Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 09-17-12, OM, St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor/Church

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 09-17-12 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

September 17, 2012

Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

 

Reading 1 1 Cor 11:17-26, 33

Brothers and sisters:
In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact
that your meetings are doing more harm than good.
First of all, I hear that when you meet as a Church
there are divisions among you,
and to a degree I believe it;
there have to be factions among you
in order that also those who are approved among you
may become known.
When you meet in one place, then,
it is not to eat the Lord's supper,
for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper,
and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.
Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink?
Or do you show contempt for the Church of God
and make those who have nothing feel ashamed?
What can I say to you? Shall I praise you?
In this matter I do not praise you.

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my Body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my Blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17

R. (1 Cor 11:26b) Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
May all who seek you
exult and be glad in you
And may those who love your salvation
say ever, "The LORD be glorified."
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.

Gospel Lk 7:1-10

When Jesus had finished all his words to the people,
he entered Capernaum.
A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die,
and he was valuable to him.
When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him,
asking him to come and save the life of his slave.
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,
"He deserves to have you do this for him,
for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us."
And Jesus went with them,
but when he was only a short distance from the house,
the centurion sent friends to tell him,
"Lord, do not trouble yourself,
for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you;
but say the word and let my servant be healed.
For I too am a person subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes;
and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes;
and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him
and, turning, said to the crowd following him,
"I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."
When the messengers returned to the house,
they found the slave in good health.

[markomalley]

Sep 17, Midday Prayer for Monday of the 24th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 659
All from the Psalter: Monday, Week IV, 1154 (Midday)

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 623
All from the Psalter: Monday, Week IV, 1118 (Midday)

Midday Prayer for Monday in Ordinary Time using Current Psalmody

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

Help us, O Lord, to learn
the truths thy word imparts:
to study that thy laws may be
inscribed upon our hearts.

Help us, O Lord, to live
the faith which we proclaim,
that all our thoughts and words and deeds
may glorify thy name.

Help us, O Lord, to teach
the beauty of thy ways,
that yearning souls may find the Christ,
and sing aloud his praise.

Words: William Watkins Reid, Jr. © 1959; Music: Sandys, Dominica, St. Ethelwald, St. Michael, Day of Praise, Falcon Street; Meter: SM
“Help us, O Lord, to learn” performed by Choir of the Abbey School Tewkesbury is available from Amazon.com.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Lord, guide my steps according to your promise.

Psalm 119:129-136
XVII (Pe)
A meditation on God’s law
The whole law is summed up in love (Romans 13:10).

Your will is wonderful indeed;
therefore I obey it.
The unfolding of your word gives light
and teaches the simple.

I open my mouth and I sigh
as I yearn for your commands.
Turn and show me your mercy;
show justice to your friends.

Let my steps be guided by your promise;
let no evil rule me.
Redeem me from man’s oppression
and I will keep your precepts.

Let your face shine on your servant
and teach me your decrees.
Tears stream from my eyes
because your law is disobeyed.

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

You are just, Lord God, and righteous are your judgments. Deliver those who cry to you in their affliction; give them peace and calm to reflect on your commands.

Ant. Lord, guide my steps according to your promise.

Ant. 2 There is but one lawgiver and judge; who are you to judge your neighbor?

Psalm 82
Denunciation of evil judges
Do not attempt to judge another now; the Lord’s coming will reveal all (1 Corinthians 4:5).

God stands in the divine assembly.
In the midst of the gods he gives judgment.

“How long will you judge unjustly
and favor the cause of the wicked?
Do justice for the weak and the orphan,
defend the afflicted and the needy.
Rescue the weak and the poor;
set them free from the hand of the wicked.

Unperceiving, they grope in the darkness
and the order of the world is shaken.
I have said to you: ‘You are gods,
and all of you, sons of the Most High.’
And yet, you shall die like men,
you shall fall like any of the princes.”

Arise, O God, judge the earth,
for you rule all the nations.

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

You are always true to your word, Father. Look down from heaven and put an end to our foolishness. Save us from groundless fears and help us to please you with undivided heart.

Ant. There is but one lawgiver and judge; who are you to judge your neighbor?

Ant. 3 I cried out to the Lord, and he heard me.

Psalm 120
Longing for peace
Be patient in suffering; persevere in prayer (Romans 12:12).

To the Lord in the hour of my distress
I call and he answers me.
“O Lord, save my soul from lying lips,
from the tongue of the deceitful.”

What shall he pay you in return,
O treacherous tongue?
The warrior’s arrows sharpened
and coals, red-hot, blazing.

Alas, that I abide a stranger in Meshech,
dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Long enough have I been dwelling
with those who hate peace.
I am for peace, but when I speak,
they are for fighting.

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

You declared peacemakers happy, Lord Jesus, since they will be called sons of God. Give us that peace which the world cannot give so that your Church may be freed from the schemes of arrogant men, and, devoted to works of peace, go forward joyfully to meet you, the King of Peace.

Ant. I cried out to the Lord, and he heard me.

READING Wisdom 15:1, 3

You, our God, are good and true,
slow to anger, and governing all with mercy.
To know you well is complete justice,
and to know your might is the root of immortality.

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.

Lord our God, you are tender and compassionate.
– You are patient, most merciful, and true to your word.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Father,
yours is the harvest
and yours is the vineyard:
you assign the task
and pay a wage that is just.
Help us to meet this day’s responsibilities,
and let nothing separate us from your love.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION (only added when praying in community)

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

[markomalley]

Sep 17, Evening Prayer for Monday of the 24th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 668
All from the Psalter: Monday, Week IV, 1159

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 632
All from the Psalter: Monday, Week IV, 1123

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
All from the Psalter: Monday, Week IV, 942

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

In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful,
In the Lord I will rejoice!
Look to God, do not be afraid.
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near.
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near.

“In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful” performed by Taizé; Music: J. Berthier; Ateliers et Presses de Taize, F-71250 Taize-Communaute

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for his great love is without end.

Psalm 136
Easter Hymn
We praise God by recalling his marvelous deeds (Cassiodorus).

I

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of gods
for his love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his love endures for ever;

who alone has wrought marvelous works,
for his love endures for ever;
whose wisdom it was made the skies,
for his love endures for ever;
who fixed the earth firmly on the seas,
for his love endures for ever.

It was he who made the great lights,
for his love endures for ever;
the sun to rule in the day,
for his love endures for ever;
the moon and the stars in the night,
for his love endures 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. Give thanks to the Lord, for his great love is without end.

Ant. 2 Great and wonderful are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty.

II

The first-born of the Egyptians he smote,
for his love endures for ever.
He brought Israel out from their midst,
for his love endures for ever;
arm outstretched, with power in his hand,
for his love endures for ever.

He divided the Red Sea in two,
for his love endures for ever;
he made Israel pass through the midst,
for his love endures for ever;
he flung Pharaoh and his force in the sea,
for his love endures for ever.

Through the desert his people he led,
for his love endures for ever.
Nations in their greatness he struck,
for his love endures for ever.
Kings in their splendor he slew,
for his love endures for ever.

Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his love endures for ever;
and Og, the king of Bashan,
for his love endures for ever.

He let Israel inherit their land,
for his love endures for ever.
On his servant their land he bestowed,
for his love endures for ever.
He remembered us in our distress,
for his love endures for ever.

And he snatched us away from our foes,
for his love endures for ever.
He gives food to all living things,
for his love endures for ever.
To the God of heaven give thanks,
for his love endures 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.

Psalm-prayer

Almighty God, remember our lowliness and have mercy. Once you gave our fathers a foreign land to inherit. Free us today from sin and give us a share in your inheritance.

Ant. Great and wonderful are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty.

Ant. 3 God planned in the fullness of time to restore all things in Christ.

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 planned in the fullness of time to restore all things in Christ.

READING 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

May the Lord increase you and make you overflow with love for one another and for all, even as our love does for you. May he strengthen your hearts, making them blameless and holy before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his holy ones.

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

Accept my prayer, O Lord, which rises up to you.
– Accept my prayer, O Lord, which rises up to you.

Like burning incense in your sight,
– which rises up to you.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– Accept my prayer, O Lord, which rises up to you.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. For ever will my soul proclaim the greatness of the Lord.

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. For ever will my soul proclaim the greatness of the Lord.

INTERCESSIONS

Jesus does not abandon those who hope in him; therefore, let us humbly ask him:
– Our Lord and our God, hear us.

Christ our light, brighten your Church with your splendor,
so that it may be for the nations the great sacrament of your love.
– Our Lord and our God, hear us.

Watch over the priests and ministers of your Church,
so that after they have preached to others, they themselves may remain faithful in your service.
– Our Lord and our God, hear us.

Through your blood you gave peace to the world,
turn away the sin of strife, the scourge of war.
– Our Lord and our God, hear us.

O Lord, help married couples with an abundance of your grace,
so that they may better symbolize the mystery of your Church.
– Our Lord and our God, hear us.

In your mercy forgive the sins of all the dead,
that they may live with your saints.
– Our Lord and our God, hear us.

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

Stay with us, Lord Jesus,
for evening draws near,
and be our companion on our way
to set our hearts on fire with new hope.
Help us to recognize your presence among us in the Scriptures we read,
and in the breaking of bread,
for you live and reign with the Father 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.

[markomalley]

Sep 17, Night Prayer for Monday of the 24th 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

[Salvation]

Blessed Hildegard of Bingen

Voices Online Edition
Vol. XXVII, No. 1
Lent - Eastertide 2012

September 17th

Blessed Hildegard of Bingen: Voice of the Living Light
Mysterious, talented, colorful, and enigmatic woman, saint, and mystic.
And Doctor?

Illumination from the Liber Scivias showing Hildegard receiving a vision, inscribing what she sees on a wax tablet, and dictating to her scribe and secretary

Hildegard’s alphabet, Litterae ignotae.

by Sandra Miesel

Next October, Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) will join a most select company of saints if she is proclaimed a Doctor of the Church, as reports indicate. To date, there are only 33 of these saints, whose exceptional holiness and wisdom have made significant contributions to our Faith. Hildegard would be only the fourth woman so honored, joining Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, and Thérèse of Lisieux.

Among those luminaries, Hildegard blazes in colors all her own. Medievalist Peter Dronke describes her as “an overpowering, electrifying presence — and in many ways an enigmatic one”. The breadth and variety of Hildegard’s accomplishments are unique. Her voluminous writings encompass theology, prophecy, poetry, hagiography, medicine, and natural science as well as extensive correspondence with major figures of the twelfth century including Bernard of Clairvaux, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

Hildegard is also the first known female composer in the Western world and wrote Europe’s first morality play — with accompanying music. She invented her own artificial language as well as an alphabet in which to write it. An ardent supporter of Church reform, she made four long preaching tours along the river valleys of southwestern Germany. There she addressed admiring audiences of clerics, monks and laity, an unprecedented privilege for a medieval woman. She achieved all this despite chronic ill health and while serving as a Benedictine abbess for more than forty years.

Hildegard was born near Mainz in 1098, tenth child of an ancient noble family. Her parents offered her as a living “tithe” to God by placing her in the care of a holy recluse named Jutta attached to the male Benedictine abbey of Disibodenberg. Hildegard learned to read from the Psalter and immersed herself in the Bible, her lifelong font of knowledge. At fifteen, she made her profession as a nun in the community that coalesced around Jutta. In 1136, after Jutta died, Hildegard was chosen as superior.   

By 1150, the convent had become overcrowded. Despite grumbling from the local monks — as well as her own nuns — Hildegard built a new home for her community beside the Rhine at Rupertsberg near Bingen. A second foundation across the river at Eibingen followed fifteen years later. The later cloister still functions as the Abbey of Saint Hildegard and enshrines her relics. 

Nothing would have seemed extraordinary about Hildegard for the first half of her long life. She did not wish to publicize the visionary experiences she had been having since the age of three when a blaze of dazzling brightness burst into her sight. A diffuse radiance, which she called her visio, filled her field of vision for the rest of her life without interfering with ordinary sight. Hildegard came to understand this phenomenon as “the reflection of the living Light”, which conferred the gift of prophecy and gave her an intuitive knowledge of the Divine.

Hildegard’s visions were not apparitions or dreams. She scarcely ever fell into ecstasy but rather perceived sights and messages with the “inner” eyes and ears of her soul. She dictated what she “saw” and “heard” to secretaries while fully lucid. Because the astonishing images she described and directed artists to illustrate feature sparkling gems, shimmering orbs, pulsating stars, curious towers, and crenellated walls, modern psychologists have suggested that Hildegard suffered from a form of migraine called “scintillating scotomata”. The debilitating illnesses that preceded or accompanied her visionary episodes might have been migraine attacks. Because supernatural communications are received according to the capacity of the receiver, neurology can offer insights on Hildegard’s particular repertory of forms. But it cannot explain away her experiences or the religious meanings she assigns to them. These were genuine occasions of contact between Hildegard and God.  

In 1141 — on a date she was careful to record exactly — heaven opened upon Hildegard as “a fiery light of exceeding brilliance” and a mighty voice commanding her to “tell and write” what she sees of God’s marvels. Like Jeremiah and several other prophets, Hildegard quailed at her call. Pleading her sickly female constitution and lack of formal education, she fell ill. But she confided in the convent’s provost, who shared the matter with his abbot at Disibodenberg who urged Hildegard to accept her call. She rose from her bed and set to work on her first book, Scivias.

Hildegard also asked advice from Bernard of Clairvaux, who encouraged her. Meanwhile, her local abbot notified the archbishop of Mainz who mentioned Hildegard to Pope Eugenius III, then visiting Germany. After a papal commission reviewed chapters of Scivias, the pope approved Hildegard’s writings and read portions to a regional synod at Trier in 1147.

Now certified by the highest authorities, Hildegard became a celebrity seer whose counsel was treasured by rulers, clerics, and laypeople from England to Byzantium. Visitors streamed to her convent seeking advice and cures from the “Sibyl of the Rhine”. (This fame was one reason why the Disibodenberg monks opposed Hildegard’s move to a new location.) Hildegard always distinguished between her own opinions and God’s. When she had no answer she would say so and claimed no heavenly authority for her medical and scientific writings.

Hildegard’s steady humility kept her on the straight way and protected her from censure. She clung to the Old Testament role of prophet, presenting herself as a feeble instrument of the Almighty, pressed into service because sinful churchmen had failed to act. Similar “modesty” strategies have been used by other holy women and female leaders in male-dominated societies who invoke the Biblical theme of weakness overturning strength.

Despite the startling quality of Hildegard’s messages, her theology was orthodox. Unlike the Cathar heretics, whom she denounced, she was no threat to the existence, authority or organization of the Church. She accepted traditional teaching on male headship, the complementary character of masculine and feminine, and social hierarchies. She condemned offenses against life — contraception, abortion, infanticide, suicide, and homosexuality. But any sin could be forgiven. Penance and the cultivation of opposite virtues remedied vices. These conventional views temper some feminists’ enthusiasm for Hildegard. They would prefer her as a bold rebel against patriarchy. In contrast, during an address in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI called Hildegard’s humble deference to ecclesiastical authority “the seal of an authentic experience of the Holy Spirit”.

Hildegard’s one clash with Church rules hinged on a point of fact, not doctrine. In 1178, she and her nuns were placed under interdict for burying an excommunicated benefactor in their graveyard. Knowing that he had been reconciled before his death, they endured months without the sacraments or music until cleared by the archbishop of Cologne. Hildegard died peacefully the following year.

Hildegard’s three major theological books are: Scivias [Know the Ways], Liber vitae meritorum [The Book of the Rewards of Life], and Liber divinorum operum [The Book of Divine Works]. They range across time and timelessness, microcosm and macrocosm, the Trinity, Fall, Incarnation, and Redemption; vices and virtues, sacraments, angels, and Satan; Genesis and the Gospel of John, Antichrist, the End of the World, and the joys of Heaven. Hildegard’s keyword, viriditas, communicates the burgeoning, fertile, green freshness of unspoiled Paradise. Her matchless visions reveal the luminous presence of God permeating all creation, calling forth life so that matter and spirit will unite in a chorale of eternal glory.

Hildegard’s works record visions plus inspired commentary, followed by her interpretations. Her allegorical imagery is so novel, explication is essential. For instance, it is not immediately obvious that a four-winged glowing woman balancing a bearded gray head on her own, holding a lamb and trampling monsters represents Caritas (Love) as well as the Holy Spirit with emblems of the Father and the Son. Caritas proclaims: “I am the supreme and fiery force who kindled every living spark”. Each of the Four Elements reveal the life that God has bestowed through her.

In Hildegard’s writings, titanic feminine forms personify Caritas, Sapientia (Wisdom), Ecclesia (Church), Synagoga, and sundry Virtues. Their unique vividness and vitality invite readers to contemplate the universe with fresh eyes. For instance, Sapientia “of the whirling wings” is the “encompassing energy of God” who quickens the world in her clasp. Not every sight, however, is lovely. In one instance, Ecclesia is battered and besmirched by corrupt clergy. In another image a powerful female figure representing the Church is shown giving birth to the huge and hideous head of the Antichrist.

Hildegard’s allegorical ladies have more personality, as it were, than her sublime yet oddly abstract Mary, predestined since “the morn of the universe”. But that does not blemish the eighteen free-verse liturgical lyrics Hildegard wrote to praise the fruitful Virgin courted by God. Here is a sample from “Ave generosa” in Barbara Newman’s fine translation:

And your womb held joy when heaven’s
harmonies rang from you,
a maiden with child by God,
for in God your chastity blazed.

Yes your flesh held joy like the grass
when the dew falls, when heaven
freshens its green: O mother
of gladness, verdure of spring.

Hildegard’s Mary, like her overall spirituality, is monastic. The holy abbess was untouched by the new affective style of piety that friars will popularize across Europe. Untutored in philosophy, she thought in Biblical, not scholastic, categories. As the dates of her lifespan (1098-1179) suggest, Hildegard belongs more to the Romanesque than the Gothic spirit.

These factors affected Hildegard’s rank in the pageant of sainthood. Despite remarkable originality and wide fame in her own day, Hildegard was quickly forgotten. Her curious writings were seldom copied. She was never formally canonized because her cause was poorly documented and records disappeared. In modern times, some scholars even doubted her authorship and ascribed her work to her male secretaries.

Nevertheless, Hildegard’s reputation for holiness survived in the Rhineland. In the twentieth century, learned nuns from the refounded monastery of Eibingen produced landmark scholarship that confirmed Hildegard’s authorship and made her most important writings available. In 1940, Rome acknowledged her sanctity on the basis of “persistent cult”. Saint Hildegard was assigned a feast day in Benedictine and German calendars on 17 September, the anniversary of her death. (The Church of England and the Episcopal Church in America also count her as a saint.)

As academic interest in saints — especially female ones — grew in the later twentieth century, Hildegard was rediscovered. New Agers publicized her — inaccurately — but solid research also multiplied. Her unique music was performed again to great acclaim. Even her herbal remedies found users. The nine-hundredth anniversary of Hildegard’s birth was celebrated with a comprehensive exhibition, “Hildegard von Bingen 1098-1179”, at the Cathedral and Diocesan Museum of Mainz. German director Margarethe von Trotta’s well-received film Vision: From the Life of Hildegard of Bingen was released in 2010.   

Hildegard’s elevation to Doctor of the Church, perhaps preceded by a formal canonization ceremony, is the capstone on her revival for Catholics. Regardless of what honors are bestowed on Hildegard, Voice of the Living Light, an old pilgrim’s prayer captures the essence of her heavenly service: “Through thy great intercession, everyone obtains from God mercy and consolation in all sorrows, in Time and Eternity”.

Suggested Reading

• Sabina Flanagan, Hildegard of Bingen: A Visionary Life. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1998.  

• Hildegard of Bingen, The Book of the Rewards of Life. Trans. Bruce W. Hozeski. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

• ___,  Scivias. Trans. Columba Hart and Jane Bishop. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1990.

• ___,  Symphonia. Trans. Barbara Newman. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1988.

• Barbara Newman, Sister of Wisdom: St. Hildegard’s Theology of the Feminine. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987.

• Voice of the Living Light: Hildegard of Bingen and Her World. Ed. Barbara Newman. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.

Early music groups including Sequentia and Anonymous Four have recorded many of Hildegard’s songs.

Illustrations:

1. Illumination from the Liber Scivias showing Hildegard receiving a vision, inscribing what she sees on a wax tablet, and dictating to her scribe and secretary

2. Hildegard’s alphabet, Litterae ignotae.

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Sandra Miesel, who holds a master’s degree in medieval history from the University of Illinois, is the co-editor with Paul E. Kerry of Light Beyond All Shadow: Religious Experience in Tolkien’s Work, co-author with Carl E. Olson of The Da Vinci Hoax, and the author of essays and articles on history, art, and hagiography. Mrs. Miesel lives in Indianapolis. This article first appeared January 25, 2012 in Catholic World Report online (catholicworldreport.com). It appears here with the author’s kind permission.

[Salvation]

On St. Robert Bellarmine
Robert Bellarmine, A Valid Authority For Ecclesiology
The 15 Marks of The Church [St. Robert Bellarmine]
Mary: Mediatrix in the Theology of Bellarmine
Saint Robert Bellarmine [Patron of Catechists]

[Salvation]

Information: St. Robert Bellarmine

Feast Day:	September 17
Born:	October 4, 1542, Montepulciano, Italy
Died:	September 17, 1621, Rome, Italy
Canonized:	June 29, 1930, Rome by Pope Pius XI
Major Shrine:	Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio, Rome, Italy
Patron of:	Preparatory; canonists; canon lawyers; catechists; catechumens

[Salvation]

Information: The Sacred Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi

Feast Day:

September 17

[Salvation]

The Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi -- The Wounds of Christ

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Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Robert Bellarmine

Feast Day: September 17
Born: 1542 :: Died: 1621

Robert was born in Italy. As a boy, he was not interested in playing games, like most children his age were. He liked to spend his time repeating to his younger brothers and sisters the sermons he had heard.

He also liked to explain the lessons of the catechism to the little farm children of the neighborhood. Once he had made his first Holy Communion, he used to receive Jesus every Sunday.

His father wanted to make Robert famous, so he got his son to study many subjects including music and art. Whenever a song had words that were not nice, Robert would replace them with good ones of his own.

It was Robert's great desire to become a Jesuit priest, but his father had other plans for him. For a whole year, Robert pleaded with his father. At last, when he was eighteen, his father allowed him to join the Jesuits.

As a young Jesuit, he did very well in his studies and was sent to preach even before he became a priest. When one good woman first saw such a young man, not even a priest yet, going up into the pulpit to preach, she knelt down to pray.

She asked the Lord to help him not become frightened and stop in the middle. When he finished his sermon, she stayed kneeling. This time, however, she was thanking God for the wonderful sermon he gave.

St. Robert Bellarmine became a famous writer, preacher and teacher. He wrote thirty-one important books. He spent three hours every day in prayer and had a deep knowledge of sacred matters.

Yet even when he became a cardinal, he believed that catechism was so important, that he himself taught it to his household and to the people.

He said: "If you are wise, then know that you have been created for the glory of God and your own eternal salvation. This is your goal; this is the center of your life; this is the treasure of your heart."

Cardinal Bellarmine died on September 17, 1621.

[Salvation]

 

Catholic

Almanac:

Monday, September 17
Liturgical Color: Green
Today is the optional memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, bishop and doctor of the Church. A member of the Society of Jesus, he was a passionate defender of the Church during the Reformation. St. Robert died in 1621.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: September 17, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who adorned the Bishop Saint Robert Bellarmine with wonderful learning and virtue to vindicate the faith of your Church, grant, through his intercession, that in the integrity of that same faith your people may always find joy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

ACTIVITIES

• Namedays
• Religion in the Home for Elementary School: September
• Religion in the Home for Preschool: September
• What is a Nameday?

PRAYERS

• September Devotion: Our Lady of Sorrows

LIBRARY

• Francis Embodies the Christological Truth at the Root of Human Existence | Pope Benedict XVI
• Francis: Enamoured of Christ and an Architect of Peace | Pope Benedict XVI
• Franciscan Symbolism | Sister M. Michaeline O.S.F.
• Homily on St. Francis of Assisi (09-17-1993) | Pope John Paul II
• Saint Francis of Assisi | Pope Benedict XVI

Ordinary Time: September 17th

Optional Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, bishop and doctor

Old Calendar: Impression of the Stigmata of St. Francis; St. Hildegarde. abbess (Hist)

St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) was born in Montepulciano, Italy, and died in Rome. The son of noble parents, he entered the Society of Jesus, finishing his theological studies at Louvain, Belgium. His services to the Church were outstanding and many. He occupied the chair of controversial theology in Rome. He defended the Holy See against anti-clericals. He wrote books against the prevailing heresies of the day. His catechism, translated into many languages, spread the knowledge of Christian doctrine to all parts of the world. He was the Counsellor of Popes and spiritual director of St. Aloysius Gonzaga. He helped St. Francis de Sales obtain approval of the Visitation Order. As a religious he was a model of purity, humility and obedience; as a bishop and Cardinal, an example of great love for his flock.

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of the Commemoratioin of the Imprinting of the Holy Stigmata on the Body of St. Francis and St. Robert Bellarmine's feast is celebrated on May 13. Two years before his death St. Francis retired to Mt. Alverno where he began a forty days' fast in honor of St. Michael the Archangel. There, while in a state of continual prayer and unceasing watching, he saw in a vision a seraph with burning, dazzling wings whose feet and hands were nailed to a cross; at the same time five wounds, like those of our Lord, appeared on Francis' feet, hands and side; from the wound in his side blood flowed. These stigmata were so fully verified subsequently that the Franciscans since the fourteenth century have celebrated a feast in honor of the event.

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St. Robert Bellarmine
He was born at Montepulciano in Tuscany on October 4, 1542, the feast of the Poverello of Assisi toward whom he always cherished a special devotion. The day on which he died, September 17, is now the feast in honor of the stigmata of St. Francis.

In 1560 Robert Bellarmine entered the Society of Jesus. He easily ranks among its greatest men, illustrious for learning as well as for piety, humility, and simplicity of heart. If it were possible to summarize his life in a single sentence, one that would resolve all the varied activities and accomplishments of his long career, a verse from the psalm might serve: "If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand be forgotten." His most important work was controversial in nature but the impact of his presentation "resembled the final chord in a mighty cantata, a chord that resounded through all the vice and scandal resulting from the internal corruption of the Church of that day, and that chord heralded Mother Church as one, holy, and Catholic" (E. Birminghaus).

Bellarmine also acted as confessor to the youthful Aloysius and John Berchmans. It might be asked why three hundred years passed before the beatification and canonization of Bellarmine. Long ago Bishop Hefele pointed to the reason when he wrote: "Bellarmine deserves the highest degree of respect from Catholics, even though he has not been canonized. Those who labored to besmirch him have only erected a monument of shame for themselves!" Finally in 1923, he was beatified; canonization followed in 1930, and on September 17, 1931, Pope Pius XI declared him a doctor of the Church.

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

Patron: canon lawyers; canonists; catechists; catechumens; archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Symbols: red hat of cardinal; book denoting doctor of the Church; pictured in the red garments of a Cardinal.

Things to Do:

• Study the connections between Robert Bellarmine, Aloysius Gonzaga, and Francis de Sales.

• Learn more about the different translations of the Bible and what the Church approves.

• Learn more about the Code of Canon Law and what canon lawyers do, compared to regular lawyers.

• Read the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's document, Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life.

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Stigmata of St. Francis
Saint Bonaventure, biographer of Saint Francis of Assisi, wrote that two years before his holy death he had been praying on Mount Alverno in a solitary retreat, where he had gone to fast for forty days in honor of the Archangel Michael. No one ever meditated more than Francis on the Passion of his Lord. During his retreat he beheld in vision a six-winged Seraph attached to a cross, and received at the same time a painful wound of the heart, which seemed to transpierce it. When the vision ended his own hands and feet bore the marks of the angelic crucifixion which he had seen in the vision. He understood by his vision that the soul must come to resemble Christ by the ardors of its interior fire, rather than by any physical, exterior means. We reproduce here a meditation of the saintly 19th century Abbot, Dom Guéranger of Solemnes in France

The Feast of the Stigmata of Saint Francis, whom we will soon honor again on his feast of October 4th, is not only to glorify a Saint; it commemorates and signifies something which goes beyond the life of any single man, even one of the greatest of the Church. The God-Man never ceases to live on in His Church, and the reproduction of His own mysteries in this Spouse whom He wants to be similar to Himself, is the explanation of history.

In the thirteenth century it seemed that charity, whose divine precept many no longer heeded, concentrated in a few souls the fires which had once sufficed to inflame multitudes. Sanctity shone as brilliantly as ever, but the hour for the cooling of the brazier had struck for the peoples. The Church itself says so today in its liturgy, at the Collect: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, when the world was growing cold, You reproduced the sacred marks of Your passion in the body of the most blessed Francis, in order that Your love might also set our hearts afire.’ The Spouse of Christ had already begun to experience the long series of social defections among the nations, with their denials, treasons, derision, slaps, spittings in the very praetorium, all of which conclude in the legalized separation of society from its Author. The era of the Passion is advanced; the exaltation of the Holy Cross, which for centuries was triumphant in the eyes of the nations, acquires in the sight of heaven, as the Angels look down upon it, the aspect of an ever closer resemblance with the Spouse to the sufferings of her crucified Beloved.

Saint Francis, loved today by all who know of him — and few there are who do not — was like precious marble placed before an expert sculptor. The Holy Spirit chose the flesh of the seraph of Assisi to express His divine thought, thus manifesting to the world the very specific direction He intends to give to souls thereafter. This stigmatization offers a first example, a complete image, of the new labor the divine Spirit is meditating — total union, on the very Cross of Christ itself, of the mystical Body with the divine Head. Francis is the one honored by this primacy of choice; but after him the sacred sign will be received by others, who also personify the Church. From this time on, the Stigmata of the Lord Jesus will be at all times visible, here and there on this earth.

—Excerpted from L’Année liturgique, by Dom Prosper Guéranger (Mame et Fils: Tours, 1919), “The Time after Pentecost V”, Vol. 14, translation O.D.M.

Things to Do:

• Read this story about St. Francis and the Stigmata.

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St. Hildegarde
Called the "Sibyl of the Rhine," Hildegard of Bingen became the most famous mystic and prophet of her time. Her writings and music are still found in all major bookstores, and no woman saint is more popular in her native Germany. When she was eight, she was placed in a convent, where she later became abbess. She was a biblical exegete, visionary, preacher, composer, and herbalist, who corresponded with the major royalty and church leaders of her day, including four popes. Her greatest vision came when she was forty-two, which is recorded in her famous Scrivias, or Know the Ways of the Lord, a treatise whose magnificence rivals William Blake's visionary work. Hildegard's spiritual writings found approval during her lifetime, and her lectures on the spiritual life drew crowds from all over Europe. She wrote prolifically, on topics as varied as history and drama, polictics and and liturgical poetry. Her monastery joyfully sang the praises she wrote. During the last year of her life, when she was eighty-one, she entered into a conflict with ecclesiastical authorities because she allowed a young man who had been excommunicated to be buried in her abbey cemetery, and her convent was placed under interdict. It is probably that, for this reason, Hildegard was never formally canonized, although she is found in all major saints' books and her cult was approved locally because of so many miracles reported at her tomb.

— Excerpted from Women Saints, Madonna Sophia Compton

Things to Do:

• Learn more about St. Hildegarde.

[Salvation]

Doctors of the Catholic Church

Saint Robert Bellarmine was the first Jesuit priest to develop the theory of the indirect power of the Pope in temporary affairs. He all but eliminated the Divine-Rights-of-Kings untenable principle that had been in existence many years before we worked at the Vatican.

He described and explained the head of hell-Satan and his cohorts. The titles of Gentle Doctor of The Controversies, one of his more notable writings, and the title "Prince of Apologists" are two of the most known names that identify him.

Robert is the Doctor of Church, State and Country Relations. The pope made him a Cardinal and insisted on having him by his side as his personal theologian. The more he stepped down, the more God raised this humble priest up with greater responsibilities at the Vatican.

This brilliant Jesuit lived in an age of great deflection within the church amidst religious controversy. His writings, intelligence, and character served the church at a time that was most needed.

St Robert Bellarmine, 1542-1621. Doctor of Church State Relations, Feast Sept 17th.

Diplomats, ambassadors, heads of state, government officials and top church decision-makers and ministers can learn much from Robert. He had major responsibilities and used it properly for the development and growth of the church, states and countries. The more authority one exercises, the more divine guidance one needs to serve others in a Christian manner. Plead with St Bellarmine to gain wisdom and discernment leading others and supporting your country. You will definitely receive strength and insight to handle sensitive issues that could affect your church, state and country.

Patriotism is a virtue. It is not only a virtue that displays love for country but also supports the authority and interest of country. Many have died defending our independence, liberty and freedom. We can defend and honor our country and its citizens by upholding everything that makes us free. However, in God's work of salvation, which means freedom from sin, a Christian patriot is one who stands up for any cause which promotes justice, equality and human dignity. That is what St Robert Bellarmine advocated and defended. Saints tell us that there are other battles going on in life. We are Christian protectors and defenders fighting for spiritual values as well as in the armed forces defending our country against oppressors and war. Hopefully, as humankind grows in spiritual perspectives, our struggles are going to be more socially, educationally and mentally rather then physically with forces and arms for war. However, we must be prepared to go to war and fight to defend freedom and destroyers of humanity and offenders of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Vitally important in this manner is the ghastly topic of abortion and the vivid pictures and disfigurement of infants in women's wombs through abortions, clearly witnessed. ABORTION KILLS MORE THAN 46,000,000 BABIES EVERY YEAR WORLDWIDE? That is a sheer horror to the Christian psyche. No educated person can impugn that all human life, no matter the stage, is a gift of God, unequivocally and indisputably, and any laws to the contrary can and must be subject to change.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 7:1-10

Saint Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

“He deserves to have you do this for him.” (Luke 7:4)

The centurion’s messengers extolled his generosity. Though not a Jew, this soldier paid for the build­ing of their synagogue. Surely he deserved this favor. Surely Jesus would heal his servant.

As soon as the centurion realized how his request had been conveyed, he hastened to make an important correction. He was fully aware that Jesus didn’t owe him anything. His only claim was his great need, not his worthiness. He didn’t want to inconvenience the Master, who must have had more important things to do. Rather, he simply cast himself on Jesus’ mercy. He knew that this rabbi had the power to heal from a dis­tance simply by speaking a word of command.

Jesus was happy to heal this man’s servant, and he held the man up to others as a remarkable example of faith. However, maybe he was a lit­tle disappointed as well. It was not Jesus’ habit to use intermediaries to help people. Maybe Jesus wanted to enter under the man’s roof. Sure, he could have accomplished everything the centurion asked for with just a quick word, but he wanted so much more! Maybe he wanted to look into his eyes and help bring him closer to the one true God. Maybe he wanted to ask what the centurion under­stood about Judaism, what attracted him and made him so eager to sup­port it. Maybe he wanted to talk about how he had come to fulfill the deepest longings of the man’s heart, not just to heal his servant.

With our newly revised and trans­lated missal, we have the privilege of echoing the centurion’s words every time we approach the Eucharistic table. But we shouldn’t stop there. We know that we are not worthy of so great a redemption, but at the same time we also know that Jesus loves to “enter under our roof” and bring us to a deep experience of fel­lowship with him.

So open the door of your heart to the Lord today. Don’t think you have to limit yourself to asking Jesus to do something good for you. Instead, linger in his presence, and ask him to reveal his heart to you more fully. Let him speak words that heal your heart and soul!

“Lord, I am amazed that you want to unite yourself with me. Since we are under the same roof, I want to dwell in your love today.”

1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33; Psalm 40:7-10, 17

[Salvation]

 

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for September 17, 2012:

“He is near who upholds my right…let us appear together.” (Isaiah 50:7-8) When was the last time you came to the defense of your beloved? It’s nice to know you have each other’s back.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

Lord, Say the Word…

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Father David Daly, LC

Luke 7:1-10

When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, "He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us." And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ´Go,´ and he goes; and to another, ´Come here,´ and he comes; and to my slave, ´Do this,´ and he does it." When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe that you came into this world to redeem sinners. I hope in you and in your power to transform my soul, by your grace, from sinfulness to holiness. Lord, I love you and offer you the longings of my heart to put you truly first in my life. I want to love you with all my mind, heart, soul and strength.

Petition: Lord Jesus, grant me the gift of a deeper faith.

1. The Centurion: Frequently the people to whom God has given the most recognize him the least. For that reason, he extends the gift of faith to other men and women, especially the simple and humble of heart. The centurion exemplifies this dynamic of God´s grace in our lives. We should strive to be like him: simple, humble, and confident in the powerful action of Jesus in our daily lives.

2. Lord, I Am Not Worthy to Receive You: These words manifest the centurion’s humility. They should also manifest our humility and faith in Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, since they are the words we pray at every Mass just before receiving our Lord in Holy Communion. When we receive the Blessed Sacrament, we truly receive Christ — body, blood, soul and divinity. Our faith is the key to opening up our hearts to Christ’s healing grace.

3. Not Even in Israel Have I Found Such Faith: Don’t we want Jesus to say these words to us? Isn’t it much better than hearing those other words of Christ: “When the Son of Man returns will there be any faith on earth?” (see Luke 18:8). Christ calls us to be a fresh well of faith, hope and love so that even if he does not find it anywhere else, he can always be consoled by our undying faith.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I want to repeat these words of the centurion. I do believe in you and in your Real Presence in the Eucharist. In my times of doubt or weakness of faith, I will call out to you, “Only say the word and I shall be healed.”

Resolution: I resolve to pray these words with all my heart today at Mass, in a visit to the Eucharist or in a spiritual communion.

[Salvation]

Faith in Christ

• Homily of the Day
• September 17th, 2012
• Food For Thought

Monday, September 17, 2012 by Food for Thought

FirstReading:1 Cor 11:17-26, 33
Psalm: Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17
Gospel: Lk 7:1-10

The faith of the centurion was great because he recognized the authority of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

Sometimes we doubt that God has the power to solve and cure us. We think that, yes sure, Christ can help, but we better put matters into our hands, just in case Jesus does not have the time or complete
solutions to our problems. We doubt the authority of Jesus given by God to him. Sometimes we even think that the battle between good and evil is equally balanced. This is not true because the power of Satan cannot be equal or greater than the power of Christ. The power of Jesus Christ has complete authority over Satan. Satan has no power to tempt you more than what is allowed by the Lord. This is clear in the case of Job.

Therefore let us believe that Jesus has supreme authority over all the powers of this world, including the devil himself. Let us not doubt this. All creatures bow before the Lord to do his bidding and will.
Christ can do the impossible for us. Let us never give up hope nor doubt his great power and authority to help us!

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 

<< Monday, September 17, 2012 >>

St. Robert Bellarmine

1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33
View Readings

Psalm 40:7-10, 17

Luke 7:1-10

AMEN!

"Just give the order and my servant will be cured." —Luke 7:7

When you receive Holy Communion, the priest or distributor says: "Body of Christ," and you respond: "Amen." Your "Amen" means:

• You believe you are receiving "the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus" (Catechism, 1374).
• You ask Jesus to give you an order, a word, for you to obey (Lk 7:7).
• You believe in the Lord's healing (see Lk 7:7).
• You commit yourself to unity with the members of Christ's body (cf 1 Cor 11:18ff).
• You commit yourself to the new covenant in Jesus' blood (1 Cor 11:25).
• You "proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes!" (1 Cor 11:26)

Your "Amen" before receiving Communion is a total commitment of your life to the Father, through the Son, and in the Spirit.

Therefore, we should receive Jesus in Holy Communion daily or as often as possible. We should prepare for Communion by regular, frequent Confession and by fasting in some conscious way before each Mass. Communion will either be one of the greatest events of our lives and a whole way of life, or Communion will be very harmful to us (1 Cor 11:17). Make all your Communions holy.

Prayer: Father, may this book lead its readers to daily and holy Communions.

Promise: "This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me." —1 Cor 11:24

Praise: Although St. Robert was a small, physically unimpressive man who had to preach from the pulpit while standing on a stool, he preached with such power and authority that many converted to Catholicism.

[Salvation]

 

Indeed, let us pray to remove paying for the abortion of others from ANY healthcare coverage!

[annalex]

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 7
1.	AND when he had finished all his words in the hearing of the people, he entered into Capharnaum.	Cum autem implesset omnia verba sua in aures plebis, intravit Capharnaum.	επει δε επληρωσεν παντα τα ρηματα αυτου εις τας ακοας του λαου εισηλθεν εις καπερναουμ
2.	And the servant of a certain centurion, who was dear to him, being sick, was ready to die.	Centurionis autem cujusdam servus male habens, erat moriturus : qui illi erat pretiosus.	εκατονταρχου δε τινος δουλος κακως εχων εμελλεν τελευταν ος ην αυτω εντιμος
3.	And when he had heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the ancients of the Jews, desiring him to come and heal his servant.	Et cum audisset de Jesu, misit ad eum seniores Judæorum, rogans eum ut veniret et salvaret servum ejus.	ακουσας δε περι του ιησου απεστειλεν προς αυτον πρεσβυτερους των ιουδαιων ερωτων αυτον οπως ελθων διασωση τον δουλον αυτου
4.	And when they came to Jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying to him: He is worthy that thou shouldest do this for him.	At illi cum venissent ad Jesum, rogabant eum sollicite, dicentes ei : Quia dignus est ut hoc illi præstes :	οι δε παραγενομενοι προς τον ιησουν παρεκαλουν αυτον σπουδαιως λεγοντες οτι αξιος εστιν ω παρεξει τουτο
5.	For he loveth our nation; and he hath built us a synagogue.	diligit enim gentem nostram, et synagogam ipse ædificavit nobis.	αγαπα γαρ το εθνος ημων και την συναγωγην αυτος ωκοδομησεν ημιν
6.	And Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent his friends to him, saying: Lord, trouble not thyself; for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof.	Jesus autem ibat cum illis. Et cum jam non longe esset a domo, misit ad eum centurio amicos, dicens : Domine, noli vexari : non enim sum dignus ut sub tectum meum intres :	ο δε ιησους επορευετο συν αυτοις ηδη δε αυτου ου μακραν απεχοντος απο της οικιας επεμψεν προς αυτον ο εκατονταρχος φιλους λεγων αυτω κυριε μη σκυλλου ου γαρ ειμι ικανος ινα υπο την στεγην μου εισελθης
7.	For which cause neither did I think myself worthy to come to thee; but say the word, and my servant shall be healed.	propter quod et meipsum non sum dignum arbitratus ut venirem ad te : sed dic verbo, et sanabitur puer meus.	διο ουδε εμαυτον ηξιωσα προς σε ελθειν αλλ ειπε λογω και ιαθησεται ο παις μου
8.	For I also am a man subject to authority, having under me soldiers: and I say to one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doth it.	Nam et ego homo sum sub potestate constitutus, habens sub me milites : et dico huic, Vade, et vadit : et alii, Veni, et venit : et servo meo, Fac hoc, et facit.	και γαρ εγω ανθρωπος ειμι υπο εξουσιαν τασσομενος εχων υπ εμαυτον στρατιωτας και λεγω τουτω πορευθητι και πορευεται και αλλω ερχου και ερχεται και τω δουλω μου ποιησον τουτο και ποιει
9.	Which Jesus hearing, marvelled: and turning about to the multitude that followed him, he said: Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith, not even in Israel.	Quo audito Jesus miratus est : et conversus sequentibus se turbis, dixit : Amen dico vobis, nec in Israël tantam fidem inveni.	ακουσας δε ταυτα ο ιησους εθαυμασεν αυτον και στραφεις τω ακολουθουντι αυτω οχλω ειπεν λεγω υμιν ουτε εν τω ισραηλ τοσαυτην πιστιν ευρον
10.	And they who were sent, being returned to the house, found the servant whole who had been sick.	Et reversi, qui missi fuerant, domum, invenerunt servum, qui languerat, sanum.	και υποστρεψαντες οι πεμφθεντες εις τον οικον ευρον τον ασθενουντα δουλον υγιαινοντα