Month: October 2020

The themes in today’s readings, beginning with the prophet Abraham saying, ‘through you shall all the nations be blessed’ and the Alleluia, ‘I will draw all to myself, says the Lord’,  have been pulling me to Pope Francis’ new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti.    

Why? The subtitle of the document, Fraternity and Social Friendship, ring true in my heart, just as it did during my first reading of the Gospel. ‘Whoever is not with me is against me, whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Lk 11:23

The Grand Imam, Ahmed el-Tayeb and Pope Francis signed a document in February of 2019 on human fraternity and world peace. The Grand Imam described this joint document as: “… a document that invites all persons who have faith in God and faith in human fraternity to unite and work together so that it may serve as a guide for future generations to advance a culture of mutual respect in the awareness of the great divine grace that makes all human beings brothers and sisters.”

Fratelli Tutti is a document that needs to be read slowly to allow yourself to go deeper into the familiar story of the Good Samaritan, which is the framework of Pope Francis’ writing. John Carr, Director of Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at GU wrote a summary of the Twelve Themes on Sunday and Georgetown University held a forum on the encyclical on Monday.

The Alleluia acclamation today states: ‘I will draw all to myself, says the Lord.’ I believe this is what Pope Francis calls us to throughout Fratelli Tutti. The relationships we have with all of humanity and creation are sacred and entrusted to us through the Divine.

This recurring theme delights my Franciscan heart and soul. Click on the links above, read the documents, and find what is yours to do. Pray with me the words of Pope Francis as we begin this journey and necessary work.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Help us to recognize the evil latent in a communication that does not build communion.

Help us to remove the venom from our judgements.

Help us to speak about others as our brothers and sisters.

You are faithful and trustworthy; may our words be seeds of goodness for the world:

where there is shouting, let us practice listening;

where there is confusion, let us inspire harmony;

where there is ambiguity, let us bring clarity;

where there is exclusion, let us offer solidarity;

where there is sensationalism, let us use sobriety;

where there is superficiality, let us raise real questions;

where there is prejudice, let us awaken trust;

where there is hostility, let us bring respect;

where there is falsehood, let us bring truth.  Amen.

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that we should pray with faith and persistence. When we pray faithfully and persistently, we admit how much we need God in our lives.

Oftentimes we think of persistence in prayer as continually asking God for the same thing until He gives it to us. Sometimes that looks like “I promise I’ll stop gossiping if I get that promotion at work”. Sometimes it looks more serious like, “I promise I’ll come back to church if you allow my loved one to live through this disease”. But I think the prayer Christ is speaking about is the prayer in which we genuinely ask for His will to be done in our lives. Christ says, “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

We get so caught up in asking for material things, those things which we need most immediately, that we forget that the greatest gift God can give us is the Holy Spirit. When God doesn’t grant us the sign we prayed for, we think He denied us our desire. But God’s will is greater than our own and He knows what we need even when we do not. In those moments that we feel as though God has not given us what we prayed for, perhaps He has given us what we need: the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we have been granted the gift of the Holy Spirit in order to help us bear whatever cross we are carrying. We learn that ultimately, we need God and God alone.

Since I was very young, my mom has told me “God’s delay is not God’s denial”. As a kid (and sometimes even now) that’s a hard thing to accept. It helps to remember that His greatest gift to us is Himself and that is always enough.

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Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. Where does this title and celebration come from?

At the last apparition of Fatima on October 13, Mary identified herself in this way, saying, “I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day.” But nearly 350 years earlier, the history of this memorial celebration began. The troops of the Turkish Ottoman Empire had invaded and occupied the Byzantine Empire by 1453, and brought a large portion of the Christian world under a version of Islamic law. They continued to expand westward for the next 100 years, determined to invade Rome. In 1571, a fleet of 300 ships of the Ottoman Empire was preparing to wage a battle to conquer Europe, off the coast of Western Greece. Genoa, Spain, and the Papal States – three Catholic powers of Europe – formed an alliance called the Holy League, to defend Christian civilization against the looming Turkish invasion, sailing to confront them near Lepanto. Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory, and the crew of the 200 ships of the Holy League prayed it as well.

Lepanto was a decisive battle, setting the trajectory of European history for hundreds of years. The pope attributed this to the intercession of Our Lady through the Rosary, and in thanksgiving instituted the celebration of “Our Lady of Victory” on October 7 and inserted the invocation “Help of Christians” into the Litany of Loreto. The name of the feast was changed by several popes, but always with the intention of giving thanks for this victory.

It is interesting that it was at Fatima that Mary revealed herself as the “Lady of the Rosary”, as the name of this little village refers to the youngest daughter of the prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam (Portugal and Spain were occupied by Muslims for centuries). Mary is also the only woman named in the Quran, which describes her as being chosen above all other women. This indicates the possibility of a connection between Islam, Mary, and the Rosary.

At the July apparition, Mary told the children to “Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary in order to obtain peace for the world…because only she can help you.”

Pope Francis called the Rosary a “simple contemplative prayer, accessible to all… In the Rosary we turn to the Virgin Mary so that she may guide us to an ever closer union with her Son, Jesus, to bring us into conformity with him, to have his sentiments and behave like him… The Rosary is an effective means for opening ourselves to God.”

So let us make or renew our resolution to pray this simple prayer, as so many popes, saints, and Mary herself have encouraged us to do; for peace in our hearts, in our homes, in our families, and in our world!

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