4th Week of Easter 2022 - Wednesday - The Holy Spirit Speaks

 

Yesterday, we heard how following the persecution of Christians in Jerusalem after the death of Stephen, Christians were scattered into the surrounding regions—like the seed scattered by the Sower in the Gospel. They escaped Jerusalem with their lives, but they didn’t wallow in misery over what was lost, they sought out the lost, and preached the Gospel in those places where the wind of the Holy Spirit had blown them.

And they came to a little place called Antioch. Now at that time, Antioch rivaled Rome in terms of population. There were about a million people in Antioch. And some of them converted. And yesterday, we heard how it was there in Antioch, where the disciples of Jesus were first called Christian.

Today we heard how the Christians of Antioch gathered together for prayer, they fasted together, they worshipped the Lord together, they sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Their example remains relevant for Christians of every age: we must pray together, fast together, worship together, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit together. 

Notice, how it was during their communal prayer, fasting, and worship, the Greek word there is leitourgeo, from which we get the word liturgy, which likely included the celebration of the Eucharist, it was from this experience of humbling themselves through fasting, raising their hearts to God through prayer, that the Holy Spirit spoke. In other words, the will of God, the will of the Holy Spirit became clear to them. 

It was in Antioch that Paul and Barnabas received clarity from the Holy Spirit that they were to embark on a missionary journey, the first of three, to spread the Gospel far and wide. This first missionary journey would take them 1000 miles through rapid rivers, steep mountains, malaria-plagued lowlands, and bandit-ridden passages. Their lives would be at risk countless times, and they knew it. But they trusted the Holy Spirit, and it changed everything.

How is our parish called to imitate these holy ones? In prayer, fasting, worship, discernment, and mission. May the Holy Spirit guide us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may be deeply committed to the spread of Christ’s Gospel, and for the success of the Church’s missionary activity. And our parish may be attentive and responsive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

For those in public office: may they govern with wisdom and compassion for the most vulnerable among us—especially unborn children, the elderly, the indigent, and persons with disabilities.  Let us pray to the Lord.

That the isolated and abandoned may know the love of God through the labors of the Church. 

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, the deceased members of our families friends and parishes, for those who fought and died for our freedom, and for N. for whom this mass is offered.

Graciously grant our petitions, we beseech thee, O Lord; may your grace sustain us always in your service, through Christ Our Lord.

Ferial Day in Epiphanytide 2022 (EF) - Bodily living and spiritual worship

On the feast of the Epiphany, we considered Magi from the East bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in worship and adoration of the Christ child. These physical, earthly gifts very much foreshadowed the sacrifices that each Christian is to make to Christ, as described by St. Paul in the epistle for this Epiphany-tide ferial day.

“I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.” Christians are called to serve the Lord in all circumstances, so that every action is a sacrifice that renders homage to God, and every thought is conformed to the knowledge of his will.

Paul’s vision of Christian living isn’t a head-trip or an intellectual pursuit. Rather as God truly took human flesh in the incarnation, the Christian life is incarnational—how we use our bodies, matters, the choices we make, how we treat people, how we treat our bodies and the bodies of others, matters. We are to glorify God with our bodies, engage in bodily--corporal--works of mercy, and put to death the works of the flesh.  Daily Christian sacrifice involves outward action that engages the whole person, body and spirit.

In these verses, Paul, too, links liturgy and life—bodily living and spiritual worship. Our Christian worship is bodily, incarnational, involving sights, and smells, and sounds, and bodily gestures, and vocalized prayers, and physical embraces, and the reception of the body and blood of Christ. All the bodily senses are involved in our spiritual worship, because all is to be conformed by our worship to Christ. We build beautiful churches, with beautiful stained glass windows, and beautiful art to aid us in worshiping the Beautiful One and becoming like Him.

Bodily existence, as we well know, offers its challenges and temptations. So Paul, challenges us to conform ourselves not to this age, but to Christ, the timeless one—the one whose goodness, truth, and beauty transcends, but also speaks to every age. We can’t just use our bodies in the same way as non-believers, we can’t worship the same things, and use our bodies to pursue the same ends. Rather, the Christian is always counter-cultural. 

Where the culture worships comfortable lies, physical pleasures, and selfish ends,  Christians worship and conform our lives to the one who is truth, goodness, and beauty incarnate.

So during this age, this new year, renew your minds through daily prayer, daily meditation on the Gospel and the timeless truths of our faith, bodily--corporal works of charity--that you may discern what is good, and pleasing, and perfect for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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 A reading from the epistle of St. Paul to the Romans

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. For by the grace given to me I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to think, but to think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God has apportioned. For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.

A continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, 

they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 

but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple,  sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

October 04 2018 - St. Francis- Widely Admired, Greatly Misunderstood

St. Francis is probably the most popular, widely recognized saint in the history of Church. Yet that has also come with great misunderstanding of the real man and his real values and sanctity. He is known as a great lover of animals, so his likeness is placed on birdbaths and garden statues. His respect for God’s creation has led him to be co-opted as a patron of climate change initiatives, even vegetarianism. Yet, Francis once berated a friar for wanting to abstain from meat on a feast day and said that on Christmas he would “smear the wall with meat.” Some invoke Francis’ poverty to condemn ornate liturgical furnishings. The real Francis, however, was meticulous in the ceremonials of the Mass, insisting that every sacred vessel and vestment be the best. Sometimes, Francis is invoked to condemn the institutional aspects of the Church. But the real Francis wrote in the Franciscan Rule that any friar who parted from the Pope on the slightest article of Faith was to be dismissed from the Order.

St. Francis and the Sultan of Egypt

A recent author wrote: Selective hagiography (biographies of saints) has reduced St. Francis to a sandal-wearing, animal-loving pacifist, but the real man was a stern defender of the faith, preaching obedience to God through His Church. Far from an aversion to active proselytism—forthrightly calling non-Catholics to convert—St. Francis traveled to Egypt to confront the Muslim sultan and preach the name of Christ at the risk of martyrdom. At the same time his letters attest to his insistence on honoring God in the liturgy with precious and beautiful altar furnishings (Marcantonio Colonna).”
On this, his Feast Day, we should seek to love what Francis loved: poverty, chastity, obedience to Church teaching, beautiful liturgy, his prayer for the authentic reform of the Church, and most deeply his ardent love for Christ.

Saint Francis had a deep interior life, who meditated upon the wounds of Christ constantly, who pushed himself to offer his own life for the spread of the Gospel. For this, he was given the gift of the holy stigmata, bearing the wounds of Christ in his hands and feet. His stigmata was a sign of his holiness—a willingness to suffer for the spread of the Gospel and the good of souls.

Here is a man whom the world called a fool, in whom we, however, recognize great courage, great zeal, and great faith.  Francis reflected the self-offering of Christ to the Father through his own embrace of poverty and humility. May the prayers and example of St. Francis help us to conform our lives to Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Pope Francis, on this his patronal feast day: that he may know that constant assistance of the angels and saints in his ministry.

That the work and ministry of all Franciscan organizations and charitable institutions may bear fruit for the spread of the Gospel.

For the purification of our minds and hearts from the errors of the culture and from the lure of worldly attachments.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

Monday of the 1st Week of Advent 2017 - Watchful in prayer, exultant in praise

Unlike the weekdays of Ordinary Time, the weekdays of Advent have their own particular collect prayer, prayer over the gifts, and prayer after communion.

During the seasons of the year, these prayers, which the priest offers to God on behalf of the Church, are not mere formalities before we get to the meat of the mass, they help us focus our attention on the aspect of the mystery of God that we are celebrating.

The prayers for Advent, for example, have a double focus. Advent prepares us to celebrate the historical birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, and also prepares us to welcome his second coming at the end of time. The collects, prayers over the gifts, and prayers after communion often contain theology and scriptural references which help us to focus on these themes.

This is one reason I like to chant these prayers; chanting draws them out a little bit, slows us down so we can reflect on the words that are being offered. So you should listen attentively to these prayers, just as you listen to the scripture readings and the prayers at the altar.

Today’s Collect prayer hearkens to the Gospel we heard yesterday on the 1st Sunday of Advent where the Lord urges us to stay awake for the return of the Master of the House. Listen again to the words of today’s collect prayer: “Keep us alert, we pray, O Lord Our God, as we await the advent of Christ your Son, so that, when he comes and knocks, he may find us watchful in prayer and exultant in his praise.”

Joined with the command to stay awake for the master’s return from yesterday’s Gospel is a reference to the well-known passage from the book of Revelations: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me.  I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne.”

Advent teaches us to be prepared, to be ready, to be alert for the many ways Christ comes to us. Advent helps us listen better, more attentively, to the many ways Christ knocks at the doors of our hearts, to perhaps even be attuned and opened to new ways.

To remain ready and alert, the Collect tells us that we must be watchful in prayer. Every day this season should be characterized by this prayerful watchfulness and listening.

Like the Blessed Virgin sitting in her house in Nazareth with the book of the prophet Isaiah open on her lap, pondering, waiting on the Lord, we need to be attentive to the scriptures of this season, the liturgical prayers of this season, the cries of the poor this season, to hear the Lord knocking on the doors of our lives. that we may welcome him more fully, and rejoice with him more completely, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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As we await with longing the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, we raise up our prayers of petitions.
That Christ may visit his holy Church and always find her watchful in prayer.

That Christ may fill the Pope, our Bishop, and all the clergy with spiritual gifts and graces.

That Christ may guide the minds of those who govern us to promote the commong good according to His Holy Will.

That Christ may banish disease, drive out hunger, and ward off every affliction.

For Pope Francis prayer intention for the month of December, “That the elderly, sustained by families and Christian communities, may apply their wisdom and experience to spreading the faith and forming the new generations.”

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Almighty ever-living God, who bring salvation to all and desire that no one should perish, hear the prayers of your people and grant tha the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and your Church rejoice in tranquility and devotion. Through Christ our Lord.