Dominica X Post Pentecosten: "Self-righteousness"

 

From the Holy Gospel according to Luke

Luke 18:9-14
At that time: Jesus spoke this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the Temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. And so on.

Homily by St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo
Serm 36 of the Word of the Lord
"The Pharisee might at least have said: "I am not as many men are." But what meaneth "other men"? All other men except himself. "I," said he, "am righteous; others are sinners." "I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers," and then he took occasion, from the neighborhood of the publican, to plume himself "or even," quoth he, "as this publican." "I am alone," he thought, "that publican" is one of the others. Mine own righteousness maketh the gulf between me and the wicked, such as he is."

I once worked on active duty in the military with a young, fundamentalist ex-Catholic Marine officer who refused to pray the "Our Father". Can you imagine? However, he had the most self-righteous of reasons: he did not want to repeat himself, thus violating Scripture. He refused, however, to entertain my objection that he was also violating the Lord's command imparted when He taught the prayer to His Apostles for the first time: "when you pray, say..."

My fellow officer was puffed up with the certainty of his own righteousness before God while at the same time violating the letter of the Lord's teaching, and I told him so. He was building on sand.

Our righteousness "must exceed that of the pharisees" and Sadducees, as our Lord made clear. In order for that to happen we must rely not on ourselves, be "self-righteous". That unfortunately is what very quickly happens when we reject or refuse the humility necessary to obey the Magisterium in matters of faith and morals: what we believe, and what we do as a result.

Catholics happily pray the Our Father at every Mass, with the holy rosary and in numerous other contexts. We do so in obedience to the Lord who Himself gave us those words to utter in speaking to the heavenly Father. And, of course, we do not fear to offend God in doing so. This is for the reason that we depend wholly upon the righteousness of God, and not our own.

 “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Matthew 6, 7-8)

We know that we do not violate the Lord's will in the previous injunction because He follows it immediately with the recommended alternative:

"Pray then like this: 'Our Father who art in heaven, ...'" (Mathhew 6, 9 ff)

We do what the Church does, pleasing Our heavenly Father, addressing Him with the words of His Incarnate Son. And we do so whenever we pray "the prayer Our Lord Himself taught us."

Collect
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O God, You manifest Your power, particularly in forbearance and pity, show us Your mercy again and again, so that hastening toward Your promises we may become partakers of the blessings of heaven.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Praised be Jesus Christ our King, now and forever.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: "Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture."

Image: Fresco in Catacombs of Saint Callistus, Rome

"The word “woe” in the Greek is “ouai” and is more than just an expression of a feeling. Woe is a judgment as we read in the Book of Revelation (chapters 8. 9, 11, and 12). It means “alas” or almost like “oh no!” When the word woe is used, it is quite possibly signifying impending doom, condemnation and/or the wrath of God so it is never used to only emphasize something in the sentence in which it is used." (Patheos)

"Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
against the shepherds who shepherd my people:
You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.
You have not cared for them,
but I will take care to punish your evil deeds." (Jer 23, 2)

An archbishop in the crosshairs of the Vatican has this critique to offer about a particular Shepherd whom he accuses as guilty of these failings enumerated by Our Lord in the Gospel.

"It is necessary for the Episcopate, the Clergy and the People of God to seriously ask themselves whether it is consistent with the profession of the Catholic Faith to passively witness the systematic destruction of the Church by its leaders, just as other subversives are destroying civil society.

Globalism calls for ethnic substitution: (the Shepherd) promotes uncontrolled immigration and calls for the integration of cultures and religions. Globalism supports LGBTQ+ ideology: (the Shepherd) authorizes the blessing of same-sex couples and imposes on the faithful the acceptance of homosexualism, while covering up the scandals of his protégés and promoting them to the highest positions of responsibility. Globalism imposes the green agenda: (the Shepherd) worships the idol of the Pachamama, writes delirious encyclicals about the environment, supports the Agenda 2030, and attacks those who question the theory of man-made global warming.

"He goes beyond his role in matters that strictly pertain to science, but always and only in one direction: a direction that is diametrically opposed to what the Church has always taught. He has mandated the use of experimental gene serums, which caused very serious damage, death and sterility, calling them “an act of love,” in exchange for funding from pharmaceutical companies and philanthropic foundations.

"His total alignment with the Davos religion is scandalous. Wherever governments at the service of the World Economic Forum have introduced or extended abortion, promoted vice, legitimized homosexual unions or gender transition, encouraged euthanasia, and tolerated the persecution of Catholics, not a word has been spent in defense of the Faith or Morals that are threatened, or in support of the civil battles of so many Catholics who have been abandoned by the Vatican and the Bishops. Not a word for the persecuted Catholics in China, with the complicity of the Holy See, which considers Beijing’s billions more important than the lives and freedom of thousands of Chinese who are faithful to the Roman Church.

"In the “synodal church” presided over by (the Shepherd), no schism is recognized among the German Episcopate, or among the government-appointed Bishops who have been consecrated in China without the mandate of Rome. Because their action is consistent with the destruction of the Church, and therefore must be concealed, minimized, tolerated, and finally encouraged. In these eleven years of “pontificate” the Catholic Church has been humiliated and discredited above all because of the scandals and corruption of the leaders of the Hierarchy, which have been totally ignored even as the most ruthless Vatican authoritarianism raged against faithful priests and religious, small communities of traditional nuns, and communities tied to the Latin Mass."

As is true with the words of every prophet, if the shoe fits ...

But one thing is certainly true of those priests and bishops who would be good shepherds: they must make plain in word and action the errors of the bad or evil shepherds in order that the flock may not be scattered, but rather gathered by the Lord into the sheepgate of salvation by the true teachings of his holy Church.

Praised be Jesus Christ our King, now and forever.

Dominica IX post Pentecosten: “Quod a flente Dómino”

Titus Destroying Jerusalem by Wilhelm von Kaulbach (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From the Holy Gospel according to Luke

Luke 19:41-17
At that time: When Jesus was come near to Jerusalem, He beheld the city, and wept over it, saying If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. And so on.

Homily by Pope St. Gregory the Great.
39 on the Gospels.
No man that hath read the history of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Princes Vespasian and Titus, can be ignorant that it was of that destruction that the Lord spoke when He wept over the ruin of the city. It is these Princes that are pointed at where it is said "For the days shall come upon thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee." The truth of what followeth: "They shall not leave in thee one stone upon another" is even now fulfilled in the change of site of the city, which hath been re-built round about that place without the gates, where the Lord was crucified, while the ancient city hath been, as I am told, rooted up from the very foundations.

What the sin of Jerusalem was which brought upon her the punishment of this destruction, we find written after: "Because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." The Maker of men, through the mystery of His Incarnation, was pleased to visit her, but she remembered not to fear and to love Him. Hence also the Prophet Jeremiah, rebuking the hardness of man's heart, calleth the birds of the air to testify against it, saying "The stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed time and the turtle, and the swallow, and the crane, observe the time of their coming but my people know not the judgment of the Lord." viii. 7.

Let us pray.
May Your merciful ears be open, O Lord, to the prayers of those who humbly entreat You; grant that they may ask for what pleases You so that You may fulfill their desires.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

July 11: Saint Pius I

                      15th century portrayal of Pope Pius I
                                  by Pietro Perugino

Pius I., the son of Rufinus, was from Aquilia, and was a Priest of the holy Roman Church when he was made Supreme Pontiff, he lived under the Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, he held five ordinations in the month of December, wherein he ordained twelve Bishops and eighteen Priests. There remain several eminent ordinances of his, notably that which ruleth that the Resurrection of the Lord be not observed upon any day of the week save the Lord's Day. He turned the house of Pudens into a church, and on account of its eminence above the other churches, as being that where the Bishop of Rome dwelt, he dedicated it under the name of the Shepherd. Here he often celebrated, and baptized and numbered among the faithful many converts to the faith. While he strove to do the work of a good shepherd he shed his blood for his sheep, and for the chief Shepherd Christ. He was crowned with martyrdom upon the 11th day of July, and buried upon the Vatican Hill.

Let us pray.
Look forgivingly on thy flock, Eternal Shepherd, and keep it in thy constant protection, by the intercession of blessed Pius thy Martyr and Sovereign Pontiff, whom thou didst constitute Shepherd of the whole Church.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
℟. Amen.

- Breviarium Romanum 

House of Pudens, Domus Pudentiana, Roma

Also known as Santa Pudenziana

Mosaic in apse of Christ entroned between the apostles and Ss Pudenziana and Prassede, church of S Pudenziana

The Kingdom of God: The treasure in the field

Parable of the Hidden Treasure by Rembrandt(c. 1630).

From the Holy Gospel according to Matthew

Matt 13:44
At that time Jesus spake unto His disciples this parable ‘The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field.’ And so on.

Homily by Pope St Gregory the Great

11th on the Gospels
Dearly beloved brethren, the kingdom of heaven is likened unto the things of earth, to the end that by the mean of things which we know, our mind may rise to the contemplation of the things which we know not by the example of things which are seen, may fix her gaze on things which are not seen by the touch of things which she useth, may be warmed towards the things which she useth not; by things which she knoweth and loveth, to love also the things which she knoweth not. For, behold, "the kingdom of heaven is likened unto treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and, for joy thereof, goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that field."

And herein we must remark that the treasure, when once it hath been found, is hidden to keep it safe. He whose intimate yearnings after God are not hidden from the praise of men, is open thereby to the attacks of evil spirits. In this life we are, as it were, journeying homewards on a road beset by evil spirits who are like highwaymen. He therefore inviteth robbery who carrieth his treasure ostentatiously. Doubtless our neighbour should be able to see our good works, as it is written: "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." But this is not to be understood to mean that we are to seek the praise of men by what we do. Rather, let us in such wise work in the open that the inner intention of devotion is not advertised. So we shall give an example to our neighbour, and yet keep hidden, except from the sight of God, our purpose of pleasing him.

The treasure is the desire for heaven, the field wherein it is hidden is the earnest observance wherewith this desire is surrounded. Whosoever turneth his back upon the enjoyments of the flesh, and by earnest striving heavenward, putteth all earthly lusts under the feet of discipline, so that he smileth back no more when the flesh smileth at him, and shuddereth no more at anything that can only kill the body whosoever doth thus, hath sold all that he had, and bought that field.

FOURTEENTH Sunday of the Year: "and they took offense at him."

Ezekiel 2, 2-5; Psalm 123; 2 Corinthians 12, 7-10; St. Mark 6, 1-6

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

"And on the sabbath [Jesus] began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! And they took offence at him. And he could do no mighty work there... And he marvelled because of their unbelief." (Mark 6: 2.3.5)

Jesus is saddened by the "lack of faith" of his own neighbors and the little faith of his own disciples (Cf. Mark 6:6; Matthew 8:26) (CCC 2610)

The miracles and signs withheld from the people because of their lack of faith are a portent only of the more dire effect of the impossibility of salvation without the virtue of faith.

Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation. (Cf. Mark 16:16; John 3:36; 6:40 et al.) "Since 'without faith it is impossible to please [God]' and to attain to the fellowship of his sons, therefore without faith no one has ever attained justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life 'but he who endures to the end.' " (Dei Filius 3:DS 3012; cf. Matthew 10:22; 24:13 and Hebrews 11:6; Council of Trent: DS 1532.) (CCC 161) Faith is necessary for salvation. The Lord himself affirms: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16) (CCC 183)

Just as all faith comes through the graces of the Church, so also the Church, through which comes the faith by which we are saved, is necessary for salvation. The Catechism discusses the oft-quoted and much-misunderstood teaching: "outside the Church there is no salvation."

How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? (Cf. Cyprian, Ep. 73.21: PL 3, 1169; De unit.: PL 4, 509-536.) Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body: Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it. (LG 14; cf. Mark 16:16; John 3:5) (CCC 846)

Some mistakenly take this for a blanket condemnation of anyone who is not a "card-carrying" Catholic. Nothing could be further from the truth. No one is condemned for sincerely following his conscience, for this itself is a grace from God.

This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church: Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience-those too may achieve eternal salvation. (Lumen Gentium 16; cf. DS 3866-3872) (CCC 847)

We would do well to remember the words of St. Thomas More when, implored by his friend the Duke of Norfolk to consent with him to the headship of the Church by, and the divorce and remarriage of, King Henry VIII "for fellowship's sake" he responded, "When you go to heaven for following your conscience and I go to hell for not following mine, will you come along with me for fellowship's sake?"

I look forward to meeting you here again next week as, together, we "meet Christ in the liturgy", Father Cusick

Meeting Christ in the Liturgy (Publish with permission.)

Dominica VII post Pentecosten: “Beware of false prophets”

Luca Signorelli, “The devil whispers to the anti-Christ”, fresco in Duomo di Orvieto

From the Holy Gospel according to Matthew

Matt 7:15-21
At that time, Jesus said unto His disciples: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. And so on.

Homily by St. Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers.
Comment. on Matth. ch. vi.
The Lord here warneth us that we must rate the worth of soft words and seeming meekness, by the fruits which they that manifest such things bring forth in their works, and that we should look, in order to see what a man is, not at his professions, but at his deeds. For there are many in whom sheep's clothing is but a mask to hide wolfish ravening. But "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit." Thus, the Lord teacheth us, is it with men also evil men bring not forth good fruits, and hereby are we to know them. Lip-service alone winneth not the kingdom of heaven, nor is every one that saith unto Christ: "Lord, Lord," an heir thereof.

What use is there in calling the Lord, “Lord?” Would He not be Lord all the same, whether or not we called Him so? What holiness is there in this ascription of a name, when the true way to enter into the kingdom of heaven is to do the will of our Father, Who is in heaven? 

"Many will say to Me in that day: ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy Name?’” Already here doth the Lord rebuke the deceit of the false prophets, and the feigning of the hypocrites, who take glory to themselves because of the power of their words, their prophesying in teaching, their casting out of devils, and such-like mighty works.