Faithfulness

What a life!  He was shipwrecked.  Tortured and put in a cage to fatten up and be sacrificed and eatten. He escaped only to be captured again.  However, this time the tribe who captured him were enemies of the first tribe. So he wasn't killed, rather he wasenslaved.  Meanwhile, he learned the language.

Eventually, he was reunited with his own people.  He was a priest, a faithful priest.  He prayed his breviary every day.  He refused all offers from the women.  His name was Geronimo de Aguilar.

Geronimo de Aguilar was a Francisco friar.  He is not to be confused with Francisco de Aguilar, a Dominican friar.  de Aguilar was a conquistador with Cortes.  When he gave up his soldiering, he brooded over the brutality of the conquistadors and joined the Dominicans

.  

In his 80s, he wrote a history of his experiences in Relacion breve de la conquista de la Nueva Espana.  It wasn't published until 1900.  An English translation can be found in Francisco del Paso y Troncoso's The Conquistadors: First-Person Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico.

Feel the Power

 Today's Gospel was a Marcan sandwich.  The middle of the sandwich is Mark 5: 25-34.  The poor woman who had been hemorrhaging for years.  (All women think of her during their periods.) She had tried every remedy available to her.  When she had the opportunity to go see the healer, Jesus, she went.  But she couldn't get close enough to Him to explain her problem.  She could barely touch Him, which she did.  She touched the tassel on His garment and He passed by.

Immediately, she felt the energized power of healing.  She knew she was healed.  Have you ever felt that power?  I've been blessed with it.  I've felt that tingling energy.  If you receive the Host in the hand, you should feel it too.  Pray for it.  There's nothing like it.  

Restorative Justice

 

As I was walking into Mass one day, this little rock called me by name.  See.  You can hear it, too.  

So I picked it up and put it in my pocket.

Don't worry, I've been absolved.

I've made restitution with two rocks.  One bought in the store and one I made.  My debt to the church is paid.  

Our Lady of the Casino

 

No, this picture does not represent, Our Lady of the Casino!!!  It is a picture inside St. Mary's in Charlestown, MA.  It represents the "lots" that were cast for Jesus' tunic before he was crucified.

Funeral Mass for non-practicing Catholic?

Funeral Mass for non-practicing Catholic?: Q. May a Mass of Christian burial be celebrated for a baptized person who has been, for many years, away from the Church? (East Springfield, New York) A. Yes, absolutely. 

The Church's Code of Canon Law states, in fact, that every Catholic has the right to a Catholic funeral, and the wording of the canon is strong: "Deceased members of the Christian faithful must be given ecclesiastical funerals according to the norm of law" (No. 1176).

 I had to laugh at one of the comments, that was reacting to this article in The Pilot.  It said, "What difference does it make, he's dead."

Obviously, funerals are for the living who are trying to do the last thing they are able to do for their beloved deceased.  That being said, it is true that the deceased is unable to have a say in what type of funeral he has.  I always think of St. Dominic.  He wanted to be buried in a pathway so his friars would be walking over him.  Instead, he's buried in a monument, that took centuries to complete, even Michaelangelo contributed to its construction.

Paean to 2020

 Plandemic Plunder: An Acrostic Ironic Paean to 2020
by Dr. David Lang               

What has thrown the world afret,
Heaved the human race on edge?
Only greed to own the planet,
Gain all wealth and privilege.

 

A project to enslave the earth:

To hatch a scheme from hellish gates

Escaped the minds who count for worth

Some dire plot to seal our fates.

 

Foretell the future horror show

And sketch the tale that waits in store:

Unless they’re sure to let us know,

Consent won’t satisfy their gore.

 

Indeed, the masses must be herds;

Compliance weighs as bars of gold:

Delight for men who prey like birds,

Control the paths for lambs to fold.

 

Entrấnce by fear these blinded sheep!

Vaccines will save – or so they feel!

Instead, the cattle form a heap

Like lab rats dealt without appeal.

 

Wuhan bats an eye and stares,

Envisions carnage (massive scale);

Forensic audit then compares

Rows of wounded (dead and pale).

 

Election fraud and tests’ deceit

Surround a scene of burning plight,

Encase a year (insane defeat),

Time when might conflicts with right.

Close the churches, lock the schools,

And watch where arrows point to walk!

Make sure to follow all the rules,

Prepare to censor dissenting talk.

 

Come and join the new world order,

O you vast deluded bird-cage!

Mask your face, bare your shoulder:

Mark the place for beastly image.

 

Unfurl the flag of subjugation,

Negate the freedom bought with valor,

Imbibe the panic: flagellation

Serves the masters’ feeding terror.

 

May we learn a lesson taught:

Going headlong to security

Opens up the door to despots,

Deprives of both free lives and safety.

TLC

 Today's Gospel was Matthew 7: 15-20 about the tree and its fruit. 

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.”

 In order for a tree to produce good fruit, the conditions have to be conducive to growth.  Isn't this so with us.  People can't abuse their bodies with bad habits and expect to live a good, healthy, productive life.  The human being has to care for his body.  Think of nurturing children.  Parents have not only to feed their children nutritious food but also teach them how to live a good life.  

Good fruit and good children need tender, loving, care.

Changing Reality

 How to explain the Eucharist to my grandchildren, that's the question.  The appearance of the bread and wine doesn't change, no matter what the priest says.  But when the priest in persona Christi says, This is My Body; this is My Blood, the substance of the bread and wine change, even though they still look like bread and wine.

If the grands look at me and I tell them to look at me and watch, do they see that I'm sad?  Unless I'm crying, they won't.  An example would be when someone says something terribly hurtful to me.  I may be deeply hurt inside, but the outside will still look the same.  My appearance stays the same but what happened inside me was transformative.

That's what happens during the consecration.  The church calls it "transubstantiation".  

I pray they understand.

Historic bell set to be returned to Lowell church

Historic bell set to be returned to Lowell church: LOWELL -- As St. Patrick Parish approaches its 190th anniversary, and the City of Lowell marks 200 years since the first Irish laborers came to work there, a part of their history is being restored by replacing the bell where it once belonged.

The bell has tolled its sound from town to town and even a private home.  Now it's back where it started.  Who said you can't go home?  It's different, but it's home.  Read about its travels in the Pilot.  

Plans are underway to return the Holbrook bell to its original home in St. Patrick Church in Lowell. The bell hung in the church from 1841 to 1889. Pilot photo/courtesy David McKean

Why Couldn't Moses Enter?

                                                I'm not talking or hitting the rock.  I'm pushing.

 Numbers 20: 8:

The Lord said to Moses, "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together.  Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water..."

It is important that you note the verb, "Speak". My NAB Bible uses the verb, "Command."  Note that both are telling Moses to talk.  But what does Moses do?

Numbers 20: 9-11:

So Moses took the staff from the Lord's presence, just as He commanded him.  He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff.  Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

See.  This is what Pax Christi keeps telling us.  God is peace, even the Old Testament God.  God told Moses to "speak" not "hit" the rock.  

Moses couldn't enter the promised land because he acted violently, not once, but twice.  He didn't obey God.  

How many of us don't speak to express our feeling?  We hit! 

Respecting Religious Rights

 Philadelphia's courts just upheld the religious rights of Catholic Social Service Agencies to not allow adoptions to same-sex or unmarried couples.

This is interesting because the vote showed that it was not a bi-partisan vote.

AC/DC - Highway to Hell (Official Video)

The Grand Book Club

 I tried this before, a book club for my grandchild and grandma.  She was in kindergarten.  She hated it.  It was torture.  So I dropped it.  This time she is in the fifth grade and she is enthused.  She picked the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.  Her sister in kindergarten picked The Prairie Thief by Melissa Wiley.  We'll see how it goes.

The Laity

 Did you know that the Vatican had created a new dicastery five years ago, for the laity?   Look around their website to see all their projects. I'm impressed.

All

Apps and resources

Coaching and leadership

Communication

Care for Creation

Elderly

Life and Bioethics

Marriage and family

New evangelization

Popular piety

Sport

Woman

Work and finance

Year of laity

Youth

Driving in the Rain

Today the weather was rain, rain, rain.  I had to drive my neice, who was visiting me, back home.  That's seventy minutes each way.  I hate the trip and today I had to do it in the rain.  There was one time when I was behind a truck whose rear tires were spewing so much rain behind him onto my windshield that I couldn't see a thing.  I dropped down to 54 miles per hour, on a 65 mile per hour speed limit.  Although I prayed and felt close to God, all I could think of was the song, Highway to Hell.

Mount Wachusetts

 

"Wachusett", (also spelled "Wachuset", "Watchusett", and "Watchuset") is a word derived from the Algonquian languages such as Nipmuc and Wompanoag, still spoken by the Native Americans of Massachusetts and is believed to approximate "near the mountain" or "mountain place".  

Mount Wachusetts is the highest mountain in Massachusetts.  From the top we could see all around the state.

It wasn't an easy climb for ladies in their 70's.  It was all rocks.  At first, I thought the trail had a landslide.  It looked like an avalanche of rocks.  But that was the trail.  It was strenuous, but we did it, slowly by step by step.  

Perception

 The Trail Hikers hiked the Blackstone River Canal bikeway.  In the Captain Wilbur Kelly House Transportation Museum, my friends and I took turns taking pictures with the dummy of Wilbur Kelly.  Some of them were pretty funny.  Mine,

however, looks creepy.  Wilbur Kelly has a lecherous look on his face and the position of my hands look like I'm holding his hands to keep them off me

.

Judea Capta

 The Jews revolted against Rome, 66-70 AD, leading to tremendous violence.  This is where the famed temple of Jerusalem was destroyed (Jesus wept at its destruction) and the final massacre at Masada. The Jewish revolt had been totally demolished, and 500 a day crucified.  

After all the destruction, the Roman emperor Vespasian instituted a tax that would go towards the building of a pagan shrine where the former temple of Jerusalem once was located.  A coin was issued called Judea Capta, meaning Judea captured and destroyed, which showed a Roman soldier over a crying woman.

By Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2264120

Another coin lording it over the subject Jewish peoples is this Roman denarius depicting Titus, circa 79. The reverse commemorates his triumph in the Judaean wars, representing a Jewish captive kneeling in front of a trophy of arms.

By Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2334487

Pope Francis expresses sorrow after Indigenous children's graves found at Church-run school

Pope Francis expresses sorrow after Indigenous children's graves found at Church-run school: Vatican City, Jun 6, 2021 / 06:20 am (CNA). Pope Francis expressed sorrow on Sunday at the discovery of Indigenous children's graves at a Church-run residential school in Canada. 

Of course, the pope will apologize.  But I''ve said time and again, "you can't judge the past with today's eyes.  What was going on then?  Famine?  Poverty?  What were secular schools doing?  Political, government often run the show and bring in religious people to give their show authority.  Stay tuned.  There's more to the story.

Protectors

 When Peter was imprisoned by Herod, he was freed by an angel.  Does that seem strange to you?  It doesn't seem very strange to Peter.  He seemed to have taken the occurrence as a matter of course.  Acts 12: 1-19.

There's a footnote in my Ignatius Catholic Study Bible on Acts 12: 15, that refers me to Matthew 18:10.  Here Jesus is telling His disciples to not despise the little ones because their angels behold the face of the Father in heaven.  The footnote to that verse explains, "Scripture portrays God's angels as protectors, guides, and helpers of His people (Tob 12: 15; Job 33: 23-23; Ps 34: 7, 91: 11, Acts 12: 15, and Heb 1: 14).  The elect angels already participate in glory as they behold the face of God in heaven ( CCC 329, 336). This verse is traditionally cited as biblical evidence for guardian angels.  Several Church Fathers teach that God assigns everyone an angel to watch over him throughout life."

I also remember Dr. Scott Hahn relating the story of being distraught over his son's dire illness.  He got down on his knees and prayed fervently.  Suddenly he became aware that he was not alone in the room.  The room was crowded with angels and saints.

Over the years I've more or less regarded the stories of angels, just that--stories.  Pious stories parents tell their children so that they feel safe.  Today, I am rethinking that assumption.

Proof of Life After Death

 Here are some pictures of a trail near where I live.

The other night we had a terrific thunderstorm and downpour.  Lightening must have struck and knocked down this tree.  The path is almost unpassable.  And there's evidence of fires, here and there.

But you know what.  Nature comes back.  Resurrection!  Change is intrinsic in nature.  Life comes back.  And if God takes that much care with trees and grass, etc., why wouldn't He do the same for Man.

Be Nice

 LECTIO:                                                           Ephesians 4: 29-32

Never let evil talk pass your lips; say only the good things men need to hear, things that will really help them.  Do nothing that will sadden the Holy Spirit with whom you wear sealed against the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, harsh words, slander, and malice of every kind.  In place of these, be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.

STUDIUM:

Remember how the Hebrews in Exodus 16:2-3

, saddened the Holy Spirit by grumbling against Moses and God.  Paul is thinking of the mean, unkind comments that hurt others.  This kind of attitude disrupts the fellowship and unity of Christians.  We should encourage and support each other, not tear each other down.

MEDITATIO:

Who would want to sadden the Holy Spirit?

ORATIO:

Lord Jesus, put your hand over my mouth to stop all sarcastic, cynical, and hurtful retorts that come out of my mouth.  Help me be more like You.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Maybe avoiding occasions where I am likely to judge (No wonder perople become hermits!) will help me to be kinder.  I don't want to be mean.  I don't intend to be.  I try but I won't make it without the help of the Holy Spirit.  Lord, send Your Grace upon me.

RESOLUTIO:

I resolve to THINK before speaking.  Think of something good to say to everyone.  Slow down and be nice.

Walking With Joan

 Joan started the Walking Group many, many years ago.  She was always after me to join it.  I couldn't for a long time because I was working.  Now I have no excuse.  But Joan is now 90 years old and a slow walker.  She is always last and every time she talks, she stops. 

She also telephones each person to invite them every week because she doesn't have a computer.  The Walking Group is important to her.

Today, there were eleven of us.  Joan is always last and slow and alone.  We decided that we would take turns walking with her so she wouldn't be alone.  

That's what friends do.  

Here is a picture of some pretty plants from our walk today.

Keeping an Eye on the UN

 When each man is looking out for himself, there is a good possibility that no agreement will be reached.  Nothing constructive would be accomplished.  The same is true of countries.  That is why I think it is a good policy to have religious observers at the United Nations.  The Dominicans' representative is Father Michael Deeb, O.P.