PASTOR S MEANDERINGS 1 2 OCTOBER 2016 TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME C

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1 PASTOR S MEANDERINGS 1 2 OCTOBER 2016 TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME C STEWARDSHIP: When will I have given enough - of my income, of my time, of my talents? Today s Gospel suggests that only total stewardship will do: Wave done all you have been commanded to do, say, We are useless servants. We have done no more than our duty. Robert Louis Stevenson I cannot hear what you say for listening to what you are. TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY 9 OCT 16 2 Kgs. 5:14-17: Naaman, a Syrian general, shows his gratitude to the God of Israel and to Elisha, the prophet, for his recovery from leprosy. 2 Tm. 2:8-13: Paul tells Timothy that the Good News is such a treasure that he, like Paul himself, must be willing to suffer hardship and persecution so that the Gospel can be shared with others. Lk. 17:11-19: Of ten lepers who were healed by Jesus, the only one who returned to express his gratitude was a foreigner Samaritan. William Shakespeare Let never day nor night unhallowed pass but still remember what the Lord hath done. PAPAL INTENTIONS FOR OCTOBER Universal Intention: That journalists, in carrying out their work, may always be motivated by respect for truth and a strong sense of ethics. Intention for Evangelization: That World Mission Day may renew within all Christian communities the joy of the Gospel and the responsibility to announce it. YEAR OF MERCY Spiritual Works of Mercy Continued 7. To pray for the living and the dead Is offering a prayer for someone, especially someone in need or deceased, an act of love, an act of mercy? We are often asked to pray for someone in need or for someone who has died. What an incredible request! An act of humble love that seeks the mercy of God for a loved one. From the beginning, the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1032). Do we pray for the deceased in our lives as if their salvation depended on our prayer? Do we say the rosary for them? Do we offer Masses for the deceased? Do we attend that Mass in person?

2 To pray for the dead is an act of mercy, a so-often-forgotten work of mercy. We pray, moreover, sometimes not thinking of the meaning of the words: May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rests in peace. Yes, it is God s mercy that facilitates a restful peace, and our intercession that prayerfully recommends the deceased person to the mercy of God a spiritual work of mercy. To pray for someone s needs is also meant for the living. Often prayer is the only access we might have to the heart of a person. It is an act of love to make another the subject of our prayer, to seek the mercy of God s attention for one in need as we mention an individual name and need. Prayers for the living and deceased might be the last on our list of seven Spiritual Works of Mercy, but certainly it is not the least important. To pray for others should become a renewed way of life for each of us whether those individuals are alive or deceased. Prayer is our most important way of living in the mercy of God. It is where we experience His love for us as we seek His mercy for another. A regular prayer life is essential to the life of the individual disciple and for the good of others. Prayer is to the soul, after all, what exercise is to the body. We cannot avoid either prayers or exercise. Both are necessary. But above all, each one of us must make prayer prayer for the living and the deceased more and more integral to the rhythm of our daily lives. The seven Spiritual Works of Mercy have the potential of providing us with a heavily utilized means of allowing God s mercy, His restorative power, to pour through us to those in need. SAINTS CONTINUED From Sep 18 Praying to the saints is considered by the Church to be a good and proper activity that does not in any way detract from the honor and devotion that are owed to God. First, the saints are deserving of special recognition for their Christian perfection and extraordinary love for God. Second, as saints are the work of God, receiving their grace from Him, honor paid to the saints is honor given to God. The invocation of saints has been much misunderstood by the opponents of the Catholic faith, in particular the Protestant Reformers of the sixteenth century. If, they charged, God was disposed to answer the prayers of the faithful without need for intercession, then addressing oneself to an intercessor is useless and even sinful because it takes away the rightful prayers which should be addressed to God. Such complaints ignore the doctrine of the Communion of Saints, by which it is taught that the saints are participants in the Mystical Body of Christ and are deeply concerned with the welfare of the Church Militant and the Church Suffering. Just as the living pray for souls in purgatory, so do the saints pray for them and the living on earth. Prayers to saints ask not for mercy or forgiveness for sins. They ask the saints, who have won their crowns of glory, to intercede on the behalf of the living before the Lord. OCTOBER MONTH OF THE HOLY ROSARY Tradition holds that October has been celebrated as the month of the rosary since 1571, and the victory of the Catholic League (an alliance of Spain, Venice, the Papal States, Genoa, Savoy,

3 and Malta) over the forces of the Ottoman Empire who were seeking to take over Italy in an effort to move into the heart of Europe. It was October 7, 1571 when the battle was fought and the Catholic League was able to overcome the Ottoman forces. Prior to the ships sailing off towards battle, Pope Pius V prayed the rosary, asking for Our Lady s intercession in victory, and every man on board carried a rosary. For this reason, as soon as the men returned from the battle, the good pope declared a feast day for Our Lady of Victory. A rosary procession was offered in St. Peter s square after the victory and in time the whole month became associated with the rosary, rather than just one day. Pope Leo XIII officially established October as the Month of the Rosary in the That year, he published Superiore Anno, an encyclical which was focused on recitation of the holy rosary. In it, he called for the entire Church to dedicate the whole of the month to the rosary and pray it daily: Last year, as each of you is aware, We decreed by an Encyclical Letter that, to win the help of Heaven for the Church in her trials, the great Mother of God should be honored by the means of the most holy Rosary during the whole of the month of October. In this We followed both Our own impulse and the example of Our predecessors, who in times of difficulty were wont to have recourse with increased fervor to the Blessed Virgin, and to seek her aid with special prayers We therefore decree and make order that from the 1st of October to the 2nd of November following in all the parish churches, in all public churches dedicated to the Mother of God, or in such as are appointed by the Ordinary, five decades at least of the Rosary be recited, together with the Litany. If in the morning, the Holy Sacrifice will take place during these prayers; if in the evening, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for the adoration of the faithful; after which those present will receive the customary Benediction. We desire that, wherever it be lawful, the local confraternity of the Rosary should make a solemn procession through the streets as a public manifestation of religious devotion. The encyclical referenced churches named for the Blessed Virgin, especially, and was written in response to an illness that was spreading in Europe, emphasizing that Europe s need for intercession was particularly great. Still, the decree was meant for all of the Catholic Church and the practice continued for most of the next century. However, in more recent years devotion to the rosary overall has not been what it once was, and so interest in celebrating October as Month of the Rosary has waned as well. Many churches, whether named for Mary or not, do not have a public rosary throughout the month and there has not been much publicized about reviving this. In part, this seems to have come about due to some misconceptions after the Second Vatican Council concluded. One aim of the council was to ensure that Marian devotion remained balanced. Church documents reiterated the value of Marian devotion, but also re-emphasized the truth of her role as an obedient servant to God: Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix. This, however, is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator. For no creature could ever be counted as equal with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer. (Lumen Gentium - Pope Paul VI, 1964) Abolition of the rosary, Mariology, or devotion to Mary was never the intent of the Second Vatican Council. The council in fact recommended fervent devotion to Mary and never said anything against the rosary. However an evening Mass replaced some evening services that had

4 previously included Marian devotions, and the faithful were expected to no longer pray the rosary during Mass (which was not uncommon to see in a Latin Mass in the early 60s and before) but to participate in the Mass by attending to what was taking place at the altar. Many assumed that these things together were implications that Marian devotion should be repressed. This was not true, but there was some decline in devotion to the rosary during those next few decades. Interest in the rosary began to be revived when in 2002, Pope John Paul II gave the world 5 new mysteries on which to meditate, and reiterated the value of the rosary as Christological prayer at its core. The world was in need of someone to speak out and encourage the rosary as a form of devotion again, and Pope John Paul II did this. It seems that devotion to the Blessed Mother through the rosary is increasing again. SYMBOLS: THE CHRISTOGRAM IC XC NIKA This Christogram IC XC NIKA is often seen on both Greek and Russian Icons. They form the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus, Iota-Eta-Sigma, or ΙΗΣ It stands for Christ the Conqueror, from the Greek contractions IC (Jesus), and XC (Christ); Nika is Greek for Conqueror. Let us remind ourselves that Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death, He is the Ultimate Ruler of all. He is Lord. We all know that in an earthly sense a conquering hero has fought many battles... but Jesus Christ is the final Victor over all conflicts and wars. EDUCATION PROGRAM: OREMUS For most of us prayer becomes a source of frustration as we struggle to calm our minds and to find even a few minutes to pry. In our busy lives, prayer is seen as a luxury, when in reality it is at the foundation of a healthy spiritual life. As a preparation for the Christmas Lenten seasons I will be presenting a class on prayer entitled Oremus A Guide t Catholic Prayer. We will meet each week during the Advent Season, break for Christmas and pick up after the flurry of the Christmas Season is past. The course consist of eight sessions: What is Prayer?, Before You Pray, Lectio Divina, Relational Prayer, Spiritual Senses, Discernment in Prayer, Dealing with Distractions, and Desolation and Consolation. More information will be provided after I have returned in November. SAINT OF THE WEEK: BRUNO OCT Bruno was born in Cologne, and sent to Reims at an early age for his education. When this was completed he retuned o is home in Cologne where he was ordained and made canon of the collegiate church of St. Cunibert.

5 In 1056, while still a young man, Bruno was offered a professorship at is school in Rheims. O over eighteen years, Bruno taught the most advanced and the learned, not young clerics. After his term as teacher, Bruno was appointed chancellor of the diocese by the archbishop Manasses, a man who was less than worthy of high clerical office. Bruno and others testified against him at a council called in 1076 to judge his fitness, but Manasses refused to appear. When he learned of the testimony against him, however, Manasses had the houses of Bruno and the others sacked and their possessions sold. This incident strengthened a resolve which Bruno had considered earlier, that is, to give up all of his material goods and take up the life of a hermit. Eventually, Bruno and a small group of friends resigned their positions and proceeded to Grenoble. There with the help of St. Hugh, bishop of Grenoble, thy established themselves in the almost inaccessible high desert of Chartreuse. The monks were called Carthusians, which was derived from the place of their settlement. They built a church and cells for themselves and began to live the simple life which Bruno had prescribed. The life of the Carthusians centered around prayer and work. Twice a day, the monks gathered for prayer in the church. At other hours they prayed in their cells. Except on major feasts, they had no more than one meal per day which they ate in their cells. The monks principal work was to copy books and the income from this labor provided the meager subsistence on which they lived. Even in this reclusive life, the fame of Bruno and of the Carthusians spread. Other monasteries opened as the order grew. St. Hugh, who had helped Bruno to establish the first monastery, was so impressed by him that he took him as his spiritual director. Hugh often made the long, difficult journey to Chartreuse to visit with Bruno and seek his advice and guidance. One of Bruno s pupils from the school in Rheims, Eudes de Chatillon, became Pope Urban II. Hearing of Bruno s holiness and knowing from personal experience of his wisdom, the pope summoned Bruno to Rome to assist him in governing the Church. As the pope advisor, Bruno advised Urban in his reform of the clergy. Urban wished t name Bruno archbishop of Reggio in Calabria, but Bruno demurred with such resolution that the pope did not press him. The pope permitted Bruno to retire to the solitary life in Calabria which was close to Rome. Bruno died on October 6, He was never formally canonized since, following his example, the Carthusians shunned any occasion for publicity. In 1514, however, the Carthusians sought and received from Pope Leo X permission to observe his feast Pope Clement X later extended this observance to the whole Western Church.

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