Catholic Underground in Pittsburgh this Saturday

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Memorial of Saint John of Capistrano (Oct, 24, 2009)

From: saintvincentarchabbey.org

Rom 8:1-11, Ps 24:1-6; Lk 13:1-9

"Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face."

So what is the blessing, the reward that we shall receive from the LORD God, our savior? What do we expect from the LORD who made the earth and its fullness and all those who dwell upon it? He founded the seas, and he established the rivers. How can we even climb the mountain where he dwells? How can we stand in his holy place to receive anything? We must have clean hearts, and sinless hands. We must not desire anything that is vain. What is vain? It is vain to desire anything more than we desire the LORD God Almighty. Can we claim membership in the race that seeks him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob? We are commanded to ask, seek, and knock. Whenever we ask, we receive. Whenever we seek, we find. Whenever we knock, it is opened to us. Our Heavenly Father always answers our prayer by the abundant gift of the Holy Spirit. For what more could we ask? Does not the gift of the Holy Spirit far surpass all we could have ever imagined? Is there anything else we need? As Saint Paul teaches his beloved in the church in Rome, "If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you." Indeed it is only the Holy Spirit who can enable the growth necessary so that we can bear His Fruits to nourish and refresh our world: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control.

The law has only so much to offer. It does guide us in forming a good conscience so that we can continue to choose the will of God. However, the law has not power to strengthen our weakened flesh. Indeed, we are weakened because the desire or tendency toward sin remains enfleshed as patterns of behavior, habits of the heart. What we cannot do of our own accord, God does within us by the gift of grace in Christ and in the Holy Spirit. We are too close to our own situation to see ourselves clearly, as God sees us. We all too easily make excuses for our weakness and sinful habits. They have become our friends; they seem to offer some level of comfort that is within our reach and our control. Left to our own devices we have no hope for change, for growth in spirit and truth. We need the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ in order to be strong and even to desire the Father's will more than our own will. In the Holy Spirit we belong to Christ and we no longer belong to sin, to our habits of seeming self-affirmation. Because Christ has taken up residence in our hearts, we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. As Saint Paul writes elsewhere, we can say with total confidence, "It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me!"

Before the Lord Jesus told the parable in today's gospel, where did you think he was going? Perhaps it seem like he was trying to answer the question we often express this way: "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Actually, he refuses to answer that question. The Galileans were killed because Pilate wanted to achieve some political goal. Those crushed by the tower of Siloam were killed because of a freak accident. There is no easy explanation for "physical evil." The Lord Jesus used these two examples from the news of his day to simply summon his listeners to repent. Even more so, this crowd was warned to stop thinking themselves to be better human beings because they did not suffer in these ways. They may have been even more painful events ahead of each of those who gathered around the Lord that day. Then comes the good news, and it's in the parable. The gardener says to the orchard owner like Jesus says to the Father with his whole life and ministry. "Father, let me pour my life upon the cross and pour out the Spirit upon this fig tree of yours, then it will bear fruit." We are the fig trees. This is our grace filled, Spirit filled opportunity! If we do not bear fruit this time, will there be another opportunity? At a dark and turbulent time all through the Western world Saint John of Capistrano was summoned to sanctity and to service. As a Franciscan Friar and Catholic Priest this great Christian Optimist helped the plague infested and war torn peoples of Europe to triumph over the darkness of Moslem domination and begin to heal from the Western Schism when there were three claimants to the Holy See at one time. This Holy Friar continues to pray for us that darkness will be lifted from our hearts and that we might bear the Fruits of the Holy Spirit in our day.

Pope Benedict on Bl. Peter the Venerbale, OSB

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr

Rom 4:13,16-18; Ps 107:6-9,42-43; Lk 12:8-12

"The LORD remembers his covenant forever."

When the LORD remembers, things happen. When the LORD forgets, even then, great things happen. The LORD remembers his covenant with Abraham that he renewed with Isaac. When the LORD remembers his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then he leads forth his people with joy, with shouts of joy. Indeed, the LORD leads us from slavery and from exile and from sin. All through history the LORD's remembering is for our blessing, in every generation! At the same moment the LORD remembers his covenant and leads us out, the LORD forgets our sin, our complaining, our refusal to remember his love and mercy in the way we treat one another. Such is the remembering and the forgetting of the LORD our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the God of Saint Paul who recognizes that Abraham is the father of all who have faith, Jew and Gentile alike. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who promises the Holy Spirit to those who are called to testify in court for their faith in the LORD God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This promise is also intended for us who live in this age and endure persecution.

Abraham is our father in faith. The LORD made a promise to Abraham and fulfilled that promise in Christ, "I have made you father of many nations." In Christ the eternally begotten son of the Father, Abraham's faith is fulfilled. He has inherited the world through the righteousness that comes from faith. This faith is the gift that enabled Abraham to trust in the promise and that is also a gift. Everyone who receives that gift of faith and trusts in the promise of the LORD is a descendant of Abraham. The LORD promised him literal descendants through Isaac whom God called him to offer up in sacrifice. This seeming contradiction was the ultimate test of Abraham's faith. He believed that the LORD who gives life would give life to his son, Isaac. In Christ this promise is completely fulfilled because of the resurrection of Christ and because we share in that gift from on high. We, too, trust in the LORD who calls into being what does not exist, He calls into being a completely new creation by the power and out pouring of the Holy Spirit, a body of Christ made up of reconciled Jews and Gentiles.

If we forget who we are, we will deny the Lord Jesus before others. Such forgetfulness will lead to our not being acknowledged before the angels of God. This teaching becomes even more severe when the Lord Jesus continues, "Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." What is this great blasphemy? Perhaps it is the willful denial that we can be forgiven. Perhaps there are some who foolishly think in their hearts that they have so grievously offended the LORD that even He cannot forgive them. To deny the Holy Spirit access to our hearts so that he might give us the grace to repent and believe the Good News is to close off all hope for new life, mercy or kindness. Such is the despair of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. However, those who do welcome the Holy Spirit have nothing to fear. Even when we are summoned before religious or civil authority, we have nothing to fear. What we are to say and when we are to say it will be given us from deep within our Spirit-filled hearts. This Holy Spirit hovers over us whenever we are in communion with the Body and Blood of Christ. This Holy Spirit breathes in us even as we cry out Abba, Father. We have nothing to fear. Saint Ignatius had no fear as he approached Rome and his own self-sacrifice as wheat ground between the teeth of the lions. His great desire was for the unity and order of the Church. He knew, what we sometimes forget, the price of commitment to Christ.

APOSTOLIC PENITENTIARY DECREE (Special Indulgence for the Year for Priests)

As has been announced, the Holy Father Benedict XVI has decided to establish a special Year for Priests on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of St John Mary Vianney, the holy Curé d'Ars, a shining model of a Pastor totally dedicated to the service of the people of God.

During the Year for Priests which will begin on 19 June 2009 and will end on 19 June 2010, the gift of special Indulgences is granted as described in the Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary, published on 12 May.
 

Shortly the day will come on which will be commemorated the 150th anniversary of the pious departure to Heaven of St John Mary Vianney, the Curé d'Ars. This Saint was a wonderful model here on earth of a true Pastor at the service of Christ's flock.
 

Since his example is used to encourage the faithful, and especially priests, to imitate his virtues, the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI has established that for this occasion a special Year for Priests will be celebrated, from 19 June 2009 to 19 June 2010, in which all priests may be increasingly strengthened in fidelity to Christ with devout meditation, spiritual exercises and other appropriate actions.
 

This holy period will begin with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a day of priestly sanctification on which the Supreme Pontiff will celebrate Vespers in the presence of the holy relics of St John Mary Vianney, brought to Rome by the Bishop of Belley-Ars, France.
 

The Most Holy Father will likewise preside at the conclusion of the Year for Priests in St Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from across the world who will renew their fidelity to Christ and the bond of brotherhood.
 

May priests commit themselves, with prayer and good works, to obtaining from Christ the Eternal High Priest, the grace to shine with Faith, Hope, Charity and the other virtues, and show by their way of life, but also with their external conduct, that they are dedicated without reserve to the spiritual good of the people something that the Church has always had at heart.
 

The gift of Sacred Indulgences which the Apostolic Penitentiary, with this Decree issued in conformity with the wishes of the August Pontiff, graciously grants during the Year for Priests will be of great help in achieving the desired purpose in the best possible way.
 

A. Truly repentant priests who, on any day, devoutly recite at least morning Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed for public adoration or replaced in the tabernacle, and who, after the example of St John Mary Vianney, offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the sacraments, especially Confession, are mercifully granted in God the Plenary Indulgence which they may also apply to their deceased brethren in suffrage, if, in conformity with the current norms, they receive sacramental confession and the Eucharistic banquet and pray for the Supreme Pontiff's intentions.
 

Furthermore the Partial Indulgence is granted to priests who may apply it to their deceased confreres every time that they devoutly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a holy life and to carry out in a holy manner the offices entrusted to them.
 

B. The Plenary Indulgence is granted to all the faithful who are truly repentant who, in church or in chapel, devoutly attend the divine Sacrifice of Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest, for the priests of the Church, and any other good work which they have done on that day, so that he may sanctify them and form them in accordance with His Heart, as long as they have made expiation for their sins through sacramental confession and prayed in accordance with the Supreme Pontiff's intentions: on the days in which the Year for Priests begins and ends, on the day of the 150th anniversary of the pious passing of St John Mary Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month or on any other day established by the local Ordinaries for the benefit of the faithful.
 

It will be most appropriate, in cathedral and parish churches, for the same priests who are in charge of pastoral care to publicly direct these exercises of devotion, to celebrate Holy Mass and to hear the confession of the faithful.
 

The Plenary Indulgence will likewise be granted to the elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are confined to their homes who, with a mind detached from any sin and with the intention of fulfilling as soon as possible the three usual conditions, at home or wherever their impediment detains them, provided that on the above-mentioned days they recite prayers for the sanctification of priests and confidently offer the illnesses and hardships of their lives to God through Mary Queen of Apostles.
 

Lastly, the Partial Indulgence is granted to all the faithful every time they devoutly recite five Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glorias, or another expressly approved prayer, in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to obtain that priests be preserved in purity and holiness of life.
 

This Decree is valid for the entire duration of the Year for Priests. Anything to the contrary notwithstanding.
 

Given in Rome, at the Offices of the Apostolic Penitentiary on 25 April, the Feast of St Mark the Evangelist, in the year of the Incarnation of our Lord 2009.

Cardinal James Francis Stafford
Major Penitentiary

+ Gianfranco Girotti, O.F.M. Conv.
Titular Bishop of Meta, Regent

L. + S.
Prot. N. 136/09/I