Fr. Lara's Lines
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Times
The First of All the Commandments
In this weekend’s gospel, Jesus shares what is central
to the law of God. At the time of Jesus, the religious
culture had become legalistic in many ways. At the core
of the Hebrew law were the Ten Commandments which
God gave to Moses. There were also the laws in the
covenant codes of Exodus and Leviticus and more laws
in the Deuteronomic code. All in all, there were 613
laws in the Hebrew code of law. They covered all
social and religious issues from marriage and family
life, to taxes and court procedures, to prayers and
dietary restrictions. It was almost too much to bear.
Religious leaders had become legalistic—making sure
the law was kept for the sake of the law itself. When
Jesus started his public ministry, many times he disregarded
laws that hindered his message of love. It was in this
context that one of the scribes asked Jesus an important
question:
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which
is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, "The
first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord
alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all
your strength. The second is this: You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.”
The law of God is based on love. Love is more than
emotions; love is an act of will. When a person loves
another, they desire the good of the other. That desire
could be expressed by words, gifts, acts of kindness,
time, or physical touch. Think about how you express
your love to your spouse, children, or friends. You love
them all, but you show that love differently.
How can we express our love of God? We are to love
God with all our heart. This means directing our passions
and desires toward God rather than the things of this
world. All the actions of our heart are to be shaped by
our love for him. We are supposed to love God with all
our soul. This means loving with our actions, our behavior,
how we interact with one another. We are supposed to
love God with all our mind. This means submitting our
intellect to God’s power; letting God direct our thoughts
according to his will. We are supposed to love God
with all our strength. This means using our possessions to
glorify him.
All Souls
Praying for the dead is a spiritual work of mercy.
While the Church prays for the deceased at every
Mass, we also dedicate a special day to this spiritual
work of mercy—All Souls Day, November 2. On this
day, we pray for the souls of our loved ones who have
gone before us. During the whole month of November,
we are called to pray in a special way for our brothers
and sisters in Christ who have fallen asleep in the hope
of the resurrection. Our faith tells us that after this life,
something much more beautiful waits for us. We surely
miss our loved ones who have died but we need to
embrace our faith, knowing that the Lord is merciful,
and we will share his resurrection on the last day. At
Saint Catherine Labouré, we offer a special Mass in
which we remember our loved ones, especially those
whose funerals we have celebrated this year. Many
people still grieve the loss of their loved ones. We
pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed
and for peace and strength for their families and friends.
Election
Election Day is this Tuesday November 5. The right to
vote is a privilege and a responsibility we need to
exercise. Our vote is crucial for our democratic republic.
I know there seems to be a lot of division between the
two major parties, but we need to do our part and let
God do the rest. We need to pray for one another and
pray for the next president of the United States. Let us
listen to one another and respect each other’s ideas—
even those on which we might not agree. This could be
a new beginning for healing our beautiful nation. This
could be a catalyst for a more perfect union.
SPRED
SPRED (Special Religious Development) is a beautiful
ministry for our friends with special needs. Through this
ministry, they discover a place where they encounter
God through meaningful relationships. We are blessed
to have a SPRED program at St. Catherine’s for young
adults. This Sunday we have a SPRED Mass at 11:00am.
This Mass looks a bit different since the SPRED friends
participate in the liturgy in different ways from a
typical Mass. I appreciate all the work Madelynn
Macur Brousil and her team do for our SPRED friends.
They are making a big difference in their lives.
Peace
Fr. Lara
Recognize God in Your Oridinary Moments - By Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman
All Our Strength
I didn’t realize how much my arms would hurt
when I became a mom.
It occurred to me first during Mass when my
daughter was just a few weeks old. She was the
kind of kid who could only sleep in someone’s
arms. I desperately wanted her to stay quiet
during the service, so I held the swaddled bundle
in front of me like it was a bomb, not daring to
move. By the homily, my arms were on fire.
I quickly realized this was a common scenario
of my new life as a parent. Holding, rocking,
bouncing, restraining, dragging—honestly, my
weak little chicken-arms had never been worked
out like this before. It took all my strength.
But isn’t that the way it is with everything that’s
worthwhile? It takes all your strength. Not some
of it. Not most of it. All of it.
I am a fairly active Catholic. My faith impacts
a lot of areas of my life. But there are still
boundaries that I’ve drawn around God. There
are places I haven’t let Him in. Things I keep
“for myself.” Experiences that are just so full of
me, so full of my own plans and my own desires.
But God desires everything. Not because He
is selfish, but because He is good, and wise.
Because He knows that the places we keep from
Him will become filled with something else. He
wants to get there first. He wants to lay His claim.
He wants all our strength. All our heart. All our
soul. All our mind. Not most of it. All of it.
Can we give it to Him?
Do we have the courage to answer him?
©LPi
The Holy Father's Intentions for the Month of November
For Those Who Have Lost a Child
Let us pray that all parents who mourn the loss of a son
or daughter find support in their community, and may receive
peace of heart from the Spirit of Consolation.
Honor Our Military
Please take time to give thanks for those who have served and
are serving in our military and to pray for the safety of those who
may currently be in harm’s way. In a special way, we thank and
pray for these parishioners and relatives of parishioners.
Dear God,
We pray in gratitude for all of those who have defended
peace, virtue, and justice with honor. We pray especially
for those who have suffered in mind and body from the
ravages of war. May Your peace reign in our hearts
and in our world. Amen.
He Who Sacrificed His Life
†JOHN A. STONIS, Grandson of John & Dorthy Stonis
†CHRISTOPHER ZIMNY
Those Still Serving
JAY MARTIN, Nephew of Becky and Tom Brennan
JESSICA CAMERON, Niece of the Cameron Family
JOHN PODCZASKI, Grandson of Genevieve Podczaski
STEVEN TUMBARELLO, Son of Sylvia & Vince Tumbarello
CRAIG BEHRENDT, Grand-nephew of Sister Mary Helen
DANIEL BELZER, Nephew of Dave & Bev Belzer
MICHAEL KELLY, Nephew of Kevin and Kathy Kelly
MATTHEW NEUBAUER, Nephew of Dan & Judy Neubauer
EUGENE WALL, Nephew of Suzanne Lessner
NAILL SWIDER, Grand-nephew of Alice Swider
BRYAN DUFF, Son of Julie Duff
RYAN BLOCHBERGER, Nephew of Mae Grady
TIMOTHY DWORKIN, Grandson of Barbara Bouska
ALEXIS GONZALES, Great-niece of Eden & Lyle Gonzales-Nemzin
JACK MAHON, JR., Son of Jack, Sr. & Eileen Mahon
MICHAEL FOLEY
JOHN FOLEY
PETER MULLER
DANIEL FRAYNA
JOSEPH GULLO
SANG HOON LEE
ANTHONY PALMERO
MORRIS COREY MCMAHON, Son of Chris & Julie McMahon
RYAN FONTILLAS
MICHAEL T. HEHN, Grandson of John & Dorthy Stonis
To add or remove someone, please send the person’s name and relationship (optional) to bulletin@stcatherinelaboure.com
Please Pray for Ukraine
For our sisters and brothers involved in or
affected by the war and devastation in Ukraine--
the deceased, the injured, the frightened, the
displaced, the fighters, the protesters, the leaders.
May God give them solace, healing, comfort, and
hearts and minds directed toward peace.
Donations can be made here:
Knights of Columbus: https://www.kofc.org/secure/en/donate/ukraine.html
Caritas: https://www.caritas.org/
Ukrainian Catholic Archdiocese of Philidelphia: https://ukrarcheparchy.us
"May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war" - Pope Francis
Neighbors of other Faiths
The Golden Rule
Excerpted from charterforcompassion.org/the-golden-rule-in-seven-major-religions
We may speak of great differences in
religious beliefs and forms of worship
around the world. Called by an endless
number of names, all, however, recognize and worship a Supreme
Being. And all religions, somewhere in their sacred literature,
expound the fundamental philosophy of the Golden Rule.
Buddhism: Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.
~ Buddha, Undanavarga 5:18
Christianity: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that all men
should do to you, do ye even so to them.
~ Matthew 7:12
Confucianism: What you do not want done to yourself, do not do
to others.
~ Confucius, Analects 15:23
Hinduism: Good people proceed while considering what is best
for others is best for themselves.
~ Hitopadesa
Islamism: No one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother
what he loves for himself.
~ Mohammed, Traditions
Judaism: And thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
~ Leviticus 19:18
Zoroastrianism: Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do
unto others.
~ Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29