Category: Parish News & Events

Memento Mori

In his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde’s protagonist embraces a life of complete hedonism, participating in any debauchery that presents itself. His saving grace, or so he thinks, is that his face is not affected by his sins: he still looks young and beautiful and believes people perceive him as such. It’s only the picture in his attic that shows the depths of his degradation.

It’s a great example of the delusion most of us hold when we think of our sins. I’m not such a bad person, people like me. I may forget to pray some days, and sometimes I have to skip Mass (if I have someplace to go). I’m not sure when I went to Confession last, but then, I don’t have any mortal sins to confess. I look pretty good–no one needs to know about my anger at my neighbor, or my skimming from petty cash at work. 

We’re like the pseudo-righteous in today’s gospel, keeping up appearances for the praise of others. It can be difficult in our clean, well-fed, comfortable world to think we need to repent. Our ‘’problems” aren’t sins–they’re addictions or genetically predetermined personality traits, or hey–what’s the big deal— culturally normalized behavior. 

In his mercy, God gives us Ash Wednesday, a day to remember that we are on our way to death–to dust we shall return. The Church proclaims a fast so we can rediscover how far short we fall from God’s glory, and how much we need redemption.

Our lives, not to mention our world, will never be transformed if we don’t see our need for penance that leads to the conversion of heart and deeds of righteousness. In his apostolic exhortation on Penance and Reconciliation,  St. John Paul II wrote: ‘Penance is …a conversion that passes from the heart to deeds and then to the Christian’s whole life.” This Lent, ask God to open your heart to penance, so that you will be reconciled to him, and then to our brothers and sisters. Some day, the picture in the attic will be revealed.

Contact the author

Pamela joined Diocesan’s staff in 2006, after a number of years in the non-profit sector. Her experience is in non-profit administration including management, finance, and program development, along with database management and communications. She was a catechist in her parish RCIA program for over 15 years, as well as chairperson of their Liturgy Commision. Received into the Catholic Church as an adult, Pamela’s faith formation was influenced by her Mennonite extended family, her Baptist childhood, and her years as a Reformed Presbyterian (think Scott Hahn).

Ash Wednesday

Reading 1 Jl 2:12-18

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations
for the LORD, your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion!
proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the people,
notify the congregation;
Assemble the elders,
gather the children
and the infants at the breast;
Let the bridegroom quit his room
and the bride her chamber.
Between the porch and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,
And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people.

Responsorial Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17

R.    (see 3a)  Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R.    Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R.    Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R.    Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R.    Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Reading 2 2 Cor 5:20—6:2

Brothers and sisters:
We are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Working together, then,
we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
For he says:

In an acceptable time I heard you,
and on the day of salvation I helped you.

Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.

Verse Before the GospelPs 95:8

If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.

Gospel Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

– – –
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.

Lessons in Humility

Today’s readings are all about being humble. The Gospel tell us to not worry about being the greatest, but rather to be as simple as children. I could attempt to wax eloquent on the subject, but who better to teach the lessons of humility than great writers, past and present. Here are some of the best:

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” (Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

“As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.” C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.” (Abraham Lincoln)

“True humility does not know that it is humble. If it did, it would be proud from the contemplation of so fine a virtue.” (Martin Luther)

“Learning to believe you are magnificent, and gradually to discover that you are not magnificent: enough labor for one human life.” (Czesław Miłosz)

“Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you.” (Andrew Murray, Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness)

“Until you have suffered much in your heart, you cannot learn humility.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives)

“The more humble and obedient to God a man is, the more wise and at peace he will be in all that he does.” (Thomas ᾲ Kempis, The Inner Life)

“Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” (Ann Landers)

“Humility is nothing but the disappearance of self in the vision that God is all.” (Andrew Murray, Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness)

“Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.” (St. Vincent de Paul)

“You cannot exalt God and yourself at the same time.” (Rick Warren)

“Our humility before God has no value, except that it prepares us to reveal the humility of Jesus to our fellow men.”  (Andrew Murray, Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness)

And, on this day before the start of Lent, a little humor to get you started:

“On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom.”
–Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays

May your Season of Lent lead you closer to our Lord and nourish in you a humble spirit.

God Bless.
(Quotes taken from Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/humility)

Contact the author

Jeanne Penoyar, an Accounts Manager at Diocesan, is a Lector at St. Anthony of Padua parish in Grand Rapids, MI. Jeanne has worked in parish ministry as an RCIA director, in Liturgy, and as a Cantor. Working word puzzles and reading fill her spare time. Jeanne can be reached at jpenoyar@diocesan.com.

Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Jas 4:1-10

Beloved:
Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly,
to spend it on your passions.
Adulterers!
Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?
Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world   
makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says,
The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy?
But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.

So submit yourselves to God.
Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners,
and purify your hearts, you of two minds.
Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep.
Let your laughter be turned into mourning
and your joy into dejection.
Humble yourselves before the Lord
and he will exalt you.

Responsorial Psalm 55:7-8, 9-10a, 10b-11a, 23

R.    (23a)  Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
And I say, “Had I but wings like a dove,
I would fly away and be at rest.
Far away I would flee;
I would lodge in the wilderness.”
R.    Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
“I would wait for him who saves me
from the violent storm and the tempest.”
Engulf them, O Lord; divide their counsels.
R.    Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
In the city I see violence and strife,
day and night they prowl about upon its walls.
R.    Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
Cast your care upon the LORD,
and he will support you;
never will he permit the just man to be disturbed.
R.    Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.

Alleluia Gal 6:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 9:30-3

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first,   
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,   
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”

– – –
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.