Matthew 21:23-26... Neglect for Weightier Things
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Posted:Aug 27, 2007 9:56 pm
Last Updated:Aug 27, 2007 9:57 pm 3442 Views
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Matthew 21:23-26
Neglect for Weightier Things
[Jesus said,] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law; judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these should have done , without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.”
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365 Days with the Lord
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Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees... reflect
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Posted:Aug 27, 2007 6:58 am
Last Updated:Aug 27, 2007 7:02 am 3658 Views
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Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees... reflect
Notice that in the gospel reading, Jesus twice calls his opponents hypocrites. The term in Greek is hupocritai. Originally, the word hupocrites was a theatrical term meaning “actor.” In Matthew gospel, it comes to refer to people who behave falsely; false interpreters of Scriptures, false religious leaders who fail in their responsibility.
Legalism and hypocrisy are naturally connected, I am legalist when I used the law to hide my true self. In other words, I obey the letter of the law (knowing all the time that I am really disobeying the spirit of the law) and thus appear to be righteous and honest. But all this playacting is aimed at concealing the fact that I am not the honest person I appear to be. Legalism gives the illusion of holiness, but no substance. Its greatest danger is that in the long run it can deceive me into believing in my phony holiness. Then salvation is rejected as unnecessary. When such a condition of spiritual ruin has been reached, only the strongest of shock treatments has any chance of bringing me back to my senses. That is precisely what Jesus is attempting here. In a wrenching effort to save the hypocrites facing him, he insults them and tears away their masks in the hope of shaking them from their complacency. His violent attack is here a desperate act of love.
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365 Days with the Lord
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Matthew 23:13-22... Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees
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Posted:Aug 27, 2007 6:53 am
Last Updated:Apr 27, 2024 7:16 am 3529 Views
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Matthew 23:13-22
Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees
[Jesus said,] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven before human beings. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.
Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold, or the temple, one is obligated.’ Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? And you say, ’If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’ You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it, one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who seated on it.”
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365 Days with the Lord
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Padre Pio's Mass... Remote Preparation for the Holy Mass
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Posted:Aug 27, 2007 6:23 am
Last Updated:Aug 27, 2007 6:28 am 3454 Views
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REMOTE PREPARATION FOR THE HOLY MASS
During all the time Our Lord Jesus Christ lived on earth, - says the “Imitation” ‒ He was not for one single moment without cross or grief: the entire life of Christ was therefore but a cross and a martyrdom.
Contrary to the Old Testament, the sacrifice of the Lord is not an act, to a greater or lesser extent, but a state. Between the “Ecce venio” pronounced at the first instance of the Incarnation, and the “Consummatum est”, uttered at the Calvary, in one continuous and increasing oblation, is contained all the life of the Redeemer.
The state of victim of the Lord, however, reaches the sacrificial peak with the immolation at Calvary.
The Passion of Christ is the recapitulative moment of His redeeming love for us: the crucifixion is the visible sign of our sins that Jesus, in His body, carried on the wood of the Cross so that, by His wounds, we may live by His justice.
The life of the crucified priest of Gargano could not be lived unless in a complete, total, absolute victimal state.
--Padre, when do you suffer?
Always, my !
--Padre, have you always suffered?
Since the time I was in my mother’s womb!
--How much do you suffer, Padre?
As much as him who takes all humanity upon himself!
Padre Pio, encouraged by Jesus to keep going on the way of the Cross, sees, as in mirror, that his life is none other than a continuous martyrdom.
Jesus himself wants sufferings. The Lord in person begs for his pains, his tears, and with a voice of prayer and command at the same time, invites Padre Pio to ascribe his body to be lightened in the burdens.
Chosen against all unworthiness to help Jesus in the big affair of human salvation, Padre Pio has a burning desire to suffering: this herald of the Cross would regret, be it only for an hour, to be left without cross or, worse still, to be deprived of it by others.
Not only does he desire all his life, which he wants to live suffering to be strewn with crosses and persecutions, but he asks downright to be made participant of the same suffering of the Lord.
As with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, he is offered a chalice; Padre Pio accepts it without any reserve.
The election to victim, if it procures him from the part of heavenly Father the participation to the suffering of the only even physically, enables Padre Pio, after Jesus has fully explained to him the meaning of victim, to reach the “Consummatum est” to which every victim is destined.
The Stigmatist of Gargano is for Jesus “a supplementary humanity” or “an added humanity” ‒the apt expression is by Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity ‒in which the crucified man of Calvary can still suffer for the Glory of the Father, and is more effectively able to meet the needs of his Church.
In other words; Jesus renews in Padre Pio in a sovereignly expressive from all mystery of salvation.
At San Giovani Rotondo, the Passion of Christ, by virtue of symbiosis, is carried out again at the altar even physically; Padre Pio, effective visible sign of Christ, used to celebrate the Holy Mass as a mark representative of the stigmata of Our Lord.
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Philippine Center for St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Inc.
188 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. Bagumbayan Q.C.
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Padre Pio’s Mass... The Holy Mass According to Padre Pio
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Posted:Aug 26, 2007 7:40 am
Last Updated:Aug 26, 2007 7:42 am 3429 Views
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Padre Pio’s Mass
The Holy Mass According to Padre Pio
A visitor, in reply to a formal question of the Pope,-- wrote Graham Greene, said that he would never forget two Masses; the one he saw celebrated in a small Franciscan convent at San Giovani Rotondo, where the Host was raised by the hands of Padre Pio; and the other celebrated by the Vicar of Christ under the dome of Michelangelo.
Everyone is bound to remember the Mass celebrated by Padre Pio. It is enough for one to have heard it only once never to forget it again. People would have arrive uninterruptedly waiting at Gargano from all parts of the world in order to hear that Mass.
Urged by the mysterious and irresistible force of the Spirit, after anxiously waiting all night in front of the Church, the pilgrims, unable to contain themselves any longer, would rush into the House of God as soon as the gates of the Temple were opened, in order to get as close as possible to that altar and-catch the slightest glimpse of the Stigmatist of the Gargano mountain who, by virtue of an intimate and secret offering, became a visible altar for the Cross of Our Saviour.
In those instances every distance of time and place between the Alter and Calvary was annulled; in the crucified priest of Gargano the faithful could get a vivid glimpse of the Crucifix of Golgotha.
The living crucifix celebrating the earliest morning Mass in the world, left a deep impression.
The Mass, performed in memory of the Passion of our Lord, represents the Sacrifice of the Cross, which is actually carried out again. Where in the rite the Mass repeats the Supper, in its essence it renews, sacramentally, the Calvary.
The Mass–said Pope Paul VI recently in the Profession of faith–is the sacrifice of Calvary made sacramentally present on our altars.
The Sacrifice of the Cross is executed on the Altar by the action of the Priest, minister of Christ and effective sign of His presence.
Christ, present in the person of His Minister, is clearly explained by the “Mediator Dei” seconded by the “Sacrosanctum Concilium”.
While in every sacrament Christ identifies Himself with His Minister, in the consecration of the Eucharist the identification reaches its highest peak; the Minister accomplishes the Sacrifices of Christ-in the manner of an actor and consecrates with His efficacy, repeating His very words of actions.
The Priest, as the Lord’s Minister, is given to the community of brethren mainly as a sign with the aim of effectively representing Christ in his person: Christ Himself should be made visible in the priest.
And the more the life’ of the Redeemer is lived by the Minister, the more does the priest render perceptible in himself, at the altar, the mystery of his Passion.
In lending Christ, highest of Priests, his voice, his hands, the priest should lend most of his heart. Disposed to make the Lord’s Sacrifice his own, eager to climb Calvary and die in agony, the priest, at the altar, becomes a visible and expressive symbol of Christ, whilst for him Jesus renders sacramentally present the sacrifice of Calvary.
By constantly carrying in his body the suffering of the dying Saviour, Padre Pio lived in the flesh a life that was a manifestation of the life he lived in the faith. It wasn’t Padre Pio anymore who lived; the Lord Himself lived so fully in Padre Pio as to render him physically crucified with Christ on the Cross.
The crucified priest of Gargano, efficacious symbol of Christ, performed vividly in his flesh the crucifixion of Calvary.
Padre Pio’s Mass has still remained a mystery!
Who could ever probe deeply into that soul and observe the exchange that took plce between Padre Pio and Our Lord Jesus? It was impossible–though the eyes were filled with amazement, because so strongly struck and attached–to find out to what extent Padre Pio got himself immersed with the Redeemer.
The external aspect assumed by his Servant of God in celebrating the Holy Mass impressed and perturbed; the superhuman effort gave, after all, only a very slight idea of the way the Stigmatist of Gargano made the Passion of Our Lord his own.
Our blurred eyes would have longed to see more of the intimate and secret life of the Padre, but this always remained a hidden and sealed mystery.
If it’s a good thing to keep the king’s secret, it is also a great honour to reveal the works of God and make them known.
Padre Pio’s Mass is now no longer an absolute mystery. The Lord’s provident wisdom has permitted in so many years that Padre Pio himself reveal at intervals one or other of the moments of his Mass.
This collection of incomparable beauty, as an example of the way the Eucharistic Mystery is carried out, enables us to contemplate the sublime highness to which the soul of Padre Pio was elevated by Jesus.
All the Passion of the Lord is physically re-lived by his exceptional of Francis; in the Stigmatist of Gargano the celestial Father indicates His crucified to the world.
Before contemplating how the Passion of Jesus was carried out again by Padre Pio during the celebration of the Holy Mass, it is necessary, in order to value to the utmost all that the Lord operated in Padre Pio, to keep in mind the preparation for the Divine Sacrifice that the celestial Father, in resemblance to Christ, expected from this well disposed of Francis.
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Padre Pio’s Mass... Preface
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Posted:Aug 26, 2007 7:34 am
Last Updated:Aug 26, 2007 7:37 am 3347 Views
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Padre Pio’s Mass
Preface
At the Udine Convention of 1972, Father Tarcisio held a conference on Padre Pio’s Mass. An obligatory subject, one might say, when it comes to Padre Pio, and one which has been written and said. But Father Tarcisio treated the subject in a different and surprising way.
He spoke from within, that is, from Padre Pio’s point of view; from his state of mind, from his real suffering, from his authentic thoughts, and not from imagination.
This was possible for him to do because he used Padre Pio’s very own words, his confidences, not to say confessions, which he gave a little at a time to his spiritual . To the more valiant ones, who lived day by day, hour by hour, in the sphere of the mystic life of Padre Pio.
They used to follow him mostly at the alter, trying to make themselves one in him, to re-live the Mass with him, feeling, if it were possible, the same tremors, the same anguishes, the same love.
There were many such spiritual ; many more than one could ever imagine. But some of them went far beyond just assisting Padre Pio’s Mass.
They used to indulge in soul-searching, analyzing their feelings. They tried to understand that Mass. But to understand it not by way of intuition, by way of just taking part, which is already a noble way of understanding it. They wanted the very explanations of the protagonist, of Padre Pio.
And they used to question him continuously, taking advantage of every meeting or chance conversation. They used to put questions to him with the confidence, the audacity of lovers. Without ever losing heart if at times, or often enough. Padre Pio was evasive or reticent. But having another try as soon as possible, and completing, one might say, every concept with fragments of conversation.
Among these beloved , there was, it is needless to say, Father Tarcisio himself. We remember him, in his younger days, beside Padre Pio. We remember him in a special way beside him, n the altar. He was, practically, fascinated by Padre Pio’s Mass. A love which has led to a mine of observations, and patient work of collections, and of course, remeditation.
The conference Father Tarcisio held at Udine is, in fact, the fruit of this love, of this patience. A conference that immediately appeared to us as basic and relevant.
We soon published, and rather badly we must admit, some excerpts of it in the summary of the convention which appeared in the Home Magazine. This was followed by another publication of the entire conference, done with great care this time. In the Acts of the Convention. We had sent those Acts, according to the programme, to the Prayer Groups only. But we were soon overwhelmed with request. Everybody seemed to want that text. We had made about a thousand extra copies of it, just for precaution. They were soon exhausted. Therefore we felt the necessity to safely conserve the text in a booklet. It took a lot of time to prepare; all we do involves great labour and sacrifice. It is perhaps because things that have to do with saints are always complex.
But here at last is the book which is printed, besides English, in Italian, French, German and Spanish. It seemed to us the best way to present the passion Padre Pio suffered in his Mass, for Christian and non Christian reflection, throughout the world.
Gherardo Leone
San Giovani Rotondo, October 10, 1974
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Salvation Is Not a Privilege of a Few...Reflect
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Posted:Aug 25, 2007 9:48 am
Last Updated:Aug 25, 2007 9:55 am 3121 Views
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Salvation Is Not a Privilege of a Few...Reflect
When Jesus comes on the scene, he resolutely renews with the universalistic traditions of the prophets. Salvation, he announces to all and sundry, is not a privilege of birth or nationality. “And people will come from the east and the west,” he says in today’s gospel reading, “and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
In short, Heaven will be full of surprises. The VIP’s and “big shots” on earth will not necessarily be VIP’s and “big shots” in Heaven. There will, no doubt, be a lot of beggars, rag ladies, laundrywomen, and street sweepers ahead of a lot of bishops, cardinals and popes. What will matter then will not be your social status on earth, or your bank account, or your looks, or your academic degrees. What will matter then will be what kind of a person you will have become while fulfilling your social role: a selfish person or a loving person.
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365 Days with the Lord
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Luke 13:22-30... Salvation and Rejection
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Posted:Aug 25, 2007 9:37 am
Last Updated:Aug 25, 2007 9:44 am 3347 Views
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Luke 13:22-30
Salvation and Rejection
[Jesus] passed through towns and villagers, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him, “Lord, will only few people be saved?”
He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
‘Lord, open the door for us.’
He will say to you, in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’
Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where (you) are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
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365 Days with the Lord
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THE WAY OF PURIFICATION ... AFTER CONVERSION... Frequent Communion... Pray
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Posted:Aug 24, 2007 3:00 am
Last Updated:Aug 24, 2007 3:02 am 3330 Views
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THE WAY OF PURIFICATION
AFTER CONVERSION
CHAPTER 36
Frequent Communion
Pray,
Lord, this heavenly gift is certainly necessary for me. I become sluggish so easily, and I fall into sin so quickly. I need to be spiritually refreshed, cleansed, and inflamed once more by frequent prayers, confession, and loving reception of Your Sacred Body and Blood. By staying away too long, I may fall away from my good intentions. Makes me wise enough to come to You as often as possible, so that I may have Your grace to work for eternal life. Amen
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My
Daily
Bread
CONFRATERNETY
OF THE
PRECIOUS
BLOOD
Book 1 ‒ The Way of Purification
Part 2 ‒ After Conversion
Page 69-71
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THE WAY OF PURIFICATION AFTER CONVERSION... Frequent Communion... think
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Posted:Aug 24, 2007 2:54 am
Last Updated:Aug 24, 2007 9:41 pm 4273 Views
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THE WAY OF PURIFICATION
AFTER CONVERSION
CHAPTER 36
Frequent Communion
THINK,
To fight sin, I need a strength greater than my own. Jesus promises to give it to me in Holy Communion. I must not pass up this marvelous invitation. As often as possible I will go to receive Him. I will lay before Him my hopes, plans, and ambitions. He will give me the strength to do what is best for me.
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My
Daily
Bread
CONFRATERNETY
OF THE
PRECIOUS
BLOOD
Book 1 ‒ The Way of Purification
Part 2 ‒ After Conversion
Page 69-71
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