PASTOR S MEANDERINGS OCTOBER 2018 TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME (B)

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PASTOR S MEANDERINGS 20 21 OCTOBER 2018 TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME (B) SUNDAY REFLECTION Stay with me, and then I shall begin to shine as You shine: so to shine as to be a light to others.

1 PASTOR S MEANDERINGS OCTOBER 2018 TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME (B) SUNDAY REFLECTION Stay with me, and then I shall begin to shine as You shine: so to shine as to be a light to others. The light, O Jesus, will be all from You. None of it will be mine. It will be You who shines through me upon others. O let me thus praise You, in the way which You love best, by shining on all those arou nd me. Give light to them as

2 well as to me; light them with me, through me. Teach me to show forth Your praise. Your truth, Your will. Make me preach You without preaching not by words, but by example and by the catching force, the sympathetic influe nce, of what I do by my visible resemblance to Your saints, and the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You. (John Henry Cardinal Newman) STEWARDSHIP: Good stewards must not argue about who is the most important. Today s Gospel says clearly that those who aspire to greatness must humbly serve the needs of all. Even Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. St. Catherine of Siena Nothing great was ever done without much enduring. READINGS THIRTIETH SUNDAY 28 OCT 18 Jer. 31:7-9: God promises salvation for the scattered remnant of Israel, return from exile and a joyful homecoming. Ps. 126:1-6: Heb. 5:1-6: Jesus is for ever our great high priest, possessing, par excellance, all the qualities identified I the Old Testament to be a priest: He was appointed by God, selected from among humankind, and is in sympathy with the ignorant and the weak. Mk. 10:46-52: The blind beggar, Bartimaeus, comes to faith in Jesus as the Messiah and cries out to Him in faith and need and is cured. After being healed, he becomes a disciple, joining Jesus on the way to the cross. Meister Eckhart Do not suppose that when God made heaven and earth an d all things, He made one thing today and another tomorrow. Moses says so, of course, but he knew better; he only wrote for the sake of the populace, who could not have understood otherwise. God merely willed, and the world was. OCTOBER MONTH OF THE ROSARY Continued The rosary begins with the recitation of the Apostle s Creed, an Our Father, three Hail Mary s and a Glory Be. Then there are five decades which each begin and end with an Our Father and Glory Be, and have ten Hail Mary s i n between. When you pray the rosary, you meditate on the events in Jesus life. These are the joyful, luminous, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries. What is the meaning of each of these prayers? The Apostles Creed The opening prayer, The Apostles Creed was not composed by the apostles themselves, but because it expresses their teachings. The original form of the creed came into use in approximately 125 A.D., and the present form dates from the 400s. It reads this way:

3 I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgive ness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Traditional Protestants are able to recite the Apostles Creed without qualms, meaning every line of it, though to some lines they must give meanings different from those given by Catholics, who composed the creed. For instance, we refer to the holy Catholic Church, meaning a particular, identifiable Church on earth. Protestants typically re-interpret this to refer to an invisible church consisting of all true believers in Jesus. Protestants, when they say the prayer, refer to the (lower -cased) holy catholic church, using catholic merely in the sense of universal, not implying any connection with the (upper-case) Catholic Church, which is based in Rome. Despite the fact that the term Catholic was already used to refer to a particular, visible Church by the second century and had already lost its broader meaning of universal. Despite these differences Protestants embrace the Apostles Creed without reluctance, seeing it as embodying basic Christian truths as they understand them. To be continued with the Lord s Prayer and the Hail Mary. SACRAMENTS BAPTISM A number of symbols are associated with the sacrament of baptism. Water This is the primary symbol of baptism. John the Baptist used water (Mt. 3:11; Mk. 1:8; Jn. 1:33;3:23), as did Jesus (Jn. 3:22). Jesus is living water (Jn. 4:10), and when Jesus died, the water that flowed from His pierced side serves as a wellspring of His life and grace (Jn. 19:34). T he usual method is infusion, that is where water is poured over the head of the individual being baptized. Baptism can also be done by partial or full immersion. Water is a symbol of divine life, grace, new birth, growth, power, deliverance, cleansing an d the covenant. There is a rich symbolism that is evoked in the ancient use of water comprised of three meanings. First, the blessed holy water reminds us of our own baptism. By receiving baptism, we were adopted into God s family, grace was poured into our souls we became temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). And baptism is administered by the pouring out of blessed water three times, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. So you can see, when we dip our fingers into the holy water font at the main entrance or that contained in the small fonts at the doors as we enter or exit the church, and make The Sign of the Cross over ourselves, we are reconnecting with that mysterious and foundational experience of receiving the sacrament of Baptism. By making this reconnection, the Church invites us to thank God, to remind ourselves of our dignity as beloved children of

4 God, and to take comfort in knowing that we truly are members of this divine family,, member of the Body of Christ. Secondly, the holy water symbolizes the purifying of the mind and the heart of the recipient. This holy water is what the Church refers to as a sacramental. The Catechism (CCC) defines sacramental as: those items instituted by the Church to serves as sacred signs that bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church. By them individuals, the faithful, are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy. The effect that is signified by blessing ourselves with holy water is, basically, cleansing. As we enter the Church and prepare to worship God through the liturgy, we want our minds and hearts to be pure, to be purified from sin and selfishness. This gesture is a way of giving physical and material expression to this desire for repentance and purification. After all, water and cleansing go together even in the natural world. Therefore, f rom the sacramental point of view, the connection is extended into the supernatural plan. You can express this desire by adding a silent prayer after you make the sign of the cross: Lord, cleanse me and purify me so that I can worship You and receive Yo u worthily this purification helps us focus on God, and focus on praying and worshipping God. That intensified focus opens our souls to receive the grace God wants to send us through the sacramental liturgy. Watching as families enter the church before Mass I notice that many parents will bless; and the proper word is bless, since that is what you are doing as you either sign your children or help them to sign themselves. That would be the appropriate time for you to say your own version of this prayer over your child. Thirdly, by locating the holy water fonts at the entrance of our churches symbolizes the difference between ordinary space and sacred space. When we enter into the holy place, we bless ourselves with holy water. We leave behind the worldly noise and confusion that surrounds our normal, everyday activities, and we are refreshed and renewed by the order, silence, reverence, and beauty of the sacred space, the space used only for prayer and worship. The physical experience of feeling the cool clean holy water on our skin expresses and fosters this spiritual refreshment and renewal. It helps us make the transition from normal business into the special activity of divine worship. This third symbolic meaning of the holy water fonts was most pronounced in the earliest usages of this tradition. Even in ancient non -Christian religions (9ncluding Judaism), ritual ablutions (washings) were frequently an initial step in formal worship. And so, when the first Christian houses of worship were built, the atrium that formed a kind of transition space between the outside, public arena and the church proper where the liturgy was celebrated, often contained a large fountain. Worshippers would stop at the fountain and bathe their hands and feet (shoes were not as common in ancient times as they are now, at least in the warmer climates) before entering the sacred space. This was a way of preparing

5 themselves, of switching gears, so to speak, in order to be fully attentive during the worship service. As church architecture evolved, so did the fountains. They became holy water fonts, like the ones we find in most Catholic churches today (although many churches still have fountains located in the plazas in front of them, like St. Peter s Basilica in Rome). When we use them with this in mind, they help us calm and quiet our minds and hearts, leaving aside the hustle and bustle of life in a secular world so that we can enter gratefully into God s presence. To be continued. SAINT OF THE WEEK: ST. ANTHONY MARY CLARET d OCT Archbishop of Cuba, founder of the Claretian congregation. Anthony was born in Sallent in Catalonia, Spain, in 1807, the son of a weaver. He took up weaving before entering the seminary at Vich. He was ordained p riest in 1835, went to Rome, and joined the Jesuits to devote himself to missionary work overseas. But his health broke down and he returned to Spain. For ten years he preached tirelessly in Catalonia, founding the congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, commonly called Claretians as well as Apostolic Training Institute of the Immaculate Conception, Claretian nuns. Anthony was appointed by the pope to the turbulent see of Santiago Cuba, the largest archdiocese in Cuba in For all of his speaking and management skills, this assignment proved to be a challenge. Most of the priest were no longer living in their rectories, many had taken mistresses, and the churches were run down. With the clergy in such a state, the laity co uld hardly be expected to be more sanctified. Many of the faithful had not been confirmed, and thousands of marriages had not been blessed in the Church. Within his first year, Bishop Claret had instituted reforms, given retreats for his priests, confirmed 100,000 people, and blessed 40,000 marriages. All of this was not without opposition, of course. Several attempts were made on the life of the archbishop, and he was seriously wounded by a would -be assassin infuriated by the loss of his mistress, who had returned to the Church. In 1857, the pope recalled Anthony to Spain serve as the confessor to Queen Isabella II. At this time he devoted himself to preaching and writing, especially to Catalan. A special feature of his apostolate was his emphasis on the printed as well as the spoken word: he is reputed to have published 10,000 sermons and 200 books or pamphlets. His considerable cultural interests are also evidenced by his establishing while Rector of the Escorial, the Spanish royal pantheon a science laboratory and a natural history museum, with schools of music and of languages. At the revolution of 1868 he went into exile with Queen Isabella in Rome where he participated in the first Vatican Council. It was here that he spoke eloquently in favor of the doctrine of papal infallibility which was adopted at this council. An attempt was made to bring him back to Spain, but a fatal illness overcame him before he could return. He died on 24 October 1870 in the Cistercian monastery of Fontfroide, near Narbonne in southern France. Anthony Mary Claret had the gift of prophecy and performed many miracles. He was opposed by the liberal

6 forces of Spain and Cuba and endured many trials. He was canonized in 1950 by Pope Pius XII PRAYERS UP-COMING SCHEDULE Saturday 20 Oct Mass 8:30 a.m. Baptism pvt Confessions 1:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Vigil Mass 5:00 p.m. with Baptisms Maison Fortunae Dinner Masses 7:00 a.m., 8:30 a.m. with Baptism, 11:30 a.m. with Baptism, 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Brig After all weekend Masses throughout the month of October the rosary will be prayed. Please set aside the time (approximately 15 minutes) to join us as we pray for healing of those who have been abused and for a thorough cleansing of the Church. Sunday 21 Oct Teaching Mass Sunday 21 October 5:00 p.m. If you normally attend the 5:00 p.m. Sunday Mass please be aware that this Teaching Mass will take approximately 2 hours. Major portions of the Mass are explained and questions taken. Monday 22 Oct 8:30 a.m. Mass Tuesday 23 Oct 8:30 a.m. Mass 10:00 a.m. Georgian Manor Mass 3:00 Meeting 7:00 p.m. Parish Council Wednesday 24 Oct 6:30 a.m. Mass 8:30 a.m. Mass PCRS Mass 10:00 a.m. time at school 5:00 p.m. Meeting Thursday 25 Oct 8:30 a.m. Mass 2:00 p.m. Wedding rehearsal 5:00 p.m. Confessions 6:30 a.m. Mass RCIA Friday 26 Oct 8:30 a.m. Mass 5:00 p.m. Wedding Saturday 27 Oct 8:30 a.m. Mass Confessions 1:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Vigil Mass 5:00 p.m. Sunday 28 Oct Masses 7:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Brig Trunk or Treat (Halloween) 27 Oct Church parking-lot All Saints Day 1 Nov Holy Day of Obligation Mass schedule 6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. 12 Noon 7:00 p.m. All Souls Day 2 Nov Mass schedule 6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. 12 Noon Mass of Remembrance 7:00 p.m. Cemetery weather permitting Veterans Day 12 November Mass 8:30 a.m. in the cemetery weather permitting Dedication of the St. Martin of Tours Columbarium and Fountain

The nstitute for atechesis and ormation

The nstitute for atechesis and ormation Course Outline for Students CAT I The Creed The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed is the symbol of our faith in God and the affirmation of our belief in the truth