Too many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff.
Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Mass of obligation for the this 5th Sunday after Pentecost? 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time in the Novus Ordo.
Tell about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass.
Any local changes or (hopefully good) news? I know there is a lot of BAD news. How about some good news?
A taste of my thoughts from the other place: HERE
In our times, when the Vetus Ordo is subjected to restriction motivated by fear, when those attached to tradition are caricatured as rigid or divisive, Peter’s words are a tonic. “Have no fear of their fear”.
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Father’s point:
Being civil to each other is Catholic.
Not exactly a sermon point, but something important that came up at Mass today and struck me forcibly. A young teacher from my parish died of pneumonia yesterday. Our priests only learned of it this morning, as a relative called asking for prayers to be said at her funeral. It is possible that she might have called a priest friend to give her the sacraments before she died, but it’s also possible she died without them, either out of the inattention of her relatives, or a desire not to “scare her” with the idea of the immediacy of death. In any case, how important it is, specially for those of us whose relatives are unbelievers or apostates, to plan for this kind of situation so that we are not left without the sacraments when we need them the most.
Attended High Mass today. Lots of children.
Father leaned on St Anthony of Padua for his homily. Matt 5- If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee, leave there thine offering before the altar , and go first to be reconciled to thy brother….. Your brother is Christ.
Go To Confession !
Then return to offer thy gift.
Novus Ordo Mass: The Gospel was the Good Samaritan. In the homily, Father asked us a question: Whom do you find it most difficult to love? Then he asked us to bring that to Holy Communion and ask Our Lord to give us a heart of love for them.
We were out of town for the second weekend in a row. In the NO the gospel was about the Good Samaritan. I was quite surprised that the priest took time to point out that we want to go up to Jerusalem (heaven),not down from it and that the Good Samaritan is Jesus Christ. The wine and oil represent the sacraments. I inferred from this that when Christ tells his disciples to go and do likewise, he is telling his future bishops to heal their flocks by offering the sacraments.
My son in law told me this priest is the most popular one in the urban area where they live, when he came five years ago he had instituted confession before every Mass except before the earliest Sunday one, and is now having the church remodeled into a more traditional way. A few years ago he had moved the Tabernacle from a side cubby hole to its proper place behind the altar. (They have 5 Sunday masses and 3 daily masses.) I count these things as good news. Before the remodeling began there were apparently long lines at the confessional even after Mass began. They have several priests at this parish so my son in law did not know whether the celebrant heard confessions prior to vesting for Mass.
Yes, we also heard in the homily about Jerusalem being high up and Jericho being maybe the lowest city in the world (more than 905 feet below sea level), as well as one of the oldest known population sites.
(Somehow I hadn’t realized that Jericho is an oasis city, and hence the weird “roses” and large numbers of date palms. But during the summer in modern times it’s too hot for most people, even being an oasis.)
Father talked about how wine disinfects, and oil protects the wound from further infection.
Oh, and he also talked about how clearly the Samaritan is the character in the story that is most like Jesus, and we’re the guy who’s attacked and almost died – while we’re heading away from God’s city and down toward this lowest place.
(Which turns out is also how a lot of the Fathers interpret it too, including St. Augustine.)
Btw, the “mercy” word here in Luke is “eleos” which used to have the dative/accusative case “eleon,” and the “olive oil” word is “elaion.” So that’s also why we always see oil and mercy associated together – medical uses plus a pun.
Parable of the Good Samaritan. Father said he was going to talk about the Priest and the Levite, and reminded us that while they may not have done anything wrong, they still sinned by failing to do good that they should have done. He mentioned that while he often hears people confess things they have done wrong, he seldom hears people confess good they have failed to do. While not committing sin is obviously a good starting point, he called us to strive and pray for the spiritual maturity to love God enough that we also see and do the good He is calling us to.