CATHOLIC UPDATES

"It is appointed unto men once to die."(Hebr: 9:27 The sentence of death has been written against all men: you are a man; you must die. “Our other goods and evils,” says St. Augustine, “are uncertain; death alone is certain” (Serm.97, E.H.). It is uncertain whether the infant that is just born will be poor or rich, whether he will have good or bad health, whether he will die in youth or in old age.

A federal judge ruled Sept. 30 that a St. Louis ordinance banning discrimination based on reproductive health decisions violates both the U.S. Constitution and Missouri law.

SATURDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OFADVENT TIME (Year II) First Reading: Sir 48:1-4. 9-11b Psalm: 80. R. v. 4 Gospel: Mt 17:9a. 10-13 The first reading of today reminds us of the great prophetic power of Elijah. He was a prophet feared by the people of his time. His deeds were wonderful and frightful. He called down fire from heaven, brought famine upon the land, and shut the heavens. The Jews feared and respected the prophet Elijah. According to the prophet Malachi (4:5-6), Elijah was to come before the Messiah. This was the reason why the disciples of Jesus while coming down from the mountain of transfiguration asked him of the coming of Elijah who was to come before him as prophesied by the Prophet.

Pope Francis has sought to alter the ‘Our Lord’s’ prayer in the bible. The pope said that the Roman Catholic Church should adopt a better translation of the phrase “lead us not into temptation” in the “Our Father”, the best known prayer in Christianity.

 Pope Francis on Thursday named the next archbishops of two major metropolitan sees – Archbishop Michel Aupetit to Paris and Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes to Mexico City, the world’s largest diocese. The appointments were announced in a press release from the Vatican Dec. 7. Both prelates are replacing bishops who have retired upon reaching the age of 75, the normal retirement age for clergy. Cardinal Aguiar, 67, has held top roles in both the Mexican bishops’ conference and the Latin American bishops’ conference and is a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Cardinal Aguiar has been archbishop of Tlalnepantla, Mexico since 2009. He replaces Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, whose retirement was accepted by Pope Francis after reaching the age of 75. Aguiar was born on Jan. 9, 1950 in Tepic, Mexico. He studied at the Seminary of Tepic, followed by the seminaries of Montezuma in the United States and of Tula. On A...

THURSDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT (Year II) ST AMBROSE B.D. (Memorial) White After the death of the bishop of Milan, Ambrose still an unbaptized catechumen was chosen to fill the office. Ambrose resisted, claiming that he was not worthy, but to prevent further unrest, he assented. On 7 December 374, he was baptized, ordained a priest, and consecrated as bishop. He immediately gave away his wealth to the Church to help the poor as an example to his flock. Ambrose was a preacher, teacher, bible student of renown, and writer of liturgical hymns. His preaching helped convert Saint Augustine of Hippo whom Ambrose baptized and brought into the Church. Ambrose's preaching also convinced Emperor Theodosius to do public penance for his sins. He was proclaimed a great Doctor of the Latin Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1298. The title "Honey Tongued Doctor" was bestowed on him because of his speaking and preaching ability.

Marcelito Paez, called Tito, an elderly priest of the diocese of San Jose, was killed in the Philippines. As confirmed by Bishop Roberto Mallari, who leads the community of San Jose, in the central part of the Filipino island of Luzon, he was shot by four motorcycle-riding gunmen around 8 pm on December 4 as he was driving through Jaen town. He was rushed to a hospital in the nearby town of San Leonardo and died about two hours later due to gunshot wounds. It was a real execution, that Bishop Mallari "strongly condemns", asking the authorities "to investigate and do justice to his death ". So far no criminal group has claimed the killing.

WEDNESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT (Year II) First Reading: Isa 25:6-10a Psalm: 23. R. v. 6cd Gospel: Mt 15:29-37 Our God is ever compassionate. He cares about the condition of his people and he does this with so much love and care. We see this in the gospel of today. Christ said: “I have compassion on the crowd”. And moved with this deep concern, he healed them. Now that the sick ones have been made well, his unfathomable love moved him further to satisfy their material hunger.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India - A typhoon that rapidly developed on the southern Indian coast claimed the lives of at least 32 poor Catholic fishermen who were at sea, and 200 more were missing. Thousands of other coastal residents had relocated to relief camps by Dec. 4, ucanews.com reported.The confirmed deaths were in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states, according to government sources. All the dead are Catholic men who had gone out to sea, said Father V. Wilfred, a priest of Vizhinjam parish, a fishing village near Kerala’s capital, Thiruvananthapuram. Antony Silvaster, a Catholic fisherman in the fishing village of Vizhinjam, said there was no warning of the storm. He said that with 200 fishermen missing, the community expected the death toll to rise.

TUESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT (Year II) First Reading: Isa 11:1-10 Psalm: 72. R. v. 7 Gospel: Lk 10:21-24 When we have learnt so much, we should also learn to know that we know very little. Sophisticated minds are often blind to see simple truths. A simple mind can receive truths that learned minds cannot accept. To be learned is good; it makes our thinking complex and broadened that we go beyond the normal interpretation of the common man. But sometimes our learnedness makes us so foolish that we consider what makes sense as nonsense because ‘they’ are bunch of illiterates and ‘we’ are the literates.

Before the recitation of the Marian Prayer the Holy Father focused his attention on this first Sunday of Advent saying, it is the time “that is given to us to welcome the Lord who comes to meet us, to verify our desire for God, and  to look ahead and prepare for the return of Christ. “ Referring to the Gospel readings of the day, the Pope explained, “Jesus exhorts us to pay attention and to watch, to be ready to welcome him at the moment of his return.” The person who pays attention, he continued,  is the one who, “in the noise of the world, does not let him or herself be overwhelmed by distraction or superficiality, but lives in a full and conscious way, with a concern directed above all to others.” With this attitude, Pope Francis noted, “we become aware of the tears and needs of others”… The attentive person, he added, tries to counter the indifference and cruelty in the world and rejoices in the treasures of beauty that also exist in it. The Holy Father underlined that the...

MONDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT (Year II) First Reading: Is 2:1-5 Psalm: 122. R. v. 1a Gospel: Mt 8:5-11 The faith of this centurion is amazing but his person is love exemplified. He has shown us that what makes one a superior or a master above others is becoming a hand protecting a wavering flame. We can easily imagine what a curved palm does to a wavering candle flame. It is very wrong to think that what makes us in charge or superior over others is dishing out orders and shouting down on people. We become greater than others when we are their source of strength in their weaknesses.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (Cycle B) First Reading: Isa 63:16b-17; 64:1. 3b-8 Psalm: 80. R. v. 4 Second Reading: 1Cor 1:3-9 Gospel: Mk 13: 33-37 Today is the First Sunday of Advent. And today we begin a New Year in the Church’s liturgical calendar. For Sunday readings, we are moving from Cycle A to Cycle B. While for weekday readings we move from Year I to Year II. The word “Advent” is from the Latin word adventus meaning “coming” which is a translation of the Greek word ‘Parousia’. Advent is a season that we await the coming of Christ who comes to us in three ways: through his birth at Christmas, through the Word and Sacrament, and at his final coming.

SATURDAY OF THE THIRTY FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (Year I) First Reading: Dan 7:15-27 Psalm: Dan 3. R. v. 60b Gospel: Lk 21:34-36 As Jesus concludes the eschatological speech in the gospel of today, he calls us to be continuously vigilant. He said: “Take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life . . .” These words of Jesus is a call on the faithful to guard against becoming totally absorbed in daily life. It is a reminder to us that the material things of this world are like a trap which will continuously distract our attention from being vigilant as we await Christ’s coming.

FRIDAY OF THE THIRTY FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (Year I) First Reading: Dan 7:2-14 Psalm: Dan 3. R. v. 53b Gospel: Lk 21:29-33 Jesus used the fig tree to illustrate the presence of God’s kingdom. The appearance of its leaves is a sign that summer is near. This reveals that once the gospel values are lived out, then it is a sign that God’s kingdom is not just near, but present among us. Living out the gospel values built on love of God and neighbour is just a little sign of God’s kingdom on earth.

THURSDAY OF THE THIRTY FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (Year I) ST ANDREW AP. (Feast) Red He was a brother to Peter and a disciple of John the Baptist. He was the first apostle called by Jesus (Jn 1:40). Upon his invitation, he left his net and everything and followed Jesus. His immediate response and commitment to Christ’s invitation leaves us an example. He preached the gospel in what is now modern Greece and Turkey. He was crucified on an X-shaped cross (saltire) at Patras. He preached the gospel from that cross as he hung on it for two days. First Reading: Rom 10:9-18 Psalm: 19 3. R. v. 5 Gospel: Mt 4:18-22

WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRTY FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (Year I) First Reading: Dan 5:1-6. 13-14. 16-17. 23-28 Psalm: Dan 3. R. v. 40b Gospel: Lk 21:12-19 In the gospel of today, Jesus pointed out the eschatological signs that would precede his final coming. He reminded his disciples that the sign that will mark their daily lives was the ‘sign of the cross’. They must therefore be prepared to testify to their faith even amidst trials and sufferings. They should not even be afraid when they face their enemies as some of them would be put to death. Jesus promised that those who endure to the end will gain their lives.

TUESDAY OF THE THIRTY FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (Year I) First Reading: Dan 2:31-45 Psalm: Dan 3. R. v. 35b Gospel: Lk 21:5-11 The Temple in Jerusalem was the centre of the Jewish religious life. The Jews believed that as long as it stood they were secured. The temple was adorned with marbles, bronze, and gold. It was the pride of the Jews.

MONDAY OF THE THIRTY FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (Year I) First Reading: Dan 1:1-6. 8-20 Psalm: Dan 3. R. v.29b Gospel: Lk 21:1-4 As Jesus was teaching in the Women's Court of the Temple, he observed a poor widow putting two mites (lepta, the smallest coins in circulation) into the treasury box. The widow gave every penny she had to live on, and placed her hope and trust in God. The charity of this lowly woman stood in sharp contrast to the prideful religious leaders who loved to be honoured and respected for their generosity, yet failed to carry out the law that required them to care for God's poor (Lk 20:45-47). Jesus said that the woman's gift was worth more than the large offerings of those who gave from their surplus wealth.

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, is the crown of the liturgical year and this Holy Year of Mercy.  The Gospel in fact presents the kingship of Jesus as the culmination of his saving work, and it does so in a surprising way.  “The Christ of God, the Chosen One, the King” (Lk 23:35,37) appears without power or glory: he is on the cross, where he seems more to be conquered than conqueror.