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. 

And so we say “When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, 

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

Every Mass we celebrate too is a sharing in the death of Christ just as He shares in ours. 

And so we will share in His resurrection 

The feast of the Transfiguration Tuesday Aug 6

 

One of the popular things to do on talk shows nowadays is to have a make over.

You take some guy or girl who does not know how to dress and suddenly, Voila!  You transform them into something beautiful or handsome.

The Gospel however talks about a different kind of transformation.

 Sinai, Carmel, Tabor and LaVerna.

These are the mountain top transformations of Moses, Elijah, Jesus and Francis of Assisi.

The face of Moses and his hair turned white.

 Jesus was surrounded by light.

And St. Francis received the sacred stigmata of the cross.

Transformation however does not take place up on high mountains but down in the depths of our hearts. 

The journey into the human heart is far more dangerous and treacherous than any winding path or jagged cliff we might face on the way to the mountain top.

The journey into our hearts brings us face to face with ourselves.

With our fears and desires; 

Our attitudes, the way we talk, the way we act, the way we treat others.

What lies buried in our hearts that we do not want to see or admit?

The journey into our hearts will strip away all of the excuses we make and the masks we wear. 

The question we must ask ourselves is how far are we willing to go into the journey of our hearts? 

Teresa of Avila says that in the journey of the heart, most people turn around and go back because it is too difficult for them to face God and themselves.

The journey is difficult with all of its sacrifices, self denial and crosses to bear, but the goal is worth it.

For when that transformation takes place….

We see people differently

Enemies become friends;

We see life differently.

Traffic jams become times of prayer and solitude

We see ourselves differently.

We are not as bad as we thought.

We see suffering differently.

It cannot overcome us.

We see God differently.

He is our friend and brother.

Will we join Moses and Elijah, Jesus and Francis and

will experience our own personal transfiguration and resurrection.

Monday Aug. 5

 The Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Aug.  5

In the year 431, the Bishops gathered for a council in Ephesus 

And declared Mary to be the Mother of God

to show that Jesus was One Person, who was fully human and fully divine. 

Soon after the council, 

The Pope dedicated a church to her honor in Rome. 

The church of St. Mary Major,

The oldest Church dedicated to Mary in the Western world. 

Before every trip,

Pope Francis visits the Basilica of St. Mary Major

And entrusts his Pilgrimage to her. 

This feast in her honor,

Is a good day to dedicate ourselves to her,

And entrusts all of our trips and even our errands to her loving protection. 

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

 The Dew Fall Ex. 16:2-15

Why do we always think that the past was better?

We look back and think the winter’s were warmer;

Skies were bluer;

Grass was greener; 

And smiles were bright. 

But were they?

As soon as The Israelites found themselves in the middle of the desert and life was hard,

They started grumbling. 

They thought that the past was better. 

They had their fill of bread in Egypt

And now they were starving in the desert. 

How quickly they forgot they were slaves. 

How they were beaten and their first born sons were thrown into the river. 

The Lord however heard their grumbling and sent them Manna from Heaven. 

Early in the morning the Dew Fell upon the ground and when it lifted 

There was Manna for them to eat. 

We too have a tendency to look back. 

And think that the past was better. 

If only we could go back. 

But was it?

Rather than reminiscing about how good the past was and grumbling how bad things are now,

come to Mass!

For Just as the dew fell upon the ground and Manna appeared;

To fill every hunger and desire of the Israelites;

Just so When the priest puts his hands over the bread and wine

The Holy Spirit descends upon them like the Dewfall. 

And the Body of Christ appears. 

And we receive the Bread of Life. 

To fill our every hunger and desire. 

So that we do not have to look back and think how good it was,

But rather look forward to the Kingdom of Heaven 

And how much better it will be !

PRAYER TO MARY, QUEEN OF THE ANGELS

           \August Queen of Heaven and Mistress of the Angels, thou who hast received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan: 

     we humbly ask thee to send to us thy heavenly legions so that, under thy command, they may pursue the demons let loose upon the earth, fight them everywhere, vanquish their audacity, and drive them back into the abyss.

  “Who is like unto God?”

  O good and tender Mother, thou shalt ever be our love and our hope.

  O divine Mother, send the Holy Angels to defend us [me] and repel far from us [me] the cruel enemy.

  Holy Angels and Archangels, defend and keep us.  Amen.

Feast of 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. 

Thursday 17th Week of Ordinary Time

 The potter never gives up. Jer. 18:1-6

Whenever a Potter is working on a piece of clay that does not turn out as he wants,

He does not throw the clay out. 

Rather takes the clay and starts over again. 

Maybe it needed more water;

Maybe the wheel needed to turn a little slower;

Maybe the clay was too hard. 

God is the Potter and we are the clay. 

Whenever we do not turn out as God planned. 

He does not throw us out. 

Rather he starts over again. 

Maybe we need a little more time;

Maybe we need a little more grace;

Maybe our hearts are too hard.

It does not matter, 

For God is a Master Potter!