O Boże który wzmacniarz słabych i wynosisz pokornych! Jakoś chciał, aby wyznawca Twój św. Alfons jaśniał cnotą pokory i gorliwością w modlitwie i umartwieniu, tak dozwól i nam, abyśmy naśladując go, ciało swe umartwiali, i na drodze pokory starali się o zbawienie duszy naszej. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
Błg. Sadoku, któryś wraz z towarzyszami okrutnie umęczonym został dla Imienia Chrystusowego, uproś nam tę łaskę, abyśmy starali się o chwałę Boga i zbawienie dusz ludzkich, gotowi zawsze z radością znosić wszelkie prześladowania, a nawet położyć swe życie dla tej świętej sprawy. Amen.
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
Today’s readings and gospel combine the realities of despair with the joyful hope to which we are called.
Our first reading sounds rather joyous. The exiles are being called home. God is bringing them back:
They departed in tears,
but I will console them and guide them;
I will lead them to brooks of water,
on a level road, so that none shall stumble.
But a quick jaunt into biblical history will show us that Jeremiah spoke these words in the midst of the destruction of Israel and of Jerusalem. The temple had already been partially destroyed. Wars had been ensuing for years. Nothing looked good. The northern tribes were carried off to Assyria. The razing of the rest of Jerusalem was upon the Jewish people and the remnant would be carried off. The Jewish people and their king were entering the Babylonian captivity.
How could Jeremiah speak hope? Here he was, left sitting among the ruins of Jerusalem, like Job among the ashes. The temple was no more and the temple fixtures were the spoils of war.
Not much to be happy about.
Yet Jeremiah proclaimed hope. God spoke through His prophet. He would bring them all back; He would be their Father again.
God always speaks hope. It is hope to which we are called; the hope of everlasting life in God, and the hope of the resurrection on the last day.
Bartimaeus understood hope. Bartimaeus had a clue, and just like the rest of us he was confronted with an opportunity to recognize and act on what was already inside him. He recognized Jesus.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus rewarded Bartimaeus’ hope and his faith. He healed him and Jesus said a rather funny thing:
“Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
When Jesus said —Go your way— what did we expect Bartimaeus to do? Should Bartimaeus have run home? Should he have picked up the coins he had been begging for? Should he have run off to the Synagogue to show the priests that he had been healed? What did Jesus’ statement —Go your way— mean?
Bartimaeus was told his faith had not only healed him, but had saved him. Jesus’ words, —Go your way— were Bartimaeus’ next challenge.
Think a moment. Jesus touches you, heals you, and performs one of the millions of small miracles that occur in your every day life. Then He says —Go your way.— What to do? What would we expect to do?
Bartimaeus did it right.
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.
He followed Jesus with a sight that was greater than the gift of physical sight.
For Bartimaeus the hope of a cure was the door to a greater hope. He recognized that the cure was not enough. He literally saw that his greatest hope was in following Jesus.
It’s Sunday morning. You’re getting up, a little groggy. You prepare yourself and your family to depart for church. Why? What is your attitude? Do you come filled with hope? Do you feel like Jeremiah, seeing the hope despite the obstacles in front of you?
Listen to the crowd:
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
Like Bartimaeus we need to throw aside what we have clung to. We need to spring up, and come to Jesus.
Even in the midst of despair, tiredness, sickness, and want, we need to know where our hope lies, a hope greater than our present reality. A hope in the midst of despair.
The cure of Bartimaeus is a sign for us; a sign of the deeper challenge Christ calls us to. How do we react to Jesus? Once the cure and the good times arrive, how do we react? How do we respond to Jesus’ question of —Go your way?—
Will “Go your way” always mean my way or no way, or will “Go your way” mean following in the footsteps of Christ.
What we sow in our struggles must always be related to the harvest that is to come. Because of Jesus we must leave here changed, ever ready to say yes Lord, and to follow Him.
The October 21, 2006 edition of God’s Field carried a memorial notice for polka great Li’l Wally Jagiełło. Li’l Wally passed away on August 17, 2006.
Li’l Wally was one of the first two inductees into the Polka Hall of Fame and had a career that spanned sixty-eight years. He recorded over 3,000 songs and had 150 releases.
Li’l Wally has played everything from Lawrence Welk (three appearances) to a concert for Pope John Paul II.
At his request, Li’l Wally was buried from —“ Saints Cyril & Methodius Polish National Catholic Church in Chicago.
Eternal rest grant onto him O Lord, and may the perpetual light shine upon him.
See the Chicago Tribune obituary for more information.
Boże, któryś nam przez błogosławionych Apostołów Szymona i Judę do poznania Imienia Twego przyjść dozwolił: daj nam czcić godnie ich wieczną chwałę i wzrastać w łasce Twojej. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
All four Bishops-elect of the Polish National Catholic Church are to be consecrated on the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, November 30, 2006, 3pm, at St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Upon consecration the Bishops-elect will be assigned as follows:
- Bishop-elect Sylvester Bigaj —“ Diocesan Bishop of the Canadian Diocese
- Bishop-elect Anthony Mikovsky – Diocesan Bishop of the Central Diocese
- Bishop-elect Anthony Kopka —“ Auxiliary Bishop of the Eastern Diocese
- Bishop-elect John Mack —“ Auxiliary Bishop of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese
Official Notice of the consecrations and assignment appears in the October 24, 2006 issue of God’s Field (Vol. 84, Number 21), the official organ of the Polish National Catholic Church.
I look forward to serving under Bishop-elect Mikovsky.
A Bishop’s role, in the fullness of his office, builds up the Church. I know Bishop-elect Mikovsky will fulfill this work well, seeing that the members of the Church work together, guided by the Holy Spirit, in bringing Christ to all, and in building up our Holy Church.
I am overjoyed by the Church’s selection of Bishops. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is in our midst. Let us pray:
O God, the pastor and ruler of all the faithful, mercifully look upon Thy servants whom Thou has been pleased to set as Bishops in Thy Church; grant them, we beseech Thee, to be in word and conversation a wholesome example to the people committed to their charge, that they with them may attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Ludu Twego wołanie racz Panie wysłuchać, abyśmy którzy słusznie za grzechy cierpimy, dla chwały Imienia Twego miłosierdzia dostąpić mogli. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
Sheik Al Hilaly comparing rape victims to abandoned meat:
“If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it … whose fault is it, the cats or the uncovered meat
“The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred.”
“She is the one who takes her clothes off, cuts them short, acts flirtatious, puts on makeup, shows off, and goes on the streets acting silly. She is the one wearing a short dress, lifting it up, lowering it down, then a look, then a smile, then a word, then a greeting, then a word, then a date, then a meeting, then a crime, then Long Bay Jail, then comes a merciless judge who gives you 65 years,”
The idiot sheik spoke at the end of Ramadan and lamented the fact that Muslim men who perpetrated a series of vicious gang rapes against white women in Sydney, Australia were sent to prison. It’s the women’s fault you see.
NY State Controller Alan Hevesi during a debate with his opponent J. Christopher Callaghan:
“I have no reason to resign…”
“I make no apology for it…”
“That’s my family — and they come first…”
The idiot controller stated this when pressed about resigning based on a State Ethics Commission report noting that he used public employees for private errands, that he had no intention of repaying the State for that work, and that he had no basis for using public employees in that manner.
…and speaking of his family coming first, he was quick to detail his wife’s illnesses and maladies, including her attempts at suicide. She now rests in a nursing home, allegedly unable to communicate.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to critics of the ‘war in Iraq’
—Just back off—
—Relax—
“You’re looking for some sort of a guillotine to come falling down if some date isn’t met. That is not what this is about.”
Hey, idiot Defense Secretary, how about the U.S. back off and bring the troops home? How about telling the tens of thousands of maimed soldiers and the families of the dead, and the killed and maimed in Iraq to ‘relax’?
By the way, the date should have been met a couple years back —“ now what did that sign on the aircraft carrier say? The only effective guillotine left is impeachment.
…and what is it all about anyway?
- WMD —“ Nope, none there;
- Saddam —“ lunatic leader, but it is not like we don’t have one right in our back yard;
- Terrorist tie-in —“ hmmm, none there, but we’ve created plenty;
- Oil riches —“ nope, the Iraqi facilities are rusting into garbage heaps. They won’t be able to squeeze a barrel of oil out in a year or so.
- Domestic safety —“ nah. But hey, why not bring the troops home to protect us and our borders;
- Global domination —“ hehehe… like people with one track minds could understand the intricacies of the world. They couldn’t even put the right number of troops on the ground.
If anybody knows, hey, clue us in.
Truth is often stunning
From Huw Raphael: Sacrifice Your Babies… To save Former Canadian actors…
M.J. Fox shills to kill more babies so he can live. How nice.
You knew these shoes would drop
From the Sarasota Herald Tribune: Priest Foley accused is named again
Last week, the Rev. Anthony Mercieca said the only boy he ever had an inappropriate relationship with was Mark Foley, when the former congressman was an altar boy in Lake Worth in the mid-1960s.
On Wednesday, a second man came forward and accused the 72-year-old retired Catholic priest of molesting him while he was an altar boy at St. James Parish in Miami in the late 1970s…
…and
From USA Today: 2nd Florida priest charged with mishandling church money
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) —” The second of two Florida priests charged with spending church money on gambling trips, rare coins and a girlfriend has surrendered to authorities, his attorney said Monday.
The Rev. Francis B. Guinan, 63, returned to the United States on Sunday from a trip to Australia and was taken into custody in Miami, said his attorney, David Roth. He was to be released late Monday on $50,000 bond, Roth said.
Last month, authorities issued arrest warrants for the Rev. John A. Skehan, longtime pastor at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church, and Guinan, his successor. Police say the two misused $400,000 in church funds. However, an audit conducted by the Diocese of Palm Beach alleges the pair misappropriated $8.7 million…
For whom shall I root?
I always seemed to have a Mets hat growing up. Never the Yankees —“ just the Mets. I often wondered why —“ but never really found out why.
During the NL Finals I wondered whether I should root for the Mets or the Cards.
You see, St. Louis is the team of the all time great Stan —The Man— Musial. St. Louis was home to the teams (both the Browns and the Cards) that appear to have signed the greatest number of Polish and Polish-American ballplayers (see my baseball page).
Thus the dilemma, root for the team someone in my family liked or the team of Stan the Man and my fellow travelers?
I decided to go with my ethnic leanings. The same applies to the Series – Go Cards!! (sorry Hamtramck)
In the same vein, who to cheer for in Dancing with the Stars? I’ve always liked Joey Lawrence’s partner Edyta Sliwinska. A beautiful, classic Polish woman, she seems to have gotten stuck with rather poor partners in past shows. Now she has a chance. I really like Mario Lopez and Emmitt Smith as well. They are all deserving of a win. The next few weeks will be tough.
All I have to say is thank goodness Sara Evans is gone. She danced like a mummy driving a Mack truck. She should have never lasted longer than Willa Ford.
Ecumenical Rosary
Our pastor and I were invited to participate in a recitation of a Rosary for Peace last night. The Rosary was held at St. Francis de Sales R.C. Church in Loudonville, NY.
It was a great service. The Rosary was recited in various languages. We were asked to do a decade in Polish. The first half of each prayer was said in the participant’s native language with the second part said in English. They covered Polish, German, Italian, various languages and dialects from the Philippines, and Korean. The Holy Eucharist was exposed and they held benediction at the end.
I found that my ability to sing in Latin has not been diminished.
The Church is extremely modern but they’ve added some nice touches here and there. The statuary was well done, there were various icons throughout the building, and they recently installed stained glass windows.
A great evening —“ and a great way to connect with our R.C. friends at St. Francis.
Boże który w błg. Hilarjonie dałeś nam przykład umartwienia i wyrzeczenia się świata, spraw, abyśmy go naśladując, nie skłaniali serc naszych do bogactw i zaszczytów tego świata, ale drogą cnoty i umartwienia do szczęścia wiecznego dążyli. Przez Jezusa Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.