July 31, 2014

Ignatius of Loyola

July 31, 2014:   St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest

Readings
    Potter's hands at work
    with words of today's readings
  • Jer 18:1-6  Jeremiah:  When the object turned out badly, the potter tried again.  Lord:  "Can I not do to you as this potter has done?  Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand."
  • Ps 146:1b-6ab  "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob."  Praise the Lord.  Don't trust people in whom there's no salvation.  God made heaven and earth.
  • Mt 13:47-53  “The Kingdom is like a net that collects fish.  When it's full they haul it in, put what's good into buckets, and throw out the rest.  At the end of the age, angels will separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the furnace....  Every scribe instructed in the Kingdom is like one who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”
Pope Francis
  • Prayer intentions for August:  Pray for refugees, forced by violence to abandon their homes, that they find welcome and protection of their rights.  On TV we see Gaza but not how Christians are suffering in Syria and Iraq, and the international community hasn't solved it.  May the Lord change hearts.  We're poor, but the poor can change the world!
Music for St. Ignatius's Contemplation to Gain Love / Contemplatio ad amorem (SpEx §234)
St. Ignatius of Loyola
*needs [free] Spotify login
Reflections
    • One Bread One Body:  The apostles didn't understand Jesus.  The first step towards my understanding is admitting I don't either.
    • Passionist:   We're all treasure hunters. / God patiently waits for us. / The "good fish" got their value from the One willing to shed his blood for them.
    • DailyScripture.net:  As a dragnet takes in all kinds of fish, flotsam, and jetsam, the church gathers all comers; net and church don't discriminate.  God's kingdom is open to all.... / A trained scribe is like one who brings out of his treasure the new and the old; gems don't lose value with age.
      Apparel

      • 'Hand' tie pin:  you're in my hand as clay in potter's (1st reading)
      • 'Fishes' tie:  The Kingdom is like a net that collects fish (gospel)
      • 'Angel' pin:  Angels will separate the wicked from the just (gospel)
      • White shirt:  color of St. Ignatius memorial
      • Green suspenders:  Ordinary Time (season)
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      July 30, 2014

      July 30

      July 30, 2014:   Wednesday, 17th week, Ordinary Time

      Readings
        'Pearl of great price'
        from today's readings
      • Jer 15:10, 16-21  All curse me.  "Lord, your words became my joy and happiness.  I sat alone because you filled me with indignation.  Why is my pain continuous, my wound incurable?"  Lord:  "If you repent, I'll restore you, and you'll be my mouthpiece.  People who fight you won't prevail for I am with you to rescue and free you.
      • Ps 59:2-3, 4, 10-11, 17-18  "God is my refuge on the day of distress."  Rescue me; people lie in wait for my life.  You are my stronghold.  May your mercy go before me.  I'll sing of your strength and mercy.
      • Mt 13:44-46  “The Kingdom is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy sells all he has to buy the field.  The Kingdom is like a merchant searching for fine pearls; when he finds one of great price, he sells all that he has and buys it.”
      Music
      Reflections
        • Creighton:  Evil, loss, illness, and suffering afflict us all, but “I am with you”:  the Kingdom of Heaven is already here; God is manifesting himself in our world. / The gospel says “the Kingdom is like a merchant...” (vs. the pearl he seeks):  the Kingdom is looking for the pearl; i.e. God’s power, presence and love are here for us.  Thy kingdom come!
        • One Bread One Body:  If on account of God's word people hate you, you feel abandoned, you're in pain, you're tempted to turn away from the Lord or actually turn away, remember the promise: "If you repent,...  you'll stand in my presence and be my mouthpiece."  If we live and proclaim God's Word, the Lord will ultimately free us.
        • Passionist:  What is the "pearl of great price" in my life?  Bread's love song Everything I own expresses the priority of the beloved:  "I would give everything I own, / Give up my life, my heart, my home, / I would give everything I own, / Just to have you back again."  The question isn't "What do we possess?" but "What possesses, grips, and motivates us?"  Jesus challenges us to choose him above all and commit ourselves totally.  
        • DailyScripture.net:  In peasant communities the best safe was the earth; the man joyfully sold everything because he found something worth having above everything else.  God offers his kingdom at a price we can afford:  we can't pay full price for divine life; but when give our life, we receive a treasure beyond compare. / Pearls represented supreme value.  The kingdom has the greatest treasure:  God himself.  "Selling all" may mean changing friends, job, lifestyle...
          • Universalis:  St. Peter Chrysologus ["golden-words"], bishop, preacher
          Apparel

          • 'Circle' tie pin:  "I didn't celebrate in the circle of merrymakers" (1st reading); green inside for Ordinary Time (season)
          • 'Hands' tie:  "Under the weight of your hand I sat"; "I'll free you from the hand of the wicked" (1st reading)
          • Blue shirt:  "You've become for me a treacherous brook" (1st reading)
          • 'Pearl' tie bar (again :-) :  "Again, the Kingdom is like a merchant searching for fine pearls." (gospel)
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          July 29, 2014

          Martha

          July 29, 2014:   St. Martha

          Readings
          • Ps 79:8-9, 11, 13  "For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us."  We're brought low.  Deliver us and pardon our sins.  Then we'll give thanks to you forever.
          • Jn 11:19-27  When Martha heard Jesus was coming, she went to meet him.  Martha / Jesus:  “Lord, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died.  But I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” / “He'll rise.” / “I know,in the resurrection.” / “I am the resurrection; whoever believes in me will live, and anyone who believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?” / “Yes, Lord.  I believe you are the Christ, the one who is coming into the world.”
          • Lk 10:38-42  Jesus entered a village where Martha welcomed him.  Her sister Mary sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him.  Martha / Jesus:  “Lord, don't you care that my sister left me by myself to serve?  Tell her to help me.” / “Martha, you're anxious about many things, but only one is needed.  Mary has chosen the better part and it won't be taken from her.”
          Wordle: Readings 7-29-14
          Top words of all four of today's readings
          Music
          Reflections
            • Back to Sunday!  Thanks to ACC colleague Eileen O'Brien for telling me about a homily of Fr. Curtis Bryant, S.J. on Sunday's gospel:  We are the 'buried treasure' and 'pearl of great price' that God bought with his Son!  Stedman echoes this, controversially at the expense of more traditional interpretations.
            • Creighton:  The encounter with Jesus is a real one with a loving God who calls us to new life.  Jesus calls Martha to be present.  Jesus invites us to true presence and real life.  Resurrection is both now and later.  Don't let daily burdens steal the present moment.  Jesus invites Martha, and us, to not let good things stand between her and something better.
              St. Martha, from
              the Isabella Breviary
            • One Bread One Body:  Many Christians feel alone in their service like Martha did. Martha complained to Jesus that he should get her help.  When we ask him for a helper, he may not send anyone; maybe we should "not do something but sit there."  After being alone with Jesus, we may have the strength to serve alone, or see God raise up helpers.
            • Passionist:  Small seeds grow together into beautiful plants or unspeakable evil.  May we sow good seeds through acts of compassion, forgiveness, work towards unity...
            • DailyScripture.net:  Martha believed in the resurrection.  Jesus offers God's abundant life.
              • Universalis:  Martha was the sister of Mary of Bethany and Lazarus.  In the West, her feast is a week after Mary Magdalene's because of the old and likely incorrect tradition that the Marys were the same.  But we forget Lazarus who died, was raised, and had to die again... See Catholic Encyclopedia.
              Apparel
              • 'Eyeball' tie pin, [tear]drop pin:  Let my eyes stream with tears (1st reading)
              • 'Peace sign' 'suspender bar' (repurposed tie bar; call me a fashion iconoclast :-):  We wait for peace, to no avail (1st reading)
              • 'Sheep' tie bar:  we, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you (psalm)
              • 'Feet' tie:  Mary sat at the Lord's feet (gospel)
              • 'Question mark' tie pin:  Jesus' to Martha, Martha's to Jesus (gospels)
              • White shirt:  color of St. Martha's memorial
              • 'Pearl' suspender bar (see Sunday for 'pearl side'):  Fr. Bryant's homily on Sunday's gospel
              Special greetings to and prayers for the communities at...
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              July 28, 2014

              July 28

              July 28, 2014:   Monday, 17th week, Ordinary Time

              Readings

              • Jer 13:1-11  Lord: "Buy a loincloth; wear it, but don't put it in water."  I did.  "Take it and go to the Parath; hide it in a cleft of the rock."  I did.  "Fetch it."  I did, but it was rotted!  "So too I will allow Judah to rot.  They, who refuse to obey me, walk in stubbornness, and serve idols, shall be like the cloth, good for nothing.  For, as close as a loincloth clings to loins, I made Israel and Judah cling to me, to be my people, my praise, my beauty.  But they didn't listen."
              Wordle: Readings 7-28-14
              Today's readings
              (The Wordle-Java fight is over :-)
              • Dt 32:18-19, 20, 21  "You have forgotten God who gave you birth."  When the Lord saw, he was filled with anger.  “How fickle they are, with no loyalty!”  “Since they provoked me with ‘no-god’ and angered me with idols, I'll provoke them with ‘no-people.’”
              • Mt 13:31-35  Parable:  “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed sown in a field:  the smallest of seeds, yet the largest of plants full-grown.  Birds come dwell in its branches.”  Another:  “The Kingdom is like yeast mixed with flour till the batch was leavened.”  He spoke only in parables to fulfill the prophecy:  I will open my mouth in parables, announcing what was hidden.
              Music
              Pope Francis
              • Interview trickles out from Clarín weekly Viva via news.va:  Campa e lascia campà (live and let live) is the first step to peace and happiness. / In Güiraldes's novel Don Segundo Sombra, a man looking back on his life says that in youth he was a rocky stream carrying everything ahead, as an adult, a running river, and in old age, he felt his movement was 'dammed' (slowed down), moving with kindness, humility, and calmness.  Leisure is important:  reading, art, playing with children; when I was in Buenos Aires, I'd ask mothers how often they played with their kids. / Sundays should be shared with family. / We need to find ways to help youths find work; lack of opportunities can lead to drug use or even suicide. / We must shout for peace; peace may give the idea of quiet, but it's active, not quiet. / Many countries are stingy about helping refugees. / We continue to waste God's gifts; are we committing suicide by our indiscriminate use of and tyranny over nature? / The Church grows by attraction; proselytizing paralyzes.  10 tips to be happy (Spanish)
              Reflections
                • Creighton:  Jeremiah saw how God wanted his people to behave and how they fell short.  Our task is to show the world God’s plan for humanity.  How well do we draw people to God’s vision?
                • One Bread One Body:  Sowing mustard seeds is light work physically but hard work spiritually:  you appear to be doing nothing and may feel like what you're doing amounts to nothing.  Like Jesus, you feel you've toiled in vain, and for nothing (Is 49:4), but God promises, "I'll make you light to the nations, that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth" (Is 49:6).  If you're discouraged we're so far from the Kingdom of justice and freedom, put the drop of your life into the ocean of God's love, and God will multiply it.
                • Passionist:  The Kingdom is here and now as well as hereafter; look for and be signs.
                • DailyScripture.net:  As the mustard seed grew into a bird-attracting tree, God's kingdom starts small in receptive hearts and transforms them.  As leaven transforms dough, so can God's word transform those who allow it.
                  Apparel

                  • Blue shirt:  the Parath [=Euphrates river] (1st reading)
                  • 'Rock' tie pin:  "hide the loincloth in a cleft of the rock" (1st reading); "You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you" (psalm)
                  • 'Bush' pin:  The Kingdom is like a mustard seed that becomes a large bush,... (gospel)
                  • 'Birds' tie:  ...and the ‘birds of the sky dwell in its branches. (gospel)
                  • 'Pearl' tie bar:  pearl of great price (Sunday gospel) (shell sparkles shown; see yesterday for pearl side)
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                  July 27, 2014

                  17th Sun. of Ordinary Time

                  July 27, 2014:  17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  Readings

                  • 1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12  Lord in dream / Solomon:  “Ask something of me and I'll give it to you.” / “Lord, you made me, your servant, king, but I don't know how to act.  Give me an understanding heart to judge and distinguish right from wrong.”  God, pleased:  “Because you asked for this—not long life, riches, or your enemies' life but understanding—I give you a heart more wise and understanding that anyone before or after you.”
                    "Treasure chest" from
                    words of today's readings
                    (tagul.com)
                  • Ps 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-130  "Lord, I love your commands."  Your law is precious to me.  Let your kindness comfort me.  I observe your wonderful decrees.  Your words give understanding to the simple.
                  • Rom 8:28-30  All things work for good for those who love God, whom he foreknew, predestined to be conformed to his Son, called, justified, and glorified.
                  • Mt 13:44-52  “The kingdom of heaven is like buried treasure a person finds then buys with all he has.  The kingdom is like a merchant who finds a fine pearl then buys it with all he has.  The kingdom is like a net thrown into the sea which when full of fish is hauled ashore; what's good is put into buckets, and the rest is thrown out.  At the end of the age, angels will separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the furnace.”
                  Pope Francis
                  • Homily:  Have the courage to say no to corruption and lawlessness.  To inherit the Kingdom, put God first.  Jesus' presence transforms us, makes us sensitive to others' needs, and invites us to accept everyone, including foreigners and immigrants.  Giving primacy to God means having the courage to say no to evil, violence, and oppression; to serve others and favor lawfulness and the common good.  When you find God, the true treasure, you leave behind selfishness and seek to share God's love.  You become a friend of God, love others, safeguard their lives and well-being, and respect the environment and nature.  This requires everyone to be servants of the truth and live a Gospel-inspired life, manifested in self-giving and attention to the poor and excluded.
                  Music (B means we sang it today at St. Bede's)
                  Reflections
                    • NEW See Tuesday for a sweet interpretation of today's gospel.
                    • Creighton:  Understanding (1st reading) and knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom (gospel) are God's gifts.  The kingdom is something we seek and have joy around when we find it; it's priceless.  It's present in Jesus' ministry and ours to one another; understanding it is a gift from God.  Imagine how Jesus would use a current object to describe the kingdom, e.g., “The kingdom is like this telephone; it connects you to everyone no matter who or where they are.”  May my life be a living sign of the kingdom.
                    • Passionist:  One can get disillusioned and cynical by an "Anything Goes" (Cole Porter, 1934) attitude, anesthetized by infidelity, tragedy, and terror.  Gandhi: "When I despair, I remember that the way of truth and love always wins.  Tyrants and murderers seem invincible but in the end fall."  There's hope!  Hope isn't blind optimism (wishful thinking) but is grounded in reality.  Jesus says the Kingdom must be our priority; the world tells us we can have many, but we can only have one.  Every choice is a renunciation; that helps explain why we struggle to make choices (St. Thomas Aquinas).
                    • DailyScripture.net:  The Kingdom is the greatest possible treasure:  God.  Selling all to obtain this treasure could mean losing friends, job, lifestyle, free time....  Treasure is connected to desire, will, and focus. / As a dragnet takes in all kinds of fish, flotsam, and jetsam, the church gathers all comers; net and church don't discriminate.  God's kingdom is open to all....
                      • Universalis:  If not trumped by Sunday:  Bl. Titus Brandsma, Carmelite, philosophy prof, journalist, anti-Nazi, martyred at Dachau.  Bl. Robert Sutton, convert, priest, martyr; before execution, he spoke of the candle given at baptism and the hour of death and said he lived and died in the light of the Catholic faith.
                      Apparel

                      • 'Owl' tie pin, 'scales of justice' pin:  give me an understanding heart to judge your people and distinguish right from wrong (1st reading)
                      • Gold- and silver-colored accessories:  Your law is more precious than gold and silver (psalm)
                      • 'Pearl' tie bar:  When the merchant finds a pearl of great price, he sells all he has and buys it. (gospel)
                      • '[Inter]net tie:  "the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea..." (gospel)
                      • 'Fish' pin:  "...which collects fish of every kind." (gospel)
                      • 'Angel' pin:  The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous (gospel)
                      • Green shirt (and in tie and suspenders):  Ordinary Time season
                      Preview tomorrowDress your life!
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                      July 26, 2014

                      Joachim & Anne

                      July 26, 2014:   SS. Joachim and Anne, Mary's parents

                      Readings
                      Anne, Mary, and Joachim
                      (Metropolitan Nicholas's homily)
                      • Jer 7:1-11  Reform your ways, so that I may remain with you.  If you deal justly with your neighbor, don't oppress the alien, orphan, and widow, don't shed innocent blood or follow strange gods, I'll remain with you.  But are you here to steal, murder, commit adultery and perjury, go after strange gods, and tell me, “We're safe; we can commit these abominations again”?  Has my house become to you a robbers' den?
                      • Ps 84:3-6a, 8a, 11  "How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!"  My soul, heart, and flesh yearn for the living God.  Blessed they who dwell in your house and praise you!  Blessed those whose strength you are!...
                      • Mt 13:24-30  Parable:  “The Kingdom is like a sower of good seed.  An enemy sowed weeds through the wheat.  When the crop grew, the weeds appeared too.  Master to slaves:  ‘An enemy did this.  If you pull the weeds, you might uproot the wheat too.  Let them grow; I'll have the harvesters collect and burn the weeds, then gather the wheat.”
                      Pope Francis
                      • On social communications for Brazil PASCOM congress with theme “Communication, challenges, opportunities to evangelize in the digital age”:  In the digital world, proclaiming the Gospel must be followed by an offer to meet Christ in a real and transforming way.  We can't keep ourselves shut up in our parishes, communities, or institutions when so many are waiting for the Gospel!  To go out as ones sent, it's not enough just to open the door because they come, but we must go out through the door to seek and meet the people!” 
                      Music
                      Reflections
                        Words of today's readings
                        jasondavies.com/wordcloud
                        • Creighton:  The old Christian tradition that Joachim and Anne presented their daughter in the Temple reminds us Mary was a daughter of Israel, knowing the psalm, "better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere." / Jeremiah won't allow separation of worship from right action, especially to the marginalized, lest God's dwelling become a thieves' den; compare with Jesus' Temple cleansing (Mt 21:12-13). But we shouldn't be quick to separate the "weeds" from the "wheat"; judgment is God's alone.  With Jeremiah, Mary, Joachim, Anne and the Psalmist, may we cry out for God both in our churches and in our streets.
                        • One Bread One Body:  When it looks like your efforts will bear fruit, people may appear siphon off the spiritual food, but the Divine Vinegrower (Jn 15) knows how to produce fruit by pruning...
                        • Passionist:  We've turned from God, not respecting life, making peace, and showing mercy.  I need to be uncomfortable hearing the prophet's words in order to change.
                        • DailyScripture.net:  Weeds can spoil a good harvest if not destroyed at the right time, but early uprooting can destroy good plants too.  Let the lifegiving word God implanted in your heart take root, guard it, and beware forces that can destroy it.
                          • Universalis:  Likely Joachim and Anne aren't in the Gospels because the evangelists felt they had more important things to talk about.  Mary's 'yes' to God reflects well on her parents; the Holy Spirit gave her the strength, but their training gave her the wisdom to choose.  Catholic Encyclopedia articles: St. Anne, St. Joachim.
                          Are you liturgical art?
                          At a meeting of music ministers and other liturgical ministers I attended Thursday, another music minister considered my "liturgical dress" as part of the ministry of "art and environment."  The closest the USCCB's Built of Living Stones—mainly about building, decorating, and renovating churches—comes to clothing is its discussion of seasonal decorations (§§122-29), sacred images (§§135-38), and vestments and other religious art (§§140-65).  But John's remark gives us all something to think about: 
                          Cardinal Mahony's Gather Faithfully Together speaks of donning "Sunday clothes" as part of our preparation for Sunday Mass.  I don't think last week's lector in cutoffs dressed well for his ministry.  How we 'dress' inwardly is more important, though Amneris would disagree ("I am what I wear and how I dress," from My strongest suit, in Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida), but I don't want to forget what's outside either.  As I try to encourage in this blog, let's 'dress' our whole lives to God's word and help decorate Church and world from the inside out. 
                          Apparel
                          • 'Blood drop' pin:  "if you no longer shed innocent blood..." (1st reading)
                          • 'Golden calf' tie pin:  "or follow strange gods, I'll remain with you." (1st reading)
                          • 'Birds' tie:  "Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest" (psalm)
                          • 'Wheat' pin:  “Collect the weeds for burning, but gather the wheat into my barn.” (gospel)
                          • White shirt:  color of Anne and Joachim's memorial day
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                          July 25, 2014

                          James

                          July 25, 2014:   St. James, apostle

                          Readings

                          • 2 Cor 4:7-15  We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the power may be God's and not ours.  We're afflicted but not constrained, perplexed but not despairing, persecuted but not abandoned, struck but not destroyed.  We're being given up to death for Jesus' sake so his life may be manifested in us.  We believe and speak, knowing God will raise us with Jesus.  Everything is for you, so that grace may cause thanksgiving for God's glory.
                          • Ps 126:1bc-6  "Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing."  When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers, laughing and rejoicing.  Restore our fortunes!
                          • Mt 20:20-28  The mother of the sons of Zebedee asked Jesus that her two sons will sit beside him in the Kingdom.  Jesus / sons:  “Can you drink the chalice I'm going to drink?” / “We can.” / “Then you shall, but the seats aren't mine to give.”  Jesus to the others:  “Don't be like rulers make their authority felt; to be great, serve.  The Son came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom.”



                          Music
                          Reflections
                              "Can you drink
                              from the cup?"
                            • Creighton:  We're called to serve; when we do, we help others and feel more alive ourselves.  We become God's instruments and help bring about of the Kingdom.
                            • One Bread One Body:  After Pentecost, James taught the good news and worked signs and wonders; King Herod killed him before turning to Peter.
                            • Passionist:  James and his brother John were fishermen Jesus called to follow him, but envy, greed, power, and prestige began to form:  when a town failed to offer a proper reception, they suggested destroying it, but Jesus rebuked them.  When their mother asked for prominent places for her sons, Jesus reminded them of the ‘chalice'.  We want the best for ourselves and our children.  Their mother did too but got it wrong, as we can as we try to follow Jesus, but if we remain steadfast, God will accomplish wonders in and through us!
                            • DailyScripture.net:  Jesus' reversals:  master/servant, lord/subject, first/last.  Jesus wedded authority with love, position with sacrifice, and service with humility.  Authority without love is overbearing; position without respect for subordinates is demeaning; service without generosity and sacrifice is cheap.  What 'chalice' does the Lord have for us:  martyrdom, daily sacrifices?
                              Apparel

                              • 'Drop' pin [of blood, like a tear]:  James's martyrdom; "Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing" (psalm)
                              • Tie with cups:  "Can you drink the cup?" (gospel)
                              • 'Phone' tie bar:  'call' of St. James and all disciples
                              • Red shirt:  color of apostle's feast day; martyrdom of St. James

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                              July 24, 2014

                              July 24

                              July 24, 2014:   Thursday, 16th week, Ordinary Time

                              Readings

                              • Jer 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13  Jerusalem, you loved me as a bride and followed me but then defiled my land, rebelled, and went after idols.  You've forsaken me, source of living waters, and dug yourselves broken cisterns.
                                "Broken cistern" word cloud -tagul.com
                              • Ps 36:6-7ab, 8-11  "With you is the fountain of life, O Lord."  Your mercy, faithfulness, and justice reach to the clouds.  We take refuge in you, have our fill of your gifts, and drink from your stream.  In your light we see light.
                              • Mt 13:10-17  “Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom has been granted to you but not them.  I speak to them in parables because they look and hear but don't see or understand.  The prophecy is fulfilled:  You shall hear but not understand, look but never see.  Gross is their heart....  they have closed their eyes, lest they see, understand, and be converted and healed I heal them (Is 6:9-10).  “But blessed are your eyes and ears, because they see and hear....”
                              Music
                              Reflections
                                • Creighton:  Faith takes confidence, trust, commitment, surrender, courage, and practice.
                                • One Bread One Body:  Our life patterns will help us grow in faith or erode it.  Leaking cisterns need repair.
                                • Passionist:  Jeremiah:  appalling evils:  forsaking God, losing God (through 'broken cistern').  Living without God is broken.
                                • DailyScripture.net:  St. Augustine: "I believe to understand, and I understand the better to believe." / Some of Jesus' greatest skeptics were scribes and Pharisees who knew scripture; they were blind and deaf because their hearts were closed and minds proud and prejudiced. / St. Jerome:  "You are reading [the scriptures]?  No.  Your betrothed is talking to you.  It is your betrothed, that is, Christ, who is united with you.  He tears you away from the solitude of the desert and brings you into his home, saying to you, 'Enter into the joy of your Master.'"
                                  • Universalis:  
                                    • St. Charbel Makhlouf, Maronite monk, priest, hermit; see Wikipedia.
                                    • St. Declan, bishop, abbot; see Wikipedia.
                                    • St. John Boste, convert, priest, missionary, martyr:  “My function is to invade souls, not to meddle in temporal invasions.”
                                    • Bl. Robert Ludlam and Nicholas Garlick, priests, martyrs
                                  Apparel

                                  • 'Sheep' tie bar;  "the shepherds rebelled against me" (1st reading)
                                  • 'Golden calf" tie pin:  "The prophets prophesied by Baal" (1st reading)
                                  • Blue shirt: living waters (1st reading), you give them drink from your stream (psalm)
                                  • Tie with clouds:  "your faithfulness reaches to the clouds." (psalm)
                                  • 'Eyeball' tie pin: “blessed are your eyes, because they see," (gospel)
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