Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 10-06-04, Opt. St. Bruno, St. Marie Rose Durocher

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From: Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14

Visit to Jerusalem

[1] Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with
Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. [2] I went up by revelation; and
I laid before them (but privately before those who were of repute) the
gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, lest somehow I should be
running or had run in vain. [7] But on the contrary, when they saw that
I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as
Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised [8] (for he
who worked through Peter for the mission to the circumcised worked
through me also for the Gentiles), [9] and when they perceived the
grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed
to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship,
that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised;
[10] only they would have us remember the poor, which very thing I was
eager to do.

Peter and Paul at Antioch

[11] But when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because
he stood condemned. [12] For before certain men came from James, he ate
with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated
himself, fearing the circumcision party. [13] And with him the rest of
the Jews acted insincerely, so that even Barnabas was carried away by
their insincerity. [14] But when I saw that they were not
straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before
them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a
Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"

Commentary:

1-10. St Paul had ended his first apostolic journey by returning to
Antioch in Syria, from where he had set out. We know that the Christian
community in that city, which was an important crossroads of race and
culture, had developed as a providential result of the dispersal of
Jerusalem Christians following on Stephen's martyrdom (cf. Acts 11:19-
26). Some of these refugees had brought the new faith to Antioch but
had confined themselves to preaching and converting Jews. Later,
through the activity of other Christians, Jews of the Diaspora, that
is, domiciled outside Palestine, and pagans also began to adopt the new
religion. Barnabas had been commissioned by the Jerusalem church to
organize the young Christian community in Antioch (cf. Acts 11:19-24).
He later chose Paul, who had been living quietly in Tarsus, to act as
his assistant (cf. Acts 11:25-26).

The disciples in Antioch, where the name "Christians" was first used to
describe them, belonged to the whole gamut of social and ethnic
backgrounds, as we can see from the short list of "prophets and
teachers" of the church at Antioch (cf. Acts 13:1-3): some were of
African origin, like Symeon "who was called Niger"; others came from
the western Mediterranean, like Lucius of Cyrene; Manaen was from the
household of Herod the tetrarch; and there were Jews from communities
outside Palestine--for example, Barnabas and Saul themselves.

Among these different types, we find some Christians of Jewish
background who felt that pagan converts to Christianity should observe
the prescriptions of the Mosaic Law (including the detailed precepts
which Jewish tradition kept adding to that Law); these guardians of the
gate of entry into the chosen people were requiring that pagan converts
be circumcised, as all Jews were.

When these "Judaizers" from Jerusalem (cf. Acts 15:1) asserted that
circumcision was necessary for salvation, they were raising an issue
which went much deeper than simply conforming to the Law of Moses: was
the Redemption wrought by Christ enough, of itself, for attaining
salvation, or was it still necessary for people to become part of the
people of Israel, conforming to all its ritual requirements?

Clearly, this question was a source of considerable division. Acts 15:2
refers to its causing "no small dissension". The present passage of
Galatians shows that Paul, receiving a revelation from God, decided to
grasp the nettle by stating unequivocally that Christ's redemption--on
its own, and alone--brings salvation. In other words, circumcision was
not necessary, nor did the elaborate ritual regulations of Judaism
apply to Christians. In Jerusalem Paul expounded "the Gospel" he had
been proclaiming to the Gentiles. He was accompanied by Barnabas, and
by a young disciple, Titus, the son of pagan parents, quite possibly
baptized by Paul himself (cf. Tit 1:4, where he calls him his "true
child"), who would later became one of his most faithful co-workers.

1. Between his conversion and the date of his letter, St Paul had
visited Jerusalem three times (cf. Acts 9:26; 11:29-30; 15:1-6). Of
these three journeys he here mentions only two, omitting the time he
and Barnabas went there (cf. Acts 11:29-30), because that visit was not
particularly significant.

The Judaizers' demands were inadmissible and clearly dangerous. That
was why Paul and Barnabas had opposed them openly at Antioch, and in
fact it was their failure to achieve unity and peace on this point that
had led them to go up to the Holy City to obtain a decision from the
Apostles themselves and the priests living in Jerusalem.

10. The Acts of the Apostles show us how concerned the early Church was
about looking after the material needs of its members. We can see this,
for example, when it tells us about "serving tables", which refers to
the work of giving help to the needy: this began to take up more and
more time, with the result that the seven deacons were appointed to
allow the Apostles to concentrate on their own specific work--prayer
and the ministry of the word or preaching (cf. Acts 6:1-6).

St Paul was faithful to this charge about not forgetting the poor, as
we can see from many references in his letters to collections for the
poor (cf. 1 Cor 16:1-3; 2 Cor 8:1-l5; 9:l5; etc.). Indeed, one of the
reasons for his last visit to Jerusalem was to hand over the monies
collected in the Christian communities of Greece and Asia Minor.

11-14. In his dealing with Jews, St Paul sometimes gave way in
secondary matters, provided that this did not take from the essence of
the Gospel: he had Timothy, whose mother was Jewish, circumcised
"because of the Jews that were in those places" (Acts 16:3), and he
himself kept to Jewish practices in order to allay suspicion and
jealousy (cf. Acts 21:22-26). Similarly, he recommends patience and
certain understanding towards those "weak" in the faith, that is,
Christians of Jewish origin who held on to some Jewish observances
connected with fast days, clean and unclean food and abstinence from
the flesh of animals sacrificed to idols (cf. Rom 14:2-6; 1 Cor 10:23-
30). But on the key issue of Christians' freedom from the Mosaic Law,
the Apostle was always firm and unambiguous, relying on the decisions
of the Council of Jerusalem.

Paul's correction of Peter did not go against the latter's authority.
On the contrary, if it had been just anyone, the Teacher of the
Gentiles might have let the matter pass; but because it was Cephas,
that is, the "rock" of the Church, he had to take action in order to
avoid the impression being given that Christians of Gentile origin were
obliged to adopt a Jewish lifestyle.

Far from undermining the holiness and unity of the Church, this episode
demonstrated the great spiritual solidarity among the Apostles, St
Paul's regard for the visible head of the Church, and Peter's humility
in correcting his behavior. St Augustine comments: "He who was rebuked
was worthier of admiration and more difficult to imitate than he who
made the rebuke [...]. This episode serves as a fine example of
humility, the greatest of Christian teachings, because it is through
humility that charity is maintained" ("Exp. in Gal.", 15).

12. When he speaks of these Judaizers as coming "from James", this does
not mean that they had been sent by that Apostle. It is, rather, a
reference to their coming from Jerusalem, where, after the persecution
organized by Herod Agrippa and the forced flight of St Peter (cf. Acts
12-17), St James the Less remained as bishop. But what is probable is
that these Christians, who had not given up the Mosaic Law and Jewish
observances, made use of that Apostle's name: as "the brother of the
Lord", he enjoyed universal veneration and respect.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Luke 11:1-4

The Our Father

[1] He (Jesus) was praying in a certain place, and when He ceased, one
of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught
His disciples." [2] And He said to them, "When you pray, say: `Our
Father, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. [3] Give us each day
our daily bread; [4] and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive
every one who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.'"

Commentary:

1-4. St. Luke gives us a shorter form of the Lord's Prayer, or Our
Father, than St. Matthew (6:9-13). In Matthew there are seven
petitions, in Luke only four. Moreover, St. Matthew's version is given
in the context of the Sermon on the Mount and specifically as part of
Jesus' teaching on how to pray; St. Luke's is set in one of those
occasions just after our Lord has been at prayer--two different
contexts. There is nothing surprising about our Lord teaching the same
thing on different occasions, not always using exactly the same words,
not always at the same length, but always stressing the same basic
points. Naturally, the Church uses the longer form of the Lord's
Prayer, that of St. Matthew.

"When the disciples asked the Lord Jesus, `Teach us to pray', He
replied by saying the words of the `Our Father', thereby giving a
concrete model which is also a universal model. In fact, everything
that can and must be said to the Father is contained in those seven
requests which we all know by heart. There is such simplicity in them
that even a child can learn them, but at the same time such depth that
a whole life can be spent meditating on their meaning. Isn't that so?
Does not each of those petitions deal with something essential to our
life, directing it totally towards God the Father? Doesn't this prayer
speak to us about `our daily bread', `forgiveness of our sins, since we
forgive others' and about protecting us from `temptation' and
`delivering us from evil?'" ([Pope] John Paul II, "General Audience",
14 March 1979).

The first thing our Lord teaches us to ask for is the glorification of
God and the coming of His Kingdom. That is what is really
important--the Kingdom of God and His justice (cf. Matthew 6:33). Our
Lord also wants us to pray confident that our Father will look after
our material needs, for "your Heavenly Father knows that you need them
all" (Matthew 6:32). However, the Our Father makes us aspire
especially to possess the goods of the Holy Spirit, and invites us to
seek forgiveness (and to forgive others) and to avoid the danger of
sinning. Finally the Our Father emphasizes the importance of vocal
prayer. "`Domine, doce nos orare. Lord teach us to pray!' And our
Lord replied: `When you pray say: "Pater noster, qui es in coelis"...
Our Father, who art in Heaven...'. What importance we must attach to
vocal prayer!" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 84).

1. Jesus often went away to pray (cf. Luke 6:12; 22:39ff). This
practice of the Master causes His disciples to want to learn how to
pray. Jesus teaches them to do what He Himself does. Thus, when our
Lord prays, He begins with the Word "Father!": "Father, into Thy hands
I commit My spirit" (Luke 23:46); see also Matthew 11:25; 26:42, 53;
Luke 23:34; John 11:41; etc.). His prayer on the Cross, "My God, My
God,..." (Matthew 27:46), is not really an exception to this rule,
because there He is quoting Psalm 22, the desperate prayer of the
persecuted just man.

Therefore, we can say that the first characteristic prayer should have
is the simplicity of a son speaking to his Father. "You write: `To
pray is to talk with God. But about what?' About what? About Him,
about yourself: joys, sorrows, successes, failures, noble ambitions,
daily worries, weaknesses! And acts of thanksgiving and petition: and
love and reparation. In a word: to get to know Him and to get to know
yourself: `to get acquainted!'" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 91).

2. "Hallowed be Thy name": in this first petition of the Our Father "we
pray that God may be known, loved, honored and served by everyone and
by ourselves in particular." This means that we want "unbelievers to
come to a knowledge of the true God, heretics to recognize their
errors, schismatics to return to the unity of the Church, sinners to be
converted and the righteous to persevere in doing good." By this first
petition, our Lord is teaching us that `we must desire God's glory more
than our own interest and advantage." This hallowing of God's name is
attained "by prayer and good example and by directing all our thoughts,
affections and actions towards Him" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 290-293).

"Thy Kingdom come": "By the Kingdom of God we understand a triple
spiritual kingdom--the Kingdom of God in us, which is grace; the
Kingdom of God on earth, which is the Catholic Church; and the Kingdom
of God in Heaven, which is eternal bliss [...]. As regards grace, we
pray that God reign in us with His sanctifying grace, by which He is
pleased to dwell in us as a king in his throne-room, and that He keeps
us united to Him by the virtues of faith, hope and charity, by which He
reigns in our intellect, in our heart and in our will [...]. As
regards the Church, we pray that it extend and spread all over the
world for the salvation of men [...]. As regards Heaven, we pray that
one day we be admitted to that eternal bliss for which we have been
created, where we will be totally happy" ("ibid.", 294-297).

3. The Tradition of the Church usually interprets the "bread" as not
only material bread, since "man does not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4;
Deuteronomy 8:3). Here Jesus wants us to ask God for "what we need
each day for soul and body [...]. For our soul we ask God to sustain
our spiritual life, that is, we beg Him to give us His grace, of which
we are continually in need [...]. The life of our soul is sustained
mainly by the divine word and by the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar
[...]. For our bodies we pray for what is needed to maintain us" ("St.
Pius X Catechism", 302-305).

Christian doctrine stresses two ideas in this petition of the Our
Father: the first is trust in Divine Providence, which frees us from
excessive desire to accumulate possessions to insure us against the
future (cf. Luke 12:16-21); the other idea is that we should take a
brotherly interest in other people's needs, thereby moderating our
selfish tendencies.

4. "So rigorously does God exact from us forgetfulness of injuries and
mutual affection and love, that He rejects and despises the gifts and
sacrifices of those who are not reconciled to one another" ("St. Pius V
Catechism", IV, 14, 16).

"This sisters, is something which we should consider carefully; it is
such a serious and important matter that God should pardon us our sins,
which have merited eternal fire, that we must pardon all trifling
things which have been done to us. As I have so few, Lord, even of
these trifling things, to offer Thee, Thy pardoning of me must be a
free gift: there is abundant scope here for Thy mercy. Blessed be
Thou, who endurest one that is so poor" (St. Teresa of Avila, "Way of
Perfection", Chapter 36).

"And lead us not into temptation": it is not a sin to "feel" temptation
but to "consent" to temptation. It is also a sin to put oneself
voluntarily into a situation which can easily lead one to sin. God
allows us to be tempted, in order to test our fidelity, to exercise us
in virtue and to increase our merits with the help of grace. In this
petition we ask the Lord to give us His grace not to be overcome when
put to the test, or to free us from temptation if we cannot cope with
it.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Bruno was born in the city of Cologne near the beginning of the
eleventh century. He was educated and ordained to the priesthood.
As a priest, he criticized decadence in the clergy. He served as
chancellor of the archdiocese for a while.

Once, while he was praying, he envisioned a secluded hermitage
where he could devote his life to God. He set out with a few of his
friends and founded such a hermitage on some land, which was
given to him. This hermitage became the first house of the
Carthusians. St. Bruno organized the daily activities of his for his
friends. The whole community came together for morning and
evening prayer and for meals on special feast days. The monastery
supported itself by copying manuscripts. Bruno died around 1100,
and his feast was extended to the whole Church in 1674.

Bl. Marie-Rose Durocher was born in 1811 in a little village outside
Montreal in the newly independent Canada. She was the tenth of
eleven children of a Catholic family. She received an education, and
wished to enter a religious community, but she was turned down
because she was too frail. Instead, she moved in with her brother,
who was a priest, and became his housekeeper.

At this time, Canada was considered one diocese and services
provided by the Church were sparse. Ignace Bourget, bishop of
Montreal, searched through Europe for communities willing to send
religious to his diocese especially to help in education. He was
mostly unsuccessful in bringing in existing orders, so he helped
found four new religious communities.

Bl. Marie-Rose was someone who helped him form one of these
communities. Under the guidance of her spiritual director, she
decided to follow her vocation to the religious life. Since no order
would accept her, she was encouraged by her director and the
bishop to begin a new order. At first, she was very hesitant, but soon
she had gathered several followers and began to teach an all girls
school in a town near Montreal. In the remaining six years of her life,
from the time she founded her order, she managed to give the
Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary a strong foundation.
She set up her order to provide Catholic education, and it continued
this work after she died.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Do not imitate those persons who, after having spent a few months
as a postulant or novice in a community, dress differently, even
ludicrously. You are returning to the secular state. My advice is,
follow the styles of the day, but from afar, as it were. - Marie-Rose
Durocher (giving advice to a novice leaving the religious life)

TODAY IN HISTORY

891 Formosus begins his reign as Pope
1979 Pope John Paul II is first Pope to visit the White House

TODAY'S TIDBIT

The Carthusians were founded upon the motto "While the world
changes, the cross stands firm." They set out to "seek God
assiduously, to find God promptly, and to posses God fully."

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

October is a month dedicated to Mary and the Rosary, please pray
that all people may come to a greater appreciation of Jesus and his
Blessed Mother through the mysteries of the Rosary.

Saint Bruno - Founder of the Carthusian Order

Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Feria

First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:

Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14
Psalm 117:1-2
Luke 11:1-4

In the remotest part of a wild and stony desert, burnt up with the heat of the scorching sun so that it frightens even the monks that inhabit it, I seemed to myself to be in the midst of the delights and crowds of Rome. In exile and prison to which for the fear of hell I had voluntarily condemned myself, I many times imagined myself witnessing the dancing of the Roman maidens as if I had been in the midst of them: in my cold body and in my parched-up flesh, which seemed dead before its death, passion able to live. Alone with this enemy, I threw myself in spirit at the feet of Jesus, watering them with my tears, and I tamed my flesh by fasting whole weeks. I am not ashamed to disclose my temptations, but I grieve that I am not now what I then was.

-- From St. Jerome's letter to St. Eustochium

Lk 11:1-4
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
1	And it came to pass, that as he was in a certain place praying, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him: Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.	et factum est cum esset in loco quodam orans ut cessavit dixit unus ex discipulis eius ad eum Domine doce nos orare sicut et Iohannes docuit discipulos suos
2	And he said to them: When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.	et ait illis cum oratis dicite Pater sanctificetur nomen tuum adveniat regnum tuum
3	Give us this day our daily bread.	panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis cotidie
4	And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.	et dimitte nobis peccata nostra siquidem et ipsi dimittimus omni debenti nobis et ne nos inducas in temptationem