July 31, 2015

Ignatius of Loyola

July 31, 2015:  St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest


  • 'Clock' tie bar:  Celebrate festivals at their proper time  (1st reading)
  • 'Fruits' tie:  When you reap, bring first fruits to the priest  (1st reading)
  • 'Angel with trumpet' pin:  Blow the trumpet at the new moon (psalm)
  • 'Treble clef' tie bar:  Take up a melody...  (psalm)
  • 'Owl' tie pin:  "Where did this man get such wisdom?"  (gospel)
  • 'Hammer' and 'nail' pins:  "Isn't he the carpenter's son?"  (gospel)
  • 'Love' sticker:  St. Ignatius's Contemplation to Gain Love
  • White shirt:  color of St. Ignatius memorial
Music for St. Ignatius's Contemplation to Gain Love / Contemplatio ad amorem (SpEx §234)

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Read
    Hammer from Jesus' time
    (Animate)
  • Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37  Lord to Moses:  “Celebrate these festivals of the Lord at their proper time:  Passover, Unleavened Bread, Day of Atonement, feast of Booths.  Proclaim a sacred assembly, and offer the Lord the offerings, sacrifices, and libations prescribed for each.”
  • 1 Cor 10:31-11:1  Do everything for God's glory.  Don't give offense.  Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
  • Ps 81:3-6, 10-11ab  "Sing with joy to God our help."  Don't worship any alien god.  I, the Lord, am your God who led you from Egypt.
  • Ps 34:2-11  "I will bless the Lord at all times." / "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord."  The Lord answered and delivered me.  Look to him and be radiant.  The Lord heard the cry of this poor one and saved me.  Blessed are you who take refuge in him; nothing is lacking to those who fear him.
  • Mt 13:54-58  Jesus came to his native place and taught in the synagogue.  Astonished, they said, “Where did he get such wisdom and deeds?  Isn't he the son of Mary and the carpenter and the brother of James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?”  They took offense at him.  Jesus:  “A prophet is without honor in his native place.”  He didn't work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
  • Lk 14:25-33  “If you don't hate your family, and even your own life, you can't be my disciple.  If you don't carry your own cross and come after me, you can't be my disciple.  If you don't first calculate the cost of building a tower, you might not be able to finish.  If you don't renounce your possessions, you can't be my disciple.”
Reflect
    • Creighton:  Jesus responds to the people's questions about his credentials: “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place....”  You wouldn't have pegged Ignatius as a saint if you knew him as a young man either, but he turned from a different life to find what fulfilled him.  Nothing is more practical than finding God, falling in love in an absolute way.  What you're in love with affects everything, deciding what gets you out of bed, how you spend your time, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you.  Fall and stay in Love; it'll decide everything.  (Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ)
      St. Ignatius of Loyola
    • DailyScripture.net:  The severest critics are often people close to us.  Jesus faced a severe testing when he returned home as a rabbi with disciples.  The Nazarenes took offense when he said no prophet is honored among his own; they dismissed him as a carpenter with no social distinction and a layman untrained in religion.  Closed-minded, they saw no viewpoint but their own.  Do I view those familiar to me with kindness and respect or with a critical  spirit?
      • Justin de Jacobis, Vincentian missionary, bishop, inculturation champion, established seminary.
    Note:   If you had trouble getting to this site yesterday, please accept my apologies.  There was a post, but it wasn't available briefly while I was transferring the liturgicaldress.com domain to a new registrar.

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    July 30, 2015

    July 30

    July 30, 2015:  Thursday, 17th week, Ordinary Time




    • Tie with building and columns:  Moses erected the Dwelling...  (1st reading)
    • 'Girl with heart' pin:  My heart and my flesh cry out for God  (psalm)
    • 'Fish' pin:  The Kingdom like a net collecting fish...  (gospel)
    • 'Angel' pin:  At the end, angels will separate the wicked from the just  (gospel)
    • Green shirt and suspenders:  Ordinary Time season

    Hear music for today's psalm

    Read
    • Ex 40:16-21, 34-38  Moses who erected the Dwelling as the Lord commanded:  pedestals, boards, bars, columns, tent, covering, commandments in the ark, poles, propitiatory, and curtain veil.  The cloud covered the tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling.  When the cloud rose, the Israelites set out....
      Ark of the Covenant
    • Ps 84:3-6a, 8a, 11  "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!"  I yearn for the courts of the Lord; I cry out for the living God.  Blessed they who dwell in your house!  Blessed those whose strength you are!  I'd rather have one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere....
    • Mt 13:47-53  “The Kingdom is like a net thrown into the sea to collect fish; when it's full, they haul it in, put what's good into buckets, and throw away what's bad.  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 a head of household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”
    Reflect
        St. Peter Chrysologus
      • Creighton:  Moses creates a dwelling and in it puts the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments; it's a place where God can communicate with his people.  God came there and let his people know when to move and when to stay.  God dwells in all of creation and in our hearts....
      • DailyScripture.net:  The most common ways of fishing in Jesus' time was with a casting-net thrown from the shore and a drag-net let down from a boat.  As the boat moved, the dragnet took in fish and flotsam and jetsam.  As the net catches every kind of fish, so the church gathers in all comers.  Just as the net can't discriminate, so the church doesn't discriminate good from bad.  Our duty is to gather everyone in, but a time of separation will come when God will reward the good. / Scribes were devoted to study and practice God's word and to instruct others how to live according to it.  Some people store up old possessions, but others are eager to get rid of them.  Jesus praises keeping the old with the new; who'd throw away jewels or gold coins just because they're old?  Jesus' parable of old and new points to the older covenants God made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David and to the new one he established through shedding his blood and sending the Spirit.  God gave both Old and New, Old prepares for New, New fulfills Old, and each enlightens the other.  Jesus interpreted the Old Testament and explained how he came to fulfill what was promised and foreshadowed there.  Do I treasure all God's word?
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      July 29, 2015

      Martha

      July 29, 2015:  St. Martha




      • 'Phone' tie bar:  They 'called' on the Lord, and he answered (psalm)
      • 'Clouds' tie:  The Lord spoke from the pillar of cloud (psalm)
      • 'Silverware' tie bar:  Martha's doing the serving (gospel)
      • 'Feet' tie/pin:  Mary sat at the Lord's feet (gospel)
      • 'Question mark' tie pin:  Jesus' to Martha, Martha's to Jesus (gospels)
      • White shirt:  Moses' face became radiant (1st reading); color of St. Martha's memorial
      Listen

      Read
      • Ex 34:29-35  Moses didn't realize his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord, but others who saw him saw and were afraid to approach.  Moses called them over and told them what the Lord said....
        St. Martha, from
        the Isabella Breviary
      • Ps 99:5-6, 7, 9  "Holy is the Lord our God."  Extol the Lord!  Moses, Aaron, and Samuel called upon him, and he answered them.  He spoke, and they heard his decrees....
      • 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 God will give you whatever you ask.” / “He'll rise.” / “Yes, 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're 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 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.” / “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.”
      Reflect
        Jesus at the house of
        Mary and Martha/ Copping
      • Creighton:  Martha was one of Jesus’ earliest and most loyal disciples. He loved her and her siblings and often stayed with them.  Today's gospels reveal a saint with faith but who wasn't perfect.  The story of her brother's death shows her confidence in Jesus.  She went to him knowing God would give him whatever he asks for, but she didn't understand his response or his power over death.  She believed, called him Lord, Christ, and Son of God.  Martha loved and trusted Jesus and strove to serve him.
      • One Bread One Body:  "In your face":  In the Old Testament, uncleanness contaminated cleanness, but Jesus reversed that:  he cleansed lepers, overpowering unholiness with holiness.  This reversal is why Jesus says the unholy weeds can coexist with the holy wheat.  The wheat's holiness should overpower the weeds' unholiness, bringing conversion and creating a culture of holiness.  Does my face radiate God's love?...
      • Universalis:  St Martha, sister of Mary of Bethany and Lazarus.  Lazarus deserves our sympathy for being brought back to life by Jesus so as to have to die again.  Think of him when preparing to make spectacular acts of charity on behalf of people who may not appreciate it.  See Catholic Encyclopedia.
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      July 28, 2015

      July 28

      July 28, 2015:  Tuesday, 17th week, Ordinary Time
      • 'Clouds' tie:  As Moses entered the meeting tent, the column of cloud would come down...  (1st reading)
      • 'Scales of justice' pin:  "The Lord secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed."  (psalm)
      • 'Angel' pin (below top school bus):  The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. (gospel)
      • Green in tie, tie pin, and suspenders:  Ordinary Time season

      Listen

      • Though in the early church below/ Newton:  lyrics+, tune  (gospel)
      Read
      • Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28  Moses pitched the meeting tent outside the camp.  When Moses went to it, the people rose and watched.  While the Lord spoke with Moses, a column of cloud came down, and people rose to worship.  The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, then returned to the camp, but his assistant Joshua stayed in the tent.  Moses, bowing in worship:  “If I find favor with you, come with us, pardon our wickedness, and receive us as your own.”  Moses stayed 40 days and nights, without eating or drinking, and he wrote down the words of the commandments.
      • Ps 103:6-13  "The Lord is kind and merciful."  The Lord secures justice.  He made known his ways to Moses and the Israelites.  He doesn't deal with us according to our sins, so surpassing his kindness.  He has compassion as a father has on his children.
      • Mt 13:36-43  Disciples/Jesus:  “Explain the parable of the weeds in the field.” / “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom, the weeds are the children of the Evil One, the enemy is the Devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.  As weeds are collected and burned, so at the end of the age the Son will send his angels to collect all who cause others to sin and all evildoers and throw them into the furnace.  Then the just will shine in the Kingdom.”
      Reflect
        • Creighton:  The Exodus reading tells of the Moses/Lord conversations; curiously the people pray at their tents when Moses goes into the Tent, but during Moses' vigil they turned to an idol.  The Gospel has the interpretation of the weeds parable:  the forgiven are welcomed into loving arms, but the weeds are burned.  Not all the weeds were ugly, just inappropriately placed, like “volunteers” from other flowers.  Some seeds of the Evil One can be inviting and seemingly harmless; focus on the beauty of the garden and the seeds related to the rightful sower.
        • One Bread One Body:  "The great communicator":  Many would like to trade places with Moses and have direct communication with God, but likely he would have liked to trade places with us for our opportunities to communicate with God.  "Before, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways through prophets; in this age, he's spoken through His Son."  The Spirit inhabits us, God dwells within us, and we receive Jesus' body and blood.  May I make my relationship with God my highest priority.
        • Passionist:  In the 1st reading, God is teaching how to be his people as parents teach children.  God led them, protected and cared for them, provided food and drink, drew them close, and set some rules.  But they stayed unfaithful, and God got angry, as a parent seeing a child's self-destructiveness behavior would be.  God called them stiff-necked, Moses begged him to pardon and receive them, and God says he'll be with them and forgive them.  God is kind and merciful to his children even when we're stubborn....
        • DailyScripture.net:  The weeds parable teaches us patience lest we judge before the time is right.  Seeds of good and evil can be sown in us, and in time yield a harvest of good or bad fruit.  We must stand guard lest evil take root and corrupt us.  "Sow an act and you reap a habit.  Sow a habit and you reap a character.  Sow a character and you reap a destiny" (Reade?).  On judgment day all will reap what they sowed. 
          • St. Victor, pope 

          • St. Sampson, abbot, bishop

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        July 27, 2015

        July 27

        July 27, 2015:  Monday, 17th week, Ordinary Time


        • 'Ten commandment tablets' tie: Moses, seeing the idolatry, broke the tablets (1st reading)
        • 'Golden calf' tie pin (note strategic placement over the 1st commandment):  The Israelites formed a calf and danced around it (1st reading)
        • 'Angel' pin:  "My angel will go before you." (1st reading)
        • 'Bird' tie pin:  The birds come and dwell in the mustard bush (gospel)
        • 'Fish' pin for yesterday's loaves and fishes miracle (gospel)
        • Green in shirt and suspenders:  Ordinary Time season
        Listen


        Pope Francis Angelus

        Jesus satisfies not only material hunger, but the most profound of hungers, the hunger for meaning in life, the hunger for God.  In the face of people's suffering, loneliness, poverty, and difficulties, what can we do?  Complaining doesn't solve anything, but we can offer what we have.  We certainly have time, talent, expertise.... Who among us doesn't have his or her "five loaves and two fish"?  If we put them in the hands of the Lord, we'll bring more love, peace, justice, and joy into the world.  God can multiply our gestures....

        Read
          Adoration of the Golden Calf/ Poussin
        • Ex 32:15-24, 30-34  Moses, coming down with the two God-given tablets of the commandments:  “I hear cries of revelry.”  Seeing them dancing around a golden calf, he angrily threw the tablets down and broke them, fused the calf, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink.  Moses / Aaron:  “How is it that you led them to this?” / They asked me to make them a god because they didn't know what happened to you.  I threw their gold into the fire, and the calf came out.”  Moses to people:  “You committed a grave sin.  Maybe I can make atonement to the Lord.”  Moses / Lord:  “If you would only forgive them!  Otherwise, strike me from your book.” / “I'll only strike out the sinner.  Go lead the people; my angel will go before you....”
        • Ps 106:19-23  "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good."  Our fathers made and adored a calf; they forgot the God who saved them.  He spoke of exterminating them, but Moses withstood him to turn back his wrath.
        • Mt 13:31-35  “The Kingdom is like a mustard seed a person sowed, the smallest seed that becomes the largest plant.”  “The Kingdom is like yeast a woman mixed with flour till the whole batch was leavened.”  Jesus spoke to them only in parables to fulfill, I will open my mouth in parables....
        Reflect
          • Creighton:  The mustard seed parable evokes movement from something tiny to an all-embracing entity; the parable, about the woman, leaven, and dough, recalled a familiar experience for Israelites of Jesus’ time.  Jesus invited them to see how a tiny movement could affect society at large.  May I be that mustard seed or pinch of yeast, alive to God and sensitive to others' needs.
            Mustard bush
          • Passionist:  "A New Reformation":  We can succumb to the sin of “them and us,” projecting guilt on others and distancing ourselves.  We can have our own "golden calf."  Pope Francis reminds us that ours is consumerism.  The parable of the yeast suggests we can improve society by good example.
          • DailyScripture.net:  As tiny mustard seeds grow to big trees, God's kingdom starts from small beginnings in receptive hearts and transforms from within.  As leaven (and heat) transform dough to rich, wholesome bread, God's kingdom transforms all who receive the life Christ offers.  When we allow his word to take root, the Spirit makes us holy.  "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the power belongs to God, not us" (2 Cor 4:7, Saturday's 1st reading).
            • Titus Brandsma, Carmelite priest, philosopher, journalist, outspoken against Nazism, martyr; see official Carmelite page.
            • Robert Sutton, convert, priest, martyr:  "I lived and died in the light of the Catholic faith."
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          July 26, 2015

          17th Sun., Ordinary Time

          July 26, 2015:  Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

          Find 12 connections between
          today's readings and celebration
          and my outfit?
          Legend below
          Listen


          • If you belong to me/ Hurd (1st reading- and gospel-inspired, for the people who offered the bread that was multiplied)


            5 loaves, 2 fish...
            (animate)
          • 2 Kgs 4:42-44  A man brought Elisha 20 barley loaves made from the firstfruits and fresh grain.  When Elisha told him to give it to the people to eat, he objected:  "There are a hundred people!"  Elisha insisted, they ate, and there were leftovers.

          • Ps 145:10-11, 15-18  "The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs."  Lord, let your works thank you and your faithful bless you.  All look hopefully to you, and you satisfy their desires.  You're just, holy, and near....

          • Eph 4:1-6  Live worthy of the call you received, with humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another through love, preserving the unity through the bond of peace.  There's one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, over all and in all.

          • Jn 6:1-15  Jesus, seeing the crowd coming to him / Philip:  "Where can we buy food for them?" / “200 days’ wages wouldn't be enough.”  Andrew / Jesus:  “A boy has five loaves and two fish; but what good is that?” / “Have them recline.”  About 5,000 did.  Jesus took the loaves and fish, gave thanks, and distributed them.  After all had their fill, the disciples gathered up 12 baskets of leftovers.  Crowd:  “This is the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”   Jesus withdrew.
            • Creighton:  God creates something out of nothing....
            • Passionist:  The multiplication of the loaves connects us to the Last Supper, the Eucharist, and our sense of feeling overwhelmed before the tasks given to us.  “Lord, what can I do with so little?” / “What you have is enough, even more than enough.”  Let God take what we have, bless it, and tell us, “Give them something to eat”:  a smile, a dollar, time, compliment, help, note...?  If we put what we have at the service of God's people, there will be more than enough.
            • DailyScripture.net:  The crowd came to Jesus because they were hungry for his word.   Jesus multiplied what they had to satisfy their hunger for food too.  His feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle repeated in all four gospels; it points to God's provision of manna for the Israelites; that provision of food in the wilderness foreshadowed the heavenly bread Jesus would offer.  Jesus is the bread of heaven that can satisfy our deepest hunger.  When we receive the Eucharist, we're united to Christ.  The "one bread provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live in Christ" (Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Eph. 20:2); it's healing for body and soul and strength for our journey.  The feeding of the 5,000 shows God's generosity and kindness. He gives more than we need so we may share with others; he multiplies what we have for others' good....
            • Sunday-trumped saints, thanks to Universalis:  Anne and Joachim, Mary's parents.  May parents rear their children the they can, to meet challenges we have no way of imagining.  See Catholic Encyclopedia on Anne and Joachim.
            Dress legend
            • 'Hand' tie pin:  "The hand of the Lord feeds us"  (psalm)
            • 'Food' tie:  "You give them their food in due season" (psalm); feeding of the 5,000+ (gospel)
            • 'Phone' tie bar:  The Lord is near to all who 'call' on him  (psalm); live worthy of the 'call' you received (2nd reading)
            • 'Clock' tie bar:  Live with patience (2nd reading)
            • 'Bear' tie bar:  'Bear' with one another through love (2nd reading)
            • 'Peace sign" tie bar:  Preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace (2nd reading)
            • One Life LA button:  One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (2nd reading)
            • '[Kentucky] sign' pin:  Crowd saw the 'signs' he was performing (gospel)
            • 'Fish' tie pin:  "A boy has five loaves and two fish" (gospel)
            • Green shirt:  Grass (gospel), Ordinary Time season
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