Sunday, September 6, 2015:  (TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME)  Readings for today:  Isaiah 35:4-7A  /  James 2:1-5  /  Mark 7:31-37:

 

Readings from:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090615.cfm   (Pics from elsewhere on the internet)

Reading 1 - A reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 35:4-7A):

Thus says the LORD:
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.

 

 

Responsorial Psalm - (Psalm 146 "Praise the Lord, My Soul" by Bob Hurd):

From:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJoZqNYwCzo

 

Lyrics From:  http://www.spiritandsong.com/compositions/86380

Re: Praise the Lord, my soul! Praise the Lord, my soul!

1. It is the LORD who preserves fidelity forever,
who does justice to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the LORD who sets pris’ners free.

Re: Praise the Lord, my soul! Praise the Lord, my soul!

2. The LORD who opens the eyes of the blind,
the LORD who raises up those who are bowed down.
It is the LORD who loves the just,
the LORD who protects the stranger.

Re: Praise the Lord, my soul! Praise the Lord, my soul!

3. The LORD upholds the orphan and the widow,
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The LORD will reign forever, the God of Sion
from age to age. Alleluia!

Re: Praise the Lord, my soul! Praise the Lord, my soul!

 

 

Reading 2 - A reading from the letter of St. James (James 2:1-5):

My brothers and sisters, show no partiality
as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes
comes into your assembly,
and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in,
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes
and say, “Sit here, please, ”
while you say to the poor one, “Stand there, ” or “Sit at my feet, ”
have you not made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil designs?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?

 

 

Alleluia: (Matthew 4:23)

From:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TgJEgyrgJM

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.

R. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

 

 

Gospel - A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Mark (Mark 7:31-37):

Again Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” —
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

 

 

---------------------

09/06/2015:  Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Feast Day: September 8): 

From: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1132&calendar=1

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Feast Day:  September 8)

The Church has celebrated Mary's birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 (nine months earlier).
Scripture does not give an account of Mary's birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child that will advance God's plan of salvation for the world. Such a story (like many biblical counterparts) stresses the special presence of God in Mary's life from the beginning.

St. Augustine connects Mary's birth with Jesus' saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. "She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed." The opening prayer at Mass speaks of the birth of Mary's Son as the dawn of our salvation and asks for an increase of peace.

 

Comment:

We can see every human birth as a call for new hope in the world. The love of two human beings has joined with God in his creative work. The loving parents have shown hope in a world filled with travail. The new child has the potential to be a channel of God's love and peace to the world.
This is all true in a magnificent way in Mary. If Jesus is the perfect expression of God's love, Mary is the foreshadowing of that love. If Jesus has brought the fullness of salvation, Mary is its dawning.

Birthday celebrations bring happiness to the celebrant as well as to family and friends. Next to the birth of Jesus, Mary's birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world. Each time we celebrate her birth we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large.


Quote:

"Today the barren Anna claps her hands for joy, the earth radiates with light, kings sing their happiness, priests enjoy every blessing, the entire universe rejoices, for she who is queen and the Father's immaculate bride buds forth from the stem of Jesse" (adapted from Byzantine Daily Worship).

 

----------------------

 

09/06/15 - Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Feast Day: September 12):

From:  http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1930&calendar=1

Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Feast Day: September 12)

This feast is a counterpart to the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (January 3); both have the possibility of uniting people easily divided on other matters.
The feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary began in Spain in 1513 and in 1671 was extended to all of Spain and the Kingdom of Naples. In 1683, John Sobieski, king of Poland, brought an army to the outskirts of Vienna to stop the advance of Muslim armies loyal to Mohammed IV in Constantinople. After Sobieski entrusted himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he and his soldiers thoroughly defeated the Muslims. Pope Innocent XI extended this feast to the entire Church.
 

Comment:

Mary always points us to God, reminding us of God's infinite goodness. She helps us to open our hearts to God's ways, wherever those may lead us. Honored under the title “Queen of Peace,” Mary encourages us to cooperate with Jesus in building a peace based on justice, a peace that respects the fundamental human rights (including religious rights) of all peoples.

 

Quote:

“Lord our God, when your Son was dying on the altar of the cross, he gave us as our mother the one he had chosen to be his own mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary; grant that we who call upon the holy name of Mary, our mother, with confidence in her protection may receive strength and comfort in all our needs” (Marian Sacramentary, Mass for the Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary).