Monday 18th week of Ordinary

 

Pope St Sixtus II and his companions ( - 258)

Sixtus was elected Pope in 257 A.D.

Twelve months later, on 6th August,

as he was celebrating Mass in the catacomb of St Calixtus,

he was seized by the authorities

(it was the time of Valerian’s persecution)

and beheaded along with four of his deacons.

He was buried in the same catacomb.

St Lawrence another deacon, was captured and executed four days later.

We celebrate his feast 4 days from now.

Pope Sixtus realized that every Mass he celebrated

He was sharing in the death of Christ.

That is why we say “When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup,

We proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes again.”

For at Every Mass we celebrate

We too share in the death of Christ;

And if we share in His death,

Then we will also share in His resurrection

The Transfiguration

 

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem with His disciples

where He would be rejected by the religious leaders,

And scourged, and crucified by the Romans.

And buried in a borrowed grave.

And His disciples needed to be reassured.

So that When they saw all of this,

They would still believe that He is Son of God.

So on Mount Tabor

He was Transfigured.

His Face shone like the Sun and His clothes became white as snow.

And He revealed His glory to the disciples.

So that when they saw Him betrayed in the Garden;

Scourged and crowned with thorns.

Carry His cross to Calvary and die on it.

And be buried in a tomb;

They would not despair or doubt

But believe!

So Jesus showed them His glory

The glory He had with His Father

And the glory they too would have one day.

Because suffering can blind us!

Sometimes when we are on the way to the doctor to hear the bad news.

Or a good friend has betrayed us;

Or our crosses are getting too heavy;

Or our bodies feel scourged with aches and pains to great to bear;

We too can sometimes start to lose Faith and have our doubts.

And we cannot see what awaits us in the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is at those times that we we must look to the Heavens!

And remind ourselves that Christ will Transfigure and Transform

All of our sorrows and sufferings

Into something so glorious that we will never be able to remember them;

Not even for a second.

The Feast of the Assumption

Living an Assumed Life

After her earthly life was ended, Mary was Assumed Body and Soul into Heaven,

Where she was united with her Son.

For Mary, however being Assumed into heaven was the culmination of living an Assumed life on earth.

Living an assumed life means never being separated from Christ.

At Nazareth, Mary conceived the Son of God in her heart and in her womb.

At Bethlehem, she gave birth to the Messiah and held Him in her arms.

Once again at Nazareth, Mary sat at the right hand of the Son of God for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And at Calvary, she stood beside Jesus in His suffering and death.

Throughout Mary's life, she was always beside her Son.

So being Assumed into heaven was nothing new.

Rather it was the culmination of a life of Faith lived with Jesus.

Because those who believe in Christ will be with Him wherever He is. Jn. 14:3

Living an assumed life means never being separated from Christ.

From Nazareth to Bethlehem to Egypt to Calvary, Mary was never separated from her Son.

Neither then could Death separate her from Him.

And if we lived an Assumed life here on earth, then nothing will ever separate us from the Love of God, not trial or distress, persecution or famine, or nakedness or danger or the sword. Rom. 8:35

Not even Death!

Friday 17th Week of Ordinary Time

 

Feast of St. John Vianney

The Cross

St. John Vianney is the Parton of parish priests.

He lived in the small backwater rural town of Ars of 200 people.

And one day he preached on the cross.

He said “Our greatest cross is the fear of crosses.”

Instead “We ought to run after crosses as the miser runs after money. .

Nothing but crosses will reassure us at the Day of Judgment.

When that day shall come,

we shall be happy in our misfortunes, proud of our humiliations, and rich in our sacrifices!

For we will be most like Jesus.

Thursday 17th week of Ordinary Time

 

Keep the Good and throw away the Bad. Mt. 13:47-53

At the end of time, the angels of the Lord will go forth like fishermen with their nets and gather in righteous and the wicked.

The good the Lord will keep and the bad with be thrown out.

Let us cast out what is bad in our souls,

And keep what is good,

So that the Lord will not have to do it Himself on the Last Day.

Wednesday 17th week of Ordinary Time

Our Lady of the Angels

St. Francis of Assisi came to a place called the Portiuncula where there stood a church of the most Blessed Virgin Mother of God, and When the he saw it was abandoned, he began to repair it.

He Sensed that angels often visited there, from which from it was called Saint Mary of the Angels.

St. Francis loved this place more than other.

for it was here that the Order was founded;

There That he grew in virtue.

And he entrusted it to his brothers at his death

It was not the building that was so special to him,

But who he met there, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

For as St. Bonaventure said,

“It was through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

That Francis received the grace to live the Gospel/“

May Our Lady intercede for us that we too might live the Gospel as did Francis, and send her angels to help us. 

Tuesday 17th Week of Ordinary Time

Face to Face Ex. 33:11

No one could see the face of God and live,

Except Moses.

Moses used to speak to God “Face to Face”

And afterwards when he came out to the people,

He would wear a veil because his face shone like the sun.

God veils His face from us in the Eucharist under the “veil” of Bread.

We do not see God Face to Face,

But under the veil of the Sacrament of Bread and Wine.

But He is present to us just the same.

But the day will come, when the veil of the Blessed Sacrament is taken away,

And we too will see God Face to Face.