"The Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve,"
Matthew
Mark
Matthew 20:24-28.
24 The ten others were angry with the two
25 brethren when they heard it; but Jesus called them to him, and said, You know that, among the Gentiles, those who bear rule lord it over them, and great men vaunt their
26 power over them; with you it must be otherwise; whoever would be a great man
27 among you, must be your servant, and whoever has a mind to be first among you,
28 must be your slave. So it is that the Son of Man did not come to have service done him; he came to serve others,and to give his life as a ransom for the lives of many.
Mark 10:41-45
41 The ten others grew indignant with James
42 and John when they heard of it. But Jesus called them to him, and said to them, You know that, among the Gentiles, those who claim to bear rule lord it over them, and those who are great among them make the
43 most of the power they have. With you it must be otherwise; whoever has a mind to 44 be great among you, must be your servant, and whoever has a mind to be first among
45 you, must be your slave. So it is that the Son of Man did not come to have service done him; he came to serve others,and to give his life as a ransom for the lives of many.
(R. Knox Harmony C. “Our Lord Outside of Galilee”).
MISSIO - Mission Sunday
Excerpt from Homily: Fr. Pat. McGuire SMA
National Director for the Propagation of the Faith
"The Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve".
Mission Sunday for me has become a time to "take stock" not just of what I do within Missio, but more importantly to re-examine my response to the Gospel as a priest and missionary. I confess that I am seldom happy with my reflection. There is always so very much more needing to be done. Thankfully the Good Lord sometimes gives us a glimpse of what He can achieve when we follow His lead.
One such blessed moment came in West Africa at Easter while visiting a leprosy settlement. The community leaders happily led me through their new school, rice mill, clinic and on to their pride and joy - the new church which had been funded mainly through help from Scotland. I had the honour of celebrating Holy Mass attended by the whole village. When I had almost completed the distribution of Holy Communion I was led to the backbenches of the Church where the most profoundly sick waited patiently for me.
One elderly lady held out her hand to receive the Lord. Wearing an old and dusty dress, clearly she had come straight from working on her farm. Her face was lined with the pain of her illness and of her efforts to feed herself and her grandchildren. Placing the precious host into her calloused hands where only stumps of fingers remained, I was moved to look into her face. As she held the Lord, I saw the lines on her face disappear. She radiated a smile that somehow reflected the purity of the bread, the very body of the Lord. She seemed to be transformed and, for the briefest moment, I felt what Jesus must have felt so often in his life and his words in today's Gospel took on a whole new reality for me - he came to serve.
Mission is His gift, we are but His instruments.
In the message to us for Mission Sunday the Holy Father says, "I wish to confirm once more that the task of evangelising all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church". Without a word one elderly lady reminded me of the value of that Mission. We feed the hungry, heal the sick, we uphold human dignity, but even more importantly we offer the supreme gift of Jesus himself, the servant and the "Throne of Grace".
. . .
Please remember the Mission of the Church in your daily prayer . . . In your name, Missio Scotland will continue to give glory to God through your service to His people,
I never heard of him, prior to today. He seemed to have been a very holy man. It seems he also had a great impact on many lives, both before and after his death. It goes to show how God can use a man who had such a short earthly life, to impact so many people. I pray that I could impact only one person in as positive a way, as St Rafael had. His life is an inspiration. Raphael
Welcome, Raphael. Brother Rafael is extremely popular in Spain. I wish his complete works were available in English. They are wonderful, full of love for Our Lady, so simple and at the same time so rich!
Rafael loved holy mother St Teresa and St Therese. At times when I read him it's like reading any of our Carmelite Saints. So I claim him as "one of ours" that the Trappists were lucky to get. *grin* To any Cistercian reading this, I love Cistercian writings (not just St Bernard!).
In case you're interested, I'm aware of one biography, in English, with a small selection of excerpts from his writing, but I don't have it. I'm also aware that his complete works are available in German. I shall try to translate more from his diary and letters (Spanish critical edition, MEC collection, Editorial Monte Carmelo).
May your namesake, Br Rafael, intercede for you and grant you many graces and blessings!
Rafael Arnáiz Barón was born on April 9, 1911, in Burgos (Spain), where he was also baptized and received confirmation. He began his studies in the Jesuit Fathers' college, receiving the Eucharist for the first time in 1919.
Gifted with a precocious intelligence, since the beginnings of his infancy he gave clear indications of his inclination towards the things of God. In these years he received the first visit of what would be his companion: the illness that would force him to interrupt his studies.
Once recovered from it, his father, in thanksgiving for what he considered the special intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary, took him to Zaragoza towards the end of the summer of 1922, where he consecrated him to the Virgin of the Pilar.
His family moved to Oviedo, and there Rafael continued his studies, enrolling himself in the ArchitectureSchool in Madrid.
With a brilliant intelligence, Rafael was gifted with profound qualities for friendship. As he grew in age and developed his personality, his spiritual experience of christian life also grew.
In his well disposed heart, God wanted to inspire the invitation to a special consecration in the monastic life. Having made contact with the cistercian monastery of St Isidro de Dueñas, he felt stronly attracted by what he saw was the place that matched his intimate desires. He entered there on January 15, 1934.
God wanted to mysteriously try him with a difficult illness - insulin resistant diabetes - which forced him to abandon the monastery three times, where he would then return with a generous and faithful disposition to what he felt was the call of God.
Sanctified in the joyful fidelity to the monastic life and the loving acceptance of God's plans, his life was consumed early in the morning of April 26, 1938, after having just turned 27 years old. He was buried in the monastery's cemetery.
His fame of sanctity soon spread beyond the monastic walls. With the fragance of his life, his numerous writings continue to be diffused with great acceptance and for the benefit of all who have come in contact with him.
On August 20, 1989, His Holiness John Paul II, on occasion of the World Youth Day, proposed him as a model for all youth in Santiago de Compostela [Spain], declaring him Blessed on September 27, 1992, for the joy of the holy Church and as a pledge of graces for the entire people of God.
-- Adapted from Boletín Informativo del Beato Rafael and translated by ocdsister
-o-
"Today was a happy day for me. In holy communion I have promised the Lord not to abandon him in these days of his sacred Passion. Always with me, deep inside my heart, very close to the sufferings of your Corss. Jesus, do not let me withdraw myself from you. Sweet Jesus, how I love you!
As I approached to receive communion, I remembered the apostle John, whom you let rest on your chest during the Last Supper. Do I have to envy him? His virtues, yes, but not your love...
My Jesus, I am not worthy, you know that, and yet you let me rest beside your divine heart as the beloved disciple. I promise to love you much, like no one in the community, more than all together, and not abandon you in your pains and most sacred Passion.
Virgin Mary, help me to be faithful to my good Jesus."
-- From the writings of Brother Rafael, translated by ocd sister
Pope Benedict XVI canonized Bl Rafael today at St Peter's Square in the Vatican. Saint Brother Rafael, pray for us!
To introduce the Mass, rather than remembering the names, it is an easier visual.
On the façade of St. Peter’s for the canonisations, hang the tapestries. In the centre is a Bishop, on either side are the two priests and to the flanks are the two non-clerics, the monk and the foundress of the Sisters of the Poor.
The Pope had it difficult to compress the five biographical notes. For Saint Rafael Arnaiz he succeeded to have five quotations. He concluded neatly:
”May he be given to reinvigorate the interior life of Christians today. May he be given so that his Brothers in the Trappists and the monastic centers can continue to be a beacon that reveals the intimate yearning for God which He placed in every human heart.”
Wednesdy 14th October
Community Mass
Celebration of the Eucharist
Saint Rafael Arnaiz Baron
(Lunes 12 de Octubre - 08'30 h.
Solemne Celebración Eucarística en honor de
San Rafael Arnáiz Barón.
Presidida por S.E.R. Mons. Antonio María Rouco Varela.
Basílica de San Pedro, Ciudad del Vaticano.)
→ TIP: To search for an exact phrase, put quotes around it. For example, "saint rafael".
Raised to the AltarsOctober 12, 2009-GODZDOGZ ... a polish Bishop; Sister Jeanne Jugan, who helped found the Little Sisters of the Poor; Rafael Arnaiz Baron, who renounced his rich upbringing to dedicate himself to prayer and our brother Francisco Coll y Guitart OP, whom we posted on earlier this year. That post can be read here. The Congregation ... http://godzdogz.op.org/2009/10/raised-to-altars.html
VATICAN - Among the five new saints canonized by Benedict XVI is Father Damien: "His missionary ...October 12, 2009-FIDES NEWS ENGLISH ... Fides) – On Sunday, October 11, the Holy Father Benedict XVI celebrated a Mass in Saint Peter's Square, where he canonized 5 new saints. In the homily, making reference to Jesus' dialogue with the rich young man (cf. Mk 10:17-30), the Pope focused on Jesus' words: "Come and follow me!" and ... http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=25158&lan=eng
Saint Jeanne Jugan, Intercede for Us!October 12, 2009-THE CATHOLIC KEY BLOG ... Jugan – the humble, holy foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor has been declared a Saint! Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, in an exercise of his infallibility as Vicar of Christ on earth, has made this solemn and definitive declaration in St. Peter's Basilica this morning. Referring to ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheCatholicKeyBlog/~3/GCykgR51ccU/saint-jeanne-jugan-intercede-for-us.html
Pope Canonizes Saint DamienOctober 11, 2009-ANGELS, WONDERS, AND MIRACLES OF FAITH Photo REUTERS/Francois Lenoir Pope canonizes leper saint Damien, hailed by Obama - U.S. - Reuters Reuters reported that Pope Benedict canonized Saint Damien and four others on Sunday. The following story is by Stephen Brown : VATICAN CITY ( Reuters ) - Pope Benedict created ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AngelsWondersAndMiraclesOfFaith/~3/B-jkajzZFl0/pope-canonizes-saint-damien.html
SaintedOctober 11, 2009-SERVANT AND STEWARD ... throughout the world, together with Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski, Francisco Coll y Guitart, Rafael Arnaiz Baron and Marie de la Croix (Jeanne Jugan). I made my way to the Basilica of St. Peter and arrived there about 7:00 a.m., knowing the "doors" where not scheduled to open until 8:00 a.m. As I ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OhEL/~3/cc-pJ2cDrNE/sainted.html
EUROPE/SPAIN - "Seek the Face of God": Pastoral Letter to the Youth on the occasion of the ...October 1, 2009-FIDES NEWS ENGLISH ... to the youth "in age and in spirit," in light of the canonization of Trappist monk Maria Rafael Arnaiz Baron, which will take place on October 11 in Saint Peter's Square in Rome. The letter was signed by: Archbishop Francisco Hellín of Burgos, Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of ... http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=25093&lan=eng
ASeptember 8, 2009-CATHOLIC BLOG DIRECTORY A A Casa de Sarto - Rafael Castela Santos Ab Opposito - Tom & Carrie Herring Abba's Little Girl - Patty Bonds, Arizona Abbey of Saint Walburga - Abbey of St. Walburga, Colorado Abbey Roads - Terry Nelson, Minnesota Abbey's Road - Abbey, Alabama Abbot Cuthbert Johnson - ... http://catholicblogs.blogspot.com/2005/08/a-casa-de-sarto-rafael-castela-santos.html
Trappists are a branch of Cistercians who are a branch of Benedictines...ME MONK. July 23, 2009-ME MEANDER. ... and one is about to canonized as a model saint for youth. Brother María Rafael Arnaiz Baron: Holiness in Ordinary Daily Life From Zenit.org, July 22, 2009 A Cistercian monk proposed by Pope John Paul II as a model for youth is set to be canonized this October. ... http://monkallover.blogspot.com/2009/07/trappists-are-branch-of-cistercians-who.html
Litany of Humility by Rafael Cardinal Merry del ValJune 26, 2009-DIVINE RIPPLES ... And the remedy is humility. Here's a prayer that I'll say more often. Litany of Humility Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930), Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius Xprayer O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus. From ... http://divine-ripples.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html#5625387541329040908
EUROPE/SPAIN - Spain renews Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus after 90 years, on June 21June 2, 2009-FIDES NEWS ENGLISH ... 8:30pm will be presided, respectively, by Bishop Joaquin Lopez Andujar of Getafe and Bishop Rafael Zornoza Boy, Auxiliary Bishop of Getafe. On Saturday, June 20, there will be a Youth Prayer Vigil beginning at 12 midnight, going throughout the night, presided by Bishop Jose Ignacio Munilla of ... http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=24371&lan=eng
Good Advice and a Very Good PrayerApril 23, 2009-HAPPY CATHOLIC ... but had forgotten about it. Nothing is more grounding. I include it here. Litany of Humility Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930), Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus. From the ... http://happycatholic.blogspot.com/2009/04/good-advice-and-very-good-prayer.html
Vigil Reading begins with Jeremiah in October The monk Damasus Winzen is one of our monastic writers on Scripture.
Word in Season
TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Monday
Jeremiah 1: 1-19
Second Reading
From Pathways in Scripture by Damasus Winzen (1901-1971)
If we ask what the book of Jeremiah means to us today, we hear very often the answer that Jeremiah initiates a new period in Old Testament piety which frees the individual from the bonds of community life, that he is the first to record faithfully his innermost religious feelings, and that he is one of the great fighters who fought the battle for liberty of the spirit against tyranny of dead ceremonials. Looked at in this light Jeremiah would automatically become one of the "great liberals," and that would mean one of us. In reality he was wholly God's.
God took possession of him before he was born. During his life the word of God was his one and overwhelming passion.
Abraham received the promise;
Jacob, the blessing;
Moses, the staff.
David was anointed.
Isaiah had his lips cleansed with burning coal.
Ezekiel had to eat the scroll. As for
Jeremiah, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched his mouth saying: I am with you, I put my words into your mouth. This day I give you authority over the nations and kingdoms, to root out and pull down, to wreck and to ruin, to build and to plant.
It was the Emmanuel (God with us), the God of the Word made flesh, who took possession of Jeremiah. In no other prophet was the union between the prophet's heart and the word of God as intimate and as deep as in Jeremiah. The word was his strength and his cross. It made him, a youth of twenty years and by nature a timid man, a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land. The word of the Lord, he exclaimed, is in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones. I weary myself to hold it in, but cannot. As for me, he cried out, your word is my joy and my delight, for I bear your name, Lord, Lord of hosts!
He never mixed the word of God with purely human dreams and desires, as the false prophets did. The word of God in his mouth was like a hammer that smashes the rock into pieces. The words of the letter to the Hebrews must be applied to Jeremiah's preaching: For the message of God is a living and active force, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing through soul and spirit, and joints and marrow, and keen in judging the thoughts and purposes of the mind.
Responsory Ps 119:161-162; see Jn 6:63
Though princes persecute me without cause, I stand in awe of your word. + I delight in your word like one who finds a treasure.
V. Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life. + I delight ...
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