Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Talitha koum,"

which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the Holy Gospel of Mark (5: 21-24 / 35B - 43)

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat
to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. 
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
"My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live."
He went off with him,
and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.

While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said,
"Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" 
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
"Do not be afraid; just have faith."
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
"Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep."
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child's father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum,"
which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.

The Birth of John The Baptist / June 24, 2018

Gospel

LK 1:5-17

In the days of Herod, King of Judea,
there was a priest named Zechariah
of the priestly division of Abijah;
his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was Elizabeth.
Both were righteous in the eyes of God,
observing all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren
and both were advanced in years.
Once when he was serving
as priest in his division's turn before God,
according to the practice of the priestly service,
he was chosen by lot
to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.
Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside
at the hour of the incense offering,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him,
standing at the right of the altar of incense.
Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.
But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you shall name him John.
And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth,
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
John will drink neither wine nor strong drink.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb,
and he will turn many of the children of Israel
to the Lord their God.
He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah
to turn their hearts toward their children
and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,
to prepare a people fit for the Lord."

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June 24, 2018by Dennis Hamm, S.J.

The mere mention of John the Baptist calls to mind the iconic image of John standing in the River Jordan immersing Jesus in the water. But wait! That wonderful moment has a feast of its own: The Baptism of the Lord! Today’s feast is about something else — not John’s baptizing of Jesus but John’s own birth. This feast celebrates a life that starts small but eventually, by way of God’s loving initiatives and the free response of persons, emerges as one of the key figures in sacred history. 

So, to celebrate this special life, the church has drawn on a key Servant song from the scroll of Isaiah, then the great Psalm about being nurtured in the womb, then a summary of the good news of God’s mercy from Peter in Acts, and finally the celebration of John’s birth in Luke’s gospel. Taken together, this collection can be a powerful meditation on the mystery of vocation — John’s, and eventually ours.

Isaiah’s song about the Servant speaks of God’s forming him for a mission with worldwide consequences — first to restore the scattered tribes of Israel, and then, as Israel, to be a light to all the nations. We recognize that prophecy to be fulfilled ultimately in the person, words and work of Jesus, and furthered in the life and mission of the church — including us.

The verses from Psalm 139 echo Isaiah’s language in a song of gratitude, which proclaims in wonder, “I was fashioned in the depths of the earth” – a powerful metaphor for the mysterious, hidden fertility of the psalmist’s mother (“You knit me in my mother’s womb”). What a perfect reading to celebrate the healing of Elizabeth’s infertility, whose fruit was baby John.

Luke’s presentation of Peter’s speech in the synagogue of Pisidia (Acts 13) celebrates John’s special place in God’s fulfillment of the promises made to both David and Abraham. Through John, God had prepared Israel to receive the surprising news that the long-awaited Anointed One of Israel turned out to be the rejected prophet, Jesus of Nazareth, raised to transformed life by the Father.

Finally, Luke’s account of the circumcision and naming of Elizabeth’s and Zechariah’s child, who was so unexpectedly and appropriately named Iōannēs (Greek for the Hebrew Johanan, “God shows mercy”). His simple presence is the very expression of God’s merciful intervention in a situation of sterility (not only biological but social), and begins the fulfillment of Israel’s long-held nurtured hope. Zechariah’s Nunc Dimittis (vv. 68-79) spells all this out. 

The Lectionary saves that for another day, but it does supply the final verse of the passage: “The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.” God continues the growth that he began in Elizabeth’s sterile womb. Taken together and pondered prayerfully, these remarkable Scripture passages can help us all marvel at how each of us can recognize the graceful interplay of God’s loving initiatives and the opportunities for free response that make up our own emerging stories of vocation, no matter how sterile they may sometimes seem.

Prayer Service at Grandview Nursing Home June 13, 2018 Deacon Jim & Cheryl

Song   “The Old Rugged Cross” 

This morning’s Gospel reading is Matthew 16:13–19:

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so, I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Song   “Nearer, My God, to Thee”

“But who do you say I am?”

Jesus asks this of all twelve disciples not long after feeding thousands in Galilee and facing a challenge from the Pharisees and Sadducees to perform “a sign from heaven” to prove himself.

The disciples and Jesus moved to the other side of the Galilee and forgot to bring bread, which caused the disciples to fret over concern about what they would eat.

Jesus scolded them for not having trust in Him, especially just after watching Jesus feed thousands with just a few loaves and fishes, for the second time in his ministry (Matthew 16:9-10).  

They, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, were missing the forest for the trees, and they had not yet learned to put their trust in the Lord rather than on material provisions.

At their next stop in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks them the big question of faith. Who do you say I am?

To the Pharisees and the Sadducees, he was a troublesome teacher, one who threatened their political power. To most of the other Israelites in the region, he was a healer and a leader, at least for as long as it cost them little to follow.

While some thought that Jesus was the Messiah, they only believed it for as long as they could maintain their own estimation of what a Messiah would be and do. They wanted a warrior to expel the Romans and restore the kingdom on earth, rather than a path to eternal salvation and forgiveness of their own sins.

Now, the question becomes important for the twelve disciples chosen by God to carry out the ministry of the church throughout time. 

Who do you say I am?

If Jesus is just a political person or a wise teacher with healing gifts, then He’d hardly be remarkable or worth given one’s life to serve.

No church, no Gospel of such a man would endure, nor would the disciples in their mission. After all, if these twelve who had ringside seats to Jesus’ works and teachings could not grasp who He truly is, then how could anyone else who had not had that vantage point?

Who do you say that I am? 

That question applies to us as well.  It’s pretty easy at those times when the burden of living our faith authentically in the world to just shrug off the divinity of Jesus.

We can easily become the mighty croud called to hear Jesus’ teaching, happy to be fed and entertained for a while on a Sunday morning and then act as if that had no bearing on the other 167 hours in the week.

When it comes to professing Jesus as the true Son of God and the necessity of living in His word, though, we can grumble and walk away, mutter about “hard sayings” and convince ourselves that these teachings have no relation to the real world. We can, in essence, decide to prefer our own concept of God and salvation to Jesus’

and end up denying him.

Or, we can become like the Pharisees and Sadducees. Instead of shrugging off Jesus, we can react with hostility and anger to the gentle nature of God’s call to holiness and salvation.

How many times have we called on Jesus to do a mighty work as “a sign from heaven” in order to prove Himself to us, rather than “interpret the signs of the times” on our own accord?

When we were small children, some of our tried to test our parents to prove their love by buying us junk or letting us do something stupid, too.

(Well, I know I certainly did on occasion.)

Our parents were a lot smarter than us back then, though, and so is God at all times.

Who do you say I am?

It’s the question that will force us to decide between being disciples, spectators, or antagonists.

Who do you say Jesus is — and who do you therefore say you are?

Song    “How Great Thou Art”

Video of Bishop Sheen on "Signs of Our Times"

Watch the video of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen and his presentation from January of 1947 titled:
"Signs of Our Times"
Click on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoKQYEFJHYE

Is the Devil real? Does God Exist? Does Heaven Exist? Does SIN exist in the world? This and more!

Mass for Sacred Heart and Immaculate Conception for the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time. (Is Satan real? Does Sin even exist? What is our purpose in life here on earth?) If you would like to view this Mass, go to the attached link:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yULiTQS2a8&feature=youtu.be

What is our Goal in this life?

So what exactly is the goal of life here on earth?  Is it to be rich?  To be famous?  To have a big fancy car?  To have a huge house?  To have a big screen HDTV?  To go on expensive vacations every year?  To have unlimited sex on demand? To be constantly entertained?  To eat like a king every day of the week? To work all of the time?  To attain power?  To get drunk?  To have lots of friends?  To collect collectibles? To have lots of things? To play sports?  To watch sports all the time? To watch movies?  To play games? To look at pornography? To play computer games all day long?

 Of course, the answer to all of the above is no.  None of those things are the goal of life here on earth.  So what is the goal of life?  From the old Baltimore Catechism, the goal of life here on earth is:

TO KNOW, LOVE, AND SERVE GOD IN THIS LIFE, SO THAT WE CAN BE HAPPY WITH HIM IN HEAVEN.

Corpus Christi (Body & Blood of Christ) June 3, 2018

Enjoy watching the weekend Mass for Corpus Christi (Body & Blood of Christ) for Sacred Heart, Oelwein and Immaculate Conception, Fairbank.  Visiting Priest, Rev. Msgr. Daniel J. Knepper.  Just click on the following link:

https://youtu.be/wXTCRH7-gu4