Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 08-05-05, Opt. Dedication, Basilica St. Mary Major-Rome

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

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"The best, the surest , and the most effective way of establishing everlasting peace on the face of the earth is through the great power of perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament." -- Pope John Paul II

"Could you not watch one hour?" -- Mark 14:37

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2.2 Million hours of prayer, and counting

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PERPETUAL ADORATION

The Gaze [Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament]

From: Deuteronomy 4: 32-40

The Lord's Special Providence Towards His People

(Moses said to the people,) [32] "For ask now of the days that are past,
which were before you, since the day that God created man upon the earth,
and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as
this has ever happened or was ever heard of. [33] Did any people ever hear
the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard,
and still live? [34] 0r has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation
for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by
wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great
terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before
your eyes? [35] To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is
God; there is no other besides him. [36] 0ut of heaven he let you hear his
voice, that he might discipline you; and on earth he let you see his great
fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. [37] And because
he loved your fathers and chose their descendants after them, and brought
you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, [38] driving out
before you nations greater and mightier than yourselves, to bring you in, to
give you their land for an inheritance, as at this day; [39] know therefore
this day, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and
on the earth beneath; there is no other. [40] Therefore you shall keep his
statutes and his commandments, which I command you this day, that it may go
well with you, and with your children after you, and that you may prolong
your days in the land which the LORD your God gives you for ever."

Commentary:

4:32-40. The end of this first discourse carries an important theological
message: the profound notion of one God (monotheism); the election of Israel
as God's specific people; his special and kindly providence towards this
people; the might of God, as manifested in the prodigious works he does in
favor of the chosen people; and the consequence of all this--Israel's duty
to be faithful to the one and only God, keeping his commandments and
offering due cult only to him; by so doing, Israel will continue to enjoy
his protection.

Reading this and other passages in the sacred books shows the efforts the
inspired writers made to update the teaching of religious traditions and
apply it to the situation and needs of Israelites in later periods; this is
perhaps the reason for the frequent calls to fidelity to the Covenant. "In
the course of its history, Israel was able to discover that God had only one
reason to reveal himself to them, a single motive for choosing them from
among alt peoples as his special possession: his sheer gratuitous love (cf.
Deut 4:37; 7:8; 10:15). And thanks to the prophets Israel understood that it
was again out of love that God never stopped saving them (cf. Is 43:1-7) and
pardoning their unfaithfulness and sins (cf. Hos 2)" ("Catechism of the
Catholic Church", 218).

The Deuterononiic formula of "the Lord is God ["ha-Elohim", that is, the
only God] and there is no other besides him" (v. 35), which occurs often
(cf. 4:39; 6:4; 32:39; etc.) is also the essence of the Prophets' message
(cf. Jer 2:11-33; Is 41:2-29; 44:6; 46:9). The Prophets strove to draw
Israel towards or maintain it in fidelity to the One and Only God who
revealed himself to the patriarchs and to Moses, and helped to develop and
deepen an appreciation of monotheism, of the universality of the power of
Yahweh, of his moral demands, etc. But the core of all this teaching is to
be found expounded, profoundly and very specifically, in the book of
Deuteronomy. This teaching builds up the notion of the Lord as a jealous
God" (cf. Ex 20:5) who requires his adherents to be totally obedient to him;
it is a notion incompatible with worshipping the divinities adored by other
peoples (cf. Ex 20:3).

Being good, obeying the commandments of the Law of God, brings life (v. 40),
initially understood as longevity; whereas sin often brings with it
misfortune or death, as a punishment fro, God (cf. Ezek 18:10-13,19-20;
etc.). The fact that God is just in his treatment of man, rewarding him or
punishing, sooner or later, for the good or the evil he does, is a message
that runs right through the Old and New Testaments. In ancient texts, the
accent is on reward or punishment in this present life. In the New Testament
more emphasis is put on divine retribution in the future life. It is not
surprising that there should be this line of development in the biblical
ethic: God takes account of time and grace to lead men to the fullness of
truth.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Matthew 16:24-28

Jesus Foretells His Passion and Resurrection (Continuation)

[24] Then Jesus told His disciples, "If any man would come after Me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. [25] For
whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life
for my sake will find it. [26] For what will it profit a man, if he
gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give
in return for his life? [27] For the Son of Man is to come with His
angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay every man for
what he has done. [28] Truly, I say to you, there are some standing
here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in
His Kingdom."

Commentary:

24. "Divine love, `poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has
been given to us' (Romans 5:5), enables lay people to express
concretely in their lives the spirit of the Beatitudes. Following
Jesus in His poverty, they feel no depression in want, no pride in
plenty; imitating the humble Christ, they are not greedy for vain show
(cf. Galatians 5:26). They strive to please God rather than men,
always ready to abandon everything for Christ (cf. Luke 14:26) and even
to endure persecution in the cause of right (cf. Matthew 5:10), having
in mind the Lord's saying? `If any man wants to come after Me, let him
deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me'" (Matthew 16:24)
("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 4).

25. A Christian cannot ignore these words of Jesus. He has to risk, to
gamble, this present life in order to attain eternal life: "How little
a life is to offer to God!" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 420).

Our Lord's requirement means that we must renounce our own will in
order to identify with the will of God and so to ensure that, as St.
John of the Cross comments, we do not follow the way of those many
people who "would have God will that which they themselves will, and
are fretful at having to will that which He wills, and find it
repugnant to accommodate their will to that of God. Hence it happens to
them that oftentimes they think that that wherein they find not their
own will and pleasure is not the will of God; and that, on the other
hand, when they themselves find satisfaction, God is satisfied. Thus
they measure God by themselves and not themselves by God" ("Dark Night
of the Soul", Book 1, Chapter 7, 3).

26-27. Christ's words are crystal-clear: every person has to bear in
mind the Last Judgment. Salvation, in other words, is something
radically personal: "He will repay every man for what he has done"
(verse 27).

Man's goal does not consist in accumulating worldly goods; these are
only means to an end; man's last end, his ultimate goal, is God
Himself; he possesses God in advance, as it were, here on earth by
means of grace, and possesses him fully and forever in Heaven. Jesus

shows the route to take to reach this destination--denying oneself
(that is, saying no to ease, comfort, selfishness and attachment to
temporal goods) and taking up the cross. For no
earthly--impermanent--good can compare with the soul's eternal
salvation. As St. Thomas expresses it with theological precision, "the
least good of grace is superior to the natural good of the entire
universe" ("Summa Theologiae", I-II, q. 113, a. 9).

28. Here Jesus is referring not to His Last Coming (which He speaks
about in the preceding verse) but to other events which will occur
prior to that and which will be a sign of His glorification after
death. The Coming He speaks of here may refer firstly to His
Resurrection and His appearance thereafter; it could also refer to His
Transfiguration, which is itself a manifestation of His glory. This
coming of Christ in His Kingdom might also be seen in the destruction
of Jerusalem--a sign of the end of the ancient people of Israel as a
form of the Kingdom of God and its substitution by the Church, the new
Kingdom.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Friday, August 5, 2005
Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome (Optional Memorial)

First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:

Revelation 21:1-5
Judith 13:18-19
Luke 11:27-28

Mary was raised to the dignity of Mother of God rather for sinners than for the just, since Jesus Christ declares that he came to call not the just, but sinners.

-- St. Anselm

Catholic Culture

Time Workshop for Simple Guides: Days, Activities, Prayers, Recipes

Collect:
Lord, pardon the sins of your people. May the prayers of Mary, the mother of your Son, help to save us, for by ourselves we cannot please you. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Recipes:

» Orange Gingerbread

Activities:

Prayers:

» August Devotion: The Immaculate Heart

August 05, 2005

Optional Memorial of the Dedication of St. Mary Major

Old Calendar: Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of the Snow (St. Mary Major); St. Oswald

We celebrate today the dedication of one of the four most illustrious churches of Rome. While each diocese and parish keeps its own dedication anniversary, the Church universal commemorates the consecration of the four great Roman basilicas, the mother churches, we may call them, of Christendom, viz., St. John Lateran, St. Peter, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major. By means of these feasts the Church seeks to link all Christians with the Holy See.

This feast commemorates the miracle of the snowfall that occurred during the night of August 4-5 in the year 358 on the site where the basilica now stands. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to two faithful Roman Christians, the patrician John and his wife, as well as to Pope Liberius (352-366), asking that a church be built in her honor on the site where snow would fall on the night of August 4-5. Pope Liberius traced the outlines of the church in the snow and the first basilica was built on that site. It was completed about a century later by Pope Sixtus III (432-440), after the Council of Ephesus in 431 during which Mary was declared to be the Mother of God.

In Rome the Basilica of St. Mary Major will hold its traditional triduum from August 1 to 3 and two days of celebration on August 4 and 5. During the pontifical Mass and the second vespers, the traditional shower of flower petals will descend from the ceiling of the basilica to commemorate the August snowfall in 358.

St. Oswald, king, is mentioned in the Roman Martyrology. St. Bede the Venerable commemorates his deeds. He was sometimes portrayed as a martyr, since he died in battle against the pagan Welsh invaders.

Dedication of St. Mary Major
St. Mary Major is important to Christendom for three reasons:

(a) It stands as a venerable monument to the Council of Ephesus (431), at which the dogma of Mary's divine Motherhood was solemnly defined; the definition of the Council occasioned a most notable increase in the veneration paid to Mary.
(b) The basilica is Rome's "church of the crib," a kind of Bethlehem within the Eternal City; it also is a celebrated station church, serving, for instance, as the center for Rome's liturgy for the first Mass on Christmas. In some measure every picture of Mary with the divine Child is traceable to this church.
(c) St. Mary Major is Christendom's first Marian shrine for pilgrims. It set the precedent for the countless shrines where pilgrims gather to honor our Blessed Mother throughout the world. Here was introduced an authentic expression of popular piety that has been the source of untold blessings and graces for Christianity in the past as in the present.

The beginnings of St. Mary Major date to the Constantinian period. Originally it was called the Sicinini Basilica; it was the palace of a patrician family by that name before its transformation into a church by Pope Liberius. The story of its origin is legendary, dating from the Middle Ages. The Breviary gives this version: "Liberius was on the chair of Peter (352-366) when the Roman patrician John and his wife, who was of like nobility, vowed to bequeath their estate to the most holy Virgin and Mother of God, for they had no children to whom their property could go. The couple gave themselves to assiduous prayer, beseeching Mary to make known to them in some way what pious work they should subsidize in her honor.

"Mary answered their petition and confirmed her reply by means of the following miracle. On the fifth of August — a time when it is unbearably hot in the city of Rome — a portion of the Esquiline would be covered with snow during the night. During that same night the Mother of God directed John and his wife in separate dreams to build a church to be dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the site where they would see snow lying. For it was in this manner that she wanted her inheritance to be used.

"John immediately reported the whole matter to Pope Liberius, and he declared that a similar dream had come to him. Accompanied by clergy and people, Liberius proceeded on the following morning in solemn procession to the snow-covered hill and there marked off the area on which the church in Mary's honor was to be constructed."

Under Pope Sixtus III (432-440) the basilica was rebuilt, and upon the occasion of the definition of Mary's divine Motherhood by the Council of Ephesus, consecrated to her honor (432). He decorated the apse and walls with mosaics from the lives of Christ and His blessed Mother, which even to this day beautify the church and belong to the oldest we possess. As early as the end of the fourth century a replica of the Bethlehem nativity grotto had been added; on this account the edifice became known as "St. Mary of the Crib." To the Christian at Rome this church is Bethlehem. Other names for the basilica are: Liberian Basilica, because it dates to the time of Pope Liberius; St. Mary Major (being the largest church in Mary's honor in Rome); Our Lady of the Snow, because of the miracle that supposedly occasioned its erection.

We could point out how the divine Motherhood mystery dominates all Marian liturgy; for the Theotokos doctrine has kept Mariology Christo-centric in the Church's worship. Although recent popular devotion to Mary has become to a certain extent soft and sentimental and has, one may say, erected its own sanctuary around Mary as the center, devotion to our Blessed Mother in the liturgy has always remained oriented to Christ. In the liturgy the divine Motherhood has always been the bridge from Mary to Jesus. One need only examine Matins in honor of Mary or the Masses from her Common to be reassured. Everywhere Christ takes the central position, and Mary is the Christbearer.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Things to Do:

Pray that your devotion to Mary remain solidly constructed upon dogma that is Christo-centric. For such is the fruit of a living faith in Mary's divine Motherhood.
Read this article from the Catholic Culture Library on Our Lady of the Snows.
From A Treasure Chest of Traditions For Catholic Families by Monica McConkey:
Remember the February 5th Feast of St. Agatha when we celebrate this saint who is invoked against fires? Occurring 6 months after this feast, August 5 provides another excellent opportunity to check fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors! Appreciate the summer warmth as you host your SEMI-ANNUAL FAMILY FIRE DRILL!
Celebrate a successful FAMILY FIRE DRILL with plenty of cold drinks and a BAR-B-Q ... roasting marshmallows on a BON FIRE (if it is safe to do so in your area).
Create a MINIATURE BON FIRE in a large coffee can (1 kg size). Before building the fire, stabilize the can by pushing it into sand or dig a small pit (the size of the can). Arrange rocks around the can perimeter. Use small pieces of dry wood and scrunched up paper pushed between branches.
Drench the can with water when you are finished enjoying the MINIATURE BON FIRE (and all the marshmallows are gone!)
Used with permission. Write to ArmaDei@aol.com or see Arma Dei for more information about this great book. Treasure Chest is filled with unique ideas for activities, crafts and recipes to help families celebrate the various Seasons and Feast Days of the year.

St. Oswald

Forced to flee from Northumbria to Scotland when his father, Aethelfrith, was defeated and killed by Raedwald in 617, Oswald was converted to Christianity at Iona while he was in Scotland. When his uncle, King St. Edwin of Northumbria, was killed in battle against pagan King Penda of Mercia and Welsh King Cadwallon in 633, Oswald assembled an army and in 634 defeated a superior force under Cadwallon, who was killed in a battle near Hexham, and Oswald became King of Northumbria. He attributed his victory to a vision he had had of St. Columba promising him victory and to a huge cross he had erected the night before the battle. He brought St. Aidan to his kingdom to preach Christianity, gave him the island of Lindisfarne for his see, and acted as his interpreter. He built churches and monasteries, brought in monks from Scotland to bring his people back to Christianity, and was known for his personal piety and charity. He married Cyneburga, daughter of Cynegils, first Christian king of Wessex, and died a few years later, on August 5, while fighting against the superior forces of Penda at Maserfield. He was only thirty-seven at his death.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Symbols: Scepter and crown; large wooden cross; ciborium; raven carrying ring or oil stock; letter and box of ointment; horn; silver dish; dove; sword; palm branch.
Often Portrayed As: king in crown, carrying sceptre and orb; king with palm-branch, and/or with his raven.

Things to Do:

Read the Catholic Encyclopedia's account of St. Oswald and/or this one called Oswald of Northumbria.
Read about the ancient rush-bearing ceremonies held on the feast of St. Oswald.

Miracle of the Snow to Be Commemorated at St. Mary Major

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Be Grateful for Life's Miracles
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Friday, August 5, 2005

Dt 4:32-40 / Mt 16:24-28

The Israelites, whom Moses was called to lead, were notorious complainers. Nothing was ever right; nothing was ever enough. So in today's reading from Deuteronomy, we find Moses trying yet again to help his people see and acknowledge exactly how privileged they were and how cherished by God. Given their history, one can only wonder how many of them really got the message and took it to heart.

But before we settle into feelings of condescending self-satisfaction, we may want to remember that this reading is assigned to be read today because we need to hear it too. Our lives are nothing less than a succession of real miracles, but the miracles happen so regularly and usually come in such tiny pieces and, in many cases, were in place before we got here, that we hardly notice. Whether we look at the complexity of our own bodies and the intricacies of our minds or cast our gaze outward at distant planets, we should, if we're paying attention, be stunned into silent thankfulness and awe of the One who made it all.

That wouldn't be a bad way to spend today: silent thankfulness and awe!

A Voice in the Desert

Father Altier is on retreat. No homilies will be available until Friday August 12. God Bless you.

-DesertVoice Support

Benedictus XVI
Joseph Ratzinger

Thank you, Salvation. First Friday Bump. And a Bump for St. Mary Major.

Mt 16:24-28
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
24	Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.	tunc Iesus dixit discipulis suis si quis vult post me venire abneget semet ipsum et tollat crucem suam et sequatur me
25	For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.	qui enim voluerit animam suam salvam facere perdet eam qui autem perdiderit animam suam propter me inveniet eam
26	For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?	quid enim prodest homini si mundum universum lucretur animae vero suae detrimentum patiatur aut quam dabit homo commutationem pro anima sua
27	For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works.	Filius enim hominis venturus est in gloria Patris sui cum angelis suis et tunc reddet unicuique secundum opus eius
28	Amen I say to you, there are some of them that stand here, that shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.	amen dico vobis sunt quidam de hic stantibus qui non gustabunt mortem donec videant Filium hominis venientem in regno suo

Christ in Glory

Andrey Rublev
1410's
the Tretyakov gallery, Moscow

The Greek original has "psyche" both in verse 25 and 26. Jerome follows with "anima" in both verses. Douay goes with "life" in 25 and "soul" in 26. Trouble is, to say "he that shall lose his soul for my sake, shall find it" -- as the Greek original would demand, -- would probably be misleading, as we identify a lost soul not with physical death but with sin. The Greek seems to be rather loose with its use of "psyche", which it often clearly substitutes for "zoe", -- "life". So a modern translator has to chose between "life" and "soul" not mechanically, but following the subtext.

I think, Douay strikes the right balance, as usual.

unicuique secundum opus eius

"to each according to his works".

A direct refutation of salvation by faith alone doctrine.

"to each according to his works".

Does gardening and cooking count?