July 26, 1998Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time |
To call this season of the liturgical cycle ordinary does not mean that it is of less importance than the special seasons. In fact, the lessons of Ordinary Time focus on our human life in relationship to God and others. Fittingly enough this is the longest of the liturgical seasons. It lasts either 33 or 34 weeks depending upon the timing of Easter. This cycle contains the readings that focus on what a Christian life looks like. They bring our attention to what is important in living life as a committed Christian, our attitudes and actions in our relationships. Jesus teaches us that how we live with each other either shows forth the love of God or makes it impossible for it to be seen. We need to be a people who are for one another in order for the Body of Christ to be visible enough for others to come to know God and the ways of God's kingdom. Yes, Sunday Mass is NOT OPTIONAL if we are truly committed to Christ.
The Scripture readings for this Sunday focus on prayer with an emphasis on intercessory prayer. In the Gospel passage the disciples ask Jesus Lord teach us to pray as John taught his disciples, and the first reading from Genesis portrays Abraham boldly interceding for the deliverance of Sodom and Gomorrah. A commentary on this Sunday's readings in the Living the Word booklet strikes me as offering a helpful perspective on prayer.
The Aramaic word for prayer relates to the word trap. Aramaic was Jesus' native language. He grew up knowing about the quiet, almost breathless attention required of the trapper, who hid himself and waited and waited. Prayer asks of us a single-minded attention. A kind of tending and intending and attending that will snare God, who wants to be snared, of course. Once God is drawn in or we are drawn in, it's amazing the direction the conversation takes. Today we learn from Abraham and then Jesus.
If Prayer asks of us a single minded attention, most of us have found that to be difficult to realize. Last Sunday I reflected on the story about prayer being both easy and difficult.. The Hermit responded, ÔPrayer is one of the easiest things in the world, and one of the hardest. It's easiest because all we have to do is to turn towards God and start praying. It's hardest because we always have something more important to do.' (Markings Readings 109)
While on a sailboat vacation recently I was drawn every evening to give single minded attention to the sunset, especially the moment when the sun dipped under the horizon on the water. If one could cease doing other things and give single minded attention, one might experience the reward of seeing the illusive green flash. In the Sunday's Gospel Jesus offers us a reward infinitely better than seeing the green flash. If you with all your sins, know how it gives your children good things, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. Setting aside quality time will enable us to be in a better position to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit.
The readings for this Sunday gives us much to think about. The book of Genesis give us a rather interesting outlook on repentance. Not only are the people of Sodom and Gomorrah called to leave behind their sin, but in the mind of the author of Genesis, God himself changes his mind (something we are not used to thinking about) about destroying the city if there were only TEN innocent people left in the city. The sense of the passage is that each individual is important in the sight of God.. no matter how few there are who live rightly. The importance of each individual in their prayer is highlighted in the Gospel. The point is to remind us of the absolute necessity on our part of faithfulness to prayer ..even when we don't feel like it. Even though, as we learned, God knows all, we still need to articulate our needs, concerns, sorrows and joys before the Lord. The Navarre Bible Commentary on St. Luke notes that "One of the essential features of prayer is trusting perseverance. By this simple example and others like it, our Lord encourages us not to insist in asking God to hear us. Persevere in prayer. Persevere even when your efforts seem barren. Prayer is always fruitful."
This passage also has St. Luke's version of the Lord's prayer, which is different from St. Matthew (the one used at Mass). For example, St. Matthew has seven petitions in the Lord's prayer, St. Luke has only four. The context of the Lord's prayer in St. Matthew is the Sermon on the Mount, and in St. Luke, right after Our Lord has been at prayer himself. No matter the differences (and there are several theories for this) this is still the most central prayer of Faith. The Church herself recites this prayer three times each day, following ancient tradition: Morning Prayer, Mass and Evening Prayer. This prayer sums up what the Christian life should be. The CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH states that "The Lord's Prayer is truly the summary of the Gospel. Since the Lord..after handing over the practice of prayers, said elsewhere, 'ask and you shall receive,' and since everyone has petitions which are peculiar to his circumstances, the regular and appropriate prayer [the Lord's prayer] is said first, as the foundation of further desires."
On Sunday, July 26, we celebrate the Feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. Nothing is mentioned in the gospels about them, not even their names. Anne and Joachim are the names they were given centuries later by Christians who wanted to honor them.
According to folktales told about them, Anne and Joachim were devout people of good character. Like Mary and Joseph, like Elizabeth and Zechariah, they were "anawim," the poor of Israel. Legend says that they dedicated their daughter to God, taking her to the temple in Jerusalem when she was very young. A church in Israel named after St. Anne is believed by some people to be built over the place where Mary was born. Legend also says that, like Elizabeth and Zechariah, Anne and Joachim waited and prayed many years for the birth of a child.
For centuries people in various parts of the world, especially in France, French Canada, and certain cities in Italy, have kept a special devotion to Anne and Joachim. Pilgrims, 200,000 of them a year, still come to the town of Beaupre, near Quebec for a special time of pilgrimage.
The name Anne is the English form of the Biblical name Hannah, which means, "grace."
Dr. Randolph Byrd divided 393 coronary care unit patients at San Francisco General Hospital into two groups. The first names of the patients in one group were given to prayer groups. The other group of patients wasn't remembered in prayer. When the study was completed, the prayed-for patients were:
No doctor today is suggesting that prayer be substituted for modern medical procedures and medicines. But studies do suggest that prayer can lower high blood pressure and anxiety; speed healing; and soothe headaches.
The bottom line: Prayer can be healthful, since it reminds us that we are not alone.
Long ago and far away, November 1978 in Jerusalem to be exact, our study group from St. John's University (Minnesota) had a most interesting tour. We were in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the actual place where Jesus was buried. It is nearly a labyrinth, with different sections in the care of different Christian religions. To our surprise we were taken up to the flat part of the roof. What could be there? Ethiopian Orthodox Sisters lived in huts up there, with the Ethiopian chapel close by. The chapel was bright red with frescos of the Queen of Sheba (read: Ethiopia) meeting Solomon, then more frescos of very early Christianity. Our guide chanted part of a Gospel in the ancient, out-of-use Semitic language still used in worship. Within the eerie chant melody I could hear lehem, the Hebrew word for bread, over and over. It was John 6 on the Living Bread, Jesus. In that tucked-away corner of the world, we felt the roots of the ancient, living truth reaching up to us and reaching around the earth: we are a people of the Bread. We ask for daily bread, we give each other bread, we gather around Eucharistic Bread, we are sent out to be good bread. It is so simple, so true, so very good.
The second edition of the Lectionary for Mass for use in the Dioceses of the United States of America was approved by the NCCB* on June 20, 1992, and confirmed by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on October 6, 1997. Details concerning the final revisions of the Lectionary for Mass are contained in the June-July 1997 issue of the BCL** Newsletter.
As with the first edition, the revised Lectionary for Mass was based on the 1970 New American Bible. The sixteen years of private and liturgical use of this translation, as well as subsequent advances in biblical scholarship, led to the revision of its translation of the New Testament in 1986. The revised Lectionary for Mass therefore employs the 1986 edition of the Revised New Testament and the 1970 edition of the Old Testament, including the Psalms.
Certain changes to the base text were made both for increased precision and in the interest of accurately conveying a horizontally inclusive scriptural term as well as for greater ease in proclamation. In the first category may be included the following kinds of examples:
A detailed description of the inclusive language issues may be found in the June-July 1997 issue of the BCL Newsletter.
Also of concern to the editors of the revised Lectionary for Mass was the development of a common scriptural vocabulary. By the preferential use of NAB vocabulary and phrases in the translation of titles (tituli) found above readings and in the first lines (incipits) of all readings, the editors attempted to develop consistent biblical- liturgical terms.
-- "An Introduction to the Second Edition of the Lectionary for Mass," Newsletter: Committee on the Liturgy, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Vol. XXXIV, February-March 1998.
Notes:
* NCCB = National Conference of Catholic Bishops
** BCL = Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy
FOR THE GREATER HONOR AND GLORY OF GOD
THEME: ATTENTION: The Aramaic word for prayer relates to the word trap. Aramaic was Jesus' native language. He grew up knowing about the quiet, almost breathless attention required of the trapper, who hid himself and waited and waited. Prayer asks of us a single-minded attention. A kind of tending and intending and attending that will snare God, who wants to be snared, of course. Once God is drawn in or we are drawn in, its amazing the direction the conversation takes. Today we learn from Abraham, and then Jesus.
This week we celebrate the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. "Perseverance in prayer" is what numerous commentaries title this Sunday. Surely that is part of the lesson, as we listen to Abraham bargaining with the Lord God over the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, and as we hear Jesus' story of the "importunate friend" who pesters the housekeeper out of bed and into the kitchen for bread. But along with perseverance, today's scriptures teach progress in prayer as well. Not learning how to pray better but learning better what prayer is all about. Jesus truly teaches us what prayer is all about; not imposing our will on God but opening ourselves to God's will. Let us pray to be open to God's will for us.
At times, it is better to keep your mouth shut and let people wonder if you're a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
PROVERBS 17:28
PRETERNATURAL GIFTS are exceptional gifts, beyond the exigencies and powers of human nature, enjoyed by Adam in the state of original justice: immunity from suffering and death, superior knowledge, integrity or perfect control of the passions. These gifts were lost as the result of original sin; their loss, however, implied no impairment of the integrity of human nature.
(Found in an old English church)
I have been asked by individuals from time to time why are Holydays sometimes days of obligation and other times not. I just came across the article copy below in the "Liturgy 90" magazine that I read and I thought it might help you to understand why.
Why is the obligation to participate at Mass waived on certain holy days? Determining which holy days are bound by which rules can be confusing. Simply put, there are six holy days of obligation for most of the dioceses of the United States: Christmas (December 25), Mary, Mother of God (January 1), Ascension (the sixth Thursday after Easter; but in some dioceses Ascension is moved to the seventh Sunday of Easter), Assumption (August 15), All Saints (November 1) and Immaculate Conception (December 8). Latin-rite Catholics in the United States are normally obligated to participate at Mass on these days.
But there are exceptions to the rules. When August 15, November 1 or January 1 fall on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation to attend Mass is no longer in force. The feast remains a significant day in the life of the church, but the obligation to participate at Mass is gone. This policy has been approved by the bishops of the United States and confirmed by the Vatican; it went into effect on January 1, 1993.
There are several reasons the bishops chose to remove the obligation to attend Mass on these three holy days. Because of the popularity of vigil or anticipated Masses, there is often widespread confusion about which Mass satisfies which obligation when holy days fall on a Monday or Saturday. Furthermore, it is difficult to prepare and celebrate well two major feasts back to back. In areas where there is a limited number of clergy, the logistics of scheduling become even more of a problem. Finally, it was noted that common practice was to attend either the Sunday celebration or the holy day Mass, but not both.
The observance of holy days is different in different countries. Latin-rite Catholics in the United states observe more holy days than do Catholics in many other countries. But even within this country, practice varies. In nine western states, the feast of the Ascension has been transferred to the following Sunday. Catholics in Hawaii, following the practice of their neighbors in the South Pacific, observe all Sundays and two additional feasts, Christmas and the Immaculate Conception, as holy days of obligation.
Copyright 1998 Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1800 North Hermitage Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622-1101; 1-800-933-1800. Text by Kathy Luty. Art by Luba Lukova.
