"Worthy Is the Lamb"

As we continue our Sunday celebration, I offer this version of "Worthy Is the Lamb":

 

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates the Twenty-eigth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The assigned readings for the Mass during the day are Isaiah 25:6-10a; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; and Matthew 22:1-14. The Responsorial Psalm is from Psalm 23 (Psalm 23A:1-6 ).

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

YouTube: Spirit & Psalm - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2023 - Year A - Psalm 23 - Anderson

The Gospel reading is as follows:

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast."' Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. The king said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen."

Reflections related to these readings:

Benedictine College: This Sunday, Only Those Who Won't Change Can't Come (8 OCT 26)

Word on Fire: The Invitation Has Been Offered (Cycle A * Ordinary Time * 28th Week)

The Pilot: Echoes: Scott Hahn: Dressing for the feast (9 OCT 26)

The Pilot: Echoes: Deacon Greg Kandra: A wedding garment of mercy (7 OCT 26)

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for Your Presence in the mysteries we reflect on.

Msgr. Pope on the Meaning of Mystery

"In the secular world, a 'mystery' is something that baffles or eludes understanding, something that lies undisclosed. And the usual attitude of the world toward mystery is to solve it, get to the bottom of, or uncover it. Mysteries must be overcome! The riddle, or 'who-done-it' must be solved!

"In the Christian and especially the Catholic world, 'mystery' is something a bit different. Here, mystery refers to the fact that there are hidden dimensions in things, people, and situations that extend beyond their visible, physical dimensions."

In a recent commentary, Msgr. Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on how, for the Christian .""mystery is not something to be solved or overcome so much as to be savored and reverenced

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

Community in Mission: What Do We Mean by the Word "Mystery?" (10 OCT 26)

Reflection Starter from Poe Leo XIV

"In the Gospel of the Day, Jesus speaks of the wedding feast prepared by a king for his son (cf. Mt 22:1–14). The wedding feast is ours, and the banquet hall is our churches and homes, the places where we live and where the King's Son, Jesus Christ, continues to declare His love for us and await our 'yes.'" - Pope Leo XIV

Dinah Shore: "Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)"

As this blessed week draws to a close, I offer this version of Dinah Shore presenting "Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)":

 

Belated Birthday Blessings, Elisabeth!!!

Belated birthday greetings to niece Elisabeth Altshuler, whose recently celebrated her birthday!!! May each day of the upcoming year be filled with the Lord's choicest blessings!!!

Belated Birthday Blessings, Greg!!!

Belated birthday greetings to (great-) nephew Greg Duggan, who recently celebrated his birthday!!! May each day of the coming year be richly blessed!!!

Belated Anniversary Blessings, Jackie and Steven!!!

Belated anniversary greetings to niece Jaclyn Marie and her husband Steven, who recently celebrated their wedding anniversary!!! May each day of the upcoming year be filled with the Lord's choicest blessings!!!

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the many ways in which You work though Your people to promote respect for life.

The Guidance of Padre Pio

"Pray, hope, and don't worry. God is merciful and will hear your prayer." This is the advice Saint Padre Pio gave to his spiritual children in the many communications he had with them throughout his life. What an amazing privilege it must have been to have known Padre Pio, the great Italian saint of the 20th century who bore the stigmata. More amazing still is that Padre Pio extended the invitation for all Americans to be his spiritual children on the condition of keeping and practicing the faith.

Padre Pio expressed this invitation to an American soldier named Joe Peluso who paid him a visit during World War II. Peluso had received a letter from his mother while he was stationed in Italy. She encouraged her son to seek out Padre Pio, though she did not know what part of the country he lived in. When Peluso asked his chaplain, the chaplain laughed and pointed to a nearby mountain and said, "Padre Pio lives right on that mountain."

So it was that Joe Peluso was able to visit Padre Pio regularly throughout the next ten months that he remained stationed near the Capuchin Friary of Our Lady of Grace in San Giovani Rotundo. Sometimes he would eat with the Capuchins, and he once made a trip to Rome to replenish Padre Pio's stock of religious medals that he gave to those who came to see him.

When Peluso asked Padre Pio to be a spiritual father to himself and his entire family, Padre Pio agreed and then said, "Joe, when the war is over and you return to the United States, tell the American people that, for those who would like me to be their spiritual father, my answer is yes. I accept all Americans as my spiritual children. I only have two requirements - that they lead very good Catholic lives and that they regularly receive the sacraments."

Joe Peluso went on to share this story throughout the remainder of his life, and it has been recounted and disseminated many times, leading Americans from all walks of life to turn to Padre Pio for his intercession. Regarding his ministry to American soldiers, it is said that he was very generous and fatherly in how he offered advice, sometimes even patting a soldier on the head like a child and saying, "Be a good boy," to send him on his way.

Padre Pi'o's background of growing up in humble circumstances in the Campania region of southern Italy prepared him for meeting all people in the simplest of ways and turning the most basic interactions into profound experiences. Associated with miraculous events and intercessions during his lifetime, he bore the wounds of Christ on his hands and feet for 50 years. A few days before his death in 1968 at the age of 81, those wounds completely disappeared.

Through stories told by so many people who had the privilege to know Padre Pio in his lifetime, so many more have come to implore his intercession and to call him their spiritual father, continually fulfilling that wish he expressed to intercede for the souls of the people of our nation.

We celebrate the Feast of Saint Padre Pio on September 23rd, so may he intercede for our nation in a special way on this day so that more people will come to share in the beautiful devotion to his memory and his wish to guide us to the healing power of Christ.   

This essay is a recent "Light One Candle" column, written by Fr. Edward Dougherty, M.M, of The Christophers' Board of Directors; it is one of a series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current events.)

Background information:

The Christophers

Reflection Starter

"Every day is a gift from God wrapped in new paper." - from the Great American Family movie A Cinderella Christmas Ball