Paul’s first letter to the church of
Corinth provides us with a fuller insight into the life of an early Christian
community of the first generation than any other book of the New Testament.
Through it we can glimpse both the strengths and the weaknesses of this small
group in a great city of the ancient world, men and women who had accepted the
good news of Christ and were now trying to realize in their lives the
implications of their baptism. Paul, who had founded the community and
continued to look after it as a father, responds both to questions addressed to
him and to situations of which he had been informed. In doing so, he reveals
much about himself, his teaching, and the way in which he conducted his work of
apostleship. Some things are puzzling because we have the correspondence only
in one direction. Paul established a Christian community in Corinth about the
year 51, on his second missionary journey. The city, a commercial crossroads,
was a melting pot full of devotees of various pagan cults and marked by a
measure of moral depravity not unusual in a great seaport.
While Paul was in Ephesus
on his third journey, he received disquieting news about Corinth. The community
there was displaying open factionalism, as certain members were identifying
themselves exclusively with individual Christian leaders and interpreting
Christian teaching as a superior wisdom for the initiated few. The community
lacked the decisiveness to take appropriate action against one of its members
who was living publicly in an incestuous union. Other members engaged in legal
conflicts in pagan courts of law; still others may have participated in
religious prostitution or temple sacrifices. The community’s ills were reflected in its
liturgy. In the celebration of the Eucharist certain members discriminated
against others, drank too freely at the agape, or fellowship meal, and denied
Christian social courtesies to the poor among the membership. Charisms such as
ecstatic prayer, attributed freely to the impulse of the holy Spirit, were more
highly prized than works of charity, and were used at times in a disorderly way.
Women appeared at the assembly without the customary head-covering, and perhaps
were quarreling over their right to address the assembly. Still other problems
with which Paul had to deal concerned matters of conscience discussed among the
faithful members of the community: the eating of meat that had been sacrificed
to idols, the use of sex in marriage, and the attitude to be taken by the
unmarried toward marriage in view of the possible proximity of Christ’s second coming. There was also a
doctrinal matter that called for Paul’s
attention, for some members of the community, despite their belief in the
resurrection of Christ, were denying the possibility of general bodily
resurrection. Paul wrote this letter from Ephesus about the year 56. The
majority of the Corinthian Christians may well have been quite faithful. Paul
writes on their behalf to guard against the threats posed to the community by
the views and conduct of various minorities. He writes with confidence in the
authority of his apostolic mission, and he presumes that the Corinthians,
despite their deficiencies, will recognize and accept it. On the other hand, he
does not hesitate to exercise his authority as his judgment dictates in each
situation, even going so far as to promise a direct confrontation with
recalcitrants, should the abuses he scores remain uncorrected. The letter
illustrates well the mind and character of Paul. Although he is impelled to
insist on his office as founder of the community, he recognizes that he is only
one servant of God among many and generously acknowledges the labors of Apollos.
He provides us in this letter with many valuable examples of his method of
theological reflection and exposition. He always treats the questions at issue
on the level of the purity of Christian teaching and conduct. Certain passages
of the letter are of the greatest importance for the understanding of early
Christian teaching on the Eucharist and on the resurrection of the body.
JULY 22 Ninth Sunday
af. Pentecost (16th S. Ord Time)
FEAST OF THE HOLY PENITENT MARY MAGDALEN
1 Corinthians, chapter 2,
Verse 3-15
3I
came to you in weakness and fear
and much trembling, 4and
my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive (words of) wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, 5 so that your faith might rest not on human
wisdom but on the power of God.
It is God’s desire that we be wise not in the way of
the world but in the ways of eternity.
Greek
tradition of wisdom was based in argumentations. The Greeks lived to argue.
Arguments (discussions) & logics were entertainments. Interests in
philosophies and rhetoric was based not only what is said, but how it is said.
Always looking for something profound (deep meaning)
Jews
have their wisdom tradition which includes the wisdom Literatures.
1. Job – story of
a man who did right & suffers
2. Psalms –
classic wisdom, praise, laments, etc
3. Proverbs –
classic wisdom: do right & no suffering
4. Ecclesiastes –
meaning of life
5. Song of Songs –
intimate relationship with God
Gnostics
tradition of wisdom and knowledge was a heresy in the early church, a bad
theology based on “Secret knowledge” that is needed for salvation. All matters
are evil, spirit is good. Gnostics denied the humanity of Christ “For Christ
did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel –not with words of (human)
wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power (made void)” “For the
message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who
are being saved, it is the power of God.” The Cross – is the Message. “For the
foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is
stronger than man’s strength.”
GOSPEL. Luke xix. 41-47. At that
time, when Jesus drew near Jerusalem, seeing the city, He wept over it, saying:
If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy
peace, but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon
thee: and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee and compass thee round: and
straiten thee on every side: and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children
who are in thee, and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone: because
thou hast not known the time of thy visitation. And entering into the temple,
He began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought, saying to them:
It is written: My house is the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of
thieves. And He was teaching daily in the temple.
Why
did the Saviour weep over the city of Jerusalem? Because it had
not known and profited by its time of visitation and through impenitence was
hastening to destruction.
What
was the time of its visitation? The period in which God sent to the Jews
one prophet after another, whom they derided and calumniated, stoned and put to
death (Matt, xxiii. 34). But especially was it the time of the ministry of
Christ, who so often proclaimed His life-giving doctrine; pointed out and
demonstrated, by the greatest miracles, that He was the Messias and the Saviour
of the world, and yet was despised by this hardened and impenitent city, and
even put to death on the cross.
Does
God hide from the wicked the truths of salvation? No; but sinners so
blind themselves by their sins that the divine inspirations fail to move them
to penance.
What
do we learn by Jesus casting out of the temple those who sold and bought? We learn how severely
He will punish those who in church forget where they are; forget that Jesus
Christ is present in the tabernacle; who laugh, talk, amuse themselves, cherish
sinful thoughts, and give scandal by their improper dress and unbecoming
behavior.
Prayer:
O
Jesus, who didst weep over the city of Jerusalem because it knew not the time
of its visitation, I beseech Thee enlighten my heart, that I may know and
profit by the season of grace; and grant that I may always behave with
reverence in Thy church, and never turn it into a resort for evil thoughts and
desires or for worldly cares.
Lessons upon Death-Bed Repentance
Can
the sinner rely upon being converted at the end of his life? No for this would be
to sin against the mercy of God, which is much the same as the sin against the
Holy Ghost. Says St. Augustine, “usually punishes such sinners by allowing them
at the last to forget themselves, who in the days of their health and strength
have allowed themselves to forget Him. “God Himself also says: They have turned
their back to Me and not their face, and in the time of their affliction they will
say, Arise and deliver us. Where are thy gods whom thou hast made thee? Let
them arise and deliver thee in the time of thy affliction” (Jer. ii. 27, 28).
It is true we have a consoling example of conversion at the moment of death in
the penitent thief, but, as St. Augustine further says, while this one example is
given so that no sinner may despair, it is the only one, so that no sinner may
defer repentance through presumption.
What
may we hope of those who are converted at the close of life? Everything that is
good, if they be really converted; but this is a most rare thing. (Of the
hundreds of thousands whose lives have been wicked,” writes St. Jerome, “hardly
one will be converted at the hour of death and obtain forgiveness of his sins.”
And St. Vincent Ferrer says it would be a greater miracle for a person who has
lived wickedly to die well than for one who is dead to be restored to life. And
no wonder; for repentance at the hour of death is generally but an extorted repentance.
It is not so much that the sinner forsakes his sins as that his sins forsake
him; and the resolution of amendment is one which he would hardly make, were he
not driven to it by the agonies of death.
What
is there to expect from such repentance? When, therefore, ought we to do
penance? While
we are in possession of our reason and strength; for, as St. Augustine says,
the repentance of the sick is a sickly repentance. In time of sickness, as
experience teaches, the pains of disease, the hope of recovery, the fear of
death, the torments of conscience, the temptations of the devil, and the care
of all depending on him, so continually distract a man that he can hardly
collect his thoughts at all, much less bestow them upon a work of a true
repentance. If to many it is so difficult to do penance while they are yet in health
and hindered by nothing from raising their thoughts to God, how much more
difficult will it be when the body has already become weak! We have heard a
number of persons who had been sick admit after their recovery that they had no
knowledge of what happened to them during their illness, and even had no
recollection of having received the holy sacraments. Accordingly, Isaias
admonishes us: “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He
is near (Isaias Iv. 6). And Christ says: You shall seek Me and shall not find
Me, and you shall die in your sin” (John vii. 34; viii. 21). If, therefore, you
have committed mortal sin, delay not to return to God, by perfect contrition
and a good confession. Put it not off from one day to another; for repentance
thereby becomes more and more difficult; for, as St. Gregory says, one unrepented
sin by its own weight impels a man to still further sins, and all the while
makes him the weaker, and his adversary, the devil, the stronger; so that at
last he cannot be converted without the extraordinary grace of God.
But
how can the presumptuous sinner expect such grace? God will laugh in
his destruction, in like manner as he has despised His instruction, counsel,
and reproof (Prov. i. 26-28). “Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good.”
(Gal. vi. 10), for who knows whether we may not be suddenly prevented, by
severe sickness, from working out our salvation!
MARY MAGDALEN, a sister of Lazarus and of Martha, of Bethany, was
a notorious sinner in Jerusalem. Moved by the preaching of Jesus, she did
public penance. She went openly into the house of the Pharisee with whom Jesus
was sitting at table, threw herself at His feet, anointed them with precious
ointment, washed them with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. Jesus,
knowing her contrite heart, forgave her, her sins (Luke vii. 37, 38), and from
that time forward she became the most zealous and faithful of the women who
were disciples of Our Lord. She followed Him, always ministered unto Him of her
substance (Luke viii. 3), and when He died was standing under the cross.
Magdalen, who had sinned openly, openly did penance. In like
manner, he who has given public scandal must seek to make
amends for it by public good example. Magdalen confessed her sins, says St.
Ambrose, not with words, but with abundant tears of penitence. To tell her sins
to Christ, the All-knowing, was not necessary but what a confession was there
in the posture of humiliation, and in the tears that flowed from the contrite
sinner. Would you obtain forgiveness? Confess with contrition, like Magdalen.
The words, “Thy faith hath made thee safe,” denote a faith active as love.
Faith and love are in truth never separated, for the only truly believes who
also loves; and he only loves according to God’s will who believes in Him. Therefore,
believe in truth, love, and show your love by earnest hatred of every sin, by
flying from occasions of sin, by fighting against your passions, by change of
your life, and by humble confession, and as true as God lives you will be
saved, as was Magdalen the peace of God will enter into your heart.
Patron: Apothecaries; Casamicciola, Italy;
contemplative life; contemplatives; converts; druggists; glove makers;
hairdressers; hairstylists; penitent sinners; penitent women; people ridiculed
for their piety; perfumeries; perfumers; pharmacists; reformed prostitutes;
sexual temptation; tanners; women.
Parents’ Day celebrates and recognizes the important role of responsible parenting in every day family life. Families are a fundamental human institution; they are bonded by unconditional love and commitment. Parents' Day was established in 1994. In a time where society had become increasingly self-centered, President Bill Clinton signed a congressional resolution to commemorate Parents’ Day in an effort to promote family commitment and parental responsibilities. Supported by the Unification Church, Senator Trent Lott introduced the bill into the senate and the National Parents’ Day Coalition was developed to support Parents’ Day by annually selecting ‘Parents’ of the Year’ at local, national and state levels. The Coalition also provides educational programs for parents and aims to promote the stability of family by encouraging fidelity between husbands and wives, as well as abstinence in young people prior to marriage. In addition to The National Parents’ Day Coalition, other organizations use Parents’ Day to promote the traditional two parent nuclear family model. Parents' Day is held annually on the fourth Sunday in July.
Parents' Day Facts & Quotes
·
In
2015, 3.3 million unmarried or cohabiting couples in America had children under
the age of 18. This is in comparison to 1.2 million cohabiting couples
with children in 1996.
One wonders if
this was caused by the consumption of tequila! Just 100% proof that our
government is not as good a patron as our God! We should avoid the “Mommy needs
Vodka” mindset.
·
In
1960, 73% of U.S. children lived in a traditional home with two married
heterosexual parents in their first marriage. By 1980, this figure had
dropped to 61%. By 2013, 46% of children lived in a traditional home.
·
All
that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. — Abraham Lincoln.
·
By
the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son
who thinks he's wrong. — Charles Wadsworth, Classical Pianist
Daily Prayer to Saint Ann
O glorious St. Ann, you are filled with compassion for those
who invoke you and with love for those who suffer! Heavily burdened with the
weight of my troubles, I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take
the present intention which I recommend to you in your special care.
Please recommend it to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and place it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy issue. Continue to intercede for me until my request is granted. But, above all, obtain for me the grace one day to see my God face to face, and with you and Mary and all the saints to praise and bless Him for all eternity. Amen.
Please recommend it to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and place it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy issue. Continue to intercede for me until my request is granted. But, above all, obtain for me the grace one day to see my God face to face, and with you and Mary and all the saints to praise and bless Him for all eternity. Amen.
Our Father, . . . Hail
Mary . . .
O Jesus, Holy Mary, St.
Ann, help me now and at the hour of my death. Good St. Ann, intercede for me.
SIXTH DAY
Good St. Ann do not
allow my soul, a masterpiece of God’s creative power, to be lost forever. Free
my heart of pride, vanity, self-love. May I know myself as I really am and
learn meekness and simplicity of heart.
God’s great love for me
leaves me cold and unresponsive. I must reflect this love through works of
mercy and charity toward my neighbor.
In your boundless
charity, good St. Ann, help me to merit the glorious crown which is given to
those who have fought the good fight against the world, the devil and the
flesh. Assist me to preserve purity of heart and body. With Mary and her divine
Son, protect me always.
I
will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no
longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the LORD.
National
NFP Awareness Week - JULY 22 - JULY 28, 2018
In marriagepreparation
programs, couples frequently ask: “What is the difference between contraception
and Natural Family Planning (NFP)?” Although I am happy to explain, I often realize
that wordsare inadequate. I try to encourage them to ask a better question: “How
can a couple have ‘authentic sexual intimacy’and responsibly plan their family?”
The difference between the two questions is deep and wide. The answer has to do
with joining a revolution—God’s revolution! God’s love is revolutionary. It is freely
given. It is permanent, total, faithful, and fruitful. And, God shares His love
with us as gift. When man and woman marry, they make a vow at the altar to love
each other as God loves. In their consent, the “I” becomes “we!” And, there is more.
God’s gift of sexual relations to husband and wife gives thema particular way
to “seal” or “perfect” their vows in a physical reality where the “we” can become
“us” in a child. With NFP, spouses say, “I love you freely” because the time of
sexual abstinence demonstrates that they can say “No”and do no harm to God’s
gift of fertility. This makes their times of “Yes,” more meaningful. To put it
another way, if we cannot say “no” to our sexual urges then we are not truly
free and our “yes” really means nothing. When a couple jointly respects God’s gift
of fertility rather than seeking to manipulate it, they offer the total gift of
their persons to each other. A faithful gift is one that is always in the best
interest of the person, and NFP allows a couple to say, “You are amazing just
the way you are” (remember, when using NFP, the couple does not seek to alter their
fertility through chemicals, devices, or procedures). In addition, the discipline
of periodic sexual abstinence helps couples to resist temptations that offend sexual
fidelityand the virtue of chastity. NFP allows the couple to give God the final
word on whether their sexual union will result in pregnancy. In turning over
physical fruitfulness to God, the couple practices spiritual fruitfulness as
they open their hearts to God who is love. A revolution is not an easy
endeavor. It can be exciting, but it inevitably will require personal sacrifice
and even suffering. NFP is no different. Accepting God’s invitation to live His
plan for married love is both humbling and wondrous. It involves many
blessings. And, yet, it will also have its difficulties. For example, when
postponing a pregnancy, some couples may experience prolonged periods of sexual
abstinence due to unclear fertility signs—and they will feel the lossof their physical
intimacy. When facing the challenge of postpartum and breastfeedingor during perimenopause,
other couples may wonder if their efforts are worth the trouble. And, sadly,
some couples may be tempted to give up when receiving disapproval from friends
or family. At times such as these, it will be important for NFP couples to know
that they are not alone. They can seek help from their NFP teachers and local
diocesan leaders. The diocesan NFP community has access to resources, including
spiritual directors and appropriate medical professionals, who can help couples
who are in need of assistance. Most importantly, when facing challenges, NFP
couples should be encouraged to turn to God in prayer—as individuals and as a
couple. In my own life, I have both worn down rosary beads and the path to the Adoration
chapel during spiritual battles in my life-and God never failed to give me consolation
and direction! In my mind’s eye stands an image of a heart with the caption,
“Sacrifice is the Metric of Love.” We know this truth in the deepest part of
our being. Unfortunately, today we live in a culture that has tried to redesign
love and in particular, sex. In doing so, it has eliminated the language of love
which is the language of self-sacrifice. NFP supports the language of love. It stands
against any notion that love is about self-satisfaction to the exclusion of self-donation.
NFP allows couples to honor God by respecting His design. It both respects man
and woman as created by God, and values God’s gift of fertility. NFP therefore values
the child as gift. What is God’s design for men and women but that which is love
and life, babies and bonding, unitive and procreative, together! With NFP, a
couple can trust the gift as it was made, and when they do so, they can truly
renew their vows and invite love, God’s love into their marriage. This is a
revolution worth joining!
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
28. Marriage
is for the soldiers and not for the General Staff of Christ's army. For, whereas
food is a necessity for each individual, procreation is a necessity for the
species only, not for the individual. Longing for children? Children, many
children, and a lasting trail of light we shall leave behind us if we sacrifice
the selfishness of the flesh.
Daily Devotions
·
Please
pray for me and this ministry
·
Please
Pray for Senator
McCain and our country; asking Our Lady of Beauraing to
intercede.
[3]Goffine’s
Devout Instructions, 1896.
[4]Goffine’s
Devout Instructions, 1896.
[8]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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