Photo: Happy Halloween

 

Poem: “Down Vith Children” by Roald Dahl

For a little Halloween Fun:

Down vith children! Do them in!
Boil their bones and fry their skin!
Bish them, sqvish them, bash them, mash them!
Brrreak them, shake them, slash them, smash them!

Offer chocs vith magic powder!
Say, “Eat up!” then say it louder,
Crrram them full of sticky eats,
Send them home still guzzling sveets.

And in the morning little fools
Go marching off to separate schools.
A girl feels sick and goes all pale,
She yells, “Hey look! I’ve grrrown tall!”

A boy who’s standing next to her
Screams, “Help! I think I’m grrrowing fur!”
Another shouts, “Vee look like frrreaks!
There’s viskers growing on our cheeks!”

A boy who vos extremely tall
Cries out “Vot’s wrong? I’m grrrowing small!”
Four tiny legs begin to sprrrout
From everybody rrround about.

And all at vunce, all in a trrrice,
There are no children! Only MICE!
In every school is mice galore
All rrrunning rrround the school-rrroom floor!

And all the poor demented teachers
Is yelling, “Hey who are these crrreatures?”
They stand upon the desks and shout,
“Get out, you filthy mice! Get out!”

Vill someone fetch some mouse-trrraps, please!
And don’t forrrget to brrring the cheese!”
Now mouse-trrraps come and every trrrapp
Goes snippy-snip and snappy-snap,

The mouse-trrraps have a powerful spring,
The springs go crack and snap and ping!
Is lovely noise for us to hear!
Is music to a vitch’s ear!

Dead mice in every place arrround,
Piled two feet deep upon the grrround,
Vith teachers searching left and rrright,
But not a single child in sight!

The teachers cry, “Vot’s going on?
Oh, vhere have all the children gone?
It’s half-past nine and as a rrrule
They’re never late as this for school!”

Poor teachers don’t know vot to do.
Some sit and rrread, and just a few
Amuse themselves throughout the day
By sveeping all the mice away.

AND ALL US VITCHES SHOUT “HOORAY!”

Photo: Ghosts

 

Spirituality: The Art of Spiritual Guidance, by Carolyn Gratton

In the immense field of divine compassion, countless small life fields are interwoven with each other. When human hearts deepen through some form of contemplation, there emerges in them an intuition of human oneness prior to all separation ... a "communion of saints". In each religion's communal story, there is a way of handing on from generation to generation this transforming perception of universal solidarity in the Mystery. We do not learn such wisdom on our own. We receive this wisdom from someone else.

Poem: Mary Oliver

“And slowly, very slowly, it became clear to me what they were saying.
Said the river: I am part of holiness.
And, I too, said the stone.
And I too, whispered the moss beneath the water.”

Photo: Shaped Gourds

 

Poem: "Grief in the Aisles," by Mary Ann O'Brien

Wandering around ~ aisle to aisle
I don’t know what I am here for
Everything I see screams ERIN
Lifesavers, Licorice, Lotion
Halloween decorations and candy
Christmas decorations and candy next aisle over,
Foretell of fast approaching holidays.

There isn’t an aisle with lamentation, longing and loss,
Apparently they are free
~ no shopping bag large enough to hold these things
Grief permeates every cell, fiber, muscle of my being
So too ~ serenity, silence and sacredness
My journey through grief ~
wrapped with a ribbon of grace and love.

Spirituality: Ormond Rush, on the church

The Spirit from the Father, with whom Jesus the Christos was anointed, is the same Spirit whom the Father sends upon, and whom the Risen One shares with, the community of Christ’s disciples at Pentecost…. The church is the place where the mission of the Word and the mission of the Spirit find their clearest point of conjecture in human history.

Photo: Layers

 

Spirituality: Karl Rahner, S.J., on the description of Jesus

The incarnate word is the absolute symbol of God in the world, filled as nothing else can be with what is symbolized. He is not merely the presence and revelation of what God is in himself. He is also the expressive presence of what – or rather who – God wished to be, in free grace, to the world, in such a way that this divine attribute, once so expressed, can never be reversed, but is and remains final and unsurpassable.

Poem: “Spring and Fall” by Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. to a young child

 Margaret, are you grieving

Over Goldengrove leaving?

Leaves like the things of man, you

With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?

Ah! as the heart grows older

It will come to such sights colder

By and by, nor spare a sigh

Though woods of wanwood leafmeal lie;

And yet you will weep and know why.

Now no matter, child, the name;

Sorrow’s springs are the same.

Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed

What heart heard of, ghost guessed;

It is for the blight man was born for,

It is Margaret you mourn for.

An Interrupting Grace The Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                                   An Interrupting Grace

The Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 30, 2022

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

Wisdom 11:22-12:2; Psalm 145; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10

 

          When we hear the readings about Zacchaeus, we know we are coming to the end of the church year. He is one of the later disciples of Jesus who reforms his life and follows Jesus on the way from Jericho, which is at the base of the mountain near Jerusalem. Zacchaeus has his limitations, his height, and the fact that he was a dreaded tax collector, a traitor to the Jewish nation, but something happened to him before he met Jesus. He encountered grace, a grace he did not feel he deserved, but a grace that reconstructed his life and brought him zeal to make amends to live under God’s rule, and by doing so, he became a man filled with happiness and a meaningful life. 

 

          Notice that Zacchaeus’s conversion had happened before he met Jesus. Something inside his soul was churning that gave rise to his desire to meet Jesus. News of Jesus spread through all of Palestine, and Zacchaeus felt fortunate to have Jesus pass his way. It was notable that he climbed the Sycamore because it spoke of his desire just to see the man passing his way, but he had already decided how he would repair his relationship to those he previously defrauded. Perhaps the presence of Jesus gave him the nudge, but he knew he was moving towards holiness. Grace set his future in motion. When critics ridiculed Jesus for choosing him, Zacchaeus was nonplussed because he knew he was already a different man, still unworthy, but trusting that God was calling him to a higher level of holiness. He was beginning to understand the meaning of life.

 

          We also have encounters with grace, even if we do not recognize them as such. When we are moving towards greater goodness, to an increase of love, and to deepening compassion, we are experiencing grace. We talk about grace without really defining it, but this grace is God’s gift to humanity, which allows us to flower in life-giving and life-sustaining relationships. It is grace that keeps marriages and friendships together because we still see the possibilities of ongoing love. Grace is the enduring, irreplaceable source of life for humans and all of creation. We depend upon this grace more than we thought possible.  

 

          Grace is God’s unconditional free gift to us, which is hidden, mostly undetectable, and with a quality that does not limit human freedom. We experience grace when we have freedom. If we are feeling constrained, imposed upon, or restricted in some way, we are not able to move in freedom and we need liberation. This grace moves beyond sin. The church needs to talk more about grace than sin because it is a more powerful force, and grace keeps us moving forward in the right direction, always onward and upward as it looks to the future. It brings about authenticity within ourselves and communities as it draws people together into a community of goodwill. 

 

          Grace is what interrupted Zacchaeus’s life and helped him attain a more expansive worldview. It made him access his God-given capacity to hear and respond to the call of Jesus, the rightness of being aligned to his way of life where everything made sense and had value. Nothing less than God’s presence could satisfy and complete his life. We want the same thing. The nearer we move towards God, the more real we become, and the more we allow God to grow and dwell within us, we become more free with an inclination to continue to choose God, who is real, and true, and beautiful, and loving. Grace will call us to holiness. Grace will invite us transform into greater righteous. Grace will lead us home where it all makes sense once again. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

First Reading: 

 

Monday: (Philemon 2) If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing.

 

Tuesday: (Revelation 7) He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to damage the land and the sea, “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

 

Wednesday: (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. But they are in peace.

 

Thursday: (Philemon 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 (Philemon 3) But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified Body  by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself. 

 

Saturday (Philemon 4) I rejoice greatly in the Lord that now at last you revived your concern for me. You were, of course, concerned about me but lacked an opportunity. Not that I say this because of need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient.

 

Gospel: 

 

Monday: (Luke 14) Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

 

Tuesday: (1 John 3) Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.

 

Wednesday (Romans 6) For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.

 

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.”

 

Friday (Luke 16) Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?

 

Saturday (Luke 16) The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.

 

Saints of the Week

 

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.)

 

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

 

• October 30, 1638. On this day, John Milton, the great English poet, dined with the Fathers and students of the English College in Rome. 
• October 31, 1602. At Cork, the martyrdom of Dominic Collins, an Irish brother, who was hanged, drawn, and quartered for his adherence to the faith. 
• November 1, 1956. The Society of Jesus was allowed in Norway. 
• November 2, 1661. The death of Daniel Seghers, a famous painter of insects and flowers. 
• November 3, 1614. Dutch pirates failed to capture the vessel in which the right arm of Francis Xavier was being brought to Rome. 
• November 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. 
• November 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.

Una gracia que interrumpe El Trigésimo Primer Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

                                           Una gracia que interrumpe

El Trigésimo Primer Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

30 de octubre de 2022

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

Sabiduría 11:22-12:2; Salmo 145; 2 Tesalonicenses 1:11-2:2; Lucas 19:1-10

 

Cuando escuchamos las lecturas sobre Zaqueo, sabemos que estamos llegando al final del año eclesiástico. Es uno de los últimos discípulos de Jesús que reforma su vida y sigue a Jesús en el camino de Jericó, que está en la base de la montaña cerca de Jerusalén. Zaqueo tiene sus limitaciones, su altura y el hecho de que era un recaudador de impuestos temido, un traidor a la nación judía, pero algo le sucedió antes de conocer a Jesús. Encontró la gracia, una gracia que no sintió que merecía, pero una gracia que reconstruyó su vida y le dio celo para enmendarse para vivir bajo el gobierno de Dios, y al hacerlo, se convirtió en un hombre lleno de felicidad y una vida significativa.

 

          Note que la conversión de Zaqueo había ocurrido antes de conocer a Jesús. Algo dentro de su alma se estaba revolviendo que dio lugar a su deseo de encontrarse con Jesús. La noticia de Jesús se difundió por toda Palestina y Zaqueo se sintió afortunado de que Jesús pasara por su camino. Fue notable que subió al Sycamore porque hablaba de su deseo solo de ver al hombre pasar por su camino, pero ya había decidido cómo repararía su relación con aquellos a los que anteriormente defraudó. Quizás la presencia de Jesús le dio el empujón, pero él sabía que estaba caminando hacia la santidad. Grace puso en marcha su futuro. Cuando los críticos ridiculizaron a Jesús por elegirlo, Zaqueo se quedó perplejo porque sabía que ya era un hombre diferente, aún indigno, pero confiado en que Dios lo estaba llamando a un nivel más alto de santidad. Estaba empezando a comprender el sentido de la vida.

 

          También tenemos encuentros con la gracia, aunque no los reconozcamos como tales. Cuando nos movemos hacia una mayor bondad, hacia un aumento del amor y hacia una compasión más profunda, estamos experimentando la gracia. Hablamos de la gracia sin definirla realmente, pero esta gracia es un regalo de Dios a la humanidad, que nos permite florecer en relaciones que dan vida y sustentan la vida. Es la gracia lo que mantiene unidos los matrimonios y las amistades porque todavía vemos las posibilidades del amor continuo. La gracia es la fuente de vida duradera e irremplazable para los humanos y toda la creación. Dependemos de esta gracia más de lo que creíamos posible.

 

          La gracia es el don gratuito e incondicional de Dios para nosotros, que está oculto, en su mayoría indetectable, y con una calidad que no limita la libertad humana. Experimentamos la gracia cuando tenemos libertad. Si nos sentimos constreñidos, impuestos o restringidos de alguna manera, no podemos movernos con libertad y necesitamos liberación. Esta gracia va más allá del pecado. La iglesia necesita hablar más de la gracia que del pecado porque es una fuerza más poderosa, y la gracia nos mantiene avanzando en la dirección correcta, siempre hacia adelante y hacia arriba mirando hacia el futuro. Provoca autenticidad dentro de nosotros mismos y de las comunidades, ya que une a las personas en una comunidad de buena voluntad.

 

          La gracia es lo que interrumpió la vida de Zaqueo y lo ayudó a alcanzar una visión del mundo más amplia. Le hizo acceder a su capacidad dada por Dios para escuchar y responder al llamado de Jesús, la rectitud de estar alineado con su forma de vida donde todo tenía sentido y valor. Nada menos que la presencia de Dios podía satisfacer y completar su vida. Queremos lo mismo. Cuanto más nos acercamos a Dios, más reales nos volvemos, y cuanto más permitimos que Dios crezca y habite dentro de nosotros, nos volvemos más libres con una inclinación a seguir eligiendo a Dios, que es real, verdadero, hermoso y cariñoso. La gracia nos llamará a la santidad. La gracia nos invitará a transformarnos en mayores justos. Grace nos llevará a casa, donde todo tendrá sentido una vez más.

 

Escritura para la misa diaria

 

Primera lectura: 

 

Lunes: (Filemón 2 ) Si hay algún consuelo en Cristo, algún consuelo en el amor, 
alguna participación en el Espíritu, alguna compasión y misericordia, completad mi gozo siendo del mismo sentir, con el mismo amor, unidos de corazón, pensando Una cosa.

 

Martes: (Apocalipsis 7 ) Gritó a gran voz a los cuatro ángeles a quienes se les había dado poder para hacer daño a la tierra y al mar: “No hagáis daño a la tierra ni al mar ni a los árboles hasta que pongamos el sello en la frente de los siervos de nuestro Dios.”

 

Miércoles: (Sabiduría 3 ) Las almas de los justos están en la mano de Dios, y ningún tormento los alcanzará. Parecían, a la vista de los necios, estar muertos; y su muerte fue tenida por aflicción, y su partida de entre nosotros, destrucción total. Pero están en paz.

 

Jueves: (Filemón 3 ) Nosotros 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 fundamento para confiar aun en la carne.

 

Viernes (Filemón 3 ) Pero nuestra ciudadanía está en los cielos, y de allí también esperamos a un salvador, el Señor Jesucristo. Él cambiará nuestro cuerpo humilde para que se ajuste a su Cuerpo glorificado por el poder que le permite también sujetar todas las cosas a sí mismo.

 

Sábado (Filemón 4 ) Mucho me gozo en el Señor de que ahora por fin hayas revivido tu preocupación por mí. Estabas, por supuesto, preocupado por mí, pero te faltó una oportunidad. No es que lo diga por necesidad, porque he aprendido, en cualquier situación en que me encuentre, a ser autosuficiente.

 

Evangelio: 

 

Lunes: (Lucas 14 ) Más bien, cuando celebréis un banquete, invitad a los pobres, a los lisiados, a los cojos, a los ciegos; bienaventurados seréis por su incapacidad para pagaros. Porque seréis recompensados en la resurrección de los justos.

 

Martes: (1 Juan 3) Amados, ahora somos hijos de Dios; lo que seremos aún no ha sido revelado. Sabemos que cuando se manifieste seremos como él, porque le veremos tal como él es. Todo el que tiene esta esperanza fundada en él, se hace puro, como él es puro.

 

Miércoles (Romanos 6 ) Porque si hemos llegado a estar unidos a él por una muerte como la suya, también seremos unidos a él en la resurrección. Sabemos que nuestro viejo hombre fue crucificado con él, para que nuestro cuerpo pecaminoso fuera eliminado, para que ya no estuviéramos en la esclavitud del pecado.

 

Jueves (Lucas 15 ) Los recaudadores de impuestos y los pecadores se acercaban todos para escuchar a Jesús, pero los fariseos y los escribas comenzaron a quejarse, diciendo: “Este a los pecadores recibe y come con ellos”.

 

Viernes (Lucas 16 ) Prepara un informe completo de tu mayordomía, porque ya no puedes ser mi mayordomo.' El mayordomo se dijo a sí mismo: '¿Qué haré ahora que mi amo me quita el puesto de mayordomo?

 

Sábado (Lucas 16 ) Los fariseos, que amaban el dinero, oyeron todas estas cosas y se burlaron de él. Y les dijo: “Ustedes se justifican a sí mismos a la vista de los demás, pero Dios conoce sus corazones; porque lo que es de estima humana es abominación a los ojos de Dios.

 

santos de la semana

 

30 de octubre: Dominic Collins, SJ, 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 sentenciado a muerte.

 

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

 

31 de octubre: All Hallows Eve (noche) debe su origen a un festival celta que marcaba el final del verano. El término se utilizó por primera vez en la Escocia del siglo XVI. El truco o el trato se asemeja a la práctica medieval tardía del souling cuando la gente pobre iba de puerta en puerta en Hallomas (1 de noviembre) recibiendo comida a cambio de oraciones por los muertos en el Día de los Muertos (2 de noviembre).

 

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 repleto 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 Muertos es la conmemoración de los fieles difuntos. Noviembre es conocido 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 para nosotros y dar gracias a Dios por sus vidas.

 

3 de noviembre: Rupert Mayer, SJ, 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 liberado cuando acordó 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. Por no ser de sangre pura, perdió muchos privilegios en las clases dominantes. Se hizo dominicano y sirvió a la comunidad en muchos trabajos de baja categoría. Era conocido por atender a los enfermos y los 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 líder en la Reforma Católica que siguió al Concilio de Trento. Durante una epidemia de peste, Borromeo visitó las zonas 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 sólo a los santos mayores 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 (listado de los muertos).

 

Esta semana en la historia jesuita

 

• 30 de octubre de 1638. En este día, John Milton, el gran poeta inglés, cenó con los Padres y estudiantes del Colegio Inglés de Roma.
• 31 de octubre de 1602. En Cork, martirio de Dominic Collins, un hermano irlandés, que fue ahorcado, arrastrado y descuartizado por su adhesión a la fe.
• 1 de noviembre de 1956. Se permite la presencia de la Compañía de Jesús en Noruega.
• 2 de noviembre de 1661. Muerte de Daniel Seghers , célebre 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 piden la retirada de los jesuitas desterrados de España diecinueve meses antes. Irritado por esta demanda, el rey expulsó al arzobispo de Toledo ya su vicario general como instigadores del movimiento.
• 5 de noviembre de 1660. Fallece Alejandro de Rodas, uno de los misioneros jesuitas más eficaces de todos los tiempos. Originario de Francia, llegó a lo que ahora es Vietnam en 1625.

Photo: A Boston Side Street

 

Poem: “Gathering Leaves” by Robert Frost

Spades take up leaves

No better than spoons,

And bags full of leaves

Are light as balloons.

 

I make a great noise

Of rustling all day

Like rabbit and dear

Running away.

 

But the mountains I raise

Elude my embrace,

Flowing over my arms

And into my face.

 

I may load and unload

Again and again

Till I fill the whole shed,

And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight;

And since they grow duller

From contact with earth,

Next to nothing for color.

 

Next to nothing for use,

But a crop is a crop,

And who’s to say where

The harvest shall stop?

Photo: Sugar Maples

 

Prayer: Ignatius

I ask you also, dear brothers in Jesus Christ Our Lord and God, to make yourselves open for His coming and His spiritual treasures. This openness comes through purity of heart, true humility, a common mind among you all, a common desire, and peace within and without, which is what makes a dwelling place in your soul for the One who is called ‘Prince of Peace,’ enabling Him to be Lord within you. In short, my prayer is that you be completely united, indeed simply one entity, in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Photo: One of each color

 

Prayer: John de Brebeuf, S.J.

Jesus, my Lord and Savior, what can I give you in return for all the favors you have conferred on me? I will take from your hand the cup of your sufferings and call on your name. 

I vow before your eternal Father and the Holy Spirit, before your most holy Mother and her most chaste spouse, before the angels, apostles and martyrs, before my blessed fathers Saint Ignatius and Saint Francis Xavier – in truth I vow to vow, Jesus my Savior, that as far as I have the strength I will never fail to accept the grace of martyrdom, if some day you in your infinite mercy should offer it to me, your most unworthy servant. I bind myself in this way so that for the rest of my life I will have neither permission nor freedom to refuse opportunities of dying and shedding my blood for you, unless at a particular juncture I should consider it more suitable for your glory to act otherwise at that time. Further, I bind myself to this so that, on receiving the blow of death, I shall accept it from your hands with the fullest delight and joy of spirit. 

For this reason, my beloved Jesus, and because of the surging joy which moves me, here and now I offer my blood and body and life. May I die only for you, if you will grant me this grace, since you willingly died for me. Let me so live that you may grant me the gift of such a happy death. In this way, my God and Savior, I will take from your hand the cup of your sufferings and call on your name: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! 

 My God, it grieves me greatly that you are not know, that in this savage wilderness all have not been converted to you, that sin has not been driven from it. My God, even if all the brutal tortures which prisoners in this region must endure should fall on me, I offer myself most willingly to them and I alone shall suffer them all.

Spirituality: John O’Donohue

The world is not decided by action alone. It is decided more by consciousness and spirit; they are the secret sources of all action and behavior. 

The spirit of a time is an incredibly subtle, yet hugely powerful force. And it is comprised of the mentality and spirit of all individuals together.

 

Therefore, the way you look at things is not simply a private matter. Your outlook actually and concretely affects what goes on.

 

When you give in to helplessness, you collude with despair and add to it.

 

When you take back your power and choose to see the possibilities for healing and transformation, your creativity awakens and flows to become an active force of renewal and encouragement in the world.

 

In this way, even in your own hidden life, you can become a powerful agent of transformation.

I made a contract

As I was driving to an event from Dorchester to South Boston today, a sentence entered my mind. It was "I made a contract." I made a contract with society that I would keep my neighbor safe. This thought affects my driving and other aspects of my life.

I was at a red traffic light, and a woman in a SUV was positioned to my right. As the light turned green, she took off with great speed, and I said to myself, "I made a contract." A traffic stop sign was a short distance ahead. She and I both approached it, but she was far in front of me, and she did not slow down. She passed through the stop sign, perhaps because she was able to do so with getting caught. I stopped at the sign.

The next traffic light approached. It was green, then yellow, then red, for a few seconds, and she ran through it, and so did the car after her. I stopped and waited. 

I often want to say to people, "Wait your turn."

Just because you can disregard traffic signals doesn't mean it is the best thing for society. I made a contract with society. I have to choose what will make society run smoother. 

As I continued onward, another car parked half in a legal space and half in a prohibited space. If I were in that situation, I would find another parking space. I then watched a car zigzag down the side street swerving from left to right before he finally double-parked and walked into a brownstone. I made a contract that I would not block traffic for my own individual purpose. All in all, I traveled 3 miles. 

I would rather that driver slow it down on South Boston streets because you cannot tell when a pedestrian will appear in between cars to cross the road. I admit that many Bostonian pedestrians are brazen and entitled, but I made a contract to keep them safe.

I drive too fast at times on highways, and yet I try not to stay in the left lane except to pass. I do get annoyed when a car drives slowly in the left lane. I also get annoyed when people decide not to communicate with me by using one's directionals. Why would you not want to tell me that you are going to suddenly change lanes by using your signals? Often you put me in harm's way. 

I could take liberties as others do, but I made a contract with society when I got my license. I could disregard rules and get away with it, and I would not feel proud. I want to feel proud of society and each person's commitment to making society protect others.  

Photo: Remembrances of things past

 

Spirituality: The Remembrance of Things, Past, by Marcel Proust

The only true voyage, the only bath in the Fountain of Youth, would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes, to see the universe through the eyes of another, of a hundred others, to see the hundred universes that each of them sees, that each of them is.

Photo: All types

 

Poem: T. S. Eliot

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

Through the unknown, remembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river

The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.

Have mercy on me: The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                                       Have mercy on me 

The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 23, 2022

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

Sirach 35:12-19; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14

 

          In the parable of the two ways of praying, Jesus points out that what matters is one’s dependence upon God. The Pharisee is self-righteous as he judges himself by the laws he keeps and the good he does. Mind you, he is a good man who tries to live the faith as best he can. In fact, he is doing everything well that he has been taught, and yet, he has not learned to trust God. He places trust in what he can do and then he surmises that he is good and his actions are good because it complies with the official faith teaching. He then declares that he is better than others because of his good works. However, this is not our faith. Self-justification does not lead to salvation. He also engages in a damaging practice. He compares, and when one compares, one despairs. 

 

          We know that it is not about creating the perfect liturgy or doing things right or wearing particular clothing that makes us a trusting disciple. God does not judge those outward actions; God judges the heart that strives, and that is what we get with the tax collector. He knows he is in a hated profession because he is regarded as a traitor. Perhaps his esteem is low to begin with, but he knows his place in the world. He is trying to get by and he regards himself as one who depends upon the mercy of God, and that is what God looks for in a person. God judges well the heart that knows everything ultimately begins and ends with God. We get blessings and grace from God; God is with us when matters do not go well. Our fundamental disposition of knowing who we are and acting in accord with that humility will hold us in good stead for salvation.

 

          We then have to question the attitudes we bring to worship. Jesus reminds us that we cannot earn salvation through our own merits, so it is not about saying the right words or doing the proper actions. Sometimes just showing up and knowing that you trust God is enough. You don’t have to say anything but just being in the presence of the holy is enough. Depending upon God means that we can depend upon those God depends upon – the community of faith around us. These are God’s friends, and therefore, they are your friends by extension, and we grow into a more loving community because we first love God. 

 

          How do we love God? This is spelled out in the first reading. God hears the cry of the oppressed, the wail of the orphans, the complaint of the despondent widow, and the petitions of the lowly. We have to hear the cries as well, which means that we cannot rationalize away our responses. Otherwise, we are simply the Pharisees who proclaims self-righteousness and judges those who are not like him. It is not easy to love people who do not share the same etiquette, who do not take necessary levels of responsibility for their own situation, and those who do not go to therapy to process their life’s concerns. We may be outwardly patient while inwardly rolling our eyes. We don’t always like the needy when they try to get us to solve their problems or when they transfer their dependencies upon us. Somehow, they may not fully depend upon God and are looking for a human savior. We have to hear those cries, and we increase our trust in and dependence upon God. 

 

          The tax collector gives us the best advice that has endured for centuries. We come to church or we say in our private prayers, “Have mercy upon me, O God. Help me to become the best person I am capable of becoming by trusting in you and learning from your wisdom each day. I am who I am because of your great mercy.”

 

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) He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his Body.

 

Wednesday: (Ephesians 6) Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,
but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord.

 

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 (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 (Philemon 1) 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. My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way,
but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

 

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. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”

 

Tuesday: (Luke 13) Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

 

Wednesday (Luke 13) Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.

 

Thursday (Luke 13) Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose. Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day, for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem.’

 

Friday (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.

 

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 23: John of Capistrano, priest, had a vision of Francis of Assisi when he was imprisoned during an Italian civil war at which time he was the governor of Perugia. He entered the Franciscan Friars Minor in 1415 after ending his marriage. He preached missions throughout Europe including a mission to Hungary to preach a crusade against the Turks. After the Christian victory at the Battle of Belgrade in 1456, John died. 

 

October 24: Anthony Claret, bishop (1807-1870) adopted his father's weaving career as a young man but continued to study Latin and printing. After entering seminary, he began preaching retreats and giving missions. He published and distributed religious literature and founded the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He was appointed archbishop of Cuba but was called back to Spain to be Queen Isabella II's confessor. He resumed publishing until the revolution of 1868 sent him into exile. 

 

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. 

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• October 23, 1767: The Jesuits who had been kept prisoners in their college in Santiago, Chile, for almost two months were led forth to exile. In all 360 Jesuits of the Chile Province were shipped to Europe as exiles. 
• October 24, 1759: 133 members of the Society, banished from Portugal and put ashore at Civita Vecchia, were most kindly received by Clement XIII and by the religious communities, especially the Dominicans. 
• October 25, 1567. St Stanislaus Kostka arrived in Rome and was admitted into the Society by St Francis Borgia. 
• October 26, 1546. The Province of Portugal was established as the first province in the Society, with Simao Rodriguez as its first provincial superior. 
• October 27, 1610. The initial entrance of the Jesuits into Canada. The mission had been recommended to the Society by Henry IV. 
• October 28, 1958. The death of Wilfrid Parsons, founder of Thought magazine and editor of America from 1925 to 1936. 
• October 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.