Meditation on November 22, 2015 readings

Meditation on November 22, 2015 readings

Direct link to audio file: 2015-Nov-22_10-43-42

Reading 1
Dn 7:13-14

As the visions during the night continued, I saw
one like a Son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
when he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5

R. (1a) The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.

Reading 2
Rv 1:5-8

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says the Lord God,
“the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”

Gospel
Jn 18:33b-37

Pilate said to Jesus,
“Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?”
Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?”
Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?”
Jesus answered, “You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

From Our Pastor ~ 22 November 2015

From Our Pastor ~ 22 November 2015

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

Several scholars have written books recently about the place of the Church in the world with regard to Vatican II. Some say that the effects of the “Protestant” Reformation were largely unintended. It is true, for example, that Martin Luther went to his death saying that he never intended to start another church. Politics got involved in the dispute, as always happens, and the struggle over who had the power of the universities in Europe at that time became the motive for the Thirty Years’ War that sealed the division of denominationalism.

Some say that Vatican II actually began with the French Revolution, when Church leaders, those corrupt as well as those not corrupt, were rounded up and put to death by the mob. This watershed event, the struggle between Catholic and reformed Christian monarchs caught in a new struggle with a dawning “enlightenment” of
post-Christianity, marked the beginning of the Church’s divestment of temporal power, finally with the loss of the Papal States. Vatican II was the first time that the Church soberly looked at herself as an institution without a temporal kingdom, and sought to clarify what it meant to make a bridge (literally, “pontiff”) between the world and the Kingdom not of this world. She sought to self-identify as one, holy, catholic and apostolic, in the world, but not of the world, without the encumbrances of secular politics.

As much as Europeans might not like to admit it, I think this process needed the witness of the American Experiment to take place. Principles of democracy and equality, religious liberty and separation of Church and State had not really been tried before. Please don’t misunderstand, I believe that Church and State are such that they cannot be mutually exclusive in certain ways as long as people of religion are considered among the citizens. But there is a healthy separation
that must be in place for religious liberty truly to be religious liberty for all, and not just for some. Liberty must be cherished and protected, but religion must also be supported and nurtured.

Looking around today it is a rare occurrence to find a religion existing independently of state government or political power. And religions are at their least authentic expression while being driven by a government. Wherever a particular religion is promoted as the national religion, you will find discrimination, the possibility of forced conversions and, especially where the abuse of power goes unchallenged, extreme abuses and crimes claiming religion as justification. The
reality is that the actual religion has little or nothing to do with these extreme practices, but the government in power has developed a culture with its own propaganda and subsequent history, so it is exceedingly difficult to uncover the truth. Such were aspects of Christianity a millennium ago, to which Vatican II is a stark contrast today.

In the same way, some of us hope for world religions to experience the same self-discovery of their faith and culture in the American context, where religion has the rare chance to exist free from political power. We need to work together so as to let this example shine to other parts of the world where people still know the
oppression of political systems that define their religions and prevent peaceful coexistence. The American Experiment can still shine a light on what is possible. Islam and Hinduism, even some branches of Christianity, have a chance here in the United States to breathe fresh air and learn their traditions free from imposed political ideologies that would otherwise twist and distort their practice.

In such an environment, we might even be able to progress beyond mere tolerance to respect. According to all the relationships we have formed interreligiously here in the U.S., I can tell you that I know of not one event when these abuses, murders, terrorist activities and fear have not been condemned by our interreligious
brothers and sisters.

We do, however, have the ability to sustain the hate and intolerance. With broad strokes it is easy to identify the enemy and lump all people of a particular profile into that category. This is when I call upon all Christians to do the uniquely Christian thing, the one thing that makes us different. If we truly have an enemy, we must love them. We must do good for them, as we would do for a friend. The practice of compassion and loving kindness, which is shared by all religions, is a good starting place. Then, let us use encouragement in friendship as we go about living this American Experiment together.

God bless you.

Fr. Don

Express Announcements ~ 22 November 2015

Express Announcements ~ 22 November 2015

* The second collection this weekend is for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Our diocese retains 25% of the collection to fight poverty right here in the diocese. Please donate prayerfully and generously. More information is available at overtyusa.org.

* Don’t forget we have one, very special Thanksgiving Day Mass at 10am when we all gather and give thanks to God. As a sign of our gratitude we have a Food Collection for the Fredericksburg Food Bank. Bring bags of nonperishable foods, keep them with you in the pews and at the Offertory everyone brings the food forward and it is placed all around the altar as our offering. There will be no 6:30 nor 9am Masses on Thanksgiving.

 

Meditation on November 15, 2015 readings

Meditation on November 15, 2015 readings

Direct link to audio file:2015-Nov-15_10-43-57

Reading 1
Dn 12:1-3

In those days, I Daniel,
heard this word of the Lord:
“At that time there shall arise
Michael, the great prince,
guardian of your people;
it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress
since nations began until that time.
At that time your people shall escape,
everyone who is found written in the book.

“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake;
some shall live forever,
others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.

“But 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.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11

R. (1) You are my inheritance, O Lord!
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!

Reading 2
Heb 10:11-14, 18

Brothers and sisters:
Every priest stands daily at his ministry,
offering frequently those same sacrifices
that can never take away sins.
But this one offered one sacrifice for sins,
and took his seat forever at the right hand of God;
now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool.
For by one offering
he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated.

Where there is forgiveness of these,
there is no longer offering for sin.

Gospel
Mk 13:24-32

Jesus said to his disciples:
“In those days after that tribulation
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

“And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’
with great power and glory,
and then he will send out the angels
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

“Learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves,
you know that summer is near.
In the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that he is near, at the gates.
Amen, I say to you,
this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.

“But of that day or hour, no one knows,
neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”