Sunday, September 2, 2018

September 01, 2018

Sunday, September 2, 2018

John 20, Verse 21

[Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Christ then breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.” This is the peace of Christ. This is the renewal of man. Just as God the father breathed the breath of life in Adam now Christ breathes the breath of life in his church via the apostles and to all mankind through the sacrament of confession. This is why the Sanhedrin killed Christ because He forgave sins; seek his face; seek his peace through this sacrament.

In fact the angels plead the cause of humans against the devils, by offering the precious Blood of Jesus. This ministry is especially exercised by the Seraphim, Cherubim and the Thrones as they are nearest to God in the celestial realm. In addition to the angels seeking to gain the peace of Christ in our behalf; we also have His mother Mary whom the angels welcomed into heaven at her assumption who pleads our cause. We can be at peace upon our death knowing that it is she that will welcome us saying, “My Son calls thee.” We can only be at peace when we know we can never find true contentment here, because no earthly object or goods can meet the yearnings of the human heart. Only the vision of God, the Infinite Good, can bring peace.[1]

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

The focus of this Sunday instructs us to weep over lost souls and rejoice over converted ones. Today the church retells the rising of the widow of Nains dead son by Christ.

"'Young man, I say to thee, arise.' And he who was dead . . . began to speak. And (Jesus) gave him to his mother". Holy Mother Church like unto "a widow," weeps for the return of every sinner as if for an "only child"; that the Christ-Life might return to the godless, to the apostate. "I say to thee, arise." Though alive we may be dead! Go to Him in prayer, "morning" and "night"; and in the Sacraments also, that His Life-giving "graces" may save us from our death-dealing "inclinations". "While we have time, let us do good to all men," that they, too, may be reborn, renewed in this Christ-Life. "Instruct . . . (one who is) doing something wrong . . . Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ"[2].

Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896

Why did Christ have compassion on this widow? To show us that God takes forsaken and afflicted widows under His care, and becomes Himself their comforter and helper, and to teach us that we should do likewise. Christ had, however, still other grounds for His compassion; for He foresaw in this dead youth of Nairn the death of the sinner, and in the affliction of the mother the grief which the Church would suffer over the spiritual loss of so many children.

“Why did Christ say to this widow, Weep not?” To intimate that He would restore her son to her, and at the same time to teach us that we should not mourn and weep to excess for the dead. St. Paul therefore admonishes us not to be sorrowful in regard to the dead, as others who have no hope of resurrection (i. Thess. iv. 12).

Why did Christ command the bearers to stand still? To awaken their confidence and to put it beyond doubt that the resurrection of the dead proceeded from Him. This should teach us that a soul that is dead cannot be restored to life so long as the passions which have caused its death, and borne it, as it were, to the grave, are not brought to a stop.

What more do we learn from this gospel? That no one, however young, is safe from death; and that every one, therefore, should be always prepared for it.

What is often the cause of early death among young persons?

1. Gluttony and intemperance; for by surfeiting and intemperance more perish than by the sword (Ecclus. xxxvii. 34). 2. Lust. 3. Anger “If you bite and devour one another, take heed you be not consumed one of another” (Gal. v. 15). From angry words often come strife and blows, and not unfrequently murder itself. 4. Disobedience. We have dreadful examples to show that God has taken out of the world, early and suddenly, disobedient children; for instance, Absalom. Not without reason does God say to children “Honor thy father and mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, that thou mayest live a long time, and it may be well with thee in the land” (Deut. v. 16).

ON DEATH

Certain it is that we shall die, but uncertain the hour of our death. Would that we might never forget this truth that we might earnestly think of it every day! How different our lives would then be! Have mercy, then, on thine own soul. Keep thyself in readiness so live that thou mayest have no reason to fear death. Do in thy lifetime what in the hour of death you will wish that you had done. Die daily, with St. Paul, by crucifying the flesh with its desires and lusts, and by voluntarily loosening thy heart from the world, its goods, and its vanities, before death does this for you by violence. In time of temptation and passion think of these truths and resist then to die will not be too hard.

Who is it that fears not death…

Whoever walks without blame, doing what is right, speaking truth from the heart; Who does not slander with his tongue, does no harm to a friend, never defames a neighbor; Who disdains the wicked, but honors those who fear the LORD; Who keeps an oath despite the cost, lends no money at interest, accepts no bribe against the innocent.

35 Promises of God[3] cont.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
-Proverbs 3:5-6

The Way[4]

"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."

I repeat: to make fun of a Priest — no matter what the circumstances — is always, at best, a sign of coarseness and poor taste.

Daily Devotions

· Drops of Christ’s Blood

· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

· Please Pray for soul of Senator McCain and his family and for the unity of our country; asking Our Lady of Beauraing to intercede.

· Pray our Democratic leaders confirm the new Supreme Court Judge.

· Pray the 54 Day Rosary