André Rieu: "Nearer, My God, to Thee"

As we continue to live this week, I offer this version of André Rieu, over 500 brass players, and the Johann Strauss Orchestra presenting "Nearer, My God, to Thee":

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of public libraries.

On Ways To Be A Better Evangelist

"Have you ever had a Mormon or Jehovah's Witness come to your door? Did you feel like they were there to truly love you? Probably not. Most of us feel like we are being used and that they are selling something more than wanting to help us. This is because they don't know us, aren't really looking to enter into our lives and befriend us; rather, they are looking for a project they can complete. We are really just a part of a checklist. They do their door-to-door evangelism and boom...they are done with evangelizing others for the day, even if they make no converts.

"I think there are some Catholics who approach evangelization the same way - as something to check off the list, in order to " be a good Catholic". It isn't something they really intentionally try to grow into, get better at, or eventually get skillful at doing. This is a shame. We are made to evangelize, in fact, this is the core mission of all Christians! So, we ought to be aiming at getting better at it!"

A recent Catholic Missionary Disciples post offered a few suggestions designed to help Catholics become better evangelists. The suggestions included a recommendation to stop treating others as evangelization projects and more as people we love, knowing the proper time and place for using apologetics, and asking more questions of others than they do ofus.

To access the complete Catholic Missionary Disciples post, please visit:

Catholic Missionary Disciples: 5 Ways To Be A Better Evangelist

Reflection Starter from Today's First Reading

"Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly." - Romans 12:9-16

Thank you, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of good literature.

Ft. Longenecker on the Scouring of the Shire

"The last time I read Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, it became clear just how deeply the work, as Tolkien admitted, was deeply Catholic. But those who are looking for a religious book will be disappointed. The Catholicism is embedded in Tolkien's classic at a deep level. It is in the depth of detail that Tolkien's Catholic imagination shines through.

"In the chapter in The Return of the King on the houses of Healing, there was so much there that sounded like the sacrament of confession. There was also so much richness to be mined from the horror and inner conflict of Gollum - who is, of course, a shadow of Frodo and a picture of what he would become if he gave in to the power of the Ring. 

"The Scouring of the Shire is the final chapter of the trilogy. The hobbits return home after their great quest and they find their beloved shire has been turned upside down by a kind of social revolution.

"The chapter illustrates Tolkien's assent to Catholic social teaching. The Shire, in its innocence, shows us the perfection of Catholic social teaching in which the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity are working perfectly. The hobbits care for one another and respect the property of one another. They take pride in their families, their crafts and their work. Each one to his own gifts and reaping the just rewards of a job well done for its own sake. In the simple agrarian community they brew beer, run inns, farm, raise animals, marry, enjoy the land and enjoy one another."

In a recent commentary, Father Dwight Longenecker (parish priest at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Greenville, SC) reflected on the Shire's slipping into a "capitalistic and a socialistic nightmare," including its causes and effects, and ending with a warning to us.

To access Fr. Longenecker's complete post, please visit:

National Catholic Register: Blogs: Fr. Dwight Longenecker: The Scouring of the Shire (16 OCT 17)

Background information:

Dwight Longenecker - Catholic priest and author

Reflection Starter from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

"Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability - and that it may take a very long time.

"And so I think it is with you; your ideas mature gradually - let them grow, let them shape themselves, without undue haste. Don't try to force them on, as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make of you tomorrow.

"Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give Our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete." - Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ (from his book, Hearts on Fire)

"For the Beauty of the Earth"

As we continue our Sunday celebration, I offer this version of John Rutter's "For the Beauty of the Earth":

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. The assigned readings are Malachi 1:14-2:2, 8-10; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9, 13; and Matthew 23:1-12. The Responsorial Psalm is Psalm 131 (Psalm 131:1-3).

For one version of the Responsorial Psalm set to music, please visit:

YouTube: Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 131 

The Gospel reading is as follows:

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Reflections on these readings:

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Salesian Sunday Reflections: 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (November 5, 2017)

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Sundays Salesian: Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (November 5, 2017)

Community in Mission: Teachings On Authority - A Homily for the 31st Sunday of the Year (4 NOV 17)

The Sacred Page: Good Leaders for God's People: 31st Sunday in OT (2 NOV 17)

The Sacred Page: Call No Man "Father" (The Mass Readings Explained) (30 OCT 17)

St. Paul Center: Calling the Fathers: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Word on Fire: A Challenge to the Sons of Levi (Cycle A * Ordinary Time * Week 31)

Spirituality of the Readings: Humble Contradictions (Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time A)

In Exile: Gratitude the Basic Virtue (Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time A
)

Let the Scriptures Speak: What Would Jesus Say? (Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time A)

The Word Embodied: A Teaching Father (Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time A
)

Historical Cultural Context: Avoiding Excess (Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time A)

Thoughts from the Early Church: Commentary by Paschasius Radbertus (Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time A
)

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of laughter.

Msgr. Pope on "the Loss of Humor in a Very Serious Age"

"One of the more irritating and sadder characteristics of our times is that we seem to have lost our collective sense of humor. Our ability to laugh at ourselves appears to be gone, replaced by 'frowny-faced' political correctness; there are seemingly endless rules about what can be said about whom, when, where, and using what terminology. On college campuses, young people demand 'safe zones,' where nothing can be said that might cause them to feel 'unsafe.' In media circles, outrage is a commonly expressed reaction to what used to be called ordinary disagreements. 

"We are too easily hurt and take offense in these thin-skinned times. We like to think we are more enlightened and sensitive than our boorish forebears (we're allowed to scorn them because they're dead), but I suspect the problem is more rooted in pride. The capacity to laugh at ourselves is referred to as 'humor' and humor has the same root as 'humility.'"

In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on the importance of humor in our lives (appropriately balanced) and on the importance of being able to laugh at ourselves.

To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:

Community in Mission: On the Loss of Humor in a Very Serious Age (30 OCT 17)

Reflection Starter from Pope Francis

"Learn from wonder; nurture astonishment. Live, love, believe. And, with the grace of God, never despair." - Pope Francis