The thoughts of a child.
Seesaw dreams.
Boxes of books
Now stored away.
Come floods
A brand new day.
Once arrogance
Now fear.
An abundance of energy
Frozen in stone.
But a long-haired gray kitty still resides
The shelter of a warm left thigh.
He seldom plays
Lost in an aging haze.
Kitty-cat dreams
Seesaw days.
—Howard Hain
SEPTEMBER 13 Mon Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the ChurchMemorial 1 Tm 2:1-8/Lk 7:1-10
14 Tue The Exaltation of the Holy Cross Feast Nm 21:4b-9/Phil 2:6-11/Jn 3:13-17
15 Wed Our Lady of Sorrows Memorial 1 Tm 3:14-16 (445)/Jn 19:25-27 or Lk 2:33-35
16 Thu Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs Memorial
1 Tm 4:12-16/Lk 7:36-50
17 Fri Weekday [Saint Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church; Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin and Doctor of the Church] 1 Tm 6:2c-12/Lk 8:1-3
18 Sat Weekday 1 Tm 6:13-16/Lk 8:4-15
19 SUN TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Wis 2:12, 17-20/Jas 3:16—4:3/Mk 9:30-37
Every week the liturgy offers a universe of treasures. Not only does it take us back to biblical times, but saints remembered take us to times that shape our own. Cornelius and Cyprian to the age of the martyrs. The feasts of the Holy Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows to the age of pilgrimage. John Chrysostom to the patristic age. Robert Bellarmine and Hildergarde of Bingen to Reformation times and to the age of the medieval mystics. Whether we know it or not we have been shaped by these times and they help us know the path to take.
Two celebrations this week, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows are closely connected celebrations.
The feast of the Exaltation, celebrated by churches of the east and west, originated in the Basilica of the Resurrection in Jerusalem (Church of the Holy Sepulcher) in the 5th century where the wood of the cross was venerated by the faithful. The One who died and was buried, rose from the dead was nailed to this wood. His Passion and Resurrection are celebrated in this one feast.
Similarly, the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows sees Mary following her Son, “who emptied himself” in coming among us, even to the point of dying on the Cross, but God exalted him.
Through her life, Mary embraced the “emptying sorrows of her Son”, finally sharing in his death as she stood by his Cross. But she saw her sorrows–her “seven sorrows”– turned into joy.
“O Lady Mary, thy bright crown is no mere crown of majesty, for with the reflex of his own resplendent thorns, Christ circled thee.” (Thompson)
Morning and Evening Prayers, week 1, here
For this week’s homily please watch the video below.
SEPTEMBER 6 Mon Weekday. LABOR DAY (USA) Col 1:24—2:3/Lk 6:6-11
7 Tue Weekday Col 2:6-15/Lk 6:12-19
8 Wed The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Feast
Mi 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28-30/Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23
9 Thu USA: Saint Peter Claver, Priest Memorial Col 3:12-17/Lk 6:27-38
10 Fri Weekday 1 Tm 1:1-2, 12-14/Lk 6:39-42
11 Sat Weekday 1 Tm 1:15-17/Lk 6:43-49
12 SUN TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY B:
Is 50:4c-9a/Jas 2:14-18/Mk 8:27-35
Often the readings of the liturgy for the day throw light on the day itself and the events taking place then. Monday is Labor Day in the USA; St. Paul in the reading for that day from Epistle to the Colossians speaks of laboring and struggling to bring them the gospel. Good question for us all: are we laboring and struggling to bring the gospel to others?
Our calendar, whether recalling a secular or religious occasion, calls us to reflect and pray over what we have before us that day. What’s the meaning of work, we’re asked on Monday? In God’s eyes and our own?
On Thursday, we celebrate the feast of St. Peter Claver, who ministered to black slaves in Colombia, South America in the 16th century. Racism is still with us. We’re called to reflect on it, in God’s eyes and our own.
Wednesday’s the feast of the Nativity of Mary. Births are celebrated often in our calendar. Why do we hold human life so cheap today?
Celebrating the day and the events of the day is always better when we reflect and pray about it.
MORNING AND EVENING PRAYERS HERE (WEEK 3)
For this week’s homily please watch the video below.
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There once was a little girl who loved to write “love”.
Over and over she wrote the lovely word.
Straight. Crooked. Curved. Upside down.
“Love”, “Love”, “Love”…
She drew hearts and placed all around.
And in a corner she planted the sun.
Day after day she pecked away.
A little hen marking the ground where she play.
All kinds of chicks came to stay.
She lined her dolls in pretty little rows.
A beauty pageant, all kinds of hair.
Straight. Curly. Blond. Brown.
She loved them all.
Did she favor?
She rotated each day.
She knew who needed extra care.
Though all to be happy.
That the only rule.
No room in her garden for overcast days.
And how her family grew.
She had, my God, so many to attend!
Amazing she could even keep track.
Yet each tiny doll held a special place.
She simply made room.
A little girl who loved to write “love”.
Over and over she wrote the lovely word.
Straight. Crooked. Curved. Upside down.
“Love”, “Love”, “Love”…
She drew hearts and placed all around.
And in a corner she planted the sun.
———
Miriam…Marie…Maria…
Mary…
I guess it depends on the day.
Accent. Pronunciation. Spelling.
Even eye color may change.
But it’s always the same little girl.
Age to age.
Place to place.
The same little girl
Helping save the human race.
The same little girl
In the fullness of time
Forever known:
“Full of Grace“
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—Howard Hain
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Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
—Matthew 6:28
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Does a flower make pronouncements? Does it define itself? Does it box itself in with titles, names, and distinctions?
And yet, “not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:29)
———
A flower simply exists.
And its existence glorifies God.
There is no need for it to do more.
By its very existence it magnifies what cannot be further magnified: God’s Presence, God’s Glory, God’s Beauty…
———
“I’m a flower.”
“I’m a rose.”
“Look at me!”
Statements such as these we shall never hear.
Flowers are divinely indifferent to the world’s definitions and distinctions, to its approval and applause.
After all, it’s a person who receives the medal at an orchid show, and not the flower herself. No, her finely-placed petals would only be weighed down by such metallic-based ribbons.
What a gift it is to simply exist.
———
Flowers don’t cling to seasonal life.
When it’s time to go, they gracefully drop their heads and lose their pedals.
Never has there existed a man as poor as a flower.
Never has mankind so possessed the richness of fleeting, transitory, and momentary life.
It’s their genius to instinctively believe that death leads to new abundant life.
———
Flowers graciously receive:
Ladybugs, drops of dew. Beams of light, the relief of shade.
Flowers give and receive as if not a single thing has ever been made by man.
They welcome sun as well as rain.
They never cry over fallen fruit or a stolen piece of pollen.
They quietly applaud instead, rejoicing that their little ones have the opportunity to travel abroad—perhaps even the chance to help nurture a neighbor.
———
A flower, perhaps most of all, knows it place.
It never wishes to be bigger or thinner…greener or higher…it never dreams of being more like a tree.
A flower’s blessing is simplicity beyond you and me.
———
Christ is a flower.
He is the one true perfect eternal flower, through whom all other flowers partake, toward whom all other flowers reach.
Christ is a flower. His ways are not our own. He simply exists. Bowing His head. Dropping pedals. Feeding hungry bees. Giving and receiving. His identity is crucified—leaving nothing behind but being “qua” being.
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If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
—Matthew 6:30
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—Howard Hain
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(Dedicated to Brother Jim, a man who knew how to simply exist.)
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AUGUST 30 Mon Weekday 1 Thes 4:13-18/Lk 4:16-30
31 Tue Weekday 1 Thes 5:1-6, 9-11/Lk 4:31-37
SEPTEMBER 1 Wed Weekday Col 1:1-8/Lk 4:38-44
DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE CARE OF CREATION
2 Thu Weekday Col 1:9-14/Lk 5:1-11
3 Fri Saint Gregory the Great, Pope Memorial Col 1:15-20/Lk 5:33-39
4 Sat Weekday Col 1:21-23/Lk 6:1-5
5 SUN TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Is 35:4-7a/Jas 2:1-5/Mk 7:31-37
We’re beginning to read from Luke’s Gospel this week as Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth, and we’ll be reading Luke till the end of November, as the season of Advent begins. A good time to take an overall look at the Gospel of Luke, Here’s the Introduction from the New American Bible.
The readings from I Thessalonians end Monday and Tuesday with Paul’s teaching on the last days. Then we read from the Letter to the Colossians. Good introduction and notes from the American Bible .
September 1 is a day for praying for creation.
We celebrate one of our greatest popes, Gregory the Great, September 3rd.
For this week’s homily please watch the video below.
AUGUST 23 Mon Weekday [Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin] 1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10/Mt 23:13-22
24 Tue Saint Bartholomew, Apostle Feast Rv 21:9b-14/Jn 1:45-51
25 Wed Weekday [Saint Louis; Saint Joseph Calasanz, Priest] 1 Thes 2:9-13/Mt 23:27-32
26 Thu Weekday Blessed Dominic Barberi, Passionist 1 Thes 3:7-13/Mt 24:42-51
27 Fri Saint Monica Memorial 1 Thes 4:1-8/Mt 25:1-13
28 Sat Saint Augustine, Bishop Memorial 1 Thes 4:9-11/Mt 25:14-30
29 SUN TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Dt 4:1-2, 6-8/Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27/Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
St. Bartholomew (August 24) is the apostle we remember this month. Faith comes to us from the apostles, so each month we remember an apostle.
The Passionists celebrate the feast of Blessed Dominic Barberi August 26. He received St. John Henry Newman into the Catholic Church.
St, Augustine and St. Monica, his mother, are remembered August 27-28 . Notice they’re both celebrated equally as memorials. Monica comes first. God answered her prayers for her wayward son, Augustine said.
We’re reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians this week. An Introduction to the letter here. www.usccb.org (Bible)
For further commentary on the readings and feasts of the week, www.vhoagland.com
Morning and Evening Prayers Week 1 www.praydaybyday.org
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