October, 2018

The Holy Father's Prayer Intention

Evangelization – The Mission of Religious That consecrated religious men and women may bestir themselves, and be present among the poor, the marginalized, and those who have no voice.

'To be perfect in obedience, a religious must obey with promptness, exactness, cheerfulness, and simplicity. These are the degrees of perfect obedience.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

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).

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3700462/posts?page=1

Saint of the Day — Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza

Information: St. Frumentius

Feast Day: October 27

Born: Tyre (modern Sur, Lebanon)

Died: 380 in Ethiopia

Patron of: Abyssinia, Ethiopia

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Saturday, October 27

Liturgical Color: Green

Today the Church honors St. Emilina,
religious. Because of her deep prayer life
and gift of prophecy people came to her
for counsel. She used her gift to help
others grow stronger in their faith. St.
Emilina died in 1178.

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: October 27th

Saturday of the Twenty-Ninth Week of Ordinary Time

MASS READINGS

October 27, 2018 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart. 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.

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Working for Others

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Akathist Hymn to the Most Holy Mother of God (the Theotokos)

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» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!

Old Calendar: St. Frumentius (Hist)

Called “Abuna” or “the father” of Ethiopia, St. Frumentius was sent to that land by St. Athanasius. Frumentius was born in Tyre, Lebanon. While on a voyage in the Red Sea with St. Aedesius, possibly his brother, only Frumentius and Aedesius survived the shipwreck. Taken to the Ethiopian royal court at Aksum, they soon attained high positions. Aedesius was royal cup bearer, and Fruementius was a secretary. They introduced Christianity to that land. When Abreha and Asbeha inherited the Ethiopian throne from their father, Frumentius went to Alexandria, Egypt, to ask St. Athanasius to send a missionary to Ethiopia. He was consecrated a bishop and converted many more upon his return to Aksum. Frumentius and Aedesius are considered the apostles of Ethiopia. Historically today is his feast.

Excerpted from Uncovered for Christ

St. Frumentius
Edesius and Frumentius, brothers from Tyre, Phoenician, introduced Christianity into Abyssinia; the latter a saint and first Bishop of Axum is styled the Apostle of Abyssinia, d. about 383.

When still mere boys they accompanied their uncle Metropius on a voyage to Abyssinia. When their ship stopped at one of the harbor of the Red Sea, people of the neighborhood massacred the whole crew, with the exception of Edesius and Frumentius, who were taken as slaves to the King of Axum. This occurred about 316. The two boys soon gained the favor of the king, who raised them to positions of trust and shortly before his death gave them their liberty.

The widowed queen, however, prevailed upon them to remain at the court and assist her in the education of the young prince Erazanes and in the administration of the kingdom during the prince's minority. They remained and (especially Frumentius) used their influence to spread Christianity. First they encouraged the Christian merchants, who were temporarily in the country, to practice their faith openly by meeting at places of public worship; later they also converted some of the natives.

When the prince came of age, Edesius returned to his friends and relatives at Tyre and was ordained priest, but did not return to Abyssinia. Frumentius, on the other hand, who was eager for the conversion of Abyssinia, accompanied Edesius as far as Alexandria, where he requested St. Athanasius to send a bishop and some priests to Abyssinia. St. Athanasius considered Frumentius himself the most suitable person for bishop and consecrated him in 328, according to others between 340-46.

Frumentius returned to Abyssinia, erected his episcopal see at Axum, baptized King Aeizanas, who had meanwhile succeeded to the throne, built many churches, and spread the Christian Faith throughout Abyssinia. The people called him Abuna (Our Father) or Abba Salama (Father of Peace), titles still given to the head of the Abyssinian Church.

In 365 Emperor Constantius addressed a letter to King Aeizanas and his brother Saizanas in which he vainly requested them to substitute the Arian bishop Theophilus for Frumentius (Athanasius, "Apol. ad Constantium" in P.G., XXV, 631).

The Latins celebrate the feast of Frumentius on 27 October, the Greeks on 30 November, and the Copts on 18 December.

Abyssinian tradition credits him with the first Ethiopian translation of the New Testament.

Excerpted from the Catholic Encyclopedia

Things to Do:

Read about The Mysterious Rock Hewed Churches Of Lalibela built in the 12th century, each from one rock

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 13:1-9

Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Do you think they were more guilty than everyone else? (Luke 13:4)

When something bad happens to you, are you ever tempted to think, “Maybe I deserve this; maybe God is punishing me because of some sin I have committed”? Or maybe a similar thought crosses your mind when you hear about a friend who has just suffered a loss. This line of thinking may even be a way to make sense out of natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes.

That same thought was on the minds of the people Jesus was speaking to in today’s Gospel. They asked him whether the Galileans killed by Pilate deserved their fate. Was it because these Galileans were great sinners, they wondered, that God had allowed Herod to slaughter them in the Temple? Jesus’ answer was probably not what they expected. Neither these poor Galileans nor the people who died when a tower fell on them were guiltier than anyone else. He didn’t explain why these tragedies happened at all.

This is one of the great challenges of the Christian life: we don’t always understand why God allows such things to happen. It’s one of those mysteries we will never grasp—at least this side of heaven.

But this we know for sure: we don’t have a vengeful God. He isn’t counting up our sins, waiting to strike us down when we exceed some limit. That doesn’t sound like the kind of God who sent his only Son to earth to offer his life for us on the cross. Immeasurable mercy and eye-for-eye judgment simply can’t coexist.

Pain, heartache, and loss come to everyone at some point in life. If that describes you now, cling to this truth: God still cares about you. He still loves you. Just as Jesus mourned when his friend Lazarus died, know that he is mourning with you. Through every tear you shed and every sorrow you experience, he is with you, offering you his comfort. If this doesn’t describe your life right now, cling to this truth when you encounter someone who is suffering.

You are not a sinner who deserves punishment. As Pope Francis said about himself, you are a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon with mercy. That’s the good news of the gospel!

“Lord, I don’t always understand, but I do believe you are a loving God who wants the best for me.”

Ephesians 4:7-16
Psalm 122:1-5

Daily Gospel Commentary

Saint Augustine (354-430)
Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Confessions Bk. 8 (trans. F.J. Sheed)

Answering God’s call to repent at last

Those trifles of all trifles, and vanities of vanities, my one-time mistresses, held me back, plucking at my garment of flesh and murmuring softly: "Are you sending us away?" And " From this moment shall we not be with you, now or forever?" And: " From this moment shall this or that not be allowed you, now or forever?" What were they suggesting to me, O my God?… I hesitated to shake them off and leap upwards on the way I was called, for the strong force of habit said to me: "Do you think you can live without them?” But by this time its voice was growing fainter. In the direction towards which I had already turned my face and was quivering in fear of going, I could see the austere beauty of Continence honorably soliciting me to come to her and not linger, her hands full of multitudes of good examples... “The Lord their God gave me to them. Why do you rely on yourself and so fail to stand at all? Cast yourself upon Him and do not be afraid; He will not draw back and let you fall. Cast yourself on Him without fear; He will receive you and heal you”...

This disputation within my heart was nothing other than a struggle between myself against myself… When my most searching scrutiny had drawn up all my vileness from the secret depths of my soul and heaped it in my heart's sight, a mighty storm rose up in me bringing a mighty rain of tears. In order to give release to my tears and lamentations, I got up and went out… I flung myself down somehow under a certain fig tree and no longer tried to check my tears, which poured from my eyes in a flood, an acceptable sacrifice to Thee. And I spoke to you freely: “And thou, O Lord, how long? How long, Lord, will you be angry forever? Remember not our former iniquities.” (Ps 6:4; 78:5)… And I continued my miserable complaining: “How long, how long shall I go on saying tomorrow and again tomorrow? Why not now, why not this very hour?”

And suddenly I heard a voice from some nearby house, a boy's voice or a girl's voice, a sort of sing-song repeated again and again: "Take and read, take and read." I stopped weeping and immediately began to search my mind most carefully as to whether children were accustomed to chant these words in any kind of game, and I could not remember that I had ever heard any such thing. Damming back my flood of tears I rose up again, interpreting the incident as quite certainly a divine command to open the book of the apostle Paul and read the first passage on which my eyes should fall… I returned hastily and took up the book and read what I had seen before: “Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh in its concupiscence,” (Rom 13:13). I had no wish to read any further, and no need. For in that instant, with the very ending of the sentence, it was as though a light of utter confidence shone in my heart, and all the darkness of uncertainty vanished away.

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

Daily Marriage Tip for October 27, 2018:

What’s your spouse’s primary love language? Words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, or physical touch? (Gary Chapman, The Five Love Languages) Is yours the same or different?

Regnum Christi

October 27, 2018 – The Fig That Was Almost Toast!

Saturday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 13:1-9

At that time some people who were present there told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them — do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So, cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not, you can cut it down.'”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, who am I that you spend time listening to me in my prayer? Who am I that you speak with me? You have given humanity such dignity by assuming our nature and giving me personally so many gifts. Time and time again you have been patient with me and received me back into your embrace when I have strayed from you. Thank you for your kindness to me. I hope to receive it always in the future and especially at the hour of my death. Your kindness and patience are a manifestation of your love for me. I want to return that love, because the only fitting response to love is love.

Petition: Lord, help me to be as patient with others as you are with me.

The Fig-less Fig: The owner of the fig tree in the parable, which many spiritual authors see as an image of God the Father, comes for three years in search of fruit. How often our Heavenly Father comes in search of fruit on the fig tree of our lives. And what does he find? He has given us the “soil” and so many elements that are conducive to being fruitful. He has made known his desire for us to bear fruit, and his Son has explained to us how the fruit is to be produced. There are no excuses. Let’s take notice of the lesson of the parable: When the Father comes to us looking for fruits, it is because it is the time for fruit. What will we say to the Father if he has given us ten, twenty, forty, sixty years to bear fruit but finds none? It’s not just about looking nice, as a fig does. It’s about bearing fruit – fruit that will last – according to the Father’s plan.

The Fig That Was Almost Toast: There is an American idiom referring to something that is destroyed and no longer what it was: “It’s toast!” The fig tree in the parable was in danger of becoming “toast.” “Cut it down” was the order given by the owner. “Why should it exhaust the soil?” What a terrible accusation! It was useless and only sapping nutrients from the soil for no purpose. When we apply this parable to our own lives, it is ghastly to think that our life, or the lives of others, might be just as useless. Cut it down. Take it away. It serves no purpose. The judgment is just. But it was a judgment that was soon to be lifted, both in the case of the fig tree and in the application to our own lives. Am I sufficiently grateful for God’s continual mercy towards me and others?

Leave It… Thanks to the gardener in the parable, the fig lives and is not cut down. The axe does not bite into the trunk of the fig, wrenching from it the beauty of its leaves and meandering branches. In our case, Jesus Christ the Good Gardener steps in and asks the owner, the Heavenly Father, to “leave it;” he, the Good Gardener, will take care of things. And how he does it! The Gardener himself is cut down in a bloody way and crucified. We who indeed should justly be cut down are saved, while the axe is put to the trunk of His body. All for love of us! Archbishop Luis Martinez has a beautiful image in his book, The Secrets of the Interior Life where he speaks of suffering as a manifestation of love: “It is said that the myrrh tree allows its perfume to escape only when it is bruised.” The perfume “flows drop by drop through the lacerations of the bark that enfold them.”

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus Christ, how patient the Father is with me! Thank you for coming to save me, for laying your life down for me, for suffering what I should endure because of my self-centeredness and sinfulness. But with you, there is hope.

Resolution: I will exercise patience today with everyone I meet, thinking of the patience that God has had with me.

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Espanol

All Issues > Volume 34, Issue 6

<< Saturday, October 27, 2018 >>

Ephesians 4:7-16
View Readings

Psalm 122:1-5

Luke 13:1-9
Similar Reflections

CHILDREN NO MORE

"Be children no longer." �Ephesians 4:14

We Christians are called to be child-like, not childish (1 Cor 14:20). Being childish means being "tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine that originates in human trickery and skill in proposing error" (Eph 4:14). It means being manipulated and enslaved.

The way to freedom from childishness is to profess the truth in love (Eph 4:15). The truth will set us free (Jn 8:32) and have us "grow to the full maturity of Christ the Head" (Eph 4:15).

We grow up and grow out of childishness by obeying apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers who will equip us for the work of service to build up the body of Christ (Eph 4:11-12). Thus, the truth that sets us free from childishness is not just general spiritual information; it is the truth that prepares us for full-time service to Christ and His body. This is the call of all baptized people.

Furthermore, the truth that frees and equips us for service is based on the Bible. "All Scripture is inspired of God and is useful for teaching � for reproof, correction, and training in holiness so that the man of God may be fully competent and equipped for every good work" (2 Tm 3:16-17).

Therefore, study and know God's Word in the Scriptures to prepare for God's service, or else live the enslaved, confused life of a child. Grow up or be manipulated. It's the Bible and God's service, or confusion and darkness. "Let us, then, be children no longer" (Eph 4:14).

Prayer: Father, may I give You reason to rejoice in my growth. May I be "fully mature and lacking in nothing" (Jas 1:4).

Promise: "Through [Jesus] the whole body grows, and with the proper functioning of the members joined firmly together by each supporting ligament, builds itself up in love." —Eph 4:16

Praise: Ben has run his small business for the Lord for over fifteen years, prayerfully trusting in God to supply his needs.