Right Place

Right Place

    Tonight I sit down to write this blog and I find myself smiling. Now, for me to be smiling on a Sunday night is not a norm I must admit. The start of a new work week and the weekend slipping away cause it to be more of a blah attitude. Yet, tonight it is different because as I drove home from a discernment meeting feeling that again I am right where I need to be right where God wants me to be. 

     Have you ever felt this? Have you ever just stopped and said to yourself “Yep, this is where I need to be”? It is a great feeling when it happens. As I drove out to the meeting I was thinking about my life and where it is and while it is far from perfect, I am still blessed with the life I have. One thing I have found is that when I focus my prayer on my needs vs my wants, life is better. Most times I have found that when I say to God “Ok, You know what I need, let me know my needs and not my wants.” It works out better. Life seems brighter, not because of any other reason then I see the blessings of what I do have and how the needs have been answered. 

        There was a big part of me that as I left the meeting to instead of drive home was to drive over the bridge into Philly and head to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. On the path I have been blessed to meet some great Priests that really have shown me how great their lives are and how happy they are being Priests. Believe me they have shared  the difficult moments and have been direct and honest with what they have shared. So, this is not the idea of a dream Priesthood but the reality of it. The Priests that I have meet along this way have been so helpful and welcoming. It is hard for me to put into words the experiences that I have had so far. I just hope and pray that in the end if I am to be a Priest, that I am able to do the same for men who are discerning as well. This experience has had a great impact on my discernment and more so on my life as a whole. 

      I ask that as we close out the Church year and start to enter into Advent that we keep all priests and religious in our prayers. We need them. The Church needs them. This week along with the close of the year is Thanksgiving. Think about what you are thankful for and thank God for them and all those in your life. Try and make mass to offer your thanks and praise to God on Thanksgiving. It is important to be thankful for what we have been given as well as pray for those who are not as fortunate as ourselves. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and let us be Thankful as our year comes to an end. 

Memorial of Saint Andrew Dŭng-Lạc, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

Lectionary: 503

Reading 1

RV 14:1-3, 4B-5

I, John, looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion,

and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand

who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

I heard a sound from heaven

like the sound of rushing water or a loud peal of thunder.

The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.

They were singing what seemed to be a new hymn before the throne,

before the four living creatures and the elders.

No one could learn this hymn except the hundred and forty-four thousand

who had been ransomed from the earth.

These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.

They have been ransomed as the first fruits

of the human race for God and the Lamb.

On their lips no deceit has been found; they are unblemished.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6

R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;

the world and those who dwell in it.

For he founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the rivers.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?

or who may stand in his holy place?

He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,

who desires not what is vain.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,

a reward from God his savior.

Such is the race that seeks for him,

that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Gospel

LK 21:1-4

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people

putting their offerings into the treasury

and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.

He said, “I tell you truly,

this poor widow put in more than all the rest;

for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,

but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Lectionary: 160

Reading 1

EZ 34:11-12, 15-17

Thus says the Lord GOD:

I myself will look after and tend my sheep. 

As a shepherd tends his flock

when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,

so will I tend my sheep.

I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered

when it was cloudy and dark. 

I myself will pasture my sheep;

I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD. 

The lost I will seek out,

the strayed I will bring back,

the injured I will bind up,

the sick I will heal,

but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,

shepherding them rightly.

As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,

I will judge between one sheep and another,

between rams and goats.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6

R/ (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

In verdant pastures he gives me repose.

R/ The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Beside restful waters he leads me;

he refreshes my soul.

He guides me in right paths

for his name's sake.

R/ The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me

in the sight of my foes;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

R/ The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me

all the days of my life;

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

for years to come.

R/ The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading 2

1 COR 15:20-26, 28

Brothers and sisters:

Christ has been raised from the dead,

the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

For since death came through man,

the resurrection of the dead came also through man.

For just as in Adam all die,

so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,

but each one in proper order:

Christ the firstfruits;

then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;

then comes the end,

when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,

when he has destroyed every sovereignty

and every authority and power. 

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

When everything is subjected to him,

then the Son himself will also be subjected

to the one who subjected everything to him,

so that God may be all in all.

Gospel

MT 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,

and all the angels with him,

he will sit upon his glorious throne,

and all the nations will be assembled before him. 

And he will separate them one from another,

as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 

He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 

Then the king will say to those on his right,

'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. 

Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 

For I was hungry and you gave me food,

I was thirsty and you gave me drink,

a stranger and you welcomed me,

naked and you clothed me,

ill and you cared for me,

in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say,

'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,

or thirsty and give you drink? 

When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,

or naked and clothe you? 

When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’

And the king will say to them in reply,

'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did

for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left,

'Depart from me, you accursed,

into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry and you gave me no food,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

a stranger and you gave me no welcome,

naked and you gave me no clothing,

ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

Then they will answer and say,

'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty

or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,

and not minister to your needs?’

He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.’

And these will go off to eternal punishment,

but the righteous to eternal life."

Year of Consecrated Life

Year of Consecrated Life 

Below you will find the letter by the USCCB about the Year of Consecrated Life. In 2013, Pope Francis declared that a Year of Consecrated Life (YCL) be celebrated throughout the world. YCL will begin on the First Sunday of Advent, November 30, 2014. It will close on the World Day of Consecrated Life, February 2, 2016

USCCB Chairman announces observance of “Days with Religious” for 2015 Year of Consecrated Life
Observance of “Days with Religious” will focus on prayer, service, community
Pope Francis proclaimed the Year of Consecrated Life for renewal, remembrance, hope National conferences of religious orders to actively participate
October 1, 2014
WASHINGTON—As the Catholic Church prepares to celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations is promoting “Days with Religious” initiatives and resources to help families learn about the consecrated life of religious men and women. Activities will focus on sharing experiences of prayer, service and community life with those living a consecrated life.
“Our brothers and sisters in Christ living consecrated lives make great contributions to our society through a vast number of ministries,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of USCCB. “They teach in our schools, take care of the poor and the sick and bring compassion and the love of Christ to those shunned by society; others lead lives of prayer in contemplation for the world.”
Pope Francis proclaimed 2015 a Year of Consecrated Life, starting on the First Sunday of Advent, the weekend of November 29, 2014, and ending on February 2, 2016, the World Day of Consecrated life. The year also marks the 50th anniversary of Perfectae Caritatis, a decree on religious life, and Lumen Gentium, the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on the Church. Its purpose, as stated by the Vatican is to “make a grateful remembrance of the recent past” while embracing “the future with hope.”
“The ‘Days with Religious’ activities will represent great opportunities for families and adults to look at the many ways men and women serve Christ and the Church while answering the call to live in consecrated life,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh, North Carolina, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.
Catholics are invited to join activities that will be promoted in collaboration with the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, (CMSWR), the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM).
The events planned are as follows:
 February 8, 2015: Religious Open House. Events will be coordinated to also celebrate the World Meeting of Families to take place in Philadelphia and will include tours, open houses, receptions, family activities, and presentations on the history of religious communities at convents, abbeys, monasteries and religious houses.

•   Summer 2015: Day of Mission and Service with Religious. Events will include joining religious in their apostolates or special service projects, such as assisting the elderly, ministering to the poor and homeless, and caring for the less fortunate.
  
•   September 13, 2015: Day of Prayer with Religious. Events will include vespers, rosary or holy hours in convents, monasteries, religious houses, parishes and churches.
  Prayers intentions, prayer cards, a video on consecrated life and other resources are available at:
  www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/consecrated-life/year-of-consecrated- life/index.cfm
  
  
  Until tomorrow, God Bless, and let us Celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life.
  
  
  Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr
  Lectionary: 502
  Reading 1
  RV 11:4-12
  I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me:
  Here are my two witnesses:
  These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands
  that stand before the Lord of the earth.
  If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths
  and devours their enemies.
  In this way, anyone wanting to harm them is sure to be slain.
  They have the power to close up the sky
  so that no rain can fall during the time of their prophesying.
  They also have power to turn water into blood
  and to afflict the earth with any plague as often as they wish.
  
  
  When they have finished their testimony,
  the beast that comes up from the abyss
  will wage war against them and conquer them and kill them.
  Their corpses will lie in the main street of the great city,
  which has the symbolic names “Sodom” and “Egypt,”
  where indeed their Lord was crucified.
  Those from every people, tribe, tongue, and nation
  will gaze on their corpses for three and a half days,
  and they will not allow their corpses to be buried.
  The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them
  and be glad and exchange gifts
  because these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of the earth.
  But after the three and a half days,
  a breath of life from God entered them.
  When they stood on their feet, great fear fell on those who saw them.
  Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, “Come up here.”
  So they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies looked on.
  Responsorial Psalm
  PS 144:1, 2, 9-10
  
  
  R. (1b) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
  Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
  who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war. 
  R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
  My mercy and my fortress,
  my stronghold, my deliverer,
  My shield, in whom I trust,
  who subdues my people under me.
  R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
  O God, I will sing a new song to you;
  with a ten stringed lyre I will chant your praise,
  You who give victory to kings,
  and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword.
  R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
  Gospel
  LK 20:27-40
  
  
  Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
  came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
  “Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
  If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
  his brother must take the wife
  and raise up descendants for his brother.
  Now there were seven brothers;
  the first married a woman but died childless.
  Then the second and the third married her,
  and likewise all the seven died childless. 
  Finally the woman also died. 
  Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
  For all seven had been married to her.”
  Jesus said to them,
  “The children of this age marry and remarry;
  but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
  and to the resurrection of the dead
  neither marry nor are given in marriage.
  They can no longer die,
  for they are like angels;
  and they are the children of God
  because they are the ones who will rise. 
  That the dead will rise
  even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
  when he called ‘Lord’
  the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
  and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
  for to him all are alive.” 
  Some of the scribes said in reply,
  “Teacher, you have answered well.”
  
  
  And they no longer dared to ask him anything.
  
  

Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Lectionary: 501

Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lectionary: 501

Reading 1

RV 10:8-11

I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me.

Then the voice spoke to me and said:

“Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel

who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll.

He said to me, “Take and swallow it.

It will turn your stomach sour,

but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”

I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it.

In my mouth it was like sweet honey,

but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.

Then someone said to me, “You must prophesy again

about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

R. (103a) How sweet to my taste is your promise!

In the way of your decrees I rejoice,

as much as in all riches.

R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!

Yes, your decrees are my delight;

they are my counselors.

R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!

The law of your mouth is to me more precious

than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!

How sweet to my palate are your promises,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!

Your decrees are my inheritance forever;

the joy of my heart they are.

R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!

I gasp with open mouth

in my yearning for your commands.

R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!

Gospel

LK 19:45-48

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out

those who were selling things, saying to them,

“It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer,

but you have made it a den of thieves.”

And every day he was teaching in the temple area.

The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile,

were seeking to put him to death,

but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose

because all the people were hanging on his words.

Saint Raphael Kalinowski

Saint Raphael Kalinowski

   Saint Raphael was born  in 1835 as Joseph, son of Andrew and Josepha Kalinowski in present day Lithuania. Saint Raphael felt a call to the priesthood early in his life, but decided to complete his education. He studied zoology, chemistry, agriculture, and apiculture at the Institute of Agronomy in Hory Horki, Russia, and at the Academy of Military Engineering in Saint Petersburg, Russia. 

Saint Raphael became a Lieutenant in the Russian Military Engineering Corps in 1857. During his post he was responsible for the planning and supervised construction of the railway between Kursk and Odessa. He was promoted to captain in 1862 and stationed in Brest-Litovsk. In Bret-Litovsk he started, taught, and covered all the costs of a Sunday school, accepting anyone interested.

In 1863 he supported the Polish insurrection. He resigned from the Russian army and became the rebellion's minister of war for the Vilna region. He only took the commission with the understanding that he would never hand out a death sentence nor execute a prisoner. He was soon arrested by Russian authorities, and in June of 1864 he was condemned to death for his part in the revolt. Fearing they would be creating a political martyr, they commuted his sentence to ten years of forced labour in the Siberian salt mines. Part of his sentence was spent in Irkutsk, where his relics have been moved to sanctify the new cathedral.

Upon his release in 1873, he was exiled from his home region in Lithuania. He moved to Paris, France, and worked there as a tutor for three years. In 1877 he finally answered the long-heard call to the religious life, and joined the Carmelite Order at Graz, Austria, taking the name Raphael. He studied theology in Hungary and then joined the Carmelite house in Czama, Poland. He was ordained on January 15, 1882.

Saint Raphael worked to restore the Discalced Carmelites to Poland, and for church unity. He founded a convent at Wadowice, Poland in 1889, and worked alongside Blessed Alphonsus Mary Marurek. He was a noted spiritural director for both Catholics and Orthodox. He was considered  an enthusiastic parish priest and spent countless hours with his parishioners in the confessional. Saint Raphael died in 1907 and was cannonized by Pope John Paul II in 1991.

Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 500

Reading 1

RV 5:1-10

I, John, saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sat on the throne.

It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.

Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice,

“Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”

But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth

was able to open the scroll or to examine it.

I shed many tears because no one was found worthy

to open the scroll or to examine it.

One of the elders said to me, “Do not weep.

The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed,

enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals.”

Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne

and the four living creatures and the elders

a Lamb that seemed to have been slain.

He had seven horns and seven eyes;

these are the seven spirits of God sent out into the whole world.

He came and received the scroll from the right hand

of the one who sat on the throne.

When he took it,

the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders

fell down before the Lamb.

Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense,

which are the prayers of the holy ones.

They sang a new hymn:

“Worthy are you to receive the scroll

and break open its seals,

for you were slain and with your Blood you purchased for God

those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.

You made them a kingdom and priests for our God,

and they will reign on earth.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 149:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6A AND 9B

R. (Rev. 5:10) The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Sing to the LORD a new song

of praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Let Israel be glad in their maker,

let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.

R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Let them praise his name in the festive dance,

let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.

For the LORD loves his people,

and he adorns the lowly with victory.

R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Let the faithful exult in glory;

let them sing for joy upon their couches;

Let the high praises of God be in their throats.

This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.

R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Gospel

LK 19:41-44

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,

he saw the city and wept over it, saying,

“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–

but now it is hidden from your eyes.

For the days are coming upon you

when your enemies will raise a palisade against you;

they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.

They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,

and they will not leave one stone upon another within you

because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 499

Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 499

Reading 1

RV 4:1-11

I, John, had a vision of an open door to heaven,

and I heard the trumpetlike voice

that had spoken to me before, saying,

“Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards.”

At once I was caught up in spirit. 

A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat one

whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian.

Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald.

Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones

on which twenty-four elders sat,

dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads.

From the throne came flashes of lightning,

rumblings, and peals of thunder.

Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne,

which are the seven spirits of God.

In front of the throne was something that resembled

a sea of glass like crystal.

In the center and around the throne,

there were four living creatures

covered with eyes in front and in back.

The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf,

the third had a face like that of a man,

and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight.

The four living creatures, each of them with six wings,

were covered with eyes inside and out.

Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty,

who was, and who is, and who is to come.”

Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks

to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

the twenty-four elders fall down

before the one who sits on the throne

and worship him, who lives forever and ever.

They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming:

“Worthy are you, Lord our God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things;

because of your will they came to be and were created.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 150:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (1b) Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!

Praise the LORD in his sanctuary,

praise him in the firmament of his strength.

Praise him for his mighty deeds,

praise him for his sovereign majesty.

R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!

Praise him with the blast of the trumpet,

praise him with lyre and harp,

Praise him with timbrel and dance,

praise him with strings and pipe.

R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!

Praise him with sounding cymbals,

praise him with clanging cymbals.

Let everything that has breath

praise the LORD! Alleluia.

R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!

Gospel

LK 19:11-28

While people were listening to Jesus speak,

he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem

and they thought that the Kingdom of God

would appear there immediately.

So he said,

“A nobleman went off to a distant country

to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.

He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins

and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’

His fellow citizens, however, despised him

and sent a delegation after him to announce,

‘We do not want this man to be our king.’

But when he returned after obtaining the kingship,

he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money,

to learn what they had gained by trading.

The first came forward and said,

‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’

He replied, ‘Well done, good servant!

You have been faithful in this very small matter;

take charge of ten cities.’

Then the second came and reported,

‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’

And to this servant too he said,

‘You, take charge of five cities.’

Then the other servant came and said,

‘Sir, here is your gold coin;

I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,

for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man;

you take up what you did not lay down

and you harvest what you did not plant.’

He said to him,

‘With your own words I shall condemn you,

you wicked servant.

You knew I was a demanding man,

taking up what I did not lay down

and harvesting what I did not plant;

why did you not put my money in a bank?

Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’

And to those standing by he said,

‘Take the gold coin from him

and give it to the servant who has ten.’

But they said to him,

‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’

He replied, ‘I tell you,

to everyone who has, more will be given,

but from the one who has not,

even what he has will be taken away.

Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king,

bring them here and slay them before me.’”

After he had said this,

he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.