[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: October 10, 2011
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Father, your love for us surpasses all our hopes and desires. Forgive our failings, keep us in your peace and lead us in the way of salvation. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RECIPES

• Gazpacho
• Gazpacho
• Paella I
• True Spanish Omelet

ACTIVITIES

• Religion in the Home for Elementary School: October
• Religion in the Home for Preschool: October

10th

  Monday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time Old Calendar: St. Francis Borgia, Confessor

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Francis Borgia, a descendant of the notorious Alexander VI. He spent a part of his life in collecting titles and offices of importance. Certain reverses of fortune caused him to reflect on his life. He was already a Franciscan tertiary, but this was not enough for him; he became a Jesuit, at first secretly and then publicly in 1550 having made provision for his eight children. In 1565 he became General of the Society of Jesus. He was a man of wide experience, a clever diplomat and ranks as the second founder of his Order. He died in Rome on October 1, 1572.

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St. Francis Borgia
Francis Borgia, viscount of Catalonia and third general of the Jesuits, was born in 1510. On his father's side he was a great-grandchild of Pope Alexander VI; on his mother's side he was the great-grandchild of a son of Ferdinand the Catholic. His holy life atoned for the sins of his ancestors.

As viscount and duke at the palace of Emperor Charles V, Francis stood in high honor. The sudden death of the beautiful Empress Isabella (May 1, 1539) and the sight of her disfigured face as her body was taken to Granada made him resolve to leave the world and serve the King of kings alone.

After the death of his wife (1546), he entered the Society of Jesus with the holy resolve of leading a hidden life and of closing the door forever to all earthly honors. His example of humility exercised an influence upon Charles V when he considered renouncing the throne. Devoted to labor and severe mortification, Francis held himself in such little esteem that he called himself the "poor sinner." In 1565 he became General of the Order. He died at Rome.

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

Patron: Against earthquakes; Portugal; Rota; Marianas.

Symbols: Skull crowned with an emperor's diadem.

Things to Do:

• Although Francis lived a holy life, he was deeply moved and changed his life even more profoundly after seeing the corpse of the young and once beautiful Empress Isabella — it was totally disfigured and unrecognizable. This made him realize the transcience of life and the worthlessness of riches. We should follow his example and meditate on this.

• Learn more about the infamous Borgia family tree.

• Cook or bake some Spanish dishes, such as tapas, paella, gazpacho.

• Read more about St. Francis Borgia.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Romans 1:1-7

“Paul … called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.” (Romans 1:1)

St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans has long been recognized as a theological masterpiece, but that fact can make the letter seem awfully intimidating. So as we explore Romans over the next few weeks, let’s approach it as a real letter written by a real person and not as a philosophical, religious treatise.

Paul wrote Romans while he was in Corinth, probably in a.d. 57 or 58. He was preparing to take a collection of donations from the Gentile Christians in Macedonia and Achaia to the church in Jerusalem, which was struggling financially. From Jerusalem, he planned to sail to Rome, where he wanted to set up a base of operations to support a further missionary journey to Spain (Romans 15:26-33). Paul had not personally evangelized Rome, so he wrote this letter as an introduction, hoping to win the Roman Christians’ friendship and their support for his mission to Spain.

How did Paul introduce himself? By spelling out the gospel he proclaimed. He wrote about how God has made it possible for everyone to be reconciled to him through the gift of faith (Romans 3–5). He wrote about the life in the Spirit that Jesus has made available through his cross and resurrection (7–8). And he wrote about how everyone— Jew and Gentile alike—can come to know him and enter the kingdom of heaven (3, 9–11). In a sense, Romans gives us a glimpse into Paul’s own heart and mind. It reveals an apostle who is both a deep thinker and a passionate believer— and it points the way for us to follow his example.

As you read through Romans in the next few weeks, ask the Holy Spirit to help you embrace the love of God that is embedded in the letter’s main themes. This letter carries a message that has changed the lives of millions of people over the course of two thousand years. It’s a message that never loses its power to change us as we learn that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39)!

“Father, thank you for speaking to me through the Scriptures! Holy Spirit, open my heart, so that God’s love and mercy might penetrate to the depths of my soul.”

Psalm 98:1-4; Luke 11:29-32