PASTOR S MEANDERINGS 8 9 SEPTEMBER 2018 TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME (B) SUNDAY REFLECTION THE MESSAGE FROM TODAY S First Reading is this: Courage! Do not be afraid! We make this ancient Irish prayer our own. I arise today With God s strength to pilot me, God s might to uphold me, God s wisdom to guide me, God s eye to look ahead for me, God s ear to hear me, God s word to speak for me, God s hand to defend me, God s way to lie before me, God s shield to protect me, God s host to safeguard me. (The Deer s Cry. Attributed to St. Patrick) It is often when we are feeling bed about ourselves that we stop receiving Holy Communion: we feel we are not worthy. Yet in the Gospel we hear of a man, feeling very bad, who is brought to Jesus and he is healed. Eucharist is the great sacrament of healing and reconciliation. When we eat the body of Christ and drink his blood our brokenness is made whole again. Jesus gave Himself for us so that we might have life and live it abundantly. Eucharist is the food of life because it is Jesus. Let us take that to the world and share the good news.
STEWARDSHIP: The good steward must not show favoritism. The rich may have many material gifts to share, but St. James reminds us in the second reading that God has chosen the world s poor to be rich in faith and inheritors of God s kingdom. Ian MacLaren Jesus was Himself the one convincing and permanent miracle READINGS FOR TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY 16 SEP. 18 Is. 50:5-9: The Suffering Servant identifies solely in terms of the people of Israel. He is willing to withstand all mistreatment in order to fulfill his prophetic career for the good of his people. Ps. 116:1-6, 8-9: The psalm reflects the confidence of those who place their trust in God in the midst of affliction. Jas. 2:14-18: James, in characteristically vigorous fashion, is criticizing those who have not translated their faith into concrete practice. Mk. 8:27-35: We must hold together two key truths: that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, and that He will enter into the pain and suffering of the world and give His life as a ransom for many (10:45). Martin Luther King WE must learn that to expect God to do everything while we do nothing is not faith, but superstition. PRAYER OF ST. MICHAEL Over the past several weeks we have been pummeled with an ongoing series of revelations and discussions of a pernicious evil that has embedded itself in the fabric of the life of the Church through the actions of individual members of the clergy as well as by the inaction, deliberate or
otherwise, of those who should have been providing supervision and shepherding, regarding the abuse that has been perpetrated. Pope Paul VI once stated that It is as if from some mysterious crack, no, it is not mysterious, from some crack the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God. In response there have been many calls for and Masses celebrated for forgiveness, while admittedly there should be a more intense call for healing of those traumatized physically, emotionally and spiritually by this abuse, the sincerity of the call for forgiveness can only be proven by the reality of a true accounting for, and admission of what has occurred in the past accompanied by a comprehensive cleansing, purification and reform of the clerical culture that has grown in the Church over the decades. Last weekend the active praying of The Prayer of St. Michael was reintroduced at the end of Mass and will be continued with the substitution, as appropriate of other prayers. This was a long standing practice in the Church up through the late 1960s. Now would seem to be an appropriate time for us to return to that practice as well as many others as we the Body of Christ move forward in addressing this blot on our community of faith. Why St. Michael? What is the origin of this prayer? What is the purpose? First, before going any deeper into this subject we should clarify who is Saint Michael and look at some of the history that backs up his importance in our faith tradition. St. Michael the Archangel has always been known to be a powerful intercessor against evil, especially since he is recorded in the Book of Revelation as, fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven (Revelation 12:7-9). Based on this episode in scripture, St. Michael is frequently depicted in art thrusting a lance, spear or sword into Satan, who is often depicted as a serpent or dragon. The name Michael means, "one who is like God," [actually, there is a more accurate interpretation, "Who is like God?", which is a rhetorical question which clearly sets Michael against Satan,]; at the end of time, he will wield the sword of justice to separate the righteous from the evil (Rv 12:7). The early Church Fathers recognized the importance of the angels and archangels, particularly St. Michael. Theodoret of Cyr (393-466) in his Interpretation of Daniel wrote, "We are taught that each one of us is entrusted to the care of an individual angel to guard and protect us, and to deliver us from the snares of evil demons. Archangels are entrusted with the tasks of guarding nations, as the Blessed Moses taught, and with those remarks the Blessed Daniel is in accord; for he himself speaks of 'the chief of the Kingdom of the Persians,' and a little later of 'the chief of the Greeks,' while he calls Michael the chief of Israel.'" The Church Fathers would also posit that St. Michael stood guard at the gate of paradise after Adam and Eve had been banished, and he was the angel through whom God published the Ten Commandments, who blocked the passage of Balaam (Nm 22:20ff), and who destroyed the army of Sennacherib (2 Chr 32:21). St. Basil and other Greek Fathers ranked St. Michael as the Prince of all the Angels. With the rise of scholasticism and the exposition of the "nine choirs of angels," some said St. Michael was the prince of the Seraphim, the first of the choirs. (St. Thomas Aquinas, however, assigned St. Michael as the prince of the last choir, the angels.) St. Michael the Archangel has been invoked for protection on various occasions. In 590, a great plague struck Rome. Pope St. Gregory the Great led a procession through the streets as an act
of penance, seeking the forgiveness of and atoning for sin. At the tomb of Hadrian (now Castle Sant'Angelo near St. Peter's Basilica), St. Michael appeared and sheathed his sword, indicating the end of the plague. The Holy Father later built a chapel at the top of the tomb and to this day a large statue of St. Michael rests there. St. Michael is seen in Catholic tradition as having four duties: (1) To continue to wage battle against Satan and the other fallen angels; (2) to save the souls of the faithful from the power of Satan especially at the hour of death; (3) to protect the People of God, both the Jews of the Old Covenant and the Christians of the New Covenant; and (4) finally to lead the souls of the departed from this life and present them to our Lord for the particular judgment, and at the end of time, for the final judgment. For these reasons, Christian iconography depicts St. Michael as a knight-warrior, wearing battle armor, and wielding a sword or spear, while standing triumphantly on a serpent or other representation of Satan. Sometimes he is depicted holding the scales of justice or the Book of Life, both symbols of the last judgment. As Catholics, we have remembered through our liturgical rites the important role of St. Michael in defending us against Satan and the powers of evil. An ancient offertory chant in the Mass for the Dead attested to these duties: "Lord, Jesus Christ, King of Glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of Hell and from the deep pit; deliver them from the mouth of the lion that Hell may not swallow them up and that they may not fall into darkness, but may the standard-bearer Michael conduct them into the holy light, which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and his seed. We offer to thee, Lord, sacrifices and prayers; do thou receive them in behalf of those souls whom we commemorate this day. Grant them, Lord, to pass from death to that life which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed." In the Tridentine Mass since the 1200s, St. Michael was invoked in the Confiteor, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptizer and Saints Peter and Paul; the invocation of these saints inspired the faithful to remember the call to holiness and the sinlessness of the Church Triumphant in Heaven. Origin of The Prayer of St. Michael For the greater part of the past century, the faithful recited the prayer to St. Michael at the end of the Mass. Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903) had a prophetic vision of the coming century of sorrow and war. On October 13, 1884, after celebrating Mass in his private Vatican Chapel, attended by a few Cardinals and members of the Vatican staff, the Holy Father suddenly stopped at the foot of the altar. He stood there for about 10 minutes, as if in a trance, his face ashen white. Then, going immediately from the Chapel to his office, he composed the prayer to St. Michael. When asked what had happened, he explained that, as he was about to leave the foot of the altar, he suddenly heard voices two voices, one kind and gentle, the other guttural and harsh. They seemed to come from near the tabernacle. As he listened, he heard the following conversation: The guttural voice, the voice of Satan in his pride, boasted to Our Lord: "I can destroy your Church." The gentle voice of Our Lord: "You can? Then go ahead and do so." Satan: "To do so, I need more time and more power." Our Lord: "How much time? How much power? Satan: "75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those who will give themselves over to my service." Our Lord: "You have the time, you will have the power. Do with them what you will."
The conversation is reminiscent of the prologue to the biblical Book of Job, in which Satan asks God for, and receives, permission to tempt the faith of the righteous Job. However, while the dialogue has become a central part of popular legend, there is no strong foundation in historical fact. Whatever happened during Pope Leo s vision, it appears certain that he did have a vision and what he saw was not pleasant. It prompted him to quickly compose the Prayer to St. Michael, and in 1886 to decree that this prayer to St. Michael be said at the end of low Mass (not high, or sung Masses) throughout the universal Church, along with the Salve Regina (Hail, Holy Queen); and the practice of the congregation praying these prayers at the end of Mass continued until the late 1960s / early 1970s, with their suppression along with the reading of the last gospel at the end of Mass with the introduction of the Novus Ordo (the new rite of the Mass) under Pope Paul VI in 1968. Pope Leo lived during particularly turbulent times, and he believed prayer was needed to dispel the darkness that hung over the world, not really much different from our own times and with what the Church is currently dealing with. John Paul II and St. Michael However, at the end of his Angelus message given in St. Peter s Square, Sunday, April 24, 1994, Pope John Paul II urged Catholics to recite this prayer to Saint Michael once again: "The prayer can fortify us for that spiritual battle about which the Letter to the Ephesians speaks [of]: "Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power."(ephesians 6:10). And to this same battle that the Book of the Apocalypse refers [to], recalling in front of our eyes the image of St. Michael the Archangel (cf. Revelations 12:7). Surely, this scene was very present to Pope Leon XIII, when, at the end of the previous century, he introduced to the entire Church a special prayer to St. Michael: St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil "Even if today this prayer is no longer recited at the end of the Eucharistic celebration, I invite all to not forget it, but to recite it in order to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and the spirit of this world." MONTHLY DEDICATION FOR SEPTEMBER SEVEN SORROWS OF MARY Continued Just to confuse things a little, lets throw in a new term DOLORS Catholics have long associated the Latin term dolor, meaning "sorrow" or "pain," with the sorrows of Mary, the Mother of God. She is often pictured with seven swords, representing seven sorrows, piercing her sinless heart. What exactly are these seven sorrows, and what are the origins of this particular Marian devotion? The early Christians, telling of the passion and death of Jesus, remembered the agonizing sorrow the Blessed Mother experienced as she stood at the cross, watching the crucifixion of her divine Son. Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother gained in popularity during the Middle Ages, and, in some locations, meditation on her was expanded beyond the scene at the cross to encompass other events from the time Jesus was arrested until He was laid in the tomb. Not until 1727, however, was a special day included in the Church's universal liturgical calendar to recall the sorrow of Mary at the crucifixion and death of Christ. In that year, Pope Benedict XIII added a universal feast, known as the feast of the Sorrows of Mary, to be celebrated the Friday before Passion Sunday. The liturgy that day, the prayers, the readings and the beautiful
hymn Stabat Mater (literally, "The Mother Was Standing") all focus on the Blessed Mother as she stood brokenhearted on the hill of Calvary. This feast day remained on the Church's calendar until 1969. The Servites Feast One institution that had long promoted devotion to the sorrowful mother of Jesus was the Servite religious order, founded in Italy in 1234. Five years after their founding they adopted the sorrow of Mary at the cross as their principal devotion. A second feast, on the third Sunday in September and specifically dedicated to the Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was formally granted the Servites by Rome in 1668. As this devotion spread, there was for some years controversy regarding which seven sorrows would be included in the list. It is generally accepted that the list we recognize today originated with the Servites. The Servites' feast was extended to the universal Church in 1817 and celebrated each year on the day following the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, which takes place on Sept. 14. Consequently, for 150 years, the liturgical calendar included two similar feast days honoring the Sorrowful Mother: one feast on the Friday before Passion Sunday, and the other in September. Today, as a result of the Second Vatican Council calendar reforms, there is only one liturgical feast day commemorating the suffering and sorrow of Mary. This feast is an obligatory memorial that takes place on Sept. 15 and is known as the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. While the Seven Dolors are not explicitly noted during the liturgy of this memorial, many Catholics on this day faithfully recall them in Rosaries, prayers, novenas and other devotions. The Seven Dolors The Seven Dolors identify seven events or periods in the Blessed Mother's life when her suffering, prompted by events in her Son's life, was most intense. Bible scholars have pointed out that while some of the sorrowful events contained in the devotion are not specified in Scripture, they likely did occur. Here are the seven: 1. Simeon s prophecy during the presentation of Jesus (Lk. 2:35). Like all firstborn Jewish males, the baby Jesus was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem to be presented to God. According to Luke s Gospel, there was, in the Temple, a devout old man named Simeon who joyfully recognized Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. The happiness of this moment turned somber, however, when Simeon prophesied that the Child s life would be one of contradiction. This prophetic announcement would indeed be fulfilled as the very people Jesus came to save from sin would reject, insult and eventually murder Him. Simeon further indicated that Mary, too, would suffer, that sharing in His life of rejection would be like a sword piercing her soul. Certainly, such foreboding prophecies must have troubled the young mother. Continued next week. ICON OUR MOTHER OF SORROWS This icon rests on the stand at the entrance to the church proper. Our Mother of Sorrows offers healing liniment to those suffering from the tragedies ofr September 11, 2001. Old Spanish and Mexican images of Our Lady of Sorrows as well as the
traditional icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help influenced the conception of this icon. The angels of the Perpetual Help icon, as well as their instruments of Christ s crucifixion are replaced by the American and United Airlines planes. The planes symbolize the victims at the Pentagon and aboard Flight 93, as well as both planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. The planes invade the sacred space of the mandorla, the cloud of heavenly radiance that surrounds Mary. Represented by the almond shape and the radiating fiery rings, the mandorla is the intersection of heavenly and earthly realms. The stars of heaven surround Mary, the universal mother, in her sorrowful yet hopeful glance. The old church Slavonic lettering in gold leaf describes Mary as the Theotokos, the Mother of God. Traditional images of Our Lady of Sorrows depict Mary s heart pierced by swords, symbolic of the seven times her heart was broken by the Passion of her Son. Within Mary s embrace the oval which surrounds the World Trade Center symbolized her sacred heart, but even more so her womb. In this icon, Our Mother embraces all those lost with her enduring love, just as she embraced the Child in her womb. The towers are depicted as they appeared on that bright sunny morning in early September. The smoke, stylized and sanctified, bears witness to the ultimate sacrifice of so many on September 11. MAJOR FEASTS OF THE WEEK There are three days this week that are important to commemorate. Two are significant religious feasts and of course one 9/11 calls for remembrance and reflection. EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS Friday 14 Sep The Story of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Early in the fourth century, Saint Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ s life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior s tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on that spot. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman. The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus head: Then all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on. To this day, the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica s dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim.
Reflection The cross is today the universal image of Christian belief. Countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry. To the eyes of the first Christians, it had no beauty. It stood outside too many city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses, as a threat to anyone who defied Rome s authority including Christians who refused sacrifice to Roman gods. Although believers spoke of the cross as the instrument of salvation, it seldom appeared in Christian art unless disguised as an anchor or the Chi-Rho until after Constantine s edict of toleration. OUR LADY OF SORROWS Saturday 15 Sep The Story of Our Lady of Sorrows For a while there were two feasts in honor of the Sorrowful Mother: one going back to the 15th century, the other to the 17th century. For a while both were celebrated by the universal Church: one on the Friday before Palm Sunday, the other in September. The principal biblical references to Mary s sorrows are in Luke 2:35 and John 19:26-27. The Lucan passage is Simeon s prediction about a sword piercing Mary s soul; the Johannine passage relates Jesus words from the cross to Mary and to the beloved disciple. Many early Church writers interpret the sword as Mary s sorrows, especially as she saw Jesus die on the cross. Thus, the two passages are brought together as prediction and fulfillment. Saint Ambrose in particular sees Mary as a sorrowful yet powerful figure at the cross. Mary stood fearlessly at the cross while others fled. Mary looked on her Son s wounds with pity, but saw in them the salvation of the world. As Jesus hung on the cross, Mary did not fear to be killed, but offered herself to her persecutors. Reflection John s account of Jesus death is highly symbolic. When Jesus gives the beloved disciple to Mary, we are invited to appreciate Mary s role in the Church: She symbolizes the Church; the beloved disciple represents all believers. As Mary mothered Jesus, she is now mother to all his followers. Furthermore, as Jesus died, he handed over his Spirit. Mary and the Spirit cooperate in begetting new children of God almost an echo of Luke s account of Jesus conception. Christians can trust that they will continue to experience the caring presence of Mary and Jesus Spirit throughout their lives and throughout history. PRAYERS PRAYER OF ST MICHAEL St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into Hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. IN REMEMBERANCE OF 9/11 Father,
We pray for all of the people who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. Comfort them and continue to guide them in Your hope. Help us to honor the lives of those who died, through our thoughts and our actions, and grant them the happiness and joy of heaven with You. Fill us with love and forgiveness, and help us to live peacefully with each other. As we see pictures and hear memories of the suffering and confusion of September 11, help us to remember all the good that you have put in Your world. Help us, most of all, to share Your love and promises with those we meet that are suffering and confused. Amen. PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS Our mother of sorrows, with strength from above you stood by the cross, sharing in the sufferings of Jesus, and with tender care you bore Him in your arms, mourning and weeping. We praise you for your faith, which accepted the life God planned for you. We praise you for your hope, which trusted that God would do great things in you. We praise you for your love in bearing with Jesus the sorrows of His Passion. Holy Mary, may we follow your example, and stand by all your children who need comfort and love. Mother of God, stand by us in our trials and care for us in our many needs. Pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen. PRAYER TO THE HOLY CROSS Oh, Adorable Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, You have suffered death on the Cross for our sins. Oh, Holy Cross of Jesus, be my true light! Oh, Holy Cross, fill my soul with good thoughts. Oh, Holy Cross, ward off from me all things that are evil. Oh, Holy Cross, ward off from me all dangers and deaths and give me life everlasting! Oh, Crucified Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on me now and forever. In honor of the Precious Blood of Jesus, his death, resurrection and ascension which leads to everlasting life; true as Jesus was born on Christmas Day; true as Jesus was crucified on Good Friday; true as Joseph and Nicodemus took Jesus down from the cross and buried Him; true as Jesus ascended into Heaven; may He preserve me from my enemies visible and invisible forever. Oh, Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me! Mary and Joseph pray for me. Lord Jesus Christ, through Your suffering the Cross grant me strength to bear my Cross without fear or dread and give me the grace that I may follow You. Amen UP-COMING SCHEDULE Sunday 9 Sep Monday 10 Sep Masses 7:00 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 5:00 p.m. Welcome back gathering for Religious Education Brig 7:00 p.m. Pastor s Day off Mass 8:30 a.m. Visitation David Tulli
Tuesday 11 Sep Funeral David Tulli 11:00 a.m. St. Brides Correctional Facility Mass 5:30 p.m. Wednesday 12 Sep Masses 6:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. Confessions between Masses Mass PCRS 10:00 a.m. Indian Creek Correctional Facility Mass 5:30 p.m. Thursday 13 Sep Mass 8:30 a.m. Confessions 5:00 p.m. Mass 6:30 p.m. RCIA Friday 14 Sep Mass 8:30 a.m. Saturday 15 Sep Mass 8:30 a.m. Baptisms 10:00 a.m. Confessions 1:30-4:30 p.m. Vigil Mass 5:00 p.m. Blessing of Animals Saturday 29 Sep. 10:00 a.m. ASP Mission Trip 7 13 Sep Priests Convocation 15-18 Sep Stanton Va.