Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 12-14-04, Mem, St. John of the Cross, priest & doctor-church

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 12-14-04 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

December 14, 2004
Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, priest
and doctor of the Church

Reading I
Zeph 3:1-2, 9-13

Thus says the LORD:
Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted,
to the tyrannical city!
She hears no voice,
accepts no correction;
In the LORD she has not trusted,
to her God she has not drawn near.

For then I will change and purify
the lips of the peoples,
That they all may call upon the name of the LORD,
to serve him with one accord;
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
and as far as the recesses of the North,
they shall bring me offerings.

On that day
You need not be ashamed
of all your deeds,
your rebellious actions against me;
For then will I remove from your midst
the proud braggarts,
And you shall no longer exalt yourself
on my holy mountain.
But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
a people humble and lowly,
Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD:
the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths
a deceitful tongue;
They shall pasture and couch their flocks
with none to disturb them.


Responsorial Psalm
34:2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19 and 23

R (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R The Lord hears the cry of the poor.


Gospel
Mt 21:28-32

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"What is your opinion?
A man had two sons.
He came to the first and said,
‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
The son said in reply, ‘I will not,'
but afterwards he changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,' but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?"
They answered, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the Kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him."

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For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

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St. John of the Cross

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Advent 2004: Symbols, Meanings, Facts, Calendar

Reflections for Advent and Christmas, [November 28, 2004 - January 9, 2005]

[Salvation]

From: Matthew 21:28-32

The Parable of the Two Sons

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(Jesus told the chief priests and the elders,) [28] "What do you think?
A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and
work in the vineyard today.' [29] And he answered, 'I will not'; but
afterwards he repented and went. [30] And he went to the second and
said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go. [31] Which
of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus
said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots
go into the kingdom of God before you. [32] For John came to you in the
way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax
collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you
did not afterward repent and believe him.

---

Commentary:

32. St. John the Baptist had shown the way to sanctification by
proclaiming the imminence of the Kingdom of God and by preaching
conversion. The scribes and Pharisees would not believe him, yet they
boasted of their faithfulness to God's teaching. They were like the son
who says "I will go" and then does not go; the tax collectors and
prostitutes who repented and corrected the course of their lives will
enter the Kingdom before them: they are like the other son who says "I
will not", but then does go. Our Lord stresses that penance and
conversion can set people on the road to holiness even if they have
been living apart from God for a long time.

---

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.

[Salvation]

American Cathlic's Saint of the Day

December 14, 2004

St. John of the Cross

(1541-1591)

John is a saint because his life was a heroic effort to live up to his name: “of the Cross.” The folly of the cross came to full realization in time. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34b) is the story of John’s life. The Paschal Mystery—through death to life—strongly marks John as reformer, mystic-poet and theologian-priest.

Ordained a Carmelite priest at 25 (1567), John met Teresa of Jesus (Avila) and like her vowed himself to the primitive Rule of the Carmelites. As partner with Teresa and in his own right, John engaged in the work of reform, and came to experience the price of reform: increasing opposition, misunderstanding, persecution, imprisonment. He came to know the cross acutely—to experience the dying of Jesus—as he sat month after month in his dark, damp, narrow cell with only his God!

Yet, the paradox! In this dying of imprisonment John came to life, uttering poetry. In the darkness of the dungeon, John’s spirit came into the Light. There are many mystics, many poets; John is unique as mystic-poet, expressing in his prison-cross the ecstasy of mystical union with God in the Spiritual Canticle.

But as agony leads to ecstasy, so John had his Ascent to Mt. Carmel, as he named it in his prose masterpiece. As man-Christian-Carmelite, he experienced in himself this purifying ascent; as spiritual director, he sensed it in others; as psychologist-theologian, he described and analyzed it in his prose writings. His prose works are outstanding in underscoring the cost of discipleship, the path of union with God: rigorous discipline, abandonment, purification. Uniquely and strongly John underlines the gospel paradox: The cross leads to resurrection, agony to ecstasy, darkness to light, abandonment to possession, denial to self to union with God. If you want to save your life, you must lose it. John is truly “of the Cross.” He died at 49—a life short, but full.

Comment:

John in his life and writings has a crucial word for us today. We tend to be rich, soft, comfortable. We shrink even from words like self-denial, mortification, purification, asceticism, discipline. We run from the cross. John’s message—like the gospel—is loud and clear: Don’t—if you really want to live!

Quote:

Thomas Merton said of John: "Just as we can never separate asceticism from mysticism, so in St. John of the Cross we find darkness and light, suffering and joy, sacrifice and love united together so closely that they seem at times to be identified."

In John's words:
"Never was fount so clear,
undimmed and bright;
From it alone, I know proceeds all light
although 'tis night."

[Salvation]

Tuesday, December 14, 2004
St. John of the Cross, Priest, Doctor of the Church (Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13 Psalm 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-19, 23 Matthew 21:28-32 The Christian must keep in mind that the value of his good works depends on the love that motivates him to perform them for God. Those works are most perfect when wrought in the most sincere love of God, and with the least regard to present or future self-interest, joy, and sweetness, consolation and praise.  -- St. John of the Cross

[el_chupacabra]

As always, thank you for the ping.

[Ciexyz]

Words of wisdom for a snow-filled, cold winter day.

[Askel5]

DAILY SODALITY

December 14

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THE COMPLETE PATTER OF HIS LIFE

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Presence of God.

Grace I Ask:
Not to be deaf to His challenge, but ready and eager to do his holy will.

The Idea:
Now, more specifically, what was the life of Christ like? What was His special way of saving the souls of men? We know the answer: above all, Christ saved men by freely and generously suffering on the cross, making Himself a sacrifice for others.

But His whole life followed that same pattern. The cross was only its climax. Christ devoted His entire life to giving Himself unselfishly for the good of others; He tramped unceasingly from one village to another, teaching men, comforting them in their troubles, curing their sicknesses, strengthening them to live good lives. He worked at these self-imposed and difficult tasks unsparingly and to the point of exhaustion again and again. Christ did all of this without aiming at any reward in this life for Himself, without any hope of reward, just because it was a good thing to do.

My Personal Application:
No wonder men have always admired the life of Christ – even atheists and unbelievers have been forced to admit that He left all of us an admirable example, the most outstanding ever seen in all human history. This is the life after which I should be patterning my own. And the key to that life is unsparing devotion to the good of others, even to the point of death if necessary, an unselfish labor for the love of God. Do other people mean that much to me? Can I hope to improve my attitude? Have I been giving that great life o Christ's the study it deserves?

I Speak to Christ:
Dear Jesus, if I could ever become one-thousandth the person you were, I would be happy and would make others happy all my life long. I would like to follow the examples of my favorite saints, of the finest people I know here and now, unselfish, generous people I really like, and try to be more like you.

Thought for Today:
"The Son of God came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many."

---

[Askel5]

Shoot ... PATTER s/b PATTERN, of course.

[Salvation]

wondering about which "city" is being referenced in the First Readings?? At first, I thought New York City, but then that didn't make sense.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Are You Pleased with What You See?
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13; Matthew 21:28-32

The road we walk in this life is long and winding, with many odd turns and narrow places, and there is not one of us who has not taken our fair share of wrong turns into dead-end streets. Like the two sons in the Gospel, we've many times said "Yes" when we meant "No," and just as many times said "No" when we knew we ought to say "Yes." That's the truth, and there's no escaping our record.

That's why today's Gospel should be a source of encouragement to us. For Jesus is telling us that God is less interested in how we started out and where we stumbled than in how we ended up. As he said so emphatically to the Jewish elders and chief priests, "Let me make it clear that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you!"

Let's take our cue from Jesus and stop looking backward. There's nothing we can do about the past, but we can change the present. We can, with God's help, take responsibility for creating a present that is worthy of people who know they are beloved children of God.

So take a look at your present, which as the name suggests, is God's personal gift to you. Are you really pleased with what you see? What would you like to do about it? Why not tell the Lord? More than anybody else, He'd like to help!

 

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Tuesday, December 14, 2004 Meditation Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13 Most of us can identify with one or both of the brothers in the gospel who say one thing but do another. If you didn’t hear the whole story, you might think that the first son was lazy and disrespectful and the second son a perfect child. Yet the parable ends with a twist of irony, and Jesus demonstrates that people can change for the better, or worse, despite first impressions. Jesus’ story is a warning to his religious hearers—and us—not to be self-assured or lulled into a false sense of security based on status or personal merits. It’s a call to stay close to Jesus, lest we become convinced that we can maintain our spiritual lives on our own. It’s a call to make a “reality check” every day by examining our consciences and asking the Holy Spirit to alert us to any silent sin trying to take root quietly in our lives. We can only guess why the initially rebellious son changed his mind. Perhaps his conscience nagged at him until he did the right thing. Like the first son, we too can change for the better, whatever our past choices may have been. By being open to the Lord, who speaks to us in ways we may not expect and through people we may not expect, we will be among the repentant sinners and tax collectors whom God ushers into his kingdom. With Jesus as our light and guide, we can make steady, measurable progress toward doing the good God asks of us. But let’s also remember that the Christian life is not just about what we have to do to become more Christlike. As we pass the halfway point of Advent, let’s ask God to give us another infusion of expectation. In just eleven short days, Jesus will be born once more in our hearts! During this season when we traditionally give gifts, let’s not forget that the most generous gift-giver is our heavenly Father. He is powerful enough to turn even the most rebellious among us into loving and joyful children. And what could be a greater gift than the gift of inner transformation? “Lord Jesus, you know me even better than I know myself. Keep me close to you, hidden away in your heart. May I always draw my strength from your overflowing grace. You are all I need, Jesus, my first love!”

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 

<< Tuesday, December 14, 2004 >>

St. John of the Cross

Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13

Psalm 34

Matthew 21:28-32

View Readings

A BLESSED LIFE

“I assure you that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came preaching a way of holiness, you put no faith in him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe in him.” —Matthew 21:31-32

Why do you think tax collectors and sinners are entering the kingdom of God before wealthy, politically correct families who live in the upscale suburbs? Could it be that many of those well-to-do families are rebellious toward God? God warns through the prophet Zephaniah: “Woe to the city, rebellious and  polluted...she hears no voice, accepts no correction; in the Lord she has not trusted, to her God she has not drawn near” (Zep 3:1, 2).

The folks that seem to have everything going for them just might think it all came from their own effort, of their own power, that they “have arrived.” If so, they have forgotten God. “When filled, they became proud of heart and forgot” God (Hos 13:6).

On the other hand, the people who have the crummy jobs that no one else wants, those who are unemployed or underemployed, may perhaps, through God’s merciful love, be sharing in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ in a most painful way.  Those people with the biggest crosses are the truly blessed among us.  They are blessed because they know that they can’t carry that cross alone — they must rely on the power of God to carry on. 

Remember the power of God, and your hope in the Lord will never disappear from your heart (see Jdt 13:19).

Prayer:   Father, give me the grace to carry my cross, cooperating fully inside of Your merciful love.

Promise: “I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord.” —Zep 3:12

Praise:   St. John of the Cross had one main message: don’t run from the cross — if you really want to live.

[Ciexyz]

wondering about which "city" is being referenced in the first readings?

I always thought it was the big cities of that time, Babylon or Jerusalem. In big cities, there's corruption and a general turning away from God. Applicable to our day too, of course.

[Ciexyz]

St. John of the Cross bump - for all of us who are humble and lowly.

[annalex]

Mt 21:28-32
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
28	But what think you? A certain man had two sons: and coming to the first, he said: Son, go work to day in my vineyard.	quid autem vobis videtur homo habebat duos filios et accedens ad primum dixit fili vade hodie operare in vinea mea
29	And he answering, said: I will not. But afterwards, being moved with repentance, he went.	ille autem respondens ait nolo postea autem paenitentia motus abiit
30	And coming to the other, he said in like manner. And he answering said: I go, Sir. And he went not.	accedens autem ad alterum dixit similiter at ille respondens ait eo domine et non ivit
31	Which of the two did the father's will? They say to him: The first. Jesus saith to them: Amen I say to you that the publicans and the harlots shall go into the kingdom of God before you.	quis ex duobus fecit voluntatem patris dicunt novissimus dicit illis Iesus amen dico vobis quia publicani et meretrices praecedunt vos in regno Dei
32	For John came to you in the way of justice: and you did not believe him. But the publicans and the harlots believed him: but you, seeing it, did not even afterwards repent, that you might believe him.	venit enim ad vos Iohannes in via iustitiae et non credidistis ei publicani autem et meretrices crediderunt ei vos autem videntes nec paenitentiam habuistis postea ut crederetis ei

[No_Outcome_But_Victory]

wondering about which "city" is being referenced in the First Readings??

Jerusalem? Or was this just a jest for the other poster?

[Salvation]

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Nino lived near the end of the third century and is credited with
bringing the Christian Faith to Georgia. For many centuries, she was
widely popular throughout this area and many legends were spread
concerning her life. The oldest and most trustworthy biography was
written during the fourth century and is contained in the historical
writings of Rufinus of Aquileia.

St. Nino was brought to Georgia as a slave. She soon gained a wide
reputation for her deep faith and spirituality that allowed God to work
miracles through her. Some of the more well known miracles include
the cure of a dying child, the restoration of the queen from sickness,
and the safe return of the king after he was hopelessly lost. These
miracles helped introduce the Faith to the populace and the personal
benefits that the king and queen received encouraged them to
petition missionaries to come to their territory. As the missionaries
began coming into the area, Nino was able to continue her daily
witness to God of faith and prayer.


QUOTE OF THE DAY

Vigilance and prayer are the safeguards of chastity. You should pray
often and fervently to be preserved from temptations against purity,
and for the grace to overcome them. -St. John Baptist de la Salle


TODAY IN HISTORY

687 Pope St. Sergius I begins his reign


TODAY'S TIDBIT

The Communion of Saints is the communion of all the faithful of
Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being
purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church;
in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always
attentive to our prayers. (Paul VI, Creed of the People of God)


INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all the poor and homeless


INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray through the intercession of St. Vincent de Paul, for all
who are poor.