Posted on 06/14/2002 2:22:15 PM PDT by Salvation
Reading I
1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-16
At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter.
But the word of the Lord came to him,
"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord;
the Lord will be passing by."
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the Lord
but the Lord was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake
but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire
but the Lord was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
A voice said to him, "Elijah, why are you here?"
He replied, "I have been most zealous for the Lord,
the God of hosts.
But the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant,
torn down your altars,
and put your prophets to the sword.
I alone am left, and they seek to take my life."
The Lord said to him,
"Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus.
When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.
Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel,
and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah,
as prophet to succeed you."
Responsorial Psalm
27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14
R. (8b) I long to see your face, O Lord.
Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
Your presence, O Lord, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
Gospel
Mt 5:27-32
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
"It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
That was over 15 yrs. ago. I no longer go into a tailspin over some problem, flaw, or whatever.
Thank you, Jesus, and thank you, Blessed Mother, for obtaining this great favor for me..
Please go buy the book "On Being Catholic" by Thomas Howard. You'll read this book and realize that there is nowhere else to go except the Catholic Church.
I'd be happy to send you my copy or send you one through Amazon.com.
Second off, please don't believe what the press/radio/tv is saying about this bill - read it yourself or try to catch Bishop Gregory in his press conference going over the bill point by point - the press is reporting something that is unrecognizeble from the actual bill passed.
If you are worried that the Bishops did not punish themselves, don't. They could not. Just like they could not (much as I prayed for them to) address the bad teaching and homosexuality in the priesthood. This meeting was SOLEY to address the victims and the offending, evil priests.
The other issues will be addressed, I know it in my heart. Look who is on the National Committee - Bill Bennett and Frank Keating! They are wonderful, orthodox Catholics who love the Church that Jesus left us - I think it is a blessing that they were chosen. Good orthodox Catholics.
Take heart. There is no other Church, you know that. Watch the canonization of Padre Pio this weekend. Read his life story. Read about St. Theresa the Little Flower. Angelique, there is no where else. Look up, beyond the Bishops and the Cardinals.
That was over 15 yrs. ago. I no longer go into a tailspin over some problem, flaw, or whatever.
Thank you, Jesus, and thank you, Blessed Mother, for obtaining this great favor for me..
I will pray for Megan.
I will also pray for you, Angelique. Remember, the Church is divine and it is all too human. And Our Lady warned at LaSalette (look up her message in Google.com) that things in the Church will not be peaches and cream--that we will be betrayed by those consecrated to her Son). Also, look up Catholic Family News. The lead story this month is how St. Peter Damian spelled it out in startingly clear and modern language how bad a problem (and how unadressed) homosexuality was over 1000 yrs. ago.
Despondency is a tactic of the devil.
Fight the good fight! "Lord, you have the words of eternal life. Where would we turn?" (my recollection of Peter's reply to Jesus at the end of John:6.)
You speak the truth; the hierarchy and those called to a conscecrated life are members of the Catholic Church ALONG with us!
Secondly, you wrote:
feel especially sad for children who watch the evening news and have come to equate Catholic priests with monsters. As adults we have some perspective, but children may come to question Catholicism as a whole.
Some of the Bishops today in their discussion were very concerned for their priests also. You are so right about parents having a vital input in the interpretation of all these events. NOT the schools or the media!
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