Prayer: Unknown

O God, by your heavenly star, you guided those who were wise to your beloved Son. May your blessing come to rest on us. Make us wise with your wisdom, energized by your love, and ready to proclaim your Son as our Savior. May your Word made flesh make his home among us.

 

Prayer: Pádraig Ó Tuama, from "Oremus," the Corrymeela Community

...Let us listen to the sound of breath in our bodies.

Let us listen to the sounds of our own voices, of our own names, of our own fears.
Let us name the harsh light and soft darkness that surround us...
The world is big, and wide, and wild and wonderful and wicked,
and our lives are murky, magnificent, malleable and full of meaning.

Oremus.
Let us pray.

Prayer: Second Century

O Lord, helper of the helpless, the hope of those who are past hope, the savior of the tempest-tossed, the harbor of the voyagers, the physician of the sick. You know each soul and our prayer, each home and its need. Become to each one of us what we most dearly desire, receiving us all into your kingdom, making us children of the light. Pour on us your peace and love.

Poem: excerpt from "The Wild Geese," by Wendell Berry

Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear,
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye
clear. What we need is here.

Poem: "Send Me" by Christina Rossetti

Use me, God, in thy great harvest field,
Which stretches far and wide like a wide sea;
The gatherers are so few; I fear the precious yield
Will suffer loss. Oh, find a place for me!
A place where best the strength I have will tell:
It may be one the older toilers shun;
Be it a wide or narrow place, ‘tis well
So that the work it holds be only done.

Spirituality: The Birth of John the Baptist is Announced.

“Risk”

Zechariah’s story encourages me. It reminds me that I’m not the only one to fail to recognize God’s guidance even when it is given to me on a plate, and that however stubbornly I fail to respond, God’s purposes will not be deflected on that account. Elizabeth’s child is going to come into the world, whatever his father may think about the possibility. It is Zechariah, and not God, who is disempowered by his refusal to respond to the guidance he is given.

I am encouraged too by the fact that the disempowerment was not permanent. Just as the infant John would need nine months’ gestation before coming to birth, so Zechariah is also given a time of gestation in which his response can grow and ripen into the whole-hearted “Yes” expressed in the moment he writes on the tablet, “His name is John.” God will wait for our response and will wait for as long as it takes.

Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this?”

When you got up this morning, you had no idea what the day would bring. But you probably chose to take a chance on it, and not go back to bed. God invites us to take a chance on life too, without knowing where God’s guidance will lead us. To the extent that we can say “Yes”, we will discover the next step along the way. To the extent that we hold back, we will get stuck where we are, until we are ready to move on again. How do you feel about the response you want to make to God in the light of the challenges today will bring?

Lord, I can’t see the bright sunlight of your leading, because my eyes are focused on the little candle of my own thinking. Blow out the candle if you must, and give me the grace to see your light in my darkness. Amen.

Source: Margaret Silf, Lighted Windows; An Advent Calendar for a World in Waiting, pp. 18-19.

Uncomfortable Hospitality. The Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2020

   Uncomfortable Hospitality.

The Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2020

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June 28, 2020

2 Kings 4:8-16; Psalm 89; Romans 6:3-4, 8-11; Matthew 10:37-42

Hospitality was one of the key virtues that defined the people of the early church, and we see the imperatives for hospitality in these reading. The prophet Elisha is given hospitality by a woman of influence and because of her unselfish generosity, the prophet repays her by announcing that she will become a mother within a year’s time. The Gospel is filled with rewards for those who receive Jesus in to their souls, the prophet’s words, and the righteous, and whoever remembers those who are thirsty and need some relief will receive the rewards of a disciple. A Christian is one who practices radical hospitality and leads a life in service to others.

Following Vatican II, the Jesuits made a committed to a way of life that was summed up in a mission phrase: the service of faith and the promotion of justice. The objectives in our ministries were to form men and women to be with and for others. It meant that men and women would not live for themselves but for God and his Christ – for the person of Jesus who lived and died for all the world so he could reveal to us that God understands human suffering. We cannot even conceive of the love of God which does not include love for the least of our neighbors. We cannot say we love God if it does not include justice for others. Justice for others means that we have to make a radical stand in solidarity with the poor and those who are treated unfairly by our predominant systems.

Our mission has been updated over the years and we have be tasked with being companions in the mission of reconciliation and justice, which means to walk alongside those individuals and communities who are vulnerable, excluded, marginalized, and whose very humanity has been impoverished; with victims of abuse of power, conscience or sex; with the outcasts of this world, and with all those people the Bible calls the ‘poor of the earth.’ This is a Gospel of hope, which means we have to walk to the margins of society in order to build trust, refrain from judging, teaching, or correcting, in order to understand people so that they truly believe we are present with them and know their suffering.

We are not called to a comfortable ministry because reconciliation means that we have to be present at the table to begin with meaningful listening, and listening is not easy to do. It means that we have to take in all the anger, frustration, rage, and insults alongside the truth and misperceptions. It means that we have to respond graciously and with right speaking in order to assure others that we do care and we want to understand the suffering they hold. It means become comfortable with not having the answers or solutions and to know the power is not in our hands to shape the future. It means that we have to bother enough to even care. It means losing our lives for the sake of Jesus so that my neighbor and I can gain a new life together, a life that is uncharted and uncertain, a life in which the power dynamics have changed.

In our church, in our nation, it is clear we do not have the answers and we have a lot of work in our ministry of reconciliation. Our first step is to receive the other person, as an act of hospitality, and to know that hospitality is a repeated, constant action that is to be sustained. To receive another person is to hear his or her thoughts, to listen to one’s story even if it makes us uncomfortable and vulnerable, to be moved with compassion for the suffering one faces, and just to stand with the person in friendship because our human suffering touches theirs.

This is the cost of discipleship. It is the responsibility of discipleship. And yet, we preach the Gospel of hope, and though we will pass through suffering, we believe and we know that through us, God will create a better world. O God, we need your help.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading:

Monday: (Acts 12) In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. It was the feast of Unleavened Bread.

Tuesday: (Amos 3) Hear this word, O children of Israel, that the Lord pronounces over you, over the whole family that I brought up from the land of Egypt: You alone have I favored, more than all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your crimes.

Wednesday: (Amos 5) Seek good and not evil, that you may live; Then truly will the Lord, the God of hosts, be with you as you claim! Hate evil and love good, and let justice prevail at the gate.

Thursday: (Amos 7) Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos has conspired against you here within Israel; the country cannot endure all his words. For this is what Amos says: Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land.”

Friday (Ephesians 2) You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.

Saturday (Amos 9) On that day I will raise up the fallen hut of David; I will wall up its breaches, raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,

Gospel: 

Monday: (Matthew 16) When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Tuesday: (Matthew 8) As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us!  We are perishing!”

Wednesday (Matthew 8) When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could travel by that road. They cried out, “What have you to do with us, Son of God?

Thursday (Matthew 9) After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town. And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”

Friday (John 20) Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Saturday (Matthew 9) The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?

Saints of the Week

June 28: Irenaeus, bishop and martyr (130-200) was sent to Lyons as a missionary to combat the persecution the church faced in Lyons. He was born in Asia Minor and became a disciple of Polycarp who was a disciple of the Apostle John. Irenaeus asserted that the creation was not sinful by nature but merely distorted by sin. As God created us, God redeemed us. Therefore, our fallen nature can only be saved by Christ who took on our form in the Incarnation. Irenaeus refutation of heresies laid the foundations of Christian theology.

June 29: Peter and Paul, apostles (first century) are lumped together for a feast day because of their extreme importance to the early and contemporary church. Upon Peter's faith was the church built; Paul's efforts to bring Gentiles into the faith and to lay out a moral code was important for successive generations. It is right that they are joined together as their work is one, but with two prongs. For Jesuits, this is a day that Ignatius began to recover from his illness after the wounds he sustained at Pamplona. It marked a turning point in his recovery.

June 30: The First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church (c. 64) were martyrs under Nero's persecution in 64. Nero reacted to the great fire in Rome by falsely accusing Christians of setting it. While no one believed Nero's assertions, Christians were humiliated and condemned to death in horrible ways. This day always follows the feast of the martyrs, Sts. Peter and Paul.

July 1: Junipero Serra, priest, was a Franciscan missionary who founded missions in Baja and traveled north to California starting in 1768. The Franciscans established the missions during the suppression of the Jesuits. San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Clara are among the most famous. Serra’s statue is in the U.S. Capitol to represent California.

July 2: Bernard Realino, John Francis Regis, Francis Jerome, S.J. are known for their preaching skills that drew many to the faith, including many French Hugeunots. Regis and his companions preached Catholic doctrine to children and assisted many struck by the plague in Frances. Regis University in Denver, Colorado is named after John Regis.

July 3: Thomas, apostle, is thought to have been an apostle to India and Pakistan and he is best remembered as the one who “doubted” the resurrection of Jesus. The Gospels, however, testify to his faithfulness to Jesus during his ministry. The name, Thomas, stands for “twin,” but no mention is made of his twin’s identity.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Jun 28, 1591. Fr. Leonard Lessius's teaching on grace and predestination caused a great deal of excitement and agitation against the Society in Louvain and Douai. The Papal Nuncio and Pope Gregory XIV both declared that his teaching was perfectly orthodox.

·      Jun 29, 1880. In France the law of spoliation, which was passed at the end of March, came into effect and all the Jesuit Houses and Colleges were suppressed.

·      Jun 30, 1829. The opening of the Twenty-first General Congregation of the order, which elected Fr. John Roothan as General.

·      Jul 1, 1556. The beginning of St Ignatius's last illness. He saw his three great desires fulfilled: confirmation of the Institute, papal approval of the Spiritual Exercises, and acceptance of the Constitutions by the whole Society.

·      Jul 2, 1928. The Missouri Province was divided into the Missouri Province and the Chicago Province. In 1955 there would be a further subdivision: Missouri divided into Missouri and Wisconsin; Chicago divided into Chicago and Detroit.

·      Jul 3, 1580. Queen Elizabeth I issued a statute forbidding all Jesuits to enter England.

·      Jul 4, 1648. The martyrdom in Canada of Anthony Daniel who was shot with arrows and thrown into flames by the Iroquois.

Hospitalidad incómoda. El decimotercer domingo del tiempo ordinario 2020

Hospitalidad incómoda.

El decimotercer domingo del tiempo ordinario 2020

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28 de junio de 2020

2 Reyes 4: 8-16; Salmo 89; Romanos 6: 3-4, 8-11; Mateo 10: 37-42

La hospitalidad fue una de las virtudes clave que definió a las personas de la iglesia primitiva, y vemos los imperativos de la hospitalidad en estas lecturas. El profeta Eliseo recibe hospitalidad de una mujer influyente y, debido a su generosidad desinteresada, el profeta le paga al anunciar que se convertirá en madre dentro de un año. El Evangelio está lleno de recompensas para aquellos que reciben a Jesús en sus almas, las palabras del profeta y los justos, y quien recuerde a aquellos que tienen sed y necesiten algún alivio recibirá las recompensas de un discípulo. Un cristiano es aquel que practica la hospitalidad radical y lleva una vida de servicio a los demás.

Después del Vaticano II, los jesuitas se comprometieron con una forma de vida que se resumió en una frase de misión: el servicio de la fe y la promoción de la justicia. Los objetivos en nuestros ministerios eran formar hombres y mujeres para estar con y para otros. Significaba que los hombres y las mujeres no vivirían por sí mismos sino por Dios y su Cristo, por la persona de Jesús que vivió y murió por todo el mundo para que nos revelara que Dios entiende el sufrimiento humano. Ni siquiera podemos concebir el amor de Dios, que no incluye el amor al menor de nuestros vecinos. No podemos decir que amamos a Dios si no incluye la justicia para los demás. Justicia para los demás significa que tenemos que adoptar una posición radical en solidaridad con los pobres y aquellos que son tratados injustamente por nuestros sistemas predominantes.

Nuestra misión se ha actualizado a lo largo de los años y se nos ha encomendado la tarea de ser compañeros en la misión de reconciliación y justicia, lo que significa caminar junto a aquellos individuos y comunidades que son vulnerables, excluidos, marginados y cuya humanidad misma se ha empobrecido; con víctimas de abuso de poder, conciencia o sexo; con los marginados de este mundo, y con todas esas personas, la Biblia llama a los "pobres de la tierra". Este es un Evangelio de esperanza, lo que significa que tenemos que caminar hasta los márgenes de la sociedad para generar confianza, abstenerse de juzgar , enseñando o corrigiendo, para entender a las personas para que realmente crean que estamos presentes con ellos y conocemos su sufrimiento.

No estamos llamados a un ministerio cómodo porque la reconciliación significa que tenemos que estar presentes en la mesa para comenzar con una escucha significativa, y escuchar no es fácil de hacer. Significa que tenemos que asimilar toda la ira, la frustración, la ira y los insultos junto con la verdad y las percepciones erróneas. Significa que tenemos que responder con gracia y hablar correctamente para asegurar a los demás que nos importan y queremos comprender el sufrimiento que tienen. Significa sentirse cómodo con no tener las respuestas o soluciones y saber que el poder no está en nuestras manos para dar forma al futuro. Significa que tenemos que molestarnos lo suficiente como para preocuparnos. Significa perder nuestras vidas por el bien de Jesús para que mi prójimo y yo podamos ganar una nueva vida juntos, una vida que no está marcada e incierta, una vida en la que la dinámica del poder ha cambiado.

En nuestra iglesia, en nuestra nación, está claro que no tenemos las respuestas y tenemos mucho trabajo en nuestro ministerio de reconciliación. Nuestro primer paso es recibir a la otra persona, como un acto de hospitalidad, y saber que la hospitalidad es una acción constante y repetida que debe sostenerse. Recibir a otra persona es escuchar sus pensamientos, escuchar la historia de uno, incluso si nos hace sentir incómodos y vulnerables, sentirnos compasivos por el sufrimiento que enfrentamos, y simplemente estar con la persona en amistad porque nuestro sufrimiento humano toca los suyos.

Este es el costo del discipulado. Es responsabilidad del discipulado. Y sin embargo, predicamos el Evangelio de la esperanza, y aunque pasaremos por el sufrimiento, creemos y sabemos que a través de nosotros, Dios creará un mundo mejor. Oh Dios, necesitamos tu ayuda.

Escritura para la misa diaria

Primera lectura:

Lunes: (Hechos 12) En aquellos días, el rey Herodes impuso las manos sobre algunos miembros de la Iglesia para dañarlos. Hizo que James, el hermano de John, fuera asesinado por la espada, y cuando vio que esto era agradable para los judíos, también procedió a arrestar a Peter. Era la fiesta de los Panes sin Levadura.

Martes: (Amós 3) Escucha esta palabra, oh hijos de Israel, que el Señor pronuncia sobre ti, sobre toda la familia que traje de la tierra de Egipto: solo a ti he favorecido, más que a todas las familias de la tierra ; Por lo tanto, te castigaré por todos tus crímenes.

Miércoles: (Amós 5) Busca el bien y no el mal, para que puedas vivir; ¡Entonces, verdaderamente, el Señor, el Dios de los ejércitos, estará con usted como usted lo reclama! Odia el mal y ama el bien, y deja que la justicia prevalezca en la puerta.

Jueves: (Amós 7) Amasías, el sacerdote de Betel, envió un mensaje a Jeroboam, rey de Israel: “Amós ha conspirado contra ti aquí dentro de Israel; El país no puede soportar todas sus palabras. Porque esto es lo que dice Amós: Jeroboam morirá por la espada, e Israel seguramente será exiliado de su tierra ".

Viernes (Efesios 2) Ya no son extraños y extranjeros, sino que son conciudadanos de los santos y miembros de la familia de Dios, edificados sobre la base de los Apóstoles y profetas,

con Cristo Jesús mismo como la piedra angular.

Sábado (Amós 9) Ese día levantaré la cabaña caída de David; Levantaré sus brechas, levantaré sus ruinas y las reconstruiré como en los viejos tiempos,

Evangelio:

Lunes: (Mateo 16) Cuando Jesús entró en la región de Cesarea de Filipo, preguntó a sus discípulos: "¿Quién dice la gente que es el Hijo del Hombre?" Ellos respondieron: "Algunos dicen que Juan el Bautista, otros Elías, otros Jeremías o uno de los profetas". Él les dijo: "¿Pero quién decís que soy?"

Martes: (Mateo 8) Cuando Jesús se subió a un bote, sus discípulos lo siguieron. De repente, una violenta tormenta se produjo en el mar, de modo que el bote fue inundado por las olas; Pero él estaba dormido. Vinieron y lo despertaron, diciendo: “¡Señor, sálvanos! ¡Estamos pereciendo!

Miércoles (Mateo 8) Cuando Jesús llegó al territorio de los Gadarenos, dos demoníacos que venían de las tumbas se encontraron con él. Eran tan salvajes que nadie podía viajar por ese camino. Ellos gritaron: “¿Qué tienes que ver con nosotros, Hijo de Dios?

Jueves (Mateo 9) Después de entrar en un bote, Jesús cruzó y entró en su propio pueblo. Y allí la gente le trajo un paralítico acostado en una camilla. Cuando Jesús vio su fe, le dijo al paralítico: "Ánimo, hija, tus pecados son perdonados".

El viernes (Juan 20) Tomás, llamado Didymus, uno de los Doce, no estaba con ellos cuando Jesús vino. Entonces los otros discípulos le dijeron: "Hemos visto al Señor". Pero Thomas les dijo: "A menos que vea la marca de las uñas en sus manos y ponga mi dedo en las marcas de las uñas y ponga mi mano en su costado, no lo creeré".

Sábado (Mateo 9) Los discípulos de Juan se acercaron a Jesús y le dijeron: "¿Por qué nosotros y los fariseos ayunamos tanto, pero tus discípulos no ayunan?" Jesús les respondió: “¿Pueden los invitados a la boda llorar mientras el novio esté con ellos?

Santos de la semana

28 de junio: Ireneo, obispo y mártir (130-200) fue enviado a Lyon como misionero para combatir la persecución que la iglesia enfrentó en Lyon. Nació en Asia Menor y se convirtió en discípulo de Policarpo, discípulo del apóstol Juan. Ireneo afirmó que la creación no era pecaminosa por naturaleza sino simplemente distorsionada por el pecado. Como Dios nos creó, Dios nos redimió. Por lo tanto, nuestra naturaleza caída solo puede ser salvada por Cristo que tomó nuestra forma en la Encarnación. La refutación de herejías por Ireneo sentó las bases de la teología cristiana.

29 de junio: Pedro y Pablo, apóstoles (primer siglo) se agrupan para un día de fiesta debido a su extrema importancia para la iglesia primitiva y contemporánea. Sobre la fe de Pedro fue construida la iglesia; Los esfuerzos de Pablo por atraer a los gentiles a la fe y establecer un código moral fueron importantes para las generaciones sucesivas. Es cierto que están unidos ya que su trabajo es uno, pero con dos púas. Para los jesuitas, este es un día en que Ignacio comenzó a recuperarse de su enfermedad después de las heridas que sufrió en Pamplona. Marcó un punto de inflexión en su recuperación.

30 de junio: Los primeros santos mártires de la Santa Iglesia romana (c. 64) fueron mártires bajo la persecución de Nerón en 64. Nerón reaccionó al gran incendio en Roma acusando falsamente a los cristianos de prenderlo. Aunque nadie creía en las afirmaciones de Nerón, los cristianos fueron humillados y condenados a muerte de maneras horribles. Este día siempre sigue a la fiesta de los mártires, los Santos. Peter y Paul.

1 de julio: Junipero Serra, sacerdote, era un misionero franciscano que fundó misiones en Baja y viajó al norte de California a partir de 1768. Los franciscanos establecieron las misiones durante la represión de los jesuitas. San Diego, San Francisco y Santa Clara se encuentran entre los más famosos. La estatua de Serra está en el Capitolio de los Estados Unidos para representar a California.

2 de julio: Bernard Realino, John Francis Regis, Francis Jerome, S.J. son conocidos por sus habilidades de predicación que atrajeron a muchos a la fe, incluidos muchos hugeunots franceses. Regis y sus compañeros predicaron la doctrina católica a los niños y ayudaron a muchos afectados por la peste en Frances. Regis University en Denver, Colorado lleva el nombre de John Regis.

3 de julio: Se cree que Tomás, apóstol, fue apóstol de India y Pakistán, y se le recuerda mejor como el que "dudaba" de la resurrección de Jesús. Los Evangelios, sin embargo, dan testimonio de su fidelidad a Jesús durante su ministerio. El nombre, Thomas, significa "gemelo", pero no se menciona la identidad de su gemelo.

Esta semana en la historia jesuita

• 28 de junio de 1591. El p. La enseñanza de Leonard Lessius sobre la gracia y la predestinación causó mucho entusiasmo y agitación contra la Sociedad en Lovaina y Douai. El nuncio papal y el papa Gregorio XIV declararon que su enseñanza era perfectamente ortodoxa.

• 29 de junio de 1880. En Francia entró en vigencia la ley de despojo, que se aprobó a fines de marzo y se suprimieron todas las casas y colegios jesuitas.

• 30 de junio de 1829. La apertura de la Vigésima Primera Congregación General de la orden, que eligió al Padre. John Roothan como general.

• 1 de julio de 1556. El comienzo de la última enfermedad de San Ignacio. Vio sus tres grandes deseos cumplidos: confirmación del Instituto, aprobación papal de los Ejercicios Espirituales y aceptación de las Constituciones por toda la Sociedad.

• 2 de julio de 1928. La provincia de Missouri se dividió en la provincia de Missouri y la provincia de Chicago. En 1955 habría otra subdivisión: Missouri dividido en Missouri y Wisconsin; Chicago dividido en Chicago y Detroit.

• 3 de julio de 1580. La reina Isabel I emitió un estatuto que prohibía a todos los jesuitas ingresar a Inglaterra.

• 4 de julio de 1648. El martirio en Canadá de Anthony Daniel, quien fue disparado con flechas y arrojado a las llamas por los iroqueses.

Spirituality: U.S. Catholic Bishops

An increasingly widespread and positive development in many communities is often referred to as restorative justice. Restorative justice focuses first on the victim and the community harmed by the crime, rather than on the dominant state-against-the-perpetrator model. This shift in focus affirms the hurt and loss of the victim, as well as the harm and fear of the community, and insists that offenders come to grips with the consequences of their actions. These approaches are not "soft on crime" because they specifically call the offender to face victims and the communities. This experience offers victims a much greater sense of peace and accountability. Offenders who are willing to face the human consequences of their actions are more ready to accept responsibility, make reparations, and rebuild their lives.

Restorative justice also reflects our values and tradition. Our faith calls us to hold people accountable, to forgive, and to heal. Focusing primarily on the legal infraction without a recognition of the human damage does not advance our values.

U.S. Catholic Bishops in Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice (2000)

Prayer: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.

Poem: Dag Hammarskjöld

You who are over us,

You who are one of us,

You who are also within us,

May all see you - in me also.

May I prepare the way for You,

May I thank You for all

that shall fall to my lot,

May I also not forget the needs of others.

Give me a pure heart - that I may see You.

A humble heart - that I may hear You,

A heart of love - that I may serve You,

A heart of faith - that I may abide in You. Amen.

Prayer: Ephrem of Syria

Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance, suppresses anger, prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit and raises us to heaven.

Prayer: Ta-Nehisi Coates

You may have heard the talk of diversity, sensitivity training, and body cameras. These are all fine and applicable, but they understate the task and allow the citizens of this country to pretend that there is real distance between their own attitudes and those of the ones appointed to protect them. The truth is that the police reflect America in all of its will and fear, and whatever we might make of this country's criminal justice policy, it cannot be said that it was imposed by a repressive minority.

Prayer: John of the Cross

To reach satisfaction in all
desire its possession in nothing.
To come to possession in all
desire the possession of nothing.
To arrive at being all
desire to be nothing.
To come to the knowledge of all
desire the knowledge of nothing.

To come to the pleasure you have not
you must go by the way in which you enjoy not.
To come to the knowledge you have not
you must go by the way in which you know not.
To come to the possession you have not
you must go by the way in which you possess not.
To come by the what you are not
you must go by a way in which you are not.

When you turn toward something
you cease to cast yourself upon the all.
For to go from all to the all
you must deny yourself of all in all.
And when you come to the possession of the all
you must possess it without wanting anything.
Because if you desire to have something in all
your treasure in God is not purely your all.

Sit Down and Listen. The Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2020

   Sit Down and Listen.

The Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2020

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June 21, 2020

Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 69; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33

In the Church we return to Ordinary Time, the Twelfth Sunday, but in our world, we remain in times that are anything but ordinary. The first reading tells us of the obedience of the unjustly treated righteous servant who endures brutality from many sources. The second reading looks at the origin of sin as entering the world through Adam, and though we are mired in a world of sin, we have access to grace through Christ. The Gospel encourages us not to fear the terror around us because we are valued and known by God. The psalmist pleas for God to answer his prayers as he finds himself in terror.

As Christians, we are not separated from the world and we have to reconcile with turbulence that we face within it. We are still in the throes of COVID-19, which has upended our daily life patterns and has taken countless lives prematurely; we face social unrest and upheaval from the systemic racism that is embedded into the fabric of the nation; the Supreme Court has ended discrimination in the workplace against gay and transgendered people, which may have consequences for churches, schools, and affiliated agencies, and oh, yes, we have a national election that will undoubtedly be divisive, and Catholics will be wondering how to vote responsibly. We have a lot on our minds without much trusted leadership on how to approach these topics.

Every Catholic has a duty to form and inform his or her conscience. We cannot betray our conscience and we have our primary allegiance to it because the Word of Christ is written there. Now, how do we do that? We educate ourselves by reading and bringing to prayer the insights from what we learned. Perhaps our reading gives us a new lens by which to view the world’s events and our responsibility to care for the world. We have to be open to new ideas that make sense to us. Know the sources that you are reading. Read a point and a counter-point and try to find a balance between those two views. Check out the author’s style. If someone is angry, declarative, and firm, it probably means that someone is operating out of an unmet need and it is not a very scholarly reflection. If someone is open to ideas and viewpoints that are counter to what one believes, it is probably worth reading because we will learn something. In all circumstances, we can learn something if we are disposed to it. We have to view the lens by which people are perceiving the world. Many people like to make themselves out to be experts to have their voices heard and we have to responsibly sift through the information to make it into meaningful data for us. From our study, we then practice right speech and we listen meaningfully.

Perhaps the best thing we can do is to not speak at all right away, and when we do, our words ought to be sparse and infrequent. We do not own the truth, nor does the other person, and we do not have to speak every time we get the chance. We have a right to speak and with every right, we have a corresponding responsibility. Rights don’t come without responsibility. Even when someone else speaks, you do not have to respond, even if that person is uninformed. Call for good behavior and don’t allow vulgarities, but your words to counter someone else’s statement are most likely not going to convert one to your side. Conversation is not about winning with zingers, and some exchanges are not worth continuing. Don’t feed them with fuel, but let them fizzle out. Firmness or loud words, talking over someone, proclaiming declaratively will not convince anyone and is not a tactic that permits free speech. Rather, sit with your discomfort. Listen to what you are feeling and experiencing whether it is confusion, anxiety, guilt, shame, anger. We have to know what our bodies are telling us. Bring those feelings into prayer and tell God why you are feeling that way, but refrain from judging your emotions. Just listen meaningfully and fully. You can’t go wrong with listening meaningfully. At the right time, you’ll get the insight you need to discern wisely. You will know when it is right to speak. Your understanding heart that grows in compassion and wisdom will lead you to discern rightly.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading:

Monday: (2 Kings 17) In the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel the king of Assyria took Samaria, and deported the children of Israel to Assyria, setting them in Halah, at the Habor, a river of Gozan, and the cities of the Medes. This came about because the children of Israel sinned against the LORD, their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the domination of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
and because they venerated other gods.

Tuesday: (1 Kings 19) “Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all other countries: they doomed them! Will you, then, be saved?’”

Wednesday: (Isaiah 49) The LORD called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory.

Thursday: (2 Kings 24) At that time the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, himself arrived at the city while his servants were besieging it.

Friday (2 Kings 25) Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his whole army advanced against Jerusalem, encamped around it, and built siege walls on every side. The siege of the city continued until the eleventh year of Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the fourth month, when famine had gripped the city, and the people had no more bread, the city walls were breached.

Saturday (Lamentations 2) The Lord has consumed without pity all the dwellings of Jacob; He has torn down in his anger the fortresses of daughter Judah; He has brought to the ground in dishonor her king and her princes. On the ground in silence sit the old men of daughter Zion.

Gospel: 

Monday: (Matthew 7) “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?

Tuesday: (Matthew 7) Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces. Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the Law and the Prophets.

Wednesday (Act 13) God raised up David as king; of him God testified, I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish. From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.

Thursday (Matthew 7) Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

Friday (Matthew 8) When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it.  Be made clean.”

Saturday (Matthew 8) When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.

Saints of the Week

June 21: Aloysius Gonzaga, S.J., priest (1568-1591), gave up a great inheritance to join the Jesuits in 1585 in his dreams of going to the missions. However, when a plague hit Rome, Gonzaga served the sick and dying in hospitals where he contracted the plague and died within three months. He is a patron saint of youth.

June 22: Paulinus of Nola, bishop (353-431) was a prominent lawyer who married a Spaniard and was baptized. Their infant son died while in Spain. He became a priest and was sent to Nola, near Naples, where he lived a semi-monastic life and helped the poor and pilgrims.

June 22: John Fisher, bishop and martyr (1469-1535) taught theology at Cambridge University and became the University Chancellor and bishop of Rochester. Fisher defended the queen against Henry VIII who wanted the marriage annulled. Fisher refused to sign the Act of Succession. When the Pope made Fisher a cardinal, the angry king beheaded him.

June 22: Thomas More, martyr (1478-1535) was a gifted lawyer, Member of Parliament, scholar, and public official. He was reluctant to serve Cardinal Woolsey at court and he resigned after he opposed the king’s Act of Succession, which would allow him to divorce his wife. He was imprisoned and eventually beheaded.

June 24: Nativity of John the Baptist (first century) was celebrated on June 24^th to remind us that he was six months older than Jesus, according to Luke. This day also serves to remind us that, as Christ is the light of the world, John must decrease just as the daylight diminishes. John’s birth is told by Luke. He was the son of the mature Elizabeth and the dumbstruck Zechariah. When John was named, Zechariah’s tongue was loosened and he sang the great Benedictus.

June 27: Cyril of Alexandria, bishop and doctor (376-444), presided over the Council of Ephesus that fought Nestorian the heresy. Cyril claimed, contrary to Nestorius, that since the divine and human in Jesus were so closely united that it was appropriate to refer to Mary was the mother of God. Because he condemned Nestorius, the church went through a schism that lasted until Cyril's death. Cyril's power, wealth, and theological expertise influenced many as he defended the church against opposing philosophies.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Jun 21, 1591. The death of St Aloysius Gonzaga, who died from the plague, which he caught while attending the sick.

·      Jun 22, 1611. The first arrival of the Jesuit fathers in Canada, sent there at the request of Henry IV of France.

·      Jun 23, 1967. Saint Louis University's Board of Trustees gathered at Fordyce House for the first meeting of the expanded Board of Trustees. SLU was the first Catholic university to establish a Board of Trustees with a majority of lay members.

·      Jun 24, 1537. Ignatius, Francis Xavier, and five of the companions were ordained priests in Venice, Italy.

·      Jun 25, 1782. The Jesuits in White Russia were permitted by the Empress Catherine to elect a General. They chose Fr. Czerniewicz. He took the title of Vicar General, with the powers of the General.

·      Jun 26, 1614. By a ruse of the Calvinists, the book, "Defensio Fidei" by Francis Suarez was condemned by the French Parliament. In addition, in England James I ordered the book to be publicly burned.

·      Jun 27, 1978. Bernard Lisson, a mechanic, and Gregor Richert, a parish priest, were shot to death at St Rupert's Mission, Sinoia, Zimbabwe.

Siéntate y escucha. El duodécimo domingo del tiempo ordinario 2020

Siéntate y escucha.

El duodécimo domingo del tiempo ordinario 2020

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21 de junio de 2020

Jeremías 20: 10-13; Salmo 69; Romance 5: 12-15; Mateo 10: 26-33

En la Iglesia volvemos al Tiempo Ordinario, el Duodécimo Domingo, pero en nuestro mundo, permanecemos en tiempos que son todo menos ordinarios. La primera lectura nos habla de la obediencia del siervo justo tratado injustamente que soporta la brutalidad de muchas fuentes. La segunda lectura analiza el origen del pecado como entrar al mundo a través de Adán, y aunque estamos inmersos en un mundo de pecado, tenemos acceso a la gracia a través de Cristo. El Evangelio nos anima a no temer el terror que nos rodea porque Dios nos valora y nos conoce. El salmista le ruega a Dios que responda sus oraciones mientras se encuentra aterrorizado.

Como cristianos, no estamos separados del mundo y tenemos que reconciliarnos con las turbulencias que enfrentamos dentro de él. Todavía estamos en la agonía de COVID-19, que ha alterado nuestros patrones de vida diaria y ha tomado innumerables vidas prematuramente; enfrentamos disturbios sociales y agitación por el racismo sistémico que está incrustado en el tejido de la nación; la Corte Suprema ha puesto fin a la discriminación en el lugar de trabajo contra las personas homosexuales y transgénero, lo que tiene consecuencias para las iglesias, las escuelas y las agencias afiliadas, y sí, tenemos una elección nacional que indudablemente será divisiva y los católicos se preguntarán cómo votar de manera responsable . Tenemos muchas cosas en nuestras mentes sin un liderazgo confiable en cómo abordar estos temas.

Todo católico tiene el deber de formar e informar su conciencia. No podemos traicionar nuestra conciencia y tenemos nuestra lealtad principal porque la Palabra de Cristo está escrita allí. Ahora, ¿cómo hacemos eso? Nos educamos leyendo y llevando a la oración las ideas de lo que aprendimos. Quizás nuestra lectura nos brinde una nueva lente para ver los eventos del mundo y nuestra responsabilidad de cuidar el mundo. Tenemos que estar abiertos a nuevas ideas que tengan sentido para nosotros. Conoce las fuentes que estás leyendo. Lea un punto y un contrapunto e intente encontrar un equilibrio entre esas dos vistas. Mira el estilo del autor. Si alguien está enojado, declarativo y firme, probablemente significa que alguien está operando por una necesidad insatisfecha y no es una reflexión muy académica. Si alguien está abierto a ideas y puntos de vista que son contrarios a lo que él o ella cree, probablemente valga la pena leerlo porque aprenderemos algo. Tenemos que ver la lente por la cual las personas perciben el mundo. A muchas personas les gusta hacerse expertos para que se escuchen sus voces y tenemos que examinar la información de manera responsable para convertirla en datos significativos para nosotros. De nuestro estudio, practicamos el discurso correcto y escuchamos significativamente.

Quizás lo mejor que podemos hacer es no hablar en absoluto al principio, y cuando lo hagamos, nuestras palabras deberían ser escasas e infrecuentes. No somos dueños de la verdad, y no tenemos que hablar cada vez que tenemos la oportunidad. Incluso cuando alguien más habla, no tiene que responder. Siéntate con tu incomodidad. Escuche lo que siente y experimenta, ya sea confusión, ansiedad, culpa, vergüenza, enojo. Tenemos que saber lo que nos dicen nuestros cuerpos. Lleve esos sentimientos a la oración y dígale a Dios por qué se siente así, pero evite juzgar sus emociones. Solo escucha de manera significativa y completa. En el momento adecuado, obtendrá la información que necesita para discernir sabiamente. Tu corazón comprensivo que crece en compasión y sabiduría te llevará a discernir correctamente.

Escritura para la misa diaria

Primera lectura:

Lunes: (2 Reyes 17) En el noveno año de Oseas, rey de Israel, el rey de Asiria tomó Samaria y deportó a los hijos de Israel a Asiria, estableciéndolos en Halah, en el Habor, un río de Gozan y las ciudades. de los medos. Esto sucedió porque los hijos de Israel pecaron contra el SEÑOR, su Dios, que los había traído de la tierra de Egipto, bajo el dominio de Faraón, rey de Egipto,

y porque veneraban a otros dioses.

Martes: (1 Reyes 19) "Así dirás a Ezequías, rey de Judá:" No dejes que tu Dios en quien confías te engañe diciendo que Jerusalén no será entregada al rey de Asiria. Has oído lo que los reyes de Asiria han hecho a todos los demás países: ¡los condenaron! ¿Serás, entonces, salvo? "

Miércoles: (Isaías 49) El Señor me llamó desde su nacimiento, desde el vientre de mi madre me dio mi nombre. Me hizo una espada de filo afilado y me ocultó a la sombra de su brazo. Me hizo una flecha pulida, en su carcaj me escondió. Eres mi siervo, me dijo Israel, a través de quien muestro mi gloria.

Jueves: (2 Reyes 24) En ese momento los oficiales de Nabucodonosor, rey de Babilonia, atacaron a Jerusalén, y la ciudad fue sitiada. Nabucodonosor, rey de Babilonia, llegó a la ciudad mientras sus sirvientes la asediaban.

Viernes (2 Reyes 25) Nabucodonosor, rey de Babilonia, y todo su ejército avanzaron contra Jerusalén, acamparon a su alrededor y construyeron muros de asedio a cada lado. El asedio de la ciudad continuó hasta el undécimo año de Sedequías. El noveno día del cuarto mes, cuando la hambruna se apoderó de la ciudad y la gente no tenía más pan, se rompieron los muros de la ciudad.

Sábado (Lamentaciones 2) El Señor ha consumido sin piedad todas las viviendas de Jacob; En su ira derribó las fortalezas de su hija Judá; Él ha traído al suelo en deshonra a su rey y sus príncipes. En el suelo, en silencio, se sientan los viejos de la hija de Sion.

Evangelio:

Lunes: (Mateo 7) "Deja de juzgar, para que no te juzguen. Porque como juzgues, así serás juzgado, y la medida con la que mides se te medirá. ¿Por qué notas la astilla en el ojo de tu hermano, pero no percibes la viga de madera en tu propio ojo?

Martes: (Mateo 7) No les des lo que es sagrado a los perros, ni arrojes tus perlas a los cerdos, para que no los pisoteen, y te vuelvan y te rompan en pedazos. Haz a los demás lo que quieras que te hagan a ti. Esta es la Ley y los Profetas.

Miércoles (Acto 13) Dios levantó a David como rey; de él Dios testificó, he encontrado a David, hijo de Isaí, un hombre conforme a mi corazón; Él cumplirá todos mis deseos. De los descendientes de este hombre, Dios, según su promesa, ha traído a Israel un salvador, Jesús.

Jueves (Mateo 7) Muchos me dirán ese día: "Señor, Señor, ¿no profetizamos en tu nombre? ¿No expulsamos demonios en tu nombre? ¿No hicimos obras poderosas en tu nombre? "Entonces les declararé solemnemente:" Nunca te conocí. Apártate de mí, malhechores ".

Viernes (Mateo 8) Cuando Jesús bajó de la montaña, grandes multitudes lo siguieron. Y luego un leproso se acercó, le hizo un homenaje y le dijo: "Señor, si lo deseas, puedes limpiarme". Estiró la mano, lo tocó y dijo: "Lo haré. Sé limpio ".

Sábado (Mateo 8) Cuando Jesús entró en Capernaum, un centurión se le acercó y lo llamó, diciéndole: "Señor, mi siervo está paralizado en su casa, sufriendo terriblemente". Él le dijo: "Vendré y lo curaré". El centurión respondió: "Señor, no soy digno de que entres bajo mi techo.

Santos de la semana

21 de junio: Aloysius Gonzaga, S.J., sacerdote (1568-1591), entregó una gran herencia para unirse a los jesuitas en 1585 en sus sueños de ir a las misiones. Sin embargo, cuando una plaga golpeó a Roma, Gonzaga sirvió a los enfermos y moribundos en los hospitales donde contrajo la peste y murió en tres meses. Es un santo patrón de la juventud.

22 de junio: Paulinus de Nola, obispo (353-431) fue un destacado abogado que se casó con un español y fue bautizado. Su pequeño hijo murió mientras estaba en España. Se convirtió en sacerdote y fue enviado a Nola, cerca de Nápoles, donde vivió una vida semi-monástica y ayudó a los pobres y peregrinos.

22 de junio: John Fisher, obispo y mártir (1469-1535) enseñó teología en la Universidad de Cambridge y se convirtió en canciller universitario y obispo de Rochester. Fisher defendió a la reina contra Enrique VIII, que quería que se anulara el matrimonio. Fisher se negó a firmar el Acta de Sucesión. Cuando el Papa convirtió a Fisher en cardenal, el rey enojado lo decapitó.

22 de junio: Thomas More, mártir (1478-1535) fue un abogado talentoso, miembro del Parlamento, erudito y funcionario público. Era reacio a servir al cardenal Woolsey en la corte y renunció después de oponerse a la Ley de Sucesión del rey, que le permitiría divorciarse de su esposa. Fue encarcelado y finalmente decapitado.

24 de junio: la Natividad de Juan el Bautista (primer siglo) se celebró el 24 de junio para recordarnos que era seis meses mayor que Jesús, según Lucas. Este día también sirve para recordarnos que, como Cristo es la luz del mundo, Juan debe disminuir al igual que la luz del día. El nacimiento de John lo cuenta Luke. Era el hijo de la madura Elizabeth y de la estupefacta Zacarías. Cuando se nombró a John, se aflojó la lengua de Zacarías y cantó el gran Benedicto.

27 de junio: Cirilo de Alejandría, obispo y médico (376-444), presidió el Concilio de Éfeso que luchó contra la herejía de Nestorio. Cirilo afirmó, contrariamente a Nestorio, que dado que lo divino y lo humano en Jesús estaban tan unidos que era apropiado referirse a María era la madre de Dios. Como condenó a Nestorio, la iglesia sufrió un cisma que duró hasta la muerte de Cirilo. El poder, la riqueza y la experiencia teológica de Cyril influyeron en muchos al defender a la iglesia contra las filosofías opuestas.

Esta semana en la historia de los jesuitas

• 21 de junio de 1591. La muerte de San Aloysius Gonzaga, quien murió a causa de la peste, que atrapó mientras atendía a los enfermos.

• 22 de junio de 1611. La primera llegada de los padres jesuitas a Canadá, enviada allí a pedido de Enrique IV de Francia.

• 23 de junio de 1967. La Junta de Síndicos de la Universidad de Saint Louis se reunió en Fordyce House para la primera reunión de la Junta de Síndicos ampliada. SLU fue la primera universidad católica en establecer una Junta de Síndicos con una mayoría de miembros laicos.

• 24 de junio de 1537. Ignacio, Francisco Xavier y cinco de los compañeros fueron ordenados sacerdotes en Venecia, Italia.

• 25 de junio de 1782. La emperatriz Catalina permitió a los jesuitas en la Rusia blanca elegir a un general. Eligieron al p. Czerniewicz. Tomó el título de Vicario General, con los poderes del General.

• 26 de junio de 1614. Por una artimaña de los calvinistas, el Parlamento francés condenó el libro "Defensio Fidei" de Francis Suárez. Además, en Inglaterra James ordené que el libro se quemara públicamente.

• 27 de junio de 1978. Bernard Lisson, mecánico, y Gregor Richert, párroco, fueron asesinados a tiros en la misión de St Rupert, Sinoia, Zimbabwe.

Poem: “Silent God” by Edwina Gateley

This is my prayer –

That, though I may not see,
I be aware
of the Silent God
who stands by me.

That, though I may not feel,
I be aware
of the Mighty Love
Which doggedly follows me.

That, though I may not respond,
I be aware
That God – my Silent, Mighty God,
Waits each day.

Quietly, hopefully, persistently.
Waits each day and through each night
For me.
For me – alone.

Prayer: “A Prayer to the Potter” by Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B.

Dear Potter,

The lump of clay that I am

keeps crying for some form

day by day

I yearn for you to mold me.

This is a trust-song, Lord

I am in your hands like clay

I am ready to be transformed:

I expect

to be molded

I expect

to be beautiful

I expect

to be loved.

And if by chance

someone should drop me

as your apprentices sometimes do,

I expect

to be hurt.

I’m just trying to say

I have surrendered

to your dream for me

I am in your hands

like clay.

Prayer: Thomas a Kempis

Take away, O Lord, from our hearts all suspiciousness, indignation, anger, contention, and whatever is calculated to wound charity and lessen neighborly love. Have mercy, O Lord, on those who seek your mercy. Give grace to the needy. Make us live so that we may be found worthy to enjoy the fruition of your grace and attain eternal life.

Prayer: John Bosco

Be brave and detach your heart from worldly things. Do your utmost to banish darkness from your mind and come to understand what true, selfless piety is. Through confession, purify your heart of anything which may still taint it. Enliven your faith, which is essential to understand and achieve piety.

Poem: "Even Now" by Ann Weems

She stands beneath his dying and will not be persuaded to leave, despite the urgings of others. They huddle against her in an effort to hold her against the pain, but she stands erect, unleaning, her eyes upon his face.

From the hillside the sounds of weeping and wailing hang heavy in the air, but she who held him in a stable in Bethlehem stands silent beneath his cross in Jerusalem, her heart pondering still, her soul magnifying the Lord, her spirit praising God, knowing even now that she is blessed among women.

Prayer: Francis

May the Church be a place of God’s mercy and hope, where all feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged to live according to the good life of the gospel. And to make others feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged, the Church must be with doors wide open so that all may enter. And we must go out through these doors and proclaim the gospel.

We are the Eucharist. The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ Sunday 2020

   We are the Eucharist.

The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ Sunday 2020

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June 14, 2020

Exodus 34:4-9; Daniel 3; 2 Corinthians 13:1-13; John 3:16-18

The power of the Eucharist has been evident during these past months when the faithful parishioners were unable to sacramentally receive the Eucharist. People tuned into Zoom sessions and televised masses but it was not the same as receiving the Body and Blood of Christ at mass. People were hungry for communion with God and others. The sense of relief and connection that one finds when one receives what God offers has been incredible.

In the first reading, Moses reminded the people that God always provided for them, even when they did not realize what was in front of them. The unfamiliar manna filled their bellies and water was drawn mysteriously from a rock to show that God would help them carry on, though in unanticipated ways. First Corinthians hearkens back to the Last Supper, but Paul shows us that, because of our participation in the meal, we are inextricably in communion with one another. Surprisingly, the Gospel does not focus upon the Last Supper, the moment we received the Eucharist, but it comes from the Bread of Life discourse in the Fourth Gospel.

The Gospel passage presents Jesus in front of a Jewish audience who refuses to believe in him. They are curious about who he is and what he does, but they cannot accept his claim that one has to eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to obtain eternal life. They want eternal life, but they cannot think about what that means. They are offended by his cannibalistic ideas as Jesus plainly says that his flesh is real food and his blood real drink, but it is also something more, and they cannot see that. It is just like the bread and wine that we partake. It is always bread and wine, but it is something more through the power of our faith and the blessings on God and the Spirit as Jesus relives his last meal. We know this food is real and it is what sustains us each week. Without it, we are just not complete.

We participate in bringing about the Eucharist as much as God does. God brings us together to be with us and to remember the life of Jesus. When we remember something, we bring it back to life. Jesus relives his last moments where he shares his body with us to reveal God’s love, to reveal that God knows and understands human suffering. We offer to God all the cares and concerns of our week, our daily toil and our joys, our happy moments and times of sadness. As we do this, we offer our very selves with the gifts we present. The priest, in a special role, will intercede on your behalf, and is a part of the people, who as a community gather to give thanks. We take everything we have done and all that we are and we offer in to prayer for God to bless and transform, and God does that well. We know that the Eucharist is more than a consecrated host or sacred blood, it is an action of the people. We are a necessary part of the Eucharist. As we offer ourselves with our gifts, God blesses and transforms us, and thus we are sent out into the world to carry God’s word.

We return home and we are changed, in ways perhaps we do not see. We become more generous. We give thanks a bit more. Our hearts hold more suffering better. We are more patient, merciful, and understanding, just as God is with us. We have become like Christ, and we are the power, a part of the Eucharist, sent by God, that changes the world.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading:

Monday: (1 Kings 21) Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden, since it is close by, next to my house. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or, if you prefer, I will give you its value in money.”

Tuesday: (1 Kings 21) After the death of Naboth the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite: “Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be in the vineyard of Naboth, of which he has come to take possession. This is what you shall tell him, ‘The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession?

Wednesday: (2 Kings 2) When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, he and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here; the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.” “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you,” Elisha replied.

Thursday: (Sirach 48) Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were as a flaming furnace. Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he reduced them to straits; By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire.

Friday (Deuteronomy 7) Moses said to the people: "You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God; he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own. It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the LORD loved you.

Saturday (2 Chronicles 24) After the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and paid homage to King Joash, and the king then listened to them. They forsook the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and began to serve the sacred poles and the idols; and because of this crime of theirs, wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.

Gospel: 

Monday: (Matthew 5) “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.

Tuesday: (Matthew 5) “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father.

Wednesday (Matthew 6) Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others.

Thursday (Matthew 6) In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Friday (Matthew 11) I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father.

Saturday (Luke 2) Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.

Saints of the Week

Friday: The Sacred Heart of Jesus is set on the Friday following Corpus Christi. The heart of Jesus is adored as a symbol of divine, spiritual, and human love. Its devotion grew during the Middle Ages and was transformed in the 17th century when Mary Margaret Alocoque and her Jesuit spiritual director, Claude La Colombiere, reinvigorated the devotion.

Saturday: The Immaculate Heart of Mary began as a devotion in the 17th century. In 1944, the feast was extended to the Western Church. Her heart signifies her sanctity and love as the Mother of God.

June 19: Romuald, abbot (950-1027), was born into a family of dukes from Ravenna and became known for founding the Camaldolese Benedictine order that combined the solitary life of hermits into a monastic community life. He founded other hermitages and monasteries throughout Italy.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Jun 14, 1596. By his brief Romanus Pontifex, Pope Clement VIII forbade to members of the Society of Jesus the use or privilege of the Bulla Cruciata as to the choice of confessors and the obtaining of absolution from reserved cases.

·      Jun 15, 1871. P W Couzins, a female law student, graduated from Saint Louis University Law School, the first law school in the country to admit women.

·      Jun 16, 1675. St Margaret Mary Alacoque received her great revelation about devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

·      Jun 17, 1900. The martyrdom at Wuyi, China, of Blesseds Modeste Andlauer and Remy Asore, slain during the Boxer Rebellion.

·      Jun 18, 1804. Fr. John Roothan, a future general of the Society, left his native Holland at the age of seventeen to join the Society in White Russia.

·      Jun 19, 1558. Fr. Lainez, the Vicar General, summoned the opening of the First General Congregation, nearly two years after the death of Ignatius. Some trouble arose from the fact that Fr. Bobadilla thought himself entitled to some share in the governance. Pope Paul IV ordered that the Institute of the Society should be strictly adhered to.

·      Jun 20, 1626. The martyrdom in Nagasaki, Japan, of Blesseds Francis Pacheco, John Baptist Zola, Vincent Caun, Balthasar De Torres, Michael Tozo, Gaspar Sadamatzu, John Kinsaco, Paul Xinsuki, and Peter Rinscei.