Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus rebukes James and John for their desire for vengeance. We are walking with Jesus and his disciples as they make their way to Jerusalem. As they pass through Samaria, they are refused hospitality, for their destination is Jerusalem, and this annoys the Samaritans. Bothersome? Stupid? Racist? Sure, all of those things. As a result, James and John (the sons of thunder) cry out: “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Can you hear echoes of this cry up and down the ages? Whenever people have been unjustly treated, excluded, looked down upon, they experience, naturally enough, feelings of hatred and a desire to get back. Correctly enough, they will say that their family or their race or their country was offended, and so they, with justification, react.
But Jesus turns only to rebuke them. Why? Because following him and his way of nonviolence is more important than race or country or ethnic group. Our feelings for him have to go beyond even our justified feelings for these good things.
Holines brings us to life. It refines every human ability. Holiness doesn't dampen our emotions; it elevates them. Those who respond to God's call to holiness are the most joyful people in history. They have a richer, more abundant experience of life, & they love more deeply than most people can ever imagine. They enjoy life, all of life. Even in the midst of suffering they are able to maintain a peace & a joy that are independent of the happenings & circumstances surrounding them. Holiness doesn't stifle us; it sets us free. The surest signs of holiness are not how often a person goes to church, how many hours he spends in prayer, what good spiritual books he had read, or even the number of good works he performs. The surest sign of holiness are an insatiable desire to become all God created us to be, an unwavering commitment to the will of God, & an unquenchable concern for unholy people. Living a holy life means letting our decisions be guided by the Holy Spirit. It means allowing each moment to be all it can be.†
"Remember how the first Christians, most of them simple & humble people, suffering the most cruel persecutions, were successful in spreading Christ's message to all part of the empire. Their only weapons were prayer, the Gospel, & the Cross."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)
"I will always have to stay little to be worthy of His glances, but I'll grow in virtue under the brightness of this star of Heaven."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"The Father loves the Son & the Son loves the Father. Love is not in one alone; love is not in the other. The love that we have for one another is not just in me & not just in you. Love is always a bond between two or among several. That is why even lovers will speak of our love, something outside of the lovers themselves. So love is not in the Father, love is not in the Son, love is the mysterious bond uniting both. Because we are here dealing with the infinite, that divine love is so deep, so profound that it cannot express itself by canticles, words, or embraces. It can express itself only by that which signifies the fullness arid exhaustion of all giving, namely, a sigh. Something that’s too deep for words. That is why the bond of love between the Father & the Son is called the Holy Breath, the Holy Spirit. As the three angles of the triangle do not make three triangles, but one, so there are three Persons or three relationships in God, but only one God."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
This is a liturgical feast in honor of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles St. Peter & St. Paul. The celebration is of ancient origin, the date selected being the anniversary of either their death[s] or the translation of their relics.Quoth Minute Meditations from the Popes:
Lord Jesus, You called St. Peter by the Sea of Galilee & St. Paul on the road to Damascus. Call me again & entrust Your sacred mission into my hands.Scripture of the Day
Friends, today’s Gospel spells out the importance of Peter’s confession. For it is upon this inspired confession that the Church is built. Not, mind you, on popular opinion, which is shifting and indecisive, and not on personal holiness, which is all too rare. It is built upon the inspired authority of Peter—and I say, "thank God!"Video reflection by Marc DelMonico, Ph.D.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
We make this troubling and extraordinary claim that it is through a special charism of the Spirit that Peter and his successors govern the Church. Now, I realize that I have many Protestant readers and that this text has been, between Catholics and Protestants, a stumbling block. Let me clarify what is and is not at stake here.
What is the focus of Peter’s confession? It has to do with who Jesus is. This is the rock upon which the Church is built. We don’t say for a moment that all of Peter’s practical decisions are right, that everything he says is right. But we are saying that he is right about who Jesus is: a man who is also the Son of the living God. And this is the source and ground of the whole operation.
"Neither success nor failure must ever cause you to forget your vocation as servant. Allow the Lord to grant growth when & how He chooses. At the same time, imitate the Apostle Paul who knew how to suffer want & to live in abundance, ready for anything."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)
"What is the Mass? The Mass is a drama; it's not a tragedy because there's a Resurrection. In every great drama there is first of all the conception of it strong in the mind of the artist. Second, there are long rehearsals, the choosing of characters & types; third, there is opening night; & fourth, there are road companies. The drama of the Mass was conceived in the mind of the eternal dramatist, for the Lamb was slain from the beginning of the world. Then there were the rehearsals & the types & the choosing of characters: Paschal lamb, the serpent, & the many other instances & prototypes of sacrifice in the Old Testament. Then came the opening night, the Last Supper, which looked forward to the cross. And then the Lord sent out His road companies, His priests: 'Do this in memory of Me.' Same action, same words, same drama, only different characters pronouncing the lines. When, therefore, we begin the Mass, we are reaching back to the cross of Calvary & lifting it out of its rocks & planting it right down here in our midst. Every time a Mass is offered, Calvary is represented somewhere on earth."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
Roman Catholic devotions which takes the heart of the resurrected Body as the representation of the love by Jesus Christ God, which is "His heart, pierced on the Cross," & "in the texts of the New Testament is revealed to us as God's boundless & passionate love for mankind."Scripture of the Day
Friends, one feature of today’s Gospel passage is the craziness of the shepherd: “What man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine and go after the lost one until he finds it?” Well, the implied answer is “No one.” Who would take that great a risk, putting the ninety-nine in danger to find the one? It’s just bad economics. Why would God fret over one little soul? Why would he bother?pazzo d’amore (crazy in love). God is as crazy for you as if you were the only one in the world.Video reflection by the Reverend Pat O'Brien: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Well, it’s his nature. It’s what he does. As Catherine of Siena put it, he is
"God's heart calls to our hearts, inviting us to come out of ourselves, to forsake our human certainties, to trust in Him, & by following His example, to make ourselves a gift of unbounded love."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope Benedict XVI (born 1927, reigned 2005-2013)
"Our Lord does not come down from Heaven every day to lie in a golden ciborium. He comes to find another heaven which is infinitely dearer to Him—the heaven of our souls."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"If you are submerged in the waters of infidelity & inconstancy, plunge yourself into the fathomless deep of the Sacred Heart. Its stability & steadfastness will teach you to be faithful to Him… as He has ever been in His love for us."
—St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690, feast day: 16 October)
He was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence & power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively & was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies.'Tis also the festival of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (A.K.A. Our Lady of Perpetual Succor): Madonna-link & Wikipedia-link.
Friends, today’s Gospel asks how we apply the Lord’s teaching. "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse." This is the heart of it: if you are rooted in God, then you can withstand anything, precisely because you are linked to that power which is creating the cosmos. You will be blessed at the deepest place, and nothing can finally touch you.Video reflection by the Reverend John Crossin, O.S.F.S.: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
But the one who does not take Jesus’ words to heart "will be like the fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined." When the inevitable trials come, the life built on pleasure, money, power, or fame will give way.
So the question is a simple one: Where do you stand? How goes it with your heart? On what, precisely, is the whole of your life built?
"Our religion, which is truth, is Divine reality in human history. It cannot be discovered or invented. It is received &, ancient though it is, it is always alive, always new."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 29 May)
"t is interesting to make a comparison between Peter & Judas. Our Lord warned both that they would fail. They both failed. They both denied or betrayed the Lord. They both repented. But the difference in the word repent is that Judas repented unto himself & Peter repented unto the Lord. They were the same up to that point. St. Paul, therefore, says there were two kinds of sorrow, the sorrow of the world & the sorrow of true faith. Judas no longer had any hope, having refused to return to the Savior. He took a rope & went out to some rocky ground, we know not where it was. He walked over the rocky ground, & those rocks seemed just as hard & cruel as his own heart, & the limb of every tree seemed like a pointing finger. Traitor, traitor, traitor. And the knot in every tree seemed like an accusing eye. And he hanged himself. And as the Acts of the Apostles tells us, 'His bowels burst asunder.' And he went to his own place. That is all."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus tell us that a tree is known by its fruits. In the fifth chapter of his letter to the Galatians, Paul makes this very specific. He tells us that the fruits of the Holy Spirit are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,” implying that the Spirit’s presence in one’s life can be read from its radiance in these soul-expanding qualities.magna anima (great soul), which stands in contradistinction to the pusilla anima (the cramped soul) of the sinner. Thus, love is willing the good of the other as other; joy is self-diffusive; patience bears with the troublesome; kindness makes the other gentle; self-control restricts the havoc that the ego can cause; etc.
All of Paul’s “fruits of the Holy Spirit” are marks of an outward-looking, expansive
"Jesus became a baby, He became poor, He became a victim, so that no one might feel that He was above or distant; He placed Himself at the feet of all. Jesus is for all, He belongs to all, & indeed to each of us individually."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 29 May)
"Jesus, how tenderly & gently You lead my soul!"Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"There resides in us the raw material for living with & by the Spirit of God. Why didn't our Lord remain on earth? There could have been many advantages. We could have been thrilled by the majesty of His bearing, awed by His presence & His words. Yet He said: “It is better for you that I go. For if I go not, the Spirit will not come to you”—the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will not come. If Jesus had remained on earth, He would always be outside of us, like an example to be copied, like a model outside of an artist. If He left & sent His Spirit, then He would be a veritable life to be lived. So Christ sends His Spirit to us."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus warns, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.”Video reflection by Father Jack Ledwon: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
A question that people have been asking from time immemorial is this: “Will only a few people be saved?” Heaven, hell, salvation, damnation—who will be in and who will be out?
We have remained, understandably enough, fascinated with these issues and questions for a long time. But the official answer of the Church is that we don’t know. We are clearly warned about the real possibility of damnation. We do indeed know that there are many in heaven, for the saints are formally declared to be so. But there are no anti-saints in the Church; there is no one whom the Church has formally declared to be a denizen of hell.
Therefore, without succumbing for a moment to anything-goes presumption, we are permitted to hope that all people might be saved. Indeed, St. Paul writes to Timothy: “God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
So pray, hope, and strive to enter through the narrow gate.
"The history of the human race in the world is not a procession of blind forces. It is a marvelous & vital working out of the actual history of the Divine Word."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope Venerable Pius XII (1876-1958)
"How sweet is the way of love!"Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"The descent of the Holy Spirit on our Lord in the Jordan had a double effect. First, it prepared Him for combat, for battle. This is what the gospel states: 'Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit & by the Spirit He was led out into the wilderness where He remained forty days, tempted by the devil.' Just as soon as He received the Holy Spirit, He entered into the battlefield, into the conflict with Satan, who offered Him the three easy ways from the cross. The Holy Spirit did something else. The Spirit not only prepared Jesus for combat, but also prepared Him for preaching the kingdom of God. When our Lord, therefore, appeared at Nazareth, He said, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; He has anointed Me, sent Me out to preach the gospel to the poor, to restore the broken-hearted, to bid the prisoners go free, & the blind to have sight, to set the oppressed at liberty, to proclaim a year when men find acceptance in the Lord.' Now after our Lord had received the Spirit & fulfilled these two missions, He instituted a sacrament, the Sacrament of Confirmation, by which this power & energy & strength of being a soldier of Christ & witness to Christ & the kingdom of God passes into our souls."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
Christians have long interpreted the life of John the Baptist as a preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, & the circumstances of his birth, as recorded in the New testament, are miraculous. John's pivotal place in the gospel is seen in the emphasis Luke gives to the announcement of his birth & the event itself, both set in prominent parallel to the same occurrences int he life of Jesus.Scripture of the Day
Friends, today’s Gospel celebrates the birth of John the Baptist. I think it’s fair to say that you cannot really understand Jesus without understanding John, which is precisely why all four Evangelists tell the story of the Baptist as a kind of overture to the story of Jesus.the sacrifice, which will sum up, complete, and perfect the temple. Moreover, behold the Passover lamb, who sums up the whole meaning of that event and brings it to fulfillment.
John did not draw attention to himself. Rather, he presented himself as a preparation, a forerunner, a prophet preparing the way of the Lord. He was summing up much of Israelite history, but stressing that this history was open-ended, unfinished.
And therefore, how powerful it was when, upon spying Jesus coming to be baptized, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God." No first-century Israelite would have missed the meaning of that: behold the one who has come to be sacrificed. Behold
"An unexpected child, St. John the Baptist, called out to the people. He told them to prepare for a heavenly announcement, an invitation to universal rebirth."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John XXIII (1881-1963, feast day: 11 October)
"This fire from heaven—You have placed it in my soul & I, too, want to spread its passion."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"In the Sacrament of Confirmation, we are brought into God’s spiritual army & into the lay priesthood of believers. Confirmation, like any other sacrament, is modeled upon the life of our Lord. Jesus had a double priestly anointing, corresponding to two aspects of His life. First was the Incarnation; that made Him capable of being a victim for our sins. Because in the Incarnation He took upon Himself a body, the human nature with which He could suffer, & therefore redeem us from our sins. As God, He could not suffer, but as man He could. This first aspect of the life of our Blessed Lord culminated in His Passion & death & Resurrection. Now there was another aspect of His life, a second anointing as it were, & that was the coming of the Holy Spirit in the Jordan. That ordained Him for the mission of preaching the apostolate, & this reached its culmination, as far as the Church was concerned, in Pentecost."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
Liturgical solemnity celebrating the real presence of the body & blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God, in the elements of the Eucharist—known as transubstantiation.Wikipedia-link Real Presence, Wikipedia-link Body of Christ, Wikipedia-link Eucharist, & Wikipedia-link Transubstantiation
Friends, our Gospel today tells about the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus instructs the crowd to recline, and they do so on the grass. Taking the loaves and dried fish, Jesus makes a meal that satisfies the enormous crowd. They are hungry, tired, worn out from their exertions, and Jesus gives them sustenance for the day.Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
For Thomas Aquinas, the great metaphor for the Eucharist is sustenance, food for the journey. The Eucharist is daily food, sustenance for the journey, nourishment to get us through the day to day. How effective would we be if we never ate, or ate only on special occasions and in a festive environment? Not very. So, in the spiritual life, we must eat and drink or we will not have strength.
Is this just meant in some vague symbolic way? No, rather in a vividly analogical way. For just as the body needs physical nourishment, the spirit needs spiritual nourishment, and there is no getting around this law.
“Well, it’s no big deal if I stay away from Mass and refrain from receiving Communion.” Think again!
Holiness & renewal are inseparably linked. Where there is holiness the Church has always thrived. If the Church is not thriving there is one primary reason for that… & when you & I begin to take God's call to live holy lives seriously, the Church will begin to thrive in new & exciting ways. Holiness is compatible with every state in life. Married people are called to live holy lives just as much as monks & nuns. Sexual intimacy is a profound gift from God & an instrument of holiness. The riches of this world have value only inasmuch as they help us fulfill our essential purpose. If we own them, they can be powerful tools that help us live holy lives. If they own us, they will prevent us from becoming the-best-version-of-ourselves. The rich are called to live holy lives by using their wealth in productive ways that foster their own growth & the growth of others. Material possesions, marriage & sexual intimacy, work, money, & positions of authority are just some of the opportunities life presents to live holy lives.†
"Without illusions, without ideological utopias, we walk the streets of the world, bringing within us the Body of the Lord, like the Virgin Mary in the mystery of the Visitation."
—Pope Benedict XVI (born 1927, reigned 2005-2013)
"My one thought, Jesus, is to love You."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the living heart of each of our parishes."
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 29 May)
Paulinus is traditionally credited with the introduction of bells to Christian worship & helped resolve the disputed election of Pope [St.] Boniface I [25 October].'Tis also the Optional Memorial of Saints John Fisher, Bishop, & Thomas More, Martyrs (died 1535), Bishop of Rochester, martyred in the reign of the English king Henry VIII: Martyr-link Juliett Foxtrot ūnus, Martyr-link Juliett Foxtrot duo, & Wikipedia-link Juliett Foxtrot; Martyr-link Tango Mike ūnus, Martyr-link Tango Mike duo, & Wikipedia-link Tango Mike; & Diocese-link Rochester & Wikipedia-link Rochester.
Fisher was executed by order of Henry VIII during the English Reformation for refusing to accept the king as Supreme Head of the Church of England & for upholding the Roman Catholic Church's doctrine of papal supremacy.Wikipedia-link Reformation
Thomas was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, & noted Renaissance humanist, [imprisoned for] refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as Supreme Head of the Church of England & the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. After refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy, he was convicted of treason & executed.Wikipedia-link Oath
Friends, our Gospel today calls us to entrust our lives completely to God. How often the Bible compels us to meditate on the meaning of faith! We might say that the Scriptures rest upon faith, and that they remain inspired at every turn by the spirit of faith.Video reflection by Marc DelMonico, Ph.D.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Paul Tillich said that “faith” is the most misunderstood word in the religious vocabulary, and I’ve always felt that he’s right about that. What is faith? Faith is an attitude of trust in the presence of God. Faith is openness to what God will reveal, do, and invite. It should be obvious that in dealing with the infinite, all-powerful person who is God, we are never in control.
This is precisely what we see in the lives of the saints: in Mother Teresa moving into the worst slum in the world in an attitude of trust; in Francis of Assisi just abandoning everything and living for God; in Rose Hawthorne deciding to take cancer sufferers into her own home; in Antony leaving everything behind and going into the desert; in Maximilian Kolbe saying, “I’m a Catholic priest; take me in his place.”
Do not worry, and depend on God for everything. Have faith!
"In the present-day confusion of the notion of good & evil, licit & illicit, just & unjust, in the demoralizing spread of crime & immorality, we will do well to preserve & deepen the sense of natural law. This means the sense of justice, of integrity, & of the good."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 29 May)
"Jesus bore with me patiently, for He does not unfold everything at once to the soul. He gives His light little by little."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"I die the king's good servant, but God's first."
—St. Thomas More (1478-1535, feast day: 22 June)
"Time will play on you,
Best get illuminated to the view.
"Close doors and batten down,
Pressure's building, can you hear the sound?
Waking up to a different dawn,
Get ready for the perfect storm!
Ring bells and batten down,
Pressure's building, can you hear the sound?
Waking up to a different dawn,
Get ready for the perfect storm…"
"Number one producer,
He's a melody seducer,
There's a method in the madness plan…"
He was an Italian aristocrat who became a member of the Society of Jesus. While still a student at the Roman College, he died as a result of caring for the victims of a serious epidemic.'Tis also the festival of Saint Martin of Tongres, Bishop (died circa 350), seventh (VIII) Bishop of Tongeren: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Tongeren.
Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus tells his disciples not to store up treasures for themselves on earth, but to store up treasures in heaven, "where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal."ex nihilo, it carries with it the heritage of nonbeing. There is a kind of penumbra or shadow of nothingness that haunts every finite thing.
St. Augustine once said that since every creature is made
"To construct this world you have to undertake great tasks. If you want your legitimate ideals to be meaningful & not halfhearted, beginning now you must be daring, patient, & sincere with yourselves. You must also have an unshakeable faith."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)
"What mysteries we shall one day see unveiled!"Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"Jesus Christ is very much like the light of the sun. The sun is so very bright that if we are to understand its inner beauty, we have to shoot that sunlight through a prism, & when we do, it splits up into the seven rays of the spectrum. And so Our Blessed Lord, having a life that is infinitely rich, shoots this divine light through the prism of the Church & it splits up, not into the seven rays of the spectrum, but into the seven sacraments of the Church."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)