THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 30th, 2014
Memorial of St. Jerome
Liturgical texts here
ONE man laments his sufferings. The other goes straight toward them. One man questions why he was born. Another fulfills His destiny. Both men long for their deaths.
The difference being that Job wants to die to end his suffering. But Jesus wants to die to end our suffering. And thus…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 29th, 2014
Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels
Liturgical texts here
The Fig Tree
BOTH Daniel and St. John write of a terrible beast that rises to overwhelm the entire world for a short time… but is followed by the establishment of God’s Kingdom, “an everlasting dominion.” It is given not only to the one “like a son of man”, [1]cf. First reading but…
…the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. (Dan 7:27)
This sounds like Heaven, which is why many mistakenly speak of the end of the world after the fall of this beast. But the Apostles and Church Fathers understood it differently. They anticipated that, at some point in the future, God’s Kingdom would come in a profound and universal way before the end of time.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. First reading |
|---|
WHEN I wrote this last week, I decided to sit on it and pray some more because of the very serious nature of this writing. But nearly every day since, I have been getting clear confirmations that this is a word of warning to all of us.
There are many new readers coming aboard each day. Let me briefly recap then… When this writing apostolate began some eight years ago, I felt the Lord asking me to “watch and pray”. [1]At WYD in Toronto in 2003, Pope John Paul II likewise asked us youth to become “the watchmen of the morning who announce the coming of the sun who is the Risen Christ!” —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Message of the Holy Father to the Youth of the World, XVII World Youth Day, n. 3; (cf. Is 21:11-12). Following the headlines, it seemed that there was an escalation of world events by the month. Then it began to be by the week. And now, it is daily. It is exactly as I felt the Lord was showing me it would happen (oh, how I wish in some ways I was wrong about this!)
Footnotes
| ↑1 | At WYD in Toronto in 2003, Pope John Paul II likewise asked us youth to become “the watchmen of the morning who announce the coming of the sun who is the Risen Christ!” —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Message of the Holy Father to the Youth of the World, XVII World Youth Day, n. 3; (cf. Is 21:11-12). |
|---|
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 26th, 2014
Opt. Memorial Saints Cosmas and Damian
Liturgical texts here
THERE is an appointed time for everything. But strangely, it was never meant to be this way.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. (First reading)
What the scriptural writer speaks of here is not an imperative or injunction that we must carry out; rather, it is the realization that the human condition, like the ebb and flow of the tide, rises into glory… only to descend into sorrow.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 25th, 2014
Liturgical texts here
by Kyu Erien
AS I wrote last year, perhaps the most short-sighted aspect of our modern culture is the notion that we are on a linear path of advancement. That we are leaving behind, in the wake of human achievement, the barbarism and narrow-minded thinking of past generations and cultures. That we are loosening the shackles of prejudice and intolerance and marching toward a more democratic, free, and civilized world. [1]cf. The Progression of Man
We couldn’t be more wrong.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. The Progression of Man |
|---|
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 24th, 2014
Liturgical texts here
IT is called the “Guiding Star” because it appears to be fixed in the night sky as an infallible point of reference. Polaris, as it’s called, is nothing less than a parable of the Church, which has its visible sign in the papacy.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 22nd – 23rd, 2014
Memorial of St. Pio of Pietrelcina today
Liturgical texts here
THE readings the past two days speak of the justice and care that is due our neighbour in the way that God deems someone to be just. And that can be summarized essentially in the commandment of Jesus:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31)
This simple statement can and should radically alter the way you treat your neighbour today. And this is very simple to do. Imagine yourself without clean clothing or not enough food; imagine yourself jobless and depressed; imagine yourself alone or grieving, misunderstood or afraid… and how would you want others to respond to you? Go then and do this to others.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 18th, 2014
Opt. Memorial of St. Januarius
Liturgical texts here
A LOT hinges on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. As St. Paul says today:
…if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. (First reading)
It’s all in vain if Jesus is not alive today. It would mean that death has conquered all and “you are still in your sins.”
But it is precisely the Resurrection that makes any sense of the early Church. I mean, if Christ had not risen, why would His followers go to their brutal deaths insisting on a lie, a fabrication, a thin hope? It’s not like they were trying to build a powerful organization—they chose a life of poverty and service. If anything, you’d think these men would have readily abandoned their faith in the face of their persecutors saying, “Well look, it was quite the three years we lived with Jesus! But no, he’s gone now, and that’s that.” The only thing that makes sense of their radical turnabout after His death is that they saw Him risen from the dead.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 18th, 2014
Liturgical texts here
THE very heart of Catholicism is not Mary; it is not the Pope nor even the Sacraments. It is not even Jesus, per se. Rather it is what Jesus has done for us. Because John writes that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” But unless the next thing happens…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 17th, 2014
Opt. Memorial of Saint Robert Bellarmine
Liturgical texts here
THE Catholic Church is an incredible gift to God’s people. For it is true, and it always has been, that we can turn to her not only for the sweetness of the Sacraments but also to draw upon the infallible Revelation of Jesus Christ that sets us free.
Still, we see dimly.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 16th, 2014
Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian, Martyrs
Liturgical texts here
IT’s a question no “bible-believing” Protestant Christian has ever been able to answer for me in the nearly twenty years I’ve been in public ministry: whose interpretation of Scripture is the right one? Every once in awhile, I receive letters from readers who want to set me straight on my interpretation of the Word. But I always write them back and say, “Well, it’s not my interpretation of the Scriptures—it’s the Church’s. After all, it was the Catholic Bishops at the councils of Carthage and Hippo (393, 397, 419 AD) who determined what was to be deemed the “canon” of Scripture, and which writings were not. It only makes sense to go to the ones who put the Bible together for its interpretation.”
But I tell you, the vacuum of logic among Christians is at times stunning.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 15th, 2014
Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Liturgical texts here
I stood and watched as tears welled in her eyes. They ran down her cheek and formed drops on her chin. She looked as though her heart could break. Only a day before, she had appeared peaceful, even joyful… but now her face seemed to betray the deep sorrow in her heart. I could only ask “Why…?”, but there was no answer in the rose-scented air, since the Woman I was looking at was a statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 12th, 2014
The Holy Name of Mary
Liturgical texts here
DON’T look back, my brother! Don’t give up, my sister! We are running the Race of all races. Are you weary? Then stop for a moment with me, here by the oasis of God’s Word, and let us catch our breath together. I am running, and I see you all running, some ahead, some behind. And so I’m stopping and waiting for those of you who are tired and discouraged. I am with you. God is with us. Let’s rest upon His heart for a moment…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 11th, 2014
Liturgical texts here
DO you find yourself agitated when you hear such statements as “detach yourself from possessions” or “renounce the world”, etc.? If so, it’s often because we have a distorted view of what Christianity is all about—that it is the religion of pain and punishment.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 10th, 2014
Liturgical texts here
THERE was an expectation in the early Church that Jesus was going to return soon. Thus Paul says to the Corinthians in today’s first reading that “time is running out.” Because of “the present distress”, he offers advice on marriage, suggesting that those who are single remain celibate. And he goes further…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 9th, 2014
Memorial of St. Peter Claver
Liturgical texts here
IF we are to be co-workers with God, this implies much more than simply “working for” God. It means being in communion with Him. As Jesus said,
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. (John 15:5)
But this communion with God is predicated on a vital condition of the soul: purity. God is holy; He is a pure being, and He joins to Himself only that which is pure. [1]from this flows the theology of Purgatory. See On Temporal Punishment Jesus said to St. Faustina:
Footnotes
| ↑1 | from this flows the theology of Purgatory. See On Temporal Punishment |
|---|
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 8th, 2014
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Liturgical texts here
I hope you have had a chance to read my meditation on Mary, The Masterwork. Because, really, it reveals a truth about who you are and should be in Christ. After all, what we say of Mary can be said of the Church, and by this is meant not only the Church as a whole, but individuals on a certain level as well.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 1st – September 6th, 2014
Ordinary Time
Liturgical texts here
THE first evangelists—it might surprise you to know—were not the Apostles. They were demons.
I laughed, I cried, I was riveted to the very last word. But perhaps more than anything, I was astonished that such a young mind could conceive The Tree, a new novel by my 20-year-old daughter Denise…
Begun when she was thirteen, and now finished seven years later, The Tree has been stunning reviewers. I am more than excited to share what they’re saying about this new book that, set in a medieval period, is a journey through raw emotion, suffering, and mysticism. We are proud to announce today the release of The Tree!
The Immaculate Conception, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1767)
WHAT did you say? That Mary is the refuge that God is giving us in these times? [1]cf. The Rapture, the Ruse, and the Refuge
It sounds like heresy, doesn’t it. After all, isn’t Jesus our refuge? Isn’t He the “mediator” between man and God? Isn’t His the only name by which we are saved? Is He not the Savior of the world? Yes, all this is true. But how the Savior wishes to save us is a completely different matter. How the merits of the Cross are applied is an altogether mysterious, beautiful, and awesome unfolding story. It is within this application of our redemption that Mary finds her place as the crown of God’s masterplan in redemption, after Our Lord Himself.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. The Rapture, the Ruse, and the Refuge |
|---|