Back to Back Issues Page
August 10, 2008 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sunday
August 09, 2008

 

 
   
 

My Prayer Box
the Newsletter of My Catholic Tradition

“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.” - Abraham Lincoln

To subscribe to the newsletter, please follow this link.

   
 
   
  Health Notes
 

Mindless Eating

Okay, you've all heard the term "grazing" — you know, picking at food throughout the day instead of (or in addition to) eating 5-6 small meals. This constant, indiscriminate eating — especially when you're focused on another task, such as talking on the phone or watching TV — is the downfall of many a committed dieter, but it doesn't have to be.

If you're piling on pounds because you eat when you're distracted or bored, rather than when you're actually hungry, try the following tactics to break the habit.

To curb daytime grazing:

  Don't eat while you're standing up, in the car, or on the go or when you don't have time for a full, proper meal. If you sit down at mealtime and pay attention to every bite, you will be more relaxed, you'll notice when you're satisfied so that you won't overeat — and you'll actually enjoy your food!

Don't skip meals. I mean it. You might think you're saving yourself calories, but it will only leave you famished and more likely to consume extra calories later on to feel full.

To curb nighttime grazing:
Why do most people graze at night? Because they're bored. If you've been thinking about taking up knitting, crossword puzzles, Ping-Pong, or some other hobby that will keep your brain busy in the evening, now is the time to do it.

Brush your teeth. Food never seems quite as appealing when you have that fresh, minty toothpaste taste in your mouth.

Try a cup of hot tea; the warm liquid in your stomach can help you feel satiated.

It's Not What's in Your Stomach
When you are fulfilled — say you have a productive job, joyful activities, and healthy relationships — you're much less likely to mindlessly eat. If you start taking charge of the external things in your life, it will be easier to take charge of the internal ones. Finding nonfood ways to fulfill yourself will pay off for your body, but it will also help you relax and become a happier human being. When you take the time to look after yourself, you tell the world that you're worth it, and that you deserve the best life has to offer. Once you project this kind of attitude, you can't help turning it into reality.

 

 

  From a Company Newsletter
   
   
   
  Who is
 

Daniel: Visions of the End Times

 

(From the Book of Daniel)

 
The man dressed in linen with a belt of fine gold around his waist continues and tells Daniel that there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of his people at the time of unsurpassed distress since nations began.

At that time his people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book. He said that many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. Some shall live forever but for others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.

He continues that the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, And those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.

The man dressed in linen tells Daniel to keep secret the message and seal the book until the end time. He warns that many shall fall away and evil shall increase.

  Daniel sees two others, one standing on either bank of the river. One of them asks the man clothed in linen how long it shall be to the end of these appalling things.

The man clothed in linen lifts his right and left hands to heaven. Daniel hears the man swear by him who lives forever that it should be for a year, two years, a half-year; and that, when the power of the destroyer of the holy people is brought to an end, all these things should end.
   
 
Daniel hears this but does not understand. Daniel asks what will follow this.

But the man tells Daniel to leave because the words are to be kept secret and sealed until the end time.

He says that many shall be refined, purified, and tested, but the wicked shall prove wicked; none of them shall have understanding, but the wise shall have it.
  From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the horrible abomination is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.

He says that blessed is the man who has patience and perseveres until the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

The man in white line orders Daniel to go, take his rest, for he rises he shall rise for your reward at the end of days.
 
  To be continued...
   
   
   
 

 World Youth Day 2008:
Third Catechesis
Sent out into the world:
the Holy Spirit, the principal agent of mission

Delivered by the Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Archbishop of Denver, Colorado USA, in Sydney Australia July 2008
 

  "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8)
   
 

I'd like to start today with a question. How many of you think of yourselves as a spiritual father or spiritual mother? Or to put it another way, how many of you can claim, by your actions, to have knowingly brought someone closer to Jesus Christ and the Church?

The reason I ask is simple. By our baptism, we have received the right and the obligation to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ -- that's what the word Gospel means, "good news" -- to every nation on earth.

But here's the problem: Some Catholics, even young people like yourselves, live in a kind of a "Catholic ghetto." It's a way of life that could be commendable in terms of personal piety; but it's shaped by an implicit acceptance that we Catholics are a besieged minority -- that we need to be well shielded to
"survive" the surrounding world. But that's the opposite of what God calls us to be as Christians. Let me explain.

At different points in my life as a priest and bishop, I thought that I'd heard every possible excuse Christians have for not to bringing their faith into the public square and not sharing it enthusiastically with others. But over the years, I've learned that human creativity, when it comes to making up alibis, is endless.

First, there are those Catholics who feel "almost ready" to evangelize.. Almost, but not quite. They're typically looking for the "ultimate" Catholic training program and never stop preparing themselves because they're never "quite there yet." Sometimes they think they're being humble because they
"admit" that they're "not ready."

I always remind them about the passage in the first chapter of the Book of Jeremiah; the one where Jeremiah is called by God:

"Ah, Lord God!" I said, "I know not how to speak; I am too young." But the Lord answered me: Say not, "I am too young." To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord... For it is I this day who has made you a fortified city, A pillar of iron, a wall of brass, against the whole land."

So much for God thinking that any of us is "too young" to witness to Jesus Christ.

Then there are those Catholics who claim that they're not "people persons." They dislike religious discussions and conversations, so they argue that they can "evangelize" by just being good anonymous Christians and honest workers. There's nothing wrong with living like this. It may indeed, at times, be
a good form of evangelization. But if so, what do we do with this exhortation from St. Paul in his Second Letter to Timothy, which is really addressed to all baptized and confirmed Christians:

"Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate
sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths."

Doesn't this describe exactly what's happening in our own day? And isn't Paul's exhortation, therefore, more urgent than ever?

I could go on and on about the excuses we make for not evangelizing. But let's go straight to the heart of the matter: We are, all of us, called to be Apostles. That's our vocation. That's our right and our duty. In a sense, evangelizing is in our Christian DNA from the moment we received the Holy Spirit in our Baptism and our Confirmation. We need to understand that those sacramental moments were our own Pentecost. We've not only been sent but, like the original Apostles, we're empowered to preach the Good News, to become Apostles ourselves. Don't forget this: We have already had our own Pentecost.

The word "Apostle", comes from the Greek apostolos which means "one who is sent forth;" someone who is entrusted with a mission. It has a stronger sense than the word "messenger." It actually means something closer to a "delegate." An Apostle, therefore, is a delegate of Christ: not someone who speaks about a particular doctrine or delivers a message, but someone who gives testimony of something he or she has experienced.

The nature of the Apostles' mission is powerfully explained in Chapter 10 of the Gospel of Mathew. I urge you to re-read that Gospel passage and make it the basis of an honest examination of conscience. But let me point out briefly what this chapter tells us about what an Apostle should look like today, which means what you and I should look like.

First, the Apostle is aware that his mission has been entrusted to him by Jesus Himself. Each of you has been summoned: "Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits."

Second, the Apostle is called to trust in God without preconditions, and especially without placing his trust in structures or methods. This is what Jesus tells us: "Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick."

Of course, good methods and structures can be helpful. What Jesus tells us is that we should not place our confidence primarily in them, but in the person of Jesus Christ. Just think, for example, about how effective Mother Teresa of Calcutta was in her apostolate and about how many vocations her congregation has attracted. All of this by rejecting the power of material goods and concentrating on and witnessing to the loving face of Our Lord.

Third, hardships and even persecution come with "the territory" of being an Apostle: "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans."

We live in a world that sees suffering as a curse to be avoided at any price. But remember Jesus' warning that hardships, rejection and persecution by the world can't be avoided. I'm sometimes amazed at the discouragement I find in otherwise motivated Catholics - and sometimes in myself -- when real obstacles and challenges make the Christian life difficult. These sufferings are precisely God's sign that his followers are doing the right thing. You and I should feel encouraged, not defeated, by the trials that inevitably come our way.

In his novel Lord of the World, the great British author and convert Robert Hugh Benson describes the Anti-Christ as someone who has invented a new "painless" world religion and even a new technique of prayer that takes only minutes and very little effort. Benson's point is clear: If faith is painless and quick, just the way today's culture wants things to be, then it cannot be genuinely Christian. It comes from the devil.

Fourth, in this passage from Matthew, Jesus says that He will not fail in being with us to protect us:
"When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say... do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul... Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

Never lose your focus on this truth: Jesus is always there for you. After 38 years of ministry as a priest, I can assure you that Jesus never fails; He never fails.

Fifth: Jesus calls us to be very vocal, brave and explicit when we announce the Gospel; He also reminds  us that we can't betray or hide the Gospel's radical demands: "What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops . . . Whoever loves father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

Chapter 10 of the Gospel of Mathew, as I said before, is a great start for a good examination of conscience. It also shows us that the worst enemy of the Apostle is fear. In fact, fear is one of the most underrated but most lethal dangers of our time, especially for your generation.

Pope John Paul II's amazing ministry -- after more than 25 years of papal leadership, many encyclicals, hundreds of apostolic visits, thousands of papal decisions and appointments, and founding the very first World Youth Day -- can be summarized in the words with which he opened his pontificate and which
became his unofficial motto: Be not afraid.

Pope John Paul was a visionary, chosen by the Holy Spirit to respond to the particular challenges of our day. And one of those great challenges, all over our world, but especially inside our Church and among our young people, is a fear of offending the world. Young men and women do not respond to God's call to the priesthood, consecrated life or Christian marriage because they're afraid of failure; they do not get involved in a more committed, generous and powerful proclamation of the Gospel because they're afraid of being rejected by their peers or being laughed at as "Jesus freaks."

John Paul gave us the antidote to this paralyzing disease: "Open wide the doors to Christ!" To open wide our lives to Christ means to let the Holy Spirit act in us, to bring us the grace we need to be courageous. Just look at the Bible's description of Pentecost. The passage begins by telling us that the Apostles were hiding "for fear of the Jews." It ends with an outpouring of courage and joyful preaching, understood in all imaginable languages. What a transformation! And that transformation is within our own reach, because we have already received the Holy Spirit. It's only our fear that prevents God from unleashing all his power in our lives.

Being brave does not mean being blind to the dangers we face, or ignoring the pain of being mocked or attacked. Being "unafraid" does not mean pretending not to fear. Being brave means overcoming our fear with the strength of the Holy Spirit, just as St. Paul and all the great Christian missionaries did, because proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ is worth any cost.

During the opening of the Pauline Year, Pope Benedict said that for St. Paul, "the truth [of Jesus Christ] was too great to be sacrificed" for worldly success or personal comfort. His experience of Jesus was too great to ignore or explain away. "The truth [Paul] had experienced in the encounter with the Risen Christ [on the road to Damascus] very much deserved the struggle, the persecution, the suffering" that came with proclaiming the Gospel.

What most deeply motivated Paul, the Holy Father continued, "was the fact of being loved by Jesus Christ and the desire to transmit to others this love. Paul was someone capable of loving -- and all his laboring and suffering is explained only from this core."

Pay attention to this reflection Pope Benedict made about St. Paul and suffering in our own Christian life: "The call to become the teacher [of] people is at the same time also intrinsically a call to suffering in the communion of Christ, who has redeemed us through his Passion. In a world where falsehood is so powerful, the truth is redeemed through suffering. Whoever wants to avoid and keep away suffering keeps away life itself and its greatness; he cannot be a servant of the truth and therefore a servant of the faith. There is no love without suffering, without the suffering of self-renunciation, transformation and purification of the self by the real truth. Wherever there is nothing worth suffering for, life itself loses its value."

One of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is Courage, which we also call Fortitude. Courage is near the heart of the Christian life. It's because of the virtue of Courage that we're able to be brave, to be "not afraid" just as John Paul II was himself, and asked us to be.

Of course, Courage not only makes us "tough." It's a virtue that also makes us consistent, capable of long lasting efforts. And one of those efforts you need to pursue is seeking out faithful Catholic intellectual formation. Today's challenges demand much more than good intentions and a devout personal life. So let me give you three words of wisdom Pope Benedict himself shared with a group of young Catholics during a recent visit to Northern Italy: formation, formation, formation.

The Holy Father was talking to committed young Catholics. He was assuming that they were already pious, devout and morally straight - and these qualities are vitally important. But they're not enough.

Each of you needs to cultivate a mature, faithful and thorough knowledge of Catholic teaching to respond to the many challenges you face today, and to prepare yourselves for whatever the future holds. You young Catholics will face issues I can't even imagine.

I want to end with a brief reflection on John Paul II's last words, spoken on his death bed: "I have searched for you, and now you have come to me, and I thank you." He was talking to the multitude, especially young people, gathered  in St. Peter's Square at the news of his final hours. At the very end of his life, after traveling the world in search of all his flock, especially his lost sheep, the flock was coming to him. What an extraordinary way to meet the end of your life. Reflect on the way you'd like to greet your own death, so that you'll make the right choices in living your own life honestly and fully in the friendship of God.

I pray with all my heart that the Holy Spirit will awaken and unleash in you his joy and power, so that you may go out from this World Youth Day renewed, strengthened and encouraged to become apostles of Jesus Christ. Let's ask this together in the name of our mother, the Virgin Mary, the woman who was never afraid, the woman who received the Holy Spirit at the Annunciation and then received Him again at Pentecost with the Apostles.

Dear Mother, make that miracle of God's power and presence happen again -- now and always -- in the lives of our young people and in all of us. God bless you.

  For the original article of Most Rev. Charles Chaput, please click here. For more articles and address of the Most Rev. Charles Chaput, please click here.
 
   

Our Faith: What you might want to know about

The Sacrament of the Eucharist II

 

The Office of Catechism of the United States Congress of Catholic Bishops website puts our knowledge of the Catholic Faith to a test!

This is just a sample.

1. Name the book, chapter, and verse from which this comes: "he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life ".
2. The Eucharistic celebration always includes:
Pick any combinatof ion the following:
a. The singing of a psalm of praise
b. The proclamation of the Word of God
c. Thanksgiving to God
d. Consecration of the bread and wine
e. Reeception of the Lord's body and blood.
3. True or false. In the Mass it is Christ who boths offers the sacrifice and is offered as the sacrifice.
4. True or false. Because through our baptism we share in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly ministry of Christ, every believer can therefore validly preside at the Eucharist.
5. The essential signs of the Eucharist are the consecrated bread and wine. Name at least one Old or New Testament event that prefigures, that prepares for, the offering of bread and wine in the Eucharist.
6. Which of the following is true about the Eucharistic species?
Pick any combination of the following.
a. Christ is present symbolically.
b. Christ is not present bodily, but is present in the power of the Holy Spirit.
c. Christ is present in his Body and Blood, soul and divinity.
d. Christ is bodily present along with the true bread and wine.
e. Christ is present really, truly and substantially.
7. True or false. The Church no longer considers the Eucharist a sacrifice, since that is a remnant from an earlier concept of a vengeful, judgmental God.
8. Which of the following is true regarding the Eucharist?
Pick any combination of the following.
a. The Church encourages the reception of Communion, even in the state of mortal sin.
b. A Catholic is obligated to receive Holy Communion during both Advent and Lent.
c. The Eucharist preserves us from future mortal sins.
d. One is required to be in a state of grace to receive communion.
e. The Eucharist wipes away venial sins.
9. True or false. Eucharistic adoration is still recommended as a proper way to adore Christ.
10. Pick any combination of the following. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass:
a. Identifies us with his Heart.
b. Unites us to the Church in heaven.
c. Sustains our strength in our pilgrimage.
d. Gives us a pledge of glory.
e. Makes us long for eternal life.
   
To learn more about Our Faith, please click here.
   
   
 

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 10
, 2008

At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:27

 
First Reading from the First Book of Kings
1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a
  At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.
Then the LORD said to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.”

A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.

After the wind there was an earthquake— but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake there was fire— but the LORD was not in the fire.

After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.

When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

 
 
Responsorial From the Book of Psalms
Ps 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD — for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
 
Second Reading from the Letter to the Romans
Rom 9:1-5
   
  Brothers and sisters:
I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie; my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart.

For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh.

They are Israelites; theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

   
 
 
 
Reading From the Gospel of Matthew
Mt 14:22-33
After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea.

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.

  “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.

At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

He said, “Come.”

Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

After they got into the boat, the wind died down.

Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

   
 
 

Suggested Readings

Happiness Is a Serious Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual by Dennis Prager.

In this unique blend of self-help and moral philosophy, talk-radio host Dennis Prager asserts that we're actually obligated to be happy, because it makes us better people.

Praying With Frederic Ozanam (Companions for the Journey Series) - Paperback, by Ronald Cm Ramson (Author)
Praying With Louise De Marillac (Companions for the Journey Series) by Audrey Gibson (Author), Kieran Kneaves (Author)
Praying with Vincent de Paul (Companions for the Journey) 2004, by Thomas McKenna