Too many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff.
Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Mass of obligation for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost (22th Ordinary in the Novus)?
Tell about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass. I hear that it is growing. Of COURSE.
Any local changes or (hopefully good) news?
A few thoughts of my own, HERE.
In this Sunday’s Gospel Christ leads a lawyer down a steep path into a gentle mugging with the Truth.
In medias res…
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To summarize, Christ, Who when His public ministry began had been tempted by Satan (Luke 4:1-13, etc.), and who had just said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18), was tempted by a lawyer, whom Christ brought down to earth.
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Excellent homily by (guest) homilist Fr. Peter Stravinskas at the Oratory of Ss. Gregory & Augustine in St. Louis. Regarding the Good Samaritan, who exhibited mercy to someone not of his religion, a Jew, Fr. Stravinskas described how Catholic charity is not sectarian — its practice is not limited to fellow Catholics. He illustrated this point by telling stories from the lives of St. John Henry Newman and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, whose conversions were motivated in part by examples of profound charity shown toward them by Catholics when they themselves were not Catholic; in Newman’s case, the care given to him by the Catholic Sicilians while he convalesced from typhoid fever in Palermo (Fr. Stravinskas quoted Newman’s poem “Good Samaritan”), and in Mother Seton’s case the charity shown to her and her dying husband in Italy by the Catholic Filicchi family, while she and her husband were still Episcopalians. This unlimited Catholic charity continues to be seen today, viz. the Church’s extensive work in the fields of health care and education.
Novus Ordo Mass celebrated by our pastor, two of my sons serving. Monsignor focused on the beginning of the Gospel and the crucial role that humility plays in the spiritual life. At the conclusion of his homily, he knelt before the altar, had us all kneel as well, and led us in the Litany of Humility which had occasioned a great conversion for him years ago. He encouraged us all to pray and meditate on this prayer regularly. Very grateful to him for his strong witness to traditional, strong-identity Catholicism, and to Our Lord for calling him to the holy priesthood!
Very good crowd at the Latin Mass here in Maine, especially in August, still a fairly high vacation period.
Our priest disappointed me with the homily. There is no other passage I see more good priests go astray on than this one. Most priests see the parable of the Good Samaritan and end up preaching Voltaire rather than Christ.
This extreme propensity to go astray is baffling to me, because few of His parables are set up and tied off so clearly. The parable is prompted by the lawyer’s question “Who is my neighbor?” The point of the parable is assisting the lawyer in figuring out who his neighbor is. At the end of His telling, Our Lord reminds us of the point of the parable by asking, “Who was this man’s neighbor?” The lawyer has followed and his response indicates that he knew who he was in that parable–the waylaid man.
If anyone can show me where a preacher before John Calvin says the Good Samaritan is supposed to be us primarily rather than Christ Himself as the Good Samaritan, I would appreciate it greatly. Every Church Father cited by St. Thomas in his Catena Aurea on this parable clearly sees Christ as the Good Samaritan, and us as the beaten man.
So if we follow the lead of all the Church Fathers’ (there cannot be a more powerful precedent than their unanimity), ignoring Voltaire (as well as the vast majority of modern preachers), and meditate on this parable where we are the beaten man and Christ is the Good Samaritan, what are we to take from this parable? That is what I would like to hear teaching on. I greatly wish to be edified from the actual angle Christ told the parable from.
the newest of the parochial vicars today acquitted himself very well. he preached on the virtue of humility. he noted that gratitude is a great way to develop humility. he gave a few quotes from St. Benedict including that humility includes being content with what we have and to not speak more than is necessary. he also cut to the heart of something personal that has been bothering me for a long time – a manifestation of pride that i have been misidentifying as something else.
this young priest chants most of the liturgy and does so very well. he has a tenor voice that puts me in mind of the beloved disciple.
On vacation in Maine, 2nd weekend Mass, Novus Ordo. Last Sunday, I came away with mixed feelings of frustration, a bit angry and sad as well, to experience how the Mass has been so watered and dumbed down; I have been attending TLM for over 2 years now. Some observations: Non-stop talking before Mass started; “greeters” going up and down the isle, not genuflecting before the tabernacle and providing Sunday school synopsis of the Gospel; hymnal cover- “Breaking Bread”; electric piano and hymns (the feel good type) I’ve never heard before; hand sanitizer on the altar. Father’s sermon was ok, but steeped in positivity-and of course, the peace sign flashed with more chuckling and talking. Today, I fought with myself all morning- am I going to Mass/am I not going to Mass? I did go-perhaps a bit less frustrated because I knew what to expect.
Fr.’s focus today was on the mercy shown by the Samaritan to the robbed man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, similarly the pity shown by Veronica offering her veil to Jesus on his journey to Golgotha, and his ultimate act of mercy.
In London UK so an opportunity to attend an Ordinariate church. Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Gregory near Picadilly Circus was only a short tube ride from our hotel. Unfortunately we were traveling Sunday so had to attend the vigil mass which was not Anglican Use but a Novus Ordo. But at least it was Ad Orientem with a deacon doing the readings. Since the mass was at 6pm it started with the Angelus. Father preached on the need for humility to have a right relationship with God. The church on Warwick St. is beautiful inside. I will definitely have to plan to attend on Sunday next time I am in London.
4 PM Novus Ordo, about half full, so a pretty big crowd for the end of the summer at that time-slot.
Our deacon gave a strong homily about humility, drawing mostly from scripture and he example of Peter and Paul’s lives. Then, he got lost, stumbled a little, and, in a wonderful moment admitted that he’d lost his place, begged our pardon, and then wrapped up strong with something clearly not prepared. Honestly, he could not have displayed the virtues of humility better if he’d planned it because he demonstrated it live and with a gracefulness that provided wonderful example.
All-in-all, (music aside) a great mass.
Have a great week, Father.