INTENTIONS OF THE HOLY FATHER FOR
AUGUST 2010:
INTENTIONS OF THE HOLY FATHER FOR
AUGUST 2010:
1) General Intention:
1) That those who are without work or homes or who are otherwise in serious need may find understanding and welcome, as well as concrete help in overcoming their difficulties;
2) Mission Intention:
2) That the Church may be a “home” for all people, ready to open its doors to any who are suffering from racial or religious discrimination, hunger, or wars forcing them to emigrate to other countries.
18th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
August 1 , 2010
Teach us to number our days aright, that
we may gain wisdom of heart.
—Psalm 90:12—
READINGS:
Daily
Bible Readings
For VIETNAMESE >> Bai Doc CN & Suy Niem
& NgheBaiGiang
For VIETNAMESE
>> Bai Doc Hang
Ngay
KINH THANH : CUU UOC / TAN UOC
YOU TUBE - VATICAN
New
American Bible
It is one of the glories of the Bible that it can embrace many meanings in
a single passage.
— St. Thomas Aquinas —
“I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible.
Take all that you can of this book upon reason and the balance by faith,
and you will live and die a better person...
the Bible is the best book which God has given to man."
— Abraham Lincoln —
. A Few Minutes of Prayer in the Home
.
. RETREAT HOUSE - USA .
. ON-LINE RETREAT .
SUNDAY READINGS:
First Reading — Do not spend your life toiling for material gain (Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23).
Psalm — If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts (Psalm 90).
Second Reading — Christ has raised you to new life, so seek now what is above (Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11).
Gospel — Be on guard against all greed, for your life does not consist of earthly possessions, but of the riches of the reign of God (Luke 12:13-21).
GOSPEL COMOMMENTARY:
“OUR TRUE INHERITANCE IS A LIFE WITH GOD .”
More and more people are choosing to live in apartments and condos. As these kinds of dwellings become more popular, we see springing up a plethora of self-storage units. These become necessary, as smaller dwellings cannot hold what some formerly put in basements and garages. We do, indeed, store up possessions in great quantities! So, in many ways we are not totally unlike the rich man in this Sunday’s gospel parable. He has enough in his present storehouses; ironically, by wanting more than he needs, he builds more and larger storehouses only to die and not enjoy his abundance anyway. The rich man is a fool because he mistakenly thinks his future happiness is guaranteed by his possessions. Even had his life not been demanded of him, those ossessions could not have bought him happiness. Jesus cautions us to “guard against” such greed and turn our attention to where our real inheritance lies: in the fullness of life God wishes to give us. How mistaken the rich man is to identify good living with material things and miss “[W]hat matters to God”! We work hard for what we think is important to us, but we may end up with nothing because we have missed the whole point: life. Both the first reading and gospel speak of inheritance; what we struggle all our lives to learn is that life does not consist of possessions or our perceived security. Our true inheritance is not more possessions or security but life with God The only security we truly possess is a loving relationship with God—and this is surely what matters most to God. It should matter most to us as well.
SCRIPTURE MEDITATION:
VALUES TO LIVE BY
still quite familiar in our world: “All is vanity,” and “Eat, drink, and be merry” are both scriptural in origin. In the same way that it is easy to pray last week’s Lord’s Prayer thoughtlessly, it is easy to let the potent passages of scripture that are built on these common sayings glide right off our slick ears. Last week’s scriptures instructed us to listen attentively to the Lord, so that we might pray carefully. Our listening and our rayer are intimately connected. In the same
way, this week we learn that our values and our living are connected as well. It has become quite common to ask, “Do you own your possessions or do they own you?” Like the familiar maxims from today’s readings, we might be tempted to quote this saying flippantly, and think that in the quoting of it we have truly considered it, perhaps lived it. Not true, Qoheleth, Paul, and Jesus tell us today. It is not wrong to treasure or cherish things of earth or of our own humanity; it is only wrong when those things we cherish are not of God,
are not of the self-giving Christ.
THE PIZZA GUY
Thomas Monaghan is a businessman who has made a fortune through a hugely successful chain of pizza stores. Brought up in an orphanage, he once thought the accumulation of expensive possessions was justifiable, even necessary. Yet, in reading Mere Christianity by the noted author C. S. Lewis, Monaghan realized that the root motivation beneath his love for wealth and show was the
need to impress others, which is a form of pride. Released from the hold that possessions once exercised over his heart, Monaghan simplified his life—no private jet, no fancy cars, no huge mansion—and now experiences joy in
giving to causes that further Christ’s kingdom. A few years ago he described his new understanding of stewardship and discipleship. He said that people think that he is making huge sacrifices, but he believes that they do not understand giving. He credits God for everything he has, so any money he has is also God’s. Yes, he certainly had to work hard, but where did the enthusiasm, the energy, the willpower and persistence to work hard come from? From God. Monaghan is convinced that he has no right to credit himself for abilities and skills that came from God. So whatever he has produced with those talents is not ultimately his: it all belongs to God. So, Monaghan says that his motivation for the so-called sacrifices he makes is blindingly obvious. He was brought up with this belief that the true value of life is to get to heaven while dragging along as many people as he can with him! He is always taken aback when people refer to him as a devout Catholic for sharing so much wealth. He
is very flattered by the compliment, but says he is too much of a struggling sinner to deserve such praise.
SAINT JOHN MARY VIANNEY (1786-1859) - August 4
A busy pastor jokingly suggests the secret of John Vianney’s holiness: “He died seventeen years before telephones!” Call they didn’t, but visit they did, keeping Vianney eighteen hours a day in the confessional. Stories abound of reading hearts and exorcisms, but Vianney’s first miracle was getting ordained. Difficulty with studies delayed him, prompting the rector’s apology to the bishop, “So far to ordain just one, especially this one!” The bishop, who could not know he was ordaining the future patron saint of parish priests, replied, “No burden to ordain one good priest!” In Ars, only an elderly handful attended Mass, “praying,” one told Vianney, “for a priest with brains.” But he stayed forty-two years, fulfilling the promise he made the day he arrived. In a sculpture just outside the village Vianney points skyward: “Show me the way to Ars,” he tells a boy, “and I’ll show you the way to heaven.” To someone who feared there was no heaven beyond the grave, Vianney smiled, “My child, it would have been heaven enough to have lived as Jesus’ disciple on earth.
SAINTS AND SPECIAL OBSERVANCES
Monday: St. Eusebius of Vercelli; St. Peter Julian Eymard
Wednesday: St. John Mary Vianney
Thursday: Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome
Friday: Transfiguration of the Lord; First Friday
Saturday: St. Sixtus II and His Companions; St. Cajetan; Blessed Virgin Mary; First Saturday
READINGS FOR THE WEEKMonday: Jer 28:1-17; Mt 14:13-21
Tuesday: Jer 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22; Mt 14:22-36 or Mt 15:1-2, 10-14
Wednesday: Jer 31:1-7; Mt 15:21-28
Thursday: Jer 31:31-34; Mt 16:13-23
Friday: Dn 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 Pt 1:16-19; Lk 9:28b-36
Saturday: Hb 1:12 — 2:4; Mt 17:14-20
Sunday: Wis 18:6-9; Ps 33; Hb 11:1-2, 8-19 [1-2, 8-12]; Lk 12:32-48 [35-40]
For SAINT OF THE DAY, Go to:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintofDay/default.asp
Saint Index => http://www.catholic.org/saints/stindex.php
.
.
