Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
Acts, Chapter 16,
Verse 36
Those that are not in Christ when they are in error seek to keep their actions a secret. Whereas a person in Christ knows all have failed and our only salvation is in God. The Philippian officials had beaten Paul, and placed him into prison without a trial, not knowing that he was a Roman and had rights. The officials wanted to keep this “mistake” a secret. They wanted peace. Like all cowards they want peace when it goes against them because no truth is in them. Seek the light of Christ which reveals all truth, and you will have no fear and the peace of Christ.
The Spirits of Darkness[1]
The ethereal we live in is filled with the angels of God but not all of them are seeking our good. There are some spirits that are not filled with the light of God; just as there are some men which are not. Angels are no more impeccable than men. They are free as men to choose and like men underwent a trial. Every trial must be essentially costly or painful. God submitted to the angels the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God; made man for their adoration. At this revelation Lucifer known as the angel of light from the highest choir of angels a Seraph rebelled, “I protest is my throne to be lowered?” At the same instance one of the lesser Archangels, cried out, “Who is like God?” Who can refuse to believe and to adore that which He proposes, “I believe and I adore.” Pride brought the fall of the angels. The door of penance, through the merits of the Precious Blood, is open to men during the whole time of their life, while the corrupt angels found themselves immediately after their fall in the state in which sinful men will find themselves immediately after their death, facing the truth of their own trials. This thought should increase our devotion to the Precious Blood which is ever ready to cleanse us from our sins, especially in the Sacrament of Penance, and restore us to the friendship of God which is denied to the angels of darkness.
Therefore, let our personal battle
cry be that of St. Michael, the archangel, “I believe, and I adore!”
The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife
into your home.
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost[2]
Spiritually
arming oneself (for both now and Armageddon) and forgiving each other so that
we may be forgiven on Judgment Day.
AT the Introit of the Mass is said
the prayer of Mardochai, which may be used in all necessities and adversities. “All
things are in Thy will, O Lord, and there is none that can resist Thy will; for
Thou hast made all things, heaven and earth, and all things that are under the
cope of heaven. Thou art Lord of all. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who
walk in the law of the Lord”.
Prayer.
Preserve, we beseech Thee, O Lord,
Thy family by continued mercy, that by Thy protection they may be free from all
adversity, and in good works be devoted to Thy name.
EPISTLE. Ephesians vi. 10-17.
Brethren: Be strengthened in the
Lord, and in the might of His power. Put you on the armor of God, that you may
be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the
rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the
high places. Therefore, take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to
resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Stand, therefore,
having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of
justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: in all
things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all
the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of
salvation; and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God).
Explanation.
In this epistle the holy apostle
encourages us to the combat against evil, and points out both our enemy and the
weapons we are to use. He exhorts us to protect ourselves by,
1, the girdle that is, truth, by
virtue of which we despise the goods of earth.
2, the breastplate that is,
justice, which renders to God, our neighbor, and ourselves what is due to each.
3, the shoes that is, readiness in
regulating our lives by the Gospel.
4, the shield that is, faith, by
the doctrines and promises of which we render harmless the fiery darts of the
devil.
5, the helmet that is, the hope of
eternal salvation, which enables us to endure all temporal misfortune.
6, the sword that is, the word of
God, which, when we use it after the example of Jesus, the most powerful enemy
cannot resist (Matt. iv.).
Thus armed, we shall be conquerors
in the combat with Satan, and gain the crown of victory.
GOSPEL. Matt, xviii. 23-35
At that time. Jesus spoke to His disciples this
parable: The kingdom of God is likened to a king who would take an account of
his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him
that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his
lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children, and all that
he had, and payment to be made. But that servant, falling down, besought him,
saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the lord of that
servant, being moved with pity, let him go, and forgave him the debt. But when
that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow-servants that owed him a
hundred pence; and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: Pay what thou
owest. And his fellow-servant, falling down, besought him, saying: Have
patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast
him into prison, till he paid the debt. Now his fellow-servants, seeing what
was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that
was done. Then his lord called him and said to him: Thou wicked servant! I
forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldst not thou then
have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on
thee? And his lord, being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid
all the debt. So also, shall My heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not
everyone his brother from your hearts.
What
would Jesus teach by this parable?
The king is God; the servant is mankind; the ten
thousand talents, equal to ten millions of dollars, signify the enormous and excessive
debts which men contract by their sins against God: a sum so exceedingly great
as to show clearly that the debt of man to God is without limit, and truly
overwhelming. The hundred pence, a small sum, equal to perhaps six or seven
dollars, denotes the offences which others have given us, and which, in
comparison with our offences against God, are insignificant. By this parable,
therefore, Jesus intended to say: As God forgives your immense debts if you
sorrowfully pray for forgiveness, so ought you to forgive your fellowmen their
comparatively light debts when they ask forgiveness of you. Unless you grant
it, you shall receive no pardon from My Father.
Who are like that unmerciful
servant?
All
unmerciful and hard-hearted persons; particularly.
1.
rulers
who oppress the people by excessive taxes.
2.
those
who oppress widows and orphans, and keep from servants the wages due them
3.
those
who have no patience with their debtors but deprive them of house and goods
rather than be indulgent to them. God will deal with such men in the otherworld
as they have dealt with their neighbors in this.
4.
Finally,
all persons who will not forgive injuries done them, but preserve hatred in
their hearts, who bring such as have injured them before the courts, and even
seek to injure them out of revenge.
How can they hope to obtain mercy? What is meant by forgiving from the heart?
It is to banish from the heart all hatred and desire
of revenge; to bear in our hearts a sincere love towards our enemy, and to
manifest it by works of charity. If we
think of the multitude of sins which God has forgiven us, how can we refuse to
forgive trifling wrongs against ourselves? At any rate, let us not
forget that God forgives us only when we also forgive from the heart.
Ejaculation. Merciful God grant me grace to be
truly merciful towards my fellowmen, as Thou art towards me.
Prayer.
O God, Who, through the patience of Thine only
begotten Son, hast humbled the pride of our old enemy, mercifully grant that,
by considering what He has suffered for us, we may cheer fully and patiently
bear our adversities, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen,
Today
prior to 1962 we
would have celebrated the last Sunday in October as Christ the King.
“Blessed is the king who comes in
the name of our God.” (Luke 19:38)
Behold our King comes to us from the
Tabernacle…Our priests bring us our King via communion. Has COVID made: The
Body of Christ,” unavailable or worse irrelevant?
Jesus Christ King[3]
There was joy and celebration by the people as Jesus entered into Jerusalem, on Palm Sunday; we learn from the gospel that much later things had taken a terrible turn for the worst. Jesus was arrested and sentenced to death. What? Where were we? We heard shouting: “Crucify him” “We have no king, but Caesar.” Did we join in the shouting and jeering? “If you are the king of Jews, come down from the cross. Save yourself.”
Where do we stand? There was a
different voice that day from one of the criminals crucified with Jesus. He
rebuked the other criminal who asked Jesus to save them. With these words:
“Have you no fear of God? We have been condemned justly. This man has done
nothing wrong.” Then he turned to Jesus and said: “Remember me when you come
into your kingdom” Jesus replies: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
I ask again. Where do we stand as all these events unfold? How do we hope we would have the courage to be, to align ourselves in difficult or challenging circumstances? There is much to ponder, to think about.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION ONE-MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE
SPIRIT
CHAPTER ONE THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN
PERSON
Article 8-SIN
I. Mercy and Sin
1846 The
Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God's mercy to sinners. The
angel announced to Joseph: "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will
save his people from their sins." The same is true of the Eucharist,
the sacrament of redemption: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
1847
"God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without
us." To receive his mercy, we must admit our faults. "If we say
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness."
1848 As
St. Paul affirms, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more." But
to do its work grace must uncover sin so as to convert our hearts and bestow on
us "righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ ourLord." Like
a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God, by his Word and by
his Spirit, casts a living light on sin:
Conversion requires convincing of
sin; it includes the interior judgment of conscience, and this, being a proof
of the action of the Spirit of truth in man's inmost being, becomes at the same
time the start of a new grant of grace and love: "Receive the Holy
Spirit." Thus, in this "convincing concerning sin" we discover a
double gift: the gift of the truth of conscience and the gift of the certainty
of redemption. the Spirit of truth is the Consoler.
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 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: The
lonely and destitute.
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: October
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
· Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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