For this week’s homily please watch the video below.

The American Catholic bishops are writing a letter on the Eucharist. Some say there’s a tinge of politics behind it, but the spokesman for the bishops says it meant to address the decline in devotion to the Eucharist.

Our daily readings offer wisdom for the day, which may help as we consider the mystery of the Eucharist. 

These days the Old Testament readings from the  Book of Numbers have the children of Israel complaining about the manna as they make their way through the desert. It just doesn’t measure up to the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlic, fish and meat of Egypt. “We see nothing before us but this manna,” they say.

Their desert journey and memories of Egypt blind them to the steady simple presence of God and signs of it. They are looking for more security and a quick arrival to the promised land. Has our journey today, like theirs, the losses we’ve sustained, the dreams denied blinded us to the promise of God’s kingdom and the way it comes?

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God,

and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.Day unto day takes up the story

and night unto night makes known the message.No speech, no word, no voice is heard

yet their span extends through all the earth,

their words to the utmost bounds of the world.” (Psalm 18)

The Eucharist is daily bread, it tells its story each day…No speech, no word, no voice is heard.”  It’s linked to God’s Kingdom that come quietly, like the seed that inches through the ground. That’s why I prefer its simple celebration in the Mass, with the readings of the day.

AUGUST 2 Mon Weekday [Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop; Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Priest]

Nm 11:4b-15/Mt 14:13-21 

3 Tue Weekday Nm 12:1-13/Mt 14:22-36 or Mt 15:1-2, 10-14 

4 Wed Saint John Vianney, Priest Memorial Nm 13:1-2, 25—14:1, 26-29a, 34-35/Mt 15:21-28 

5 Thu Weekday [ Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major] Nm 20:1-13/Mt 16:13-23

6 Fri The Transfiguration of the Lord Feast Dn 7:9-10, 13-14/2 Pt 1:16-19/Mk 9:2-10 

7 Sat Weekday [Saint Sixtus II, Pope, and Companions, Martyrs; Saint Cajetan, Priest;]

Dt 6:4-13/Mt 17:14-20 

8 SUN NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

1 Kgs 19:4-8/Eph 4:30—5:2/Jn 6:41-51 

The feasts of saints span the centuries. This week we remember saints of the early church, like St.Sixtus and his companions, martyrs from the 3rd centuries, and saints closer to our time like St. John Vianney and Peter Eymard. Holiness is found everywhere and at all times.

We continue reading from the Torah in our first readings. This week from the Book of Numbers and Deuteronomy. Gospel readings are from St. Matthew.

The dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major is celebrated this Thursday. St. Mary Major is the most important church in Rome dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. It’s an important church where some of the first feasts of the Christmas celebration were celebrated. Mary plays an important role in the mysteries of Jesus Christ.

MORNING AND EVENING PRAYERS HERE, WEEK 2

For this week’s homily please watch the video below.

JULY 26 Mon Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of Mary Memorial

Ex 32:15-24, 30-34/Mt 13:31-35 

27 Tue Weekday Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28/Mt 13:36-43

28 Wed Weekday.Ex 34:29-35/Mt 13:44-46 

29 Thu Saint Martha Memorial Ex 40:16-21, 34-38/Jn 11:19-27 or Lk 10:38-42 

30 Fri Weekday [Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor)] Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37/Mt 13:54-58 

31 Sat Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest Memorial Lv 25:1, 8-17/Mt 14:1-12 

AUGUST 1 SUN EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY  Ex 16:2-4, 12-15/Eph 4:17, 20-24/Jn 6:24-30

The readings from Exodus and Leviticus we have for a good part of this week are reminders how important the events at Sinai were for the Jewish people and, consequently, for us. God enters into a covenant with his people and they receive a way of life. Still, they turn away to look on false gods. Moses intervenes for his errant people. I like his simple prayer: 

“If I find favor with you, O LORD, do come along in our company.This is indeed a stiff-necked people;  yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own.”

Matthew’s gospel offers readings from Jesus’ lengthy teaching by the sea. His parables summarize what he taught during this public life. Simple and profound. On Saturday we have the account of the martyrdom of John the Baptist which prefigures the death of Jesus. 

Monday we celebrate Joachim and Anne, parents of Mary. Devotion to St. Anne appears in many popular novenas in our churches, asking her intercession. Then, faithful Martha is celebrated July 29th and Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits is remembered July 31st.

For this week’s homily please watch the video below.

St. Gregory the Great  got it wrong identifying Mary Magdalene with Mary, the sister of Lazarus and the sinful woman (Luke 7,38ff)  who washed Jesus’ feet. She’s one of the women followers of Jesus who came up to Jerusalem with him, mentioned in Luke’s gospel. She was a star witness at his resurrection. Her feast day is today, July 22.

 Yet,  Gregory’s description of her spirituality is right on.

Here’s an excerpt from his beautiful sermon in today’s Liturgy of the Hours:

“We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tells us: Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.

“At first she sought but did not find, but when she persevered it happened that she found what she was looking for. When our desires are not satisfied, they grow stronger, and becoming stronger they take hold of their object. Holy desires likewise grow with anticipation, and if they do not grow they are not really desires. Anyone who succeeds in attaining the truth has burned with such a great love. As David says: My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God? And so also in the Song of Songs the Church says: I was wounded by love; and again: My soul is melted with love.

“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? She is asked why she is sorrowing so that her desire might be strengthened; for when she mentions whom she is seeking, her love is kindled all the more ardently.

“Jesus says to her: Mary. Jesus is not recognized when he calls her “woman”; so he calls her by name, as though he were saying: Recognize me as I recognize you; for I do not know you as I know others; I know you as yourself. And so Mary, once addressed by name, recognizes who is speaking. She immediately calls him rabboni, that is to say, teacher, because the one whom she sought outwardly was the one who inwardly taught her to keep on searching.”

Some recently, using flimsy evidence from 3rd and 4th century gnostic writings, want to “de-mythologize” Jesus and romanticize his relationship with Mary. Some claim he was even married to her. Their claims have been sensationalized in the  media and unfortunately get a wide hearing.

Better to listen to the earlier witness of the four gospels and the evidence of the New Testament. They recognize Mary as a disciple who was one of many women followers of Jesus and loved him. Their witness is older and more reliable. There’s also new archeological evidence about Magdala, Mary’s hometown, that helps us understand Mary Magdalene. Take a look.

I started watching The Chosen and notice Mary Magdalene is still saddled somewhat with the “sinful woman” past and is from Capernaum rather than Magdala. Still, a nice presentation. It’s not afraid to present the human situation Jesus became part of, and I especially like its way of bringing women into the gospel world. Mary Magdalene among them.

What can we do as we swelter through the heat these days? We wonder in a world worried about its future. Can we do anything? Let’s not be afraid of big ideas. It’s time to think big.

In September 2015 world leaders at the United Nations agreed to work for 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The goals aim to “eliminate poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change, while ensuring no one is left behind. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while also tackling climate change and environmental protection.” https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/

Cities have become an important focus for Sustainable Development, because today more than half the world’s population lives in cities and that number is expected to reach two-thirds by the year 2060. In cities “the battle for sustainability will be won or lost,” one UN expert remarked. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2018/07/un-forum-spotlights-cities-struggle-sustainability-will-won-lost/

The 11th goal of Sustainable Development is “making cities safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable by 2030. Sustainability differs from city to city, but quality of life means among other things, adequate housing, work and employment, clean water and air, access to public transportation.

Mayors throughout the United States have recognized the important role that cities can play in achieving the SDGs. In 2018, New York City was the first city to issue a report on its progress towards sustainability. https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/international/downloads/pdf/NYC_VLR_2018_FINAL.pdf

Governments, civil society and the private sector are all called upon to contribute to the realization of these goals. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/05/mobilizing-citizens-of-the-world-to-achieve-the-2030-agenda/

At a time when countries are building walls and thinking only of themselves, why not think big? What can we do? Our church, at least here in the US doesn’t seem active enough. It’s time to support big ideas. The signs are here to read.

20 Tue Weekday [Saint Apollinaris, Martyr] Ex 14:21—15:1/Mt 12:46-50 

21 Wed Weekday ([Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church]

Ex 16:1-5, 9-15/Mt 13:1-9 

22 Thu Saint Mary Magdalene Feast Sg 3:1-4b or 2 Cor 5:14-17/Jn 20:1-2, 11-18 

23 Fri Weekday [Saint Bridget] Ex 20:1-17/Mt 13:18-23 

24 Sat Weekday [Saint Sharbel Makhlūf, Priest] Ex 24:3-8/Mt 13:24-30

24 Saturday, The Martyrs of Damiel,   

25 SUN SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

2 Kgs 4:42-44/Eph 4:1-6/Jn 6:1-15 

We join Moses and the Israelites in their release from Egypt and Pharaoh’s chains in our first readings this week. The people wonder if could all be true. Don’t miss their doubt. We wonder too at the great mercy of God.

The gospel readings from Matthew are Jesus’ response to the lack of faith he finds. He teaches the parables of the seed, the weeds and the wheat.

Mary Magdalene, the apostle to the apostles, has her feast on July 22. She is a good saint remember. Jesus appeared to her first after his resurrection, the gospel says. She brings us news of what she saw.

Other saints this week are good to remember too. Bridget of Sweden, another strong woman, is remembered July 23rd. She was a strong advocate of the popes. May she strengthen Pope Francis these days.

And may St.Sharbel Makluf from Lebanon strengthen that nation experiencing such pain today.

The Passionists remember on July 24, the Martyrs of Damiel, 26 religious killed in the Spanish Civil War. An inspiring story.

For morning and evening prayer, see here.  Week 4