Campus Ministry Online

NOVEMBER 2014 Volume 6, Number 3

Luke Warm, Not Good Enough!

Almighty and Everlasting Pope Francis warns against the harm of “lukewarm” Christianity, calling on faithful instead God, to be “children of light.” who dost enkindle the flame of Thy love in the hearts of the saints, The Lord has strong words towards Christian who avoid overstating their Christianity, the grant unto us the same Pope told the congregation on Oct. 27. Such Christians do great harm “because their faith and power of love; Christian witness is a witness which ultimately disseminates confusion, disseminates a that, as we rejoice in negative witness.” their triumphs we may profit by their At the End Times, the Pope continued, the Lord will say to these “gray” Christians: “You examples, through are neither hot nor cold. If only you were hot or cold. But because you are lukewarm – Jesus Christ our Lord. therefore gray – I vomit you from my mouth'.”

Contrasting lukewarm Christians with the “children of light” and the “children of darkness,” the Holy Father described these “gray” Christians as going from one side to the other, PRAYER AT HARVEST making it difficult to determine whether they follow God or the devil. AND THANKSGIVING “They are always lukewarm,” he said. “They are neither luminous nor dark.” O God, source and giver of all things, You manifest your infinite Pope Francis turned his reflection to the day's first reading from Saint Paul, calling on majesty, power and goodness In the earth about us: Christians to be children of light, rather than children of darkness. In order to know which We give you honor and glory. sort of children we are, the Pope said, we should consider whether the words we use fall For the sun and the rain, For the manifold fruits of our into one of four categories: hypocritical, empty, frivolous, or obscene. fields: For the increase of our herds Such words, he said, are not used by “the children of light. They are not from the Holy and flocks, We thank you. Spirit. They are not from Jesus, they are not the words of the Gospel. . . this way of For the enrichment of our souls speaking, always speaking of filthy things, or frivolously, or empty, or speaking with divine grace, We are grateful. hypocritically.”

Supreme Lord of the harvest, Graciously accept us and the Instead, the Holy Father said, citing Saint Paul, we are called to imitate God by walking in fruits of our toil, charity, goodness, and gentleness. “Therefore, be imitators of God and walk in charity. And In union with Jesus, your Son, this is the word of a child of light.” As atonement for our sins, For the growth of your Church, For peace and love in “There are luminous Christians, full of light,” the Pope said, “who seek to serve the Lord our homes , And for salvation for all. with this light.” He added that there are “dark” Christians “who lead a life of sin, a life far We pray through Christ our from the Lord.” Lord. Amen. Warning against being deceived by statements which are “beautiful, well said, but empty,” Pope Francis challenged Christians to ask themselves: “Am I a Christian of light? Am I a Christian of darkness? Am I a Christian of gray?” In this way, he said, we can “take a step forward toward an encounter with the Lord.”

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Eternal rest grant History of All Saints Day & All Souls Day unto them, O Lord.

And let perpetual By the late fourth century, the feast of All Saints, was celebrated in Antioch, and Saint light shine upon Ephrem the Syrian mentioned it in a sermon in 373. In the early centuries, this feast was celebrated in the Easter season, and the Eastern Churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, them. still celebrate it then.

The current date of November 1 was instituted by Pope Gregory III (731-741), when he May they rest in consecrated a chapel to all the martyrs in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and ordered an peace. Amen. annual celebration. This celebration was originally confined to the diocese of Rome, but Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the feast to the entire Church and ordered it to be celebrated on November 1.

The vigil or eve of the feast, October 31, is commonly known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. Despite concerns among some Christians (including some Catholics) in These newsletters are a recent years about the "pagan origins" of Halloween, the vigil was celebrated from the service of Mater Dei Campus Ministry in an beginning—long before Irish practices, stripped of their pagan origins (just as the attempt to: Christmas tree was stripped of similar connotations), were incorporated into popular celebrations of the feast.

1. Share information about our Catholic faith to The commemoration of all the faithful departed is celebrated by the Church on November keep our community 2nd. The theological basis for the feast is the doctrine that the souls which, on departing aware of some of the teachings of our from the body, are not perfectly cleansed or have not fully atoned for past transgressions, tradition. are debarred from the Beatific Vision, and that the faithful on earth can help them by prayers, almsdeeds and especially by the sacrifice of the Mass. 2. Update our community of changes in understandings and In the early days of Christianity the names of the departed brethren were entered in rituals the diptychs (sort of a notebook). Later, in the sixth century, it was customary in Benedictine monasteries to hold a commemoration of the deceased members at 3. Assist parents with the faith formation of their Whitsuntide. In Spain there was such a day on Saturday before Sexagesima or youth. before Pentecost, at the time of St. Isidore (d. 636). In Germany there existed a time- honored ceremony of praying for the dead on 1 October. This was accepted and sanctified 4. Provide links to sites by the Church. St. Odilo of Cluny (d. 1048) ordered the commemoration of all with helpful information on faith and parenting. the faithful departed to be held annually in the monasteries of his congregation. Thence it spread among the other congregations of the Benedictines and among the Carthusians. By 1888, Pope Leo XIII ordered a special Requiem on Sunday, 30 September, 1888. Mater Dei Campus Ministry ______900 Mater Dei Dr. Breese, IL 62230

Phone: Give thanks 526-7216

Try something different this Thanksgiving. Begin by praising God for His blessings first— before television, football, relatives, or turkey. Then after God has received His praise and honor, the remainder of the day can be set aside for family, fellowship, and fun with His blessings. In so doing, His peace will be upon the celebration from the beginning. In essence, praising Him and giving Him thanks should be a natural part of our faith, not just an annual celebration—and not so much an action as it is an attitude brought about by the continual awareness that all of life is a gift from God.

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Retreat Opportunities The next Quest retreat will be held at St. Dominic in Breese on November 8 & 9. Applications are available in Campus Ministry or online link at www.bellevilletec.org. .