August 25, 2017 - Friday of the 20th week in Ordinary time – Ruth 1: 1, 3-6, 14B-16, 22

      This week, our first readings during daily mass have been coming from the Book of Judges, telling the story of the different prophets and judges who were called by God to try to bring his people back to the faith after they had strayed and had worshipped other foreign gods.  Today’s reading comes from the book that comes directly after the Book of Judges in the Old Testament – the book of Ruth.  What a different tone we find in this book compared to Judges and the Pentateuch.  Ruth was not an Israelite herself – she was a Gentile, a Moabite, but she married an Israelite man.  Rather than go back to her people after her husband dies, she stays with her mother-in-law Naomi.  The book of Ruth tells the story of this selfless, courageous woman of faith, a woman devoted to her family.  I was just remarking to someone the other day how we live in a throw-away society.  How we get rid of a cell phone that is only a year or two old because we think it is ancient and of no use anymore.  We sometimes don’t have the loyalty and commitment we should have for our family, community and parish.  In a world where we see things as ephemeral and impermanent, what commitment are we willing to make to God?  We commitment are we willing to make for our faith.  Are we willing to be as tenacious and forthright as Ruth?  Or are we willing to just walk away?

August 22, 2017 - Tuesday of the 20th week in Ordinary Time - The Queenship of Mary - Psalm 85

      Some years ago, Bishop Latino gave us priests a book for Christmas entitled Behold Your Mother: Priests Speak about Mary, edited by Stephen Rossetti.   It talks about the special relationship that we priests have with Mary.  It really touched my heart to read these reflections by different priests about how they see Mary in their lives and in their priesthood.  We have a lot of different days in the Church in which we honor Mary; I enjoy being able to honor Mary in a special way through our Church’s liturgical celebrations.  Mary is indeed  the mother of Jesus, the King of Kings, so it is appropriate that we would celebrate the Queenship of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth one week after we celebrated her Assumption into Heaven Body and Soul.  Pope Pius XII, who also established the Dogma of the Assumption of Mary in 1950, established the feast of the Queenship of Mary in 1954, but like most doctrines and dogma declared about Mary, the faithful for centuries had believed this before it was officially declared so by the Church. 

      Our psalm today declares: “The Lord speak of peace of his people.”  We seen Jesus as the Prince of Peace.  As well, one of the titles assigned to Mary is the Queen of Peace. In the Catholic faith, we see Mary bring us closer to the values of God’s kingdom, the values of peace, reconciliation, and justice.  Mary indeed does all she can through her motherly love for us to guide us to the light of Christ and to help us grow ever closer to her Son.

     On August 20, just a couple of days ago, we celebrated the memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot and Doctor of the Church, who lived in the 11th and 12th century and who was one of the most influential figures in the Church in the Middle Ages.  Bernard had a great devotion to Mary; his spiritual writings on Mary still have a profound resonance in our modern world.  I will close my homily with some of his thoughts: “Whoever you are that perceive yourself during this mortal existence to be rather drifting in treacherous waters, at the mercy of the winds and the waves, (rather) than walking on firm ground, turn not away your eyes from the splendor of this guiding star, unless thou wish to be submerged by the storm. Look at the star, call upon Mary. With her as guide, you shall not go astray, while invoking her, you shall never lose heart if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal.” To that, I say “Amen.”  

August 16 - Saint of the Day - St Roch

August 16th is the day in the liturgical calendar that we traditionally celebrate one of my favorite saints – St Roch. (He is celebrated on August 17th by the Third Order Franciscans.) He is known as St Rocco or St Rock or St Roque in different countries.  He lived way back in the 13th century in France.  His dad, the noble governor of Montpellier, died when Roch was 20, spurring Roch to go on a pilgrimage to Rome.  Legend has it that Roch cared for the victims of the plague in Rome and in various other cities until he came down with the plague himself.  He was banished to the forest, where he set up a small shelter where he lived.  The dog of one of the villagers came to visit Roch each day, bringing him a piece of bread in his mouth to eat and licking his sores.  Roch recovered, but was imprisoned when he came back to Montpellier, having been accused of being a spy.  Roch refused to divulge his true identity, not wanting to revel in world glory, and he died while imprisoned.  Roch’s interesting story and example of holy life made him a very popular saint in Europe in the Middle Ages. 

         We pray to God for courage and strength. We pray that we have the ability to praise God in whatever circumstances we experience in our lives.  We pray for the intercession of St Roch, that we might have the courage to serve God and our brothers and sisters no matter where we are on our journey. 

Prayer to St Roch –

O Great St. Roch, deliver us,

we beseech you,

from the scourges we face in life;

through your intercession,

preserve our bodies from contagious diseases,

and our souls from the contagion of sin.

Obtain for us salubrious air;

but, above all, purity of heart.

Assist us to make good use of health,

to bear suffering with patience;

and, after your example,

to live in the practice of penance and charity,

that we may one day enjoy the happiness

which you have merited by your virtues.  AMEN

8/17/2017 – Thursday of 19th week in Ordinary Time – Matthew 18:21-19:1

     Forgiveness is the topic of today’s Gospel.  Boy, is that s difficult subject to tackle, one of the most difficult things we are called to do as Christians. A couple of years ago, I was interviewed by the Tupelo Daily Journal for an article on forgiveness by the religion reporter.   Several of us in ministry in the Tupelo area were interviewed for the article.  Rev. Carson Overstreet, one of the ministers on staff of First Presbyterian Church in Tupelo had this to say: “From a Christian perspective, there are no limits to forgiveness. It’s a gift and a responsibility. Forgiveness isn’t created by us, but given to us by God through Christ.”  I certainly agree with her assessment. But I don’t think a lot of us see forgiveness as a gift. I think many of us see it as anything but a gift, something that gnaws at us and challenges us and agonizes us.

     Forgiveness is not like turning a light switch off and on – it is more like drops of water that slowing accumulate in a glass.  And it might be harder to try to forgive someone who is close to you than to forgive a stranger.  Most of the time, forgiveness is not easy, but it is a value of our faith that calls out to us. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is there to help us with forgiveness – to help us forgive others, to forgive ourselves, to seek forgiveness from God.  And so many Catholics don’t take that opportunity to go to that Sacrament.  May we heed Jesus advice and take those difficult steps to seek forgiveness in our lives.

Statement of Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM of Philadelphia regarding Racial Violence in Charlottesville, Virginia

From the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Website:  

http://archphila.org/statement-of-archbishop-charles-j-chaput-o-f-m-cap-regarding-racial-violence-in-charlottesville-virginia/

Statement of Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM of Philadelphia regarding Racial Violence in Charlottesville, Virginia 

Racism is a poison of the soul. It’s the ugly, original sin of our country, an illness that has never fully healed. Blending it with the Nazi salute, the relic of a regime that murdered millions, compounds the obscenity. Thus the wave of public anger about white nationalist events in Charlottesville this weekend is well warranted. We especially need to pray for those injured in the violence.

But we need more than pious public statements. If our anger today is just another mental virus displaced tomorrow by the next distraction or outrage we find in the media, nothing will change. Charlottesville matters. It’s a snapshot of our public unraveling into real hatreds brutally expressed; a collapse of restraint and mutual respect now taking place across the country. We need to keep the images of Charlottesville alive in our memories. If we want a different kind of country in the future, we need to start today with a conversion in our own hearts, and an insistence on the same in others. That may sound simple. But the history of our nation and its tortured attitudes toward race proves exactly the opposite.

St Maximilian Kolbe - Pray for Us - feast day of August 14

I found this prayer asking for the intercessions of Saint Maximilian Kolbe in A Book on the Saints by Anne Gordon.  I think it really captures the essence of this remarkable saint whose feast day we celebrate today - August 14.   St Maximilian Kolbe (1894 - 1941) died on this day, August 14, in the Auschwitz concentration camp.  He was a Franciscan priest from Poland whom Pope John Paul II canonized in 1984.  

Through your life and work you proved that nothing is more precious than our essential humanity.  I pray that you will stand by me and give me the courage to act everyday with the sense of fairness, compassion and respect for all living things that your exemplified.  You have shown that great faith may call for noble and heroic action.  If I am to be true to myself, Saint Kolbe, I pray that you will stand with me also in my most difficult hours.  Be a reminder to me that I must have the courage of my convictions.  Help me to imbue my every action with meaning and to have the courage to find the greater meaning and purpose to which I seek to dedicate my life.  

Quote from St Maximilian Kolbe - 

"Let us remember that love lives through sacrifice and is nourished by giving.  Without sacrifice, there is no love."

Catholic Church - prayer for vocations

We are praying this prayer for vocations at the end of every weekday mass at St Jude Catholic Church in Pearl, Mississippi 

God, the source of creation and love, 
You invite each one of us to serve you through life, which is your gift. 
May your grace encourage men and women to heights of holiness through service to the Church as priest, deacons, sisters, brothers, and lay ministers. 
Make me an instrument to encourage others to give of themselves and challenge me to do so.  Amen.