Commemoration of the Faithful Departed
31st Week in Ordinary Time Year A
November 2, 2008
Theme for the Week: Availability.
1st Mass
2 Mc. 12, 43-46 Judas took up the collections from the soldiers for the
fallen soldiers, sent to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice.
Rom. 8,31-35,37-39 What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Jn. 14,1-6 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
2nd Mass
Wis. 3,1-9 He accepted them as a holocaust.
Rom. 6,3-9 Let us walk in the newness of life.
Mt. 25,31-46 Come, you whom my Father has blessed.
Homiletic Ideas for the Sunday Gospel
Availability is more than just having a little time and space as we usually give to our “beloved” departed souls. We set aside some date, some time, some piece of ground. Yet we can totally neglect them for the rest of the year. Maybe because availability is more of the heart, than just an empty space.
In the gospel, although rooms are set aside, this is not availability’s meaning. It is in the loving plan and forgiveness of the Father, through the loving sacrifice of the Son, and with the loving inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
In the first reading, availability is in the sincere empathy and thoughtfulness for souls fallen in battle that pushed Judas for collections.
Paul rightly explains availability as the sacrificial element in loving Jesus, not just having space and time.
Commemorating the Dead means appreciating life, its destiny, its origin, and making oneself available to its meaning.
Monday: Availability as openness to all forms of life. CSDC, “The Human Person as the Imago Dei,” p.91ff.
Tuesday: Availability as deference to others which reflects deference to oneself. CSDC, “The many aspects of the Human Person,” p.99ff. DBSD: “Personal Inviolability and Societal Recognition,” p. 83.
Wednesday: Availability as integrity and self-respect. CSDC, “Human Rights,” p.112ff. DBSD: “uniqueness and Singularity,” p.80; “Self-Understanding, Possession and Determination,” p.81.
Thursday: Availability as a vocation towards fulfillment. CSDC, “Openness to Transcendence,” p.101ff. DBSD: “Transcendence of Human Dignity,” p.87, “Development of the Human Person,” p.91.
Friday: Availability enables us to see its opposite. The myth of Overpopulation and the Folks who brought it to you by Austin Ruse http://www.usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp/03ruse.shtml
Saturday: Availability enhances responsibility, not license. Humanae Vitae, “Limits to Man’s Powers,” #17. “Responsible Parenthood,” #9. DBSD: “Entrustment and Accountability,” p. 79.
Complimentary Social Teachings:
Humanae Vitae, #8-9. “Love is total—that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner's own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself.”
Readings:
The Human Person and Human Rights: CSDC, pp 90-116.
Human Person, Dignity and Rights: DBSD, pp 64-106.
Humanae Vitae (1968), Paul VI
Parallel Commandment
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
Feast of the
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
32nd Week in Ordinary Time Year A
November 9, 2008
Theme for the Week: Crushed but not overcome.
Sunday Readings
Ez. 47:1-2,8-9,12 I saw water coming forth from the Temple, and all those were saved to whom that water came.
1 Cor. 9-11,16-17 I made myself all things to all men, to save some at any cost.
Jn. 2:13-22 Destroy this sanctuary and in three days I will raise it up.
Homiletic Ideas for the Sunday Gospel
In Jurassic Park 1, the scientist explaining the possibility of dinosaurs making out on their own without the benefit of normal reproductive process says: “Life will find a way.” Indeed, life struggles to survive in all forms it assumes. That is why Charles Darwin wrote “The Origin of the Species.” The book's full title is On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, while for the 6th edition of 1872 the title was changed to The Origin of Species. Life does not easily give itself up without a fight.
This is why we should appreciate the processes of life.
It’s like Lenten season all over again, and yet it isn’t. But the spirit of sacrifice is always present in all our liturgies and readings. This is evident in the gospel, yet the message is hopeful. It is good to remember at this time the challenges posed by greed, anger, envy, lust, sloth, gluttony, and pride which are at the root of international and local problems.
People of faith are crushed like the destruction of Christ’s body. But they are not overcome, not because they are superheroes or something of the sort; nor because they do not die, no. They die! They also cry, get angry, lose control, do crazy things! But they are not overcome by evil, as Jesus promised His Church. Life should be appreciated because it does not easily give up! It struggles if given a chance.
The sacraments should sustain the people of faith (1st reading). And the sacrifice of a few good men (second reading).
Monday: We are crushed by the rampancy of untruth, glorified vices, violence, death, and misfortune. But we must forgive.
The Man Who Thinks He Can
by Walter D. Wintle
If you think you're beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win, but think you can't,
It's almost a cinch you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you've lost;
For out in the world we find
Success being with a fellow's will;
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you're outclassed, you are;
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself
Before you can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But soon or late, the one who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.
Tuesday: We are extremely busy. Yet we barely scratched the surface. We can be more and do more.
No Time To Pray
By K. J. Koshy
I knelt to pray but not for long,
I had too much to do.
I had to hurry and get to work
For bills would soon be due.
So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease.
All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer.
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They'd laugh at me I'd fear.
No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry,
No time to give to souls in need
But at last the time, the time to die.
I went before the Lord,
I came, I stood with downcast eyes.
For in his hands God held a book;
It was the book of life.
God looked into his book and said
"Your name I cannot find.
I once was going to write it down...
But never found the time"
Wednesday: We are surrounded by blessings from God which we know of. There are more of which we don’t know.
Stop and Smell the Flowers
This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital.
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say, "Hi"
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
Thursday: We live in imminent danger all the time. Yet we live to see another day.
Men are born soft and supple;
dead, they are stiff and hard.
Plants are born tender and pliant;
dead, they are brittle and dry.
Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.
The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail.
- Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu, translated by Stephen Mitchell, Harper & Row, 1988
Friday: We are so out of time left. Yet only until we have converted.
No Time for Dreamers
A Poem after 9/11 by Paul E. Nelson
A time for war for
an “Operation Infinite Justice”
for smart bombs & damage
collateral. No buildings
New York, no songs
but the drum beat
what
propels
soldiers.
No time for hand-holding
for simple kiss or eros.
No TV pictures of severed hand
of Afghan child in shrapnel.
No time for dreamers.
Another car w/ half-mast
American flag passes
on the highway.
Arguments w/ Martin
& Charlie @ the bar
another lung-full
of
cigarette smoke.
No time for bebop
that cymbal riff
ti ti tish ti ti tish.
No horn play.
No foreplay
just war, there's
no time for dreamers.
If you killed my little girl
I'd fly the next plane
into your skyscraper.
If my Grandmother died for your access
to cheap resources, I'd hurl
the next grenade.
I have no rocket launcher
but a hunch there's
no time for dreamers.
No time to
watch the wind, no
time for rain
on your face, no
samba, no meditation, no
candle-burning, but
the smell of bodies
& carnage. The global
war on terrorism, there's
no time for dreamers.
No time to think to see
to feel. Time to
bleed & justify.
Time to hold breath
& suspect strange packages
in the mail.
The postman comes
delivers the news
there's no time
for dreamers.
Time for war pictures
sanitized by war planners.
Time for the blood
of patriots, time
for heroes & charlatans.
Time for a commercial
message or seven
but
no
time
for
dreamers.
Time to watch your skin
but don't slip it in.
Buy stock in G.E.
War is up. Generals
w/ erections.
Watch them all salute.
No time to disengage
REACT REACT REACT
No time to follow the dollar,
exercise free speech, no
time to question, kayak
or quell brown-skin
babies' hunger.
There's no time
for dreamers.
No time to garden
or nourish.
We've
corned beef MRE's
& pizza pizza pizza.
War is the grown man's
football game & we
warm up w/ an exhibition
against Taliban, prepare
for playoffs vs. China.
Hooray for our side.
God Bless America.
Sing only if your song
is for patriots, there's
no time for dreamers.
Saturday: We are so helpless. Yet we can pray.
I Am Overcome
by Caryn M. Day-Suarez
I am overcome
With terror and words I cannot even speak
With sorrow, sadness and pain
To have witnessed such an event
To have witnessed the execution
Of so many innocent people
To be helpless to do anything.
I am overcome
With cynicism in a world gone mad
To see a government who once banned prayer in school
Pray together to a God they had all but tried to erase from our minds.
Like frightened children we run back.
Looking for forgiveness, for comfort,
In despair we ask to be consoled
Like protocol son's we come crawling home.
I am overcome
With pride for heroes unspoken
For those who died so others might live
For those who gave their lives for their country
And on cell phones bid loved ones goodbye.
For everyday people who gave in an instant
More than many of us give in a lifetime.
I am overcome
With grief for all of our murdered sisters and brothers
For wives, husbands, children left behind.
Who daily will always ask, "Why?"
With questions and answers we yet have none
For candles still burning and flags still flying
Will it last long? Will justice come quickly and swiftly
To send back to hell those who have done this?
I am overcome
With fear
With the realization
That maybe we are no longer safe or free
Now we must always be wary
That from our sleep we have been awakened
To the terrible fact
That we live in an evil world.
I am overcome
With hope
That prayer will now not go out of fashion
That loving each other will become the new way
With knowing
That if God comes to find me today
Or tomorrow
That I happily will follow
Gladly will serve
Will see all of my friends, families,
And those that went before me
on that September morning,
Welcoming me home
To stay.
33rd Week in Ordinary Time A
November 16, 2008
Theme for the Week: What counts in life.
Sunday Readings
Prov, 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 Give her a share in what she has done.
1 Thes 5:1-6 The day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night.
Matt. 25, 14-15,19-21 Because you have been faithful over a few things, enter into the joy of the Lord.
Homiletic Ideas for the Sunday Gospel
When we say something “counts in life” we mean they have value, they are appreciated. The message is not so much on WHAT counts, but also WHY. In the gospel and first reading, they seem to say that achievement is the basis of value. Maybe we should think WHY they are valuable in the first place, before these “valuable” people were rewarded. In the gospel, ALL were given talents. In the first reading, it says “Charm and beauty are fleeting, the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” These people counted even before they were rewarded. Paul calls them “children of the light and day,” even before they are condemned for the evil they would have probably done.
Life should be appreciated because it brings with it the message that Someone so loves that He shares the gift of life with all living creatures.
Monday: The infirmed count. Pope Benedict XVI has taught that “love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as essential as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel” (Deus Caritas Est,” #22. Evangelium Vitae (1995), Pope John Paul II.
Tuesday: Gentiles and men of little faith count. Unitatis Redintigratio (1964).
Wednesday: The Church is laden with charisms. Everyone counts. That having been said, we would like to repeat with the Council and the Exhortation cited above the "charisms should be received in gratitude both on the part of the one who receives them, and also on the part of the entire Church." For these charisms there arises "for each of the faithful the right and duty of exercising them for the good of men and for building up the Church." Pope John Paul II General Audience March 9, 1994.
Thursday: Every moment counts.
Friday: Every family counts.
Saturday: It is not a question of who belongs to whomever else, but who belongs to God.
Complimentary Social Teachings:
CSDC, #391. A community has solid foundations when it tends toward the integral promotion of the person and of the common good. In such cases, law is defined, respected and lived according to the manner of solidarity and dedication towards one's neighbor. Justice requires that everyone should be able to enjoy their own goods and rights; this can be considered the minimum measure of love.[794] Social life becomes more human the more it is characterized by efforts to bring about a more mature awareness of the ideal towards which it should be oriented, which is the “civilization of love”.
CSDC, #580ff. “Building the ‘civilization of love’.”
Readings:
The Human Person and Human Rights: CSDC, pp 90-116.
Human Person, Dignity and Rights: DBSD, pp 64-106.
Humanae Vitae (1968), Paul VI
Parallel Commandment
Love one another.
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
34th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
November 23, 2008
Theme for the Week: With whom does God associate Himself?
Sunday Readings
Ez. 34:11-12, 15-17 The Lord, the Good Shepherd
1 Cor. 15:20-26, 28 Our resurrection: just as Christ rose from the dead, we too, shall rise.
Mt. 25:31-46 The last judgment, the Son of Man-King divides the flock into sheep and goats.
Homiletic Ideas for the Sunday Gospel
God associates Himself with life. Life is God’s first attribute because He is not limited, He is infinite. When we appreciate life, we appreciate its loving divine authorship.
In the gospel, the division of the flock into sheep and goats is not merely because of achievement. It is because people associate themselves with life that they get to heaven. Life is not merely breathing air, it is more of breathing the Holy Spirit of everlasting life.
In the first reading, the Lord as the Good Shepherd is one who feeds His sheep and gives them life. To dissociate oneself from the Shepherd is absolute death.
In the second reading, association with Jesus is our resurrection.
However, this is a two way traffic. The readings also tell us that God associates Himself with those who are willing to have life, that they may be saved. Except for the stubborn and stiff-necked, life is for everyone. Free.
Monday: God associates Himself with the poor widow: there are more important things than just “having”, that is “being.”
Tuesday: God associates Himself with signs: not about what they are about or the impact they can have, but about their meaning.
Wednesday: God associates Himself with the persecuted: by their steadfastness, not about what they suffer.
Thursday: God associates Himself with retribution: not because of the horror implied, but because of the re-ordering it entails.
Friday: God associates Himself with His words: not because it outlives everything else, but because it is the truth.
Saturday: God associates Himself with those who are tempted and tried: not because they are hard up, but because He alone is their strength.
Complimentary Social Teachings:
CSDC, #391: “Social life becomes more human the more it is characterized by efforts to bring about a more mature awareness of the ideal towards which it should be oriented, which is the “civilization of love.”
CSDC, #582: “Love must thus enliven every sector of human life and extend to the international order. Only a humanity in which there reigns the ‘civilization of love' will be able to enjoy authentic and lasting peace”
Readings:
The Human Person and Human Rights: CSDC, pp 90-116.
Human Person, Dignity and Rights: DBSD, pp 64-106.
Humanae Vitae (1968), Paul VI
Parallel Gospel Commandment
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
1st Week of Advent Year B
November 30, 2008
Theme for the Week: Discernment of the conscience.
Sunday Readings
Is. 63,16-17,19; 64,2-7 Oh, that you would tear the heavens apart and come down.
1 Cor. 1,3-9 The revelation we looked for, Christ Jesus our Lord.
Mk. 13,33-37 Stay awake! You never know when the Lord will come.
Homiletic Ideas for the Sunday Gospel
To stay alert is expected of our conscience. It must watch over the thoughts, insinuations and impressions which bombard our minds. Its job is to discern our thoughts in order to discover and identify which thoughts are Satan’s cloaked machinations so that we will be able to reject them.
Advent is very like our conscience, the desire to bring to light the Just One (1st and 2nd readings). Discernment of the conscience is supportive of life. To appreciate life is to appreciate the discernment of the conscience.
Monday: Lord, I am not worthy. The discernment of a conscience of a responsible person. Cf. CCC, #1781.
Tuesday: I give you praise, Father. The discernment of a conscience of a prayerful person. Cf. CCC, #1785. 1802.
Wednesday: My heart is moved with pity. The discernment of a conscience of a person who is sensitive to the needs of others. Cf. CCC, #1784.
Thursday: Build on rock. The discernment of a conscience of a person who listens and obeys. Cf. CCC, #1776-1777.
Friday: Jesus, have pity on me. The discernment of a conscience of a person who waits for the Lord in steadfastness. Cf. CCC, #1784.
Saturday: He felt sorry for them. The discernment of conscience of a person who rejoices in God’s ways. Cf. CCC, #1776.
Complimentary Social Teachings:
Pius XII, "The conscience is the innermost and most secret nucleus of man. There he withdraws with his intellectual capacities into complete separation, alone with himself or better, alone with God, whose voice echoes in his conscience. There he decides over good or bad. There chooses between victory or defeat. The conscience is therefore, to use an old, venerable picture, a sanctuary, on whose entrance all must stop." ( Radiomessaggio, La Coscienza Cristiana come oggetto della educazione, in Pio XII, Discorsi, Vol XIV, p. 20.) This respect applies to children and even more to adults: "It is correctly argued, that the true meaning of adult independence is not to be led like a little child."
Lumen Gentium, #16. "By conscience, in a wonderful way, that law is recognized, which is fulfilled in the love of God and neighbour."
READINGS
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part 3, Section 1, Chapter 1, Article 8: Moral Conscience
Note: This is only a guide with ideas with a head start for further development in personal reflection.
