NOVEMBER 4 Mon Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop

Memorial

Rom 11:29-36/Lk 14:12-14 

5 Tue Weekday

Rom 12:5-16b/Lk 14:15-24 

6 Wed Weekday

Rom 13:8-10/Lk 14:25-33 

7 Thu Weekday

Rom 14:7-12/Lk 15:1-10

8 Fri Weekday

Rom 15:14-21/Lk 16:1-8 

9 Sat The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Feast

Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12/1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17/Jn 2:13-22

We’re coming to the end of Paul’s Letter to the Romans this week, the longest and most theological of his letters. In chapter 15 he speaks about his mission to Spain, (Friday) assuring the Romans he’s coming to Rome as a visitor, not to be part of their church. He hopes they’ll support him on his Spanish mission, so that he can bring the gospel to the whole world. 

But Paul never gets to Spain; he will die in Rome.

We may find it strange that Paul in his letters doesn’t offer extensive references to incidents in Jesus’ life, such as his miracles, or quotations from his teaching or his parables. We do that as a matter of course in teaching or preaching about faith. 

True, the gospels were not written when Paul wrote, likely in 56 to 58 from Corinth, but certainly the stories of Jesus’ life and summaries of his teaching were important in Christian preaching at the time. Why doesn’t Paul utilize them?

Does he see the gospel, especially the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, as an immediate mystery, taking place now? The gospels bring us back to the time of Jesus, the events of his life and the words of his teaching. Paul saw them, not just as events and words of the past, but a mystery happening now. Jesus was not dead, but living in the world and in him. Now.  

Is that why Paul’s letters are read with the gospels? So that we may understand they are happening now, in our time, in us?

Little Red Riding Hood square in the frame

Placed last it’s only her who must remain

Level the trees, clean the brush, desert stays

Basket of goodies the virgin displays

She too exits the scene, swaddled alive

A gilded wood frame, white Sahara light

—Howard Hain

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438816

Boulder upon boulder, earth upon earth

Vessel holding water despite its cracks

Life, life, filling voids, flailing to support

Even the black lines stretch toward the light blue

Tiny dark threads turned shades of ever green

And beneath it all a man lives and breathes

He exhales thru the stone, crying “Mother!”

Look, listen, nose hair like bearded stubble

He inhales, right before balance crumbles

—Howard Hain

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435874

Father Amedeo Cencini, an Italian priest frequently consulted by dioceses and religious communities, spoke at the Passionist General Chapter in Rome, October 2018 on the issue of formation. 

I expected his presentation to touch on academic matters. What schools to go to, what books to read, how should we form new members. 

He didn’t speak on those issues at all, instead he spoke on learning in the school of daily life. Learning day by day, where you are, every day of your life. Daily life is our basic school.

For the school of daily life we need “docibilitas”, a Latin word we might translate as “docility”, but docility can be understood too negatively today– someone easily led, easily trained, like a trained animal.

In its original Latin meaning, to be docile means to be open to what one hears and willing to follow that truth. It’s brave and daring, not weak and compliant.

In the Letter to the Romans, which we’re reading these days in our liturgy, Paul calls for a docility to the Holy Spirit. Don’t be led by the world, he says, be led by the Spirit of God, and “the Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought,” (Romans 8,26)

We don’t know how to live as we ought either. Docility means we listen to more than ourselves or the accepted wisdom of our world.

Prayer is a way of being docile to the Spirit, who is there in our weakness.  Daily prayer brings us wisdom for daily life.

A lone lobsterman in a frozen cove

A pit of fog, pulling up empty nets

Examining closely the emptiness

Once again lowering the well worn rope

—Howard Hain

Painting by Jack L. Gray

October 28 Mon Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles Feast

Eph 2:19-22/Lk 6:12-16

29 Tue Weekday

Rom 8:18-25/Lk 13:18-21

30 Wed Weekday

Rom 8:26-30/Lk 13:22-30

31 Thu Weekday

Rom 8:31b-39/Lk 13:31-35

November 1 Fri ALL SAINTS

Solemnity [Holyday of Obligation]

Rv 7:2-4, 9-14/1 Jn 3:1-3/Mt 5:1-12a

2 Sat The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day)

 Wis 3:1-9/Rom 5:5-11 or Rom 6:3-9/Jn 6:37-40 (668)

In his Letter to Proba, in our liturgy this week, Augustine sees  the desire for God at the heart of prayer. Prayer’s not a litany of needs (God knows what we need) or a search for new knowledge. We need to “pray always with unwearied desire.”

We pray to increase our desire for God.

“ At set times and seasons we also pray to God in words, so that by these signs we may instruct ourselves and mark the progress we have made in our desire, and spur ourselves on to deepen it.”

Words help us pray,  Jesus taught and he gave his disciples words of prayer. Much of Augustine’s Letter to Proba is a commentary on the words of the Our Father.  One of his greatest works is his “Commentary on the Psalms.” We need to pray with words at set times. They’re essential in our liturgy.

Augustine also recognized the need for short, frequent prayers. “The monks in Egypt are said to offer frequent prayers, but these are very short and hurled like swift javelins.” They’re quick reminders of God’s presence.

There’s another kind of prayer Augustine addresses in his letter– lengthy prayer. Jesus spent whole nights in prayer; he prayed at great length, giving us an example to follow. 

It’s not necessary to use words in long prayer, Augustine writes. In lengthy prayer, it’s the attitude of persistence that counts, knocking at the door of the One we’re seeking.

 “This task is generally accomplished more through sighs than words, more through weeping than speech. God places our tears in his sight, and our sighs are not hidden from him.”

Long prayer with sighs more than words, weeping more than speech. Not much is said about this kind of prayer today, I think.

In my community, the Passionists, it was a prayer that was recommended. It still is.