Spirituality: Origins of Halloween

Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of "All Hallows' evening"), also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. 

One theory holds that many Halloween traditions may have been influenced by ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, which may have had pagan roots; some scholars hold that Samhain may have been Christianized as All Hallow's Day, along with its eve, by the early Church. 

Other academics believe, however, that Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, being the vigil of All Hallow's Day. 

 Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, as well as watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration. Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.

from Wikipedia.

Prayer: Augustine

Lord God, we are in the shadow of your wings. Protect us and bear us up. When you are our strength, we are strong; but when we are our own strength, we are weak. Our good always lives in your presence, and we suffer when we turn our faces away from you. We now return to you, O Lord, that we may never turn away again.

Prayer: "A prayer in difficult times" by Fr. Predmore, S.J.

Loving God, As I begin this new week, I ask that you gaze warmly upon me as you invite me to come before you and sit. Help me breathe deeply and slowly as I sit in your presence. I know that my breathing connects my mind to my body, my emotions, my environment, and to my suffering. My breathing takes me to a place I can know as home, a place of comfort, a place of security, a place where my real self resides. My breathing centers me and keeps me in a place of balance so I can deal with the many challenges of the world. Wherever I am, my breath takes me back home to myself. 

As I come before you, I ask you to “See me. Hear me. Know how I’m feeling.” Help me articulate my needs and feelings as I speak them to you. Just be in solidarity with me as you intimately come to know what I am experiencing. Give me a full vocabulary to express my emotions. It is not that I see you, but you who sees me, and my presence fills you with wonder and admiration. Help me to speak to you adequate words that reveals who I am at this moment. I know that love is a mutual sharing of who I am with the one I love. Help me to share gracefully and in freedom. 

As you listen to me, give me the grace to hear you as well. Your words are the words of life and I need to be nourished by your creative, life-sustaining words – now more than ever. 

 Thank you, dear God. I honor you and give you glory, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

We Matter The Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time 2020

                                                        We Matter

The Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time 2020

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November 1, 2020

Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; Psalm 24; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

 

 

In our calendar, we celebrate all the saints today and we remember all the faithful departed souls tomorrow and each day this month. It is a day when we feel heaven and earth are drawn very close together, to a thin space, to a liminal existence where earth and heaven are held together by our threads of affection for one another through God’s grace. We experience the nearness of our deceased loved ones through our memories of kindnesses and cares, and we let God know how much we miss those no longer with us. Our communion of saints is comforting and it gives us strength to pass along our goodwill to others. The Beatitudes are God’s way of saying to us that God cares for us, that we matter, even when we may not feel we are respected in the world by those who are meaningful to us.

 

We have a basic human need to matter to someone meaningful to us. We crave acceptance, appreciation, connection, and belonging. We also want intimacy, mutuality, warmth, and trust because loneliness is the suffering of our time. We hunger for love but do not know how to generate love in order to feed ourselves with it. Though we may be around many others, we can still feel isolated. In our prayers, we may hear Christ’s beautiful words spoken through the Beatitudes and respond to it in different ways. The Beatitudes are God’s way of saying, “your lives matter.” It becomes meaningful when the words are personally spoken to us.

 

Scripture has to lead prayer to become personal. While it is okay to read the Beatitudes to say “All Your Lives Matter, especially the most vulnerable,” while it is true, it misses the mark. We want to hear from God, “Your life matters to me a great deal.” It is equivalent to someone saying to you, “I love you,” and you respond back, “I love all people.” While it may be true, it is so much more enriching to reply, “I love you as well. I’m glad you are in my life.” The personal expression of love is much more than words for you cannot truthfully say those words without being changed.

 

Allow yourself to hear these words from God, “I care for you, you matter to me, I want the best for you, and I love you.” Can you allow yourself to be loved? Can you allow God to gaze upon you in astonishment and wonder so God can just behold who you are? God doesn’t see you as you see yourself. Be that noble person God intends you to be, the one who is called to be your very best, the one who is supported by a love that impels you to give all that you have to make your life and the lives of those around you better. God’s love perfects you. God’s love changes you. God’s love connects, and once we see those connections, we build a world of possibilities that are otherwise unseen by us.

 

Today and this month, we can feel our world’s connection with God’s realm. The thin places are held together by this mutual love, for the longing for greater meaning, to still matter to those who have gone before us in the faith, to be seen, heard, and known in an intimate embrace that gives solemn meaning to our existence. Heaven and earth touch today so we can give and receive this love. Dear friends, rest in God’s personal love for you today. You certainly matter. Blessed are you for receiving God’s warm kiss.

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

First Reading:

Monday: (Wisdom 3) The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction.

 

Tuesday: (Philippians 2) Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.

 

Wednesday: (Philippians 2) Obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.

 

Thursday: (Philippians 3) We are the circumcision, we who worship through the Spirit of God, who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh, although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.

 

Friday (Philippians 3) For many conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things.

 

Saturday (Philippians 4) I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (John 6) Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

 

Tuesday: (Luke 14) One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”

 

Wednesday (Luke 14) Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

 

Thursday (Luke 15) The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus addressed this parable to them.

 

Friday (Luke 16) A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’

 

Saturday (Luke 16) Make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones.

 

Saints of the Week

 

November 1: All Saints Day honors the countless faithful believers - living and dead - who have helped us along in our faith. Our liturgical calendar is filled with canonized saints, but we have many blesseds and minor saints who no longer appear on it. We have local saints across the world. We have many people who live Gospel values who we appreciate and imitate. We remember all of these people on this day.

 

November 2: All Souls Day is the commemoration of the faithful departed. November is known as All Souls Month. We remember those who died as we hasten towards the end of the liturgical year and the great feast of Christ the King. As a tradition, we have always remembered our dead as a way of keeping them alive to us and giving thanks to God for their lives.

 

November 3: Rupert Mayer, S.J., priest (1876-1945), resisted the Nazi government and died while saying Mass of a stroke. In 1937, he was placed in protective custody and was eventually released when he agreed that he would no longer preach.

 

November 3: Martin de Porres, religious (1579-1639) was a Peruvian born of a Spanish knight and a Panamanian Indian woman. Because he was not pure blood, he lost many privileges in the ruling classes. He became a Dominican and served the community in many menial jobs. He was known for tending to the sick and poor and for maintaining a rigorous prayer life.

 

November 4: Charles Borromeo, bishop (1538-1584), was made Bishop of Milan at age 22. He was the nephew of Pope Pius IV. He was a leading Archbishop in the Catholic Reformation that followed the Council of Trent. During a plague epidemic, Borromeo visited the hardest hit areas so he could provide pastoral care to the sick.

 

November 5: All Saints and Blessed of the Society of Jesus are remembered by Jesuits on their particularized liturgical calendar. We remember not only the major saints on the calendar, but also those who are in the canonization process and hold the title of Blessed. We pray for all souls of deceased Jesuits in our province during the month by using our necrology (listing of the dead.)

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• Nov 1, 1956. The Society of Jesus was allowed in Norway.
• Nov 2, 1661. The death of Daniel Seghers, a famous painter of insects and flowers.
• Nov 3, 1614. Dutch pirates failed to capture the vessel in which the right arm of Francis Xavier was being brought to Rome.
• Nov 4, 1768. On the feast of St Charles, patron of Charles III, King of Spain, the people of Madrid asked for the recall of the Jesuits who had been banished from Spain nineteen months earlier. Irritated by this demand, the king drove the Archbishop of Toledo and his Vicar General into exile as instigators of the movement.
• Nov 5, 1660. The death of Alexander de Rhodes, one of the most effective Jesuit missionaries of all time. A native of France, he arrived in what is now Vietnam in 1625.
• Nov 6, 1789. Fr. John Carroll of Maryland was appointed to be the first Bishop of Baltimore.
• Nov 7, 1717. The death of Antonio Baldinucci, an itinerant preacher to the inhabitants of the Italian countryside near Rome. 

Nosotros importamos Trigésimo primer domingo del tiempo ordinario 2020

Nosotros importamos

Trigésimo primer domingo del tiempo ordinario 2020

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1 de noviembre de 2020

Apocalipsis 7: 2-4, 9-14; Salmo 24; 1 Juan 3: 1-3; Mateo 5: 1-12

 

 

En nuestro calendario, celebramos a todos los santos hoy y recordamos a todos los fieles difuntos mañana y cada día de este mes. Es un día en el que sentimos que el cielo y la tierra se acercan mucho, a un espacio delgado, a una existencia liminal donde la tierra y el cielo se mantienen unidos por nuestros hilos de afecto mutuo a través de la gracia de Dios. Experimentamos la cercanía de nuestros seres queridos fallecidos a través de nuestros recuerdos de bondad y cuidados, y le hacemos saber a Dios cuánto extrañamos a los que ya no están con nosotros. Nuestra comunión de los santos es reconfortante y nos da fuerzas para transmitir nuestra buena voluntad a los demás. Las Bienaventuranzas son la manera en que Dios nos dice que Dios se preocupa por nosotros, que nosotros importamos, incluso cuando no nos sintamos respetados en el mundo por aquellos que son importantes para nosotros.

 

Tenemos una necesidad humana básica de importarle a alguien significativo para nosotros. Anhelamos aceptación, aprecio, conexión y pertenencia. También queremos intimidad, reciprocidad, calidez y confianza porque la soledad es el sufrimiento de nuestro tiempo. Tenemos hambre de amor pero no sabemos cómo generar amor para alimentarnos con él. Aunque podamos estar cerca de muchos otros, todavía podemos sentirnos aislados. En nuestras oraciones, podemos escuchar las hermosas palabras de Cristo dichas a través de las Bienaventuranzas y responder a ellas de diferentes maneras. Las Bienaventuranzas son la manera de Dios de decir, "sus vidas importan". Se vuelve significativo cuando las palabras se nos dicen personalmente.

 

Las Escrituras deben llevar a que la oración se vuelva personal. Si bien está bien leer las Bienaventuranzas para decir "Todas sus vidas importan, especialmente los más vulnerables", si bien es cierto, no da en el blanco. Queremos escuchar de Dios: "Tu vida me importa mucho". Es equivalente a que alguien te diga "Te amo" y tú respondas "Amo a todas las personas". Si bien puede ser cierto, es mucho más enriquecedor responder: “Yo también te amo. Me alegro de que estés en mi vida ". La expresión personal de amor es mucho más que palabras, porque no puedes decir esas palabras con sinceridad sin ser cambiado.

 

Permítete escuchar estas palabras de Dios: "Me preocupo por ti, me importas, quiero lo mejor para ti y te amo". ¿Puedes permitirte ser amado? ¿Puedes permitir que Dios te mire con asombro y se pregunte para que Dios pueda ver quién eres? Dios no te ve como te ves a ti mismo. Sé esa persona noble que Dios quiere que seas, la que está llamada a ser lo mejor de ti, la que está respaldada por un amor que te impulsa a dar todo lo que tienes para mejorar tu vida y la de quienes te rodean. . El amor de Dios te perfecciona. El amor de Dios te cambia. El amor de Dios conecta, y una vez que vemos esas conexiones, construimos un mundo de posibilidades que de otro modo no veríamos.

 

Hoy y este mes, podemos sentir la conexión de nuestro mundo con el reino de Dios. Los lugares delgados se mantienen unidos por este amor recíproco, por el anhelo de un mayor significado, para que aún importe a quienes nos han precedido en la fe, para ser vistos, oídos y conocidos en un abrazo íntimo que da sentido solemne a nuestra fe. existencia. El cielo y la tierra se tocan hoy para que podamos dar y recibir este amor. Queridos amigos, descansen en el amor personal de Dios por ustedes hoy. Ciertamente importa. Bendito seas por recibir el cálido beso de Dios.

 

Escritura para la misa diaria

 

Primera lectura:

Lunes: (Sabiduría 3) Las almas de los justos están en la mano de Dios, y ningún tormento los tocará. A la vista de los necios, parecían muertos; y su fallecimiento fue considerado una aflicción y su salida de nosotros, destrucción total.

 

Martes: (Filipenses 2) Tengan entre ustedes la misma actitud que también tienen en Cristo Jesús, quien, aunque tenía la forma de Dios, no consideró el ser igual a Dios como algo a lo que aferrarse. Más bien, se vació, tomando la forma de un esclavo.

 

Miércoles: (Filipenses 2) Obediente como siempre lo has sido, no solo cuando estoy presente, sino sobre todo ahora cuando estoy ausente, trabaja en tu salvación con temor y temblor. Porque Dios es el que, para su buen propósito, obra en ti tanto para desear como para obrar.

 

Jueves: (Filipenses 3) Somos la circuncisión, los que adoramos por el Espíritu de Dios, los que nos gloriamos en Cristo Jesús y no ponemos nuestra confianza en la carne, aunque yo mismo tengo motivos para confiar incluso en la carne.

 

Viernes (Filipenses 3) Porque muchos se comportan como enemigos de la cruz de Cristo. Su fin es la destrucción. Su Dios es su estómago; su gloria está en su "vergüenza". Sus mentes están ocupadas con cosas terrenales.

 

Sábado (Filipenses 4) En verdad sé cómo vivir en circunstancias humildes; También sé vivir en abundancia. En todas las circunstancias y en todas las cosas he aprendido el secreto de estar bien alimentado y pasar hambre, de vivir en abundancia y de tener necesidad.

 

Evangelio:

Lunes: (Juan 6) Todo lo que el Padre me da, vendrá a mí, y no rechazaré a nadie que venga a mí, porque bajé del cielo no para hacer mi voluntad, sino la voluntad del que me envió.

 

Martes: (Lucas 14) Uno de los que estaban a la mesa con Jesús le dijo: "Bienaventurado el que coma en el Reino de Dios".

 

Miércoles (Lucas 14) Grandes multitudes viajaban con Jesús, y él se volvió y se dirigió a ellos: “Si alguno viene a mí sin odiar a su padre y madre, esposa e hijos, hermanos y hermanas, e incluso su propia vida, no puede ser mi discípulo.

 

Jueves (Lucas 15) Los recaudadores de impuestos y los pecadores se estaban acercando para escuchar a Jesús, pero los fariseos y los escribas comenzaron a quejarse, diciendo: "Este a los pecadores recibe y come con ellos". Entonces Jesús les dirigió esta parábola.

 

Viernes (Lucas 16) Un hombre rico tenía un mayordomo que le fue denunciado por malgastar su propiedad. Lo llamó y le dijo: '¿Qué es esto que escuché de ti? Prepara un informe completo de tu mayordomía, porque ya no puedes ser mi mayordomo ".

 

Sábado (Lucas 16) Háganse amigos de las riquezas deshonestas, para que cuando falten, sean recibidos en moradas eternas. La persona que es digna de confianza en asuntos muy pequeños también lo es en los grandes.

 

Santos de la semana

 

1 de noviembre: El Día de Todos los Santos honra a los innumerables creyentes fieles, vivos y muertos, que nos han ayudado en nuestra fe. Nuestro calendario litúrgico está lleno de santos canonizados, pero tenemos muchos beatos y santos menores que ya no aparecen en él. Tenemos santos locales en todo el mundo. Tenemos muchas personas que viven los valores del Evangelio a quienes apreciamos e imitamos. Recordamos a todas estas personas en este día.

 

2 de noviembre: Día de los Difuntos es la conmemoración de los fieles difuntos. Noviembre se conoce como el Mes de Todos los Santos. Recordamos a los que murieron mientras nos apresuramos hacia el final del año litúrgico y la gran fiesta de Cristo Rey. Como tradición, siempre hemos recordado a nuestros muertos como una forma de mantenerlos vivos y dar gracias a Dios por sus vidas.

 

3 de noviembre: Rupert Mayer, S.J., sacerdote (1876-1945), resistió al gobierno nazi y murió mientras decía misa de un derrame cerebral. En 1937, fue puesto bajo custodia protectora y finalmente fue puesto en libertad cuando aceptó que ya no predicaría.

 

3 de noviembre: Martín de Porres, religioso (1579-1639) fue un peruano nacido de un caballero español y una india panameña. Como no era de sangre pura, perdió muchos privilegios en las clases dominantes. Se convirtió en dominicano y sirvió a la comunidad en muchos trabajos de baja categoría. Era conocido por atender a los enfermos y pobres y por mantener una rigurosa vida de oración.

 

4 de noviembre: Carlos Borromeo, obispo (1538-1584), es nombrado obispo de Milán a los 22 años. Era sobrino del Papa Pío IV. Fue un arzobispo destacado en la Reforma católica que siguió al Concilio de Trento. Durante una epidemia de peste, Borromeo visitó las áreas más afectadas para poder brindar atención pastoral a los enfermos.

 

5 de noviembre: Todos los Santos y Beatos de la Compañía de Jesús son recordados por los jesuitas en su calendario litúrgico particularizado. Recordamos no solo a los santos principales del calendario, sino también a los que están en proceso de canonización y ostentan el título de Beatos. Oramos por todas las almas de los jesuitas fallecidos en nuestra provincia durante el mes utilizando nuestra necrología (lista de los muertos).

 

Esta semana en la historia de los jesuitas

 

• 1 de noviembre de 1956. Se permitió la entrada a la Compañía de Jesús en Noruega.

• 2 de noviembre de 1661. Muerte de Daniel Seghers, famoso pintor de insectos y flores.

• 3 de noviembre de 1614. Los piratas holandeses no lograron capturar el barco en el que se traía a Roma el brazo derecho de Francisco Javier.

• 4 de noviembre de 1768. En la fiesta de San Carlos, patrón de Carlos III, rey de España, los madrileños pidieron la revocación de los jesuitas desterrados de España diecinueve meses antes. Irritado por esta demanda, el rey expulsó al arzobispo de Toledo y a su vicario general como instigadores del movimiento.

• 5 de noviembre de 1660. Muerte de Alexander de Rhodes, uno de los misioneros jesuitas más eficaces de todos los tiempos. Nacido en Francia, llegó a lo que hoy es Vietnam en 1625.

• 6 de noviembre de 1789. P. John Carroll de Maryland fue designado como el primer obispo de Baltimore.

• 7 de noviembre de 1717. Muerte de Antonio Baldinucci, predicador itinerante de los habitantes de la campiña italiana cerca de Roma.

Poem: W.B. Yeats, The Second Coming

God cannot abide with us in a place of fear.
God cannot abide with us in a place of ill will or hatred.
God cannot abide with us inside a nonstop volley of claim and counterclaim.
God cannot abide with us in an endless flow of online punditry and analysis.
God cannot speak inside of so much angry noise and conscious deceit.
God cannot be found when all sides are so far from “the Falconer.”
God cannot be born except in a womb of Love.
So offer God that womb.

Prayer: On Work and Workers’ Rights: from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The fact is that the work which improves the condition of mankind, the work which extends knowledge and increases power and enriches literature and elevates thought, is not done to only secure a living. It is not the work of slaves driven to their tasks either by the task, by the taskmaster, or by animal necessity. It is the work of men who somehow fi nd a form of work that brings has dignity and hastens a better state of society where want is abolished.

Poem: "My Tears" by Fr. John Predmore, S.J.

 

Bob Hsiung

 

Spirituality: Cynthia Bourgeault

The greatest reassurance--and I admit, frankly, surprise--came for me in our times of spiritual practice and in a Sunday morning Eucharist which palpably exploded with the presence of the risen Christ...While the courses of action that emerge from each one of us may differ, what was eminently clear to each of us was that this protective field of tenderness and responsive concern to our planetary anguish is alive and well, and that we can and MUST turn to it...daily, hourly, with our very best. In the best of Wisdom fashion, our hope shifted away from outcome and back to source.

Prayer: "Love and Living" from Thomas Merton

 When we live superficially ... we are always outside ourselves, never quite 'with' ourselves, always divided and pulled in many directions ... we find ourselves doing many things that we do not really want to do, saying things we do not really mean, needing things we do not really need, exhausting ourselves for what we secretly realize to be worthless and without meaning in our lives.

Prayer: The Prayer of an Ignatian Artist

 O God of Creation, 

you call us as companions of Jesus to follow your way and to be of greater service to your glory. 

We offer ourselves to you as instruments, Lord, - our liberty, our memory, our understanding, and our will. We open ourselves to your creativity in our lives. We surrender to you our old ideas. Take, Lord, Receive, as we welcome your new, more expansive ideas. We trust that you will lead us and that it is safe to follow you. 

We know you created us, all that we are and all that we possess. You have given us everything, and to You, Lord, we return it. Creativity is your nature and our own. We ask you to unfold our lives according to your plan, not to our self-assessment. Use our gifts wholly according to your will. 

Help us to believe that it is not too late and that we are not too small or too flawed to be healed, to be recreated – by you and through each other – and made whole. Give us only your love and your grace, for that is enough for us. 

Guide us to honor one another, to nurture each other’s unfolding, to encourage each other’s growth, and understand each other’s fears. 

Make us to know that we are not alone, that we are loved and lovable, and that our acts of creating is an act of worshiping you. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Did you Make Life Easier? The Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2020

Did you Make Life Easier? 

The Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2020

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October 25, 2020

Exodus 22:20-26; Psalm 18; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40

 

 

The Exodus passage establishes the moral life of a believer, and these principles have been embedded into the Christian faith from the very beginning. The message Jesus preached has continuity with the Exodus reading: that we are to take care of an alien, translated to read foreigners, refugees and migrants, that is, anyone who is different from us, different from our circle of acquaintances; widows and orphans; those who are poor in spirit, in personality, in understanding, and those placed at the margins of society because of our lack of understanding and our condemnations. A Christian has a faith obligation to go above and beyond bare minimum of sustenance in order to make one who is less fortunate feel accepted and welcomed. Pope Francis made a remarkable statement this week to that effect. Caring for those who are marginalized has never been a political doctrine, but a faith requirement, and it is as old as the hills, and the Gospel makes sure that we know that our entrance into heaven is based on how well we treat those who have fallen upon hard times, even if it is of their own doing.

While this Gospel passage is referred to as the Last Judgment, it questions the judgments we make before we give our charity. It makes us examine our reactions to the needs of others. It examines our thoughts and attitudes, which leads to speech and action. It raises the essential question, “Who is my neighbor?” Too often we judge with lightning speed and hold onto those positions ferociously – without even praying over them. This passage reminds us that = We are NOT the judges.

When our earthly life ends and we appear before God, God will not be asking us if we were able to recite the creed accurately, if we could withstand a test to examine our knowledge of scripture or doctrinal teaching, whether we knew how to pray particular prayers, or even if we passed an orthodoxy test of our theology. That doesn’t matter to God. Our preoccupation with our sins doesn’t matter to God either. What God cares about is “What did you do to make life easier for others?” This question is simply based upon our action and interaction with the person we meet on a daily basis. Did you make life easier for someone else?

Everyone we know carries pain and burdens that we are kept from others. Each and every person that stands before us bears a weightiness that we do not understand. Every person in this contentious political season is suffering in some way, which makes them respond so strongly for or against a political opponent, a way of life, a philosophy. Have we stopped to inquire deep down how they are suffering? What they really need? We need to be in touch with the person’s humanity. We cannot just frame our ideas according to a set of classical ideals and standards that govern how we think. We cannot simply classify people into groups and then demonize the group. Why? Because we have a human being standing in front of us – one who deserves dignity, understanding, and empathy. We judge without knowing anyone’s story. We make sweeping judgments over categories of people. As Christians, we cannot do that. We have to see the soul that is before us and give that soul honor and glory, even to the least likely person we can imagine. This is the message of the Gospel passage. When our goodwill becomes an unconscious pattern of caring in our lives, we will have received the message of Jesus. Our charity and goodness involved being kind, giving sympathy, being generative and generous. Our mission is to learn to live with each other better than we have been doing.

Think about a parent’s joy when we do something nice for them, but yet, their joy is much greater when we do some unsolicited good for a sibling, especially if it is undeserved and unexpected. That is akin to our relationship with God, since we are all siblings to one another. We can give thanks to God, worship, attend church, follow the teachings, and God likes that, but God has everything God needs, but when we can do something for someone who is a son, daughter, friend to God, how very happy God must be. A person in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Peru, Namibia, Lebanon is a sibling to us. The best thing we can do for God is to relieve the suffering of someone around us, by making their lives easier, even if we do not comprehend their actions or motivations. We do kindnesses for those around us who are in need, which brings us back to the Exodus reading – to those who are vulnerable because of our absolute, often incomplete or uninformed judgments. We make God happy when we suspend our calculation of charity and freely give it to those who crying out for God’s attention because God hears their cries. We need to hear them as well. We enter into the chaos of another’s person life situation, and when we bring the face of God, we make life easier for that dear soul, and their pain is lessened.

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

First Reading:

Monday: (Ephesians 4) Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.

 

Tuesday: (Ephesians 5) This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church. In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

 

Wednesday: (Ephesians 2) Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

 

Thursday: (Ephesians 6) Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil.

 

Friday (Philemon 1) I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you,
praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the Gospel from the first day until now.

 

Saturday (Philippians 1) As long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth,
Christ is being proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Indeed I shall continue to rejoice, for I know that this will result in deliverance for me through your prayers and support from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Luke 13) Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.

 

Tuesday: (Luke 13) “What is the Kingdom of God like? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

 

Wednesday (Luke 6) Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles.

 

Thursday (Luke 13) Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling!

 

Friday (Luke 14) On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy.

 

Saturday (Luke 14) He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. 

 

Saints of the Week

 

October 28: Simon and Jude, apostles (first century) were two of the Twelve Disciples called by Jesus, but little is known about them. We think they are Simon the Zealot and Judas, the son of James. Simon was most likely a Zealot sympathizer who would have desired revolution against Rome; Jude is also called Thaddeus, and is patron saint of hopeless causes. Both apostles suffered martyrdom. 

 

October 30: Dominic Collins, S.J., priest and martyr (1566-1602), was a Jesuit brother who was martyred in his native Ireland. He became a professional solider in the Catholic armies of Europe after the Desmond Rebellion was put down in 1583. He joined the Jesuits in 1584 at Santiago de Compostela and was sent back to Ireland in 1601 with a Spanish contingent. He was captured, tried for his faith, and sentenced to death.

 

October 31: Alphonsus Rodriguez, S.J. (1532-1617) was widowed at age 31. When his three children died, Alphonsus joined the Jesuits as a lay brother at age 40 after attempting to complete the rigors of study. He was sent to the newly opened college in Majorca where he served as a porter for 46 years. His manner of calling people to sanctification was extraordinary. He served obediently and helped others to focus on their spiritual lives.

 

October 31: All Hallows Eve (evening) owes its origins to a Celtic festival that marked summer's end. The term was first used in 16th century Scotland. Trick or treating resembles the late medieval practice of souling when poor people would go door to door on Hallomas (November 1) receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2.)

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• Oct 25, 1567. St Stanislaus Kostka arrived in Rome and was admitted into the Society by St Francis Borgia. 
• Oct 26, 1546. The Province of Portugal was established as the first province in the Society, with Simao Rodriguez as its first provincial superior. 
• Oct 27, 1610. The initial entrance of the Jesuits into Canada. The mission had been recommended to the Society by Henry IV. 
• Oct 28, 1958. The death of Wilfrid Parsons, founder of Thought magazine and editor of America from 1925 to 1936. 
• Oct 29, 1645. In the General Chapter of the Benedictines in Portugal, a statement published by one of their order, that said St Ignatius had borrowed the matter in his Spiritual Exercises from a Benedictine author, was indignantly repudiated. 
• Oct 30, 1638. On this day, John Milton, the great English poet, dined with the Fathers and students of the English College in Rome. 
• Oct 31, 1602. At Cork, the martyrdom of Dominic Collins, an Irish brother, who was hanged, drawn, and quartered for his adherence to the faith. 

 

 

¿Hiciste la vida más fácil? Trigésimo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario 2020

 ¿Hiciste la vida más fácil?

Trigésimo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario 2020

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

25 de octubre de 2020

Éxodo 22: 20-26; Salmo 18; 1 Tesalonicenses 1: 5-10; Mateo 22: 34-40

 

 

La lectura del Éxodo establece la base de la vida moral de un discípulo, y estos principios han sido parte de la fe cristiana desde el principio. Jesús predicó que debemos cuidar de un extranjero, es decir, refugiados y migrantes, viudas y huérfanos, los pobres y marginados de la sociedad. Un cristiano tiene la obligación de fe de ir más allá de proporcionar el mero sustento para hacer que uno que es menos afortunado se sienta aceptado y bienvenido. Cuidar de los marginados nunca ha sido una doctrina política, sino un requisito de fe, y es tan antiguo como las colinas, y el Evangelio asegura que sepamos que nuestra entrada al cielo se basa en lo bien que tratamos a los que han caído en tiempos difíciles, incluso si es por su propia obra.

 

Si bien este pasaje del Evangelio se conoce como el Juicio Final, cuestiona cómo juzgamos a los demás antes de dar nuestra caridad. Nos hace examinar nuestras reacciones a las necesidades de los demás. Cuando comparezcamos ante Dios cuando nuestra vida terrenal haya terminado, Dios no nos preguntará si pudimos recitar el credo con precisión, si podríamos resistir una prueba para examinar nuestro conocimiento de las Escrituras, si sabíamos cómo orar oraciones particulares, o incluso si pasamos una prueba de ortodoxia de nuestra teología. Eso no le importa a Dios. Nuestra preocupación por nuestros pecados tampoco le importa a Dios. Lo que le importa a Dios es "¿Qué hiciste para hacer la vida más fácil a los demás?" Esta pregunta se basa simplemente en nuestra acción e interacción con la persona que conocemos a diario. ¿Le hiciste la vida más fácil a otra persona?

 

Entonces, cambiemos este mensaje para enfocarnos en la bondad inconsciente que otros han hecho por ti o tú por los demás. Las personas alabadas en este pasaje nunca se dieron cuenta de lo que estaban haciendo porque les resultaba natural. No calcularon la caridad para ver si valía la pena hacerlo. Su bondad era bastante inconsciente: ser amables, ser compasivos, ser generativos y generosos. A veces, la mejor forma de dar es cuando el donante no sabe a quién se está dando, o el receptor no conoce la identidad del donante. Hemos tenido experiencias en las que nos hemos beneficiado de la amabilidad de alguien que no tenía idea de que dijo o hizo algo profundamente bueno por nosotros. Cuánto más ricos somos cuando somos capaces de expresar nuestro agradecimiento a esa persona para que sepa lo importantes que han sido para nosotros.

 

Piense en la alegría de un padre cuando hacemos algo bueno por ellos, pero aún así, su alegría es mucho mayor cuando hacemos un bien no solicitado por un hermano, especialmente si es inmerecido. Eso es similar a nuestra relación con Dios, ya que todos somos hermanos unos de otros. Podemos dar gracias a Dios, adorar, asistir a la iglesia y a Dios le gusta eso, pero Dios tiene todo lo que Dios necesita, pero cuando podemos hacer algo por alguien que es un hijo, una hija, un amigo de Dios, qué feliz debe ser Dios. La mejor manera en que podemos hacer las cosas para Dios es hacerlo por aquellos que nos rodean y que están en necesidad, lo que nos devuelve a la lectura del Éxodo: el migrante, el refugiado, el extranjero, el prisionero, la viuda o el huérfano. Hacemos feliz a Dios cuando suspendemos nuestro cálculo de la caridad y se la damos gratuitamente a aquellos que claman por la atención de Dios. Entramos en el caos de la situación de vida de otra persona y traemos el rostro de Dios y le hacemos la vida más fácil a esa querida alma.

 

Escritura para la misa diaria

 

Primera lectura:

Lunes: (Efesios 4) Sean amables unos con otros, compasivos, perdonándose unos a otros como Dios los ha perdonado en Cristo. Sed imitadores de Dios, como hijos amados, y vivid en el amor, como Cristo nos amó y se entregó a sí mismo por nosotros como ofrenda de sacrificio a Dios por un aroma fragante.

 

Martes: (Efesios 5) Este es un gran misterio, pero hablo en referencia a Cristo y la Iglesia. En cualquier caso, cada uno de ustedes debe amar a su esposa como a sí mismo, y la esposa debe respetar a su esposo.

 

Miércoles: (Efesios 2) A través de él, toda la estructura se mantiene unida.

y se convierte en un templo sagrado en el Señor; en él también os edificais juntos

en una morada de Dios en el Espíritu.

 

Jueves: (Efesios 6) Extrae tu fuerza del Señor y de su gran poder. Ponte la armadura de Dios para que puedas mantenerte firme contra las tácticas del Diablo.

 

Viernes (Filemón 1) Doy gracias a mi Dios por cada recuerdo de ti,

orando siempre con alegría en cada una de mis oraciones por todos ustedes, por su colaboración por el Evangelio desde el primer día hasta ahora.

 

Sábado (Filipenses 1) Siempre y cuando en todos los sentidos, ya sea en apariencia o en verdad, Cristo está siendo proclamado, y en eso me regocijo. De hecho, continuaré regocijándome, porque sé que esto resultará en liberación para mí a través de sus oraciones y el apoyo del Espíritu de Jesucristo.

 

Evangelio:

Lunes: (Lucas 13) Jesús estaba enseñando en una sinagoga el sábado. Y había una mujer que durante dieciocho años había sido lisiada por un espíritu; estaba inclinada, completamente incapaz de mantenerse erguida.

 

Martes: (Lucas 13) “¿Cómo es el Reino de Dios? Es como una semilla de mostaza que un hombre tomó y plantó en el jardín. Cuando creció por completo, se convirtió en un gran arbusto y las aves del cielo habitaban en sus ramas ".

 

Miércoles (Lucas 6) Jesús subió a la montaña a orar y pasó la noche orando a Dios. Cuando llegó el día, llamó a sus discípulos y, de ellos, eligió a Doce, a quienes también llamó Apóstoles.

 

Jueves (Lucas 13) Jerusalén, Jerusalén, tú que matas a los profetas y apedreas a los que te envían, ¡cuántas veces he deseado reunir a tus hijos como la gallina junta a sus polluelos debajo de sus alas, pero no quisiste!

 

Viernes (Lucas 14) Un sábado, Jesús fue a cenar a la casa de uno de los principales fariseos, y la gente lo observaba atentamente. Frente a él había un hombre que sufría de hidropesía.

 

Sábado (Lucas 14) Les contó una parábola a los invitados, notando cómo estaban eligiendo los lugares de honor en la mesa. “Cuando alguien te invite a un banquete de bodas, no te recuestes en la mesa en el lugar de honor.

 

Santos de la semana

 

28 de octubre: Simón y Judas, apóstoles (siglo I) fueron dos de los Doce Discípulos llamados por Jesús, pero se sabe poco sobre ellos. Creemos que son Simón el Zelote y Judas, el hijo de Jacobo. Simón era probablemente un simpatizante de los zelotes que hubiera deseado la revolución contra Roma; A Judas también se le llama Tadeo, y es el santo patrón de causas desesperadas. Ambos apóstoles sufrieron el martirio.

 

30 de octubre: Dominic Collins, S.J., sacerdote y mártir (1566-1602), fue un hermano jesuita que fue martirizado en su Irlanda natal. Se convirtió en soldado profesional en los ejércitos católicos de Europa después de que la rebelión de Desmond fuera sofocada en 1583. Se unió a los jesuitas en 1584 en Santiago de Compostela y fue enviado de regreso a Irlanda en 1601 con un contingente español. Fue capturado, juzgado por su fe y condenado a muerte.

 

31 de octubre: Alphonsus Rodriguez, S.J. (1532-1617) enviudó a los 31 años. Cuando murieron sus tres hijos, Alfonso se unió a los jesuitas como hermano lego a los 40 años después de intentar completar los rigores del estudio. Fue enviado al colegio recién inaugurado en Mallorca donde se desempeñó como portero durante 46 años. Su manera de llamar a la gente a la santificación fue extraordinaria. Sirvió obedientemente y ayudó a otros a concentrarse en sus vidas espirituales.

 

31 de octubre: All Hallows Eve (noche) debe sus orígenes a un festival celta que marcó el final del verano. El término se utilizó por primera vez en la Escocia del siglo XVI. Truco o trato se parece a la práctica medieval tardía del souling cuando los pobres iban de puerta en puerta en Hallomas (1 de noviembre) recibiendo comida a cambio de oraciones por los muertos en el Día de Todos los Santos (2 de noviembre).

 

Esta semana en la historia de los jesuitas

 

• 25 de octubre de 1567. San Estanislao Kostka llegó a Roma y fue admitido en la Compañía por San Francisco de Borja.

• 26 de octubre de 1546. La Provincia de Portugal se estableció como la primera provincia de la Compañía, con Simao Rodríguez como su primer superior provincial.

• 27 de octubre de 1610. Entrada inicial de los jesuitas a Canadá. La misión había sido recomendada a la Sociedad por Enrique IV.

• 28 de octubre de 1958. La muerte de Wilfrid Parsons, fundador de la revista Thought y editor de America de 1925 a 1936.

• 29 de octubre de 1645. En el Capítulo General de los Benedictinos en Portugal, se repudió con indignación una declaración publicada por uno de sus órdenes, que decía que San Ignacio había tomado prestado el asunto en sus Ejercicios Espirituales de un autor benedictino.

• 30 de octubre de 1638. Ese día, John Milton, el gran poeta inglés, cenó con los Padres y estudiantes del English College de Roma.

• 31 de octubre de 1602. En Cork, el martirio de Dominic Collins, un hermano irlandés, que fue ahorcado, descuartizado y descuartizado por su adhesión a la fe.