OCTOBER 04, 2017 : MEMORIAL OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi
Lectionary: 457

Reading 1NEH 2:1-8

In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
when the wine was in my charge,
I took some and offered it to the king.
As I had never before been sad in his presence,
the king asked me, "Why do you look sad?
If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart."
Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king:
"May the king live forever!
How could I not look sad
when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,
and its gates have been eaten out by fire?"
The king asked me, "What is it, then, that you wish?"
I prayed to the God of heaven and then answered the king:
"If it please the king,
and if your servant is deserving of your favor,
send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors' graves,
to rebuild it."
Then the king, and the queen seated beside him,
asked me how long my journey would take
and when I would return.
I set a date that was acceptable to him,
and the king agreed that I might go.

I asked the king further: "If it please the king,
let letters be given to me for the governors
of West-of-Euphrates,
that they may afford me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah;
also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal park,
that he may give me wood for timbering the gates
of the temple-citadel and for the city wall
and the house that I shall occupy."
The king granted my requests,
for the favoring hand of my God was upon me.

Responsorial PsalmPS 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
"Sing for us the songs of Zion!"
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten! 
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

AlleluiaPHIL 3:8-9

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I consider all things so much rubbish
that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 9:57-62

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey, someone said to him,
"I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him,
"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
And to another he said, "Follow me."
But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."

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Meditation: "Fit for the kingdom of God"

Are you ready to follow the Lord Jesus wherever he may lead you? With the call the Lord gives the grace to respond and the strength to follow all the way to the end. Why does Jesus issue a challenge with the call? Jesus was utterly honest in telling people what it would cost to follow him. When a would-be disciple approached Jesus and said he was ready to follow, Jesus told him it would require sacrifice - the sacrifice of certain creaturely comforts. Jesus appealed to this man's heart and told him to detach himself from whatever might hold him back. Spiritual detachment is a necessary step for following the Lord. It frees us to give ourselves without reserve to the Lord and his service. While many of us may not need to give up the comfort of our own home and bed to follow Jesus, we, nonetheless, must be willing to part with anything that might stand in the way of doing God's will. 

Don't let anything hold you back from following the Lord Jesus
Another would-be disciple said he would follow as soon as he had buried his father. What he meant by this expression was that he felt the need to return to his home to take care of his father through old age until he died. The third had no obligation to return home, but simply wanted to go back and say good-bye. Jesus surprised these would-be disciples with the stark truth that nothing should hinder us from following the Lord. Was Jesus being harsh and rude to his would-be followers? Not really. We are free to decide whether we will take the path which Jesus offers. But if we choose to go, then the Lord wants us to count the cost and choose for it freely.

Don't miss the good path God has set for you - it will lead to joy and freedom
What does the story of a plowman have to do with the journey? A plowman who looked back while plowing his field caused the line or furrow he cut into the soil to become crooked. One crooked line easily leads to another until the whole field is a mess. The plowman had to look straight ahead in order to keep the plow from going off course. Likewise, if we look back on what we have freely left behind to follow the Lord - whether that be some distraction, attachment, or sinful habit which leads us away from doing God's will - our path will likely diverge and we'll miss what God has for us. 

Will you say "yes" to the Lord's call for your life?
The Gospel does not record the response from these three would-be disciples. We are only left with the question which Jesus intends for us as well.  Are you ready to take the path which the Lord Jesus offers? His grace is sufficient and his love is strong. There is nothing greater we can do with our lives than to place them at the service of the Lord and Master of the universe. We cannot outmatch God in his generosity. Jesus promises that those who are willing to part with what is most dear to them for his sake "will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). The Lord Jesus offers us a kingdom of lasting peace, unending joy, surpassing love, enduring friendship, and abundant life. Is there anything holding you back from pursuing the Lord and his will for you life?

"Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess you have given me. I surrender it all to you to be disposed of according to your will.  Give me only your love and your grace - with these I will be rich enough and will desire nothing more." (Prayer of Ignatius Loyola, 1491-1556)

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Put to death what is earthly in you, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)

"The statement 'Let the dead bury their dead' implies spiritually: Waste no more time on dead things. You are to 'put to death therefore what is earthly in you: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry' (Colossians 3:5). These things therefore are dead. Cast them away from you. Cut them off as you would cut off gangrenous flesh to prevent the contamination of the whole body, so that you may not hear it said, 'Leave the dead [spiritually dead] to bury their dead' (Matthew 8:22). But to some it seems abnormal and contradictory that the Savior does not allow the disciple to bury his father. It seems inhumane. But Jesus does not in fact forbid people from burying the dead, but rather he puts before this the preaching of the kingdom of heaven, which makes people alive (Luke 9:60). As for burying the body, there were many people who could have done this." (excerpt from Fragment 161)

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, LUKE 9:57-62
(Nehemiah 2:1-8; Psalm 137)
KEY VERSE: "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God" (v 62).
TO KNOW: A prospective disciples approached Jesus and declared that he was willing to follow him wherever he went. Jesus made the demands of discipleship very clear. Was he willing to be a homeless wanderer without even a place to lay his head, like Jesus was? Could he renounce security and personal relationships for the sake of the kingdom? When another would-be disciple asked permission to return home to bury his father, Jesus told him that those who were spiritually "dead" should take care of this obligation. Still another asked Jesus if he could bid his family farewell before joining him. He expected that Jesus would allow him to do so, just as Elijah gave permission to Elisha (1 Kgs 19:19-21). Jesus was even more challenging. God's call was urgent and a disciple's response must be unconditional.
TO LOVE: What stands in the way of my answering God's call?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to follow you no matter what the cost.​

Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi, religious
Francis, the son of a rich cloth merchant, led a misspent youth. His search for conversion led him to the ancient church at San Damiano. While he was praying there, he heard Christ speak to him from the crucifix, "Francis, repair my church." Francis assumed this meant the crumbling building he was in. Acting in his impetuous way, he took fabric from his father's shop and sold it to get money to repair the church. His father saw this as an act of theft, dragged Francis before the bishop and in front of the whole town demanded that he return the money and renounce all rights as his heir. Francis not only gave back the money but stripped off all the clothes his father had given him, and declared that from then on his true Father was God in heaven. Francis took the Gospels as the rule of his life, and Jesus Christ as his example. He dressed in rough clothes and begged for his sustenance. He visited hospitals, served the sick, cared for lepers, preached purity and peace, composed songs and hymns to God and nature, and regarded all people as his brothers and sisters. He began to attract followers, and in 1209, with papal blessing, founded the Franciscans. In 1212 Clare of Assisi became his spiritual student, which led to the founding of the Poor Clares. Francis visited and preached to the Saracens in Arabia. In 1221 he resigned as director of the Franciscans. While in meditation on Mount Alvernia in the Apennines in September 1224, Francis received the stigmata, which periodically bled during the remaining two years of his life.​

SUKKOT BEGINS AT SUNSET
The Festival of Sukkot begins on 15 Tishri (September/ October), the fifth day after Yom Kippur, and lasts for seven days. This festive holiday is quite a change from the solemn Yom Kippur. The word "Sukkot" means "booths," and refers to the "tents" that the Jews lived in during their wilderness journey. Sukkot is also called "The Feast of Tabernacles." Jews commonly hang dried squash and corn in the sukkah (a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival). Many Americans remark on how much Sukkot reminds them of Thanksgiving. This is not entirely coincidental. Our American pilgrims, who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, were deeply religious people. When they were trying to find a way to express their thanks for the harvest, the pilgrims looked to the Bible and they based their celebration in part on Sukkot (Lev 23:33-44). ​

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Wednesday 4 October 2017

St Francis Of Assisi.

Nehemiah 2:1-8. Psalm 136(137):1-6. Luke 9:57-62.

Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you! — Psalm 136(137):1-6.

‘Follow me.’

Some of us have a vision for our lives, along with definite assumptions about what following Jesus might look like. But Jesus makes it clear in today’s gospel that following him might differ radically from what we imagine. His timing doesn’t always accommodate our convenience—or our procrastination.

Mother Teresa said ‘Yes’ to Jesus. That yes took her from her home in Albania to a convent school, then to the streets of Calcutta—hardly a life of ease. Yet she found the burden light because she knew Jesus was with her. Her own plans, preferences and dreams had to make way for Christ’s.

As she devoted herself to his intentions, she experienced joy. The enduring image of Mother Teresa is of a smiling woman, eyes bright with God’s love.

Yes, Lord, I will follow you today. Reveal your ways to me so that wherever you go, I may go too.

www.pray.com.au

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

On Oct. 4, Roman Catholics celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Italian deacon who brought renewal to the Church through his decision to follow Jesus' words as literally as possible.

In a January 2010 general audience, Pope Benedict XVI recalled this “giant of holiness” as a “great saint and a joyful man,” who taught the Church that “the secret of true happiness” is “to become saints, close to God.”

The future Saint Francis was born on an uncertain date in the early 1180s, one of the several children born to the wealthy merchant Pietro Bernardone and his wife Pica. He originally received the name Giovanni (or John), but became known as Francesco (or Francis) by his father's choice.

Unlike many medieval saints, St. Francis was neither studious nor pious in his youth. His father's wealth gave him access to a lively social life among the upper classes, where he was known for his flashy clothes and his readiness to burst into song. Later a patron of peacemakers, he aspired to great military feats in his youth and fought in a war with a rival Italian city-state.

A period of imprisonment during that conflict turned his mind toward more serious thoughts, as did a recurring dream that suggested his true “army” was not of this world. He returned to Assisi due to illness in 1205, and there began consider a life of voluntary poverty.

Three major incidents confirmed Francis in this path. In Assisi, he overcame his fear of disease to kiss the hand of a leper. Afterward, he made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he deposited his money at Saint Peter's tomb and exchanged clothes with a beggar. Soon after he returned home, Francis heard Christ tell him in a vision: “Go, Francis, and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin.”

Francis began to use his father's wealth to restore churches. This led to a public quarrel in which the cloth-merchant's son removed his clothing and declared that he had no father except God. He regarded himself as the husband of “Lady Poverty,” and resolved to serve Christ as “a herald of the Great King.”

During the year 1208, the “herald” received the inspiration that would give rise to the Franciscan movement. At Mass one morning, he heard the Gospel reading in which Christ instructed the apostles to go forth without money, shoes, or extra clothing. This way of life soon became a papally-approved rule, which would attract huge number of followers within Francis' own lifetime.

Through his imitation of Christ, Francis also shared in the Lord's sufferings. He miraculously received Christ's wounds, the stigmata, in his own flesh during September of 1224. His health collapsed over the next two years, a “living sacrifice” made during two decades of missionary preaching and penance.

St. Francis of Assisi died on Oct. 3, 1226. Pope Gregory IX, his friend and devotee, canonized him in 1228.

www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=614

LECTIO DIVINA: ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Lectio Divina: 

 Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi

or click here for Ordinary Reading of the Day

1) Opening prayer

O God, by whose gift Saint Francis was conformed to Christ in poverty and humility, grant that, by walking in Francis' footsteps, we may follow your Son, and, through joyful charity, come to be united with you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 11,25-30

At that time Jesus exclaimed, 'I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do.

Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

'Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.'

3) Reflection

• In the Gospel we will listen to the invitation of Jesus: “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart”. The Gospel shows the tenderness with which Jesus welcomes and accepts the little ones. He wanted the poor to find rest and peace in him.

• The context of chapters 11 and 12 of Matthew. In this context it is stressed and made evident that the poor are the only ones to understand and to accept the wisdom of the Kingdom. Many people did not understand this preference of Jesus for the poor and the excluded.

a) John the Baptist, who looked at Jesus with the eyes of the past had doubts (Mt 11, 1-15)

b) The people, who looked at Jesus with their own interests were not capable of understanding Him (Mt 11, 16-19).

c) The great cities around the lake which listened to Jesus’ preaching and saw the miracles did not want to open themselves to his message (Mt 11, 20-24).

d) The wise and the doctors who judged everything according to their own science were not capable of understanding the preaching of Jesus (Mt 11, 25).

e) Not even his relatives understood Him (Mt 12, 46-50).

f) Only the little ones understood Him and accepted the Good News of the Kingdom (Mt 11, 25-30).

g) The others want sacrifice, but Jesus wants mercy (Mt 12, 1-8).

h) The reaction against Jesus impels the Pharisees to want to kill Him (Mt 12, 9-14).

i) They said that Jesus was Beelzebul (Mt 12, 22-32).

j) But Jesus did not draw back. He continues to assume the mission of Servant, as described in the prophecies (Mt 12, 15-21). This is why He was persecuted and condemned to death.

• Matthew 11, 25-26: Only the little ones understand and accept the Good News of the Kingdom. Jesus addresses a prayer to the Father: “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do!” The wise and the doctors of that time had created a series of laws which they imposed upon the people in the name of God. They thought that God demanded this observance from the people. But the law of love, brought by Jesus, said the contrary. What is important is not what we do for God, but rather what God, in his great love, does for us! People understood the words of Jesus and were filled with joy. The wise thought that Jesus was not right. They could not understand this teaching which modified the relationship of the people of God.

• Matthew 11, 27: The origin of the New Law: The Son knows the Father. Jesus, the Son, knows the Father. He knows what the Father wanted when, centuries before, He gave the Law to Moses. What the Father wants to tell us, He handed  to Jesus, and Jesus revealed it to the little ones because they opened themselves up to his message. Today, also, Jesus continues to teach many things to the poor and to the little ones. The wise and the intelligent do well if they become pupils of the little ones!

• Matthew 11, 28-30: “Come to me all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest”. Jesus invites all those who are tired to find rest in him. These are the people who are tired under the weight of the impositions and the observances which the law of purity demanded. And He says: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart”. Many times this phrase has been manipulated to ask people to submit themselves, to be passive. What Jesus wants to say is the contrary. He asks people to leave aside the professors of religion of that time, to rest and to begin to learn from him, Jesus, who is “gentle and humble of heart”. Jesus does not do like the Scribes who pride themselves on their own science, but He is like the people who live humiliated and exploited. Jesus, the new teacher, knows from experience what happens in the heart of the people and how much the people suffer.

• The invitation of divine wisdom to all those who seek it. Jesus invites all those who are oppressed under the weight of the observance of the law to find rest in him, because He is gentle and humble of heart, capable of relieving and consoling the people who suffer, who feel tired and depressed (Mt 11, 25-30). In this invitation resounds the beautiful words of Isaiah who consoled the people who lived in exile (Is 55, 1-3). This invitation is bound to divine wisdom, which invites persons to the encounter with her (Ws 24, 19), saying: “her ways are filled with delight; her paths all lead to contentment” (Pr 3, 17). And he adds: “Wisdom brings up her own children and cares for those who seek her. Whoever loves her, loves life, those who seek her early will be filled with joy” (Si 4, 11-12). This invitation reveals a very important characteristic of the feminine face of God: tenderness and acceptance which consoles and gives life to people and leads them to feel well. Jesus is  the protection and the maternal womb which the Father offers to people who are tired (cfr. Is 66, 10-13).

4) Personal questions

• What produces tension in you and what gives you peace? For you, to live in community, is it a source of tension or of peace?

• How can these words of Jesus help our community to be a place of rest for our life?

5) Concluding Prayer

Yahweh is tenderness and pity,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love;
his indignation does not last for ever,
nor his resentment remain for all time. (Ps 103,8-9)

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