For The Bulletin Of October 20, 2019

Reflecting On Today’s Gospel “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Persistent questioning bordering on bothering behavior is something with which we are all too familiar. Children have a knack for this, especially at an inquisitive At each liturgy this weekend, we celebrate age. But office drama can bring it out too, the feast of our patron saint, Ignatius of as well as adult family relationships. This is Antioch (c. 37 – 107 AD). He was an something Jesus was familiar with as well, apostolic father and possible disciple of John as today’s parable demonstrates. the Evangelist, and served the community of In the parable, the judge is named “unjust.” Antioch as Bishop. Living during the anti- He is willing to (and likely has) perverted Christian reign of the Roman emperor, justice in cases before him, which is a clear Trajan, he was sentenced to be fed to violation of Mosaic Law. The point of animals in the Roman Colosseum because naming him as an unjust judge is to make he would not engage in idol worship. His clear that his decision is for sale, whether to journey to was marked by extensive the widow (who likely has little money) or writing in which he composed seven letters. to her adversary. The judge is willing to These letters, directed to various churches, make a decision in her favor simply to get emphasized the humanity and divinity of rid of her, regardless of the merits of the Christ, the centrality of Eucharist, and the case. importance of church unity. One of his most If an unjust judge is willing to do what is famous statements is “where the bishop is, right simply to get rid of a persistent nag, there is the church.” We are blessed to be how much more will a loving Father in the only parish in the diocese named for him heaven do what is right? This simple but and to have him as our patron saint. May profound insight forms the core of the his courage, faith, insight, and wisdom message today. continue to guide us on our journey of Then, the gospel ends on a puzzling note, discipleship. St. Ignatius of Antioch: pray “but when the Son of Man comes, will He for us! find faith on earth?” The story opens with the necessity to pray always, but concludes

1 with a question about faith. It’s as though Early Christians, and maybe even modern, the song started in a major key but ends on a grew impatient with the delayed promised minor. This is no mere “throwaway” line, coming of Christ. Some Christians but is something significant and even vital to eventually abandoned this hope and interpreting the parable. therefore abandoned their discipleship. Luke’s gospel is a reminder that disciples Luke writes at a time when Jesus’ expected are “to pray always.” And not only that, but return has been delayed, thus the injunction to do so “without becoming weary.” That “to pray always without becoming weary.” may seem like a tall order, equivalent to Perhaps Luke himself is aware of some in telling a child on a long drive to “sit his own generation who have given up on patiently; we’ll be there soon enough.” Yet, this expected return of Jesus, and gone back that’s the encouragement we receive, along to a former way of life. This might be the with a final question wondering whether the reason, too, for the explanation of the Son of Man will find faith when He returns. parable on Jesus’ lips: “Will he be slow to This, too, in a nod to the children in the car, answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that might be the equivalent of, “I wonder if justice is done for them speedily.” The there will be ice cream for children who ceaseless praying is about justice, not were quiet the entire way?” The issues that necessarily Christ’s return. And then the concerned the early church concern us. story ends on a wistful note, wondering When will Jesus return? How long will this whether, when the Son of Man ultimately be? Is He slow to answer? The response is does return, he will find faith. Or will it be that we continue praying, doing justice, and that the disciples have effectively abandoned God will act when He does, in His own the injunction to pray always and thereby time. lost their faith? This question, pertinent as it was nearly two thousand years ago, is still Here are some questions to help you in applicable today. processing the scriptures proclaimed today:

 In the first reading, Aaron and Hur hold up Moses’ arms as he prays for Joshua. Who supports your prayer life?  How do you understand the line from today’s psalm, “The Lord will guard your coming and your going?”  In today’s second reading St. Paul urges Timothy to “be It can be so difficult to be patient. Lessons persistent whether it is we learned or attempted to learn in convenient or inconvenient.” childhood are still with us as adults. Where is God calling you to Opportunities to learn patience abound! persistence right now in your One clever prayer, inspired by St. Francis do spiritual life? Assisi, reads: “Lord, grant me patience…NOW!”  The gospel writer tells us the moral being illustrated in today’s parable: we are to “pray always

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without becoming weary.” How for al the blessings God has done for us do you follow Jesus’ command through the course of our day. to pray always? Although daily Eucharist is a venerable tradition, the practice of consecrating the day to God through the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours deepens our encounter with Christ, with Whom we sing the psalms and canticles in ceaseless praise of God’s blessings.

About Liturgy: The Liturgy of the Hours The rhythm of the church’s liturgical cycle is one way we learn perseverance in prayer and how to pray always. Sunday is the heart of our week, with the Easter Triduum the Today we celebrate our annual Parish heart and highpoint of the liturgical year. Festival. Following the 8:00 a.m. Eucharist, This rhythm of prayer of the church is our Knights of Columbus will be serving actually the constant prayer of Christ, Who breakfast. Then there will be games, “continues His priestly work through His festivities, and Bingo until 1:30 p.m. when church. The church, by celebrating the the Grand Raffle will take place. I hope you Eucharist and by other means, especially the will join us for at least part of the morning celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, is or early afternoon. Thank you to all who are ceaselessly engaged in praising the Lord and making the festival possible and without interceding for the salvation of the entire whose support, it would not be possible. world.” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #83) The main scriptural texts for the Liturgy of the Hours are the psalms, which were also the daily prayers of Jesus Himself. The Liturgy of the Hours is the official daily prayer of the church. The schedule of prayer for the Liturgy of the Hours pervades the entire day and night in order to sanctify the entire day to God. However, the two principal hours are Morning and Evening Prayer. The daily Office turns on the hinges of these two liturgies. Next weekend is Commitment Weekend. All during the month of October, we have In Morning Prayer, the church gives thanks listened to parishioners Vince Augusta, to God for the rising sun symbolizing the Charlie and Cecille Mirano, and Jack promise of Christ’s resurrection. In Evening Goncalves share their insights and spiritual Prayer, we place the work we have done into reflections on Stewardship: Time, Talent, the merciful hands of god and give thanks and Treasure. All registered parishioners were sent my Pastoral Letter introducing

3 you to this month’s focus on each of the Delta and Kaiser Deer Valley hospitals will Sundays, all leading up to next weekend be with us. If you have any questions about when you will be invited to come in a great this evening, please give Deacon Gary a call procession to the Altar to present both your at the parish office. tithes and offerings as well as your Commitment Forms, indicating your intention to return to the Lord a portion of your time, talent, and financial resources to help us in the building of God’s kingdom here at St. Ignatius of Antioch. Please come prepared to participate with your Commitment Form in hand. The forms will This year, All Saints Day, a holy day, falls be placed in the chest at the heart of the on Friday, November 1. We are privileged Altar as a constant reminder of the covenant to celebrate Holy Eucharist at 8:00 a.m. and into which you have entered with God in again at 7:30 p.m. thanksgiving for all the gifts and blessings God has given you. On Saturday morning, November 2nd, All Souls Day will be marked by one Eucharist at 9:00 a.m. at which Fr. Ricardo Chavez will preside and preach. You are invited to bring photographs and memorabilia of your loved ones to place on the memorial tables that will be set up on either side of the Altar.

Pastoral Care Meeting We are blessed with many Ministers of Pastoral Care who visit regularly the two hospitals, the three assisted living facilities, the convalescent hospitals, and the more than 30 private care homes within the boundaries of our parish. Holy Communion is brought to our sisters and brothers in these facilities, along with the bulletin, prayer, and a visit reassuring the ill that they are not forgotten and that God is with them.

Because this ministry is such an important part of our parish’s outreach ministries, we You are invited to join the Catholic are having an evening for you on Daughters of the Americas for their Annual Wednesday, October 30th, beginning at Memorial Eucharist for Deceased members 7:00 p.m. in the parish hall to reflect on our on Saturday, November 16th at 10:30 a.m. ministry, to pray together, to address the This is a diocesan-wide celebration and the protocols for various kinds of pastoral visits, leadership of the various courts of the and how we can strengthen our ministry. Daughters will be present in their colorful Additionally, the Chaplains for both Sutter- robes of office. Our Knights of Columbus

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will serve as members of the Color Guard and will present “The Colors.” Music will Amazon synod has be under the direction of Don Pearson, Director of Music/Organist/Artist-In- set ' Residence, along with our Parish Choir, Cantors, and special guest musician Jeff professional haters Campbell, Bagpipes. I hope you will join me in welcoming our sisters and brothers from the diocese for this annual observance. on edge Oct 2, 2019 by Michael Sean Winters

One of the most beautiful and meaningful liturgies in our parish is our annual Thanksgiving Liturgy. On Thanksgiving Day, November 28th, we will gather at 9:00 a.m. for Eucharist, the very word that Pope Francis listens during a meeting means “thanksgiving.” At this liturgy, the with people at the Jorge Basadre Institute Thanksgiving Reflection is traditionally in Puerto Maldonado, Peru, Jan. 19, given by one of our parishioners and in the 2018. (CNS/Paul Haring) past there have been women, men, and couples who have been given the honor and The Amazon synod will open next Sunday, privilege to present this reflection. We are Oct. 6, with Mass in St. Peter's Square. Like also asking that you wear clothing that is everything else in this pontificate, the synod special to your cultural tradition to enrich is surrounded in controversy, not because it our celebration so that our worship reflects needs to be so, but because the professional the wide variety of cultures and people who haters of Pope Francis now insist that make up our parish community. The everything he does or says is wrong or evil readings and prayers will also be proclaimed or heretical. in the various languages of our community with English translations in the worship Cardinal-designate Jesuit Fr. Michael leaflet. Also, please be sure to bring the Czerny and Dominican Bishop David bread and wine you will share at your Martínez de Aguirre did a fine job Thanksgiving Dinner to be blessed at the explaining the rationale for the synod in conclusion of the liturgy. A portion of the a recent article in La Civiltà Cattolica. offering will be contributed to our adopted parochial school of St. Peter Martyr in "Laudato Si' came out in June 2015. Over thanksgiving for the wonderful job they do the years, numerous initiatives contributing to give our children a Catholic education. to integral ecology have begun, many of

5 them Church-based," they wrote. and dialogue, listen and dialogue. That is "Meanwhile, according to all indicators, the what synodality is all about. crisis has worsened significantly. The Amazon Synod is a conscious ecclesial All this, unsurprisingly, has set Francis' effort to implement Laudato Si' in this critics on edge. Leading the pack is Cardinal fundamental human and natural Raymond Burke and Auxiliary environment." Bishop Athanasius Schneider. They have called for a 40-day crusade of prayer and The instrumentum laboris (working fasting to prevent what they term "serious document) for the synod, like Francis' theological errors and heresies" in encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our the instrumentum laboris from being Common Home," calls for an "integral adopted at the synod. ecology." I admit I am not crazy about the word "integral," at least not in English. To The conservative duo is alarmed by the me, the word has unfortunate associations "implicit pantheism" in the instrumentum with Fr. , Archbishop laboris and its openness to "pagan Michel Lefebvre and Cardinal Alfredo superstitions." Ottaviani, those integralists who opposed the 's efforts to renew "The Instrumentum Laboris draws from its Catholic life and theology. implicit pantheistic conception an erroneous concept of Divine Revelation, stating But as you read the instrumentum laboris, it basically that God continues to self- is obvious that the more accessible English communicate in history through the word would be "integrated," the idea that the conscience of the peoples and the cries of spiritual aspects of a situation are not nature," they write. Good thing they were segregated from the social aspects, and the not around when St. Augustine was social is not segregated from the economic, employing Neo-Platonic philosophy to and none of it is any longer segregated from articulate his understanding of divine the demands of nature, especially when revelation, or when St. Thomas Aquinas discussing the Earth's very "lungs." used Aristotelian concepts to do likewise.

In addition to the synod being a chance to The rest of their eight-page rant is similar: really apply Laudato Si' and to promote They supply the worst possible integral ecology, the simple of fact of the interpretations of statements taken out of synod highlights another of this pontificate's context to promote the idea that the Holy themes, synodality itself. The pope could Father and a Synod of Bishops is about to have issued a document about the challenges partake of heresy. facing this region, and the relationship of those challenges to the broader culture and Last week, NCR ran an editorial about the to the church, all on his own authority. synod that stated, in part, "How much credence one should give to a two-person That is not this pope's way. His method is campaign against the pope is an open that pioneered by Cardinal Joseph Cardijn: question." Regrettably, the opposition is not See, judge, act. And, in order to see more limited to the two buffoonish prelates clearly, judge more fairly, and act in a more mentioned above. decisively Christian manner, you must listen

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A few weeks back, EWTN's Raymond here and the anthropology articulated in the Arroyo convoked his "papal posse" to Second Vatican Council's Gaudium et Spes. discuss Francis and the synod. Especially But the hysterical allegations of heresy and ironic were their complaints about the error tell us more about the accusers than the possibility that the synod might make accused. And the haters are not few nor are celibacy optional in certain circumstances. they insignificant. The suggestion I made in "This is a subversion. ... It would be a total August is even more obviously needed now: disaster to make celibacy optional. ... The U.S. bishops should scrap their agenda Basically, it's an abandonment of what Jesus for their November plenary meeting and himself lived," frothed Fr. Gerald Murray. spend the entire time discussing how to cope I do not remember Murray and the others with those who are spreading the seeds of complaining when Pope Benedict XVI schism. issued Anglicanorum Coetibus, which allowed married clergy from the Anglican [Michael Sean Winters covers the nexus of Communion to join the ranks of the Catholic religion and politics for NCR.] clergy. Was Benedict permitting an "abandonment of what Jesus himself lived"? Are our Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic brothers committing a similar abandonment when they permit married clergy?

In this internet age, an auxiliary bishop from Kazakhstan can make a splash, but the particular vehicle for Burke's and Schneider's vile insinuations is the National Catholic Register, an arm of EWTN. The Register also led the reporting of What a blessing it is to have so many Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's nasty wonderful volunteers who assist us in so attempt at score-settling. many ways: those who clean and prepare the church and parish hall for liturgy: Reno It would be bad enough if these ridiculous & Thelma Benasfre, Jun Bajet, Angela and not very intelligent prophylactic attacks Bueno, Jean Rogers, Adavuu NaAJI, on the synod were confined to LifeSiteNews Mency Osborne, Carole Miller, Rose and similar marginal outlets. But, EWTN Salamanca, Steve Rojek. and the Register reach millions of Catholics. …those who clean and maintain the Indeed, a 2016 survey of the U.S. bathrooms in both the church and parish hall episcopate indicated that more bishops read throughout the week: Alfred Madoshi, the Register than any other Catholic Mary Ewing, Patricia Britton, Steve newspaper or magazine. Rojek, and Father Robert. ...to Dilcia Aparicio who does such an It is fine to entertain criticisms of the excellent job of washing, ironing, and caring synod's instrumentum laboris. I found it for the Sacred Linens. terribly dry at points. And I would like a …to our Sacristans and Altar Guild who more explicit connection between some of prepare the sanctuary for the celebration of the anthropological perspectives contained Eucharist each week:

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Peter Degl’Innocenti, Pam and Rich Grelli at Black Diamond Travel to add your Confetti, Vincent Rodriguez, Harlan name to our list, make your deposit, and join Young, Monika Kauer, Adora Pesapane, us in continuing to plan for this vacation of a Nancy Santos and Rose Salamanca. lifetime. Linda’s phone number is 925- …to our counting teams who are here 754-5340. every week to count the weekly collections. …to our volunteers who assisted in the parish office last week: Frances Rojek, Mel Costanza, Maryann Peddicord, Estrella Rusk, Alicia Perez, Bev Iacona, Joe Fanfa and Paul Riofski. …to our St. Vincent de Paul volunteer who transported last week’s donations: Frank Zamora. …to our faithful weekly bulletin assembly team: Dave Costanza (Lead), Carole Miller, Beth Enea, Richard Enea, and Sherry Webb. …to our wonderful Parking Lot Security who keeps watch over our vehicles during the weekend Liturgies: Don Benson, Steve Rojek, Dave Simpson and Jose Perez.

Attached to my Insert today is the updated itinerary for our parish trip to Paris next year. As of this past Tuesday, we have 12 people signed up who have paid the deposit for the trip. I am able to take 40 people on this wonderful trip so there is plenty of room for you to sign up! Please contact Linda

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