Jul 16, Evening Prayer for Monday of the 15th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 668
All from the Psalter: Monday, Week III, 1012

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
All from the Psalter: Monday, Week III, 872

Evening Prayer for Monday in Ordinary Time

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

O gladsome light, O grace of our Creator’s face,
the eternal splendor wearing;
celestial, holy blest, our Savior Jesus Christ,
joyful in your appearing!

As fades the day’s last light we see the lamps of night,
our common hymn outpouring,
O God of might unknown, you, the incarnate Son,
and Spirit blest adoring.

To you of right belongs all praise of holy songs,
O Son of God, lifegiver.
You, therefore, O Most High, the world does glorify
and shall exalt forever.

“O Gladsome Light” Anon by Mount St. Mary’s Vesper’s Schola; Words: Unknown author, 3rd Century; translated from Greek to English by Robert S. Bridges, 1899. This translation first appeared in Bridges’ Yattendon Hymnal (named after his parish in Yattendon, Berkshire, England). Music: Cantique de Siméon, Louis Bourgeois, Pseaulmes cinquante de David, 1547; harmony by Claude Goudimel, 1551

PSALMODY

Ant.Our eyes are fixed intently on the Lord, waiting for his merciful help.

Psalm 123
The Lord, unfailing hope of his people
Two blind men cried out: “Have pity on us, Lord, Son of David” (Matthew 20:30).

To you have I lifted up my eyes,
you who dwell in the heavens;
my eyes, like the eyes of slaves
on the hand of their lords.

Like the eyes of a servant
on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God
till he show us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
We are filled with contempt.
Indeed all too full is our soul
with the scorn of the rich,
with the proud man’s disdain.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Father in heaven, we lift our eyes to you and pray: confound the scorn of the proud and graciously show us your mercy.

Ant. Our eyes are fixed intently on the Lord, waiting for his merciful help.

Ant. 2 Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 124
Our help is in the name of the Lord
The Lord said to Paul: “Fear not… I am with you” (Acts 18:9-10).

“If the Lord had not been on our side,”
this is Israel’s song.
“If the Lord had not been on our side
when men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive
when their anger was kindled.

Then would the waters have engulfed us,
the torrent gone over us;
over our head would have swept
the raging waters.”

Blessed be the Lord who did not give us
a prey to their teeth!
Our life, like a bird, has escaped
from the snare of the fowler.

Indeed the snare has been broken
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord Jesus, you foretold that your disciples would be despised on account of your name, but that not a hair of their heads is ever forgotten. In times of persecution, defend and revive us by the power and comfort of the Holy Spirit, so that we can be freed from our enemies and praise your saving help.

Ant. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

Ant. 3 God chose us in his Son to be his adopted children.

Canticle — Ephesians 1:3-10
God our Savior

Praised be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has bestowed on us in Christ
every spiritual blessing in the heavens.

God chose us in him
before the world began
to be holy
and blameless in his sight.

He predestined us
to be his adopted sons through Jesus Christ,
such was his will and pleasure,
that all might praise the glorious favor
he has bestowed on us in his beloved.

In him and through his blood, we have been redeemed,
and our sins forgiven,
so immeasurably generous
is God’s favor to us.

God has given us the wisdom
to understand fully the mystery,
the plan he was pleased
to decree in Christ.

A plan to be carried out
in Christ, in the fulness of time,
to bring all things into one in him,
in the heavens and on earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. God chose us in his Son to be his adopted children.

READING James 4:11-12

Do not, my brothers, speak ill of one another. The one who speaks ill of his brother or judges his brother is speaking against the law. It is the law he judges. If, however, you judge the law you are no observer of the law, you are its judge. There is but one Lawgiver and judge, one who can save and destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor?

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell)
A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

Lord, you alone can heal me, for I have grieved you by my sins.
– Lord, you alone can heal me, for I have grieved you by my sins.

Once more I say: O Lord, have mercy on me,
– for I have grieved you by my sins.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– Lord, you alone can heal me, for I have grieved you by my sins.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

INTERCESSIONS

Christ desires to lead all men to salvation. Let us implore him with all our heart:
– Draw all things to yourself, Lord.

Through your precious blood, Lord, you redeemed us from the slavery of sin,
grant us the freedom of the children of God.
– Draw all things to yourself, Lord.

Bestow your grace upon our bishop, and upon all bishops,
may they administer your sacraments with fervent joy.
– Draw all things to yourself, Lord.

Grant that all who seek the truth may find it,
and in finding it may they desire it all the more.
– Draw all things to yourself, Lord.

Be present to comfort widows, orphans and all the abandoned, Lord,
may they feel close to you and cling to you.
– Draw all things to yourself, Lord.

Receive our departed brethren into the heavenly kingdom,
where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you will be all in all.
– Draw all things to yourself, Lord.

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 who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Concluding Prayer

God our Father,
at the close of day we come to you,
the light that never fades.
Shine in the darkness of our night
and forgive our sins and failings.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

Jul 16, Night Prayer for Monday of the 15th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours:
Vol I, page 1175
Vol II, Page 1632
Vol III, Page 1275
Vol IV, Page 1239

Christian Prayer:
Page 1041

General instruction:
Please pray with us actively, especially by joining with us in saying antiphons and responses, most of which are indicated in this highlight.

Consider an examination of your own conscience before beginning to best make use of our time together in prayer.

Night Prayer for Monday

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Examination of conscience:
We are called to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men, in our hearts and in our minds, in our actions and inactions. To do so, it is vital that we examine our conscience daily and to ask for God’s mercy as we fall short and to ask for His strength to do better.

Lord Jesus,
you came to reconcile us to one another and to the Father:
Lord, have mercy.
– Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
you heal the wounds of sin and division:
Christ, have mercy.
– Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
you intercede for us with your Father:
Lord, have mercy.
– Lord, have mercy.

HYMN

The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended,
The darkness falls at Thy behest;
To Thee our morning hymns ascended,
Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.

We thank Thee that Thy church, unsleeping,
While earth rolls onward into light,
Through all the world her watch is keeping,
And rests not now by day or night.

As o’er each continent and island
The dawn leads on another day,
The voice of prayer is never silent,
Nor dies the strain of praise away.

The sun that bids us rest is waking
Our brethren ’neath the western sky,
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high.

So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,
Like earth’s proud empires, pass away:
Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever,
Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.

“The Day Thou Gavest” by The Choir of St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral; Words: John Ellerton, 1870; Music: Clement Scholefield, 1874
“The Day Thou Gavest” by The Choir of St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral is available from Amazon.com

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 O Lord, our God, unwearied is your love for us.

Psalm 86
Poor man’s prayer in trouble
Blessed be God who comforts us in all our trials (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4).

Turn your ear, O Lord, and give answer
for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am faithful;
save the servant who trusts in you.

You are my God, have mercy on me, Lord,
for I cry to you all day long.
Give joy to your servant, O Lord,
for to you I lift up my soul.

O Lord, you are good and forgiving,
full of love to all who call.
Give heed, O Lord, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my voice.

In the day of distress I will call
and surely you will reply.
Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord;
nor work to compare with yours.

All the nations shall come to adore you
and glorify your name, O Lord:
for you are great and do marvelous deeds,
you who alone are God.

Show me, Lord, your way
so that I may walk in your truth.
Guide my heart to fear your name.

I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart
and glorify your name for ever;
for your love to me has been great:
you have saved me from the depths of the grave.

The proud have risen against me;
ruthless men seek my life;
to you they pay no heed.

But you, God of mercy and compassion,
slow to anger, O Lord,
abounding in love and truth,
turn and take pity on me.

O give your strength to your servant
and save your handmaid’s son.
Show me the sign of your favor
that my foes may see to their shame
that you console me and give me your help.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. O Lord, our God, unwearied is your love for us.

READING 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

God has destined us for acquiring salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us, that all of us, whether awake or asleep, together might live with him.

RESPONSORY

Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
– I commend my spirit.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

CANTICLE OF SIMEON

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Luke 2:29-32
Christ is the light of the nations and the glory of Israel

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:

a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Concluding Prayer

Lord,
give our bodies restful sleep
and let the work we have done today
bear fruit in eternal life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

BLESSING

May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death.
– Amen.

Antiphon or song in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Optional Memorial
July 16th

The Virgin of Carmel
Moretto da Brescia
c. 1522
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice

The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was first instituted in the late 14th century in commemoration of the approval of the rule of the Carmelite Order a hundred years earlier. According to legend, a religious community was established even before the time of Christ on Mount Carmel. This is the mountain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on which the prophet Elijah successfully challenged the priests of Baal and won the people to the true God. The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel entered the Calendar of the universal Church in the early 18th century.
Although there is no historical evidence for the pre-Christian Carmelite community, references in the 12th century record a community of monks on the holy mountain. Despite continual difficulties, the community built a monastery and church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on Mount Carmel in 1263. Saint Louis, King of France, had visited Mount Carmel in 1254, and brought back six French hermits for whom he built a convent near Paris. Mount Carmel was taken by the Saracens in 1291, and the brothers were killed and the convent burned. The spread of the Carmelites in Europe is largely attributable to the work of Saint Simon Stock (1247-65). The Carmelite Order was formally approved in 1274 at the Council of Lyon.
Among the best known Carmelites today are two women: Saint Theresa of Jesus (Theresa of Avila - 1515-1582) who despite many difficulties reformed the Carmelite Order (the Discalced Carmelites); and Saint Edith Stein (Theresa Benedicta of the Cross - 1891-1942), a Jewish convert and philosophy professor, who was killed at Auschwitz, canonized in 1998, and proclaimed "co-patroness" of Europe in 1999.
Collect:
May the venerable intercession of the glorious Virgin Mary
come to our aid, we pray, O Lord,
so that, fortified by her protection,
we may reach the mountain which is Christ.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading:
Zechariah 2:14-17 (RSV Zechariah 2:10-13)
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the LORD. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem."
Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Gospel Reading:
Matthew 12:46-50
While He was still speaking to the people, behold, His mother and His brethren stood outside, asking to speak to Him. But He replied to the man who told Him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?" And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Here are my mother and my brethren! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Blind Mount Carmel student overcomes big challenges
Israel: Al Qaeda claims fire of Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel Monastery Approved! Good News for the Monks and for the Church
Mount Carmel for America: Carmelite Monks, Messengers of New Springtime
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the Brown Scapular [Catholic Caucus]
The Brown Scapular (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel)
Our Lady Of Mount Carmel & "The Carmelites:An Historical Sketch"
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Homilies preached by Father Altier on the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Novena To Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Information: Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Interactive Saints for Kids

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Feast Day: July 16

Mount Carmel is a mountain overlooking the plain of Galilee. It became famous when the prophet Elijah, who lived many years before Jesus, was born. Chapter 18 of the Bible's First Book of Kings tells how Elijah stood up to the 450 prophets of the false god Baal. Through his prayers, God gave Elijah the power to perform a miracle to prove that Elijah's God was the true God. This happened on Mount Carmel.

Hundreds of years later, a group of European monks who had a special devotion to Mother Mary began to live on Mount Carmel. They were called friars of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. This was the start of the Carmelite order which was approved by Pope Honorius III. Simon Stock, an Englishman, became the superior of the Carmelites. He helped the order to grow following the example of the Dominicans and Franciscans.

When they began to suffer harassment for their faith, they turned to Mary for help. On July 16, 1251, Mary appeared to St. Simon and gave him the brown scapular. She promised her protection to all those who would wear the blessed habit. Many miracles proved her words. St. Pope Pius X said that people could have the same blessings if they would wear the scapular medal. This medal has a picture of Our Lady of the Scapular on one side and the Sacred Heart on the other. Simon Stock died in Bordeaux, France, in 1265.

Reflection: "Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)

Catholic

Almanac:


Monday, July 16
Liturgical Color: Green
Today is the optional memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. On this day in 1251 the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Simon Stock and gave him the brown scapular. She promised special protection to his Carmelite order and all who wore the scapular.

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: July 16, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: May the venerable intercession of the glorious Virgin Mary come to our aid, we pray, O Lord, so that, fortified by her protection, we may reach the mountain which is Christ. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Ordinary Time: July 16th

Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Old Calendar: Commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel

Sacred Scripture celebrated the beauty of Carmel where the prophet Elijah defended the purity of Israel's faith in the living God. In the twelfth century, hermits withdrew to that mountain and later founded the Carmelite order devoted to the contemplative life under the patronage of Mary, the holy Mother of God.

Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is worldwide, and most Catholics are familiar with the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, also known as the Brown Scapular. Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1251, and gave him the scapular with the following words, which are preserved in a fourteenth century narrative: "This will be for you and for all Carmelites the privilege, that he who dies in this will not suffer eternal fire." The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was instituted for the Carmelites in 1332, and extended to the whole Church by Benedict XIII in 1726.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Today is the principal feast day of the Carmelite Order. Through the efforts of the crusader Berthold, a group of hermits living on Mount Carmel were organized into an Order after the traditional Western type about the year 1150. Oppressed by the Saracens, the monks slowly emigrated to Europe. During the night preceding the sixteenth of July, 1225, the Blessed Virgin is said to have commanded Pope Honorius III to approve the foundation. Since the Carmelites were still under constant harassment, the sixth General of the Order, St. Simon Stock, pleaded with the Blessed Virgin for some special sign of her protection. On July 16, 1251, she designated the scapular as the special mark of her maternal love. That is why the present feast is also known as the feast of the Scapular. The scapular, as part of the habit, is common to many religious Orders, but it is a special feature of the Carmelites. A smaller form of the scapular is given to lay persons in order that they may share in the great graces associated with it. Such a grace is the "Sabbatine privilege." In the so-called Bulla Sabbatina John XXII affirmed that wearers of the scapular are soon freed from the flames of purgatory, at least by the Saturday after death. The confirmation of the Bulla Sabbatina was promulgated by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 4, 1908.

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

Things to Do:

If you have not already done so, have a priest enroll you in the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or popularly known as the "Brown Scapular" and begin wearing it as a sign of your love for Our Lady. A priest enrolls people in the Brown Scapular only once. The Scapular can then be replaced afterwards by other scapulars or the scapular medal, which has on one side the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and on the other, the image of Mary. The medal needs to be blessed by a priest, but the cloth scapulars do not require a blessing (separate from enrollment).
Wearing the Brown Scapular is not an automatic guarantee of salvation. It is not a magical charm, nor is it an excuse to live in a way contrary to the teachings of the Church. It is a sacramental which has been approved by the Church for over seven centuries and is a sign of one's decision to follow Jesus as did Mary, the perfect model of all the disciples of Christ. In addition to being an introduction into the Family of Carmel, the Brown Scapular is an expression of our belief that we will meet God in eternal life, aided by the intercession and prayer of Mary. While sacramentals prepare us to receive grace if we are in the right disposition, the Church emphasizes that only sacraments can confer sanctifying grace. (see Catechism, no. 1670.)
Periodically the Church reexamines devotions and popular piety to make sure they are "not at odds with the centrality of the Sacred Liturgy. Rather, in promoting the faith of the people, who regard popular piety as a natural religious expression, they predispose the people for the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries" (John Paul II, September 2001). In accordance with Vatican II, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued the Directory on Popular Piety in 2001 to reevaluate different devotions and popular piety. Though the Brown Scapular is included in the document as a wonderful pious practice, the Directory does not mention the Sabbatine Privilege, which continues to present historical difficulties. The Directory rather emphasizes the beautiful sign of the "filial relationship" with the faithful and Mary:
205. The history of Marian piety also includes "devotion" to various scapulars, the most common of which is devotion to the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Its use is truly universal and, undoubtedly, it is one of those pious practices which the Council described as "recommended by the Magisterium throughout the centuries."
The Scapular of Mount Carmel is a reduced form of the religious habit of the Order of the Friars of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel. Its use is very diffuse and often independent of the life and spirituality of the Carmelite family.
The Scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer.
The Scapular is imposed by a special rite of the Church which describes it as "a reminder that in Baptism we have been clothed in Christ, with the assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, solicitous for our conformation to the Word Incarnate, to the praise of the Trinity, we may come to our heavenly home wearing our nuptial garb."
The imposition of the Scapular should be celebrated with "the seriousness of its origins. It should not be improvised. The Scapular should be imposed following a period of preparation during which the faithful are made aware of the nature and ends of the association they are about to join and of the obligations they assume."
Pope John Paul II has worn the scapular for a long time. The Holy Father's talk on the Scapular of Carmel, A Treasure for the Church mentions:
Therefore two truths are evoked by the sign of the Scapular: on the one hand, the constant protection of the Blessed Virgin, not only on life's journey, but also at the moment of passing into the fullness of eternal glory; on the other, the awareness that devotion to her cannot be limited to prayers and tributes in her honor on certain occasions, but must become a "habit", that is, a permanent orientation of one's own Christian conduct, woven of prayer and interior life, through frequent reception of the sacraments and the concrete practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. In this way the Scapular becomes a sign of the "covenant" and reciprocal communion between Mary and the faithful: indeed, it concretely translates the gift of his Mother, which Jesus gave on the Cross to John and, through him, to all of us, and the entrustment of the beloved Apostle and of us to her, who became our spiritual Mother.
For the definitive treatment on the brown scapular, read The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel: Catechesis and Ritual.
The Blessed Virgin's scapular should remind us that Christians have an apostolate against current extremes and extravagances in modes of dress. Clothes are a symbol of the person. Like the Christian heart, dress must be chaste and simple, for one judges the interior from the exterior. It should not be necessary to add that special attention be given this matter when preparing for church attendance. Examine yourself on how well you reflect Christian modesty in your dress and if you are a parent, how well you ensure that your children are modestly dressed.
In New York City in East Harlem is one of the oldest festivals in America for Our Lady of Mount Carmel. See Our Lady of Mount Carmel Shrine of East Harlem -- since 1881. Every year in Brooklyn, NY, is held the Festival of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. Paulinus of Nola (Festa Del Giglio). It is unique to see a scene that one would expect in Europe unfolding on the street of a major East coast city. You can view a You Tube clip right here. Also look around your area for Italian parishes, maybe one named after Our Lady of Mount Carmel? Many times the parish will host wonderful festivals in her honor.
Watch this You Tube video to learn more about devotion to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
From the Catholic Culture library, the Scapular Devotion, a description of Different Kinds of Scapulars, The Brown Scapular and information on the Scapular Medal.
Learn more about St. Simon Stock and the Brown Scapular.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Isaiah 1:10-17

“Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes.” (Isaiah 1:16)

We know that if we leave dirty clothes in the laundry basket for weeks, they will start smelling bad. If we leave them there long enough, they’ll begin to rot; we won’t even be able to put them on. That’s why we do our laundry every week.

Well, in a similar way, God is calling us to wash ourselves every day from the things that threaten to spoil our hearts. He calls us to examine our consciences every day and repent of anything we find there that is displeasing to him. He also calls us to the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that we can be cleansed deeply and restored to his presence. Why? Because our Father wants us to become holy. He doesn’t want us just to live; he wants us to thrive and take on his own divine nature!

In today’s first reading, God’s concern was not about the people’s sacrifices but about their “octaves with wickedness” (Isaiah 1:13). He was concerned that they observed eight-day festivals of praise, all the while pursuing sin and injustice. It seems that their times of worship and sacrifices were not changing their hearts and making them holier. They would go to the Temple, celebrate the feast, and then go right back to their wicked ways. God wanted to bless them, but their lack of repentance was blocking them from receiving his grace.

So here’s the question: are you walking with an unwashed soul? Even if you go to Mass regularly, it’s still possible that you have “bloody hands” that need to be cleansed. If that’s the case, then get to Confession! It’s not enough just to go to Mass, if there isn’t the will to change. It’s not enough to say your prayers every day if you aren’t opening your heart to the Lord.

Go and confess your sins. Disarm them by naming them humbly and openly to a confessor. Then let your heavenly Father embrace you, heal you, and set you on the path toward holiness. He is always ready to open heaven for you so that you can be filled with his power and grace.

“Come, Holy Spirit, and transform my heart. Help me take on the mind of Christ.”

Matthew 10:34–11:1 Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for July 16, 2012:

(Reader’s Tip) Marriage is until death do us part, not until we have a disagreement. Keep this in mind when you hit rough spots and work through them prayerfully and together.

Vultus Christi

Bravo, Monsignor Wadsworth!

By

Father Mark

on July 16, 2012 3:05 PM |

Mgr Andrew Wadsworth delivered the keynote address to the Church Music Association of America in Salt Lake City on 27 June. Here is his text. The subtitles are my own.

Listening to the Holy Father

When I am in Rome, I hear very little these days about the 'reform of the reform' - it just isn't within the arena of most people's awareness. In matters liturgical, if anything, we see something of a polarisation and many people seem to have a vested interest in promoting this. Happily, not everyone is of this view and I would like this evening to concentrate on one such person whose view, fortunately for us, will be decisive. I refer to the Holy Father. Just ten days ago, he addressed these thoughts to those gathered in Dublin for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress:

Toward the Year of Faith

'The Congress also occurs at a time when the Church throughout the world is preparing to celebrate the Year of Faith to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the start of the Second Vatican Council, an event which launched the most extensive renewal of the Roman Rite ever known. Based upon a deepening appreciation of the sources of the liturgy, the Council promoted the full and active participation of the faithful in the Eucharistic sacrifice. At our distance today from the Council Fathers' expressed desires regarding liturgical renewal, and in the light of the universal Church's experience in the intervening period, it is clear that a great deal has been achieved; but it is equally clear that there have been many misunderstandings and irregularities. The renewal of external forms, desired by the Council Fathers, was intended to make it easier to enter into the inner depth of the mystery. Its true purpose was to lead people to a personal encounter with the Lord, present in the Eucharist, and thus with the living God, so that through this contact with Christ's love, the love of his brothers and sisters for one another might also grow. Yet not infrequently, the revision of liturgical forms has remained at an external level, and 'active participation' has been confused with external activity. Hence much still remains to be done on the path of real liturgical renewal.' (Pope Benedict XVI - Video Message at the Closing Mass of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, Dublin June 17th, 2012)

During our brief time together, I propose to reflect with you on a few themes taken from this single recent utterance of the Holy Father, as I believe it is highly representative of his thought in relation to this all-important consideration. The Holy Father said that:

1.'The Second Vatican Council is an event which launched the most extensive renewal of the Roman Rite ever known'

The Roman Rite Destroyed

Very few people could have foreseen the wholesale revision of the liturgy which would come in the wake of the Second Vatican Council and certainly few could foresee that the unifying experience of a Latin liturgy would become entirely alien to most Catholics born in the last third of the twentieth century. The unchangeable nature of this characteristic of the Liturgy was a view largely shared by Blessed John Henry Newman, Mgr Robert Hugh Benson, Mgr Ronald Knox and, until the liturgical reform happened, also by Archbishop Fulton Sheen. Commentators such as Fr Joseph Gelineau SJ, composer of the famous psalm tones, went as far as to say: 'the Roman Rite, as we knew it, has been destroyed'!

The Making of the New Liturgy

The factors which fed into the liturgical reform after the Council were complex and in some ways, not entirely contemporary. I think we must admit that until relatively recently there has been very little scholarship that is able to accurately identify the sources of the liturgical reform. In some cases, the scholarly opinions upon which some decisions were based does not stand the test of time. We must hope that scholarly commentary which unravels some of the mystery surrounding the making of the new liturgy becomes more readily available in the near future.

Privatized Views of Common Property

Whether or not we have any scholarly insight, many of us have lived in the Church through this period and have thereby accumulated a vast reservoir of experiences which for good or ill shape our perceptions in relation to the liturgy and guide our expectations when we consider what we would hope to find when we come to worship God in the liturgy. While there is a sort of commonality to these observations across a wide spectrum of liturgical preference, it goes without saying that whether something is considered desirable or not will largely depend on your view of what the liturgy is meant to achieve. I have come to the view that there is little agreement in this important matter and many people proceed on what is essentially a privatized view of something which is by definition common property.

What Has Been Achieved?

In his address to the Eucharistic Congress, the Holy Father said:

2. 'A great deal has been achieved'

Obviously, there have been some very positive developments in the wake of the liturgical reforms that followed Vatican II. Among them, I would cite:

• The liturgies of the Sacred Triduum, largely unknown to a previous generation, have now become the liturgical heart of the year for most Catholics.

• The Liturgy of the Hours, previously largely limited to the clergy, has become more genuinely the Prayer of the Church in the experience of both religious and lay people.

• A wider selection of lections in the Mass and all the Sacramental Rites has strengthened the idea that Scripture is part of the primitive liturgical κήρυγμα.

• In those places where the principles of the liturgical movement have been applied to music, there is a greater appreciation of the various functions of music in different elements of the liturgy.

• The revision of the rites of Christian Initiation has led to a greater understanding of Baptism as the foundational fact of our ecclesial identity.

• Where provision has been made for individual Confession, there has been a return to the centrality of the Sacrament of Penance in the personal journey of conversion.

• The renewal of the Rite of the Worship of the Blessed Eucharist outside Mass has facilitated (if not quite inspired) the widespread adoption of Eucharistic Adoration as a standard element of parish life and as an important means of engendering private prayer.

Misunderstandings and Irregularities

On this recent occasion, the Holy Father also said:

3.'It is equally clear that there have been many misunderstandings and irregularities'

Some examples:

• A sense of the communion of the Church has become limited to local communities that are in many ways self-selecting - many Catholics have a poor understanding of what it means to belong to the Universal Church but a highly developed understanding of what it means to belong to a self-selecting parish community of people like themselves.

• Any notion of the shape of the Liturgical year has been greatly lessened by an ironing-out of those features which characterized the distinctive seasons of the year.

• The universal tendency to ignore sung propers and to substitute non-liturgical alternatives.

• The transference of Solemnities which are holydays of obligation to Sundays destroys the internal dynamics of the liturgical cycle e.g. The Epiphany and The Ascension.

• The frequent tendency to gloss or paraphrase the liturgical texts, supplying continuous commentary, has contributed to an improvised or spontaneous character in much liturgical celebration.

• The multiplication of liturgical 'ministries' has led to considerable confusion and error concerning the relationship between the ministerial priesthood and the common priesthood of the baptized.

• The liturgy often seems to have the quality of a performance with the priest and liturgical ministers cast in the roles of performers and behaving accordingly. Consequently, congregations are often expecting to be 'entertained' rather as spectators might be at a theatre.

• The manner of the distribution and reception of Holy Communion (including the appropriateness of one's reception of Communion at a particular Mass) has led to a casual disregard for this great Sacrament.

• A proliferation of Communion Services presided over by lay people has resulted in a lessening of the sense of the importance of the Eucharistic sacrifice.

• The appalling banality of much liturgical music and the lack of any true liturgical spirit in the use of music in the liturgy has been a primary generating force in anti-liturgical culture.

The Conundrum of Active Participation

The Holy Father then went on to say that:

4. 'Not infrequently, the revision of liturgical forms has remained at an external level, and 'active participation' has been confused with external activity.'

In my view, this is the very crux of the matter and I would like to illustrate it with reference to the Mass at which Pope Benedict's remarks were heard - the closing Mass of the recent Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. The improvements in liturgical culture and particularly the improvements in liturgical music, that have become increasingly evident throughout this papacy, particularly in large-scale celebrations were sadly almost entirely absent from this occasion, giving the event a sort of 'eighties' feel to it. More specifically:

• The entire liturgy had a 'performance' quality to it, with the assembly as the principal focus. This was borne out by the fact that musical items were frequently greeted with applause.

• There was a frequent disregard for the provisions of the GIRM.

This was particularly evident with reference to music:

• None of the antiphons of the proper were sung for the entrance, offertory and communion processions (cf GIRM #40)

• Gregorian Chant was conspicuous by its absence (cf GIRM #41). None of the Missal chants was used for the people's parts of the Order of Mass (with the single exceptions of the gospel and preface dialogues), even though the liturgy was predominantly in English and these chants would have been known by most people present.

• In the Profession of Faith, after the Cardinal celebrant had intoned Credo III, lectors read the Apostles' Creed (which has a different intonation to the Nicene Creed) in a variety of languages, spoken paragraphs were punctuated by the sung response 'Credo, Amen!' This is not recognizably one of the modes for the Creed described in the GIRM (cf GIRM #48).

• Much music did not 'correspond to the spirit of the liturgical action' [GIRM #41] such as the celebrity spot during the distribution of Holy Communion of 3 clerical tenors, 'The Priests', singing the impossibly sentimental song 'May the road rise up to meet you'. I feel like asking, just what is wrong with the Communion antiphon and psalm?

• Despite the international character of the occasion, the use of Latin in the people's sung parts was almost non-existent (cf GIRM#41).

The depressing cumulative effect of the disregard for all these principles in a major liturgy, celebrated by a papal legate, and broadcast throughout the world, is hard to underestimate. If I were given to conspiracy theories, I would almost feel persuaded that this was a deliberately calculated attempt to broadcast a different message and to oppose the better liturgical spirit of recent times. But surely it cannot be so?

I think we have to ask such questions and indeed to surmise that the influence of former barons of the liturgical establishment has found a new and conspicuous arena of activity in which to model their example of poor liturgy. There can be no talk of the reform of the Roman Rite until the GIRM is enforced as the minimum requirement. If it remains a largely fantasy text at the beginning of our altar missals then 'the rebuilding of the broken down city' will take a very long time.

What Remains to Be Done

The Holy Father then concluded by stating that:

5. 'Much still remains to be done on the path of real liturgical renewal'

We must conclude by agreeing with the Holy Father - there is much to be done and happily a week like this one is a prophetic sign of the new liturgical road map - where we are going and how we are going to do it! In an attempt to engender on-going improvement in the quality of our liturgy, and in the hope that Catholics will be able to encounter a liturgy that is self-evidently expressive of our liturgical tradition and conveys a sense of something larger than the purely local, in a highly personal view, I would identify the following as desirable characteristics of the liturgy of the future:

• A sense of reverence for the text: the unity of the Roman Rite is now essentially a textual unity. The Church permits a certain latitude in the interpretation of the norms that govern the celebration of the liturgy and hence our unity is essentially textual: we use the same
prayers and meditate on the same Scriptures. This is more clearly evident now with a single English text for universal use.

• A greater willingness to heed Sacrosanctum Concilium rather than continual recourse to the rather nebulous concept of the 'spirit of the Council' which generally attempts to legitimize liturgical abuses rather than correct them. Currently, these teachings are more likely to be evidenced in a well-prepared presentation of the Extraordinary Form than in most Ordinary Form celebrations. It need not be so.

• In relation to both forms of the Roman Rite, a careful attention to the demands of the calendar and the norms which govern the celebration of the liturgy, not assuming that it is possible or acceptable to depart from these norms.

• A re-reading of the encyclical Mediator Dei of Pope Pius XII in conjunction with more recent Magisterial documents. In this way, the light of tradition might be perceived to shine on all our liturgical celebrations.

• The widespread cultivation of a dignified and reverent liturgy that evidences careful preparation and respect for its constituent elements in accordance with the liturgical norms.

• A recovery of the Latin tradition of the Roman Rite that enables us to continue to present elements of our liturgical patrimony from the earliest centuries with understanding. This necessarily requires a far more enthusiastic and widespread commitment to the teaching and learning of Latin in order that the linguistic culture required for interpreting our texts and chants may be more widely experienced and our patrimony enjoy a wider constituency.

Music With a Liturgical Voice

• We should seek to see the exclusion of all music from the Liturgy which does not a 'liturgical voice', regardless of style.

• The exclusion from the liturgy of music which only expresses secular culture and which is ill-suited to the demands of the liturgy. A renaissance of interest in and use of chant in both Latin and English as a recognition that this form of music should enjoy 'first place' in our liturgy and all other musical forms are suitable for liturgical use to the extent that they share in the characteristics of chant.

• An avoidance of the idea that music is the sole consideration in the liturgy, the music is a vehicle for the liturgy not the other way around!

• A commitment to the celebration and teaching of the ars celebrandi of both forms of the Roman Rite, so that all priests can perceive more readily how the light of tradition shines on our liturgical life and how this might be communicated more effectively to our people.

• A clearer distinction between devotions, non-liturgical forms of prayer and the Sacred Liturgy. A lack of any proper liturgical sense has led to a proliferation of devotions as an alternative vehicle for popular fervour. This was a widespread criticism of the liturgy before the Council and we now have to ask ourselves why the same lacuna has been identified in the newer liturgical forms.

• A far greater commitment to silence before, during and after the Liturgy is needed.

Having travelled the English-speaking world very widely in preparation for the implementation of the English translation of the third typical edition of the Missale Romanum, and having experienced the liturgy in a wide variety of circumstances and styles, I would conclude that I have generally encountered a great desire for change, although not always among those who are directly responsible for the liturgy. I think we are currently well placed to respond to this desire and this is evidenced by the fact that many things which were indicated fifty years ago, such as the singing of the Mass, and more particularly the singing of the proper texts rather than the endless substitution of songs and hymns, are only now being seriously considered and implemented. It is earnestly to be desired that such developments continue to flourish and that an improved liturgical culture is accessible to everyone in the Church.

Liturgy: A Gift Received from the Church

Crucial to this peaceful revolution has been the leadership and example of the present Holy Father who has consistently studied and written about the liturgy in a long life of scholarship which now informs his governance of the Church's liturgical life. Much that he commends was already evident in aspects of liturgical scholarship from the early twentieth century onwards. In our own time, however, it is finally being received with the joy and enthusiasm that it merits. A new generation of Catholics eagerly awaits a greater experience of the basic truth that the liturgy is always a gift which we receive from the Church rather than make for ourselves. The Church Music Association of America and all those who identify with its initiatives and benefit from its prophetic lead have a very serious and a highly significant contribution to make to this process. May God bless us all as we share in his work

Regnum Christi

Love is Demanding

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Father Shawn Aaron, LC

Matthew 10: 34-11:1

Jesus said to his Apostles: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man ´against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one´s enemies will be those of his household.´ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet´s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man´s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple-- amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward." When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.

Introductory Prayer: Almighty and ever-living God, I seek new strength from the courage of Christ our shepherd. I believe in you, I hope in you, and I seek to love you with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength. I want to be led one day to join the saints in heaven, where your Son Jesus Christ lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

Petition: Jesus, I want to love as you have loved me.

1. Not Peace but the Sword: Complacency can be defined as "self-satisfaction accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies". This is a false peace, even a harmful peace. It is a self-satisfied peace that lulls us to sleep and can result in the loss of those things that are truly most valuable in life: God, faith, family, etc.... Jesus comes to interrupt that false peace by upending the tables of our lives (cf. John 2:15) in an effort to awaken us to the dangers that our false peace has blinded us to. As he drove out the sheep and oxen from the temple, so, too, he will use circumstances, trials and difficulties as his "sword" to drive out from our lives whatever is opposed to God´s goodness and our own dignity.

2. Nothing Before God: With this phrase we start getting an inkling of the type of sword our Lord is wielding. He is giving us a criterion that starts from heaven downward because he is trying to lift us from the earth upward. What natural relationship is closer than the one between a parent and child, especially a mother and child? Yet even this bond must be subordinate to the love we have for God. Why? Well, no creature, not even our parents, can bring us to the fullness of life and happiness that comes only from God. God wants us to love him, not because he needs our love but because we need him. He is objective reality, and we must always move from the subjective to the objective if we are to possess the truth. Jesus invites us to adapt our standards from the merely natural and passing to the supernatural and everlasting.

3. Love of God Is Inclusive Not Exclusive: Giving a cup of water to one of the least of our brothers and sisters will not go unrewarded, and therefore, unnoticed. In this way, Jesus shows that he is not calling us to a love of God that excludes others. The standard of placing God first does not exclude love for mother or father, sister or brother. Once we love God as he deserves, we will learn to love others as they truly deserve. In fact, we merit the vision of the God we cannot see by loving the neighbor we do see.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, following you demands my all, and at times it seems that I do not have the strength to give what you ask. Help me to stay close to you in prayer and in the sacraments so as to have the grace to live the standard of love and generosity that you ask. Mother Most Pure, make my heart only for Jesus.

Resolution: Today I will make three acts of self-denial and offer them for someone in need of prayers.

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 10
34.	Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword.	Nolite arbitrari quia pacem venerim mittere in terram : non veni pacem mittere, sed gladium :	μη νομισητε οτι ηλθον βαλειν ειρηνην επι την γην ουκ ηλθον βαλειν ειρηνην αλλα μαχαιραν
35.	For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.	veni enim separare hominem adversus patrem suum, et filiam adversus matrem suam, et nurum adversus socrum suam :	ηλθον γαρ διχασαι ανθρωπον κατα του πατρος αυτου και θυγατερα κατα της μητρος αυτης και νυμφην κατα της πενθερας αυτης
36.	And as a man's enemies shall be they of his own household.	et inimici hominis, domestici ejus.	και εχθροι του ανθρωπου οι οικειακοι αυτου
37.	He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.	Qui amat patrem aut matrem plus quam me, non est me dignus : et qui amat filium aut filiam super me, non est me dignus.	ο φιλων πατερα η μητερα υπερ εμε ουκ εστιν μου αξιος και ο φιλων υιον η θυγατερα υπερ εμε ουκ εστιν μου αξιος
38.	And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me.	Et qui non accipit crucem suam, et sequitur me, non est me dignus.	και ος ου λαμβανει τον σταυρον αυτου και ακολουθει οπισω μου ουκ εστιν μου αξιος
39.	He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it.	Qui invenit animam suam, perdet illam : et qui perdiderit animan suam propter me, inveniet eam.	ο ευρων την ψυχην αυτου απολεσει αυτην και ο απολεσας την ψυχην αυτου ενεκεν εμου ευρησει αυτην
40.	He that receiveth you, receiveth me: and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me.	Qui recipit vos, me recipit : et qui me recipit, recipit eum qui me misit.	ο δεχομενος υμας εμε δεχεται και ο εμε δεχομενος δεχεται τον αποστειλαντα με
41.	He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a prophet: and he that receiveth a just man in the name of a just man, shall receive the reward of a just man.	Qui recipit prophetam in nomine prophetæ, mercedem prophetæ accipiet : et qui recipit justum in nomine justi, mercedem justi accipiet.	ο δεχομενος προφητην εις ονομα προφητου μισθον προφητου ληψεται και ο δεχομενος δικαιον εις ονομα δικαιου μισθον δικαιου ληψεται
42.	And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.	Et quicumque potum dederit uni ex minimis istis calicem aquæ frigidæ tantum in nomine discipuli : amen dico vobis, non perdet mercedem suam.	και ος εαν ποτιση ενα των μικρων τουτων ποτηριον ψυχρου μονον εις ονομα μαθητου αμην λεγω υμιν ου μη απολεση τον μισθον αυτου
	Matthew 11
1.	AND it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he passed from thence, to teach and preach in their cities.	Et factum est, cum consummasset Jesus, præcipiens duodecim discipulis suis, transiit inde ut doceret, et prædicaret in civitatibus eorum.	και εγενετο οτε ετελεσεν ο ιησους διατασσων τοις δωδεκα μαθηταις αυτου μετεβη εκειθεν του διδασκειν και κηρυσσειν εν ταις πολεσιν αυτων

34. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
35. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

JEROME; He had before said, What I say to you in darkness, that speak you in the light; He now tells them what will follow upon that preaching, saying, Think not that I am come to send peace upon earth; I am not come to send peace, but a sword.

GLOSS. Or connect it with what has gone before, As the fear of death ought not to draw you away, so neither ought carnal affection.

CHRYS. How then did He enjoin them, that when they should enter any house they should say, Peace be to this house, as also the Angels sung, Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace to men. That is the most perfect peace when that which is diseased is lopped off, when that which introduces strife is taken away, for so only is it possible that heaven should be joined to earth. For so does the physician save the rest of the body, namely by cutting off that which cannot be healed. So it came to pass at the tower of Babel; a happy discord broke up their bad union. So also Paul divided those who were conspired together against him. For concord is not in all cases good; for there is honor among thieves. And this combat is not of His setting before them, but of the plots of the world.

JEROME; For in the matter of belief in Christ, the whole world was divided against itself; each house had its believers and its unbelievers; and therefore was this holy war sent, that an unholy peace might be broken through.

CHRYS. This He said as it were comforting His disciples, as much as to say, Be not troubled as though these things fell upon you unexpectedly; for, for this cause I came that I might send war upon the earth - nay He says not 'war,' but what is yet harder, a sword. For He sought by sharpness of speech so to rouse their attention, that they should not fall off in time of trial and difficulty, or say that He had told them smooth things, and had hid the difficulties. For it is better to meet with softness in deeds than in words; and therefore He stayed not in words, but showing them the nature of their warfare, He taught them that it was more perilous than a civil war; saying, I am come to set a man against his father, and daughter against her mother, and daughter-in -law against her mother-in-law. So this warfare will be between not acquaintances merely, but the nearest and dearest kindred; and this shows Christ's very great power; that His disciples after having heard this, yet undertook the mission, and brought over others. Yet was it not Christ who made this division, but the evil nature of the parties; when He says that it is He that does it, He speaks according to the manner of Scripture. As it is written, God has given them eyes that they should not see. Here is also a great proof that the Old Testament is like the New. For among the Jews a man was to put his neighbor to death if he found him making a calf; or sacrificing to Baalphegor; so here to show that it was the same God who ordained both that and these precepts, He reminds them of the prophecy, A man's foes are they of his household. For this same thing happened among the Jews; there were Prophets, and false Prophets; there the multitude was divided, and houses were set against themselves; there some believed one part, and some another.

JEROME; These are almost the words of the Prophet Micah. We should always take note when a passage is cited out of the Old Testament, whether the sense only, or the very words are given.

HILARY; Mystically; A sword is the sharpest of all weapons, and thence it is the emblem of the right of authority, the impartiality of justice, the correction of offenders. The word of God, we may remember, is likened to a sword; so here the sword that is sent upon the earth is His preaching poured into the heart of man. The five inhabiting one house, whom He divides three against two, and two against three, we may explain thus; The three are the three parts of man, the body, the soul, and the will; for as the soul is bestowed in the body, so the will has power of using both in any way it chooses; and thence when a law is given it is given to the will. But this is only found in those who were first formed by God. By the sin and unbelief of the first parent, all the generations of men since have had sin for the father of their body, and unbelief for the mother of their soul. And as each man has his will within him, there are thus five in one house. When then we are renewed in the lover of baptism, by virtue of the word we are set apart from our original guilt, and severed, as it were, by the sword of God, from the lusts of this our father and mother, and thus there is great discord made in one house; the new man finding his foes within, he seeks with joy to live in newness of spirit; they which are derived from the old stock, lust to remain in their old pleasures.

AUG. Otherwise; I am come to set a man against his father; for he renounces the devil who was his son; the daughter against her mother, that is, the people of God against the city of the world, that is, the wicked society of mankind, which is spoken of in Scripture under the names of Babylon, Egypt, Sodom, and other names. The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, that is, the Church against the Synagogue, which according to the flesh, brought forth Christ the spouse of the Church. They are severed by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And a man's foes are they of his household, those, that is, with whom he before lived as intimates.

RABAN. For no other mutual rights can be preserved between those who are at war in their creeds.

GLOSS. Otherwise; He means, I am not come among men to strengthen their carnal affections, but to cut them off with the sword of the Spirit; whence it is rightly added, And a man's foes are they of his household.

GREG. For the subtle enemy when he sees himself driven our of the hearts of the good, seeks out those who most love them, and speaking by the mouth of those who are dearest, endeavors while the heart is penetrated by love, that the sword of conviction may pierce to the inmost bulwarks of virtue.

37. He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38. And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me.
39. He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it.

JEROME; Because of what He had said, I am not come to send peace but a sword, &c. that none might suppose that family affection was banished from His religion, He now adds, He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. So in the Song of Songs we read, Order love in me. For this order is needed in every affection; after God love your father, your mother, and your children; but if a necessity should occur that the love of parents and children comes into competition with the love of God, and where both cannot be preserved, remember that hatred of our kindred becomes then love to God. He forbids not to love parent or child, but adds emphatically, more than me.

HILARY; For they who have esteemed domestic affection of relations higher than God, are unworthy to inherit good things to come.

CHRYS. Yet when Paul bids us obey our parents in all things, we are not to marvel; for we are only to obey in such things as are not hurtful to our piety to God. It is holy to render them every other honor, but when they demand more than is due, we ought not to yield. This is likewise agreeable to the Old Testament; in it the Lord commands that all who worshipped idols, should not only be held in abhorrence, but should be stoned. And in Deuteronomy it is said, He who said to his father and his mother, I know you not; and to his brethren, You are strangers; he has kept your saying.

GLOSS. It seems to happen in many cases that the parents love the children more than the children love the parents; therefore having taught that His love is to be preferred to the love of parents, as in an ascending scale, He next teaches that it is to be preferred to the love of children, saying, And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

RABAN. He is unworthy of the divine communion who prefers the carnal affection of kindred to the spiritual love of God.

CHRYS. Then that those to whom the love of God is preferred should not be offended thereat, He leads them to a higher doctrine. Nothing is nearer to a man than his soul, and yet He enjoins that this should not only he hated, but that a man should be ready to deliver it up to death, and blood; not to death only, but to a violent and most disgraceful death, namely, the death of the cross; therefore it follows, And whoever takes not up his cross and follows me, is not worthy of me. He had as yet said nothing to them respecting his own sufferings, but instructs them in the meanwhile in these things, that they may the more readily receive His words concerning His passion.

HILARY; Or; They that are Christ's have crucified the body with its vices and lusts. And he is unworthy of Christ who does not take up His cross, in which we suffer with Him, die with Him, are buried and rise again with Him, and follow his Lord, purposing to live in newness of spirit in this sacrament of the faith.

GREG. The cross is so called from torment; and there are two ways in which we bear the Lord's cross; either when we afflict the flesh by abstinence; or when in compassion for our neighbor we make his afflictions our own. But it should be known that there are some who make a show of abstinence not for God, but for ostentation; and some there are who show compassion to their neighbor, not spiritually but carnally, not that they may encourage him in virtue, but rather countenancing him in faults. These indeed seem to bear their cross, but do not fellow the Lord; therefore He adds, And follows me.

CHRYS. Because these commands seemed burdensome, He proceeds to show their great use and benefit, saying, He that finds his life shall lose it. As much as to say, Not only do these things that I have inculcated do no harm, but they are of great advantage to a man; and the contrary thereof shall do him great hurt - and this is His manner every where. He uses those things which men's affections are set upon as a means of bringing them to their duty. Thus: Why are you loath to contemn your life? Because you love it? For that very reason contemn it, and you will do it the highest service.

REMIG. The life in this place is not to be understood as the substance, (the soul,) but as this present state of being; and the sense is, He who finds his life, i.e. this present life, he who so loves this light, its joys and pleasures, as to desire that he may always find them; he shall lose that which he wishes always to keep, and prepare his soul for eternal damnation.

RABAN. Otherwise; He who seeks an immortal life, does not hesitate to lose his life, that is, to offer it to death. But either sense suits equally well with that which follows, And whoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.

REMIG. That is, he who in confession of My name in time of persecution despises this temporal world, its joys, and pleasures, shall find eternal salvation for his soul.

HILARY; Thus the gain of life brings death, the loss of life brings salvation; for by the sacrifice of this short life we gain the reward of immortality.

40. He that receives you receives me, and he that receives me receives him that sent me.
41. He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
42. And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say to you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

JEROME; The Lord when He sends forth His disciples to preach, teaches them that dangers are not to be feared, that natural affection is to be postponed to religion - gold He had above taken from them, brass He had shaken out of their purses - hard then surely the condition of the preachers! Whence their living? Whence their food and necessaries? Therefore He tempers the rigor of His precepts by the following promises, that in entertaining the Apostles each believer may consider that he entertains the Lord.

CHRYS. Enough had been said above to persuade those who should have to entertain the Apostles. For who would not with all willingness take in to his house men who were so courageous, that they despised all dangers that others might be saved? Above He had threatened punishment to those who should not receive them, He now promises reward to such as should receive them. And first He holds out to those who should entertain them the honor, that in so doing they were entertaining Christ, and even the Father; He who receives me, receives him that sent me. What honor to be compared to this of receiving the Father and the Son?

HILARY; These words show that He has a Mediator's office, and since He came from God, when He is received by us, through Him God is transfused into its; and by this disposition of grace to have received the Apostles is no other than to have received God; for Christ dwells in them, and God in Christ.

CHRYS. A further reward also He promises, saying, He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward. He said not merely, Whoever receives a prophet, or a righteous man, but in the name of a prophet, and in the name of a righteous man; that is, not for any greatness in this life, or other temporal account, but because he is a prophet, or a righteous man.

JEROME; Otherwise; To this His exhortation to the disciple to entertain his teacher, there might a secret objection arise among the faithful; then shall we have to support the false prophets, or Judas the traitor. To this end it is that the Lord instructs them in these words, that it is not the person but the office that they should look to; and that the entertainer loses not his reward, though he whom he entertains be unworthy.

CHRYS. A prophet's reward, and a righteous man's reward, are such rewards as it is fitting he should have who entertains a prophet, or a righteous man: or, such a reward as a prophet or righteous man should have.

GREG. He says not, a reward from a prophet, or righteous man, but the reward of a prophet or righteous man. For the prophet is perhaps a righteous man, and the less he possesses in this world, the greater confidence has he in speaking in behalf of righteousness. He who has of this world's goods, in supporting such a man, makes himself a free partaker in his righteousness, and shall receive the reward of righteousness together with him whom he has aided by supporting him. He is full of the spirit of prophecy, but he lacks bodily sustenance, and if the body is not supported, it is certain that the voice will fail. Whoever then gives a prophet food, gives him strength for speaking, therefore together with the prophet shall receive the prophet's reward, when He shows before the face of God what bounty he showed him.

JEROME; Mystically; he who receives a prophet as a prophet, and understands him speaking of things to come, he shall receive reward of that prophet. The Jews therefore, who understand the prophets carnally, do not receive the prophet's reward.

REMIG. Some understand by the prophet here, the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom Moses says, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you; and the same also by the righteous man, because he is beyond comparison righteous. He then who shall receive a prophet or righteous man in the name of the prophet or righteous man, i.e. of Christ, shall receive reward from Him for love of whom he received Him.

JEROME; That none should say, I am poor and therefore cannot be hospitable, He takes away even this plea by the instance of a cup of cold water, given with good will. He says cold water, because in hot, poverty and lack of fuel might be pleaded. And whosoever shall give to drink to one of the least of these a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

REMIG. The least of these, that is, not a prophet, or a righteous man, hut one of these least.

GLOSS. Note, that God looks more to the pious mind of the giver, than to the abundance of the thing given.

GLOSS. Or, the least are they who have nothing at all in this world, and shall be judges with Christ.

HILARY; Or; Seeing beforehand that there would be many who would only glory in the name of Apostleship, but in their whole life and walk would be unworthy of it, He does not therefore deprive of its reward that service which might be rendered to them in belief of their religious life. For though they were the very least, that is, the greatest of sinners, yet even small offices of mercy shown them, such as are denoted by the cup of cold water, should not be shown in vain. For the honor is not done to a man that is a sinner, but to his title of disciple.

Catena Aurea Matthew 10

1. And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed to teach and to preach in their cities.

RABAN. The Lord having sent out His disciples to preach with the foregoing instructions, Himself now fulfills in action what He had taught in words, offering His preaching first to the Jews; And it came to pass when Jesus had ended all these sayings, he passed.

CHRYS. Having sent them forth, He withdrew Himself, giving them opportunity and time to do, the things that He had enjoined; for while He was present and ready to heal, no man would come to His disciples.

REMIG. He well passes from the special teaching which He had delivered to His disciples, to the general which He preached in the cities; passing therein as it were from heaven to earth, that He might give light to all. By this deed of the Lord, all holy preachers are admonished that they should study to benefit all.

Catena Aurea Matthew 11

Apostle Paul Preaching on the Ruins

Giovanni Paolo Pannini

1744
Oil on canvas, 64 x 84 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Christ Must Come First

First Reading: 1 Is 1:10-17

Psalm: 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21, 23

Gospel: Mt 10:34-11:1

At the time the Gospels were written, the vast majority of Christians were converts from either paganism or Judaism. Matthew was writing his Gospel primarily for converts from Judaism. In the eyes of everyone, these converts were renouncing their culture and their family, as well as their religion. They embraced their new faith with such passion that it led to a severe wrenching from their past and to deep interfamily conflicts as well.

The words of Jesus consoled them: “Do not suppose that my mission on earth is to spread peace. My mission is to spread not peace, but division” – the word our version translates as “division” is the Aramaic word for “sword.” Jesus is saying, ” I have come not to bring peace but the sword.” And he says, “This sword will cut through blood relationships, making a man’s enemies those of his own household.” Jesus’ words consoled the converts, assuring them they were moving along the right path.

What does this passage say to us who for the most part, certainly, are born Christians, not converts? Given the closeness of family ties and deep family ties in our culture, perhaps the passage is telling us today that no matter how strong the claim of the family is on us, if there is a conflict between the demands of the family and Christ’s values, our primary loyalty has to be to Christ and his values, even if this means that the family-members will look on us as traitors. As Christ puts it, this is the cross we must take up today, if we are to be worthy of him.

One Bread, One Body

<< Monday, July 16, 2012 >>

Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Saint of the Day

Isaiah 1:10-17
View Readings

Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23

Matthew 10:34—11:1

NOTHING BUT THE CROSS

"He who will not take up his cross and come after Me is not worthy of Me." —Matthew 10:38

We are Christians, disciples of Christ. We follow Jesus, Who saved us not through His power or wisdom, but through His ministry of suffering. Jesus came to earth to die on the cross to atone for our sins, pay the price for our salvation (1 Cor 6:20), and reconcile us to God (Col 1:20).

We must never over-spiritualize our faith and forget that Jesus suffered horribly in the flesh (Heb 5:8). We just can't follow Jesus merely from the hope that He can do great things for us. That treats Jesus as a "sugardaddy," denying all that He is and the reason He came to earth. Jesus died a disgraceful death. He was publicly humiliated, scorned as a condemned criminal. He Who was holy and innocent bore a cross meant for a murderer (Lk 23:25).

We Christians imitate Jesus. We take up our cross each day, deny our very selves, and follow in His footsteps (Lk 9:23). This is impossible in our human nature. Through our baptism into Jesus' cross and death, however, we become sharers in the divine nature (Rm 6:4; 2 Pt 1:4). Now we can embrace the cross as Jesus embraced His cross. In the mystery of the cross, by taking up our cross, we discover who we are (Mt 10:39).

If you falter carrying your cross, remember that Jesus understands. He fell several times carrying His cross. He knows the cross is heavy but He also wants you to know the joy in sharing in His sufferings (1 Pt 4:13). So cross off your list anything that leads you away from Jesus' cross. Take up your cross.

Prayer: Jesus, may I know nothing but Your cross (1 Cor 2:2). May I be crucified to the world and the world to me (Gal 6:14).

Promise: "He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies Me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God." —Ps 50:23

Praise: Our Lady of Mount Carmel promised that her Son would transform our lives if we would repent.

"Love one another as I have loved you."

I believe this is also directed at modern day America:

Though you pray the more,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood!
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.

Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Is 1:10-17

Responsorial Psalm Ps 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23

Gospel Mt 10:34-11:1

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Daily Readings for: July 16, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Meditation: Isaiah 1:10-17

Bravo, Monsignor Wadsworth!

Christ Must Come First

One Bread, One Body

NOTHING BUT THE CROSS

Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Is 1:10-17

Responsorial Psalm Ps 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23

Gospel Mt 10:34-11:1

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Daily Readings for: July 16, 2012(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Meditation: Isaiah 1:10-17

Bravo, Monsignor Wadsworth!

Christ Must Come First

One Bread, One Body

NOTHING BUT THE CROSS

Daily Readings for: July 16, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)