Twilight Twitches

Dear Family,
I found the following commentary on the site of Catholic Australia. It seems very appropriate this weekend, - and all weekends.

The body of work that was to become known as Catholic Social Teaching began with an Encyclical letter written by Pope Leo XII in 1891 called Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of Labor). Successive popes have added to this body of teaching by ad¬dressing topics from the concentration of wealth to setting out conditions for world peace.

Dear Family,
Thank you for your response to our appeal for Haiti after the August 14th earthquake. Last weekend 207 of you gave $ 2,668. We sent it to Catholic Charities which is putting together the collections from around the Archdiocese.

On Monday another parishioner brought a check for $200, and hopefully there will be more as time passes. I think we can do better.

You know I don’t preach a lot about money. You hear about money from me once a year at ABCD time. Last weekend when I said “we” sent the 5K at the Masses, you must understand that the “we” was a very wee group.

Dear Family,
As I reflected on the readings for this weekend, the phrase “cut to the chase” came to mind.

When Joshua calls the tribes together, they get it. They see God has been with them and they pledge themselves to His service.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is familiar to us. More than once over the years, I’ve heard a comment or two from those who don’t like hearing Paul say, “Wives, be subject to your husbands.” Sometimes, the threat of chauvinism blocks the hearing and they are slow to hear, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her.” In other words, the husband dies for his wife if that’s what it takes.

Dear Family,
If you check the thesaurus for “assume” you see a long list of words and phrases. Buried in the middle is the phrase “take up.” Finally, some help to shape the word Assumption: Mary is “taken up.”

We sing the praises of Mary because she said “Yes” to the invitation of the angel to become the mother of God’s Son. Her body was a very special place – a true Tabernacle.

Recall a little theology 101. Because of her “Yes” Mary was preserved from original sin. It’s that sin and its effects that cause our bodies to die. She did not experience bodily death and when her moment came to leave this earth she was “Taken up” into the arms of her welcoming Son. What a reunion.