Kneeling

After withdrawing about a stone's throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying,
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"Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done."   -Luke 22:41-42
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 Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
 
         When one is at the Holy Mass, they kneel from the conclusion of the Holy, Holy, Holy to the conclusion of the Great Amen and after the Lamb of God.  This has been given by the Pope and received by the U.S. Bishops in the 2007 directives for the Mass (IGRM [GIRM] #43).
 
         Why do we do this and why do we sometimes kneel when we privately pray?  Let Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI explain it:
“Kneeling does not come from any culture — it comes from the Bible and its knowledge of God. The central importance of kneeling in the Bible can be seen in a very concrete way. The word proskynein alone occurs fifty-nine times in the New Testament, twenty-four of which are in the Apocalypse, the book of the heavenly Liturgy, which is presented to the Church as the standard for her own Liturgy.”  - The Spirit of the Liturgy
 
So kneeling comes to us from God by way of revelation in the Sacred Scripures (Holy Bible).  But why is it so important?  The Pope Emeritus continues:
“The two aspects are united in the one word, because in a very profound way they belong together. When kneeling becomes merely external, a merely physical act, it becomes meaningless. On the other hand, when someone tries to take worship back into the purely spiritual realm and refuses to give it embodied form, the act of worship evaporates, for what is purely spiritual is inappropriate to the nature of man. Worship is one of those fundamental acts that affect the whole man. That is why bending the knee before the presence of the living God is something we cannot abandon.”  - The Spirit of the Liturgy
 So he highlights that for worship to be real it must be on our hearts spiritually AND reflected in our bodies physically, in this case, by kneeling.
         Jesus Himself prayed kneeling before His Father:
 
After withdrawing about a stone's throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done."   -Luke 22:41-42
           May these truths and realities make our next time of prayer on our knees more real and more life-changing!
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert
 
P.S.  This Sunday is the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time.  The readings can be found at:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092026.cfm
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P.S.S.  More than a few are trying to change this authentic develop in the history of the Church.  The Pope warns:
There are groups, of no small influence, who are trying to talk us out of kneeling. "It doesn't suit our culture", they say (which culture?) "It's not right for a grown man to do this — he should face God on his feet". Or again: "It's not appropriate for redeemed man — he has been set free by Christ and doesn't need to kneel any more".  - The Spirit of the Liturgy
 
Do not receive false talk or thinking as St. Paul warns.  If interested check out the website section (below) for more foundation of kneeling from history and Church documents.

 582. Why can we dare to draw near to God in full confidence? (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 2777-2778, 2797)
a) because Jesus brings us to the Father
b) because of the beauty of our prayer
c) we cannot because the distance between God and us, the creature, is infinite
d) we cannot because we do not have the power or authority to do so
 
583. How is it possible to address God as “Father”? (CCC 2779-2785, 2789, 2798-2800)
a) because Jesus reveals the Father to us
b) because the Holy Spirit makes Him known to us
c) because it awakens in us the desire to act as His children
d) all of the above
 
584. Why do we say “our” Father? (CCC 2786-2790, 2801)
a) because He is our own possession
b) because it expresses a totally new relationship with God
c) because we can have God any way we want Him
d) none of the above

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​Catholic Term of the Week
Kneeling (from Middle English knelen “knee”)
- to fall or rest on both knees

Mary Frances Myler Interviews
September 16
University of Notre Dame student Colin Smith didn’t expect the story of his family’s conversion to Catholicism, which he shared on X, to go viral. 
“I am at a loss for words!” he wrote in one post. “It has been surreal to watch our story blow up and to be shared by so many Catholic heroes of mine.”
Raised a devout evangelical Protestant, Smith converted to Catholicism before beginning his freshman year at Notre Dame. After his conversion, Smith wrote hundreds of letters to his parents and two younger siblings explaining the theological reasoning of his faith. 
Four years later, his parents, Beth and Byron, and siblings, Abby and Andrew, entered the Catholic Church on Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, at the St. Cecilia Motherhouse for the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee. 
Smith credited the “enemies of the Church” with convincing his family, explaining on the platform formerly known as Twitter how seeking the truth amid a secular, progressive culture drew his parents and siblings to the Church. “God trounced Satan at every turn,” he wrote online.
Smith spoke with the Register to share the inspiration behind the hundreds of letters he wrote to his family members throughout their gradual conversions. Responses have been edited for clarity and length. 
 
 
What’s your conversion story? 
In early high school, I began facing the questions that many Christians face around this age: Does God really exist? Is the Resurrection reasonable? Is the Bible reliable? 
I decided to give every major religious view a fair examination, and I began experiencing an intense spiritual deadening. I only began to feel God again when the Dominican priests and sisters entered my life — especially Father Dominic Legge. He would visit our house for dinners, or we would visit him in D.C., and I remember being perpetually taken aback at how reasonable he made Christianity seem. 

L to R: Abby Smith, Colin Smith and Dominican Father Dominic Legge(Photo: Courtesy of Colin Smith)

He introduced me to St. Thomas Aquinas and Thomism broadly — especially the Thomistic Institute, which he ran, and Pints with Aquinas, a now-famous podcast hosted by Matt Fradd. At the time, actually delving into Aquinas’ Summa Theologica would have been too much for me, but these less academic summaries helped introduce me to his thought. 
Eventually, I began to read Aquinas' own writings, especially the Summa, and these sources convinced me of the Christian faith. I was especially struck by the number of excellent questions that Aquinas would pose, which I had never considered before. The study of basic Thomism was profoundly therapeutic. It totally changed how I viewed the world, and it erased much of the garbage modern philosophy that I had imbibed through the culture. 
I decided that intellectual honesty demanded giving Catholicism a fair chance to persuade me. When I dove into the Catholic Tradition, I quickly realized that there were too many points of contention to cover, so I decided to focus on questions of authority. 
St. John Henry Newman's “Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine” finally convinced me of Catholicism's claims to authority by resolving my questions about why the Church Fathers disagreed about many theological issues. The other doctrines fell into place for me, and I became convinced of Catholicism in my senior year of high school. I became Catholic the following summer before Notre Dame at the Dominican House of Studies.
 
 
Online, you emphasized the role that “enemies of the Church” played in your family’s conversion, including this explanation, “Years before my own conversion, my family put my sister at a very secular progressive feminist girls’ school for middle school. That situation quickly became untenable. My sister was given demerits for drawing a Christmas tree on the white board one December, not because she wasn’t allowed to draw there, but because it could offend some students. Our parents decided that they had had enough. They decided to bite the bullet and send her to St. Cecilia Academy, the Catholic girls’ school down the road, run by the Dominican sisters! Through this school, the Eastern Province Dominican sisters and priests entered our lives!” Did they impact your conversion as well? 
They did, but much less so than for my other family members. The primary way that enemies of the Church aided in my own conversion was to bring the Dominicans into my life and the lives of my family members. It was because of the antics of a secular, progressive girls’ school that my family became acquainted with the Nashville Dominicans and Father Dominic Legge became a mentor of mine. 
 
 
How did your family view your conversion at the time? 
It was quite difficult, but I never faced any serious disincentive from my parents to discourage my conversion. My sister had been attending St. Cecilia Academy, so she was familiar with the faith more than the rest of my family. Still, they attended my confirmation in D.C., which I remember thinking was a shocking show of love and support.
 

What inspired you to write letters to your family? 
The most obvious reason that I wrote the letters was my love for my family and a genuine desire for them to find the fullness of the Christian life that I believed I had found.
However, I wrote letters specifically because I did not want to lecture them. Explaining the Catholic position in its disputes with Protestantism takes a long time, and giving extended lectures would be both awkward and undesirable. If I wanted to explain the faith in the appropriate detail, I knew that I had to write it down. 
Furthermore, letters add a personal touch that I knew would be appreciated. I had developed the reputation of being very intellectual in my faith, as I am sure comes across even in my answers to these questions. Some members of the family viewed this as a fault, believing that it might have come at the expense of the heart. Letters were a great way to show love for my family and the emotional appeal of the faith while still providing the intellectual arguments. 
 
 
What resources did you rely on in your apologetics? Were there any books or thinkers who you found to be helpful? 
By the time that I was writing these letters, I knew most of the Catholic arguments on these [theological] disputes quite well myself. However, The Fathers Know Best stands out as an excellent book that I consulted throughout the process to find the quick references to the Church Fathers that I wanted to cite in my letters. 
 
 
You mentioned online that Rome was an important place for your mother’s conversion. Were there any sites or experiences that especially impacted her?
The site that most impacted her was certainly the Circus of Nero. She and I had been discussing the Eucharist extensively at this point, but a tour of St. Peter's Basilica made all the difference. 
She told me that her secular tour guide was explaining the key events in Nero's rule. When my mom turned to my brother to remark that Nero was a very evil man, this guide defended Nero, arguing that he never hated Christians. Rather, he thought they were “weird” for eating their God. 
My mom was taken aback, and she asked for clarification. The tour guide confirmed that the reason for many early Christian martyrdoms was the martyrs’ refusal to recant the belief that the Eucharist is the true flesh and blood of Christ. Later, she told me that, because of this experience, she felt compelled to accept the Real Presence. 
 
 
From your perspective, what was it like to view your family members growing in their faith and becoming increasingly curious about the Catholic faith? 
It was truly remarkable. I think it is easy to mistakenly imagine the process as a gradual motion toward their becoming Catholic that I could observe. However, it was not always easy to discern movement in their relationship to Catholicism. At times, it felt like progress was being undone. I could not see what was happening before my eyes until near the end of the process. Once I realized what had happened, I was in awe of God’s providence. 

Colin Smith serves as sponsor for his father, Byron.(Photo: Courtesy of Colin Smith )

​How did it feel to welcome your parents and younger siblings into the Catholic Church last month? 
It was a wonderful and beautiful experience. However, it was also a temptation to pride if I viewed it as my accomplishment, which it was decidedly not. 

Part of the reason that I wrote the thread about their conversion for Twitter was to write out the ways in which God brought about their conversion where I was failing. The letters alone did not bring about their conversion. The biggest factors were totally outside of my control. 
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It was also a great honor and humbling duty to act as the sponsor for my father and brother. Beyond the indescribable experience of witnessing God shower my family with his graces in the sacraments, we also had many of our Catholic family friends in attendance for the private ceremony, which was a great joy.

Helena Andraos when she woke up from her coma. Helena AndraosAlthough she woke up from her coma, the fight for her life had only just begun. She had to pay thousands of dollars for follow-up head surgery to preserve her life. 
But that amount of money is out of reach for most Lebanese, including Andraos, as an ongoing economic crisis has crippled the Middle Eastern country.
Andraos got the money she needed for her surgery in fewer than two weeks thanks to the hard work of another 19-year-old woman, Marina Khawand from Beirut. Khawand, now 21, could not afford to personally donate any money to Andraos. All Khawand had was a willing heart.
But that willing heart accomplished huge feats, as Andraos became one of the thousands of ill or injured Lebanese who benefited from Khawand’s missionary work following the blast.
Khawand’s mission of aiding the sick and poor during the ongoing fiscal disaster turned into a nongovernmental organization in Lebanon that has since served 18,000 people in the country. She says that her work is just beginning.
‘I had faith’Khawand’s Beirut-based NGO, which she called Medonations, aims to provide free, equal, and fair medical assistance to all vulnerable Lebanese patients living in the country, she said. 
Khawand says common over-the-counter medicines like Tylenol are hard to come by in the country, even if one can afford it, because of supply chain problems. 
So, the main service Medonations provides is securing medicine for Lebanese patients who are otherwise unable to afford or obtain them. But her services are flexible depending on what is needed most at the moment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Medonations provided oxygen machines to COVID-19 patients. In September, Khawand distributed solar panel backpacks to schoolchildren that provided power for cell phones and flashlights in order to keep a continual charge while the country suffers major power supply problems.
She has also raised money for surgery, as in Andraos’s case. 
Khawand raises the funds and resources through calls for help on social media. She says the response of individuals all over the world has been overwhelming.
Khawand’s mission of helping her people began on Aug. 4, 2020, the day of the Beirut blast. 
“After the blast, I just went down the streets. I didn’t have any resources to help. I just went down, cleaning down the homes, asking people how we can help them, and trying to rescue some of the citizens that were severely injured,” Khawand said.
It was soon after the blast that Khawand heard about Andraos’ situation. After Andraos woke up from her coma, she needed $7,000 to pay for surgery on her skull. It would cost another $1,000 for physical therapy following the surgery.
“I had faith that we would be able to raise the money,” Khawand told CNA. The money was raised in a week and a half through a flier on Instagram. Now, Andraos, completely recovered from her surgery, is one of the volunteers that helps Khawand serve. They’ve also become close friends.
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​Marina Khawand and Helena Andraos became good friends after Khawand helped raise $7,000 for Andraos's head surgery. Marina Khawand“Marina is incredible. I don’t know how at 19 she started doing Medonations and how she’s still managing it with her university studies,” Andraos said. 
In addition to her friendship with Andraos, Khawand maintains strong relationships between the families that she serves on a monthly basis, she said.
“Many of the families have invited us to their houses for some coffee, lunch, dinner, and some have come to visit us in our offices as well,” she said. “We volunteer our work and it’s not a job for us.”


Andraos, now with a brand new plate in her head from her surgery, said that volunteering with Medonations has been the “best experience in my life” because of the smiles of people she has helped.
Medonations is run completely by volunteers. Not even Khawand takes a salary for her work, which she takes on along with her law degree studies at Sagesse University in Forn El Chebbak — just outside of Beirut.
But it’s all worth it because she knows this is what God is calling her to do, she said.
“Seeing all this suffering, more than a hundred patients per day, it’s not in your hands, it’s all in God’s hands,” Khawand said. “So every single time we see a problem, we just pray.”

​Born on May 3, 1991, Bl. Carlo is best known for his incredible computer programming skills and his website dedicated to Eucharistic miracles. The Italian teen also deeply loved the Eucharist and Our Lady. He prayed the Rosary and went to Mass every day.
Bl. Carlo died of leukemia on Oct. 12, 2006. He offered his sufferings for “the pains of the Pope and the Church.” His tomb remains on display in Assisi, due to the vast number of pilgrims visiting before and following his beatification.
He is also the first millennial to be named “blessed.”
Here’s 15 quotes from this new blessed to inspire you in your daily living:
1) “The Eucharist is the highway to heaven.”
2) “Our soul is like a hot air balloon. If by chance there is a mortal sin, the soul falls to the ground. Confession is like the fire underneath the balloon enabling the soul to rise again. . . It is important to go to confession often.”
3) “Continuously ask your guardian angel for help. Your guardian angel has to become your best friend.”
4)  “All people are born as originals but many die as photocopies.”
5) “I am happy to die because I lived my life without wasting even a minute of it on anything unpleasing to God.”
6) “The Virgin Mary is the only woman in my life.”
7) “I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and the Church.”
8) “Do not be afraid because with the Incarnation of Jesus, death becomes life, and there’s no need to escape: in eternal life, something extraordinary awaits us.”
9) “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven”.
10) “When we face the sun we get a tan… but when we stand before Jesus in the Eucharist we become saints.”
11)  “By standing before the Eucharistic Christ, we become holy.”
12) “Our goal must be infinite, not the finite. The infinite is our homeland. Heaven has been waiting for us forever.”
13) “Sadness is looking at ourselves, happiness is looking towards God.”
14) “The only thing we have to ask God for, in prayer, is the desire to be holy.”
15) “What does it matter if you can win a thousand battles if you cannot win against your own corrupt passions? It doesn’t matter. The real battle is with ourselves.”
Bl. Carlo Acutis, pray for us!



The Saint and the Synod – Pope St. John Paul II’sLegacy Still Seen in Church TeachingBy Angela AmbrogettiVatican City, Oct 22 / 04:55 pm (EWTN News/CNA)  -  Though it has been more than 10 years since the death of Pope John Paul II, the saint’s impact can still be seen in those working to uphold Church teaching at the Synod on the Family, said his former secretary.

“The teaching of the magisterium of the Church and of John Paul II is always current,” said Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv.

He told CNA that the words and writings of St. John Paul II are being frequently invoked by bishops at the synod who are defending the Church’s teachings on marriage.

Responding to calls for the Church to permit the divorced-and-remarried to receive Communion, he said, “many bishops have recalled the great teaching of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI which they expressed clearly, that it would be against the doctrine of the Church, against the sacrament of the Eucharist, the sacrament of Penance, against grace.”

Archbishop Mokrzycki, who is the president of the Ukrainian Bishops Conference, is among the synod fathers gathered in Rome for the Oct. 4-25 Synod on the Family, which gathers bishops from around the world to discuss issues relating to families in the Church today.

But many remember Archbishop Mokrzycki for another role – one of John Paul II’s two personal secretaries during the last nine years of his life.

Archbishop Mokrzycki spoke to CNA’s sister agency, ACI Stampa Oct. 22, the feast day of St. John Paul II. He discussed the Pope’s legacy, relevance to the synod, and what it was like to live beside a saint. The full transcript of the interview is below:


Q: Your Excellency, today – Oct. 22, the feast of St. John Paul II – is a special day for you personally and for the universal Church. It might be difficult for you to explain how you feel, but maybe we can try?

It is a great joy for us, and I don't only mean the Polish people, but for the entire Church, to think about the day of the election of John Paul II, who after his election won over the whole world, particularly the Italians, because he said those beautiful and famous words: “I don't know if I can explain myself well in your – in our – Italian language. If I make a mistake, correct me.” And from then on, all the children of Italy when they met him said: you asked us to correct you, so say it right!

It was a special day for the entire Church, and we saw it for the entirety of his long pontificate, he was an extraordinary man.

Q: What was it like to live with a saint? Was it more joy, or work?

Both – joy and fatigue, because John Paul II was a very strong man with himself and with others. We worked a lot and made others work a lot. And this is also why we saw that his pontificate was very interesting and very rich.

Q: What has he taught you as a bishop and as a pastor that is useful for your mission today?

The Holy Father was not only the head of the universal Church, not only the head of the Vatican State, but was above all a pastor, the bishop of the diocese of Rome, and he underlined this a lot during his pontificate. He wanted to visit all the parishes of the diocese. And at the end when we saw that he had so much fatigue and couldn’t visit the parishes anymore, about 20 parishes remained and he wanted to meet them just them same, and so he invited all the parishes that he still hadn’t visited to the Paul VI Hall. And we saw that the Romans were very grateful for this great gesture of love, because they saw that the Pope didn’t neglect them, he didn’t forget them, and even if he couldn’t go, he invited them to his house. And so also for me.

He was a great pastor. I was able to learn from him a vision of pastoral life, of concern for all levels, of love for one’s neighbor, of charity and of bringing people to salvation. The great ones, the poor, the little ones; I saw how with great love he embraced each and every one.

Q: Of the magisterium of John Paul II, a large part was dedicated to the family. Right now you are busy with the synod on the family. How does this magisterium enter into the synodal debate?

During the pontificate of John Paul II, above all in the years in which I was with him, the Pope didn’t speak a lot about his family. He sometimes spoke about his father, sometimes about his sister that he lost as a child and his brother who was a doctor that died young. But he made it visible that around him was a great family of friends, a great family of the Church. And then I saw that in the years I was with him many families came to find him from different parts of the world: from Poland, from Italy, from the United States. He had the capacity of maintaining contact with many people, with many families and not only Christians. Also and above all with many Jewish families. And in this I saw the importance of contact with the family, and as the Pope he underlined the role of the family in the life of the Church and in the life of society.

From the beginning of his pontificate, he placed a lot of focus on the great role of the family. He dedicated a cycle of catechesis in the Wednesday audiences to the passage in Genesis which says: male and female I created them. And then there is the apostolic letter to the family, Familiaris Consortio. He was very committed in the development of this theme and was close to the family, to emphasize the great importance of the family in daily life, and the necessity of being close to the family in order to live better the vocation of each one. Because every person has a vocation, to be a religious sister, a priest, a doctor. But to be a family is a great beauty, but also a committed vocation that requires responsibility, and is also difficult to live. Because of this, John Paul II wanted to help this vocation to grow.

Q: Now 10 years after John Paul II’s death, what is his legacy today?

The teaching of the magisterium of the Church and of John Paul II is always current. Of course society has changed a bit, because culture changes, circumstances change. Also during this synod the bishops have brought different problems and family difficulties. Some wanted to be a little bit “progressive” and offer Communion to the divorced-and-remarried, but many bishops have recalled the great teaching of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI which they expressed clearly, that it would be against the doctrine of the Church, against the sacrament of the Eucharist, the sacrament of Penance, against grace. Certainly the teaching of John Paul II was perhaps very demanding, but real. If we want our faith to have value, we must bear some sort of difficulty, because only then are we faithful to the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Q: What does your diocese bring to the synod?

For me, it was a great experience, because I was able to hear testimonies and the vision of life and of the Church throughout the world on the different continents. But I want to say above all that we bishops are very close to families, we want to help people grow in the vocation of being in a marriage, a family. And we know that this vocation is very beautiful, very important, but we also want to help families realize their vocation and their commitment.

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Elderly Priests, Sisters are 'true shrines of holiness,' Pope Says
 
VATICAN CITY, October 18 (CNA/EWTN News) .- During his daily Mass homily Pope Francis reflected on various biblical figures who experienced difficulty in their old age, and encouraged those present not to forget the elderly. 
The Pope directed his reflections to those gathered in the Santa Marta guesthouse of the Vatican on Oct. 18 for his daily Mass, centering his thoughts upon the latter lives of Moses, John the Baptist and Saint Paul. 
These three figures, he noted, remind him of "the shrines of holiness which are the nursing homes of elderly priests and religious sisters."
 
Pope Francis recalled the excitement and enthusiasm displayed by all three men in their youth, and contrasted it to isolation and pain they suffered at the end of their lives, stressing that although none of them were spared suffering in their old age, the Lord never abandoned them.
 
Noting that the apostle Paul "has a joyful and enthusiastic beginning," the Pope recalled that he experienced a decline in the latter years of his life, and both Moses and John the Baptist shared a similar experience.
 
"Moses, when young," stressed the pontiff, was "the courageous leader of the People of God who fought against his enemies" in order to save his people, however at the end of his life "he is alone on Mount Nebo, looking at the promised land" but is unable to enter it.
 
Saint John the Baptist, noted the Pope, in his later life was tormented by anguish, and "finished under the power of a weak, corrupt and drunken ruler who in turn was under the power of an adulteress' jealousy and the capricious wishes of a dancer."
 
Turning his thoughts back to Saint Paul, Pope Francis stressed that the apostle endured a similar experience, speaking in his letters of those who abandoned him and rejected his teachings.
 
However, the Pope clarified that although Paul wrote about his great sufferings, he also wrote that "the Lord was close to him and gave him the strength to complete his mission of announcing the Gospel."
 
Pope Francis concluded his reflections by stressing that the situations of the three biblical characters in their old age reminded him of those elderly priests and religious sisters in nursing homes.
 
Referring to them as a "shrine of holiness," he urged the guests present not to forget the elderly, and to visit them, because "bearing the burden of solitude, these priests and sisters are waiting for the Lord to knock at the door of their hearts."

 
In the liturgy of the New Covenant every liturgical action, especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments, is an encounter between Christ and the Church. The liturgical assembly derives its unity from the "communion of the Holy Spirit" who gathers the children of God into the one Body of Christ. This assembly transcends racial, cultural, social - indeed, all human affinities. -Catechism of the Catholic Church #1097


 

A bit of humor…Teacher: "Why are you praying in class little Johnny?” Little Johnny: “My mom taught me to always pray before going to sleep."  


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 her gummy bears. 


Pronunciation
Wife: “Oh the weather is lovely today. Shall we go out for a quick jog?“ - Husband: “Hahaha, I love the way you pronounce ‘Shall we go out and have a cake’!”
Optimist: The glass is half full.  Pessimist: The glass is half empty.  Mother: Why didn’t you use a coaster!

Friendly Competition…
My girlfriend and I often laugh about how competitive we are. But I laugh more.
Dating a Hoarder
I used to date a hoarder, and she broke up with me. That stings extra hard—I’m like the one thing she can get rid of.

A Teacher Tries 
There was a teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put his boots on.  He asked for help and she could see why.  With her pulling and him pushing, the boots still didn't want to go on.

When the second boot was finally on, she had worked up a sweat.  She almost whimpered when the little boy said, "Teacher, they're on the wrong feet."  She looked, and sure enough, they were.  It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on.  She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on -- this time on the right feet. 

He then announced, "These aren't my boots."  She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, "Why didn't you say so?" like she wanted to. Once again, she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off.

He then said, "They're my brother's boots.  My Mom made me wear them."  The teacher didn't know if she should laugh or cry.  She mustered up the grace to wrestle the boots on his feet again.

She said, "Now, where are your mittens?"  He said, "I stuffed them in the toes of my boots." 

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Jesus and Satan were having an argument as to who was the better programmer. This went on for a few hours until they agreed to hold a contest with God the Father as the judge. They sat at their computers and began. They typed furiously for several hours, lines of code streaming up on the screen. Seconds before the end of the competition, a bolt of lightning struck, taking out the electricity. Moments later, the power was restored, and God the Father announced that the contest was over. He asked Satan to show what he had come up with. Satan was visibly upset and cried, "I have nothing. I lost it all when the power went out." "Very well, then," God the Father said, "Let us see if Jesus did any better." Jesus entered a command and the screen came to life in vivid display, the voice of an angelic choir poured forth from the speakers. Satan was astonished. "But how? I lost everything, yet Jesus' program was intact. How did he do it?" God chuckled, "Jesus saves!"
 
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TIME TO PRAY
 A pastor asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night.  'Yes, sir.' the boy replied.
 
'And, do you always say them in the morning, too?' the pastor asked..
'No sir,' the boy replied. 'I ain't scared in the daytime.'
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WHY GO TO CHURCH?One Sunday morning, a mother went in to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready for church,
to which he replied, "I'm not going." 
"Why not?" she asked.  
I'll give you two good reasons," he said. "(1), I'm tired, and (2), I don't fell like it."  
His mother replied, "I'll give you two good reasons why you SHOULD go to church: 
(1) You're 59 years old, and (2) you're the pastor!" 

+JMJ+
SUNDAY BIBLICAL MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
25th  Sunday of Ordinary Time – Sunday, September 20th, 2026

The First Reading - Isaiah 55:6-9
Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.
Reflection 
Sometimes this passage has been used to justify a distorted fideism (an overemphasis on faith that ignores reason and logic).  The fideist says: “Why try to understand God and his ways?  He’s incomprehensible.  We should just accept everything on faith.” It’s true that understanding God poses difficulties, and that ultimately He is beyond what we can grasp with our rational faculties.  However, the incomprehensibility of God, ironically, makes sense.  We would not expect finite creatures to be able completely to comprehend an infinite, all-powerful, and all-wise being.  If God is really who and what we believe Him to be, we would expect there to be a cognitive gap between His reality and our understanding of Him. Recognizing the gap between our understanding and the reality of God, the Church has nonetheless never advocated a dismissal of human reason from the life of faith.  It must always be “faith seeking understanding,” and St. John Paul II dedicated his famous encyclical Fides et Ratio precisely to this issue. However, Isaiah 55:6-9 is not primarily making a philosophical argument about the intelligibility of the divine essence or actions.  If we examine the context, we see that the discourse concerns God’s mercy toward the undeserving. Our Reading for today follows directly on that striking and beautiful passage in Isa 55:1-5, which promises a future experience in which the poor, hungry, and thirsty will be able to come to a free, divinely-provided banquet which will initiate them into the covenant God had made with David long ago.  It is in the context of forgiveness and mercy that our text says, “my thoughts are not your thoughts … my ways are above your ways.”
Adults - What helps you understand more about the Lord?
Teens - Why is it understandable that we would not fully understand God?
Kids - How can you grow in knowledge of God? 

Responsorial- Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18 
R.The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
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 Lord is near to all who call upon him.
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 Lord is near to all who call upon him. 
Reflection 
First Reading and the Psalm are to concepts of covenant and covenantal faithfulness.  We saw how our First Reading, in context, follows closely upon an offer of a new, gracious, eternal covenant in Isaiah 55:1-3, in which the hesed or “covenantal love” of the Davidic covenant will be extended to all the poor who answer God’s call (Isa 55:3). Covenantal virtues of God are also extoled in Psalm 145, a Psalm that functions as a kind of preparation for the five “halleluiah” (Heb. “Praise” hallelu “the Lord” yah) Psalms with which the Psalter concludes.  So, by the time we reach Psalm 145, we are beginning to “wrap up” the book of Psalms by trying to take in the “big picture” of God in relationship to his people, and sum up the message of this entire collection of sacred poems.
How has God been faithful in your life?

The Second Reading- Philippians 1:20C-24, 27A
Brothers and sisters: Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.  For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.  And I do not know which I shall choose.  I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better.  Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit. Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ. 
Reflection -    In a providential pun, St. Paul describes his life of ministry as “fruitful labor,” because he is, in a true sense, a faithful worker in the vineyard of the Lord, even one who has borne the heat of the day, although St. Paul would not be one to complain to receive the same “pay” as every other Christian.  In fact, he would rejoice if so many could share in the same “salary” from the Lord. All Paul wants is Christ.  To live is Christ, and to depart this life means to be with Christ.  So “it’s all good.”  He’s not looking forward to some kind of material benefit or carnal pleasure in heaven as a pay-off, a kind of eternal free ticket to the heavenly Disney World because he “put his time in the trenches.”  No, Paul just wants communion with Christ.  That is quite a contrast to the Gospel parable, where the workers don’t want a relationship with the vineyard owner, they want more pay.
-Focus this week on putting the Lord first and letting all of your actions flow from that relationship.

The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 20:1-16A
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, the landowner found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you.  Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?  Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?  Are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Reflection  The vineyard in this parable can be identified as “Israel,” based on Old Testament texts (Isa 5:1-7).  Jesus’ choice of twelve apostles makes clear that in his ministry he is establishing a New Israel, a new community of God’s people.  This community will consist as one people made up of both Jews and Gentiles (Matt 28:19; Eph 2:11-16).  This new community is the manifestation on earth of the Kingdom of God, and it is also the “vineyard” of this parable.  It comes to be called the ekklesia, the “gathering,” the Church. The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard comes immediately after Peter’s request to know what the reward for the apostles will be (Matt 19:27).  Thus, it can be interpreted as a warning against thinking of the Kingdom of Heaven in terms of personal reward: “What’s in it for me?” In the first sense, then, the vineyard is God’s Kingdom on earth, in our own age manifested as the Church.  The workers in the vineyard are those the Lord calls to assist him in his labors: the apostles first, but in later generations their successors and others who work to “cultivate” and care for God’s Kingdom.  A secondary application can be made to all Christians, for we are all called to care for and cultivate the Kingdom manifest as the Church, even if the only member of that body we ever are able to “help” or “cultivate” is our own self. The message of the parable then is clear: all who are called to work with the Lord to care for his Kingdom will receive the same reward: the “denarius” (“usual wage” in our Mass translation). The Fathers generally held that this “denarius” represents eternal life, the basic “pay” of all who heed the Master’s call to come into his vineyard.  All workers will receive this reward equally.
Adults - Do you operate with a “what’s in it for me?” mindset? How can you work against this?  
Teens - Are there things in your life causing you bitterness? Take them to the Lord in prayer. 
Kids - What does it mean that God loves us all equally?

LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!  - Looking back on our past life, how many years have we really given to God since we came to the use of reason? Those school years, the time spent learning a trade or profession, the weeks, months, years working in an office or factory or farm, the hours among the pots and pans in the kitchen — have we earned some credit in heaven for all of this, or is it all crossed off our pay sheet through lack of right intention or through sin?  If so, those years are lost to us. We were "idle" all that time. Today's parable, however, should give us new hope and courage. It may be the sixth or the ninth or even the eleventh hour of our life but we can still earn heaven if we listen to God's call and set to work diligently in His vineyard. If we put our conscience right with God today and resolve to be loyal to Him from now on He will be as generous to us, as the parable promises.  -Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.







582. Why can we dare to draw near to God in full confidence? a) because Jesus brings us to the Father: Because Jesus, our Redeemer, brings us into the Father’s presence and his Spirit makes us his children. We are thus able to pray the Our Father with simple and filial trust, with joyful assurance and humble boldness, with the certainty of being loved and heard.
583. How is it possible to address God as “Father”? d) all of the above:We can invoke the “Father” because the Son of God made man has revealed him to us and because his Spirit makes him known to us. The invocation, Father, lets us enter into his mystery with an ever new sense of wonder and awakens in us the desire to act as his children. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are therefore aware of our being sons of the Father in the Son.
584. Why do we say “our” Father? b) because it expresses a totally new relationship with God: “Our” expresses a totally new relationship with God. When we pray to the Father, we adore and glorify him with the Son and the Holy Spirit. In Christ we are “his” people and he is “our” God now and for eternity. In fact, we also say “our” Father because the Church of Christ is the communion of a multitude of brothers and sisters who have but “one heart and mind” (Acts 4:32).

Catholic Website of the Week

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Tune in to Salt and Light Catholic Radio's website and feel the immediate call to transform your life. Their homepage strikes a chord with the bold proclamation, "Change your station. Change your life," set beside a striking image of a rosary-wrapped microphone – promising content that's both impactful and faith-infused. Just a click on the animated play button immerses you in the station's live 24/7 broadcast, making it easily accessible to listeners everywhere, a testament to the station's mission to inform, inspire, and ignite hearts for Jesus Christ, one listener at a time.

Best Parish Practices

ASK AND HAVE ACTIVE PARISHIONERS ASK OTHERS TO JOIN MINISTRIES OR ACTIVITIES

There is a lot of talent in parish, but some people do not know what they can offer, or may have never thought about doing certain ministries or activities.  But simply asking or showing faith in certain persons can move them to become active.
BENEFITS:
When people are asked and someone feels they can contribute it can engage them and make them feel engaged at the parish making them more connected.  It can also increase the amount of people involved in certain things in the parish which help in countless ways.


HOW:
Look around at Mass for those who attend regularly or ask persons who currently assist in ministries if they know other persons they think might be blessed and bless the ministry.  Then prayerfully discern and loving ask and invite.

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‘Joy in the Eucharist’: Chris Stefanick Reminds Faithful of Eternal Truth
​Popular podcast and EWTN host headlines Diocesan Day of Eucharistic Encounter in Fall River, Massachusetts.

​Matthew McDonald Nation
September 10
FALL RIVER, Mass. — Joy comes from always giving thanks to God, Catholic author and speaker Chris Stefanick told conferencegoers this past weekend.
“There’s not a single grateful thought in hell,” Stefanick said.
Stefanick, who had the crowd laughing, clapping and yelling “Amen” frequently, was the headliner Saturday at Diocesan Day of Eucharistic Encounter, a Diocese of Fall River event organized in conjunction with the National Eucharistic Revival that the country’s bishops continue to lead. More than 1,000 people attended.
The popular speaker noted that Eucharist comes from the Greek word for thanksgiving. It refers to the body and blood of Jesus, changed from bread and wine through the actions of a priest during Mass.
During the first of his two talks, Stefanick, host of the EWTN show and podcast Real Life Catholic, gave examples from Scripture, history and his own family life to show his audience how to pursue joy through messy life situations.
“Joy is not the reward at the other side of the battle. Joy is the strength to get into the battle,” Stefanick said.
One example of joy he shared was the time his father had a heart attack and an emergency room doctor said he couldn’t do anything about it because his dad’s arteries were so clogged. His father asked for a rosary and pressed it to his chest, Stefanick said.
“Then he looked at me and said, ‘I’m posing for my casket.’”
The crowd erupted in laughter.
“Humor in a moment like that would be insanity if it weren’t sanctity,” Stefanick said. His father survived.
Stefanick said his own spiritual awakening happened when his parents dragged him to a retreat when he was in eighth grade.
“So I love coerced religious experiences. Some of you are having one right now,” he joked.
What struck him so powerfully during that retreat, he said, was the sight of an approximately 70-year-old joyful man “standing there praising God.”
“I want what he has,” Stefanick recalled thinking at the time.
 Controlling Your Response
Stefanick pointed out that the United States is in the midst of internal conflict.
“How many conservatives hate liberals? How many liberals hate conservatives? This is not the country I grew up in,” Stefanick said.
That conflict extends to the Church, he said.
“If you want emotional comfort, please don’t google ‘Catholic news,’” he said.
But reacting emotionally is not the solution, he said. He offered as an example a U.S. Navy SEAL who told him that when he hears gunshots, his first response is not to hide but to think. Catholics, he said, need a different spiritual “muscle memory” to react properly to difficult circumstances.​

​The faithful pack the Sept. 7 Diocesan Day of Eucharistic Encounter in the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts.
“You can’t control all your triggers, but you can train how you respond to them,” Stefanick said.
The answers to spiritual problems, he said, are “stupidly simple.” They include giving thanks to God in all circumstances, loving yourself as a child of God and making friends and drawing them to God.
‘You Are What You Eat’
Bishop Edgar da Cunha, the bishop of Fall River, celebrated Mass in the morning in the former high school’s standing-room-only gym.
During his sermon, the bishop quoted a saying of Bishop Andrew Cozzens, chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress, who said during the huge gathering in Indianapolis in July and during the months leading up to it that the point of the National Eucharistic Revival is not “to start a program” but “to start a fire.”
“What a simple yet powerful statement, right? I want to borrow that from him and tell all of you here, my dear friends: We are here not to start a program, but to start a fire,” Bishop da Cunha said, “a fire of God's burning love for each one of us, a fire of the Holy Spirit transforming lives, a fire of the Holy Spirit guiding all of us in our actions and decisions and choices in this world.”
Bishop da Cunha made a reference to an old commercial that used the proverbial saying “You are what you eat.”
“If you think of physical food that fills us and nurtures us and gives us energy and strength and keeps us healthy and alive, it’s true: We are what we eat,” Bishop da Cunha said.
The same holds true with the Eucharist, he said, making a reference to the Prayer After Communion for the liturgical memorial of St. Augustine, Aug. 28.

​Priests distribute Communion during Mass.
“When we come here, we are making a promise, a commitment and a prayer to ask the Lord to sanctify us; that being made members of his body, which we are, the Church, we may become what we have received,” Bishop da Cunha said.
The diocese’s newest priest, Father Bryan Bangs, who was ordained June 1 and is now stationed in a parish on Cape Cod, encouraged young men in the audience to take one concrete step toward considering the priesthood.
He described his own calling, which he said started when he read a book about St. John Bosco when he was about 13.
He had objections to the idea; he wanted to get married, and he didn’t like the idea of public speaking. But a diocesan retreat helped nudge him in the direction of the priesthood, as did time praying before the Blessed Sacrament.
“You know, I don’t just bring up Eucharistic adoration now to try to cleverly tie it into the theme of Eucharistic revival. I bring it up because I think — I know — that I’m a priest today because of the Eucharist, because I was able to spend this time in the presence of Jesus, to learn about his love and about his friendship with me,” Father Bangs said.
“It was during that time spent in adoration, many Holy Hours, that I think my own will started to line up a bit more with God’s will,” he said. “I realized that the priesthood was something that I actually wanted for myself. I wanted to be able to serve God in that specific and dedicated way, because I knew how much he loved me, and I wanted to be able to bring that love to other people.”
It’s All Joy
During the lunch break, a line of conferencegoers lined up for a chance to get Stefanick to sign a book and speak briefly with him. The Register asked several why they came to the conference.
“I came because I love Jesus, and I want a closer relationship with him. And I believe in him, and I believe in the Eucharist; but I also have human failure, and I question him. And I’m asking the Holy Spirit to come into my life, to heal me,” said Michelle Cordeiro, of Acushnet, Massachusetts, who teaches at the Catholic school at her hometown parish, St. Francis Xavier.
“We’re all sons and daughters of God, and Jesus came for all of us. We’re all sinners, and that’s why the Eucharist is here for us — so we can get that grace and overcome our sinfulness,” Cordeiro said.
Stefanick’s description of joy struck a chord with her.
“I’ve got to find joy through the messiness,” Cordeiro said.
Caleb Martin, 22, who graduated in May from nearby University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with a degree in electrical engineering, worked as a volunteer at the event.
“It’s a good movement. It’s a really good message with the whole Eucharistic Revival, and getting people to focus more on the Eucharist and what it really is,” said Martin, who works in Newport, Rhode Island.
Martin said Stefanick reached him with his morning talk.
“One of the things was how he was saying the battleground between heaven and hell is right here in our heads,” Martin said. “We need to be fighting for heaven and not respond to other things, the people who are spreading misinformation about the faith. We need to be fighting for the faith.”
Deacon Tony Pimentel and his wife Karen, of nearby New Bedford, who attended the event Saturday, also watched much of the National Eucharistic Congress in July — because they got COVID-19 at the same time.
As for Stefanick’s morning talk, Deacon Pimentel said, “The thing that struck me the most was how critical it is to be joyful and where joy comes from.”
“When’s the last time you wanted to spend time with a miserable person?” he said. “We have joy in the Eucharist, and we forget that.”

​Amid recent attacks against pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes from pro-abortion protesters, Danielle Nicholson told EWTN Pro-Life Weekly on Sept. 15, 2022, that she owes her life to one. | EWTN Pro-Life Weekly/screen shot
​
By Francesca Pollio Fenton
​Denver, Colo., Sep 17, 2022 / 11:00 am

Cardinal Crecscenzio Sepe views the reliquary with the blood of St. Januarius in 2009. Credit: Paola Migni via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
By Hannah Brockhaus
​
Rome Newsroom, Sep 19 / 05:59 am MT (CNA).- The blood of early Church martyr St. Januarius liquified in Naples Saturday, repeating a miracle dating at least to the 14th century.

"The word "liturgy" originally meant a "public work" or a "service in the name of/on behalf of the people." In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in "the work of God." Through the liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church."  -Catechism of the Catholic Church #1069


THE THIRD COMMANDMENT OF GOD


Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work. You shall not do any work, either you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your work animal, or the resident alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested.  That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. -Ex 20:8-11
 
The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath. Mk 2:27-28
 
1. Why are we commanded to keep Sunday as the Lord's Day?
The Church commands us to keep Sunday as the Lord's day, because on Sunday, the first day of the week, Christ rose from the dead, and on Sunday the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles.  (Saturday night is considered part of the Lord’s Day.)
Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week." Because it is the "first day," the day of Christ's Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the "eighth day" following the sabbath, it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's Day (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica) Sunday.  (CCC 2174)
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. (Genesis 2:2)
 
2. Are the Sabbath day and the Sunday the same?
The Sabbath day and the Sunday are not the same. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week (Saturday), and is the day which was kept holy in the old law; the Sunday is the first day of the week, and is the day which is kept holy in the new law (because on it, Jesus rose from the dead).
Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:
Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death. –St. Ignatius of Antioch (CCC 2175)
 
3. What is meant by the Old and New Law?
A. The Old Law means the law or religion given to the Jews; the New Law means the law or religion given to Christians.
 
4. Why does the Church command us to keep the Sunday holy instead of the Sabbath?
The Church commands us to keep the Sunday holy instead of the Sabbath because on Sunday Christ rose from the dead, and on Sunday He sent the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.
 
5. Do we keep Sunday instead of Saturday holy for any other reason?
We keep Sunday instead of Saturday holy also to teach that the Old Law is not now binding upon us, but that we must keep the New Law, which takes its place and fulfills the Old Law.
 
6. What are we commanded by the third commandment?
By the third commandment we are commanded to worship God in a special manner on Sunday (by the Jewish reckoning, which Catholics follow, Saturday night is considered part of Sunday), the Lord's Day.  We are commanded to keep holy the Lord's Day and the holydays of obligation, on which we are to give our time to the service and worship of God.
‘The Sunday Eucharist (Holy Mass) is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.  Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin (mortal sin).’  (CCC 2181)    
Keep you my sabbath; for it is holy unto you. (Exodus 31:14)




7. What are holy days of obligation?
Holydays of obligation are special feasts of the Church on which we are bound, under pain of mortal sin, to assist at the Mass and to keep from servile or bodily labors when it can be done without great loss or inconvenience. Whoever, on account of their circumstances, cannot give up work on holydays of obligation should make every effort to assist at Mass and if appropriate should also explain in confession the necessity of working on holydays.


8. How are we to worship God on Sunday (or Saturday night) and holy days of obligation?
We are to worship God on Sundays and holydays of obligation by assisting at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, by prayer, and by other good works.  (Holy Mass on a Saturday night is considered a Sunday.)
Tradition preserves the memory of an ever-timely exhortation: Come to Church early, approach the Lord, and confess your sins, repent in prayer. . . . Be present at the sacred and divine liturgy, conclude its prayer and do not leave before the dismissal. . . . We have often said: "This day is given to you for prayer and rest. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." –Sermon on the Lord’s Day from the Early Church
 
9. How serious is it to deliberately miss the Holy Mass on a Sunday (Saturday night) or holy day of obligation through our own fault?
If committed freely with full consent of the will and with full knowledge of God’s command, to deliberately miss the Holy Mass on a Sunday (Saturday night) or holy day of obligation is a mortal sin, which means through this sin, one’s relationship with God is severed.  Sacramental Confession (Reconciliation) would then be the step to confess this sin and restore our relationship with God.
Any deliberately less contact with God than once a week in the Holy Mass causes our relationship with God to die on its own accord from lack of union with God in the intimacy of the Holy Mass.  Thus, sickness, care for children or the infirm, work scheduled for us by employers during Sunday Mass, distance from the offering of a Holy Mass, or the equivalent are factors beyond our control and thus are mitigating circumstances which keep this from being a mortal sin in one’s life.
 
10. What is forbidden by the third commandment of God?
The third Commandment forbids all unnecessary servile work and whatever else may hinder the due observance of the Lord's Day.
On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord's Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. (CCC 2185; CIC, can. 1247)
Six days shall you do work; in the seventh day is the sabbath, the rest holy to the Lord. (Exodus 31:15)


Six days you may labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the seasons of plowing and harvesting you must rest. Exodus 34:21
 
11. What is servile work?  Servile work is that which requires labor of body rather than of mind.
 
12. From what do servile works derive their name?
Servile works derive their name from the fact that such works were formerly done by slaves. Therefore, reading, writing, studying and, in general, all works that slaves did not perform are not considered servile works.  God set Israel free from slavery in Egypt, and God has set us free from slavery to sin.
 
13. When is servile work allowed on Sunday?
Servile work is allowed on Sunday when the honor of God, our own need, or the good of our neighbor requires it.
 
14. Give some examples of when the honor of God, our own need, or the good of our neighbor may require servile works on Sunday.
The honor of God, our own need, or the good of our neighbor may require servile works on Sunday, in such cases as the preparation of a place for Holy Mass, the saving of property in storms or accidents, the cooking of meals and similar works.
 
15. Name some of the good works recommended for Sunday.
Some of the good works recommended for Sunday are: The reading of religious books or papers, teaching Catechism, bringing relief to the poor or sick, visiting the Blessed Sacrament, attending Vespers (Evening Prayers offered by Priests or Nuns), Rosary or other devotions in the Church; also attending the meetings of religious sodalities or societies.  It is not necessary to spend the whole Sunday in such good works, but we should give some time to them, that for the love of God we may do a little more than what is strictly commanded.
 
16. Is it forbidden, then, to seek any pleasure or enjoyment on Sunday?
It is not forbidden to seek lawful pleasure or enjoyment on Sunday, especially to those who are occupied during the week, for God did not intend the keeping of the Sunday to be a punishment, but a benefit to us. Therefore, after assisting at Holy Mass we may take such recreation as is necessary or useful for us; but we should avoid any vulgar, noisy or disgraceful amusements that turn the day of rest and prayer into a day of scandal and sin.
Sanctifying Sundays and holy days requires a common effort. Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord's Day. Traditional activities (sport, restaurants, etc.), and social necessities (public services, etc.), require some people to work on Sundays, but everyone should still take care to set aside sufficient time for leisure. With temperance and charity the faithful will see to it that they avoid the excesses and violence sometimes associated with popular leisure activities. In spite of economic constraints, public authorities should ensure citizens a time intended for rest and divine worship. Employers have a similar obligation toward their employees. (CCC 2187)


+JMJ+
SUNDAY BIBLICAL MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
24th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Sunday, September 13th, 2026

The First Reading - Sirach 27:30-28:7
Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD? Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself, can he seek pardon for his own sins? If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins? Remember your last days, set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin! Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor; remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults. 
Reflection 
Today’s First Reading is itself a meditation on earlier Scriptures like Lev 19:17-18: “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbor, lest you bear sin because of him.  You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” Oftentimes we contrast the teaching of Jesus Christ with the instruction of Old Testament, especially on certain issues like marriage and divorce (cf. Deut 24:1-4; Matt 19:3-9).  Today’s Readings, however, stress the continuity of Jesus’ teaching with the early Scriptures.  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt 5:17). The “covenant” that Jesus ben Sira refers to here seems to be the Mosaic or Sinai covenant, which in its law included such commands as Lev 19:17-18 above.  Forgiveness and love toward the neighbor are not simply ethical counsels or a part of the natural law: they are a covenant obligation, part of one’s duty toward the God who has entered into a faithful, familial relationship with you. 
Adults - Is forgiveness easy for you? How can prayer help you?
Teens - Do you pray for those who persecute you? Why is this something we are instructed to do?
Kids - Pray and ask Jesus to help you share His mercy with others. 

Responsorial- Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 
R.The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
He will not always chide, 
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion. 
Reflection 
The Psalm calls to our mind the memory of God’s greatest revelation of himself in the Old Testament, his self-revelation to Moses, where God proclaimed his “Name” (Exod 33:19), that is, his true nature.  To our surprise, God chooses not to reveal his nature as power and majesty, but as “mercy and faithfulness.”  The common statement, “God’s greatest attribute is his mercy,” is a truth deeply rooted already in the Old Testament. What do you think of when you think of God’s mercy?

The Second Reading- Romans 14:7-9
Brothers and sisters: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Reflection -    In the Second Reading St. Paul reminds us that we are completely given over to the Lord.  In light of the surrounding readings, we realize: if we have been totally assimilated to Jesus, such that our life is his life and our death is his death, what sense does it make to continue to hold onto unnecessary grudges about what others have done to us? Aren’t we living on a whole new plane, where the cycle of offense and revenge of our old life don’t make sense any more? -Is there something in your life you are struggling to give to the Lord?

The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 18:21-35
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.  That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.  When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.  Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.” 
Reflection   Looking at the context of Matthew 18, we see that a few verses earlier, Jesus had conferred on his disciples a certain religious authority, the authority to “bind and loose,” to make solemn judgments on the application of divine law (halakhah).  The authority of the disciples to “bind and loose” also reminds us of the authority conferred after the resurrection, when Jesus breathes on his disciples and says, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, whose sins you retain are retained” (Jn 20:22-23).  The two passages seem to have an analogy to one another and may be mutually illuminating. Now Peter, the head of the apostles who will have the authority to forgive sin, approaches Jesus to question him about the freedom with which he should dispense forgiveness.  He thinks he is being generous: “Shall I forgive up to seven times?” Jesus responds, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven.”  “Seventy times seven” is ten jubilees.  It is a Great Jubilee.  It is a number which symbolizes an abundance of all that the Jubilee stands for: release, forgiveness, restoration of relationships.  For many Jews, the Messiah was expected at the end of “seventy times seven” years, and then he would announce the Great Jubilee. Jesus is this Messiah.
Adults - How has God’s forgiveness changed your life? 
Teens - How can you show God’s mercy that has been given to you, to others?
Kids - What helps you forgive someone?

LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!  - We had better stop and think for a moment today and reflect that we ourselves may be that merciless servant described in the parable.  Every time we have sinned mortally we have incurred an unpayable debt to God.  Each time we have received absolution we have come out of God's courtroom as free men.  A weight greater than a million dollar debt has been lifted from our shoulders.  A fate worse than generations of earthly imprisonment — that is, eternal slavery — has been spared us because of God's loving, infinite mercy.  How then can it happen that we could be so heartless, mean, and foolish as to refuse to forgive a neighbor for some offense he has committed against us?  We still have time to put our affairs in order.  We still can forgive all our enemies from our heart.  Let us not miss the gift of this opportunity!




568. What is one example as an expression of the life of prayer?  b) meditation
Christian tradition has preserved three forms for expressing and living prayer: vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplative prayer. The feature common to all of them is the recollection of the heart.  


EXPRESSIONS OF PRAYER
569. How can vocal prayer be described?  d) all of the above
Vocal prayer associates the body with the interior prayer of the heart. Even the most interior prayer, however, cannot dispense with vocal prayer. In any case it must always spring from a personal faith. With the Our Father Jesus has taught us a perfect form of vocal prayer.


570. What is meditation?  c) that which engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire
Meditation is a prayerful reflection that begins above all in the Word of God in the Bible. Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion and desire in order to deepen our faith, convert our heart and fortify our will to follow Christ. It is a first step toward the union of love with our Lord.


571. What is contemplative prayer?  a) simple gaze upon God in silence and love
Contemplative prayer is a simple gaze upon God in silence and love. It is a gift of God, a moment of pure faith during which the one praying seeks Christ, surrenders himself to the loving will of the Father, and places his being under the action of the Holy Spirit. Saint Teresa of Avila defines contemplative prayer as the intimate sharing of friendship, “in which time is frequently taken to be alone with God who we know loves us.”

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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)

​

+JMJ+
In this e-weekly:
- Ovulation Method: Achieving or Postponing Pregnancy the Natural Way (Catholic Website of the Week)
- First Unborn Child to be Beatified Along with Martyred Family (Diocesan News and BEYOND)
- Tips for Driving in the Fall  (Helpful Hints for Life)

• If God is Love, Why Does He Let Terrible Things Happen? (Below, after Prayer Section, Speaks of Annunciation Catholic School Mass This Week)

Local Author Makes Jesus Transforming Presence Accessible!
https://www.amazon.com/Along-Sea-Galilee-Grace-Storms/dp/1957206411/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EGTJ46X86G0D&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.avhJ5mkTHPeHr1MsqRJEUQ.M3uYyfHHjDgIDeTPVw60fnQSHCve7j-3GsoOkkdQQKQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=along+the+sea+of+galilee+holly+vaughan&qid=1788059954&sprefix=Along+the+Sea%2Caps%2C201&sr=8-1
 

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)

​

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
​

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
​

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!"
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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.