devotion
(Latin de-  "to" + votum "vow, promise" = devovere "to vow, to promise"; devotus "vowed")
- the disposition of will to do promptly what concerns the worship and service of God
[Although devotion is primarily a disposition or attitude of the will, acts of the will that proceed from such disposition are also expressions of devotion.  Essential to devotion is readiness to do whatever gives honor to God, whether in public or private prayer (worship) or in doing the will of God (service).  A person who is thus disposed is said to be devoted.  His devotedness is ultimately rooted in a great love for God, which in spiritual theology is often called devotion.]
 
grotto
(from Italian grotta, grotto; Latin crypta "cavern, crypt")
- a small cave or cavern often associate with miraculous appearances
[Appearances such as at Lourdes, France, and at Manresa, Spain.]
 
pilgrimage
 (Latin per  "through" + agr-, ager "land" = "through the land"; peregrinus "foreign, abroad")
- a journey to a sacred place for love of God or someone He has given us
[Its purpose may be simply to venerate a certain saint or ask some spiritual favor; beg for a physical cure or perform an act of penance; express thanks or fulfill a promise.  From the earliest days pilgrimages were made to the Holy Land, and later on to Rome, where Peter and Paul and so many Christians were martyred.  From the eighth century the practice began of imposing a pilgrimage in place of public penance.  As a result, during the Middle Ages pilgrimages were organized on a grand scale and became the object of special Church legislation. In modern times, besides Rome and the Holy Land, famous shrines such as Lourdes, Fátima, and Guadalupe draw thousands of pilgrims each year from the Catholic world.]
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Simple Prayers That Can Help You Through the Day
(Can be prayed after breakfast for example.)
 An Act of Faith-O my God I believe all You have said because You are the infallible truth.
 An Act of Hope - O my God I hope for all You have promised because You are faithful.
 An Act of Love - O my God I love You above all things because You are good.

 
 
"All the signs in the liturgical celebrations are related to Christ: as are sacred images of the holy Mother of God and of the saints as well. They truly signify Christ, who is glorified in them. They make manifest the "cloud of witnesses" who continue to participate in the salvation of the world and to whom we are united, above all in sacramental celebrations. Through their icons, it is man "in the image of God," finally transfigured "into his likeness," who is revealed to our faith. So too are the angels, who also are recapitulated in Christ:
Following the divinely inspired teaching of our holy Fathers and the tradition of the Catholic Church (for we know that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells in her) we rightly define with full certainty and correctness that, like the figure of the precious and life-giving cross, venerable and holy images of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother of God, and the venerated angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted or made of mosaic or another suitable material, are to be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on sacred vessels and vestments, walls and panels, in houses and on streets."

-Catechism of the Catholic Church #1161

 
CathFamily
 http://www.CathFamily.org

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 Best Parish Practices
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Who are These New Saints? 

Last Sept. 7th was the canonization of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati—the first saints to be canonized by Pope Leo XIV.

These two young men offer an incredible example of living a life of virtue, loving Christ, and smiling for a scenic mountain top picture.

By Kate Olivera, Jonah McKeown
Denver Newsroom, Sep 11
On a September morning, twenty years ago, Tom Colucci was in his car driving home, weary after working the overnight shift at a firehouse in Lower Manhattan. 
Then, at 8:46am, he got a call. The city was recalling all police officers and firefighters to the World Trade Center. A plane had crashed into the North Tower. 
Colucci, a lieutenant with the New York City Fire Department, rushed to the scene— the South Tower was on the verge of collapse, and came tumbling down just as Colucci arrived.
The area surrounding the World Trade Center was total chaos, and he wasn’t entirely sure what to do first. He had heard 40,000 people were missing. So, Colucci and the other first responders began digging through rubble on the streets. 
Less than an hour later, the North Tower fell. Tom and the other first responders continued to dig through the rubble, hoping against hope that they would find survivors. They found precious few. 
More than 340 firefighters died that day, including five from Tom’s firehouse. It was the deadliest day for first responders in U.S. history, and likely the deadliest terrorist attack ever. 
“So it was all very devastating. A lot of these guys were young guys, married, with families ...But we just pulled each other through. And also that our faith came through. Most of these guys were Catholic, and so it was the faith [that] pulled us through,” Colucci said. 
The victims included the chaplain of the New York City Fire Department, Father Mychal Judge. Judge was reportedly praying the rosary and offering Last Rites in the lobby of the North Tower, and had run outside the North Tower to minister to a fallen firefighter when the South Tower collapsed.
A photographer captured the moments right after Judge’s death. A now-famous photograph shows two firefighters, a police officer, an EMT, and a civilian carrying the priest’s battered body out of the wreckage. 
“Everybody asks, ‘where was Christ that day? Couldn't he stop the planes?’ But you saw the body of Christ. Everybody that came in to help that day...You saw the country pulled together. That was the body of Christ,” Colucci commented. 
Colucci’s involvement in search and rescue efforts continued until May of 2002, when he was promoted to captain. 
Colucci had been with the New York City fire department since 1985. Now, only a few years from retirement, Colucci began revisiting his longtime interest in becoming a Catholic priest. A devout Catholic since his youth, Colucci said the priesthood had always been at the back of his mind. He said his experience on September 11th, and the witness of the heroic priests he saw that day, made him even more interested in pursuing the priesthood.
“I just saw the best that day. You know, Father Mike died the way he died, and there were other priests that came down and they were, you know, counseling the guys and a few of them were on the rubble helping us cheering us on,” he said. 
Colucci retired from the New York City Fire Department in 2005, after twenty years of service. He didn’t enter the seminary right away. He had sustained a head injury while on the job a few months earlier and needed two brain surgeries. He retreated to a Benedictine monastery in western New York to recover and to discern, for the next seven years, his call to the priesthood. 
During that time away, Colucci strengthened his prayer life, and felt even more secure in his vocation to the priesthood. In 2012, he entered Saint Joseph’s Seminary and College in Yonkers, New York. He was ordained in 2016 at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, the first retired firefighter ever to become a priest. 
Father Colucci has been a priest for a little over five years now. He’s pastor of a parish with a school in Walden, New York, north of New York City. He says he actually sees a lot of similarities between the priesthood and the fire service. 
“You serve other people. That's what a firefighter does, unselfishly he runs into burning buildings and emergency calls to help people out. And that's what a priest does. He's always available to help people out. I get calls day and night to help people in different areas, spiritually. To help them doing the sacraments, Mass and confessions...And so it's a life of service, both professions,” he said. 
Father Colucci dreams of one day being chaplain for the New York City Fire Department— and he’s on the shortlist of candidates. But for now, he stays in touch with the people he met as a firefighter, he celebrates funerals for firefighters killed in the line of duty, and he’s chaplain for a volunteer firehouse in his area. He also celebrates an annual Mass on September 11th, in Manhattan. “We lost 343 [firefighters] that day. And since then we've lost about 200 due to related cancers...we'll never forget the people that died that day and the great sacrifices they made,” he said. 
This story is an adaptation of Episode 111 of the CNA Newsroom podcast. Click here to listen to the podcast.

What's the Secret to 70 Years of Religious Life? The Virgin Mary, This Nun SaysBy Diego Lopez MarinaMexico City, Mexico, Sep 21, (EWTN News/CNA) - 
Sister Crucita has been a member of the Josephine Sisters in Mexico for 70 years. At nearly 100 years old, she says she is happy with her vocation and would not change her decision to give her life to God.

In an interview with EWTN News, Sister Crucita – whose full religious name is Sister Maria of the Royal Cross – said that the secret of her perseverance has always been her trust in the mercy of God and the support of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“I say to the Blessed Virgin Mary, 'Take care of me, you already know I'm yours. Deliver me from the snares of the devil.' The Blessed Virgin has taken great care of me,” she said.

Through the Holy Rosary she was able to persevere in face of the temptation to abandon the religious life on many occasions, she said.

“One of the strongest temptations was to want to leave the religious life, because there were a lot of difficulties at the hospital where I was. The doctors encouraged me to leave, but I trusted in God and the Blessed Virgin. And here I am, thanks to them,” she said.

Sister Crucita was born Nov. 23, 1917 in the El Oro municipality in Mexico State. From a very young age, she had a love for Christ and the Church, thanks to the devotion of her parents who took her to Mass.

“I always liked going to Mass. I had an uncle who was a sacristan and I liked to spend time with him. So I was always drawn to the things of the Lord,” she said.

She began thinking about a religious vocation after a group of religious sisters came to her home town. She even discerned with a cloistered convent, but was forced to return home after two years, due to an illness.  

Sister Crucita was introduced to the Josephine Sisters by a priest. She worked alongside the sisters at a local hospital for a few months, and then entered the novitiate.

On Aug. 15, 1947, Sister Crucita made her final vows as a Josephine sister, at 30 years of age. Currently she goes to confession about every two weeks, prays the Holy Rosary three or four times a day, and attends Mass daily.

She said her religious vocation was always tied to her profession as a nurse.

At the start of the 1950s, Sister Crucita was sent to her congregation's hospital in Cuba. Later, in 1952, she arrived in Guadalajara and was assigned as a nurse to the Civil Hospital. For many years she was the supervisor of the pediatrics department.

“I see how the sick suffer and there are many who offer everything to God, they don't complain or anything. So then I think, if they who are sick and are always thinking about God, then what can I complain about. Anything on my part is something passing and I offer it to the Lord,” she emphasized.

Sister María de la Cruz said that one of her secrets to keep on going has always been to feel welcomed by the mercy of God: “I know that He loves me much more than I love him. I have always thought that He seeks me, he calls me, that he is always with me. If something happens to me, He watches over me.”

She encouraged young people to trust “completely in God, in the love that He has for us” because “He helps us and gives us peace.”

On Nov. 23, at Our Lady of Bethlehem and Saint Michael the Archangel church, a Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated for Sister Crucita’s 100th birthday.

Sister Beatriz Escamilla, a 44-year-old Josephine sister, said that at nearly 100 years old, Sister Crucita is still very independent.

“She begins her routine at 5:00 am, because she moves at a slower pace, and then she comes to the chapel at 7:00 am. She is one of the most punctual sisters, and sometimes she beats us all there. Sometimes she's the one who opens up the chapel,” Sister Beatriz said.  

She also highlighted Sister Crucita's fervent prayer for “vocations and for those of us still working in the apostolate.”

“She has an hour dedicated to prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament to especially ask for these needs,” she said.

Whenever things at the hospital get difficult, Sister Beatriz said, she can always count on Sister Crucita for encouragement.

“She's a person you're drawn to, through the peace she conveys. She offers a lesson in joy, perseverance, dedication and sacrifice,” she concluded.

Church Serves 'Women the Rest of the World has Left Behind'
By Adelaide Mena
Washington D.C., Sep 7/ 05:32 pm (EWTN News/CNA)  Recent claims that the Catholic Church disregards women fail to acknowledge the Church’s critical work to support women and families around the world, say leaders in medicine, academia and global relief work.

“Anyone who thinks that the Catholic Church doesn’t support women doesn’t know much about the Church, its mission and its presence around the world,” said Joan Rosenhauer, Executive Vice President of US Operations for Catholic Relief Services.

“Every day, the Catholic community supports women with opportunities to strengthen their families, become better educated, and build their economic and food security. Our presence across the globe, including in some of the most remote places on earth, allows us to help many women the rest of the world has left behind,” she told EWTN News Aug. 27.

A recent “Poverty Matters” blog post in the British daily The Guardian criticized the Church as being anti-woman. Entitled “Pope Francis has done little to improve women’s lives,” the blog post argued particularly against the Church’s stance on human sexuality.

Rosenhauer pointed to several initiatives Catholic Relief Services has started to help alleviate poverty, particularly for women and their families. For example, the Savings and Internal Lending Communities program has provided loans to more than 1 million people – over 80 percent of them women – to help start small family businesses or help women to become financially independent.

Additionally, Rosenhauer said, “thousands of girls and women are being helped around the world every day through Church-run programs focusing on maternal and child nutrition, girls’ education, and livelihoods for women, to name just a few.” CRS runs programs that both distribute food in times of need and teach farming techniques that aid with food production and nutrition.

The Catholic Church, she continued, also provides programming, such as The Faithful House in sub-Saharan Africa, that helps strengthen families and relationships between spouses in order to help families find their basis in loving, respectful relationships.

Participants in the Faithful House, she said “report decreased alcohol use, better management of household finances, improved budgeting and savings, and the ability to pay for essential items such as school fees, household repairs, and transportation.” One participant comment that “by the time our children have their own families, society will be better than it is now because children learn from watching their parents in a loving and respectful relationship.”

The Church’s sexual teachings also help support women and families, Rosenhauer said. Catholic Relief Service’s work to teach Natural Family Planning methods help “women adopt life-affirming ways to space births in order to reduce the risk of the mothers dying during labor and improve the chances that babies will be born healthy and thrive.”

Other organizations corroborate the Church’s emphasis on providing life-affirming development policies. In 2009, Dr. Donna J. Harrison, president of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, briefed the U.N. Commissioner on Human Rights on the risks of promoting abortion as part of attempts to aid international development or address maternal mortality.

The provision of abortion in developing countries, Harrison wrote, “increases, not decreases maternal mortality and morbidity in resource poor nations,” increasing the “risk of hemorrhage, infection and incomplete abortion” in such areas.

The promotion of abortion as a development policy, she continued, also diverts funds and attention from interventions that have been proven to help reduce maternal mortality and increase overall health such as “prenatal care, skilled birth attendants, antibiotics and oxytocics.”

Helen Alvare, law professor at George Mason University and consultor for the Pontifical Council for the Laity, called critics of the Church’s reproductive and sexual teachings to consider the importance of these teachings in helping save the lives of the poor.

Abortion destroys lives, she told EWTN News, notably “millions of children, and their mothers suffering the physical, psychological and spiritual aftermath of a surgery unlike any other on earth.”

The Church’s teachings also help protect the most vulnerable members of society – particularly women, children and the poor – from “the sex and mating markets that grow up when sex is divorced even from the idea of kids.”

The promotion of birth control and abortion in such schemas, Alvare noted, leads to an increase in the “rates of single moms and rates of abortions,” as well as a decline in marriage rates.
 

"Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God, is the masterwork of the mission of the Son and the Spirit in the fullness of time. For the first time in the plan of salvation and because his Spirit had prepared her, the Father found the dwelling place where his Son and his Spirit could dwell among men. In this sense the Church's Tradition has often read the most beautiful texts on wisdom in relation to Mary. Mary is acclaimed and represented in the liturgy as the "Seat of Wisdom." In her, the "wonders of God" that the Spirit was to fulfill in Christ and the Church began to be manifested:" Catechism of the Catholic Church #721​

A bit of humor…--I’m not happy with this and I’d like to exchange it please., But that’s your bank statement Mr Dibbley!, I said exchange it!!!  
--Give a man a fish and you will feed him for the day.  -Teach a man to fish and he’s going to spend a fortune on gear he’ll only be using twice a year.   
:  
“I’d like to start with the chimney jokes – I’ve got a stack of them. The first one is on the house.” – Tim Vine   
"I love my rock-hard, honed six-pack so much I protect it with a good layer of lard."


The Parish Priest
 
A young lady comes to the priest asking for prayers for a boy she likes.  She explains that her mom will not let her date him until the boy becomes Catholic.  The priest assures her that he will pray for this boy.  So after a little while the boy expresses interest in the Catholic Church and starts to take classes at a nearby parish.  The young lady comes joyfully to the priest and tells him the update, and asks him to keep praying for the boy so that he will stay the course and become Catholic so that she can start to date him.  The priest assures her that he will.  A few months later, the young lady comes running to the priest yelling, "Stop praying, stop praying, Father!  He is going to become a priest!
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Hot Air Hand Dryers:
My pastor friend put sanitary hot air hand dryers in the rest rooms at his church and after two weeks, took them out. I asked him why and he confessed that they worked fine, but when he went in there he saw a sign that read,"For a sample of this week's sermon, push the button."



GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
 
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"Holy Mary, Mother of God: With Elizabeth we marvel, "And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Because she gives us Jesus, her son, Mary is Mother of God and our mother; we can entrust all our cares and petitions to her: she prays for us as she prayed for herself: "Let it be to me according to your word." By entrusting ourselves to her prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her: "Thy will be done."
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death: By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the "Mother of Mercy," the All-Holy One. We give ourselves over to her now, in the Today of our lives. And our trust broadens further, already at the present moment, to surrender "the hour of our death" wholly to her care. May she be there as she was at her son's death on the cross. May she welcome us as our mother at the hour of our passing to lead us to her son, Jesus, in paradise." -Catechism of the Catholic Church #2677




The First Commandment of God
 
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them." (Ex 20:2-4).
 
1. What does the commandment mean by "no other gods"?
By no other gods the commandment means idols or false gods, which the Israelites frequently worshipped when, through their sins, they had abandoned the true God.
 
2. How may a person, in a sense, worship other gods?
We, in a sense, may worship other gods by giving up the salvation of our souls for wealth, honors, society, worldly pleasures, etc., so that we would offend God, renounce our faith or give up the practice of our religion for their sake.
 
3. What are we commanded by the first commandment?
By the first commandment we are commanded to offer to God alone the supreme worship that is due Him.
It is written, "The Lord your God shall you worship, and Him only shall you serve." (Luke 4:8)
 
4. How do we worship God?
We worship God by acts of faith, hope, and charity, and by adoring Him and praying to Him most especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
 
How may the first Commandment be broken?
A. By giving to a creature the honor which belongs to God alone; by false worship; and by attributing to a creature a perfection which belongs to God alone.
 
What is the honor which belongs to God alone?  This is a divine honor, in which we offer Him sacrifice, incense or prayer, solely for His own sake and for His own glory. To give such honor to any creature, however holy, would be idolatry.
 
How do we offer God false worship?  We do this by rejecting the religion He has instituted and following one pleasing to ourselves, with a form of worship He has never authorized, approved or sanctioned.
 
Why must we serve God in the form of religion He has instituted and in no other?  We must do this because heaven is not a right, but a promised reward, a free gift of God, which we must receive in the manner He directs and pleases.
 
When do we attribute to a creature a perfection which belongs to God alone?  We do this when we believe it possesses knowledge or power independently of God, so that it may, without His aid, make known the future or perform miracles.
 
5. What does faith oblige us to do?
Faith obliges us: first, to make efforts to find out what God has revealed; second, to believe firmly what God has revealed; third, to profess our faith openly whenever necessary.
Therefore, everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. (Matt. 10:32)
 
6. What does hope oblige us to do?
Hope obliges us to trust firmly that God will give us eternal life and the means to obtain it.
Paul, a servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, in accordance with the faith of God's elect and the full knowledge of the truth which is according to piety, in the hope of life everlasting which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. (Titus 1:1-2)
 
7. What does charity oblige us to do?
Charity obliges us to love God above all things because He is infinitely good, and to love our neighbor as Jesus has loved us.
And one of them, a doctor of the Law, putting him to the test, asked him, "Master, which is the great commandment in the Law?" Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind.' This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:35-40)
 
8. How can a Catholic best safeguard his faith?
A Catholic can best safeguard his faith by making frequent acts of faith, by praying for a strong faith, by studying his religion very earnestly, by living a good life, by good reading, by refusing to associate with the enemies of the Church, and by not reading books and papers that distort the Church and her teaching.
I know that after my departure fierce wolves will get in among you, and will not spare the flock. And from among your own selves men will rise speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20:29-30)
 
9. How does a Catholic sin against faith?
A Catholic sins against faith by:
Voluntary doubt - Refusing to hold as true what God revealed and the Church teaches. Doubt is involuntary when the person hesitates to believe or cannot overcome objections to faith.
Incredulity - Neglect or outright refusal to assent to a revealed truth.
Heresy - Denial of a truth that must be believed with divine and catholic faith.
Apostasy - Total repudiation of the Catholic faith.
Schism - Refusal to submit to the Pope or to accept communion with the Church.
This is why I was born, and why I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. (John 18:37)
 
10. What are the sins against hope?
The sins against hope are presumption and despair.
 
11. When does a person sin by presumption?
A person sins by presumption when he trusts that he can be saved by his own efforts without God's help, or by God's help without his own efforts.  A person may be guilty of presumption:
1.(1) By putting off confession when in a state of mortal sin; 2.(2) By delaying the amendment of our lives and repentance for past sins; 3.(3) By being indifferent about the number of times we yield to any temptation after we have once yielded and broken our resolution to resist it; 4.(4) By thinking we can avoid sin without avoiding its near occasion; 5.(5) By relying too much on ourselves and neglecting to follow the advice of our confessor in regard to the sins we confess.
Nay I do not even judge my own self. For I have nothing on my conscience, yet I am not thereby justified. (I Corinthians 4:4)
 
12. When does a person sin by despair?
A person sins by despair when he deliberately refuses to trust that God will give him the necessary help to save his soul.  A person may be guilty of despair by believing that we cannot resist certain temptations, overcome certain sins or amend our lives so as to be pleasing to God.
May no temptation take hold of you but such as man is equal to. God is faithful and will not permit you to be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also give you a way out that you may be able to bear it. (I Corinthians 10:13)
 
13. What are the chief sins against charity?
The chief sins against charity are hatred of God and of our neighbor, envy, sloth, and scandal.
Charity does not envy. (I Corinthians 13:4)
 
14. Besides the sins against faith, hope, and charity, what other sins does the first commandment forbid?
Besides the sins against faith, hope, and charity, the first commandment forbids also superstition and sacrilege.
 
15. When does a person sin by superstition?
A person sins by superstition when he attributes to a creature a power that belongs to God alone, as when he makes use of charms or spells, believes in dreams or fortune-telling, or goes to spiritualists.  It is sinful to consult mediums, spiritualists, fortune tellers and the like even when we do not believe in them, but through mere curiosity, to hear what they may say:
1.(1) Because it is wrong to expose ourselves to the danger of sinning even though we do not sin; 2.(2) Because we may give scandal to others who are not certain that we go through mere curiosity; 3.(3) Because by our pretended belief or interest we encourage those who do these things to continue their harmful practices.
 
All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone. (CCC 2116)
Neither let there be found among you any one that ... consults soothsayers, or observes dreams and omens. Neither let there be any wizard, nor charmer. (Deuteronomy 19:10-11)
 
16. When does a person sin by sacrilege?
A person sins by sacrilege when he mistreats sacred persons, places, or things (i.e. a priest, a church, a rosary).
They have set your sanctuary ablaze, they have profaned the dwelling of your name on the earth. (Psalm 73:7)
Let us pray:
An Act of Faith-O my God I believe all You have said because You are the infallible truth.
 
An Act of Hope - O my God I hope for all You have promised because You are faithful.
 
An Act of Love - O my God I love You above all things because You are good.


+JMJ+
SUNDAY BIBLICAL MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time: September 6th, 2026

The First Reading - Ezekiel 33:7-9
Thus says the LORD: You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.  If I tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.  But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.
Reflection 
Now Ezekiel was a prophet and a priest, entrusted by virtue of his office with teaching the People of God the ways of the Lord and the distinction between virtue and vice, holiness and sin. The moral sense of this Reading applies in the first place to those who are in an analogous situation to Ezekiel in the Church, namely, the members of the hierarchy: pope, bishops, priests.  One of the roles of the hierarchy is to warn the Church and the world of wickedness that leads to our death.  Mortal sin would certainly fit that category. All Christians, however, are called to help others lead lives of holiness in love. 
Adults - How do you help those you love grow closer to Christ?
Teens - What challenges do you face when living, and encouraging others to live, the Christian life? How do you or can you deal with those challenges? 
Kids - How do our bishops and priest help and encourage us to live holy lives?  

Responsorial- Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 
Reflection 
So the Psalm calls us to humility.  Others have their pet sins; we, too, often have ours. When others confront us with our sin, let us not have a hard heart like Israel did in the wilderness. That would lead us to “forty years of wandering” in a spiritual desert. Are you open to fraternal correction in love from those who love you?

The Second Reading- Romans 13:8-10
Brothers and sisters: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, ” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
Reflection -    There are two implications of this passage in light of the Ezekiel passage.  First, we need to remember that sin is a lack of love. Society has completely lost sight of this fact.  Love is now confused with “niceness,” with complying with whatever a person wants.  The Catechism is quite clear on this, and in its treatment of offenses against the Ten Commandments, it explains why different sins are actually a failure of love. -How is sin a lack of love? 

The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.  If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’  If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.  If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.  Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” 
Reflection   Jesus’ words are primarily addressed to the “disciples” (v. 1), which the Church has understood to mean the Twelve, who are the proto-hierarchy of the Church.  The guidelines in this passage are intended to inform their juridical and sacramental role, as those who will establish and enforce halakhah (the Jewish term for authoritative interpretation of the law) for the new covenant community, and will dispense the forgiveness of sin (see John 20:22-23). When confronting sin within the Church, the watchwords are private and personal.  One begins by going to the person in private, and making a personal appeal.  The goal is reconciliation, not condemnation.
Adults - How can you preach the Gospel in love instead of judgement? What steps can you make to have reconciliation as a goal, instead of condemnation? 
Teens - Is reconciliation with each other and the Lord your goal when resolving conflict? 
Kids - What are some ways you can resolve arguments with love instead of anger? 

LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!  - Unfortunately, there are far too many Christians today who pay no heed to the serious obligation of encouraging an erring brother to give up his sinful ways. They shrug it off by saying : "I have more than enough to do to keep myself from sin" or "am I my brother's keeper"? We are our brothers' keepers, and even if we have many temptations and inclinations to sin we shall not overcome them if we have no time to think of our neighbors' need.  There are, alas, millions of lapsed or luke-warm Christians who could and would have been active members of Christ's mystical body if their neighbors had fulfilled this grave obligation which Christ has imposed on us all.  Would the Reformation, which has caused whole countries of the western world to lose almost all faith in Christ and indeed in God, have had such disastrous effects, if those who remained within the Church had put this law of fraternal charity into practice?  Let us see our present-day obligations and what we are doing to help our neighbors retain their Christian faith and practice. It is in the home that the religion of the next generation is firmly established or lost. When parents are loyal to their faith in their daily lives, their children will, as a rule, be loyal to it too.  Parents! the first neighbors and fellow Christians whom you must kindly and charitably correct are your own children. Their future salvation and your own too will depend on how well you fulfill this obligation. Parents who are obedient to Christ in this will find time and many opportunities to have a charitable word of help for an erring neighbor outside their household.  Let each one of us look into his past conduct in relation to this law of charity.  Have we really tried to help our fellowmen on the road to heaven?  Have we given them the good example of a truly Christian way of living?  Have we offered advice and encouragement when it was needed, and correction in private where that was possible?  If so "we have gained our brother."  We have brought a prodigal son back to a loving Father and that loving Father will repay us a hundred-fold in this life and especially in the next.  -Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.





CATHOLIC QUESTIONS AND CATHOLIC ANSWERS
565. Who can educate us in prayer? d) none of the above
The Christian family is the first place of education in prayer. Daily family prayer is particularly recommended because it is the first witness to the life of prayer in the Church. Catechesis, prayer groups, and “spiritual direction” constitute a school of and a help to prayer.
566. What places are conducive to prayer?  d) all of the above
One can pray anywhere but the choice of an appropriate place is not a matter of indifference when it comes to prayer. The church is the proper place for liturgical prayer and Eucharistic adoration. Other places also help one to pray, such as a “prayer corner” at home, a monastery or a shrine.
CHAPTER THREE: The Life of Prayer
567. What times are more suitable for prayer?  d) all of the above
Any time is suitable for prayer but the Church proposes to the faithful certain rhythms of praying intended to nourish continual prayer: morning and evening prayer, prayer before and after meals, the Liturgy of the Hours, Sunday Eucharist, the Rosary, and feasts of the liturgical year.  “We must remember God more often than we draw breath.” (Saint Gregory of Nazianzus)

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Local Author Makes Jesus Transforming Presence Accessible!
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Catholic Good News

Receiving the Gospel, Serving God and Neighbor
 
Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum –INRI–Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews

"Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read,

"Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews. …and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek." 
​
(John 19:19-20)

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Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
       "What I have written, I have written," the words of Pontius Pilate to the chief priests who did not want to have Jesus called, "The King of the Jews." (John 19:22)  Four little letters that represent so much.
 
      From one perspective, INRI is the charge for which Jesus was killed as was the custom with crucifixion to place the charge above the criminal.  From another perspective, it was Pilate's way of having his say after he was somewhat forced to give Jesus over to be crucified.  A charge and declaration given for a King who saved and led his people not by an army and the sword, but by the Cross and forgiveness.
  
       On most of our tombstones there will be the year we were born – the year we died (i.e. 1930 – 2019).  They say the difference is what that "-" (dash) stands for.  If we are accused and charged in this life, let us make sure that it is for doing the right things, and let us remember that the initials on our crucifixes in our homes and churches remind us of the King who first did it for us!
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
 
Father Robert
P.S.  Look under Catholic Term for more information regarding "INRI." 
P.S.S.  This coming Sunday is Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time. Readings can be found at: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/083026.cfm
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561. What is the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer? (Catechism of the Catholic Church-CCC 2670-2672, 2680-2681)
a) to help us recall Christ
b) to teach us how to pray
c) to make prayer what prayer is inside the Church
d) all of the above


562. How is Christian prayer Marian? (CCC 2673-2679, 2682)
a) it cooperates with the Holy Spirit
b) Mary is the only way to Jesus
c) Christian Prayer is not Marian
d) none of the above


563. How does the Church pray to Mary? (CCC 2676-2678, 2682)
a) with the Hail Mary, because God Himself used these words through the Archangel Gabriel
b) we know that she prays for us as she prays
c) when asking her help, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father
d) all of the above


GUIDES FOR PRAYER
564. How are the saints, guides for prayer? (CCC 2683-2684, 2692-2693)
a) they showed us you can do it yourself
b) they showed you have to be highly educated
c) they are our models of prayer
d) they did something no one else ever did
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Ovulation Method: Science at the Service of the Family
Achieving or Postponing Pregnancy Naturally
https://www.boma-usa.org/


 
Did you know that a woman is capable of becoming pregnant for only a brief time each month? However this window of fertility varies from woman to woman and even from cycle to cycle?
 The Ovulation Method helps you find your window of fertility, greatly increasing your chance to achieve pregnancy sooner or allowing you to postpone a pregnancy with a 99% method effectiveness.
 
The Ovulation Method does this all naturally without drugs or devices and is absolutely free.
 
Watch the video, The Billings Ovulation Method, use the Resources tab above to continue your education in this "best kept secret."     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJa03CP0geo

​Best Parish Practices


Reach Out To Those Who Are Struggling or Have Fallen Away
 “You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the stray or seek the lost -Ezekiel 34:4
 
If you know someone who is struggling with the news from the Church or if you have not seen someone in church for awhile, please reach out to them and make sure they know that they are valued and listened to.  Don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers to their questions, but do let them know that you will help them seek the answers they need.  Even be willing to walk with them in the action they feel called to if you are able to, and it is right to do so. (With the pandemic, a good place to start is praying for them.)


BENEFITS:
The Lord sent out His disciples two by two.  We need to be concerned with our family and parishioners who stop coming to church for one reason or another.  In time of crisis, we need to make sure we all stay strong, so if we can be strong for someone now and care, they may be able to do so for another at another time even ourselves.


HOW:
First pray, pray for by name people who have fallen away.  Entrust them to Jesus through Mary, loved by St. Joseph.  Call, send a note, ask someone close to them to find out what happened or what one is going through let them know you miss them.  Affirm or encourage people that may not come that often.


You can look into programs that might help, and with your Parish Priest's permission, you might see if they can help in your parish:


https://www.catholicscomehome.org/


https://www.paulist.org/ministry/landings/
Landings International – Paulist Fathers
www.paulist.org
Landings helps Catholics who have been away from the Church make a smooth landing as they return to the Faith and parish life.


Catholics Come Home | Welcome Home
www.catholicscomehome.org
Our apostolate is dedicated to helping people home to the Catholic Church. If you have a general question, please start by visiting our Q&A section.If your question isn't answered there, we also recommend visiting Catholic Answers.

Roxane Salonen BooksAugust 27When sacred, mixed-media artist Jill Metz started her depiction of St. Monica, she didn’t know it would someday grace the cover of a book or be named, Tears of the Heart.
The naming didn’t happen until Ascension Press contacted Metz earlier this year, requesting use of the image for What Would Monica Do?, the new book I co-wrote with Patti Armstrong addressing the heartache of loved ones who have left the faith. 
Since the piece had yet to be named, Metz did what she always does in approaching her art. “I prayed, asking St. Monica to help,” she said. “I think I’m pretty docile to the will of God, and when I prayed, it was really about the tears. It’s always been about the tears.”
In fact, after she had completed and even varnished the piece, she sensed God directing her to “go back and add a tear.” It was raised from the rest of the image and not discernable on the book-cover rendition. But Metz knows it’s there — just like Our Lord knows the intricacies of all hearts.
“The enemy wants us to believe this world should be filled with no tears,” she added, “but we see that’s not so through the work of the cross.”
 
Ascent to GodMetz grew up in a home of addiction and divorce. Without any foundational faith, she dipped into the occult, exploring tarot cards and astrology. “The enemy was always there, tempting me,” she recalled, and like St. Augustine’s, her heart was restless. 
At 17, Metz felt a prompting and stopped at a small country church. “I went in and just poured out my heart to the Lord, singing (Amazing Grace) at the top of my lungs,” she recounted. “I think God marked me at that moment, and I really started pursuing religion.”
Metz eventually met and married her husband, Ken, a cradle Catholic, and readily agreed to raise their children Catholic. “That glance toward God had happened. I opened the door, and he came,” causing a yearning to be part of something bigger, she explained. But she wasn’t interested in Catholicism for herself.
“If I ever do become a saint, I would be the patron saint of stubbornness,” she admitted. Despite attending Mass with Ken, she did not believe in the Real Presence. “I just didn’t see that that could possibly be real from the way [people] were receiving and dressing. There was no witness that there was something different here.”
But in 2009, experiencing a time of spiritual aridity, Metz began “yearning for the comfort he had always given me.” God was indicating to her it was time to enter the Church, but in hearing this call, she said, “I slammed my fists down on the kitchen counter and said, ‘Anything but that!’”
She challenged God, saying that if he really wanted her in the Church, he would have to make it abundantly clear. That night, she went to tuck in her son, who was preparing for his first Communion. 
“Only a mother can understand the way that a child seeks and speaks,” she said, noting that, when she threw back the covers, she saw him clutching a plastic rosary with heart-shaped beads. “His little hand went up, and he threw it at me, saying, ‘Here, Mom, I want you to have this.’”
That was all it took. “It was God using the lowliest one to strike down the strong,” she said. “I knew in that moment that, yes, I was being called into the Catholic Church.”
Her ascent helped inspire her husband’s reversion, and soon after her reception into the Church, she was coordinating then-called Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) at her parish.


Finding Sacred Art Metz chose Elizabeth Ann Seton as her confirmation saint, noting that the saint had once uttered that if people knew the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, they would be crawling on their hands and knees to receive him. 
“This was all grace,” she said, noting that the priest who formed her was very Eucharistic, and she would spend every Friday in a Holy Hour with him. “He was a good teacher of the faith, and God sent me what I needed at the time.”
Metz consecrated herself to Mary and her children to the Blessed Mother, as well. “I had my conversion, and then our Blessed Mother chose me,” she said. “After that, I really did experience quite a miraculous freedom and liberty that I no longer had to be concerned with the welfare of my kids.”
They were young at the time, 9 and 10, she added, “so I had not experienced yet a lot of the worldly issues our young people face.”
Metz was enjoying her work as a mixed-media artist. When a friend requested she paint a saint for a Catholic-radio fundraiser, after some hesitation, she relented, ultimately producing a depiction of St. Lucy.
Soon thereafter, Metz discovered a dark blob in one of her eyes, causing partial blindness and requiring medical intervention. A friend suggested she pray to St. Lucy, and when, just days later, the blob disappeared, Metz was powerfully awakened to the intercession of saints. 
Before the blob dissolved completely, however, it changed into the shape of a heart, Metz said. “Ever since then, I’ve done nothing [artistically] but paint the saints.”
 
Meeting St. MonicaFor each work, she appeals to God and seeks to know the saints through their intercession.  
“With St. Lucy healing my eye, I was all-in with what they were there for: to teach and guide us,” she said. To create the right prayerful atmosphere as she paints, Metz incorporates sacramentals, “everything from having relics around me to using holy water. I also have an exorcised candle burning. I really try to create a sacred environment and enter into that.”
She also invites the Holy Spirit to join her. “It has really taught me to trust the Lord. I’ve learned how to distinguish God’s voice from other voices. It’s a great gift that I cannot take any credit for, to be honest.”
Metz did not know a lot about St. Monica as she set about praying, but she felt her presence and “a real love” as she asked her intercession. “We know these saints choose us,” she said, noting that she also was inspired to make her eyes blue. “I wanted her eyes reflective of being sorrowful. For whatever reason, blue represented to me the color of sorrow.”
In St. Monica, Metz sees “persevering in our suffering, our disappointments, and hoping for the goodness of the Lord. I’m still in awe of her. I just think she’s a powerful saint for this time, as so many of our kids are so lost.”
Ultimately, Metz returns to the most divine element of her Monica art: the tear. “That’s what I would hope women especially would see [in this image]; to never deprive the Lord of your tears, your dreams, your wants — and to know how he delights in giving you an answer in those tears.” 
LEARN MORE
Find more of Metz’s work at her website, TruOriginal.com.

​

​Pastor Sees Through Eyes of OthersThe Catholic Spirit | Father Bob White | June 8
Save
Good News at St. Victoria

Talk about great volunteers! We have the best at St. Victoria and I am one of the beneficiaries!
In 1996, I was diagnosed with “angioid stripes,” a disease affecting my vision. By 2000, I had only a small amount of central vision remaining in one eye. No longer could I jump in the car, read a book or look to the rear of our church and recognize my parishioners.
The call went out for help. To date, I have had nearly 300 drivers who have driven me everywhere from a quick hop to the grocery store to destinations hours away from Victoria. What a wonderful way to get to know people, and, I think, I offer wives of newly retired husbands a great respite!
There are 60 people on the “drop-off dinner” list and I can’t count the number of invitations to parishioners’ homes. Since my culinary skills were always in question, this is nothing short of fabulous.
Countless people read for me, tape-record books and materials, and a faithful volunteer puts everything in large type that I need for my liturgies. Along with a great staff and adaptive equipment, I’m able to do all that is expected of a priest with a growing parish — one that has nearly tripled in size since 1996, and during that time, we built a new church.
And, lest I forget, there’s my faithful dog, Miss Betsy White. No, she’s not a seeing eye dog, but she is a dog that sees a need to be a loving and faithful companion.
Sure, there are days I would like to jump in the car or pick up a book, but then I stop and think of all my blessings and thank God.
Father Bob White is pastor of St. Victoria in Victoria.

​Letter to Pope Francis from Catholic Women - Catholic Womens Forum
catholicwomensforum.org
NOTE: This letter reflects the personal initiative of the individual Catholic women signing this letter, and is not sponsored by...

​Failure to combat this corruption and abuse could result in the reduction or elimination of ministries due to a lack of priests, DeYoung told CNA.
DeYoung, a theology graduate student, said that fathers have expressed concern about potentially sending their sons to seminary, and have even said that they "will not have their kids involved in the liturgy as altar servers” out of fear of sexual abuse.
This could result in "potentially the death of vocations and young people being active in the Church,” said DeYoung. He also said it was “heartbreaking” to read testimony from some of the Pennsylvania abuse victims who said that their abuse caused them to lose their religious faith entirely.
“We’re really fighting for these people, (and) we're also saying that as Catholic men that we're going to take responsibility for our own lives as well,” noting that not every Catholic man is faithful or properly follows Church teaching.
DeYoung told CNA that the letter came from the fact that many Catholic men are “angry, heartbroken, and really shocked at the state of the Church at the moment,” in terms of the abuse of minors as well as “the clergy members who are disobeying their vows and living and against the call to chastity and purity.”
In addition to the investigation into abuse and misconduct, DeYoung says that the signatories are also looking to the bishops for spiritual leadership during this chaotic time.
"We are men who love the Church, we love our bishops, we support our Holy Father, and we want to see the truth come out here," he said.
At press time, the letter had been signed by over 3,000 people. (8,000 as of Saturday evening)
IF YOU FEEL CALLED TO SIGN THIS LETTER, YOU CAN AT, AS WELL AS SEE ALL WHO HAVE SIGNED IT:
https://catholicmenunited.org/

​Letter to Pope Francis from Catholic Men
catholicmenunited.org
A group of Catholic Men throughout the country have worked to put together a letter to Pope Francis and the Bishops of the United States.

A bit of humor…
Some Thoughts: ---In a shoe shop: These shoes might be tight for the next two weeks. : Don’t worry. I’ll start wearing them on the third week.  
--- At an interview: “In the beginning, you’ll be earning 20 000, later on it can go up to 40 000.” “OK, I’ll come again later then.”  
--- I made a beginner’s mistake and went shopping on an empty stomach. I am now the happy owner of aisle 7.

A woman was taking an afternoon nap. When she woke up, she told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace. What do you think it means?" "You'll know tonight," he said. That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it to find a book entitled "The Meaning of Dreams."
Forest Gump and St. Peter

When Forest Gump died, he stood in front of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter said, "Welcome, Forest. We've heard a lot about you." He continued, "Unfortunately, it's getting pretty crowded up here and we find that we now have to give people an entrance examination before we let them in.""Okay," said Forest. "I hope it's not too hard. I've already been through a test. My momma used to say, 'Life is like a final exam. It's hard.' "

• 
  "Yes, Forest, I know. But this test is only three questions. Here they are."
  
  1) Which two days of the week begin with the letter 'T'?"
  
  2) How many seconds are in a year?
  
  3) What is God's first name?
  
  "Well, sir," said Forest, "The first one is easy. Which two days of the week begin with the letter 'T'? Today and Tomorrow."
  
  St. Peter looked surprised and said, "Well, that wasn't the answer I was looking for, but you have a point. I give you credit for that answer."
  
  "The next question," said Forest, "How many seconds are in a year? Twelve."
  
  "Twelve?" said St. Peter, surprised and confused.
  
  "Yes, sir. January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd …"
  
  St. Peter interrupted him. "I see what you mean. I'll have to give you credit for that one, too."
  
  "And the last question," said Forest, "What is God's first name? It's Andy."
  
  "Andy?" said St. Peter, in shock. "How did you come up with 'Andy'?"
  
  "I learned it in church. We used to sing about it." Forest broke into song, "Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me, Andy tells me I am His own."
  
  St. Peter opened the gate to heaven and said, "Run, Forest, Run!"

Kids in Church
 
One Sunday in a Midwest City, a young child was "acting up" during the morning worship hour. The parents did their best to maintain some sense of order in the pew, but, were losing the battle. Finally, the father picked the little fellow up and walked sternly up the aisle on his way out.  Just before reaching the safety of the foyer, the little one called loudly to the congregation, "Pray for me! Pray for me!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The preacher was holding a microphone attached to a cord, and as he preached, he moved briskly about the platform, jerking the mike cord as he went. Then he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping before jerking it again. After several circles and jerks, a little girl in the third pew leaned toward her mother and whispered, "If he gets loose, will he hurt us?"


The Best Way  To Pray
A priest, a minister and a guru sat discussing the best positions for prayer, while a telephone repairman worked nearby.
"Kneeling is definitely the best way to pray," the priest said. 
"No," said the minister. "I get the best results standing with my hands outstretched to Heaven." 
 "You're both wrong," the guru said. "The most effective prayer position is lying down on the floor." 
The repairman could contain himself no longer. "Hey, fellas," he interrupted. "The best prayin' I ever did was when I was hangin' upside down from a telephone pole."

​"Finally, the People of God shares in the royal office of Christ. He exercises his kingship by drawing all men to himself through his death and Resurrection. Christ, King and Lord of the universe, made himself the servant of all, for he came "not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." For the Christian, "to reign is to serve him," particularly when serving "the poor and the suffering, in whom the Church recognizes the image of her poor and suffering founder." The People of God fulfills its royal dignity by a life in keeping with its vocation to serve with Christ.
The sign of the cross makes kings of all those reborn in Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit consecrates them as priests, so that, apart from the particular service of our ministry, all spiritual and rational Christians are recognized as members of this royal race and sharers in Christ's priestly office. What, indeed, is as royal for a soul as to govern the body in obedience to God? And what is as priestly as to dedicate a pure conscience to the Lord and to offer the spotless offerings of devotion on the altar of the heart?"
 -Catechism of the Catholic Church #786
If God Is Love, Why Does He Let Terrible Things Happen?
COMMENTARY: In this life we seek to accompany and pray for those who suffer.

​Annunciation Catholic Church is seen behind police tape following a mass shooting on Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (photo: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
​
Msgr. Charles Pope Commentaries
August 30, 2025​

One of the great mysteries to believers and nonbelievers is that of evil and suffering. If there is a God who is omnipotent and omniscient, how can he tolerate evil, injustice and the suffering of the innocent — including this week: Children were killed and injured while praying at an all-school Mass in Minneapolis.
Why does God allow innocent people, even children, to suffer so?
The problem of evil cannot be answered simply. It is a mystery. Its purpose and why God permits it are caught up in our limited vision and understanding. Scripture says, “All things work together for the good of those who love and trust the Lord and are called according to his purposes” (Romans 8:28). But in many circumstances, it is difficult for us to see how this is so.
Anyone who has ever suffered a tragic and senseless loss or observed the disproportionate suffering that some must endure cannot help but ask, “Why?” And the answers aren’t all that satisfying, for suffering is ultimately mysterious in many ways.
I understand and respect despair’s depth and the dignity of such questioning.
Perhaps the most perplexing aspect of suffering is its uneven distribution. Some people seem to skate through life easily, while others endure suffering, disease, inexplicable and sudden losses, financial setbacks, injustice and other burdens. Some suffering seems completely unrelated to personal choice or sin — or any reason at all.
A respectful exposition of the Christian understanding of evil might include some of the following points. Note that these are not explanations per se (for suffering is a great mystery).
Even in the paradise of the Garden of Eden, the mystery of evil lurked. In a way, the tree and the serpent had to be there because we were made to love; love requires freedom, and freedom requires choices. The “Yes” of love must permit the “No” of sin. In our rebellious “No,” both we and the world unraveled, and death and chaos entered in. Paradise was lost and a far more hostile and unpredictable world remained. From this came all of the suffering and evil we endure. Our sins and the sins of others cause an enormous amount of suffering on this earth — the vast majority of it, by my reckoning. The suffering caused by natural phenomena is also linked to Original Sin.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, meets us at the crossroads of suffering and death and, not exempting himself, allows suffering and death to have a redemptive meaning, a way back to him and a road to glory.
This link of evil and suffering to human freedom also explains God’s typical lack of intervention in evil matters. Were God to intervene routinely, it would make an abstraction of human freedom and thus remove a central pillar of love. But here, too, there is mystery: The Scriptures recount that God did sometimes intervene to put an end to evil plots, to turn back wars, and to shorten famines and plagues. Why does he sometimes intervene and sometimes not? Why do prayers of deliverance sometimes get answered and sometimes not? Here, too, there is a mystery of Providence.
The lengthiest biblical treatise on suffering is the Book of Job. In it, God showed an almost-shocking lack of sympathy for Job’s questions about his suffering and set a lengthy foundation for the conclusion that the mind of man is simply incapable of seeing into the depths of this problem. God saw fit that Job’s faith be tested and strengthened. But, in the end, Job was restored and reestablished with even greater blessings in a kind of foretaste of what is meant by heaven.
The First Letter of Peter also has a partial explanation of suffering: As 1 Peter 1:6-7 recounts, our sufferings purify us and prepare us to meet God.
Does this mean that those who suffer more need more purification? Not necessarily. It could also mean that a greater glory is waiting for them. Suffering “produces” glory in the world to come. Those who suffer more, but with faith, will have greater glory in the world to come.
Regarding the apparent injustice of uneven suffering, it should be noted that the Scriptures teach of a great reversal, in which the last shall be first (Matthew 20:16), the mighty will be cast down while the lowly are exalted, and the rich will go away empty while the poor are filled (Luke 1:52-53).
Finally, as to God’s apparent insensitivity to suffering, we can only point to Christ, who did not exempt himself from the suffering that humanity chose by leaving Eden. He suffered mightily and unjustly but also showed that this would be a way home to paradise. In this regard some also question that, if God is love, why does he let terrible things happen? It does not seem to be very loving. However, there is a tendency today to equate love with mere kindness. God who is love has to lead us through some difficult patches in this “paradise lost” in which we live. It is, however, a firmly held truth that God never permits suffering or evil except that he can bring greater good out of it.
St. Thomas Aquinas addressed the mystery of iniquity and suffering by speaking of our inability to see the whole picture. He imagined a great painting with only a few pixels, or a mere brushstroke of dark colors. “What is this dark ugliness?” we might cry out. But if we could back out and see the whole picture, we might come to understand that it is a play of light and darkness and that the darkness frames the light and gives way to it.
To these points I am sure you will add but be careful with the problem of evil and suffering. It has mysterious dimensions that must be respected. The Christian struggle to come to grips with this may be the best way. The “answer” of Scripture requires faith, but it also appeals to reason and calls us to humility before a great mystery of which we can see only a small part.
In the end, why is there suffering and evil in the world? We don’t fully know. But why is there love, loyalty or beauty? Why is there anything at all? These sorts of questions are imponderable, questions with no exact or certain answer. But God knows — and he will requite every injustice.
In this life we seek to accompany and pray for those who suffer. This is part of the good that God seeks to draw from tragedies. Friendships and alliances form; people make new commitments to build a more just world and to reject the violence and lack of regard for human life that is too evident today.
Only light can drive out darkness; only love can conquer hate.
As we mourn recent tragedies, including the intense suffering of the Annunciation Catholic School community, we can trust the Lord’s promise: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

+JMJ+
SUNDAY BIBLICAL MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: August 30th, 2026

The First Reading - Jeremiah 20:7-9
You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped; you were too strong for me, and you triumphed. All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I must cry out, violence and outrage is my message; the word of the LORD has brought me derision and reproach all the day. I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.
Reflection 
Does God really “deceive,” “entice,” “seduce” people? Jeremiah does not speak as a systematic theologian, much less as a moral philosopher. He speaks as a poet and a mystic, giving voice to his experiences in bold and even hyperbolic language. Clearly he is passionate for the LORD, the covenant God of Israel.  Yet his passion for the LORD leads to conflict with the world, with his nation, his city, his people.  The ways of the LORD are at odds with the ways of everyone around him, and the result is conflict and suffering.  The prophet would like to avoid this conflict, but cannot, because his passion for the LORD is too great to be suppressed: “it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.” The Church intends us to see Jeremiah’s words in a messianic sense.  Jeremiah was a type, image, and forerunner of the Messiah.  Jeremiah’s experiences strikingly prefigured the experiences of Jesus.  Both preached against Jerusalem and the Temple (Jer 7 & 11); both were persecuted by the High Priests (Jer 20:1-6); both were tried and imprisoned by a sympathetic but weak-willed civil magistrate (Jer 38:14-28); both descended into the pit and were raised up again (Jer 38:1-13).  In many ways, Jeremiah was God’s suffering servant; in fact, the argument has been made more than once that Isaiah was describing Jeremiah in his Suffering Servant Songs. It is not accidental that in last week's readings, the disciples tell Jesus that many think he, Jesus, is the prophet Jeremiah. Like Jeremiah, Jesus is impassioned for the LORD, and his passion will lead to his Passion, as we see in the Gospel Reading. 
Adults - In what ways does living out your faith set you against the world?
Teens - What do you do when it is difficult to make the right decision and decide against the ways of the world?
Kids - How do Jesus give us the strength to live as Christians, even when it’s hard? 

Responsorial- Psalm 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you. 
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. 
Reflection 
We immediately recognize similarities between this psalm and the famous Psalm 42: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”  Ultimately this is not about physical thirst but about desire for God’s Spirit: “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst” (John 4:14).  The Spirit is communicated through the waters of Baptism but also in the Body and Blood of the Eucharist: “As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied.”  Unlike the Jeremiah reading, this Psalm expresses hope.  The suffering of the one who loves the Lord is temporary.  There will be joy, satisfaction, and embrace.  In the context of Mass, this Psalm serves to whet our appetite for the nuptial banquet we are about to receive. Where do you turn when you need hope?

The Second Reading- Romans 12:1-2
I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
Reflection -    St. Paul employs priestly terminology here in his exhortation “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.”  His words reflect the belief that in the Church, every believer has come to share in Christ’s priesthood.  We have become the priestly people that God intended for Israel at Sinai, before God’s plans were derailed by the idolatry of the Golden Calf (see Exod 19:5-6; 1 Peter 2:9).  We are not necessarily ministerial priests whose vocation is specifically to preside at the liturgy.  Nonetheless, we are true priests, and our sacrifice, like Jesus’, is our very lives, our very selves (our “bodies” in St. Paul’s terminology).  St. Paul’s urging to give our very lives coincides nicely with Our Lord’s exhortation in the Gospel Reading.  -Do you offer up your daily struggles in prayer?

The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 16:21-27
Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.  Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct.” 
Reflection   The contrast between the glorious things spoken to Peter in last Sunday’s Gospel and the sharp rebuke of Peter in this Gospel could hardly be more pronounced.  It is quite intentional on the part of the evangelist, who wants us to observe, almost simultaneously, the divine promises given to Peter and Peter’s human weaknesses. The contrast between divine guidance and human weakness is the theme of the history of the Papacy.  Catholics hold that the Pope is infallible in his teaching, not impeccable in his behavior.  The distinction is often lost on non-Catholics, who understand us to believe the Pope is sinless.  Obviously, the Popes have not been sinless, and a few well-chosen historical examples quickly demonstrate the fact. But we do not hold that the Pope is sinless.  Nor that he always teaches in the best way, or says exactly the right thing at the right time.  Papal infallibility is much weaker than some understand it.  It simply the belief that the Pope is protected from error in his solemn or official teaching. In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus did not say to Peter: “You will never again sin.”  He said: “What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  We mentioned that “bind and loose” were terms referring to the authority to judge halakhah, the application of divine law to real life circumstances.  The sphere of halakhah is roughly what we Catholics call “faith and morals.”  In the Greek of this passage, Jesus uses future perfect formation.  Literally, “What you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; what you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.”  In other words, it’s not so much that Peter’s decisions change heavenly policy, it is that the policy of heaven will be reflected in Peter’s teachings. In today’s passage, Peter is not making a decision about halakhah for God’s people.  In fact, the Spirit has not even been poured out yet, and Peter has not formally assumed his role as royal steward, even as Jesus has not yet ascended to the right hand of the Father (see John 20:17; Acts 2:33).  Peter gives an emotional reaction to a hard teaching of Jesus, and Jesus rebukes him sharply.  Peter is wrong.  Suffering and death will happen to Jesus.  In fact, almost identical suffering and death is going to happen to Peter himself (John 21:18).  All followers of Christ must be ready to follow Christ to death, including and especially the successor of Peter.  In fact, many of Peter’s early successors did share in martyrdom.
Adults - What did you learn about the papacy from this reflection that you didn’t know before?
Teens - How do you think Peter felt when he was rebuked by Christ?
Kids - Say a special prayer for the pope this week!

LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!  - Peter received This daily carrying of our Christian cross can be, and is for many, a prolonged martyrdom. Poverty, ill-health, cruelty and hardheartedness met with in the home and in one's neighbors, are heavy crosses which only a truly Christian shoulder can bear. But, if we were offered health, happiness, peace, wealth and power for the next fifty or seventy years on this earth, in exchange for an eternal heaven after death, what rational one among us would accept that offer?  Christians know that this life is a period of training, which makes us ready hereafter to receive the eternal reward which Christ has won for us. Every trainee knows that one must endure certain hardships and sufferings in order to merit graduation into one's chosen profession or trade. On our Christian graduation day we shall, please God, hear the welcome words : "Well done good and faithful servant; because you have been faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater, come and join in your Master's happiness" (Mt. 25: 21). May God grant that every one of us will hear these words of welcome.  -Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M. 






CATHOLIC QUESTIONS AND CATHOLIC ANSWERS561. What is the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer?  d) all of the above
Since the Holy Spirit is the interior Master of Christian prayer and “we do not know how to pray as we ought” (Romans 8:26), the Church exhorts us to invoke him and implore him on every occasion: “Come, Holy Spirit!”


562. How is Christian prayer Marian?  a) it cooperates with the Holy Spirit
Because of her singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray to Mary and with Mary, the perfect ‘pray-er’, and to “magnify” and invoke the Lord with her. Mary in effect shows us the “Way” who is her Son, the one and only Mediator.


563. How does the Church pray to Mary?  d) all of the above
Above all with the Hail Mary, the prayer with which the Church asks the intercession of the Virgin. Other Marian prayers are the Rosary, the Akathistos hymn, the Paraclesis, and the hymns and canticles of diverse Christian traditions.


GUIDES FOR PRAYER
564. How are the saints, guides for prayer?  c) they are our models of prayer
The saints are our models of prayer. We also ask them to intercede before the Holy Trinity for us and for the whole world. Their intercession is their most exalted service to God’s plan. In the communion of saints, throughout the history of the Church, there have developed different types of spiritualities that teach us how to live and to practice the way of prayer.

Scenes from the Life of Christ wrapped around their culmination: His Death on the Cross.

​

​Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
      Obedience (see Catholic Term section) is a word you do not hear often today, but it may be more important for us Roman Catholics in America than ever before.  Jesus was obedient to the Father so that sins could be forgiven and death be destroyed.  Jesus is obedient to you and me in the Holy Eucharist as He comes in so vulnerable a form that He risks sacrilege and dishonor.  When priests are ordained they place their hands into the hands of their Bishop and take a solemn promise of obedience and respect to their Bishop.


      All this is done so that God’s goodness and mercy may come into the world.  Remember, sin and death entered the world through the disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, and continue to spread through any disobedience we commit today.  Remember Christ was obedient to the Father, even unto Death, and because He was we can all be saved from sin, and saved for Heaven.


      From now one, let you and I be obedient to legitimate authority, Mom and Dad, and ultimately to Christ and His Bride, the Church, when He speaks through her.  Then God's Love and Mercy can reach us and indeed the whole world!


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


P.S.  This coming Sunday is the Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time.  The readings can be found at:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080226.cfm

P.S.S. Readings and questions for reflection on them at the end of the email.

Quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church can be found every week in green throughout the Catholic Good News e-weekly.

 
[For those traveling and needing to get to the Holy Mass.]
MASS TIMES AND CATHOLIC CHURCHES throughout the US
http://www.masstimes.org/
When traveling this Summer maybe add some religion to your trip.  Perhaps stop at a monastery or Cathedral you come across.  There are many Catholic historical sites.  Or visit http://www.catholicshrines.net/  for a shrine near your vacation destination.
​

Vatican City (EWTN News/CNA) - One of Europe's best pediatric hospitals, Bambino Gesu Children's Hospital in Rome, can now use the Vatican’s helicopter to transport patients, personnel and medical equipment in emergencies.
 
The agreement was announced July 17th by the hospital and the Governatorate of the Vatican City State, and is part of a bigger initiative to use the helicopter within a regional network for emergency management.

“We are grateful to the Holy See, the Secretary of State and the Governatorate in particular, in the person of the SCV's Secretary General, Bishop Fernando Vergez Alzaga, for this opportunity, which is given to the Bambino Gesù hospital, and especially to the many young patients from all over Italy, who unfortunately need urgently to reach our hospital,” Bambino Gesu President Mariella Enoc said Friday, according to Vatican Radio. 

“It is an important gesture of charity that responds to a basic health need: the physical proximity between the Vatican City State and our seat on the Janiculum Hill, in fact, will significantly shorten transport times, contributing in many cases to saving the lives of children,” she added.

The helicopter, also known as the Vatican City Heliport, is kept on a small, rectangular landing pad in the Vatican Gardens and is sometimes used to transport the Pope and other heads of state on short trips away from the Vatican, and to Castle Gandolfo, the pope’s summer residence. It was first used in 1976 by Pope Paul VI. 

Bambino Gesu (which translates to the child Jesus) is the largest pediatric hospital and research center in Europe. It has a child-centered, welcoming approach and operates on the moral and ethical principles of the Catholic faith.

The hospital was built in 1869 and is the oldest pediatric hospital in Italy. Owned by the Holy See and known as the Pope’s hospital, Bambino Gesu also serves children from all over the world. The Holy
Father is a popular figure at the hospital, where children write him letters and know many details of his life, including words from his homilies and facts about his home country and favorite soccer team.

In December 2013, Pope Francis visited the hospital for Christmas, after receiving drawings from the children at the hospital asking for a visit. Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI were all known to visit the hospital. During his first visit in September 2005, during the first three months of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI said he came in order “to bear witness to the love of Jesus for children.”

In 2010, Bambino Gesu doctors performed the world’s first transplant of a permanent artificial heart into a 15-year old boy, and since 2013 has been conducting research on a rare heart condition known as Long QT syndrome.
 
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POPE FRANCIS WRITES LETTER TO FAMILIES

CWN - Pope Francis has written a letter to families asking them to pray for the upcoming Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will be devoted to “pa...storal challenges to the family in the context of evangelization.”

“In our day the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel by confronting the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family,” the Pope said in his four-paragraph letter, which was dated February 2 and released on February 25.

“This Synodal Assembly is dedicated in a special way to you, to your vocation and mission in the Church and in society; to the challenges of marriage, of family life, of the education of children; and the role of the family in the life of the Church,” he continued. “I ask you, therefore, to pray intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that the Spirit may illumine the Synodal Fathers and guide them in their important task.”

“In your journey as a family, you share so many beautiful moments: meals, rest, housework, leisure, prayer, trips and pilgrimages, and times of mutual support,” Pope Francis added. “Nevertheless, if there is no love then there is no joy, and authentic love comes to us from Jesus.”

At a press conference presenting the document, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, noted that Christianity spread during the early centuries through families.

“The Pope calls on Christian families to feel the responsibility of their mission in our time, so confused and restless,” he said. “The Pope suggests that the beautiful testimony of believing families” can “deeply touch the hearts of many.”


 
Here is a translation of Pope Francis' letter to families released today by the Pontifical Council for the Families.

* * *
Dear families,
 
With this letter, I wish, as it were, to come into your homes to speak about an event which will take place at the Vatican this coming October. It is the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which is being convened to discuss the theme of "pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization". Indeed, in our day the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel by confronting the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family.
 
This important meeting will involve all the People of God – bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the particular Churches of the entire world – all of whom are actively participating in preparations for the meeting through practical suggestions and the crucial support of prayer. Such support on your part, dear families, is especially significant and more necessary than ever. This Synodal Assembly is dedicated in a special way to you, to your vocation and mission in the Church and in society; to the challenges of marriage, of family life, of the education of children; and the role of the family in the life of the Church. I ask you, therefore, to pray intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that the Spirit may illumine the Synodal Fathers and guide them in their important task. As you know, this Extraordinary Synodal Assembly will be followed a year later by the Ordinary Assembly, which will also have the family as its theme. In that context, there will also be the World Meeting of Families due to take place in Philadelphia in September 2015. May we all, then, pray together so that through these events the Church will undertake a true journey of discernment and adopt the necessary pastoral means to help families face their present challenges with the light and strength that comes from the Gospel.
 
I am writing this letter to you on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. The evangelist Luke tells us that the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, in keeping with the Law of Moses, took the Baby Jesus to the temple to offer him to the Lord, and that an elderly man and woman, Simeon and Anna, moved by the Holy Spirit, went to meet them and acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah (cf. Lk 2:22-38). Simeon took him in his arms and thanked God that he had finally "seen" salvation. Anna, despite her advanced age, found new vigour and began to speak to everyone about the Baby. It is a beautiful image: two young parents and two elderly people, brought together by Jesus. He is the one who brings together and unites generations! He is the inexhaustible font of that love which overcomes every occasion of self-absorption, solitude, and sadness. In your journey as a family, you share so many beautiful moments: meals, rest, housework, leisure, prayer, trips and pilgrimages, and times of mutual support… Nevertheless, if there is no love then there is no joy, and authentic love comes to us from Jesus. He offers us his word, which illuminates our path; he gives us the Bread of life which sustains us on our journey.
 
Dear families, your prayer for the Synod of Bishops will be a precious treasure which enriches the Church. I thank you, and I ask you to pray also for me, so that I may serve the People of God in truth and in love. May the protection of the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph always accompany all of you and help you to walk united in love and in caring for one another. I willingly invoke on every family the blessing of the Lord.
 
From the Vatican, 2 February 2014
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
 
FRANCISCUS
 
 

 
POPE FRANCIS'S WORDS TO THE NEW CARDINALS AND YOU AND ME

“May all of us avoid, and help others to avoid, habits and ways of acting typical of a court: intrigue, gossip, cliques, favoritism, and partiality,” the Pope said as he calle...d upon all the faithful, and especially the cardinals, to be holy. “Christian holiness is not first and foremost our own work, but the fruit of docility-- willed and cultivated-- to the Spirit of God thrice holy.”

“My brother cardinals, Jesus did not come to teach us good manners, how to behave well at the table,” he continued. “To do that, he would not have had to come down from heaven and die on the Cross. Christ came to save us, to show us the way, the only way out of the quicksand of sin, and this way of holiness is mercy, that mercy which he has shown, and daily continues to show, to us. To be a saint is not a luxury. It is necessary for the salvation of the world. This is what the Lord is asking of us.”

“Whenever the least of our brothers and sisters finds a place in our hearts, it is God himself who finds a place there,” Pope Francis added. “When that brother or sister is shut out, it is God himself who is not being welcomed. A heart without love is like a deconsecrated church, a building withdrawn from God’s service and given over to another use.”


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"By his obedience to Mary and Joseph, as well as by his humble work during the long years in Nazareth, Jesus gives us the example of holiness in the daily life of family and work."  -Catechism of the Catholic Church #564
​

A bit of humor…

A Sunday School  teacher began her lesson with a question, "Boys  and girls, what do we know about God?"
A hand shot up in the air. "He is an artist!" said the kindergarten boy.
"Really? How do you know?"  the teacher asked.
"You know - Our Father, who does art in Heaven... "
========
People want the  front of the bus, the back of the church, and the center of attention.
========
Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died.   He quickly phoned his best friend, Finney. 
'Did you see the paper?' asked Gallagher. 'They say I died!!'
'Yes, I saw it!' replied Finney.   'Where are ye callin' from?'
========
Susan was always cold and could never get warm.  Finally, when she was called up yonder, she goes to the gates of heaven and meets St. Peter.

St. Peter starts apologizing, "You won't believe this and I am so sorry, but we do not have any rooms ready at this time."

Susan says, "What, how can this happen, this is heaven!  First its cold up here, and now you do not have a rooms?!"  St. Peter said, "Don't worry, I have someone who owes me a favor you can stay with for a few days, and we will have your room ready in no time."

Two weeks later St. Peter was walking around heaven and thought, O my, I forgot about Susan.  So St. Peter went down to hell to get her.  St. Peter opened the door, and Susan's voice calls from the inside, "Whoever just walked in, get in and close the door, and quit letting that cold draft in.
​

The Virgin Mary most perfectly embodies the obedience of faith. By faith Mary welcomes the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that "with God nothing will be impossible" and so giving her assent: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." Elizabeth greeted her: "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." It is for this faith that all generations have called Mary blessed.  -Catechism of the Catholic Church #148

​

​+JMJ+
SUNDAY BIBLICAL MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
18th Sunday of Ordinary Time - August 2nd, 2026

The First Reading - Isaiah 55:1-3
Thus says the LORD: All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to  satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.
Reflection 
Like many oracles in the Book of Isaiah, the prophetic author provides very little information about the time or place when this oracle will be fulfilled.  In antiquity, the second half of Isaiah (chs. 40-66) seems to have been understood as a long description of the Messianic or Final Age (the “Latter Days,” cf. Isa 2:2). This oracle is an invitation to the thirsty, hungry poor to come to the LORD, who will simultaneously: (1) provide them with a satisfying meal, (2) grant them life, and (3) renew with them the Davidic covenant. Isaiah 55:1-3 foresees a coming age when the LORD will extend the privileges of the Davidic covenant to all the poor of the earth who come to him. Holy Mother Church pairs this OT text with this Sunday’s Gospel in order for us to make the connection between the promised covenant-bestowing meal and the Feeding of the 5,000; but the Feeding of the 5,000 is itself a pre-enactment of the Eucharist, the meal that bestows the New Covenant on its guests.
Adults - How often do you ask God for wisdom?
Teens - Ask God to give you wisdom every day this week. 
Kids - In what ways does the Lord give you wisdom?  

Responsorial- Psalm 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18 
R.The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,    
   slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
   and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
   and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand
   and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The LORD is just in all his ways
   and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
   to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs. 
Reflection 
This Psalm follows the theme of the Lord providing us with all we need. Choose a teaching of the Church that challenges you and do some research on it (from solid Catholic sources.)

The Second Reading- Romans 8:35, 37-39
Brothers and sisters: What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Reflection -  Suffering in life is inescapable, even for those who capitulate to every social and political bully in order to preserve their peace and comfort. Suffering is inescapable, but despair, loneliness, and hopelessness are not. As disciples of Christ, we can be assured of his love and presence in the middle of the most horrific sufferings, and his embrace in the world to come.  As St. Paul says elsewhere, “we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”  -What is a hard experience that you have been through that God has brought good out of?

The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 14:13-21
When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.  When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food ourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over— twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children. 
Reflection  Although the text is not explicit, we are probably correct to assume these crowds were made up of the common and poor people of the land, rather than the wealthy elite.  We hear the themes from Isaiah 55: Jesus is providing a free, satisfying meal to the hungry and thirsty poor. But the language Matthew employs is intended to remind us of another incident in Jesus’ ministry, in which he also “takes loaves,” “blesses,” “breaks,” and “gives” them to the disciples.  Of course, this is language from the narrative of the Institution of the Eucharist (Matt 26:26), which is indeed the covenant meal promised by Isaiah 55.  Specifically, it is a meal which extends the covenant of the Son of David to those who participate in it. This account in Matthew stresses Jesus’ mission to restore the people of Israel, to whom the promise of a New Covenant was given by Jeremiah (Jer 31:31-34).  This is the point of the twelve baskets left over—it is a sign of God coming to collect the scattered people of the Twelve Tribes, gathering them up from all the places they had been scattered through various wars and exiles, gathering them back into the Kingdom of David reconstituted around the twelve apostles, who are twelve new patriarchs of the spiritual restoration of Israel.  In the next chapter (Matt 15:29-39) Matthew will tell the account of a different feeding miracle that Jesus performed, that took place in Gentile territory and foreshadowed the Gospel going out to the Gentiles.  There, 4,000 will be fed (possibly for the four cardinal directions of the compass) and seven baskets will be left over (a covenant number, and perhaps related to the traditional seventy Gentile nations in Israelite ethnography).  But here, the focus is on the restoration of Israel.
The Feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew, as in the other Gospels as well, is an anticipation, foreshadowing, and type of the Eucharist, the meal which along truly satisfies and “answers all our needs,” as we sang in the Psalm.  It is the meal by which we enter the Davidic Covenant, receiving the gift of Divine Sonship and kingship over the earth, as Isaiah predicted.  Out of his loving concern to provide this meal for us, Jesus endured “anguish, distress, persecution, nakedness, peril,” and ultimately, death.  In turn, this meal is one of the primary ways that he stays with us and loves us as we suffer our own “anguish, distress, persecution, etc.” This aspect of the Eucharist was foreshadowed in the Old Covenant by the “bread of the presence”—fresh loaves of bread continually set out in the Holy Place to represent God’s presence with his people. As we celebrate this Mass, let us thank Jesus for remaining with us in the Eucharist as we journey through this valley of tears, and pray for those who—because of the pandemic, imprisonment, or other impediment—lack the comfort of the tangible sacrament and must rely on the spiritual indwelling of Jesus in their souls alone. 
Adults - The Church is open to all - does that make you uncomfortable in some ways? Talk to God about why that is!   
Teens - How can you help new people feel welcome at your parish?  
Kids - What does it say about God that He wants all people to be a part of His Kingdom?

LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!  - “Though invisible to mortal eyes, He is as truly present on our altars as He was that day in Galilee, when He miraculously fed the multitude. He is present under the form of bread and wine — so that we can partake of Him as spiritual nourishment during our earthly life. Could love go any further? He Himself said: "A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends" (Jn. 15 :13). Yes, once a man has given his life he has given his all; there is nothing more he can give. But Christ was more than man. He was God as well, and, therefore, He was able not only to lay down His human life for us, but was able and willing to remain with us after death under the Eucharistic species: to be our strength and nourishment until we join Him in the promised land of heaven.  When we compare our own unworthiness with this, almost incredible, love and thoughtfulness of Christ for us, all we can do is simply to say: "Lord, you know I am not worthy to receive you, but you say you want to come into my poor and untidy home, please make me less unworthy, forgive all my past sins and offenses, and give me the grace and strength to be better in the future."  -Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M. 

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​Praying in front of the tabernacle, where Jesus awaits us   

Catholic Good News

Receiving the Gospel, Serving God and Neighbor  

Offering Mental Prayer

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,
​
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."  -Psalm 19:14

​

​Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
​
         Mental Prayer is a treasure of the Church that has sadly laid in the storehouse, away from most Christians today.  Members of the Church in every age have offered mental prayer to be happy, to strength them for this world, and to bring them to heaven.  I offer it now to you for the same reasons.  Please find the 'how to offer mental prayer,' below.  It is simple, but it takes time and practice.
 
                                   Finally, this week's e-weekly is a little different.  I have taken out some of the parts and give focus to Mental Prayer and at the end of the e-weekly, there is a re-posting of an e-weekly on Angels.
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert
 
P.S.  This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time.  The readings can be found at: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072626.cfm


P.S.S.  Readings with questions for self or family reflection found at the end of e-weekly.

How to offer MENTAL PRAYER
Three Simple Steps
 
1. Preparation
2. Meditation
3. Conclusion
 
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.

​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

"Helpful Hints of Life"
 
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." 

​At last month’s National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, an estimated 6,000 participants attended Sister Josephine Garrett’s breakout session on mental health.
“[The session was] one of the largest ones — which shows you that that issue of mental health is so prevalent in our society today,” Bishop James Conley, who introduced Garrett before her talk, told CNA. 
Garrett is a licensed counselor who specializes in treating children and adolescents affected by trauma. She serves as a Catholic school counselor in Tyler, Texas, and is a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth. She also hosts a mental-health-oriented podcast called “Hope Stories.”
Garrett’s talk at the congress, called “Healing Community: Encountering Brokenness in the Body of Christ,” incorporated information about current mental health practices such as attachment styles, therapy, boundary setting, and healthy conflict while tying in Catholic spiritual practices like confession, praying with Scripture, and striving for virtue. 
Made for relationship: attachment styles 
Garrett encouraged attendees to delve into attachment theory, a long-studied concept that’s becoming better known as American culture grows more mental-health aware. 
She said she wants to see attachment styles be more incorporated into Catholic mental health “because attachment styles consider how we seek to love and how we seek to connect.” 
“If saints are made in relationships, then we need to refine our skills and we need to refine our tools and sharpen our tools to live in virtuous relationships,” she explained.
Attachment theory proposes four attachment styles: secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized. Each of us tends toward one of these when forming relationships based on how we formed attachments with our parents and caregivers as young children. 
It’s important to understand “how we seek to connect, how we seek to love,” Garrett said. “And our attachment style can help give us information on where we do that, how we do that well, and how we struggle.”
“Because what’s happening when we’re connecting from brokenness is there’s a glaze over us, and so we can’t see things in truth,” she said. “It becomes hard to see things in truth.”
Human beings are biologically wired for connection, she explained, noting that “we bring all of this into our efforts to build a community.”
“We bring our broken attachment style into our efforts to build community. We bring our desire for connection, but that’s coupled with our sinfulness, into our desire for community,” she said in between stories about squabbling nuns that had the audience roaring with laughter.
Garrett highlighted eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), a form of therapy that can help clients process trauma. She noted that relational EMDR can help the client reprocess past relationships “so what was broken in the past doesn’t govern the present moment.”
Do not be ashamed
In recent years, mental health issues are being more openly addressed in the Catholic Church, with resources and ministries dedicated to mental health popping up in recent years.
“Thanks be to God that we’re talking about it and that we’re trying to remove the stigma,” Conley told CNA. “Because the worst thing [for] people who are struggling with mental health is to keep it to themselves and to be shamed into not talking about it.”

Conley has had personal experience with anxiety, depression, and insomnia. He became the first bishop to request leave from the pope for mental illness and has shared his story with his flock and beyond.  
“It’s a healthy thing to be able to talk about it and share your story, and to know that you’re not alone and there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he said. “It’d be like, why would you be ashamed? Let’s say if you’re diagnosed with diabetes, would you be ashamed of that? And not tell anybody? It’s the same with mental health.”
“Depression is a heavy burden,” and adding other burdens of shame or dismay onto it only makes it heavier, Garrett noted during her talk.
“Sometimes we’re going into our relationships and we’re struggling and we’re dismayed and [we think] why should I struggle?” she said. “You’re supposed to struggle. You’re a sinner, right? And so we overcomplicate what’s already complicated with this dismay.”
Catholic wisdom for healing in relationships 
While reflecting on attachment styles can help “clean your relational lenses,” Garrett also emphasized spiritual practices such as confession, praying with Scripture, and studying virtues as ways to find healing in relationships. 
“We have to pray with Scripture — and it’s not hard,” she said. “You open it up, you pick a passage, you read through it, you see what in the passage stood out to you or struck you. Maybe it’s a word or a line. Then you sit with that word or line, and it could be five minutes, 10 minutes, whatever matches where you are now.” 
“So if you do not have the prayer of a monk, don’t pretend like you have the prayer of a monk,” she continued. “Because God is satisfied with your sincere offering, not your fake offering.” 
“So be sincere with the Lord. If it’s five minutes right now, that’s your offering, and God is pleased with it,” she said. 
Garrett also suggested looking at the vices governing one’s sins, to pray for the virtues that are contrary to them, and to take that to confession. 
“It informed my prayer to really fill my conscience throughout the day with an awareness of a need to grow in virtue and to ask God to give me the graces and strengths to practice those virtues so I could grow in strength,” she said. 
“The vices you struggle with will give you information regarding those virtues,” she added.
“Conflict can be a source of deep growth and connection relationships, provided we approach it seeking connection and not control,” Garrett continued. 
Boundaries are “pastoral,” she explained. 
“They communicate the dignity of the human person and they establish trust and safety,” she said. “Sometimes we get the idea as Christians that boundaries are not pastoral — but they’re deeply pastoral because they communicate to the other person their dignity and their uniqueness.”
“Jesus had boundaries,” she added. “Look at Luke 8:38. That man wanted to come with him, the demoniac that he healed. And Jesus said, no, you don’t belong with me. Go back to your family. And that was a boundary, and he was no less Lord.”
How healing brings Christ into the world
“We have these lofty ideals but then we come and we bring our brokenness, how then does the pilgrim Church, the body of Christ, move forward?” Garrett reflected. 
Garrett encouraged the crowd to “lean in” to these challenging relationships.
“Relationships are a crucible; crucibles place things under pressure so that something beautiful can come out of it,” she said. “Relationships are a crucible, and when we lean into them, it is Christ that is born in the world. It’s the new heaven and the new earth, degree by degree.”
She highlighted writings by St. John Paul II where he explained that Christ entered the world through the door of the family and continues to today.
“When there’s that sacrificial love, God’s love reigns, because, remember, we are a perpetuation of the image [of God],” she said. “When we can have that love between us, his love reigns in the world and is present.” 
“We’re called to foster this family spirit as pilgrims moving towards God’s hope, which is a family,” Garrett said.
“What does it do for the body of Christ when we lean in and dig deep and stop being dismayed by our brokenness and run towards it head-on and get in the fight and do the work?” she asked. 
“When we lean in, when we don’t move back, when we dig in, in the hardness of these relationships, in the midst of our brokenness, Christ is literally born in the world,” she concluded.

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

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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 BIBLICAL MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
17th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Sunday, July 26th, 2026

The First Reading - 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12
The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night.  God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”  Solomon answered: “O LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed my father David; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act.  I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted.  Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.  For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?”  The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request.  So God said to him: “Because you have asked for this— not for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies, but for understanding so that you may know what is right— I do as you requested.  I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you.”
Reflection 
Faced with the invitation to make any request of God, Solomon asks for the wisdom to rule well.  God is pleased with this request and grants it to him.  In a verse not used in Mass, God adds: “I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days” (1 Kings 3:13).  We are reminded here of Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount: “Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Matt 6:33).  Solomon’s first thought is for the welfare of God’s Kingdom: to rule it beneficially, he needs divine wisdom.  Since Solomon puts the interests of the Kingdom first, God honors him.
Adults - How often do you ask God for wisdom?
Teens - Ask God to give you wisdom every day this week. 
Kids - In what ways does the Lord give you wisdom?  


Responsorial- Psalm 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130 
R.Lord, I love your commands.
I have said, O LORD, that my part
is to keep your words.
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.
Let your compassion come to me that I may live,
for your law is my delight.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
For I love your command
more than gold, however fine.
For in all your precepts I go forward;
every false way I hate.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Wonderful are your decrees;
therefore I observe them.
The revelation of your words sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Reflection 
In this Psalm, the “Law” often refers not simply to the laws of the Pentateuch but to God’s revelation generally.  The Psalm celebrates the LORD as the source for all true wisdom. In today’s Readings, Solomon is remembered for his “good side,” that is, the zeal and devotion of his youth.  The sacred author describes his early years this way: “Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father” (1 Kings 3:3).  The Psalm encourages us to remember this side of Solomon, the Solomon who loved God and God’s revelation. Choose a teaching of the Church that challenges you and do some research on it (from solid Catholic sources.)


The Second Reading- Romans 8:28-30
Brothers and sisters: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.  For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.
Reflection -  Often people interpret the above verse to mean “all things work out good for those who love God.” and figure if they obey God’s laws, they will always be successful.  Of course, that’s not what the verse means. This is one verse that we want to for sure translate correctly. Translating woodenly, it reads: “We know that, for those who love God, all things work together unto good, for those being called according to his purpose.” Not all things are good or work out well, but for those who love God, he causes all things to contribute to our ultimate good—even when we cannot fathom how.  -What is a hard experience that you have been through that God has brought good out of?


The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 13:44-52
Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the  righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. “Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” 
Reflection  These three parables are obviously speaking of the Kingdom manifested on earth as the Church, not the Kingdom consummated in the world to come.  These parables are favorites of converts, because the experiences described in them seem so parallel to some of our own experiences of finding our way (or rather, God finding us and bringing us) into the Catholic Church. The third parable is one of the most important for Catholics to understand and embrace.  It tells us that the Kingdom, for all its value, is also going to be a “mixed bag” during this age.  Like the net thrown into the sea that catches fish of many kinds, so the Church is like a net thrown by Peter, his co-workers the Apostles, and their successors, which brings many—both saints and sinners—into God’s Kingdom.  Not all brought in during this age will persevere through the final judgment, however. “The Kingdom” in the Gospel of Matthew is, in one sense, nothing but Jesus himself: the King.  However, since the Church is the Body of Christ and united to him, what is said about the Kingdom applies also to the Church, both Triumphant (in heaven) and Militant (on earth).  The seven parables of the Kingdom in Matt 13 are clearly not speaking of the Church Triumphant, glorified in God’s presence; nor are they speaking (for the most part) of the Kingdom manifested in the person of Christ the Kingdom.  No, these parables of a Kingdom hidden, starting small, growing slowly, hard to find, mixed with weeds and bad fish, is a description of the Church Militant. Many self-appointed “reformers” in Church history have split the historic Church in order to establish a “pure” or “sifted” church.  Even today, many leave the Catholic Church for various sects, denominations, even cults, because of the scandal of sinners within the visible Body of Christ.  “How can this be the Kingdom of God when it has people like that in it!?”  Yet it is, and Jesus told us it was going to be like this. It takes wisdom to recognize that the Church Militant is, for all its rents and wounds, the Kingdom of Heaven come to earth.  This wisdom can only come from God, granted by him to those who love him.  If we are docile to the teachings of Jesus, the one who is greater than Solomon, he will teach us the wisdom of the Kingdom.
Adults - The Church is open to all - does that make you uncomfortable in some ways? Talk to God about why that is!   
Teens - How can you help new people feel welcome at your parish?  
Kids - What does it say about God that He wants all people to be a part of His Kingdom?
LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!  - “The evil example of others will never justify our wrong-doing.  The commandments of God are still binding, even though they are openly and flagrantly violated by individuals and whole nations today.  Remember this: we shall not be asked at the judgment, "What did your neighbor do?", but "what did you do?"  If we lose the pearl of great price in the eternity of happiness God has offered to us-it will not be the fault of others.  The fault will be ours and ours only.  We refused to pay the price.  We did not think it worth the "paltry all" which we possessed in this life.”  -Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by 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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