Friday, July 24, 2015

Project BLACK MAMBA

Today is the optional memorial of Saint Sharbel Makhluf, Priest, O.L.M. (1828-1898): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Quoth the bulletin:
St. Sharbel is called the second St. Anthony of the Desert, the Perfume of Lebanon, the first Confessor of the East to be raised to the Altars according to the actual procedure of the Catholic Church, the honor of our Aramaic Antiochian Church, & the model of spiritual values & renewal. Sharbel is like a Cedar of Lebanon standing in eternal prayer, on top of a mountain.
Scripture of the Day
Personal Reading
The Book of Sirach, chapter fifteen.
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter eleven.

Mass Readings
The Book of Exodus, chapter twenty, verses one thru seventeen;
Psalm Nineteen, verses eight thru eleven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter thirteen, verses eighteen thru twenty-three.

The Queue
This paragraph from Pope Francis—Evangelli Gaudium, § 135—caught my attention given the ongoing discernment of my vocation.
Let us now look at preaching within the liturgy, which calls for serious consideration by pastors. I will dwell in particular, & even somewhat meticulously, on the homily & its preparation, since so many concerns have been expressed about this important ministry & we simply cannot ignore them. The homily is the touchstone for judging a pastor's closeness & ability to communicate to his people. We know that the faithful attach great importance to it, & that both they & their ordained ministers suffer because of homilies: the laity from having to listen to them & the clergy from having to preach them! It is sad that this is the case. The homily can actually be an intense & happy experience of the spirit, a consoling encounter with God's word, a constant source of renewal & growth.
That brought to mind the Reverend Cleophus James's sermon from The Blues Brothers, which transitioned directly into a performance of "The Old Landmark."



Bonus! Song of the Day
James Brown, "The Old Landmark" from The Blues Brothers: Original Soundtrack Recording (Mike Papa Whiskey)

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