A Prayer for the Man or Woman in Modern Times
Dear Lord Jesus,
Help me to recognize the bread that you provide. Help me to learn how to ask only for what is good for me and only that which is pleasing to God. Help me to be like St. Peter, who stepped onto the water in belief of you, who in moment of fear had to grasp your hand. Help me to see others as you see them, and love them for your Name’s sake. Help me to know the One God who sent you and, like you, to always serve His will. Help me to only pick up a stone to be used to build a temple of truth to you, and never to harm the innocent. Help my ears to always hear you, the voice of the Good Shepherd. Help me to never block the light of others who seek you in the Kingdom of God. Help me to learn at first reflex to turn to you for guidance in times of trouble and fear. And help me to help others to find you, in your Name and to the greater glory of God. Amen.
***
Written July 24, 2008. Written with modern youth and their challenges in mind, but also for everyone who lives within the challenges of these modern times. My words, but inspired after reading how personally St. John explains in his Gospel some of the teachings and actions of Jesus.
Those of you who Photoshop or are otherwise talented, and are inclined to make a prayer card, a picture of Jesus reaching out for the wallowing Peter in the water would be great! :-)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
I have written a new prayer based on scripture
A Prayer for Youth seeking Wisdom
Dear Lord God.
We have had our fill of the ways of mischief and of ruin. We journeyed through impassable deserts, but the way of the Lord we knew not. The hope of the wicked is like smoke in the wind. But the just live forever, and in the Lord is their recompense, and the thought of them is with the Most High. Help me, O Lord, to become a wise one, to become a prudent king. I pray for prudence to be given to me; I plead for the spirit of Wisdom to come to me. May God grant that I speak suitably, and value only those endowments of true worthiness. Help me to love the holy, to be kindly, to love firmness of virtue and the unstained, and to receive the pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty. Help me to always recall the power of God and the image of his all powerful goodness. God of my fathers, Lord of mercy, you who have made all things by your word, allow me to be an attendant to you and your will throughout my life on earth and in the eternity to come, in the name and greater glory of Jesus. Amen.
***
Written July 24, 2008 with words and phrases taken from the Bible's Book of Wisdom. While for everyone it is written most lovingly with the youth of the world in mind.
Dear Lord God.
We have had our fill of the ways of mischief and of ruin. We journeyed through impassable deserts, but the way of the Lord we knew not. The hope of the wicked is like smoke in the wind. But the just live forever, and in the Lord is their recompense, and the thought of them is with the Most High. Help me, O Lord, to become a wise one, to become a prudent king. I pray for prudence to be given to me; I plead for the spirit of Wisdom to come to me. May God grant that I speak suitably, and value only those endowments of true worthiness. Help me to love the holy, to be kindly, to love firmness of virtue and the unstained, and to receive the pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty. Help me to always recall the power of God and the image of his all powerful goodness. God of my fathers, Lord of mercy, you who have made all things by your word, allow me to be an attendant to you and your will throughout my life on earth and in the eternity to come, in the name and greater glory of Jesus. Amen.
***
Written July 24, 2008 with words and phrases taken from the Bible's Book of Wisdom. While for everyone it is written most lovingly with the youth of the world in mind.
Shriners do a very good thing
Three year old boy who survived plane crash that killed his grandfather, the pilot, and two brothers, leaving him with a lot of burn care needs.
http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-jul2408-tyler_pickering_recovery.8a12aa70.html
snip
The Pickerings are insured, but because the Utah hospital was out of network, they're responsible for 60 percent of that bill.
Hearing of the family's fate, the Shriners intercepted.
Today, Tyler was accepted into the Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento, Calif., where he will receive free medical care for his burns until he's an adult.
From a family who's already cried so much -- this time, it's tears of joy.
"They called and offered Tyler all his medical care for free until the age of 21," said Chris Pickering.
http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-jul2408-tyler_pickering_recovery.8a12aa70.html
snip
The Pickerings are insured, but because the Utah hospital was out of network, they're responsible for 60 percent of that bill.
Hearing of the family's fate, the Shriners intercepted.
Today, Tyler was accepted into the Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento, Calif., where he will receive free medical care for his burns until he's an adult.
From a family who's already cried so much -- this time, it's tears of joy.
"They called and offered Tyler all his medical care for free until the age of 21," said Chris Pickering.
Listen to Buzz Aldrin
He knows what he's talking about. Keep it simple and get it right this time.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5906199.html
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. — Just four years after President Bush announced his vision to send astronauts back to the moon and then on to Mars, legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin is leading an effort to re-examine the whole idea — in particular, NASA's choice of rockets for the mission.
It is the latest sign that NASA's Constellation program — intended to replace the space shuttle after 2010 — is in trouble.
Concerned by reports that the Ares rockets and Orion crew capsule are beset by cost overruns, schedule delays and complex technical woes, Aldrin says he wants to create a panel of experts to make sure that Constellation is the right way to go.
"We need to stick with the mission but rethink some of the ways we implement it," said Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. "It doesn't pay to stick with a bad idea."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5906199.html
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. — Just four years after President Bush announced his vision to send astronauts back to the moon and then on to Mars, legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin is leading an effort to re-examine the whole idea — in particular, NASA's choice of rockets for the mission.
It is the latest sign that NASA's Constellation program — intended to replace the space shuttle after 2010 — is in trouble.
Concerned by reports that the Ares rockets and Orion crew capsule are beset by cost overruns, schedule delays and complex technical woes, Aldrin says he wants to create a panel of experts to make sure that Constellation is the right way to go.
"We need to stick with the mission but rethink some of the ways we implement it," said Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. "It doesn't pay to stick with a bad idea."
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Bible Reading: St. James 5:1-6
Come now, you rich, weep and howl over your miseries which will come upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you, and will devour your flesh as the fire does. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who reaped your fields, which have been kept back by you unjustly, cry out; and their cry has entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have feasted upon earth, and you have nourished your hearts on dissipation in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the just, and he did not resist you.
***
This is from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle, who was one of the original twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. This is St. James "the lesser" (that means younger), not St. James the Greater, also an Apostle, whose memorial day is this week.
I hadn't intended to include a fire and brimstone kind of Bible reading tonight, but the book fell open to this section and I realized there are some good points I can make that touch on current topics (the Bible always has comfort and insight even for the most modern problems).
First, a little bit about St. James. Known as a pillar of the Christian community in the decades after Jesus, St. James also retained and demonstrated great knowledge of the Jewish roots in the Old Testament. He was the Bishop of Jerusalem, and is known to have been at the council of Jerusalem around the year 50. St. Paul consulted with him about the Gospel. He was esteemed by the Jews and called "James the Just," yet was nonetheless martyred by them in the spring of 62.
And so, you can read this letter, this Epistle written by the man who was also Bishop of Jerusalem, and see that there are elements that already demonstrate the "teaching" role of a bishop in his diocese. So you could view the section that I cite above as kind of the "fire and brimstone" part of one of his sermons as part of exhortation and instruction through his diocese. So you can see that already around three decades after the Lord Jesus Christ's death, resurrection and ascension, St. James was visibly performing a role that we see in Catholic bishops today. This is another example of the continuity of the Church as established by the Apostles and its organization. Think about it. Here is one of the Apostles, bishop of the city where Jesus had been crucified just several decades prior. St. James the Greater had been martyred (the first of the Apostles to so die) in the year 42, so it was a continually hazardous place, the city that was the very cradle of what would be the Catholic Church through the presence of Jesus Christ. I'll return to that point after first discussing some of the commentary about this passage that I'm citing here.
The most important point is that while it is vehement it is not an "anti the rich" sermon. It is an anti the unjustly rich sermon. St. James is criticizing the rich who do not pay the wages due to their employees and he is also criticizing the rich who hold money back when it could be put to good use. So this text cannot and should not be cited as justification for either side of the so called "prosperity Gospel" debate. It does not condemn people who are rich; it condemns the people who are unjustly rich. Likewise, though, it does not endorse being rich because of some argument that God wants people to make as much money as possible. Clearly St. James recognizes that morally correct wealth relies on fair and prompt payment to the workers and active use of the wealth for good and charitable purpose on earth. This is what he means by not storing it up, it rusts, and so forth. St. James is not saying that the rich cannot have holdings or savings. But he is strongly implying that their wealth must be refreshed and used in the community, and not hoarded.
Doesn't it make you wonder if there had been some scandal or some specific outrageous cheating of the poor workers by the wealthy that inspired this part of what sound much like a sermon? I point this out to remind you that yes, that was probably the case, just as how bishops speak out, often making real waves (like in the Eucharist controversies) in response to specific events within their diocese. The difference is that these would not be wealthy Christians that he is railing against, as in his flock, but these are more "social injustice" commentary toward wealthy merchants and landholders in Jerusalem. Remember, the early Christians, most especially the Apostles, were always simultaneously preaching to their early fledgling Christian flock and to evangelize and hope to convert the large majority around them of Jews and Gentiles. So early "sermons" by the Apostles always had two audiences at the same time: the small numbers of faithful believers and the huge numbers of those who still opposed them, or who had not heard and accepted the word yet.
This is why notice how very neatly St. James concludes this section with reference to "the just" who was condemned and put to death but did not "resist you." St. James is clearly aligning Jesus, who meekly and without resistance had everything, including his life, taken from him with the desperately poor workers who are deprived of their wages by people who do have the means to pay them. This is very astute preaching if you remember that indeed his audience would be both the converted but especially the not yet converted. This section is undoubtedly representative of his actual words on a number of occasions where he preached. You can also just with this small analysis of his words here understand how the Jews might have admired his sense of justice, hence giving him that nickname of "James the Just," yet still be driven to martyr him because of their disbelief in the Christian doctrine.
I hope that this is helpful at once again showing how a reader of scripture can glean a lot of insight into what it would have been like "looking over the shoulder" of Jesus' Apostle who became the first Bishop of Jerusalem. Returning to that topic, I want to remind you that what Jesus essentially said to Peter is that wherever you establish yourself, that is where I will build my church. So Peter, after a time as Bishop of Antioch, went to Rome, to the heart of the Empire to evangelize, and established the bishop's seat in Rome. Therefore as Bishop of Rome this is where Peter established the Church, and the Papacy. Jesus gave the physical placement of the heart of the future Church within a person, a man, to establish, not the sentimental or spiritual location. This is why Rome is the home of the Papacy and the Vatican, and not Jerusalem, where one might have otherwise assumed. I thought that comparing St. James being Bishop of Jerusalem with Peter's movement to Antioch and then Rome to be Bishop of Rome, and hence the first Pontiff, would make the organization of the very earliest Church and its continuity into its present form be easier to see and, honestly, to admire. Jesus knew what he was doing when he sent the Apostles out to become what would be the role models and actuality of bishops, while one man, Peter, would be the Vicar of Jesus Christ himself where he established his staff, which would be... Rome!
***
This is from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle, who was one of the original twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. This is St. James "the lesser" (that means younger), not St. James the Greater, also an Apostle, whose memorial day is this week.
I hadn't intended to include a fire and brimstone kind of Bible reading tonight, but the book fell open to this section and I realized there are some good points I can make that touch on current topics (the Bible always has comfort and insight even for the most modern problems).
First, a little bit about St. James. Known as a pillar of the Christian community in the decades after Jesus, St. James also retained and demonstrated great knowledge of the Jewish roots in the Old Testament. He was the Bishop of Jerusalem, and is known to have been at the council of Jerusalem around the year 50. St. Paul consulted with him about the Gospel. He was esteemed by the Jews and called "James the Just," yet was nonetheless martyred by them in the spring of 62.
And so, you can read this letter, this Epistle written by the man who was also Bishop of Jerusalem, and see that there are elements that already demonstrate the "teaching" role of a bishop in his diocese. So you could view the section that I cite above as kind of the "fire and brimstone" part of one of his sermons as part of exhortation and instruction through his diocese. So you can see that already around three decades after the Lord Jesus Christ's death, resurrection and ascension, St. James was visibly performing a role that we see in Catholic bishops today. This is another example of the continuity of the Church as established by the Apostles and its organization. Think about it. Here is one of the Apostles, bishop of the city where Jesus had been crucified just several decades prior. St. James the Greater had been martyred (the first of the Apostles to so die) in the year 42, so it was a continually hazardous place, the city that was the very cradle of what would be the Catholic Church through the presence of Jesus Christ. I'll return to that point after first discussing some of the commentary about this passage that I'm citing here.
The most important point is that while it is vehement it is not an "anti the rich" sermon. It is an anti the unjustly rich sermon. St. James is criticizing the rich who do not pay the wages due to their employees and he is also criticizing the rich who hold money back when it could be put to good use. So this text cannot and should not be cited as justification for either side of the so called "prosperity Gospel" debate. It does not condemn people who are rich; it condemns the people who are unjustly rich. Likewise, though, it does not endorse being rich because of some argument that God wants people to make as much money as possible. Clearly St. James recognizes that morally correct wealth relies on fair and prompt payment to the workers and active use of the wealth for good and charitable purpose on earth. This is what he means by not storing it up, it rusts, and so forth. St. James is not saying that the rich cannot have holdings or savings. But he is strongly implying that their wealth must be refreshed and used in the community, and not hoarded.
Doesn't it make you wonder if there had been some scandal or some specific outrageous cheating of the poor workers by the wealthy that inspired this part of what sound much like a sermon? I point this out to remind you that yes, that was probably the case, just as how bishops speak out, often making real waves (like in the Eucharist controversies) in response to specific events within their diocese. The difference is that these would not be wealthy Christians that he is railing against, as in his flock, but these are more "social injustice" commentary toward wealthy merchants and landholders in Jerusalem. Remember, the early Christians, most especially the Apostles, were always simultaneously preaching to their early fledgling Christian flock and to evangelize and hope to convert the large majority around them of Jews and Gentiles. So early "sermons" by the Apostles always had two audiences at the same time: the small numbers of faithful believers and the huge numbers of those who still opposed them, or who had not heard and accepted the word yet.
This is why notice how very neatly St. James concludes this section with reference to "the just" who was condemned and put to death but did not "resist you." St. James is clearly aligning Jesus, who meekly and without resistance had everything, including his life, taken from him with the desperately poor workers who are deprived of their wages by people who do have the means to pay them. This is very astute preaching if you remember that indeed his audience would be both the converted but especially the not yet converted. This section is undoubtedly representative of his actual words on a number of occasions where he preached. You can also just with this small analysis of his words here understand how the Jews might have admired his sense of justice, hence giving him that nickname of "James the Just," yet still be driven to martyr him because of their disbelief in the Christian doctrine.
I hope that this is helpful at once again showing how a reader of scripture can glean a lot of insight into what it would have been like "looking over the shoulder" of Jesus' Apostle who became the first Bishop of Jerusalem. Returning to that topic, I want to remind you that what Jesus essentially said to Peter is that wherever you establish yourself, that is where I will build my church. So Peter, after a time as Bishop of Antioch, went to Rome, to the heart of the Empire to evangelize, and established the bishop's seat in Rome. Therefore as Bishop of Rome this is where Peter established the Church, and the Papacy. Jesus gave the physical placement of the heart of the future Church within a person, a man, to establish, not the sentimental or spiritual location. This is why Rome is the home of the Papacy and the Vatican, and not Jerusalem, where one might have otherwise assumed. I thought that comparing St. James being Bishop of Jerusalem with Peter's movement to Antioch and then Rome to be Bishop of Rome, and hence the first Pontiff, would make the organization of the very earliest Church and its continuity into its present form be easier to see and, honestly, to admire. Jesus knew what he was doing when he sent the Apostles out to become what would be the role models and actuality of bishops, while one man, Peter, would be the Vicar of Jesus Christ himself where he established his staff, which would be... Rome!
Clapping/applause during Catholic Mass???
No no no no no.
*I am not applauding that at all, no I am not*
Clapping is not appropriate. Here is why. Even if one acclaims a particularly fine rendition of a hymn, the object of praise must always be God. So to "applaud" the singer, for example, one would traditionally shout "Amen," "Praise God," or "Hallelujah!" One is then complimenting the giver of the homily, hymn or musical for their fine contribution in praising God. That translates as praise to the performer for having done such a fine job of serving to praise God. And another thought. While in a concert hall it is talent you are applauding, but in a church the singing is display of a gift from God, and therefore praising God (for giving the speaker the words and the singer the talent) is most appropriate. So those of you who have desire to praise a particularly fine homily and cannot restrain yourselves, I suggest one of the three exclamations above. Further, if you attend a Mass where the pastor is actually soliciting applause (argh) I suggest you help him with his humility with responding with one of the above instead of applause. Here in the South I know some very prayerful and vigorous Baptist or non-denominational services where Catholics could go for quick instruction how to loosen up on their ability to shout "Hallelujah" instead of clapping, ha. That would not be such a bad thing as they recall it's the praise of God, not the praise of the talent of God's worship leader.
*I am not applauding that at all, no I am not*
Clapping is not appropriate. Here is why. Even if one acclaims a particularly fine rendition of a hymn, the object of praise must always be God. So to "applaud" the singer, for example, one would traditionally shout "Amen," "Praise God," or "Hallelujah!" One is then complimenting the giver of the homily, hymn or musical for their fine contribution in praising God. That translates as praise to the performer for having done such a fine job of serving to praise God. And another thought. While in a concert hall it is talent you are applauding, but in a church the singing is display of a gift from God, and therefore praising God (for giving the speaker the words and the singer the talent) is most appropriate. So those of you who have desire to praise a particularly fine homily and cannot restrain yourselves, I suggest one of the three exclamations above. Further, if you attend a Mass where the pastor is actually soliciting applause (argh) I suggest you help him with his humility with responding with one of the above instead of applause. Here in the South I know some very prayerful and vigorous Baptist or non-denominational services where Catholics could go for quick instruction how to loosen up on their ability to shout "Hallelujah" instead of clapping, ha. That would not be such a bad thing as they recall it's the praise of God, not the praise of the talent of God's worship leader.
Vocations story: pro soccer player to be priest
What a wonderful young man! Bless him and his family. Prayers for vocations continue.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0803771.htm
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0803771.htm
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