Posted on 10/02/2014 8:53:53 PM PDT by Salvation
October 3, 2014
Friday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Jb 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5
The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:
Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning
and shown the dawn its place
For taking hold of the ends of the earth,
till the wicked are shaken from its surface?
The earth is changed as is clay by the seal,
and dyed as though it were a garment;
But from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm of pride is shattered.
Have you entered into the sources of the sea,
or walked about in the depths of the abyss?
Have the gates of death been shown to you,
or have you seen the gates of darkness?
Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all:
Which is the way to the dwelling place of light,
and where is the abode of darkness,
That you may take them to their boundaries
and set them on their homeward paths?
You know, because you were born before them,
and the number of your years is great!
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again;
though twice, I will do so no more.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 139:1-3, 7-8, 9-10, 13-14ab
R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Gospel Lk 10:13-16
Jesus said to them,
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented,
sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
at the judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.’
Whoever listens to you listens to me.
Whoever rejects you rejects me.
And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
Feast Day: October 3
Born: 895 at Staves, Namur, Belgium
Died: 3 October 959 at Brogne, Belgium
Major Shrine: Saint-Gérard, Namur
Patron of: Saint-Gérard, Namur
St. Gerard of Brogne
Feast Day: October 3
Born: (around) 890 :: Died: 959
Gerard was born in Brogne in France and came from a very wealthy family, but Gerard was not proud. In fact, he was known because of his friendly and kind ways.
After a hunting trip, he and his friends returned to his estate tired and hungry. After he invited the others inside for refreshments and rest, he left.
Gerard went out and slipped into a little chapel that was on his property. He prayed for a long time. His tired body seemed rested and he forgot all about his hunger.
The idea struck Gerard that if people only realized the joy of praying, they would be so much more willing to pray. Then he thought about the monks who spend their life praising God. Imagine how lucky they are, he thought.
He prayed and asked God to help him lead a life of prayer. Soon he was able to join the monastery of Saint-Denis.
Gerard loved the life he had chosen and after studies became a priest. Eleven years later he was given permission to start a monastery on his own property at Brogne.
The monastery flourished but Gerard felt there was too much activity and excitement. He built himself a little hermitage next to the church. He lived there quietly and alone.
But he was not allowed to stay in peace for very long. His superiors asked Gerard to visit the monasteries in Flanders and Normandy. The monks needed some guidance and help in becoming more holy. This work took Gerard on many journeys for about twenty years.
All of his life Gerard lived a life filled with sacrifices. He did this because he wanted to show Jesus that he loved him. He showed that love by willingly offering little acts of self-denial.
When he knew his life on earth was nearly over, Gerard asked for permission to return to his little hut back in Brogne and died peacefully on October 3, 959.
October 3rd is the anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, although his feast is celebrated on October 4th.
Friday, October 3
Liturgical Color: Green
The Church dedicates the month of
October to the Blessed Virgin of the
Rosary. As we pray each decade, we
meditate on one of the mysteries of the
Rosary, celebrating God's love for us.
Are there various ways to pray?
Yes, there is vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplative prayer. All three ways of prayer presuppose recollecting one's mind and heart.
What is vocal prayer?
In the first place, prayer is lifting the heart to God. And yet Jesus himself taught his disciples to pray with words. With the Our Father he left us the perfect vocal prayer as his testament to show how we should pray. While praying we should not try to think pious thoughts. We should express what is in our hearts and offer it to God as complaint, petition, praise, and thanks. Often it is the great vocal prayers - the Psalms and hymns of Sacred Scripture, the Our Father, the Hail Mary that direct us to the true substance of prayer and lead to a kind of free, interior prayer.
What is the essence of meditation?
The essence of meditation is a prayerful seeking that starts with a sacred text or a sacred image and explores the will, the signs, and the presence of God. We cannot "read" sacred images and texts the way we read things in the newspaper that do not immediately concern us. Instead, we should meditate on them; in other words I should lift my heart to God and tell him that I am now quite open to what God wants to say to me through what I have read or seen. Besides Sacred Scripture, there are many texts that lead to God and are suitable for meditative prayer. (YOUCAT questions 500-502)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (2699-2708) and other references here.
Part 4: Christian Prayer (2558 - 2865)
Section 1: Prayer in the Christian Life (2558 - 2758)
Chapter 3: The Life of Prayer (2697 - 2758)
The Lord leads all persons by paths and in ways pleasing to him, and each believer responds according to his heart's resolve and the personal expressions of his prayer. However, Christian Tradition has retained three major expressions of prayer: vocal meditative, and contemplative. They have one basic trait in common: composure of heart. This vigilance in keeping the Word and dwelling in the presence of God makes these three expressions intense times in the life of prayer.
Article 1: Expressions of Prayer (2700 - 2724)
I. VOCAL PRAYER ⇡
Through his Word, God speaks to man. By words, mental or vocal, our prayer takes flesh. Yet it is most important that the heart should be present to him to whom we are speaking in prayer: "Whether or not our prayer is heard depends not on the number of words, but on the fervor of our souls."2
2.
St. John Chrysostom, Ecloga de oratione 2:PG 63,585.
Vocal prayer is an essential element of the Christian life. To his disciples, drawn by their Master's silent prayer, Jesus teaches a vocal prayer, the Our Father. He not only prayed aloud the liturgical prayers of the synagogue but, as the Gospels show, he raised his voice to express his personal prayer, from exultant blessing of the Father to the agony of Gesthemani.3
3.
Cf. Mt 11:25-26; Mk 14:36.
The need to involve the senses in interior prayer corresponds to a requirement of our human nature. We are body and spirit, and we experience the need to translate our feelings externally. We must pray with our whole being to give all power possible to our supplication.
This need also corresponds to a divine requirement. God seeks worshippers in Spirit and in Truth, and consequently living prayer that rises from the depths of the soul. He also wants the external expression that associates the body with interior prayer, for it renders him that perfect homage which is his due.
Because it is external and so thoroughly human, vocal prayer is the form of prayer most readily accessible to groups. Even interior prayer, however, cannot neglect vocal prayer. Prayer is internalized to the extent that we become aware of him "to whom we speak;"4 Thus vocal prayer becomes an initial form of contemplative prayer.
4.
St. Teresa of Jesus, The Way of Perfection 26,9 in The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, tr. K. Kavanaugh, OCD, and O. Rodriguez, OCD (Washington DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1980),II,136.
II. MEDITATION ⇡
Meditation is above all a quest. The mind seeks to understand the why and how of the Christian life, in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking. The required attentiveness is difficult to sustain. We are usually helped by books, and Christians do not want for them: the Sacred Scriptures, particularly the Gospels, holy icons, liturgical texts of the day or season, writings of the spiritual fathers, works of spirituality, the great book of creation, and that of history the page on which the "today" of God is written.
To meditate on what we read helps us to make it our own by confronting it with ourselves. Here, another book is opened: the book of life. We pass from thoughts to reality. To the extent that we are humble and faithful, we discover in meditation the movements that stir the heart and we are able to discern them. It is a question of acting truthfully in order to come into the light: "Lord, what do you want me to do?"
There are as many and varied methods of meditation as there are spiritual masters. Christians owe it to themselves to develop the desire to meditate regularly, lest they come to resemble the three first kinds of soil in the parable of the sower.5 But a method is only a guide; the important thing is to advance, with the Holy Spirit, along the one way of prayer: Christ Jesus.
5.
Cf. Mk 4:4-7, 15-19.
Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.
Daily Readings for:October 03, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: O God, who manifest your almighty power above all by pardoning and showing mercy, bestow, we pray, your grace abundantly upon us and make those hastening to attain your promises heirs to the treasures of heaven. 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.
RECIPES
ACTIVITIES
o Religion in the Home for Elementary School: October
o Religion in the Home for Preschool: October
PRAYERS
· Ordinary Time: October 3rd
· Friday of the Twenty-Sixth Week of Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, virgin; St. Gerard of Brogne, abbot (Hist)
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus. Her feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on October 1. Historically it is the feast of St. Gerard of Brogne who was born in the county of Namur. He trained for the army, as a page of the count of Namur he was sent on a special mission to the French court. He stayed in France and joined the Benedictines of St. Denis. After some eleven years he was ordained priest, and left for Belgium in order to found a new abbey on his own estate of Brogne. He was its abbot for twenty-two years and during that period was instrumental in introducing St. Benedict's Rule into numerous houses in Flanders, Lorraine and Champagne. He was noted for his engaging sweetness of temper.
St. Gerard of Brogne
St. Gerard entered this world blessed with the advantages of noble birth and a naturally pleasing disposition which made him universally liked, yet he saw through the emptiness of a worldly life. Upon returning from a hunting trip one day, he retreated to a chapel, where he sighed, "How happy are they who have no other obligation but to praise the Lord night and day, and who live always in His presence." St. Gerard had a vision in which St. Peter asked him to bring the relics of St. Eugenius to Brogne, Belgium. Upon completing this task, St. Gerard entered into religious life at the monastery of Saint-Denis, where he was later elevated to the priesthood. After founding an abbey of monks on his own estate at Brogne, the Saint set up a cell for himself near the church so he could live a life of reclusion. He was not allowed to remain a recluse for long though. God soon called him to reform the abbey of St. Ghislain, where the monks would expose the relics of their founder in exchange for money. Due to his success there St. Gerard was later given the commission to reform all the abbeys in Flanders. For nearly twenty years, he labored for their reformation by the Rule of St. Benedict. Toward the end of his life, St. Gerard made one last general visit to each of the monasteries under his direction, then retired to his cell at Brogne to prepare for his death.
26th Week in Ordinary Time
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13)
What makes babies so delightful? Science suggests that a baby’s large, round eyes and chubby cheeks trigger an instinctual reaction in its parents. Almost automatically, we smile. We feel a drive to care for and protect the child, to hold him or her close and shower love on this innocent little person that God has entrusted to us. Toy makers use this knowledge to their advantage: for example, eighty-six-year-old Mickey Mouse has gotten “younger” through the years as his head and eyes were drawn bigger and his ears rounder to make him look more appealing.
Of course, this isn’t the whole story. We savor each stage of our children’s growth. We still beam with pride as our daughters become mothers, navigate morning sickness, and fall in love with their own children. We marvel as our sons tackle the challenges of fatherhood. Simply because they are our children, we feel an unbreakable bond, even when relations between us are strained.
If earthly parents can feel so connected to their children, imagine how much God delights in you—even when you aren’t particularly delighting in him! Think of Job in today’s first reading. After enduring disaster upon disaster, he has taken up his case against God. As Job sees it, God owes him an explanation for the way he has treated him, and he will not rest until God answers for himself. But God, ever the loving Father, patiently works to set Job straight. He loves this son of his no matter what, and he will not rest until Job is at peace.
Just as he was for Job, God is there for you. He is watching over you, showering you with love, and pouring out grace as you face the challenges of your life. Even if you can’t see him right now, a time will come, as it came for Job, when you will be able to look back and see that your heavenly Father has never left your side. You are his child, and he can’t help but smile every time he sees you. So try to relax in his gaze today and feel his delight in you.
“Lord, help me grasp your love for me. Father, I believe that you delight in me. By your Spirit, deepen my faith today.”
Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5; Luke 10:13-16
Daily Marriage Tip for October 3, 2014:
(Readers Tip) Talk behind your spouses back
to God. If there is something your spouse is struggling with or trying to discern, your prayers on their behalf are very important.
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October 3, 2014. Friday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
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Luke 10: 13-16 Jesus said to them, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, ´Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.´" Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me . And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are with me as I begin this prayer. I trust in your kindness and love. You know my weaknesses because you saw them all during the agony you underwent for me on Good Friday. Let me stay as close to you in this prayer as your Mother did to you at the foot of the cross. Accept this as the expression of my love for you. Petition: Lord, help me to never take your gifts for granted. Help me to appreciate them and use them to the best of my ability, for your glory. 1. The Privileged Few: Today we see another side of Jesus in the Gospel. Often we see him as the miracle worker, curing the sick, raising the dead. But now we see the flipside of these miracles: Christ demands a response from the people who have witnessed them. It´s not enough that people stare in wonderment at Our Lord´s mighty deeds. Those deeds, among other things, prove his divine origin and the truthfulness of his message. Part of that message demands repentance and conversion. Closer to our own day we can think of the tens of millions of people who personally saw Pope Saint John Paul II in his many public appearances. How many of those people actually changed their lives after the encounter? How have I responded to God´s grace and favor in my life? Have I taken God´s graces for granted? 2. The Not-so-Blessed: God in his mysterious design seems to favor some souls with gifts not given to others. Here, Jesus acknowledges that Tyre and Sidon – pagan towns – would have responded better to his miracles than did Chorazin and Capernaum. That begs the question: Why didn´t Jesus perform more miracles in those Gentile towns? Alas, ours is not the place to question the wisdom of God. Suffice it to say that Christ gives some of us more than he gives others, and he expects to see a return on his investment. It´s not enough that we keep our faith untarnished and sitting on a shelf, hidden from the world. No. The gift of faith should prompt us to strive for holiness, for continual conversion of heart, and for zeal to build the Church. Does faith impact my life like that? 3. Domino Effect: Christ´s authority includes his ability to delegate it. To the Church, he gives the power to bind and to loose. "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20:23). Moreover, Number 891 of the Catechism observes that "The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys […] infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful -- who confirms his brethren in the faith -- he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals." When we follow the Holy Father´s teaching, we honor the One who gave him authority. And Our Lord´s authority extends in other areas: to parents over their dependent children, to government officials who oversee the common good, etc. Do I respect the legitimate authority of those around me? Do I understand that obedience to legitimate authority is a form of obedience to God himself? Conversation with Christ: Jesus, help me see that your obedience to Pilate on Good Friday was part of your obedience to your loving Father in heaven. Let me understand that obedience to legitimate authority is a means of growth in humility and holiness. Resolution: I will carry out one request that a legitimate authority (a boss, a parent, etc.) has been asking of me… and do it with joy. By Father Edward McIlmail, LC |
October 3, 2014
The Lord, our God, is so gentle, so loving in his treatment of us humans, his creation. He goes to great lengths to call our attention to his words. He works out miracles, performs extraordinary feats to prove the truth of what he teaches us so that we may believe. Even in reproaching us for our continued unbelief, he does not act with anger or condemnation. He continues to try to convince us. He does not force us to believe him. He respects our freedom to decide for ourselves.
In the Gospel, when he sees Jerusalem from a distance, Jesus laments “O Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone your apostles! How often have I tried to bring together your children as a bird gathers her young under her wings, and you would not!” The Lord cried, expressing his sorrow for the future destruction of the city because its people refused to recognize the salvation offered to it by God. Christ’s reproach is not in the form of angry condemnation for the refusal of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum to believe his word. He laments instead of the fate which they will suffer if they persist in their unbelief.
God gave us free will, freedom of conscience, to decide on our actions. He also gave us intelligence and the grace to discern what is good and what is evil. We must not allow our pride, our desire for secular fame and fortune, to blind us from the eternal life destined for us. Jesus suffered and died to redeem us from our sinfulness to gain eternal life. We must not persist in our unbelief but accept instead the redemption which Christ offers us. Jesus reminds us, through his apostles that if we reject what the apostles teach us, we are actually rejecting Jesus, and in effect, rejecting God who sent him and rejecting the eternal life which God is offering to us.
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~Pope Francis
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English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Luke 10 |
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13. | Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee, Bethsaida. For if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the mighty works that have been wrought in you, they would have done penance long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. | Væ tibi Corozain ! væ tibi Bethsaida ! quia si in Tyro et Sidone factæ fuissent virtutes quæ factæ sunt in vobis, olim in cilicio et cinere sedentes pniterent. | ουαι σοι χοραζιν ουαι σοι βηθσαιδα οτι ει εν τυρω και σιδωνι εγενοντο αι δυναμεις αι γενομεναι εν υμιν παλαι αν εν σακκω και σποδω καθημεναι μετενοησαν |
14. | But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgement, than for you. | Verumtamen Tyro et Sidoni remissius erit in judicio, quam vobis. | πλην τυρω και σιδωνι ανεκτοτερον εσται εν τη κρισει η υμιν |
15. | And thou, Capharnaum, which art exalted unto heaven, thou shalt be thrust down to hell. | Et tu Capharnaum, usque ad cælum exaltata, usque ad infernum demergeris. | και συ καπερναουμ η εως του ουρανου υψωθεισα εως αδου καταβιβασθηση |
16. | He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me. | Qui vos audit, me audit : et qui vos spernit, me spernit. Qui autem me spernit, spernit eum qui misit me. | ο ακουων υμων εμου ακουει και ο αθετων υμας εμε αθετει ο δε εμε αθετων αθετει τον αποστειλαντα με |
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