St.Michael the Archangel
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ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL CATHOLIC CHURCH Consecrated to the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary JUNE 20, 2021 • TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Blessing of Fathers God and Father of all creation, we come before you today with humble hearts. You are our model of a loving father. When we fail and fall short of your expectations, you are always there at the end of the day with open arms, ready to heal the cuts and scrapes of the day and to encourage us to try again and not to give up. We hold up these men in our midst who act in the world as fathers to their children or models of fathers for others. Bless them in their moments of doubt and frustration with their children. Give them warm and open hearts to forgive failures. Provide them with the words needed for encouragement and perseverance. We ask all this in the name of Jesus. Amen. CATHOLIC LIFE EXPLAINED EVERYDAY STEWARDSHIP Waking God A show of hands, ladies and gentlemen. Have any of you been given the silent treatment and had absolutely no idea why? On the flipside, have any of you sworn you’re not going to demean yourself by explaining, for the thousandth time, that you need extra help with the kids before soccer practice, or that you feel ignored when your spouse doesn’t ask how your day went? But sadly, love doesn’t give you the ability to read minds. And in the end, we learn the lesson again and again, we have to verbalize our feelings, our needs, our wants. Expecting your partner to anticipate your needs is guaranteed to end badly. It’s the same with God, even though, oddly enough, He does have the ability to read minds. But He still desires us to explain ourselves to Him, WHY DO WE DO THAT? doesn’t He? “I’m feeling scared of this.” “I’m really worried about that.” “God, I think I need x, y and z. Help me. Please.” What do the colors of the priest’s Jesus slept on that boat, as it was tossed and turned by the waves, until his disciples woke him. “Why were you sleeping?” they ask. Well, and deacon’s vestments mean? geniuses, he was sleeping because they hadn’t woken him up yet. They had wasted time cowering in fear, waiting for him to act. They gave him In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the silent treatment and they didn’t even know it. the colors of the vestments evolved over the God doesn’t desire us to verbalize our needs as a way of keeping us course of several centuries and there was submissive. He’s not that petty. What He desires is the communication — that’s what really counts. That act of opening yourself up, of wide variation both in the colors used, and in becoming vulnerable, of relying on Him, trusting Him. If it feels like God the feasts and seasons associated with is asleep in your life, ask yourself this, have you tried waking Him up? particular colors. It was Pope Innocent III (d. — Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS 1216) who gave us the basic outline that was later prescribed by Pope Saint Pius V in 1570. The various colors remind us of the dominant themes of a particular season or celebration. White: Used for the seasons of Christmas and Easter and in celebrations of the Lord, of Mary, the angels, and saints who were not martyrs. This color is also used in Masses for the dead, at baptisms, weddings and other festive celebrations. Red: As the color of both blood and fire, red is used on Palm Sunday and Good Friday, as well as Pentecost and special celebrations of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, red is used on the feasts and memorials of the Apostles and those saints who died as martyrs. Violet: The color for Advent and Lent. Violet may also be used in Masses for the dead and on All Souls Day (November 2). Green: A color of life and hope, green is used throughout Ordinary Time. Other colors: Rose may be used on the Third Sunday of Advent and the Fourth Sunday of Lent, black may be used in Masses of the dead and on All Souls Day, gold or silver may be used on solemn occasions in place of white, red, or green. ©LPi GOSPEL MEDITATION As we look at our lives and world events, do we ever find ourselves wondering if God is sleeping? After all, maybe God’s patient, unconditional love has run its course and He is finally fed up with humanity’s reluctance to accept the truth about who we are. God really can’t be that patient! All throughout human history, many have prayed to God for intervention or for particular needs. Because their prayers were not answered in the way they wanted or anticipated, they felt that God may have abandoned them. Were they right? It seems that we are continuing, at a rapid rate, Saint Paulinus of Nola down a path of destruction. Do you not care, God, that Feast Day: June 22 we may be perishing? When the boats of our lives are Anyone who is praised in the rocking and the seas tumultuous, we want to know that letters of six or seven saints we have God’s attention. Even more so, we want undoubtedly must be of God’s intervention. extraordinary character. Maybe the storms and the waves are necessary. If we Such a person was Paulinus listen, they can teach us valuable lessons. Without of Nola, correspondent and them, we would never learn that we have the strength friend of Saints Augustine, to endure, understand the uselessness of fear and Jerome, Melania, Martin, Gregory the Great, and worry, or develop the ability to really trust. If God Ambrose. immediately rushed in and simply calmed things down before they got difficult, what good would that really Born near Bordeaux, he was be? We would miss opportunities to learn how to drink the son of the Roman prefect more deeply of life, treasure its complexity, irony, and of Gaul, who had extensive beauty and fully engage ourselves in surrendering to property in both Gaul and the love of our Creator. It is easy to walk on the surface Italy. Paulinus became a of life without immersing ourselves in its messiness. distinguished lawyer, holding Life has to burn its way through us in order to bring us several public offices in the Roman Empire. With his to a place of secure trust. It’s unfortunate that some Spanish wife, Therasia, he prefer a shallower journey. retired at an early age to a That’s the balancing act that comes with faith. It is not life of cultured leisure. God’s job to prevent us from encountering the torrential The two were baptized by the saintly bishop of rains and winds of life. Many believe that if faith is done Bordeaux and moved to Therasia’s estate in Spain. the right way, that God will provide for smooth sailing. After many childless years, they had a son who died a That’s not how it works. God permits us to ride out the week after birth. This occasioned their beginning a life difficult stuff knowing that the storm will eventually be of great austerity and charity, giving away most of their calmed. Do we not have faith that God will do this? Spanish property. Possibly as a result of this great True faith trusts in the steadfastness of God’s love example, Paulinus was rather unexpectedly ordained a when the seas are calm and when they are choppy. priest at Christmas by the bishop of Barcelona. God’s unconditional loving presence shines through all He and his wife then moved to Nola, near Naples. He of it and endures forever. Knowing this allows us to put had a great love for Saint Felix of Nola, and spent our boats out into unchartered waters without much effort in promoting devotion to this saint. hesitation. Knowing that we prefer the comfort and Paulinus gave away most of his remaining property—to safety of what we know to be still waters, how do we the consternation of his relatives—and continued his feel when Jesus says, “Let us cross to the other side”? work for the poor. Supporting a host of debtors, the ©LPi homeless and other needy people, he lived a monastic life in another part of his home. By popular demand he was made bishop of Nola and guided that diocese for SMCC 2021 Summer Youth Sports Camp schedule: 21 years. Paulinus’ last years were saddened by the invasion of SMCC Youth Soccer Camp (Co-Ed) - June 21-24 the Huns. Among his few writings is the earliest extant Kestrels Youth Softball Camp - June 21-23 Christian wedding song. Falcons Youth Wrestling Camp - June 28-30 Reflection Kestrels Youth Girls Basketball Camp - June 29-July 1 Many of us are tempted to “retire” early in life, after an initial burst of energy. Devotion to Christ and his work Falcons Youth Football Camp - July 13-15 is waiting to be done all around us. Paulinus’ life had Kestrels Youth Volleyball Camp - July 19-21 scarcely begun when he thought it was over, as he took his ease on that estate in Spain. “Man proposes, Camp flyer & registration form: www.smccmonroe.com. but God disposes.” Questions? Please contact Kyle McElvany, Director of https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-paulinus- Summer Camps, [email protected].