March 15

March 15, 2014:  Saturday, 1st week of Lent

Readings

• Dt 26:16-19  Moses:  “God commands you to observe these commands; do it with your heart and soul.  You're agreeing to walk in God's ways, and the Lord is agreeing to make you his own and raise you high.”

• Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8  "Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!"  I will give you thanks and keep your statutes.

• Mt 5:43-48  “You've heard it said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say, Love your enemies.  So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is.”

Pope Francis

• Argentinian “Pope of the slums” interview:  Educating and accompanying the young is so important.  Priests who live and minister in the slums are on an apostolic mission; they're not communists but great priests who listen to God's people and fight for justice.  We all need an attitude of poverty and service, of assistance to others.  We need to allow ourselves to be helped; we need each other.

Reflections

• Creighton:  Jesus challenges us to strive for perfection, to love as God loves.   I create enemies by erecting barriers, say by insecurity, fear, or false pride.  Break barriers between “us” and “them,” and so between “us” and God, by seeing people as God does.

• One Bread One Body:  We can't actively love our enemies by our own power but can by God's grace.

• Passionist:  Perfection is desire to increase in virtue, in loving God and neighbor.

• Universalis:  Bl. John Anne (John Amias, widower, or William Anne?), priest, missionary, martyr.

• Sacred Space

Music from Fr. Bob Fabing, SJ's Religious Education Congress workshop (part 2)

• Jesus the Christ 
• Open our hearts
• Only your love
• I thank my God
• Come to the feast
• Blessing prayer

Peter Kolar's workshop, Discovering the Assembly’s Voice: sac­red Music in the Liturgy

Tangential to the workshop's thrust, he gave the example of God of day and God of darkness/ Haugen, to the hymn tune Beach Spring in meter 87.87.D to explain the fit of lyrics to music and played some alternate tunes.  Here are possibly the most familiar of the 475 tunes Hymnary.org lists, each with a well-known song often set to it; they fit meter-wise but not necessarily otherwise:

• Hymn to Joy (Joyful, joyful, we adore thee)
• Hyfrydol (Alleluia, sing to Jesus)
• Converse (Come, thou fount of every blessing)
• Mendelssohn (Hark! The herald angels sing)
• Materna (America the beautiful)
• Austrian Hymn (Deutschland über alles)
• In Babilone (There's a wideness in God's mercy)
• Holy manna (God, who stretched the spangled heavens)

Apparel

• "Suns" [with sunglasses] tie:  the sun rises on the bad and the good (gospel)

• Purplish shirt:  Lent (season)

• "Hearts" suspenders:  observe God's command with your whole heart (1st reading); love your enemies (gospel)

• "Walker" [or shot-putter?] tie pin:  walk in the Lord's ways (1st reading, psalm)

• "Hope:  A world afire" button:  Religious Education Congress theme

• Mickey Mouse (embossed on shirt):  Congress is across from Disneyland.

• "St. Bede" button:  my parish

Dress your life!

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