God Bless America

Almighty God,

bless our nation
and make it true
to the ideas of freedom and justice
and brotherhood for all who make it great.

Guard us from war,
from fire and wind,
from compromise, fear, confusion.

Be close to our president and our statesmen;
give them vision and courage,
as they ponder decisions affecting peace
and the future of the world.

Make me more deeply aware of my heritage;
realizing not only my rights
but also my duties
and responsibilities as a citizen.

Make this great land
and all its people
know clearly Your will,
that they may fulfill
the destiny ordained for us
in the salvation of the nations,
and the restoring of all things in Christ.

Amen

The Feast of St. Thomas

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,

was not with them when Jesus came.

So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks

and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside

and Thomas was with them.

Jesus came, although the doors were locked,and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side,

and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”

Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
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July 03, 2008

Feast of the Apostle, Saint Thomas

Eph 2:19-22; Ps 117:1-2; Jn 20:24-29

"Tell the Good News!"

Every Sunday in the Creed we call ourselves, one, holy, catholic and apostolic. Such a powerful self-awareness is so often lost in the day-to-day living out of the mystery we call Church. On the feasts of the Apostles, we are once again summoned to affirm and embrace our apostolic identity. What does it mean to be apostolic? At the very end of his gospel Saint Mark remembers the commission of the Lord Jesus, "Go out to all the world and tell the Good News." We are apostolic because we are sent, and we are sent because we have truly good news for the whole world. That good news echoes in our hearts every time we gaze upon the Body and Blood of Christ and joint the Apostle Thomas in praying, "My Lord and my God." Indeed, the good news we bear is the good news that we become in communion with the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. As a successor of the apostles, Saint Augustine, has taught us, when we eat any other kind of food that food becomes us, but when we eat the Body and Blood of Christ we become what we eat. The one we consume consumes us. Indeed, we are more like Christ than we are like ourselves. Our true identity is hidden with Christ in God. As we are sent out from every Eucharist we are sent to give apostolic witness: "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!" By what we say and do everyday, we reveal to all the nations that the LORD is here with us, and we are transformed by his steadfast kindness and tender fidelity. This divine love is at the center of our lives today, and it is the bright glory of our future. Christ Our God wants all men and women to share in the splendor of truth and the beauty of his love forever. This is truly good news for every nation all through history until the consummation to the ages and the end of the world as we know it. For the world as we know it is not totally transparent to the mystery of the Kingdom or the splendor of the Church. Indeed, it is the witness of the blood of the apostles in every age that is startling and constant before a harsh and violent world.

The Apostle Paul cries our to this brothers and sisters in every age to recognize our true dignity in the Body of Christ. Like Saint Thomas and the entire apostolic band we must summon all men and women to Christ. This is our apostolic identity. Indeed, we are no longer strangers and sojourners. We are fellow citizens of the heavenly Kingdom. We stand before the throne of God and of the Lamb along with all the Apostles and prophets. Indeed, we are at home and familiar with the saints in glory and we have a permanent home with these holy ones. We are not just passing guests in the court of heaven. Christ Jesus himself is the capstone of our lives. He is the very one who holds us together and binds us into one organic whole. Our very life is in the LORD; outside of Christ we have no life. Cut off from Christ, we are dead and dried up branches fit for the fire. Through Him, with Him, and in Him, we are growing into a temple sacred to the Lord. In Christ we are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Indeed, it is the very mystery of the Trinity that shines through the splendor of the Church at this time in history and forever in the Kingdom of Heaven. 

This is the message of today’s celebration, and this is the good news we have to offer all who are lost and in the shadow of death.

Perhaps Saint Thomas had to struggle with the good news so that we could hear the good news. Perhaps, we never would have had the blessing upon us that we hear after Thomas received his blessing. "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." Indeed, it is the gift of faith that enabled Saint Thomas to see what no man can see—my Lord and my God. No human eyes alone can behold the face of God in Christ. It takes faith that alone can expand our vision beyond its natural capacity to behold in faith the revelation of God in the flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus, crucified and raised. The Lord Jesus blessed his disciple Thomas and in this blessing he became an apostle. Before one can be sent out with the good news, one must taste and see that the Lord is good. Before Saint Thomas was ready for his blessing and commission, he had to spend a week waiting for the Lord to come through the locked doors. Indeed, we lock the doors out of fear that someone would take advantage of our weakness and vulnerability. We have been disappointed and we feel abandoned just like the apostles. Disappointed that we did not have enough courage and faith to stand at the foot of the cross with the beloved and his mother. Abandoned by the teacher who had promised to remain with us and had proclaimed that we need not fear, anyone or anything. This Lord Jesus was executed in public before the scorn and mockery of the leaders. This Lord Jesus was absent for a whole week while many had given witness and proclaimed his resurrection. It is impossible to believe. Indeed, without faith no one could see him come through locked doors and breathe, "peace". Just as the Apostle Thomas doubted, even longer and more intensely have we doubted. Just as the Apostle Thomas believed because he saw, we believe without seeing. Only with eyes of faith can we see and cry out, "My Lord and my God!"

Homily of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI

Will Have Ecumenical Dimension

From: (Zenit.org)

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 28, 2007.- Benedict XVI has declared June 2008-June 2009 the year of St. Paul in celebration of the 2,000th anniversary of the saint's birth. The Pope decreed the year in a vespers celebration held today at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The Holy Father explained during his homily: "This 'Pauline Year' will take place in a special way in Rome, where for 2,000 years under the papal altar of this basilica, lies the tomb that according to experts and undisputed tradition has conserved the remains of the apostle Paul." The Pontiff said: "In the papal basilica and Benedictine abbey attached to it, there can take place a series of liturgical, cultural and ecumenical events, as well as various pastoral and social initiatives, all of them inspired by Pauline spirituality. "Special attention can also be given to pilgrims who from various places will want to go to the tomb of the Apostle in a penitential way in order to find spiritual benefits. "Meetings for study will be promoted and there will be special publications on Pauline texts, to promote the immense richness of the teaching contained in them, true patrimony of humanity redeemed by Christ. "Also, in every part of the world, similar initiatives will be organized in dioceses, sanctuaries and places of prayer by religious institutions, institutions of study and assistance, which carry the name of St. Paul or which have been inspired by him and his teaching." Benedict XVI explained that this year must have an important "ecumenical dimension." "The Apostle of the Gentiles, who dedicated himself to the spreading of the good news to all peoples, spent himself for the unity and harmony of all Christians," the Pope said. "May he guide us and protect us in this bimillenary celebration," he added, "helping us to advance in the humble and sincere search for the full unity of all the members of the mystical body of Christ."

Homilies from the Monastery

Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
From: Daily Devotion (Homilies from the Monastery) -  

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2 Kgs 22:8-13; 23:1-3; Ps119:33-37,40; Mt 7:15-20

"I long for your precepts."

By our very nature we long for the word of the LORD. From our conception within the womb we long for his precepts. Without the knowledge of his ways we are lost and insecure. Like King David in today's psalm, we, too, plead with the LORD, "Teach me the way of your decrees." Many in our day resist what they perceive as direction from the outside. Yet, if we are true to our nature, if we are honest, we cannot find our own way. The revelation of God is not from the outside; God's word is spoken within us, and his truth reveals the truth of who we are. We are created beings; we are not self-made men. We are contingent beings; we are not the source of our own life. We are dependant beings, and we absolutely need the LORD. We need to have the LORD instruct us in the way of his statutes, that we may exactly observe them. If the LORD teaches us his decrees, then we have discernment of heart. With this wisdom we can deal with all the difficulties and challenges we encounter in life. When the LORD leads us in the paths of his commands, then we delight and do not despair. Indeed, it is the grace of God that inclines our hearts to his decrees and not to self-assertion and personal gain. Only then will we be able to love God and love our neighbor faithfully. We humbly ask that the LORD turn our eyes away from seeing what is vain. We need divine help to become those who give life by pouring ourselves out in loving service. Only when our deepest longing becomes our conscious will, only then will we long for his precepts and learn to live in justice and truth. Such a heart felt desire for God's ways ignited the hearts of those who found the book of the covenant hidden in the temple. Such a bold and singular desire for God's will is the only way to be rooted in the word of the LORD and to bear good fruit. Once we have found what is lost and hidden in our tradition will we be found secure in the mystery of God's call to holiness. Indeed, it is the mysteries of this liturgy that secure and strengthen our true identity hidden with Christ in God.

For many reasons the law of the LORD had been ignored and lost from among his chosen people. In today's first reading we hear about the surprise discovery of the book of the law in the temple of the LORD. When the high priest, Hilkiah, gave this book to King, and read it aloud for his instruction, the King was quick to repent and respond to the law of the LORD. He tore his garments and humbled himself before the LORD. After his personal repentance, he summoned the priests, prophets and people to a public reading of the decrees of the LORD. "He had the entire contents of the book of the covenant that had been found in the temple of the LORD, read out to them." Sometimes we lose our way and we need to hear the instructions of the LORD to stir our hearts to repentance and reform. This is why we proclaim the word of the LORD in every liturgy, so that we have no excuse to continue in our selfish and destructive ways. However, we do not always receive the wisdom from ages past with an open and willing heart. Sometimes we resist and rebel against the LORD's commands. We deceive ourselves into thinking that the LORD's ways are not compassionate, that God just doesn't understand the needs of our time. We think that the church is out of touch, and our traditions are irrelevant. At times like this we gladly take the comfort that the Word seems to offer, but reject any challenge that comes from the mouth of God. We think we know what is best and ignore the wisdom of God. We fool ourselves into thinking that the law of the LORD is too harsh and not sensitive to our real situation. At times like these the LORD surprises us, and we discover that which seems hidden and lost in the very temple of our liturgy. At times like these the LORD summons us to revive the terms of the covenant written so long ago for our instruction. The LORD never abandons us, even when we hide from his wisdom. Again and again, we are called into the light of truth and taste that the LORD is good. Today, we pray for the ordained among us to be bold and faithful in announcing the truth we have so long resisted and yet so deeply need.

Our Divine Teacher, the Lord Jesus, instructs us in today's gospel how to discern true prophets from false prophets. We need this kind of wisdom in order to know how to listen deeply and discern the truth that will set us free. The Lord Jesus warns us to beware of false prophets who come in sheep's clothing but underneath are ravenous wolves. Indeed such teachers have devoured the sheep whose clothing they wear. These ravenous wolves hide behind the mask of those who are mislead by their teaching. They appeal to the majority to bolster their public image, "Look at all those who have believed in my teaching!" They try to deceive us by pointing out all who have affirmed their teaching. Just because the majority believes something does not make it true. The Lord Jesus does not want us to get caught up in the noise of the crowd. He wants us to get beyond political controversy and inform our conscience so that we can make moral decisions. It is the truth of natural law and revealed law that must guide our decisions and actions in the world. Indeed we are in the world but not of the world. The lies of our culture have no claim on those who live and move and have their being in Christ who is the way, the truth and the life. The true test of a prophet is the fruits of his life. No one picks grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles. Even so, no one can find good fruit and be nourished from those who are not rooted in the truth. "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit." Only this wisdom will enable us to follow those who will lead us out of our divisions and into the unity and freedom that comes from the truth, from the very mouth of God.