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lawrenceop · 4 years ago

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HOMILY for 11th after Pentecost (Dominican rite)

1 Cor 15:1-10; Mark 7:31-37

The Lord has loosened the tongue of the mute man, and he has opened his deaf ears too. From the earliest days, this miracle which Jesus did in the Decapolis, that is, a non-Jewish region among Gentile peoples, has been linked to the Sacrament of Baptism. For through this sacrament, God comes to us; the missionary Church goes throughout the nations of the world, and through the gift of holy Baptism, God opens up men and women to his grace, his friendship, his praise, and thus, indeed, to salvation. Hence, within the rite of Baptism in both old and new forms, the distinctive Aramaic phrase, that is only recorded in today’s Gospel from St Mark, is said: “Ephphatha”, which means “Be opened!”

In the old rite Baptism, this word is said after the priest moistens his fingers with saliva, and places them on the ears and nostrils of the one who is to be baptised. Why the nostrils and not the mouth as Jesus has done in the Gospels? Pope Benedict XVI links it to the deep groan that Jesus makes before he cures the mute and deaf man. In doing so, Jesus is invoking the Holy Spirit, the divine Breath of God whom St Paul says “prays for us with groans too deep for words.” (Rom 8:26) So, Pope Benedict says, “through Baptism, the human person begins, so to speak, to ‘breathe’ the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus had invoked from Father with that deep breath, to heal the deaf and dumb man.” Hence the nostrils are touched and opened, to prepare the one who is to be baptised to breath the Holy Spirit; to live and move and be inspired by the Spirit of God.

In fact a similar act is found in the new rite Baptism even though the word ‘Ephphatha’ is said just after the Baptism has taken place. Here, the priest touches the mouth and ears of the newly-baptised, directly following the actions of Christ in the Gospel, and praying that the newly-baptised will have his ears opened to hear God’s Word, and his tongue loosened to profess the Faith and to give glory to God with one’s words. For, as Pope Benedict XVI says, Christ “became man so that man, made inwardly deaf and dumb by sin, would become able to hear the voice of God, the voice of love speaking to his heart, and learn to speak in the language of love, to communicate with God and with others.” And this communication of love, of course, is inspired by the Holy Spirit.

So, there is no contradiction between the two rites, but they harmoniously express the same end, which is that the baptised Christian should be opened to the divine action of God and should communicate his love, his peace, his Gospel of salvation. Hence St Paul says: “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3b) for it is the Holy Spirit who directs the words of the Christian, and the Holy Spirit who opens our ears and our intellects to hear and to understand the Scriptures.

Therefore, when we consider the actions of Christ in today’s Gospel, and the incorporation of these actions into the Church’s liturgical rites for the Sacrament of Baptism, we realise that our human faculties are given to us for a reason – our hearing and our power of speech is meant to be directed towards our salvation. So, in his letter to the Romans St Paul says: “faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ.” (10:17) Since faith is a divine gift, a theological virtue, we depend on the graced activity of God to open the ears of sinners, to open our own ears, so that we may hear his Word being preached; so that we might arrive at a deeper faith in Christ who is the Word of God, so that we might be attentive and sensitive to those times when God speaks to us through the soft promptings of his Holy Spirit. For this reason, before I preach a write a sermon, I ask God to open my ears to his Word, but also, just before I deliver the Homily in church, I make this prayer: “Lord open the ears of those who listen that they may hear what you want them to hear, and open my lips to speak what you want me to speak.” Amen.

So, the Holy Spirit must open our ears and our lips for our salvation. It is he who opens our ears to hear him for our power of hearing has been given us so that we can hear the Gospel of salvation. And it is the Holy Spirit also who opens our lips to speak God’s praise and to proclaim the faith, that Jesus is Lord! The Proper chants of today’s Mass thus gives voice to this praise of God, and declares the Lordship of Christ: “I will give praise to him. Unto thee have I cried, O Lord… sing aloud to the God of Jacob, alleluia… I will extol thee, O Lord… I have cried to thee, and thou hast healed me.” Through these chants, which is the voice of the Church at prayer, and thus our voice, the Christian declares, like the man in today’s Gospel, that it is the Lord who has healed us, and so, we praise him, we extol him, we sing aloud to him. For our lips have been loosened. “Ephphatha”, says Jesus, be opened. And so, our tongues have been made to give praise and thanks to God; our tongues have been opened to proclaim the good news of salvation; and our tongues have been loosened to bless God’s holy name.

At this time there has been much concern over the reverent and worthy reception of Holy Communion, and on whether we should receive on the hand or on the tongue. I do not wish to comment on this right now except to note that the most important aspect is our interior disposition. However, as we have been thinking about the tongue, and given the actions of Jesus in today’s Gospel, we should note what Scripture teaches and indeed, warns, concerning the tongue. St James says: “the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things… the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body… With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so.” (cf James 3:5-10) Therefore, as we receive the Lord in Holy Communion in our mouths, and on our tongues, let us be chastened by these words of Scripture, and remember what the tongue is for: it is made for blessing.

So, ask the Lord to open our lips to speak well of him and of our neighbour. The tongue is not made for gossip, or insult, or slander, or to speak ill of others. Hence St Paul instructs the Ephesians: “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.” (4:29) Thus the Holy Father Pope Francis often decries gossip, for, as he rightly observes, “the person who gossips… destroys with their tongue, they don’t make peace.“ Therefore St James says: “If any one thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man's religion is vain.” (1:26) As such, my brothers and sisters, let us be extremely vigilant about our speech. The Lord has opened our tongues to speak (and sing!) his praises, and to build up and encourage one another, and to speak the truth in charity. As St James says: “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits.”

As Christians who have received the grace of Baptism, as God’s beloved children who have been healed and opened to the gift of the Holy Spirit, as disciples and friends of Jesus Christ who acknowledge Jesus to be our Lord, let us therefore be mindful that we use our faculties of hearing and speech to God’s glory; that we hear the voice of love speaking to us, and that we speak in God’s language of love. Then, all who hear us Christians will praise the Lord saying, “he has done all things well! He has made both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.” (Mk 7:27)

#Ephthatha #opening #Baptism #Christian #discipleship #tongue #lips #ears #hearing #speech #grace #Communion #gossip

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pamphletstoinspire · 6 years ago

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JESUS SHARES HIS PRIESTHOOD WITH THE APOSTLES DURING THE LAST SUPPER Thanks be to God for the gift of the Priesthood!

The Priesthood was born during The Last Supper!

Thanks be to God for the gift of the Priesthood! As we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper we give thanks to God for the Priesthood and the Eucharist.

The Priesthood was born during the Last Supper, as Pope John Paul II reminded us (Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday 2004). There were many priests in the Old Covenant but there is one Priest, Christ, in the New Covenant and He has extended His priestly ministry to His ordained priests. While some find it difficult to talk of Jesus as Priest, Scripture is very clear that Jesus is the Priest of the New Covenant. A priest is someone who offers sacrifice. There were many animals sacrificed in the Old Covenant by the Jewish priests, but there is one sacrifice offered in the New Covenant, the sacrifice of Jesus in His priestly offering of Himself on the cross. Scripture talks of Christ’s death as a sacrifice, because He is the Priest of the New Covenant; "Christ loved us and handed Himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God" (Eph 5:2) "you were ransomed...with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb." (1 Pet 1:18-10) During Mass that one sacrifice of Jesus as the Priest of the New Covenant is extended to us through time and made present to us. There is not a new sacrifice of Jesus on the cross during every Mass; it is the same one sacrificial offering of Jesus as Priest on Calvary but extended through time - as in a time warp in a movie - and made present to us now.

We have just listened to an excerpt of the account of the Last Supper in John’s Gospel. It described Jesus washing the feet of His apostles (John 13:1-15). That is only part of John’s account of the Last Supper; John’s account concludes with Jesus’ Priestly Prayer in John 17. During that prayer to the Father, Jesus prays for the apostles, "Consecrate them in the truth." (John 17:17) Jesus is praying that they be interiorly changed by the truth, that they become like Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Jesus is praying that they become sanctified, transformed by the truth. It really carries the connotation that they are being ordained by Christ as His priests.

The name of God, Yahweh, was so holy for the Jews that they could not even pronounce it when reading the Scriptures. Instead they said "Adonai." But the high priest could pronounce the divine name Yahweh once a year during the Jewish feast Yom Kippur. Jesus, during His prayer for the apostles at the end of the Last Supper in John, prays, "Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me..." (John 17:10-11) There is now some newness in the relationship between the apostles and the name of God. In the Old Covenant the high priest could pronounce Yahweh’s name once yearly and now in the New Covenant priesthood there is innovation in the relationship between the apostles and the name of God.

Part of the ordination rite of priests in the Old Covenant involved washing. (Ex 29-4; Lev 8:6). During the Last Supper, during which the priesthood was born and Jesus consecrated His apostles as the priests of the New Covenant, He washed their feet. While Jesus performs this action to teach His apostles to serve rather than be served (John 13:13-15), could we not say that it also resembles and calls to mind the washing that preceded the rite of ordination of priests of the Old Covenant? Jesus said to Peter, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later" (John 13:7) and I wonder if later they saw the foot washing in a new sense calling to mind the washing that was part of the rite of ordination of the Old Covenant. I think we can say that John’s account of the Last Supper contains many hints that Jesus ordained the apostles as priests during the Last Supper (consecration in truth, a new relationship with the name of God, washing. On Easter Sunday evening Jesus concludes giving His apostles the priesthood). (Some of the ideas in the three paragraphs above are taken from The priesthood of Christ and his ministers by André Feuillet).

Thanks be to God for the gift of the Priesthood! The priests of the New Covenant continue the mission of Jesus the Priest. Please pray for more vocations to the priesthood and support vocations to the priesthood. If a family and parish is one that shows its love for and support for priests can we not expect priests to arise from that family and parish?

Jesus gives us priests, so that we may have the Eucharist. Jesus does not want our celebration of the Eucharist to be cut off and separated or divorced from the rest of our lives. Our celebration of the Eucharist is to affect our entire lives. What kind of an effect is it to have on our lives? Jesus washing his disciples’ feet in the context of the Last Supper surely teaches us that the Eucharist is linked with service. Our celebration of the Eucharist should lead us to love all our brothers and sisters in a sacrificial way. Our celebration of the Eucharist sends us out from here to love and serve the Lord in others. Our meeting with the Lord here continues as we love and serve the Lord in others after out celebration here. That is also why it is during the Last Supper that Jesus gave His new love commandment, "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another." (John 13:34). St. Augustine, writing about the Eucharist, said that if we receive Holy Communion worthily we are what we receive (Sermon 227) i.e. Christ was sacrificed that you might receive Him in the Eucharist and in like manner, Augustine was saying, when you receive Christ in the Eucharist you too are to sacrifice yourself, and in that sense you become what you eat. Just as Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it, when we receive the Eucharist we are to allow ourselves to be taken by Jesus, blessed, broken and given in love for others. In that sense the words of Paul in our second reading tonight become true, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes" (1 Cor 11:26).

Thanks be to God for the gift of the Priesthood and thanks be to God for the Eucharist!

This homily was delivered in a parish in Maryland. by Fr. Tommy Lane __________

Criticism of Priests Our Lord’s Revelations to Mutter Vogel

"One should never attack a priest, even when he’s in error. Rather, one should pray and do penance that I’ll grant him My grace again. He alone fully represents Me, even when he doesn’t live after My example!" (page 29, Mutter Vogel’s Worldwide Love, St. Grigion Publishing House, Altoting, South Germany, June 29,1929).

"When a priest falls, we should extend him a helping hand through prayer and not through attacks! I Myself will be his Judge, no one but I ! Whoever voices judgment over a priest has voiced it over Me; child, never let a priest be attacked; take up his defense." (Feast of Christ the King, 1937) "Child, never judge your confessor; rather, pray much for him and offer every Thursday, through the hands of My blessed Mother, Holy Communion (for him)" (June 6, 1939) "Never again accept an out-of-the-way word about a priest, and speak no unkind word (about them) even if it were true! Every priest is My Vicar and My Heart will be sickened and insulted because of it! If you hear a judgment (against a priest) pray a Hail Mary." (June 28, 1939)

"If you see a priest who celebrates the Holy Mass unworthily, then say nothing about him; rather, tell it to Me alone! I stand beside Him on the altar! Oh pray much for my priests; that they’ll love purity above all; that they’ll celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with pure hands and heart. Certainly, the Holy Sacrifice is one and the same even when it’s celebrated by an unworthy priest, but the grace called down upon the people is not the same!" (Feb. 28, 1938) __________

For a copy of the pamphlet click below:

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/a84285_5fe32d351d8742ef6b1a7f6822e8441e.pdf

From: www.pamphlettoinspire.com

#jesus shares his priesthood

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news-ase · 4 years ago

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 4 years ago

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29th June >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on

Matthew 16:13-19 for The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles: ‘You are Peter’

or on

Matthew 8:18-22 for Monday, Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time.

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

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

Matthew 16:13-19

You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’

Gospel (USA)

Matthew 16:13–19

You are Peter, and I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi 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.”

Reflections (4)

(i) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

I would like to welcome you back to our first celebration of a public Mass since the middle of March. We have been through a difficult time together and hopefully we are beginning to emerge from our social isolation. Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Peter and Paul. Each of them went through their own times of confinement, of social isolation. There were each imprisoned for their preaching of the gospel. In the first reading, we heard that King Herod arrested Peter and put him in prison. Yet, according to that reading, Peter in prison was supported by the prayers of the church, ‘the church prayed to God for him unremittingly’. The Lord came to him in his imprisonment through the prayers of the faithful. The Lord came to him in an even more dramatic way through an angel who delivered him from his confinement and restored him to the community of faith. Peter declared, ‘The Lord really did sent his angel and has saved me’. Hopefully, the story of Peter reflects our own experience. When we are confined, socially isolated, the Lord does not isolate himself from us. Even when we cannot come to church, the Lord comes to us. The Lord knows nothing of social isolation. He has been with us all this time, and he remains powerfully present to all who continue to stay put in their homes for their protection. Even when we cannot receive the Eucharist, we can say in the words of today’s responsorial psalm, ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good’. This was the experience of Saint Paul as well, the other great pillar of the church. In today’s second reading, he writes from prison, fully expecting that he may not get out alive, ‘the time has come for me to be gone’. It was a very isolating experience for him. He writes in a verse omitted from our reading, ‘all deserted me’. Yet, like Peter, he experienced the Lord’s powerful presence. As he says in today’s reading, ‘the Lord stood by me and gave me power’, and he goes on, ‘the Lord will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom’. Like Peter, he experienced the Lord’s sustaining presence when he was at his weakest and most isolated. This is one of the lessons these two great preachers of the gospel can teach us today. The Lord comes to us in our times of weakness and stands by us in our moments of isolation. No matter what distressing situation we may find ourselves in, the Lord is with us to strengthen and sustain us. Even when we are cut off from those who matter most to us, we are never cut off from the Lord, because he is always true to his name of Emmanuel, ‘God with us’. That is why, in the words of today’s psalm, every moment of every day, we can ‘look towards him and be radiant’.

And/Or

(ii) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

In many respects Peter and Paul were very different people. Peter was a fisherman from Galilee. His world was the Sea of Galilee and the hilly countryside that surrounded it. According to John’s gospel, he was from Bethsaida, a small town on the Northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. He would have had a basic education and his first language was Aramaic. Paul was from the university city of Tarsus, the capital city of the Roman province of Cilicia, on the south-east coast of what is today Turkey. He seems to have been educated to a high level. He wrote fluently in Greek. His family appear to have been well-to-do as his father was a Roman citizen. He was a zealous Pharisee, who declared himself blameless with regard to the keeping of the Jewish Law. If the two of them had met before they came to faith in Jesus, one senses that they would have had little in common. Yet, today, the church throughout the world celebrates their joint feast day. It is Jesus who brought them together. Yet, he touched their lives in very different ways. Peter heard the call of Jesus by the shore of the Sea of Galilee as he engaged in his daily work of fishing; Paul heard the call of the risen Lord somewhere in the vicinity of Damascus where he was heading on his mission of persecuting people like Peter who were proclaiming Jesus to be the Jewish Messiah. Jesus called Peter to be the rock on which his church would be built; he called Paul to be the apostle to the non-Jewish world, the pagans. Each of them gave their lives in responding to the Lord’s call; Peter was crucified; Paul was beheaded. They were both executed in Rome, a long way from Galilee and from Tarsus. Their tombs have been places of pilgrimage to this day and two of Rome’s four great Basilicas are built over their tombs, Saint Peter’s in the Vatican and Saint Paul’s outside the walls. We celebrate their joint feast today, giving thanks to God for their generous and courageous witness to their faith in the Lord. From its beginnings, the church has worked to be true to the faith of the first apostles, especially the two great apostles Peter and Paul. That is why we speak of the faith as apostolic. Today, we too try to be true to the faith as lived and articulated by those two great pillars of the church. This apostolic faith finds expression in a special way in the New Testament. We keep returning to the gospels and letters and other books that are to be found there so as to remain connected to the faith of those early preachers of the gospel. The Lord continues to speak to us through their lives and through the sacred literature that they inspired. The Lord calls out to each of us today, as he called Peter and Paul. He wants to work through us in our distinctiveness, as he worked through the very different people that were Peter and Paul. We each have a unique contribution to make to the coming of the Lord’s kingdom. In our efforts to respond to this call, Peter and Paul can continue to be our inspiration.

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(iii) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Today we celebrate the feast of two of the great pillars of the church, Peter and Paul. They came from very different backgrounds. Peter was a fisherman from rural Galilee. Paul was a learned Pharisee from the university city of Tarsus. Peter’s first language was Aramaic; Paul’s first language was Greek. Peter knew Jesus from the time of Jesus’ baptism and was with Jesus until the time of Jesus’ passion and death; Paul only ever met the risen Lord, in the vicinity of Damascus. For all their differences, they had at least one thing in common. Both of these men found themselves at odds with the Lord. Peter denied Jesus publicly three times. Paul violently persecuted the followers of Jesus, and thereby persecuted Jesus himself. Yet, their resistance to the Lord did not prevent the Lord from working powerfully through them. Peter was chosen to be the leader of the twelve, the rock on which Jesus would build his church. Paul was chosen to be the great apostle to the pagans. We know from the letter to the Galatians that Peter and Paul had a serious disagreement at one point about the direction the church should be taking. They were very different people and the Lord worked through each of them in very different ways. They were certainly united in death. Very early tradition recalls that both were executed in Rome by the emperor Nero who blamed the Christians for the fire of Rome. Today’s feast reminds us that the way the Lord works through us is unique to each one of us. The feast also reassures us that our many resistances to the Lord need not be a hindrance to the Lord working through us. Peter who denied the Lord and Paul who persecuted the Lord went on to become great servants of the Lord. Our failings do not define who we are. Paul would go on to say, ‘the Lord’s grace toward me has not been in vain’. The Lord’s grace towards us in our weakness and frailty need never be in vain if we continue to open ourselves to the workings of that grace, as Peter and Paul did.

And/Or

(iv) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

According to the gospel reading, what singled Peter out from the other disciples was his God-given insight into the identity of Jesus. It was because of his unique insight that Jesus gives Peter a unique role among his followers. He is to be the rock, the firm foundation, on which Jesus will build his church. Peter’s role is further spelt out by Jesus giving him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The image of the keys suggests authority. The nature of that authority is expressed in terms of binding and loosing. This rerers to a teaching authority. Peter is being entrusted with the task of authoritatively interpreting the teaching of Jesus for other members of the church. Yet, this same Peter immediately tries to deflect Jesus from taking the way of the cross, and when Jesus did take that way, Peter would deny any association with him. Jesus gives a significant role to someone who remains very flawed. If the gospel reading associates teaching with Peter, the second reading associates preaching with Paul. In that reading Paul refers to the Lord who ‘gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be preached for all the pagans to hear’. Paul was the great preacher of the gospel to the pagans throughout the Roman Empire. He preached it for the last time further west, in the city of Rome, where, like Peter, he was martyred for his faith in Christ. Our second reading today may well have been written from his Roman imprisonment, ‘I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith’. The image of the fight and the race suggest that ‘keeping the faith’ was a struggle for Paul; it did not come easy to him, just as keeping the faith did not come easy to Peter either. Keeping the faith does not always come easy to any of us. Paul was very aware that keeping the faith was not due primarily to his own efforts; it was the Lord who enabled him to keep the faith. As he says in this morning’s second reading, ‘the Lord stood by me and gave me power’. It is the Lord who empowers all of us to keep the faith; his faithfulness to us enables us to be faithful to him. The faithful witness of Peter and Paul speak to us ultimately of the Lord’s faithfulness to us all.

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Monday, Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

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

Matthew 8:18-22

The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head

When Jesus saw the great crowds all about him he gave orders to leave for the other side. One of the scribes then came up and said to him, ‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’

Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, ‘Sir, let me go and bury my father first.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.’

Reflections (4)

(i) Monday, Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Just before that this morning’s passage from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus had healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law and had cured many more who were sick. This generated great excitement and this morning’s gospel begins with the scene of ‘great crowds all about him’. It was in that context that a Jewish scribe, come up to Jesus and declared that he would follow Jesus wherever he went. Who wouldn’t want to be a follower of someone who healed the sick in such great numbers and who generated such excitement? We can almost sense the enthusiasm of the scribe in the way he addressed Jesus. In his response to this well-meaning scribe, Jesus was very honest and direct, ‘the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head’. It is as if Jesus was saying to him, ‘it won’t always be like this. There are troubling times ahead. The way of the cross lies ahead’. Jesus was aware that many who started to follow him with great enthusiasm in good times would fall away from him in bad times. In our own lives too there are times when all seems well, and there are other times when everything seems to be falling apart. The Lord looks to us to have as much enthusiasm for him in the dark times as in the good times. Like the promise the couple make to each other on the day of the marriage, he looks to us to give ourselves to him and all he stands for, ‘for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, all the days of our lives’. In other words, he asks us to be faithful, regardless of the circumstances of our lives, knowing that he will be faithful to us.

And/Or

(ii) Monday, Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus is very clear about the demands involved in following him and becoming his disciple. He declares to a scribe who wants to become a disciple that following him will often mean having no place to call home, having nowhere to lay one’s head. To someone who is already a disciple Jesus declares that following him takes priority over even the most sacred of family duties such as burying one’s father. The demands that Jesus highlights in our gospel reading are particular to the circumstances of Jesus’ own public ministry. Yet, it remains the case that following Jesus, living as his disciple, will always make demands on us, regardless of the circumstances of our lives. The call of the gospel is not easy. The particular path that Jesus puts before us is hugely challenging. It will always stretch us. We only have to think of the message of the Sermon on the Mount. It is when we are most aware of the challenge of the gospel that we need to hear most clearly that other aspect of the gospel message, the promise of the Lord’s help for those who take his path. At one point in Matthew’s gospels, the disciples ask, ‘Who can be saved?’ to which Jesus replies, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible’. Only with God’s help can we take the path that Jesus calls us to take.

And/Or

(iii) Monday, Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The scribe who approaches Jesus at the beginning of this morning’s gospel reading speaks in a way that suggests that he has a generosity of spirit and the best of intentions, ‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go’. In response, Jesus tempers his enthusiasm with the reality of what lies ahead for him if he becomes a disciple, ‘the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head’. He will be following someone who is always on the move, without a real home to call his own. Sometimes our generosity of spirit and our enthusiasm can come up against the harsher realities of life and in response we can become less generous and less enthusiastic. Jesus’ closest disciples seemed full of enthusiasm when they left their nets by the Sea of Galilee to follow him, but when the cross came into view for Jesus and for them, they fell away. It is not always easy to retain our idealism, our enthusiasm, our generosity of spirit over the long haul, especially when the cross comes our way in one shape or form. It is then that we realize that our own enthusiasm and generosity of spirit is not enough. We need the Lord to be our strength when we lose heart, our inspiration when we are tempted to settle for less, and our refuge when we come face to face with the storms of life. We can only be faithful to our following of the Lord if we allow the Lord at the same time to be our resource, our food for the journey. That is what he wants to be. He does not ask us to go it alone but to rely on him every step of the way.

And/Or

(iv) Monday, Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

When people show enthusiasm for some project we are involved in, we would normally welcome their enthusiasm and give them every encouragement. This would be especially true if there was a general lack of enthusiasm for what we were doing or, even, a great deal of opposition towards it. In the gospel reading this morning, Jesus encounters a man who shows great enthusiasm towards Jesus and all he stands for. He comes up to Jesus and says to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go’. In monetary terms it is the equivalent of giving Jesus a blank cheque! Yet, rather than respond to this man’s enthusiasm with an equal display of enthusiasm, Jesus almost seems to pour cold water on his enthusiasm. He reminds this potential disciple that the person he is so enthusiastic to follow will often find himself with nowhere to lay his head. If that is true of Jesus, it will also be true of anyone who would follow him. Jesus is suggesting that the man’s enthusiasm needs to be tempered with a good dose of reality. As disciples of the Lord today, we need both something of this man’s enthusiasm and something of Jesus’ somber realism. We may be fortunate to have a place to lay our head, but following Jesus remains a challenging path. Taking the way that Jesus calls us to take will involve a readiness to deny ourselves in the service of the Lord and his people, a willingness to empty ourselves so that others can be filled. Our enthusiasm for the Lord and our recognition that following him will not be easy are two contrasting poles that we need to keep holding in tension.

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.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

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tpanan · 8 years ago

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My Thursday Daily Blessings

February 16, 2017

Be still quiet your heart and mind, the LORD is here, loving you talking to you...........

Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar)

First Reading: Genesis 9:1-13

God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: "Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth. Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered. Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants. Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat. For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from one man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life. If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has man been made. Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it." God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark. I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth." God added: "This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth."

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23

"To you, LORD, I will offer a sacrifice praise."

Verse before the Gospel: John 6:63c, 68c

Alleluia, Alleluia

"Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life."

Alleluia, Alleluia,

Gospel: Mark 8:27-33

Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said to him in reply, "You are the Christ." Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

**Meditation:

Who is Jesus for you - and what difference does he make in your life? Many in Israel recognized Jesus as a mighty man of God, even comparing him with the greatest of the prophets. Peter, always quick to respond whenever Jesus spoke, professed that Jesus was truly the "Christ of God" - "the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter, but only God. Through the "eyes of faith" Peter discovered who Jesus truly was. Peter recognized that Jesus was much more than a great teacher, prophet, and miracle worker. Peter was the first apostle to publicly declare that Jesus was theAnointed One, consecrated by the Father and sent into the world to redeem a fallen human race enslaved to sin and cut off from eternal life with God (Luke 9:20, Acts 2:14-36). The word for "Christ" in Greek is a translation of the Hebrew word for "Messiah" - both words literally mean the Anointed One.

Jesus begins to explain the mission he was sent to accomplish Why did Jesus command his disciples to be silent about his identity as the anointed Son of God? They were, after all, appointed to proclaim the good news to everyone. Jesus knew that they did not yet fully understand his mission and how he would accomplish it. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD), an early church father, explains the reason for this silence: There were things yet unfulfilled which must also be included in their preaching about him. They must also proclaim the cross, the passion, and the death in the flesh. They must preach the resurrection of the dead, that great and truly glorious sign by which testimony is borne him that the Emmanuel is truly God and by nature the Son of God the Father. He utterly abolished death and wiped out destruction. He robbed hell, and overthrew the tyranny of the enemy. He took away the sin of the world, opened the gates above to the dwellers upon earth, and united earth to heaven. These things proved him to be, as I said, in truth God. He commanded them, therefore, to guard the mystery by a seasonable silence until the whole plan of the dispensation should arrive at a suitable conclusion. (Commentary on Luke, Homily 49)

God's Anointed Son must suffer and die to atone for our sins Jesus told his disciples that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die in order that God's work of redemption might be accomplished. How startled the disciples were when they heard this word. How different are God's thoughts and ways from our thoughts and ways (Isaiah 55:8). It was through humiliation, suffering, and death on the cross that Jesus broke the powers of sin and death and won for us eternal life and freedom from the slavery of sin and from the oppression of our enemy, Satan, the father of lies and the deceiver of humankind.

We, too, have a share in the mission and victory of Jesus Christ If we want to share in the victory of the Lord Jesus, then we must also take up our cross and follow where he leads us. What is the "cross" that you and I must take up each day? When my will crosses (does not align) with God's will, then his will must be done. To know Jesus Christ is to know the power of his victory on the cross where he defeated sin and conquered death through his resurrection. The Holy Spirit gives each of us the gifts and strength we need to live as sons and daughters of God. The Holy Spirit gives us faith to know the Lord Jesus personally as our Redeemer, and the power to live the Gospel faithfully, and the courageto witness to others the joy, truth, and freedom of the Gospel. Who do you say that Jesus is?

**Prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I believe and I profess that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Take my life, my will, and all that I have, that I may be wholly yours now and forever." AMEN.

Sources:

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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xxdarby31xx-blog · 8 years ago

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🎄🎄Christmas Eve Mass Thought Recap 🤔🎄🎄

Being raised Catholic and experiencing over 10 years of private school education, makes mass very intriguing to someone like me. This procession in particular was definitely something else and I felt obligated to write about it. Here's a recap consisting of actual facts and thoughts from my point of view during St. Brendan's 5:00 Christmas Eve Mass in 2016. Mass Begins 5:04 🙇🏻The priest opened mass with a comedy monologue of sorts. That's strange. 5:06 🙇🏻The priest is going to school to gain a P.H.D. in Atheism? Odd. Something seems off here. 5:08 🙇🏻Ugh I swear back when I attended Catholic School nothing ever changed. Is the Catholic Church putting new shit in like every year now?? It's bad enough we have to sing everything, but do I really need to feel clueless too? 😩 5:08 🙇🏻Ahh..The "with your spirit" response gets me every damn time. This change in wording was implemented like 5 years ago now, and yet 5 years in a row I still cannot anticipate it. haha 😝 5:20 🙇🏻A Perk of going to mass only on Christmas Eve, is only having to hear one homily every year. It also happens to be one that should rank amongst the top three delivered for the year. 💁🏻‍♂️ Let's see what this one brings to the table. Homily begins 5:22 🙇🏻Did he just say the word "feces" ? Never heard a priest utter such a word, let alone in the Christmas Eve homily. 💩 5:25 🙇🏻Did he just say "crack dealers" ? The majority in attendance tonight are just kids...Does he really not hear these echoing cries and screams of unhappy children taking place during his homily? 👂🏻📣😭 5:25 🙇🏻Dude just straight up compared the Shepard's in the gospel to the crack dealers on the streets of East Cleveland. Christmas Eve Mass: Twilight Zone Edition 5:30 🙇🏻Before the homily concludes, he makes a reference to the uncertainty of the future due to modern politics, even going as far as mentioning an possible Armageddon situation. I can't for the life of me understand why this was even mentioned. Christmas Eve mass should celebrate the hope and joy that Jesus's birth gave all of us. To bring up things we have no control over and put them into people's minds is very puzzling to me. 😦 Especially when I remember being taught only to be concerned with the things you do actually have control over and in turn God will take care of the rest. 5:34 🙇🏻Homily didn't do it for me. I'm not going to lie I'm sorta disappointed.😑 5:42 🙇🏻Altar boys brought up the chalice but it wasn't used? Is this the new procedure now? Did the priest forget it was there? No wine or Blood of Christ at the Christmas Eve mass? I'm fucking clueless once again. 🤷🏻‍♂️ 5:42 🙇🏻Isn't there a procedure and set of rules for Catholic Mass?Catholicism and rules go hand in hand. The priest had to of broken one right out the gates, leading off mass with a Seinfeld routine. This priest operates with such reckless abandon. Who is the failure responsible for training this guy? 🙋🏻‍♂️🙋🏻‍♂️🙋🏻‍♂️ 5:49 🙇🏻Dammit!...caught off guard once more by the "with your spirit" revision. An unimpressive 3 for 12 when partaking in mass responses now. That's like an .250 batting average. God certainly cannot be pleased with those pedestrian numbers. It's now becoming rather evident to me that I'm destined for hell. 😈 5:50 🙇🏻Sure are lots of tiny old people here, I'm sure some could fit in my pocket. 5:51 🙇🏻Really fucked up by not eating anything all day, I'm starving. Maybe a new rule exists that allows you to go for seconds during communion. Just one Body of Christ definitely isn't cutting it. 😫 5:51 🙇🏻Hmmm...That lady seems pretty old. I'm sure she doesn't even remember where she's at, let alone already giving me communion.🤔.........Ehhh too risky. 5:52 🙇🏻Maybe I can convince my way into getting another. Just go back in line and if busted, tell them that I have committed so many reprehensible sins that It is necessary I receive two rounds of communion in order to fully be forgiven. 👏👏👏👏👏 Communion Ends 5:54 🙇🏻Ehh... In hindsight a second Body of Christ wouldn't of made much of a difference anyway. 6:00 🙇🏻Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁❄️ Mass Ends

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pamphletstoinspire · 7 years ago

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JESUS SHARES HIS PRIESTHOOD WITH THE APOSTLES DURING THE LAST SUPPER

With Image:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/jesus-shares-his-priesthood-apostles-during-last-supper-harold-baines/?published=t

Thanks be to God for the gift of the Priesthood!

The Priesthood was born during The Last Supper!

***

Jesus shares his priesthood with the apostles during the last supper

Written by: Fr. Tommy Lane

Thanks be to God for the gift of the Priesthood! As we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper we give thanks to God for the Priesthood and the Eucharist. The Priesthood was born during the Last Supper, as Pope John Paul II reminded us (Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday 2004). There were many priests in the Old Covenant but there is one Priest, Christ, in the New Covenant and He has extended His priestly ministry to His ordained priests. While some find it difficult to talk of Jesus as Priest, Scripture is very clear that Jesus is the Priest of the New Covenant. A priest is someone who offers sacrifice. There were many animals sacrificed in the Old Covenant by the Jewish priests, but there is one sacrifice offered in the New Covenant, the sacrifice of Jesus in His priestly offering of Himself on the cross.

Scripture talks of Christ’s death as a sacrifice, because He is the Priest of the New Covenant; "Christ loved us and handed Himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God" (Eph 5:2) "you were ransomed...with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb." (1 Pet 1:18-10) During Mass that one sacrifice of Jesus as the Priest of the New Covenant is extended to us through time and made present to us. There is not a new sacrifice of Jesus on the cross during every Mass; it is the same one sacrificial offering of Jesus as Priest on Calvary but extended through time - as in a time warp in a movie - and made present to us now.

Thanks be to God for the gift of the Priesthood and thanks be to God for the Eucharist!

This homily was delivered in a parish in Maryland.

***

Criticism of Priests

Our Lord’s Revelations to Mutter Vogel

#lent #priesthood #holy thursday #jesus shares his priesthood

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