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| The Gift of Life |  | | Lord, give us the patience to await healing in your time, not to give up hope, and to be thankful each new day for the gift of life that you have given us. Amen. | | |
St. Charles Borromeo
(1538-1584)
T he name of St. Charles Borromeo is associated with reform. He lived during the time of the Protestant Reformation, and had a hand in the reform of the whole Church during the final years of the Council of Trent (1545-63). Although he belonged to Milanese nobility and was related to the powerful Medici family, he desired to devote himself to the Church. When his uncle, Cardinal de Medici, was elected pope in 1559 as Pius IV, he made Charles cardinal-deacon and administrator of the Archdiocese of Milan while he was still a layman and a young student. Because of his intellectual qualities he was entrusted with several important offices connected with the Vatican and later appointed secretary of state with responsibility for the papal states. The untimely death of his elder brother brought Charles to a definite decision to be ordained a priest, despite relatives' insistence that he marry. Soon after he was ordained a priest at the age of 25, he was consecrated bishop of Milan. Because of his work at the Council of Trent, he was not allowed to take up residence in Milan until the Council was over. Charles had encouraged the pope to renew the Council in 1562 after it had been suspended for 10 years. Working behind the scenes, St. Charles deserves the credit for keeping the Council in session when at several points it was on the verge of breaking up. He took upon himself the task of the entire correspondence during the final phase. Eventually Charles was allowed to devote his time to the Archdiocese of Milan, where the religious and moral picture was far from bright. The reform needed in every phase of Catholic life among both clergy and laity was initiated at a provincial council of all the bishops under him. Specific regulations were drawn up for bishops and other clergy: If the people were to be converted to a better life, he had to be the first to give a good example and renew their apostolic spirit. Charles took the initiative in giving good example. He allotted most of his income to charity, forbade himself all luxury and imposed severe penances upon himself. He sacrificed wealth, high honors, esteem and influence to become poor. During the plague and famine of 1576, he tried to feed 60,000 to 70,000 people daily. To do this he borrowed large sums of money that required years to repay. Whereas the civil authorities fled at the height of the plague, he stayed in the city, where he ministered to the sick and the dying, helping those in want. Work and the heavy burdens of his high office began to affect his health. He died at the age of 46.
"Christ summons the Church, as she goes her pilgrim way, to that continual reformation of which she always has need, insofar as she is an institution of men here on earth. Consequently, if, in various times and circumstances, there have been deficiencies in moral conduct or in Church discipline, or even in the way that Church teaching has been formulated—to be carefully distinguished from the deposit of faith itself—these should be set right at the opportune moment and in the proper way" (Vatican II, Decree on Ecumenism, 6, Austin Flannery translation).
Catechists
Catechumens
Seminarians
 Saint of the DayLives, Lessons and FeastBy Leonard Foley, O.F.M.; revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
Presence To be present is to arrive as one is and open up to the other.
At this instant, as I arrive here, God is present waiting for me.
God always arrives before me, desiring to connect with me
even more than my most intimate friend.
I take a moment and greet my loving God.
Freedom God is not foreign to my freedom.
Instead the Spirit breathes life into my most intimate desires,
gently nudging me towards all that is good.
I ask for the grace to let myself be enfolded by the Spirit.
Consciousness To be conscious about something is to be aware of it. Dear Lord help me to remember that You gave me life. Thank you for the gift of life. Teach me to slow down, to be still and enjoy the pleasures created for me.
To be aware of the beauty that surrounds me. The marvel of mountains, the calmness of lakes, the fragility of a flower petal. I need to remember that all these things come from you.
The Word of God
Brothers and sisters:
Have among yourselves the same attitude
that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and, found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the LORD shall praise him:
"May your hearts be ever merry!"
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD;
All the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
For dominion is the LORD's,
and he rules the nations.
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
To him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people. One of those at table with Jesus said to him,
"Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God."
He replied to him,
"A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
'Come, everything is now ready.'
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
'I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.'
And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.'
And another said, 'I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.'
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.'
The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.'
The master then ordered the servant,
'Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'"
Listen to audio of this reading
Watch a video reflection
Conversation Begin to talk to Jesus about the piece of scripture you have just read. What part of it strikes a chord in you? Perhaps the words of a friend - or some story you have heard recently - will slowly rise to the surface of your consciousness. If so, does the story throw light on what the scripture passage may be trying to say to you? Conclusion Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop Come, everything is now ready. (Luke 14:17) You're invited—to a dinner, a wedding, a birthday party, or a quilting bee. Whatever the event, those two words stir our hearts and imaginations. Someone thought of me! Someone wants my company. Someone looks forward to spending time with me. Jesus knew the longing to be included that is common to every human being. He also knew the Father's longing to relate personally with each of us. Believe it or not, almighty God enjoys the pleasure of your company. That is the underlying message in today's parable. Yes, some of the Pharisees and lawyers present might have felt stung by the way Jesus called out their complacency. And yes, the invitation to the "salvation banquet" is undeniably important. None of us wants to presume that we'll dine with God in heaven merely because of how we have followed the rules here. But this parable is more than a scolding! Jesus is asking us to consider the joy and privilege of being invited into his Father's presence. You're invited! The God of the universe is inviting you—personally! He says to you, "Come, dine with me. Sit next to me, and talk with me." Let that invitation sink in. God wants to share his thoughts with you. Not only that, but he is inviting you to share your thoughts with him. He is eager to spend time with you—not just at the banquet of the Mass but in daily prayer and in simple conversation as you go through your day. It's easy to be occupied mentally, to be busy physically, to have excellent reasons why "now" is not a convenient time. Still, God is inviting you! He's worth rearranging your schedule, just as you would cancel all your other appointments if you were invited to a state dinner or if you had the chance to meet your favorite performer backstage. So ask the Lord to stir your heart once again today, so that you can accept his invitation, even at the expense of the other good things you have to do. "Father, I accept your invitation to spend time with you today! Thank you for thinking of me and inviting me." Philippians 2:5-11; Psalm 22:26-32
my2cents:
I apologize if you did not get yesterday's email, I noticed many of my own emails did not come through because of the email system I'm using (may have to try something different if it keeps acting up), many didn't go through, including the one that goes to the blog of this reflection at http://4thdayforum.blogspot.com/. I hope you receive today's. Today's 5 minutos went something like this (allow me to translate):
"My mother asked me: 'what is the most important part of the body?'. I thought; "my ears". She said" 'no, many people are deaf and come out fine. Then I said: 'Mom, vision is very important to everyone, and so it should be our eyes'. No because there are many blind people, and they go forward even without their eyes. A few years ago my grandfather passed away. Everyone was hurt. We cried. Including my father cried. I remember this because it was the second time I seen him cry. My mother looked at me at the moment to say the final goodbye to the grandfather. And so she asked me: "Do you still not know what part of the body is most important?". "This question is very important". For every answer that you gave me in the past I told you it was wrong and told you why. But today is the day that you need to know it." She looked at me in a way only a mother could do it. I saw her eyes full of tears, and I hugged her. It was then that she said leaning on me "Son, the most important part is your shoulder". I asked "is it because it holds up my head?" and she replied "No, it is because it can hold the head of a loved one or a friend when they cry. We all need a shoulder some day in life my son. I only hope you have love and friends and so you will always have a shoulder when you need it, like I need yours today."
In today's 1st Holy Scripture, St. Paul brings up a most important point...the name of our Lord and King of the Universe, to which every knee shall bow, on Heaven and on Earth. I don't like to say the name, unless I am praying with it. I don't like other people using the name in vain, as if using it for effect, using it for NOTHING, thus vain. And this is the second commandment from God our Father, "thou shall not use the Lord's name in vain". We prayed today "I will praise you Lord in the assembly of your people". That's where we are to praise the name of the Lord, together. Most pictures I remember of Mothere Teresa or St. Padre Pio where of them among people, among Jesus. I read in The Joyful Spirit of Padre Pio, that it was as if Padre Pio sought Jesus hiding in the people, and I can tell by the way he looks at the people, He is looking for Christ. This is important. I remember this young man from Abilene say as a testimony "I wanted to go to Cursillo because I wanted that "look" that cursillo brothers had", that look in their eyes. He's got the look now. You can have it, saints can have it, and we are all saints in God's image. Jesus then speaks in the Word of today, the Holy Gospel, and He is inviting to a dinner, once again, to the feast. HIS FEAST. HIS DINNER. HIS BODY, HIS BLOOD. That's what's being served at the feast of Heaven...JESUS. What else do you think you are going to eat in Heaven? No earthly material. And I say this because let's recall the first excuse they gave was 'I just bought some land, gotta go check it out". Material was more imporant than man. Then the second excuse "I just bought some animals, gotta go check them out". Blind purchase? Blind to the fact that the animals are not more important than man. And the third excuse, and this is where I lose alot of people "I just got married, therefore I can't go". As if family were more important than man? "Now wait a minute mr. Adrian, how can this "man" be more important than anything on earth?" Easy. Jesus is the MAN, the King, the one cooking and serving, that is to say, serving and providing. Yet we choose earthly material as more important. It's as if God were speaking of creation, made the land (people worshipped the land); made the animals (people worshipped the animals); made the woman (people worshipped that relation) and then God comes in, now time to worship Him and HIM ALONE. I am asking you right now though, who do you think God was talking to today in all the readings and scriptures?
Answer me. Reply to me. I hardly ever get a reply to ANY emails. I am asking you to let me know your answer. Who do you think these words were intended for? Who do you think ought to ask for the intercession of today's saint? Who do you think is being invited to the dinner of God and Heaven?
 adrian
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