Churches of the Day

Wednesday of 31st week of Ordinary Time, Year 2

Saint of the Day: 4 November : St Charles Boromeo, bishop 
C/f A short life of be this saint can found below todays' Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING 

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians       2:12-18
Work for your salvation. It is God, who puts both the will and the action into you.



My dear friends, continue to do as I tell you, as you always have; not only as you did when I was there with you, but even more now that I am no longer there; and work for your salvation 'in fear and trembling'. It is God, for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and the action into you.

Do all that has to be done without complaining or arguing and then you will be innocent and genuine, perfect children of God among a deceitful and underhand brood, and you will shine in the world like bright stars because you are offering it the word of life. This would give me something to be proud of for the Day of Christ, and would mean that I had not run in the race and exhausted myself for nothing. And then, if my blood has to be shed as part of your own sacrifice and offering-which is your faith I shall still be happy and rejoice with all of you, and you must be just as happy and rejoice with me.

The Word of the Lord.          Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm       Ps 26:1,4,13-14 R/v 1
Response                             The Lord is my light and my help.

1. The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink?            Response

2. There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord, to behold his temple.                            Response

3. I am sure I shall see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!                            Response

Gospel  Acclamation         Ps 118: 88
Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life, and I will do your will.
Alleluia !

or                                              1 Pt 4: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
It is a blessing for you, when they insult you for bearing the name of Jesus,
for the Spirit of God rests on you.
Alleluia !

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.          And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke       14:25-33
None of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.

Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way and he turned and spoke to them. If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.   

And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying, "' Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish".

Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with twenty thousand?
If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace.

So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.

The Gospel of the Lord.          Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ

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Gospel Reflection       Wednesday, Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time      Luke 14:25-33

The opening words of today’s gospel reading seem very harsh to us today. We are dealing here with a Semitic idiom, expressing preference. If you prefer one thing, or even one person, over another, you are said to love the one and hate the other. Jesus is not calling on his disciples to hate their families, but to love him more than they love even their families. He is to be the primary love or the primary loyalty in our lives. Elsewhere in the gospel Jesus quotes what he terms the first commandment to love God with all one’s soul, strength and mind. However, because Jesus is God-with-us, to love God in this total way is to love Jesus in this total way.

As followers of Jesus we are called to give him our primary allegiance; our relationship with him is to influence all our other relationships. Jesus calls for great loyalty and devotion. That is why he calls on potential disciples to think it through, just as a builder has to think through whether he will be able to finish building the tower if he starts on it or a king has to think through whether to go to war with inferior forces. The Lord wants us to be whole-hearted rather than half-hearted in our following of him. He wants a ‘yes’ from us that is in some way a reflection of his ‘yes’ to us.

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The scripture readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/The Gospel reflection comes from WEEKDAY REFLECTIONS 2019-20: The Word of God is Living and Active by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications  c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saint of the Day: 4 Nov : St Charles Borromeo, bishop 

Charles Borromeo, Bishop, born in Arona (Italy) in 1538; died on this day in 1584 in Milan, twenty-two years old when  appointed cardinal, secretary of state, and given the administration of the diocese of Milan by his uncle, Pius IV and prominent in the final sessions of the Council of Trent during 1562—1563.  Known for implementing the Council's reforms in liturgy, education, presbyteral formation, and diocesan organisation. 

Patrick Duffy tells his story.

At Arona near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy there is a thirty metre high copper statue of St Charles Borromeo. (It is possible to climb up and look out over the Lake through his eye  and ear sockets.) The statue is symbolic of the impact of this saint of the Counter Reformation made in the area. His care for the poor was unflinching and his reforms antagonised the higher levels of the corrupt Church.

Early Life
Charles was born into a noble family at Arona on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. His mother was Margaret de Medici, the sister of the future Pope Pius IV (Giovanni Angelo de Medici 1559-65). At the age of 21, he graduated from the University of Pavia with doctorates in canon and civil law. Appointed cardinal at 22 while still in minor orders, he was called to Rome to serve in the Vatican where he held several high offices. Soon after his arrival, as a distraction from more serious occupations, he founded a kind of literary soiré, which met nearly every evening; the literary contributions appear among the works of Charles as Noctes Vaticanae. As virtual secretary of state to his uncle, he played a prominent part in the final session of the Council of Trent (1562-3) and helped draft the Catechism it produced.

Choices and Reform
At this point his brother died. This had a profound influence and made him ponder the choices facing him. As head of his family he was expected to marry. However, Charles declined this and chose to be ordained priest secretly at 24. A few months later he was appointed archbishop of Milan. At first, he thought of entering a monastery, but sensed God calling him to a pastoral role in the Church.

In 1566 he went to reside in Milan, being the first resident archbishop there for eighty years. He now adopted a simple life-style and set about a programme of reform. He energetically visited the 1,000 parishes, established seminaries, insisted on the moral reform of the clergy and the proper performance of the liturgy. He promoted the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine to ensure children were taught their faith. Colleges for lay students were started and entrusted to the Jesuits. He generously endowed the English College in Douai. He developed a great devotion to the death of Christ.

Opposition and Conflict
Charles reforming zeal met with vigorous opposition both from within the Church and from civil authorities. Because of his attempts to reform the 12th century order of the Humiliati, a priest of that order, Girolamo Donati, also known as Farina, made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate him in 1569 while he was at evening prayer with his household. Despite the pleas of Charles for leniency, Farina and his accomplices were tortured and executed. The Humiliati were then suppressed. Despite Spanish (King Philip II's) control in Lombardy at this time, Charles withstood all efforts to introduce the Spanish Inquisition into Milan. As a reformer, he suffered much from opposition, but he did not back down easily.

Relief During the Plague
During the plague in Milan in 1570 and again in 1576 Charles organised relief-work and set up hospitals for the victims, but also personally took part in the work himself.

Apostolic Work in Switzerland
In 1583 Charles was appointed apostolic visitor in Switzerland, where he had to deal with witchcraft and sorcery as well as the consequences of the teaching of Zwingli and Calvin. One of his last undertakings was the opening of a college in Ascona.

Death and Influence
Worn out by his activity, Charles died at the comparatively young age of forty-six. His tomb is in the crypt of Milan cathedral. His contemporary, Cardinal Caesar Baronius, himself a holy man and a Church historian, called him "a second Ambrose, whose early death, lamented by all good men, was a great loss to the Church".
Pope Paul V canonised him in 1610.

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Memorable Saying for Today

 Stay quiet with God. Do not spend your time in useless chatter.

~ St Charles Borromeo ~

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Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

FIRST READING 

A reading from the book of Wisdom       6:12-16
Wisdom is found by those who look for her.


Wisdom is bright, and does not grow dim. By those who love her she is readily seen, and found by those who look for her.     
Quick to anticipate those who desire her, she makes herself known to them.
Watch for her early and you will have no trouble; you will find her sitting at your gates.
Even to think about her is understanding fully grown; be on the alert for her and anxiety will quickly leave you.

She herself walks about looking for those who are worthy of her and graciously shows herself to them as they go, in every thought of theirs coming to meet them.

The Word of the Lord.         Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm        Ps 62: 2-8
Response                            For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.

1. O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water.                                  Response

2. So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise.                             Response

3. So I will bless you all my life, in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet, my mouth shall praise you with joy.   Response

4. On my bed I remember you. On you I muse through the night
for you have been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.                         Response

SECOND READING             

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians     4:13-18
God will bring them with him those who have died in Jesus.

We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope.
We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. We can tell you this from the Lord's own teaching, that any of us who are left alive until the Lord's coming will not have any advantage over those who have died.
At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them; to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.

The Word of the Lord                Thanks be to God

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Shorter Form of the Second Reading

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians     4:13-14
God will bring them with him those who have died in Jesus.

We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope.
We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus:
God will bring them with him.

The Word of the Lord          Thanks be to God

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Gospel Acclamation               Mt 24:42
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready, because you do not know
the hour when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL 

The Lord be with you                     And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew    25:1-13           Glory to you, O Lord
The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.

Jesus told this parable to his disciples: 'The kingdom of heaven will be like this:
Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps.

The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry,
"The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him."
At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, "Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out".
But they replied, "There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves".

They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. "Lord, Lord," they said "open the door for us."
But he replied, "I tell you solemnly, I do not know you".
So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.'

The Gospel of the Lord.              Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/



Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.