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It’s the 7th Sunday after Pentecost in the Vetus Ordo and the 15th Sunday of the Novus Ordo.
Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Sunday Mass of obligation?
Tell about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass. I hear that it is growing. Of COURSE.
Any local changes or (hopefully good) news?
I have some thoughts about the Sunday Epistle reading posted at One Peter Five.
A taste:
That explanation of the difference between modes of slavery unlocks a lot of what Paul means with his “slavery” imagery. So it also helps with his military terms, especially in regard to putting on armor. Bottom line: at one time we were slaves of sin. Now we are slaves of justice and of God. We are also moved from the imperator of sin to the imperator of justice.
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The homily this evening was a look back at the feast of Louis and Zelle Martin earlier in the week and the possibility of saintliness in ordinary lives. Their lives are not the stuff of legend. They were rather mundane. In our 2000 years there have been Lord only knows how many holy couples as good or greater than the Martins, but we recognize them specifically as they have the benefit of riding their daughter’s coattails a bit. Extraordinary holiness is possible in the least glamorous of duties of an ordinary life.
Best news, Our Cardinal is retiring. Asked for and recieved from Rome a Dispensation for our Priest to continue saying the Latin Mass.
Never thought he would do anything like this.
I have to Confess all my uncharitable thoughts about him.
One of my three parishes is named for Saint Henry; liturgical law says a patronal feast of a parish is a solemnity and therefore can be celebrated on the nearby Sunday if unimpeded; so we celebrated Saint Henry at that parish, and I told his story. Not many politicians have been declared saints, that merits attention. Henry was taught from an early age to value the eternal Kingdom, and that early formation served him well.
We had a visiting priest who gave a homily on the Latin phrase, “Vincit qui se vincit” seen in beginning of the animated Disney version of Beauty and the Beast (I thought I was the only one who noticed that), and that in order to love, one must have freedom, particularly freedom over himself and his attachments. He also pointed out that Belle was living out the Catholic faith in how she marched to the beat of her own drum by being free.
Since it was July 16th one of our priests enrolled interested parishioners in the brown scapular after Mass. After we lined up he asked us if we wanted it in Latin or English and I piped right up “Latin!”. I only knew to do that from all the times Fr. Z says the blessings should be in Latin.
I was so excited at this opportunity.
Away from home (and from our home parish where our pastor is away and mass being said by a retired priest who believes Vatican 2 banned Latin) so attended the Divine Liturgy of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. This Sunday the Gospel was of not putting our light under a bushel but on a stand for all to see. One interesting point was that in the beginning of Genesis God says “let there be light” but the sun and the moon are not created until the fourth day, so this “light” is not physical light but the Light of God the same Light that we should be sharing with others.
Being that it was the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, our priest took the opportunity to tell the history of St. Simon Stock and the brown scapular, and strongly encouraged everyone to be enrolled and wear it.
Fr used the opportunity to talk of the Presbyterian understanding of Predestination and how it removes our own agency, responsibility in the plan of salvation. Fr is from the north (of Ireland), which probably prompted this angle, but there are so many who discount free will.
Our Gospel was Parable of the Sower, so Father gave a reflection based on his own failure to grow grass in the bare spots on the chapel lawn, versus the staff computer guy having success by focusing intently on individual bare spots, before moving on.
The moral reflection was that, if you focus and prepare the soil for the Gospel seeds by talking seriously to individual people and knowing them well (instead of just “throwing the seeds and letting them bounce back at you”), Father has found that he gets better results, both converts and revitalized Catholic students.
He also talked about how people’s logical reasons not to believe are often not the real reason, which is often a piece of bad personal backstory that won’t be revealed unless you get to know the person, and unless they know you care.
Also… https://www.reddit.com/r/CatholicMemes/comments/151pjdq/pray_for_the_ces/
A funny meme about people’s not-real reasons to not go to Mass.
Sorry, he didn’t talk about the meme. I saw it and thought it was topical, so that’s for you, Fr. Z!!!