Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 30, 2018

Christ Pantocrator.

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 30, 2018
Lectionary: 137

Reading 1  NUMBERS 11:25-29

The LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses.  Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses,the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders;and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied.
Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad,were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent;yet the spirit came to rest on them also,and they prophesied in the camp. So, when a young man quickly told Moses,"Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp, "Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses' aide, said,"Moses, my lord, stop them."  But Moses answered him,"Are you jealous for my sake?  Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!  Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"

Responsorial Psalm  PSALM 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14

R. (9a) The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.

R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.

R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

Though your servant is careful of them,
very diligent in keeping them,
yet who can detect failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown faults!

R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant;
let it not rule over me.
Then shall I be blameless and innocent
of serious sin. 

R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

Reading 2  JAMES 5:1-6

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.  Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,your gold and silver have corroded,and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days.
Behold, the wages you withheld from the workerswho harvested your fields are crying aloud;and the cries of the harvestershave reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned;you have murdered the righteous one;he offers you no resistance.

Alleluia  COMPARE JOHN 17:17B, 17A

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel  MK 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

At that time, John said to Jesus,"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."  Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.  There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my namewho can at the same time speak ill of me.Wikipedia Jesus said For whoever is not against us is for us.  Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drinkbecause you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.
"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,it would be better for him if a great millstonewere put around his neckand he were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life maimedthan with two hands to go into Gehenna,into the unquenchable fire.  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.  It is better for you to enter into life crippledthan with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eyethan with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"

183. [Sing] and making melody to the Lord with all your heart. Ephesians 5:19

[Sing] and making melody to the Lord with all your heart. Ephesians 5:19

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 183

Ave Maria series

183  Why is there music at liturgies, and what kind of music must it be to be suitable for liturgy?

Where words are not enough to praise God, music come to our aid.  [1156-1158, 1191]

George Beverly Shea was a Canadian-born American gospel singer and hymn composer.  Shea was often described as "America's beloved gospel singer" and was considered "the first international singing 'star' of the gospel world," as a consequence of his solos at Billy Graham Crusades and his exposure on radio, records and television.  He was a regular feature of the Billy Graham television gospel hour .....183

When we turn to God, there is always something ineffable and unsaid left over.  Then music can help out.  In rejoicing, language becomes song—that is why the angels sing.  Music in a worship service should make prayer more beautiful and more fervent, move more deeply the hearts of all in attendance and bring them closer to God, and prepare for God a feast of melody.

“Someone who sings prays twice.”  St. Augustine (354-430)

Be filled with the Holy Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart.  Ephesians 5:19

Singing and music

1156 "The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as a combination of sacred music and words, it forms a necessary or integral part of solemn liturgy." (Sacrosanctum Concilium 112)²⁰ The composition and singing of inspired psalms, often accompanied by musical instruments, were already closely linked to the liturgical celebrations of the Old Covenant. The Church continues and develops this tradition: "Address . . . one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart." "He who sings prays twice." (Ephesians 5:19; St. Augustine, En. in Psalm 72,1:Patrologia Latina 36,914; compare Colssians 3:16)²¹  --Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1157 Song and music fulfill their function as signs in a manner all the more significant when they are "more closely connected . . . with the liturgical action," (Sacrosanctum Concilium 112 § 3)²² according to three principal criteria: beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the assembly at the designated moments, and the solemn character of the celebration. In this way they participate in the purpose of the liturgical words and actions: the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful: (compare Sacrosanctum Concilium 112)²³  --CCC

How I wept, deeply moved by your hymns, songs, and the voices that echoed through your Church! What emotion I experienced in them! Those sounds flowed into my ears distilling the truth in my heart. A feeling of devotion surged within me, and tears streamed down my face - tears that did me good. (St. Augustine, Conf. 9,6,14:Patrologia Latina 32,769-770)²⁴  --CCC

1158 The harmony of signs (song, music, words, and actions) is all the more expressive and fruitful when expressed in the cultural richness of the People of God who celebrate. compare (Sacrosanctum Concilium 119)²⁵  Hence "religious singing by the faithful is to be intelligently fostered so that in devotions and sacred exercises as well as in liturgical services," in conformity with the Church's norms, "the voices of the faithful may be heard." But "the texts intended to be sung must always be in conformity with Catholic doctrine. Indeed they should be drawn chiefly from the Sacred Scripture and from liturgical sources." (Sacrosanctum Concilium 118; 121)²⁶  --CCC

IN BRIEF

1191 Song and music are closely connected with the liturgical action. The criteria for their proper use are the beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the assembly, and the sacred character of the celebration. –CCC

People  Gospel

182. Jesus spoke to men through signs and words.

Jesus spoke to men through signs and words.  

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 182

Ave Maria series

182  Why do the sacred signs of the liturgy need words, too?

Celebrating the liturgy means encountering God; allowing him to act, listening to him, responding to him. Such dialogues are always expressed in gestures and words.  [1153-1155, 1190]

Baptism  sponsors Kristie and John Racanelli bring Goddaughter Elena Clingenpeel to the family of God. …126…181

Jesus spoke to men through signs and words.  So it is in the Church, also, when the priest offers the gifts and says, “This is my Body…this is my Blood…”  Only these interpreting words of Jesus cause the signs to become sacraments:  signs that bring about what they signify.

[1153-1155, 1190]

Words and actions

1153 A sacramental celebration is a meeting of God's children with their Father, in Christ and the Holy Spirit; this meeting takes the form of a dialogue, through actions and words. Admittedly, the symbolic actions are already a language, but the Word of God and the response of faith have to accompany and give life to them, so that the seed of the Kingdom can bear its fruit in good soil. The liturgical actions signify what the Word of God expresses: both his free initiative and his people's response of faith. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1154 The liturgy of the Word is an integral part of sacramental celebrations. To nourish the faith of believers, the signs which accompany the Word of God should be emphasized: the book of the Word (a lectionary or a book of the Gospels), its veneration (procession, incense, candles), the place of its proclamation (lectern or ambo), its audible and intelligible reading, the minister's homily which extends its proclamation, and the responses of the assembly (acclamations, meditation psalms, litanies, and profession of faith). --CCC

1155 The liturgical word and action are inseparable both insofar as they are signs and instruction and insofar as they accomplish what they signify. When the Holy Spirit awakens faith, he not only gives an understanding of the Word of God, but through the sacraments also makes present the "wonders" of God which it proclaims. The Spirit makes present and communicates the Father's work, fulfilled by the beloved Son.--CCC

IN BRIEF

1190 The Liturgy of the Word is an integral part of the celebration. The meaning of the celebration is expressed by the Word of God which is proclaimed and by the response of faith to it. –CCC

Sacrament  Baptism sponsors

181. Signs and Symbols in the Church

Signs and Symbols in the Church

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 181

Ave Maria series

181  Why are there so many signs and symbols in the liturgies?

God knows that we men are not only spiritual but also bodily creatures; we need signs and symbols in order to perceive and describe spiritual or interior realities.  [1145-1152]

Symbol of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. …..181

Whether it is red roses, a wedding ring, black clothing, graffiti, or AIDS armbands—we always express our interior realities through signs and are understood immediately.  The incarnate Son of God gives us human signs in which he is loving and active among us: bread and wine, the water of Baptism, the anointing with the Holy Spirit.  Our response to God’s sacred signs instituted by Christ consists in signs of reverence: genuflecting, standing while listening to the Gospel, bowing, folding our hands.  And as though for a wedding we decorate the place of God’s presence with the most beautiful things we have: flowers, candles, and music.  In any case, signs also require words to interpret them.

And one (of the angels) called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”  Isaiah 6:3

“Symbols are the language of something invisible spoken in the visible world:  Gertrude von le Fort (1876-1971)

“I consider the language of symbols to be the only foreign language that every one of us ought to learn.”  Erich Fromm (1900-1980, psychoanalyst)

[1145-1152]

HOW IS THE LITURGY CELEBRATED?

Signs and symbols

1145  A sacramental celebration is woven from signs and symbols. In keeping with the divine pedagogy of salvation, their meaning is rooted in the work of creation and in human culture, specified by the events of the Old Covenant and fully revealed in the person and work of Christ. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1146  Signs of the human world.   In human life, signs and symbols occupy an important place. As a being at once body and spirit, man expresses and perceives spiritual realities through physical signs and symbols. As a social being, man needs signs and symbols to communicate with others, through language, gestures, and actions. The same holds true for his relationship with God. –CCC

1147 God speaks to man through the visible creation. The material cosmos is so presented to man's intelligence that he can read there traces of its Creator.( compare Wisdom 13:1; Romans 1:19 f.; Acts of the Apostles 14:17)¹⁶ Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its fruit speak of God and symbolize both his greatness and his nearness. –CCC

1148 Inasmuch as they are creatures, these perceptible realities can become means of expressing the action of God who sanctifies men, and the action of men who offer worship to God. The same is true of signs and symbols taken from the social life of man: washing and anointing, breaking bread and sharing the cup can express the sanctifying presence of God and man's gratitude toward his Creator. –CCC

1149 The great religions of mankind witness, often impressively, to this cosmic and symbolic meaning of religious rites. The liturgy of the Church presupposes, integrates and sanctifies elements from creation and human culture, conferring on them the dignity of signs of grace, of the new creation in Jesus Christ. –CCC

1150 Signs of the covenant. The Chosen People received from God distinctive signs and symbols that marked its liturgical life. These are no longer solely celebrations of cosmic cycles and social gestures, but signs of the covenant, symbols of God's mighty deeds for his people. Among these liturgical signs from the Old Covenant are circumcision, anointing and consecration of kings and priests, laying on of hands, sacrifices, and above all the Passover. The Church sees in these signs a prefiguring of the sacraments of the New Covenant. –CCC

1151 Signs taken up by Christ. In his preaching the Lord Jesus often makes use of the signs of creation to make known the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. ( compare Luke 8:10)¹⁷ He performs healings and illustrates his preaching with physical signs or symbolic gestures. (compare John 9:6; Mark 7:33 ff.; Mk 8:22 ff)¹⁸ He gives new meaning to the deeds and signs of the Old Covenant, above all to the Exodus and the Passover, (compare Luke 9:31; Lk 22:7-20)¹⁹ for he himself is the meaning of all these signs. –CCC

1152  Sacramental signs. Since Pentecost, it is through the sacramental signs of his Church that the Holy Spirit carries on the work of sanctification. The sacraments of the Church do not abolish but purify and integrate all the richness of the signs and symbols of the cosmos and of social life. Further, they fulfill the types and figures of the Old Covenant, signify and make actively present the salvation wrought by Christ, and prefigure and anticipate the glory of heaven. –CCC

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