Stewardship: Caring for God’s Creation – Gaudium Evangelii: Chapter 2, Cultural Challenges
We need to learn to help others to realize that the only way is to learn.. to encounter others with the right attitude, which is to accept and esteem them as companions along the way… Better yet, it means learning to find Jesus in the faces of others, in their voices, in their pleas…There indeed we find true healing, since the way to relate to others which truly heals instead of debilitating us, is a mystical fraternity, a contemplative fraternity. It is a fraternal love capable of seeing the sacred grandeur of our neighbor, of finding God in every human being, of tolerating the nuisances of life in common by clinging to the love of God, of opening the heart to divine love and seeking the happiness of others just as their heavenly Father does. Here and now, especially where we are a ‘little flock’, the Lord’s disciples are called to live as a community which is the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We are called to bear witness to a constantly new way of living together in fidelity to the Gospel. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of community.
The Pastor’s Corner
In today’s Gospel Jesus asks: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” There are a number of responses until Simon Peter says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This is a positive moment in Peter’s encounter with Jesus. There are other times when he is not so positive and affirming. Rather than be critical of Peter, we have to admit that sometimes we fluctuate in our living out of our faith commitment; sometimes we are strong and at other times we may vary. The challenges of our lives are what influence the strength of our commitment, but no matter what they may be, we still are committed to the Lord. What would we do without our faith!
Next weekend we welcome members of the Blessed Sacrament Father and Brothers who will be here as part of the Archdiocese’s Missionary Cooperative Plan. The second collection at all Masses will be taken for the support of their ministries.
Finally, I want to share with you the statement from the U.S. Franciscan Friars on the recent violence in Charlottesville, Virginia:
-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
As followers of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron of peace, we, the Franciscans Friars of the United States join with the many public and religious leaders and fellow-citizens who have condemned the recent violence in Charlottesville, VA.
We hold that all forms of racism, white supremacy, neo-nazism, xenophobia and hatred are wrong.
Because we believe that every person is created by God in love, we also hold that disrespect or diminishment of—or violence against–anyone offends not only that person but also the One who created that person.
As Franciscans, we strive to be bridge-builders. To avoid future instances of the tragic violence that tore not only the community of Charlottesville but also the fabric of our nation, we call for a renewed commitment to respectful dialogue by all, whereby our opinions and differences can be shared in constructive and illuminating ways that lead to the possibility of growth and conversion for all. Such dialogue might lead us beyond the overt displays of violence and intolerance into an understanding of the subtler and even unconscious forms of discrimination and intolerance that may still inhabit our hearts as well as our society.
We commit ourselves to the responsibility of respect for and dialogue with all who seem “other” than ourselves. And we pray that all the citizens of our nation will join in striving to attain respect and peace in our communities.
Statement of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi on the events in Charlottesville, VA
(The following statement was posted on the Church of St. Francis of Assisi’s FaceBook page on Saturday, August 12, 2017:)
As the news and images of horrible events that are unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia continue to come to light, our hearts are troubled and weighed down with sadness. First and foremost the friars and staff at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi condemn any act of violence especially the cowardly and senseless attack with the car that took one person’s life and injured many more.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim, the victim’s family and friends, and with all of those who are injured.
But we are also horrified by the naked display of outright racism by the participants in the so-called “unite the right” rally. We condemn in the strongest terms this evil and sinful attitude that professes that one person or group of people is better than any other because of their race.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church rightfully condemns racism and racist attitudes in the strongest terms:
“The equality of human beings rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it: ‘Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God’s design.” (CCC 1935)
Racism is a sin that must be eradicated. This begins with examining our own hearts and minds to search ourselves for any racist attitudes, it then moves outwards to our families, and friends where we must have the courage and love to confront this sin, and then it moves outward in ever growing circles to our community and our society where we must work for peace and justice based on the equal dignity of all of God’s children.
Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God. Any attitude, philosophy, or ideology that seeks to deny this fundamental truth is antithetical to the Gospel and the Christian faith.
We pray for the victims tonight, but we also pray for our nation and for all people of good will, that we will all work for justice and for peace for the good of all.
Stewardship: Caring for God’s Creation – Gaudium Evangelii: Chapter 2, Cultural Challenges
The Christian ideal will always be a summons to overcome suspicion, habitual mistrust, fear of losing our privacy, all the defensive attitudes which today’s world imposes on us. Many try to escape from others and take comfort in their privacy or in a small circle of close friends, renouncing the social aspect of the Gospel.
For just as some people want a purely spiritual Christ, without esh and without the cross, they also want their interpersonal relationships provided by sophisticated equipment, by screens and systems which can be turned on and o on command. Meanwhile, the Gospel tells us constantly to run the risk of a face-to-face encounter with others, with their physical presence which challenges us, with their pain and their pleas, with their joy which infects us in our close and continuous interaction. True faith in the incarnate Son of God is inseparable from self- giving, from membership in the community, from service, from reconciliation with others. The Son of God, by becoming flesh, summoned us to the revolution of tenderness.
The Pastor’s Corner
It’s amazing the number of people that approached Jesus during his time on earth. Today’s Gospel tells of a Canaanite woman who keeps following Jesus, pleading that he do something to help her daughter: “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David. My daughter is tormented by a demon.” Even though he tells her that his mission is to the lost sheep of the Israel, it doesn’t stop her. In today’s second reading, Paul speaks to the Gentiles as the apostle to the Gentiles. Thus, we see that the mission of Jesus is for all people. Many had been excluded up to this point; many did not think they were worthy to approach Jesus. The truth that Jesus shows so clearly is that God’s love and concern is offered to all people – not just one group. No one is excluded if they are willing to open their heart to what is offered.
Next Saturday, two of our Friars will make their solemn profession of vows here at St. Francis at 11 AM. Br. Ramon Razon, who is here at St. Francis, and Br. Casey Cole have completed their years in formation and now vow to live the Franciscan way of life for the rest of their lives. Congratulations to Ramon and Casey and thank you!
I would like to welcome Fr. David McBriar to St. Francis Church. Fr. David has been ministering at St. Francis Chapel in Loudonville, NY recently, but previously he has been Pastor of St. Francis Church in Raleigh, NC and Pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Durham, NC. He comes with much pastoral experience and we are happy to have him here at St. Francis.
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Vigil Masses on Monday, August 14,
at 4:30 and 5:30 PM
Masses on Tuesday, August 15,
at 7:00, 7:45, 8:30, 11:30 AM;
12:15, 1:15, 4:30 and 5:30 PM
The roots of the feast:
The roots of this week’s feast of the Assumption can be traced back at least to the fifth century, when it is noted in the Armenian lectionary. Celebrated in Jerusalem, the feast in honor of the Theotokos, the Mother of God, became the principal feast of Mary throughout the Christian world. The place of celebration was at the tomb of Mary in Gethsemane and was therefore known as the “Dormition of Mary.” In some cultures this feast is celebrated today with a resting statue of Mary, much like a wake service of modern times.
The liturgy of this feast provides images of “the place of your rest” in Psalm 132, and reverence for the Ark of the Covenant that held the signs of the Promise. Like that Ark, Mary is for us the ark of the Savior, the one who bore the Son of God. When the doctrine of the Assumption was defined in 1950 the Gospel reading for the feast was changed to include the verses of Mary’s song, the Magnificat.
The scripture readings for both the vigil Mass and the Mass of the day speak to us of life after death as well as the path to be followed in order to reach it. The key to this promised immortality is found as we take to heart the words of the vigil’s Gospel, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” —James Field
On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII solemnly declared: “By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (Munificentissimus Deus, 44)
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