Prayer: St. Andrew the Apostle

 We have found the Messiah.

-- Saint Andrew the Apostle to Saint Peter (John 1: 41)

From the lone shielding of the misty island
Mountains divide us, and the waste of seas
Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland,
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides!

John Galt

Spirituality: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas

God travels wonderful ways with human beings, but he does not comply with the views and opinions of people. God does not go the way that people want to prescribe for him; rather, his way is beyond all comprehension, free and self-determined beyond all proof. Where reason is indignant, where our nature rebels, where our piety anxiously keeps us away: that is precisely where God loves to be. There he confounds the reason of the reasonable; there he aggravates our nature, our piety—that is where he wants to be, and no one can keep him from it. Only the humble believe him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that he does wonders where people despair, that he takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous. And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly…. God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in. He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them. God is near to lowliness; he loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken.

Spirituality: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas

The lack of mystery in our modern life is our downfall and our poverty. A human life is worth as much as the respect it holds for the mystery. We retain the child in us to the extent that we honor the mystery. Therefore, children have open, wide-awake eyes, because they know that they are surrounded by the mystery. They are not yet finished with this world; they still don’t know how to struggle along and avoid the mystery, as we do. We destroy the mystery because we sense that here we reach the boundary of our being, because we want to be lord over everything and have it at our disposal, and that’s just what we cannot do with the mystery…. Living without mystery means knowing nothing of the mystery of our own life, nothing of the mystery of another person, nothing of the mystery of the world; it means passing over our own hidden qualities and those of others and the world. It means remaining on the surface, taking the world seriously only to the extent that it can be calculated and exploited, and not going beyond the world of calculation and exploitation. Living without mystery means not seeing the crucial processes of life at all and even denying them.

Poem: Advent Prayer, Walter Brueggemann, Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth

In our secret yearnings

we wait for your coming,
and in our grinding despair
we doubt that you will.
And in this privileged place
we are surrounded by witnesses who yearn more than do we
and by those who despair more deeply than do we.
Look upon your church and its pastors
in this season of hope
which runs so quickly to fatigue
and in this season of yearning
which becomes so easily quarrelsome.
Give us the grace and the impatience
to wait for your coming to the bottom of our toes,
to the edges of our fingertips.
We do not want our several worlds to end.
Come in your power
and come in your weakness
in any case
and make all things new.
Amen.

Poem: Meditation on Matthew 25:31-46 by: aliw40, web

Stranger, be not afraid – come in, come in, the table is laid. I see thee be weary, please sit yourself down You are tired, you are thirsty – come, see now you can rest from your worries and your burdens lay down. 

Stranger be not afraid – come in, come in the table is laid I too once arrived here, a stranger like you Be assured you can lay all wearies down too Find here a place where all sorrows released Where indeed you are known, and loved – be at peace 

 Stranger, stranger Why do you beg, for some crumb of food, for these meagre dregs? Stranger, begone for I shall not share; but in my great mercy I will at least, leave you alone to beg in the streets. 

Those with power are not the least (Though they claim the title – But God knows, and God sees) and though the world tells us – turn the stranger away God calls out to you now: hear God say When you shared naught with the stranger, you shared naught with me.

Spirituality: Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat

For outlandish creatures like us, on our way to a heart, a brain, and courage, Bethlehem is not the end of our journey but only the beginning - not home but the place through which we must pass if ever we are to reach home at last.

God has visited us. The First Sunday of Advent 2020

                                                         God has visited us. 

The First Sunday of Advent 2020

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November 29, 2020

Isaiah 63:16-19, 64:2-7; Psalm 80; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Matthew 13:33-37

 

                                           

At the start of Advent, Jesus exhorts his disciples to look and to watch while waiting while Isaiah in the first reading begs to know why God remains hidden during their time of exile. Isaiah gives us helpful language to speak during times when God seems absent. He asks, “Why do you let us wander? Return for the sake of your people. Let your presence be known.” And today we say, of all times, we need you more than ever to see you and to know you are around.

 

We desperately want to know that God is with us and we wonder where God is in the midst of this death, sickness, and suffering, especially as we are tired of waiting. Perhaps our Thanksgiving traditions were scaled back and we fear that our Christmas gatherings will be similar. We want to be able to hug our friends again, breathe freely, enjoy a meal and a laugh at a restaurant, and we are told to continue to wait. Why God don’t you help us out?

 

As a priest, I have a privileged role and I get to see miracles for those who are able to come to mass. I get to see Jesus feeding us through his body, which has been broken and blessed. I see the one offering of bread transformed into his presence among us, and the more that it is broken, the more we are united. Every person who approaches the sanctuary to receive his body bears a rich story, and I wish I could hear each one, as Jesus does. As I look into each communicant’s eyes, I see the hunger, the dependence upon Christ, the knowing satisfaction that Christ is fulfilling his promise to be there for all. We say Amen as we know that in the mystery, Christ will not forget us and will fortify us with the strength that we need to carry on in faith and hope.

 

As each person returns to one’s seat, I get to marvel at the way we are all pulled together because it can never be an individual communion as we are fed by one loaf of bread that is inexhaustible. We return to our pews after receiving our nourishment and we know that Christ has touched our lives, and from the presider’s chair, I can see that Christ is touching each person’s live individually and personally, and he is doing it from the one loaf that is his self-offering to us, and when we exit the church, we remain connected to people we don’t even know, but our stories are intertwined and intermixed, and we form a larger whole that brings Christ happiness because we are gift to one another in ways that will unfold over time. At the same time, we belong to him and to one another. 

 

And so in Advent, we wait, and we realize we are not alone because Christ is still at work, still drawing us closer to him, connecting us through his food to each other. Though our waiting causes us anxiety, we can take comfort that we can never be alone as long as we are church and stay fed, and we can also take comfort that our personal experience is shared by others, and as they know our pain, our suffering is lessened, and this becomes a moment of happiness. God has visited us and will never leave us alone, and we have each other, and we will never be alone. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

First Reading:

Monday: (Romans 10) If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.

 

Tuesday: (Isaiah 11) On that day, A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A Spirit of counsel and of strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.

 

Wednesday: (Isaiah 25) On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, The web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever.

 

Thursday: (Isaiah 26) A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us. Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith. A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you.

 

Friday (Isaiah 29) But a very little while, and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard, and the orchard be regarded as a forest! On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see.

 

Saturday (Isaiah 30) O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep; He will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you. The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst.

 

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Matthew 4) As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

 

Tuesday: (Luke 10) I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. 

 

Wednesday (Matthew 15) Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.

 

Thursday (Matthew 7) Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 

 

Friday (Matthew 9) As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
“Son of David, have pity on us!” When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?”  

 

Saturday (Matthew 9) At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” 

 

Saints of the Week

 

November 29: Bernardo Francisco de Hoyos, S.J., religious (1711-1735) was the first and main apostle to the devotion of the Sacred Heart. He entered the novitiate in Spain at age 14 and took vows at 17. He had mystical visions of the Sacred Heart. He was ordained in January 1735 with a special dispensation because he was not old enough. A few weeks after celebrating his first mass, he contracted typhus and died on November 29^th. 

 

November 30: Andrew, apostle (first century) was a disciple of John the Baptist and the brother of Simon Peter. Both were fishermen from Bethsaida. He became one of the first disciples of Jesus. Little is known of Andrew's preaching after the resurrection. Tradition places him in Greece while Scotland has incredible devotion to the apostle.  

 

December 1: Edmund Campion, S.J., (1540- 1581), Robert Southwell, S.J., (1561-1595) martyrs, were English natives and Jesuit priests at a time when Catholics were persecuted in the country. Both men acknowledge Queen Elizabeth as monarch, but they refused to renounce their Catholic faith. They are among the 40 martyrs of England and Wales. Campion was killed in 1581 and Southwell’s death was 1595.

 

December 3: Francis Xavier, S.J., priest (1506-1552) was a founding members of the Jesuit Order who was sent to the East Indies and Japan as a missionary. His preaching converted hundreds of thousands of converts to the faith. He died before reaching China. Xavier was a classmate of Peter Faber and Ignatius of Loyola at the University of Paris.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• Nov 29, 1773: The Jesuits of White Russia requested the Empress Catherine to allow the Letter of Suppression to be published, as it had been all over Europe. "She bade them lay aside their scruples, promising to obtain the Papal sanction for their remaining in status quo. 
• Nov 30, 1642: The birth of Br Andrea Pozzo at Trent, who was called to Rome in 1681 to paint the flat ceiling of the church of San Ignacio so that it would look as though there were a dome above. There had been a plan for a dome but there was not money to build it. His work is still on view. 
• Dec. 1, 1581: At Tyburn in London, Edmund Campion and Alexander Briant were martyred. 
• Dec. 2, 1552: On the island of Sancian off the coast of China, Francis Xavier died. 
• Dec. 3, 1563: At the Council of Trent, the Institute of the Society was approved. 
• Dec. 4, 1870: The Roman College, appropriated by the Piedmontese government, was reopened as a Lyceum. The monogram of the Society over the main entrance was effaced. 
• Dec. 5, 1584: By his bull Omnipotentis Dei, Pope Gregory XIII gave the title of Primaria to Our Lady's Sodality established in the Roman College in 1564, and empowered it to aggregate other similar sodalities.

Dios nos ha visitado. él primer Domingo de Adviento 2020

                                                          Dios nos ha visitado.

él primer Domingo de Adviento 2020

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predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

2 de noviembre 9 , 2020

Isaías 63: 16-19, 64: 2-7 ; Salmo 80 ; 1 Corinth IANS 1 : 3 - 9 ; Mateo 13 : 3 3 - 37

 

 

Al comienzo del Adviento, Jesús exhorta a sus discípulos a mirar y mirar mientras esperan mientras Isaías en la primera lectura suplica saber por qué Dios permanece oculto durante su tiempo de exilio. Isaías nos da un lenguaje útil para hablar en momentos en que Dios parece estar ausente. Él pregunta: “¿Por qué nos dejas vagar? Vuelve por el bien de tu pueblo. Deja que tu presencia sea conocida ". Y hoy decimos que, de todos modos, te necesitamos más que nunca para verte y saber que estás cerca.

 

Deseamos desesperadamente saber que Dios está con nosotros y nos preguntamos dónde está Dios en medio de esta muerte, enfermedad y sufrimiento, especialmente porque estamos cansados ​​de esperar. Tal vez nuestras tradiciones de Acción de Gracias se escalaron hacia atrás y tememos que nuestras reuniones de Navidad serán similares. Queremos poder volver a abrazar a nuestros amigos, respirar libremente, disfrutar de una comida y reírnos en un restaurante, y se nos dice que sigamos esperando. ¿Por qué Dios no nos ayudas?

 

Como sacerdote, tengo un papel privilegiado y puedo ver milagros para aquellos que pueden venir a misa. Puedo ver a Jesús alimentándonos a través de su cuerpo, que ha sido quebrantado y bendecido. Veo la única ofrenda de pan transformada en su presencia entre nosotros, y cuanto más se parte, más unidos estamos. Cada persona que se acerca al santuario para recibir su cuerpo cuenta una rica historia, y me gustaría poder escuchar a cada uno, como lo hace Jesús. Cuando miro a los ojos de cada comulgante, veo el hambre, la dependencia de Cristo, la satisfacción consciente de que Cristo está cumpliendo su promesa de estar allí para todos. Decimos Amén porque sabemos que en el misterio, Cristo no nos olvidará y nos fortalecerá con la fuerza que necesitamos para seguir adelante con fe y esperanza.

 

Cuando cada persona regresa a su asiento, me maravillo de la forma en que todos estamos unidos porque nunca puede ser una comunión individual ya que somos alimentados por una barra de pan que es inagotable. Regresamos a nuestras bancas después de recibir nuestro alimento y sabemos que Cristo ha tocado nuestras vidas, y desde la silla del que preside, puedo ver que Cristo está tocando la vida de cada persona individual y personalmente, y lo está haciendo desde el único pan que es. Él se ofrece a nosotros mismos, y cuando salimos de la iglesia, permanecemos conectados con personas que ni siquiera conocemos, pero nuestras historias están entrelazadas y entremezcladas, y formamos un todo más grande que trae felicidad a Cristo porque somos un regalo para uno. otro en formas que se desarrollarán con el tiempo. Al mismo tiempo, le pertenecemos a él y a los demás.

 

Y así, en Adviento, esperamos y nos damos cuenta de que no estamos solos porque Cristo todavía está trabajando, todavía acercándonos a él, conectándonos a través de su comida entre nosotros. Aunque nuestra espera nos causa ansiedad, podemos consolarnos de que nunca podremos estar solos mientras estemos en la iglesia y nos mantengamos alimentados, y también podemos consolarnos de que nuestra experiencia personal es compartida por otros, y como conocen nuestro dolor, nuestro el sufrimiento disminuye y esto se convierte en un momento de felicidad. Dios nos ha visitado y nunca nos dejará solos , nos tenemos el uno al otro y nunca estaremos solos.

 

Escritura para la misa diaria

 

Primera lectura:

Lunes: ( Romanos 1 0 ) si confiesas con tu boca que Jesús es el Señor y crees en tu corazón que Dios le levantó de los muertos, serás salvo. Porque uno cree con el corazón y así se justifica, y uno confiesa con la boca y así se salva.

 

Martes: ( Isaías 11 ) En ese día, un retoño brotará del tocón de Isaí, y de sus raíces florecerá un retoño. El Espíritu del Señor reposará sobre él: un espíritu de sabiduría y de inteligencia, espíritu de consejo y de fortaleza, espíritu de ciencia y de temor de Jehová, y le inspirará en el temor de Jehová.

 

Miércoles: ( Isaías 25 ) En este monte el SEÑOR de los ejércitos proveerá para todos los pueblos un banquete de comida rica y vinos selectos, manjares jugosos y ricos y vinos puros y selectos. En este monte destruirá el velo que cubre a todos los pueblos, La tela que se teje sobre todas las naciones; él destruirá la muerte para siempre .

 

Jueves: ( Isaías 26 ) Ciudad fuerte tenemos; levanta muros y terraplenes para protegernos. Abran las puertas para dejar entrar a una nación que es justa, que mantiene la fe. Una nación de firme propósito la mantienes en paz; en paz, por su confianza en ti.

 

Viernes ( Isaías 29 ) ¡ Pero dentro de poco, el Líbano se convertirá en un huerto, y el huerto será considerado como un bosque! Aquel día los sordos oirán las palabras de un libro; Y de las tinieblas y las tinieblas, los ojos de los ciegos verán.

 

Sábado ( Isaías 30 ) Pueblo de Sion, que habitas en Jerusalén, no llorarás más; Él tendrá misericordia de ti cuando grites, tan pronto como escuche te responderá. El Señor te dará el pan que necesitas y el agua por la que tienes sed.

 

 

Evangelio: 

Lunes: ( Mateo 4 ) Mientras Jesús caminaba por el mar de Galilea, vio a dos hermanos, Simón , que se llama Pedro, y su hermano Andrés, que echaban una red al mar; eran pescadores. Él les dijo: "Venid en pos de mí, y os haré pescadores de hombres".

 

Martes: ( Lucas 1 0 ) Yo te bendigo, Padre, Señor del cielo y de la tierra, porque has escondido estas cosas a los sabios y los eruditos se las has revelado a la gente sencilla. Sí, Padre, tal ha sido tu misericordiosa voluntad.   

 

Miércoles ( Mateo 15 ) Jesús caminó junto al mar de Galilea, subió al monte y se sentó allí. Se le acercaron grandes multitudes, trayendo consigo cojos, ciegos, deformes, mudos y muchos otros. Los pusieron a sus pies y él los curó. La multitud se asombró al ver a los mudos hablar, a los deformes sanos, a los cojos que caminaban y a los ciegos que podían ver, y glorificaban al Dios de Israel.        

 

Jueves ( Mateo 7 ) No todo el que me dice: Señor, Señor, entrará en el Reino de los cielos, sino el que hace la voluntad de mi Padre que está en los cielos.

 

Viernes ( Mateo 9 ) Al pasar Jesús, dos ciegos lo siguieron y gritaron:
"¡Hijo de David, ten compasión de nosotros!" Cuando entró en la casa, los ciegos se le acercaron y Jesús les dijo: "¿Creen que puedo hacer esto?"   

 

Sábado ( Mateo 9 ) Al ver las multitudes, su corazón se compadeció de ellos porque estaban turbados y abandonados, como ovejas sin pastor. Luego dijo a sus discípulos: “La mies es mucha, pero los obreros pocos; por tanto, pídele al dueño de la mies que envíe obreros para su mies ”.
 

 

Santos de la semana

 

29 de noviembre: Bernardo Francisco de Hoyos , SJ, religioso (1711-1735) fue el primer y principal apóstol de la devoción al Sagrado Corazón. Ingresó al noviciado en España a los 14 años y tomó los votos a los 17. Tuvo visiones místicas del Sagrado Corazón. Fue ordenado sacerdote en enero de 1735 con una dispensa especial porque no tenía la edad suficiente. Unas semanas después de celebrar su primera misa, contrajo el tifus y murió el 29 de noviembre XX .

 

30 de noviembre : Andrés, apóstol (siglo I) fue discípulo de Juan el Bautista y hermano de Simón Pedro. Ambos eran pescadores de Betsaida. Se convirtió en uno de los primeros discípulos de Jesús. Poco se sabe de la predicación de Andrés después de la resurrección. La tradición lo ubica en Grecia, mientras que Escocia tiene una devoción increíble por el apóstol.

 

1 de diciembre: Edmund Campion, SJ, (1540-1581), Robert Southwell , SJ, (1561-1595) mártires, eran nativos ingleses y sacerdotes jesuitas en una época en la que los católicos eran perseguidos en el país. Ambos hombres reconocen a la reina Isabel como monarca, pero se negaron a renunciar a su fe católica. Se encuentran entre los 40 mártires de Inglaterra y Gales. Campion fue asesinado en 1581 y la muerte de Southwell fue en 1595.

 

3 de diciembre : Francisco Javier, SJ, sacerdote (1506-1552) fue un miembro fundador de la Orden de los Jesuitas que fue enviado a las Indias Orientales y Japón como misionero. Su predicación convirtió a la fe a cientos de miles de conversos. Murió antes de llegar a China. Xavier fue compañero de clase de Peter Faber e Ignatius de Loyola en la Universidad de París.

 

Esta semana en la historia de los jesuitas

 

• 29 de noviembre de 1773: Los jesuitas de la Rusia Blanca solicitaron a la emperatriz Catalina que permitiera la publicación de la Carta de Supresión, como había sucedido en toda Europa. "Les pidió que dejaran a un lado sus escrúpulos, prometiendo obtener la sanción papal por permanecer en el status quo.
• 30 de noviembre de 1642: Nacimiento del H. Andrea Pozzo en Trento, quien fue llamado a Roma en 1681 para pintar el techo plano de la iglesia de San Ignacio de modo que pareciera como si hubiera una cúpula arriba. Había un plan para una cúpula, pero no había dinero para construirla. Su trabajo aún está a la vista.
• 1 de diciembre de 1581: en Tyburn en Londres, Edmund Campion y Alexander Briant fueron martirizados.
• 2 de diciembre de 1552: en la isla de Sancian frente a la costa de China, Francisco Javier murió.
• 3 de diciembre de 1563: En el Concilio de Trento, se aprobó el Instituto de la Sociedad.
• 4 de diciembre de 1870: El Colegio Romano, apropiado por el gobierno piamontés , fue reabierto como Liceo. El monograma de la Sociedad sobre la entrada principal fue borrado.
• 5 de diciembre de 1584: Con su bula Omnipotentis Dei , el Papa Gregorio XIII otorgó el título de Primaria a la Congregación de Nuestra Señora establecida en el Colegio Romano en 1564, y le dio poder para agregar otras cofradías similares.

Prayer: Francis of Assisi

 Since you speak of peace, all the more must you have peace in your hearts. Let no one be provoked to anger or scandal by you, but may they be drawn to peace and good will, to kindness and concord through your gentleness. 

Prayer: Bellarmine

 Charity is that with which no one is lost, and without which no one is saved. 

Prayer: Origen

 Those who pray as well as work at the tasks they have to do, and combine their prayer with suitable activity, will be praying always. That is the only way in which it is possible never to stop praying. 

Spiritualty: Die Wise, Stephen Jenkinson

What if your dying is an angel? And what if your dying job, should you choose to accept it, is to wrestle this angel of your dying instead of fighting it? ...Wrestling isn't what happens to you. It is what you do. And you will not be alone in it...Living your way of life wrestles the way life has of being itself: That is how meaning is made...That is what the news of your death could mean: It could mean the beginning, unadorned, common, and singular, of your one true life and its work... Come to your death as an angel to wrestle instead of an executioner to fight or flee from and you turn your dying into a question instead of an edict: What shall my life mean? What shall my time of dying be for? What is it going be like, that cottage of darkness?