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