Nineteenth Sunday af.
Pentcost (29th S. Ord. Time)
SAINT IRENE-SHEMINI ATZERET
Luke,
Chapter 18, Verse 1-8
1 Then he told them a parable about
the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, 2 “There
was a judge in a certain town who neither feared
God nor respected any human being. 3 And a widow in that town used to come
to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ 4 For a long time the judge was
unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, 5 because this widow keeps bothering
me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike
me.’” 6 The Lord said, “Pay attention to
what the dishonest judge says. 7 Will not God then secure the rights
of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer
them? 8 I tell you, he will
see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man
comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Will the Son of Man
find faith on earth when he comes? We must remain faithful to the gospel of
Christ and stand with the Holy Catholic Church. We must continue to ask Him to
come to our assistance against the Philistines of our age. We must not fail to
call out to Him night and day to save us from the wicked and to pray for their
conversion and for the souls of the Martyrs of freedom that they have made. Our
enemy is not men but the devil and those are in his control. We must never
become to weary or afraid to take the gospel to those places that are most
devoid of faith, hope and love.
“Only
those that see the invisible can do the impossible.” Tyrese
IN the Introit of the Mass God
promises to hear the people who observe His law, and to help them in all their
tribulations. “I am the salvation of the people, saith the Lord; in whatever
tribulation they shall cry to Me, I will hear them, and I will be their Lord
forever. Attend, O My people, to My law; incline your ears to the words of My mouth.”
Prayer.
O’almighty and merciful God graciously defend us
from all that is hurtful, that, free in mind and body, we may with ready mind
perform all that belongs to Thy service.
EPISTLE. Eph. iv. 23-28.
Brethren: Be renewed in the spirit of
your mind: and put on the new man, who, according to God, is created in
justice, and holiness of truth. Wherefore, putting away lying, speak ye the
truth every man with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. Be angry,
and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your anger. Give not place to the
devil. He that stole, let him now steal no more, but rather let him labor, working
with his hands the thing, which is good, that he may have something to give to
him that suffereth need.
Explanation.
The epistle of to-day particularly
concerns such as live in falsehood, hatred, anger, injustice, impurity, or
other sins. Perhaps we have often renewed our spirit at a jubilee, or a
mission, or a spiritual retreat; we seemed then to be converted, and to have
become new men, but how long did our spiritual renovation last? Alas, how soon
were we sinners again! We thought that, after making a general confession,
everything was done ; instead of zealously using all means to preserve
ourselves in this happy state of spiritual renewal, we allowed ourselves once
more to resort to bad company and dangerous occasions, and gave ourselves up,
as before, to idleness and indulgence. When shall we be lastingly converted?
GOSPEL. Matt. xxii. 2-14.
At that time Jesus spoke to the chief priests and
Pharisees in parables, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who
made a marriage for his son. And he sent his servants to call them that were
invited to the marriage: and they would not come. Again, he sent other
servants, saying: Tell them that were invited: Behold, I have prepared my dinner;
my beeves (plural form of beef) and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready:
come ye to the marriage. But they neglected, and went their ways, one to his
farm, and another to his merchandise. And the rest laid hands on his servants,
and, having treated them contumeliously, put them to death. But when the king
had heard of it, he was angry, and, sending his armies, he destroyed those
murderers, and burnt their city. Then he saith to his servants: The marriage
indeed is ready: but they that were invited were not worthy. Go ye therefore
into the highways; and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage. And his
servants going forth into the ways, gathered together all that they found, both
bad and good: and the marriage was filled with guests. And the king went in to
see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. And he
saith to him: Friend, how earnest thou in hither not having on a wedding
garment? But he was silent. Then the king said to the waiters: Bind his hands
and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.
Remark. ---This
parable is, in many respects, the same as that for the Second Sunday after
Pentecost, and has the same meaning. See, therefore, the explanation of that gospel;
in addition to this, consider also the following
Explanation.
1. In the present parable the king is
our heavenly Father, Who has espoused His only-begotten Son to the Church. 2. The
feast is made up of the doctrines of the Gospel, the holy sacraments, with the
other means of salvation, and of eternal joys. 3. The servants sent to invite
the guests are the prophets, apostles, and disciples of Christ. 4. Those
invited are the Jews, who, despising the honor intended for them, put to death
the prophets and apostles. 5. In their place others, that is, the heathen, were
called from all quarters of the earth, who, having been in the broad road to
destruction, now occupy the place of the Jews in the marriage -feast of the
Church, and will one day occupy their place in heaven. 6. The wedding garment
signifies charity, which shows itself by good works; without this, faith avails
nothing. That the man without a wedding garment was silent when questioned by
the king shows us that no one will be able to excuse himself before God for not
having charity, since everyone may have it if he only ask it from God, and be
willing to practise it.
Aspiration.
I thank Thee, O Jesus, that, through Thy
incarnation, passion, and death, Thou hast gained for me eternal happiness;
give me also the wedding garment of charity, that I may be admitted to the
heavenly marriage-feast, and not be cast into the exterior darkness.
In what these joys consist, St.
Paul himself, though more than once caught up to heaven and allowed to see and
taste them, could not describe. He only says that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared
for them that love Him. In heaven all beauties, all delights, all joys, are
found in the highest and most perfect degree free from all evil, free from all
anxiety and disgust, and free from all fear of ever losing them. In a word, in
heaven man shall possess God Himself, the source of all joy and happiness, and
shall, with Him, enjoy God s own happiness for all eternity. We shall be like
to Him (i. John iii. 2). Is there need of anything more to give us the highest
conception of heaven? How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul
longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh have
rejoiced in the living God (Ps. Ixxxiii). How weary of the world am I when I
contemplate heaven!
Irene, a beautiful and
chaste Portuguese girl, was murdered before she reached the age of 20. "An
assiduous pupil and a devout believer, the only times she ever left her house
was to attend mass or to pray in the sanctuary dedicated to Saint Peter on his
feast-day. A young nobleman named Britald happened to see her on one of these
rare outings and fell desperately in love with her. Every time that she went
out he waited to catch a glimpse of her, followed her to church, and eventually
made his suit known to her; however, Irene gave him to understand that she
would never marry him. "Thus rejected, Britald fell into a deep depression
and became so ill that the doctors who were called in to tend him gave him up
for lost. Hearing of this, Irene visited him and told him that she had refused
him because she was no longer free, having already taken a vow of virginity.
"Britald at once accepted her decision and gradually recovered his health.
Before Irene left him, he had sworn that he would respect, and make others
respect, her vocation as a holy virgin, and the two had parted like brother and
sister, promising each other that they would meet again in Paradise. “Irene
returned home and resumed the life of seclusion and study, intending to make
her entrance into a convent before long. But the monk who was giving her
private lessons proved to be a lecherous scoundrel and behaved towards her in a
manner as dishonorable as Britald's was honorable. “Irene repulsed him and had
him dismissed at once; but his lust turning to a desire for revenge, the monk
then began to spread slanderous rumors about her. To those who asked him why he
was no longer giving the girl her private lessons, he replied that he had left
on learning that she was about to become a mother. “This rumor quickly
circulated throughout the town and at length reached Britald who, being frank
and trusting and unused to lies, believed what he was told. In a passion of
rage and jealousy, he hired a mercenary soldier to kill her. Soon afterwards,
as she was returning home from visiting an old man who was crippled, the
assassin approached her from behind and killed her with a single stroke of his
sword. “Her body, which was thrown into the river, was later retrieved by some
Benedictines on the banks of the Tagus, near the town of Scalabris. They gave
her a proper burial, made known her story, and not long afterwards, so great
was the veneration in which she was held, the name of the town of Scalabis was
changed to Santarem (Saint Irene)" (verbatim from Encyclopedia).
Santarem in Portuguese means “Saint Irene”, patron of the city. In
the Church of St. Irene, we can find the Miraculous Crucifix of Monteiraz. Church
documents relates that the Body of our Lord became alive (like the Miracle of
Limpias), Jesus arm came down from the crucifix and embraced a small shepherd
girl of the time of the Eucharistic Miracle. The crucifix belonged to a
community of the 12 benedictine monks (Abby of 12 apostles) is from the XII
century, it is still venerated today.
Visit this link
(http://www.piercedhearts.org/treasures/eucharistic_miracles/santarem.htm) to learn more about the Eucharistic Miracle.
Shemini Atzeret (Hebrew: ×©×ž×™× ×™ עצרת), means 'The eighth day break' or 'the eighth day of assembly'. It is celebrated preceding Simchat Torah and in some regions celebrated together with it. Services for this holiday often include a Geshem, prayer for rain.
Shemini
Atzeret Facts
Shemini
Atzeret Top Events and Things to Do
·
Pray
for Rain. Shemini Azeret and Simchat Torah is often accompanied by
prayers for the rain. The holidays are in the autumn, which is a critical
period in Israel for harvests.
·
On
Shmini Atzeret, it is customary for Orthodox Jews to spend an 'extra day
with God' and postpone their return to work and to mundane tasks.
Daily Devotions
·
Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving
your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after SUNSET ON SATURDAY till
Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
[1]Goffine’s
Devout Instructions, 1896.
[2]Goffine’s
Devout Instructions, 1896.
[4]
http://www.wincalendar.com/Shmini-Atzeret
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