PASTOR'S  MEANDERINGS                                                   7 - 8  MAR  2009

STEWARDSHIP:    Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.  St. Paul reminds us that God Himself "did not spare His own Son."  Are my gifts to the Lord - of may resources, of my time, of myself - also sacrificial?

Pope John Paul II                                                                                                                        Nothing surpasses the greatness or dignity of a human person.

READINGS  FOR  THE  THIRD  SUNDAY  OF  LENT                              15  MAY  09       Ex 20:1-17:    God sums up the natural law for all humanity in the gift of the Ten Commandments to God's chosen people.                                                                                     1 Cor 1:22-25:    The wisdom of God is greater than that of humans, and is shown in the apparent folly of the cross of Christ.                                                                                                    Jn 2:13-25:    Jesus restores the Temple to its proper use as a house of prayer, to prepare for His death and the gift of the Spirit.

Second Vatican Council    "Religious Freedom"                                                                                 It is in accordance with their dignity as persons - that is, beings endowed with reason and free will and therefore privileged to bear personal responsibility - that all men should be at  once impelled by nature and also bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth.

THE  EDGE'S  STATIONS  OF  THE  CROSS:    I would like to take this opportunity to commend and thank the students in the EDGE Program and their leaders for the great job they did in presenting the Stations of the Cross last Sunday.  Those who were present for the devotion and to support the youth were presented with a very professional and reverent staging of the Stations.  Thank you for a job well done.

ICON        THE  GREAT  HIGH  PRIEST     (LE  GRAND  PONTIFE)        Cont.                  The combination of the Crucifixion image with that of Christ the High Priest creates an icon rich with theological symbolism.  The most obvious understanding of the image is that of the sacrifice of the Eucharist.  Christ is the Priest, the altar and the sacrifice.  He offers His Body on the altar of the cross and Himself acts as the High Priest who intercedes for the human race.  St. Paul reminds us that while the sacrifice is made at the crucifixion, it is only when He has ascended that the gift is given to the Father.  That is why we see the wounds in His hands and feet while He appears in His resurrected glory.                                                                      While on the cross, Jesus imparts to the Theotokos "Woman, here is your son..."  and to the Beloved disciple "Here is your mother."  This command represents Christ's gift of the Church - represented here in the person of Mary.  She is depicted wearing a red maphorion symbolizing the flesh she gave to Christ at the Incarnation.  It bears three stars which represent her virginity before, during and after the birth of Our Lord.  Mary and St. John raise their right hands - a gesture which indicates both an act of homage and intercession for the needs of the Church.    Christ is depicted in His glorified state as the High Priest.  Although somewhat stylized, He wears a red chasuble showing His sacrifice on the cross.  It is curious that He is not shown with the omophorion, the cross-covered scarf worn by Eastern bishops, similar to a Roman archbishop's pallium.  Just as in some Orthodox churches bishops wear crowns, Jesus is adorned with a crown to show that He is King of Kings.  Another unusual feature of this icon is the absence of the halo or nimbus around Christ's head.  Instead of the typical inscription given by Pilate to be placed above Jesus' head ("Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews") there is simply the Greek abbreviation of Christ's name.

LENT   SECOND  WEEK     WHAT  IS  THIS  TIME  ABOUT??                                    Because the date of Easter varies with the lunar calendar used in Jewish tradition to determine the date of Passover, the date for the beginning of Lent, counted forty days back from Easter, also varies.                                                                                                                                           The first general Church council in 325 decided to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the first full moon of the spring equinox.  Consequently, the feast can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25.  In recent years, however, there has been some discussion on the question of choosing a fixed date for Easter.                                                                          Many people think of Lent as a time of penance and "giving up" something.  While it has a penitential character, it is also a time for reflecting on the baptismal commitment we make as Christians.  For the already baptized, it is a time to prepare to renew one's baptismal promises.  We seek to follow Christ more closely and pay more attention to spiritual needs.  For catechumens, who are preparing for Baptism at Easter, it is the final stage of Their journey toward initiation into the Church.                                                                                                 The forty days of Lent draw on biblical symbolism associated with the number forty.  For example, in Noah's time it rained for forty days and nights, followed by a time of waiting for the waters to recede.  The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years before reaching the Promised Land.  Jesus spent forty days in the desert preparing for His public ministry.

LENTEN  PRACTICES:                                                                                                   ALMSGIVING:    a freewill gift for those in need.  The giving of alms is linked to the love or charity commanded by Jesus (Lk 18:22) and to the example of the disciples in the early Church (Acts 9:36; 14:17).  Paul encouraged the cheerful giving of alms in his exhortation to the Corinthians on behalf of  collection he was taking up for  impoverished members of the Church (1 Cor 9).  In the first three centuries, alms were brought to the Eucharist for later distribution by the deacons.  By the 4th cent., bishops frequently collected offerings and established charitable endowments used for building hospitals and establishing other institutions to help the poor, orphans, widows, the imprisoned, and the sick.  Almsgiving is considered a corporal work of mercy by the Church and a penitential act that is especially appropriate during the Lenten season.  Like prayer and fasting, almsgiving encourages believers to direct their attention to God, to recall their dependence on God's gifts, and to share in Jesus' ministry of feeding the hungry (Mk 6:34 - 44; 8:1-10) and healing the sick (Mt 14:31-36).  Through the giving of alms, Catholics believe that they are participating in Christ's work to establish God's kingdom of justice and peace.  Vatican II reaffirmed the Church's constant tradition of almsgiving in its call for economic solidarity among all peoples of the world (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, nn.83-90).                                               

SAINT  OF  THE  WEEK      JOHN  OF  GOD    1495-1550             8 MAR                           Born in Portugal, John was a soldier in the wars between Spain and France as well as in the war against the Turks in Hungary.  Later he was a shepherd in Seville and also served as an overseer of slaves in Morocco.                                                                                                                             During the early years of his life, John had given up the Christian faith.  But when he was about forty years of age, John decided to atone for his previously immoral life by going to Africa to rescue Christian slaves and to seek martyrdom.  Instead, he got as far as Gibraltar where he peddled religious books and holy pictures.  In 1538, he went to Grenada and opened a religious goods store.  Soon after, he heard a sermon by St. John of Avila which filled him with remorse.  He engaged in a public beating of himself, begging forgiveness for his sins and wildly repenting his former ways.  For this, he was thrown into an insane asylum.  Helped by John of Avila, who suggested that he apply his energies to helping others rather than to practicing the harsh penances which he had imposed on himself, John of God found new purpose in his life.  Upon his release from the asylum in 1539, he devoted himself to helping the sick and the poor.            John opened a house to care for these ill-fated people, at first begging for alms to supply the basic needs of his house, soon his wisdom, zeal, dedication, and holiness in serving the unfortunate so impressed the people of Grenada that the wealthy clamored to support his efforts.  The work of  John and his supporters was the beginning of the Order of the Brothers Hospitalers, also known as the Brothers of ST. John of God, an order which has spread throughout the world.                                                                                                                       St. John of God is the patron saint of booksellers, heart ailments, hospitals, nurses, printers, and the sick.     

WE  PRAY  FOR  HEALTHY  VOCATIONS;  a  response  to  whatever  God  calls  forth from us.  WE remember in prayer those priests who have modeled this response through their service in and to the Church of Richmond:                                                                               8 Mar. 2001                Msgr. Charles A Kelly                                                                                         8 Mar. 2004                        Rev. Albert F. Pereira                                                                                     10 Mar. 2000              Rev. Ronald A. Ruth                                                                                           11 Mar. 1951                       Rev. Ronald J. McCarthy                                                                              11 Mar. 2004                 Rev. Lloyd F. Stephenson                                                                                12 Mar. 1947                   Msgr. John A. Kelliher                                                                                  12 Mar. 1975                 Rev. Kenneth M. Rizer                                                                                                    12 Mar. 2005                      Rev. Thomas A. Henry                                                                                             13 Mar. 1965                 Rev. Joseph Bogaczyk                                                                                          14 Mar. 1946                 Rev. Timothy Crowe                                                                                   14 Mar. 1962                 Rev. Richard B Washington