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hunterequipment670 · 3 years

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Brave Of The Six Flowers

Adlet, who claims to be the strongest man in the world, is chosen as one of the 'Braves of the Six Flowers' and sets out on a battle to prevent the resurrection of the Demon God. However, it turns out that there are Seven Braves who gathered at the promised land. Legend says, when the Evil God awakens from the deepest of darkness, the god of fate will summon Six Braves and grant them with the power to save the world. Adlet, who claims to be the strongest on the face of this earth, is chosen as one of the 'Brave Six Flowers,' and sets out on a battle to prevent the resurrection of the Evil God. The title of the show in English translates as “Heroes of the Six Flowers”, and the main plot of the anime follows the events taking place in a fantasy world, where six “Flowers” fight demons to protect the planet. To accomplish this difficult task, the Goddess of Destiny has.

Brave Of The Six Flowers Who Is The Traitor

Brave Of The Six Flowers Novel

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/LightNovel/RokkaBravesOfTheSixFlowers

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A light novel written by Ishio Yamagata, the author of Book of Bantorra. When the Demon Lord awakes, the Goddess of Fate chooses six Heroes and gives them the power to defeat him. The six heroes are marked by the crest of the Six Flowers, and are meant to convene at a certain location. As the day of the Demon Lord's revival nears, Adlet Mayer, a boy who calls himself the strongest man in the world, is chosen as one of the 'Six Braves'. Upon reaching the meet-up location, however, he discovers that there are seven Braves in total- meaning that one of them is a spy. The series follows Adlet and his interactions with his fellow Braves.

The series has run since August 25, 2011, is published under the Super Dash Bunko/Dash X Bunko imprint, and currently spans 6 volumes and one spin-off volume. A manga adaptation, published in Super Dash & Go!, ran from February 25, 2012 to November 20, 2014, and spans 4 volumes.

Brave Of The Six Flowers Who Is The Traitor

A 12-episode anime adaptation by Passione premiered as part of the Summer 2015 Anime lineup, which covers the entirety of the first volume of the light novel.

Due to the suspense and mystery nature of the story, be wary of spoilers.

The light novels and manga have been licensed and released by Yen Press.

Brave Of The Six Flowers Novel

Provides Examples Of:

Action Girl: The female heroines. Potentially all the Saints, since they're all women and all could possibly be tapped to become one of the Six Flowers.

Adaptation Expansion: The anime expands the beginning of the series to include a greater introduction to Adlet and Nachetania, as well as the meeting with Fremy. The manga starts with the group already on the way to the temple, with the mark of the braves, skipping the entire introduction and travel arc.

Always Save the Girl: Adlet will protect Fremy, even if he needs to sacrifice himself, his companions, and the world to do it.

Animal Motifs: Rabbits for Nashetania, cats for Hans, cows for Rolonia.

Anti-Hero Team: The entire main cast. It's telling that Adlet is one of the MOST heroic of the lot, given his behavior and personality.

Badass Normal: The males of the team, Adlet, Goldof and Hans, as a result of women being the only candidates for Sainthood.

Badass Boast: Adlet's Catchphrase.

Badass Crew: The heroes are the strongest warriors in the world.

Batman Gambit: The series is more or less made of these. In each book the heroes are caught in one and they have to figure out what's really happening before it's too late. Characters often run their own Gambits to stop it or get information.

The Beastmaster: Chamo uses her powers to fight with the help of Kyoma.

Blade on a Stick: Goldof fights with a spear.

Bodyguard Crush: Goldof to Nashetania.

Catchphrase: 'I am the world's strongest man' and some variations by Adlet.

The Chosen Many: Six of them. Exactly six. Not seven. And DEFINITELY not eight.

Cliffhanger: Episode 11 ends on one, with Adlet figuring out more clues as to what happened. The ending credits begin playing just as he attempts to name who he thought was the Seventh Brave. The following episode also ends the anime on one, with Rolonia joining the team bringing it to seven members again after Nashetania reveals herself to be The Mole and flees.

Closed Circle: The cast is trapped within a forest by a magical barrier, and cannot leave until they solve the mystery.

Combat Pragmatist: Along with his Hidden Weapons, it's the only way Adlet can keep up with his companions.

Conceive and Kill: Fremy says her human father was killed after that her Kyoma mother became pregnant.

Consummate Liar: Tgurneu all the way.

Crazy Enough to Work:

Mora's plan in Volume 2 to save her daughter without killing one of the heroes.

Adlet pretending to be the imposter to elicit the help of a Kyoma lieutenant to save Fremy and reestablish his own credibility in Volume 5

Creepy Child: Chamo is very unstable.

Declaration of Protection: Adlet promises Fremy to protect her shortly after meeting her, to her great confusion.

Defrosting Ice Queen: Fremy.

Experienced Protagonist: Adlet is one but is not the strongest of the group.

Extreme Omnivore: Chamo can eat anything.

Fantasy Gun Control: Averted; guns were created thirty years prior to the story but were ineffective beyond tower defense because of their insanely long reload speeds. The Kyoma capitalize on this by creating a saint assassin with the specific ability to materialize full-cartridge bullets out of gunpowder in the air, which is super effective; Fremy has killed over 10 masters in their prime.

Gambit Pileup: There is a tendency for individual characters to counter other plans by making their own. It helps that the main character is something of a Guile Hero.

Gambit Roulette: Starting with Book 2, many of the plans come off as this as they rely on on a specific person becoming one of the Six Heroes. There's no real way to predict this happening (although one planner does try to stack the deck in favor of their chosen candidate).

Genre Shift: Initially the series seems to be a typical fantasy adventure. It's really about complex plans that wouldn't be out of place in Death Note.

Guile Hero: Adlet is very smart and has a good scientific knowledge.

The Gunslinger: Fremy, the Saint of Gunpowder.

Half-Human Hybrid:

Fremy is half Kyoma.

Nashetania was fused with several Kyoma, granting her their powers and a Healing Factor.

Hate at First Sight: When Adlet and Fremy run into Nashetania and Goldof, she is immediately attacked by the latter two. She even repeatedly warns Adlet before this that she would end up clashing with the other Braves, but he doesn't listen.

Heart Is an Awesome Power: Tgurneu's second significant power is making people fall in love. His Batman Gambit with Adlet and Fremy hinges entirely on it.

Hero Protagonist: Adlet, as The Hero and The Protagonist.

Hero Killer: Fremy is the infamous Six Flower Killer who killed several potential heroes.

Horned Humanoid: Fremy used to have a horn on the right side of her forehead, that she cut off after she was betrayed by the Kyoma.

Hostage Situation: Adlet does this to Fremy in episode 6 after he's painted as the most suspicious of the current Braves. He stabs her with one of his poisoned needles, then uses a flashbang to escape while carrying her. Unfortunately Hans manages to hit him in the back with one of his knives, though Adlet throws some spikes down to slow their pursuit of him.

A House Divided: Used throughout the show:

At the end of episode 5 and first part of 6, Hans starts poking all sorts of holes in Adlet's story about how he was able to enter the temple without opening it properly. Even several of the other Braves starts getting suspicious of him, with Nashetania being the only one who says he's innocent. Unfortunately Goldov attacks him, and he's forced to take Fremy as a hostage to escape.

In episode 8, after Adlet proves his innocence to Hans, Chamot doesn't seem to care. Instead she proceeds to attack both of them, and tells Hans to kill Adlet, stating that if the barrier disappears, she won't kill him. And if it doesn't disappear, she would keep killing the other braves until the barrier was lifted, and says she's strong enough to take on the demon lord by herself.

Interspecies Romance: The romance between the human Adlet and the Kyouma Half-Human Hybrid Fremy.

Intimate Healing: To save Adlet from his injuries, Fremy gives him a tonic through her mouth via a kiss.

Kissing Discretion Shot: In episode 12, just as Fremy is going to give Adlet an Intimate Healing kiss, Adlet passes out and the camera fades out.

The Leader: Mora is the leader being the oldest of the seven and being the leader of the saints as well. Adlet replaces her starting from the second volume.

Locked Room Mystery: Evidence points at Adlet being the only one who had the opportunity to activate the barrier, because he was the first to open the door and it activated shortly afterward. The viewer can see that he was not in the activation room, but because he was alone at the time, he has no alibi. The question then, is who really activated the barrier, and how?

Manchurian Agent: Adlet turns out to be the second Mole. When he was a child, Tgurneu brainwashed him into falling madly in love with Fremy the moment he met her so he would protect her until Fremy could fulfill her role in his plans.

Master of the Levitating Blades: Princess Nashetania Loei Piena Augustra is the heir apparent to the kingdom, and has been named 'Saint of Blades.' Her magic power enables her to summon multiple blades from the ground (and sometimes thin air), attack an adversary in formation, or form a kind of spinning shield. These blades then disappear when not needed.

A Million Is a Statistic: After the Seventh Brave is revealed, they mention that there would be a tiny amount of casualties in order to achieve their goal. Once the others hear that said 'tiny amount' is actually five hundred thousand deaths, the real Braves don't hesitate to kill the imposter.

Minimalist Cast: With the exception of some minor characters, the series mainly focuses on the seven (later eight) heroes and some of the main antagonists, with the first novel only having the 7 protagonists as the only characters featured.

The Mole: There are supposed to be six heroes. Seven people show up claiming to be one of them. The end of volume one introduces the EIGHTH hero, meaning there are TWO traitors. It goes without saying that the series runs on Betrayal Tropes. In the first book, it is revealed the mole is Nashetania, but she's not on the side of the Majin. She's more of a Wild Card trying to create peace between humanity and the Kyoma.

Odd Friendship: Between Chamo and Hans, later Fremy and Rolonia.

Older Than They Look: Mora is in her thirties but looks younger.

Opposites Attract: The brash, Hot-Blooded hero Adlet and the cold Emotionless Girl Fremy.

The Power of Love: Maliciously invoked and exploited by Tgurneu as part of his Batman Gambit. And then his backup plan. And then his ACTUAL plan.

The Power of the Sun: A saint of the sun exists. And was part of the mole's plan to trick the heroes.

Power Tattoo: The crest of the Six Flowers.

Relationship Reset Button: Over the course of the story, Adlet and Fremy become close and develop feelings for each other. Then later in the light novels, it's revealed Adlet only developed those feelings because Tgurneu brainwashed him. Once Tgurneu dies, Adlet's feelings disappear and his relationship with Fremy goes back to the start.

Revenge: Why Fremy is part of the six heroes. She hates the Kyoma for pretending to love her when they were just using her. She wants to destroy everything they believed in for revenge.

Salt Solution: Welynn, the Saint of Salt can change anything she strikes into clump of salt.

Shock and Awe: One of Dozzu's abilities.

Skilled, but Naïve: Chamo is the strongest of the heroes but her lack of experience tends to reduce her effectiveness.

Slashed Throat: Subverted. One is done in episode 8 on Adlet by Hans, but it turns out to have been a very convincing illusion.

Spell My Name with an 'S': Some names on the anime site are different from the ones in the light novel: Nachetanya or Nashetania, Flamie or Fremy.

Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Subverted. Adlet's sword is spring-loaded, and he ejects it at Hans after running out of options. However, he misses, and only knocks one of Hans' blades out of his hand. He then tells Hans that he deliberately missed because he didn't want to kill a fellow brave. Hans then proceeds to utilize What You Are in the Dark on Adlet.

Tomato in the Mirror: As it turns out, Adlet isn't a Brave like he thought he was, and his personality had been fabricated whole cloth by Tgurneu. He had brainwashed him from an early age to fall in love with Fremy so he could further his own plans.

To Win Without Fighting: Adlet attempts this on Hans in episode 8, knowing that he was outmatched. He instead continues to try and convince Hans that he's not the seventh. Hans pulls a What You Are in the Dark move on Adlet, though this just verifies that Adlet isn't the seventh brave.

Undying Loyalty: Goldof is completely devoted to Nashetania.

Unwitting Pawn:

Rolonia has been trained for years by Mora for a precise goal, so that she could kill a hero and revive him later.

Adlet is the unknowing traitor and was manipulated to fall in love with Fremy.

Verbal Tic: 'Meow' and some variations for Hans. He speaks like that because he respects cats.

Vomit Indiscretion Shot: When Chamo vomits her 'pets' that live in her stomach.

Walking Armory: Adlet carries several types of weapons on him. And poisons. And acids. And drugs. And...

Weak, but Skilled: Adlet.

Well-Intentioned Extremist: Nashetania plans to kill the Majin too but according to her plan, the death of some heroes are necessary, as well as the death of more than 500,000 people.

What Is This Thing You Call 'Love'?: Fremy is falling in love with Adlet, but when asked by Mora she answers that she doesn't know what that is. Fremy finds the sensation unpleasant because she is constantly worried about him.

What You Are in the Dark: A variation of this is used on Adlet by Hans in episode 8. The latter says he's the seventh brave, and proceeds to attack Adlet. Though Adlet's throat appears to be slashed, it turned out to be an illusion created by Hans. The latter, having assassinated countless people before, states that the look on men's faces right before they die never lies. And the one on Adlet's face upon hearing Hans claiming to be the seventh proved that he wasn't the imposter. Hans apologizes for accusing him in the first place.

Whip It Good: Rolonia's weapon.

World's Strongest Man: Adlet certainly claims to be this. He's not, but he could probably beat the people who actually could claim to be. However, Tgurneu is inclined to agree, as is Hans, eventually.

You Have to Believe Me!: Nashetania's father was noted to be something of a mediocre king, but when she was a child he took a turn for the worse by loudly proclaiming that there was a devil worshiping cult within the kingdom and tried to lead a bloody purge. Nashetania got caught up in the mess even though she was just a little girl and had to flee for safety. Trouble is, he was almost right. Dozzu doesn't work for the majin anymore, but he was running a cult in the kingdom and even Nashetania and her mother were part of it. His power was stripped as a result, leaving him a figurehead while a prime minister actually leads the country at least until Nashetania is old enough.

Younger Than They Look: Goldof is only 16 years old, but looks older because his Heroic Build developed at a young age. The only part of him that looks his age is his face, which is noted to be quite at contrast to the rest of him.

Alternative Title(s):Rokka No Yuusha

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tinyshe · 3 years

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still worth reading ... more now than ever:

The Kraken Unleashed: Are We Ready to Fight the Beast?

Father Richard Heilman January 14, 2015

“And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal wound had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast. They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it? – Revelation 13:1-10

“In the 2010 film, Clash of the Titans, there is a scene in which Zeus, angry with the humans, is persuaded by Hades to visit vengeance upon the mortals in the form of the Kraken, a giant monster from the depths of the sea. The visual of this great evil being unleashed is something to behold:

“If this scene is evocative, perhaps it is because it’s familiar. Like a Kraken released, we have a colossal problem in our world today. There are few who are not stunned by the growing specter of evil; a darkness more profound and spreading more quickly across the globe than any civilized human being could have ever imagined. Many of those I speak with have admitted that they now abstain completely from watching the news: “It’s just too much,” they say. “It’s just so horrifying!”

“For the past two years I have been confiding to close friends my own growing sense that something is happening, that something unholy is stirring. I have spoken with others who have admitted the same suspicion. The way I have tried to describe it in the past is like the rumblings felt just before a volcano explodes.

“Now, I find myself wondering if the eruption is upon us.

“Who could ever conceive of atrocities like those we are seeing executed in the name of religion? Where once we might see coverage of a tragic conflict far away, we now face an evil that is not confined to some distant corner of the planet. With the always-on, near-instant spread of information in our digital age, your next door neighbor can be radicalized from the comfort of their living room.

“What we are facing is, first and foremost, a form of spiritual warfare. In a time where violence is rampant and the innocent are threatened, it is true that we must be ready to physically engage the malefactors. But if we deny the spiritual nature of this surge of evil we are facing, we will have no hope of victory.

“When confronted with atrocity, the immediate reaction of most people is, “What can we do to stop it?” Yes! That is the exact question we need to be asking. Summoning us to courage, St. Augustine challenges us to do battle: “Hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are anger and courage. Anger that things are the way they are. Courage to make them the way they ought to be.”

“But to begin to answer the question of what we can do, we must first properly assess where we are. What are our capabilities? How is our strength? What is the state of our conditioning? Without this kind of brutal honesty, we are likely to flounder rather than fight.

“Jesus warned, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth” (Luke 21:34-35).

“And yet isn’t that exactly what has become of us? Consider this sobering analysis of our present condition from columnist Jeffrey Kuhner at the Washington Times:

“For the past 50 years, every major institution has been captured by the radical secular left. The media, Hollywood, TV, universities, public schools, theater, the arts, literature — they relentlessly promote the false gods of sexual hedonism and radical individualism. Conservatives have ceded the culture to the enemy. Tens of millions of unborn babies have been slaughtered; illegitimacy rates have soared; divorce has skyrocketed; pornography is rampant; drug use has exploded; sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS have killed millions; birth control is a way of life; sex outside of wedlock has become the norm; countless children have been permanently damaged — their innocence lost forever — because of the proliferation of broken homes; and sodomy and homosexuality are celebrated openly. America has become the new Babylon.

“This cultural assessment is bleak. And I believe that underlying it all is a deeper evil, a more ancient and intractable error which gives rise to all the rest. Many have pointed to “Modernism” as the heresy of our times. Modernism, while it takes many forms, is basically a break or rejection of our past in favor of all things new. And, while it seems evident that our Church is fully infected with the heresy of Modernism, I believe that it, too, is a symptom of this more fundamental threat.

“What am I referring to? Something that impacts the very nature of human existence and the opportunity for our salvation. Lacking an official name, I call this monster, “Stealth Arianism.” Students of history know that the Arian heresy – the worst crisis in the Church before our present age – was rooted in the belief that Jesus Christ was merely a created being, not equal to God the Father. Stealth Arianism follows the same fatal error, but with a twist: while the Arians of the fourth century openly denied Christ’s divinity, today‘s Arians will profess Jesus as God, and yet through their actions deny it. In other words, they don’t even know they are heretics. Many even believe that they are doing God’s work in their attempts to elevate Christ’s humanity at the cost of His divinity.

“You see, once we diminish the identity of Christ as the Son of God, we are left to view Him as simply a historical figure that was a nice guy, a respectable teacher and a good example for how we are to live. Religion is then reduced to a nice organization that does nice things for people as we seek a kind of psychotherapy for self-actualization. And this is not only not what He came to give us, but it’s something He made sure to leave no room for.

In his Christological examination, [easyazon_link asin=”0060652926″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”onep073-20″]Mere Christianity[/easyazon_link], C.S. Lewis makes the case plain:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

“Over the past 50 years, the Stealth Arians have done everything within their power to remove from our lived experience of Catholicism anything that would point to the divinity of Christ, and the supernatural quality of our faith. Everything has been stripped from our churches – sacred art, sacred architecture, sacred music, and the sacred elements of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass – and we are left in the barren desert of the banal. It is no wonder many Catholics think nothing of approaching the Most Holy Eucharist dressed in a t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, and grabbing the host like they’re reaching into a bag of chips. As Flannery O’Connor said, “If it’s a symbol, to hell with it.” It’s more surprising that these individuals even bother to attend Mass at all.

“Moreover, the Stealth Arians have deliberately chosen to keep their teachings muddled, ambiguous and elusive in an effort to increase “pastoral sensitivity” as the highest of all values, which keeps people feeling good about themselves just the way they are – though never challenged to strive for sainthood! Of course, when people like the way their church makes them feel about themselves, that keeps the money flowing into the collection basket. But whether confused and uncertain, or simply spiritually blind for lack of true pastoral care, the faithful who have been abandoned by their spiritual leaders are prone to be conformed to the world and its prince, a murderer and liar from the beginning.

“St. John Chrysostom exhorts, “Let us be filled with confidence, and let us discard everything so as to be able to meet this onslaught. Christ has equipped us with weapons more splendid than gold, more resistant than steel, weapons more fiery than any flame and lighter than the slightest breeze … These are weapons of a totally new kind, for they have been forged for a previously unheard-of type of combat. I, who am a mere man, find myself called upon to deal blows to demons; I, who am clothed in flesh, find myself at war with incorporeal powers.”

“That sounds noble for St. John, but about for us? Are we really prepared to such a fight? Just when we need mighty spiritual warriors for these dangerous times, Satan has spent the past 50 years diminishing the Church’s legions to little more than a bunch of Girl Scouts. Now that we are left in our weakened state, Satan seems to be calling out to deal the last blow, “Release the Kraken!”

“Indeed, what can we do?

“St. Paul gives us the answer in his epistle to the Ephesians (6:10-18):

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

“Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.

Originally published on September 18, 2014.

Father Richard Heilman

Fr. Richard M. Heilman is a priest of the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin State Chaplain for the Knights of Columbus. He is a regular guest host on Relevant Radio’s The Inner Life, and is the founder of the Knights of Divine Mercy, which is an apostolate for Catholic men’s faith formation..

He is also he founder of the Ladies of Divine Mercy, which is an apostolate for Catholic women’s faith formation. He is the author of the Church Militant Field Manual and the Roman Catholic Man website, which are both dedicated to helping Catholics understand and train for their role in the mission of combating evil and rescuing the souls of our loved ones who have lost the precious gift of faith.

#catholic #fr richard heilman #be awake #be aware #be prepared #get right with God #spiritual battle #pray #are you ready to fight the beast

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masterheartsxiii · 4 years

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Notes from mass 11/1/20:

@Saint T’s - Communion Service

(Not mass, what’s that mean?)

*A quick note: I waited to post these as I had a scheduled meeting with the priest to discuss things that had been a factor in my life recently. I also got notes on how to further my spiritual journey. This is posted in a short paragraph at the end.

Chris (a woman, not father Chris) leading because Fr Chris was possibly exposed to Covid, but not sick. That’s unfortunate)

Song: for all the saints

(Could not make our words fully, but sounded like general praise, which is a good way to start always)

Confession to God & the other churchgoers as way to cleanse before receiving

(Why confession then)

> I’ve seen this before and it got lost in some old unpublished notes but I love this. This confession before the mass begins proper, but why do confession at all if we can just repent here?

Reading I: Revelations(!)

“Salvation comes from our god”

Those chosen are protected.

(Who are the 144,000? Literal number or just metaphorical?)

Gloria:

“Oh God, this is the people that long to see your face”

(Interesting to long for that which would destroy our mortal forms. Even Moses only saw God covered when he spoke to Him.

Also love minor key, especially Arabic-styled minor)

Reading II: 1st John

“Beloved, see what love the father has bestowed upon us.”

Purification via belief.

(A la “longing to see [His] face.” Accepting God’s hope is equivalent to destroying one’s mortal form & being reborn a heavenly being)

Gospel: Matthew

Jesus preached from the hill. Bless the sad, weak, etc. because God sees them and rewards them.

Homily:

-Being done by the woman, Chris.

(Didn’t know women were even allowed to speak in homilies, since they can’t become priests for no reason, IMHO)

-Asked to share personal reflection on being called to holiness.

(Pauses here for a short break. I’d like to say it was from the awe-inspiring nature of god, but it’s actually because ADHD and virtual service don’t mix super well)

-All called to be saints

(is being Catholic a requirement for sainthood?)

-“We cannot do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”

(I have not followed that, but how do I?)

-“Do you feel you’re surviving the time of great distress”

(Yes but not just covid)

-No knee jerk reactions to others

(Breathe. Empathize. Consider those outside yourself or just your circle of loved ones.)

-Talked about a woman at her children’s school thanking them just for being kind to her

(how sad 😢)

-It’s easier to react than to think.

(A lot of relating to her mom. As someone who is more like my mom, personality wise, for better or worse, that resonated. I should visit her.)

-Mourning and longing for justice

(Yep yep)

-Most important step to sainthood: “my life is not just about me”

(A hard thing to do. Brings to mind the rich man & Jesus)

((Post discussion bonus note: reverberated well with my meeting with father Chris.))

-MY HAPPINESS IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING!

(Read that again for emphasis, selfish tendencies)

-Grow into (die to the old self in the process) the image God created me in.

-Look for saints in your own life.

(My grandpa, an ever present, ever loving prayer warrior, and my late grandma. Hope she’s still praying for me now. Miss you.)

Post Homily:

-Powerful message, spoken not by a priest; but an ordinary woman. Again, why can’t she be a priest(ess)?

-Very hard to not use messages like this as manor, and instead reflect it inward.

((Post Discussion Bonus note: Refracting this message of the lens of the discussion with Fr. Chris helped immensely)

Discussion with Fr. Chris on 11/2/20:

I also had a meeting with father Chris where I discussed many of the current issues pressing on me and my friend group’s heart. He provided me with clarity, understanding, and perhaps even some steps to take. He also helped me not to see the time I spent before as a waste. Therapy can help, but only God can heal and teach so much. The key take away was love means letting the ones you care about have the freedom to choose for themselves, as God has done for us with free will. There can’t be one love without freedom. Something I can work towards.

#notes from mass #mass thoughts #mass notes #catholicism #budding catholic #christianity

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pamphletstoinspire · 5 years

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God Wants Us to Give Him Our Wills

The more we grow in our love for God, the more we will desire to see as He sees, to love as He loves, and to forgive as He forgives. But we will stumble and fall repeatedly because our Fallen nature will continue to get the better of us at times.

This movement away from our fallen nature to sainthood occurs as Christ purifies us through a fire that is extremely painful, but that never annihilates us. This purifying fire is how God forms us into the holy saint He is calling each one of us to become. How this is accomplished varies in accordance with God’s will. However different our refinement, the ultimate end for all of us is the same.

One of the most difficult aspects of this refinement process is learning how to submit our will to God’s will, not strictly out of begrudging obedience, but out of love for Him. We are called to echo the words of Our Lord by repeatedly saying to God: “Not my will, but Your will.” This is difficult for us to do because we have our own plans, dreams, and desires, many of them good. Tension arises most keenly when we desire something that is inherently good, but which God — for mysterious reasons — decides is not for us. We struggle to see how our true joy can only be found in surrendering completely to God’s plan for our lives when it is opposed to our own plans.

I know this process well because God has taught me His will through painful means as I refused to relinquish my own grip on what I wanted. His will for me is not the same as what I wanted for my life. In the process of ignoring God’s will, I wrecked my body and my mental health. I endured deep agony and grief because of how much I wanted this great good that the vast majority of my friends get to enjoy: The gift of many children.

The deepest longing of my heart—besides becoming a saint—is to have a son to give to God in the priesthood. I would happily give as many sons to God in the priesthood as possible in an age when far too many Catholic parents do not support a priestly vocation for their sons. The reality is, however, that God has told me “no”. This is not His will for me. I will not have any more children. He is calling me to something else.

It’s not easy for me to say out loud or to write about, but I think it’s essential to demonstrate how often we desire great goods that are not God’s will for us. We don’t get to know why, either. We are called to trust and surrender to His will in love, faith, and hope.

I prayed about this great desire for a son with all of my pregnancies. My first pregnancy I was pregnant with twins. I lost my daughter’s twin very early on. I spent that pregnancy awaiting my only child’s birth experiencing the joy of her arrival and the sorrow of the loss of her twin. My daughter is now 8-years-old. At that point in time, it never occurred to my husband and me that we would not be able to have anymore children and that we would grieve the loss of four children in the years to come.

I did everything that I could do to have another child while staying obedient to Holy Mother Church. During my last pregnancy my, husband stabbed me in the abdomen and the glute muscle with different hormones in the hope that our child would live. After two weeks with a heart beat, I miscarried. The agony of it all was unbearable.

It was after my fourth miscarriage that I realized there was nothing more that I could do. My husband became ill with a dangerous and rare autoimmune disease 10 months after that miscarriage and our lives shifted dramatically. It was becoming increasingly clear to me that God’s will was for us to have one child and that this deep longing of my heart would never be realized. Instead, God would use this agony to sanctify me and others in accordance with His designs, but He wouldn’t be able to do that in me until I agreed to submit to His will.

I had to relinquish my grip on my desire for the great good of more children, especially a son. When I did so, when I gave it all back to God, something unexpected and extraordinary happened. He began to show me the path that He has in mind for me; a plan that continues to unfold daily. A path that isn’t easy—it’s not easy for any of us—but one that would take the deep grief that I carry from losing four children and from not being able to have anymore children and using it for my own sanctification and for—much to my astonishment—the sanctification of priests. Even more amazing is that it is also a path of great joy after so much anguish. After going through an intense period of being called and tested by God, He revealed to me that I will not be the natural/biological mother of a son, but instead I am called to be a spiritual mother to priests and seminarians.

God’s ways are not our own. The path that God is asking me to walk is not the path I would have chosen if left to my own devices. I never would have imagined or predicted what He is asking of me now. It’s a path that many people do not understand, because much like spiritual fatherhood, spiritual motherhood is not of this world. Spiritual parenthood is not something we see as tangibly as natural parenthood. We tend to dismiss it even though to be called to spiritual fatherhood and spiritual motherhood is to serve in a higher order, the supernatural order.

Even as Catholics, we struggle to understand spiritual maternity and spiritual paternity, but this calling is grounded in the deepest levels of reality itself. It is to seek the ultimate good for others in the supernatural order, which at its root, is the deep desire for all people to enter into communion with the Most Holy Trinity and with one another. In my case, it is a call in charity from the Holy Spirit and the Immaculate Heart of Mary to see priests become saints in order to lead souls to Christ.

After I relinquished my grip on the desire to have a son of my own, God showed me through a crucible of sorts, that the greatest good He can accomplish through me is by my prayers, sacrifices, suffering, and call to minister to priests and seminarians in an age of scandal. I also seem to spend quite a bit of time explaining the nature of the priesthood to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in the laity, which is once again an area where God is able to reach other people through my willingness to live in accordance with His will.

In order to execute my secondary vocation in union with my primary vocation, I must always be on guard against that which is opposed to God’s will for me. One of the temptations that I must fight against is the desire for my own son. By God’s grace I have made tremendous strides in relinquishing my will to His, but I still struggle with the pain I carry. Many well meaning people over the years have told me that I should try to have another child. Some noticing how much I am at ease with priests, will mention that I’d be a great mother to a son who could become a priest. What they do not know is that these comments can cause me great pain because I did everything that I could to have another child and God told me “no.” It is not God’s will for me to have a son of my own become a priest.

We have to be careful going about encouraging other people, especially when we don’t understand their path fully. It is in these moments of temptation that I must face from well-meaning and loving people, that I often think of Our Lord telling St. Peter to get behind Him. Telling me to try to have another child is to tell me to ignore God and to once more be like Jonah—who has been in the Mass Readings this week—heading for Tarshish. This is a part of my Cross and if I don’t embrace it out of love for the Eternal High Priest and His priests, then I’m walking away from Him. This is what He has called me to.

Much in the way that priests relinquish natural fatherhood in order to become spiritual fathers in the supernatural order of grace, God has called me to relinquish my desire for more children in order to be a spiritual mother to priests. This is how God operates and we all have to learn to submit to His plans. No matter how much someone loves me and wants me to have another child or doesn’t understand my call to spiritual motherhood, this is God’s path for me and that desire on the part of my friends can become a major stumbling block for me. It is true for all of us, no matter the mission God has for each one of us. We must seek to love one another, and in so doing, accept God’s plan for our loved ones’ lives. We have to accept God’s plan for our own lives and trust that it is for our ultimate good and because He loves us.

Almost all of my friends have sons and I listen frequently as they express their hope that at least one of their sons will become a priest one day. It is a hope that I have for them as well, since the Church needs good holy men to be priests, but it also causes me pain that I must repeatedly offer up to Christ on the Cross for the sake of His priests. I must say to myself: “Not my will, Your will.” And as I’ve told my friends who can have more children, I am overjoyed for them and I will be there to love and serve them regardless of any pain I experience from my own Cross. In so doing, I’m also given the opportunity to offer my own suffering up for my priest sons. This is the way of the Cross. This is the way of love that Christ has called me to.

All of us must seek to conform ourselves to Christ in love and to seek to live in union with God’s will for each one of our lives. As we do so, the Holy Spirit will infuse us with greater faith, hope, and charity. The more we are obedient to God’s will, the more we will become like Christ and the more we will experience the joy that can only come from following Him.

It doesn’t matter if the people around us understand our path or not. The saints were often misunderstood and we are all called to be saints. What matters is that we are seeking to surrender our lives to Christ. There is work that Christ wants to do through us, but we get in the way if we place our own desires over His. We must set our face towards Jerusalem and seek to always be in union with Him, no matter the cost.

“…spiritual joy depends on the Cross. By beginning to forget ourselves for Love of God, we find him, at least obscurely. And since God is our joy, this joy is proportionate to our self-denial and union with him.” - Robert Cardinal Sarah

BY: CONSTANCE T. HULL

From: https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/

#god's will

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romancatholicreflections · 6 years

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1st November >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 5:1-12a for the Solemnity of All Saints: 'How happy are the poor in spirit'.

Solemnity of All Saints.

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Matthew 5:1-12a

How happy are the poor in spirit

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

‘How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage.Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted.Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied.Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God.Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God.Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’

Gospel (USA)

Matthew 5:1-12a

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”

Reflections (4)

(i) Solemnity of All Saints

I always think of today’s feast as the feast of holiness, the feast of goodness. ‘All saints’ are all those holy, good, loving people who graced our world and are now with the Lord. There is a great number of such people. Today’s first reading speaks about a ‘huge number, impossible to count’, standing in front of God’s throne and before the Lamb of God. The letter to the Hebrews speaks of a ‘great cloud of witnesses’.

Pope Francis has recently written an apostolic letter on ‘the call to holiness in today’s world’, entitled ‘Rejoice and Be Glad’. I would like to reflect a little with you on what he says in the opening chapter of this letter. At the beginning of this letter, speaking of this ‘great crowd of witnesses’, the Pope says that ‘these witnesses may include our own mothers, grandmothers or loved ones. Their lives’, he says, ‘may not always have been perfect, yet even amid their faults and failings they kept moving forward and proved pleasing to God’. He goes on to say that these ‘saints now in God’s presence preserve their bonds of love and communion with us’. They remain with us on our own faith journey to support us. As the Pope says, ‘I do not have to carry alone what, in truth, I could never carry alone. All the saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me and to carry me’. Today we remember ‘all the saints of God’ who will never be formally canonized by the church. We can all put names and faces on such people. They graced our lives in ways that we will never fully understand on this side of eternity. They revealed something of the Lord to us, and we were greatly blessed because of their loving presence to us.

Pope Francis is very keen to stress in his letter that if we look around us we will see such people today. He speaks about a holiness found in our next-door neighbours, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence. He mentions parents who raise their children with immense love, those men and women who work hard to support their families, the sick, elderly religious who never lose their smile. We can all make our own list of such people from our experience. Pope Francis invites us to ‘be spurred on by the signs of holiness that the Lord shows us through the humblest members of’ God’s people. We need those living signs of holiness to help us on our journey. We need each other’s holiness, goodness, loving nature, on the journey of life. We cannot reach our ultimate destiny alone, as isolated individuals. Rather, God draws us to himself in and through the witness of others. When any one of us responds to the Lord’s call to be holy as he is holy, good as he is good, loving as he is loving, we make it easier for everyone around us to answer that same call.

The Pope in his letter is very strong on this personal call to holiness which each one of us receives. He says at the beginning of his letter, ‘I would like to insist primarily on the call to holiness that the Lord addresses… personally, to you’. He goes on to say that we shouldn’t become discouraged before examples of holiness that appear unattainable. We are not asked to travel someone else’s path to holiness. Pope Francis says ‘the important thing is that each believer discern his or her own path, that they bring out the very best of themselves, the most personal gifts God has placed in their hearts, rather than hopelessly trying to imitate something not meant for them’. There is that old saying in the Church’s tradition, ‘grace builds on nature’. We all share a human nature, but each of us also has a nature that is unique to each one of us. It is that very personal nature that the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, wants to enhance, so that it becomes a unique reflection of the Lord’s own nature. ‘We are all called to be holy, each in our own way, by living our lives with love and by bearing witness to the Lord in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves’.

Pope Francis goes on to remind us that in the end, holiness, a loving life, the kind of life that is outlined in the Beatitudes of today’s gospel reading, is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is much more the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives than our work, and the Holy Spirit never ceases to work in our lives. In the light of this, Pope Francis goes on to say, in his very down-to-earth way, ‘When you feel the temptation to dwell on your own weakness, raise your eyes to Christ crucified and say: “Lord, I am a poor sinner, but you can work the miracle of making me a little bit better”’. This Spirit-inspired growth in holiness does not normally show itself in heroic deeds. The Pope says that ‘the holiness to which the Lord calls you will grow through small gestures’. Sometimes, he says, ‘we need only find a more perfect way of doing what we are already doing’. If we allow the Spirit to shape our lives in these small ways, we are being faithful to our deepest self. As Pope Francis says, ‘holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God’s grace’.

And/Or

(ii) Solemnity of All Saints

A lot of people do not like large gatherings. They work on the principle that small is beautiful. They find big crowds exhausting and long for space where they can be alone or perhaps with one or two chosen others. Today’s feast, however, is precisely about crowds of people. The first reading expresses it well, ‘a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language’. Today is the feast not just of a few chosen saints, but of all saints. It is not even the feast of all the saints who get a mention in the church’s calendar of saints. Today we honour all the saints, those who are canonized and those who are not, those who get a mention in the prayers of the church and those who are never mentioned by name in any liturgy anywhere.

Villains are generally considered more newsworthy than saints. If our vision of humanity is shaped exclusively by the media we might be tempted to think that there are a lot more villains out there than saints. It is reassuring to be reminded by today’s feast that there exists a huge number of saints, impossible to count. In the words of the letter to the Hebrews, we are surrounded by a ‘great cloud of witnesses’. None of us can live as the Lord wants us to live by our own efforts alone. We need the good example of others to inspire us and to show us what is possible. Today’s feast declares that we are surrounded by an abundance of role models, if only we could recognize them. Some of these people have already passed beyond us and are now ‘standing in front of the throne of the Lamb’, in the words of today’s first reading. Many of them, however, are our companions on the journey of life. They are mothers and fathers, single people and celibates, men and women, young and not so young; they are from every nation, race, tribe and language. They do not look at all like the statues in our churches. They are very ordinary and, yet, they are also very special. They are fully alive and, in virtue in that, they give glory to God. We are grateful for having met them and having been around them.

The feast of All Saints encourages us to believe that any one of us could be part of that huge number impossible to count. In that sense, today’s feast is not just about a great crowd of people out there; it is about every one of us. John, in today’s second reading, is speaking about all of us when he declares that, ‘we are already the children of God’, and that, in the future, ‘we shall be like’ God. We are all destined for sainthood. God intends that all of us would be conformed to the image of God’s Son. For most of us, that will only come to pass fully beyond this life when, in the words of St Paul, the Lord will ‘transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory’. Yet, because we are already sons and daughters of God, through baptism, we are called to be growing now towards that wonderful transformation that awaits us. The road to sainthood begins here, wherever we happen to find ourselves.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus shows us what that road to sainthood looks like. In the beatitudes, Jesus painted a portrait of himself, the living saint par excellence. He was also painting a portrait of the person that we are all called to become. The beatitudes give us different facets of the person of Jesus, while at the same time showing us different ways in which we might reflect the person of Jesus. We might find ourselves strongly drawn to one of the beatitudes rather than to another. If so, that is perhaps where we should focus, because it is through that particular beatitude that we will probably find our own particular path to sainthood. One beatitude we can all make our own is, ‘happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right’ or ‘for what God wants’. We can all find our home somewhere in the beatitudes because we are all on the way to being conformed fully to the image and likeness of Christ.

And/Or

(iii) Solemnity of All Saints

A lot of people do not like large gatherings. They find big crowds exhausting and long for space where they can be alone or perhaps with one or two chosen others. Today’s feast, however, is precisely about crowds of people. The first reading expresses it well, ‘a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language’. Today is the feast not just of a few chosen saints, but of all saints. It is not even the feast of all the saints who get a mention in the church’s calendar of saints. Today we honour all the saints, those who are canonized and those who are not.

I heard a story of someone who asked the children in the local primary school who the saints were. One of them, thinking of the stained glass windows in her church, said that a saint was someone who let the light in. She said more than she realized. Saints are, indeed, those who allow the light of Christ’s presence to shine through them.

Today we remember all those through whose lives the light of Christ’s love streamed into our world. We will all have known such people. They have lived and continue to live among us. They are the people whose lives have blessed and graced us in a whole variety of ways. When we think of them, we thank God for them. When we have been in their company, we feel the better for it. They somehow brought out the best in us and helped us to become all that God was calling us to be.

In today’s gospel reading Jesus paints a portrait of what it means to be a disciple of his. It is a portrait of a saint, what someone who lets God’s light in looks like. Fundamentally, this is Jesus’ own self-portrait. There is a sense in which he alone fully fits the portrayal he puts before us. Yet, this is also an image of the person we are all called to be. We can easily think of the beatitudes as describing a variety of types of people – the poor in spirit, the gentle etc. Jesus is really putting before us one type, which can be looked at from various perspectives, like a diamond that appears differently as you look at it from a variety of angles. The elements in Jesus’ portrait are of a piece. It is only the poor in spirit, those who acknowledge their dependence on God for everything, who can be true peacemakers. It is only the gentle, those who do not insist on their own way to the detriment of God’s way, who can hunger and thirst for what is right, for what God wants. It is only the pure in heart, those who are single-minded in their focus on God and on what God wants, who can be merciful as God is merciful. In speaking the beatitudes, Jesus calls on us to identify with the person he portrays. He wants us to come away from them saying to ourselves, ‘This is the person I want to be. This is the life I want to live. Here are shoes that are worth stepping into’.

Today’s feast is an opportunity to give thanks for all those people in our own lives who embodied the beatitudes for us; it is also a moment to renew our own desire to become the person the Lord portrays in the beatitudes. In painting that picture, the Lord is not holding out something to us that is beyond us, teasing us with what will always be out of reach. He knows that with his help we can grow into the person of the beatitudes. Here is a life that is attainable, a truly human life, a life that is worthy of those who have been made in the image and likeness of God. We appreciate people who take us seriously, who give us a task that corresponds to what we are capable of. The Lord takes us more seriously than any other human being possibly could. He points beyond who we are to the person that we could be, and he invites us to keep setting out on a journey towards that goal. As he does so, he promises to travel that journey with us. In calling, he also empowers, as Paul writes at the end of his first letter to the Thessalonians, ‘The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this’.

The life of the beatitudes is not a higher calling that is given to some special group of people within the church. We are all called to be saints. This evening’s second reading calls on us to ‘think of the love that the Father has lavished on us by letting us be called God’s children’. God has poured the Spirit of his Son into our hearts crying, ‘Abba, Father’. We have been brought into the same relationship with God that Jesus himself has. That is our starting point of our journey. The finishing point of our journey comes when, in the words of that same reading, ‘we shall be like God, because we shall see him as he really is’. Between such a wonderful starting point and such an unimaginable finishing point, the beatitudes are given to us as our road map.

And/Or

(iv) Solemnity of All Saints

The word ‘all’ in the title of today’s feast is important. Today we celebrate not just the canonized saints but all those who lived holy lives and are now with God in heaven, most of whom have not received any formal recognition from the church. This is what is referred to in today’s first reading as a ‘huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language’. What distinguishes this vast crowd is that they opened themselves to the presence of the Lord and allowed the Lord to live in and through them. All of them, in different ways, reflected something of the portrait that Jesus paints for us in the beatitudes. They were poor in spirit, humble people who recognized their complete dependence on God for everything. They possessed something of the gentleness of Christ, who spoke of himself as humble and gentle in heart. Like him, they mourned and wept because the world was not yet all that God wanted it to be. They hungered and thirsted for what is right, for a more abundant life for everyone. Like Jesus, they were merciful, extending God’s forgiveness to those who needed it, and being a life-giving presence to those who were broken in mind, spirit or body. They were pure in heart in that their hearts were focused on God’s purpose for our lives, after the example of Jesus whose heart was given over completely to God. They were people who tried to bring peace where there was conflict, who worked for harmony in communities after the example of the Prince of Peace whose gift was a peace the world cannot give. Today we celebrate and give thanks for all those men and women who revealed the Lord to us in some of these ways. These were people who remained faithful to the values of the gospel by keeping their eyes on the Lord. Many people we know belong among this great multitude. They were our teachers, godparents, friends, co-workers, family and acquaintances. They encourage us to be what we are all called to be, what God dreams us to be, saints.

Today’s feast reminds us that we are all called to belong among all the saints. The second reading tells us that here and now we are already the children of God. We already share in Jesus’ own relationship with God, because of our baptism. That is our basis for sanctity. Holiness is not just something far beyond us that we have to strain towards. Rather, the fundamental movement is one of entering more completely into what we already are in virtue of our baptism, allowing the Lord who dwells within us to live out his life more fully in and through us. The end of that second reading declares that in the next life we shall be like God because we shall see God face to face. That process of becoming like God can happen for us here and now in this life, in so far as we allow the Lord to live out his life in us so that we become holy as he is holy, loving as he is loving.

We are helped on that path to holiness by each other. When we try to enter more fully into our baptismal identity we make it easier for others to do the same. We journey as members of the one body of Christ, interdependent on each other. We support each other and the Lord supports us all. He is constantly at work in our lives through the Holy Spirit inspiring us, moving us, to live the beatitudes. We are also helped by the saints who have gone before us and who stand before the throne of God, in the words of today’s first reading. Those who are already home are waiting for us, praying for us and hoping that we will do great things for all God’s children in our own time and place. We journey together among this great crowd of witnesses, who are in communion with us, urging us onward toward our final reunion with God and with them.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

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rjhamster · 5 years

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The Berean - Romans 1:7

(7) To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:1

(1) Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to bean apostle, separated to the gospel of God New King James Version Change Bible versions

Notice that in both verses the verb form "to be" appears: in verse 1, "called to be an apostle," and in verse 7, "called to be saints." Neither "to be" is in the Greek text. While their insertion by the translators is not entirely wrong, they tend to give a misleading impression that can easily result in misunderstanding.

"To be" can give a person the impression of something resulting in the future or of something that must be earned. The Greek, however, does not imply either. In verse 1, Paul is clearly saying that his apostleship coincided with or was simultaneous with his calling! Acts 9:15-16 emphatically proves this. God had already determined what Paul would do at the time He called him. The same is true of our sainthood. The beloved of God are saints, and He loved us when He called us. He did not wait until later to begin loving us. In the same way, our sainthood began at our calling because God was already setting us apart.

The word translated "called" more specifically means "summoned." It does not imply "named" or "designated." It does not describe a name by which we are known but the thing we are summoned to be. The calling is our vocation, our work, and our work is to keep God's commandments and to witness for Him (Isaiah 43:11-12).

"Saint" and "holy" express the same general concept, though they entered the English from different languages. Both imply separation, consecration, or dedication. The common idea is "belonging to God." A saint, then, is one who has been summoned to be dedicated or consecrated as belonging to God.

Therefore, we are not our own but have been placed into an exclusive group. God has summoned us to glorify Him with our lives, and it is from this that the witness of Him shines forth. The glory of the witness arises entirely from a saint's striving for a purity of life that matches our Savior's. Without striving, the consecration derived from God's summons would not amount to a thing. What we see here is our tremendous privilege of being the called of God.

Amos 3:1-2 declares, "Hear this word that the LORD, has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying: 'You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.'" The Israelites failed in their calling, but ours is exceedingly higher! Virtue, goodness, purity, righteousness, mercy, joy, and peace all express noble things we love to embrace, but they all go to naught unless we see who we are. For at the foundation of what we need to produce these wonderful qualities is holiness—what God has summoned us to be and do.

If we do not grasp the awesome privilege and purpose of this high calling, we will not aim high enough with our lives. We will not make the effort to produce because we will not see that this is our life. I Peter 4:17 admonishes us, "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" Brethren, this is it for us! We will have no second chance to grab the brass ring!

Every branch of our armed forces has a special elite group like the Army Rangers or Navy Seals to which is given both honor and weighty responsibility. A similar civilian group would be the SWAT Team of a municipal police force. To be chosen as a member is an exceedingly great privilege. The implications of the Marine Corp's former advertising motto is appropriate if altered somewhat to apply to the called. About the Marines, it proclaims, "The few, the proud, the Marines." For us, it might say, "The few, the humbled, the called."

Far too many in the church of God have been deluded into believing in some slightly modified form of the worldly notion that all one has to do is to accept Christ. However, God is creating, and He has called us for the express purpose of giving us the opportunity to yield to His creative efforts. Yielding is the work of submitting to His will. This is how purity of life is produced; this is how character is built and how the witness is made.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 6 years

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1st November >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 5:1-12a for the Solemnity of All saints: 'How happy are the poor in spirit'.

Solemnity of All saints.

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Matthew 5:1-12a

How happy are the poor in spirit

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’

Gospel (USA)

Matthew 5:1-12a

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:

Reflections (4)

(i) Solemnity of All Saints

And/Or

(ii) Solemnity of All Saints

And/Or

(iii) Solemnity of All Saints

And/Or

(iv) Solemnity of All Saints

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

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romancatholicreflections · 7 years

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1st Nov >> Daily Reflection/Commentary on Today’s Mass Readings for Roman Catholics on the Solemnity of All Saints (Revelation 7:2-4,9-14, 1 John 3:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12a)

God’s holy Church rejoices that her children are one with the saints in lasting peace. (from Solemn Blessing for today)

1. As we come to the end of the Church year we celebrate this great feast of All Saints. It is important to emphasise from the beginning what we mean here by ‘saints’. Normally we apply the word to people of extraordinary holiness who have been canonised or beatified by the Church. Among them each one has their favourites: St Francis of Assisi, St Therese of Lisieux, St Anthony, St Joseph and so on.

But today’s feast uses the word in a much wider sense. It refers to all those baptised Christians who have died and are now with God in glory. It also certainly includes all non-Christians who lived a good life sincerely in accordance with the convictions of their conscience. We simply do not know how many people we are talking about but it must be a very large number. Putting it the other way, there is no way we can decide which people have made an irrevocable choice of rejecting what is true and good and have chosen to be alienated from God forever. Hopefully, their number is much smaller.

There is a third group which we will remember tomorrow and they are those who have died but need still a process of purification before they can come face to face with the all-holy God.

2. The Gospel chosen for today’s feast is interesting. It gives us what we know as the Eight Beatitudes from the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. It is, in fact, a charter for holiness. When many people think of holiness they think of keeping the Ten Commandments and perhaps some other requirements of the Church like going to Mass on Sundays or fasting during Lent. What we often tend to forget is that the Ten Commandments really belong to the Old Testament and are part of the Jewish law. Of course, they are still valid and Jesus said clearly that he had not come to abolish the Jewish law but to fulfil it.

We might say that the Beatitudes are an example of that fulfilling. The Beatitudes go far beyond the Ten Commandments in what they expect of a follower of Christ and yet the sad thing is that one hears of relatively few Christians saying that they base their lives on the Beatitudes. When we go to Confession it is the Ten Commandments we normally refer to and not the Beatitudes. And this is sad because it is clear from their position in Matthew’s gospel that the Beatitudes have a central place. They are a kind of mission statement saying what kind of person the good Christian will be.

3. Let us look at them briefly in the short time we have available. But first we need to clarify a few of the terms used. The word ‘blessed’ is sometimes translated ‘happy’. It might be more accurate to translate it as ‘fortunate’. In other words, people who have these qualities are really in an envious position. All of these beatitudes are indications that we belong to the ‘kingdom of heaven’. This is to be understood not as a place, still less as referring to life after death. It rather describes the kind of society that exists when we live according to these values – a place of truth and love, of compassion and justice, of peace, freedom and sharing.

The general message is that those are really blessed when they know their dependence on God and on their sisters and brothers; when they commit themselves totally to the Way that Christ invites them to follow.

The Gospel says that particularly blessed are:

a. Those who are poor in spirit. They are those who are aware of their basic poverty and fragility and of how much they need the help and support of God as opposed to those who foolishly claim independence and full control of their lives.

b. Those who are gentle: These are the people who reach out to others in care and compassion and tenderness, who constantly are aware of the needs of others.

c. Those who mourn: those who are in grief or sorrow for whatever reason will be assured of comfort from the loving community in Christ they have entered.

d. Those who hunger and thirst for what is right: Whatever the price, they will work that everyone will be given what is their due to live a life of dignity and self-respect. The price they may have to pay could be high, very high, even life itself.

e. Those who are merciful: They are the ones who extend compassion and forgiveness to all around them.

f. Those who are pure in heart: This does not refer to sexual purity but rather to a simplicity and total absence of duplicity, of prejudice or bias. Not surprisingly, they are described as being able to see God. For such people God’s presence is all too obvious in every person and experience.

g. Those who make peace: Perhaps one of the most beautiful of the Beatitudes. These are people who help to break down the many barriers which divide people – whether it is class, occupation, race, religion or anything that creates conflict between individuals or groups. Not surprisingly, these people are called “children of God”. God sent Jesus among us precisely to break down the barriers between God and his people and between people themselves.

h. Those who are persecuted in the cause of right: Persecution of itself is not a pleasant experience and may result in loss of life. But blessed indeed are those who have the strength and courage to put the values of truth and love and justice for all above their own survival. Among the saints we most honour today are the martyrs, those who gave their lives in the defence of truth, love and justice.

This is the kind of Christian we are all called to be. It is these qualities which made the saints and which will make saints of us too. They go far beyond what is required by the Ten Commandments. If taken literally, the commandments can be kept and not with great difficulty. Many of them are expressed in the negative, “You shall NOT…” so we can observe them by doing nothing at all! “I have not killed anyone… I have not committed adultery… I have not stolen…” Does that make me a saint?

Being a Christian is a lot more than not doing things which are wrong. The Beatitudes are expressed in positive terms. They also express not just actions but attitudes. In a way, they can never be fully observed. No matter how well I try to observe them, I can always go further. They leave no room for smugness, the kind of smugness the Pharisees had in keeping the Law. The Beatitudes are a true and reliable recipe for sainthood.

3. “Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children,” the Second Reading reminds us today. Saints are not self-made people. They are people who have responded generously to the love of God showered on them. And the completion of that love is to be invited to share life with God forever in the life to come.

“What we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed,” the Reading also says. We do not know and have no way of knowing what that future existence will be like and it does not help very much to speculate. In fact, some of the conventional images of heaven are not terribly exciting! Kneeling on clouds playing harps for eternity- partly derived from a too literal reading of the book of Revelation – is not exactly a turn-on!

It is better to go along with St Paul who says that life face to face with God is something totally beyond our comprehension. Let us rather concentrate on the life we are leading now and let it be a good preparation for that future time.

4. Indeed, the First Reading from the book of Revelation presents an apocalyptic vision of those who have died in Christ. They are numbered at 144,000 – a number taken literally by some Christian sects. However, the number is clearly symbolical. It consists of the sacred number 12, squared and multiplied by another complete number, 1,000. It simply represents the total of all those who have died faithful to Christ their Lord. They represent “every nation, tribe and language” for access to Christ is open to all. They are dressed in white robes with palms in their hands. They are the robes of goodness and integrity. The palms of victory are a reference to the joyful Jewish feast of Tabernacles for these are the ones invited to live in God’s tent or tabernacle.

Together with them are the angels, the 24 elders (perhaps representing the 12 patriarchs and the 12 Apostles) and the four living creatures (a very high rank of angels), all prostrate in adoration before the glory of God. The song they sing has been magnificently set to music by Handel in his “Messiah”. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power and strength are seven attributes of perfect praise.

And who are these people in white robes? “They are the people who have been through the great trial”, in other words, those who have been through persecution, particularly the persecution of Nero, which occurred about the time this book was written. And, paradoxically, “they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb”. It is the blood of Jesus Christ which brings salvation but only to those who have united with him in sharing its effects. Many of them, of course, are martyrs and they have mingled their own blood with that of Jesus.

It is a picture of total victory and the end of all the pains and sorrows they endured in this life. It is not a newspaper reporter’s description of heaven!

5. Today’s feast is first of all an occasion for great thanksgiving. It is altogether reasonable to think that many of our family, relatives and friends who have gone before us are being celebrated today. We look forward to the day when we, too, can be with them experiencing the same total happiness when “they will never hunger or thirst again”; when “sun and scorching wind will never plague them, because the Lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to the springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 7:16-17).

Today is a day too for us to pray to them – both the canonised and the uncanonised – and ask them to pray on our behalf that we may live our lives in faithfulness so that we, too, may experience the same reward.

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