Feast of St. Andrew

We have a guest blogger today. Arlene B. Muller (Arlene Clare Muller, OFS) is a lector and EM at St. Pancras Church in Glendale, NY, a singer in the choir at St. Margaret's Church in Middle Village, NY, a professed Secular Franciscan & newly elected Formation Director at St. Adalbert's Secular Franciscan fraternity in Elmhurst, NY & an itinerant speech/language therapist who works with preschool children with delayed language development. In addition to her ministries & work she seeks to promote the GOSPEL & the GOSPEL OF LIFE, especially in writing & frequently on FACEBOOK.

Scripture readings for today can be found at Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle | USCCB

Today is the Feast Day of St. Andrew, the apostle, the brother of St. Peter.

According to St. John's Gospel, St. Andrew was a seeker & a disciple of St. John the Baptist & when St. John the Baptist pointed out JESUS he immediately went to JESUS & spent time with Him, & then Andrew told his brother Simon (who became St. Peter) about JESUS, & the rest is history.

According to St. John, Andrew was one of the first two followers of JESUS, but it was Simon Peter, his impetuous, "foot in mouth" brother whom Our LORD called to be the leader. Although St. Andrew played an important role in Our LORD'S miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes by telling Our LORD about the boy who had 5 loaves & 2 fish, most of the time Andrew tended to be more in the background & rank fourth in prominence among the apostle, since whenever the LORD chose to spend time with His closest apostles He picked "Peter, James & John", as in the time JESUS raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead, as in the time of Our LORD's Transfiguration, and in the Garden of Gethsemane!

I wonder if it ever bothered St. Andrew to "play second fiddle" to his brother Simon Peter. I feel sure that Andrew was glad to share the good news of finding the Messiah & to bring his brother & other people to JESUS.  He definitely had the heart of an evangelist right away and His devotion to Our LORD was fervent & sincere. But I wonder if at times when Simon Peter was being picked ahead of him, St. Andrew ever thought or even said aloud "But I found JESUS first!" and/or even thought at times when his blustery brother "blew it" by speaking first & thinking later, or by falling asleep when Our LORD needed him to watch & pray with Him, or when Simon Peter cut off the ear of Malchus, or when Simon Peter denied the LORD "Why did JESUS  pick Peter ahead of me, when I could have done a better job!" It is possible that this could have been Andrew's "two cents" when the apostles argued among themselves about who would be the greatest.

Whether playing "second fiddle" to Simon Peter & seemingly in rank of the apostles ever bothered St. Andrew we might never know unless one day we get to have a conversation with him in heaven! Imagining myself in St. Andrew's sandals I am pretty sure that these thoughts and feelings would definitely have entered my mind & heart.

I think generally St. Andrew had a generous & humble heart (probably at least more humble than that of his more prominent brother, at least for a time) & while spending time with JESUS he came to know that beyond "rank" JESUS loved him just as much & loved him uniquely & had a very definite and special place for Andrew in His heart, in His ministry & in His Church.

Andrew was full of apostolic zeal & received the Holy Spirit & wound up spreading the good news & dying as a martyr in a cross shaped like an X, considering himself unworthy of a cross in the same shape as His Master.

St. Andrew loved Our LORD & filled the role that Our LORD gave him with obedience, devotion & humility, both when he was in the forefront & when he was in the background, and in this he is a wonderful role model for us all & a great apostle and saint.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

As we come to the end of the liturgical year of the church, with the First Sunday of Advent this Sunday and Christmas just four weeks away, the church gives us readings that focus on the end times or the final judgement. As Christians, we are called to live out our lives in the expectation of eventually meeting our Savior, whether at the end of our lives, or the end of the world. That is to be the focus of our lives: the eventual judgement day that each one of us will face.

Living out our lives here in this world means to be open constantly to the words that Jesus tells us in holy scripture. His Words will never pass away. All throughout his ministry Jesus taught us of the love God has for each one of us, and that we are to respond to that love with love of God and love of our neighbor.

In our first reading from Revelation, we hear of the Devil (also known as Satan) leading all nations away from the love of God and his commandments. The last thing the Evil One wants is for us to be obedient to God’s commandments of love and service to His people. The Evil One can be very tempting in how he can lead us away from God. He is THE great deceiver! But we have tools, given to us by Jesus Christ, to help us to remain faithful to God and His commandments. These are the Holy Sacraments. Each Sacrament gives us the grace necessary to grow ever closer to God. In Baptism, we receive the grace to be children of God, and all our sins are wiped away the moment we are baptized. Then, as we grow in our faith, we have Confession to help us during the times when we fall short in our relationship with God. Then we have the Eucharist, which nourishes us and gives us spiritual strength to continue our journey towards heaven.

During this time of Advent, as we prepare for the gift of the Birth of Jesus at Christmas, let us take time from our busy schedules to do the following: take time to read daily the scripture from each of the weekday masses and quietly meditate on what God is trying to tell us; take time out to go to confession, realizing that we are in need of God’s love and healing, and receive Holy Communion as often as possible. Then we will be ready by Christmas to celebrate the birth of the Lord into our lives. Let us always remain focused on God and His love for us.

 

To Whom Do We Owe Our Allegiance?

Christ the King Sunday by Rev. Fr. Arthur F. Rojas © All Rights Reserved © Nov. 18, 2022

Today we have a recurring guest blogger:  Fr. Arthur F. Rojas, administrator of PRESENTATION OF THE B.V.M CHURCH, PORT EWEN AND SACRED HEART CHURCH, ESOPUS. For more information on this parish, check out their website at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary & Sacred Heart Churches - Port Ewen - Esopus, NY (presentationsacredheart.org) 

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe | USCCB

VIVA CRISTO REY (Spanish for “Long live Christ the King!”). For the first time in my life as a priest, I will celebrate the feast of Christ the King Sunday on two distinct days of the same liturgical year: today at Masses in the Ordinary Form as the last Sunday of the liturgical year and already on October 30th, the last Sunday of October, in the Extraordinary Form. The two distinct points in time indicate different emphases of the 1962 Missale Romanum (for Mass in the Extraordinary Form) and the Roman Missals used after the Second Vatican Council (“Vatican II”) to offer Mass in the Ordinary Form. In 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted the feast of Christ the King on the last Sunday in October as a response by the Church to the atheistic and barbaric Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 in Russia. After the general turmoil and hideous violence of the preceding 125 years (including against the Catholic Church), Pope Pius XI wished to reiterate the lordship of Christ over all spheres of human life, including the pretensions of Caesar over marriage and family life, the education of children and youth, and public religious adherence. The Pope also scheduled the feast just before November, the month already dedicated to the Souls in Purgatory, to remind us of divine lordship over life and death, also against the pretensions of certain governments, politicians, ideologues, and philosophers. For more information, please read Quas Primas, the encyclical of Pope Pius XI (www.vatican.va, Vatican web page). With the changes opened by Vatican II to the celebration of Holy Mass, the administration of the sacraments, and the liturgical year, the Church shifted the date of Christ the King Sunday in the Ordinary Form to the last Sunday of the liturgical year. This change was meant to emphasize the eschatological nature of the kingship of Christ, that is, to focus on the last days and the Kingdom of God, whose fullness we await at the end of time, when Christ returns to “judge the living and the dead and His kingdom will have no end,” per the Nicene Creed that we recite or sing at Mass on Sundays, solemnities, and Holy Days of Obligation. The readings and prayers of Mass today in the Ordinary Form also point us to a different model of leadership exhibited by Christ the King, a contrast to what passes for leadership today, even if cloaked by labels such as “diversity, equity, and inclusion” or “democracy.” As Catholic Americans, let us consider Christ the King Sunday amidst recent events. Firstly, the defacement on Nov. 14 of the pro-life billboard southbound on Broadway at Ulster Park shows us that the abortion-on-demand mentality is very much a rebellion against the lordship of Christ over life and death, especially from the moment of conception. As reported by the Daily Freeman on Nov. 18 and demonstrated by the speedy replacement of the prolife poster on the billboard, the Ulster Deanery Respect Life Committee (www.ulsterdeaneryrespectlife.org) remains steadfast to Christ the King and His Gospel of Life. May there be enough resources for the Committee to erect more billboards or similar advertisements throughout Ulster County! Next, the advancement of the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act” in Washington, D.C. serves a new genre of error regarding God’s plan for life and love by obliging the Federal Government statutorily to treat “same-sex unions” at par with true marriages of one man and one woman at one time. When I think of how the U.S.A. soccer team lately changed the colors of its emblem to a perverted “pride” pattern instead of red, white, and blue and how in June the American embassy to the Holy See flew a flag with similar meaning and colors, I ask: how dare we hold ourselves as “one nation under God,” per the Pledge of Allegiance? How are you and I as Catholic Americans represented by that flag or that emblem? We are neither included nor are we represented, unless we too are in rebellion against Christ the King. To be sure, as patriotic Americans, we love our country. But as Christians, we love and serve God firstly and above all, per the First Commandment. VIVA CRISTO REY.

XXXIII Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today we have a recurring guest blogger:  Fr. Arthur F. Rojas, administrator of PRESENTATION OF THE B.V.M CHURCH, PORT EWEN AND SACRED HEART CHURCH, ESOPUS. For more information on this parish, check out their website at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary & Sacred Heart Churches - Port Ewen - Esopus, NY (presentationsacredheart.org) 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB

XXXIII Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Arthur F. Rojas © All Rights Reserved © Nov. 11, 2022

Although I rarely refer to Protestant theologians in my homilies or in my writings, considering the readings today in the Ordinary Form, I must rate as wise the advice from Karl Barth, the Swiss Calvinist theologian, to young theologians in 1963, “to take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both.” (Barth in Retirement, May 31, 1963, Time magazine, www.content.time.com, accessed November 11, 2022) In response to comments or questions to why I refer frequently to current events in my homilies and writings, this advice from Dr. Barth coheres in principle with the exhortations of Old Testament prophets, the evaluation of Our Lord Jesus of events of His time and as to the future (read anew today’s Gospel in Lk 21:5-19), the application of St. Paul and other writers of certain letters in the New Testament, and statements from Popes and local bishops on facing the challenges and exploiting the opportunities over 2,000 years as committed Christians towards personal holiness, the evangelization and care of our neighbor, and the defense of Gospel values. Indeed, the Second Vatican Council exhorts all the Christian faithful, not clerics only, to read “the signs of the times,” per one of its 16 documents, namely Gaudium et Spes, which provided a framework to the Church’s response to problems affecting the modern world. (Gaudium et Spes, article 4, a.k.a. the Pastoral Constitution of the Church, Second Vatican Council, 1965, www.vatican.va)

In other words, the true relevance of the Gospel and Catholic principles is neither derived from nor demonstrated by following the Zeitgeist, which is a term imported from German for the spirit of the age. The enduring value of what God has revealed to us in Sacred Scripture and the Apostolic Tradition is demonstrated through prayer, study, and lived example founded on over 2,000 years of what we have prayed and believed to help men and women to apply God’s teachings, plans, and design of creation to become holy themselves today where we are, to help others to choose, love, and serve what is good, true, and beautiful today where they are, and to pass on these values and the examples of those who have lived these values heroically (“saints”) to our children and youth to become holy wherever they will go in the future. At least from time to time, and I propose – more frequently - in these challenging days, the words and deeds of your clerics and others who cooperate in Christian formation (parents, godparents, elders, catechists, etc.) must speak to these times and their challenges and opportunities for us as committed Christians, to our beloved children and youth, and to all people of good will. That will make our Catholic faith very much tied to everyday reality as well as towards eternity because our faithful application of Gospel values to the challenges and opportunities of today will require you and me to change how we live, to change how we make or rate our choices and options, and how to provide the light and love of truth to those around us. Perhaps following the Holy Spirit instead of the spirit of the age may make our Catholic identity too relevant for our comfort or to those around us. However, the conclusion of today’s Gospel (Lk 21:20) gives us Christ’s response for your sake and mine, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives,” as regarding salvation and eternal life.

If we read today’s news in light of the Good News and if we live on Earth conscious that how we live (or how we fail to live) our Christianity in daily life is showing God whether or not we really want to be with Him forever (reread Mal 3:19-20a, our first reading), then at the end of time (your time and mine, also known as “death”, and of all time, also known as the Second Coming of Christ), then may we follow and foster good example (2 Thess 3:7-12 from the second reading) to prepare for Christ’s appointment with us and our loved ones and to prepare the world for the coming one day of the full Kingdom of God.

Let us love one another

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop | USCCB

In the first reading from the 2^nd Letter of John we hear John remind us of the commandment of love. He says, “I ask you, not as though I were writing a new commandment but one that we had from the beginning: let us love one another.”

This commandment of love is all throughout the teachings of Jesus Christ. In one instance, in Luke chapter 10, we hear Jesus tell us: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) Love of God, and love of neighbor are the two things that are tied together and what the Lord is commanding us to do. We are to always love the Lord God with our whole mind & hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves. So, in today’s reading from 2^nd John, we hear John remind his readers and those around him that to be a true follower of Jesus Christ we must love everyone we encounter. This is challenging, but it’s what’s expected of us as followers of Jesus Christ. Is it easy? No! Is it what we’re called to do? Yes.

In our daily encounters with people in our lives, they will most certainly test our patience and love for them. With the nature of who we are as humans, we may find it easy to avoid or dislike certain people in our lives that get on our nerves. We are to respond with the love that John is talking about: “Let us love one another!” This doesn’t mean that we must have constant contact with those we can’t get along with. Sometimes it’s best to keep our distance from those that are difficult to love and get along with. But we must also pray for them and their intentions to the Lord God.

Let us each day we live try to live out that act of love that John is reminding us that Jesus wants us to have for everyone.  We can do this by always praying for those in our lives, both those we can love easily, but also for those that are difficult to love. Include them in your daily prayers, whether in church or in your private prayers. Pray for all those in your life that you may love them as the Lord wants you to love them. “Let us love one another.”

XXXII Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

XXXII Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Arthur F. Rojas © All Rights Reserved © Nov. 4, 2022

Today we have a recurring guest blogger:  Fr. Arthur F. Rojas, administrator of PRESENTATION OF THE B.V.M CHURCH, PORT EWEN AND SACRED HEART CHURCH, ESOPUS. For more information on this parish, check out their website at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary & Sacred Heart Churches - Port Ewen - Esopus, NY (presentationsacredheart.org) 

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In the Ordinary Form of the Mass today, the proclaimed Word of God exhorts us as Christians and then as Americans to live here on Earth, here at New York in particular, with an eye to eternity. However, for which eternity are we aiming by the course of our daily lives in matters great and small?

To what end did the brave seven Hebrew brothers and their mother resist the demands of the pagan king to violate God’s law in a gross manner, even to the point of torture and death? The first reading today (2 Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14) tells us why: the resurrection of the just by Almighty God. When you prepare for Heaven as your first priority during your life on Earth, you are willing to make sacrifices so as not to lose Heaven by orienting ourselves to Hell by prizing comfort over conviction and courage, especially regarding faith and morals. This prayerful courage is required not only of Catholics in China, Nicaragua, across the Middle East, Nigeria, certain parts of India, but also Catholics in “developed countries” such as America amidst the chill of our freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly in America thanks to “cancel culture,” gender theory, Critical Race Theory, and other pressures from private and public sectors. I think of Jack Phillips, the Christian baker in Colorado who has been harassed repeatedly by lawsuits and administrative pressure for refusing to prepare cakes to celebrate caricatures of God’s plan for life and love between one man and one woman at one time or that mock God’s design of humankind as male or female. I think of Catholics in the medical and educational professions whose conscience rights are under siege in America right now regarding practices that kill preborn children, that violate God’s plan for life and love, or that mutilate adults and even children in body, mind, heart, and soul. I think of committed Catholics and other people of good will through the ages and presently who have resisted policies and practices which, under the guises of national unity, social progress, public safety/health, justice, or tolerance, have exalted grave sin and error over God’s call to all mankind, especially to us as disciples of Christ, to live and to share The Gospel of Life and The Splendor of Truth, to recall the English titles of two encyclicals by St. John Paul II. More examples abound.

With Election Day coming on Tuesday, November 8th, may we Catholic Americans prepare to exercise our right to vote for various offices and ballot questions. Please reread the second reading for today (2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5). It is timely for these days. As disciples of Christ the King, we proclaim God as the Supreme Being, Whose teachings and commandments deserve our lived fealty in every sphere of life, whether in the boardroom, the laboratory, the classroom, the bedroom, and the voting booth. Thus, the God-given dignity of the human person from the moment of conception until natural death must guide not only how we treat each other and our neighbors in commerce, the arts, sports, etc. but also how and why we select those whom shall serve in public office and through them, their appointees. Although there are serious concerns over the economy, crime, immigration, the educational system, and our freedoms of speech, religion, and petition for the redress of grievances, etc., our leading teachers of the True Faith – that is, the bishops – remind us that among all issues of life and social justice, that abortion-on-demand is the pre-eminent issue for us to consider as we evaluate prayerfully and thoughtfully the candidates and the parties before us on the ballot. Before the eyes of Heaven as well as of Earth, may our votes as Catholic Americans affirm the splendor of truth and the Gospel of life!

Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await our savior, Jesus Christ

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop | USCCB

In our first reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, Paul is explaining how we are to live out our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. He tells his followers to be “imitators of me” and to act “according to the model you have in us.” The early followers saw the example of how Paul, once he came to Christ, lived out his life as a disciple of Jesus Christ, even to the point of not fearing death. What was central to Paul was to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to all those who he encountered, whether Jew or Gentile.

He points out that those who turn from Christ and being His follower will end in destruction. They chose to live a selfish life, just worrying about their own needs instead of living a Christ centered life.

Looking at both Philippians and the gospel of Luke we should ask ourselves what is most important to us? What motivates us to live out our lives? Is it our own needs, only worrying about our day-to-day existence? Or are we motivated in our actions to live out a life in love of God and our neighbors.

In the gospel we hear of the dishonest steward who only worried about his own gain and not doing the right thing for his master. Once his dishonesty was discovered he was terrified of losing his job. He was only interested in protecting his own self-interest.

Our Lord concludes this parable with, “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.” We are children of light, followers of Jesus Christ. We are called to be God centered in all our dealings with other people. Paul reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven, and that means that as we live out our day-to-day life here on earth, we are to not only love God with our whole mind, heart and soul, but we are to love and respect all those people God has placed in our lives.

When we examine our actions and attitudes, what do we find at the heart of them? Earthly prudence inspired by fear or divine wisdom grounded in the Gospel?

Let us in all our actions in this world not be like the dishonest steward, but rather that of “children of light”, keeping God always in the center of all we do. Then we will certainly have our citizenship in heaven.