Was there a good point in the sermon you heard at your Mass of Sunday Obligation?
Let us know what it was.
For my part, for Sexagesima, I spoke of receiving well the Word in God, in which Christ is present and which is salvific. We should consider the before, during and after. Farmers plan their crops and prepare the terrain. We have to get rid of the rocks and stumps and make good furrows. Preparing to receive well the texts at Mass means reading them ahead of time. As the plants grow, we have to weed and keep distractions and dangers to the spiritual life out of the garden of the soul and water and fertilize so we can bear fruit well and have a good harvest. As we are reading or hearing readings at Mass we have to be attentive with full, conscious and actual participation. Listening is not passive! It is hard work. The harvest that is gathered has to be stored properly and also distributed and shared. We should ponder what we receive. Mary is a model for this. She pondered things in her heart and them burst into activity and shared the fruits of the meditation in action and outward prayer during the Visitation. We can review the texts of Mass for a couple days after Sunday until we turn our attention to next Sunday, thus continuing the cycle of preparation, planting, tending and reaping.
Along the way I may have gotten in a couple comments about the Fishwrap and sanctuaries full of women, ex-nuns, active participation taken to mean that people have to carry stuff around, etc. Maybe.
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Mass in OF, our pastor talked about how misunderstood today’s second reading is. He spoke of the Greek word agape and how St. Paul was teaching the community at Corinth that they must follow Christ’s sacrificial love in order to call themselves Christians. He lamented how our society has largely forgotten this type of love and then told the story of St. Maximilian Kolbe as a modern example of this love.
Today was the second sermon in the series dedicated to the prophets: Noah, and the fact that the Church teaches history based on mankind’s salvation. He said that although the story of the flood has a mythological tone to it, it is still important to know about the Flood. He spoke of how the water is symbolic of baptism, and that early Church fathers remark how God used water “as an eraser” to remove sin from the world.
He also mentioned how water is powerful and cleanses, but too much drowns.
(Last week’s prophet was Adam. This is a series of seven sermons.)
I’d like to add here that I am currently devoting the next seven Sunday Mases/Holy Communion to St. Joseph in his honor, in preparation for his Feast Day. This also involves praying the Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of St. Joseph.
The reason why I feel inspired to say this, is to inspire further devotion to St. Joseph, especially as we approach his Feast Day.
It is so sad that devotions to Our Lady has diminished over the years, and even more so, those of St. Joseph.
We need his help these days, more than ever!
Our parish has a celebration for St. Joseph’s Table–more parishes need to do this, too.
My family and I got to attend the Traditional Mass in the EF, the first time in 2 years!
There was a sermon at the high Mass but there was no sermon at this low Mass.
The Old Mass or Misa Antique is not available here in the South of Chile at all. This is the land of liberation theology (which is neither!). As such you will find that the Church before 1970 (I say 1970 because it took them that long to wreck ALL the beautiful Chapels and for all the old Priest to pass on or pass out) for all intensive purposes did not and will never have existed.
We actually go to go to Confession in english for the first time in 3 years. People do not sin at our NO parish so there is no need for a Priest to waste his time in a box for 30 min in case one sinner may show up. You can always make an appointment, Right?
Right now the only place to assist at the Latin Mass in Chile is in Santiago, which is 12 hours north of us, at the SSPX Chapel. We have heard of some indult Masses but after driving several hours, or showing up at the church door in down town Santiago, we found the Mass cancelled or “No Existe”.
Well lets just say thank God for the SSPX! We love them and you gotta have them!
I also would like to thank the local Ordinary of my Diocese in Osorno and the other in Puerto Montt, because now many, many others know of the SSPX too and ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, they are coming back! Thanks Bishops for leading us, and many others to the SSPX!
What a gift the SSPX! Deo Gracias.
Our parish building is getting pews and kneelers! Our bishop Michael Burbidge “requested” that we replace the chairs we have had for the 25 years of our existence. We have the money saved, so will not need to take a loan or have a special fundraising.
Deo gratias!
How would we explain Catholicism to those who know nothing about it?
We could take a doctrinal approach, a historical approach, or simply an architectural approach by pointing out various features in the church.
Another approach is found in the Opening Prayer and the New Testament reading. Catholics are people who “love everyone in truth of heart.” Or, as we find in John 13:25, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Love of everyone, even our enemies, is very hard work. But Paul made it clear to the Corinthians that love was about far more than affection, emotion and romance. For Paul, love was an ethic, it was a radical acceptance of Jesus’ agenda of forgiveness, liberation and justice that he – using the words of Isaiah – announced at the synagogue in Nazareth.
Paul was clear that our adoption of Jesus’ agenda is incremental. When we are children we see things as children; but as we growth through the seasons of life at every turn we learn more about what true love means, and what true loves costs, if we are in touch with the truth of our hearts.
In recently week’s since the conclusion of Christmas Season we’ve seen how Luke has gradually unfolded for us the process by which Jesus’ mission and ministry was inaugurated. At the tine of his finding in the temple we learn that he must be about his father’s work. As his reading from the scroll of Isaiah we learn that his intention is not to found a religion but to bring about the mercy of God. This is, after all, the Jesus who following his baptism tells us that “the one with two cloaks must share with the one how has none,” and “anyone who has food should do the same.”
The synagogue audience was at first astonished and amazed by his teaching. But then the light dawned for them that the year of favor announced by Jesus was not their particular privilege, it was a gift to be share with all. That’s why they were jealous of Jesus’ ministry in Caparnaum, because it was cosmopolitan city inhabited by individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
And so they want to hurl Jesus off a cliff. In a way, this is where the journey to Golgotha begins. Exemplifying the purest form of love in doing for and being for others without the remotest expectation of receiving anything whatsoever in return, Jesus shows us how to love everyone in truth of heart.
What does it mean to be Catholic? It means a lot of important and necessary things. Where we came from. How we worship. What we believe. But if we do not love, all of that is good for nothing.
The sermon content overall was weak, but there were good points made about exercising modesty and not giving into temptations to read lurid online gossip stories.
In the Byzantine Catholic churches, this is the Sunday of the Last Judgment, commonly known as Meatfare Sunday because it is the last day one can eat meat before Great Lent begins in eight days. The Gospel for today is Matthew 25:31-46. The sermon was long but the message was simple. It is a mistake to presume God’s mercy if we fail to do charitable acts to those around us who are suffering or in need. There will be a judgment day, and it will be a stark experience. Not that God lacks mercy, but we have been given due warning by the Lord in this Gospel. Jesus did not teach universal salvation.
Fr. Z., you’re going to love this. This fine young pastor gave a homily entitled, “Passing on Our Heritage,” about the value of the use of Latin in the Novus Ordo Mass, which he offers with exceptional reverence. He started out talking about a young child attending a baseball game at which during the seventh inning stretch everyone started singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” The child balks because he doesn’t know the song. So what should the people present do? Stop singing and never sing it again since there are some people who don’t know it? Or explain the song and teach it to the child so he can join in next time? This led to a comparing the story with the use of Latin in the Mass. Do we eliminate it because it is unfamiliar to some, or do we explain the tradition and teach it to people? He then went on to point out that Latin was not eliminated, but rather encouraged by Vatican II. Then he listed numerous reasons why it is valuable for us to sing parts of the Mass in Latin. He’s doing some wonderful things in the parish, including gradually introducing parishioners to more and more parts of the Mass in Latin, even offering Latin Worship Aids, complete with recordings of the music, on the parish website: http://www.stpaulparishakron.org/music/latin-worship-aids/.
I have enjoyed reading all the comments posted here . I can empathise with most of it and I can easily identify your Catholic heritage. I am comfortable here reading your posts and they comfort me. Thank you for allowing me to come here.
MaryofSharon I particularly liked your posting and I took a look at your parish website. I think your pastor is a gem.
Paul’s second epistle to Corinthians had a light bulb effect for me when it dawned on me that prophesy and good works mean little without that element of love
In the Byzantine Rite, Sunday of Meatfare, on St. Matthew’s Gospel of the separation of souls on Christ’s right and His left. The thought of judgement sometimes makes us respond out of fear — that’s ok if it leads us to live more holy lives. We will be called to give an account at the end of our lives, to the Just Judge. Our works of mercy are counted as done to our Lord Himself. We will ask, “When did we see you in prison, naked, hungry?”…and He will say “You did it to me”. This should encourage us to continue to do these acts of mercy towards our neighbors.
Yesterday was Meatfare, the Sunday of the Last Judgement, (according to the Gregorian calendar, of course,) and Father kept hammering on that we’ll ALL face that judgement, (even if we’re still alive when the Lord comes again.)
He also told an interesting parable, it sounded almost like something Ven. Archbishop Sheen would’ve said: Satan’s talking to three apprentice devils, they’re getting ready to experience temptation duty for the first time, and the Father of Lies asks them how they plan to bring about man’s fall. The first says, “I will tell them there is no Hell,” and Satan says, “You will never fool them, for they know there is a Hell.” [I think that’s where this parable dates itself, since that devil’s since been quite successful.] The second says, “I will tell them there is no god,” and Satan replies, “You will never fool them, for they know there is a god.” [Again, this guy just had to wait for his moment.] The third says, “I will tell them that there is no hurry, that there is plenty of time,” and Satan says, “Go, and you will ruin them by the millions.”
Father also drove home that the books of every deed we’ve done, every thought, etc., will be open for all to read. (The Revelation image of books is not hard to find in the prayer and chant of the Byzantine traditions.) VERY, VERY good homily for this close to the Great Fast :D
The sermon? Not so much; but for the first time in 30 years of NO, there was an altarboy holding a paten under my chin! Woo-Hoo! Maybe the 30-something priest is slooowly gonna make some changes!
Father Z, thank you for sharing the points of your sermon! Ours was a brief recitation of the progress of building fund, and was very good news. Not really a sermon, but good news none the less.
Got a terrific homily on vocations (N.O. parish) and the importance of encouraging them in our own families. And the priests absolutely loves being a priest (obvious to just about everyone), so he’s very convincing on this subject. It was the start of Catholic Schools week here & some high school students read (very well) & lots of families with kids were there.