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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time

Ignatian Spirituality: Set the World Ablaze
predmore.blogspot.com


Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 4, 2015
Genesis 2:19-24; Psalm 128; Hebrews 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16

            We are at a junction in Mark’s Gospel where Jesus is talking about the ethics of discipleship before he makes his final journey to Jerusalem. The coming weeks will focus on parables that explain the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is giving final instructions to his disciples and he is not avoiding the hard questions the community throws at them. Today’s question is about when divorce is lawful. The response by Jesus in this passage is rather strict, while absolute prohibition of divorce is relaxed elsewhere in the New Testament.

            Since the Vatican is opening its Synod on Family Issues this week, it is important for us to listen to the words of the Pope during his visit to the U.S. In Philadelphia, the Pope said, “Difficulties must not discourage us. Quite the opposite. Love is something we learn; love is something we live; love grows as it is forged by the concrete situations which each particular family experience… This is a great legacy that we can give to our children, a very good lesson. We make mistakes, yes; we have problems, yes. But we know that it is not really what counts. We know that mistakes, problems, and conflicts are opportunities to draw closer to others, to draw closer to God.” He concluded his speech by saying, “Never let the day end without making peace,” and we know that peacemakers are blessed by God.

            Perhaps the most important thing that parents can do for one another is to love each other first and strengthen the most loving relationship they have. Affection to the children is natural, but the relationship of the parents needs space to grow. The children will benefit as they watch their parents respect, honor, and care for one another. Spouses and partners have to spend time with one another in recreation and private time. As this relationship blossoms, the children will develop healthy models of entering into future friendships.

Love has to be at the center of all relationships and love is daily, hard work. Every morning we wake up, we have to choose to love and then let our loving actions be known to those around us. Jesus understands that we can all too easily slip into the hardness of our hearts. He points out that God’s presence is that which unites us in love and when we remain in love, God gives us the strength and the grace to help love survive, however fragile and wounded it may be. The Pope asked, “What did God do before God created the world? God loved the world into existence.” Therefore, love is the foundation of all we do. Our daily choice to love has to inform every further decision we make. The Pope said, “Difficulties are overcome with love. Hatred is not capable of doing away with difficulties. A division of hearts cannot overcome difficulty. Only love is able to overcome. Love is about celebration. Love is joy. Love is moving forward.” Love, he says, creates the family, and “the family is like a factory of hope, a factory of resurrection.”

Love has to do its work. Love is effective, but not all relationships in which love once existed need to continue. A person in an abusive, emotionally manipulated, physically unsafe relationship may need to get out quickly. Love of self may be more important in these cases than love of the one who bullies you. Our community of faith will help you find safety and will help you navigate through your choices. They will help you love yourself rightly once again. Love builds up and nourishes; it provides dignity and respect to every person; it gives freedom with honor. Each relationship you have requires hard work on your part, and not all relationships are equally healthy. It is crucial to work on our relationship to our selves and our friendship with God. We do that through prayer, listening to the invitations and prompts God provides us, and through spiritual conversations with those who truly care for the good of your soul.

Find out how love needs to be nurtured in your life. Give all your energy to seeking and possessing this love. Set your heart’s desires upon finding this gracious love that God offers. You will find it and it will be all that you need to live in peace and grace. When you find love, you always find God.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: 
·      Monday: (Jonah 1) The Lord set Jonah for the great city of Nineveh, but Jonah ran away to Tarshish. Jonah was accused of bringing misfortune to the sailors so they tossed him into the sea where he was swallowed by a large fish where he remained for three days before being spewed upon the shore.
·      Tuesday: (Jonah 3) God again gives Jonah the same mission. As his message reaches the royal court, the King of Nineveh repents and he follows the Lords commands. God acquiesces and spares the mighty city.
·      Wednesday: (Jonah 4) Jonah became angry that God did not carry out the evil he intended against Nineveh. Through an analogy of a plant with worms, God showed Jonah that he need not be concerned over Nineveh.
·      Thursday: (Malachi 3) The Lord said the people defiled him in word, but the people did not understand how they did so. They did not see the distinction between the just and the wicked, but the Lord’s Day will come to set everything aright.  
·      Friday (Joel 1) Weep, O priests and ministers of the altar. The day is near for the day of the Lord. Blow the trumpet in Zion.
·      Saturday (Joe 4) The signs abound that the Day of the Lord is near. The harvest is ripe. The Lord roars from Zion and you shall see God on the holy mountain.

Gospel: 
·      Monday: (Luke 10) A scholar of the law asked Jesus about eternal life. He then asked, “Who is my neighbor?” to which Jesus replied, “The one who does mercy.”
·      Tuesday: (Luke 10) Jesus entered a village where Martha welcomed him. Her sister, Mary, attended to the words of Jesus while Martha did all the work.
·      Wednesday (Luke 11) The disciples said to Jesus, “Teach us to pray.” He gave them words that become known as the Lord’s Prayer.
·      Thursday (Luke 11) Jesus asks, “What do friends do for one another?” They give what is good to their friend, just as the Father will do for those who ask.
·      Friday (Luke 11 ) When Jesus drove out demons, people asked about the source of his authority. Jesus explained that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Therefore, the good he is doing comes from a holy place.
·      Saturday (Luke 11) A woman from the crowd called out, “Blessed is the womb that carried and nursed you.” Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Saints of the Week

October 4: Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) was from the wealthy Bernardone family who sold silk cloths. After serving as soldier as a prisoner of war, Francis chose to serve God and the poor. He felt called to repair God's house, which he thought was a church. His father was angry that he used family money so he disinherited him. He began to preach repentance and recruited others to his way of life. His order is known for poverty, simplicity, humble service, and delighting in creation.

October 6: Bruno, priest (1030-1101), became a professor at Rheims and diocesan chancellor. He gave up his riches and began to live as a hermit with six other men. They had disdain for the rampant clerical corruption. The bishop of Grenoble gave them land in the Chartreuse mountains and they began the first Carthusian monastery. After serving in Rome for a few years, Bruno was given permission to found a second monastery in Calabria.

October 7: Our Lady of the Rosary recalls the events in 1571 of the Christian naval victory over the Turks at Lepanto near Corinth. Victory was credited to Mary as confraternities prayed the rosary for her intercession.

October 9: Denis, bishop and martyr, and companion martyrs (d. 258), was the first bishop of Paris. He died during the Decian persecutions by beheading at Montmarte, the highest hill in the city. Lore has it that he picked up his head after the beheading and walked six miles while giving a sermon. Denis was sent to Paris to bring Christianity and was thereby called, “The apostle to the Gauls.”

October 9: John Leonardi (1542-1609), was a pharmacist’s assistant before studying for the priesthood. He became interested in the reforms of the Council of Trent and gathered laymen around him to work in prisons and hospitals. He contracted the plague while ministering to those who were sick. He founded the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God to care for the sick.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Oct 4, 1820. In Rome, great troubles arose before and during the Twentieth General Congregation, caused by Fr. Petrucci's intrigues. He sought to wreck the Society and was deposed from his office as Vicar General, though supported by Cardinal della Genga (afterwards Leo XII).
·      Oct 5, 1981. In a letter to Father General Arrupe, Pope John Paul II appointed Paolo Dezza as his personal delegate to govern the Society of Jesus, with Fr. Pittau as coadjutor.
·      Oct 6, 1773. In London, Dr James Talbot, the Vicar Apostolic, promulgated the Brief of Suppression and sent copies to Maryland and Pennsylvania.
·      Oct 7, 1819. The death of Charles Emmanuel IV. He had been King of Sardinia and Piedmont. He abdicated in 1802 and entered the Jesuits as a brother in 1815. He is buried in San Andrea Quirinale in Rome.
·      Oct 8, 1871. The Great Chicago Fire. Most of the city was destroyed, but it missed Holy Family, the Jesuit parish, as the fire turned north thanks to the prayers of Fr. Arnold Damen. The fire lasted three days; 250 were killed.
·      Oct 9, 1627. Jansenius left Louvain for Salamanca to foment antipathy against the Jesuits and thus prevent Philip IV from giving the Society a large college in Madrid. The theological faculty at Salamanca were hostile to the Society.
·      October 10, 1806: The first novitiate of the Maryland Mission opened as ten novices began their Long Retreat under the direction of Fr. Francis Neale (himself a novice who had entered the Jesuits that day.)


Séptimo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

Vigésimo Séptimo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario
04 de octubre 2015
Génesis 2: 19-24; Salmo 128; Hebreos 2: 9-11; Marcos 10: 16.2

Jesús da las últimas instrucciones a sus discípulos y que no evita preguntas difíciles, como si el divorcio es siempre lícita. La respuesta de Jesús es estricta, mientras se relajaba en otros lugares en el Nuevo Testamento.

Escuche las palabras del Papa durante su visita a Philadelphia: "Las dificultades no nos debe desanimar. Todo lo contrario. El amor es algo que aprendemos; el amor es algo que vivimos; amor crece a medida que se forjó por las situaciones concretas que cada experiencia particular de la familia ... Este es un gran legado que podemos dar a nuestros hijos, una muy buena lección. Cometemos errores, sí; tenemos problemas, sí. Pero sabemos que no es verdad lo que cuenta. Sabemos que los errores, problemas y conflictos son oportunidades para acercarse a los demás, para acercarse a Dios. "Concluyó su discurso diciendo:" Nunca dejes que el final del día sin hacer la paz ".

Los mejores padres de regalo dan unos a otros es amar uno al otro primero y fortalecer su relación más amorosa. Los niños se beneficiarán al ver a sus padres respeto, el honor, y el cuidado de los otros. Los cónyuges y los socios tienen que pasar tiempo con otros en la recreación y el tiempo privado. Como esta relación flores, los niños desarrollarán modelos saludables de amistades futuros positivos.

El amor está en el centro de todas las relaciones, y el amor es diaria, el trabajo duro. Cada mañana, elegimos amar a aquellos en nuestras vidas. La presencia de Dios nos une y, cuando permanecemos en el amor, la gracia de Dios ayuda amor sobrevivir. El amor es el fundamento de todo lo que hacemos. Nuestra selección diaria de amor informa cada nueva decisión que tomamos. El Papa dijo: "Las dificultades se superan con amor. El odio no es capaz de acabar con dificultades. Una división de corazones no puede superar la dificultad. Sólo el amor es capaz de superar. El amor es acerca de la celebración. El amor es la alegría. El amor se mueve hacia adelante. "El amor, dice, crea la familia, y" la familia es como una fábrica de esperanza, una fábrica de la resurrección ".

El amor tiene que hacer su trabajo. El amor es eficaz, pero no todas las relaciones tienen que seguir. Una persona en un manipulado, relación abusiva, físicamente peligroso tiene que salir rápidamente. El amor propio es más importante que el amor de la persona que le intimida. Nosotros le ayudaremos a encontrar la seguridad y ver sus opciones. Le ayudaremos a ti mismo con razón. El amor construye y nutre; que proporciona la dignidad y el respeto a todas las personas; le da la libertad con honor. Es fundamental trabajar en nuestra relación con nosotros mismos y nuestra amistad con Dios. Lo hacemos a través de la oración, la escucha de las invitaciones y mensajes que Dios nos ofrece, ya través de conversaciones espirituales con los que realmente se preocupan por el bien de tu alma.

Dar toda su energía a la búsqueda y posesión de este amor. Establecer deseos de su corazón al encontrar este amor misericordioso que Dios ofrece. Lo encontrarás. Va a vivir en paz y gracia. Cuando encuentres el amor, siempre encuentras a Dios.

Temas para las misas de esta semana

Primera Lectura:
• Lunes: (Jonás 1) El Señor puso a Jonás por la gran ciudad de Nínive, pero Jonás huyó a Tarsis. Jonás fue acusado de traer la desgracia a los marineros para que le tiraron al mar, donde fue tragado por un gran pez, donde permaneció durante tres días antes de ser arrojado a la orilla.
• Martes: (Jonás 3) Dios da de nuevo a Jonás la misma misión. A medida que su mensaje llegue a la corte real, el rey de Nínive se arrepiente y sigue los comandos Lords. Dios consiente y perdona a la poderosa ciudad.
• Miércoles: (Jonás 4) Jonás se enojó de que Dios no llevó a cabo el mal que pretende contra Nínive. A través de una analogía de una planta con gusanos, Dios le mostró a Jonás que él no tiene por qué preocuparse sobre Nínive.
• Jueves: (Malaquías 3) El Señor dijo que el pueblo le contaminaron de palabra, pero la gente no entendía cómo lo hicieron. Ellos no ven la diferencia entre el justo y el malo, pero el día del Señor vendrá a configurar todo correctamente.
• Viernes (Joel 1) Lloren, sacerdotes y ministros del altar S. El día está cerca para el día del Señor. Tocad trompeta en Sión.
• Sábado (Joe 4) Los signos abundan que el día del Señor está cerca. La cosecha está madura. El Señor ruge desde Sión y usted verá a Dios en el monte santo.

Evangelio:
• Lunes: (Lucas 10) Un erudito de la ley preguntó a Jesús acerca de la vida eterna. Luego le preguntó: "¿Quién es mi prójimo?" A lo que Jesús respondió: "El que hace misericordia."
• Martes: (Lucas 10) Jesús entró en un pueblo donde Marta lo recibió. Su hermana, María, asistió a las palabras de Jesús, mientras que Martha hizo todo el trabajo.
• Miércoles (Lucas 11) Los discípulos dijeron a Jesús: "Enséñanos a orar". Él les dio palabras que se conoce como el Padre Nuestro.
• Jueves (Lucas 11) Jesús le pregunta: "¿Qué hacen los amigos uno por el otro?" Ellos dan lo que es bueno para su amigo, así como el Padre va a hacer por los que piden.
• Viernes (Lucas 11) Cuando Jesús echó fuera a los demonios, la gente preguntó sobre la fuente de su autoridad. Jesús explicó que una casa dividida contra sí misma no puede permanecer. Por lo tanto, el bien que está haciendo proviene de un lugar sagrado.
• Sábado (Lucas 11) Una mujer de la multitud gritó: "¡Bendito el vientre que lleva y te crió." Jesús dijo: "Bienaventurados los que oyen la palabra de Dios y la guardan".

Santos de la Semana

04 de octubre: Francisco de Asís (1181 hasta 1.226) era de la familia rica Bernardone que vendía telas de seda. Después de servir como soldado como prisionero de guerra, Francisco optó por servir a Dios ya los pobres. Él sintió llamado para reparar la casa de Dios, que él creía que era una iglesia. Su padre estaba enojado que usó dinero de la familia para que lo desheredó. Comenzó a predicar el arrepentimiento y reclutó a otros a su forma de vida. Su fin es conocido por la pobreza, la sencillez, el servicio humilde y deleitándose en la creación.

06 de octubre: Bruno, sacerdote (1030-1101), se convirtió en profesor en Reims y canciller diocesano. Él renunció a sus riquezas y comenzó a vivir como un ermitaño con otros seis hombres. Tenían desdén por la corrupción clerical rampante. El obispo de Grenoble les dio la tierra en las montañas de Chartreuse y comenzaron la primera cartuja. Después de servir en Roma durante algunos años, Bruno se le dio permiso para fundar un segundo monasterio en Calabria.

7 de octubre: Nuestra Señora del Rosario recuerda los acontecimientos en 1.571 de la victoria naval cristiana sobre los turcos en Lepanto, cerca de Corinto. La victoria fue acreditado a María como cofradías rezaron el rosario por su intercesión.

09 de octubre: Denis, obispo y mártir, y compañeros mártires (. D 258), fue el primer obispo de París. Murió durante las persecuciones de Decio por decapitación en Montmartre, la colina más alta de la ciudad. Lore dice que tomó su cabeza después de la decapitación y caminó seis millas mientras que da un sermón. Denis fue enviado a París para llevar el cristianismo y fue por lo tanto llamado, "El apóstol de los galos."

09 de octubre: Juan Leonardi (1542 hasta 1609), era el ayudante de un farmacéutico antes de estudiar para el sacerdocio. Se interesó por las reformas del Concilio de Trento y reunió a los laicos a su alrededor a trabajar en las cárceles y hospitales. Contrajo la plaga, mientras que ministrar a los que estaban enfermos. Fundó la Clérigos Regulares de la Madre de Dios para cuidar a los enfermos.

Esta semana en la historia de los jesuitas

• 04 de octubre de 1820. En Roma, los grandes problemas surgieron antes y durante la Vigésima Congregación General, causada por el P. Las intrigas de Petrucci. Él trató de destruir la sociedad y fue depuesto de su cargo de vicario general, aunque apoyado por el cardenal della Genga (luego León XII).
• 05 de octubre de 1981. En una carta al Padre General Arrupe, el Papa Juan Pablo II nombró Paolo Dezza como su delegado personal de gobernar la Compañía de Jesús, con el P. Pittau como coadjutor.
• 06 de octubre de 1773. En Londres, el Dr. James Talbot, el Vicario Apostólico, promulgó el Breve de Supresión y envió copias a Maryland y Pennsylvania.
• 07 de octubre de 1819. La muerte de Carlos Manuel IV. Él había sido rey de Cerdeña y Piamonte. Él abdicó en 1802 y entró en la Compañía de Jesús como un hermano en 1815. Está enterrado en San Andrea del Quirinal, en Roma.
• 08 de octubre de 1871. El Gran Incendio de Chicago. La mayor parte de la ciudad fue destruida, pero se perdió la Sagrada Familia, la parroquia jesuita, mientras el fuego se volvió norte gracias a las oraciones de P. Arnold Damen. El fuego duró tres días; 250 murieron.
• 09 de octubre, 1627. Jansenio dejó Lovaina en Salamanca para fomentar la antipatía contra los jesuitas y así prevenir Felipe IV de dar a la Sociedad de una gran universidad en Madrid. La facultad de teología en Salamanca eran hostiles a la Sociedad.
• 10 de octubre 1806: El primer noviciado de la Misión de Maryland abrió como diez novicios comenzaron su largo retiro bajo la dirección del P. Francis Neale (él mismo un novato que había entrado en la Compañía de Jesús ese día.)

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Prayer: Anonymous

Archangel Michael, glorious prince of the heavenly hosts and victor over rebellious spirits, be mindful of me who am so weak and sinful and yet so prone to pride and ambition. Lend me your powerful aid in every temptation and difficulty and above all do not forsake me in my daily struggle with the powers of evil.



Monday, September 28, 2015

Prayer: Alcuin of York

O God, here on earth you are constantly seeking to change us. At times we wish to flee into the wilderness to avoid you, but let us learn to love the lasting things of heaven rather than they dying things of earth. Help us accept that time always brings change and that by your grace, change within our souls will make us worthy of your heavenly kingdom.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Spirituality: Matthew’s Last Judgment. “One of the Least”by Jerry Ryan

Total strangers will go out of their way to assist me, demonstrating spontaneous compassion toward this wreck of a human being wandering the streets. It has occurred to me that when people do such things for me, they are really doing them for Jesus, even though they most likely never think of that. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus will gather all mankind at the Last Judgment and judge each according to his or her charity toward the least, for whatever act is done or not done for them concerns Jesus personally. So in this broken person that I have become, I’m also an occasion for people to help Jesus and thus secure sternal life in his kingdom. This is something I never could have accomplished otherwise. It is a silent yet real mystery. It sometimes strikes me as very wonderful. I’d never imagined myself becoming the presence of Jesus in this way. This is all the more humbling since I myself used to be tempted to look away from the aged and infirm. I thought I had all the answers then, looking in from the outside. But when you are stripped of everything that constituted your life, all these answers seem absurd, arrogant, even obscene.

Source: Commonweal, February 20, 2015, page 31. In this essay, Ryan identifies himself as a handicapped seventy-seven year-old, “useless, limited, and dependent,” because of a recent fall in which he broke a hip and a wrist.

Contemporaries of Ignatius of Loyola

Martin Luther: A German friar, priest, professor of theology, and a seminal figures in the Protestant Reformation.

John Calvin: Martin Luther's successor as the preeminent Protestant theologian, made a powerful impact on the fundamental doctrines of Protestantism, which include the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation of the human soul.

Christopher Columbus: An Italian explorer, navigator, colonizer and citizen of the Republic of Genoa. His four voyages across the Atlantic established permanent settlements on Hispaniola and began the Spanish colonization of the New World.

Giovanni da Verrazzano: An Italian explorer of North America, hired by King Francis I of France, who explored the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to New Brunswick.

Thomas More: An English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and Renaissance humanist. He was a councilor to Henry VIII and served as Lord High Chancellor of England. He opposed the Protestant Reformation.

Desiderius Erasmus: A Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher and theologian who apposed the Protestant Reformation but called for reforms in the Catholic Church.

Nicolaus Copernicus: A German Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe.

Ferdinand Magellan: A Portuguese explorer who led part of the first expedition around the world.

Hernan Cortez: A Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that cuased the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile.

Ivan the Terrible: The Grand Prince of Moscow and later the Tsar of All the Russias. His reign saw the conquest of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multi-ethnic and multi-continental state spanning almost one billion acres.

Henry VIII: The King of England who assumed kingship of Ireland and France. He was the second Tudor King and is known for his separation from the Catholic Church because of his six marriages.

Nicolo Macchiavelli: An Italian historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer, who is recognized as the founder of modern political science and political ethics.

Suleiman: The tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, that presided over the apex of the Ottoman’s military, political, and economic power.

Girolama Savonarola: An Italian Dominican friar and preacher who was active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of secular art and culture, and his calls for Christian renewal.


The Council of Trent was one of the Catholic Church’s most important ecumenical councils. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation.