanses the heart by faith, what is this which He says, Give alms, and behold all things are clean to you? Let us give heed, and perhaps He Himself explains it to us. For the Jews withdrew a tenth part from all their produce, and gave it in alms, which rarely a Christian does. Therefore they mocked Him, for saying this to them as to men who did not give alms. God knowing this adds, But woe to you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God. This then is not giving alms. For to give alms is to show mercy. If you are wise, begin with yourself: for how are you merciful to another, if cruel to yourself? Hear the Scripture, which says to you, Have mercy on your own soul, and please God. Return to your conscience, you that live in evil or unbelief; and then you find your soul begging, or perhaps struck dumb with want. In judgment and love give alms to your soul. What is judgment? Do what is displeasing to yourself. What is charity? Love God, love your neighbor. If you neglect this alms, love as much you like, you do nothing, since you do it not to yourself.

CYRIL; Or He says it by way of censure upon the Pharisees, who ordered those precepts only to be strictly observed by their people, which were the cause of fruitful returns to themselves. Hence they omitted not even the smallest herbs, but despised the work of inspiring love to God, and the just awarding of judgment.

THEOPHYL. For because they despised God, treating sacred things with indifference, He commands them to have love to God; but by judgment He implies the love of our neighbor. For when a man judges his neighbor justly, it proceeds from his love to him.

AMBROSE; Or judgment, because they do not bring to examination every thing that they do; charity, because they love not God with their heart. But that He might not make us zealous of the faith, to the neglect of good works, He sums up the perfection of a good man in a few words, these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Catena Aurea Luke 11

26 posted on 10/11/2016 4:29:54 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

The Baptism of Christ

early 16th century
Tempera on canvas and wood, 25 x 20 cm
Pinacoteca, Vatican

27 posted on 10/11/2016 4:30:24 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)

Saint Pope John XXIII

Saint Pope John XXIII

Optional Memorial
October 11

Catholic View: St. Firminus Of Uzes and Blessed Pope John XXIII

POPE JOHN XXIII

1958-1963

Pope John XXIII was beatified in 2000 by Pope John Paul II; and canonized, on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2014, along with John Paul II, by Pope Francis, with Pope emeritus Benedict XVI present. On July 5, 2013, Pope Francis had approved the simultaneous canonizations of Blessed John Paul II and Blessed Pope John XXIII.

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, who in the abundance of your kindness surpass the merits and the desires of those who entreat you, pour out your mercy upon us to pardon what conscience dreads and to give what prayer does not dare to ask. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. +Amen

When on October 20, 1958 the cardinals, assembled in conclave, elected Angelo Roncalli as pope many regarded him, because of his age and ambiguous reputation, as a transitional pope, little realizing that the pontificate of this man of 76 years would mark a turning point in history and initiate a new age for the Church. He took the name of John in honor of the precursor and the beloved disciple—but also because it was the name of a long line of popes whose pontificates had been short.

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, the third of thirteen children, was born on November 25, 1881 at Sotto il Monte (Bergamo) of a family of sharecroppers. He attended elementary school in the town, was tutored by a priest of Carvico, and at the age of twelve entered the seminary at Bergamo. A scholarship from the Cerasoli Foundation (1901) enabled him to go on to the Apollinaris in Rome where he studied under (among others) Umberto Benigni, the Church historian. He interrupted his studies for service in the Italian Army but returned to the seminary, completed his work for a doctorate in theology, and was ordained in 1904. Continuing his studies in canon law he was appointed secretary to the new bishop of Bergamo, Giacomo Radini-Tedeschi. Angelo served this social-minded prelate for nine years, acquiring first-hand experience and a broad understanding of the problems of the working class. He also taught apologetics, church history, and patrology.

With the entry of Italy into World War I in 1915 he was recalled to military service as a chaplain. On leaving the service in 1918 he was appointed spiritual director of the seminary, but found time to open a hostel for students in Bergamo. It was at this time also that he began the research for a multi-volume work on the episcopal visitation of Bergamo by St. Charles Borromeo, the last volume of which was published after his elevation as pope.

In 1921 he was called to Rome to reorganize the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Nominated titular archbishop of Areopolis and apostolic visitator to Bulgaria (1925), he immediately concerned himself with the problems of the Eastern Churches. Transferred in 1934 to Turkey and Greece as apostolic delegate, he set up an office in Istanbul for locating prisoners of war. In 1944 he was appointed nuncio to Paris to assist in the Church's post-war efforts in France, and became the first permanent observer of the Holy See at UNESCO, addressing its sixth and seventh general assemblies in 1951 and 1952. In 1953 he became cardinal-patriarch of Venice, and expected to spend his last years there in pastoral work. He was correcting proofs of the synodal Acts of his first diocesan Synod (1958) when he was called to Rome to participate in the conclave that elected him pope.

In his first public address Pope John expressed his concern for reunion with separated Christians and for world peace. In his coronation address he asserted "vigorously and sincerely" that it was his intention to be a pastoral pope since "all other human gifts and accomplishments—learning, practical experience, diplomatic finesse—can broaden and enrich pastoral work but they cannot replace it." One of his first acts was to annul the regulation of Sixtus IV limiting the membership of the College of Cardinals to 70; within the next four years he enlarged it to 87 with the largest international representation in history. Less than three months after his election he announced that he would hold a diocesan synod for Rome, convoke an ecumenical council for the universal Church, and revise the Code of Canon Law. The synod, the first in the history of Rome, was held in 1960; Vatican Council II was convoked in 1962; and the Pontifical Commission for the Revision of the Code was appointed in 1963.

His progressive encyclical, Mater et Magistra, was issued in 1961 to commemorate the anniversary of Leo XIII's Rerum novarum. Pacem in terris, advocating human freedom and dignity as the basis for world order and peace, came out in 1963. He elevated the Pontifical Commission for Cinema, Radio, and Television to curial status, approved a new code of rubrics for the Breviary and Missal, made notable advances in ecumenical relations by creating a new Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity and by appointing the first representative to the Assembly of the World Council of Churches held in New Delhi (1961). In 1960 he consecrated fourteen bishops for Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The International Balzan Foundation awarded him its Peace Prize in 1962.

Since his death on June 3, 1963, much has been written and spoken about the warmth and holiness of the beloved Pope John. Perhaps the testimony of the world was best expressed by a newspaper drawing of the earth shrouded in mourning with the simple caption, "A Death in the Family."

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_xxiii/biography/documents/hf_j-xxiii_bio_16071997_biography_en.html

John XXIII: A History
by James Hitchcock

published in the National Catholic Register, April 20-May 3, 2014 Issue
reprinted with author's permission
http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/john-xxiii-a-history/

Angelo Giussepe Roncalli was born at Sotto il Monte, in northern Italy, on Nov. 25, 1881, the son of a relatively prosperous peasant family. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Bergamo in 1904 and served as secretary to Bishop Giacomo Maria Radini-Tedeschi, whom he revered.

After Bishop Radini-Tedeschi’s death, Father Roncalli was drafted into the Italian army, serving in the medical corps during the First World War, in which Italy was an ally of the United States. After the war, Father Roncalli served in Rome as head of the Italian office that raised funds for the foreign missions.

In 1925, he was consecrated archbishop of Areopolis and began a decade-long assignment as papal nuncio to Turkey and Greece, followed by nine years as nuncio to Bulgaria. It was here, in countries populated primarily by non-Catholics, that he developed the ecumenical sensitivities that would be so important during his pontificate.

In a surprise move, Archbishop Roncalli was named papal nuncio to France at the end of 1944, just after that country had been liberated from the Germans.

Archbishop Roncalli was perhaps chosen because of his amiability and his talent for defusing conflicts.

In 1953, he was made patriarch of Venice and a cardinal — presumably an uneventful climax to a long life spent in faithful, but largely uneventful, service to the Church.

When Pius XII died in 1958, the Church, having survived 170 years of revolutions, wars and hostile governments, appeared to be stronger than it had been for a long time, and there was no reason to anticipate that the next papacy would be particularly notable.

In many countries, the rate of church attendance was remarkably high, religious vocations were abundant, Catholics seemed very serious about their faith, and clerical scandals were rare.

In the papal conclave of 1958, John XXIII was elected after 11 ballots, which was unusually long for modern times and which indicated a divided College of Cardinals and the selection of a "compromise candidate." John was old for the office (76, the same age of Pope Francis at his election), and conventional wisdom assumed that he had been chosen to be a brief, transitional pontiff.

In a sense, the "style" of the new pope was more important than his specific policies. He immediately effected a revolution in the public image of the papal office, from the pope as ruler to the pope as pastor. Whereas Pius XII was tall, aloof, austere and aristocratic, John was short, stout and informal, given to making jokes at his own expense, and he deliberately departed from papal protocol by the kinds of guests he received — the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury and the atheist son-in-law of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

John signaled that he would no longer be the "prisoner of the Vatican," as popes had considered themselves to be ever since the state of Italy seized the city of Rome in 1870. His first trips outside the Vatican were to a prison and a hospital, acts meant to exemplify the ancient papal title of "Servant of the Servants of God."

Before the age of papal world journeys, John broke further precedent when he left Rome to visit Assisi and the Marian shrine of Loreto in Italy.

Because of John’s style, many myths were woven about him, such as that he secretly left the Vatican at night to walk through the city. He was dubbed "pastoral," although he had spent most of his career in administration and diplomacy, and, although in some ways he was a simple man, he was politically sophisticated.

Although he had spent little time as an actual pastor, he had a pastoral spirit, in that he had wide sympathies and saw the mission of the Church as that of providing help to struggling human beings.

He was not theologically sophisticated. His spiritual diary, Journal of a Soul, revealed a man of deep traditional piety. He mandated the teaching of Latin in all seminaries, at a time when it was being phased out in many places, and mandated the inclusion of St. Joseph in the Canon of the Mass after the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council had shown no interest in the matter.

He suppressed the "worker-priest" experiment in France and at various times forcefully reiterated the Church’s teachings about abortion, divorce, contraception and homosexuality. He established a special commission to study birth control because he did not want the issue discussed on the floor of the Second Vatican Council.

John began the Catholic ecumenical initiative even before the Council, largely by his personal openness to non-Catholics, whom he addressed as brothers. He established the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, and Protestants sent observers to the Second Vatican Council. As a papal nuncio prior to and during World War II, John had made efforts to help persecuted Jews, and as pope, he warmly greeted Jewish visitors and ordered the expunging of the term "perfidious Jews" from the Good Friday liturgy.

John’s pontificate was one of the most momentous in the history of the Church, primarily because of the Council, which, to the surprise of everyone, he announced less than a year after his election, at a time when most Catholics had probably never even heard of such a thing. Although Pius XII had considered the possibility, there had been no such gathering since the Vatican Council of 1870 (Vatican I), which had never been officially dissolved. Some of John’s advisers urged caution, but he brushed aside all misgivings.

John announced its goals as "the renewal of the spirit of the Gospel in the hearts of people everywhere and the adjustment of Christian discipline to modern-day living." He spoke of a "new Pentecost" and stated serenely that, since the teachings of the Church were firm and not in doubt, the Council would not concern itself with doctrine, but would be primarily a "pastoral" council.

It is likely that John thought that the "new Pentecost" would build on that firm foundation to bring Christ to the nations, to prepare for nothing less than the conversion of the world, something that required Catholics to put aside the defensiveness that had characterized the Church since the Protestant Reformation.

In his opening address to the Council in 1962, John called on it to take account of the "errors, requirements and opportunities" of the age and regretted that some people ("prophets of gloom") seemed unable to see any good in the modern world. At the same time, he affirmed the infallibility of the Church and said that its dogmas were settled and "known to all."

As Council Fathers gathered, many of them objected to the work of the various preparatory commissions — mainly, members of the papal Curia — that had been set up to formulate the agenda.

John acquiesced in the demands for a new agenda, which was formulated mainly by the Council Fathers themselves. This procedural squabble was in many ways the decisive event of the Council, representing a crucial victory for those fathers who desired changes.

Independent of the Council, John, through his encyclicals, continued the tradition of papal social teaching, expounding Catholic principles as the basis of a good society. His encyclicals were a bid for the Church to play a formative role in the world, and they attracted a great deal of favorable response.

His 1961 encyclical, Mater et Magistra (Christianity and Social Progress), moved beyond the obligations of charity and insisted that the sufferings of the poor were the result of systematic injustices. Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), in 1963, called on the world to achieve lasting peace by transcending national and ideological differences and affirmed the obligation richer nations have to poorer ones.

John specified that the renewal of the Church should be achieved primarily by the recovery of its roots in the Gospel. But at the same time, he himself used the word aggiornamento ("updating"), which became the favored term of those who measured renewal in terms of accommodation to modern culture and who often tried to claim the pope as their own.

Although it was written after his death (he died on June 3, 1963), Gaudium et Spes (The Church in the Modern World) in a sense embodied John’s spirit, in that it did not primarily warn or condemn, but expressed sympathy and understanding for a world that possessed an unfulfilled longing for truth and justice.

John also attempted to mediate between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

Just as the Council ended, the worldwide cultural revolution called "the ’60s" began — nothing less than a frontal assault on all forms of authority, which deeply affected the Church. John XXIII in no way foresaw the steep decline in religious vocations and Mass attendance, the sexual revolution and the open rebellion against Catholic doctrine that followed his death.

He died after the first session of the Council, when most of its major work still lay ahead. No pontiff had ever been more popular and more loved, recognized as a saint not for his ideas or his policies, but for his charity, humility and piety — one of the modern world’s greatest exemplars of heroic virtue.

James Hitchcock is a Church historian and professor emeritus of history at Saint Louis University.

BEATIFICATION OF PIUS IX, JOHN XXIII, TOMMASO REGGIO, WILLIAM CHAMINADE AND COLUMBA MARMION

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II

Sunday, 3 September 2000

1. In the context of the Jubilee Year, it is with deep joy that I have declared blessed two Popes, Pius IX and John XXIII, and three other servants of the Gospel in the ministry and the consecrated life: Archbishop Tommaso Reggio of Genoa, the diocesan priest William Joseph Chaminade and the Benedictine monk Columba Marmion.

Five different personalities, each with his own features and his own mission, all linked by a longing for holiness. It is precisely their holiness that we recognize today: holiness that is a profound and transforming relationship with God, built up and lived in the daily effort to fulfil his will. Holiness lives in history and no saint has escaped the limits and conditioning which are part of our human nature. In beatifying one of her sons, the Church does not celebrate the specific historical decisions he may have made, but rather points to him as someone to be imitated and venerated because of his virtues, in praise of the divine grace which shines resplendently in him.

I extend my respectful greetings to the official delegations of Italy, France, Ireland, Belgium, Turkey and Bulgaria which have come here for this solemn occasion. I also greet the relatives of the new blesseds, together with the Cardinals, Bishops, civil and religious dignitaries who have wished to take part in our celebration. Lastly, I greet you all, dear brothers and sisters who have come in large numbers to pay homage to the servants of God whom the Church today is enrolling among the blessed.

2. Listening to the words of the Gospel acclamation: "Lord, lead me on a straight road", our thoughts naturally turn to the human and religious life of Pope Pius IX, Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti. Amid the turbulent events of his time, he was an example of unconditional fidelity to the immutable deposit of revealed truths. Faithful to the duties of his ministry in every circumstance, he always knew how to give absolute primacy to God and to spiritual values. His lengthy pontificate was not at all easy and he had much to suffer in fulfilling his mission of service to the Gospel. He was much loved, but also hated and slandered.

However, it was precisely in these conflicts that the light of his virtues shone most brightly: these prolonged sufferings tempered his trust in divine Providence, whose sovereign lordship over human events he never doubted. This was the source of Pius IX's deep serenity, even amid the misunderstandings and attacks of so many hostile people. He liked to say to those close to him: "In human affairs we must be content to do the best we can and then abandon ourselves to Providence, which will heal our human faults and shortcomings".

Sustained by this deep conviction, he called the First Vatican Ecumenical Council, which clarified with magisterial authority certain questions disputed at the time, and confirmed the harmony of faith and reason. During his moments of trial Pius IX found support in Mary, to whom he was very devoted. In proclaiming the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, he reminded everyone that in the storms of human life the light of Christ shines brightly in the Blessed Virgin and is more powerful than sin and death.

3. "You are good and forgiving" (Entrance Antiphon). Today we contemplate in the glory of the Lord another Pontiff, John XXIII, the Pope who impressed the world with the friendliness of his manner which radiated the remarkable goodness of his soul. By divine design their beatification links these two Popes who lived in very different historical contexts but, beyond appearances, share many human and spiritual similarities. Pope John's deep veneration for Pius IX, to whose beatification he looked forward, is well known. During a spiritual retreat in 1959, he wrote in his diary: "I always think of Pius IX of holy and glorious memory, and by imitating him in his sacrifices, I would like to be worthy to celebrate his canonization" (Journal of a Soul, Ed. San Paolo, 2000, p. 560).

Everyone remembers the image of Pope John's smiling face and two outstretched arms embracing the whole world. How many people were won over by his simplicity of heart, combined with a broad experience of people and things! The breath of newness he brought certainly did not concern doctrine, but rather the way to explain it; his style of speaking and acting was new, as was his friendly approach to ordinary people and to the powerful of the world. It was in this spirit that he called the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, thereby turning a new page in the Church's history: Christians heard themselves called to proclaim the Gospel with renewed courage and greater attentiveness to the "signs" of the times. The Council was a truly prophetic insight of this elderly Pontiff who, even amid many difficulties, opened a season of hope for Christians and for humanity.

In the last moments of his earthly life, he entrusted his testament to the Church: "What counts the most in life is blessed Jesus Christ, his holy Church, his Gospel, truth and goodness". We too wish to receive this testament, as we glorify God for having given him to us as a Pastor.

4. "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only" (Jas 1: 22). These words of the Apostle James make us think of the life and apostolate of Tommaso Reggio, a priest and journalist who later became Bishop of Ventimiglia and finally Archbishop of Genoa. He was a man of faith and culture, and as a Pastor he knew how to be an attentive guide to the faithful in every circumstance. Sensitive to the many sufferings and the poverty of his people, he took responsibility for providing prompt help in all situations of need. Precisely with this in mind, he founded the religious family of the Sisters of St Martha, entrusting to them the task of assisting the Pastors of the Church especially in the areas of charity and education.

His message can be summed up in two words: truth and charity. Truth, first of all, which means attentive listening to God's word and courageous zeal in defending and spreading the teachings of the Gospel. Then charity, which spurs people to love God and, for love of him, to embrace everyone since they are brothers and sisters in Christ. If there was a preference in Tommaso Reggio's choices, it was for those who found themselves in hardship and suffering. This is why he is presented today as a model for Bishops, priest and lay people, as well as for those who belong to his spiritual family.

5. The beatification during the Jubilee Year of William Joseph Chaminade, founder of the Marianists, reminds the faithful that it is their task to find ever new ways of bearing witness to the faith, especially in order to reach those who are far from the Church and who do not have the usual means of knowing Christ. William Joseph Chaminade invites each Christian to be rooted in his Baptism, which conforms him to the Lord Jesus and communicates the Holy Spirit to him.

Fr Chaminade's love for Christ, in keeping with the French school of spirituality, spurred him to pursue his tireless work by founding spiritual families in a troubled period of France's religious history. His filial attachment to Mary maintained his inner peace on all occasions, helping him to do Christ's will. His concern for human, moral and religious education calls the entire Church to renew her attention to young people, who need both teachers and witnesses in order to turn to the Lord and take their part in the Church's mission.

6. Today the Benedictine Order rejoices at the beatification of one of its most distinguished sons, Dom Columba Marmion, a monk and Abbot of Maredsous. Dom Marmion left us an authentic treasure of spiritual teaching for the Church of our time. In his writings he teaches a simple yet demanding way of holiness for all the faithful, whom God has destined in love to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ (cf. Eph 1: 5). Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and the source of all grace, is the centre of our spiritual life, our model of holiness.

Before entering the Benedictine Order, Columba Marmion spent some years in the pastoral care of souls as a priest of his native Archdiocese of Dublin. Throughout his life Bl. Columba was an outstanding spiritual director, having particular care for the interior life of priests and religious. To a young man preparing for ordination he once wrote: "The best of all preparations for the priesthood is to live each day with love, wherever obedience and Providence place us" (Letter, 27 December 1915). May a widespread rediscovery of the spiritual writings of Bl. Columba Marmion help priests, religious and laity to grow in union with Christ and bear faithful witness to him through ardent love of God and generous service of their brothers and sisters.

7. Let us confidently ask the new blesseds, Pius IX, John XXIII, Tommaso Reggio, William Joseph Chaminade and Columba Marmion, to help us live in ever greater conformity to the Spirit of Christ. May their love of God and neighbour illumine our steps at this dawn of the third millennium!

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/homilies/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20000903_beatification_en.html

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Tuesday

October 11, 2016

Blesses & Breaks It Open

“But Jesus accepts what we give, blesses it, breaks it open, and magnifies it. Often in ways that we don’t see or cannot see. Or will not be able to see in this lifetime. Who knows what a kind word does? Who knows what a single act of charity will do? Sometimes the smallest word or gesture can change a life.” - Fr. James Martin

Year of Mercy Calendar for Today: “Smile at everyone you encounter today.”

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CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Tuesday, October 11

Liturgical Color: Green

On this day in 1954 Pope Pius
XII proclaimed Mary as Queen
of Heaven. He encouraged the
faithful to develop a deep
devotion to Our Lady and to
place themselves under her
protection.

31 posted on 10/11/2016 7:25:25 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: October 11th

Optional Memorial of St. John XXIII, pope

MASS READINGS

October 11, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Almighty ever-living God, who in the abundance of your kindness surpass the merits and the desires of those who entreat you, pour out your mercy upon us to pardon what conscience dreads and to give what prayer does not dare to ask. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Recipes (1)

Polenta

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Activities (3)

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Prayers (1)

Akathist Hymn to the Most Holy Mother of God (the Theotokos)

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Library (10)

Old Calendar: Divine Maternity of Our Lady; St. Tarachus and his Companions, martyrs (Hist)

Today is the feast of St. John XXIII, pope from 1958-1963, best known for convening the Second Vatican Council. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000. His feast is assigned to the day on which the first session of Vatican II opened in 1962. His feast is not on the General Roman Calendar, but can be celebrated locally.

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The theological controversies regarding the divinity of Christ which disturbed the Church during the fourth and fifth centuries led to a denial of the divine maternity of Mary. The heretics refused to honor Mary as Mother of God. The Council of Ephesus in 431 declared that the Blessed Virgin "brought forth according to the flesh the Word of God made flesh" and that in consequence she is the Mother of God. Thus she is rightly given the title of divine maternity. In 1931, on the fifteenth centenary of this great Council, Pius XI instituted today's feast. By this act the pope wished to emphasize not only Mary's divine maternity, but also her motherhood of all the members of Christ's Mystical Body.

St. John XXIII

St. John XXIII was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli at Sotto il Monte, Italy, in the Diocese of Bergamo on 25 November 1881. He was the fourth in a family of 14. The family worked as sharecroppers. It was a patriarchal family in the sense that the families of two brothers lived together, headed by his great-uncle Zaverio, who had never married and whose wisdom guided the work and other business of the family. Zaverio was Angelo's godfather, and to him he always attributed his first and most fundamental religious education. The religious atmosphere of his family and the fervent life of the parish, under the guidance of Fr. Francesco Rebuzzini, provided him with training in the Christian life.

He entered the Bergamo seminary in 1892. Here he began the practice of making spiritual notes, which he continued in one form or another until his death, and which have been gathered together in the Journal of a Soul. Here he also began the deeply cherished practice of regular spiritual direction. In 1896 he was admitted to the Secular Franciscan Order by the spiritual director of the Bergamo seminary, Fr. Luigi Isacchi; he made a profession of its Rule of life on 23 May 1897.

From 1901 to 1905 he was a student at the Pontifical Roman Seminary. On 10 August 1904 he was ordained a priest in the church of Santa Maria in Monte Santo in Rome's Piazza del Popolo. In 1905 he was appointed secretary to the new Bishop of Bergamo, Giacomo Maria Radini Tedeschi.

When Italy went to war in 1915 he was drafted as a sergeant in the medical corps and became a chaplain to wounded soldiers. When the war ended, he opened a "Student House" for the spiritual needs of young people.

In 1919 he was made spiritual director of the seminary, but in 1921 he was called to the service of the Holy See. Benedict XV brought him to Rome to be the Italian president of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. In 1925 Pius XI named him Apostolic Visitator in Bulgaria, raising him to the episcopate with the titular Diocese of Areopolis. For his episcopal motto he chose Oboedientia et Pax, which became his guiding motto for the rest of his life.

On 19 March 1925 he was ordained Bishop and left for Bulgaria. He was granted the title Apostolic Delegate and remained in Bulgaria until 1935, visiting Catholic communities and establishing relationships of respect and esteem with the other Christian communities.

In 1935 he was named Apostolic Delegate in Turkey and Greece. His ministry among the Catholics was intense, and his respectful approach and dialogue with the worlds of Orthodoxy and Islam became a feature of his tenure. In December 1944 Pius XII appointed him Nuncio in France.

At the death of Pius XII he was elected Pope on 28 October 1958, taking the name John XXIII. His pontificate, which lasted less than five years, presented him to the entire world as an authentic image of the Good Shepherd. Meek and gentle, enterprising and courageous, simple and active, he carried out the Christian duties of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy: visiting the imprisoned and the sick, welcoming those of every nation and faith, bestowing on all his exquisite fatherly care. His social magisterium in the Encyclicals Pacem in terris and Mater et Magistra was deeply appreciated.

He convoked the Roman Synod, established the Commission for the Revision of the Code of Canon Law and summoned the Second Vatican Council. The faithful saw in him a reflection of the goodness of God and called him "the good Pope." He was sustained by a profound spirit of prayer. He launched an extensive renewal of the Church, while radiating the peace of one who always trusted in the Lord. Pope John XXIII died on the evening of 3 June 1963, in a spirit of profound trust in Jesus and of longing for his embrace.

Taken from L'Osservatore Romano, September 6, 2000. (For complete text, see the Catholic Culture Library.

Things to Do:

Read more by or about St. John XXIII from the Catholic Culture Library.
- A Collection of Messages of Blessed Pope John XXIII
- Writings of Pope John XXIII, including encyclicals.
More information on St. John XXIII from Patron Saints Index.
When he was 14, Angelo began keeping a diary. He wrote notes, good resolutions, prayers, and personal thoughts. After he died his writings were published as a book, Journal of a Soul. Learn how to keep a journal, and make a journal entry today. Try to keep it as a daily practice.

The Divine Maternity of Our Lady
In the year 1931 a jubilee marking the fifteenth centenary of the Council of Ephesus was celebrated to the great joy of the whole Catholic world. The fathers at that Council, under the guidance of Pope Celestine, formally condemned the errors of Nestorius and declared as Catholic faith the doctrine that the Blessed Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Jesus, was truly the Mother of God. Prompted by holy zeal, Pope Pius XI determined that the memory of so important an event should continue alive in the Church. Accordingly he ordered the renovation of Rome's famous memorial to the Council of Ephesus, namely, the triumphal arch and transept in the Basilica of St. Mary Major on the Esquiline. His predecessor Pope St. Sixtus III (432-440) had embellished that arch with a beautiful mosaic, but time had done it damage.

In an encyclical Pius XI, moreover, underscored the principal teachings of the General Council at Ephesus, developing in detail and with loving affection the singular privilege of divine Motherhood granted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He believed that so sublime a mystery should ever become more firmly anchored in the hearts of the faithful. At the same time the Pope singled out Mary, the Mother of God and the one blessed among women together with the holy Family of Nazareth as the foremost model for the dignity and sanctity of chaste married life and for the religious education of youth.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Things to do:

Learn more about the Council of Ephesus and Nestorius;
Find out the meaning of the word Theotokos;
Pray and meditate upon the beautiful hymn to Mary, the Akathist Hymn, sung by the Eastern Church.

St. Tarachus and his Companions
In the year 304, Tarachus, Probus, and Andronicus, differing in age and nationality, but united in the bonds of faith, being denounced as Christians to Numerian, Governor of Cilicia, were arrested at Pompeiopolis, and conducted to Tharsis. They underwent a first examination in that town, after which their limbs were torn with iron hooks, and they were taken back to prison covered with wounds. Being afterwards led to Mopsuestia, they were submitted to a second examination, ending in a manner equally cruel as the first. They underwent a third examination at Anazarbis, followed by greater torments still.

The governor, unable to shake their constancy, had them kept imprisoned that he might torture them further at the approaching games. They were borne to the amphitheatre, but the most ferocious animals, on being let loose on them, came crouching to their feet and licked their wounds. The judge, reproaching the jailers with connivance, ordered the martyrs to be dispatched by the gladiators.

Excerpted from The Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

32 posted on 10/11/2016 7:40:41 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 11:37-41

28th Week in Ordinary Time

Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? (Luke 11:40)

Imagine you have a grandfather clock that has been in your family for generations—only now it has stopped working. You wouldn’t take it to just anyone to have it repaired. You’d search out a genuine clock maker, an expert who understands the intricate gears and machinery that make the clock tick. It’s the clock maker who knows what the inside of a clock is supposed to look like.

In a similar way, Jesus is an expert on our own inner workings. He doesn’t need a manual to understand where our hearts are “out of order.” He designed us; he made us!

For an illustration of this truth, look at how Jesus approached the Pharisee who had invited him to dinner in today’s Gospel reading. Clearly, he was deeply offended; why else would he rail against not only this one Pharisee, but all the other Pharisees who were just as closed minded? And yet, as angry as he was, he still showed this man the way to freedom. He told him to “give alms” in order to purify his heart (Luke 11:41). Maybe Jesus saw greed or disdain for the poor in this man. Maybe he saw selfishness. Whatever he saw, the solution he offered was not something he said to everyone. It’s something he emphasized with this one person.

Jesus can help us in the same way. Out of love, he sheds light on our personal sins and weaknesses, but he doesn’t just pronounce judgment. He helps us discover ways to set ourselves right. He has a personal solution set aside for you, just as the clock maker knows exactly what that heirloom needs. It may not be the solution you would have chosen, but you can trust that it’s the best answer possible.

Jesus hates sin. He hates the way it separates us from himself and from each other. He hates the way it offends his Father. He hates the darkness it brings into our lives. But he also loves each of us deeply, sinners though we are. This is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is such a blessed gift. In it we find, not only pardon for our sins, but Jesus’ handcrafted answers to our needs.

“Open my eyes, Lord, to the inner obstacles that I have a hard time recognizing. In your expert way, lead me along my own path to holiness.”

Galatians 5:1-6
Psalm 119:41, 43-45, 47-48

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Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for October 11, 2016:

Take up a new hobby or skill together! Learning at any age can be fun and beneficial.

34 posted on 10/11/2016 7:44:29 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Regnum Christi

October 11, 2016 – Laws That Bind or Free

11 Oct 2016

Tuesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Father Daniel Ray, LC

Luke 11: 37-41

After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and my love in return.

Petition: Lord, grant me this grace of conversion.

1. Law for the Law’s Sake: The Mosaic Law was intended to free them for worship, delivering them from slavery to pagan gods and from slavery to sin. When the Law (and the added customs and regulations) became an end in itself, it was truncated and severed from the One to whom it was meant to lead. Today in the Catholic Church there are enough laws, customs and regulations to make even the most rigorous Pharisee proud. The danger is that we can fall into one of two traps. First, we can adhere to them with such vigor that we lose sight of the One they are freeing us to worship. We don’t allow our hearts and minds to be educated and formed by them, we just follow them blindly. We wind up cleaning the outside of the cup and stopping there, without going on to see God’s love and let it purify our hearts.

2. The Second Trap: The second trap we can fall into is at the other extreme: to give ourselves an easy pass by presuming that “if my heart is in the right place, I don’t need to worry about all these rules and such.” With a lax attitude we permit ourselves to ease up on fulfilling these laws which in truth will free us. “I know today is Sunday and I should go to Mass, but it’s vacation! God knows I’m a good person.” Yet it is in the Sunday Mass that we receive the many graces necessary toward our being that “good person”. The commandment to keep the Sabbath holy, as with any of the Ten Commandments and customs of the Church, is there to lead us to God. These free us from our often confused subjective conclusions about how we should worship God and live our lives.

3. Cleaning the Cup: “Charity covers a multitude of sin” (1 Peter 4:8). The law of love is the most important of all the commandments of the Lord. In Chapter 12 of the Gospel of Mark, Christ responds to a scribe’s question about the first of all the commandments: “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Love of God and neighbor is both the source and the summit of the Law of the Old Covenant and of the New. Living these two greatest commandments purifies and cleanses our hearts—the inside of the cup. So when Christ says to give alms, he is telling the Pharisees to love their neighbors. Then their hearts will be clean.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, I want my heart always to be focused on you. I need your guidance, for I can’t do it alone. I need you to teach me how to love you, how to worship and serve you. The laws you give me free me and guide me toward you. Help me to see your hand leading me ever closer to you.

Resolution: If there is a rule or custom of the Church that I don’t understand or don’t practice, I will read up on it to come to understand better how it frees me and guides me in my relationship with Christ.

35 posted on 10/11/2016 7:49:45 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Homily of the Day

October 11, 2016

The Pharisees were the prime examples of unenlightened and literal interpreters of the words and actions of Jesus. Aside from being unfamiliar with the Law of Love that Jesus preached, they also felt compelled to put Jesus to the test by questioning his teachings and scrutinizing his every move and pointing out what they perceived as flaws and inconsistencies.

Jesus tells them, without mincing words, how they are hypocrites and fools, and although we are not told how the Pharisees reacted, we can see for ourselves how they were mistaken, and we realize how we are blessed with a deeper and purer understanding of the words of Jesus.

In the first reading Paul tells the Galatians about the true freedom Christ had come to give us, as compared to almost slavish adherence and observance of the Law of Moses.

Lord Jesus, help me to be conscious of your presence within me so that I may always strive to be a living sign of your love.

36 posted on 10/11/2016 7:56:54 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 6

<< Tuesday, October 11, 2016 >>

Galatians 5:1-6
View Readings

Psalm 119:41, 43-45, 47-48

Luke 11:37-41
Similar Reflections

THE OUTS AND INS

"If you give what you have as alms, all will be wiped clean for you." —Luke 11:41

After Jesus told the Pharisees to cleanse the inside as well as the outside (Lk 11:39-40), He surprisingly encouraged them to give alms, an external activity. By this, Jesus showed that the way to cleanse the inside can be through the outside. For example, drinking to excess is an outside symptom of an inside problem. However, by dealing with the excessive drinking, you may get to its root and thereby cleanse the inside.

We should ask ourselves which external activities called for by the Church and the Bible disturb us the most inside. Possibly going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a problem for you. Even thinking about external activities like apologizing, sharing our faith, tithing, giving alms, and serving the poor may disturb us. Some of these external activities which are so heart-wrenching can be used by the Lord to cleanse our hearts.

Jesus is saying to us: "If you , all will be wiped clean for you." How does the Lord want you to fill in the blank of that sentence? What outside act expresses a willingness to be cleansed inside? Something from inside is hanging outside. By God's grace, pull on it and pull out the impurities from your heart.

Prayer: "A clean heart create for me, O God" (Ps 51:12).

Promise: "It is in the Spirit that we eagerly await the justification we hope for, and only faith can yield it." —Gal 5:5

Praise: Steven finally accepted that sterilization was not God's will and had his vasectomy reversed.

37 posted on 10/11/2016 8:01:11 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

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