[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: October 12, 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

• Fillet of Flounder in Tomato Sauce
• Oven-Fried Fish
• Tartare Sauce

ACTIVITIES

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

PRAYERS

• Blessing of Missionaries Sent to Proclaim the Gospel

LIBRARY

• Ground Plan for Catholic Reading | Frank J. Sheed
• The Antiquity of the Doctrine of Transubstantiation | W. R. Carson
• The Church’s Infallible and Immutable Doctrine on Contraception Stands Amid Growing Opposition | Raymond E. Drake
• The Jesuits | Alban Goodier

Ordinary Time: October 12th

Friday of the Twenty-Seventh Week of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: St. Wilfrid (Hist)

St. Wilfrid, mentioned in the Roman Martyology, was born in Northumbria and studied at Lindisfarne and Canterbury. Accompanying St. Benedict, Bishop to Rome, he tarried for a whole year at Lyons with St. Delphinus, who tried to make him marry his niece. Named Bishop of York, he came to France to receive episcopal consecration and again remained for two years. Wilfrid was to suffer from the lack of obedience shown by his fellow citizens toward the Apostolic See. The end of his life was almost exclusively devoted to the care of the monasteries he had founded.

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St. Wilfrid
St. Wilfrid was a Northumbrian of noble birth. He was educated at Lindisfarne, and became infected with a love both for learning and the monastic life. When quite a young man he traveled to Canterbury and then to Rome. On his return, he founded monasteries at Ripon and Stamford, and became prominent as the successful protagonist of the Roman customs at the Synod of Whitby, 664 A.D.

He was then made Bishop of York, and went to France to be consecrated. In his absence Chad was consecrated and made Bishop of York in his place, and held the see for four years. During this time Wilfrid founded a monastery at Oundle and acted as bishop in Mercia. He was then installed at York by Archbishop Theodore, and ruled the see for nine years. He also founded the Abbey of Hexham. He managed to gain the ill-will of Egfrith, King of Northumbria, and Archbishop Theodore, who divided his diocese in four parts without his knowledge or consent.

He journeyed to Rome, and his appeal was successful, but on his return to Northumbria he was accused of having forged the pope's bull, and was thrown into prison. After his release he went to Sussex, and for five years preached the Gospel to its pagan inhabitants. When he went there the country was suffering from famine, the result of three years' drought, and its inhabitants were drowning themselves in despair. Wilfrid gained their goodwill by teaching them to fish.

"By this benefit the bishop gained the affections of them all, and they began more readily to hope for heavenly blessings, since by his help they had already received those which are temporal." His labors seem to have been abundantly successful, and he added to his success by establishing a monastery at Selsey.

Archbishop Theodore, now on his deathbed, became reconciled to Wilfrid, and even wished to nominate him as his successor in the See of Canterbury. This, however, Wilfrid refused, but used Theodore's good offices to secure his return to Northumbria.

After a few years his enemies seem to have made his position so difficult that he retired to Mercia, and when St. Chad died he succeeded to his position as Bishop of Lichfield, and labored in that diocese for ten years. He was recalled to be tried by a Northumbrian council of nobles and bishops, was once more condemned, and once more appealed to Rome. Once again his appeal was successful, and this time the Roman judgment was accepted in Northumbria.

The few remaining years of his life were spent in comparative retirement, principally at Hexham and Ripon. His last public act was the consecration of Evesham Abbey; he died on his way home at his monastery at Oundle in the year 709, and was buried at Ripon.

Wilfrid was one of the most versatile and accomplished men of his own or any other age. He was a great builder, a lover of learning, and a musician; he knew how to create splendid effects through art and through religious ceremonial. He was also a founder and a builder in men as well as stones. He was, in fact, a great creative artist.

Patron: Ripon, England.

Symbols: Fallen idols; fish; font; pallium and crosier; model of a cathedral; ship and staff.

Things to Do:

• Read more about St. Wilfrid and the Monastery at Ripon.

• Visit this In Search of St. Wilfrid, an Anglican site, for a collection of articles about St. Wilfrid which thoroughly explores his life and times. (Don't forget St. Wilfrid predates Henry VIII and therefore all the information is about the Catholic Church.)

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 11:15-26

27th Week in Ordinary Time

“The kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Luke 11:20)

When Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were developing the rev­olutionary Apple computer, they approached several established companies for support, but none would help him. Surely these com­panies regretted it later when Apple became one of the most success­ful companies in history. But Jobs didn’t let the rejection bother him. “We’re gambling on our vision,” he once said, “and we would rather do that than make ‘me too’ products. Let some other companies do that. For us, it’s always the next dream.”

Jesus also faced rejection from members of the religious establish­ment of his day, and for a similar reason. He wasn’t a me-too rabbi following the status quo. He had come to tell his people about God’s next dream for them. It was the dream of a life filled with the Spirit. It was a dream of intimacy with God—intimacy experienced both in corporate worship and within each person’s heart. It was a dream of restoration, healing, and redemption.

God has dreams for us today as well. He wants all of us to know how freeing and fulfilling life in his kingdom is. Long before Jesus came, he made a promise that is just as fresh today: “See, I am doing some­thing new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19). Our Father is always creating “some­thing new,” both in our hearts and in the world around us.

What is Jesus’ next dream for you? One way to answer this ques­tion is to sit down with a pen and paper and try to write out all the dreams you have in your heart right now. As you write, be careful not to disqualify any of them, no mat­ter how far-fetched or absurd they sound. Then sit with this list for a bit, and see if any of them strike a chord in your heart. How might the Lord want to convert this dream into a reality that gives him glory and serves his Church?

Don’t be afraid to dream big. Maybe you will be key in overcom­ing the scourge of abortion. Maybe you will play a role in solving world hunger. You’ll never know if you don’t set your dreams free! God has wonderful plans for you!

“Holy Spirit, open my mind and my heart to your dreams and goals for my life. I want to be pleasing to you!”

Galatians 3:7-14, Psalm: 111:1-6