The Dynamic Catholic Institute was founded by writer Matthew Kelly to do its part in the rejuvenation of Catholicism in the English-speaking world. Ten years ago Kelly published his book Rediscovering Catholicism, and it is the mission of the Institute to place a copy of this book in the hands of every Catholic in the United States. Recently the Institute sent me four copies so I could see about letting CatholicCulture.org users know about it.
 
I've reviewed the book. It is a basic presentation of the value, riches and beauty of Catholicism-all about why taking the Faith seriously should matter. After introducing the life-changing nature of Christ's mission and that of His Church, the book focuses in particular on Kelly's "Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality": Reconciliation, Contemplation, The Mass, the Bible, Fasting, Spiritual Reading and the Rosary. Rediscovering Catholicism is not for those who are already deeply committed and deeply knowledgeable; it is a deliberately breezy treatment designed primarily to get the lukewarm or indifferent excited about being Catholic, or perhaps those who, while not exactly lukewarm, are engaged in only a sort of secularized social Catholicism because they have been badly formed.
 
The book is available in single copies for the cost of shipping and handling ($5.95), and at $2.00 per copy for bulk distribution (with free shipping): Rediscovering Catholicism. It is well worth considering, but be warned: Though it is an easy read, it is over 300 pages long, so you have to ask yourself whether your intended recipients will actually read it.
 
For those with shorter attention spans, Catholic Answers' Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth, developed originally for distribution at World Youth Days, is a 32-page booklet which provides a more succinct and classically-apologetical introduction to Catholicism. It's available for $1.00 plus shipping, or in bulk for as little as 50 cents. Either text could be just the thing to jump-start the nascent Catholics you hold dear.
 

http://www.dynamiccatholic.com/index.php

Best Parish Practices




PRAY AND FAST FOR YOUR PARISH AND THE CHURCH




“After Jesus and the disciples had gone back home and were alone, they asked him, "Why couldn't we force out that demon? He replied ‘This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.’"
-Mark 9:28-29


BENEFITS?
Praying is doing something!  And fasting is the greatest spiritual weapon you can bring to bear on spiritual evils and to assist right and good things in the physical order.
These are our top two weapons employed in spiritual warfare.  At a time when many evils are being uncovered in our beloved Church, we can turn to these tried and true methods of interceding for the victims of abuse and for the Church as a whole.  Suggestions on ways to pray and fast are below. 
*Note: When fasting we give up a good, and are taught to offer the discomfort up for the intention we are praying for.  To “offer something up” means that we are making a choice to not let our discomfort be wasted.  Christ suffered to redeem us, and when He did, He changed the nature of suffering to make it possible for all human suffering to be united with His own in order to play a part in the redemption of the human race.  How do we offer our challenges for a certain intention?  We tell God, "I offer this up to You for….. or, Lord, please use this for….(the victims of abuse, the universal Church, etc.)”


HOW?
Ways To Pray                                                                      Ways To Fast
-Pray a Daily Rosary, even just once decade.                        -Give up dessert
-Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet                                             -Give up your morning coffee
-Go to Adoration                                                                    -Eat only bread and water for the day          
-Attend a Daily Mass                                                              -Fast from Social Media for a day or a week
-Pray the Morning Offering                                                   -Fast from television
-Pray the Saint Michael Prayer                                              -Fast from any creature comfort that you enjoy
(http://www.catholicallyear.com/2018/08/sexual-abuse-sackcloth-and-ashes.html
) #sackclothandashes



​

BEIRUT — In war-torn Homs, Syria, Sisters Lina and Rima Barakat, Syriac Catholic Ephremite Sisters of the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Mercy, typically gather with other sisters from their congregation to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, especially on Wednesdays and Fridays.
The 35-year-old twins entered the religious life together when they were 20.

The sisters live out a mission of mercy through their congregation’s Mother of Mercy center in Homs, where they care for 175 children, ranging in age from 3 months to 14 years old, who were injured in the war or who have developmental disabilities. “God is working, and the children are getting better with time,” Sister Rima told the Register during the second Middle East Congress on Divine Mercy (MECOM II) this month. “We consider that the presence of God is the protector and savior of Syria. War and darkness does not stay forever. God will prevail over everything.”
And from a broader perspective, Sister Lina added, “Divine Mercy is especially important in the Middle East, to prove that God is stronger than any terrorism or differences. Nothing can stop the light from shining from the East. We [Christians] will continue here.”


Seeds of Divine Mercy in Lebanon
Having discovered the Divine Mercy while living for a time in Canada, when MECOM II secretary Rosy Chaanine moved back to Lebanon in 1996, she realized that the faithful in her homeland were mostly unfamiliar with the devotion. Chaanine arranged for translation of a Divine Mercy booklet into Arabic, with the imprimatur of the Maronite bishop of Beirut, published that same year.
Now there are 20 Divine Mercy prayer groups in Lebanon, totaling around 250 participants.
“And what could be more powerful than the Divine Mercy Chaplet, wherein we ask our Almighty God in the name of and for the sake of the passion of his beloved Son to have mercy on us and on the whole world? We believe that this prayer is so powerful that it will move the heart of God,” Chaanine told the Register.
One of the prayer groups in Beirut has about 30 members and includes a Muslim convert, a Druze convert (both of whom found the group after they became Catholic) and a seminarian.
During their gathering they pray the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and they read and discuss the Bible. At first, they started meeting once a month; soon, they were meeting twice a month. Now they meet once a week, and sometimes more. “We stay in the church for hours,” 27-year-old member Christelle told the Register.
Most of that group’s participants were “in the dark and then came into the light, with Jesus. Each one has his story,” 34-year-old Charbel, Christelle’s fiancé, told the Register. The couple met at their Divine Mercy prayer group.
As a young adult, Charbel’s path astray from his baptized Catholic faith included hard-partying nightlife, alcohol and promiscuity. “I did a lot of wrong things,” he said. “I even tried to commit suicide twice. Jesus will always give us a sign that he’s with us. But being in the darkness, we don’t pay attention.”
“And then, with Jesus, I found the real love,” Charbel says of his homecoming to the Catholic faith. “I wish people would realize how much mercy Jesus has for each one of us.”
“We’re like a big family,” Christelle says. There is also a newlywed couple who met and became engaged through the group.
Additionally, in Lebanon, the Voice of Charity radio, managed by the Maronite Lebanese Missionaries, broadcasts the Chaplet of Divine Mercy daily at 3pm, the hour of Divine Mercy, in Arabic. The Christian radio station can also be heard via the internet.
In Jordan, a laywoman who wishes to remain anonymous became acquainted with the message of Divine Mercy through the Divine Mercy booklet she received.
“All I know is I follow how Jesus prompts me, and I got hooked [on the Divine Mercy devotion],” the Jordanian laywoman told the Register.
She has personally printed and distributed tens of thousands of booklets since 1996 to churches in Jordan. “You can’t imagine how God blesses every little effort. The glory goes completely to Jesus,” she stressed.
Now there’s more awareness of Divine Mercy in Jordan, she said, noting that, for the past year or so, the chaplet is being prayed in most of the churches on Fridays at 3pm. “It is Jesus and Our Lady desiring a merciful outpouring,” she emphasized. Jordan itself is known for religious co-existence and mutual respect between Muslims and Christians.
She attended the first MECOM conference in Cairo in 2017 with four people; 11 Jordanians attended MECOM II in Lebanon.
“It’s great for all of us from various countries to be together, to share together, so that God can work through us,” she said of the congress. This year’s event in Lebanon drew some 300 religious and laypeople.

The sisters live out a mission of mercy through their congregation’s Mother of Mercy center in Homs, where they care for 175 children, ranging in age from 3 months to 14 years old, who were injured in the war or who have developmental disabilities. “God is working, and the children are getting better with time,” Sister Rima told the Register during the second Middle East Congress on Divine Mercy (MECOM II) this month. “We consider that the presence of God is the protector and savior of Syria. War and darkness does not stay forever. God will prevail over everything.”
And from a broader perspective, Sister Lina added, “Divine Mercy is especially important in the Middle East, to prove that God is stronger than any terrorism or differences. Nothing can stop the light from shining from the East. We [Christians] will continue here.”


Seeds of Divine Mercy in Lebanon
Having discovered the Divine Mercy while living for a time in Canada, when MECOM II secretary Rosy Chaanine moved back to Lebanon in 1996, she realized that the faithful in her homeland were mostly unfamiliar with the devotion. Chaanine arranged for translation of a Divine Mercy booklet into Arabic, with the imprimatur of the Maronite bishop of Beirut, published that same year.
Now there are 20 Divine Mercy prayer groups in Lebanon, totaling around 250 participants.
“And what could be more powerful than the Divine Mercy Chaplet, wherein we ask our Almighty God in the name of and for the sake of the passion of his beloved Son to have mercy on us and on the whole world? We believe that this prayer is so powerful that it will move the heart of God,” Chaanine told the Register.
One of the prayer groups in Beirut has about 30 members and includes a Muslim convert, a Druze convert (both of whom found the group after they became Catholic) and a seminarian.
During their gathering they pray the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and they read and discuss the Bible. At first, they started meeting once a month; soon, they were meeting twice a month. Now they meet once a week, and sometimes more. “We stay in the church for hours,” 27-year-old member Christelle told the Register.
Most of that group’s participants were “in the dark and then came into the light, with Jesus. Each one has his story,” 34-year-old Charbel, Christelle’s fiancé, told the Register. The couple met at their Divine Mercy prayer group.
As a young adult, Charbel’s path astray from his baptized Catholic faith included hard-partying nightlife, alcohol and promiscuity. “I did a lot of wrong things,” he said. “I even tried to commit suicide twice. Jesus will always give us a sign that he’s with us. But being in the darkness, we don’t pay attention.”
“And then, with Jesus, I found the real love,” Charbel says of his homecoming to the Catholic faith. “I wish people would realize how much mercy Jesus has for each one of us.”
“We’re like a big family,” Christelle says. There is also a newlywed couple who met and became engaged through the group.
Additionally, in Lebanon, the Voice of Charity radio, managed by the Maronite Lebanese Missionaries, broadcasts the Chaplet of Divine Mercy daily at 3pm, the hour of Divine Mercy, in Arabic. The Christian radio station can also be heard via the internet.
In Jordan, a laywoman who wishes to remain anonymous became acquainted with the message of Divine Mercy through the Divine Mercy booklet she received.
“All I know is I follow how Jesus prompts me, and I got hooked [on the Divine Mercy devotion],” the Jordanian laywoman told the Register.
She has personally printed and distributed tens of thousands of booklets since 1996 to churches in Jordan. “You can’t imagine how God blesses every little effort. The glory goes completely to Jesus,” she stressed.
Now there’s more awareness of Divine Mercy in Jordan, she said, noting that, for the past year or so, the chaplet is being prayed in most of the churches on Fridays at 3pm. “It is Jesus and Our Lady desiring a merciful outpouring,” she emphasized. Jordan itself is known for religious co-existence and mutual respect between Muslims and Christians.
She attended the first MECOM conference in Cairo in 2017 with four people; 11 Jordanians attended MECOM II in Lebanon.
“It’s great for all of us from various countries to be together, to share together, so that God can work through us,” she said of the congress. This year’s event in Lebanon drew some 300 religious and laypeople.

Divine Mercy, a Powerful Witness
In Egypt, devotion to the Divine Mercy is also helping Egyptian Catholics to offer a strong witness to the faith.
As Christians living among Muslims, “in our way of living and what we are doing for them,” particularly through charitable acts of mercy for the poor and the disadvantaged, “they see how Jesus is working in us,” said Franciscan Father Michael Selim, coordinator for MECOM I in Cairo.
Anisa Boghdady of Cairo came to this year’s congress with six others from her Divine Mercy group, which totals about 45 people.
“Especially because our region is not very stable, we pray in our group to save all souls by putting them in his mercy,” Boghdady told the Register. “And we pray for the grace to change ourselves by imitating our Savior, Jesus.”
Doreen Abi Raad writes from Beirut, Lebanon

Vatican City, (EWTN News/CNA) - On Wednesday, Pope Francis continued his weekly catechesis on the family, saying that parents have the responsibility to teach their children to pray.

Delivering his address to pilgrims and visitors, gathered under the hot sun for the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff stressed the importance of teaching children how to show love for God through prayer.

"It is beautiful when mothers teach their little children to blow a kiss to Jesus or to Our Lady. What tenderness there is in this!" he said.

"In that moment the child's heart is transformed into a place of prayer. And this is a gift of the Holy Spirit."

However, in off-the-cuff remarks, the Pope lamented how there are children who are not taught the most basic prayers by there parents, a phenomena he said he has witnessed in the city.

"There are children who have not learned how to make the Sign of the Cross!" he said. "You, mother, father! Teach your children how to pray, how to make the Sign of the Cross!"

Children should learn prayer with "the same spontaneity" as when they learn to say "daddy" and "mommy," so that it stays with them forever, the Pope added.

The Pope's August 26 address was the latest in a series of catechesis dedicated to the family. Since late year, the pontiff has been centering his Wednesday catecheses on this theme as part of the lead-up to the World Meeting of Families in September, as well as October's Synod of Bishops on the Family.

In his catechesis, delivered in Italian, the Holy Father observed how many Christians know they need prayer, but do not have the time.

"Their regret is sincere, certainly, because the human heart always seeks prayer, even without knowing it; and if it does not find it, it does not have peace."

It is for this reason that Christians must cultivate a love for God, he said.

While it is good to believe in God, to have hope in him to help at difficult times, and to be grateful to him, Pope Francis asked whether or not we also love him.

He cited the scripture passage from Deuteronomy, repeated by Christ in Matthew's Gospel, in which we are called to love God with all our heart, our soul, and strength.

"(This) formula uses the intense language of love, poured into God," the Pope said.

Pope Francis acknowledged that we are able see God as the one who gives us life and from whom even death cannot separate us, the "great Being" and "Judge" who made all things and controls every act, the Pope said. However, these concepts only find their full significance "when God is the love of our loves."

"God could have simply made us know him as the supreme Being, given his commandments, and awaited the results."

This he has done, but also "infinitely more," the Pope said, adding in off-the-cuff remarks: "He accompanies us on the path of life. He protects us. He loves us."

Pope Francis acknowledged how there is little time available in family life. However, by finding time to pray, we "give time back to God." In so doing, we escape the obsession with not having enough time, rediscover "peace in the important things," and "discover the joy in unexpected gifts."

Encouraging the faithful to read the Gospel every day, as he has done on numerous occasions, the Holy Father said this is a particularly important practice for families.

"The Gospel, read and meditated on in the family, is like good bread which nourishes the hearts of everyone," he said.

Pope Francis concluded: "In the family of prayer, in strong moments and in difficult periods, may we be entrusted to one another, in order that everyone of us in the family may be protected by God's love."


"The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes:
He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows." -St. Gregory of Nyssa
Catechism of the Catholic Church #2015
 ​

A bit of humor.
  

-Why do monkeys carry their babies on their backs?  It would be a bit hard dragging a buggy all the way up the trees.  
-Doctor says to the patient: “Your coughing sounds much better.” The patient replies: “And no wonder. I spent a lot of time practicing.”  
-I have a very good feeling about my job interview today. The manager said they were looking for somebody responsible.  “You’ve found your man,” I responded, “whenever there was a problem in my last job, they always said that I was responsible!”  

Some Thoughts:
-A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
-Did you know that dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish?
-Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
-By the time a man realizes that his father was right, he has a son who thinks he’s wrong.
-A TV can insult your intelligence, but nothing rubs it in like a computer.
-A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station…

From the Mouths of Infants and Babes:
-A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied. "Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"
 
-After the church service a little boy told the pastor, "When I grow up, I'm going to give you some money." "Well, thank you," the pastor replied, "but why?" "Because my daddy says you're one of the poorest preachers we've ever had."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A pastor, known for his lengthy sermons, noticed a man get up and leave during the middle of his message. 

The man returned just before the conclusion of the service. 

Afterwards the pastor asked the man where he had gone. 

"I went to get a haircut," was the reply. 

"But," said the pastor, "why didn't you do that before the service?" 

"Because," the gentleman said, "I didn't need one then."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Cop With a Collar 
A young clergyman, fresh out of seminary, thought it would help him better understand the fears and temptations his future congregations faced if he first took a job as a policeman for several months. He passed the physical examination; then came the oral exam to test his ability to act quickly and wisely in an emergency.  Among other questions he was asked, "What would you do to disperse a frenzied crowd?" 
He thought for a moment and then said, "I would take up a collection."
 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Substitute
The minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building. Therefore, he was annoyed to find that the regular organist was sick and a substitute had been brought in at the last minute. The substitute wanted to know what to play. 

"Here's a copy of the service," he said impatiently. "But, you'll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances." 
During the service, the minister paused and said, 

"Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty; the roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected and we need $4,000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up." 
At that moment, the substitute organist played, 

"The Star Spangled Banner." 
And that is how the substitute became the regular organist!

​

+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 1st, 2019


The First Reading- Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God. What is too sublime for you, seek not, into things beyond your strength search not. The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the joy of the wise. Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins.
Reflection 
Composed c. 200 BC, Sirach is the last of the wisdom books and may be regarded as a massive summation of the Israelite wisdom tradition. In fact, Sirach is truly a meditation on the entire body of Israel’s Scriptures from the perspective of wisdom, that is, the practical knowledge of successful living. Because Sirach provides such a useful digest of the moral message of the Old Testament Scriptures, the early Church used it heavily in catechesis (teaching others the Faith), earning it the name “Ecclesiasticus,” that is, “the little book of the Church.” The author, like Jesus of Nazareth to come, highly prizes humility, and in today’s passage stresses this virtue as one key to entering into God’s favor. In his exhortation “Humble yourself, the greater you are,” we hear a “pre-echo” of Jesus’ words: “Whoever would become great in God’s kingdom must become the servant of all,” and “let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the one who serves” (Luke 22:27). Jesus Christ is the culmination of a profound tradition of moral reflection of God’s revelation within Israel.
Adults - The definition of humility is “to know the truth.” Humility doesn’t mean put yourself down, it means you are honest about things you may not be good at, and that you give credit for your gifts to God who gave them to you. Try to do a truly humble examination of yourself this week. 
Teens - What gift has God blessed you with? How can you use them to build up the Body of Christ?
Kids - What is one thing you’re really good at? Thank God for that gift!



Responsorial- Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11
R.God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
The just rejoice and exult before God;
they are glad and rejoice.
Sing to God, chant praise to his name;
whose name is the LORD.
R. God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
The father of orphans and the defender of widows
is God in his holy dwelling.
God gives a home to the forsaken;
he leads forth prisoners to prosperity.
R. God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R. God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
Reflection 
-The First Reading—not accidentally!—ended with a call for the practice of almsgiving, that is, material help offered to the poor. The Psalm picks up on the theme of kindness to the poor. The Psalm asserts that God himself is the primary benefactor of the orphan, the widow, and other disadvantaged persons. Therefore, when we show kindness to the poor, it is an imitatio Dei, an act that makes us resemble God! What is the connection between humility and almsgiving? It lies in seeing the poor person as like ourselves, as sharing in our humanity, as being our brother or sister. Pride involves placing ourselves above the level of other human beings, so that their needs have no claim on us. But through almsgiving we recognize the poor as our family, as fellow children of God who have a claim on our love.
How can you do God’s work this week?


The Second Reading- Hebrews 12: 18-19, 22-24A
Brothers and sisters: You have not approached that which could be touched and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness and storm and a trumpet blast and a voice speaking words such that those who heard begged that no message be further addressed to them. No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.
Reflection
The author describes the community of the “Heavenly Jerusalem” as including “countless angels in festal gathering,” that is, gathered for a feast. What is this feast at which the angels and saints gather at “Mt. Zion”? It is the Eucharist, where they consume the “sprinkled blood” of Jesus which “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Abel’s blood cried out for justice; Jesus’ blood cries out for mercy.) The Eucharist is the banquet at which God invites the poor, the blind, the lame, etc.—in other words, invites us.
Did you know that all of the angels and saints, as well as our loved ones in heaven, are present at each Mass?


The Holy Gospel according to Luke 14:1, 7-14
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. 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. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, 'Give your place to this man,' and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My friend, move up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Then he said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. 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."
Reflection
This banquet table may be seen as a symbol of the Church, which is gathered around the Eucharistic table of the Lord. Our Lord is condemning an attitude of “climbing the social ladder,” that is, seeking to acquire honor and authority, perhaps by obtaining “cherry” positions for our own glory. Our Lord has a warning for “social climbers” or “political animals” that gather around his table. This is also a call to practice a form of almsgiving: inviting the poor to share your food. Those who show love to the outcasts and disadvantaged in this life may be assured that God will be “in their debt,” and will repay that debt in the next. When we show love by meeting the material needs of the truly poor, we are “doing God’s work for him,” because as the Psalm taught us, kindness to the poor is the kind of thing God does. Also, If the banquet table represents the Eucharistic fellowship of the Church, the “poor, crippled, blind, and lame” are those broken with sins committed against them and sins they have committed themselves, people who need the Good News. Jesus is calling us to go out and invite those outside the Church to come to his Banquet. his evangelistic effort should be motivated by humility, realizing that we ourselves are “poor, crippled, blind, and lame” in God’s eyes (see Rev. 3:17), at least until he brought us into his banqueting hall. When we engage in sharing the Good News of God’s banquet, the “repayment” that we will receive in the life to come will be, perhaps, to share the joy of the heavenly banquet with the very people we invited during our earthly life.
Adults - Do you know how to evangelize and share your faith? Find a friend/fellow parishioner that does it well and ask them to help you!
Teens - If someone asked you why you are Catholic what would you say?
Kids - Try to read about the life of a Saint this week, and learn one new thing about our faith.


LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!
There is a little demon of pride in each one of us. There is a natural inclination in each one to esteem ourselves a little better in most ways, if not in all, than our neighbor. We must keep this demon in check and not let him grow in us. Any gifts of mind or body that we have are from God — our duty is to use them properly and to thank God for the loan of them. If He gave greater gifts to another, I thank God for it. That other was able to make better use of them than I would. I have enough gifts to go on. I shall not be judged on the use or abuse of gifts which I did not receive. If I use all the gifts which God gave me, to help my neighbor, the spiritually poor, the lame and blind, to heaven, instead of keeping myself aloof from them as the Pharisees did, then my judgment will be easy. I shall be "repaid in the resurrection of the just." — Excerpted from The Sunday Readings Cycle C, Fr. Kevin O' Sullivan, O.F.M
“Jesus, you are my Lord and my God. Come and reign in me.”
 

 



CATHOLIC QUESTIONS AND CATHOLIC ANSWERS


CHAPTER TWO:  The Tradition of Prayer
557. What is the importance of Tradition in regard to prayer? d) all of the above
In the Church it is through living Sacred Tradition that the Holy Spirit teaches the children of God how to pray.  In fact prayer cannot be reduced to the spontaneous outpouring of an interior impulse; rather it implies contemplation, study and a grasp of the spiritual realities one experiences.  In other words, it is not simply by accident, but something we choose and keep responding to.  And in Matthew 15:1-9, Jesus condemns false human, earthly tradition, not Sacred Tradition, which He Himself gave us.


AT THE WELLSPRINGS OF PRAYER
558. What are the sources of Christian prayer? d) all of the above
They are: the Word of God which gives us “the surpassing knowledge” of Christ (Philippians3:8); the Liturgy of the Church that proclaims, makes present and communicates the mystery of salvation; the theological virtues; and everyday situations because in them we can encounter God.  “I love you, Lord, and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally. … My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it to you as often as I draw breath.” (The Curé of Ars, Saint John Mary Vianney)


THE WAY OF PRAYER
559. In the Church are there different ways of praying? a) Yes
In the Church there are various ways of praying that are tied to different historical, social and cultural contexts. The Magisterium of the Church has the task of discerning the fidelity of these ways of praying to the tradition of apostolic faith. It is for pastors and catechists to explain their meaning which is always related to Jesus Christ.


560. What is the way of our prayer? a) Christ because prayer is directed to God our Father
The way of our prayer is Christ because prayer is directed to God our Father but reaches him only if we pray – at least implicitly – in the name of Jesus.  His humanity is in effect the only way by which the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray to our Father. Therefore liturgical prayers conclude with the formula: “Through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jesus sitting in the midst of the teachers

​

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
      This month nearly 2 million children begin Catholic School.  Many of us may have attended a Catholic school in our time.  Many remember the dear nuns, or a wonderful lay teacher who gave fully of themselves, bringing his or her uniqueness to the classroom. 
 
"Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."  Matthew 13:52 
 
        Regardless of who taught us and how we were educated, Catholic Schools have a value that is not found elsewhere because what they teach concerns God and heaven, our true home.  
 
Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 4:8
 
     Solid Catholic Schools and the education and formation they provide are needed now more than ever.  Yet these blessed institutions do not happen by accident.  They occur when the Father's blessing touches the honest, hard work of men and women of faith who love the Faith and children.
 
.do not be too hard on your children so they will become angry.  Instruct them in their growing years with Christian teaching. -Ephesians 6:4  
 
      As millions of children continue to experience the blessings of Catholic Schools this month, let us give thanks to God for these schools, pray for them to bear fruit, and do all we can to support (as those who have went before us have supported) that which has brought so many blessings to this earth.
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert
 
P.S.  This coming Sunday is the Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time.  >>> Readings
 

​P.S.S.  Sunday Readings with reflection available at the end of e-weekly.

Homilies from Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in past years (18, 21 minutes respectively): 

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​Listen
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Listen

Catholic Website of the Week


Institute of School and Parish Development
 


Bring People, Process, and Ministry to build the Kingdom of God.  ISPD is your Catholic School Enrollment Solution for maintaining and/or increasing the quantity, quality, or diversity of your elementary or secondary Catholic school enrollment.  These are the words with which they describe themselves.  This site is excellent in that it takes a holistic, yet practical approach to the needs of Catholic Schools and Parishes today, and yet does not veer from the Gospel when it comes to meeting these needs with true charity and love of neighbor.

Best Parish Practices
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Aug. 20 is the “birthday” of Hungary. Why is this important in the Catholic Church?
After defeating pagan warriors in a fight for his crown, Pope Sylvester II granted the “Sacred Crown” to King Stephen of Hungary. On Christmas Day in the year 1000, the future patron saint became the King of Hungary.
King Stephen then dedicated his country to Christian principles. According to St. John Paul II, the king did not consider his crown an honor, “but a service.”

Pope St. John Paul II’s words describing this epic moment in history:
“At the dawn of the millennium, the figure of King St. Stephen stands out.
“He founded the State on the firm rock of Christian values, and for this reason wanted to receive the royal crown from the hands of my Predecessor, Pope Sylvester II. Thus the Hungarian nation was founded in deep unity with the Chair of Peter and bound by close ties to other European countries, which shared the same Christian culture.
“This culture was the vital sap flowing through the fibres of the developing plant, which assured its growth and vigor, and prepared the extraordinary flourishing that was to come.”
St. Stephen held a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He built many churches in her honor.
On the day of his death in 1038, King St. Stephen dedicated his country to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Solemnity of the Assumption. He requested that the state and Church leaders “protect and spread the Catholic faith.”

He dedicated one of his final prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary:
“To thee, O Queen of heaven, and to thy guardianship, I commend the holy Church, all the bishops and the clergy, the whole kingdom, its rulers and inhabitants; but before all, I commend my soul to thy care.”
Ambassador of Hungary to the Holy See Eduard Habsburg brought attention to the Aug. 20th celebration in a post accompanied by a photo of Our Lady with St. Stephen.
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Here’s the photo below:

“What better image to convey our celebrating 
Hungary’s “birthday”, the 20th of August, then King Stephen offering the crown he received from the Pope to Our Lady who is, henceforth, queen of Hungary,” said Habsburg.
St. Stephen’s Day falls every year on Aug. 20. Hungary considers this day a public holiday, or the “birthday” of Hungary, “celebrating the foundation of the Hungarian state more than 1000 years ago.” It is comparable to July 4 in the United States.
Here’s a video explaining Hungary’s amazing Catholic history:
https://youtu.be/r-TSd0HqakA

It was a cold December day in Nebraska, and Ashley Stevens was riding in a car with four other women.

It was the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the women and the rest of their FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) team was headed to a retreat center near Gretna, Neb. when a large truck smashed into their car on Highway 6 near the Platte River, several miles east of Lincoln. 

While the other women had minor injuries - a broken shoulder, whiplash, cuts and bruises - Ashley was life-flighted to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha in critical condition. 

She had sustained major head trauma, and had significant swelling and bleeding in her brain. 

Brad Stevens, Ashley's fiancé of just a few weeks, got the call from Nikki Shasserre, a staff member at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Newman Center, who had hosted an engagement party for the couple three weeks prior. 

Get to the hospital now, Ashley's in critical condition. 

Father Robert Matya, the chaplain for the UNL Newman Center, had been on his way to the same retreat and was able to be with the women at the scene, praying with them and comforting them. He then rushed to the hospital to be with Brad, a former student he'd known for years, and was with him to receive the grim diagnosis. 

"I remember very distinctly arriving at the hospital, and Brad and I went in to sit down with the doctor, who told us that he didn't think it was going to be possible that Ashley would survive at that point," Fr. Matya recalled. "He was just trying to be honest with us." 

That was around 10 in the morning. By 3 p.m., Ashley was heading to surgery. Father stayed with Brad and Ashley in the ICU that night. 

From the very first moment, Father said, the way Brad handled the situation was remarkable. 

"What was beautiful about watching Brad in that experience was that he was just unwavering from the first moment on, in terms of being at her side. There was never a question of his dedication to her throughout the whole experience, and that was the case not only on that day of the accident but throughout the entire process of her rehabilitation," he said. 

"There was never any question (of Brad's faithfulness)," Fr. Matya added.  

Brad's faith in God had been what initially attracted Ashley to him. They were both working at Resident Assistants in the Husker Village dorms, and during the long walks patrolling the halls on duty nights, she would pepper him with all of her questions about Catholicism. A devout Protestant, Ashley was amazed at how well Brad could defend and explain his faith using scripture. She became "like a little sponge," she said, soaking up knowledge about the Catholic Church.  

A few years after they became friends, and in the early phases of their dating relationship, Ashley became Catholic after taking classes at the Newman Center and developing strong friendships there. 

The day of the accident, dozens of friends from the Newman Center and beyond had arrived at UNMC, offering meals and prayers and whatever support they could. Word spread quickly, and more prayers and support started pouring in from UNL students and the Catholic community around the state - and even the world. 

Ashley, who said she does not remember "literally a single day" of the entire month she spent at UNMC, said she has only heard and read of the tremendous outpouring of love that occurred within those first days and weeks. 

"I was submerged in prayer," she said. "From holy hours at the Newman Center, across the country, there people I didn't even know were surrounding me with prayer that I'm so thankful for." 

"It's amazing seeing God's love through so many instruments you know when you're quite literally helpless." 

Slowly, Ashley started making improvements, though for a long time it was uncertain exactly how healed she could be. She had a stroke while at UNMC, and it was uncertain for a while whether she'd ever be able to walk, or hold a job, or take care of future children. 

"I can't even imagine Brad, just three weeks after getting engaged, and my parents just sitting by, not knowing if I'm going to make it and if I did, what would be the end result? How much of Ashley would they get back, would he get back?" she said. 

Even the tiniest glimpses of hope, however, made Brad "just giddy excited," Ashley said. 

"Even if I was just able to squeeze his hand or open my eyes and look at him, or just try to smile, anything gave him glimpses of hope that I was going to make it," she said. 

A gratitude journal Brad kept at the time proves his incredible hope. In an entry dated Dec. 13, one day after the accident, Brad responded to the prompts in his journal: 

Today I feel: "Great, it was starting out to be a good day, until Nikki Shasserre called and told me the news. After that a mix of scared, sad, mad, happy." 

Spiritually I: "Am overwhelmed by the huge support you have received from all over the country. I feel consoled during a moment of great trial." 

Magical moments (comfort, peace, and love): "You opened your eye and looked at me!! That was huge. I was so thankful to know I had communicated with you and was able to show my love for you and show you I'm there for you." 

It was Brad's faithfulness that kept Ashley going in the hard months of recovery and therapy to come. 

After UNMC, Ashley was flown down to Atlanta to continue her treatment - it was closer to her parents, who live in Knoxville, Tenn., and was highly recommended for brain trauma recovery. 
Brad kept his job as an aide to a state senator in Nebraska, but flew down to Atlanta every Thursday through Sunday to be with his fiancé. 

"That was beautiful to me and exactly what I needed to hear to keep fighting and to keep doing frustrating therapies," Ashley said. For a while, even the basics were extremely difficult. She had to re-learn how to write, eat, walk, do long division - but Brad's visits kept her looking forward to the weekends. 

"I remember seeing him every Thursday and just being giddy, when you're going through something so life-altering, being able to cling to normalcy is exactly what you need," she said. 

But May 16th, the day they had originally planned for their wedding, was harder than most. Brad flew down to be with Ashley, and they went to a church to pray. 

"I'm not a crier, I'm just not, but that day we went to the chapel and I just broke down, and I walked out of the church and he came after me and he said 'What's wrong? I'm still here, we're still going to get married,'" Ashley recalled. 

She told Brad about all the doubts she had - doubts, she thinks now, that came from Satan. 

"We didn't have our wedding rescheduled, I didn't know when or if I would go back to work, I still wasn't approved to drive, and I just kept thinking: Am I worth it?"

"I remember he took my hands and said, 'Ashley, I still love you, I love you just as much as when I asked you to marry me, I'm going to marry you, and it's not going to be today, but it will be as soon as it makes sense, as soon as you get back and we get in our rhythm, it will be then.'"

And it was. The next week, Ashley found out her release date. She entered a driving program, and was 
approved to start working again part-time. As the improvements kept coming, Ashley and Brad started re-looking at wedding dates. 

They settled on Dec. 12 - exactly a year after the accident. 

"It was Ashley's idea," Brad said. "She wanted to conquer a sad day and remember it with joy, or in her words 'kick the accident in the face.'" 

"I think some people question like why would you want to do that, so many hard memories will be evoked on that day, why would you want to have the happiest day of your life kind of conflict with that?" Ashley said. "To me, that was the point." 

It was a cold December day in Nebraska again. There had been a blizzard the day before Dec. 12, 2009, the day of Ashley and Brad Stevens' wedding. 

"I guess you should expect (a blizzard) in December in Nebraska," Ashley joked. Nonetheless, friends and family from all over the country were able to make it. 

"It was just a party," Ashley said. And the FOCUS team - half of whom had been in the car with Ashley - were in the choir loft. They sang and played Bethany Dillan's "Let Your Light Shine Down", which the team had listened to together, per Ashley's request, at a meeting a week before the accident. 

The truck driver was there too. 

"Seeing the church surrounded by people that had stood by our sides whether its prayers, meals, visits, and just having a party, it was a way of saying I'm still here, that God healed us, healed me, and performed a miracle," Ashley said. 

The Stevens have now been married for almost 6 years, with two beautiful little girls. They travel in between Tennessee and Nebraska often, so the girls can get to know both sets of grandparents. 
They still have their ups and downs, like any couple, but in large part because of the accident, Ashley never doubts that Brad is in it for the long haul. 

"Marriage is hard," Ashley said, "but it's part of the cost, and when you sign the marriage license you know that. The vow, 'in good and in bad, in sickness and in health,' obviously Brad's already lived the in sickness and in health vow out before we even walked down the aisle." 

"The best advice we can offer for marriage prep is to take a step back, and evaluate your relationship," 
Brad said. "And (if) there's not much about God, there's not much about how the relationship has challenged you to be better, change habits or to find joy in sacrifice, then there's a disconnect." 

There are reminders of the accident - Ashley permanently lost hearing in her right ear, she suffered nerve injuries and lost partial control of her right hand. But at the end of the day goodness prevailed, 

Ashley said, which is why she is working on a book telling her story. 

"God gives us all different gifts," Ashley said. "And I don't have the gift of musical ability, or anything artistic, at times I don't have the gift of extraversion, but I do have the gift of a cool story. And I have the gumption to share it." 

"God gives us all a story for a reason, he doesn't give us a story to keep it to ourselves, he gives us a story to share,     

"The point (of the story) is that God always wins," she said. "And that may not look like the win that has always played out in your head, but he's faithful, and he works miracles in our lives, and we can't forget all he's done in our life." 

These days, the Stevens are looking forward to settling in Nebraska as their oldest starts school. As for Brad, he's thankful that after everything, they're able to have a normal life.

"Ashley is a rock star and I thank God for her and the family we have together." As those first responsible for the education of their children, parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions. This right is fundamental. As far as possible parents have the duty of choosing schools that will best help them in their task as Christian educators. Public authorities have the duty of guaranteeing this parental right and of ensuring the concrete conditions for its exercise. 
-Catechism of the Catholic Church 2229

A bit of humor.






-Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?  A. Samson, he brought the house down.  (destroyed the pillars that dropped the roof on his enemies)  
-What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no lived in Eden? A. Your mother ate us out of house and home.  
-Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible? A. Moses, he broke all 10 Commandments at once. (when he smashed the tablets at the wickedness of God’s people)


A Spanish magician says he will disappear on the count of 3. He says "uno, dos..." poof. He disappeared without a tres.
Two men meet on opposite sides of a river. One shouts to the other "I need you to help me get to the other side!"  The other guy replies, "You are on the other side!"



For our daughters 6th birthday we bought her a fish. We couldn’t help laughing when on the way she announced “the fish’s name is Sparingly.” “How do you know?” I asked. “Look” she responded “it says “feed sparingly 3 times daily.”



Husband brings the child home from kindergarten and asks his wife, "He’s been crying the whole way home. Isn’t he sick or something?" "No," replies the wife, "he was just trying to tell you he isn’t our Frankie."

Some Observations:
-If you start to think I talk too much, just tell me. We’ll talk about it.
-That moment when you check your time on your phone and have to check again 10 seconds later because you weren't paying attention the first time.
-That awkward moment when your friend says they are not hungry but ends up eating half of your food when you just order for yourself.



TEACHER:    Now, Simon , tell me, do you say prayers before eating? 
SIMON:         No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook. 

 


A boy with a monkey on his shoulder was walking down the road when he passed a policeman who said, "Now, now young lad, I think you had better take that monkey the zoo." The next day, the boy was walking down the road with the monkey on his shoulder again, when he passed the same policeman. The policeman said, "Hey there, I thought I told you to take that monkey to the zoo!" The boy answered, "I did! Today I'm taking him to the cinema."





If College Students Wrote The Bible 

The Last Supper would have been eaten the next morning -- cold. 

The Ten Commandments would actually be only five -- double-spaced and written in a large font. 

A new edition would be published every two years in order to limit reselling. 

Forbidden fruit would have been eaten because it wasn't cafeteria food. Paul's letter to the Romans would become Paul's email to abuse@romans.gov. 

Reason Cain killed Abel: they were roommates. 

Reason why Moses and followers walked in the desert for 40 years: they didn't want to ask directions and look like freshmen. 

Instead of God creating the world in six days and resting on the seventh, he would have put it off until the night before to get it done




One Sunday morning, a priest wakes up and decides to go golfing. He calls the retired priest and says that he feels very sick, and won't be able to go to offer the Mass.
Way up in heaven, Saint Peter sees all this and asks God, ''Are you really going to let him get away with this?''
''I'll take care of it,'' says God.
The priest drives about five to six hours away, so he doesn't bump into anyone he knows. The golf course is empty when he gets there. So he takes his first swing, drives the ball 495 yards away and gets a hole in one.
Saint Peter watches in disbelief and asks, '' Why did you let him do that?''
To this God says, ''Who's he going to tell?''

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Prayer to Saint Thomas Aquinas for Catholic Schools
(Saint Thomas is the patron of Catholic Schools)
 
Saint Thomas Aquinas, you are called by Holy Mother Church, the Angel of the Schools. Your wisdom, gathered through long meditation from the source of all wisdom, the most Holy Trinity, has long been a shining light in the Catholic Church. Ignorance of the things of God is a darkness now enveloping the minds of many of our countrymen. In this darkness, we need an angel like you who will protect, foster, and nourish the schools we have, and guide and strengthen us in establishing and building newer and more adequate schools for the instruction of our children in the ways of Christ. Help and bless the generous sisters, brothers, priests, lay men and women who labor so unselfishly in the classroom to spread the knowledge of Christ. Inspire our Catholic men and women to be most generous in the support of the schools we have. Grant to parents the wise generosity they need in all areas, but especially to give their child back to God when that child wishes to follow a priestly or religious vocation. Help us, Saint Thomas, Angel of the Schools, to understand what you taught, and to follow your example. Amen.

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​+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
The Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 25th, 2019




The First Reading- Isaiah 66:18-21


Thus says the LORD: I know their works and their thoughts, and I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them; from them I will send fugitives to the nations: to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory; and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries, to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their offering to the house of the LORD in clean vessels. Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD.


Reflection 
This is a famous and extremely important passage that essentially ends the Book of Isaiah, which was and is by far the most influential of all the books of the prophets, both in Judaism and in Christianity. The Fathers called Isaiah the “Fifth Gospel”, and it is the only Old Testament book (besides the Psalms) which seriously rivals any of the Gospels for “air time” in the Lectionary: it’s read in Masses for Sundays and Feast Days more often than Mark and just shy of Matthew. This conclusion of Isaiah may be understood as vision of the missionary expansion of the Church. First, the “nations” (Gentiles) are gathered to God—this takes place already in the apostolic period, especially through the ministry of St. Paul. Then, members of these ingathered Gentiles are themselves sent out to further Gentile nations to preach God’s glory. This would correspond to the Church’s missionary efforts after the apostolic era, even down to the present day.
Adults - Do you know how the Old and New Testament fit together? Consider joining a Scripture study that explains salvation history.
Teens - We are still called to be missionaries today - but that doesn’t mean we have to travel far from home. Take some time and consider the mission fields all around you - work, school, home - how can you bring Jesus there?
Kids - How do you tell people about Jesus?



Responsorial- Psalm 117:1,2
R.Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
Reflection 
-This, the shortest Psalm, is basically just a command for “all nations” to praise the LORD. Pray extra prayers of praise this week!




The Second Reading- Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13


Brothers and sisters, You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children: "My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges." Endure your trials as "discipline"; God treats you as sons. For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline? At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it. So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.


Reflection
At this time in the Church year, the Second Reading is moving semi-continuously through the end of Hebrews (chs. 11-13). Hebrews appears to have been addressed to Jewish Christians who were under pressure to return to Judaism, perhaps even under physical persecution from relatives and officials. The author of Hebrews helps his readers understand theologically the difficulty they are experiencing. It is not a sign of God’s hatred, nor of a curse. Rather, it is a sign of God’s love, who acts as a Father toward his children. Christians should not become discouraged in the face of hardship and opposition, but should be assured that God only permits difficult things for the perfection of faith. In the Gospel, Jesus is going to teach that the way of salvation involves struggle: one must “strive” to enter the “narrow gate”, and not all will be “strong” enough. This suggests there will be persecution and opposition along the path to salvation, and this Second Reading helps us to understand that such painful experiences are not contrary to the love of God the Father.
What part of living the faith is a challenge for you? Pray for understanding and assistance in that area for you and others.




The Holy Gospel according to Luke 13:22-30


Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. 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. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from. And you will say, 'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.' Then he will say to you, 'I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!' And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."


Reflection
We have long past the mid-point of the liturgical year and we are now marching more quickly with Jesus along the path of his final journey in the Travel Narrative (Luke 10-19). This journey of Jesus will culminate in his death, and the readings for the past several Sundays have been somber in tone. This Sunday is no exception.
The questioner asks, “Will only a few be saved?” Jesus—as is typical of him—does not give a direct answer. Instead, he responds with a command: “Strive to enter the narrow gate!” In essence, Jesus is telling the questioner: “Do not worry about abstract questions like the exact number or percentage of people who will end up being saved. Such knowledge will not be revealed to you, and in any event would do you no good, one way or the other. Your concern should be for your own salvation, because the path of salvation is not easy.”
The first meaning of Jesus message was to his own contemporaries, that they should take seriously the opportunity he is offering them to repent and follow him now. Casual acquaintance with Jesus during his earthly ministry will do nothing for their eternal salvation. Nonetheless, there is a secondary spiritual sense to Jesus’ words that apply especially to those of us who attend Church and believe we know Jesus. Our relationship with him must be far more than a casual one.
Adults - How is it possible to lose salvation? God gives us free will, which includes the ability to turn our backs on Him. What prayers/practices help you keep Jesus at the center of your life?
Teens - How does focusing on your own salvation help bring others to Jesus?
Kids - Try to pray an extra five minutes a day this week (i.e. for family, for strangers, for those away from God).


LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!

As descent from Abraham was not a claim for special consideration on the part of the Jews, neither will any other circumstances of nationality, birth or earthly privilege help us on the day of judgment Each one will stand or fall by his own mode of life during his term on earth. Nothing and nobody else can change the just judgment of God when that moment arrives for each one of us.
The thought of our moment of judgment is a staggering one even for the holiest of us. Things and actions that do not trouble us much now, will appear in a different light then. The prayers we omitted or said carelessly, the Masses we missed on flimsy excuses the little bit of continual injustice to a workman or customer, or the dishonesty practiced by a worker against his employer, the sins of impurity of which we thought rather lightly, the bad language so freely used and the scandal we spread so flippantly, the money wasted on drink or gambling when our children needed nourishment and clothing — these, and many other such faults of which we excuse ourselves so easily now, will not be a source of joy or consolation for us on that dread day, if we arrive at God's justice-seat still burdened with them.
We are dealing with God's mercy while alive. He will forgive any sin and any number of sins if we truly repent, and resolve to correct these faults. To do this is the only one guarantee that even God himself can give us of a successful judgment Every man who lives in God's grace will die in God's grace and be numbered among the saved. The man who lives habitually in sin, and refuses to amend his life, will die in his sinful state, and thus exclude himself from eternal salvation.
I have a free will. I can choose to pass that final examination or to fail it. The whole of my eternity, the unending life after death, depends on my choice now. If I choose to follow Christ and live according to his laws during the few years I have on this earth, I shall pass and shall be among the saved. If I ignore Christ and his laws now, he will not know me on the day of judgment I shall be among the lost. God forbid that I should choose the latter course. — Excerpted from The Sunday Readings Cycle C, Fr. Kevin O' Sullivan, O.F.M.
 

CATHOLIC QUESTIONS AND CATHOLIC ANSWERS

550. What are the essential forms of Christian prayer? d) all of the above
They are blessing and adoration, the prayer of petition and intercession, thanksgiving and praise. The Eucharist contains and expresses all the forms of prayer.


551. What is “blessing”? d) none of the above
The prayer of blessing is man’s response to God’s gifts: we bless the Almighty who first blesses us and fills us with his gifts.


552. How can adoration be defined? a) True
Adoration is the humble acknowledgement by human beings that they are creatures of the thrice-holy Creator.


553. What are the different forms of the prayer of petition? d) the first thing to ask for is the coming of the Kingdom
It can be a petition for pardon or also a humble and trusting petition for all our needs either spiritual or material. The first thing to ask for, however, is the coming of the Kingdom.


554. In what does the prayer of intercession consist? a) True
Intercession consists in asking on behalf of another. It conforms us and unites us to the prayer of Jesus who intercedes with the Father for all, especially sinners. Intercession must extend even to one’s enemies.


555. When is thanksgiving given to God? d) all of the above
The Church gives thanks to God unceasingly, above all in celebrating the Eucharist in which Christ allows her to participate in his own thanksgiving to the Father. For the Christian every event becomes a reason for giving thanks.


556. What is the prayer of praise? b) False
Praise is that form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It is a completely disinterested prayer: it sings God’s praise for his own sake and gives him glory simply because he is.



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God is the heart of the matter! 

​

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

       Many people this time of year are getting back into the habit of education and a regular 9 month schedule called school.  For some it is brand new, bringing excitement; for others it is a struggle that may bring stress.  Yet, all of us ought to continue to learn even if we do not ‘go to school.’


      But an education is first meant to lead us to truth, and to the one ultimate truth, God.  For Jesus (Who is God) said, “I am the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life. (John 14:6)”  And what is knowledge and education if it does not lead one to its source?  Plus, it was the Catholic Church that gave us Universities and the pursuit of truth and knowledge.  Let you and I continue in pursuit of truth and the Truth, Jesus Christ!


      Finally, as many people return to school and summer begins to wane, many will return to a formal schedule of prayer that summer may not have allowed.  Prayer must ALWAYS be a part of your life and mine, day in and day out.  But if prayer has not really been a part of your life, please start again right now!


Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert

P.S.  This coming Sunday is the Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time.  >>> Readings


For a weekday homily (Queenship of Mary) click the blue lines below (2 minutes respectively): 
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546. How did the Virgin Mary pray? (Catechism of the Catholic Church-CCC 2617, 2618, 2622, 2674, 2679)


a. she prayed to herself
b. by faith and the offering of her whole being 
c. only on her knees
d. none of the above


547. Is there a prayer of Mary in the Gospel? (CCC 2619)
a. No, only prayers of Jesus
b. Yes, the Hail Mary (Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord…)
c. Yes, the Magnificat (My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…)
d. No, Mary always prays silently in the Gospels


PRAYER IN THE AGE OF THE CHURCH
548. How did the first Christian community in Jerusalem pray? (CCC 2623-2624)
a. they were educated in the life of prayer by the Holy Spirit
b. by dedicating themselves to the teachings of the apostles
c. by the “Breaking of the Bread” (the Mass)
d. all of the above


549. How does the Holy Spirit intervene in the Church’s prayer? (CCC 2623, 2625)
a. by uniting us to Jesus
b. Jesus is the only way to pray 
c. the Holy Spirit is the only one who prays in the Church
d. by possessing us and making us pray

Catholic Term
truth (from Old English trEowth “fidelity”)
-conformity of mind and reality
[Namely, it is the conformity of our mind to the greatest reality which is God; in Jesus, Incarnate Truth.]
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Catholic Website of the Week

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Catholic Biblical Apologetics

​www.catholicapologetics.org

Apologetics without apology!

What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why?
This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries.
 
[For those traveling this summer and needing to get to the Holy Mass.]
MASS TIMES AND CATHOLIC CHURCHES throughout the US
http://www.MassTimes.org
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Best Parish Practices

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Diocesan News AND BEYOND​

By Courtney Grogan

Vatican City, Aug 15, 2019 / 05:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis announced Thursday that he is giving 6,000 blessed rosaries to Catholic communities in Syria as a sign of his closeness on the Marian Feast of the Assumption.
“Prayer made with faith is powerful! We continue to pray the rosary for peace in the Middle East and in the whole world,” Pope Francis said Aug. 15 in his Angelus message for the Assumption of Mary.


The pope blessed the rosaries made by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, and said that the Syrian families that lost someone because of the war are close to his heart.
“The Feast of the Assumption of Mary is a call for everyone, especially for those who are afflicted by doubts and sadness,” Pope Francis said. “Today we look at Mary and we see the goal. We see that a creature was assumed to the glory of Jesus, the Risen Christ.”
The Feast of the Assumption, commemorating the end of Mary’s earthly life and assumption into heaven, is a major feast day and a public holiday in many countries. In most countries, including the United States, it is a Holy Day of Obligation, and Catholics are required to attend Mass.
“Mary is assumed in heaven; small and humble, she receives the highest glory first. She, who is a human creature, one of us, reaches eternity in soul and body. And she awaits us there, like a mother waiting for her children to return home,” Francis said.
“Every time we take the rosary into our hands and pray with it, we take a step towards the great goal of life,” he said.


Pope Francis said that Mary exalts in the greatness in the Lord and invites everyone to raise their eyes to the great things that the Lord accomplished in her.
“Mary shows us that if we want our life to be happy, God must be placed first, because he alone is great,” he said.
Mary, as every mother, wants the best for her children, the pope explained. He said that Mary tells each person: “You are precious in the eyes of God; you are not made for the small fulfillment of the world, but for the great joys of heaven.”
“Let us be attracted by true beauty, let us not be sucked into the smallness of life, but choose the greatness of heaven,” Pope Francis said.

Pointing to how Peter begins to sink when walking toward Jesus on the water in the day's Gospel reading, Francis noted that the same thing can happen to us when we put our trust in false securities.

“When we do not cling to the Word of the Lord, but consult horoscopes and fortune tellers, we begin to sink,” the Pope said Aug. 13.

The episode, he said, serves as a reminder “that faith in the Lord and in his word does not open a path where everything is calm and easy; it does not take us away from the storms of life.”

Rather, “faith gives us the security of a presence that pushes us to overcome the existential storms, the certainty of a hand that grabs us in order to help us in difficulties, showing the way even when it's dark.”

“Faith, then, is not an escape from life's problems, but it supports on the journey and gives it meaning.”

Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square for his weekly Angelus address, focusing on the day's Gospel reading from Matthew, in which Jesus walks on water in the midst of a storm, and beckons Peter to come to him. Peter initially begins to walk toward Jesus, but starts to sink out of fear when he sees the waves, and cries out for Jesus to rescue him. 

This episode, Francis said, has a lot of symbolism for both individuals, and for the Church as a whole.

The boat can represent the life of each person, but also the life of the Church, he said, explaining that the wind signifies the “difficulties and trials” each will face. 

Peter's cry of “Lord, command me to come to you,” and then his plea “Lord, save me!” represent both our desire feel close to the Lord, and “the fear and anguish which accompany us in the most difficult moments of our lives and our communities, marked by internal fragility and external difficulty,”  Francis said.

In the moment when he looked at the wind and the waves and began to fear, Peter wasn't founded on the Word of God, “which was like an outstretched rope to cling to in front of the hostile and turbulent waters.”

The same thing happens to us when we put our faith in trivial, worldly securities, rather than in the Lord, he said. 

Pope Francis said the passage is “a stupendous image” of the reality of the Church throughout the ages: “a ship which, along the crossing, must counter winds and storms which threaten to overwhelm it.”

What saves the ship is not the courage and quality of it's men, he said, but rather, “the guarantee against a shipwreck is faith in Christ and in his word.”

“On this ship we are safe, despite our miseries and weaknesses, above all when we get on our knees and adore the Lord” as the disciples did, who, after Jesus calmed the storm, prostrated themselves and said “truly you are the Son of God!”

To drive the point home, Francis had the crowd repeat the phrase, listening as they shouted “truly you are the Son of God” three times.

Francis closed his address asking that the Virgin Mary intercede in helping all to “stay firm in the faith in order to resist the storms of life, to stay on the boat of the Church, eschewing the temptation to go on amusing, yet insecure boats of ideologies, fashions and slogans.”

He then led pilgrims in praying the traditional Marian prayer and greeted various groups of youth from around Italy before asking for prayer and giving his blessing.
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Praying in front of the tabernacle, where Jesus awaits us  


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1) PREPARATION (1-2 minutes)
a) Find a quiet place (in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament if possible)
b) Prepare body and soul for Meditation (take deep breathes, close your eyes, try to quiet your heart)
c) Offer vocal prayers of faith, humility, and help
"O my God, I love you, and I believe all You have said because You are the infallible truth."
"Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. I am sorry for having offended You."
"Come Holy Spirit, Come Holy Spirit, COME HOLY SPIRIT"
 
During this time, you prepare for meditation.  You try to come to a place where you body and soul can be quiet or at least at rest. Then you try to unwind.  Take several deep breaths.  Perhaps stretch your neck or move around slightly.  You as a person, body and soul, have to be aware of a distinct transition from daily events of life to a moment of union with God.  Finally, begin to enter mental prayer by praying vocally.  You may use the above prayers, an Our Father, or in your own words, pray simply and humbly.
 
2) MEDITATION (8-? Minutes)
            a) Close your eyes and open your heart (Fill mind and heart with thoughts of God and His goodness)
 
Here is where you enter mental prayer.  To assist you, you may need the Holy Bible, some religious book, a vivid memory of some event, or something that will engage your imagination, heart, and soul turning it toward God (i.e. a religious picture).  You enter into this by reading the passage, or closing your eyes and thinking of the details of the image or memory.  Do not force it.  You might ask yourself questions to assist you, but ultimately it is a time of walking with the Lord.  If your mind wanders off or worries, say a short inward prayer, and come back to the passage or image.  You may receive some insights, or God may give you some feelings or inspirations.  You may speak to Him inwardly.  This is not about action; it is about You and Him.
 
Possible passages of the Holy Bible.  Read slowly only until your mind latches onto something, then close your eyes and go with it.

1. Matthew chapters 5-7 (The Sermon on the Mount)
2. Matthew 13:1-24 (The parable of the sower)
3. Matthew 13:44-50 (Parables: hidden treasure, pearl of great price)
4. Matthew 18:1-6 (Becoming like children)
5. Matthew 18:21-35 (The unforgiving servant)
6. Matthew 19:16-30 (The rich young man)
7. Mark 1:14-15 (The proclamation of the Kingdom)
8. Mark 1:40-45 (The healing of the leper)
9. Mark 5:24-34 (The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage)
10. Luke 1:46-55 (The Magnificat)
11. Luke 15:1-10 (Parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin)
12. Luke 15:11-32 (The prodigal son)
13. Luke 17:5-10 (Faith; attitude of service)
14. John 1:1-18
15. John 2:1-11 (Wedding at Cana)
16. John 3:14-21
17. John 8:23-32 ("The truth will make you free")
18. John 15:1-11 (The vine & branches)
19. John 15:12-17 ("Love one another")

Some images you might dwell on:
-being at the birth of Jesus in the manager (i.e. shepherds, Mary and Joseph, wise men, camels, sheep)
-standing at Calvary (i.e. seeing all pass by, Mary beholding her son, Jesus breathing His last)
-image yourself as a very small child in the arms of the Blessed Virgin Mary, (i.e. asleep, hugging her)
-image Jesus looking face to face at you (i.e. study His face, look into His eyes, is He happy, sad, etc.?)
-a moment in church, when someone blessed you, when God felt near
 
3) CONCLUSION (1-2 mintues)
            a) Thank God (for the time spent and for any thoughts or inspirations)
                        "Thank you Jesus for.!"  Offer a Hail Mary or Glory Be
            b) Make a resolution (cling to what you have been given or resolve to avoid some sin or bad habit)
 
This is when the time of mental prayer is brought to an end.  Examine the time.  Thank God for the good.  Ask pardon and help for the bad.  Perhaps write down some insights or cling to them.  Resolve to do better or to avoid some sin or bad habit for the rest of the day.
 
THIS is what will bring you more fully to Jesus and change you, your life, and your world for the better!
10 Minutes a Day!  Either you will give up a bad habit, or you will give up Mental Prayer.
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542. When did Jesus pray? (Catechism of the Catholic Church-CCC 2600-2604, 2620)
a. all his life was a prayer
b. Being God, He did not need to pray 
c. Since He taught others to pray, they prayed to Him
d. none of the above


543. How did Jesus pray during his passion?(CCC 2605-2606, 2620)
a. in His great agony, He was not able to pray
b. He united all of creation and all prayers and intercession to the Father
c. He thought only of His resurrection
d. all of the above


544. How does Jesus teach us to pray? (CCC 2608-2614, 2621)
a. by the Our Father
b. by His disposition and content 
c. with purity of heart and boldness of faith
d. all of the above


545. What is the primary reason our prayer is effective? (CCC 2615-2616)
a. it is offered in faith
b. it reaches the Father 
c. it is united to the prayer of Jesus
d. we are a good person


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Catholic Terms
 
Term Review
prayer (from Latin precārius "obtained by entreaty")  [entreaty = earnest request, appeal, beg]
-the raising of one's mind and heart to God
 
Mental Prayer (from Greek menos "spirit" = "obtain by entreaty with spirit")
(also from Late Latin  mentalis, from Latin  ment-, mens "mind,")
-one's own prayer offered interiorly with mind, heart, soul, and strength
 [In mental prayer the three powers of the soul are engaged: the memory, which offers the mind material for meditation; the intellect, which ponders or directly perceives the meaning of some religious truth and its implications for practice; and the will, which freely expresses its sentiments of faith, trust, and love, and (as needed) makes good resolutions based on what the memory and intellect have made known to the will. Mental Prayer is a form of meditation consisting in the application of the various faculties of the soul, memory, imagination, intellect, and will, to the consideration of some mystery, principle, truth, or fact, with a view to exciting proper spiritual emotions and resolving on some act or course of action regarded as God's will and as a means of union with Him.]

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"Helpful Hints of Life"
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​POPE FRANCIS REVEALS TOP 10 SECRETS TO HAPPINESS

By Carol Glatz - Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Slowing down, being generous and fighting for peace are part of Pope Francis' secret recipe for happiness.

In an interview published in part in the Argentine weekly "Viva" July 27, the pope listed his Top 10 tips for bringing greater joy to one's life:

1. "Live and let live." Everyone should be guided by this principle, he said, which has a similar expression in Rome with the saying, "Move forward and let others do the same."

Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives to lead a general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican last month. (CNS/Paul Haring)

2. "Be giving of yourself to others." People need to be open and generous toward others, he said, because "if you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid."

3. "Proceed calmly" in life. The pope, who used to teach high school literature, used an image from an Argentine novel by Ricardo Guiraldes, in which the protagonist -- gaucho Don Segundo Sombra -- looks back on how he lived his life.

"He says that in his youth he was a stream full of rocks that he carried with him; as an adult, a rushing river; and in old age, he was still moving, but slowly, like a pool" of water, the pope said. He said he likes this latter image of a pool of water -- to have "the ability to move with kindness and humility, a calmness in life."

4. "A healthy sense of leisure." The pleasures of art, literature and playing together with children have been lost, he said.

"Consumerism has brought us anxiety" and stress, causing people to lose a "healthy culture of leisure." Their time is "swallowed up" so people can't share it with anyone.

Even though many parents work long hours, they must set aside time to play with their children; work schedules make it "complicated, but you must do it," he said.

Families must also turn off the TV when they sit down to eat because, even though television is useful for keeping up with the news, having it on during mealtime "doesn't let you communicate" with each other, the pope said.

5. Sundays should be holidays. Workers should have Sundays off because "Sunday is for family," he said.

6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people. "We need to be creative with young people. If they have no opportunities they will get into drugs" and be more vulnerable to suicide, he said.

"It's not enough to give them food," he said. "Dignity is given to you when you can bring food home" from one's own labor.

7. Respect and take care of nature. Environmental degradation "is one of the biggest challenges we have," he said. "I think a question that we're not asking ourselves is: 'Isn't humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?'"

8. Stop being negative. "Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem. That means, 'I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down,'" the pope said. "Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy."

9. Don't proselytize; respect others' beliefs. "We can inspire others through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyzes: 'I am talking with you in order to persuade you,' No. Each person dialogues, starting with his and her own identity. The church grows by attraction, not proselytizing," the pope said.

10. Work for peace. "We are living in a time of many wars," he said, and "the call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive" and dynamic.

Pope Francis also talked about the importance of helping immigrants, praising Sweden's generosity in opening its doors to so many people, while noting anti-immigration policies show the rest of Europe "is afraid."

He also fondly recalled the woman who helped his mother with the housework when he was growing up in Buenos Aires.

Concepcion Maria Minuto was a Sicilian immigrant, a widow and mother of two boys, who went three times a week to help the pope's mother do laundry, since in those days it was all done by hand.

He said this hard-working, dignified woman made a big impression on the 10-year-old future pope, as she would talk to him about World War II in Italy and how they farmed in Sicily.

"She was as clever as a fox, she had every penny accounted for, she wouldn't be cheated. She had many great qualities," he said.

Even though his family lost touch with her when they moved, the then-Jesuit Father Jorge Bergoglio later sought her out and visited her for the last 10 years of her life.

"A few days before she died, she took this small medal out of her pocket, gave it to me and said: 'I want you to have it!' So every night, when I take it off and kiss it, and every morning when I put it back on, this woman comes to my mind."

"She died happy, with a smile on her face and with the dignity of someone who worked. For that reason I am very sympathetic toward housecleaners and domestic workers, whose rights, all of them, should be recognized" and protected, he said. "They must never be exploited or mistreated."

Pope Francis' concern was underlined in his @Pontifex Twitter feed just a few days later, July 29, with the message: "May we be always more grateful for the help of domestic workers and caregivers; theirs is a precious service."

Diocesan News and Beyond

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SHE LEFT WITH the clothes on her back, a long blue dress and a pair of shoes she'd never wear again. It was June 8, 1991, a Saturday morning, and Shelly Pennefather was starting a new life. She posed for a group photo in front of her parents' tidy brick home in northern Virginia, and her family scrunched in around her and smiled.
All six of her brothers and sisters were there -- Little Therese, in braided pigtails; older brother Dick, tall and athletic with Kennedyesque looks. When Shelly came to her decision, she insisted on telling each of them separately.
Dick had the loosest lips in the family, so she'd told him last. Therese, 12 years old and the baby of the family, took the news particularly hard. She put on a brave face in front of Shelly, then cried all night.
They crammed a lot of memories into those last days of spring, dancing and laughing, knowing they would never do it together again. Shelly went horseback riding with Therese and took the family to fancy restaurants with cloth napkins, picking up all the tabs.
Twenty-five years old and not far removed from her All-America days at Villanova, Pennefather was in her prime. She had legions of friends and a contract offer for $200,000 to play basketball in Japan that would have made her one of the richest players in women's basketball.
And children -- she was so good with children. She had talked about having lots of them with John Heisler, a friend she'd known most of her life. Heisler nearly proposed to her twice, but something inside stopped him, and he never bought a ring.
"When she walked into the room," Heisler said, "the whole room came alive.
"She had a cheerfulness and a confidence that everything was going to be OK. That there was nothing to fear."
That Saturday morning in 1991, Pennefather drove her Mazda 323 to the Monastery of the Poor Clares in Alexandria, Virginia. She loved to drive. Fifteen cloistered nuns waited for her in two lines, their smiles radiant.
She turned to her family.
"I love you all," she said.
The door closed, and Shelly Pennefather was gone.
"The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings." -- J.M. Barrie, "The Little White Bird."
IT'S BEEN 28 YEARS since Pennefather left home to become Sister Rose Marie of the Queen of Angels, and I'm standing outside the family's house in Manassas, Virginia, on a warm June day, searching for answers.
I spent eight years in Catholic schools, with lessons in history from Sister Agnes Marie and kindness from Sister Rosetta. We knew that on Sundays, if you're breathing, you'd better be at Mass.
They are cut off from society. Sister Rose Marie will never leave the monastery, unless there's a medical emergency. She'll never call or email or text anyone, either. The rules seem so arbitrarily harsh. She gets two family visits per year, but converses through a see-through screen. She can write letters to her friends, but only if they write to her first. And once every 25 years, she can hug her family.But I cannot grasp what Pennefather -- now Sister Rose Marie -- has chosen to do. The Poor Clares are one of the strictest religious orders in the world. They sleep on straw mattresses, in full habit, and wake up every night at 12:30 a.m. to pray, never resting more than four hours at a time. They are barefoot 23 hours of the day, except for the one hour in which they walk around the courtyard in sandals.
That's why we are here in early June 2019, to witness the 25-year anniversary of her solemn profession and the renewal of her vows.
The Poor Clare nuns enter this radical way of life because they believe that their prayers for humanity will help the suffering, and that their sacrifice will lead to the salvation of the world.
But why would someone with so much to offer the world lock herself away and hide her talents? Who, staring at a professional contract that would be worth the equivalent of about $400,000 today, would subject herself to such strict isolation and sacrifice? Imagine Kansas legend Danny Manning quitting basketball to become a monk.
Perhaps the best person to answer this is the woman who stood next to Shelly in that goodbye photo in front of the house, who wrapped her arm around her daughter and smiled while her heart must have wanted to stop.
Mary Jane Pennefather is the matriarch of the family, a 78-year-old who mows her own lawn and rises every morning to walk to church. When Shelly entered the monastery all those years ago, she left behind a note. Mary Jane is the strongest person Therese knows, but when she read the letter, she broke down and cried.
Mary Jane was a cheerleader once, but is steeped in a generation of Catholics who did not believe in drawing attention to themselves. She opens the door to her home and leads me to a room full of religious statues and images, which the family calls the Blessed Mother room. Her husband, Mike, died in this room. He had skin cancer, which had spread too far when doctors found it, but he went quickly, which Mary Jane considers a blessing. Sister Rose Marie couldn't go to her father's funeral back in 1998. She was in the monastery. But she wrote a letter that they read out loud, and her brother Dick says it was probably the most touching part of the service.
Surely, Mike Pennefather had hoped to hold his daughter again on her silver jubilee. But Mary Jane would be there. The week leading up to the Mass was stressful. How do you prepare to hug your daughter for the last time?
NUNS ARE BY no means an anomaly in today's society. The 2018 Official Catholic Directory lists 45,100 sisters in the United States. But cloistered nuns, with all of their combined orders, account for only a fraction of that number. The Poor Clare Colettines, according to the directory, have about 160 sisters in this country.
There were hints, all along, that Pennefather was different.
In sixth grade, a teacher asked the class an ordinary question: What do you want to be when you grow up?
The teacher wasn't prepared for Shelly's answer.
"I'm going to be a saint," she said.
The whole class laughed, assuming she was joking. Pennefather liked to regale her friends with jokes and magic tricks.
Her childhood might have inadvertently prepared her for life as a cloistered nun. Mike Pennefather was an Air Force colonel, taking the family to Germany and Hawaii and New York, so she'd already seen a lot of the world by her 20s.
Her mom was -- and is -- about as anti-technology as a person can be in 2019. Mary Jane doesn't own a cell phone, she could go on for hours about how cell phones are destroying the human experience, and a few decades ago, she was saying pretty much the same thing about television.
Children of the '70s often have stories of their forays into alcohol or drugs; the Pennefathers' illicit pursuits centered mostly on the forbidden television. They'd wait until Mary Jane was gone, pull it out of the closet, rig up a coat hanger for an antenna, and stand in just the right spot to get reception.
"I think my sister watched 'Fantasy Island' and got caught and got in trouble," Therese said. "You had to invent your own entertainment, and we did all kinds of stupid stuff.
"I absolutely wouldn't trade any of it."
The Air Force gave the Pennefathers new playgrounds every few years, and assured that they would almost always be safe. Want to play kick the can at 11 o'clock at night? No problem. Leave the base lights on and go ahead and invite 20 other Air Force brats.
Mary Jane might have seemed strict, but Mike was actually more intimidating. He was a bear of a man with a loud voice and a physics degree. Mike Pennefather did not tolerate foolishness. He taught all seven of his children how to shoot a basketball, and when he had finished with that, he taught other people's children how to do it, too.
The Pennefathers had six children in eight years, and Shelly was born between two brothers, two basketball playmates. The elbows and charges she took made her unstoppable when she finally played against girls.
At nighttime, Mary Jane would gather the whole family together to pray the rosary. It didn't matter if it was midnight; she waited until everyone was home.
The rosary is considered one of the most powerful symbols in Catholicism. Each of the 59 beads represents a prayer. The Hail Mary is said 53 times during the rosary. The repetition is intended to bring spiritual contemplation and peace.
At the Pennefather house, after the last prayer was said, each child gave Mary Jane and Mike a kiss goodnight.
COACH HARRY PERRETTA also prayed the rosary every day, a practice that came in handy in his pursuit to lure Pennefather to Villanova. If Pennefather played today, her recruitment might have been as big as that of Breanna Stewart or Elena Delle Donne.
Pennefather went 70-0 in her first three years of high school at Bishop Machebeuf in Denver and won three state championships. When her dad was transferred to upstate New York her senior season, nothing changed. Utica's Notre Dame High went undefeated, too.
Pennefather had no interest in the recruiting process. She hated the attention that it brought, and didn't like talking on the phone. So it was hard for any coach to get a read on her. Perretta talked to her about his devotion to the Blessed Mother Mary, and they connected. She committed to Villanova, the oldest Catholic university in Pennsylvania.
Their bond was tested early. Her freshman year, they clashed constantly. "She was a very lazy basketball player at first," Perretta said. "She didn't work hard on the court when she came here."
He said it wasn't necessarily her fault; she was so good in high school that she probably didn't know what playing hard meant. But he had to get through to her. He yelled at her and kicked her out of the gym, and nothing seemed to work. In her sophomore season, Pennefather considered transferring.
She'd leave campus on weekends, seeking solace at teammate Lisa Gedaka's house in New Jersey. Gedaka, a freshman, would go back a lot because she was homesick.
"I always remember hearing about how she was searching," Gedaka said. "Was this the right place to go? What is the meaning? Why is she here? And I remember saying to her once, 'Shelly, did you ever think that maybe this is God's will that you should be with us here at Villanova? This is where you're meant to be.'"
Somehow, some way, Pennefather and Perretta finally clicked. "God gave you this gift," Perretta told her. "You're not really using it to the fullest extent."
From there, she didn't hold anything back. There was one game, junior year, when she was so overcome with menstrual cramps that they were almost debilitating. As the team left for the gym, Perretta told her to just stay at the hotel.
A couple of minutes before tipoff, Pennefather emerged from the locker room, in agony, with her sneakers still untied. "I'm going to try to play," she told him. She mustered enough strength to tie her shoes when the horn sounded. There was no time for any warm-up. She made all nine of her shots in the first half.
The Wildcats' teams in the mid-to-late 1980s were lucky. They were a collection of people who knew, when they were freshmen, that they'd stay friends forever. They demanded the best of each other.
It was a different time, before NCAA-regulated practice schedules and transfer portals. "We could say stuff to each other," said former Wildcats point guard Lynn Tighe. "If somebody was being a pain in the butt, I had no trouble telling them, and if I was a pain in the butt, I was told about it. We were open to each other, and nonsense didn't fester."
Pennefather was roommates with Tighe, and you can imagine her glee when she found out her point guard had a small television. Pennefather had one movie she would watch constantly on the VCR. "The Sound of Music." She subjected everyone to it, belting out Julie Andrews songs on the team bus.
"I wouldn't say she had a good voice," Tighe said. "But it wasn't bad. She knew every word to every one of them."
But Pennefather did have the most beautiful shooting touch in all of women's basketball. She scored 2,408 points, breaking Villanova's all-time record for women and men. She did it without the benefit of the 3-point shot, and the record still stands today.
In 1987, she won the Wade Trophy, given to the best women's college basketball player. She eventually threw away all of her trophies -- "I don't think she cared about them at all," said her sister, Therese -- but spared one, the Wade Trophy. She gave it to Perretta.
The WNBA did not exist when Pennefather graduated from Villanova, but women's professional basketball overseas offered good money. She signed with the Nippon Express in Japan, the place where her whole life would change.
The pace in Japan was much slower -- the Express played just 14 games in the span of four months -- and it jolted Pennefather. Away from her college teammates and the daily chaos of her large family, she felt homesick and alone in a faraway city. Her team started 0-5. If they finished at the bottom of the division, she would need to stay in Japan for another two months to play a series of round-robin games.
She desperately wanted to go home, and vowed that if her team could finish in the top six, allowing her to go home rather than stay those two months, she would spend that time doing volunteer work.
The Express turned their season around and finished third. Pennefather returned to the U.S. and fulfilled her promise by working in a soup kitchen at the Missionary Sisters of Charity in Norristown, Pennsylvania. In a convent full of tiny nuns, the 6-foot-1 basketball player stood out.
She felt even more out of place that next season in Japan. She did everything she could to keep busy, reading books, learning Japanese, teaching English. But Pennefather still felt a deep emptiness.
"She was forced to go into solitude," said John Heisler, her childhood friend. "There was nobody else, just her and God."
REST CAN BE FOUND AT:  https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/27297631?fbclid=IwAR1u3kCsLymPBXDJOjiLs6Bo0cEsFj9_cfQSVMuD_BX6b70U7jMqGuXb6t4








What's Driving the Growth of Catholic Churches in the Bible Belt?

Credit: Calamity Jane / Shutterstock.
In the thick of the Bible Belt, the famously evangelical Protestant region in the southeastern United States, some Catholic Masses are filling to standing-room only. 

Meanwhile, many Baptist, Methodist and Lutheran churches are struggling to keep enough people in the pews to justify opening their doors. 
It has widely been reported that the U.S. as a whole is losing its religion, with Protestant mainline churches seeing the most decline over the past 15 years. But two key factors are contributing to Catholic growth throughout the south: a boom in the Hispanic population, and the southern migration of Catholic retirees and families from the Northeast.
St. Gregory’s Catholic Church in Bluffton, along the southern coast of South Carolina, particularly illustrates this shift along the Bible Belt - the congregation grew by a massive 70 percent in just 10 years, and now claims 10,000 registered members. Even though South Carolina is gaining in population, the growth of this parish outpaces even that of the state, according to local newspapers. 

“Sunday Masses are crowded as latecomers squeeze into pews or stand in the back of the church. Twelve Masses are held Friday evening through Sunday — two of which are in Spanish. And work is underway on a new parish life center for community events,” Kasia Kovacs reports in The Island Packet. 

Hispanics made up about 40 percent of the Church in the United States in 2016, with especially large representation among youth and young adults: 50 percent of Catholics ages 14 to 29 are Hispanic; and 55 percent of Catholics under 14 are Hispanic. Though immigration rates from Hispanic countries have begun to slow in recent years, the percentage of Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. is expected to continue growing during the next decade.

At St. Gregory’s, Masses for major holidays like Christmas and Easter are said in both English and Spanish, and seminarians in the state are required to be fluent in Spanish before their ordination. The parish celebrates Las Posadas and other traditional Hispanic celebrations, and food trucks at parish events now feature empanadas and gorditas. 

“Having this summer experience, and seeing how it comes together — seeing how the Hispanic community and English community collaborate — it really is a single entity,” seminarian Tom Drury told The Island Packet. 

Parishioner Jenny Bermejo, who moved to the area as a child with her family in 2004, said that St. Gregory’s has provided them with community and the familiarity of home. 

“We were still pretty new to South Carolina, so hearing Mass in Spanish really brought us a sense of home,” Bermejo said.

St. Gregory’s pastor Monsignor Ronald Cellini told The Island Packet that his Hispanic parishioners are often more active in church life in the United States than they were back in Mexico, Guatemala or Colombia. The rural area of Bluffton reminds them of home, and they are putting down roots - they are not transient migrants who will leave in a few years. 

“The Bluffton Hispanic community is here — it’s not a migrant community,” he said. “Kids grow up here. They’ve been here, they’re staying here.”

In response to these shifting demographics and the influx of Hispanic Catholics throughout the United States, the U.S. bishops have called for a meeting called the V Encuentro- Fifth Encounter- a national gathering of U.S. Hispanic leaders and ministers to consult with Hispanic Catholics and respond to their pastoral needs. 

The first Encuentro was held in 1972, and the most recent was held in 2000, with a related youth meeting held in 2006.

This year, the V Encuentro will be held in Grapevine, Texas Sept. 20-23
.





A bit of humor.
- A man is reading his newspaper and says to his wife: “Michelle, look. Here is an article about how women use about twice as many words per day as men do.”  The wife responds: “That’s because we have to tell you everything twice”  
- My son Luke loves that we chose Star Wars characters as an inspiration when naming our kids. His sister Chewbacca und his brother Boba Fett are less amused.


Some Alternate USA State Slogans
Michigan: First Line Of Defense From The Canadians
Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes ... And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes
North Dakota: We Really Are One Of The 50 States!
Oklahoma: Like The Play, Only No Singing
Rhode Island: We're Not REALLY An Island
South Dakota: Closer Than North Dakota


– Little Johnny, why does your little sister cry?
– Because I helped her. 
– But that is a good thing! What did you help her with?
– I helped her eat the last of her gummy bears.

Little Johnny asks the teacher, “Mrs Roberts, can I be punished for something I haven’t done?” Mrs Roberts is shocked, “Of course not, Johnny, that would be very unfair!” Little Johnny is relieved, “OK Mrs Roberts, sorry, I haven’t done my homework.”

 

SOME THOUGHTS
-The first time I got a universal remote control I thought to myself, “This changes everything”. 
-I recently decided to sell my vacuum cleaner as all it was doing was gathering dust.
-You can never lose a homing pigeon – if your homing pigeon doesn’t come back what you’ve lost is a pigeon.
-Don’t you hate it when someone answers their own questions? I do.
-As I watched the dog chasing his tail I thought “Dogs are easily amused”, then I realized I was watching the dog chasing his tail.
-Where there’s a will, there’s a relative.
-I woke up this morning and forgot which side the sun rises from, then it dawned on me. 


Christian One Liners (Part I)

Don't let your worries get the best of you; remember, Moses 
started out as a basket case.

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Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited until you try to sit in their pews.

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Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisors.

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The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close.

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People are funny; they want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church.
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Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door forever.

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Quit griping about your church; if it was perfect, you couldn't belong.

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If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.

 

Plaster From Above
The crumbling, old church building needed remodeling, so the preacher made an impassioned appeal, looking directly at the richest man in town. At the end of the message, the rich man stood up and announced, "Pastor, I will contribute $1,000." Just then, plaster fell from the ceiling and struck the rich man on the shoulder. He promptly stood again and shouted, "Pastor, I will increase my donation to $5,000." Before he could sit back down, plaster fell on him again, and again he virtually screamed, "Pastor, I will double my last pledge." He sat down, and a larger chunk of plaster fell hitting him on the head. He stood once more and hollered, "Pastor, I will give $20,000!" This prompted a deacon to shout, "Hit him again, Lord! Hit him again!"







 
All About Angels
      On September 29, the Church honors and calls upon the archangels Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.  On October 2, the Church will honor and call upon Guardian Angels.  Let's here it for angels!  Yeah!!!
      There are almost 300 references to angels in the Sacred Scriptures, but what are they, what do they do, and what does the Church through which Christ speaks say about them?
      An angel is a pure spirit being with no body.  They were created 'before' humanity.  They were given a choice at the moment of their creation to serve God or not serve God.  Fallen angels, devils, chose not to serve God and were separated forever with no possibility of change because their choice is forever.
      They are depicted with wings because all they do is 'instantaneous.'  Every human person at the moment of their conception is assigned a guardian angel.  "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels  always see the face of my Father in heaven."  -Matthew 18:10-11
      When we die, we do NOT become angels.  Our soul goes either to Heaven, Purgatory, or Hell and waits to be reunited with our bodies at the Last Judgment when our bodies will be resurrected.
 
[Below is straight from the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding angels:]
 
Who are they? 
329 St. Augustine says: "'Angel' is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is 'spirit'; if you seek the name of their office, it is 'angel': from what they are, 'spirit', from what they do, 'angel.'"188 With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they "always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven" they are the "mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word".189 
330 As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness.190 

Christ "with all his angels" 
331 Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are his angels: "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him. . "191 They belong to him because they were created through and for him: "for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all things were created through him and for him."192 They belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan: "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?"193 
332 Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham's hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets, just to cite a few examples.194 Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself.195 
333 From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God "brings the firstborn into the world, he says: 'Let all God's angels worship him.'"196 Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church's praise: "Glory to God in the highest!"197 They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been.198 Again, it is the angels who "evangelize" by proclaiming the Good News of Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection.199 They will be present at Christ's return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgement.200 

The angels in the life of the Church 
334 In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.201 
335 In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance (in the funeral liturgy's In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . .["May the angels lead you into Paradise. . ."]). Moreover, in the "Cherubic Hymn" of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels). 
336 From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.202 "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life."203 Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God. 

188 St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 103,1,15: PL 37,1348.
189 Mt 18:10; Ps 103:20.
190 Cf. Pius XII, Humani generis: DS 3891; Lk 20:36; Dan 10:9-12.
191 Mt 25:31.
192 Col 1:16.
193 Heb 1:14.
194 Cf. Job 38:7 (where angels are called "sons of God"); Gen 3:24; 19; 21:17; 22:11; Acts 7:53; Ex 23:20-23; Judg 13; 6:11-24; Isa 6:6; 1 Kings 19:5.
195 Cf. Lk 1:11,26.
196 Heb 1:6.
197 Lk 2:14.
198 Cf. Mt 1:20; 2:13,19; 4:11; 26:53; Mk 1:13; Lk 22:43; 2 Macc 10:29-30; 11:8.
199 Cf. Lk 2:8-14; Mk 16:5-7.
200 Cf. Acts 1:10-11; Mt 13:41; 24:31; Lk 12:8-9.
201 Cf. Acts 5:18-20; 8:26-29; 10:3-8; 12:6-11; 27:23-25.
202 Cf. Mt 18:10; Lk 16:22; Ps 34:7; 91:10-13; Job 33:23-24; Zech 1:12; Tob 12:12.
203 St. Basil, Adv. Eunomium III, I: PG 29,656B. 

+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 11th, 2019


The First Reading- Wisdom 18:6-9
The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers, that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith, they might have courage. Your people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes. For when you punished our adversaries, in this you glorified us whom you had summoned. For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.
Reflection 
The Liturgy this week sings the praises of our fathers, recalling the defining moments in our “family history. in the First Reading we relive the night of the Exodus and the summons of the holy children of Israel.
Adults - Do you think of the people in the Old Testament as your ancestors? They are, and knowing their history is as important as knowing our own immediate family history.
Teens - Choose your favorite Old Testament figure and do some further research on their life. 
Kids - Why is knowing history important?


Responsorial- Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22
R.Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Reflection 
-We are born of the faith of our fathers, descending from a great cloud of witnesses whose faith is attested to on every page of Scripture (see Hebrews 12:1). We have been made His people, chosen for His own inheritance, as we sing in this Sunday’s Psalm. Ask your confirmation/patron Saint to pray for you throughout this week.




The Second Reading- Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19
Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age —and Sarah herself was sterile— for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore. All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.” He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.
Reflection - In the Epistle, we remember the calling of Abraham; in the First Reading we relive the night of the Exodus and the summons of the holy children of Israel. Our fathers, we are told, trusted in the Word of God, put their faith in His oaths. They were convinced that what He promised, He would do. None of them lived to see His promises made good. For it was not until Christ and His Church that Abraham’s descendants were made as countless as the stars and sands (see Galatians 3:16–17, 29). It was not until His Last Supper and the Eucharist that “the sacrifice . . . the divine institution” of that first Passover was truly fulfilled. What does it mean to “store up treasures in Heaven?” How do you do this?




The Holy Gospel according to Luke 12:32-48
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
Reflection
And now we too await the final fulfillment of what God has promised us in Christ. As Jesus tells us in this week’s Gospel, we should live with our loins girded—as the Israelites tightened their belts, cinched up their long robes and ate their Passover standing, vigilant and ready to do His will (see Exodus 12:11; 2 Kings 4:29).
The Lord will come at an hour we do not expect. He will knock on our door (see Revelation 3:20), inviting us to the wedding feast in the better homeland, the heavenly one that our fathers saw from afar, and which we begin to taste in each Eucharist. As they did, we can wait with “sure knowledge,” His Word like a lamp lighting our path (see Psalm 119:105). Our God is faithful, and if we wait in faith, hope in His kindness, and love as we have been loved, we will receive His promised blessing and be delivered from death.
Adults - Do you think about the Second Coming of the Lord? In what ways do you live in anticipation of Jesus’ return?
Teens - Do you ask God to show you His will before you make decisions? 
Kids - How can you put God first in your life?


LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!
Take a serious look at your way of living today. Is your behavior in the home, in your place of work, in your recreation, in your relations with God—prayers and church attendance—and with your neighbor, it is such that you would change nothing in it, if you were told by God that you were to die tonight? If it is, thank God for it and keep on going; you are on the right road. If it is not, don't wait for God to tell you when or where you will die; he will not tell you. Put things right today, and then you need not worry when your call to judgment comes. Death will be graduation day for the good Christian—not examination day. — Excerpted from The Sunday Readings Cycle C, Fr. Kevin O' Sullivan, O.F.M.
 



CATHOLIC QUESTIONS AND CATHOLIC ANSWERS

542. When did Jesus pray? a. all his life was a prayer
The Gospel often shows Jesus at prayer. We see him draw apart to pray in solitude, even at night. He prays before the decisive moments of his mission or that of his apostles. In fact, all his life is a prayer because he is in a constant communion of love with the Father.




543. How did Jesus pray during his passion? b. He united all of creation and all prayers and intercession to the Father
The prayer of Jesus during his agony in the garden of Gethsemani and his last words on the cross reveal the depth of his filial prayer. Jesus brings to completion the loving plan of the Father and takes upon himself all the anguish of humanity and all the petitions and intercessions of the history of salvation. He presents them to the Father who accepts them and answers them beyond all hope by raising his Son from the dead.




544. How does Jesus teach us to pray? d. all of the above
Jesus teaches us to pray not only with the Our Father but also when he prays. In this way he teaches us, in addition to the content, the dispositions necessary for every true prayer: purity of heart that seeks the Kingdom and forgives one’s enemies, bold and filial faith that goes beyond what we feel and understand, and watchfulness that protects the disciple from temptation.




545. Why is our prayer efficacious? c. it is united to the prayer of Jesus
Our prayer is efficacious because it is united in faith with the prayer of Jesus. In him Christian prayer becomes a communion of love with the Father. In this way we can present our petitions to God and be heard: “Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).

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