O gracious Father, Maker and Preserver of heaven and earth, who in the beginning didst institute matrimony, thereby foreshadowing the mystical union of the Church with our Savior Christ, who, during His ministry upon earth, did honor marriage with His first miracle: help me, I pray Thee, by Thy grace to live in holiness and purity with the wife whom Thou hast given me. Mortify in me all violence of earthly passion, all selfishness and inconsiderateness (here name any besetting sin which may be …
Author: WebDept ParishAdmin
Extend the Invitation / Extender la Invitación
Come and see. When I heard this phrase for the first time, it was used in the context of a discernment retreat. A “Come and See” retreat is an opportunity offered to discerners to do exactly that: come and see. Come to a seminary or a monastery or a convent and see what their life is like for yourself. Pray with them, talk to them, eat with them, share their life with them for a day or a weekend. It is an important step in discernment if a man or woman ultimately decides to enter seminary or religious life.
We can take this same “come and see” concept and practice it outside the walls of a convent or a seminary. It applies to all of us and we can use it for more than just vocational discernment. Rather, come and see is one of the basic tenets of discipleship and evangelization – what we are all called to do as Catholic Christians.
Today’s Gospel gives us a firsthand look at this practice. In the first chapter of the Gospel according to John, Jesus personally invited Philip to follow Him, to come and see for himself, and so Philip became one of the first disciples. Then Philip went to Nathanael and extended the invitation himself – come and see. Philip brought Nathanael to Jesus and Nathanael became a disciple. And so on and so on, all the way up to you and I today.
We share this same mission. By virtue of our Baptism, we have the same call as the first disciples. Sometimes we shirk away from the responsibility but sometimes we take it on and we make the task so much more difficult than it has to be. All we have to do to start is extend the invitation: come and see.
First, take a moment of prayerful consideration: who in your life needs to hear this invitation? Once you have identified that person, consider what kind of invitation you will make, what come and see you will offer: “Come to Mass with me and see” or “come and join me in a moment of prayer and see” or something different? And then be ready to accompany that individual in their journey of discipleship. After Jesus invited Philip and Philip invited Nathanael, they didn’t just leave them on their own.
Disciples making more disciples. And it starts with an invitation.
Ven y verás. Cuando escuché esta frase por primera vez, era en el contexto de un retiro de discernimiento. Un retiro de “Ven y verás” es una oportunidad que se ofrece a los discernidores para hacer exactamente eso: venir y ver. Ven a un seminario o a un monasterio o a un convento y mira cómo es su vida por ti mismo. Oren con ellos, hablen con ellos, coman con ellos, compartan su vida con ellos por un día o un fin de semana. Es un paso importante en el discernimiento si un hombre o una mujer finalmente decide ingresar al seminario o a la vida religiosa.
Podemos tomar este mismo concepto de “ven y verás” y practicarlo fuera de los muros de un convento o un seminario. Se aplica a todos nosotros y podemos usarlo para algo más que el discernimiento vocacional. Más bien, ven y verás es uno de los principios básicos del discipulado y la evangelización, lo que todos estamos llamados a hacer como cristianos católicos.
El Evangelio de hoy nos da una mirada de primera mano a esta práctica. En el primer capítulo del Evangelio según Juan, Jesús invitó personalmente a Felipe a que lo siguiera, a que viniera y viera por sí mismo, y así Felipe se convirtió en uno de los primeros discípulos. Entonces Felipe fue donde Natanael y él mismo le extendió la invitación: ven y verás. Felipe trajo a Natanael a Jesús y Natanael se hizo discípulo. Y así sucesivamente, hasta llegar a ti y a mí hoy.
Compartimos esta misma misión. En virtud de nuestro Bautismo, tenemos la misma llamada que los primeros discípulos. A veces eludimos la responsabilidad, pero a veces la asumimos y hacemos que la tarea sea mucho más difícil de lo que tiene que ser. Todo lo que tenemos que hacer para comenzar es extender la invitación: ven y verás.
Primero, tome un momento de para considerar en la oración: ¿quién en su vida necesita escuchar esta invitación? Una vez que hayas identificado a esa persona, considera qué tipo de invitación harás, qué “ven y verás” que ofrecerás: “Ven a Misa conmigo y verás” o “ven y únete a mí en un momento de oración y verás” o algo diferente. Y luego esté preparado para acompañar a esa persona en su camino del discipulado. Después de que Jesús invitó a Felipe y Felipe invitó a Natanael, no los dejaron solos.
Discípulos haciendo más discípulos. Y comienza con una invitación.
Erin is a Cleveland native and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is passionate about the Lord Jesus, all things college sports and telling stories and she is blessed enough to get paid for all three of her passions as a full-time youth minister and a freelance sports writer.
Feature Image Credit: Andrew Dunstan, unsplash.com/photos/qdUDnCjo7e0
St. Bartholomew: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, August 24, 2022
St. Bartholomew, 1st. century, one of the 12. All that is known of him with certainty is that he is mentioned in the synoptic gospels and Acts as one of the twelve apostles. His name, a patronymic, means “son of Tolomai” and scholars believe he is the same as Nathanael mentioned in John, who says he is from Cana and that Jesus called him an “Israelite…incapable of deceit.” The Roman Martyrology says he preached in India and Greater Armenia, where he was flayed and …
Hail Mary: Prayer of the Day for Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Hail Mary, full of grace, the LORD is with thee, blessed are you among all women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus, Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.
Cleanse, Check, and Repeat / Limpiar, Revisar y Repetir
In today’s Gospel Jesus speaks of the outside of a cup and dish being clean but not the inside. It reminded me of some memories, specifically, the after dinner routine in my childhood home. This included either myself or one of my sisters cleaning up the dishes [fyi: unless there was adult supervision, only one sibling would do the dishes or discord, including water fights, towel snapping, or tears, would follow].
Items would get a rinsing and light scrubbing before being loaded into the dishwasher and the rest would be hand washed. This was done as the dishwasher typically deposited some food particles and baked them on the surfaces and yet, sometimes this happened when we girls washed the dishes as well. We would get distracted by the issues of life and the world around us. We would make statements as facts or assumptions that caused us to lose focus on the tasks and the people around us, which led to problems in the personal and family life of the household.
The readings today tell us to keep ourselves in check through diligent review and reflection, prayer and the grace of God, to make changes and clean our interior dirt or leftovers that still cling to us. I know I absolutely need constructive feedback from my coworkers, family, friends and spiritual director, to help me see my mistakes, the food stuck in my tooth or point out the threads that have pulled in the seat of my pants or my life.
“The Word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart,” is the Gospel acclamation from Hebrews 4:12. Through continual reflection on the Word in prayer, attending Mass, receiving the Eucharist, taking time for adoration, finding silence to examine my thoughts, actions and reactions, helps me to ask for God’s forgiveness and seek the forgiveness of others whom I have offended.
Jesus tells us not to neglect the weightier things of the law, that of judgment, mercy and fidelity. These things we need to be mindful of as well as all other components of His teachings. It is not an easy path but a constant conversion of my heart, actions, words and expressions.
St. Rose of Lima, whose feast is today, is attributed to saying, “Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived.”
O St. Rose, first flower of sanctity in the New World, let the fragrance of your virtues diffuse itself in our lives. Grant that we may imitate your holy purity; obtain for us courage in the practice of penance. Teach us to love Christ Jesus and Mary His Mother. Please continue to intercede and bless all the Americas, which give thanks to Him, the Giver of all good gifts. Amen.
En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús habla de que el exterior de una taza y un plato están limpios, pero no el interior. Me hizo acordar de algunos recuerdos, específicamente, la rutina después de la cena en la casa de mi infancia. Esto incluía yo o una de mis hermanas limpiando los platos [para tu información: a menos de que hubiera la supervisión de un adulto, solo una hermana lavaba los platos a la vez, o seguiría la discordia, incluyendo peleas de agua, chasquidos de toallas o lágrimas].
Enjuagábamos los platos con un lavado ligero antes de ponerlos en el lavaplatos y el resto se lavaba a mano. Esto se hizo porque el lavaplatos generalmente depositaba algunas partículas de comida y las horneaba en las superficies y, sin embargo, a veces esto sucedía cuando nosotros también lavábamos los platos. Nos distraíamos con los asuntos de la vida y del mundo que nos rodeaba. Hacíamos afirmaciones como hechos o suposiciones que hacían que perdiéramos el enfoque en las tareas y en las personas que nos rodeaban, lo que generaba problemas en la vida personal y familiar del hogar.
Las lecturas de hoy nos dicen que nos mantengamos bajo control a través de la revisión y la reflexión diligentes, la oración y la gracia de Dios, para hacer cambios y limpiar nuestra suciedad interior o los “restos de la comida” que aún se adhieren a nosotros. Sé que necesito absolutamente los comentarios constructivos de mis compañeros de trabajo, mi familia, mis amigos y mi director espiritual, que me ayuden a ver mis errores, la comida atorada en mis dientes o señalar los hilos que se han tirado en el asiento de mis pantalones o de mi vida.
La aclamación evangélica de Hebreos 4,12 nos dice, “La palabra de Dios es viva y eficaz y descubre los pensamientos e intenciones del corazón”. A través de la reflexión continua sobre la Palabra en la oración, asistir a Misa, recibir la Eucaristía, tomar tiempo para la adoración, encontrar silencio para examinar mis pensamientos, acciones y reacciones, me ayuda a pedir el perdón de Dios y buscar el perdón de otros a quienes he ofendido.
Jesús nos dice que no descuidemos las cosas más importantes de la ley, la del juicio, la misericordia y la fidelidad. Debemos tener en cuenta estas cosas, así como todos los demás componentes de Sus enseñanzas. No es un camino fácil sino una constante conversión de mi corazón, acciones, palabras y expresiones.
A Santa Rosa de Lima, cuya fiesta es hoy, se le atribuye haber dicho: “Que sepan que los dones de la gracia aumentan a medida que aumentan las batallas. Que los hombres se cuiden de no extraviarse y ser engañados.”
Oh Santa Rosa, primera flor de santidad en el Nuevo Mundo, deja que la fragancia de tus virtudes se esparza en nuestras vidas. Concede que podamos imitar tu santa pureza; alcánzanos valor en la práctica de la penitencia. Enséñanos a amar a Cristo Jesús y a María Su Madre. Por favor, continúe intercediendo y bendiciendo a todas las Américas, que le dan gracias a Él, el Dador de todos los buenos dones. Amén.
Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and a practicing spiritual director. Beth shares smiles, prayers, laughter, a listening ear and her heart with all of creation. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.
Feature Image Credit: Rewrite27, pixabay.com/photos/water-flow-static-wash-the-dishes-2464417/
St. Philip Benizi: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Servite cardinal and preacher. Born in Florence, Italy, to a noble family, he was educated in Paris and Padua where he earned a doctorate in medicine and philosophy. He practiced medicine for some time, but in 1253 he joined the Servite Order in Florence. He served as a lay brother until 1259, when his superiors directed him to be ordained. Philip soon became known as one of the foremost preachers of his era, becoming master of novices at Siena in 1262 and then superior of several friaries and …
A Prayer for a Sick Child: Prayer of the Day for Tuesday, August 23, 2022
St. Gerard, who, like the Saviour,
loved children so tenderly
and by your prayers freed many from disease and even death,
listen to us who are pleading for our sick child.
We thank God for the great gift of our son/daughter
and ask Him to restore our child to health
if such be His holy will.
This favour, we beg of you
through your love for all children and mothers.
Amen.
Fulfillment of Every Effort of Faith / El Cumplimiento de Cada Esfuerzo de Fe
“We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 11-12
What a beautiful passage for celebrating the Queenship of Mary!
I try to picture Mary, going through her daily life. She has her daily routine, those tasks performed out of necessity and love for those around her. As she moves from one task to another, suddenly the word of God enters in; first through the words of the angel and then through the breath of the Holy Spirit and finally through her Son, Jesus.
Like Mary, we move through our daily lives. We keep our homes. We perform our jobs. We shop. We garden. We wash grubby little hands. We do all the little 1001 tasks needed to simply live from day to day. In the midst of all that, our Lord enters. He doesn’t enter in with fanfare and a marching band, but is found quietly in all the little things. We don’t have to be worthy of him on our own, but he makes us worthy when we include him. He comes to us in the silent prayer of gratitude said over a sink full of dishes. He is with us in whispered prayers for protection as a loved one leaves home for work or school. He stands beside us in the worried wondering of when we will find our next meal. He even joins us in the unspoken desire to find His presence in the tedium of yet another meeting. In all these places and so many more, our God enters in and brings fulfillment to our good purposes and efforts in faith.
Faith is a theological virtue infused into us at baptism and sealed within us at confirmation. It is brought into fulfillment through all those teeny tiny acts of faith performed each and every day.
Let us follow our Queen and Mother’s example of ascent to our Lord’s presence in our daily lives. Along with St. Paul, let us pray for one another that we continue to find God in all the little moments, “that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Oramos siempre por ustedes, para que Dios los haga dignos de la vocación a la que los ha llamado, y con su poder lleve a efecto tanto los buenos propósitos que han formado, como lo que ya han emprendido por la fe. Así glorificarán a nuestro Señor Jesús y él los glorificará a ustedes en la medida en que actúe en ustedes la gracia de nuestro Dios y de Jesucristo, el Señor.” 2 Tesalonicenses 11-12
¡Qué hermoso pasaje para celebrar el Reinado de María!
Trato de imaginarme a María, pasando por su vida diaria. Ella tiene su rutina diaria, esas tareas realizadas por necesidad y amor por quienes la rodean. Al pasar de una tarea a otra, de repente entra la palabra de Dios; primero a través de las palabras del ángel y luego a través del soplo del Espíritu Santo y finalmente a través de su Hijo, Jesús.
Como María, nos movemos por nuestra vida cotidiana. Mantenemos nuestras casas. Realizamos nuestro trabajo. Vamos de compras. Tendemos al jardín. Lavamos las manitas sucias. Hacemos todas las 1001 pequeñas tareas necesarias para simplemente vivir el día a día. En medio de todo eso, entra nuestro Señor. No entra con fanfarria y una banda de música, sino que se encuentra en el silencio en todas las pequeñas cosas. No tenemos que ser dignos de él por nosotros mismos, pero él nos hace dignos cuando lo incluimos. Viene a nosotros en la oración silenciosa de gratitud dicha sobre un lavadero lleno de platos. Está con nosotros en las oraciones susurradas pidiendo protección cuando un ser querido se va de la casa al trabajo o a la escuela. Está a nuestro lado cuando nos preguntamos con preocupación cuándo encontraremos nuestra próxima comida. Incluso se une a nosotros en el deseo tácito de encontrar Su presencia en el tedio de una nueva reunión. En todos estos lugares y en tantos más, nuestro Dios entra y da cumplimiento a nuestros buenos propósitos y esfuerzos en la fe.
La fe es una virtud teológica infundida en nosotros en el bautismo y sellada dentro de nosotros en la confirmación. Se lleva a cabo a través de todos esos pequeños actos de fe realizados todos los días.
Sigamos el ejemplo de nuestra Reina y Madre de subir a la presencia de nuestro Señor en nuestras vidas diarias. Junto con san Pablo, oremos los unos por los otros para que sigamos encontrando a Dios en todos los pequeños momentos. “Así glorificarán a nuestro Señor Jesús y él los glorificará a ustedes en la medida en que actúe en ustedes la gracia de nuestro Dios y de Jesucristo, el Señor.”
Sheryl is happy to be the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever and Lucy, our not-so-little rescue puppy.
Feature Image Credit: Tracey Hocking, unsplash.com/photos/sUTjF7ckvAM
St. Andrew the Scot: Saint of the Day for Monday, August 22, 2022
Archdeacon and companion of St. Donatus. Andrew and his sister, St. Bridget the Younger, were born in Ireland of noble parents.They were educated by St. Donatus, and when Donatus went on a pilgrimage to Italy, Andrew accompanied him. In Fiesole, through a miracle, Donatus was elected bishop. Andrew was ordained the archdeacon of Fiesole, serving Donatus for forty-seven years. He also founded a monastery in Mensola, Italy. Andrew died shortly after Donatus, but his sister, St. Bridget the …
Adoration Prayer : Prayer of the Day for Monday, August 22, 2022
My Lord Jesus Christ,
I believe that You are really here in this Sacrament.
Night and day You remain here compassionate and loving.
You call, You wait for,
You welcome everyone who comes to visit You.
I thank You, Jesus my Divine Redeemer
for coming upon the earth for our sake
and for instituting the Adorable Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
in order to remain with us until the end of the world.
I thank You for hiding beneath the Eucharistic species
Your infinite …