Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 11-13-04, Memorial, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, virgin

November 13, 2004
Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, virgin

Reading I
3 Jn 5-8

Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers and sisters,
especially for strangers;
they have testified to your love before the Church.
Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey.
For they have set out for the sake of the Name
and are accepting nothing from the pagans.
Therefore, we ought to support such persons,
so that we may be co-workers in the truth.

Responsorial Psalm
112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R Alleluia.
Wealth and riches shall be in his house;
his generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
R Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R Alleluia.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R Alleluia.

Gospel
Lk 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, "There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.'
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.'"
The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

From: 3 John 5-8

Praise for Gaius

[3] For I great rejoiced when some of the brethren arrived and
testified to the truth of your life, as indeed you do follow the truth.
[4] No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children
follow the truth.

[5] Beloved, it is a loyal thing you do when you render any service to
the brethren, especially to strangers, [6] who have testified to your
love before the church. You will do well to send them on their
journey as befits God's service. [7] For they have set out for his
sake and have accepted nothing from the heathen. [8] So we ought to
support such men, that we may be fellow workers in the truth.

Commentary:

With great simplicity St John says why his paternal heart feels so
happy--because Gaius, as his charity shows (vv. 5-8), is such a
good-living man (vv. 3-4).

He uses a typically Semitic turn of phrase to describe Gaius' upright
life: 'you follow the truth." In the Old Testament the Patriarchs
are praised for "walking with God" (cf., e.g. Gen 5:22, 24; 6:9).
This image of the wayfarer took on great importance after the Exodus:
the people of Israel by divine will made their way as pilgrims to the
Promised Land and in the course of that journey the great event of the
Covenant took place (cf. Ex 19:24). "Walking with God" means the same
as "fulfilling what the Covenant requires", that is, the commandments
(cf. 2 Jn 4). With the coming of Christ, who said of himself, "I am
the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6), it has become quite
clear that walking in the truth means being totally attached to the
person of Christ: "live in him" (Col 2:6), "walk in the light" (1 Jn
1:7), "follow the truth" (2 Jn 4), all mean the same sort of
thing--living in communion with Christ, being a genuine Christian in
everything one thinks and does.

Gaius' charity expressed itself in welcoming and helping the preachers
sent by John (in the early times of the Church itinerant missionaries
helped to keep alive the faith and promote solidarity among the
scattered churches). They had set out "for his sake", that is,
Christ's (v. 7; cf. Acts 5:41; Phil 2:9-10; Jas 2:7). By helping
(even materially), Christians become "fellow workers in the truth" (v.
8) and merit the reward promised by our Lord: "He who receives you
receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me"(Mt 10:
40).

"Fellow workers in the truth": the Second Vatican Council applies
these words to lay people when explaining how their apostolate and
the ministry proper to pastors complement each other. And it goes on:
"Lay people have countless opportunities for exercising the apostolate
of evangelization and sanctification. The very witness of a Christian
life, and good works done in a supernatural spirit, are effective in
drawing men to the faith and to God; and that is what the Lord has
said: 'Let your light shine so brightly before men, that they may see
your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.' (Mt
5:16).

"This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the
apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for opportunities to
announce Christ by word, either to unbelievers to draw them towards
the faith, or to the faithful to instruct them, strengthen them and
incite them to a more fervent life" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 6).

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 18:1-8

Persevering Prayer. Parable of the Unjust Judge

[1] And He (Jesus) told them a parable, to the effect that they ought
always to pray and not lose heart. [2] He said, "In a certain city
there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; [3] and
there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him saying,
`Vindicate me against my adversary.' [4] For a while he refused; but
afterward he said to himself, `Though I neither fear God nor regard
man, [5] yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or
she will wear me out by her continual coming.' [6] And the Lord said,
"hear what the unrighteous judge says. [7] And will not God vindicate
His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over
them? [8] I tell you, He will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless,
when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

Commentary:

1-8. The parable of the unjust judge is a very eloquent lesson about
the effectiveness of persevering, confident prayer. It also forms a
conclusion to Jesus' teaching about watchfulness, contained in the
previous verses (17:23-26). Comparing God with a person like this
makes the point even clearer: if even an unjust judge ends up giving
justice to the man who keeps on pleading his case, how much more will
God, who is infinitely just, and who is our Father, listen to the
persevering prayer of His children. God, in other words, gives justice
to His elect if they persist in seeking His help.

1. "They ought always to pray and not lose heart." Why must we pray?

"1. WE MUST PRAY FIRST AND FOREMOST BECAUSE WE ARE BELIEVERS.

"Prayer is in fact the recognition of our limitation and our
dependence: we come from God, we belong to God and we return to
God! We cannot, therefore, but abandon ourselves to Him, our
Creator and Lord, with full and complete confidence [...].

"Prayer, therefore, is first of all an act of intelligence, a
feeling of humility and gratitude, an attitude of trust and
abandonment to Him who gave us life out of love.

"Prayer is a mysterious but real dialogue with God, a dialogue of
confidence and love.

"2. WE, HOWEVER, ARE CHRISTIANS, AND THEREFORE WE MUST PRAY AS
CHRISTIANS.

"For the Christian, in fact, prayer acquires a particular
characteristic, which completely changes its innermost nature and
innermost value. The Christian is a disciple of Jesus; he is one
who really believes that Jesus is the Word Incarnate, the Son of
God who came among us on this earth.

"As a man, the life of Jesus was a continual prayer, a continual
act of worship and love of the Father and since the maximum
_expression of prayer is sacrifice, the summit of Jesus' prayer is
the Sacrifice of the Cross, anticipated by the Eucharist at the
Last Supper and handed down by means of the Holy Mass throughout
the centuries.

"Therefore, the Christian knows that his prayer is that of Jesus;
every prayer of his starts from Jesus; it is He who prays in us,
with us, for us. All those who believe in God, pray; but the
Christian prays in Jesus Christ: Christ is our prayer!

"3. FINALLY, WE MUST ALSO PRAY BECAUSE WE ARE FRAIL AND GUILTY.

"It must be humbly and realistically recognized that we are poor
creatures, confused in ideas, tempted by evil, frail and weak, in
continual need of inner strength and consolation. Prayer gives
the strength for great ideas, to maintain faith, charity, purity
and generosity. Prayer gives the courage to emerge from
indifference and guilt, if unfortunately one has yielded to
temptation and weakness. Prayer gives light to see and consider
the events of one's own life and of history in the salvific
perspective of God and eternity. Therefore, do not stop praying!
Let not a day pass without your having prayed a little! Prayer is
a duty, but it is also a great joy, because it is a dialogue with
God through Jesus Christ! Every Sunday, Holy Mass: if it is
possible for you, sometimes during the week. Every day, morning
and evening prayers, and at the most suitable moments!" (John Paul
II, "Audience with Young People", 14 March 1979).

8. Jesus combines His teaching about perseverance in prayer with a
serious warning about the need to remain firm in the faith: faith and
prayer go hand in hand. St. Augustine comments, "In order to pray, let
us believe; and for our faith not to weaken, let us pray. Faith causes
prayer to grow, and when prayer grows our faith is strengthened"
("Sermon", 115).

Our Lord has promised His Church that it will remain true to its
mission until the end of time (cf. Matthew 28:20); the Church,
therefore, cannot go off the path of the true faith. But not everyone
will remain faithful: some will turn their backs on the faith of their
own accord. This is the mystery which St. Paul describes as "the
rebellion" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) and which Jesus Christ announces on
other occasions (cf. Matthew 24:12-13). In this way our Lord warns us,
to help us stay watchful and persevere in the faith and in prayer even
though people around us fall away.

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, one of 13 children, was born in Lombardi,
Italy in 1850. She was educated by a religious order in order to
become a teacher, when she sought admission to the same order at
the age of 18, she was refused because of her poor health. Instead
of giving up on her vocation, Frances began to do charitable work for
the House of Providence Orphanage in Cadagono, Italy and made
her religious vows there in 1877. In 1880, the orphanage closed and
Frances to head a new religious order and be a missionary to the
United States. Frances accepted the mission and arrived in New
York with the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart in the year
1889.

For the rest of her life, Frances worked as a missionary in the United
States and South America. She founded 67 institutions that included
many schools, hospitals, and orphanages. She also worked among
the immigrant populations of the United States, especially Italians.
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini died of malaria in one of the hospitals she
established in the city of Chicago on December 22, 1917. She was
canonized in 1946 and is the first American citizen to be canonized.
St. Frances Cabrini is the patroness of immigrants and migrants.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Although her constitution was very frail, her spirit was endowed with
such singular strength that, knowing the will of God in her regard,
she permitted nothing to impede her from accomplishing what
seemed beyond her strength. -Pope Pius XII at the canonization of
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

TODAY IN HISTORY

867 St Nicholas I ends his reign as Pope
1564 Pius IV requires bishops and scholars to subscribe to the
definition of the Roman Catholic faith formulated at the Council of
Trent.
1962 St. Joseph added to the Canon of the Mass. This is the first
alteration made to this canon since the seventh century.

TODAY'S TIDBIT

The Canon of the Mass is the prayer between the Holy and the Great
Amen. Before the Second Vatican Council, there was only one
version of this prayer, this was translated and now is the First
Eucharistic Prayer.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all immigrants.

The Word Among Us

Saturday, November 13, 2004

Meditation
Luke 18:1-8

God is the great master builder. He created the universe and formed each of us according to a perfect plan—to fill us with divine life and bring us into his presence. Isn’t it incredible that God loves you so much?

Jesus wanted to build his disciples into men and women of faith who would hunger for God’s ways above their own. But he knew that in order for this to happen, some things in them would have to be stripped away. Many of their ways of thinking were not in harmony with the wisdom of God. We see an example of Jesus trying to influence their thinking in the way he responded to their fascination with the Temple (Luke 21:5). While they were caught up in the Temple’s splendor, Jesus told them that a time would come when it would be utterly destroyed. What a difference! Jesus was concerned about the worship that went on inside the Temple, and they could not get past its size and majesty.

Every time we celebrate Mass, Jesus wants to build us into a glorious temple. And that means he must strip away worldly thinking in us. Some things may be so obvious that a heartfelt prayer during the Penitential Rite may be all we need. But in other areas, our worldly values may be too subtle to recognize. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit. So can we give him the freedom to do whatever it takes to set us free?

At Mass today, let’s ask Jesus to come and strip away areas of resistance to his ways. Let us ask him to remove everything that distracts us from his love. Then, as we become more and more free, we will also become more and more satisfied by the Bread of Life we receive!

“Father, you said that unless you build the house, those who labor do so in vain. I want you to build me into the person you created me to be. Strip away all that is not of you so that I may become a place where your glory dwells!”

Lk 18:1-8
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
1	And he spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray and not to faint,	dicebat autem et parabolam ad illos quoniam oportet semper orare et non deficere
2	Saying: There was a judge in a certain city, who feared not God nor regarded man.	dicens iudex quidam erat in quadam civitate qui Deum non timebat et hominem non verebatur
3	And there was a certain widow in that city; and she came to him, saying: Avenge me of my adversary.	vidua autem quaedam erat in civitate illa et veniebat ad eum dicens vindica me de adversario meo
4	And he would not for a long time. But afterwards he said within himself: Although I fear not God nor regard man,	et nolebat per multum tempus post haec autem dixit intra se et si Deum non timeo nec hominem revereor
5	Yet because this widow is troublesome to me, I will avenge her, lest continually coming she weary me.	tamen quia molesta est mihi haec vidua vindicabo illam ne in novissimo veniens suggillet me
6	And the Lord said: Hear what the unjust judge saith.	ait autem Dominus audite quid iudex iniquitatis dicit
7	And will not God revenge his elect who cry to him day and night? And will he have patience in their regard?	Deus autem non faciet vindictam electorum suorum clamantium ad se die ac nocte et patientiam habebit in illis
8	I say to you that he will quickly revenge them. But yet the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?	dico vobis quia cito faciet vindictam illorum verumtamen Filius hominis veniens putas inveniet fidem in terra

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