Today is the Feast Day of our blessed father, St. Francis of Assisi.

“Francis is the easiest saint to understand and love, while Dominic is the most difficult,” thus saith Chesterton.

This is sadly true for many Catholics and non-Catholics alike. When we think of St. Francis of Assisi: a joyful ever-smiling beggar standing in a lush garden, surrounded by birds, rabbits, and a tame wolf. Everything about Francis has been positive: his preaching to the birds, Canticles of the Sun, and even the newfound love for Pope Francis has propagated this pleasant image of the humble saint.

But then, there is St. Dominic. Who is he? Many, many people have no idea. Isn’t he that stern-faced preacher wearing a regal black-and-white robe who always carries a book? Didn’t the start the Inquisition? He must have been a real piece of work. Maybe he was pretty smart and all, but he doesn’t sound like a real great guy. Was he?

Unknown to many, St. Francis and St. Dominic were, in reality, contemporaries and friends. Surprise!!!! We read the following story:

One summer night in 1215, during his stay in Rome, Francis had a vision: he saw Our Lord prepared to unleash the most terrible chastisements upon the world. His Most Holy Mother was making an effort to placate Him, asking His mercy and forgiveness. For this purpose, she presented two men who would labour for the conversion of the world and return a countless number of lost sheep to the fold. Francis recognised himself as one of these apostles. He did not recognise the other one, however.

The following day, he was in one of the churches of Rome when suddenly an unknown person came up to him, embraced him, and said: “You are my companion, we will work together, supporting one another toward the same end, and no one will prevail against us.” Francis recognised him as the other man in the vision. It was St. Dominic, who had also received a similar vision before the meeting. When he saw Francis in that church, he immediately went to greet him, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

While in reality Dominic loved peace and the poor as much as Francis did (Dominic sold his expensive and rare theology books to feed the victims of famine!), and both had a profound Marian devotion, Francis and Dominic were indeed two very different personalities, and consequently they infused these different characters into their respective orders. The Franciscan Order is known for their simplicity in approach to life and faith. The great conversions of the Franciscans came about through the consideration of the Wounds of Our Lord, His Passion, His poverty and spirit of sacrifice. They preach with zest directly from their fiery souls, for they aim to move the will through the heart.

Meanwhile, the Order of Preachers, the Dominican Order, is the “scholarly order”; to his friars Dominic always emphasised study, because he believed that solid evangelisation wouldn’t be possible if they hadn’t studied first. The Dominican mission is an intellectual work, that is, the study and teaching of philosophy, theology, and apologetics. St. Dominic was known to spend sleepless vigils poring over his books, and later in life these study sessions transformed into nights of thorough preaching and conversions. Indeed, the Dominicans move the will by appealing to the mind.

A great similarity leads to friendship, but so also does a great dissimilarity when it is not the dissimilarity of opposition, but rather one that is complementary. One had something that the other was lacking. Together they constituted a harmonic ensemble. For this reason, they admired one another. These two holy men embraced each other and were enthusiastic for each other’s mission, because although they had different approaches, their end was essentially the same: the conversion of souls and the building of the Kingdom.

To this day, the two orders enjoy a unique and special relationship. The Franciscans celebrate St. Dominic with a Feast, and likewise the Dominicans honour St. Francis of Assisi in their calendar of saints. A Dominican event can be led by a Franciscan friar, and likewise a Franciscan ceremony may be led by a Dominican. Even in the Litany of the Saints: the names of St. Francis and St. Dominic are mentioned together!

Today, we as a Dominican Order not only celebrate our father, St. Francis, we also celebrate our centuries old friendship with the Franciscan Order. We wish you all a very blessed Feast Day!

Feast of Sts Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels.

Today we gather together as the church to honour and to commemorate the Feast of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, these Archangels of God’s Heavenly Hosts. We only know the names of these three, even though there are believed to be seven Archangels if not more in total. Let us take a look at what we do know from the Holy Scriptures about these three Archangels of God. As St. Michael is the Prince of the heavenly hosts, let us begin with information about him.

St Michael:

His name means “Who is like God”. (This is a rhetorical question, as obviously means nobody is like God as God is the highest there ever was or ever can be).

St. Michael is mentioned by his name in three books of Holy  Scripture:

In Daniel, he is described as “one of the chief princes” in the heavenly hierarchy (Dan. 10:13). He is also described to Daniel as “your prince” (Dan. 10:12). The meaning of this phrase is later clarified, and Michael is described as “the great prince who has charge of your people” (Dan. 12:1). He is thus depicted as the guardian angel of Israel. These same passages also refer to Michael doing battle against the spiritual forces at work against Israel.

In Jude 9, Michael is said to have contended with the devil over the body of Moses. On this occasion, we are told, “he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’”

In Revelation, Michael and his angels are depicted fighting the devil and casting them out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-8). He is also commonly identified as the angel who binds the devil and seals him in the bottomless pit for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3), though the name “Michael” is not given on this occasion.

St. Gabriel:

His name means “God is my warrior” (meaning, essentially, “God is my defender”).

St. Gabriel is mentioned  in two books of Holy Scripture:

In Daniel, he is assigned to help Daniel understand the meaning of a vision he has seen (Dan. 8:16). Later, while Daniel is in a prolonged period of prayer, Gabriel comes to him (Dan. 9:21) and gives him the prophecy of “seventy weeks of years” concerning Israel’s future (Dan. 9:24-27).In Luke, he appears to Zechariah the priest and announces the conception and birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:13-19). Later, he appears to the Virgin Mary and announces the conception and birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 1:26-33).

St. Raphael:

His name means “God heals.”

St. Raphael is mentioned in only book of Scripture: Tobit.

In Tobit, the blind Tobit and the maid Sarah, whose seven husbands have been killed by the demon Asmodeus, pray to God.

The prayer of both was heard in the presence of the glory of the great God. And Raphael was sent to heal the two of them: to scale away the white films of Tobit’s eyes; to give Sarah the daughter of Raguel in marriage to Tobias the son of Tobit, and to bind Asmodeus the evil demon, because Tobias was entitled to possess her (Tob. 3:16-17).

Raphael thus becomes a travelling companion of Tobias, posing as a relative named Azarias son of Ananias (Tob. 5:12). He eventually binds the demon, enabling Tobias to safely marry Sarah, and provides the means for Tobit to be healed of his blindness.

Afterward, he reveals his true identity, saying:

I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One (Tob. 12:15).

These Archangels serve the will of God by protecting , guarding and healing us at God’s request. God has ensured his children always have the full protection not only of God himself, but also from all the hosts of heaven. Our Father loves and protects his children, only ensuring all is best for them. Let us give our thanks and praise for the wonderful gift of His Archangels, and of all the hosts of heaven to our God and heavenly Father.

Let us end this homily with the prayer of St Michael:

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,

and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts,

by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits,

who prowl about the world

seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

I try really hard to put a note in Scott’s lunchbox every morning to remind him of how much I love him.  (Yes, we are one of “those” couples who are all schmaltzy and lovey-dovey even after almost 18 years.)  We remind each other constantly that we love each other, by doing, showing, and saying “I love you,” in about a million ways ever day.  There is a lot of love in our house.  He has my heart as I know I have his. 

Today is a day that celebrates love.  Not, however, the ‘hearts and flowers’ kind of love that Scott and I share, but the love that comes from the heart of Jesus.

All of you have seen one…..a picture or a statue of Jesus, heart exposed. All of you have heard the phrase: the sacred heart of Jesus. Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What is this all about? Why do we see pictures and statues of Our Lord with his internal organs exposed???

We, as Christians, continually talk about ‘the love of God,’ and that is specifically what this Feast Day is all about: The love of God. The fact that we are, all of us, held in the heart of Jesus, who loved us so much that he chose to become one of us to save us from sin, from death, and from ourselves.

According to Wikipedia, that bane of all researchers everywhere, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus can be clearly traced back at least to the eleventh century. It marked the spirituality of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in the twelfth century and of Saint Bonaventure and St. Gertrude the Great in the thirteenth. The beginnings of a devotion toward the love of God as symbolized by the heart of Jesus are found even in the fathers of the Church, including Origen, Saint Ambrose, Saint Jerome, Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Hippolytus of Rome, Saint Irenaeus, Saint Justin Martyr and Saint Cyprian, who used in this regard John 7:37-39 and John 19:33-37.

When you see a picture, or a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a picture or a statue of Our Lord, heart exposed, I want you to stop for just a second, and really look at it. Think about it. And look for yourself in that picture or statue. You are there. For you see, YOU are in the very heart of Jesus. YOU are the reason that he has exposed his heart; to give you a home, to give you a hope, to give you joy.

Jesus has given you his heart, his most precious and sacred heart……Won’t you give Him yours?

Today we remind ourselves of the solemn entrance of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem as we read in Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44 and John 12:12-19

Yeah, truly solemn entrance!  Seated on a donkey like the ancient kings as we read in 1 Kings 1:38, to fulfill the prophecy of the prophet  in Zacharias 9:9. Our Lord travels from Vitfagia through the Mount of Olives  headed for Jerusalem,  while the crowd of people with joy and excitement are welcoming our Lord shouting Hosanna to the son of David, Hosanna in the Highest.

But something happened that does not match with the magnificence of the entrance of our LORD, as Saint Luke the evangelist is saying that when he came close to the city, Jesus wept. (Luke 19:41)

Listen brethren, the LORD is weeping, our Lord Jesus  has  falling tears. Him who  comforted so many crying souls, like the widow of Nain with her only son, Jesus is telling her, don’t cry Luke 7:13, and now himself weeping.

That view is so horrifying that I can’t describe it. Only the soul can somehow feel and sense what will survive Jesus can join to cry for him like a little child who cry for his mother, without understanding those mother’s tears that are falling.

The tears as saint Augustine  says is the blood of the soul. They speak for enormous  spiritual survival, there are tears also of sorrow, tears of joy, tears of repentance…

What kind of tears did Jesus have that he was so sorrowful for Jerusalem? Saint Luke evangelist is telling us in chapter 19:41-44.

It’s obvious that this kind of tears of our Lord Jesus are tears of deep sorrow for the unhappy destiny of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

In front of God’s view who sees everything appeared those horrible days when the enemies will encircle the city, will destroy and kill their children and inhabitants, which been fulfilled in every detail as have been recorder from the historian of that age, the Jewish historian Joseph Flavian.

Our Lord wept not only for Jerusalem , but for all people throughout the history, he saw the failing of Adam, the killing of Abel, he saw the betrayal of Judas, he saw all the sins and failing of the humanity til the end of the times.

How could He not weep? He wept for us, for our sins and transgressions, for our bad and unchristian lifestyle.

The tears of our Lord Jesus Christ remind us and calls us to repentance and sanctification of the new life and new beginning, to come back to ourselves, to crucify our body with the fallen nature (Glatians5:24) to remove from us the old man and to renew and clothe with new human made according God with justice and sanctity of truthfulness (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Holy Mother the Church have prepared during the liturgical year , several weeks, the weeks of the great lent for meditation and preparation for spiritual uplifting and spiritual salvation.

We ourselves let weep for our sins, with repentant tears to wash the sinful dots and marks from our heart.

To those who weep for their own sins and who repent, the Saviour has promised them great comfort in Matthew 5:4

That comfort is truly sure, because it is the comfort of the Holy Ghost (Acts9:31) Amen

Rev. Deacon Igor Kalinski OPI

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today, we come together as the Church to commemorate St. Joseph, the Spouse of The Blessed Virgin Mary, and the foster Father of our Lord and Saviour,Jesus, when he became one of us here upon the Earth.

In the same way in which God, our Heavenly Father, who gives each of us as his children, unconditional love, care, stability and who sets us the standard with which we should strive to live our lives with his holy word in the scriptures, a true Father to each and every single one of us, who only ever wants the very best for all his children.  St. Joseph follows our Father’s example, as both husband and foster father.  He gives us examples which men should follow in their lives. Joseph cared for and provided for the Holy Household. There are many qualities that Joseph had which we could use to be the role model for Christian husbands and fathers. Joseph was a very compassionate man.  We can see an example of this when he suspected his wife of infidelity; he planned to divorce her quietly rather than denounce her publicly and expose her to public shame and penalty.

Joseph was always obedient to God and did what he knew was God’s will without thought or hesitation.  Examples of this are that he kept Mary as his wife; he protected and provided for his family when they had to flee to foreign lands to protect them from danger.

Joseph led a life of deep prayer and was in communion with God, and would always seek out that which was God’s will. God often told Joseph his will using dreams.

Joseph was a provider of care, When Jesus’s life was threatened, Joseph would take them out of danger. He took his family to Egypt and only returned when it was safe to do so, and when Jesus went missing at aged twelve, Joseph went searching for him because obviously, both parents were obviously extremely worried about Jesus’s safety.

Joseph also brought much more to Jesus’s life, he taught him his trade which Jesus worked in for about twenty years, he gave Jesus the love and stability he as any child needs, and was his earthly male role model, which was and still is vitally important for a good father to give any child.

He was a man with a firm faith in God coupled with a resilient personality, who did not complain and was not appalled nor distressed in the midst of trials and tribulations, St. Joseph knew how to face, carry and solve the burden of his vocation, of life’s difficulties and responsibilities with serenity, with complete faith and love, entrusting himself totally and unconditionally to God’s plans.

Sadly not all children are brought up in such a way today, but husbands and fathers truly should seek to follow this sincere man of God in the way they run their lives. Are you married? Do you give all the love, trust and respect to your spouse? Or with stresses and strains do you always argue or not truly make time for each other? If you have children, do you know where they are and if they are safe, or who they might be talking to online? Do you give emotional stability, patience and unconditional love? Do your children see you as the role model they need in a Father?  We should always strive to be as our heavenly Father is to each of us, whether that be to our spouses, to our children, and in fact to all as our brothers and sisters.

While the Gospels do not shed much light on St. Joseph’s life, it is believed that he died before Jesus’ public ministry.

St. Joseph is the patron of fathers, spouses, priests and seminarians. But also, St. Joseph teaches  us so much by his silent example of his life, and just how we should love God faithfully and obediently.

Let us pray:

Blessed St. Joseph, husband of Mary,

be with us this day.

You protected and cherished the Virgin;

loving the Child Jesus as your Son,

you rescued Him from the danger of death.

Defend the Church,

the household of God,

purchased by the Blood of Christ.

Guardian of the Holy Family,

be with us in our trials.

May your prayers obtain for us

the strength to flee from error

and wrestle with the powers of corruption

so that in life we may grow in holiness

and in death rejoice in the crown of victory.

Amen.

Reading the Bible is very important for every one of us. It could give us strength, encouragement, love, hope, enlarge our faith and also is a way of communicating with God. Often, when we read the Bible we tend to read the New Testament. It seems that in the New Testament we could find more stories about love and forgiveness. This is why I believe more people rather read the New Testament. However, it is good to remember that the New Testament was written based on the Old Testament. And even though in the Old Testament one could read more about things that are related to rituals, knowing the Commandments of God, sacrificing and punishing for sins and it seems that The Old one is a bit harder to read, we could also find some interesting chapters talking about the importance of love and forgiveness. In today`s reading we read Leviticus 19:17/18:

”Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

Love your neighbor as yourself. These are words from the Old Testament. It was not only mentioned to love our neighbor which would be also a strong Commandment. It was written to love our neighbor as our own selves. As we live in the time when modern psychology teaches us to be only self-oriented and maybe even a bit selfish, it may be hard for a modern human to love others the way they love their selves. But this is what Bible says. Bible is teaching us to love and forgive. And through love and forgiveness we might also experience peace. Sometimes we may feel that our neighbor is not doing fair enough to us. We may even have an evil neighbor who is envious, jealous or who even make some problems to us. Bible also teaches us to forgive. Here is another challenge for modern human. We usually tend to seek justice and when someone causes us pain or does something unjust we would like to revenge. But life could often teach us that God is the one who sees everything and God is just. In Matthew 5:38-48 it is written:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighborand hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

As we read the New Testament goes even one step further. It does not only teaches us to love our neighbors but it also teaches us to love our enemies. This is a really hard lesson but we have the greatest teacher, the Lord Himself, Jesus who showed us how that love could work. When he was on the cross, dying in pains he did not condemn his enemies, but he prayed for them. This is useful to remember every time when we feel depressed or when it seems that the life is unjust, painful or when we feel that we cannot deal with our daily hardships. We all have our crosses, but God will never give us the cross that we could not bear. Sometimes some hardships or unjust situations may be good lessons to make us better person. Or those could be only one step to some good things that God is preparing for us. We should trust God and rely on Him because everything that is happening to us is happening with a reason. God has a personalized approach to each one of us. Through the years I learnt one important lesson. God is always leading us and sometimes when we think that something is not good for us, God knows why it actually is good because he sees the future and he knows the outcome.

With my wish and prayer for you all to learn about God`s wisdom and grace, to let Him guide your life and being trustful and faithful may He bless you all in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Isaiah 58:7-10 I Corinthians 2:1-5 Matthew 5:13-16

SALT:

In addition to other spices, salt serves to enhance the flavor of food. And yet when it is used alone it is able to prolong the distinctiveness of foods for later consumption.

[In Leviticus we read “And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt. You shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering.”]

The value of salt in small qualities [appear to have been known] in ancient times for use in arid places to help retain moisture, destroy weeds, make stubborn soil easier to till, and make sour grass sweeter and more appealing to cattle. [add a statement introducting how salt relates in the old covenant to our relationship to God.

Leviticus 2:13 reads: “And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering.”

In the New Testament, sacrifices seasoned with salt speaks of covenant fellowship with God, which we have in the Mass can you clarify Mass, all parts, the eucharist? source of the idea which then leads to the next statement. Living the Mass is about “the unbending truthfulness of that self-surrender to the Lord embodied in the sacrifice of Christ, by which impurity and hypocrisy are repelled.” Source??

Salt was can also be a symbol of a curse. If you recall in the story of Lot and his wife recorded in Genesis 19:24, the Lord rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. God chose to spare Lot and his family, warning them of

the impending destruction and commanding them to leave and not look back., While Lot and his family were fleeing the city, his wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt

Why did she defy a direct order from God when He specifically told them not to look back? St. Luke interprets her action as the manifestation of the unwillingness to relinquish everything at the time of judgment and serves to warn Jesus’ followers ( that is US) against misplaced values. source

What I am reminded of with this incident involving Lot’s wife, is the end of one’s life and how it could happen as quickly as it did for Lot’s wife. Even though she was told not to turn back, she did and immediately, her life was over- there was no time to repent or plea for forgiveness The Son of Man may return at a time when we least expect it. It helps to be ready. In his sermon on the mount, Jesus tells his followers “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.” Matthew 5:13

Salt’s purpose is not for itself; it is for preserving and seasoning food. In the same way, His disciples are there not for themselves but for spreading God’s truth, the Gospel to all people, and we are supposed to do the same. We are no longer our own the moment we surrender our lives to God Almighty. From that moment, He places His hand on us and calls us into a world of “seasonless” lives. It is our responsibility to be the Salt of the earth for eachother; through Christ, of course.

An illustration that I like to use is this:

In A Peanuts cartoon, Peppermint Patty talking to Charlie Brown said,

“Guess what, Chuck.

The first day of school and I got sent to the principal’s office. It was your fault, Chuck.”

He said, “My fault? How could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault?”

She said, “You’re my friend, aren’t you, Chuck?

You should have been a better influence on me.”

Charlie brown should have been more Like salt; after all, what are we if we are like peanuts without salt?

Amen.

In the ✠ Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

If you are a regular catholic churchgoer, you likely are familiar with the general outline of the holy mass. Shortly after we boldly join in reciting our Lord’s prayer, the celebrant will fraction the consecrated host, confer a sign of peace, turn to us, holding the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ in their hands while firmly proclaiming: “Behold the Lamb of God: behold Him that taketh away the sins of the world.” If you speak liturgicalese, you know this to be called the Agnus Dei, where we give reverence to the Son’s  title: “Lamb of God”. In most catholic masses, the celebrant may then go on to say: “Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb”, which is in reference to a passage from Revelation.

The word “behold” appears over 1200 times in most english translations of the Bible, and, in the New Testament, is derived from the Greek word “eido” which is often translated as a command to see, or, to look intently. It is translated most literally as, “be sure to see”.

We can assume this is the sentiment John the Baptist carries in today’s Holy Gospel when he says to the disciples “behold”. In the presence of our Lord, he calls the disciples to take notice, to look carefully.

But that’s not all he says, isn’t it? He says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Now the language here is especially important and worth paying attention to. When John says “takes away”, he doesn’t just mean get rid of, nullify, or set aside, like when a mother might take away a child’s toy for misbehaving. In this context, John says “airōn”, which in ancient Greek is closer to meaning “bearing up what was laid down”. 

In the Holy Sacrifice of the mass, we celebrate in tremendous awe the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, and remember through Christ’s passion the forgiveness of our sins. We remember in adoration that Jesus Christ laid down His life for us, so that we may be forgiven. The catholic faith has historically been incredibly adamant about the remission of sins through consumption of the Body and Blood of Christ, that the Holy See ex cathedra has declared absolutions of venial sins for all those who rightfully partake in communion.

The breaking of bread isn’t the first time the people of the Church see the consecrated Host in the order of the holy mass, however. In fact, it occurs when the priest lifts up the Host in what we call, the elevation. Most times, the elevation is accompanied by three bell chimes, followed by a genuflection by the presiding clergy. The most important role played during the elevation is not by the clergy, but actually, the people! The priest lifts up the Body and Blood of Christ in view of everyone for the purpose of solemn adoration. When the priest raises the elements, they acclaim with their whole heart, “Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world!”.

So the next time you find yourself at mass, I encourage you to lift your head high when you hear the sound of the bells, and intentionally look at the raised Body and Blood of Christ that was shed just for you, out of the abundance of love from our Almighty God.

Lastly, I’ll end with the prayer I usually say before the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, if you find it helpful for your own devotion. “Be present, be present, O Jesus our great High Priest, as you were present with your disciples in the upper room, and be known to us in the breaking of bread through Christ our Lord. Amen.”