Pope Francis

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September 20, Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Cycle B. Readings: 1) Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 Psalm 54:3-6, 8 2) James 3:16-4:3 Gospel) Mark 9:30-37 By Jeff Hedglen run a summer service camp I for the Diocese of Fort Worth called Camp Fort Worth (CFW). It’s a simple concept: Young people serve the poor, participate in the sacraments, small group sharing and praise and worship, and by the end of the week, lives are changed forever. One of the outcomes of this change is that many of these young people want to come back the next year. We call them the A- team (Alumni team). Their role is like that of camp counselors. A-team members are awesome, faith-filled young people. But sometimes they get a bit full of themselves, not unlike the Apostles in this week’s Gospel who wanted to know who among them is the greatest. From time to time, we all can fall into this trap. A little bit of power or insecurity and the next thing we know, we are “holier than thou” and feel like it is us against the world. To combat this at CFW, we use this quote from <strong>Pope</strong> <strong>Francis</strong>: “Authentic power is service.” We also continuously remind the WORD TO LIFE “The Lord upholds my life.” — Psalm 54:6b A-team to focus on the campers. Our mantra is “camp is for campers,” so they remember this camp is not about their own experience. We also have the A-team bus tables at each meal so that service is always at the forefront of their camp experience. Employing a similar practice could be helpful for each of us. When we feel the temptation to place ourselves above others, we could seek ways to serve. This could be as simple as saying to a co-worker, “I’m getting a cup of coffee, can I get you one?” or maybe as involved as organizing a trip to serve some segment of your community. It seems we often desire to place ourselves above others out of a perceived shortcoming within us, but the words of the psalmist this week offer us comfort: “The Lord upholds my life. Behold, God is my helper; the Lord sustains my life.” Remembering this truth will make it easier to follow the call of Jesus to be the servant of all. For no matter how great we think we are, we will never be as great as Jesus, who served us all the way to the cross. QUESTIONS: What are things you do in service of others? How can you have more of a servant’s heart and put it into action? September 27, Twentysixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Cycle B. Readings: 1) Numbers 11:25-29 Psalm 19:8, 10, 12-14 2) James 5:1-6 Gospel) Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 By Sharon K. Perkins If you have any exposure at all to social or news media, you cannot escape the relentless public discourse about sin — even if the “s” word isn’t used. Behaviors that used to be whispered about in private, especially if committed by public figures, are now analyzed, condemned, applauded, and endlessly commented upon for all to see. Following scandals through the news cycle has become a popular pastime. This Sunday’s readings are all about public sin and hidden sin, how condemnation of the former can serve as a smokescreen to conceal the latter, and what “scandal” really means. Joshua, Moses’ longtime aide and a God-fearing man, responded with the best of intentions when he learned about Eldad and Medad prophesying in the camp in the same fashion as the 70 elders of Israel who had received the Lord’s spirit. Scandalized, he protested to Moses — who saw through Joshua’s public complaint “Cleanse me from my unknown faults. From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant.” — Psalm 18:13b-14a to the jealousy hidden beneath. The apostle John had a similar grievance when he observed someone outside Jesus’ inner circle driving out demons in Jesus’ name. John’s well-meaning objection concealed a deeper prejudice that led him to try to prevent the outsider from doing good. Jesus exposed John’s hidden sin and corrected his faulty perspective in short order. James’ epistle makes the claim that even the well-concealed injustices committed by rich and influential people will eventually see the light of day — the cries of their victims will reach “the ears of the Lord of hosts,” ensuring that hidden sin will one day be seen for the public scandal that it is. These days, Christians can point to many public policies, cultural shifts, and immoral behaviors that are objectionable to people of faith, and they can quite reasonably claim to be scandalized. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil.” Those who have power to influence have a particular responsibility to avoid causing scandal, it says. That certainly applies to those of us within the Church who can find it much too easy to conceal our own faults behind our public comments on the sins of others. QUESTIONS: From what “hidden faults” have you blinded yourself or others? How has the desire to protect your own ego caused hurt or scandal? PAGE 35 NORTH TEXAS CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015
October 4, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. Cycle B. Readings: 1) Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 128:1-6 2) Hebrews 2:9-11 Gospel) Mark 10:2-16 By Jeff Hensley How many of us have watched, in our own families or the families of those close to us, as husbands and wives have endured rough patches — some short, others stretching over decades. At times, it may have seemed easier, we might have observed, to dissolve a marriage and give both parties the chance to begin anew. My father, as much as I loved him, didn’t become a particularly easy fellow to live with until many years into his retirement. But a bit before my mother was diagnosed “...And the two shall become one flesh.” — Mark 10:8a with congestive heart failure, he changed. His compassion became more pronounced, and his concern for my mother began to develop a nurturing side that had not surfaced since his children were small. WORD TO LIFE His was a long, steep upward climb to maturity. Had my mother not held on during those more difficult times in their marriage, he would not have been there as her close emotional and physical support during her last years. Today’s Genesis Scripture speaks of God’s creation of marriage, of the physical unity of husband and wife. The familiar passage that sums up that unity ends with the words, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.” In the passage from Mark, Jesus quotes this Scripture when he answers the Pharisees’ questions about divorce. It is “the hardness of your hearts” he says, that caused Moses to provide a means under the law for men to divorce their wives. These are interesting Scriptures to consider at an interesting time in the life of the world and the Church, especially in light of the beautiful theology on marriage and the family to be taught and discussed at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. Perhaps even more pertinent is the end of this passage in Mark, in which Jesus, on allowing small children to approach Him over the objections of his disciples, says, “Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” QUESTIONS: Do you find it easy or hard to respond to the “difficult” teachings of Jesus with a childlike willingness to obey? October 11, Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Cycle B. Readings: 1) Wisdom 7:7-11 Psalm 90:12-17 2) Hebrews 4:12-13 Gospel) Mark 10:17-30 By Jean Denton Throughout the 15 years I’ve been visiting a rural community in Haiti with my parish twinning program, I’ve witnessed among the people a fundamental awareness that everything and anything they have is a gift from God. They are so poor that they take nothing for granted other than that it’s granted by God. Whatever it is — the day’s portion of rice, their house, a child, a pretty singing voice, a day without sickness — they believe it came straight from the Father’s generosity. Moreover, knowing that a generous God provides for them, they respond with generosity as well. For instance, more than once I’ve been invited into someone’s home and served a grapefruit or banana that would’ve been part of the family’s next meager meal. In my own community, we have so much material wealth, comfort, and resources of every kind that we often lose that sense of God’s providence. We forget these resources didn’t become ours without divine involvement. We who live in a culture that oversells self-reliance and measures the good life based on wealth can easily overlook God’s “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” — Mark 10:17 hand at work, which can lead to forgetting God altogether. In today’s Gospel, Jesus shows that He knows this too well when He tells his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.” Why? Because rich people think they’re already in heaven. In a wealth-based world, what more could one want? As followers of Jesus, we know there’s more to God’s kingdom. There’s love, compassion, sacrifice for another, and the deep happiness those things bring. However, such possibility often is lost on those who have many possessions, until, like the young man in the Gospel, they come face to face with Jesus, who embodies those promises. The poor understand God is all-giving. God, who gives the rice and the rain, also gives the loving family. The poor are more focused on the giver than the gift, so that’s where they long to be — in the giving. Jesus’ instruction to the rich young man tells all of us to look beyond our possessions to find his kingdom: “Sell what you have, and give to the poor … then come, follow me.” QUESTIONS: What are the good things in your life that you take for granted? How can changing your attitude about your “riches” — material and other — help you share them and follow Jesus more closely? PAGE 36 NORTH TEXAS CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015
Page 1 and 2: Newsmagazine Bringing the Good News
Page 3 and 4: PUBLISHER: Bishop Michael Olson COM
Page 5 and 6: First Lady Cecilia Abbott to speak
Page 7 and 8: New St. Benedict Parish begins its
Page 9 and 10: Msgr. Juan Rivero retires after 43
Page 11 and 12: LIGHTER & BRIGHTER A child imitates
Page 13 and 14: Bible Study and Book Club time is b
Page 15 and 16: VOICE ISIS refugees flee into arms
Page 17 and 18: SEEKING GOD’S PATH VOCATIONS Mode
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Page 21 and 22: Matthew Tatyrek ordained to transit
Page 23 and 24: Adoring the Blessed Sacrament How t
Page 25 and 26: Following Franc With roots extendin
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Page 31 and 32: than my siblings to learn something
Page 33: September 6, Twenty-third Sunday in
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Page 39 and 40: PASTORS Rev. John M. Tinh Tran, CMC
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Page 43 and 44: Francisco ños atrás, 19 Frailes F
Page 45 and 46: Adorando al Santísimo Sacramento P
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