"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
For those of you who are unaware, the Mass in the English-speaking world is soon to change. The text of the current Mass which we’ve used for the last fifty years is a paraphrase of the original Latin, which itself had been in use for the previous 500 years. The English translation is being revised and replaced with a translation which is much more faithful to the original Latin text. You can hear a BBC recording of the new translation here.
There’s not too much technical stuff to focus on in this week’s Mass Readings. My suggestion is to use the readings as a springboard to invite people in the study group to talk about their struggles, successes and failures in relation to that tough subject of forgiveness.
Last week’s Mass Readings concerned themselves with the restoration of brothers and sisters who have fallen into sin. This week’s Readings build on those of last week, focussing upon forgiveness, its centrality to the Gospel and its necessity in God’s covenant community.
“There is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive. There is no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently hope for forgiveness, provided his repentance is honest. Christ who died for all men desires that in his Church the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away from sin” – Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 982
Our First Reading comes from the book of Sirach. This book is one of the books which was removed from the Bible by non-Catholics at the time of the Reformation in the 16th Century. Non-Catholics refer to this collection of books as the Apocrypha, whereas Catholics refer to them as the Deuterocanonical books. Other books in this collection include Tobit, Wisdom and 1 & 2 Maccabees.
The link between this First Reading and the Gospel passage is clear: if you would like the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy, you should treat others with forgiveness and mercy.
“Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD? Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself, can he seek pardon for his own sins? If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins?
Remember your last days, set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin! Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor; remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults”
Possible Questions:
Over the course of this Labo(u)r Day Weekend I tried two new recipes…
The first was Best Marinara Sauce Yet, which I’ve got to say was really rather good:
…and the second was the rather bizarre Peanut Butter Noodles:
Oh, and I also did some baking…well, as close to baking as I’m ever likely to get:
Rice Krispy Treats!
Happy Labo(u)r Day!
Who says Americans don’t get irony?
Okay…theology nerds, you’ll appreciate this. Everyone else will think that this is just weird 🙂
Below is an entry from the childhood journal of St. Thomas Aquinas which formed part of his early Summa Theologica:
Article XXXI: Whether I stole Laurie’s apple juice during nap time?
Objection I: It would seem that I stole Laurie’s apple juice during nap time. For it was said: “Thomas, go sit in the corner. And say you’re sorry to Laurie for drinking her juice” (Miss Ellen).
Objection II: Further, once in the corner, I wedgied Billy and made him eat glue.
On the contrary, it is written: “Share everything” (that poster on the wall, right above the carpet where Billy puked up the glue).
I answer that we all have to share like it says on the poster. Firstly, because Holy Writ says so: “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Also, everyone has to share because sometimes they have lots of something (juice, for example) that they never even drink and that someone else (me, for example) wants. When I play with my blocks, Miss Ellen makes me share with that Greek Orthodox kid, even though they’re my blocks and he picks his nose and smells and is dumb. Hence, I should get to have juice when I’m thirsty. For the best part about school is the juice (except on Fridays when we get chocolate milk).
Reply to Objection I: If I have to share my blocks with a smelly nose-picker, then Laurie has to share her juice. I was only sharing her juice, just like the poster says. For the poster says to share everything, and “everything” includes juice. Hence, Miss Ellen shouldn’t have made me sit in the corner.
Reply to Objection II: He started it
At the end of this month, the movie “Courageous” is going to be released…
I was fortunate enough to be invited to see a preview screening of this film a while back and thought it was superb. The essential focus of the movie is Fatherhood and, more broadly, masculinity. The tagline of the film is from the book of Joshua:
“But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” – Joshua 24:15
This film is coming from the same group of people who brought us the movie “Fireproof” and includes some of the same actors. I actually think that Courageous is a more polished film than Fireproof, which I felt was, at times, slightly clunky and a little bit cheesy. Courageous has a few moments that made me wince, but they were generally few and far between.
One of the actors was at the screening I attended and he said that they hoped that Courageous would do for Fatherhood what Fireproof did for marriage. I think it certainly does hit its mark in this respect and I left the movie theatre feeling inspired. I’ve organized a group “man trip” to the cinema shortly after it goes on general release and I hope that those coming will be likewise inspired.
Oh yes, one other thing. The title soundtrack comes from the greatest band in the world, Casting Crowns…
I’m dispensing with a humourous video this week in favour of a video sent to me by my Dad which I found quite touching…
