September 20, 2009 Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Call to prayer: O God of truth and love, deliver us from all self-seeking that we may seek about all else the fulfillment of your will in the coming of your reign of peace and justice among us. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”
But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent.
They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: The apostles struggle among themselves for position and power. Jesus responds with a symbolic action that is stronger than words. “Let the little children come to me.” He directs them not to build up a power structure but to embrace powerlessness.

Questions for reflection and sharing:
1. What words or phrases speak most to you?
2. Can you think of a time when you had no power or control over a situation? When you were powerless?
3. Relate a situation when you tried to control another’s life or situation.

Concluding prayer: All-loving God, the perfection of justice is found in your love and all of us are in need of you. Help us to find this love in each other that justice may be attained among us and through you. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

September 13, 2009 Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 13, 2009
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Call to prayer: O God and giver of all good gifts, through the gift of life you bestowed on us, strengthen our faith to do good works of love with a generous heart. We ask this through the same Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 8:27-35

Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it.”

The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: Jesus speaks about the suffering he will experience when He carries out his mission as our Savior. He gives a lesson in discipleship, that following Jesus means suffering with him through a life of selfless love.

Questions for reflection and sharing:
1. What words or phrases have special meaning for you in this gospel?
2. What qualities of a faithful disciple are in today’s gospel?
3. How do you view the relationship between faith and good works?

Concluding prayer: Almighty God, our creator and guide, may we serve you with all our heart and know your forgiveness in our lives. We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

 

KCans4Life: A Better Kind of Redemption September 5, 2009

View the KCans4Life Flyer

You “KCan” do it! Join the Knights of Columbus in our “KCans4Life” campaign!

WHAT: St. Wenceslaus K of C Council #14385 collects all cans and bottles with a 5¢ IA redemption. No need to sort!

WHEN: First Saturday of every month, from 10:30 am to 1 pm.

WHERE: St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church parking lot, Davenport and Dodge Streets

WHY: All proceeds go to benefit the Choices Medical Clinic, which provides free prenatal care, counseling, and ultrasounds.

PLEASE help women in need to make the right choice: LIFE.

Next Drop Offs: September 5, 2009

 

August 29-30, 2009 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Call to prayer: God of truth, you gave us your law made flesh in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Open our eyes and our hearts to see, understand, and follow in the path in which you will lead us today. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.

“From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”

The gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: Jesus has strong words for us here. We must not merely pay lip service to God. We must not be influenced by what goes on around us. We must focus on our relationship with God and let go of other things.

Questions for reflection and sharing:
1. What words or phrases are important to you in this gospel?
2. Can you recall an experience when “the way we (your Church, society, your personal life) do things” got in the way of what’s really important?
3. Relate a time when you judged a person unacceptable because of externals.
4. Is there anything in your life that is more external observance than a matter of the heart?

Concluding prayer: Lord God of power and might, all is of value which comes from your hand. Place in our hearts a desire to please you and fill us with your love. May all our efforts be filled with your peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

August 1-2 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Call to prayer: O God of wonder and of praise, open our eyes to the glory revealed in the law of the new covenant in Christ. Give light to our eyes and make us attentive to the Gospel. Hear us through your beloved Son Jesus. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 6:24-35

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishesbut for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him,“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
So they said to him,“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them,“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.” So they said to him,“Sir, give us this bread always.”

The gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: A man who fails to love the Mass fails to love Christ. We must make an effort to “live” the Mass with calm and serenity, with devotion and affection. And this is why I have always suspected that those who want the Mass to be over with quickly show, with this insensitive attitude, that they have not yet realized what the sacrifice of the altar means.
– St. Josemaría Escriva de Balaguer

Questions for reflection and sharing:
In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus proclaiming that he is “the bread of life.” He then offers an invitation to come to him. For us, the invitation is to live the Eucharistic life in Christ. What does it mean for our parish family to live together in the Eucharist? What does it mean for us to share the Eucharist together, to participate in the “bread of life” together? Does it mean we love each other, support our community of faith, work together? Do we carry each other’s burdens? Celebrate our joys? What are the practical implications of being good stewards of our Eucharistic life together?

Concluding prayer: All-loving God, in the transfigured glory of Christ your Son, strengthen our faith by showing us the splendor of your beloved sons and daughters. As we listen to the voice of your Son, help us to become heirs to eternal life with him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 25-26, 2009

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip,
“Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of
Simon Peter, said to him,
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
“This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
Focus: This reading tells the story of Jesus feeding hungry people. This is from the gospel of John who teaches us that all the acts of Jesus are signs or sacraments which point to a deeper reality.

Questions for reflection and sharing:

1. What words or phrases are important to you in this gospel?

2. Describe how feeding the hungry is a sign or sacrament to a deeper reality.

3. Can you think of a time when your prayers were answered on God’s terms rather than your own?

4. Can you describe a time when you experienced abundance in your life?

Concluding prayer: All generous God, help us to share what you have given us. Sustain us with your word and your food. Bond us together in your love and peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 18-19, 2009

Call to prayer: Lord, fill us with your gifts as we gather in your name. Make us always eager to serve you in faith, hope and love. Grant this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 6:30-34

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
People were coming and going in great numbers,
and they had no opportunity even to eat.
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.
They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.

The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: Jesus looks on the crowd with great feeling. They have no one to teach them. Jesus calls on his disciples to be the kind of shepherd that he is.

Questions for reflection and sharing:

1. What words or phrases are important for you in this reading?

2. What qualities characterize a “good” shepherd in today’s reading?

3. Have you ever felt like a sheep without a shepherd? Where or from whom do you seek care?

Concluding prayer: Shepherd of all your people, you look with compassion upon your people as we hunger and thirst for true life. Send us wise and faithful leaders who will feed us on your word, guide us in your ways and bring us safely to you. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 11-12, 2009

Call to prayer: O God, the giver of all good gifts, you fill us to overflowing with the gifts of grace through Jesus Christ. Enlarge our hearts to welcome God with grateful praise into every aspect of our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: Jesus sent the twelve to the towns in Galilee. It is a trail mission that looks ahead to the Christian mission to the world at large. All Christians are to speak for God even when the world does not care to listen.

Questions for reflection and sharing:

1. What words are phrases are important to you?

2. As believers we are graced in Christ. How do today’s Scriptures describe our responsibilities?

3. How do you feel when you are called away on an emergency and you had to leave without the usual necessities?

Concluding prayer: God, all-powerful, your light of truth guides us to the way of Christ. May all who follow him reject what is contrary to the gospel. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, our Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, Amen.

 

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 4-5, 2009

Call to prayer: O God, be with us as we gather in your name. Break through our deafness of heart to speak to us the Word of life. Grant that we might hear and recognize your voice and respond in faith, through Christ our Lord, Amen.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples.
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished.
They said, “Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?”
And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.”
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.

The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: Jesus’ own family, friends and townspeople turn him off. He returns home but their rejection does not stop his mission. Jesus cures the sick and moves on to teach others.

Questions for reflection and sharing:

1. What words or phrases stand out for you in this gospel?

2. What keeps the people from hearing the words of Jesus? What do they need in order to hear?

3. What keeps you going when you don’t feel support?

Concluding prayer: O God, your wisdom echoes across the centuries to shape our lives in your image. Remove from our sight the veil that hides your splendor. Flood us with the light of the Holy Spirit. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time June 28, 2009

Call to prayer: God of all the living, we praise you for the gift of life that you have bestowed on us by creating us and redeeming us from sin and death through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Grant us the wisdom always to choose the ways of life over the ways of death. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

A Reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 5:21-43

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
“My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live.”
He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.

There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.
She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”
But his disciples said to Jesus, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,
and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling.
She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said,
“Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”
Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official,
“Do not be afraid; just have faith.” He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out.
He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.

The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Focus: This reading has two stories – one of the sick daughter and the other the unclean woman. Both take a risk and ask Jesus for help. Jesus responds tenderly. He calms their fears, confirms their faith and restores the woman to health and the daughter to new life.

Questions for reflection and sharing:

1. What words or phrases stand out for you?

2. Are there times when the storms of life seemed much more real than God’s presence?

3. Have you had experiences when someone affirmed you (built you up) and helped you in your struggle?

Concluding prayer: All-loving God, you call us to walk in the light of Christ. Free us from the darkness of sin, pain and suffering and keep us in the radiance of your truth. Form our lives in your truth and your hearts in your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.