Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 11-08-18

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 11-08-18 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

November 8, 2018

Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Phil 3:3-8a

Brothers and sisters:
We are the circumcision,
we who worship through the Spirit of God,
who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh,
although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.

If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I.
Circumcised on the eighth day,
of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage,
in observance of the law a Pharisee,
in zeal I persecuted the Church,
in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.

But whatever gains I had,
these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ.
More than that, I even consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (3b) Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia Mt 11:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 15:1-10

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.

"Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.'
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents."

[Salvation]

'I may add that, though you think that you are rejoicing in your trials, you should not make any account of this disposition, because the devil could thereby easily fill you with vanity. It is better to fear and to distrust one's self, having in view only the will of God.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Salvation]

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).

[Salvation]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3704265/posts

Saint of the Day — Blessed John Duns Scotus

[Salvation]

Information: Four Crowned Martyrs

Feast Day: November 8

[Salvation]

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Thursday, November 8

Liturgical Color: Green

Pope St. Deusdedit died on this day in
618 A.D. His reign of 3 years was known
for its charity and support for his clergy.
When Rome was plagued by leprosy, he
went into the streets himself to help
relieve the suffering.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: November 8th

Thursday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time; Bl. John Duns Scotus, priest

MASS READINGS

November 08, 2018 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Almighty and merciful God, by whose gift your faithful offer you right and praiseworthy service, grant, we pray, that we may hasten without stumbling to receive the things you have promised. 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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Recipes (1)

• Custard Pastries

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Activities (3)

• November and the Holy Souls
• Praying for the Dead and Gaining Indulgences During November
• Preparing for Heaven

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Prayers (5)

• November Devotion: The Holy Souls in Purgatory
• Little Litany of the Holy Souls
• Prayer for a Happy Death
• Daily Acceptance of Death
• Collect for the Feast of Bl. John Duns Scotus

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Library (5)

• Address of John Paul II to the Members of the Scotus Commission | Pope John Paul II
• Faith and Reason Together in the Thought of Duns Scotus | Pope Benedict XVI
• Historical Development of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception | Rev. Francis J. Connell C.SS.R.
• John Duns Scotus | Pope Benedict XVI
• John Duns Scotus: Champion of the Immaculate Conception | Brother John M. Samaha S.M.

» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!

Old Calendar: Holy Four Crowned Martyrs

Newly beatified in 1993 by St. John Paul II, the Franciscans and other particular calendars may celebrate the optional memorial of Blessed John Duns Scotus, a Scottish Franciscan priest and theologian who died in 1308. He was the founder of the Scotistic School in Theology, and until the time of the French Revolution his thought dominated the Roman Catholic faculties of theology in nearly all the major universities of Europe. He is chiefly known for his theology on the Absolute Kingship of Jesus Christ, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his philosophic refutation of evolution. He is also known as the "Doctor of Mary Immaculate" because of his defense of the Immaculate Conception.

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the commemoration of the Holy Four Crowned Martyrs, a group of five Christian sculptors of Hungary, martyred under Diocletian in 306. Their bodies were taken to Rome, where a biographer's error confused them with four martyrs of Albano. The basilica of the four crowned saints, built on the Coelian Hill, is one of the most characteristic of medieval Rome.

Don't forget to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory from November 1 to the 8th.

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Bl. John Duns Scotus
John Duns Scotus was probably born in the winter of 1266 in the South of Scotland. Around 1279 he was accepted in a Franciscan friary in South Scotland. After eight years of preliminary studies in philosophy, or rather in the artes, at Oxford, he started to study theology there in 1288. Having attained the age of 25 he was ordained a priest in Northampton on March 17th 1291.

In the academic year 1297-98 John Duns prepared his first theological course which would change his life. During the next year he gave this course, on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, the most important textbook of systematic theology at the time. During these years (1297-99) Duns wrote Lectura I-II, his lecture notes on the two first books of the Sentences. Scotus' course based on these notes not only impressed his audience very much, but also the Franciscan leadership, and established his name as an exceptionally penetrating and original thinker.

In the summer of 1301 Scotus had fulfilled all the requirements for being a master (magister). However, he was sent to Paris by the Franciscan leadership in order to continue a Parisian career, at the most prestigious university of Europe.

After having again taught on the Sentences for a year, he and some of his colleagues were banished in June 1303 from Paris because of a conflict between the French king Philip IV and Pope Boniface VIII. He returned to his studium at Oxford and probably spent the first half of 1304 in Cambridge.

At the end of the summer of 1304 he was already back in Paris where he became professor of theology in 1306. Duns Scotus and his socius continued to work very hard on his Ordinatio together with a staff of assistants. The Ordinatio was meant to be the definitive edition of his Commentary on the Sentences. For this edition he used his Lectura I-III and Reportatio Parisiensis IV and piles of other materials he had prepared in the meantime.

In 1307 Duns leaves Paris again, but this time he left for Cologne in order to become the professor of theology at the Franciscan House of Studies (Studium). On November 8, 1308 he suddenly died in Cologne, leaving behind quite a number of unfinished works, including his Ordinatio.

Excerpted from Research Group John Duns Scotus

Things to Do:

• Learn more about Bl. John Duns Scotus from EWTN and the Catholic Encyclopedia.

• Read A Treatise on God as First Principle by Bl. John Duns Scotus.

• See this flyer about Bl. Duns Scotus from the Guadalupe Shrine in Wisconsin.

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Holy Four Crowned Martyrs (Severus, Severian, Carpophorus & Victorinus)
The history of these holy martyrs is very confusing. The Martyrology has this: "At Rome on the Via Lavicana the day of the death of four holy martyrs, the brothers Severus, Severianus, Carpophorus, and Victorinus. Under Emperor Diocletian they were scourged to death with lead rods. Their names were first made known many years later through a divine revelation. As no one knew their names previously, the annual feastday to their honor was celebrated under the title: The Four Crowned Brothers. The designation was retained even after the revelation."

The basilica of the Four Crowned Martyrs also contains the relics of five sculptors who under Diocletian refused to make idols or to venerate sun-god pictures. Reports say they were scourged, placed in lead coffins and submerged in a stream (c. 300). Hagiographers are trying to disentangle the conflicting statements on the relation of these two groups to one another, whether two groups actually existed, whether they were Pannomians or Romans, soldiers or stone-masons, etc.

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

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St. Godfrey
St. Godfrey was born into the wealth and prestige of the counts of Cappenberg. In his early adulthood he played an active role in supporting the cause of the Roman Pontiff against Emperor Henry IV.

In 1121 he encountered St. Norbert at Cologne and was so struck by his lifestyle and preaching that he immediately made plans to give away all his possessions and enter the infant Norbertine Order. Together with his brother Otto and his wife Judith, he handed over Cappenberg Castle to St. Norbert on May 31, 1122, thus establishing the first foundation of the Order in Germany. Both Otto and Judith followed Godfrey’s example and embraced the religious life of the new Order. The further donation of his estates at Varlar and Ilbenstadt to St. Norbert caused an uproar among the local nobility who viewed it as a threat to their established aristocracy. Under the leadership of Godfrey’s hostile father-in-law, Frederick of Arnsberg, an unsuccessful military assault was made upon the new monastery at Cappenberg. Through all of these trials Godfrey remained steadfast in his desire to be a Norbertine.

When things calmed down, Godfrey received the habit from the hand of St. Norbert. He especially loved to care for the poor and sick in the hospital attached to the abbey. St. Norbert wanted to have him by his side at Magdeburg, but Godfrey felt out of place in the noisy northern metropolis and was granted permission to return to Cappenberg. It was on his way back to Mt. Cappenberg that Godfrey fell sick at Ilbenstadt. Surrounded by his brethren and his brother Otto, he made peace with them all: “My brothers, through love for the Order, through zeal for the glory of God, I have occasionally reprimanded some of you a bit too harshly. I beg pardon from you now.” Moments later, seeing a vision of angels, Godfrey exclaimed, “How beautiful! How beautiful! The messengers of my Creator and God have finally come!” With that he fell asleep in the Lord. It was January 13, 1127.

Excerpted from Norbertine Vocations

Indulgences for All Souls Week
An indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed. The indulgence is plenary each day from the first to the eighth of November; on other days of the year it is partial.

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A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who on the day dedicated to the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed [November 2 {as well as on the Sunday preceding or following, and on All Saints' Day}] piously visit a church. In visiting the church it is required that one Our Father and the Creed be recited.

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To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary also to fulfill the following three conditions: sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion, and prayer for the intention of the Holy Father. The three conditions may be fulfilled several days before or after the performance of the visit; it is, however, fitting that communion be received and the prayer for the intention of the Holy Father be said on the same day as the visit.

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The condition of praying for the intention of the Holy Father is fully satisfied by reciting one Our Father and one Hail Mary. A plenary indulgence can be acquired only once in the course of the day.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 15:1-10

31st Week in Ordinary Time

What man among you . . . would not leave the ninety-nine? (Luke 15:4)

Would you behave like this shepherd? If you were out in the desert with one hundred sheep and one of them wandered off, you wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine unprotected and head off on a wild goose chase in search of one sheep. You’d probably cut your losses and head home to get the ninety-nine to safety.

Also, if you were this woman who lost one of ten matching coins, you might indeed light a lamp and sweep the house carefully until you found it. But you certainly wouldn’t throw a party to let the neighbors know about your success. You would be too embarrassed about misplacing it in the first place, or you wouldn’t want to spend the money you just found on a party.

In telling these stories, Jesus wants us to scratch our heads in wonder. We aren’t much like this shepherd or this woman—but he is. His concern for us and for anyone who strays is extravagant. It’s almost as extravagant as his rejoicing when he finds us.

What good news! God will go to any lengths to find us. It doesn’t matter how far we’ve wandered or how much dirt we’ve wallowed in—that’s how deeply he wants us to be with him.

So don’t be discouraged if you haven’t been following the Shepherd as closely as you should. You haven’t traveled beyond the reach of his love. Even your realization that something is amiss is cause for God to rejoice. And don’t despair if someone you love has wandered off and seems beyond hope. No one is ever beyond the Shepherd’s concern.

We will never truly understand the depth of God’s mercy and love. That’s why Jesus’ parables seem so puzzling to us. But if we can only understand one thing, it’s this: no matter what we have done or failed to do, God never rejects us. He never rejects anyone. Quite the opposite. Good Shepherd that he is, he is always waiting to hoist us on his shoulders and bring us safely back to the fold. And when he does, what a party there will be!

“Thank you, Jesus, for your extravagant love for me and for those I love!”

Philippians 3:3-8a
Psalm 105:2-7

[Salvation]

Daily Gospel Commentary

Saint Peter Chrysologus (c.406-450)
Bishop of Ravenna, Doctor of the Church
Sermon 168, 4 – 6

God goes in search of the one sheep for the sake of the salvation of all

The fact of re-finding something we had lost always fills us anew with joy. And this joy is greater than that we felt before losing it, when the thing was safely kept. But the parable of the lost sheep speaks more of God’s tenderness than of the way in which people usually behave. It expresses a profound truth. To leave behind something of importance for love of what is more humble is characteristic of divine power, not of human possessiveness. For God even brings into existence what is not: he sets out in search of what is lost while still keeping what he had left in place, and he finds what had strayed without losing what he has under his protection.

That is why this shepherd is not of earth but of heaven. The parable is not in any respect a representation of human achievements but it conceals divine mysteries, as the numbers it mentions immediately show: “What man among you,” says the Lord, “having a hundred sheep and losing one of them…” As you see, the loss of a single sheep has sorely tried this shepherd, as though the whole flock, deprived of his protection, had set out along a treacherous path. This is why, leaving the ninety-nine others there, he sets out in search of the one. He attends to one alone so that, in that one, all may be found and saved.

[Salvation]

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

Daily Marriage Tip for November 8, 2018:

What makes a happy marriage? Many things of course, but one glue that helps a lot of couples is being able to laugh when things go wrong. Is there a blunder that happened in your past that you’re now able to laugh about?

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

November 8, 2018 – Keeping the Right Company

Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Father Steven Reilly, LC

Luke 15: 1-10

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So, he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

 

Introductory Prayer: Lord God, I believe that you are present here for this moment of prayer. Even if I have not really longed for this time together, I know that you have been waiting for me. As an expression of my gratitude and love, I truly wish to give myself totally to you during this meditation.

Petition: Lord, grant me greater zeal for the salvation of souls.

1. You Can Judge a Man by the Company He Keeps: Our Lord took a considerable amount of flak from the Pharisees for taking time to get to know the less respectable crowd. In those days, “sinners” were marginalized and treated with contempt. Today, attitudes have changed. Folks that were considered sinners back then would now be mainstream; some of them would probably even be celebrities. But one thing is still the same: People still judge others by the company they keep. For better or worse, people are judged by their associations. That brings up a good question. I am a Catholic. I receive the Eucharist frequently. Jesus is spending a lot of time with me. Would people be able to tell that I have been spending time with the Lord? What would they think of Christ and his influence on me? Are the Lord’s standards reflected in my life?

2. The 99 Safe Sheep: Jesus’ description of going out to get the sinner is truly consoling. Perhaps this brings up a beautiful memory of how he came to my rescue, when I was one of the wooly ones wandering far from the flock. But that’s now a changed scenario. I am in the flock. How do I stay here and keep from wandering off? The Good Shepherd gives us so many tools, but I need to use them. If I slacken in my prayer life and participate with routine and lack of fervor in the sacraments, I may find myself wondering what other pastures may be like. Let’s focus on being faithful within the beautiful flock of the Church.

3. Fireworks in Heaven: Returning to the thought about people judging others based on the company they keep, we can easily see why those judgments occur: People that spend time together often start to become like each other, since they share many of the same interests. Jesus reveals in the parable what his driving, passionate interest is: the salvation of the individual soul. “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” The Lord is always looking to set off fireworks in heaven with one more conversion. If I’m hanging around Jesus enough, I’m probably starting to sound like him. If not, am I really spending as much time with him as I think? Am I trying to bring back the lost sheep that I know?

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, you lifted up the sinners around you — so many of them became saints. Let me soak up the grace of your divine influence so that I will truly reflect in my actions the reality of your work in my soul. Grant me a little portion of the burning desire you had to bring back the lost sheep.

 

Resolution: I will write a letter or email to a friend or relative who has drifted away from the Church, hoping that even a little “hello” may plant a positive seed.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

November 8, 2018

In the first reading Paul details his personal history from a devout Jew and Pharisee to a dedicated Apostle of Christ: “Once I found Christ, all these things that I might have considered as profit, I reckoned as loss. Still more, everything seems to be as nothing compared with the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.”

In the Gospel reading Jesus uses two parables to show how God seeks out a sinner and rejoices at his repentance: Jesus makes use of parables of the lost sheep and of a lost silver coin.

If for one unfortunate reason or another, we abandon the Lord by sinning, we know that the Lord, in his infinite love and mercy, will seek us out to return to him. He untiringly and gently speaks to us, even if many times we reject him.

God has given us the precious Sacrament of Reconciliation where we find his mercy and forgiveness through the ministry of the Church. The forgiving Father lovingly awaits the return of his prodigal children.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Espanol

All Issues > Volume 34, Issue 6

<< Thursday, November 8, 2018 >>

Philippians 3:3-8
View Readings

Psalm 105:2-7

Luke 15:1-10
Similar Reflections

"MORE JOY IN HEAVEN"

There will likewise be more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent." �Luke 15:7

For ninety-nine people to have no need to repent is a great miracle and therefore a cause of great joy. However, one person repenting is an even greater cause for joy because:

1. Without our repentance the shedding of Jesus' blood on Calvary is in vain for us.
2. Repentance is often a mega-change, a 180-degree turn, reappraising "all as loss in the light of the surpassing knowledge of [our] Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil 3:8), stripping "off the carnal body completely" (Col 2:11).
3. Repentance is a grace. Sin blinds us to sin, which further blinds us to sin, etc. By this spiritual blindness and self-deception, we build up layers of sin. Except for God's miraculous intervention by His grace, there would be no way out of sin.
4. Repentance is catalytic and contagious. As one sin has unimaginable effects, so one act of repentance has even greater effects (see Rm 5:20). For example, 120,000 Ninevites repented in one day (Jon 4:11).

Repentance is an absolutely necessary, miraculous, catalytic mega-change from death to life, rebellion to submission, and darkness to light. Because of this, one sinner repenting is a greater cause for joy than even other exceptionally great causes for joy. Repent, rejoice, and cause heaven to rejoice.

Prayer: Father, give me the sorrow for sin which turns into the joy of repentance (2 Cor 7:10).

Promise: "He invites friends and neighbors in and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' " —Lk 15:6

Praise: After twenty years away from the Sacraments, Steven repented and now goes to Confession regularly.

[Salvation]

Keep praying.