CATHOLIC MASS VIDEO: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 6.17.18 – Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

File Photo of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Catholic TV Mass for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 17, 2018, from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. [can take a moment to load] [Click here for Mass Readings]

[featured image is file photo]

CATHOLIC MASS READINGS: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time in Ordinary Time 6.17.18 – USCCB/NABRV

Historic Bible

“‘… the Kingdom of God … is like a mustard seed … the smallest of all the seeds … once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.’ …”

CATHOLIC MASS READINGS: Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time 6.15.18 – USCCB/NABRV

Historic Bible

Jesus said to His Disciples: ‘”You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. … whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.'”

Saint Anthony of Padua: Example to preachers and one of our most popular Saints ― Pope Benedict XVI

Stained Glass Window of Dove with Golden Rays and Dark Edging, Bernini's Gloria from Saint Peter's Basilica, adapted from image at cia.gov

[first posted by Faith Central on March 5, 2010]

The Holy Father used his Feb. 10, 2010, general audience as an opportunity to teach about Saint Anthony of Padua. The Franciscan lived 35 years, from 1195-1231.

Building upon a central Franciscan theme of Divine Love, Saint Anthony defined prayer “as a relationship of love, which leads man to a dialogue with the Lord,” and described four “attitudes” which must characterize prayer: “trustingly opening our hearts to God, affectionately conversing with Him, presenting Him our needs, and giving Him praise and thanks.

In times of economic challenges, Saint Anthony preached on Christian Charity and the need to comprehend true wealth. Pope Benedict pointed out how this theme also is important amidst the economic downturn of today.

Saint Anthony also preached a series of Sermons on the lives of the Saints as an itinerary for Christian Life. Another set of his Sermons became known as Sunday Sermons.

At first, Saint Anthony apparently felt called to enter Mission work to help convert the Muslims; yet his health required him to undertake apostolic labors closer to home.

The full text of the Vatican news release follows.

ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, AN EXAMPLE TO PREACHERS

VATICAN CITY, 10 FEB 2010 (VIS) – Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis during this morning’s general audience to St. Anthony of Padua, “one of the most popular saints of the Catholic Church.”

St. Anthony was born to a noble family in Lisbon around the year 1195. Following a period spent with the Augustinian Canons, he entered the Friars Minor in the hope of travelling to Morocco to work as a missionary. However he fell sick and returned to Italy where he dedicated himself to intense and effective apostolic labours. He died in Padua in 1231 and was canonised by Pope Gregory IX in 1232.

“Anthony,” the Pope explained, “made a significant contribution to the development of Franciscan spirituality with his outstanding gifts of intelligence, balance, apostolic zeal and, especially, mystic fervour. … He was also one of the first, if not the first, master of theology among the Friars Minor.”

The saint wrote two cycles of sermons, one entitled “Sunday Sermons” the other “Sermons on the Saints,” in which he presented “a true itinerary of Christian life. Such is the wealth of spiritual teachings contained in the ‘Sermons’ that in 1946 Venerable Pope Pius XII proclaimed Anthony a Doctor of the Church, giving him the title of ‘Doctor Evangelicus’ because all the freshness and beauty of the Gospel emerges in his writings,” said the Holy Father.

Anthony of Padua, or of Lisbon as he is also known, defined prayer “as a relationship of love, which leads man to a dialogue with the Lord,” and he described four “attitudes” which must characterise it: “trustingly opening our hearts to God, affectionately conversing with Him, presenting Him our needs, and giving Him praise and thanks. In this teaching of St. Anthony,” the Pope explained, “we see one of the specific traits of Franciscan theology; … that is, the central role of divine love which enters the sphere of the affections, of the will, of the heart, and which is the source of a spiritual knowledge that surpasses all other knowledge.”

But the “Doctor Evangelicus” also knew the defects of human nature, such as “the tendency to fall into sin, and so he continually exhorted people to combat the inclination to avarice, pride and impurity. … At the beginning of the thirteenth century, in a context of expanding cities and flourishing trade, a growing number of people were insensitive to the needs of the poor. For this reason, Anthony frequently invited the faithful to turn their thoughts to true wealth, that of the heart” and to seek the friendship of those most in need.

“Is this not”, the Pope asked, “also an important lesson for us today, as the financial crisis and serious economic imbalances impoverish many people, and create situations of distresss?” He then went on to comment on one another aspect of Franciscan theology, Christocentrism, which “invites us to contemplate the mysteries of the Lord’s humanity,” especially His Nativity and Crucifixion.

“The vision of the crucified Lord,” said the Holy Father, inspired in Anthony “feelings of recognition towards God and of respect for the dignity of the human person.” In that vision “everyone, believers and non-believers, may find a meaning that enriches life”. This, he explained, “is the importance of the crucifixion in our culture and our humanity, which are born of the Christian faith, … because God considers us so important as to be worthy of His suffering.”

The Pope concluded his catechesis by calling on St. Anthony to intercede for the whole Church, and in particular for “those who dedicate their lives to preaching. Drawing inspiration from his example, may they unite sound and healthy doctrine, sincere and fervent piety, and incisive communication. In this Year for Priests, let us pray that priests and deacons eagerly carry out their ministry of announcing and contextualising the Word of God for the faithful, especially in liturgical homilies.”

AG/ANTHONY OF PADUA/… VIS 100210 (660)
The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source: V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service. Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

View of St. Peter's Basilica at Vatican from River

CATHOLIC MASS VIDEO: Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Wednesday 6.13.18 – Catholic TV (Archdiocese of Boston)

Priest Lifting Large Host

Catholic TV Mass for the Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Wednesday, June 13, 2018, from Catholic TV in the Archdiocese of Boston. [Click here for Mass Readings]

CATHOLIC MASS READINGS: Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Wednesday 6.13.18 – USCCB/NABRV

Historic Bible

Jesus said … ‘… I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. … whoever obeys and teaches these Commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.'”

CATHOLIC FAITHWATCH: “Saint Anthony of Padua” – Pope Benedict XVI General Audience 2.10.10

“… With his outstanding gifts of intelligence, balance, apostolic zeal and … mystic fervour, [St.] Anthony contributed significantly to the development of Franciscan spirituality. …  He dedicated himself … to the study of the Bible and of the Church Fathers, acquiring … theological knowledge … Anthony laid the foundations of Franciscan theology * * * he commented on … texts of Scripture presented by the Liturgy, using the patristic and medieval interpretation of the four senses: the literal or historical, the allegorical or Christological, the tropological or moral, and the anagogical, which orients a person to eternal life. … Anthony proposes a true and proper itinerary of Christian life. * * * St. Anthony speaks of prayer as of a loving relationship that impels man to speak gently with the Lord, creating an ineffable joy that sweetly enfolds the soul in prayer. … prayer requires an atmosphere of silence … an interior experience that aims to remove the distractions caused by a soul’s anxieties, thereby creating silence in the soul itself. * * * … prayer is structured in four indispensable attitudes … obsecratio, oratio, postulatio, gratiarum actio. We might translate them in the following manner. The first step in prayer is confidently opening one’s heart to God; this is not merely accepting a word but opening one’s heart to God’s presence. Next, is speaking with him affectionately, seeing him present with oneself; then a very natural thing presenting our needs to him; and lastly, praising and thanking him. … we perceive … the role assigned to Divine Love which enters into the sphere of the affections, of the will and of the heart, and which is also the source from which flows a spiritual knowledge that surpasses all other knowledge. In fact, it is in loving that we come to know. … ‘Charity is the Ssoul of Faith, it gives it Life; without love, Faith dies’ … It is only the prayerful soul that can progress in spiritual life ….”

Click here for: “Saint Anthony of Padua” – Pope Benedict XVI General Audience 2.10.10

 

View of St. Peter's Basilica at Vatican from River

CATHOLIC MASS READINGS: Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time 6.12.18 – USCCB/NABRV

Historic Bible

“Jesus said to His Disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. … You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. …'”

CATHOLIC FAITHLINK: “The Beatitudes”

Artistic Drawing of Jesus Preaching in Sermon on the Mount

[from Matthew 5:2-12]

“… [Jesus] began to teach them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you. …'”

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