Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 10-07-12, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 10-07-12 | Revised New American Bible

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October 7, 2012

 

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Reading 1 Gn 2:18-24

The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a suitable partner for him."
So the LORD God formed out of the ground
various wild animals and various birds of the air,
and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
The man gave names to all the cattle,
all the birds of the air, and all wild animals;
but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man,
and while he was asleep,
he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib
that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man, the man said:
"This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called 'woman, '
for out of 'her man' this one has been taken."
That is why a man leaves his father and mother
and clings to his wife,
and the two of them become one flesh.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. (cf. 5) May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
May you see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel!
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

Reading 2 Heb 2:9-11

Brothers and sisters:
He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, "
that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it was fitting that he,
for whom and through whom all things exist,
in bringing many children to glory,
should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering.
He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated
all have one origin.
Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them 'brothers.'

Gospel Mk 10:2-16

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"
They replied,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her."
But Jesus told them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate."
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
"Let the children come to me;
do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."
Then he embraced them and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.

or Mk 10:2-12

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"
They replied,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her."
But Jesus told them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate."
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."

[annalex]

Baroncelli Polyptych: Coronation of the Virgin

Giotto di Bondone

c. 1334
Tempera on wood
Baroncelli Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

[Salvation]

 

Catholic

Almanac:

Sunday, October 7

Liturgical Color: White

Today is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. Pope Pius V instituted this feast in 1571 to honor the Blessed Virgin for victory at the Battle of Lepanto, which he attributed to her intercession.

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Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: October 07, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, who in the abundance of your kindness surpass the merits and the desires of those who entreat you, pour out your mercy upon us to pardon what conscience dreads and to give what prayer does not dare to ask. 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

• Granny Smith Apple Cobbler
• Summer Squash with Onions
• Sunday Chicken Casserole
• Tender Dinner Knots

ACTIVITIES

• Parents are the First Teachers

PRAYERS

• Married Couple's Prayer to the Sacred Heart

LIBRARY

• Christian Marriage: a Covenant of Love and Life | Cardinal Bernard Law
• The Vocation of Marriage in God's Plan | Cardinal J. Francis Stafford D.D.

Ordinary Time: October 7th

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away." But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."(Mk 10:2-9).

The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated today but the Sunday Liturgy supersedes it.

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

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Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Book of Genesis, 2:18-24, "So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: 'This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called woman for out of her man this one has been taken.'" This reading has been chosen to show the origin of the Church's teaching on the indissolubility of marriage.

The second reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews, 2:9-11, "He who 'for a little while' was made 'lower than the angels', that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." Today's reading talks about Jesus' exaltation through abasement.

The Gospel is from St. Mark, 10:2-16. On the "divorce" section of this Gospel see today's first reading. Christ clearly states that from the very beginning, God's plan for marriage was that it should be a life-long unity of one man and one woman. Its purpose is the procreation of children and their education, as well as the mutual love and fulfillment of the husband and wife. These demand this life-long bond. Divorce, which tries to break this bond, breaks the law of the Creator who decreed what was best for the temporal and spiritual welfare of the human race.

The last four verses of today's Gospel describe an incident which is in no way connected with the previous discussion but which has a very useful lesson for all Christians. It describes Christ's love for children and while manifesting this love he stresses the need for all his true followers to be childlike. "I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." To receive the kingdom of God is to accept the teaching of Christ and live according to it in his kingdom on earth. He who does this will enter, after death, into the eternal kingdom of heaven. Christ says, however, that we must accept "like a child": his kingdom on earth, his teaching and the Church he founded to carry on that teaching. It does not mean: in a childish way, an unthinking, uneducated way, but in a child-like way-a humble, grateful, receptive way. A child is unselfconscious, content to be dependent on others' care and generosity. Christianity is a gift of the generous God to us, we have done nothing and never could do anything to merit it. We must accept it simply and gratefully as a gift; we could never deserve it.

While Christianity is a religion of reason and conforms in all its aspects to the rational nature of man—its basis is the revelation of God who is the author and foundation of all rationality—yet it is the heart of man rather than his intellect which Christ means to capture. The assent of the intellect to the doctrine revealed by Christ is not sufficient of itself for a Christian to earn the eternal kingdom; faith is the total acceptance and commitment of the believer to God through Jesus Christ. The man of true faith commits himself to God with a filial childlike trust, assured that if he does all that he can God will do the rest.

Therefore, our Christian faith must be childlike, a trusting, humble and obedient faith. This is the kind of faith that will move mountains—the mountains that loom so large in the vision of too many Christians today—the mountains of doubt, selfishness, unwillingness to be subjected to authority. Christ asks us, if we would be his followers: to take up our daily cross and climb the way to Calvary after him. This daily cross is made of the troubles and trials of life from which no one can escape. They can be borne with reluctance and grumbling or they can be accepted as the loving God's means of training us for the future life. Every true Christian accepts his trials in the latter way, for if he is true to his faith he knows that his years on earth are his apprenticeship to prepare him for his eternal life.

God is surely not asking too much of us when he asks us to live our Christian faith in childlike humility, candor and confidence during the days of our pilgrimage on this earth.

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

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The Word Among Us

Meditation: Mark 10:2-16

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Let the children come to me.” (Mark 10:14)

In his apostolic letter introduc­ing the coming Year of Faith, Pope Benedict XVI wrote that “faith com­mits every one of us to become a living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world” (Porta Fidei, 15). So it’s no wonder that Jesus “became indignant” when his disci­ples, with good intentions, tried to keep people from bringing little chil­dren to him (Mark 10:14). Deciding who was worth Jesus’ time, the dis­ciples weren’t being a “living sign” of God’s presence.

This wasn’t the first time the dis­ciples did the wrong thing with deep sincerity. Peter tried to con­vince Jesus that he didn’t have to die (Matthew 16:22-23). James and John asked Jesus to reward their devo­tion with a privileged place in heaven (Mark 10:37). And Martha asked Jesus to make her sister help with the cleaning (Luke 10:40). And in each case, Jesus rebuked them and tried to set them on the right path.

The best part is that none of these people gave up. In fact, Peter prob­ably received more rebukes than anyone else—but he ended up becoming the “rock” on which Jesus built his Church (Matthew 16:18)! They kept learning from their mis­takes, and that made them all into bright signs of God’s presence.

We too will make “sincere” mis­takes—if we haven’t already! We will say or do something that we think is helpful, but poses an obstacle in our lives or keeps someone else from drawing closer to the Lord. How encouraging it is, then, to remem­ber that we’re in good company! Like them, we too can learn from our mis­takes if we remain open.

The apostles loved Jesus—and so do we. Still, his ways are not always our ways. The good news is that Jesus wants to show us where we went wrong and encourage us to try again. So don’t give up. Jesus is with you, always helping you to become a living sign of God’s presence.

“Lord, I want to keep learning. Help me to keep an open heart.”

Genesis 2:18-24, Psalm 128:1-6, Hebrews 2:9-11

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Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

1. In the first reading, we hear that God’s plan for marriage, from all eternity, was a call to unity (“one flesh”) in love. This is a unity of teamwork and intimate personal relationship where deep emotions are shared and personal dignity is upheld. If you are married, what steps can you take to improve unity with your spouse, deepen your relationship, and deal better with anger or conflict? If you are not married, what steps can you take to improve unity and deepen your relationship with those you work with or those you are closest to?

2. In the Responsorial Psalm, the Lord promises blessings to those “who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways” (Psalm 128:1). What do you think it means to walk in the Lord’s ways? How could the support of others help you to do this?

3. The second reading says that Jesus “is not ashamed to call us brothers” (Hebrews 2:11). Reflect on the magnitude of this statement. The reading also speaks of God’s plan from all eternity that we together are all brothers and sisters in Christ. How does this truth impact how you live? What does it mean to you that the men and women in your parish are your brothers and sisters in Christ? What are some ways you can strengthen your relationship with other men or women in your parish.

4. In the Gospel, we are again reminded of the great importance God places on the Sacrament of Marriage, which has always been part of his eternal plan for men and women. We all know that because of human weakness and sin, marriages can often be beset by many difficulties, and couples often need healing and forgiveness. Jesus reminds us constantly in Scripture how much we need forgiveness, and how often we are to forgive (70 x 7), since he has forgiven us. If you are married are there any areas of unforgiveness between you and your spouse, or other members of your family? If you are not married, are there any areas of unforgiveness between you and other members of your family, or other people? What steps can you to take to offer forgiveness even if you believe that you are the one who was wronged?

5. The meditation describes how Peter, James, John, and Martha made mistakes and were corrected by Jesus. Yet, each one of them learned from their mistakes. We too will make mistakes and will have to be corrected by Jesus. Like them, “we too can learn from our mistakes if we remain open.” In what ways have you “learned” from your past mistakes, and in what ways have they helped you to grow stronger in your faith in Jesus?

6. Take some time now to pray and ask the Lord to give you a heart open to learning from past and future mistakes, so you can continue to grow in your faith and in holiness. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.

 

[Salvation]

A Christian Pilgrim

BEAUTIFUL SIGNS OF GOD’S LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE

(A biblical refection on THE 27^th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – 7 October, 2012) 

Gospel Reading: Mark 10:2-16 

First Reading: Gen 2:18-24; Psalms: Ps 128:1-6; Second Reading: Heb 2:9-11 

The Scripture Text

And Pharisees came up and in order to test Him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away.” But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one. So they are no longer two but one. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”

And in the house the disciples asked Him again about this matter. And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

And they were bringing children to Him, that He might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it He was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to Me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands upon them. (Mk 10:2-16) 

The Pharisees’ question to Jesus on marriage was not just an innocent inquiry posed by a group of perplexed believers. Rather, as they did throughout Jesus’ ministry, the Pharisees were looking for a way to trap Jesus in His own words.

Although formulated as if a simple “yes” or no” answer would suffice, their question involved complex interpretations of Hebrew law. In addition, if Jesus answered one way, He could be accused of disavowing John the Baptist’s reproach of Herod for divorcing his wife and marrying his sister-in-law. If He agreed with John, however, He could become a target for Herod’s anger.

Jesus did not allow Himself to become enmeshed in the trap. Instead, He sought to raise the discussion to a higher level and take advantage of the opportunity to speak yet again of the Father’s desire to unite us in love. By trying to trick Jesus with thorny legislative questions, the Pharisees had missed the whole point about God’s plan for marriage.

Jesus took his questioners back to the beginning, when God created man and woman in His own image and likeness (Gen 1:26,27) and established that in marriage the two would become one flesh (Gen 2:24). Jesus revealed marriage as a wonderful gift from God that is meant to reflect the union He longs to have with His people. Both kinds of union – between man and woman, or between God and His people – are meant to be so intimate that they must not be broken. What a privilege it is to be intimately united with God and another person!

As we consider the state of marriage in the world, perhaps even our own marriage, we may be tempted to look only at the difficulties and forget God’s power and love. Let us pray for all marriages today, that they be protected and raised up to become beautiful signs of God’s love for His people everywhere. 

Short Prayer: Heavenly Father, how grateful we are for Your love. Fill our hearts with a deeper love for You. May Your love for us overflow to others, to bring healing and reconciliation. Amen. 

[Salvation]

A Christian Pilgrim

THE UNITY OF MARRIAGE

(A biblical refection on THE 27^th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – 7 October, 2012) 

First Reading: Gen 2:18-24; Psalms: Ps 128:1-6; Second Reading: Heb 2:9-11; Gospel Reading: Mk 10:2-16 

The Book of Genesis presents two stories of the Creation. Chapter one tells of the famous six days and emphasizes the making of the material world. Another scenario explaining the origin of human life appears in the second chapter. The two stories, with differing points of view and vocabulary, come from separate sources. The Bible was assembled from various oral and written traditions, and the biblical writers were more editors than authors. They placed these two stories side by side, rather than unifying them into one single account. Today’s initial reading from the second chapter describes, in a figurative way, the origins and union of man and woman.

This passage emphasizes the unity of marriage, with statements like “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh,” bespeaking a loving intimacy and togetherness. If we are of the same bone and flesh as another, then our bodies and minds are compatible and each can freely give and receive without rejection. Compatible love and respect in marriage is the best basis for a lasting union.

The story portrays the first couple being introduced by God in person and joined with His blessing. Each man and woman planning a life-long marriage should proceed slowly, trying to be certain they are joined by God and not pushed together by immaturity, a desire to leave home, or physical attraction. The rising divorce rate is a bewildering religious and social problem which injures good people and often permanently scars innocent children.

Being “two in one” has many connotations, but nowhere is it more clearly seen than in the life of child. Regardless of the separation, divorce or death of the spouses, they will always be “two in one” in their children. Since marriage produces the profound, irreversible consequence of human life, it was intended by the Creator to be a permanent union. Jesus reaffirms, in today’s Gospel, the ancient ideal of the unbreakable bond.

How do we know if love is true and if it will endure? We don’t. Like most ventures of life, each person must intelligently make the best judgment possible, have faith in God’s original plan and try to bring it to a happy fulfilment. If love is true on both sides, nothing can sidetrack it. Like God its author, true love goes on and on.

Note: Taken from Rev. James McKarns, Go Tell Everyone, Makati, Philippines: St. Paul Publications, 1985, pages 178-179.

[Salvation]

Sunday Scripture Study

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B

October 7, 2012

Click here for USCCB readings

Opening Prayer  

First Reading: Genesis 2:18-24

Psalm: 128:1-6

Second Reading: Hebrews 2:9-11

Gospel Reading: Mark 10:2-16

• Having gone from Galilee “to Judea, beyond the Jordan” (verse 1), Jesus resumes his teaching to his Apostles about discipleship, beginning in verse 13.

• He is interrupted, however, by some Pharisees who have a question about the legality of divorce. This may have been an attempt to trap him: John the Baptist, who had been baptizing in that same area (Mark 1:9) had just recently paid with his life for his taking a public stand on the issue of King Herod’s divorce (Mark 6:17-29).

• The Pharisees point to Deuteronomy 24:1-4, the Law of Moses, to support their case (verse 3). This piece of legislation was not an actual command to divorce as the Pharisees seemed to interpret it, but as a concession by Moses to the hardheartedness of the culture, where divorce had become taken for granted and women were as a result victimized.

• In response to their citing the Scriptures to support the practice of divorce, Jesus reaches even further back into the Scripture (Genesis 1:27, 2:24) to reveal to them God’s original plan for marriage and, amazingly, on his own authority, sets the higher Christian standard for marriage (verses 9, 11-12).

 

QUESTIONS:

• In the Second Reading, when Jesus tasted death for the entire human family, of what was his act representative (Philippians 2:8; Ephesians 5:2; CCC 624)? What is the possible background for the expression “taste death” (see Genesis 3:17-19)?

• According to the passages of Genesis to which Jesus alludes in verses 6-8, what are the three characteristics of the marital bond in God’s original plan for marriage? Why can it not be broken by any civil or religious authority? (see also Matthew 5:32, 19:9, and 1 Corinthians 7:10-16)

• How might the issue of divorce illustrate hardness of heart? How does acceptance of God’s plan remove hardness of heart? What is the connection between Jesus’ blessing of the children and the prohibition of divorce in verses 11-12?

• Does our society teach us to regard some people as having more worth than others (verses 13-16)? Whom do we honor? Whom do we imitate? Why do you think Jesus specifically sought out those who, like children, were powerless? What are some ways in which, you, too, can seek out those most in need?

Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 1603, 1640, 2382-86; 1250-52, 2222

 

The state of marriage is one that requires more virtue and constancy than any other: it is a perpetual exercise of mortification.    -St. Francis de Sales

[Salvation]

Helps in Spiritual Warfare

Pastor’s Column

27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 7, 2012

 

          Life can at times be a real battle zone! Things can be very peaceful, and then all of a sudden we are in a war-zone, and often we do not see this coming. Fortunately, our faith gives us many tools of spiritual warfare that we can use very effectively! Sometimes, it is precisely when the tasks seem beyond us that the Lord is actually inviting us through the Holy Spirit to let him wage these battles for us, whether we are fighting against sins, worry, crises of all kinds, or every kind of difficulty. Here is a short list of some of the tools God has given us.

 

Repentance. There are few actions we can take against evil in our lives that are more powerful than a good and sincere confession.

 

Forgiveness. Holding onto unforgiveness is like swallowing battery acid! Forgiveness is not a feeling. Rather, it consists of three parts: praying for the person who harmed us, not speaking ill of that person to others, and being kind to them if we are near them.

 

The Word of God. Using scripture effectively means having passages ready to help us when we are down. Why not begin your own list of scripture that help you as you read the bible? Jesus used scripture to do battle against Satan in the desert and we can too.

 

The Eucharist. When we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, this is the moment to really thank God and offer him our particular problem. He is there for us in great power. Praying before the Blessed Sacrament in the Adoration chapel is very powerful as well.

 

Calling on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is always ready to assist us if we but remember to ask! A very powerful and quick prayer to use would be “Come Holy Spirit!”

 

Practicing the Presence of God. This very effective practice involves learning to pray ourselves through the day by remembering that, no matter how we may feel or perceive it, God is always with us, watching over us and helping us. If we can just remember the Lord as we go through the day then many battles will be easier.

 

Intercessory Prayer.   Here we enlist others to pray for us! This includes making use of our prayer chain, asking a favorite saint to pray for us, asking the Mother of God to intercede for us by praying the rosary, praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory (who will in turn pray for us), asking others to pray for us, and asking our relatives and friends who have died to intercede are helps! Often, praying for others instead of ourselves also unlocks many graces.

 

Praise and Thanksgiving. Giving thanks in all things is the most powerful of prayers in difficult circumstances!

                                                                                          Father Gary

[Salvation]

St. Paul Center Blog

What God Has Joined: Reflections on the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Dr. Scott Hahn on 10.05.12 |

In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a trick question.

The “lawfulness” of divorce in Israel was never at issue. Moses had long ago allowed it (see Deuteronomy 24:1-4). But Jesus points His enemies back before Moses, to “the beginning,” interpreting the text we hear in today’s First Reading.

Divorce violates the order of creation, He says. Moses permitted it only as a concession to the people’s “hardness of heart”—their inability to live by God’s covenant Law. But Jesus comes to fulfill the Law, to reveal its true meaning and purpose, and to give people the grace to keep God’s commands.

Marriage, He reveals, is a sacrament, a divine, life-giving sign. Through the union of husband and wife, God intended to bestow His blessings on the human family—making it fruitful, multiplying it until it filled the earth (see Genesis 1:28).

Readings:
Genesis 2:18-24
Psalm 128:1-6
Hebrews 2:9-11
Mark 10:2-16

That’s why today’s Gospel moves so easily from a debate about marriage to Jesus’ blessing of children. Children are blessings the Father bestows on couples who walk in His ways, as we sing in today’s Psalm.
Marriage also is a sign of God’s new covenant. As today’s Epistle hints, Jesus is the new Adam—made a little lower than the angels, born of a human family (see Romans 5:14; Psalm 8:5-7). The Church is the new Eve, the “woman” born of Christ’s pierced side as He hung in the sleep of death on the cross (see John 19:34; Revelation 12:1-17).

Through the union of Christ and the Church as “one flesh,” God’s plan for the world is fulfilled (see Ephesians 5:21-32). Eve was “mother of all the living” (see Genesis 3:20). And in baptism, we are made sons and daughters of the Church, children of the Father, heirs of the eternal glory He intended for the human family in the beginning.

The challenge for us is to live as children of the kingdom, growing up ever more faithful in our love and devotion to the ways of Christ and the teachings of His Church.

[Salvation]

Insight Scoop

The Mystery of Creation and the Sacrament of Marriage

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, Oct 7, 2012 | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Gen 2:18-24
• Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
• Heb 2:9-11
• Mk 10:2-16

“No human institution,” writes Jorge Cardinal Medina Estévez in Male and Female He Created Them (Ignatius Press, 2003), “is so deeply rooted in nature and in the heart of man and of woman as marriage and the family.” And yet, as Estévez goes on to demonstrate, marriage has so many enemies and is assailed from every side by forces—both internal and external—seeking to pervert and destroy it.

Divorce is rampant, adultery is common, and “same-sex marriage” appears to be an inevitable social and cultural reality. It is not surprising, then, to sometimes hear that marriage is doomed, soon an artifact of a different era, rapidly becoming a victim of politics, apathy, selfishness, and a disregard for tradition and religion.

But, however dark the horizon, we shouldn’t forget that marriage is not the artificial construct of a particular culture, nor a transitory institution aimed at repressing this or that special interest group. Marriage pre-dates cultures, civilizations, political parties, and ideologies.

In today’s first reading, taken from the creation account in Genesis 2, the first man is put into a deep sleep and the woman is “fashioned” from the rib taken out of his side. “For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).

What exactly did that mean? This passage and question were the focus of much of Pope John Paul II’s famous “theology of the body,” given as general audiences early in his pontificate. He saw an “integral” connection between the mystery of creation and the sacrament of marriage.

He wrote: “The words of Genesis 2:24, ‘A man . . . cleaves to his wife and they become one flesh,’ spoken in the context of this original reality in a theological sense, constitute marriage as an integral part and, in a certain sense, a central part of the ‘sacrament of creation.’ They constitute, or perhaps rather they simply confirm the character of its origin. According to these words, marriage is a sacrament inasmuch as it is an integral part and, I would say, the central point of ‘the sacrament of creation.’ In this sense it is the primordial sacrament.”

This is part of the point made by Jesus in his conversation with the Pharisees. Divorce was allowed within Judaism, even being common among some Jews. The Pharisees, of course, focused on the Law of Moses. But Jesus indicated that the allowance given by Moses for divorce was a nod to man’s weakness, “the hardness of your hearts.” He insisted on going back to “the beginning of creation” and restoring the original meaning of marriage.

Creation and marriage are intimately connected, as marriage is a co-creation between the cleaving man and woman and the Triune God. In accepting the gift of the “other,” man and woman are given a profound wholeness. The very creative nature of marriage acknowledges God’s act of creation, his overflowing love, and his plan for humanity—a plan modeled in the sacrament of marriage.

Thus, the primordial sacrament is a sign revealing a mystery of infinite value: the gift of divine life. God invites man to partake in his divine nature and enter into full communion with the Trinitarian mystery. Marriage, the deepest and most profound of human communions, is a sign of that divine communion.

The primordial sacrament, wrote John Paul II, is “understood as a sign which effectively transmits in the visible world the invisible mystery hidden from eternity in God. This is the mystery of truth and love, the mystery of the divine life in which man really shares …”

Marriage, then, was at the heart of God’s plan for man even before Creation. The Son was the author of this sacrament, for “all things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (Jn. 1:1,3). In becoming flesh and wedding himself to humanity, he revived the roots and revealed the meaning of marriage.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the October 4, 2009, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

Also see:

• “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’" | Adrienne von Speyr
• Marital and Family Commitment: A Personalist View | Monsignor Cormac Burke
• The Challenge of Marriage Preparation | Dr. Janet E. Smith
• Focus Groups and Marriage: A Match Made for Heartache | Mary Beth Bonacci
• Entering Marriage with Eyes Wide Open | Edward Peters
• Human Sexuality and the Catholic Church | Donald P. Asci | Introduction to The Conjugal Act as a Personal Act
• Who Is Married? | Edward Peters
• Marriage and the Family in Casti Connubii and Humanae Vitae | Reverend Michael Hull, S.T.D.
• Male and Female He Created Them | Cardinal Estevez

[Salvation]

Insight Scoop

“But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’"

From Mark: Meditations on the Gospel of Mark (Ignatius Press, 2012), by Adrienne von Speyr:

“But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh.” (10:6–8)

We will contemplate: 1. the creation of the sexes, 2. being one flesh, 3. no longer being two.

1. “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female." One can take this in different ways: God created Adam, and Eve was already prefigured in Adam so that, in order to create the woman, God did not take anything new or uncreated but made her out of Adam’s rib. Or: God made man and woman, just as before them he created the animals in pairs. In this twofold dimension of the sexes lies a structure that characterizes not only the natural world but also the supernatural and includes the Church, a structure that from the beginning was not only intimated but already present. She endured many vacillations throughout her history, but in her essence she remained the same. You know that when the Son of God became man, he restored this twofold being of man by creating the Church as his Bride. And when a man or a woman renounces natural marriage in the life of the evangelical counsels, they do not give up this twofold being. Rather, they place their life wholly within the nuptial relationship between Christ and the Church by allowing themselves to be initiated into this relationship. The Lord not only places maleness and femaleness at the beginning of his explanation, he not only presupposes it, he carries it all the way through. Being alone is not a possibility; even the hermit is not alone, for he is with God. There are cases where it does not matter whether one is a man or a woman, but a complement is nevertheless necessary. The man or woman who consecrates his life to God without marriage receives this complement from God. This completion is full of fruitfulness, is as fruitful as the completion God gave to Adam when God made woman from Adam’s flesh.

2. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” We cannot imagine the unity they form together other than as a completion that points toward fruitfulness. Being simply one, solitude as opposed to being two, is sterility. Alone, one cannot generate, cannot give birth to anything. Unity must have known the prior tension of being two and have become a unity through this tension, in obedience to God’s commandment to be fruitful.

We do not know how this fleshly unity of man and woman would have come about if sin had not entered the picture. We know only that now, oneness in the flesh is bound up with a kind of humiliation. In order to perform the sexual act, the man demands a humiliation of the woman. And on her part, the woman glimpses in the act, along with all the love that is in it, a humiliation of the man, so that the question remains open what the oneness in the flesh would have looked like if sin had not interfered, if the woman did not give birth in pain and the man did not have to experience the hardness of work. This is a theological problem. It is certain that God intended from the beginning this possibility of oneness in the flesh, since he created man in two sexes. This unity is so powerful that it breaks open every unity prior to it: the family, life with father and mother. Every bond that has this oneness as its goal simultaneously implies separation, renunciation. Just as any gift of God at the same time contains the seed of a renunciation. If a gift were so structured that no possibility of sacrifice and renunciation could be discerned in it, we would have to be very skeptical. It would hardly be a gift of God; rather, it would be a temptation. The greatest proof of this lies in the Incarnation of the Son, whose Passion we cannot contemplate except as the Father’s gift to him. In the gift of the Incarnation, all suffering is contained; suffering and renunciation are the sign of the genuineness of the joy of the gift.

Continue reading "“But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’"" »

[Salvation]

 

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for October 7, 2012:

“God made them male and female.” (Mk 10:6) How do you fit the stereotype of your gender, i.e., males are strong, females are sensitive? How do you differ? Would your spouse agree with you?

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

Call for Reparation

By

Father Mark

 on October 7, 2012 9:47 AM |

 

This morning I received the following message from a friend here in County Louth, Ireland:

We have a spiritual disaster in our parish of Ardee and Collon. The Church of Saint Catherine in Balapousta was broken into last night. The Blessed Sacrament and all the Sacred Vessels are stolen. There has been no sign of the Sacred Species yet.

The Lamb of God, the Divine Victim, truly present in the Sacrament of His Love remains silent and motionless in the Sacred Species. He does nothing to avenge the terrible affronts to His Divine Majesty, hidden in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. He, the Lord God of Sabaoth, does not respond to violence with violence.

All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:6-7)

Then Jesus saith to him: Put up again thy sword into its place: for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot ask my Father, and he will give me presently more than twelve legions of angels? How then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that so it must be done? (Matthew 26:52-54)

How are we to respond to crimes of this sort against the adorable Body of Christ? First, we must pray for the perpetrators of the sacrilege.

Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
turn their hearts to Thee in sorrow and in love.
Holy Ghost, Living Flame of Love,
pierce their hearts with true repentance.
Amen.

Then we must pray in reparation:

Beloved Lord Jesus Christ,
hidden in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar;
silent, humble, defenseless,
and motionless in the Sacred Species;
handled by the faithless
and, alas, even by those
who having received the faith,
have fallen into darkness and spiritual perversion;
we offer ourselves to Thee in adoration,
to make reparation
for every sin of irreverence, sacrilege,
blasphemy, and hatred of Thy Divine Person
in the Sacrament of Thy Love.
We further offer ourselves to Thee in adoration,
believing for those who do not believe in Thee,
hoping for those who have lost hope in Thee,
loving for those who do not love Thee.
Avenge this act of sacrilege, we pray Thee,
by a triumph of Thy merciful love
in the hearts of those who have so offended Thee,
and, by sending forth Thy Holy Angels,
restore the Sacred and Adorable Species
into the hands of Thy priests,
and into guardianship of Thy grieving Church.
Amen.

Public Acts of Reparation

Finally, it is fitting that there should be public acts of reparation: penitential processions, adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and a public act of honourable amendment engaging all the clergy, religious, and lay faithful of the parish. The honourable amendment consists in an act of reparation recited by all, holding lighted candles in their hands and, if deemed suitable, with a length of rope about the neck as a sign of solidarity with sinners, even as one kneels in contrition and reparation before the Most Blessed Sacrament.

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

Litany of Reparation

By

Father Mark

 on October 7, 2012 1:18 PM |

 

Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us

Christ, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, offered for the salvation of sinners,
Have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, annihilated on the altar for us and by us,
Have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, despised by lukewarm Christians,
Have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, mark of contradiction,
Have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, delivered over to unbelievers and heretics,
Have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, insulted by blasphemers,
Have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, Bread of angels, given to animals,
Have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, flung into the mud and trampled underfoot,
Have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, dishonored by unfaithful priests,
Have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, forgotten and abandoned in Thy churches,
Have mercy on us.

Be merciful unto us,
Pardon us, O Lord.

Be merciful unto us,
Hear us, O Lord.

For the outrageous contempt of this most wonderful Sacrament,
We offer Thee our reparation.

For Thine extreme humiliation in Thine admirable Sacrament,
We offer Thee our reparation.

For all unworthy Communions,
We offer Thee our reparation.

For the irreverences of wicked Christians,
We offer Thee our reparation.

For the profanation of Thy sanctuaries,
We offer Thee our reparation.

For the holy ciboriums dishonored and carried away by force,
We offer Thee our reparation.

For the continual blasphemies of impious men,
We offer Thee our reparation.

For the obduracy and treachery of heretics,
We offer Thee our reparation.

For the unworthy conversations carried on in Thy holy temples,
We offer Thee our reparation.

For the profaners of Thy churches
which they have desecrated by their sacrileges,
We offer Thee our reparation.

That it may please Thee to increase in all Christians
the reverence due to this adorable Mystery,
we beseech Thee, hear us.

That it may please Thee to manifest the Sacrament
of Thy Love to heretics,
we beseech Thee, hear us.

That it may please Thee to grant us
the grace to atone for their hatred
by our burning love for Thee,
we beseech Thee, hear us.

That it may please Thee
that the insults of those who outrage Thee
may rather be directed against ourselves,
we beseech Thee, hear us.

That it may please Thee graciously
to receive this our humble reparation,
we beseech Thee, hear us.

That it may please Thee to make our adoration acceptable to Thee,
we beseech Thee, hear us.

Pure Host,
hear our prayer.

Holy Host,
hear our prayer.

Immaculate Host,
hear our prayer.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

V. See, O Lord, our affliction,
R. And give glory to Thy Holy Name.

Let us pray.

O Lord Jesus Christ,
Who dost deign to remain with us
in Thy wonderful Sacrament unto the end of the world,
in order to give eternal glory to Thy Father,
by the perpetual oblation of Thy Passion,
and to give to us the Bread of life everlasting:
Grant us, we beseech Thee, the grace to mourn,
with a heart full of sorrow,
over the injuries which Thou hast received
in this adorable Mystery,
and over the many sacrileges
which are committed by the impious and by heretics,
and even alas, by weak, ignorant, and wicked Catholics.

Inflame us with an ardent zeal
to repair all the ignominies to which,
in Thine infinite mercy,
Thou hast preferred to expose Thyself
rather than deprive us of Thy Presence on our altars,
Who with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit
livest and reignest one God,
world without end.
Amen.

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

Pay all my debts from Christ's merits

By

Father Mark

 on October 7, 2012 8:05 PM |

 

When you place yourself in God's presence, endeavour rather to listen to Him, than to speak to Him, and strive more to love Him, than to learn from Him. (Saint John of Avila)

I would be remiss were I not to offer the readers of Vultus Christi a text of Saint John of Avila, whom the Holy Father today proclaimed a Doctor of the Church. This particular letter is taken from the collection translated and selected from the Spanish by the Benedictines of Stanbrook in 1904, with a preface by Dom Gasquet. The subtitles are my own.

Trust in the Mercy of God

If we would not offend God, there are two points on which we must be particularly careful -- one is, that we should love His goodness, and the second is, that we should trust in His mercy. How great is the blindness of a heart which does not love God! And just as great is its weakness, if it does not confide in His abundant mercy. The graces we have received from Him in the past ought to incite us to love Him, for they flowed from Divine Love, which requires a like return from us. These gifts ought also to encourage us to trust in God, for surely. He Who has already bestowed such benefits on us, and has set us in the path of holiness, will give us the grace to persevere.

It Is in the Passion that I Trust

We ought also to find motives for hope in Christ's Passion: we should love Him for dying for us and trust in His mercy. Cast away, then, all doubts, faintheartedness and misgivings, for the merits of the Passion are ours, because Christ gave them to us, and we are His. It is in the Passion that I trust, on it I rely, and by it I laugh my enemies to scorn. Through it I make my prayers to the Father and offer Him His Son; I pay all my debts from Christ's merits, and have more than is requisite for the purpose. Although I have many sorrows, I find in Christ's sufferings more than a sufficient solace; they are such a source of joy that the grief caused by my own defects is dispelled.

God Is Wounded by Our Want of Trust

O God most loving. Who art Love itself, how we wound Thee if we trust not in Thee with all our hearts! If, after the favours Thou hast shown us, and more than all, after having died for us, we do not feel confidence in Thee, we must be worse than the very brutes. After all Thou hast given us in the past, can we doubt Thy loving kindness in the future, or think that Thou wilt cease to protect those Thou hast saved from hell? Wilt Thou leave Thy adopted sons to die of hunger, or cease to guide them aright in the path in which Thou didst set them when they had wandered away? When we were estranged from Thee, Thou didst give us many graces-- wilt Thou then refuse them now when our only desire is to serve Thee? Whilst we offended against Thee Thou didst cherish us; Thou didst follow after us when we fled from Thee; Thou didst draw us to Thyself, didst cleanse us from our guilt, and giving to us Thy Holy Spirit, didst fill our souls with joy, and bestow on us the kiss of peace. And wherefore didst Thou do all this? Surely it was that we might believe that, as for Christ's sake Thou didst reconcile us to Thyself when we were among Thine enemies, much more surely, wilt Thou keep us for His sake, now that we are in the number of Thy friends.

Love Trusts the Beloved

O my God and my Mercy! after the countless favours Thou hast shown us, permit not that we distrust Thee and question whether Thou dost love us and intend to save us. More evident than the sun at mid-day is the witness borne by Thy works that Thou dost cherish us and give us the hope of salvation. Let our hearts rely confidently on God, even though we feel not the sweetness of His consolations. Genuine faith believes without the need of argument or miracles; and love trusts its Beloved, even though He chastise it: true patience is content to suffer without relief, and so a real confidence in God remains unshaken by the absence of any solace from Him. Let us not ask for any signs of God's favour, but obey His command to rely implicitly on Him, and all will be well with us. If we feel weak, let us rely on God, and we shall be strong: for those who confide in Him " shall take wings as eagles and not faint." (Isaias XL. 31.) If we know not what to do, let us trust in our Creator, and He will be our Light; for, as Isaias says, "who is there amongst you that hath walked in darkness and hath no light? Let him hope in the name of the Lord, and lean upon his God." Holy Scripture also tells us: "They that trust in God shall understand the truth." (Wisdom III. 9.) Let us place our hope in our heavenly Father when we are in trouble, and we shall be set free from it, as David, speaking in His name, says in the Psalms: (XC. 14.) "Because he hoped in me I will deliver him." These words show that God only asks that we hope in Him, in order that He may deliver us, and this, because those who fall in time of tribulation, fall because their faith is weak.

Let Us Go Bravely On

St. Peter, while he felt no fear, walked on the sea as if it had been dry land; but the instant he lost confidence he began to sink, and our Lord said to him : " O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?" (St. Matthew XIV. 31.) Let us fear lest this reproof should be addressed to us. However wildly the sea of temptations may rage around us, let us go bravely on, and not let a thought of fear or mistrust enter our hearts. Rather let us confide in God's great love for us, which keeps us safe amid all perils.

God Can Overcome All Our Doubts and Temptations

I have said all this because as I wish your belief in the Catholic faith to be pure from all error, and your love for God to be without taint of tepidity, so I would have your hope in Him to be free from all distrust and fear. Believe me, God can overcome all our doubts and temptations. May He grant us the grace to be wholly converted to Him, and to place all our hope in Him, for if we gave ourselves to our Creator's care, there would be no need of help from creatures.

God Fills the Soul Who Dwells in Solitude

If at times doubts enter our mind, let us put them from us and think of other things, for if God does not give us the means to solve those doubts, we should not trouble ourselves much about them. I wish you and Don Pedro, to whom this letter is addressed as well as to yourself, to be very discreet in fasting and bodily mortifications during this Lent, but to be careful to practise the advice I have given you. Let your memories observe strict abstinence, not only from all thoughts of created things, but even from thinking of yourselves. Forgetting all things, let us go to God, and abide entirely in Him: let us fast from all consolation in any creature, so that, as our souls dwell in solitude, God may come and fill them, because they are empty of all else. When you place yourself in God's presence, endeavour rather to listen to Him, than to speak to Him, and strive more to love Him, than to learn from Him. May the same Jesus Christ, of Whom we speak, be with you and with us all. Amen.

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

Counsels of Saint John of Avila

By

Father Mark

 on October 7, 2012 8:24 PM |

 

 

The Quest for a Spiritual Father

It often happens that souls will lament their failure to find a spiritual father or, more often than not, the spiritual father of their dreams. There can be mixed motives in the quest for a spiritual father. The best spiritual father is the one provided by God. If He doesn't provide one who meets our criteria, it may be because He wants us to have one who meets His. In the meantime, we have the saints and Doctors of the Church. Not only will they give us wise counsel, so often as we open their writings; they will also support us with their intercession in heaven, and obtain for us graces for which we, of ourselves, would never think of asking. Here are some spiritual counsels of Saint John of Avila. May they be as helpful to you as they have been to me

Trust in God's judgment, and not in your own, since He understands what is best for you, and knows the present and future state of your soul. Do not weary yourself to death with anxiety, for, as the Gospel says : "You cannot with all your taking thought and caring add one cubit to your stature." (Matthew VI. 27.)

Why, then, rely so much on yourself, since God bids you confide in Him? Why struggle so to work out your salvation in your own way, while, after all, God's abundant mercy will avail us far more than our imagined righteousness, when at the last we stand before His judgment?

Close your eyes to all that affrights you and trust in the Wounds of Christ, Who received them for your sake, and you will find rest.

The more hopeless you feel of a remedy for your troubles, because you know not where to look nor what to do for one, the more hopeful is your state. This is because when human counsel and strength fail, God stretches forth His hand, and that is the hour he was waiting for, in which best to show His mercy. This is to show us that the remedy comes not from our own power, but from the loving and gracious will of God.

Therefore the more our misfortunes accumulate, the more ready and prepared our souls are, to receive God's mercy, for the greatness of our misery moves His compassion, and causes Him to show the more pity for us.

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

Let us Fix Our Gaze Upon Christ

By

Father Mark

 on October 7, 2012 6:41 PM |

 

Homily of Pope Benedict XVI
Opening of the 13th Ordinary General Assembly
of the Synod of Bishops
on the New Evangelisation

7 October 2012

Dear Brother Bishops,
Dear brothers and sisters,

Transmission of the Christian Faith

With this solemn concelebration we open the thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme The New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. This theme reflects a programmatic direction for the life of the Church, its members, families, its communities and institutions. And this outline is reinforced by the fact that it coincides with the beginning of the Year of Faith, starting on 11 October, on the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. I give a cordial and grateful welcome to you who have come to be part of the Synodal Assembly, in particular to the Secretary-General of the Synod of Bishops, and to his colleagues. I salute the fraternal delegates of the other churches and ecclesial communities as well as all present, inviting them to accompany in daily prayer the deliberations which will take place over the next three weeks.

Fix Our Gaze Upon the Lord Jesus

The readings for this Sunday's Liturgy of the Word propose to us two principal points of reflection: the first on matrimony, which I will touch shortly; and the second on Jesus Christ, which I will discuss now. We do not have time to comment upon the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews but, at the beginning of this Synodal Assembly, we ought to welcome the invitation to fix our gaze upon the Lord Jesus, "crowned with glory and honour, because of the suffering of death (2:9). The word of God places us before the glorious One who was crucified, so that our whole lives, and in particular the commitment of this Synodal session, will take place in the sight of him and in the light of his mystery. In every time and place, evangelisation always has as its starting and finishing points Jesus Christ, the Son of God (cf. Mk 1:1); and the Crucifix is the supremely distinctive sign of him who announces the Gospel: a sign of love and peace, a call to conversion and reconciliation. My dear Brother Bishops, starting with ourselves, let us fix our gaze upon him and let us be purified by his grace.

Two Radiant Figures, Doctors of the Church

I would now like briefly to examine the new evangelisation, and its relation to ordinary evangelisation and the mission ad Gentes. The Church exists to evangelize. Faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ's command, his disciples went out to the whole world to announce the Good News, spreading Christian communities everywhere. With time, these became well-organized churches with many faithful. At various times in history, divine providence has given birth to a renewed dynamism in Church's evangelizing activity. We need only think of the evangelisation of the Anglo-Saxon peoples or the Slavs, or the transmission of the faith on the continent of America, or the missionary undertakings among the peoples of Africa, Asia and Oceania. It is against this dynamic background that I like to look at the two radiant figures that I have just proclaimed Doctors of the Church, Saint John of Avila and Saint Hildegard of Bingen. Even in our own times, the Holy Spirit has nurtured in the Church a new effort to announce the Good News, a pastoral and spiritual dynamism which found a more universal expression and its most authoritative impulse in the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. Such renewed evangelical dynamism produces a beneficent influence on the two specific "branches" developed by it, that is, on the one hand the Missio ad Gentes or announcement of the Gospel to those who do not yet know Jesus Christ and his message of salvation, and on the other the New Evangelisation, directed principally at those who, though baptized, have drifted away from the Church and live without reference to the Christian life. The Synodal Assembly which opens today is dedicated to this new evangelisation, to help these people encounter the Lord, who alone who fills our existence with deep meaning and peace; and to favour the rediscovery of the faith, that source of grace which brings joy and hope to personal, family and social life. Obviously, such a special focus must not diminish either missionary efforts in the strict sense or the ordinary activity of evangelisation in our Christian communities, as these are three aspects of the one reality of evangelisation which complement and enrich each other.

Link Between the Crisis in Faith
and the Crisis in Marriage

The theme of marriage, found in the Gospel and the first reading, deserves special attention. The message of the word of God may be summed up in the expression found in the Book of Genesis and taken up by Jesus himself: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Gen 2:24; Mk 10:7-8). What does this word say to us today? It seems to me that it invites us to be more aware of a reality, already well known but not fully appreciated: that matrimony is a Gospel in itself, a Good News for the world of today, especially the dechristianized world. The union of a man and a woman, their becoming "one flesh" in charity, in fruitful and indissoluble love, is a sign that speaks of God with a force and an eloquence which in our days has become greater because unfortunately, for various reasons, marriage, in precisely the oldest regions evangelized, is going through a profound crisis. And it is not by chance. Marriage is linked to faith, but not in a general way. Marriage, as a union of faithful and indissoluble love, is based upon the grace that comes from the triune God, who in Christ loved us with a faithful love, even to the Cross. Today we ought to grasp the full truth of this statement, in contrast to the painful reality of many marriages which, unhappily, end badly. There is a clear link between the crisis in faith and the crisis in marriage. And, as the Church has said and witnessed for a long time now, marriage is called to be not only an object but a subject of the new evangelisation. This is already being seen in the many experiences of communities and movements, but its realization is also growing in dioceses and parishes, as shown in the recent World Meeting of Families.

The Saints Are the True Actors in Evangelisation

One of the important ideas of the renewed impulse that the Second Vatican Council gave to evangelisation is that of the universal call to holiness, which in itself concerns all Christians (cf. Lumen Gentium, 39-42). The saints are the true actors in evangelisation in all its expressions. In a special way they are even pioneers and bringers of the new evangelisation: with their intercession and the example of lives attentive to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they show the beauty of the Gospel to those who are indifferent or even hostile, and they invite, as it were tepid believers, to live with the joy of faith, hope and charity, to rediscover the taste for the word of God and for the sacraments, especially for the bread of life, the Eucharist. Holy men and women bloom among the generous missionaries who announce the Good News to non-Christians, in the past in mission countries and now in any place where there are non-Christians. Holiness is not confined by cultural, social, political or religious barriers. Its language, that of love and truth, is understandable to all people of good will and it draws them to Jesus Christ, the inexhaustible source of new life.

John of Avila, Man of God

At this point, let us pause for a moment to appreciate the two saints who today have been added to the elect number of Doctors of the Church. Saint John of Avila lived in the sixteenth century. A profound expert on the sacred Scriptures, he was gifted with an ardent missionary spirit. He knew how to penetrate in a uniquely profound way the mysteries of the redemption worked by Christ for humanity. A man of God, he united constant prayer to apostolic action. He dedicated himself to preaching and to the more frequent practice of the sacraments, concentrating his commitment on improving the formation of candidates for the priesthood, of religious and of lay people, with a view to a fruitful reform of the Church.

Hildegard of Bingen: A Recognized Spiritual Authority

Saint Hildegard of Bingen, an important female figure of the twelfth century, offered her precious contribution to the growth of the Church of her time, employing the gifts received from God and showing herself to be a woman of brilliant intelligence, deep sensitivity and recognized spiritual authority. The Lord granted her a prophetic spirit and fervent capacity to discern the signs of the times. Hildegard nurtured an evident love of creation, and was learned in medicine, poetry and music. Above all, she maintained a great and faithful love for Christ and his Church.

Sin: Obstacle to Evangelisation

This summary of the ideal in Christian life, expressed in the call to holiness, draws us to look with humility at the fragility, even sin, of many Christians, as individuals and communities, which is a great obstacle to evangelisation and to recognizing the force of God that, in faith, meets human weakness. Thus, we cannot speak about the new evangelisation without a sincere desire for conversion. The best path to the new evangelisation is to let ourselves be reconciled with God and with each other (cf. 2 Cor 5:20). Solemnly purified, Christians can regain a legitimate pride in their dignity as children of God, created in his image and redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and they can experience his joy in order to share it with everyone, both near and far.

Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelisation

Dear brothers and sisters, let us entrust the work of the Synod meeting to God, sustained by the communion of saints, invoking in particular the intercession of great evangelizers, among whom, with much affection, we ought to number Blessed Pope John Paul II, whose long pontificate was an example of the new evangelisation. Let us place ourselves under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelisation. With her let us invoke a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that from on high he may illumine the Synodal assembly and make it fruitful for the Church's journey today, in our time. Amen.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 

<< Sunday, October 7, 2012 >>

27th Sunday Ordinary Time

Genesis 2:18-24
Hebrews 2:9-11
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Psalm 128:1-6
Mark 10:2-16

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"Let the children come to Me and do not hinder them. It is to just such as these that the kingdom of God belongs." —Mark 10:14

 

For almost forty years, we have been fighting to protect babies from being killed through abortion. At first, many of us thought we could stop abortion through education and legislation. In time, it became clear that there was more to it. To stop abortion required changing the hearts of people. This was a significant insight, but we found that there was even more to it. We must also fight the devil, for our battle is not against human beings, but against Satan himself (Eph 6:12).

Now we're starting to see that to fight abortion we must also oppose artificial contraception, child abuse, and divorce. Artificial contraception promotes a sinful and irresponsible use of sex. This results in a greater demand for abortion. Those who were abused as children in turn often abuse their own children, unless they let the Lord heal them. The ultimate child abuse is killing a child through abortion. Furthermore, divorce results in more divorces for those divorced and for their children and grandchildren. When divorced from a spouse, we can easily divorce or separate ourselves from other people, even from the most vulnerable people of all, children in the womb.

The longer we try, the more we see how humanly impossible it is for us to stop abortion. Nonetheless, we are confident that abortion will be stopped, "for nothing is impossible with God" (Lk 1:37).

 

Prayer: Father, strip away my apathy so that I may I never divorce myself from even the most painful realities.

Promise: "A man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body." —Gn 2:24

Praise: Praise You, Jesus, King of kings! You have won the victory over sin and death, and You sit at the right hand of the Father (Rv 3:21). Alleluia!

[Salvation]

 

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

The Loving Hand of God’s Providence

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Father Barry O´Toole, LC

Listen to podcast version here.

Mark 10:2-16

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" They replied, "Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." In the house the disciples again questioned him about this. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the master of the universe, and yet you wish to listen to me and guide me. You know all things past, present and future, and yet you respect my freedom to choose you. Holy Trinity, you are completely happy and fulfilled on you own, and yet you have generously brought us into existence. You are our fulfillment. Thank you for the gift of yourself. I offer the littleness of myself in return, knowing you are pleased with what I have to give.

 Petition: Loving Father, help me to be open to your message today.

 1. Man Puts God to the Test: In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees put Christ to the test and call God’s plan into question. How brutally proud we can sometimes become in our relationship with God! Who are we to test God? The Book of Job reminds us that when we test God, it is we who end up being sifted like wheat: “Who is this that obscures divine plans with words of ignorance? Gird up your loins now, like a man; I will question you, and you tell me the answers” (Job 38:1-2)! We can only answer wisely by repeating Job’s response: “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 (Job 40: 4-5). Do I sometimes question God’s providence by complaining, “Lord, why do you make me suffer?”

 2.  Asking Again for Good Measure: The disciples listened to Jesus’ reply about marriage and wondered. They were far more open than the Pharisees to Our Lord’s message, but this point is hard for the disciples to swallow as well. The second time around, Jesus reaffirms his same answer. Whoever divorces and remarries commits adultery. This passage reminds us that the Church bases her teachings on Christ’s own teachings. The Church is the means by which his demanding message reaches us without being watered down. Do I know and value the teaching of the Church as the guardian of Christ’s own words? Do I loyally defend her teachings?

 3. Becoming Like Children: What Jesus likes so much about children is their sincerity, simplicity and purity. Instead of doubting or questioning God’s providence, they joyfully accept everything with a simple trust. Do I have these same attitudes in my dealings with my heavenly Father? Have I learned to discover the loving hand of his providence in every event and circumstance of my life? Do I thank him for all of the graces he lavishes upon me every day? Perhaps I have a long path to walk before I achieve this spiritual childhood.

 Conversation with Christ: Lord, today I want to be more humble by not setting myself up as a judge of your decisions, but by simply accepting all the circumstances you have permitted throughout my life. Please, walk with me throughout this journey and protect me from the enemies that might besiege me. I want only to be your child.

 Resolution: I will stop and thank God at least once today for all of the graces I have received from his loving providence.