Sep 27, 2009 Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’”

Sep 20, 2009 Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mk 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

You Do Not Walk Alone

May you see God’s light on the path ahead
When the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear,
Even in your hour of sorrow,
The gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard may hardness
Never turn your heart to stone,
May you always remember
when the shadows fall -
You do not walk alone.
(from an old Irish blessing)

Sep 13, 2009 Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mk 8:27-35
Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.” Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

What is an occasion of sin?

Sharing an article from the “Dear Padre” column.

Dear Padre,
What is an occasion of sin? My grandmother refuses to go to casinos. She says they’re “occasions of sin.” What is she talking about? ~ Robert

Dear Robert,
Occasions of sin are people, places, or situations that can easily lead a person to sin or give them an opportunity to commit a sin. There are two types: remote and proximate (also called near). If the attraction is not strong or has only a small probability of leading to sin, the occasion is remote. Remote occasions of sin are always around us, and we have no obligation to try to avoid them. If the attraction is powerful or the probability of its leading to sin is great, the occasion is called proximate. Saint Alphonsus suggested that if a person sins four out of ten times in a given situation, that situation should be regarded as a proximate occasion of sin. Proximate or near occasions of sin are further classified as necessary or voluntary. A necessary proximate occasion cannot be avoided or can be avoided only with great difficulty, for example, an occasion associated with doing one’s job or being in prison. A voluntary proximate occasion is freely and voluntarily entered into. We must avoid voluntary proximate occasions of grave sin. Among the many means at our disposal for avoiding occasions of sin, the sacraments of reconciliation and Eucharist have pride of place. Prayer and self-discipline also help.

David Louch, C.Ss.R.

Sep 6, 2009 Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mk 7:31-37
Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” – that is, “Be opened!” – And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Do all priests take the vow of poverty?

Sharing an article from the “Dear Padre” column.

Dear Padre,
A priest died and left my father some money. How could a priest have had money if he took a vow of poverty? Do all priests take the vow of poverty? ~ Ann

Dear Ann,
Not all priests take a vow of poverty. Diocesan priests don’t, and they’re allowed to personally possess and use money, goods, and property. The Code of Canon Law calls members of the diocesan clergy to material simplicity, but it does not bind them to a vow of poverty: “Clerics are to foster simplicity of life and are to refrain from all things that have a semblance of vanity” (282). Other priests do take a vow of poverty, however. These priests are members of religious communities who profess the classic evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The Redemptorists, the Franciscans, and the Jesuits are examples of such communities. Religious communities differ, however, on the nature of their vows. Some require members to profess a solemn vow of poverty, while others require only a simple vow. Those who take a solemn vow of poverty cannot acquire or use property for themselves, while those who take a simple vow can acquire property but not use it. For example, a Franciscan priest takes a solemn vow of poverty and can never hold or inherit property of his own. In contrast, a Redemptorist priest takes a simple vow, so while he cannot make use of personal property (that is, spend money he inherits on himself), he can hold or inherit such property and eventually pass it on in his will to his community or to someone else.

Matthew Allman, C.Ss.R.

Aug 30, 2009 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. – For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. – So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. “From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”

How can a human pope be infallible?

Sharing an rticle from the “Dear Padre” column.

Dear Padre,
How can a human pope be infallible? I’ve always heard the pope is infallible. I find it hard to believe he never makes mistakes. If he’s human, how can he be perfect? ~ Diane

Dear Diane,
We don’t claim the pope is perfect. From the Church’s earliest centuries, Catholic Christians have acknowledged that Saint Peter and his successors, the bishops of Rome, have had a special role as teachers within the Church. But the way we speak of that role has developed over time. Likewise, Christians have long acknowledged that the Holy Spirit can and does preserve the Church from error in teaching about faith and morals. Yet exactly how this happens and the nature of the pope’s role in the process were subjects of debate among Christians for centuries. The Church achieved some resolution to the debate in 1870 at the First Vatican Council, which produced the document Pastor Aeternus, also known as the First Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ. That document finally gave an official description of how a pope could exercise infallibility in the Church. That description remains in force today. We Catholics believe the pope speaks infallibly when he acts as the pastor and teacher of all Christians and when, with the help of divine assistance, he defines a matter of faith or morals to be held by the universal Church. We believe the pope can exercise infallibility when he teaches, but only about faith and morals and only in union with the Church.

Matthew Allman, C.Ss.R.

Aug 23, 2009 Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jn 6:60-69
Many of Jesus’disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”