The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

Gospel Lk 7:31-35

Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare the people of this generation?
What are they like?
They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’

For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,
and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

This really makes me think about the republican candidates, but also how we conservatives can tear apart our own.

Yes, this generation is like children. Upset because we can’t make them dance to our calls or make them weep at the hypocrisy.

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 7
31.	And the Lord said: Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?	Ait autem Dominus : Cui ergo similes dicam homines generationis hujus ? et cui similes sunt ?	τινι ουν ομοιωσω τους ανθρωπους της γενεας ταυτης και τινι εισιν ομοιοι
32.	They are like to children sitting in the marketplace, and speaking one to another, and saying: We have piped to you, and you have not danced: we have mourned, and you have not wept.	Similes sunt pueris sedentibus in foro, et loquentibus ad invicem, et dicentibus : Cantavimus vobis tibiis, et non saltastis : lamentavimus, et non plorastis.	ομοιοι εισιν παιδιοις τοις εν αγορα καθημενοις και προσφωνουσιν αλληλοις και λεγουσιν ηυλησαμεν υμιν και ουκ ωρχησασθε εθρηνησαμεν υμιν και ουκ εκλαυσατε
33.	For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and you say: He hath a devil.	Venit enim Joannes Baptista, neque manducans panem, neque bibens vinum, et dicitis : Dæmonium habet.	εληλυθεν γαρ ιωαννης ο βαπτιστης μητε αρτον εσθιων μητε οινον πινων και λεγετε δαιμονιον εχει
34.	The Son of man is come eating and drinking: and you say: Behold a man that is a glutton and a drinker of wine, a friend of publicans and sinners.	Venit Filius hominis manducans, et bibens, et dicitis : Ecce homo devorator, et bibens vinum, amicus publicanorum et peccatorum.	εληλυθεν ο υιος του ανθρωπου εσθιων και πινων και λεγετε ιδου ανθρωπος φαγος και οινοποτης φιλος τελωνων και αμαρτωλων
35.	And wisdom is justified by all her children.	Et justificata est sapientia ab omnibus filiis suis.	και εδικαιωθη η σοφια απο των τεκνων αυτης παντων

31. And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?
32. They are like to children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped to you, and you have not danced; we have mourned to you, and you have not wept.
33. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and you say, He has a devil.
34. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and you say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber, a friend of Publicans and sinners!
35. But wisdom is justified of all her children.

CYRIL; There was as a certain play among, the Jewish children of this kind. A company of boys were collected together, who mocking the sudden changes in the affairs of this life, some of them sang, some mourned, but the mourners did not rejoice with those that rejoiced, nor did those who rejoiced fall in with those that wept. They then rebuked each other in turn with the charge of want of sympathy. That such were the feelings of the Jewish people and their rulers, Christ implied in the following words, spoken in the person of Christ; Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like?

They are like to children sitting in the market-place.

THEOPHYL; The Jewish generation is compared to children, because formerly they had prophets for their teachers, of whom it is said, Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings have you perfected praise.

AMBROSE; But the prophets sung, repeating in spiritual strains their oracles of the common salvation; they wept, soothing with mournful dirges the hard hearts of the Jews. The songs were not sung in the market-place, nor in the streets, but in Jerusalem. For that is the Lord's forum, in which the laws of His heavenly precepts are framed.

GREG. NYSS. But singing and lamentation are nothing else but in the breaking forth, the one indeed of joy, the other of sorrow. Now at the sound of a tune played upon a musical instrument, man by the concordant beating of his feet, and motion of his body, portrays his inward feelings. Hence he says, We have sung, and you have not danced; we have mourned to you and you have not wept.

AUG. Now these words have reference to John and Christ. For when he says, We have mourned, and you have not wept, it is in allusion to John, whose abstinence from meat and drink signified penitential sorrow; and hence he adds in explanation, For John came neither eating bread, nor drinking wine, and you say he has a devil.

CYRIL; They take upon themselves to slander a man worthy of all admiration. They say that he who mortifies the law of sin which is in his members has a devil.

AUG. But his words, We have piped to you, and you have not danced, refer to the Lord Himself, who by using meats and drinks as others did, represented the joy of His kingdom. Hence it follows, The Son of man came eating and drinking &c.

TIT. BOST. For Christ would not abstain from this food, lest He should give a handle to heretics, who say that the creatures of God are bad, and blame flesh and wine.

CYRIL; But where could they point out the Lord as gluttonness? For Christ is found every where repressing excess, and leading men to temperance. But He associated with publicans and sinners. Hence they said against Him, He is a friend of Publicans and sinners, though He could in no wise fall into sin, but on the contrary was to them the cause of salvation. For the sun is not polluted though sending its rays over all the earth, and frequently falling upon unclean bodies. Neither will the Sun of righteousness be hurt by associating with the bad. But let no one attempt to place his own condition on a level with Christ's greatness, but let each considering his own infirmity avoid having dealing with such men, for "evil communications corrupt good manners." It follows, And wisdom is justified of all her children.

AMBROSE; The Son of God is wisdom, by nature, not by growth, which is justified by baptism, when it is not rejected through obstinacy, but through righteousness is acknowledged the gift of God. Herein then is the justification of God, if he seems to transfer His gifts not to the unworthy and guilty, but to those who are through baptism holy and just.

CHRYS. But by the children of wisdom, He means the wise. For Scripture is accustomed to indicate the bad rather by their sin than their name, but to call the good the children of the virtue which characterizes them.

AMBROSE; He well says, of all, for justice is reserved for all, that the faithful may be taken up, the unbelievers cast out.

AUG. Or, when he says, wisdom is justified of all her children, he show that the children of wisdom understand that righteousness consists neither in abstaining from nor eating food, but in patiently enduring want. For not the use of such things, but the coveting after them, must be blamed; only let a man adapt himself to the kind of food of those with whom he lives.

Catena Aurea Luke 7

The sermon of Saint John the Baptist

Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

1566

St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr

St. Cornelius
Pope and Martyr
&
St. Cyprian
Bishop and Martyr
Memorial
September 16th

Miniature with Cornelius and Cyprian.
Origin: Germany, W. (Cologne?)
1st quarter of the 15th century

History:
St. Cornelius reigned two years, three months, and ten days as pope before being martyred.
St. Cyprian, Bishop and martyr. He was the first Bishop of Carthage to obtain the crown of martyrdom.
Collect:
O God, who gave Saints Cornelius and Cyprian to your people
as diligent shepherds and valiant Martyrs,
grant that through their intercession
we may be strengthened in faith and constancy
and spend ourselves without reserve
for the unity of the Church.
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. +Amen.
First Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, "I believed, and so I spoke," we too believe, and so we speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
Gospel Reading: John 17:11-19
[Jesus said] Now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.

Related Link on EWTN website: The Lord's Prayer by St. Cyprian
Related links on New Advent Website:
Writings from and about St. Cyprian
- The Life and Passion of Cyprian by Pontius the Deacon
- The Epistles of Cyprian
- The Treatises of Cyprian
- The Seventh Council of Carthage

Pope Cornelius - 251-253 a.d.[Martyr]

Cyprian of Carthage on the Incarnation
Saint Cyprian of Carthage
St. Cyprian of Carthage

Information: St. Cornelius

Feast Day: September 16

Died: 253

Patron of: against earache, against epilepsy, against fever, against twitching, cattle, domestic animals, earache sufferers

Information: St. Cyprian

Feast Day: September 16

Born: 3rd century AD, North Africa

Died: September 14, 258, Carthage, Africa Province, Roman Empire

Patron of: Algeria, North Africa

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Wednesday, September 16

Liturgical Color: Green

Today is the Memorial of St. Cornelius,
pope and martyr, and St. Cyprian, bishop
and martyr. Together they worked to
restore lapsed Catholics who abandoned
the faith to avoid persecution in the third
century.

Day 259 - The Words of Eternal Life

Today’s Reading: John 6:60-71

60 Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you that do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 66 After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer walked with him. 67 Jesus said to the Twelve, “Will you also go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve, and one of you is a devil?” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was to betray him.

Today’s Commentary:

his disciples drew back: This is the only instance in the Gospels where followers of Jesus abandon him in such large numbers. Even so, Jesus still makes no effort to soften his words or clear up potential misunderstandings about his eucharistic teaching.

the Holy One: A title for Jesus also in Mk 1:24, Lk 4:34, and Acts 3:14. Here it is a confession of faith by Peter, who believes the words of Christ from the heart, even though his head does not yet understand the mysteries revealed in the discourse (6:35-58).

Ordinary Time: September 16th

Memorial of Sts. Cornelius, pope and martyr and Cyprian, bishop and martyr

Daily Readings for: September 16, 2015
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: God our Father, in Saints Cornelius and Cyprian you have given your people an inspiring example of dedication to the pastoral ministry and constant witness to Christ in their suffering. May their prayers and faith give us courage to work for the unity of your Church. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RECIPES

St. Peter's Fish with Herbs

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

September Devotion: Our Lady of Sorrows

LIBRARY

None

Old Calendar: St. Cornelius, pope and martyr and St. Cyprian, bishop and martyr; Sts. Euphemia, Lucy and Geminanus, martyrs.

Today the Church commemorates two friends in the service of Christ and his Church. Cornelius, a Roman, was the twenty-first Pope during the reign of the Emperor Gallus and Volusian. He had to oppose Novatian, the first anti-pope, who believed that apostates who repented could not be forgiven. Helped by St. Cyprian, Cornelius confirmed his papal authority. He was beheaded in exile at Civitavecchia, Italy in 253. Saints Cyprian and Cornelius are mentioned in the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I) of the Mass.

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of the commemoration of Sts. Euphemia, Lucy and Geminianus. Veneration of St. Euphemia, a virgin of Chalcedon martyred under Diocletian, was widespread in the East. Over her tomb was built the basilica in which assembled the Council of Chalcedon in 451. St. Euphemia was also venerated in the West, especially in Italy. St. Lucy is the martyr of Syracuse. Little is known of St. Geminianus whose cult is associated with that of St. Lucy.

St. Cornelius
Pope Cornelius (251-253) was the successor to Pope Fabian. During his reign a controversy arose concerning the manner of reinstating those who had fallen from the faith under the duress of persecution. The Novatians accused the Pope of too great indulgence and separated themselves from the Church. With the help of St. Lucina, Cornelius transferred the remains of the princes of the apostles to places of greater honor. On account of his successful preaching the pagans banished him to Centumcellae, where he died. St. Cyprian sent him a letter of condolence. At the time of Pope Cornelius there were at Rome forty-six priests, seven deacons, seven subdeacons, forty-two acolytes, fifty-two clerics and more than five hundred widows who were supported by the Church (according to Cornelius' letter to Bishop Fabian of Antioch).

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

Patron: against ear ache; against epilepsy; fever; cattle; domestic animals.

Symbols: horn and triple papal cross; cows or oxen; font; tall cross; sword; also papal symbols of tiara, church and/or triple cross; martyr's crown; palm frond (for martytr); papal tiara.

St. Cyprian
Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus, illustrious as a pagan rhetorician in Carthage, embraced the true faith in the year 246 and was soon thereafter consecrated priest and bishop of that city (248). He was an energetic shepherd of souls and a prolific writer. He defended the unity of the Church against schismatic movements in Africa and Italy, and greatly influenced the shaping of Church discipline relative to reinstating Christians who had apostatized. He fled during the Decian persecution but guided the Church by means of letters. During the Valerian persecution (258) he was beheaded. He suffered martyrdom in the presence of his flock, after giving the executioner twenty-five pieces of gold. St. Jerome says of him: "It is superfluous to speak of his greatness, for his works are more luminous than the sun." Cyprian ranks as an important Church Father, one whose writings are universally respected and often read in the Divine Office. His principal works are: On the Unity of the Church; On Apostates; a collection of Letters; The Lord's Prayer; On the Value of Patience.

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

Patron: Algeria; North Africa.

Symbols: twenty gold coins; crown; axe; palm frond (for martytr); martyr's crown; bishop's mitre.

Things to Do:

Read St. Cyprian's encouraging words to the martyrs of his day, learn more about Roman persecutions, catacombs, apostates, Novatian and Novatus.
Study the Sacrament of Penance.

Sts. Euphemia, Lucy and Geminanus
At Chalcedon, were the deaths of St. Euphemia, virgin and martyr, under Emperor Diocletian and the proconsul Priscus. For her faith in our Lord she was subjected to tortures, imprisonment, blows, the torment of the wheel, fire, the crushing weight of stones, the teeth of the beasts, scourging with rods, the cutting of sharp saws, and burning pans, all of which she survived. But when she was again exposed to the beasts in the amphitheater, praying to our Lord to receive her spirit, one of the animals inflicted a bite on her holy body although the rest of them licked her feet, and she yielded her unspotted soul to God . . . At Rome, the holy martyrs Lucy, a noble matron, and Geminanus, were subjected to grievous afflictions and were for a long time tortured by the command of Emperor Diocletian. Finally, being put to the sword, they obtained the glorious victory of martyrdom.

Excerpted from The Roman Martyrology

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 7:31-35

Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs (Memorial)

Wisdom is vindicated by all her children. (Luke 7:35)

Many people in Jesus’ day rejected both his teaching and the teaching of John the Baptist. Nothing seemed to suit them. These were the people Jesus likened to children who are difficult to please, not happy about anything. When John lived simply and preached a message of repentance, they considered him too severe and demanding. Yet when Jesus ate with sinners and showed them mercy, they dismissed him as being too easy on people. How fickle the human heart can be!

Some of the people in Jesus’ generation had their own preconceived ideas of what the Messiah was to be like, and Jesus didn’t fit their expectations. Locked into their own view of things, those who had the opportunity to know Jesus actually didn’t want to recognize him or welcome God’s action through him. They held onto their own judgments and their own standpoint, just as obstinate children do. As a result, they missed out on receiving his touch.

How often we act the same way today! Perhaps we’ve already decided just how much God can ask of us and have closed our minds to anything more. Maybe we’ve allowed a good relationship to be ruined because we won’t give up a strongly held opinion of little importance. Perhaps we’re not giving our spouse a chance to prove he or she has changed because we won’t accept an apology. Maybe we’ve judged our pastor harshly because of one statement he has made in a homily. How many opportunities have we missed to make a new friend because we didn’t like the way someone dressed?

When we close ourselves off to people or dismiss them on the basis of our preconceptions, mistaken judgments, and prejudices, not only do we make them suffer, but we suffer as well. Though Jesus recognized the hardness of heart of those who were opposed to him, he knew that God’s wisdom would ultimately prove its validity in the lives of those who embraced it (Luke 7:35). Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts and free us from any prejudices and misconceptions that bind us up. Let’s seek the Lord daily for his wisdom so that we can know his life in us.

“Open my eyes, Jesus, so that I can see you more clearly. Clear away any obstacles in my heart so that I can receive your life in me.”

1 Timothy 3:14-16
Psalm 111:1-6

Marriage = One Man amd One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for September 16, 2015:

What’s your spouse’s favorite flower or snack? Surprise her/him with it.

Amen.

Regnum Christi

Perpetually Dissatisfied

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

September 16, 2015. Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

By Father Robert Presutti

Luke 7:31-35

"Then to what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, ´We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.´ For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, ´He is possessed by a demon.´ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, ´Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.´ But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

Introductory Prayer: Eternal God, prayer is your gift to me. I believe that you give me complete and unlimited access to your power and mercy. I want to value this gift of prayer above all things. As I begin this meditation, I renew my faith, my hope and my love for you.

Petition: Lord, give me discernment and constancy in my efforts to follow you.

Endless Excuses: Some very good and religious people in Jesus’ day complained about John the Baptist, precursor of the Messiah, because of his austere lifestyle. “He must be crazy,” they said. They also complained about Jesus’ apparently excessive liberality with sinners and nonbelievers. The habit of constantly sifting reality through our own preconceptions can lead us to reject the things of God. This is the opposite of faith. It is even the opposite of the healthy exercise of reason and has become a limiting rationalism. Rather than seeking to place God neatly in our own self-created and prearranged world, we need to let ourselves be shaped by God’s criteria.

Fickleness: Spiritual fickleness inevitable leads us to reject God. The inability to follow through on a particular spiritual path necessarily leaves us midcourse, far from the goal. It does not matter whether we follow the austerity of the disciple John or the apparently liberality of the disciples of Jesus. What matters is that we follow through to completion whatever particular path God has given us. As long as we move, God can guide our steps. If we don’t move, there is nothing to guide. Waiting around for some mythical “perfect conditions” is in reality capriciousness and unwillingness to commit.

Wisdom: Wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit by which we are able to see and comprehend the divine and human realities from God’s perspective. Wisdom leads to equilibrium and balance in our judgments and assessments. We prepare for this gift by our effort to make good decisions and live by them. The supernatural gifts build upon the human virtues.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am indebted to you for your teaching and for your example. Help me to learn from your life and your example, and keep me from ever dismissing them as irrelevant. Help me to be constant in my resolutions so that I will continue to grow closer to you and serve you better.

Resolution: I will avoid making excuses today.

Homily of the Day

September 16, 2015

Ready for Jesus?

In the Gospel reading Jesus shows his disappointment with the people: they would not believe John and said he had a demon because he neither ate nor drank; they also rejected Jesus because he ate and drank and was considered a glutton, especially because he consorted with tax collectors and sinners.

The people had fixed notions of how good people and teachers were to live and behave: neither Jesus nor John fitted their notions and thus they were rejected. The message of John and of Jesus did not really matter: the people heard and listened only to what they wanted to hear and listen to. Neither did the signs and miracles Jesus matter to the people.

Today we still hear the message given by John and by Jesus. We still see their lives and example in the Scriptures and in the teaching of the Church.

Are we like the Jews of the time of John and Jesus who refused to listen and to hear their message? Or are we, with the grace of God, ready and willing to hear their message about the kingdom of God?