September 5, 2015

Sept. 5

September 5, 2015:  Saturday, 22nd week, Ordinary Time


  • 'Wheat' pin:  Jesus' disciples were picking heads of grain,... (gospel)
  • 'Hand' pin:  ...rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.  David went into the house of God, ate of  the bread of offering and shared it with his companions” (gospel)
  • Green T-shirt:  Ordinary Time season

Listen

Pope Francis
To Parish Evangelizing Cell Movement:  Being a missionary requires listening to the voice of the Spirit who's at the heart of evangelization.  Your daily work helps the parish become a family, where we find the rich reality of the Church, and where  no one is judged.  Sharing time together, such as in the home, is a genuine experience of evangelization very similar to what happened in the early Church.  Make the Eucharist the heart of your mission of evangelization, so each cell is a Eucharistic community where you recognize the real presence of Jesus Christ in your midst.
Virtual audience with US:  We're created for friendship in society; we bear responsibility for each other.  I have to make a choice for closeness and self-giving in my heart; escaping it through addiction or violence doesn't help.  Sr. Norma Pimentel [local Catholic Charities Executive Director], and all US Sisters, thanks and congratulations for your work; it's great.  Be courageous.  Move forward.  I love you very much.  It's difficult for me not to be close to people; when I approach you, it's easier for me to understand and help.  That's why this trip is so important, for me to draw close to your path and history.  Full video 
Connect doctrine to pastoral context:  (to International Theological Congress)  Theologians are children of their people; they know Church tradition and encounter people's personal stories.  They're believers who have discovered they can't live without Christ, and they're prophets who reflect past tradition while creating a bridge to present and future.
Recapture the memory of God’s presence in Church life. We can't have isolated individual Churches claiming unique interpretation of reality and the Spirit's action, and we can't have a universal Church that ignores or denies the reality of the local Churches.  Our tradition is like a river springing from faith and flowing towards the future, irrigating and giving life to the world.
Discern and reflect on what it means to be a Christian here today.  A Christian now isn't the same as 100 years ago, and it’s not the same in Argentina, India, Canada, and Rome.  Give answers to today's challenges, avoiding both being too conservative and rejecting the new, or embracing the new without the wisdom of the past.
Don't separate doctrine from pastoral context.  The fathers of the Church were great theologians because they were also great pastors.  Encountering families, the poor, and those on the margins is the path to better understanding of faith.
  • Col 1:21-23  You once were alienated and hostile because of evil deeds, but God has reconciled you in the Body of Christ through his death, to present you irreproachable before him, so long as you persevere in faith, grounded, stable, not shifting from the Gospel hope you heard.
  • Ps 54:3-4, 6, 8  "God himself is my help."  Save me, defend my cause, hear my prayer.  I'll praise the Lord....
  • Lk 6:1-5  Jesus' disciples were picking and eating heads of grain on a sabbath; Pharisees / Jesus:  “Why are you doing what is unlawful?” / “When David and those with him were hungry, David went into the house of God and ate and shared the bread only the priests could lawfully eat.  The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
Reflect
    • Creighton:  The gospel shows what can go wrong with religion.  The Pharisees don't violate the law but by being judgmental and lacking in compassion miss its spirit.  The Pharisees were upset because Jesus ate and drank with sinners, but love heals, forgives, and builds a community of love and mercy.  Pope Francis is helping us hear Jesus' message that mercy and compassion are essential to true religion, that being merciful shares the good news of God's mercy, that we live out our faith in our acts of mercy.  Thank God for the love that's reconciles and sustains us; may we share that love, freely, with growing compassion and mercy.
      Bl. Mother Teresa
    • One Bread One Body:  "The 3rd commandment":  Keeping the sabbath shows we want to be holy as God made us; we can see why Pharisees criticized Jesus' disciples for picking the grain and were shocked when Jesus claimed to be Lord of the sabbath.  Jesus has made the sabbath a day of resurrection and rest; may we keep it holy and use it to proclaim the resurrection through worship, fellowship, study, and prayer....
    • Passionist:  "The Ultimate Rule Maker":  Rules are necessary to maintain order and safety; we all have personal rules too.  Rules are followed, bent, or broken.  Today the disciples break a rule, the Pharisees call them out, and Jesus says he's Lord of the Sabbath, the Ultimate Rulemaker.  I now question rules; I think Jesus would challenge some too.  Many in history have seen an injustice and tackled it to help transform society.  Jesus' rules—love God and love others—are easy to understand and sometimes to follow, but it's challenging with those who don't share my values and beliefs; stopping to pray “God help them” helps replace my anger with compassion.  May we find peace by following the Ultimate Rulemaker.
    • DailyScripture.net:  The Sabbath is a time to remember and celebrate God's goodness and good work of creation and redemption, to rest from everyday work.  Jesus argued that human need has precedence over ritual custom, but the Pharisees' zeal for ritual observance blinded them from the demands of charity.  Jesus healed on the Sabbath and showed mercy to those in need....
      • St. Herbert, hermit
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