|
 |
Spiritual pilgrimage during pope's trip to Turkey
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Knights of Columbus will sponsor a spiritual pilgrimage with Pope Benedict XVI as he travels to Turkey November 28 to December 1.
Knights, their families, and all Catholics are being asked to pray daily for the pope during the trip. The Knights will pray for the pope's intentions beginning November 26.
In addition, the Knights of Columbus will print and distribute cards with a special prayer written by the order's chaplain, Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport. The prayer is available online at www.kofc.org.
Those joining the spiritual pilgrimage are asked to say the prayer each day during the pope's trip. The prayer asks that the pope's visit will bring about "deeper ties of understanding, cooperation, and peace among Roman Catholics, the Orthodox and those who profess Islam." |
The last judgment: Must not live in fear
When I was four, I spent the better part of an afternoon standing out in the front yard fearfully listening for the signs of the end times.
"When you hear the trumpets playing, you'll know it's the end of the world," my friend Bertha had told me. Bertha didn't seem the least bit scared, but I immediately ran outside to listen and wait.
Looking back, I can imagine why Bertha, even though she was only in her 20s, seemed to hope she'd actually hear those trumpets harkening a glorious coming of God's heavenly kingdom. I'd been to her house, a run-down wooden structure covered with brown tarpaper, in a rural area below New Orleans.
First Sunday of Advent
(Sunday, Dec. 3, 2006)
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14
1 Thessalonians 3:12 to 4:2
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
|
|
|
I noticed her clothing was well-worn and saw that she sometimes took home bags of our hand-me-downs. I watched her working hard at heavy household chores two days a week at my family's house, three elsewhere. No doubt her wages were low, because it was common in the 1950s for even middle-class white families to employ black women as domestic workers.
Bertha had every reason to be sullen and unhappy, but she sang as she worked. She had every reason to be resentful of the families she worked for, but offered them many kindnesses.
Bertha was good and loving to our family, as she was to her own, and my parents often trusted her to care for my siblings and me. I'd like to think that in the ensuing years the accomplishments of the civil rights movement changed her life so that she wasn't constantly wanting the trumpet call.
|
Reflection questions
• How is the life you are living today preparing you to stand before the Lord in judgment?
• What are the things that distract you from the Christian call to holiness?
|
|
Luke's Gospel reading for this first Sunday of Advent describes the signs of the Lord's coming in judgment. Jesus warned his disciples not to get distracted from their mission of love for others or they would fear the day.
Bertha's eyes sparkled confidently when she spoke of the day of the trumpets because she was living a life of holiness and was not diverted from it by her anxieties. She had nothing to fear in standing before the Lord.
This column is presented in cooperation with the North Texas Catholic of Fort Worth, Texas.
This week's readings
Week of December 3 - 9, 2006
Sunday, December 3, 2006
First Sunday of Advent
Reading I: Jer 33:14-16
Reading II: 1 Thes 3:12--4:2
Gospel: Lk 21:25-28, 34-36
Monday, December 4, 2006
Reading I: Is 2:1-5
Gospel: Mt 8:5-11
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Reading I: Is 11:1-10
Gospel: Lk 10:21-24
|
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Reading I: Is 25:6-10a
Gospel: Mt 15:29-37
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Memorial of Saint Ambrose, bishop and doctor of the Church
Reading I: Is 26:1-6
Gospel: Mt 7:21, 24-27
Friday, December 8, 2006
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Reading I: Gn 3:9-15, 20
Reading II: Eph 1:3-6, 11-12
Gospel: Lk 1:26-38
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Reading I: Is 30:19-21, 23-26
Gospel: Mt 9:35--10:1, 5a, 6-8
|
Pope's Prayer Intentions
December General Intention
Wise use of power: That Christ, meek and humble of heart, may inspire leaders of nations to use power wisely and responsibly.
|
December Mission Intention
Missionaries: That in every part of the world missionaries may live out their vocation with joy and enthusiasm, faithfully following in Christ's footsteps.
|
Prayer for St. Raphael Cathedral
O God,
Whose word is like fire,
who spoke to Your servant Moses in the burning bush;
who led Your people Israel out of bondage
with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night:
hear Your people as we call upon You
in both need and gratitude.
May the Cathedral fire purify Your Church
in the Diocese of Madison
so that our hearts may burn with the knowledge
that Your Church is built upon the bedrock
of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the intercession of Saint Raphael,
Your messenger of healing,
in union with our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI,
and with our Bishop, Robert C. Morlino,
may we find comfort in our affliction
and the courage to proclaim
the Good News of Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever.
Amen.
For more prayer resources visit the Office of Worship's Web page at www.straphael.org/~office_of_worship/
(Click on the link on the main page.)
|
|
