HOLY MASS SCHEDULE 7:30am (Chapel) 12:10pm 5:30pm (Vigil for Sunday) 8:00am (Music) 10:45am (Choir) 4:30pm (Music)

Transcription

1 CO - CATHEDRAL OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE HOLY MASS SCHEDULE M-F: 7:30am (Chapel) 12:10pm Sat: 5:30pm (Vigil for Sunday) Sun: 8:00am (Music) 10:45am (Choir) 4:30pm (Music) CONFESSIONS M-F: 11:30am - 12:00 pm Sat: 4:45pm - 5:15pm Sun: 3:45pm - 4:15pm /baltimorebasilica PARISH OFFICE 320 Cathedral St., Baltimore, MD x 220 Office Hours: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

2 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT MARCH 18TH, 2018 RECTOR S COMMENTARY BY FR. JAMES BORIC, RECTOR Dear Friends, One of the questions people often ask me is, Father, why do I always fall into the same sins time and time again? I go to confession and all I do is confess the same sins. Nothing ever changes. The biggest reason why we struggle to change is because we often times don t attack the root cause of our sins. Think of gardening: If we want to get rid of the weeds we have to pull them out by the roots. If all we do is pull off the visible parts of the weeds, the garden will look fine for a while, but the weeds will grow back. Any the cycle continues. It s the same in the spiritual life. If we don t attack our sins at the root, they keep coming back. At the 5:30PM Mas on March 3rd, I gave a homily that addressed this issue. The homily (which is titled How to Diagnose the Root Cause of Your Specific Sins ) is on my podcast site: frjamesboric.podbean.com/. But for those who weren t at that Mass (which is most of you!), I d like to explain this quickly. On the last page of this bulletin, you will find a table I made to help you understand what I am talking about. There are 7 root sins which we often refer to as the Deadly Sins. These are the gateway sins to every kind of sin we can commit. The 7 Deadly Sins are: Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy and Sloth. As you can see from the table, each one of these sins gives rise to other sins. So for instance, if pride, is your biggest sin (or your root sin ) then you probably also suffer from the sins of ambition, vainglory, presumption and hypocrisy. These are the sins that flow from pride. They are called the daughter sins. If all you do is fight against the daughter sins, then what happens? You never defeat the cause of those sins. Thus, the daughter sins keep coming back in your life. So the question becomes: how do you defeat pride which is the root sin? If you look at the table again, I give you two ways to defeat each deadly sin. The first way is to grow in the virtue which directly opposes your root sin. For instance, the virtue which counters pride is humility. The second way to defeat the root sin in your life is with the appropriate spiritual weapon. The weapons Christ gave to us are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Interestingly enough, each of the 7 Deadly Sins can be defeated by 1 of these weapons. Pride is defeated by prayer. When we pray, we put God first. Pride always puts self first. So committing to minutes of prayer each day (no matter what) is the surest way to defeat pride. If you look at the table I created, you can see how to counter all of the other Deadly Sins. If you have questions, just ask! But it is my hope that this helps you in the remainder of Lent and beyond. God Bless you, MASS INTENTIONS Sunday, March 18th 8:00am Buddy Mell 10:45am Joyce Macaluso 4:30pm Basilica Parishioners Monday, March 19th 7:30am Diana Huertas (L) 12:10pm Sandra Baum Tuesday, March 20th 7:30am Eric T. Moser 12:10pm Celena Hoey (L) Wednesday, March 21st 7:30am Jude Charles (L) 12:10pm - Natasha Rose (L) Thursday, March 22nd 7:30am The Cueto Family (L) 12:10pm Dr. John Herts Friday, March 23rd 7:30am Cardinal William H. Keeler 12:10pm Cardinal William H. Keeler Saturday, March 24th 5:30pm Delores A. Sharp BASILICA STAFF Most Reverend William E. Lori Archbishop of Baltimore Cardinal Edwin F. O Brien Archbishop Emeritus of Baltimore Reverend James Boric Rector jboric@archbalt.org x221 Deacon Robert Shephard robert.shephard@baltimorebasilica.org Deacon Sean Keller sean.keller@baltimorebasilica.org Reverend William Graham, OFM Cap Reverend Gilbert Seitz Reverend William Foley Reverend Michael Thompson, SSJ Bishop Mark Brennan Assisting Clergy Mr. Thomas Hochla Director of Music thomas.hochla@baltimorebasilica.org x 217 Mr. Mark Marozza Sacristan mark.marozza@baltimorebasilica.org x215 Ms. Maura Belton Parish Secretary maura.belton@baltimorebasilica.org x220 Mr. Lee Donelson Business Manager lee.donelson@baltimorebasilica.org x219 POOR BOX DONATIONS Your donations to the poor box are used to support those in need as identified by the Rector.

3 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT MARCH 18TH, 2018 GOSPEL COMMENTARY BY JEFFREY SJ ALLAN Gospel, John 11:1-45 "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God." Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Cyril both say that Lazarus is indeed dead from this sickness but he did not die as others - continually dead; for Jesus raised him again to the glory of God. "Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." The most accepted interpretation of this is that "day" means the time preceding the Passion of our Lord and "night" means the time of His Passion. By this He encourages His disciples, assuring them that the day of His sojourn on earth was not yet over, therefore, all the hatred that was aimed at Jesus, as His enemies were trying to stone Him, would not come to pass right now. When Jesus says, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep," He was saying that Lazarus is dead although the disciples thought He was referring to ordinary sleep. As far as we mortal human beings are concerned, Lazarus is dead, but to God he is asleep; for our Lord raised him from the dead as easily as we raise ourselves from sleep. Knowing that the disciples misunderstood what He meant, Jesus plainly tells them, "Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe." When Jesus uses the words, "that you may believe," this doesn't mean that the disciples lacked faith but only that their faith may be increased once they witness the raising of Lazarus from the dead. When Thomas said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go to die with Him," he wasn't referring to Lazarus, but he meant that he was ready to go and die with Jesus because he was sure that when Jesus returned there He would be stoned to death. The name Thomas or Didymus means "twins." When Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died," shows that either Martha and Mary were a little weak in faith or they had not as yet fully grasped Who Jesus was because the words, "if You had been here" are not in line with what we know about God; for God is everywhere. In a homily from Saint John Chrysostom he says, "Martha believed in Christ, but not as she ought to have done. She did not yet believe Him to be God, but addresses Him as One Who is remarkable for virtue, and approved of by heaven." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha didn't know that Jesus was talking about an immediate rising from the dead but she assumed He was referring to the resurrection on the last day. Jesus says, "I am the Resurrection and the Life," meaning that He is God, the Author of both. Since He is God He will raise Lazarus up on the last day but He is also able to raise him up now if He so wishes. The Catechism of Catholic Church teaches that Jesus links faith in the resurrection to His own Person: "I am the Resurrection and the Life." It is Jesus Himself Who on the last day will raise up those who have believed in Him, who have eaten His Body and drunk His Blood. Already now in this present life He gives a sign and pledge of this by restoring some of the dead to life [in this case Lazarus], announcing thereby His own Resurrection, though it was to be of another order (cf. CCC 994). When Jesus asks her if she believes this, her response is, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the One Who is coming into the world." At this moment, by the grace of God, Martha breaks free from the bonds of doubt and leaps into an act of perfect faith. When Mary came to where Jesus was, He asks her, "Where have you laid him?" Saint Augustine explains, "He asks what He knows to raise their attention, their faith, and their hope." Jesus wept and in doing so shows His Humanity just before He's about to show His Divinity by raising Lazarus. Jesus raised His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You for hearing Me. I know that You always hear Me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." He knew without a doubt that even as a Man He would be granted whatever was asked, therefore, the reason that He offers this prayer to the Father was for our instruction. Origen, one of the writers of the early Church, says that Christ was about to pray for the resurrection of Lazarus, but His Eternal Father heard His prayer before He presented it. Therefore, Christ begins His prayer by giving thanks to His Father for having granted His request. The Catechism adds that thanksgiving precedes the event: "Father, I thank You for hearing Me," which implies that the Father always hears His petitions. Jesus immediately adds: "I know that You always hear Me," which implies that Jesus, on His part, constantly made such petitions. Jesus' prayer, characterized by thanksgiving, reveals to us how to ask: before the gift is given, Jesus commits Himself to the One Who in giving gives Himself. The Giver is more precious than the gift; He is the Treasure; in Him abides His Son's Heart (cf. CCC 2604). Saint Teresa of Calcutta put this into practice often. Witnesses have told the stories of how she would thank God for answering her petitions even before God granted what she was asking for. When Lazarus is raised from the dead by Jesus, He gives the command to "untie him and let him go." Saint Gregory and Saint Cyril both believe that Jesus gave these instructions to His apostles, and therefore see in this verse a figure of the authority that would be given to priests to loosen and absolve sins. The death of Lazarus and his rising are very much symbolic of baptism - a plunge into the waters and by the power of the Holy Spirit rising from them to a new life in Christ. -sanctebruno1006@gmail.com

4 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT MARCH 18TH, 2018 How To Do Battle Against Your Sins-and Win! 7 Deadly Sins (7 Capital Vices) Pride Covetousness Lust Anger Gluttony Envy Sloth Ambition Unkindness Distaste for Holy Things Impatience Injure Body Lack of Charity Indifference Vainglory Dishonesty Hatred for God Hatred Weakens Mind Detraction Disgust for Daughter Sins Presumption Deceit Perverted Conscience Irreverence Gateway to all Vices Backbiting Hypocricy Lack of Charity Lack of Faith Cursing Drunkenness/ addiction Slander Opposing Virtue: Humility Generosity Chastity Meekness Temperance Brotherly Love Dilligence Weapon: Almsgiving Fasting Fasting Almsgiving GIFTS TO THE BALTIMORE BASILICA The Basilica of the Assumption Historic Trust, Inc. continues to rely on the generosity of our parishioners and visitors. If you have specific questions, please contact : Robert J Brown, Director of Development, Basilica Trust, at x222 TOURS Guided tours of the Cathedral / Basilica FOOD DONATIONS The Basilica parish collects weekly donations of non-perishable food items in the baskets, located at the back of the church. These are then packed and delivered by the Basilica K of C Council to Assisi House in Fells Point. Assisi House uses your kind donations to restock their very busy Food Pantry that provides an essential service to the local community around St. Patrick s Church. SACRAMENTS OF BAPTISM OR MATRIMONY Consult the Basilica website ( or contact the parish office for more information at x220 ANNOINTING THE SICK HOME CALLS FOR HOLY COMMUNION In case of serious illness, or advanced age, please contact the Rector RCIA FINANCIAL STATS Offertory Envelopes $ Offertory Loose $ Easter Flowers $ Music Ministry $ AOB: CRS $ Votive Lights $ Poor Box $ Funeral $ Wedding $ Mass Intentions $ Total Parish Income: $ Trust Box $ Restoration $ Speaker Series $ Tours $ Total Trust Income: $ Monday thru Friday at 9AM, 11AM & 1PM Saturdays: Walk ups or if a groups, PLEASE CALL AHEAD GIFT SHOP Saturday 9:30am - 5:30pm Sunday 8:30am - 4:30pm HOLY HOUR + The Holy Hours with The Lord takes place the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month beginning at 7:30pm in the Our Lady Seat of Wisdom chapel in the Basilica undercroft. For information contact the Deacon: sean.keller@ baltimorebasilica.org Contact the Parish Office at x220 or Fr James x221. RCIA meets every Sunday at 6pm at the Catholic Center 320 Cathedral St. DEVOTIONS Mother of Perpetual Help Novena 4:30pm Saturdays Undercroft Chapel Bishop Madden s next prayer walk: Tuesday, March 20-5:30 pm - St. Ambrose (4502 Park Heights Avenue, 21215). A light meal at 5:30pm and end before 7:30pm During the walk, we will pray at specific locations that have been affected by violence, and for all those individuals who have been so terribly affected by violence, and for a change of heart in those given to violence. The neighbors are always encouraged by our witness, and we know that our prayers are heard. Parking: There is ample street parking in front of the church or behind the church (turn on Wylie). Parish phone: (410)

5 Basilica Lent & Holy Week Schedule Fridays in Lent 5:30pm-7:30pm ~ Stations of the Cross ~ Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament ~ Adoration ~ Confessions during Adoration ~ Benediction (7:15pm) March 19th Diocesan Day of Recollection 10am to 7pm ~~ Confession (break for 12:10pm Mass) HOLY WEEK March 29 th Holy Thursday 11AM-1PM Confession 6:15 PM Mass of the Lord's Supper Adoration in Undercroft Chapel until Night 11:45 PM Night in Undercroft Chapel March 30 th Good Friday 2PM Good Friday Liturgy 3:30PM Stations of the Cross and Confession March 31 st Holy Saturday 11AM-12PM Confession 7:30PM Easter Vigil Mass April 1 st Easter Sunday 8AM Mass 10:45AM Mass (No 4:30pm Mass) Basilica closes following the 10:45am

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