SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 : MEMORIAL OF SAINT PIUS OF PIETRELCINA, PRIEST

Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
Lectionary: 451

Reading 1EZR 9:5-9

At the time of the evening sacrifice, I, Ezra, rose in my wretchedness,
and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees,
stretching out my hands to the LORD, my God.

I said: “My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you,
O my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads
and our guilt reaches up to heaven.
From the time of our fathers even to this day
great has been our guilt,
and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered up,
we and our kings and our priests,
to the will of the kings of foreign lands,
to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace,
as is the case today.

“And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the LORD, our God,
who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place;
thus our God has brightened our eyes
and given us relief in our servitude.
For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us;
rather, he has turned the good will
of the kings of Persia toward us.
Thus he has given us new life
to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins,
and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem.”

Responsorial PsalmTOBIT 13:2, 3-4A, 4BEFGHN, 7-8

R. (1b) Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
He scourges and then has mercy;
he casts down to the depths of the nether world,
and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Praise him, you children of Israel, before the Gentiles,
for though he has scattered you among them,
he has shown you his greatness even there.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
So now consider what he has done for you,
and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
and exalt the King of ages.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,
and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.

AlleluiaMK 1:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 9:1-6

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority
over all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey,
neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,
and let no one take a second tunic.
Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.
And as for those who do not welcome you,
when you leave that town,
shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.”
Then they set out and went from village to village
proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

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Meditation: "Jesus gave them authority over all demons and diseases"

What kind of power and authority does God want you to exercise in your personal life and service? God's word has power to change and transform our lives. Jesus gave his apostles both power and authority to speak and to act in his name - to cast out evil spirits, to heal, and to speak the word of God. When Jesus spoke of power and authority he did something unheard of. He wedded power and authority with love and humility. The world and the flesh seek power for selfish gain. Jesus teaches us to use it for the good of our neighbor.

God gives power and strength to those who rely on him alone
Why does Jesus tell the apostles to travel light with little or no provision? Poverty of spirit frees us from greed and preoccupation with possessions and makes ample room for God's provision. The Lord wants his disciples to be dependent on him and not on themselves. He wills to work in and through each of us for his glory. Are you ready to handle the power and authority which God wishes you to exercise on his behalf? The Lord entrusts us with his gifts and talents. Are you eager to place yourself at his service, to do whatever he bids you, and to witness his truth and saving power to whomever he sends you?

"Lord Jesus, make me a channel of your grace and healing love that others may find life and freedom in you. Free me from all other attachments that I may joyfully pursue the things of heaven. May I witness to others the joy of the gospel both in word and deed."

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, LUKE 9:1-6
(Ezra 9:5-9; Tobit 13)

KEY VERSE: "Take nothing for the journey" (v 3).
TO READ: Jesus summoned the twelve men he had chosen to be his disciples and empowered them with his authority, sending them forth to overcome the forces of evil by proclaiming the reign of God. Jesus advised his disciples to imitate him in his total dedication to God. On their journey, they were to trust in divine providence and depend on the hospitality and good will of the people they met. If the disciples were welcomed, they were to remain in that place to preach and heal. If Jesus' disciples were not received they were to shake the dust from their feet when they left the town. (A custom of Jews before entering the Holy Land after a journey to a gentile land). Whoever did not receive Jesus' disciples were to be treated as a heathen country. They had condemned themselves for refusing to hear God's Word. They were warned that there might not be another opportunity for them to hear the good news of salvation in Jesus.
TO REFLECT: Do I assist missionaries in foreign lands? 
TO RESPOND: Lord Jesus, help me to rely on your power to proclaim the Gospel by my words and deeds.

Memorial of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, priest

Francesco Forgione, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, entered the novitiate of the Capuchin friars in Morcone at age 15, and was ordained at age 22 in 1910. While praying before a cross, he received the stigmata, the first priest ever to be so blessed. American soldiers brought home stories of Padre Pio following WWII, and the priest himself became a point of pilgrimage for both the pious and the curious. He would hear confessions by the hour, reportedly able to read the consciences of those who held back. It was said that he was able to bilocate, levitate, and heal by touch. Padre Pio founded the House for the Relief of Suffering in 1956, a hospital that serves 60,000 a year. His canonization miracle involved the cure of Matteo Pio Colella, age 7, the son of a doctor who worked in the hospital founded by Padre Pio. Matteo was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital with meningitis. By morning doctors had lost hope for him. That night, during a prayer vigil attended by Matteo´s mother and some Capuchin friars of Padre Pio´s monastery, the child's condition improved suddenly. When he awoke from the coma, Matteo said that he had seen an elderly man with a white beard and a long, brown habit, who said to him: "Don´t worry, you will soon be cured." The miracle was approved by the Congregation and Pope John Paul II canonized him 16, June, 2002.

THE FIRST DAY OF AUTUMN

Autumn (also known as Fall in North American English) is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn is the period between summer and winter, usually in September (northern hemisphere) or March (southern hemisphere) when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier. In the northern hemisphere, the start of autumn is on 1 September and it ends on 30 November. In the southern hemisphere it starts on 1 March and ends on 31 May. In the temperate zones, autumn is the season during which most crops are harvested, and deciduous trees lose their leaves. It is also the season in which the days rapidly get shorter and cooler (especially in the northern latitudes), and of gradually increasing precipitation in some parts of the world.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Wednesday 23 September 2015

WED 23RD. St Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. Ezra 9:5-9. Blessed be God who lives forever—Tobit 13:2, 4, 6-8. Luke 9:1-6.

Readings

'He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.'

We are all co-workers with Jesus. Though not all are called to preach, all are called to witness by our lives. The Twelve were to take nothing for the journey and we, ourselves, are encouraged to trust that God will provide and he can astonish us when we really trust in him. God does not ask if I am qualified, he asks if I am available and it is often the non-specialist who has the warmer heart. Doing the work of Christ is really quite simple, it is to be faithful in the small things; to be hands to raise the fallen, feet to seek the lost, ears to listen to the lonely, tongue to comfort the distressed and presence to sit in silence. Lord, make me a channel of your peace. 

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MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Our Deepest Identity

Belovedness, our deepest identity, is made real in relationship. We cannot be loved and we cannot love if we are all alone. This makes belovedness quite fragile. We depend upon others to realize who we are. When our love for someone is not accepted, when we ourselves are rejected, we experience a terrible suffering.

— from Life’s Great Questions 

September 23
St. Pio of Pietrelcina
(1887-1968)

In one of the largest such ceremonies in history, Pope John Paul II canonized Padre Pio of Pietrelcina on June 16, 2002. It was the 45th canonization ceremony in Pope John Paul's pontificate. More than 300,000 people braved blistering heat as they filled St. Peter's Square and nearby streets. They heard the Holy Father praise the new saint for his prayer and charity. "This is the most concrete synthesis of Padre Pio's teaching," said the pope. He also stressed Padre Pio's witness to the power of suffering. If accepted with love, the Holy Father stressed, such suffering can lead to "a privileged path of sanctity."

Many people have turned to the Italian Capuchin Franciscan to intercede with God on their behalf; among them was the future Pope John Paul II. In 1962, when he was still an archbishop in Poland, he wrote to Padre Pio and asked him to pray for a Polish woman with throat cancer. Within two weeks, she had been cured of her life-threatening disease.

Born Francesco Forgione, Padre Pio grew up in a family of farmers in southern Italy. Twice (1898-1903 and 1910-17) his father worked in Jamaica, New York, to provide the family income.

At the age of 15, Francesco joined the Capuchins and took the name of Pio. He was ordained in 1910 and was drafted during World War I. After he was discovered to have tuberculosis, he was discharged. In 1917 he was assigned to the friary in San Giovanni Rotondo, 75 miles from the city of Bari on the Adriatic.

On September 20, 1918, as he was making his thanksgiving after Mass, Padre Pio had a vision of Jesus. When the vision ended, he had the stigmata in his hands, feet and side.

Life became more complicated after that. Medical doctors, Church authorities and curiosity seekers came to see Padre Pio. In 1924 and again in 1931, the authenticity of the stigmata was questioned; Padre Pio was not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or to hear confessions. He did not complain of these decisions, which were soon reversed. However, he wrote no letters after 1924. His only other writing, a pamphlet on the agony of Jesus, was done before 1924.

Padre Pio rarely left the friary after he received the stigmata, but busloads of people soon began coming to see him. Each morning after a 5 a.m. Mass in a crowded church, he heard confessions until noon. He took a mid-morning break to bless the sick and all who came to see him. Every afternoon he also heard confessions. In time his confessional ministry would take 10 hours a day; penitents had to take a number so that the situation could be handled. Many of them have said that Padre Pio knew details of their lives that they had never mentioned.

Padre Pio saw Jesus in all the sick and suffering. At his urging, a fine hospital was built on nearby Mount Gargano. The idea arose in 1940; a committee began to collect money. Ground was broken in 1946. Building the hospital was a technical wonder because of the difficulty of getting water there and of hauling up the building supplies. This "House for the Alleviation of Suffering" has 350 beds.

A number of people have reported cures they believe were received through the intercession of Padre Pio. Those who assisted at his Masses came away edified; several curiosity seekers were deeply moved. Like St. Francis, Padre Pio sometimes had his habit torn or cut by souvenir hunters.

One of Padre Pio’s sufferings was that unscrupulous people several times circulated prophecies that they claimed originated from him. He never made prophecies about world events and never gave an opinion on matters that he felt belonged to Church authorities to decide. He died on September 23, 1968, and was beatified in 1999.

Comment:

At Padre Pio's canonization Mass in 2002, Saint John Paul II referred to that day's Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30) and said: “The Gospel image of 'yoke' evokes the many trials that the humble Capuchin of San Giovanni Rotondo endured. Today we contemplate in him how sweet is the 'yoke' of Christ and indeed how light the burdens are whenever someone carries these with faithful love. The life and mission of Padre Pio testify that difficulties and sorrows, if accepted with love, transform themselves into a privileged journey of holiness, which opens the person toward a greater good, known only to the Lord.”

Quote:

"The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against self; there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection except at the price of pain" (saying of Padre Pio).

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 9,1-6

Lectio: 

 Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Father,
guide us, as you guide creation
according to your law of love.
May we love one another
and come to perfection
in the eternal life prepared for us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 9,1-6

Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
He said to them, ‘Take nothing for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and do not have a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when you leave let your departure be from there. As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave their town shake the dust from your feet as evidence against them.’
So they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and healing everywhere.

3) Reflection

• Today’s Gospel describes the mission which the Twelve received from Jesus. Later, Luke speaks about the mission of the seventy-two disciples (Lk 10, 1-12). The two Gospels complete one another and reveal the mission of the Church.
• Luke 9, 1-2: The sending out of the Twelve on mission. “Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. And he sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal”. In calling the Twelve, Jesus intensifies the announcement of the Good News. The objective of the mission is simple and clear: they received the power and authority to cast out devils, to cure the sick and to announce the Kingdom of God. Just as people were admired, astonished seeing Jesus’ authority over the unclean spirits, and seeing his way of announcing the Good News (Lk 4, 32.36), the same thing should happen with the preaching of the twelve apostles.
• Luke 9, 3-5. The instructions for the Mission. Jesus sends them out with the following recommendations: “Take nothing for the journey, neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money and do not have a spare tunic”. Do not go from one house to another, but “Whatever house you enter stay there; and when you leave let your departure be from there”. “As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave their town shake the dust from your feet as evidence against them”. As you will see these recommendations, which seem strange to us, have a very important significance.
• Luke 9, 6. The execution of the Mission. They go. It is the beginning of a new stage. Now, not only Jesus, but the whole group goes to announce the Good News to the people. If the preaching of Jesus caused conflict, now, with the preaching of the whole group, there will be a greater conflict.
• The four fundamental points of the mission. At the time of Jesus, there were diverse Movements of renewal: the Essenes, the Pharisees, and the Zealots. They also were seeking a new way to live in community and they had their own missionaries (cf. Mt 23, 15). But, they, when they went on mission, they were advised: to carry a staff, and a haversack to put in it their food. They did not trust the food which was literally not “pure”. Contrary to the other missionaries, the disciples of Jesus received diverse recommendations which help us to understand the fundamental points of the mission, to announce the Good News:
a) They should take nothing (Lk 9, 3; 10, 4). That means that Jesus obliges them to trust in the hospitality; because one who goes with nothing, goes because he trusts in the people and thinks that he will be welcomed, received. With this attitude they criticize the laws of exclusion taught by the official religion and they show, by means of a new practice, that they had other criteria in the community.
b) They should remain in the first house where they enter, until they leave the place (Lk 9, 4; 10, 7). That is, they should live together in a stable way and not go from one house to another. They should work with all and live from what they receive in exchange “because the labourer deserves his wages” (Lk 10, 7). In other words, they should participate in the life and work of the people, and the people will receive them in their community and will share with them house and food. That means that they have to trust in sharing. This explains the severity of the criticism against those who reject the message: shake off the dust from the feet, as a protest against them (Lk 10, 10-12), because they are not rejecting anything new but rather their past.
c) They should cure the sick and drive out the devils (Lk 9, 1; 10, 9; Mt 10, 8). That is, they should carry out the function of “defenders” (goêl) and accept in the clan, in the community, the excluded. With this attitude they criticize the situation of disintegration of community life of the clan and they indicate concrete openings. The expulsion of the devils is a sign of the coming of the Kingdom of God (Lk 11,20).
d) They should eat what the people give them (Lk 10, 8). They could not live separated having their own food, but they should accept the communion with others, eat with others. That means that in the contact with the people, they should not be afraid of losing the purity as it had been taught to them. With this attitude they criticize the laws of purity which were in force and indicate, by means of the new practice, that they possess another access to purity, that is, intimacy with God.
These were the four fundamental points of community living which should characterize the attitude of the missionaries who announce the Good News in the name of Jesus: hospitality, sharing, communion and acceptance of the excluded (defender, goêl). If there is a response to these four requirements, then it is possible to cry out all over to the four corners of the world: “The Kingdom has arrived!” (cf. Lk 10,1-12; 9, 1-6; Mk 6, 7-13; Mt 10, 6-16). And the Kingdom of God which Jesus has revealed to us is not a doctrine, nor a catechism, nor a law. The Kingdom of God comes and becomes present when persons, motivated by their faith in Jesus, decide to live together in community to give witness and to reveal, in this way, to all, that God is Father and Mother and that we, the human beings, are brothers and sisters. Jesus wanted the local community to be a new expression of the Covenant of the Kingdom, of the love of God the Father, who makes us all brothers and sisters.

4) Personal questions

• Has participation in the community helped you to accept and to trust persons, especially the simpler and poorer?
• Which is the point of the mission of the Apostles which for us today has greater importance? Why?

5) Concluding Prayer

Lord, set me free from taunts and contempt
since I observe your instructions.
Though princes sit plotting against me,
your servant keeps pondering your will. (Ps 119,22-23)

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