Sunday, November 16, 2014: (THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME) Readings for today: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 / 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 / Matthew 25:14-30:
Readings from: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111614.cfm (Pics from elsewhere on the internet)
Reading 1 - A reading from the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31):
When one finds a worthy wife,
her value is far beyond pearls.
Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,
has an unfailing prize.
She brings him good, and not evil,
all the days of her life.
She obtains wool and flax
and works with loving hands.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her fingers ply the spindle.
She reaches out her hands to the poor,
and extends her arms to the needy.
Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;
the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her a reward for her labors,
and let her works praise her at the city gates.
Responsorial Psalm - (Psalm 128 "Blest Are Those Who Love You" by Marty Haugen):
Video From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2P9wZm2s7Q
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 first letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6):
Concerning times and seasons, brothers and sisters,
you have no need for anything to be written to you.
For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come
like a thief at night.
When people are saying, "Peace and security, "
then sudden disaster comes upon them,
like labor pains upon a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness,
for that day to overtake you like a thief.
For all of you are children of the light
and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober.
Gospel - A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Matthew (Matthew 25:14-30):
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master's money.
After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.’
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.’
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
'Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.’
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
'Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.'
His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'"
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11/16/2014 - St. Agnes of Assisi (1197-1253) (Feast Day: November 19): Mystical Saint. Patroness of Clairvoyance and eye disease. Younger sister of St. Clare.
From: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1204&calendar=1
November 19
St. Agnes of Assisi
Agnes was the sister of St. Clare and her first follower. When Agnes left home two weeks after Clare’s departure, their family attempted to bring Agnes back by force. They tried to drag her out of the monastery, but all of a sudden her body became so heavy that several knights could not budge it. Her uncle Monaldo tried to strike her but was temporarily paralyzed. The knights then left Agnes and Clare in peace.
Agnes matched her sister in devotion to prayer and in willingness to endure the strict penances which characterized their lives at San Damiano. In 1221 a group of Benedictine nuns in Monticelli (near Florence) asked to become Poor Clares. St. Clare sent Agnes to become abbess of that monastery. Agnes soon wrote a rather sad letter about how much she missed Clare and the other nuns at San Damiano. After establishing other Poor Clare monasteries in northern Italy, Agnes was recalled to San Damiano in 1253 when Clare was dying.
Agnes followed Clare in death three months later, and was canonized in 1753.
Comment:
God must love irony; the world is so full of it. In 1212, many in Assisi surely felt that Clare and Agnes were wasting their lives and were turning their backs on the world. In reality, their lives were tremendously life-giving, and the world has been enriched by the example of these poor contemplatives.
Quote:
Charles de Foucauld, founder of the Little Brothers and Sisters of Jesus, said: "One must pass through solitude and dwell in it to receive God’s grace. It is there that one empties oneself, that one drives before oneself all that is not God, and that one completely empties this little house of our soul to leave room for God alone. In doing this, do not fear being unfaithful toward creatures. On the contrary, that is the only way for you to serve them effectively" (Raphael Brown, Franciscan Mystic, p. 126).
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St. Agnes of Assisi Prayer Card:
