Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
 
      The  crucifix, that is, a cross with the body of our Lord upon it is the core Christian image.  Some Christians say that Christ should not be portrayed upon the cross, since He is risen from the dead.  Yet, for us who as St. Paul says, "make up for what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ (Col. 1:13)," the crucifix urges us on because it is the love of Christ (II Cor. 5:14) made visible.
 
     The cross itself only has meaning and value because Jesus Christ, God made man, hung upon it.  Crucifixion, a horrible means of execution and an ignominious death, has been transformed to be a means of life-giving love because sin and death died upon it.  Jesus went forward to rise from the dead and to raise all who believe in Him.
 
     But the further power of the crucifix is that it gives hope to us who suffer.  It shows that good can be brought out of evil, especially the evil that strikes us or strikes those we love.  It shows that suffering has value when it is united to God who suffered.  Indeed, Christianity is the only religion that believes that God became human and that He suffered and died for humanity!
 
     So if you do not have a crucifix in your house, get one!  Indeed, every room should have one.  And if you have a crucifix in your house, office, classroom, church, or elsewhere, look often upon it to be reminded of the love that God has for YOU and indeed all the world AND what you too can do through and for Jesus!
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
 
Father Robert
P.S.  This coming Sunday is Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time.  >> Readings

P.S.S. At the end of e-weekly is the Sunday Readings with commentary and reflection questions.
​

CHAPTER TWO: The Tradition of Prayer
557. What is the importance of Tradition in regard to prayer? (Catechism of the Catholic Church-CCC 2650-2651)
a) it helps us make sure prayer is from God and not something we ourselves make up
b) it directs us to God and not ourselves or false gods
c) it helps teach us how to pray
d) all of the above       


AT THE WELLSPRINGS OF PRAYER
558. What are the sources of Christian prayer?(CCC 2652-2662)
a) Holy Bible
b) Mass and the Sacraments
c) theological virtues and everyday situations
d) all of the above          


THE WAY OF PRAYER
559. In the Church are there different ways of praying?(CCC 2663)
a) Yes
b) No
c) Maybe
d) Yes and No
​

560. What is the way of our prayer? (CCC 2664, 2680-2681)
a) Christ because prayer is directed to God our Father
b) only through Mary and the Saints
c) the authority of our own name
d) creation and the world

MOVIES |  AUG. 29, 2020
Fatima Movie ‘Brings Hope to the World’
Cast members share their takeaways from filming the story of the Marian apparitions.
Joseph PronechenShortly before the premiere of Fatima, several cast members shared with the Register some experiences and thoughts about the film, which debuted Friday in theaters and on demand.
“I really like that it’s releasing at this point of the year because of the coronavirus and everything. It just brings faith to people’s hearts, and it’s really inspiring. It brings hope to the world at this time,” said 14-year-old Stephanie Gil, who plays young Lucia. Gil was 12 during the movie’s filming.
“I think that the main message of the film is to have hope and faith in general, and in yourself; and to believe in what you believe and not let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s just: Be strong and fight for what you believe.”
Gil said younger audiences will also like the film because they will feel they can relate to the seers, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, because they were 10, 8 and 7 during the 1917 apparitions, and going through that situation at their young age “is amazing, something really admirable for me. I want them [young people] to take out [as a message] how you should never give up. … In the film, Lucia is so devoted to her faith, and that’s what keeps her going.”
Gil said this role was “life-changing. I will never forget filming this film because it’s so special and close to my heart.”
Actor Goran Višnjić shared how he portrayed Arturo de Oliveira Santos, the atheist, unbelieving mayor, whose wife was a believer and churchgoer. “In Portugal at the time, the Church was really on the outskirts of society; the new government was against it. They were trying to portray the Church as superstitious people. [Yet] the core of the people was supporting the Church, and people were churchgoers. I was trying to find a kind of balance between those two things. And I was trying to portray him as a guy between a rock and a hard place.”
Višnjić believes Fatima will appeal to everybody, Catholic or not. “If it is really an honestly good and positive message, we can all recognize it. … The thought is important; the message is important. So this movie doesn’t matter who’s going to be watching it — Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists or whatever — but the message of the film is beautiful. It’s love each other. Don’t make war. The message is pure, positive and beautiful.”
A Catholic himself, Višnjić went to Fatima while filming in Portugal. “You feel you’re in an amazing, special place. You feel a calm; I don’t want to say divinity. But it does feel very special, very different,” he said of his pilgrimage experience. “The whole process … was a bit special; it wasn’t like shooting any other film.”
Portraying Jacinta, 9-year-old Alejandra Howard makes quite an impression in Fatima, her first film.
She enjoyed playing the young saint “because we were very close to where it actually happened, and I heard all about Jacinta. I was on the internet learning about her,” Howard related. “I think it was easy for me.” The best part about playing Jacinta, Howard said, was having something in common with St. Jacinta. “I am kind of courageous, and she was courageous.”
For her part, Howard said the filming deepened her own faith. “I was already a believer of God. But I think after doing this movie I was more of a believer now than before.”
She encourages young moviegoers to see the film because “it’s a really interesting story, a true story that happened a hundred years ago, and [you] get a really good feeling of it.”
Lucia Moniz, who is not Catholic, portrays Lucia’s mother, Maria dos Santos. She shared how she “was very moved by the script, very moved by the way it was filmed. This film talked about an important issue, which is real lives and how this event affects people who believe and people who don’t believe. The most important thing I felt with this film and the message is that, beyond believing or not, the power of love is so important.”

Stephanie Gil, who portrays Lucia, and Lucia Moniz, who portrays Lucia’s mother, act in a scene from the movie.
Moniz brings that out on screen in her love for her daughter, despite her refusal to believe Lucia sees the Blessed Virgin Mary. “I always wanted to make sure of that even though this character doesn’t act right in most of this story in her reaction in not believing her [daughter], it’s not a question of how much she loves her daughter. It’s sometimes humans don’t know what to do, and they don’t know how to act.”
Joaquim de Almeida, who plays Father Ferreira, explained why this is such an important film. “There was the time of the pandemic then; the Spanish Flu was going on — so many parallels to what’s happening today. In Portugal in 1917, people in the country were very poor, and they were in need of hope, and belief and faith, and this was something that even if it was repressed in the beginning by the republican government, it ended with many people being attracted on Oct. 13 — 70,000 people were there” to see the “Miracle of the Sun.”

De Almeida believes people “should look at it and be upbeat about faith and believing and hoping. It expresses a good lesson for the kids. If you believe in something, don’t say you lied. If you believe it’s true, say it’s true. The kids had so much pressure to say it was a lie. They said, ‘No. We saw it.’”
Whether viewers are “a believer or nonbeliever,” he thinks the film can touch all open hearts. “It’s appealing because it’s based on facts. A lot of believers come to Fatima every year, but it’s not just that. It’s the story in itself, and the comparison, the parallels to today. Most of all, it’s important that we have hope.”

Joseph Pronechen is a Register staff writer.


WATCH
FatimatheMovie.com

A group of lay Catholic women have written an open letter to Pope Francis, demanding that he answer the questions raised by the recent allegations in the letter from former U.S. nuncio  Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. 



In the opening of their letter, the women recall a quote from Pope Francis on the role of women in the Church: “You have said that you seek ‘a more incisive female presence in the Church,’ and that ‘women are capable of seeing things with a different angle from [men], with a different eye. Women are able to pose questions that we men are not able to understand.’” 

“We write to you, Holy Father, to pose questions that need answers,” the letter notes. 
Specifically, they are seeking answers to the questions raised in Vigano’s recent letter, which accused Pope Francis and other members of the Church hierarchy for covering up sexual abuse allegations against former cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

The women’s questions for Pope Francis include if or when he was made aware of any sanctions allegedly placed on then-cardinal Theodore McCarrick by Pope Benedict XVI, and whether he brought McCarrick back into public ministry despite knowing about these sanctions and accusations. 

Asked these questions by journalists on his return flight from the recent World Meeting of Families in Ireland, Pope Francis responded by saying he “will not say a single word on this” and instead encouraged journalists to study the statement themselves and draw their own conclusions. 

“To your hurting flock, Pope Francis, your words are inadequate,” the signers of the letter say, addressing the Pope’s response. “They sting, reminiscent of the clericalism you so recently condemned. We need leadership, truth, and transparency. We, your flock, deserve your answers now.”

“Please do not turn from us,” they ask in the letter. 

“You’ve committed yourself to changing clerical ways in the Church. That a cardinal would prey on seminarians is abhorrent. We need to know we can trust you to be honest with us about what happened. The victims who have suffered so greatly need to know they can trust you. Families, who will be the source of the Church’s renewal, need to know we can trust you, and thus trust the Church.”

The women who have signed the letter serve in a variety of positions and vocations within the Church, in both private and public life. They describe themselves as “deeply committed to our faith and profoundly grateful for Church teachings, the Sacraments, and the many good bishops and priests who have blessed our lives.” 

They are “wives, mothers, single women, consecrated women, and religious sisters. We are the mothers and sisters of your priests, seminarians, future priests and religious. We are the Church’s lay leaders, and the mothers of the next generation. We are professors in your seminaries, and leaders in Catholic chanceries and institutions. We are theologians, evangelists, missionaries and founders of Catholic apostolates.” 


“In short, we are the Church, every bit as much as the cardinals and bishops around you,” they say. 

The letter is signed, “With love for Christ and the Church.” 
Some prominent signers of the letter include Mary Rice Hasson, the Kate O'Beirne Fellow in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center; Professor Janet E. Smith, the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary; Leah Darrow, a Catholic speaker, author and evangelist; Ashley McGuire, a senior fellow at The Catholic Association; Kathryn Jean Lopez with the National Review Institute; and Obianuju Ekeocha, the founder and president of Culture of Life Africa.

Other signers include professors and faculty from Catholic institutions including Notre Dame, The Catholic University of America, and the University of St. Thomas, as well as women who are mothers of seminarians, homeschooling mothers, business owners, philosophers and psychologists. 

The letter, dated August 30, 2018, is described as the personal initiative of the original signatories and was not organized or sponsored by any group or organization. It had 5,300 signatures as of press time. (As of Saturday evening, Sept. 1, 2018, there are 25,820 signatures.
 ​

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

A bit of humor.
  

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

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

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

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

The man returned just before the conclusion of the service. 

Afterwards the pastor asked the man where he had gone. 

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

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

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Cop With a Collar 

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

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

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

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

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

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

​

+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: August 30th, 2020


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 ANSWERS


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


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


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


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

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

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


P.S.S.  Sunday Readings with reflection available at the end of e-weekly.
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550. What are the essential forms of Christian prayer? (Catechism of the Catholic Church-CCC 2643-2644)
a) blessing and adoration
b) petition and intercession
c) thanksgiving and praise
d) all of the above


551. What is “blessing”? (CCC 2626-2627; 2645 )
a) a control over something
b) man’s response to God’s gifts
c) a multiplication of items
d) none of the above


552. How can adoration be defined? (CCC 2628)
Human Beings acknowledging that they belong to God.
a) True   b) False


553. What are the different forms of the prayer of petition? (CCC 2629-2633; 2646)
a) those made to oneself
b) the prayer must include the acknowledgment of the angels
c) the worship of God
d) the first thing to ask for is the coming of the Kingdom


554. In what does the prayer of intercession consist? (CCC 2634-2636; 2647)
It must extend even to one’s enemies.
a) True  b) False


555. When is thanksgiving given to God? (CCC 2637-2638; 2648 )
a) unceasingly
b) above all in celebrating the Holy Eucharist (Holy Mass)
c) every event in life is a reason
d) all of the above


556. What is the prayer of praise? (CCC 2639-2643; 2649)
That which recognizes the creature is more important that the Creator.
a) True   b) False

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"Helpful Hints of Life"
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ASK YOUR PRIEST TO HAVE A HOLY HOUR OR PERMISSION TO HAVE A HOLY HOUR


There are many things to pray for, especially all affected by the pandemic.  People need ways to grow closer to God, His Church, and one another.  One of the best ways to spiritually do this is a Holy Hour in church in front of the tabernacle or Jesus facing us in the monstrance. 'We look at Him, and He looks at us.'


BENEFITS:
You are face to face with Jesus.  You come to Jesus in His House.  You are in His Real Presence, Body, Blood, soul, and Divinity.  Jesus said, "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." -Matthew 18:19  "So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?" -Jesus says (Matthew 26:40)


HOW?
Ask your Parish Priest to have the Holy Hour for and with you. Or ask a Deacon or Lay person to lead with permission of your Parish Priest.  It can be before or after the Daily Mass.  It can be of an evening or the best time for many of you to gather.  You can be in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  Priests praying with their people to Jesus is what we need now more than ever.  You can offer Sacred Scripture, etc.  More at:  http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/pea/holyhour.html

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

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

He dedicated one of his final prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary:
“To thee, O Queen of heaven, and to thy guardianship, I commend the holy Church, all the bishops and the clergy, the whole kingdom, its rulers and inhabitants; but before all, I commend my soul to thy care.”
Ambassador of Hungary to the Holy See Eduard Habsburg brought attention to the Aug. 20th celebration in a post accompanied by a photo of Our Lady with St. Stephen.
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Here’s the photo below:
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“What better image to convey our celebrating 
Hungary’s “birthday”, the 20th of August, then King Stephen offering the crown he received from the Pope to Our Lady who is, henceforth, queen of Hungary,” said Habsburg.
St. Stephen’s Day falls every year on Aug. 20. Hungary considers this day a public holiday, or the “birthday” of Hungary, “celebrating the foundation of the Hungarian state more than 1000 years ago.” It is comparable to July 4 in the United States.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The truck driver was there too. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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A bit of humor.


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


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



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



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

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


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


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


If College Students Wrote The Bible 

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

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

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

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

Reason Cain killed Abel: they were roommates. 

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

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


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

​

+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
Sunday, August 23, 2020
The First Reading - Isaiah 22:19-23
Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family.”
Reflection
The role of “master of the palace,” literally “the one over the house” (Heb. ‘asher ‘al-habayith), was the Number Two position of authority after the King (observe the dynamic in 1 Kings 18:1-5, for example). The office was first established by Solomon (1 Kings 4:6). Apparently the badge of his office was the wearing of the key to the palace on his shoulder (Isa 22:22). He controlled access to the king, either by unlocking or locking the palace doors to those who sought the king’s presence. This is what the text means by “what he opens, none shall shut, etc.” This statement will be paralleled in the Gospel: “what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven...”
Adults - What parallels do you see between the First Reading and the Gospel?
Teens - Typology is when an Old Testament event prefigures a New Testament event. What are some examples you can think of?
Kids - How do you think the stories of the Old Testament help us understand Jesus better?


Responsorial- Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
I will give thanks to your name,
because of your kindness and your truth:
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
Reflection
Psalm 138 is a Psalm of David, in which David praises God for God’s covenant faithfulness (Heb. hesed). The Hebrew hesed is translated as “kindness” in the final stanza of our liturgical translation (“your kindness, O Lord, endures forever”) and as “love” in the response (“Your love is eternal”), both of which are renderings of Ps 138:8. “Kindness” and “love” are both certainly aspects of hesed, but neither catches the full force of the Hebrew term, which pervades the Psalter. Where do you see the love of God working in your life?


The Second Reading- Romans 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given the Lord anything that he may be repaid? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Reflection - This passage is Paul’s doxology in praise of God’s mysterious providence. Paul affirms that “the gifts and call of God” to Israel is “irrevocable,” which is similar to the affirmation of Psalm 138: “your hesed endures forever.” God does not break his covenants, and even stays faithful when we break them. -Is praise a part of your daily prayer?

The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 16:13-20
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Reflection Even some non-Catholic commentators (most notably, W.F. Albright, father of American biblical archeology and Old Testament studies) recognize that, in Matt 16, Jesus is investing Peter with role of royal steward in the Kingdom that Jesus is establishing. Isaiah 22 is clearly the background for the promise of the “keys to the Kingdom.” Aside from Judges 3:23-25, which has no thematic parallels, Isaiah 22 is the only passage of the Old Testament where the word “key” even occurs. The thematic parallels are strong: the promise to Eliakim concerning “opening” and “shutting” is repeated to Peter, although using the terms “binding” and “loosing.” “Binding” and “loosing” were technical terms in first century Judaism referring to the authority to decide matters of halakhah (lit. “the walk”, i.e. “the behavior” or “how one behaves”), that is, the practical application of divine law. Jesus did not write down a book with the answers to all controversies in this area that would ever arise in the history of the Church. He did, however, invest Peter with the authority to make decisions in this regard. The Church has always held that Peter’s authority—like the authority of the apostles in general—was passed down to his successors. Otherwise, passages like Matt 16:13-20, and others which speak to us of the authority of the apostles, would simply be matters of historical curiosity for us. The priestly and paternal roles of the Royal Steward, Peter and his successors, is reflected in titles given to the Bishop of Rome: “pontifex maximus” (“greatest priest”) and “Papa” or “Pope,” meaning “Father.” This reflects the prophetic typology of Isa 22: “He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” The Church is the New Jerusalem (see Heb 12:22-24). The successor of Peter continues to authoritatively “bind” and “loose,” making decisions of halakhah for the People of God.
Adults - Did you know that the papacy is scriptural? How does that affect your view of the office of Pope?
Teens - How does this knowledge of the history of the papacy affect your view of the hierarchy of the Church?
Kids - Pray for the pope this week!


LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK! - Peter received the primacy in the Church and the gift of infallibility in his official teaching on matters of faith and morals. As the Church was to continue long after Peter had died, it was rightly understood from the beginning that the privileges given to him and which were necessary for the successful mission of the Church, were given to his lawful successors-the Popes.
This has been the constant belief in the Church from its very beginning. The first Vatican Council solemnly defined this dogma and it was reconfirmed recently in the second Vatican Council. In giving these powers to Peter and to his lawful successors Christ was planning for our needs. In order to preserve and safeguard the right conduct of all its members He provided a central seat of authoritative power in His Church. Through the gift of infallibility He assured us that whatever we were commanded to believe (faith) or to do (morals) would always be what He and his heavenly Father wanted us to believe and to do.
How can we ever thank Christ for these marvelous gifts to his Church, that is, to us? Let us say a fervent: "thank you, Lord; You have foreseen all our needs and provided for them, grant us the grace to do the little part you ask of us in order to continue our progress on the one direct road to heaven."
-Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M
 


CATHOLIC QUESTIONS AND CATHOLIC ANSWERS

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




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




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




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




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




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




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

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

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


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


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


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

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

For a weekday homily (Queenship of Mary) (2 minutes respectively): 

>> Listen

​

546. How did the Virgin Mary pray? (Catechism of the Catholic Church-CCC 2617, 2618, 2622, 2674, 2679)


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


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


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


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

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MAKE RETREATS AVAILABLE FOR PARISHIONERS (During pandemic times, these can be virtual/online)


Some parishes offer retreats at their parish, but many also coordinate weekend retreats to a Diocesan Retreat House or a local monastery.  There are retreats for all ages usually closer than one realizes, and they can greatly bless those who participate.


BENEFITS:
Most people need time to hear God and recharge spiritually, but daily life often leaves little time and room to do that.  Retreats in holy and/or quiet places can really connect or re-connect people to God.  Powerful preached men and women retreats can help stir faith into flame for God, marriage, and family.  High school and college age retreats can make the Faith more relatable to that age group, too.


HOW?
Consult and ask your Parish Priest if it is okay to coordinate this for your parish.  Or ask your Parish Priest, office staff, or someone at the diocese to make a list available to put in the bulletin or provide to men and women groups in your parish.  When one or two of you go on retreat, and its effect is seen by others, that may lead to others going!

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Last week, Lebanon experienced a deadly explosion in Beirut. The blast caused more than 200 casualties, thousands of injuries, and destroyed much of the city. It also left over 300,000 people homeless.
God does not abandon us, however. Photos of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary surviving the explosion surfaced. The statue appears to be a grotto on the side of a building in Beirut.
These photos truly exemplify Our Lady’s love for her children!

God our Father, we celebrate the feast of St. Bernard who dedicated his life to seeking the truth in all things.  He was fearless in his support of the truth.  In our world today, it is so difficult to seek the truth and to remain firm in the truth.  As we reflect on the life of this great man, may we become more aware of how important it is to seek the truth, to remain faithful to the truth that lives in us and to be fearless in support of the truth.  We ask for the grace to follow the example of St. Bernard and live by the truth.  We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
 ​

​+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
20th Sunday of Ordinary Time - August 15, 2020
The First Reading - Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
Thus says the LORD: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed. The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants—all who keep the sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
Reflection
In the days of Isaiah, the people of Israel were living—or should have been living—according to the stipulations of the Mosaic Covenant (that is, the covenant with Israel mediated by Moses, not a covenant God made with Moses). This covenant, summarized in its final form in the Book of Deuteronomy, did not have much room for the Gentiles. However, the prophets of Israel foresaw a coming age where the negative attitude toward the Gentiles based on the Mosaic Covenant, would be undone. Our First Reading is one of the more famous passages from the second half of the Book of Isaiah that anticipates such a situation. Strikingly, some of the language used to describe the relationship of these foreigners to the Lord is priestly terminology. These foreigners will “minister” (Heb. shereth) to the LORD and become his “servants” (Heb. ‘ebadim). The verb shereth is usually employed to describe priestly labor (cf. Exod 28:35 etc.), and the priests themselves are called “servants of the LORD” (cf. Ps 134:1; Ps 135:1). This oracle of Isaiah makes it sound as though, in the latter days, foreigners will not only be able to worship God, but also serve in a priestly capacity.
Adults - Reflect on the Universal Catholic Church this week, and how it truly encompasses all nations and peoples.
Teens - How did God use Israel to reach all of the nations?
Kids - How do priests serve the Lord, and serve the people of the Lord?
Responsorial- Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 7, 8
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
Reflection
There are many psalms that call on the “peoples” or “nations” to bless the LORD. Is this all empty rhetoric, invented in antiquity when no one but Jews came to the Temple? No. According to the Books of Samuel and Kings, the kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon expanded to become an empire including the surrounding non-Israelite nations as vassal states. During this period, Jerusalem probably saw a steady stream of Gentile officials coming on diplomatic business with the royal court, which would likely include worshipping the God of their suzerain. It seems likely that several psalms were originally written with this context in mind, in which Israelites would be mixed with visiting foreigners in the Solomonic Temple (e.g. Ps 47:9). Pray a prayer of praise each day this week, even when it’s hard.
The Second Reading- Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
Brothers and sisters: I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God delivered all to disobedience,
that he might have mercy upon all.
Reflection - Though Jew and Gentile seem to have different “paths to God,” in reality, St. Paul points out, the salvation of both groups is inextricably united in God’s plan.
-How often do you think about God’s mercy?
The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 15:21-28
At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.
Reflection Many are troubled by the Lord’s apparently harsh way of dealing with this woman, at least initially. Shouldn’t Jesus have immediately offered to heal this poor woman’s daughter? Yet we need to remember that the Lord had prophetic insight into the hearts of the people with whom he interacted. He knew what people were thinking and the state of their heart (Matt 9:4; 12:25; John 2:25; 6:61). Jesus adapts his way of dealing with people to their individual situations and needs. For example, he doesn’t challenge everyone to sell all that they have and give to the poor (cf. Matt 19:21 and Luke 19:8-10), but he knew that was what the rich young man needed to do. So, in the case of this Sunday’s Gospel, we need to understand Jesus’ actions as tailored to the faith of this woman. He sees that she has faith—he puts her faith to the test, to elicit more faith. Untested faith is no faith at all. “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs,” Jesus says, a painful reminder that Gentile pagans have no covenantal claim on the God of Israel, no right to call him to be faithful to his obligations toward them (hesed), only the ability to throw themselves (ourselves!) on the mercy of God the creator. The woman has both tremendous faith, and tremendous humility. Not taking insult from Jesus’ words, humbly acknowledging her lack of any covenant claim on the God of Israel, she asks for unmerited mercy: “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” We recall that Jacob himself, father of all the sons of Israel, was not the direct heir of God’s covenant, but connived and struggled his way in. We recall Rahab’s family and the Gibeonites, both Canaanite groups that should have been wiped out in the conquest, but who tricked and struggled their way into the people of the covenant. We recall Ruth the Moabitess and Uriah the Hittite, who renounced their ethnicity and swore oaths to the God of Israel. And we realize that throughout salvation history, God has been finding a place in his covenant for people who, in some way or other, didn’t belong there, but wanted to be there.
Adults - Our churches often say “all are welcome!” Do we live it?
Teens - How does your faith carry you through in the times you don’t understand what Jesus seems to be saying?
Kids - How does Jesus show you His mercy?
LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK! - We must imitate and learn from this pagan mother. Her love for her child made her ready to undergo every hardship or suffering for the restoration to health of her loved one. When we turn to Christ in our needs is our faith in Him as sincere and unwavering as was this woman's? No doubt it often is, and yet we do not get the desired answer. As Christians we know that our particular request may not always be for our good, or for the final good of the person for whom we are praying. In that case, the good God will not grant what would be to our eternal disadvantage. But if our prayer is sincere and persevering, we shall always get an answer, and one which is better than what we asked for. How often do we wonder at or perhaps doubt God's mercy when we see, for example, the young father of a family being taken from his loved and helpless ones, notwithstanding the prayers and tears of his wife and children. Where is God's mercy here? Where is His answer to these sincere prayers? But who are we to question God's mercy? The answer is there and often clear enough: that death brings out in his relatives and neighbors virtues which they would otherwise never have had occasion to practice - virtues that will earn for them eternal life. It is only when we get to heaven - and getting to heaven is our purpose in life - that we shall see how our prayers, sincere and persevering, were answered by God. -Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.
 

CATHOLIC QUESTIONS AND CATHOLIC ANSWERS

546. How did the Virgin Mary pray?  b. by faith and the offering of her whole being
Mary’s prayer was characterized by faith and by the generous offering of her whole being to God. The Mother of Jesus is also the new Eve, the “Mother of all the living”. She prays to Jesus for the needs of all people.




547. Is there a prayer of Mary in the Gospel? (CCC 2619) c. Yes, the Magnificat (My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…)
Along with the prayer of Mary at Cana in Galilee, the Gospel gives us the Magnificat (Luke1:46-55) which is the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church, the joyous thanksgiving that rises from the hearts of the poor because their hope is met by the fulfillment of the divine promises.


PRAYER IN THE AGE OF THE CHURCH
548. How did the first Christian community in Jerusalem pray? d. all of the above
At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles it is written that in the first community of Jerusalem, educated in the life of prayer by the Holy Spirit, the faithful “devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread, and to the prayers” (Acts 2:42).




549. How does the Holy Spirit intervene in the Church’s prayer? a. by uniting us to Jesus
The Holy Spirit, the interior Master of Christian prayer, forms the Church in the life of prayer and allows her to enter ever more deeply into contemplation of and union with the unfathomable mystery of Christ. The forms of prayer expressed in the apostolic and canonical writings remain normative (the standard) for Christian prayer.
​

534. What is prayer?  (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC, 2558-2565, 2590)
a) the raising of one’s mind and heart to God
b) the petition of good things from him in accord with his will
c) the personal and living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is infinitely good
d) All of the above.


535. Why is there a universal call to prayer? (CCC 2566-2567)
a) only because every one needs prayer
b) prayer changes God
c) God draws every person to the mysterious encounter known as prayer
d) prayer is magic and by it I get what I want


THE REVELATION OF PRAYER IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
536. How is Abraham a model of prayer? (CCC 2570-2573, 2592)
a) his prayer was spoken the loudest
b) he walked in the presence of God, heard and obeyed him 
c) he gave 1/10 of everything to the king-priest Melchizedek
d) he is the father of many nations


537. How did Moses pray? (CCC 2574-2577, 2593)
a) in a way like Jesus would pray
b) he lingered in conversation with him often and at length 
c) face to face, like a man with his friend
d) all of the above

​

​
The Benedictine sisters have prayed non-stop for 135 years at the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre in Paris. (interior photos, Sophie Lloyd; archive photograph, AHAP; exterior/dome photos, Stephanie LeBlanc/Unsplash)
WORLD |  AUG. 1, 2020

PARIS — As the health crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic immersed the whole country into a long period of lockdown March 17, Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Paris, which had to close its doors for the first time in its history, nonetheless remained an unflappable beacon of prayer in France.
Enthroned at the top of the emblematic butte Montmartre, the highest point of the city, the basilica is particularly prized by tourists and art lovers for the purity of its Roman-Byzantine architecture and its rounded shapes.
It is, after the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the second-most-visited monument of the City of Light.
But this high place of world tourism, as a “Sanctuary of Eucharistic Adoration and Divine Mercy,” is also one of the most important religious sites of France.
Day and night since Aug. 1, 1885, the Body of Christ in the Holy Sacrament has been exposed and adored inside the basilica (except for Good Friday), whatever the external conditions, even the most extreme. This is remarkable, as the history of France hasn’t exactly been calm since that time, including for the Catholic Church, which is also facing an unprecedented wave of secularization at every level of society.  
“The adoration hasn’t stopped even for a minute, including during the two world wars,” Sister Cécile-Marie, member of the Benedictine Sisters of the Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre and responsible for the nights of adoration at the basilica, told the Register. “Even during the 1944 bombing, when some fragments fell right next to the basilica, the adorers never left.”

Adoration in the Time of COVID-19
And the recent quarantine period was, of course, no exception. While, usually, many lay or religious people come from outside and take turns in perpetual adoration, this unprecedented situation necessitated the 14 nuns of the community to reorganize their daily life in order to keep honoring the special tradition of the sanctuary, which stayed closed to the public for more than two months, until May 31.  
“It was obvious to us that since we were not touched by the coronavirus, as long as we were still on our feet, we had to act and adapt quickly to this new situation,” Sister Cécile-Marie continued.
Each nun had to pray in adoration one hour twice a day to ensure a 24/7 presence, including during meals. “We never leave the Lord alone, and one cannot leave before the next person arrives, which could be pretty difficult at night when one of us didn’t wake up on time!” she said, adding that this has also been an opportunity for them to focus more on prayer and thus reconnect with the very essence of their rule of life.
However, she confessed, the lockdown also created a totally unusual sense of emptiness within the church, usually crowded with pilgrims and visitors. In her view, the most difficult thing to handle when the basilica suddenly emptied was the sight of all the candles slowly going out.
“It was a very sad vision, but, miraculously, we immediately started receiving requests of intentions of prayer from people via email; so, eventually, there were always at least one or two candles burning, and when they were about to extinguish, we would suddenly receive another request, which was so comforting.”
And the Benedictine community was quickly joined in prayer by a multitude of adorers who prayed with them remotely, following an online table for intentions of prayers.
“It was a beautiful experience: We were alone in the basilica, but we felt we were always connected with the adorers that were in spiritual communion from where they were,” Sister Cécile-Marie recalled. “We couldn’t help people by wearing white coats, but we fought the epidemic our own way: through prayer.”


A Place of Reparation
The construction of the basilica wasn’t even completed when perpetual adoration was initiated. The historical context in which the building project was born was particularly sensitive and painful for the French nation.
Indeed, the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War following the Siege of Paris in 1871 left a strong sense of hopelessness among the population and was often associated in the collective mind with a weakening of the faith as a consequence of the French Revolution.
It was then, as an act of reparation designed to instill hope in the nation’s heart, that two laymen, Alexandre Legentil and Hubert Rohault de Fleury, initiated and developed the ambitious project to build a church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the support of a large network of friendships.

And the place chosen by the then-archbishop of Paris, Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert, for the construction owes nothing to chance: It was in Montmartre, which literally means “Mount of Martyrs,” that the first Christians of Paris, including St. Denis, were killed in hatred of the faith in the third century.
“The foundress of our community, Mother Adèle Garnier, heard about the project and received soon after a divine call to establish perpetual adoration in this new church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and she submitted this idea to the archbishop of Paris,” Sister Cécile-Marie said.
But the building process, started in 1875 and completed in 1914, was particularly arduous because of the sand sub-base, which made the site unstable. Therefore, divine assistance was sought through the creation of a provisory chapel so that people could pray and meditate even during the work. “Times of adoration of the Holy Sacrament were already organized there, and the first pilgrims came, giving the first financial contributions for the building site,” Sister Cécile-Marie continued.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux herself was among the first contributors to the basilica, which could only augur a glorious future for the site. During a visit to Paris on her way to Rome with her family and a group of pilgrims, on Nov. 6, 1887, young Thérèse attended Mass at Sacré-Cœur and decided to offer her gold bracelet for the basilica’s monstrance.
It wasn’t until 1919 that the building was finally consecrated by Archbishop Guibert, five years after the completion of the work, as ravages of the Great War forced him to postpone the ceremony.
One century later, as the basilica’s first jubilee coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit chose this emblematic place to conduct an extraordinary blessing ceremony of the French capital with the Holy Sacrament, on Holy Thursday, to seek God’s  protection for the city and its inhabitants.
“Sacred Heart of Jesus … from this basilica, day and night, your mercy shines on this city, France and on the world, in the sacrament of the Eucharist,” Archbishop Aupetit said in his prayer raised from the basilica’s portico. “Assist all those who are suffering the consequences of the pandemic and support those who, in so many ways, put themselves at the service of their brothers and sisters. Give health to the sick, strength to the medical staff, comfort to the families and salvation to all those who have died.”
​
Solène Tadié is the Register’s Rome-based Europe correspondent.

​

​+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion


18th Sunday of Ordinary Time - August 2, 2020


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


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


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


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


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

CATHOLIC QUESTIONS AND CATHOLIC ANSWERS


534. What is prayer?  d. All of the above.
Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God, or the petition of good things from him in accord with his will. It is always the gift of God who comes to encounter man. Christian prayer is the personal and living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is infinitely good, with his Son Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit who dwells in their hearts.

535. Universal call to prayer  c. God draws every person to the mysterious encounter known as prayer
Because through creation God first calls every being from nothingness. Even after the Fall man continues to be capable of recognizing his Creator and retains a desire for the One who has called him into existence. All religions, and the whole history of salvation in particular, bear witness to this human desire for God. It is God first of all, however, who ceaselessly draws every person to the mysterious encounter known as prayer.

536. How is Abraham a model of prayer? b. he walked in the presence of God, heard and obeyed him
Abraham is a model of prayer because he walked in the presence of God, heard and obeyed him. His prayer was a battle of faith because he continued to believe in the fidelity of God even in times of trial. Besides, after having received in his own tent the visit of the Lord who confided his plan to him, Abraham dared to intercede for sinners with bold confidence.

537. How did Moses pray?  d. all of the above
The prayer of Moses was typical of contemplative prayer. God, who called to Moses from the burning bush, lingered in conversation with him often and at length, “face to face, like a man with his friend” (Exodus 33:11). In this intimacy with God, Moses attained the strength to intercede tenaciously for his people: his prayer thus prefigured the intercession of the one mediator, Christ Jesus.