Posted on 09/02/2006 11:43:30 PM PDT by Salvation
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Dt 4:1-2, 6-8
Moses said to the people:
“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin upon you,
you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?”
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5
R. (1a) One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
by whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Reading II
Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27
Dearest brothers and sisters:
All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.
He willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.
Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Gospel
Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
-. For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. .-
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.
“From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”
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Sunday September 03rd 2006, 3:01 am
St. Gregory the Great, whose feast is today, Sept. 3, was the first monk ever chosen as Pope. He had grown up in one of the few remaining old aristocratic families in Rome. Before taking his vows, he had been an important politician in the city, so he had some experience with administration. Nevertheless, he hadn’t intended to become the most important politician of his age. Things just turned out that way. There was work to be done, and only Gregory could do it.
Rome was in bad shape when Gregory became her bishop. The plague that had killed Pope Pelagius was still raging. The city had been kicked around like a football between Goths and Vandals, with Greeks from the Eastern Roman Empire periodically stepping in to inflict even more damage. Fires and disastrously bad weather added to the catastrophes. And the constant threat of invasion from the north by the horrible Lombards kept the survivors in terror.
These Lombards were a particularly vicious sort of barbarian, at least to their enemies. They massacred everyone in their path, except for the few who might be useful as slaves. The Lombards who weren’t pagans were Arians, so they had no qualms about plundering the orthodox churches and slaughtering the clergy. Cities emptied as they approached, and soon Rome and Ravenna were the only substantial cities left in the northern half of Italy.
In theory, Italy was governed by the Roman Emperor in Constantinople, through his exarch in Ravenna. In practice, the exarch was nearly powerless, and the Eastern Empire had enough problems of its own to worry about. The exarch might be able to hold onto Ravenna, with its naturally impenetrable defenses, but he couldn’t do much about it when the Lombards decided to march on Rome. No one was left to defend the once-proud city but Gregory. It was lucky for Rome that Gregory had both experience in government and a deep and sincere faith. It took both qualities to save the city.
He led the people in prayers to end the plague; thousands joined him in a solemn procession. When they reached Hadrian’s tomb, Gregory and many of the people saw a vision of the Archangel Michael sheathing a flaming sword, indicating that the scourge was over. From that time on, the place has been known as the Castle of the Holy Angel — Castel Sant’Angelo in Italian.
Then there were the Lombards to be taken care of. The useless exarch at Ravenna had declared that negotiating with those people was impossible, but Gregory made peace with them when they had reached the very gates of Rome. In Constantinople, the Emperor Maurice was angry: who did Gregory think he was, acting like an emperor? But Maurice had been perfectly content to let Rome be wiped off the face of the earth — every time Gregory had asked for his help, Maurice had been too busy with other important matters.
Any other pope might have been content with saving Rome from invasion and converting thousands of barbarians. But Gregory was never content. While any part of the Church was imperfect, there was work to be done.
The Mass was one of his most important concerns. Under Gregory it was revised and standardized, and Gregory himself wrote hymns that have become part of our liturgical heritage. The form of music called “Gregorian chant” is probably named for him, because he set the standards for Church music for a thousand years. (Gregory himself taught the chants to church choirs, beating out the time with a stick like a modern conductor.) Even today, much of our worship owes its shape to Gregory’s reformed liturgy.
The finances of the Church also came under Gregory’s eye. The Church by this time owned huge estates; Gregory not only treated the peasants who worked them fairly, but also did his best to make legal guarantees that his successors would have to honor. When the Church spent money, Gregory made sure that everyone knew how it was being spent.
Finally, there was the clergy itself to keep in line. Many of the bishops were talented men from the old upper classes who had entered the Church because no other outlets for their ambition appeared. Some of them thought they could act like irresponsible princes, living immoral lives and using their positions to get rich. Gregory wouldn’t stand for that. He himself lived like a monk, and while he didn’t try to force that life on all the clergy, he did at least insist on their living like Christians.
Gregory set the example for the popes who followed. Although few were as talented as Gregory, they all built on what he had done. By default, they were the secular leaders in the city of Rome and the surrounding country, and they became more and more independent of the Emperor in far-off Constantinople.
And Constantinople, for its part, would soon have worries much closer to home.
Gregory’s tomb is in St. Peter’s, and I stop to pray there whenever I’m in Rome. (Details of a 2007 pilgramage to Rome to be led by Mike and Scott and Kimberly Hahn follow.)
Saturday September 02nd 2006, 3:25 am
Tomorrow, September 3, is the feast of St. Gregory the Great. We’ll post plenty on him, of course. But first it would be good to get to know the “barbarians,” whom he took care to convert to Catholic Christianity.
Modern readers often misunderstand the term “barbarian.” They imagine an unruly horde of hairy guys, all wearing skins and holding spears, and occasionally grunting. But, to the ancients, the word denoted the peoples who lived beyond the empire’s borders. They were the tribes that were non-Roman and that resisted assimilation into the Roman world. Their civilizations developed along different, non-Roman lines. Some tribes were pagan; others were Christian. But those that were Christian were solidly in the camp of the Arian heretics.
As Rome weakened, the barbarians shifted from defensive fighting to offensive, and from the late-fourth through the fifth century various tribes advanced on the city: Gauls, Visigoth, and Vandals all succeeded in sacking Rome. In 476 the last Roman emperor was toppled, and the German chief Odovacer ruled Italy as king.
Adrian Murdoch, who blogs at Bread and Circuses, has chronicled those Roman-barbarian encounters in a number of popular books. Earlier this week, he linked to evidence of “civic continuity” in Rome after the barbarian victory. The barbarians, it seems, paid handsome sums for the upkeep of public buildings. So it’s quite possible that, for the average plebs in the street, the “Fall of Rome” wasn’t all that catastrophic.
What lessons can we learn from all that history? I’m glad you asked.
Mr. Murdoch is a business journalist as well as a scholar of ancient history. (Stateside, his work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal.) For all of us who have gotten nowhere on the professional secrets of Sun Tzu and Attila the Hun, he’s amassed a treasury of business lessons from all the barbarian tribes. He’s summarized it tidily in a very entertaining essay, and the advice seems sound enough (though this non-millionaire is hardly a qualified judge). It’s in PDF format, as images of the original newspaper pages.
Get to know the tribes, then, and call me when you’ve made your first million. We’ll search out some lessons from antiquity on spending fortunes wisely.
Pope St. Gregory must have learned his lessons well. He was able to keep the fierce Lombards at a distance by buying them off. And he found gentle ways to win many of the barbarian tribes over to the Church.
I Had a Dream: The Music of Palestrina and Gregory the Great Had Come Back
From: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8
Faithfulness to the Law: God's Closeness to His People
From: James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27
The Source of Temptation (Continuation)
From: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
The Tradition of the Elders
| First reading | Deuteronomy 4:1 - 8 © |
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| These are the words that Moses spoke beyond Jordan to the whole of Israel: ‘Now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you. You must add nothing to what I command you, and take nothing from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God just as I lay them down for you. Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding. When they come to know of all these laws they will exclaim, “No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation”. And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole Law that I put before you today?’ |
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| Psalm or canticle: Psalm 14 |
| Second reading | James 1:17 - 27 © |
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| It is all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all that he had created. so do away with all the impurities and bad habits that are still left in you – accept and submit to the word which has been planted in you and can save your souls. But you must do what the word tells you, and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves. Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows when they need it, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world. |
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| Gospel | Mark 7:1 - 23 © |
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| The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round him, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture: This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, the doctrines they teach are only human regulations. You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ He called the people to him again and said, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.’ |
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O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 103 (104) |
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| Hymn to God the Creator |
| Bless the Lord, my soul! Lord, my God, how great you are! You are robed in majesty and splendour; you are wrapped in light as in a cloak. You stretch out the sky like an awning, you build your palace upon the waters. You make the clouds your chariot, you walk upon the wings of the wind. You make the breezes your messengers, you make burning fire your minister. You set the earth upon its foundation: from age to age it will stand firm. Deep oceans covered it like a garment, and the waters stood high above the mountains; but you rebuked them and they fled; at the sound of your thunder they fled in terror. They rise to the mountains or sink to the valleys, to the places you have decreed for them. You have given them a boundary they must not cross; they will never come back to cover the earth. You make springs arise to feed the streams, that flow in the midst of the mountains. All the beasts of the field will drink from them and the wild asses will quench their thirst. Above them will nest the birds of the sky, from among the branches their voices will sound. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 103 (104) |
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| From your palace you water the mountains, and thus you give plenty to the earth. You bring forth grass for the cattle, and plants for the service of man. You bring forth bread from the land, and wine to make man’s heart rejoice. Oil, to make the face shine; and bread to make man’s heart strong. The trees of the Lord have all that they need, and the cedars of Lebanon, that he planted. Small birds will nest there, and storks at the tops of the trees. For wild goats there are the high mountains; the crags are a refuge for the coneys. He made the moon so that time could be measured; the sun knows the hour of its setting. You send shadows, and night falls: then all the beasts of the woods come out, lion cubs roaring for their prey, asking God for their food. When the sun rises they come back together to lie in their lairs; man goes out to his labour, and works until evening. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 103 (104) |
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| How many are your works, O Lord! You have made all things in your wisdom, and the earth is full of your creatures. The sea is broad and immense: sea-creatures swim there, both small and large, too many to count. Ships sail across it; Leviathan lives there, the monster; you made him to play with. All of them look to you to give them their food when they need it. You give it to them, and they gather; you open your hand, they are filled with good things. But turn away, and they are dismayed; take away their breath, and they die, once more they will turn into dust. You will send forth your breath, they will come to life; you will renew the face of the earth. Glory be to the Lord, for ever; let the Lord rejoice in his works. He turns his gaze to the earth, and it trembles; he touches the mountains, and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord all my life; as long as I exist, I will sing songs to God. May my praises be pleasing to him; truly I will delight in the Lord. Let sinners perish from the earth, let the wicked vanish from existence. Bless the Lord, my soul! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Reading | Jeremiah 11:18 - 12:13 © |
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| The Lord revealed it to me; I was warned. O Lord, that was when you opened my eyes to their scheming. I for my part was like a trustful lamb being led to the slaughter-house, not knowing the schemes they were plotting against me, ‘Let us destroy the tree in its strength, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may be quickly forgotten!’ But you, the Lord of Hosts, who pronounce a just sentence, who probe the loins and heart, let me see the vengeance you will take on them, for I have committed my cause to you. You have right on your side, O Lord, when I complain about you. But I would like to debate a point of justice with you. Why is it that the wicked live so prosperously? Why do scoundrels enjoy peace? You plant them, they take root, and flourish, and even bear fruit. You are always on their lips, yet so far from their hearts. You know me, O Lord, you see me, you probe my heart, it is in your hands. Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter-house, reserve them for the day of butchery. How long will the land be in mourning, and the grass wither all over the countryside? The animals and birds are dying as a result of the wickedness of the inhabitants. For they say, ‘God does not see our behaviour’. ‘If you find it exhausting to race against men on foot, how will you compete against horses? If you are not secure in a peaceful country, how will you manage in the thickets along the Jordan? Yes, even your own brothers and your own family play you false. Behind your back, they too criticise you openly. Put no reliance on them when they seem to be friendly.’ ‘I have abandoned my house, left my heritage, I have delivered what I dearly loved into the hands of its enemies. For me my heritage has become a lion in the forest, it roars at me ferociously: so I now hate it. Or is my heritage a speckled bird for the birds to flock on her thus from all directions? Come on, all you wild beasts, gather round, fall on the quarry! Many shepherds have laid my vineyard waste, have trampled down my inheritance, reducing my pleasant inheritance to a deserted wilderness. They have made it a mournful, desolate place, desolate before me. The whole land has been devastated and no one takes it to heart.’ The devastators have arrived on all the bare heights of the desert (for the Lord wields a sword that devours): from end to end of the land there is no peace for any living thing. Wheat they have sown, thorns they reap: they have worn themselves out, to no profit. They are disappointed in their harvests, through the fury of the Lord. |
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| Reading | From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop |
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| The Lord has had pity on us | |
| Happy are we if we do the deeds of which we have heard and sung. Our hearing of them means having them planted in us, while our doing them shows that the seed has borne fruit. By saying this, I wish to caution you, dearly beloved, not to enter the Church fruitlessly, satisfied with mere hearing of such mighty blessings and failing to do good works. For we have been saved by his grace, says the Apostle, and not by our works, lest anyone may boast; for it is by his grace that we have been saved. It is not as if a good life of some sort came first, and that thereupon God showed his love and esteem for it from on high, saying: “Let us come to the aid of these men and assist them quickly because they are living a good life”. No, our life was displeasing to him. He will, therefore, condemn what we have done but he will save what he himself has done in us. We were not good, but God had pity on us and sent his Son to die, not for good men but for bad ones, not for the just but for the wicked. Yes, Christ died for the ungodly. Notice what is written next: One will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. Perhaps someone can be found who will dare to die for a good man; but for the unjust man, for the wicked one, the sinner, who would be willing to die except Christ alone who is so just that he justifies even the unjust? And so, my brothers, we had no good works, for all our works were evil. Yet although men’s actions were such, God in his mercy did not abandon men. He sent his Son to redeem us, not with gold or silver but at the price of his blood poured out for us. Christ, the spotless lamb, became the sacrificial victim, led to the slaughter for the sheep that were blemished – if indeed one can say that they were blemished and not entirely corrupt. Such is the grace we have received! Let us live so as to be worthy of that great grace, and not do injury to it. So mighty is the physician who has come to us that he has healed all our sins! If we choose to be sick once again, we will not only harm ourselves, but show ingratitude to the physician as well. Let us then follow Christ’s paths which he has revealed to us, above all the path of humility, which he himself became for us. He showed us that path by his precepts, and he himself followed it by his suffering on our behalf. In order to die for us – because as God he could not die – the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The immortal One took on mortality that he might die for us, and by dying put to death our death. This is what the Lord did, this the gift he granted to us. The mighty one was brought low, the lowly one was slain, and after he was slain, he rose again and was exalted. For he did not intend to leave us dead in hell, but to exalt in himself at the resurrection of the dead those whom he had already exalted and made just by the faith and praise they gave him. Yes, he gave us the path of humility. If we keep to it we shall confess our belief in the Lord and have good reason to sing: We shall praise you, God, we shall praise you and call upon your name. |
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| Canticle | Te Deum |
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| God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you! You, the Father, the eternal – all the earth venerates you. All the angels, all the heavens, every power – The cherubim, the seraphim – unceasingly, they cry: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts: heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!” The glorious choir of Apostles – The noble ranks of prophets – The shining army of martyrs – all praise you. Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you. – Father of immeasurable majesty, – True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship, – Holy Spirit, our Advocate. You, Christ: – You are the king of glory. – You are the Father’s eternal Son. – You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb. – You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you. – You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father. – You will come, so we believe, as our Judge. And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood. Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory. Bring your people to safety, Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance. Rule them and lift them high for ever. Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever. Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us. Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you. In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| A concluding prayer may follow here. |
| Sunday, September 3, 2006 Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary time |
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September 03, 2006    Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time And he called the people to him again, and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him." For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man (Mark 7:14-15, 21-23)." Ordinarily today would be the Feast of St. Gregory the Great but the Sunday liturgy supercedes it. St. Gregory, senator and prefect of Rome, then in succession monk, cardinal and pope, governed the Church from 590 to 604. England owes her conversion to him. At a period when the invasion of the barbarians created a new situation in Europe, he played a considerable part in the transitional stage, during which a great number of them were won for Christ. At the same time he watched over the holiness of the clergy and preserved ecclesiastical discipline, as well as attending to the temporal interests of his people of Rome and the spiritual interests of the whole of Christendom. To him the liturgy owes several of its finest prayers, and the name "Gregorian chant" recalls this great Pope's work in the development of the Church's chant. His commentaries on Holy Scripture exercised a considerable influence on Christian thought, particularly in the Middle Ages. Together with St. Ambrose, St. Augustine and St. Jerome he is one of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church.
Sunday Readings The first reading is taken from the Book of Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 in which the chosen people are urged to carry out the laws God gave them. If they do, they will give good example to the pagan peoples among whom they live, and will make these pagans see how good God is to His chosen people. The second reading is from the Letter of James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27. St. James exhorts us to be Christians in practice, not in theory; to "do", to live according to the law laid down for us. The Gospel is from St. Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23. When Christ came on earth the Scribes and Pharisees were the religious leaders of the Jews. The Scribes, so called because of their knowledge of the Mosaic Law and the traditions added on to it, were the elite among the Pharisees who prided themselves on their strict, rigorous observance of the Law and the human traditions. The Pharisees had no time or no understanding for their fellow-Jews who often violated the scribal traditions — and even the Law of Moses itself sometimes. For this reason they kept themselves apart from the ordinary people and developed a proud superiority complex. They performed many acts of virtue but their pride and sense of self-sufficiency vitiated their good deeds (see the description of the Pharisee and the tax-gatherer in the temple, in Lk. 18: 10-14). The opposition of the Pharisees and Scribes to Jesus began very early in his public life. It grew in strength daily until, with the help of the Sadducees, their arch-opponents, they finally nailed him to the cross. The main reason why they opposed him so bitterly was his mercy, kindness and understanding for sinners. He ate with tax-gatherers and made one of them, Levi, an Apostle. He forgave the adultress and many, many others. While he certainly did not approve of sin, he never uttered a hard word against any sinner. He had come, as he said, to call sinners to himself and to repentance. This he did all through his public life. He objected to the Pharisees, not because of their strict observance of the Mosaic Law nor of their insistence on human traditions — although they sometimes carried this to an intolerable extreme. He objected because they despised the lowly people, the uneducated in the law and traditions — those, in other words, who did not belong to their own exclusive class. To the Pharisees all these were "sinners," while they themselves had the worst sin of all — the original sin of mankind, the sin of pride. In today's encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus tells them that they are hypocrites: "they honor God with their lips but their heart is far from God"; they obey the Law and the traditions, not to please God, but to be seen and admired by men; their motive, self-glorification, vitiates every otherwise good act they perform. Christ then addresses the people — the crowds who most likely had overheard his dialog with the Pharisees — and he tells them that it is not legal or cultic uncleanliness that matters, but cleanliness of the heart before God. Eating with unwashed hands, or using unwashed vessels for drinking, does not defile a man, this does not make him less worthy before God. It is not from things outside him that a man incurs defilement but from his own innermost self. Every serious sin against God and neighbor has its beginning within a man, in his intellect and will; the evil design is the forerunner and instigator of the evil deed. The Pharisees should have known all this. They did know it. They knew very well that before a man breaks any of the commandments of God he must first plan and decide to break it; it was not their theology that was defective but their practice. They despised their neighbors and called fellowmen "sinners," because through ignorance they violated many of the man-made precepts the Pharisees had added to the Law of Moses. There were also fellow-Jews of theirs who violated the law itself, but it was not their right to judge or condemn much less excommunicate them, as they so often did in practice. Christ condemned the Pharisees by word and deed. He was merciful, kind and understanding to all sinners. He forgave sin and promised forgiveness to all who would repent of their past misdeeds. Not only that: for he left to his followers for all time his sacrament of mercy and forgiveness, by means of which they could have their sins forgiven by his minister, acting in his name. Should we ever forget all he has done for us and disobey in a serious way any of his commandments, let us remember that we are not excluded from his company as the sinners were excluded by the Pharisees: we have banged the door on ourselves but he has given us the key with which to reopen it. Let us never be so foolish as to fail to use that key. Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.
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| Cleaning the Unclean |
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Imagine taking the time to wash and wax a car when the engine is missing or rusted out. Sure, the car would look great on the outside, but it still wouldn’t go anywhere. Or imagine painting over an entire house when the wood is infested with termites. Sure, the house would look good from without, but it is still corrupted and decaying. |
Year B- 22nd Sunday in ordinary time
This people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 1 And there assembled together unto him the Pharisees and some of the scribes, coming from Jerusalem. |
I said, “do not judge” because he who judges will be judged. It is very common in the spiritual life to think that human efforts may lead to sanctity, but I want to remind you that God is the one who builds the spiritual house, not man. Those whose efforts are not combined with obedience forfeit the grace that is always given to the humble. Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary
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What Can Separate Us from the Love of Christ? Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23 Introductory Prayer: Lord, help me to confront your Gospel message today with openness and generosity. Lord, you know I have the danger of fulfilling empty rituals instead of putting you at the center of everything I do. I come to this prayer to please you and thus surrender myself to you. Petition: Lord, give me confidence in the power of your grace. 1. Look at the Real Dangers. Christ feared nothing. He wasn’t afraid of Satan. He wasn’t afraid of public opinion. He wasn’t afraid of the narrow road and hard path. Even though it would cause him to sweat blood, he wasn’t even afraid to fulfill his Father’s plan for him as the Suffering Servant. Through his words and way of life, he was constantly encouraging his followers to watch out for dangers and to pray not to be put to the test. He knows that there are real dangers out there: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29). “Woe to him who scandalizes one of these little ones” (cf. Matthew 18:6). “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees” (Matthew 16:6). “ Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat” (Luke 22:31). Christ will always point out for me the real dangers that exist in my life. 2. I Will Not Take Them from You. Christ clearly warns us, and our own experience confirms, that God normally will not remove these dangers from our lives. These dangers will usually remain whether they be exterior — “Father, I ask not that you remove them from this world” — or interior. When St. Paul would ask Christ to remove the thorn from his side, Christ simply replies, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). In the thick of these sufferings, it is hard for us to understand why God would permit them. But maybe we can find some reason in Christ’s words today. May it never be said of a Christian: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Suffering and hardship often keep our heart close to Christ. 3. I Will Give You the Grace to Overcome Them. Very much aware of both the internal and external dangers that would await them, Christ was not afraid of sending out his apostles into the world. He sends us out as “sheep among wolves” (cf. Matthew 10:16) into a world that will “hate you as it hated me” (cf. Matthew 24:9). He distributes his divine word and precious grace to the world through us, fragile earthen vessels. Through his Vicar on Earth, he tells us, “Be not afraid.” Moreover, he expects us to produce one-hundred fold and give fruits that will last. What is the key to his confidence? The key is the humble person who is ever ready look inwardly and purify his heart from the smallest attachment, the slightest impurity, making it an acceptable dwelling place for Christ. What…who…can separate us from the love of Christ? What is there to fear but those “evils that come from within and defile?” Dialogue with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for reminding me about the beauty of being your friend, and at the same time about the awesome responsibility that goes along with it. Please give me the generosity to live my role as your mediator and ambassador, and help me to continually spread your message of love with my life, work, and all I do. Resolution: I will set aside some time today and ask Christ to help me identify any attachments to sin in my heart. I will write them down and look for concrete ways to purify my heart from them. |
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 117 (118) |
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| A cry of rejoicing and triumph |
| Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, and his kindness is for ever. Now let Israel say, he is good and his kindness is for ever. Now let the house of Aaron say it too: that his kindness is for ever. Now let all who fear the Lord say it too: that his kindness is for ever. In my time of trial I called out to the Lord: he listened, and led me to freedom. The Lord is with me, I will fear nothing that man can do. The Lord, my help, is with me, and I shall look down upon my enemies. It is good to seek shelter in the Lord, better than to trust in men. It is good to seek shelter in the Lord, better than to trust in the leaders of men. All the nations surrounded me, and in the Lord’s name I slew them. They crowded in and besieged me, and in the Lord’s name I slew them. They surrounded me like swarms of bees, they burned like a fire of dry thorns, and in the Lord’s name I slew them. They chased and pursued me, to make me fall, and the Lord came to my help. The Lord is my strength and my rejoicing: he has become my saviour. A cry of joy and salvation in the dwellings of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has triumphed! The Lord’s right hand has raised me up; the Lord’s right hand has triumphed”. I shall not die, but live, and tell of the works of the Lord. The Lord chastised me severely but did not let me die. Open the gates of righteousness: I will go in, and thank the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; it is the upright who enter here. I will thank you, for you listened to me, and became my saviour. The stone that the builders rejected has become the corner-stone. It was the Lord who did this – it is marvellous to behold. This is the day that was made by the Lord: let us rejoice today, and be glad. Lord, keep me safe; O Lord, let me prosper! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God, he shines upon us! Arrange the procession, with close-packed branches, up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, I will give thanks to you; my God, I will give you praise. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, and his kindness is for ever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Canticle | Daniel 3 |
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| Let every creature praise the Lord | |
| Blessed are you, Lord God of our fathers, praised and exalted for ever. Blessed is the holy name of your glory praised above all things and exalted for ever. Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory praised and glorious above all things for ever. Blessed are you who gaze on the depths, seated on the cherubim, praised and exalted for ever. Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven praised and glorious for ever. Bless the Lord, all his works, praise and exalt him for ever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| Psalm 150 |
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| Praise the Lord |
| Praise the Lord in his sanctuary, praise him in his mighty firmament. Praise him for his mighty deeds, praise him for all his greatness. Praise him with trumpet-blasts, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dance, praise him with strings and pipes, praise him with cymbals resounding, praise him with cymbals of jubilation. All that breathes, praise the Lord! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| A short Bible reading and responsory may follow here. |
| Canticle | Benedictus |
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| The Messiah and his forerunner | |
| Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of peace. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| Some short prayers may follow here, to offer up the day's work to God. |
| Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. |
| A concluding prayer may follow here. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Due to her feast day on September 15, the month of September has traditionally been set aside to honor Our Lady of Sorrows. All the sorrows of Mary (the prophecy of Simeon, the three days' loss, etc.) are merged in the supreme suffering at the Passion. In the Passion, Mary suffered a martyrdom of the heart because of Our Lord's torments and the greatness of her love for Him. "She it was," says Pope Pius XII, "who immune from all sin, personal or inherited, and ever more closely united with her Son, offered Him on Golgotha to the Eternal Father together with the holocaust of her maternal rights and motherly love. As a new Eve, she made this offering for all the children of Adam contaminated through his unhappy fall. Thus she, who was the mother of our Head according to the flesh, became by a new title of sorrow and glory the spiritual mother of all His members."
INVOCATIONS
Mary most sorrowful, Mother of Christians, pray for us.
Virgin most sorrowful, pray for us.
TO THE QUEEN OF MARTYRS
Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, accept the sincere homage of my filial affection. Into thy heart, pierced by so many swords, do thou welcome my poor soul. Receive it as the companion of thy sorrows at the foot of the Cross, on which Jesus died for the redemption of the world. With thee, O sorrowful Virgin, I will gladly suffer all the trials, contradictions, and infirmities which it shall please our Lord to send me. I offer them all to thee in memory of thy sorrows, so that every thought of my mind, and every beat of my heart may be an act of compassion and of love for thee. And do thou, sweet Mother, have pity on me, reconcile me to thy divine Son Jesus, keep me in His grace, and assist me in my last agony, so that I may be able to meet thee in heaven and sing thy glories. Amen.
TO THE MOTHER OF SORROWS
Most holy Virgin. and Mother, whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the Passion of thy divine Son, and who in His glorious Resurrection wast filled with never-ending joy at His triumph; obtain for us who call upon thee, so to be partakers in the adversities of Holy Church and the sorrows of the Sovereign Pontiff, as to be found worthy to rejoice with them in the consolations for which we pray, in the charity and peace of the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
IN HONOR OF THE SORROWS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
O most holy and afflicted Virgin! Queen of Martyrs! thou who didst stand motionless beneath the Cross, witnessing the agony of thy expiring Son--through the unceasing sufferings of thy life of sorrow, and the bliss which now more than amply repays thee for thy past trials, look down with a mother's tenderness and pity on me, who kneel before thee to venerate thy dolors, and place my requests, with filial confidence, in the sanctuary of thy wounded heart; present them, I beseech thee, on my behalf, to Jesus Christ, through the merits of His own most sacred death and passion, together with thy sufferings at the foot of the cross, and through the united efficacy of both obtain the grant of my present petition. To whom shall I resort in my wants and miseries if not to thee, O Mother of Mercy, who, having so deeply drunk of the chalice of thy Son, canst compassionate the woes of those who still sigh in the land of exile? Offer for me to my Savior one drop of the Blood which flowed from His sacred veins, one of the tears which trickled from His divine eyes, one of the sighs which rent His adorable Heart. O refuge of the universe and hope of the whole world, do not reject my humble prayer, but graciously obtain the grant of my petition.
TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS
O most holy Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ: by the overwhelming grief you experienced when you witnessed the martyrdom, the crucifixion, and the death of your divine Son, look upon me with eyes of compassion, and awaken in my heart a tender commiseration for those sufferings, as well as a sincere detestation of my sins, in order that, being disengaged from all undue affection for the passing joys of this earth, I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem, and that henceforward all my thoughts and all my actions may be directed towards this one most desirable object. Honor, glory, and love to our divine Lord Jesus, and to the holy and immaculate Mother of God. Amen. --Saint Bonaventure
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
| Lord, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God, the Father of heaven, God the Son, Redeemer of the world, . God the Holy Ghost, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Holy Virgin of virgins, Mother of the Crucified, Sorrowful Mother, Mournful Mother, Sighing Mother, Afflicted Mother, Foresaken Mother, . Desolate Mother, Mother most sad, Mother set around with anguish, Mother overwhelmed by grief, Mother transfixed by a sword, Mother crucified in thy heart, Mother bereaved of thy Son, Sighing Dove, Mother of Dolors, Fount of tears, Sea of bitterness, Field of tribulation, Mass of suffering, Mirror of patience, Rock of constancy, Remedy in perplexity, Joy of the afflicted, Ark of the desolate, Refuge of the abandoned,. Shiled of the oppressed, Conqueror of the incredulous, Solace of the wretched, Medicine of the sick, Help of the faint, Strength of the weak, Protectress of those who fight, Haven of the shipwrecked, Calmer of tempests, Companion of the sorrowful, Retreat of those who groan, Terror of the treacherous, Standard-bearer of the Martyrs, Treasure of the Faithful, Light of Confessors, Pearl of Virgins, . Comfort of Widows, . Joy of all Saints, Queen of thy Servants, Holy Mary, who alone art unexampled, Pray for us, most Sorrowful Virgin, |
Christ, have mercy on us. Christ, graciously hear us. |
| Let us pray, --- O God, in whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sword of grief pierced through the most sweet soul of Thy glorious Blessed Virgin Mother Mary: grant that we, who celebrate the memory of her Seven Sorrows, may obtain the happy effect of Thy Passion, Who lives and reigns world without end, Amen. |
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| The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady 1. The Prophecy of Simeon 2. The Flight into Egypt . 3. The Loss of Jesus in the Temple 4. Mary meets Jesus Carrying the Cross 5. The Crucifixion 6. Mary Receives the Dead Body of Her Son 7. The Burial of Her Son and Closing of the Tomb. |
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| Consecration to Our Lady of Sorrows Most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, Mary, would that I could be in Heaven, there to contemplate the honors rendered to thee by the Most Holy Trinity and by the whole Heavenly Court! But since I am still a pilgrim in this vale of tears, receive from me, thy unworthy servant and a poor sinner, the most sincere homage and the most perfect act of vassalage a human creature can offer thee. In thy Immaculate Heart, pierced with so many swords of sorrow, I place today my poor soul forever; receive me as a partaker in thy dolors, and never suffer that I should depart from that Cross on which thy only begotten Son expired for me. With thee, O Mary, I will endure all the sufferings, contradictions, infirmities, with which it will please thy Divine Son to visit me in this life. All of them I offer to thee, in memory of the Dolors which thou didst suffer during thy life, that every thought of my mind, every beating of my heart may henceforward be an act of compassion to thy Sorrows, and of complacency for the glory thou now enjoyest in Heaven. Since then, O Dear Mother, I now compassionate thy Dolors, and rejoice in seeing thee glorified, do thou also have compassion on me, and reconcile me to thy Son Jesus, that I may become thy true and loyal son (daughter); come on my last day and assist me in my last agony, even as thou wert present at the Agony of thy Divine Son Jesus, that from this painful exile I may go to Heaven, there to be made partaker of thy glory. Amen. |
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| Mk 7:1-23 | ||
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| # | Douay-Rheims | Vulgate |
| 1 | And there assembled together unto him the Pharisees and some of the scribes, coming from Jerusalem. | et conveniunt ad eum Pharisaei et quidam de scribis venientes ab Hierosolymis |
| 2 | And when they had seen some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. | et cum vidissent quosdam ex discipulis eius communibus manibus id est non lotis manducare panes vituperaverunt |
| 3 | For the Pharisees and all the Jews eat not without often washing their hands, holding the tradition of the ancients. | Pharisaei enim et omnes Iudaei nisi crebro lavent manus non manducant tenentes traditionem seniorum |
| 4 | And when they come from the market, unless they be washed, they eat not: and many other things there are that have been delivered to them to observe, the washings of cups and of pots and of brazen vessels and of beds. | et a foro nisi baptizentur non comedunt et alia multa sunt quae tradita sunt illis servare baptismata calicum et urceorum et aeramentorum et lectorum |
| 5 | And the Pharisees and scribes asked him: Why do not thy disciples walk according to the tradition of the ancients, but they eat bread with common hands? | et interrogant eum Pharisaei et scribae quare discipuli tui non ambulant iuxta traditionem seniorum sed communibus manibus manducant panem |
| 6 | But he answering, said to them: Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. | at ille respondens dixit eis bene prophetavit Esaias de vobis hypocritis sicut scriptum est populus hic labiis me honorat cor autem eorum longe est a me |
| 7 | And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and precepts of men. | in vanum autem me colunt docentes doctrinas praecepta hominum |
| 8 | For leaving the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pots and of cups: and many other things you do like to these. | relinquentes enim mandatum Dei tenetis traditionem hominum baptismata urceorum et calicum et alia similia his facitis multa |
| 9 | And he said to them: Well do you make void the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition. | et dicebat illis bene irritum facitis praeceptum Dei ut traditionem vestram servetis |
| 10 | For Moses said: Honour thy father and thy mother. And He that shall curse father or mother, dying let him die. | Moses enim dixit honora patrem tuum et matrem tuam et qui maledixerit patri aut matri morte moriatur |
| 11 | But you say: If a man shall say to his father or mother, Corban (which is a gift) whatsoever is from me shall profit thee. | vos autem dicitis si dixerit homo patri aut matri corban quod est donum quodcumque ex me tibi profuerit |
| 12 | And further you suffer him not to do any thing for his father or mother, | et ultra non dimittitis eum quicquam facere patri suo aut matri |
| 13 | Making void the word of God by your own tradition, which you have given forth. And many other such like things you do. | rescindentes verbum Dei per traditionem vestram quam tradidistis et similia huiusmodi multa facitis |
| 14 | And calling again the multitude unto him, he said to them: Hear ye me all, and understand. | et advocans iterum turbam dicebat illis audite me omnes et intellegite |
| 15 | There is nothing from without a man that entering into him, can defile him. But the things which come from a man, those are they that defile a man. | nihil est extra hominem introiens in eum quod possit eum coinquinare sed quae de homine procedunt illa sunt quae communicant hominem |
| 16 | If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. | si quis habet aures audiendi audiat |
| 17 | And when he was come into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked him the parable. | et cum introisset in domum a turba interrogabant eum discipuli eius parabolam |
| 18 | And he saith to them: So are you also without knowledge? understand you not that every thing from without, entering into a man cannot defile him: | et ait illis sic et vos inprudentes estis non intellegitis quia omne extrinsecus introiens in hominem non potest eum communicare |
| 19 | Because it entereth not into his heart, but goeth into the belly, and goeth out into the privy, purging all meats? | quia non introit in cor eius sed in ventrem et in secessum exit purgans omnes escas |
| 20 | But he said that the things which come out from a man, they defile a man. | dicebat autem quoniam quae de homine exeunt illa communicant hominem |
| 21 | For from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, | ab intus enim de corde hominum cogitationes malae procedunt adulteria fornicationes homicidia |
| 22 | Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. | furta avaritiae nequitiae dolus inpudicitia oculus malus blasphemia superbia stultitia |
| 23 | All these evil things come from within, and defile a man. | omnia haec mala ab intus procedunt et communicant hominem |
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