Why don't you believe in Angels?

Tuesday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time, 13 August 2013

Deut 31:1-8.

When Moses had finished speaking these words to all Israel,
he said to them, "I am now one hundred and twenty years old and am no longer able to move about freely; besides, the LORD has told me that I shall not cross this Jordan.
It is the LORD, your God, who will cross before you; he will destroy these nations before you, that you may supplant them. (It is Joshua who will cross before you, as the LORD promised.)
The LORD will deal with them just as he dealt with Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites whom he destroyed, and with their country.
When, therefore, the LORD delivers them up to you, you must deal with them exactly as I have ordered you.
Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the LORD, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you."
Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel said to him, "Be brave and steadfast, for you must being this people into the land which the LORD swore to their fathers he would give them; you must put them in possession of their heritage.
It is the LORD who marches before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed."

Deut 32:3-4a.7.8.9.12.

For I will sing the LORD’s renown.
Oh, proclaim the greatness of our God!
The Rock–how faultless are his deeds,
how right all his ways!

Think back on the days of old,
reflect on the years of age upon age.
Ask your father and he will inform you,
ask your elders and they will tell you.

When the Most High assigned the nations their heritage,
when he parceled out the descendants of Adam,
He set up the boundaries of the peoples
after the number of the sons of Israel.

While the LORD’s own portion was Jacob,
his hereditary share was Israel.
The LORD alone was their leader,
no strange god was with him.

Mt 18:1-5.10.12-14.

The disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
He called a child over, placed it in their midst,
and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their Angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

Commentary of the day :

Proof for the existence of Guardian Angel for each person? Jesus said they exist. So why doesn’t anyone ever ask their Guardian Angel to help them when things get difficult? I do. I know my Angel is beside me as I type these words for you to read, pleased that I am acknowledging its presence. (Yes they have no gender so that’s why I say “its”)

Padre Pio had a lot to say about his Guardian Angel. He often scolded it for not doing its job.

If you need more convincing you can read below from a friend's blog:

Padre Pio on Guardian Angels

Padre Pio and the Guardian Angel by Guido Reni

Padre Pio had the privilege of having his Guardian Angel visibly beside him all his life. He played with him when he was a child, and the Guardian Angel sang for him when he was sad.

"My Guardian Angel has been my friend since my infancy." 

Padre Pio said about his Guardian Angel: "Little companion of my infancy, angiolino, angioletto, my secretary, inseparable companion, celestial person, celestial messenger, brother, friend, prevents danger, one of the family, translates for me the letters in other languages, I send him to console people suffering, prevents from stumbling, never lives us alone for an instant, from the cradle to the grave, even when we are sinning." 

Padre Pio said about the Angels: "The Angels envy us for one thing only: they cannot suffer for God."

When Padre Pio was a young friar, he wrote a letter to his confessor in which he said: "When I close my eyes and the night comes, I can see the Heaven that appears in front of me. I am encouraged by this vision so I can sleep with a sweet smile on the lips and with a perfect calm on the forehead waiting my small companion of my infancy came to wake up me and start praying together prayers to the beloved of our hearts." 

Padre Pio often recommended that if people wanted to send him a message or a petition they could send him their guardian angel. Fr. Dominic, who handled the American mail for Padre Pio, asked him: "Padre . . . a woman wants to know if she sends her Guardian Angel to you, does he come?" Padre Pio replied, "Tell her that her Angel is not like she is. Her Angel is very obedient, and when she sends him, he comes!"

"It will be a great joy when at the moment of death we will be able to see our Guardian Angel. 

"Padre Pio once said to a person: "We will pray for your mother, so that the Guardian Angel will be with her in company." 

"If the mission of our Guardian Angel is a great mission, the mission of mine is for sure greater than the others, because he has to be a teacher and explain to me other languages." 

"The mission of my Guardian Angel includes explaining me other languages." 

Padre Pio lived in close contact with his Guardian Angel, who taught him to translate letters in French and Greek. The Angel would keep Padre Pio up at night so that they could both chant God’s praises. Padre Pio’s Angel would also ease the pain that he suffered from beatings that he received from demons. 

Padre Pio wrote the following to his spiritual director on November 5, 1912: "I cannot tell you the way these scoundrels [the demons] beat me. Sometimes I feel I am about to die. On Saturday, it seemed to me that they intended to put an end to me and I did not know what saint to invoke. I turned to my angel and after he had kept me waiting a while, there he was hovering close to me, singing hymns to the divine Majesty in his angelic voice. . . I rebuked him bitterly for having kept me waiting so long when I had not failed to call him to my assistance. To punish him, I did not want to look him in the face; I wanted to get away, to escape from him. But he, poor creature, caught up with me almost in tears and held me until I raised my eyes to his face and found him all upset. Then he said: "I am always close to you, my beloved young man . . ." 

"Send the Guardian Angel. He doesn't pay a train ticket and doesn't consume shoes." 

One winter, a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio was walking along a country road heavily covered with snow in which it was even difficult to walk to the Convent where the good Padre was waiting for her but was uncertain she would reach the Convent in time for the appointment. Full of faith, she prayed to her Guardian Angel to tell Padre Pio she would have arrived at the convent late because of the snow. When she finally reached the convent, she saw Padre Pio smiling, waiting for her behind a window.  

"For whomever is alone, there is his Guardian Angel." 

"Your Guardian Angel prays for you; offers to God all the good works you accomplish; your holy and pure desires." 

A man narrated: "Padre Pio often stopped in the sacristy greeting his spiritual children and friends by kissing them. I looked with holy envy on those so fortunate and I thought: 'Blessed him! If I were him! Blessed! Blessed him!' On Christmas 1958, I knelt, in front of Padre Pio for confession. Afterwards, I looked at him and while full of emotion I asked him: 'Father, today is the Christmas day, can I wish you Merry Christmas by giving you a kiss?' And he, with a sweetness that I am not able to describe with the pen, smile at me and said: 'Hurry up, my child, don't make me waste time!' He also embraced me. I kissed him and as a bird, joyful, I went toward the exit full of celestial delights. And what can I say about some slaps on the head? Every time, before leaving from St. Giovanni Rotondo, I desired father Pio gave me a sign of particular predilection. In fact, I also wanted two small slaps on the head as two fatherly caresses. I have to underline that he never refused me anything I wanted to receive from him. One day, there were a lot of people in the sacristy of the small church and father Vincenzo exhorted, with his usual severity: 'don’t push, don’t shake Padre Pio’s hands go back'! I sadly thought: 'This time I will leave without having the blows on the head.' I didn’t want to resign me and I begged my Guardian Angel to become a messenger and to repeat these words to Padre Pio: 'Father, I desire the benediction and the two blows on the head, as usual, one for me and the other for my wife.' Padre Vincenzo was still repeating: 'don’t push Padre Pio . . . stay far from him!' Then Padre Pio started walking. I was in anxiety. I looked at him but I was sad. Suddenly Padre Pio came to me, he smiled and he gave me two taps and it made me also kiss his hand, 'I would like to give you a lot of slaps . . . a lot of slaps,' he told me the first time that I asked him for the small slaps."

"Oh, if all men could understand this great gift that God, assigned to us; this celestial spirit." 

"May the desire to see this inseparable companion incite you to leave this body quickly." 

"When you seem to be alone, here a friendly soul to whom you can unburden yourself and in whom you can confide your sorrows." 

A woman was sitting in the square of the church of the Capuchins. The Church was closed. It was late and she prayed with the thought, and repeated with the heart: "Padre Pio, help me! Guardian Angel, please, go to tell Padre Pio to help me, otherwise my sister will die!" From the window above her, Padre Pio’s voice came: "Who is calling me at this time? What is the problem?" The woman told him about her sister’s illness. Padre Pio went in bilocation to the sick woman and healed her.

"Do not forget this invisible companion, always present to listen to you; always ready to console you." 

"For people that live alone there is the Guardian Angel." 

"Invoke your Guardian Angel that he will illuminate you and will guide you. God has given him to you for this reason. Therefore use him!" 

Padre Pio, Letter, April 20, 1915: "Often repeat the beautiful prayer: 'Angel of God, my guardian to whom the goodness of the heavenly Father entrusts me, enlighten, protect and guide me now and forever.' "

"Invoke often this Guardian Angel, and repeat the beautiful prayer: 'Oh, Angel of God . . .' "

Guardian Angel by Pietro da Cortona, 1656

Below is the traditional Catholic prayer to one's Guardian Angel:

Angel of God, my guardian dear
to whom His love commits me here.
Ever this day be at my side
to light, and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.

In Latin:

Angele Dei,
qui custos es mei,
me, tibi commissum pietate superna,
illumina, custodi,
rege et guberna.
Amen.

"What consolation when, at the moment of death, you will see this Angel, who accompanied you through life and was so liberal in maternal care." 

"Often remember his presence; thank him; pray to him; respect him; be in constant fear of offending the purity of his gaze." 

"Don’t write to me because I cannot answer you. Send me your Guardian Angel and I will do everything." 

"Your Guardian Angel has reported to me some sentences that have made me understand your mistrust."

When asked, "How do you take care of the so many letters you receive?" The good Padre replied,  "The Angel does his job." 

One time, Padre Pio was asked: "All those Angels around you, don't they bother You?" He answered, "No. They are so obedient." 

A person asked Padre Pio, "Father, are you able to hear what the Guardian Angels tell you?" And Padre Pio answered, "Of course! Do you think Angels are disobedient as you? Send me your Guardian Angel!" 

An Italian-American from California used to pray to his Guardian Angel to tell his needs to Padre Pio. One day, after confession he asked Padre Pio if he really heard his Guardian Angel. "Do you think I am deaf?" And he repeated what he had told recently his Guardian Angel to tell Padre Pio. 

Padre Lino Barbati sent his Guardian Angel to ask Padre Pio for the healing of a person. That person was not getting better. He asked Padre Pio: "Could it be that at times the Guardian Angel doesn't do what we ask him to do?" Padre Pio: "What? Are you thinking that he is disobedient like me and you?" 

One of the spiritual children of Padre Pio said: "It seems that Padre Pio always listens to everybody who calls him." One evening, a group of friends arrived at San Giovanni Rotondo. They summarized the graces that they would have asked of Padre Pio, and they asked their Guardian Angels to bring their request to Padre Pio as soon as possible. The next day, after the Holy Mass, Padre Pio reproached them: "You do not leave me in peace even at night!" Watching Padre Pio’s smile they understood their prayer had been accepted.

Padre Eusebio Notte was with Padre Pio from 1960 to 1965

Padre Eusebio said: "I was going to London by plane, against Padre Pio’s suggestion not to use this mean of transport. When we were flying over the Channel, a violent storm put the aeroplane in danger. Amid the general terror I prayed and, without knowing what to do, I sent my Guardian Angel to Padre Pio. When I went back to St. Giovanni Rotondo I met Padre Pio who said to me, 'Are you well? Is everything OK?' I answered, 'I thought I’d die,' the saintly padre responded, 'then why don't you obey?' I responded 'But I have sent you my Guardian Angel . . . ' Padre Pio then said, 'Fortunately, he arrived just in time!' " 

An Italian Lawyer named Attilio De Sanctis from Fano was driving back home to Bologna with his wife and two children. During the trip he fell asleep at the wheel. He woke up a few miles from home. He said, "Who drove my car?" The wife said, "You were still, and didn't answer to us, and you avoided several collisions at last second. Your driving was different from usual." Two months later he visited Padre Pio, who told him from afar: "You were asleep and the Guardian Angel drove your car." The mystery was solved. 

"Father, my income doesn't allow me to come to see you as often as I'd like." "Who told you to come here? Don't you have your Guardian Angel? Tell him what you want, send him here, and you will have an answer right away." 

Padre Alessio Parente

Padre Alessio approached Padre Pio with some letters in his hand in order to ask him something but Padre Pio told him abruptly, "Boy, leave me alone, don't you see that I am busy?" Padre Alessio went away mortified. Later, Padre Pio apologized and explained: "Didn't you see all those Angels who were with me? They are the Guardian Angels of my spiritual children who brought me their messages. I had to report to them the answers they needed." 

Joe Peterson and Joe Peluso in 1988 visiting Padre Pio's birthplace

Joe Peterson was stationed in Foggia, Italy during WWII and met Padre Pio several times. When he returned to the States in Yonkers, N.Y., he lectured about Padre Pio throughout the Northeast for 40 years to more than 4,000 parishes, religious classes, and Catholic high schools. He was a member of the Padre Pio Foundation's Board of Directors. 

Joe Peluso, from a very small town in Pennsylvania, was stationed in Foggia, Italy during WWII and met Padre Pio on October 6, 1944. He visited with him several times for the next ten months, until his Army unit was transferred to France on July 15, 1945. He met also Padre Pio's father Grazio, his brother Michael, and Michael's daughter Pia, and her fiance Mario. He returned to Italy in 1988 as member of the Padre Pio Foundation of America in Cromwell, CT, for a documentary on Padre Pio's birthplace. 

"Joe, when the war is over and you return to the United States, tell the American people that for those who would like me to be their spiritual father, my answer is yes. I accept all Americans as my spiritual children. I only have two requirements - that they lead very good Catholic lives and that they regularly receive the sacraments. And please, tell them never to embarrass me in front of Jesus and Mary. You must tell them, Joe." Joe made a slide show presentation of Padre Pio's life and over the years he showed it to thousands of people. Joe died in 1996 after having spent 50 years sharing the message of Padre Pio with more people than he could have imagined. 

"Joe, pick a name for your Guardian Angel and call him by the name always. When you send him to me, he will come instantly." 

"All of Paradise is close to the altar when I say Mass." 

"The angels attend my Mass In legions." 

"The angels around the altar adore and love." 

"The Holy Virgin assists me."

I will see you in hell

Monday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time     12/8/13 Deut 10:12-22. Moses said to the people: "And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD which I enjoin on you today for your own good? Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. Yet in his love for your fathers the LORD was so attached to them as to choose you, their descendants, in preference to all other peoples, as indeed he has now done. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked. For the LORD, your God, is the God of gods, the LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no bribes; who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him. So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. The LORD, your God, shall you fear, and him shall you serve; hold fast to him and swear by his name. He is your glory, he, your God, who has done for you those great and terrible things which your own eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy strong, and now the LORD, your God, has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky. Ps 147:12-13.14-15.19-20. Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you. He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat he fills you. He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word! He has proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. He has not done thus for any other nation; his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia. Matt 17:22-27. As Jesus and His disciples were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were overwhelmed with grief. When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?" Yes, he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, "What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?" When he said, "From foreigners," Jesus said to him, "Then the subjects are exempt. But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you." Commentary of the day : I love the way Jesus makes money appear in fishes’ mouths in this story. I wish I had that kind of power then I wouldn’t be concerned about where I am going to find food for my family or pay my bills. I often tell God these things when I read Jesus repeatedly telling us not to worry about our life, turn the other cheek, pray for those who persecute you. “Easy for you to say” I tell Him respectfully, “You could have sent a legion of angels to kill those @$%*! who were whipping and crucifying you (if You wanted to). No you just smile inwardly and say, ‘I will see you in hell. Oh no, you will be there alone. I will be just enjoying my heaven while you toast’”. That gives God greater confidence in the face of adversity. For us mere humans we try our best to overcome our human lack of trust and temptation to be well, human. But I still trust and pray that God will provide. I don’t ask for wealth or fame, just the daily bread. So I pray the Lord’s Prayer many times a day. But each time I pray it, I mean it. Now hear what Saint Ambrose (c.340-397), Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the Church had to say as his commentary on Psalm 48: What man's blood has now the power to redeem him, when Christ shed his own blood for the redemption of all? Is there anyone's blood comparable to the blood of Christ?... Christ who alone reconciled the world with God through his own blood? What greater victim is there, what superior sacrifice, what better advocate than he who was made the atonement .for the sins of all, and gave his life as our redemption? Individual propitiation or redemption, therefore, is not to seek, because the price of all is the blood of Christ, by which the Lord Jesus redeemed us, who alone reconciled the Father. He labored to the end, since he took upon himself our labours, as he says: “Come to me, all you who labor, and I will refresh you” (Mt 11,28)... We give nothing in return for our salvation because we have been washed, once for all, through the blood of Christ. But that does not mean we are dispensed from working hard to keep the precepts of life or can throw aside the Lord's commands. So long as we live we are striving and persevering so as to live eternally lest we die of death although already redeemed from death.

 

What will the Master do when He comes back to His household?

Mass Readings and Commentary on Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year C                    11 August 2013
St. Clare, Virgin (1194-1253)

First Reading from the Book of Wisdom 18:6-9.

The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers, that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith, they might have courage. Your people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes.
For when you punished our adversaries, in this you glorified us whom you had summoned.
For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution, That your holy ones should share alike the same good things and dangers, having previously sung the praises of the fathers.

Ps 33(32):1.12.18-19.20-22.

Exult, you just, in the LORD;
Praise from the upright is fitting.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
The people he has chosen for his own inheritance.

But see, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
Upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
And preserve them in spite of famine.

Our soul waits for the LORD,
Who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
In his holy name we trust.

May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
Who have put our hope in you.

Heb. 11:1-2.8-19.

Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age--and Sarah herself was sterile--for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.
All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,
for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,
of whom it was said, "Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name."
He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

Lk 12:32-48.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"
And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

Commentary of the day :

Jack decided to go skiing with his buddy, Bob. They loaded up Jack's minivan and headed north. After driving for a few hours, they got caught in a terrible blizzard. They pulled into a nearby farm and asked the very attractive woman who answered the door if they could spend the night.
 "I realize it's terrible weather out there and I have this huge house all to myself, but I'm recently widowed," she explained. "I'm afraid the neighbours will talk if I let you stay in my house."
 "Don't worry," Jack said. "We'll be happy to sleep in the barn. And if the weather breaks, we'll be gone at first light." The lady agreed, and the two men found their way to the barn and settled in for the night. Come morning, the weather had cleared, and they got on their way They enjoyed a great weekend of skiing.
 About nine months later, Jack got an unexpected letter from an attorney. It took him a few minutes to figure it out, but he finally determined that it was from the attorney of that attractive widow he had met on the ski weekend.
 He dropped in on his friend Bob and asked, "Bob, do you remember that good-looking widow from the farm we stayed at on our ski holiday up North?"
 "Yes, I do."
 "Did you happen to get up in the middle of the night, go up to the house and pay her a visit?"
"Yes," Bob said, a little embarrassed about being found out. "I have to admit that I did."
 "And did you happen to use my name instead of telling her your name?"
 Bob's face turned red and he said, "Yeah, sorry, buddy. I'm afraid I did. Why do you ask?"
 "She just died and left me everything."

As you will read below in St Fulgentius’ comments, the Gospel message is directed straight at those who exercise authority in the Catholic Church and hold the reins for God. They don’t own the Church, it is entrusted to them. The Master is coming back and will call them to account over what they have allowed His Church to become.

Much has been entrusted to priests and bishops therefore much more is expected of them than of normal citizens. That’s why people expect priests to be perfect, not gossips or big drinkers or worldly (in terms of having the latest gadgets and expensive clothes). For all these expectations I was a sad disappointment. In retrospect (as I have admitted) I was probably never called by God to exercise the Catholic priesthood, but I did see it as a means to an end which I felt was divinely inspired. If I was successful in pointing out the unfaithful stewards by highlighting my own unworthiness, then I have achieved my objective. But until the Church hierarchy accepts its responsibility for allowing those unfaithful servants to exercise such authority and opportunity to abuse the vulnerable sheep, then they are headed for a nasty beating from the Master.

Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (467-532), Bishop in North Africa
Homily 1, on the Lord's servants ; CCL 91A, 889 (trans. breviary Common of pastors)

"Stewards of the mysteries of God"

Wishing to emphasize the special office of the servants whom he has placed in charge of his people, the Lord says, 'Who, do you think, is the faithful and wise steward whom the Lord sets over his household, to give to them their measure of wheat at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.” Who is that master, brethren? Without a doubt it is Christ, who says to his disciples: “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right for so I am” (Jn 13,13). What, too, is the master's household? Doubtless it is the one which the Lord himself ransomed... This sacred household is the holy, Catholic Church, which is spread through the whole earth with abundant fertility and glories in the fact that she has been redeemed by the precious blood of her Master. As he himself says: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10,45). He is, too, the good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep” (Jn 10,11)...As to who the steward is who ought to be faithful as well as wise, the Apostle Paul shows us, when, speaking of himself and his companions, he says: “This is how one should regard us, as the servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they should be found trustworthy” (1Cor 4,1-2). Now, lest anyone of us should think that it is only the apostles who have been made stewards..., the blessed Apostle Paul shows us that the bishops also are stewards, when he says: “For a bishop, as God's steward, must be blameless” (Tt 1,7)...We, therefore, who are the servants of the master of the household, we are the stewards of the Lord, we have received the measure of wheat to disburse to you.

 

Thin sowing means thin reaping. Reflection on Feast of St Lawrence

St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr († 258)  Feast10 August 2013

2 Cor. 9:6-10. 

Brothers and sisters, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.
As it is written: "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."
The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
 

Ps 112:1-2.5-6.7-8.9. 

Blessed the man who fears the LORD,

Who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
The upright generation shall be blessed.
 
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
Who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
The just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
 
An evil report he shall not fear;
His heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear
Till he looks down upon his foes.
 
Lavishly he gives to the poor,
His generosity shall endure forever;
His horn shall be exalted in glory.
 
John 12:24-26. 

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.  Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honour whoever serves me."

 

 Commentary of the day :

 Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church

 Sermon 302, for the Feast of Saint Lawrence

 

Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure for ever (Psalm 112:9)

Saint Lawrence was a deacon in Rome. The Church's persecutors ordered him to hand over the treasures of the Church. It was to win a real treasure in heaven that he underwent the torments we cannot listen to without horror: for he was stretched out on a gridiron over a fire... Nevertheless, he triumphed over all his bodily sufferings by means of the extraordinary strength he drew from his charity and in the help of Him who made him resolute. “For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them” (Eph 2,10).Now this is what stirred up his persecutors' wrath... Lawrence said: “Order wagons to come along with me on which I can bring you the treasures of the Church.” He was given some wagons, he filled them up with the poor and brought them back, saying: “These are the Church's treasures.”Nothing is truer, my brethren. The great wealth of Christians is found in the needs of the poor provided we grasp how to put our possessions to good use. The poor are always before us; if we entrust our wealth to them, we shall not lose it.

Edith Stein - an example for a modern heroic Christian virtue

Friday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time         9 August 2013
St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), co-patron of Europe (1891-1942)


Edith Stein & the call of the philosophical life

Edith Stein is an example of what it means to be fully human. Study her life and there you will find someone who sought the truth and let the truth speak to her, finally giving witness to the truth as a martyr for Christ at Auschwitz.  The reason she is a saint is because her life was centred on one person: Jesus. But, in her particular vocation as a philosopher/theologian, she cultivated a receptive soul so as to let Christ and the manifold manifestations of himself in all things and persons lure her into communion with the real. Her love for wisdom led her beyond reason into the realm of faith. While many of her colleagues –  especially Husserl and Heidegger, remembered as some of the most important philosophers of the 20th century –made little room for faith in their thinking, Stein, trying to take the insights of phenomenology so as to incorporate them into Thomism, saw faith and reason as mutually dependent. Faith is needed to show reason its limits and vice versa. While admiration should be given to Stein because of her fearlessness in living out the demands of truth, more attention should be paid to her philosophical work and the importance she gives to friendship as the proper context for living a philosophical life.

Pope John Paul II beatified Edith Stein in Cologne cathedral in 1987 and canonized her on 11 October 1998.  She was born and bred in a Jewish family, becoming a Roman Catholic at the age of 31. She was also a leading German scholar and philosopher, but she gave up that career in order to become a Carmelite nun, Sr. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.   She never denied her Jewish roots, however.   In 1933 she petitioned Pope Pius XI to write an encyclical in defense of the Jews. Because of the political factions in the Nazi Germany in the thirties, she was sent to the Carmelite Monastery at Echt, Holland.  But when the Nazis conquered Holland, Edith Stein was arrested, and, with her sister Rose, was sent to the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Edith died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz in 1942 at the age of fifty-one. Out of the unspeakable human suffering, a saint blossomed.  Even though her life was snuffed out, her memory stands as a light undimmed in the midst of evil.  Most of those people recognized as Saints by the Church were also martyrs.

Deut 4:32-40.

Moses said to the people: "Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with his strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the LORD, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
All this you were allowed to see that you might know the LORD is God and there is no other.
Out of the heavens he let you hear his voice to discipline you; on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard him speaking out of the fire.
For love of your fathers he chose their descendants and personally led you out of Egypt by his great power,
driving out of your way nations greater and mightier than you, so as to bring you in and to make their land your heritage, as it is today.
This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other.
You must keep his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."

Ps 77(76):12-13.14-15.16.21.

I remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I remember your wonders of old.
And I meditate on your works;
your exploits I ponder.

O God, your way is holy;
what great god is there like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
among the peoples you have made known your power.

With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
You led your people like a flock
under the care of Moses and Aaron.

Mt 16:24-28.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Or what can one give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of Man will come with His angels in His Father's glory, and then hH will repay everyone according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."



Commentary of the day :

Vatican Council II
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the modern world, Gaudium et Spes, § 37-38

Seeing the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom

Sacred Scripture teaches the human family what the experience of the ages confirms: that while human progress is a great advantage to man, it brings with it a strong temptation. For when the order of values is jumbled and bad is mixed with the good, individuals and groups pay heed solely to their own interests, and not to those of others. Thus it happens that the world ceases to be a place of true brotherhood. In our own day, the magnified power of humanity threatens to destroy the race itself…



Hence if anyone wants to know how this unhappy situation can be overcome, Christians will tell him that all human activity…must be purified and perfected by the power of Christ's cross and resurrection. For redeemed by Christ and made a new creature in the Holy Spirit, man is able to love the things themselves created by God, and ought to do so. He can receive them from God… Thus He entered the world's history as a perfect man, taking that history up into Himself and summarizing it.(11) He Himself revealed to us that "God is love" (1 John 4:8) and at the same time taught us that the new command of love was the basic law of human perfection and hence of to worlds transformation. To those, therefore, who believe in divine love, He gives assurance that the way of love lies open to men and that the effort to establish a universal brotherhood is not a hopeless one. He cautions them at the same time that this charity is not something to be reserved for important matters, but must be pursued chiefly in the ordinary circumstances of life. Undergoing death itself for all of us sinners,(12) He taught us by example that we too must shoulder that cross which the world and the flesh inflict upon those who search after peace and justice.

Feast of Australia's first official saint - The real Mary of the Cross MacKillop

Thursday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time08 August 2013
 In Australia: solemnity of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop, Virgin - Proper readings
St. Dominic, Priest (1170-1221), 

Commentary of the day

On October 17th 2010, eight thousand Australian Catholics were amongst the hundreds of thousands crowded into St. Peter’s Square in Rome in collective euphoria as they awaited Pope Benedict XVI’s canonisation of our first national saint. Most lay people in the Church were unaware that this day might never have happened. If the upper echelon had their way, Mary MacKillop’s name would have remained suppressed along with her Order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

A few days earlier the ABC's Compass program revealed that in 1871, at the time of her leadership in the Order of Mary MacKillop's Josephites (as they were known colloquially), Sisters attracted the ire of the hierarchy by revealing that Father Keating of Kapunda, South Australia was molesting children at the local church school. The Sisters reported the abuse to the Vicar-General and disciplinary action was taken against Father Keating, humiliating him and angering his friend Father Charles Horan, who was close to the then boss of Adelaide Catholic Diocese, Bishop Laurence Shiel.

Father Horan is believed to have harboured a grudge against Sister Mary MacKillop and the other whistle-blowers in her order, and used his influence over Bishop Shiel to manipulate him into throwing the nun out of the church in 1871. Bishop Shiel’s conscience must have plagued him, because he reversed her excommunication on his deathbed.

If Father Horan had had his way, Sister Mary MacKillop would still be silenced by excommunication. What was her sin? Wishing to uncover and prevent the continuation of the crimes of a paedophile priest. Mary MacKillop had become aware of the awful activities of a man who had been entrusted with the spiritual lives of the young and vulnerable and had tried to prevent him. Sadly many others, including myself, have experienced the same opposition and excommunication when they attempt to expose the dark secrets of priests.

Paedophilia continues unabated amongst the clergy in the Catholic Church, largely fuelled by the secrecy that surrounds the personal lives and activities of priests. Saint Mary MacKillop would be oscillating in her North Sydney grave if she knew, as I am sure she does, that the very Church that canonised her is continuing to endorse the proliferation of these heinous crimes against children, and doing very little to discourage future abuses. 

Read more of this story in my book, Unholy Silence - Covering Up the Sins of the Fathers, available from unholysilence.com

As you get further into this book you will hear of terrible examples of the Catholic Church’s systematic process of concealing abuses, a process which is evident to everyone else but themselves.

Numb. 20:1-13.

The whole congregation of the children of Israel arrived in the desert of Zin in the first month, and the people settled at Kadesh. It was here that Miriam died, and here that she was buried.
As the community had no water, they held a council against Moses and Aaron.
The people contended with Moses, exclaiming, "Would that we too had perished with our kinsmen in the LORD'S presence!
Why have you brought the LORD'S community into this desert where we and our livestock are dying?
Why did you lead us out of Egypt, only to bring us to this wretched place which has neither grain nor figs nor vines nor pomegranates? Here there is not even water to drink!"
But Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the meeting tent, where they fell prostrate. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to them,
and the LORD said to Moses,
"Take the staff and assemble the community, you and your brother Aaron, and in their presence order the rock to yield its waters. From the rock you shall bring forth water for the community and their livestock to drink."
So Moses took the staff from its place before the LORD, as he was ordered.
He and Aaron assembled the community in front of the rock, where he said to them, "Listen to me, you rebels! Are we to bring water for you out of this rock?"
Then, raising his hand, Moses struck the rock twice with his staff, and water gushed out in abundance for the community and their livestock to drink.
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you were not faithful to me in showing forth my sanctity before the Israelites, you shall not lead this community into the land I will give them."
These are the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites contended against the LORD, and where he revealed his sanctity among them.

Ps 95(94):1-2.6-7.8-9.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
Let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
Let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

Come, let us bow down in worship;
Let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:

“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.” 


Mt 16:13-23.

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."
He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

  Commentary of the day :

Pope Francis
Homily of 07/04/2013, Mass for the possession of the Chair of the Bishop of Rome (trans. © copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

"Jesus began to show his disciples that he must... suffer greatly... and be killed and on the third day be raised"

God’s patience has to call forth in us the courage to return to him, however many mistakes and sins there may be in our life. Jesus tells Thomas to put his hand in the wounds of his hands and his feet, and in his side. We too can enter into the wounds of Jesus, we can actually touch him. This happens every time that we receive the sacraments with faith. Saint Bernard, in a fine homily, says: "Through the wounds of Jesus I can suck honey from the rock and oil from the flinty rock , I can taste and see the goodness of the Lord" (cf. Dt 32:13; Ps 34[33],9). It is there, in the wounds of Jesus, that we are truly secure; there we encounter the boundless love of his heart. Thomas understood this. Saint Bernard goes on to ask: “But what can I count on? My own merits?” No, "My merit is God’s mercy. I am by no means lacking merits as long as he is rich in mercy... This is important: the courage to trust in Jesus’ mercy, to trust in his patience, to seek refuge always in the wounds of his love... Maybe someone among us here is thinking: my sin is so great, I am as far from God as the younger son in the parable, my unbelief is like that of Thomas; I don’t have the courage to go back, to believe that God can welcome me and that he is waiting for me, of all people... For God, we are not numbers, we are important, indeed we are the most important thing to him; even if we are sinners, we are what is closest to his heart.

Give her what she wants! She keeps calling after us!

 Readings and reflection for Mass on Wednesday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time - 7 August 2013

Memorial of St. Cajetan, Priest (1480-1547)

 Reading from the Old Testament book of Numbers 13:1-2.25-33.14:1.26-29.34-35. 

The LORD said to Moses [in the desert of Paran] "Send men to reconnoitre the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, all of them princes."

After reconnoitring the land for forty days they returned, met Moses and Aaron and the whole community of the Israelites in the desert of Paran at Kadesh, made a report to them all, and showed them the fruit of the country.

They told Moses: "We went into the land to which you sent us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit.

However, the people who are living in the land are fierce, and the towns are fortified and very strong. Besides, we saw descendants of the Anakim there. Amalekites live in the region of the Negeb; Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites dwell in the highlands, and Canaanites along the seacoast and the banks of the Jordan."

Caleb, however, to quiet the people toward Moses, said, "We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly do so."

But the men who had gone up with him said, "We cannot attack these people; they are too strong for us."

So they spread discouraging reports among the Israelites about the land they had scouted, saying, "The land that we explored is a country that consumes its inhabitants. And all the people we saw there are huge men, veritable giants (the Anakim were a race of giants); we felt like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them."

At this, the whole community broke out with loud cries, and even in the night the people wailed. The LORD also said to Moses and Aaron:

"How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the Israelites against me.

Tell them: By my life, says the LORD, I will do to you just what I have heard you say.

Here in the desert shall your dead bodies fall. Of all your men of twenty years or more, registered in the census, who grumbled against me,

Forty days you spent in scouting the land; forty years shall you suffer for your crimes: one year for each day. Thus you will realize what it means to oppose me.

I, the LORD, have sworn to do this to all this wicked community that conspired against me: here in the desert they shall die to the last man."

 

Ps 106 

We have sinned, we and our fathers;

we have committed crimes; we have done wrong.
Our fathers in Egypt
considered not your wonders.
 
But soon they forgot his works;
they waited not for his counsel.
They gave way to craving in the desert
and tempted God in the wilderness.
 
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
 
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
 
The Gospel of St. Matthew 15:21-28.

At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon."

But He did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked Him, "Give her what she wants because she keeps calling out after us."

He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me."

He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."

She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."

Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour.

 

 Commentary of the day :

My quick message is the woman's persistence paid off. She was not given what she wanted to shut her up but because she recognised Jesus as the 'Son of David', the Messiah. It was not her faith that was being tested but the disciples. They just wanted to shut her up! And isn't that the attitude of so many false religious leaders? Just give them what they want because they keep shouting after us. Not because she deserves it. It was Jesus who acknowledged, "You have great faith. Let it be done for you as you wish!" 

 Pope Francis  Homily of 7/4/13  "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us"

 

Brothers and sisters, let us never lose trust in the patience and mercy of God! Let us think too of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus: their sad faces, their barren journey, their despair. But Jesus does not abandon them: he walks beside them, and not only that! Patiently he explains the Scriptures which spoke of him, and he stays to share a meal with them (Lk 24,13f.). This is God’s way of doing things: he is not impatient like us, who often want everything all at once, even in our dealings with other people. God is patient with us because he loves us, and those who love are able to understand, to hope, to inspire confidence; they do not give up, they do not burn bridges, they are able to forgive. Let us remember this in our lives as Christians: God always waits for us, even when we have left him behind! He is never far from us, and if we return to him, he is ready to embrace us.

I am always struck when I reread the parable of the merciful Father (Lk 15,11f.); it impresses me because it always gives me great hope. Think of that younger son who was in the Father’s house, who was loved; and yet... he goes off... And the Father? Had he forgotten the son? No, never... He was waiting for him every hour of every day, the son was always in his father’s heart, even though he had left him... And as soon as he sees him still far off, he runs out to meet him and embraces him with tenderness, the tenderness of God, without a word of reproach: he has returned! And that is the joy of the Father... God is always waiting for us, he never grows tired. Jesus shows us this merciful patience of God so that we can regain confidence, hope – always!