This week we will celebrate the first of the Scrutinies at the 11:15AM Mass. These are important for the Parish but can be difficult to express. The article by Carl McColman at Patheos was the best that I have read and wish to share it with you.
Fr. Smith
More than 50 people joined for the first night of the Novena for Our Country that we are sponsoring together with St. Augustine and St. Francis Xavier. The novena is being said nightly via Zoom at 5 PM through next Tuesday. For more information, see the “Invitation to Novena for Our Country”. Don’t worry if you missed the first night, you are welcome to join in.
As I mentioned last night, I have received wonderful suggestions for prayers and readings for upcoming nights of the novena. I encourage you to keep emailing them to me, [email protected]. This has truly been a communal effort in a time that certainly needs one, and I see my role for this novena as primarily being editor.
I have included the readings until Thursday below, but you can send prayers whether they fit these readings or not for future use. There will be a special emphasis on Mary for Saturday.
Let us support each other in this most difficult and dangerous time.
I remain
In Christ,
Fr. Bill Smith
Below is the letter that Fr. Bill referred to during his homily on the Tuesday morning online Mass on the Feast of St. John Neumann.
From a letter to Cardinal Barnabo by Saint John Neumann, bishop
(Archives of Propaganda Fide, America Centrale, 1858-1860, Vol. XVIII, fol. 386 v. Neumann to Barnabo, October 1858, as quoted in Michael J. Curley, Venerable John Neumann [Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1950, pp. 325-326].)
I have labored with all my powers to fulfill the duties of my office
As our Christmas gift to you, we have selected homilies taken from transcripts of our Masses this liturgical year. They document the life of the parish and our faith journey during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The compilation is available in PDF and also formatted for your Kindle or E-reader.
The Seven Works of Mercy, Caravaggio, 1607, Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples
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Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the First Reading
Solemnity of Christ the King
Ezekiel 34:11–12, 15–17
November 22, 2020
Our reading this week is from the Prophet Ezekiel who uses a most intimate image of the relationship between the LORD and his people: the shepherd. It is found often throughout the Ancient Near East, but Ezekiel gives it a particular spin. To understand why, we need to look at Ezekiel’s life and times.
Ezekiel was born about 622 BC in Jerusalem and died about 570 BC in Babylon. The dates and places tell his story. Jerusalem was situated on the trade route between Egypt to the south and whatever power was dominating the north. Never a mighty empire, the Jews were able to play one power off against the other to maintain significant independence for over three centuries.
Continue reading “Christ the King – Putting the Needs of the Flock First”The parable of the talents, A.N. Mironov, 2013, photo from the artist’s personal website artmiro.ru. Used with permission.
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Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
November 15, 2020
Many of the Jews in the Greek and Roman world may have wished to be somewhat apart from the most popular contemporary trends of thought. Yet as the Holy Land was in the middle of an important trade route and many Jews lived in large cities in the Middle East and beyond, this was impossible. Some may have been influenced by the great “academic” philosophers of the day like Plato and Aristotle, but most would have had contact with popular ethics or morality. This was called wisdom and it would have had adherents throughout the Mediterranean. Traces of this “International Wisdom” can be found in the books of Job, Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, many Psalms, and the Book of Proverbs as we read today. The Wisdom teaching that was committed to writing was a compendium of reflections used to train young members of the governing class to be wise leaders. The Jewish Elders wanted to show that they could answer the questions of their young in a way that would have made sense to their children who may have wished to show contemporary learning, but also reflected their traditions and belief in the LORD
Continue reading “33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Doing Ordinary Things with Extraordinary Love”As of this writing, the end of this interminable election is barely in sight and may not be until the last lawsuit is settled. If we do not know who has won, we know that we will enter the holiday season a divided nation. What can we do about this?
Continue reading “Fr. Smith’s Post-Election Message: Preparing for the Family Holiday Discussions”
