Crowds of people w - St. Mary`s Catholic Church

Crowds of people w - St. Mary`s Catholic Church

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC CHURCH
WHITESBORO, TEXAS
“FOR EACH OF THEM TO HAVE A LITTLE”
by Fr. Jeremy Myers
John 6:1-15
The Johannine version of the multiplication of the loaves
and the fish is given to us today in the gospel. We will
continue to hear from Chapter 6 of St. John’s gospel for the
next several weekends. The miraculous multiplication of
loaves and fish is a familiar story to us. It reminds us each
time we hear it of God’s love and generosity to us. He
provides for us in the same way that Jesus provided for the
five thousand hungry people. At the same time, this story
reminds us of the generosity that we should have towards
all others in need, especially the poor and the hungry. As
followers of the Lord Jesus, we are called to show the same
generous spirit as He had. A story by Melissa Hart brings
this same point home to us. She tells about the time a
woman was on her way to her weekly yoga class. She
stopped at a gas station to vacuum out her car. She put in
several quarters and went to work. As she vacuumed, a
man dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, with a black leather
pouch, appeared. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but do you have any
spare change you could give me for a bus ticket?” “No!” the
woman shouted over the noise of the vacuum. “This is not a
good time!” “I’m sorry,” the man said and walked on. The
woman regretted her rudeness. Finishing her vacuuming,
she fished out a crumpled dollar bill from the glove
compartment. The man had walked across the street and
was sitting on a bus stop bench. She walked over and held
out the dollar. “Do you still need bus fare?” Startled, the
man answered, “Why, yes, ma’am. God bless you, ma’am.”
The woman nodded and went on to her yoga class—
peeved that she had been referred to three times in five
minutes as “ma’am.” As she went through her yoga
exercises, she thought about what had just happened. She
had read about so-called “homeless” people who had
admitted that they collected twenty dollars an hour just
sitting beside a stoplight holding a cardboard sign. She had
heard tales of people pretending to need change for a
phone call, a hamburger and, yes, bus fare. She was
convinced that a stranger had duped her. But as she sat on
her $25 yoga mat in her $10 per session yoga class, having
just vacuumed the remnants of chocolate chip cookies from
her $25,000 car, a realization came to her: “Who am I to
deny someone a dollar for any reason? Who am I to refuse
to give when I so obviously have a surplus? This man’s bag
may have been stuffed with crumpled dollar bills like the
one I’d just handed him, but all that should have concerned
me was that a man had humbled himself enough to ask for
help from a stranger.” The woman, humbled now,
remembered that she had paused long enough to look into
the man’s eyes before she went on. They were dark and
anxious, embarrassed, but grateful. She vowed that the
next time, no matter whether he appeared as a man,
woman, or child, she would pause another moment to ask
him where he was going. And then she would wish him a
safe journey. That woman had an opportunity for a “Christ
moment.” Each day, we also have the same opportunity
when we can behave like Christ and offer “a few loaves and
fish” to the needy around us. Then, we will have understood
the Eucharist.
JULY 26, 2015
SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY
IN ORDINARY TIME (B)
Crowds of people were
with Jesus in an isolated
place. Jesus in his mercy
fed the people. We too
are to be fed. Our minds
are still and attentive as
the meal begins.
XVII
DOMINGO
DEL
TIEMPO ORDINARIO (B)
multitud de personas
estaban con Jesús en un
lugar aislado. Jesús en
su piedad alimentó a la
gente. También debemos
de
ser
alimentados.
Nuestras mentes todavía
están atento cuando la
comida comienza.
Would you like to sponsor flowers for the altar in
honor of a special occasion or in memory of someone
special? Please contact Sally Ferguson at 903-8214326 to make arrangements to get on the schedule.
Si desea patrocinar flores para el altar en honor de una
ocasión especial o en memoria de alguien especial,
por favor contacte a Sally Ferguson a 903-821-4326
para hacer arreglos para ponerse en el calendario.
Please join us for coffee and fellowship after Mass
today in the Parish Hall.
Por favor únase a nosotros para el café y compañerismo
después de Misa hoy en el Salón Parroquial.
Contributions were not tabulated at the time the bulletin
was submitted for printing.
Your generosity is appreciated.
“When we show our gratitude to God by sharing our talents
and resources, we multiply them throughout our parish and
community. Christ’s miracle of the loaves and fishes occurs
again and again and again whenever we give freely of
ourselves to others. Just as in the parable, we will find
ourselves fulfilled, less empty than we have ever been.”
Author Unknown
SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
We want to wish a happy birthday to all in
our parish family celebrating a birthday this
week, especially Tony Leone today, July
26th, Rollie Balak on July 27th, Veronica
Galan and Carlos Morales on July 28th,
and Julie Brogan and Ignacio Salas on
July 31st.
MASS INTENTION
FOR AUGUST 2, 2015
†Marcella Metzler
by Steve & Amy Whaley
LITURGICAL ASSIGNMENTS FOR AUGUST 2, 2015
We want to wish a happy
Lector
Don Kolash Servers Sagrario Labrada
anniversary to all couples
Manuel Labrada
Eucharistic Ministers
celebrating
a
wedding
Jesus Labrada
Margaret Pack
anniversary
this
week,
Brian Ruda
Anita Morales Ushers
especially Michael & Suzanne
Mike Maberry
Allison Ruda
Cunningham today, July 26th, Carlos & Isabel Castillo on July
27th, and Tommy & Rhonda Crosby on July 30th.
Gift Bearers
Bobby Jolls Minister to the Homebound
and Rosemary Barnes
to be determined
Our monthly food drive for “Your Neighbor’s
nd
House” will be next Sunday, August 2 . Please
bring some non-perishable food items and Tina Watson, a Trinity Publications representative, was in
place them in the container at the entrance of town recently to talk to our current bulletin sponsors as well
as anyone interested in advertising on this weekly bulletin. In
the church.
Nuestra campaña de comida mensual para "La case she missed you, please feel free to email her at
casa de tu vecino" será el próximo domingo, 2 de [email protected] or call her at 512-431agosto. Favor de traer algunos alimentos no perecederos y 9413. Due to your generosity, the cost of the weekly bulletin
publication to the Church is defrayed.
colocarlos en el contenedor a la entrada de la iglesia.
Tina Watson, un representante de Publicaciones de la
Trinidad, estaba en la ciudad recientemente para dirigirse a
Legion of Mary members will be handing
nuestros patrocinadores del boletín corrientes así como
out rosaries, along with information
cualquiera interesó en la publicidad en este boletín semanal.
about saying the rosary, next Sunday,
En el caso de que no haya podido asistir, por favor siéntase
August 2nd, following Mass.
libre de llamar al 512-431-9413 o por correo electrónico a
Miembros de la Legión de María serán
Debido
a
su
Los encargados del el manejo de nuestros rosarios, [email protected].
generosidad,
el
costo
de
publicación
el
boletín
semanal
de
la
junto con información sobre como rezar el rosario, el
Iglesia se sufragan.
domingo, 2 de agosto después de la Misa.
Question: Figures from the Old Testament are never referred to as saints. Were there no saints in those days?
Answer: Your question is an excellent one, and the answer is a bit complex. It is true that, in the Catholic Church, Old
Testament figures have not been formally canonized and given the title of “saint.” I suspect that this has to do with the
historical process by which that title came to be assigned. In the earliest centuries of the Church, only those who had been
martyred for their faith were commemorated liturgically on their anniversaries. St. Martin of Tours, who died in 397, was
probably the first non-martyr assigned a feast day. Since then, sainthood has generally been ascribed to people who
provided outstanding examples of lives modeled after the teachings of Jesus (which would exclude those who lived before
Christ). Does that mean that we cannot pray to Old Testament figures to seek their intercession? By no means. The word
“saint” is commonly taken to mean someone who followed the will of God and is now in heaven. Surely, Moses and Elijah
are safely there, since they appeared with Jesus on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration. The “Roman Martyrology,” a
compilation of those honored as saints, includes such notable Old Testament figures as Isaiah, Abraham and King David.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church also has this to say: “The patriarchs, prophets and certain other Old Testament
figures have been and always will be honored as saints in all the Church’s liturgical traditions” (#61). So the great figures of
the Old Testament, though never formally canonized by the Latin Rite Church, are worthy of our devotion and our imitation.
Question: What should the elderly do, when they are beginning to lose their hearing, about the sacrament of
reconciliation? I can’t always hear the priest from behind the screen, and sometimes I’m not sure what my penance
is. Should I simply go face to face?
Answer: There are some parishes that have an assistive device for the hearing-impaired in the confessional. Another
option, as you mention, is to walk around the screen and sit face to face with the confessor. If you can read lips or if you and
the priest are trained in sign language, you will understand each other well. But that, of course, removes the option of
anonymity, a choice that must be respected. There are other possibilities. A hearing-challenged penitent is allowed, for
example, to write sins or questions on paper, pass the paper around the screen to the priest, and the priest can hand back a
note with his advice and a penance. (All of the written material, of course, should be returned to the penitent or properly
disposed of.) Canon 990 of the Church’s Code of Canon Law would even allow for a sign-language interpreter. The
interpreter could stay behind the screen and sign to the penitent the words of the priest. The code specifies that the
interpreter is strictly bound to secrecy by the inviolable seal of confession.