Month: August 2020

Children’s Prayer for Parents: Prayer of the Day for Friday, August 14, 2020

Dear Lord! Fill our parents with Thy choicest blessings;
enrich their souls with Thy holy grace;
grant that they may faithfully
and constantly guard that likeness to Thy union with Thy Church,
which Thou didst imprint upon them on their wedding day.
Fill them with Thy spirit of holy fear,
which is the beginning of wisdom;
inspire them to impart it to their children.
May they ever walk in the way of Thy commandments,
and may we their children be their joy on earth …

Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 EZ 12:1-12

The word of the LORD came to me: 
Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house;
they have eyes to see but do not see,
and ears to hear but do not hear,
for they are a rebellious house.
Now, son of man, during the day while they are looking on,
prepare your baggage as though for exile, 
and again while they are looking on,
migrate from where you live to another place;
perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house.
You shall bring out your baggage like an exile in the daytime 
while they are looking on;
in the evening, again while they are looking on,
you shall go out like one of those driven into exile;
while they look on, dig a hole in the wall and pass through it;
while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness;
cover your face that you may not see the land,
for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.

I did as I was told.
During the day I brought out my baggage
as though it were that of an exile,
and at evening I dug a hole through the wall with my hand
and, while they looked on, set out in the darkness,
shouldering my burden.

Then, in the morning, the word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that rebellious house,
ask you what you were doing?
Tell them: Thus says the Lord GOD:
This oracle concerns Jerusalem
and the whole house of Israel within it.
I am a sign for you: 
as I have done, so shall it be done to them;
as captives they shall go into exile.
The prince who is among them shall shoulder his burden
and set out in darkness,
going through a hole he has dug out in the wall,
and covering his face lest he be seen by anyone.

Responsorial Psalm PS 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62

R. (see 7b)  Do not forget the works of the Lord!
They tempted and rebelled against God the Most High,
and kept not his decrees.
They turned back and were faithless like their fathers;
they recoiled like a treacherous bow.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
They angered him with their high places
and with their idols roused his jealousy.
God heard and was enraged
and utterly rejected Israel.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
And he surrendered his strength into captivity,
his glory in the hands of the foe.
He abandoned his people to the sword
and was enraged against his inheritance.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

 

 

Alleluia PS 119:135

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your countenance shine upon your servant
and teach me your statutes.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 18:21–19:1

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed,
and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Divine Forgiveness

Imagine the tangible power of forgiveness? Have you ever experienced it? In the fallen and broken world we live in, forgiveness is what can make us whole again, it is what can fill in the cracks of our fallen humanity with the divine love of God.

I can remember a specific confession of mine as a kid where I literally thought the priest was going to punch me through the confessional screen after finding out what I had done. Instead, he calmly said to me, “Son, I am a Monsignor in my parish. I have been around a lot longer than you have and I have been sinning longer than you have and at times I can be good at it. You have to give yourself a break. We all fall short, and Jesus brings us home.”

This really struck me. No matter what we do, God still loves us and desperately wants to forgive us. We only need to ask. Now I think we all know this in our minds, but take a second and ask yourself if you’ve let it penetrate your heart. That no matter how shamefully we fall, we can have hope in the mercy of God and what he did for us on the cross.

Now let’s flip it around and receive our lesson for the day from the Gospel. As much as we need forgiveness from God, we also need to give forgiveness to others. The Gospel reading can seem harsh, but it’s true. If we are constantly asking for mercy and not giving any in return than we are no better than the Pharisees.

So the question for you and me today is this, who do you need to forgive? We all have someone who has hurt us in one way or another. God has already forgiven them, have we? This can be a tall order, depending on what they have done to hurt us, but this is where we ask for the grace of God to come into our hearts and allow us to forgive with divine forgiveness. The same forgiveness he has open to us every single day. From all of us here at Rodzinka Ministry, God Bless!

Contact the author

Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

St. Hippolytus: Saint of the Day for Thursday, August 13, 2020

Martyr of Rome, with Concordia and other companions, he is a controversial figure who censured Pope St. Callistus I. Hippolytus was slain in Sardinia where he had been exiled for being elected as an antipope, the first in the history of the Church. He was reconciled to the Church before his martyrdom. His writings were important, including A Refutation of All Heresies, Song of Songs, and The Apostolic Tradition.

Prayer for the Forgiveness of Sins: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, August 13, 2020

O Lord, Jesus Christ,
Redeemer and Saviour,
forgive my sins,
just as You forgave Peter’s denial
and those who crucified You.
Count not my transgressions, but,
rather, my tears of repentance.
Remember not my iniquities, but,
more especially,
my sorrow for the offenses I have committed against You.
I long to be true to Your Word,
and pray that You will love me
and come to make Your dwelling place within me.
I promise to give You praise and glory in love
and in service …

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 EZ 9:1-7; 10:18-22

The LORD cried loud for me to hear:
Come, you scourges of the city!
With that I saw six men coming from the direction
of the upper gate which faces the north,
each with a destroying weapon in his hand.
In their midst was a man dressed in linen,
with a writer’s case at his waist.
They entered and stood beside the bronze altar.
Then he called to the man dressed in linen
with the writer’s case at his waist, saying to him:
Pass through the city, through Jerusalem,
and mark a “Thau” on the foreheads of those who moan and groan
over all the abominations that are practiced within it.
To the others I heard the LORD say:
Pass through the city after him and strike!
Do not look on them with pity nor show any mercy!
Old men, youths and maidens, women and children–wipe them out!
But do not touch any marked with the “Thau”; begin at my sanctuary.
So they began with the men, the elders, who were in front of the temple.
Defile the temple, he said to them, and fill the courts with the slain;
then go out and strike in the city.

Then the glory of the LORD left the threshold of the temple
and rested upon the cherubim.
These lifted their wings, and I saw them rise from the earth,
the wheels rising along with them.
They stood at the entrance of the eastern gate of the Lord’s house,
and the glory of the God of Israel was up above them.
Then the cherubim lifted their wings, and the wheels went along with them,
while up above them was the glory of the God of Israel.

Responsorial Psalm PS 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (4b)  The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.
or:
R.  Alleluia.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high,
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.
or:
R. Alleluia.

 

 

Alleluia 2 CORINTHIANS 5:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 18:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
“If your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen, 
take one or two others along with you,
so that  every fact may be established
on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church.
If he refuses to listen even to the Church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.”  

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know, So We Need Each Other

Sometimes, we don’t know what we don’t know. Sometimes, we don’t know that the way we are reaching for our goals is hurtful to others or ourselves, or even that our goals are short-sighted or wrong-headed. Sometimes, we are making objectively bad choices but we don’t know. Someone must tell us.

Jesus instructs his disciples to reach out always in love, go after the “lost sheep,” and work in ways that protect the dignity of the person AND the integrity of the Community. He tells them (and us) to gently and privately point out the fault of another. Why? Because we ARE our brother’s keeper, and we have a responsibility to help them see the fullness of Truth so that they can reach the Heart of the Father. We can and must do this, not because we are better than they are or because we have the right to judge the state of their hearts or souls, but because they are part of the same Body of Christ, and their good is the good of all. Good individuals build good communion.

What if they reject what we say? Jesus tells us not to give up on them, but to invite one or two others to speak to him with you, so that he might be persuaded by the witness of others. Why? If you’ve ever been involved in an “intervention” with someone who is suffering addiction, you know how powerful it is to have several people pleading lovingly and holding up the truth to one who is unable or unwilling to see it. This is also the case when the situation involves spiritual danger rather than physical danger. When confronted with several testimonies, rather than one, it is harder to avoid seeing the full picture.

What if they still refuse to hear us? Jesus says to “tell the Church.” Why? After being called out in love to see the wrong in our choices, it is sometimes necessary to bring it before an authoritative voice, one who has the “grace of office” to speak in the name of the community of Christ’s Body on the issue. Incidentally, this passage also indicates clearly that Jesus came to establish a Church with a visible structure and men whose word has authority: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven”! This is to protect the integrity of the community.

What if they reject the word of the Church? Jesus says that it is then necessary to separate ourselves from them (at least until they are ready to listen and live according to God’s Word). Why? Because we absorb the attitudes and actions of others, and the constant presence of opposition drains our psychological and spiritual energies for good. Today, we would say we need to “establish boundaries”. That does not mean we cast them out, stop loving them, or give up on them. We cannot sacrifice the integrity of the community to them, but we can continue to pray.

Contact the author

Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin

Reading 1 EZ 2:8—3:4

The Lord GOD said to me:
As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you:
be not rebellious like this house of rebellion,
but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.

It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me,
in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me.
It was covered with writing front and back,
and written on it was: 
Lamentation and wailing and woe!

He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you;
eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.
So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.
Son of man, he then said to me,
feed your belly and fill your stomach
with this scroll I am giving you.
I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel,
and speak my words to them.

Responsorial Psalm PS 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

R. (103a)  How sweet to my taste is your promise!
In the way of your decrees I rejoice,
as much as in all riches.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
How sweet to my palate are your promises,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
R.  How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Your decrees are my inheritance forever;
the joy of my heart they are.
R.  How sweet to my taste is your promise!
I gasp with open mouth,
in my yearning for your commands.
R.  How sweet to my taste is your promise!

 

 

Alleluia MT 11:29

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. 
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.”

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.