Sunday, October 4, 2015: (TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME) Readings for today: Genesis 2:18-24 / Hebrews 2:9-11 / Mark 10:2-16:
Readings from: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/100415.cfm (Pics from elsewhere on the internet)
Reading 1 - A reading from the book of Genesis (Genesis 2:18-24):
The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a suitable partner for him."
So the LORD God formed out of the ground
various wild animals and various birds of the air,
and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
The man gave names to all the cattle,
all the birds of the air, and all wild animals;
but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.
So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man,
and while he was asleep,
he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib
that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man, the man said:
"This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called 'woman, '
for out of 'her man’ this one has been taken."
That is why a man leaves his father and mother
and clings to his wife,
and the two of them become one flesh.
Responsorial Psalm - (Psalm 128 "Blest Are Those Who Love You" by Marty Haugen):
From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhWE3oa693s
Lyrics From: http://www.theinterpretersfriend.org/songs/blst-r-thoz-haugen.html
Re: Blest are those who love you, happy those who follow you, blest are those who seek you, O God.
1. Happy all those who fear the Lord, and walk in God's pathway; You will find what you long for - the riches of our God.
Re: Blest are those who love you, happy those who follow you, blest are those who seek you, O God.
2. Your spouse shall be like a fruitful vine in the midst of your home, your children flourish like olive plants rejoicing at your table.
Re: Blest are those who love you, happy those who follow you, blest are those who seek you, O God.
3. May the blessings of God be yours all the days of your life, may the peace and the love of God live always in your heart.
Re: Blest are those who love you, happy those who follow you, blest are those who seek you, O God.
Reading 2 - A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews (Hebrews 2:9-11):
Brothers and sisters:
He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, "
that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
For it was fitting that he,
for whom and through whom all things exist,
in bringing many children to glory,
should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering.
He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated
all have one origin.
Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers.”
Alleluia: (1 John 4:12)
From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJrq0SGpQrQ
R. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
If we love one another, God remains in us
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel - A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Mark (Mark 10:2-16):
The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"
They replied,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her."
But Jesus told them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate."
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."
And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
"Let the children come to me;
do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."
Then he embraced them and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.
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10/04/2015: : St. Bruno (1030? -1101)(Feast Day: October 6)(Founder of: The Carthusians):
From: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1160&calendar=1
(Feast Day: October 6)
St. Bruno
(1030?-1101)
This saint has the honor of having founded a religious order which, as the saying goes, has never had to be reformed because it was never deformed. No doubt both the founder and the members would reject such high praise, but it is an indication of the saint's intense love of a penitential life in solitude.
Bruno was born in Cologne, Germany, became a famous teacher at Rheims and was appointed chancellor of the archdiocese at the age of 45. He supported Pope Gregory VII in his fight against the decadence of the clergy and took part in the removal of his own scandalous archbishop, Manasses. Bruno suffered the plundering of his house for his pains.
He had a dream of living in solitude and prayer, and persuaded a few friends to join him in a hermitage. After a while he felt the place unsuitable and, through a friend, was given some land which was to become famous for his foundation "in the Chartreuse" (from which comes the word Carthusians). The climate, desert, mountainous terrain and inaccessibility guaranteed silence, poverty and small numbers.
Bruno and his friends built an oratory with small individual cells at a distance from each other. They met for Matins and Vespers each day and spent the rest of the time in solitude, eating together only on great feasts. Their chief work was copying manuscripts.
The pope, hearing of Bruno's holiness, called for his assistance in Rome. When the pope had to flee Rome, Bruno pulled up stakes again, and spent his last years (after refusing a bishopric) in the wilderness of Calabria.
He was never formally canonized, because the Carthusians were averse to all occasions of publicity. However Pope Clement X extended his feast to the whole Church in 1674.
Comment:
If there is always a certain uneasy questioning of the contemplative life, there is an even greater puzzlement about the extremely penitential combination of community and hermit life lived by the Carthusians.
Quote:
“Members of those communities which are totally dedicated to contemplation give themselves to God alone in solitude and silence and through constant prayer and ready penance. No matter how urgent may be the needs of the active apostolate, such communities will always have a distinguished part to play in Christ's Mystical Body...” (Vatican II, Decree on the Renewal of Religious Life, 7).
ST. BRUNO FUN FACTS
