MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Monday - November 01, 2021

Monday - November 01, 2021

The Saints rejoiced at injuries and persecutions, because in forgiving them they had something to present to God when they prayed to Him.

-- St. Teresa of Avila

 

November 1, 2021

 

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Solemnity of All Saints
Lectionary: 667

Reading 1RV 7:2-4, 9-14

I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,
holding the seal of the living God.
He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels
who were given power to damage the land and the sea,
"Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees
until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."
I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,
one hundred and forty-four thousand marked
from every tribe of the children of Israel.

After this I had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:

"Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb."

All the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
worshiped God, and exclaimed:

"Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
"Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?"
I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows."
He said to me,
"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."

Responsorial PsalmPS 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6

R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Reading 21 JN 3:1-3

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.

AlleluiaMT 11:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 5:1-12A

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 
He began to teach them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven."

*************************************************************************** 

YOU are a Saint!

YOU are a saint. Don't argue with me, I know you're a saint, because a saint is anyone who's either in heaven or on their way to heaven by following Christ. In the Apostle's Creed we say, "I believe in the communion of saints...." That includes you! It's the whole community of Christ-followers.

As followers of Christ, we have been redeemed from the power of sin. We have been reborn as "saints" and are no longer "sinners." Yes, we do sin every day; we have not yet perfected our sainthood. So we grow in holiness by becoming more and more who we truly are. This is life as an earthly saint.

Look at today's first reading. We could see this as a huge prayer meeting in heaven, but it's not just about the after-life. You, right now, are part of that "great multitude" when you worship God enthusiastically. Every time we praise God, we're joining ourselves to the whole communion of saints, including our loved ones who left earth in the Lord's arms.

We're also united to them after our sins are absolved in the mercy of God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for then we, too, have "washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Until the next time we sin, we're on the Lord's mountain, standing in a holy place, because our hands are sinless, our hearts are clean, and we are not desiring what is vain (as the responsorial Psalm says).

The same unity occurs when we receive the Eucharist after making a heartfelt journey through the prayers of repentance and requests for forgiveness that the Church provides during each Mass. (Oops, until we get mad at the guy in the parking lot who briefly blocks our escape from church into the world.)

As the second reading points out, we are saints because we are God's children. The saints in heaven have the advantage of being free from evil, while we live in a sin-filled world. But notice how we become pure: The hope (i.e., belief in God's promise) that eventually we'll behave like Christ all the time should energize us to purge our lives of unholiness now. This hope is based on knowing that Christ redeems us from sin, the Father forgives us, and after death, whatever clean-up still remains to be done, it will be accomplished thanks to purgatory.

The Gospel reading reminds us that we are saints because we are blessed. Isn't anything that God blesses made holy? Therefore, any person whom God blesses is made holy by his love: the poor in spirit, those who mourn and receive the Holy Spirit's comfort, the meek who submit to God's will, and so on down the list of beatitudes. Meditate on each blessing and notice your sainthood and the challenge to become more saintly by improving how you live the truth of each beatitude.

The Church canonizes saints so we can have role models and so we know they're available for prayer support to assist us on our journey to heaven. We should not compare our lives to theirs, however, for we all have different circumstances in which to grow in holiness. We can only compare ourselves to what we used to be like. Meanwhile, we can pray with the saints and accept their spiritual guidance.

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”

MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY - Sunday - October 31, 2021

Sunday - October 31, 2021

The rosary is said not with the lips alone, muttering Hail Marys one after the other. … For a Christian vocal prayer must spring from the heart, so that while the rosary is said, the mind can enter into contemplation of each one of the mysteries.

-- St. Josemaria Escriva

 

October 31, 2021

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 152

 

Reading 1                                                                 Dt 6:2-6

 

Moses spoke to the people, saying:

"Fear the LORD, your God,

and keep, throughout the days of your lives,

all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you,

and thus have long life.

Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them,

that you may grow and prosper the more,

in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers,

to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.

 

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!

Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,

with all your heart,

and with all your soul,

and with all your strength.

Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

 

R. (2)    I love you, Lord, my strength.

 

I love you, O LORD, my strength,

    O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

My God, my rock of refuge,

    my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!

Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,

    and I am safe from my enemies.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

The LORD lives!  And blessed be my rock!

    Extolled be God my savior.

You who gave great victories to your king

    and showed kindness to your anointed.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

 

Reading 2                                                                 Heb 7:23-28

 

Brothers and sisters:

The levitical priests were many

because they were prevented by death from remaining in office,

but Jesus, because he remains forever,

has a priesthood that does not pass away.

Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him,

since he lives forever to make intercession for them.

 

It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:

holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,

higher than the heavens.

He has no need, as did the high priests,

to offer sacrifice day after day,

first for his own sins and then for those of the people;

he did that once for all when he offered himself.

For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,

but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,

appoints a son,

who has been made perfect forever.

 

Alleluia                                                                      Jn 14:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord;

and my father will love him and we will come to him.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Mk 12:28b-34

 

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,

"Which is the first of all the commandments?"

Jesus replied, "The first is this:

Hear, O Israel!

The Lord our God is Lord alone!

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul,

with all your mind,

and with all your strength.

The second is this:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these."

The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.

You are right in saying,

'He is One and there is no other than he.'

And 'to love him with all your heart,

with all your understanding,

with all your strength,

and to love your neighbor as yourself'

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,

he said to him,

"You are not far from the kingdom of God."

And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

 

********************************

 Perfect Love

In this Sunday's Gospel reading, Jesus asserted the two greatest commands of the Law. He quoted from the ancient Hebrew scriptures, which we have for today's first reading. And the second reading, from the New Testament letter to the Hebrews, explains how the Law of Love supersedes or fulfills all other laws. Jesus, who loved perfectly and never sinned against anyone, sacrificed himself for sinners. Therefore, we who want to follow him to heaven need to follow in his footsteps of love, by loving God and everyone else whole-heartedly.

 

Try as we might, though, we love imperfectly; we sin. The best penance, then, is an act of love, especially if it's a sacrifice offered to (or for) those who were harmed by our sin. But the damage we've caused has a ripple effect that goes far beyond anything we can see. This is remedied in the Catholic Church's Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus -- through the priest -- accepts our remorse and absolves our sins, while the entire earthly Body of Christ (the Church) -- through the priest -- accepts our penances for the earthly damage that our sins have caused.

 

Penance is not only an act of love, it's designed to strengthen our resolve to choose love when tempted to sin again. If the priest gives us an easy penance (for example, "Say the Lord's Prayer and three Hail Marys"), if we really want to become holier, we should ask God during those three Hail Marys for a penance that's a more difficult act of love. We should choose a sacrifice, something that requires loving God with our whole heart, soul, and mind as well as loving ourselves and our neighbors just as much.

 

Saint Anthony Mary Claret said, "The love of Christ arouses us, urges us to run, and to fly, lifted on the wings of holy zeal." How high is your love flying? Zeal is a good measuring instrument of how much we love God.

 

Today's Prayer

 

My Lord: Help me to sort all my feelings according to my wholehearted love for You, being certain that You will give me whatever is good for my life. Amen.

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”

MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY - Saturday - October 30, 2021

Saturday - October 30, 2021

"Let, then, the life of Mary be as it were virginity itself, set forth in a likeness, from which, as from a mirror, the appearance of chastity and the form of virtue is reflected. From this you may take your pattern of life, showing, as an example, the clear rules of virtue: what you have to correct, to effect, and to hold fast. The first thing which kindles ardour in learning is the greatness of the teacher. What is greater than the Mother of God?"

~ Saint Ambrose

October 30, 2021

Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 484

 

Reading 1                                                                 Rom 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29

Brothers and sisters:

I ask, then, has God rejected his people?

Of course not!

For I too am a child of Israel, a descendant of Abraham,

of the tribe of Benjamin.

God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah,

how he pleads with God against Israel?

 

Hence I ask, did they stumble so as to fall?

Of course not!

But through their transgression

salvation has come to the Gentiles,

so as to make them jealous.

Now if their transgression is enrichment for the world,

and if their diminished number is enrichment for the Gentiles,

how much more their full number.

 

I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers and sisters,

so that you will not become wise in your own estimation:

a hardening has come upon Israel in part,

until the full number of the Gentiles comes in,

and thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

 

The deliverer will come out of Zion,

he will turn away godlessness from Jacob;

and this is my covenant with them

when I take away their sins.

 

In respect to the Gospel, they are enemies on your account;

but in respect to election,

they are beloved because of the patriarch.

For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              94:12-13a, 14-15, 17-18

 

R. (14a) The Lord will not abandon his people.

 

Blessed the man whom you instruct, O LORD,

whom by your law you teach,

Giving him rest from evil days.

R. The Lord will not abandon his people.

For the LORD will not cast off his people,

nor abandon his inheritance;

But judgment shall again be with justice,

and all the upright of heart shall follow it.

R. The Lord will not abandon his people.

Were not the LORD my help,

my soul would soon dwell in the silent grave.

When I say, “My foot is slipping,”

your mercy, O LORD, sustains me.

R. The Lord will not abandon his people

 

Alleluia                                                                      Mt 11:29ab

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

For I am meek and humble of heart.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Lk 14:1, 7-11

 

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine

at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,

and the people there were observing him carefully.

 

He told a parable to those who had been invited,

noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,

do not recline at table in the place of honor.

A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,

and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,

‘Give your place to this man,’

and then you would proceed with embarrassment

to take the lowest place.

Rather, when you are invited,

go and take the lowest place

so that when the host comes to you he may say,

‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’

Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,

but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

********************************

 

Good discernment today can be very challenging. We want to do God's will, but there are so many people in positions of authority who are contradicting God's will. With strong insistence, they're telling us how to live, what to believe, what to teach our children, and whether to be vaccinated against Covid or take a stand against mandates. Sometimes it's obvious when a leader is working against God, but often it is not -- especially when they claim to be Catholic or they hold positions of authority within the Church.

 

This can be very confusing. Even stressful.

 

If the voice of authority is within the Church but we disagree with his mandates, how are we to handle it? What's the holy response? Is it quiet compliance?

 

Jesus provides guidance in this Saturday's Gospel reading, but it might surprise you. It's often over-looked. We listen to the parable and miss the reason why he told this particular story at this particular time.

 

Jesus had been invited to a meal in the home of a Pharisee -- a religious leader, someone in authority. But it was not a private meetup. The Pharisee had invited his friends: "And the people there were observing him carefully" because it was the Sabbath and Jesus had a history of breaking Sabbath laws. They thought they had the authority to reprimand him, and they were looking for the opportunity to do so.

 

How did Jesus handle this? He embarrassed and insulted them with his parable about seating positions. He chose that particular parable at that particular time because he was challenging those who had maneuvered themselves into places of honor around the table.

 

It's important to remember that "giving honor to" does not always mean "obeying". Jesus honored the Pharisee who invited him to dinner by graciously accepting his offer. But honoring him did mean obeying any of his ill-conceived commands, even if it meant being persecuted for healing someone on the Sabbath.

 

Like Jesus, we should honor and respect those who are in authority but we should never obey orders that contradict God's will. We should disobey any commands that are harmful or inappropriate (i.e., sinful).

 

The problem is: It can be difficult to feel good about disobeying. The solution: Remember that there is a chain of authority that should guide all of our decisions. It begins with God. He is, of course, the only voice of authority that really matters. He reveals it in his Word and Sacred Tradition (i.e. 2000+ years of Church teachings)

 

Second in the chain of command is the authority that God has given to us -- you and me. We first see our God-given authority in Genesis 1:28 ("Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over... "everything.) In the New Testament, Jesus gives us authority over demons and sickness, and the authority to preach the Good News.

 

Third in the chain is delegated authority. This includes leaders in government, teachers in classrooms, and clergy in the Church. Our ability to discern if their commands should be obeyed is equal to how well our consciences have been formed (by studying the Word and traditional teachings of the Church), how much our consciences are inspired by Holy Spirit (by having a good, personal relationship with the Holy Spirit), and how strongly we desire to be submissive to God's will.

 

When Saint Paul wrote that we must always submit to governing authorities (Romans 13:1-5), he was talking about rulers who "hold no terror for those who do right but are feared by those who do wrong." In other words, authorities who are acting on God's behalf -- truly and not just by our assumption or their claim.

 

Whenever this is out of order, there's a problem and Satan has an open door.

 

What should be our response to the disorders in authority that occur today? First, research the truth as much as you can. This needs to include the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the teachings of Saints, and other official Church writings. Saint Pope John Paul II wrote a wealth of Holy Spirit-inspired encyclicals and apostolic exhortations that are totally reliable, for example.

 

Second, place your faith in God over and above your research. How strong is your relationship with the Holy Spirit? How actively are the Spirit's gifts and fruits manifesting in your life? How often do you use the Sacrament of Confession and the Penitential Rite of Mass to purify your thinking? How important to you is the desire to be holy and saintly?

 

Without an active and lively relationship with the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Truth), we cannot trust what we hear from the world or from authorities in the Church who undiscerningly trust (i.e. without the Holy Spirit) what they hear in the world.

 

Today's Prayer 

Lord, I thank You and praise You, because you take my life beyond my own limitations. I want to follow Your loving paths till the end. Amen.

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”