Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

The challenge to forgive

Reading I: Ezekiel 18:25-28 (personal responsibility)
Reading II: Philippians 2:1-11 (imitating the humility of Christ)
Gospel: Matthew 21:28-32 (parable of the two sons)

Key Passage: A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said, “The first.” (Matthew 21:28–31)

Adult: When have your actions not measured up to your promises? What was the outcome?
Child: Why is it important to follow through on your promises to others?
(from PastoralPlanning.com)

Jonah

Every year we celebrate and dread the autumnal equinox, OK 1st day of fall! One way to make things fun is to find a person to associate the day with. For those of us who are Christian we could think of Jonah on this day when the day and night are in balance, each are 12 hours long and when the sun rises due east and sets due west.

Jonah is always remembered as being swallowed by the whale and then spit out by said whale on the shores of Nineveh. But, the question is why. This story is appealing to tell to young children since they have the vivid imaginations that lets them wonder at a person being swallowed by a whale and living in its stomach until one day the whale burps and there he is on a shore.

God called Jonah to go to Nineveh to warn the people to give up their selfish ways, to straighten out their lives or there would be drastic repercussions. Jonah did not listen to God’s call because he felt the people of Nineveh weren’t worth saving, he decided to sail away on a ship. While he was on board the ship a terrible storm came up and the ship was in danger of capsizing. Jonah new the storm was because he was trying to run away from his responsibilities so he told the crew to throw him overboard and was promptly swallowed by a huge fish. Jonah ended up on the shore of Nineveh when the fish spit him out. And because of this sign Jonah followed God’s plan for him. He did not succeed in convincing people the 1st time around but did succeed the 2nd time. We can learn a lot from that, especially if we fail at something we try we need to ask God for help and try again.

Take some time and read the book of Jonah to follow his journey to being God’s spokesman, (prophet).

St. Matthew

Did you know that St. Matthew is the patron saint of the unpopular? I vaguely remember hearing that in my growing up years but hadn’t thought of it until I read it when looking for ideas for this blog post. Remember, Matthew was a tax collector before he became an apostle of Jesus. So, not only is he the patron saint of the unpopular but of those who work with money such as bakers, financial planners and tax agents. I am sure you have figured out where the unpopular comes in. When you think of tax collectors or the IRS we are necessarily happy to have to deal with the, thus they are unpopular with most people. Anyone for that fact who do make a living doing something most people don’t like are unpopular.

If you aren’t very sure on what a patron saint is a particular is a saint who is a good example for someone to follow. Knowing about this particular saint’s life can help show us how to live out our Catholic Christian faith at work, in school or at home.

When Matthew met Jesus he decided that Jesus’ message and mission here on earth were more important than collecting money from those who had next to nothing. He left his job and everything he held dear to work with Jesus. September 21st is his feast day and that may be a good day for us to ponder about the things and the people who we think are important. What do you value most in your life? Is there anything you value that could be left behind? Sometimes our treasures multiply faster when we give them away as I am sure Matthew discovered when her repaid those he had taken money from and lived the life that Jesus wants us all to follow.

To celebrate St. Matthew’s feast day you could give your family and/or friends chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil. Or as an old custom at harvest time goes use gold or silver paint or foil to cover walnuts/almonds to share with people.
(Take Me Home, LTP, 1991)

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

God’s generosity

Reading I: Isaiah 55:6-9 (seeking the Lord)
Reading II: Philippians 1:20-24, 27 (spreading the gospel)
Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16 (the laborers in the vineyard)

Key Passage: [The landowner] said “Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:14–15)

Adult: What lessons do you draw from today’s Gospel? How has God been generous to you in this way?
Child: Who is generous to you, even when you do not always deserve it?
(from: PastoralPlanning.com)

The Sorrows of Mary

Yesterday we celebrate the Triumph of the Cross and today, September 15 we honor Mary, “Our Lady of Sorrows.” Mary stood at the bottom of the cross as her son was dying and suffered along with him. I can only imagine the sorrow she felt and I know that anyone who has watched a child suffer and even die would know how Mary felt in those final hours of Jesus’ life. Her faith sustained her through it all and she knew that he would be reunited with her for all of eternity.

In “Take Me Home Too” I discovered that “dolors” is an old word for sorrows so today (Sept. 15) is the name-day of those named Delores. “Today we remember the seven dolors of Mary: 1. Hearing the prophecy of Simeon that a ‘sword of sorrow’ would open her heart.’
@. Fleeing into Egypt with her family to escape King Herod’s plot to murder her baby.
3. Losing the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem.
4. Seeing Jesus carry his cross.
5. Witnessing the death of Jesus, when the sun wen dark and the earth itself shook with sorrow.
6. Receiving Jesus’ dead body in her arms.
7. Burying the body of Jesus in the earth.” (1)
These sorrows could be the sorrows of each of us who follow Jesus. We are called to open our hearts to Jesus and live our faith according to the gospel. Sometimes that means losing what we love the most with the faith that Jesus is with us and will carry us through our sorrow. That may mean giving witness to and suffering like Mary the Mother of Jesus. We need to remember that in the suffering there is certain hope of resurrection as we embrace and then bury those we love who have died.

One of the flowers that is abundant in September is the gladiola, which derives its name from the Latin word for sword, gladius, if you look closely the flower has sword shaped leaves. So if you have gladiolas in your garden or access through a friend, floral shop or farmer’s market use the flowers next to your cross today just as you may have used basil or herbs yesterday. To do this is remembering Simeon’s words to Mary that a
“sword of sorrow” would open her heart.

Triumph of the Holy Cross

Reading 1: Numbers 21:4b-9; Reading 2: Phillipians 2:6-11; Gospel: John 3:13-17

On September 14 we will celebrate the Triumph of the Holy Cross. This day we celebrate the cross of Jesus as a sign of glory. We are remembering that almost 6 months ago we held up the cross on Good Friday. This is not a symbol that we pull out once a year during Holy Week to remind us of Jesus’ suffering and death for our sins. This is a symbol of the living Christ who lives in each of us and loves us even to death.

St. Helena who lived about 300 years after Jesus and was the mother of Constantine who was the first emperor to be baptized a Christian brought the Cross to the forefront of people’s minds. According to legend she did this by setting off to Jerusalem to search for the cross of Jesus. When I read about this I thought an impossible task, how could you find a wood cross that is over 300 years old since it should have most likely disintegrated at that point? Then I thought a little more and determined that it is a holy object, one that held the body of our Lord, Jesus as he gave his life for us it would of course still be intact. The legend goes on to tell us that St. Helena did indeed find the Cross on a hillside and it was covered with basil, which we all know is a wonderful herb with a very aromatic scent. One of the little known facts that most of do not know about basil is that it is a symbol of resurrection because it can sprout in dry soil and grow very quickly.

Do you have a crucifix or cross hanging in your home? If you do is it in a place of honor? We should be proud as Catholic Christians to display this reminder of Christ’s love for us. One of the ones we have in our home was a gift from my husband’s godparents for our wedding. How about you does one of the crucifixes you own have a special memory associated with it?

The Christians in Ethiopia pout fresh basil and other late summer herbs and wildflowers by their cross on September 14. This could be a custom to start in your home, especially if you are a gardener and have an abundance of herbs at this time of the year. Another way to celebrate is to make a cross shaped dessert like a cake or sugar cookies and decorate them for the occasion.

Whatever way you choose to honor this day always keep in mind that Jesus died so we could be united with him in heaven.
(The information in this post came from Take Me Home Too, published by LTP, 1007)

Happy Birthday Mary, Mother of God!

Did you know that September 8 is the anniversary of Mary’s, the Mother of Jesus, birth? We should all plan on celebrating this wonderful day, for without her birth and yes to the Angel she would not have been the Mother of God. And remember Mary was born without sin so she would be able to carry Jesus in her womb.

We all celebrate our birthdays with parties, cards, a special meal, a cake or good wishes from family and friends. What would happen if we celebrated the other milestones associated with our birth? What are those you ask? Well most likely you were given a Saint’s name when you were born. You could research what Saint is associated with your given name. When you discover who the Saint is you could then find out his or her feast day and celebrate on that day with a special meal etc. The other special milestone associated with our birth would be your Baptism when you were born into the new life of Jesus.

Some people have several names. Mary, the Mother of Jesus is also known by, “rose of Sharon and lily of the valley.” What you say why those names? The names actually come from the Bible. The Old Testament to be exact in the Song of Songs. So since Mary’s birthday is September 8 and we celebrate that day in her honor anyone with the name Rose or Rosa, Sharon, Lily or Lillian, Mary or any of its variations like Marie, Maureen, Miriam etc. has a name day that day and that would call for a name day celebration.

Even if you don’t have a name that derives from Mary the Mother of God you can celebrate her birthday. You could have a statue of Mary on your table for the day and place roses by the statue. Have a special meal and use your “good” dishes to make everything feel special. And of course you need to have a birthday cake because what is a birthday celebration without cake?

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Helping others grow

Reading I: Ezekiel 33:7-9 (the prophet a watchman)
Reading II: Romans 13:8-10 (love fulfills the Law)
Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20 (fraternal correction)

Key Passage: Jesus said, “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.” (Matthew 18:15)

Adult: How have you been able to follow Christ more closely because others patiently loved you?
Child: How can you help another person do the right thing?
(from PastoralPlanning.com)

Back to School is a Rite of Passage

I am a bit late posting this so I hope you can still feel the celebration that comes with a new school year even though everyone is a couple of days into it by now.

We always hear how excited parents are to have their children back in school. There is a routine that is back in the family lifestyle. No more hearing “I am bored,” or “There is nothing to do,” or “Why can’t we do something fun for a change?” Some parents think, the children are back in school we should do something fun. And the children are thinking oh no school, too much homework, a mean teacher, a new school I won’t have any friends etc. What if instead of focusing on the negatives we focus on the positives?

We should be celebrating the chance for our children to grow in knowledge and experience. How can we do that? In Russia, the first day of school means a time to celebrate learning. The teachers receive flowers and in turn have bags of candy for the students. In India the students are wearing flowers. And in Israel honey cookies are made in the shape of the letters of the alphabet.

Do you have any special rituals to celebrate the return to school and the excitement of learning new things this year? What about having a special meal the night before school starts? You could serve alphabet themed items, such as alphabet soup. Do you make a day of back to school shopping and stopping to have a meal out with the children? You could make everyday things seem exciting, when you have that special meal the night before school starts use a table cloth and the good dishes. After the meal gather all of the new school supplies (already in backpacks) and then thank the Lord for the new year and as His blessing on everyone (teachers included).