Archive for June, 2009

Teach Me to Labor

theophilus June 29th, 2009

I came across a prayer attributed to St. Ignatius a while back -

“Lord, teach me to be generous.  Teach me to serve you as you deserve.  To give and not count the cost.  To fight and not heed the wounds.  To toil and not seek for rest.  To labor and not ask for reward, save for knowing that I am doing your will.”

I know someone who is trying to live the last phrase of that prayer – “To labor and not ask for reward, save for knowing that I am doing your will.”

He is doing something that will result in others gain, yet he will probably not be rewarded for it.  He is doing something that will benefit many, yet his family questions his career path.  There is always the question left unsaid, but always hanging in the air, as to whether he should be doing something more distinguished or of greater monetary worth.

Yet, he has confided in me that he truly believes that he is doing God’s will.  He is exactly where God needs him.  He is laboring for Christ.

I told him about St. Ignatius’ prayer because I realized he is trying to live it.  He is trying so hard to keep from falling into the chasm of self-pity where he will crave reward for his labor.  He is trying to satisfy himself with the reward of knowing that he is doing God’s will; he is serving Christ.  I can tell that it is not easy.

And I reminded him that it doesn’t matter whether we measure up in someone else’s eyes; whether we are doing what others expect of us.  What matters if whether we are doing what God wants us to do; whether we measure up to what Christ expects of us.

The saints lived the prayer of St. Ignatius; each and every phrase.  We are called to do the same.

We all are called to be generous and serve and give and fight and toil and labor; but not to count the cost or heed the wounds or seek for rest or ask for reward.  We are all called to just serve Christ and do God’s will.  We are all called to be a saint.

Weekday Solemnities

theophilus June 24th, 2009

It was only recently that I started to understand the difference between the different types of days on the Church calendar.  I couldn’t tell you the difference between solemnities, feasts, memorials, optional memorials and ferial days. I thought feast days were all the same.

So, as I began to learn about the Church calendar, I started to understand its structure and what the Church is trying to teach us as the year unfolds.  I also began to understand why solemnities are reserved for the most important days during the year.

Most solemnities are well-observed (Easter & Christmas) or fall on Sunday (Epiphany, Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, Christ the King).  Holy Days of Obligation are also solemnities (Mary, Mother of God; Ascension; Assumption; All Saints; Immaculate Conception).

But there are a few solemnities that do not fall on Sunday and are not Holy Days of Obligation.  These are St. Joseph (March 19), the Annunciation (March 25), Sacred Heart (Friday after 2nd Sunday after Pentecost), Sts. Peter & Paul (June 29), and St. John the Baptist (today, June 24).

All of these days are important to us and allow us to spend time thinking and praying about great people in the life of Jesus and the Church, as well as great mysteries that form the foundation of our faith.

With today being one of these most important of remembrances, we should spend some time thinking about the life of St. John the Baptist, what he meant to Christ’s ministry, and what he means to us today.

He was the voice crying in the wilderness.  He prepared the way for the Lord.  He was the fulfillment of prophecy.  He taught repentance, conversion, salvation and forgiveness.

This is a great day to go to Mass, pray the Rosary, read the story of St. John in Luke 1.  It is also a great day to think about whether you are listening to God through the people he has sent into your life; whether you need to get to confession to ask for forgiveness; whether you need to change things in your life; whether you are accepting the gift of salvation from Christ and are serving him.

Are you doing God’s will as St. John did?

Today, place yourself on the banks of the Jordan River and listen to what St. John has to tell you; listen to what Christ has to tell you.

St. Paul to the Americans

theophilus June 12th, 2009

As we come to the end of the Year of St. Paul, I’ve been wondering what St. Paul would write to us if he was sending an epistle to the Church in America.

While I think this question can be redundant because St. Paul’s epistles are timeless for every Catholic in every time, today’s Mass reading from 2 Corinthians 4 is especially instructive for us today.

Let’s face it, we’re going through some uncertain times; times that would have seen familiar to the people of Corinth.

Do you feel “afflicted” – from today’s reading, we learn that so did the Corinthians; so St. Paul assured them that they would not be “constrained.”

Do you feel “perplexed” – so did the Corinthians; so St. Paul assured them they should “not be driven to despair.”

Do you feel “persecuted” – so did the Corinthians; so St. Paul assured them that they would not be “abandoned.”

Do you feel “struck down” – so did the Corinthians; so St. Paul assured them that would not be “destroyed.”

While some may feel afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down, all must know that we are not constrained in our afflictions, must not be driven to despair in our perplexity, are not abandoned in our persecution, and cannot be destroyed when facing supposed defeat.

As long as we keep Christ as the center of our lives and serve him as he deserves, we will overcome anything that is thrown at us.  We must have faith, hope and love, while yearning for the peace and joy that is Christ’s grace to us when we truly believe in him and serve him.

I think St. Paul would tell us to stop feeling sorry for ourselves or fearful or uncertain, and to get on with the business of serving Christ in whatever way he calls us to do so.  While not touchy-feely, I think his would be good advice and exactly what we need to hear.

Sunday Solemnities

theophilus June 3rd, 2009

As every Catholic knows, Sunday Mass has the prime spot on the church calendar.  It is the centerpiece of a devout Catholic’s week and a fixture on their schedule.

But, let’s take a quick quiz – how many Sundays in the Liturgical Calendar have special significance over and beyond being a “# Sunday of [Advent][Lent][Easter][Ordinary Time]?”  How many are considered Solemnities, the highest form of celebration on the calendar (above feasts, memorials, and optional memorials)?

Of all of these special days, Easter is the easiest to come to mind.  I don’t know if Palm Sunday is considered a solemnity, but it would fall into the category of being pretty memorable.  How about the  Epiphany (2nd Sunday after Christmas) and Christ the King (Last Sunday of Ordinary Time before Advent), both of which are solemnities?

There are also two other Sundays in Christmas that have a special spot on the calendar – Holy Family (1st Sunday after Christmas and a feast) and the Baptism of the Lord (1st Sunday of Ordinary Time and a feast)?

These days are important to us, to our faith; yet we tend to gloss over some of them.  Other than Easter and Palm Sunday, they become just another Sunday with no real significance to us.

And that’s a shame because each of these Sundays carries so much meaning about Christ, that we short-change our spiritual lives when we treat these days as nothing special.

That is why I’m really trying to pay attention to the period of Sundays we are in now, because they are all solemnities.  Two Sundays ago was Ascension Sunday; last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday; next Sunday is Trinity Sunday; and then the next Sunday is Corpus Christi Sunday.  Throw in Sacred Heart Friday (solemnity) and Immaculate Heart Saturday (memorial) for the weekend thereafter.  Six very holy days (five of which are solemnities) following distantly behind the Resurrection, and centered around the Ascension and the Pentecost.  It is a period when we reflect upon separate parts of Christ’s life and his being, and the very essence of the triune God.  Six very holy days that always occur together.

The Nicene Creed, which we pray most every Sunday, professes that we believe in one God, in one Lord, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit.  We believe in Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and that the Holy Spirit is the giver of life who has spoken through the prophets.  We believe that Christ was born of the virgin Mary and became man and that for our sake he was crucified, suffered, died and was buried.  In these passages of the Creed, our Creed, we have the essence of these holy days during these four plus weeks.

As the priest exclaims at baptisms, this is our faith, this is the faith of our church.  As these six holy days say so much about our faith, we need to make sure we are paying attention to them, instead of just letting them float on by, on our way between Easter and the laziness of Summer.

Daily Mass Readings

theophilus June 1st, 2009

A lot of people are blessed in that they are willing and able to attend daily Mass.  They have both the call to spend 30 minutes a day celebrating the Sacred Mysteries of the Mass, and they have access to a Mass that fits into their work schedule.

Some of us aren’t so lucky.  We may have the call, but not the Mass.  For example, the parishes between me and my office have Masses after 8:00am (including my own); not exactly conducive to getting me into the office by 8:30.  There is a parish with a 11:30am Mass, but it is 20 minutes away from my office.  I do go there on Fridays when I can afford some extra time at lunch, but it’s not a Mass I can make every day.

But I have found a way to keep in tune with the daily rhythms of the Church, especially the celebration of the Mass.  I read the daily Mass readings.

It’s important to me to actually read the readings and follow the prayers of the daily Mass because it connects me with Christ in a very profound way.  It also makes me feel part of a greater whole.  Think about it – these readings and prayers are being said on that day in every church in the world.  It’s a way to join myself to every other Catholic in the universal Church.

It’s also important because it gives me a chance to reflect on passages from the scriptures and do some bible study.  By reading the Daily Mass readings, I can cover most of the non-gospel part of the Bible in two years.  The first readings alternate from year to year with the daily gospel remaining constant from year to year.  (Keep in mind that the Sunday readings are on a three year cycle.)

Last night was the end of Easter; now we head back into Ordinary Time.  It’s a good time to look forward as to what the Daily Readings hold in store for us for the remainder of the Church liturgical year.

The first readings start with readings from the Book of Tobit this week and then jump to the 2nd Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians for the following two weeks.

From there, the first readings launch into the Pentateuch, starting with Genesis 12 when God makes his covenant with Abraham, and going through to Deuteronomy.  We then go into a little history with Joshua, Judges and Ruth.  At the end of August, it’s back to St. Paul with readings from his 1st Letter to the Thessalonians, Colossians, and his first letter to St. Timothy.  At the end of September, it’s back to the Old Testament with three weeks of readings from the minor histories and prophets (Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, Nehemiah, Baruch, Jonah, Malachi and Joel).  Then it’s four weeks of readings from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, a week from the Book of Wisdom, a week from the 1st and 2nd Book of Maccabees and then a week from the Book of Daniel, when we end one liturgical year and begin another by heading into Advent.

The gospel readings don’t jump around like the first readings.  For this week, the gospel is taken from Mark 12, which tells about Jesus teaching in the temple.  Next week, we start with Matthew 5 (the Sermon on the Mount) and, over the next 12 weeks, go through to Matthew 23 (the eve of the Passion).  At the end of August, we switch over to Luke, starting with Luke 4 (beginning of Jesus’ ministry), and going through to Luke 21 (the eve of the Passion).

So, from the first readings, you will get a good mix of the Old Testament and the Epistles.  From the gospels, you will get two different perspectives on Jesus’ active ministry and teachings.  Not a bad way to spend fifteen or so minutes a day.

I suggest three different ways to keep in touch with the daily readings, if you cannot make it to daily Mass.  The first, easiest and cheapest is to go to the bishop’s web site for the daily readings.  You can also subscribe to a periodical that will give you the Mass readings, the prayers of the Mass, and reflections.  One periodical is Magnificat; another is Word Among Us.  The other way is to buy a missal.  One option is the St. Joseph Missal from Catholic Book Publishing (need 3 volumes to cover all of the weekday and Sunday readings).  Another option is a one-volume missal – the Daily Roman Missal from the Midwest Theological Forum and Our Sunday Visitor.  I have the Daily Roman Missal and it is a truly amazing volume of work.

Enjoy the daily Mass; learn from the daily readings; let the Mass become a part of your daily life, even if you cannot actually make it to Mass.  Join your daily prayers to those of the universal Church.  Offer your day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.  It is a wonderful way to spend part of your day.

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