Najdobrotliwszy Boże, za przyczyną św. Wincentego poucz nas, co czynić mamy w czasach zamieszania pojęć i niewiary, pokaz dokąd iść, i powadź drogą twych przykazań, abyśmy bezpiecznie do portu zbawienia dopłynęli. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
Dobrotliwy Boże, użycz nam tej łaski, za wstawieniem się św. Alberta, abyśmy w niczem z drogi prawdy nie zboczyli, a w wszystkich sprawach niech nam przyświeca sprawiedliwość Twoja. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
Do you take account of the miracles in your life?
Think of the Apostles’ journey with Jesus thus far. They’ve seen miracles, heard him teach, had His teachings personally explained to them, saw the Transfiguration, and heard the voice of the Father call down from heaven. They saw Jesus raise people from the dead, most recently Lazarus.
I don’t know if the Apostles took account of all the miracles. Today, Jesus told them:
—Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately on entering it,
you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat.
Untie it and bring it here.
If anyone should say to you,
‘Why are you doing this?’ reply,
‘The Master has need of it
and will send it back here at once.’—
They went and found things to be exactly as He had said they would be. Exactly!
Were they amazed? Did they notice? Was this miracle too small in relation to the bigger ones, like feeding 5,000 men with five loaves and two fish?
Jesus’ ministry, and most especially His raising of Lazarus, was the big lead in for this moment. Jesus was to be welcomed into Jerusalem as the Messiah. Can you imagine the Apostles’ euphoria? Everything as He said it would be, the people turning out, acclaiming Him:
—Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
Hosanna in the highest!—
In a few days time one would deny Him. The others would run away in fear, locking themselves in the upper room. The people would be in the streets shouting: —Crucify Him, crucify Him!—
Reality, or at least the Apostles’ perception of reality, set in. They forgot what He said about being handed over and rising again. They forgot the part about doing the Father’s will. They forgot the miracles. They lived in fear and doubt.
So I ask, —Do you take account of the miracles in your life?—
Do you remember those times that Jesus quietly touched you? Do you remember when it was He alone who held you up? Do you remember times of terrible sadness when He gave you the strength to carry on? Do you remember when He was there rejoicing with you at births, weddings, and other celebrations? Did you even realize that He was there?
Some people get caught up in waiting for the big signs, the sun spinning in the sky, the Blessed Virgin appearing in a grotto, and other such things. They wait and miss the obvious. Jesus is right next to them.
The biggest event, the most important event in human history has already happened. We are called to recognize it and to act with faith. We are called to recognize the most important miracle in our lives —“ Christ’s presence, and to proclaim the biggest miracle of all, Jesus Christ, Who suffered, died, was buried, and Who rose from the dead.
Every day we hear the world tell us that Jesus is not a reality; that the bible is fake, and that faith is silly.
When you are confronted with these accusations just remember the answer you give when you come up here and Father or I say —The body and blood of Christ—. You say “Amen”, you are using an ancient Hebrew word meaning: “So be it; truly”
Amen, amen I say to you. Remember your faith. Remember, recognize, and take account of the miracle of Christ in your life. Remember that Jesus is ever present to you in this tabernacle. Remember that the words you say in the creed, and when you proclaim Amen, are words of faith and truth. Remember that the Apostles’ were not confirmed in their faith until Pentecost. You have been confirmed in your faith already. Now stand and profess what you believe.
With the recent media hubbub surrounding Christian beliefs, I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on the words of Matthew 10:16:
I am sending you out as sheep among wolves; be wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. But beware of men…
The three most recent stories are:
Prayer doesn’t help (see my previous post: The Statistical Validity of Prayer)
Look, Jesus walked on ice, not water (see: Scientists offer cold-snap theory for walking on water)
The —Gospel of Judas— (see: Acadia prof in on open secret. Gospel of Judas has axe to grind and it grinds it, says Evans)
As people of faith we will be constantly challenged by naysayers and unbelievers. So we must be wise.
Wisdom does not come from offering ‘scientific’ or even factual refutation of the claims made by unbelievers. They won’t believe us anyway. We must have the wisdom that is the gift of God, wisdom to see with the eyes of faith. We must also have the weakness to acknowledge that:
If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated me before you. If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
If unbelievers wish, they could just call us stupid (see George Carlin’s jokes about God). But calling us stupid would make them seem rude. They need to point the finger and ‘prove’ that faith is silly.
By doing so they prove to themselves that their unbelief is well founded, they turn those whose roots are planted in rocky soil to their unbelief, and they damage the young who are being introduced to the faith thus supporting their unbelief.
We live among the wolves of the world as sheep. We are commanded to be harmless because the world can only scoff at the harmless. At the same time we must be wise and abide in the Lord’s presence as His witnesses. We must be wise enough to teach the neo-catechumens that what the world offers is not the truth; that the truth lives in the Church. That Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.
O Boże, któryś błogosławionego Hermana godnym tej łaski uczynił, że w czystości i świętobliwości żywota służył wiernie Jezusowi i Marji, udziel i nam tej łaski, abyśmy go naśladując, zbawić mogli swą duszę. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
Wszechmogący wieczny Boże, za przyczyną św. Celestyna udziel nam swej łaski do pracy nad zbawieniem, gdyż bez niej ani nie możemy zwyciężyć złych skłonności, ani zyskać ważnych zasług ku żywotowi wiecznemu. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
Wszechmogący Boże, racz kościół katolicki na całym okręgu ziemskim obdarzyć pokojem, utrzymać go w jedności, podwyższać i ochraniać przed rozlicznymi nieprzyjaciółmi. Udziel nam tej łaski, abyśmy żyjąc w pokoju, uniknęli prześladowań, i wychwalali Boga w Trójcy św. jedynego. Amen.
Alvin Kimel, the Pontificator, writing on Richard John Neuhaus’s new book Catholic Matters.
…Neuhaus brings with him a unique perspective. He knows what life in Protestantism is like. He has experienced it in one of its theologically strongest expressions and he has also witnessed the devastation that the embrace of modernity and revisionism can bring to the life of the Church. He knows why it is of vital importance to humanity that the Catholic Church be Catholic. All attempts to imitate liberal Protestantism can only result in the secular enculturation of the Catholic Church and betrayal of the gospel…
I say Amen.
Za przyczyną św. Izydora, biskupa, racz nam dać Wszechmogący Boże tę łaskę, abyśmy nigdy pychą i dumą nie wynosili się, lecz naśladowali maluczkich i pokornych, którym objawiłeś tajemnice niebieskie. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
I’ve been tagged by the Young Fogey:
1. How many Bibles are in your home?
Five full Bibles
Four children’s Bibles
Three partial ‘Bibles’
2. What rooms are they in?
The five full Bibles are in the family office.
One children’s Bible is in the dining room the others are in the children’s rooms.
Of the partial Bibles, one is in our office, and two are at our parish.
3. What translations do you have?
Whole Bibles
- The New American Bible (paperback, 1970)
- The New American Bible (1992 with revised New Testament)
- Douay/Confraternity Bible (1955, Daughters of St. Paul)
- The New English Bible with Apocrypha (1971, Oxford University Press)
- The New International Version
Children’s Bibles
- Read with me Bible (NIrV Children’s Bible, ZonderKidz, 2000)
- The Children’s Bible (Golden Press, 1965)
- The Beginners Bible (Zondervan, 1989)
- The Book for Children (Tyndale, 2000)
Partial
- The Lectionary for Mass, 1970 Edition
- Book of Sung Gospels, 3rd Edition, CanticaNova
- Christian Prayer, The Liturgy of the Hours, Helicon Press, 1976 (one volume edition)
4. Do you have a preference?
For beautiful reading I love the Douay/Confraternity edition. For study and homily preparation the NAB edition, since it is what is used at Holy Mass in the PNCC. For comparative I use online resources and generally refer to the Revised Standard Version and the NIV. The RSV with Apocrypha is the official study Bible of the PNCC.
5. Nominate an interesting verse:
1 John 4:18
Love has no room for fear;
rather, perfect love casts out all fear.
I pass this on to Edward Yong and Mr. and Mrs. Darwin.