“Lord, teach me to be generous, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to look for any reward, save that of knowing that I do your holy will.”
+Prayer of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Monday, November 20

Luke 18:35-43 

Prayer: Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord, that striving more eagerly to bring your divine work to fruitful completion, they may receive in greater measure the healing remedies your kindness bestows. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: This incident reveals something important about how God interacts with us. The blind man was determined to get Jesus’ attention and he was persistent in the face of opposition. Jesus could have ignored or rebuffed him because he was disturbing his talk and his audience. Jesus showed that acting was more important than talking. This man was in desperate need and Jesus was ready not only to empathize with his suffering, but to relieve it as well. A great speaker can command attention and respect, but a man or woman with a helping hand and a big heart is loved more. Jesus commends Bartimaeus for recognizing who he is with the eyes of faith and grants him physical sight as well. Do you recognize your need for God’s healing grace and do you seek Jesus out, like Bartimaeus, with persistent faith and trust in his goodness and mercy?

Tuesday, November 21 | Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Holy Gospel: Matthew 12:46-50 

Prayer: As we venerate the glorious memory of the most holy Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, O Lord, through her intercession, that we, too, may merit to receive from the fullness of your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: Our life with Jesus Christ changes the order of relationships and shows that true kinship is not just a matter of flesh and blood.  Our adoption as sons and daughters of God transforms all our relationships and requires a new order of loyalty to God first and to his kingdom of righteousness and peace. The Sacrament of Baptism begins our life with Christ. “God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people” (Rite of Baptism). “Name of Baptized, you have become a new creation, and have clothed yourself in Christ” (Rite of Baptism). “Dearly beloved, this child has been reborn in baptism. He (she) is now called the child of God, for so indeed he (she) is” (Rite of Baptism).   Do you want to grow in love and friendship?  Allow God’s Holy Spirit to conform your heart, mind, and will, enabling you to faithfully live and love as Christ does.

Wednesday, November 22 | Saint Cecilia

Holy Gospel: Luke 19:11-28  

Prayer: O God, who gladdens us each year with the feast day of your handmaid Saint Cecilia, grant, we pray, that what has been devoutly handed down concerning her may offer us examples to imitate and proclaim the wonders worked in his servants by Christ your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: The Lord Jesus has brought us his kingdom of righteousness and peace and he calls us to live as citizens of this kingdom where he rules as Lord and Master. The Lord entrusts us with his gifts and graces and he gives us freedom to use them as we think best. With each gift and talent, the Lord gives sufficient grace and energy for using them in a fitting way. As the parable of the talents shows, God abhors indifference and an attitude that says it’s not worth trying. God honors those who use their talents and gifts for doing good. Those who are faithful with even a little are entrusted with more! But those who neglect or squander what God has entrusted to them will lose what they have. There is an important lesson here for us. No one can stand still for long in the Christian life. We either get more or we lose what we have. We either advance towards God or we slip back. Do you trust in God’s grace to make good use of the gifts and talents he has given you?

Thursday, November 23 | Thanksgiving Day

Holy Gospel: Luke 17:11-19  

Prayer: Father all-powerful, your gifts of love are countless and your goodness infinite; as we come before you on Thanksgiving Day with gratitude for your kindness, open our hearts to have concern for every man, woman, and child, so that we may share your gifts in loving service. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

Contemplation: Is today, Thanksgiving Day, simply a day for feasting and football? Or have you given any thought to what this day is truly about – giving thanks to God for all that he has done for you, the great and the simple things in life, and life itself.  Begin the day by giving true thanks to God – begin the day with Mass; family football games and community 5K runs and such can begin later, or our participation in them can be curtailed until after we have begun our day in prayer and in thanksgiving by attending Mass. As Americans, but more importantly as Catholics, may we be blessed with a fresh awareness of the loving Most Blessed Trinity from whom all good things come, and may we give thanks for what has been bestowed upon us. On this Thanksgiving Day, and as we quickly approach the Season of Advent, may all of us have a renewed interest in helping those who are less fortunate – especially those with inadequate food, clothing and shelter, and reach out to help our brothers and sisters in Christ through our parish Saint Vincent de Paul Society, those served through other outreach locations throughout our Diocese (JOIN, Saint Joseph Cathedral Back Door Ministry, Saint Lawrence Haven, Bishop Griffin Center, Saint Francis Outreach Center in Vinton County, and many others).

About Thanksgiving Day: Many people assume that the United States has celebrated Thanksgiving Day since the time of the Pilgrims as a sign of thanksgiving for the harvest season. This is not exactly true. President Abraham Lincoln instituted the holiday in 1863 during the Civil War. However, he did not have the harvest in mind. He wanted Americans to celebrate the holiday as a sign of unity and thanksgiving to God.

“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” (President Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation, October 3, 1863)

There is no American holiday that so closely resembles the symbolism and meaning of the sacrament of the Eucharist. We celebrate Thanksgiving as a sign of American unity and thanksgiving to God who has given us great gifts.

Friday, November 24 | Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions

Holy Gospel: Luke 19:45-48  

Prayer: O God, source and origin of all fatherhood, who kept the Martyrs Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions’ faith to the Cross of your Son, even to the shedding of their blood, grant through their intercession, that, spreading your love among our brothers and sisters, we may be your children both in name and in truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: The message in today’s Gospel is short and simple: Grow in what you know is right, give praise to God for all the beauty and knowledge that continues to be created for us to enjoy and learn from the beauty and knowledge that enriches our lives. To be true to ourselves and not steal the qualities, the success, or what we see as the riches of others. Jesus has shared with us the Good News about how to love one another, to appreciate one another, to praise one another and to praise God for all that has been given uniquely to each of us. We are asked to continue to grow in our love of God and our fellow human beings and to not let those who are fearful, resentful or wrongfully prideful; steal our gifts or put to death our abilities to use our gifts to continue to enrich all of human kind.

Scripture passages (NAB translation) courtesy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; prayers are from The Roman Missal, Catholic Book Publishing, 2011; information about saints, solemnities, feasts and memorials courtesy of the Catholic Culture web site.              frlumpe:2023

PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY

During November—the “Month of All Souls”— and beyond, really, please pray the following prayer, which was dictated to Saint Gertrude by Our Lord for the release of souls from Purgatory…

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son Jesus Christ, in union with the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home, and within my family. Amen.