Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 8, 2017

On this date 146 years ago, October 8, 1871, Wisconsin’s greatest fire calamity exploded across the northeast area of the state on both sides of the waters of Green Bay.  The above 5-acre site of the present National Champion Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help was spared along with all persons, cattle and property within the fenced area. As the fire raged, Adele Brise and her companions along with the neighbor farmers who came to join them, prayed the rosary on their knees as they made their way around the above field.  Rain came that night and extinguished the flames.  The next morning the lands surrounding were a “sea of ashes.”

Annual pilgrimages around the property continue to be held as seen in the undated photo above.  The National Champion Shrine is the only site in the United States and Canada where the Catholic Church approves as authentic that Mary, Queen of Heaven did appear.  The year was 1859 and the young Belgium immigrant girl who received the vision was Adele Brice.

I am fortunate that the National Champion Shrine is only a three-hour drive from Rhinelander.  I plan to make the trip to Champion Shrine on Monday, October 9, the 158 anniversary of Mary’s appearance to Adele in 1859.

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 8, 2017
Lectionary: 139

Reading 1   ISaiah 5:1-7

Let me now sing of my friend, my friend's song concerning his vineyard.  My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press.  Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes.

Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard:  What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?  Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?  Now, I will let you know what I mean to do with my vineyard: take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled!  Yes, I will make it a ruin: it shall not be pruned or hoed, but overgrown with thorns and briers; I will command the clouds not to send rain upon it.  The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his cherished plant; he looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed! for justice, but hark, the outcry!

Responsorial Psalm   PSalm 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20

R. (Is 5:7a) The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

A vine from Egypt you transplanted;
you drove away the nations and planted it.
It put forth its foliage to the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.

R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

Why have you broken down its walls,
so that every passer-by plucks its fruit,
The boar from the forest lays it waste,
and the beasts of the field feed upon it?

R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.

R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
O LORD, God of hosts, restore us;
if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.

R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

Reading 2   PHILippians 4:6-9

Brothers and sisters:  Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.  Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.

Alleluia  Compare to JohN 15:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord,
to go and bear fruit that will remain.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel  MaTthew 21:33-43

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:  "Hear another parable.  There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.  Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.  When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.  But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned.  Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way.  Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking,  'They will respect my son.'  But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.  What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?"  They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times."  Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures:

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?

Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

427 PRIVATE PROPERTY

YOUCAT Lesson 427

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

427  Why is there no absolute right to private property?

There is no absolute right but only a relative right to private property because God created the earth and its goods for all mankind.  [2402-2406, 2452]

Soles 4 Souls volunteer  Stephanie May visits with Haiti children suffering the consequences of the devastating eathquake of 2010.  Stepanie is an early childhood teacher in Idaho who easily connected with kiddos at Goals Beyond The Net.  I am Stephanie’s proud great uncle! ….. 427

Before parts of created reality can “belong” to individuals, because they have been obtained legally, inherited, or received as gifts, these owners must know that there is no property without social obligation.  At the same time, the Church contradicts those who conclude from the social obligation associated with property that there should be no private property and that everything should belong to everybody, or to the State.  The private owner who manages, tends, and increases a plot of land in keeping with the Creator’s plan and divides the proceeds in such a way that each person gets what is his due is by all means acting according to the divine commission for creation.

“The right to private property is not absolute and unconditional.”  Pope Paul VI, Populorum Progressio

“When there is no property, there is no joy in giving, either; then no one can have the pleasure of helping his friends, the traveler, or the afflicted in their need.”  Aristotle (382-322 b.c.)

Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”-- Luke 6:38

[2402-2406, 2452]

I. THE UNIVERSAL DESTINATION AND THE PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF GOODS

2402 In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labor, and enjoy their fruits. (Compare Genesis 1:26-29.)¹⁸⁷ The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race. However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the security of their lives, endangered by poverty and threatened by violence. The appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of those in his charge. It should allow for a natural solidarity to develop between men. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

2403 The right to private property, acquired or received in a just way, does not do away with the original gift of the earth to the whole of mankind. The universal destination of goods remains primordial, even if the promotion of the common good requires respect for the right to private property and its exercise. --CCC

2404 "In his use of things man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as himself." (Gaudium et Spes 69 § 1.)¹⁸⁸ The ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family.  --CCC

2405 Goods of production - material or immaterial - such as land, factories, practical or artistic skills, oblige their possessors to employ them in ways that will benefit the greatest number. Those who hold goods for use and consumption should use them with moderation, reserving the better part for guests, for the sick and the poor.  --CCC

2406 Political authority has the right and duty to regulate the legitimate exercise of the right to ownership for the sake of the common good. (Compare Gaudium et Spes 71 § 4; Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 42; Centesimus Annus 40; 48.)¹⁸⁹ --CCC

IN BRIEF
2452 The goods of creation are destined for the entire human race. The right to private property does not abolish the universal destination of goods.  --CCC

426 YOU SHALL NOT STEAL

YOUCAT Lesson 426

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

The Seventh Commandment: You shall not steal.

426  What is regulated by the Seventh Commandment: “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15)?

The Seventh Commandment not only forbids taking something away from another person, it also requires the just management and distribution of the earth’s goods; it regulates the question of private property and the distribution of the proceeds from human work.  The unjust distribution of raw materials is also indicated in this commandment.  [2401]

 A banana laborer in Haiti. Since finding this photo on facebook in a posting by my great niece Stephanie, I often wonder whether the 26 cents/pound banana (bought at Kwik Trip gas stations) that I eat at breakfast has been harvested at a just salary by a field laborer somewhere in another country. I don’t know, but I am certain that God does. ….. 426

“To have and not to give is in some cases worse than stealing.”  Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916, Austrian writer)

“Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.”  2 Corinthians 8:9

“Just as the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say "thou shalt not" to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills. ... A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules. To all this we can add widespread corruption and self-serving tax evasion, which has taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits.” --Pope Francis

[2401]

THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT

You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19; Matthew 19:18.)¹⁸⁶ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

2401 The seventh commandment forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one's neighbor and wronging him in any way with respect to his goods. It commands justice and charity in the care of earthly goods and the fruits of men's labor. For the sake of the common good, it requires respect for the universal destination of goods and respect for the right to private property. Christian life strives to order this world's goods to God and to fraternal charity. --CCC

425 MARRIAGE WITHOUT CERTIFICATE

YOUCAT Lesson 425

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth         

425  What does the Church have against “Marriage without the certificate”?

For Catholics there is no marriage without a church wedding.  In that ceremony Christ enters into a covenant with the husband and the wife and generously endows the couple with graces and gifts.  [2390-2391]

Marriage at Cana, by Jacopo Tintoretto 1561. ….. 425

Older individuals sometimes think they should advise young people to have nothing to do with ceremonies with vows.  In their opinion, a marriage is just a rash attempt to combine incomes, perspectives, and good intentions while at the same time publicly making promises that cannot be kept.  A Christian marriage is not a game, however, but rather the greatest gift God has devised for a man and a woman who love each other.  God himself unites them at a depth that man could not achieve.  Jesus Christ, who said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), is present in a lasting way in the sacrament of Matrimony.  He is the love in the love of the spouses.  His strength is still there, even when the strength of the lovers seems to dry up.  That is why the sacrament of Matrimony is anything but a piece of paper.  It is like a divine and seaworthy vessel that the loving couple can board—a ship that the bride and groom know carries enough fuel to bring them with God’s help to their longed-for destination.  Whereas today many people say that there is nothing wrong with uncommitted premarital sex or extramarital relations, the Church invites us to resist this societal pressure clearly and forcefully.

“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from the Evil One.”  Matthew 5:37

“I take you to be my wife/husband.  I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.  I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”  Vow formula in the sacrament of Matrimony.

[2390-2391]

  

Other offenses against the dignity of marriage

2390 In a so-called free union, a man and a woman refuse to give juridical and public form to a liaison involving sexual intimacy. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

The expression "free union" is fallacious: what can "union" mean when the partners make no commitment to one another, each exhibiting a lack of trust in the other, in himself, or in the future? –CCC

The expression "free union" covers a number of different situations: concubinage, rejection of marriage as such, or inability to make long-term commitments.¹⁸³ All these situations offend against the dignity of marriage; they destroy the very idea of the family; they weaken the sense of fidelity. They are contrary to the moral law. The sexual act must take place exclusively within marriage. Outside of marriage it always constitutes a grave sin and excludes one from sacramental communion. --CCC

2391 Some today claim a "right to a trial marriage" where there is an intention of getting married later. However firm the purpose of those who engage in premature sexual relations may be, "the fact is that such liaisons can scarcely ensure mutual sincerity and fidelity in a relationship between a man and a woman, nor, especially, can they protect it from inconstancy of desires or whim." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Persona humana 7.)¹⁸⁴ Carnal union is morally legitimate only when a definitive community of life between a man and woman has been established. Human love does not tolerate "trial marriages." It demands a total and definitive gift of persons to one another. (Compare Familiaris Consortio 80.)¹⁸⁵ --CCC

424 ADULTERY

YOUCAT Lesson 424

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

424  What is adultery?  Is divorce the appropriate response?

Adultery is committed when two people, at least one of whom is married to someone else, have sexual relations.  Adultery is the fundamental betrayal of love, the violation of a covenant that was made in God’s sight,  and an injustice to one’s neighbor.  Jesus himself explicitly declared the indissolubility of marriage: “What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mark10:9).  Citing the original will of the Creator, Jesus abolished the toleration of divorce in the Old Covenant.  [2353, 2364-2365, 2382-2384]

 Sculpture of Saint John Chrysostom (349-407) in Saint Patrick Cathedral, New York City, NY. ….. 424

St. John Chrysostom suggests that young husbands should say to their wives: I have taken you in my arms, and I love you, and I prefer you to my life itself. For the present life is nothing, and my most ardent dream is to spend it with you in such a way that we may be assured of not being separated in the life reserved for us. . . . I place your love above all things, and nothing would be more bitter or painful to me than to be of a different mind than you. --[Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2365.  See also St. John Chrysostom, Hom. In Eph. 20, 8: PG 62, 146-147]

The encouraging promise of this message of Jesus is, “as children of your heavenly Father you are capable of lifelong love.”  Nevertheless, it is not easy to remain faithful to one’s spouse for a lifetime.  We must not condemn people whose marriages fail.  Nevertheless, Christians who irresponsibly bring about divorce incur guilt.  They sin against God’s love, which is visible in marriage.  They sin against the abandoned spouse and against abandoned children.  Of course the faithful partner in a marriage that has become unbearable can move out of shared living accommodations.  In some serious circumstances, it may be necessary to go through a civil divorce.  In well-founded cases the Church can examine the validity of the marriage in an annulment proceeding.  269

“Fidelity is absolute anywhere…or else it does not exist.”  Karl Jaspers (1883-1969, German philosopher)

“The root of the crisis of marriage and family lies in a false notion of freedom.”  Pope St. John Paul II (1920-2005)

“A ratified and consummated marriage between baptized persons cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death.”  Codex Iuris Canonici (Code of Cannon Law of the Catholic Church)

[2353, 2364-2365, 2382-2384]

Offenses against chastity

2353 Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children. Moreover, it is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

* Conjugal fidelity

2364 The married couple forms "the intimate partnership of life and love established by the Creator and governed by his laws; it is rooted in the conjugal covenant, that is, in their irrevocable personal consent." (Gaudium et Spes 48 § 1.)¹⁴⁷ Both give themselves definitively and totally to one another. They are no longer two; from now on they form one flesh. The covenant they freely contracted imposes on the spouses the obligation to preserve it as unique and indissoluble. (Compare Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1056.)¹⁴⁸ "What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder." (Mark 10:9; compare Matthew 19:1-12; 1 Corinthians 7:10-11.)^{149 --}CCC

2365 Fidelity expresses constancy in keeping one's given word. God is faithful. The Sacrament of Matrimony enables man and woman to enter into Christ's fidelity for his Church. Through conjugal chastity, they bear witness to this mystery before the world. ^--CCC

St. John Chrysostom suggests that young husbands should say to their wives: I have taken you in my arms, and I love you, and I prefer you to my life itself. For the present life is nothing, and my most ardent dream is to spend it with you in such a way that we may be assured of not being separated in the life reserved for us. . . . I place your love above all things, and nothing would be more bitter or painful to me than to be of a different mind than you.^{150 --}CCC

Divorce

2382 The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble. (Compare Matthew 5:31-32; Mt 19:3-9; Mark 10:9; Luke 16:18; 1 Corinthians 7:10-ll.)¹⁷⁴ He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law. (Compare Matthew 19:7-9.)^{175 –}CCC

Between the baptized, "a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death." (Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1141.)^{176 --}CCC

2383 The separation of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain cases provided for by canon law. (Compare Codex Iuris Canonici, cann. 1151-1155.)^{177 --}CCC

If civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense. ^--CCC

2384 Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery: ^--CCC

If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery, and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another's husband to herself. (St. Basil, Moralia 73,1:Patrologia Graeca 31,849-852)^{178 --}CCC

423 ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZATION

YOUCAT Lesson 423, July 20, 2015

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

423  What is the Church’s judgment on surrogate motherhood and artificial fertilization?

All assistance in conceiving a child through research and medicine must stop when the common bond of parenthood is loosened and destroyed by the intrusion of a third person or when conception becomes a technological act outside of sexual union in marriage.  [2374-2377]

The Dignity of the Human Person, photo from YOUCAT Lesson 280.  ….. 423  

Out of respect for human dignity, the Church cannot approve of the technologically assisted conception of a child through artificial insemination or fertilization.  Every child has in God’s plan the right to have a father and a mother, to know his parents, and if at all possible to grow up surrounded by their love.  Artificial insemination and fertilization with the sperm of another man or the ovum of another woman (heterologous artificial insemination and fertilization) also destroys the spirit of marriage, in which husband and wife have the right to become a father or a mother only through the other spouse.  But even homologous artificial insemination and fertilization (in which the sperm and the ovum come from the spouses) makes a child the product of a technological procedure and does not allow it to originate from the loving union of a personal sexual encounter.  If the child becomes a product, however, then that leads immediately to cynical questions about product quality and product liability.  The Church also rejects pre-implantation diagnosis, which is carried out for the purpose of killing imperfect embryos.  Surrogate motherhood, too, in which an artificially conceived embryos is implanted into another woman, is contrary to human dignity.  280

“Do not forget that there are many children, many women, many men in this world who do not have what you have, and make sure that you love them, too, until it hurts.”  Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

 [2374-2377]

The gift of a child

2374 Couples who discover that they are sterile suffer greatly. "What will you give me," asks Abraham of God, "for I continue childless?" (Genesis 15:2.)¹⁶⁴ And Rachel cries to her husband Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die!" (Genesis 30:1.)¹⁶⁵ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

2375 Research aimed at reducing human sterility is to be encouraged, on condition that it is placed "at the service of the human person, of his inalienable rights, and his true and integral good according to the design and will of God." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae intro.,2. )¹⁶⁶ –CCC

 2376 Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple (donation of sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus), are gravely immoral. These techniques (heterologous artificial insemination and fertilization) infringe the child's right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage. They betray the spouses' "right to become a father and a mother only through each other." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae II,1.)¹⁶⁷ –CCC

 2377 Techniques involving only the married couple (homologous artificial insemination and fertilization) are perhaps less reprehensible, yet remain morally unacceptable. They dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act. The act which brings the child into existence is no longer an act by which two persons give themselves to one another, but one that "entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person. Such a relationship of domination is in itself contrary to the dignity and equality that must be common to parents and children." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae II,5.)¹⁶⁸ "Under the moral aspect procreation is deprived of its proper perfection when it is not willed as the fruit of the conjugal act, that is to say, of the specific act of the spouses' union . . . . Only respect for the link between the meanings of the conjugal act and respect for the unity of the human being make possible procreation in conformity with the dignity of the person." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae II,4.)¹⁶⁹ --CCC

422 CHILDLESS COUPLE

YOUCAT Lesson 422

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

422  What can a childless couple do?

Married couples who suffer from infertility can accept any medical assistance that does not contradict the dignity of the human person, the rights of the child to be conceived, and the holiness of the sacrament of Matrimony.  [2375-2379]

Pope Francis waves to young people at a home for former street children in Manila Philippines. …..422

There is no absolute right to have a child.  Every child is a gift from God.  Married couples to whom this gift has been denied, even though they have exhausted all permissible medical means of assistance, can take in foster children or adopt children or become socially involved in some other way, for instance, by caring for abandoned children.

[2375-2379]

The gift of a child

2375 Research aimed at reducing human sterility is to be encouraged, on condition that it is placed "at the service of the human person, of his inalienable rights, and his true and integral good according to the design and will of God." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae intro.,2.)¹⁶⁶ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

2379 The Gospel shows that physical sterility is not an absolute evil. Spouses who still suffer from infertility after exhausting legitimate medical procedures should unite themselves with the Lord's Cross, the source of all spiritual fecundity. They can give expression to their generosity by adopting abandoned children or performing demanding services for others. --CCC