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Thursday, November 8, 2018

Bishop Barron's Gospel Reflection November 8, 2018

Thursday, November 8, 2018
Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 15:1-10
Friends, one feature of today’s Gospel passage is the craziness of the shepherd: “What man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine and go after the lost one until he finds it?” Well, the implied answer is “No one.” Who would take that great a risk, putting the ninety-nine in danger to find the one? It’s just bad economics. Why would God fret over one little soul? Why would he bother?

Well, it’s his nature. It’s what he does. As Catherine of Siena put it, he is pazzo d’amore (crazy in love). God is as crazy for you as if you were the only one in the world.

Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 488

Reading 1 Phil 3:3-8a

Brothers and sisters:
We are the circumcision,
we who worship through the Spirit of God,
who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh,
although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.

If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I.
Circumcised on the eighth day,
of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage,
in observance of the law a Pharisee,
in zeal I persecuted the Church,
in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.

But whatever gains I had,
these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ.
More than that, I even consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Gospel Lk 15:1-10

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.

"Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.'
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents."

The Left Is Organizing “Response Events” In 900 U.S. Cities On Thursday To Protest The Firing Of Jeff Sessions – End Of The American Dream

The Left Is Organizing “Response Events” In 900 U.S. Cities On Thursday To Protest The Firing Of Jeff Sessions – End Of The American Dream: Well, that escalated quickly. On Wednesday, President Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and by the end of the day major leftist organizations had already put together protests in 900 U.S. cities to make a "public demand for action to correct this injustice". It truly is amazing how rapidly these groups were

Why giving to the poor is NOT actually charity

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The widow of Sunday’s Gospel had at least 3 reasons to keep her money. Here’s why she didn’t

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What do Catholics believe regarding cremation? --Aleteia

What do Catholics believe regarding cremation? --Aleteia: It is now an accepted practice of the Church, but still has a few rules behind it.

Vote Tests Future Of Responsible Energy Development In Colorado « Breaking Energy - Energy industry news, analysis, and commentary

Vote Tests Future Of Responsible Energy Development In Colorado « Breaking Energy - Energy industry news, analysis, and commentary

PG&E may shut off power for 69,000 in Northern California due to fire risk | Energy Central

PG&E may shut off power for 69,000 in Northern California due to fire risk | Energy Central

PG&E wants break from obligation to pay for wildfire damages | Energy Central

PG&E wants break from obligation to pay for wildfire damages | Energy Central

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No, homosexuality is not a risk factor for the sexual abuse of children | America Magazine

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McCarrick's Seminarians » Maureen Mullarkey

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It's Worse than You Suspect: We Can't Think our Way Out of Decline - Public Discourse

It's Worse than You Suspect: We Can't Think our Way Out of Decline - Public Discourse: Given our splintered, irresolute wills, Alan Jacobs’s concept of thinking that “we can do better,” even if “we ought to,” is not enough. It’s going to take more than hope and a checklist.

Miters and Millstones


Miters and Millstones

I once heard a homily on the vocation of priests, which concluded with this challenge to the young men of the parish: “If there’s not at least some part of you that wants to be a priest, then you don’t know what a priest really is.”
At the time, being in my mid-20s and not far removed from my own discernment days, this struck me as a profound and underappreciated point. For one, it cuts against the notion of the ordained priesthood as some sort of ecclesial selective service; some men get their number called, some don’t. But what struck me most about the priest’s point was his confidence in the universality of the claim. He was making a subtle yet strong statement about what it means to be, not just a priest, but a man.
And he was right. There is something of the essence of manhood to be found in one who stands forth from the rest, for the sake of the rest, and makes an offering of sacrifice on behalf of those entrusted to his care. He does not lord his authority over his people; he lays down his life for them. Without equivocating too much about particular vocations, that’s a fair description of the vocation of all men. https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2018/11/08/miters-and-millstones/

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

China in the Pacific: is China engaged in “debt-trap diplomacy”? - Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre

China in the Pacific: is China engaged in “debt-trap diplomacy”? - Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre

Facebook Says It Is Deleting Accounts at the Direction of the U.S. and Israeli Governments

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Cdl. Burke: It’s ‘diabolical’ for Church to accommodate herself to culture of death | News | LifeSite

Cdl. Burke: It’s ‘diabolical’ for Church to accommodate herself to culture of death | News | LifeSite: The Church 'gives the impression of trying to approach this culture, which is truly a culture of death, and somehow accommodate herself to the culture.'

[Salon] Post-Election Foreign Policy Trouble - micheletkearney@gmail.com - Gmail

[Salon] Post-Election Foreign Policy Trouble - micheletkearney@gmail.com - Gmail: Google's approach to email

BioEdge: Did the leader in California’s governor’s race assist his mother’s suicide?

BioEdge: Did the leader in California’s governor’s race assist his mother’s suicide?: Gavin Newsom makes a startling admission in interview with The New Yorker

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Fr. James Martin: Pope appoints ‘gay-friendly’ bishops, cardinals to change Church on LGBT | News | LifeSite

Fr. James Martin: Pope appoints ‘gay-friendly’ bishops, cardinals to change Church on LGBT | News | LifeSite: 'Just look at what has happened in the last five years--since Pope Francis has been elected,' Martin said.

Your boss is now more likely to train you up, thanks to a dwindling talent pool

Your boss is now more likely to train you up, thanks to a dwindling talent pool



https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612391/your-boss-is-now-more-likely-to-train-you-up-thanks-to-a-dwindling-talent-pool/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=owned_social&fbclid=IwAR0XFyTmBIuACuzRcmcT7rILBUc-zWewIYe0wwNazqH2lDy-WgPVAxUw45k

Fr. Z muses: repression of Catholic speech and what we can do about it. | Fr. Z's Blog

Fr. Z muses: repression of Catholic speech and what we can do about it. | Fr. Z's Blog

Why Putin Isn’t Sweating the Midterms - POLITICO Magazine

Why Putin Isn’t Sweating the Midterms - POLITICO Magazine

The Disorder of “Differently Ordered” - Crisis Magazine

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Why bishops’ appointments seem on hold - The Catholic Thing

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ASK FATHER: ” I feel that my Faith is just being torn apart” | Fr. Z's Blog

ASK FATHER: ” I feel that my Faith is just being torn apart” | Fr. Z's Blog

Abuse accusations bring scrutiny for McCarrick's charity fund

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U.S. donors balk at pope's request for $25M for Rome hospital

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Cardinal O'Malley elected chairman of Papal Foundation

Cardinal O'Malley elected chairman of Papal Foundation: Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston has been elected chairman of the Papal Foundation’s board of trustees.

Catholic bishops ask Israel to repeal law excluding non-Jews

Catholic bishops ask Israel to repeal law excluding non-Jews: Top Catholic prelates in Israel are asking the government to repeal the recent Nation State Law, which they say paves a path for discrimination against non-Jewish citizens.

Holy See repression of a certain kind of bishop with a certain kind of message | Fr. Z's Blog

Holy See repression of a certain kind of bishop with a certain kind of message | Fr. Z's Blog

Bishop Barron Word on Fire Two Widows

 Bishop Barron Word on Fire Two Widows



sermon-1182015-2.mp3

People unable to give have become slaves to possessions, pope says | National Catholic Reporter

People unable to give have become slaves to possessions, pope says | National Catholic Reporter: Life is for loving, not amassing possessions, Pope Francis said.

In fact, the true meaning and purpose of wealth is to use it to lovingly serve others and promote human dignity, he said Nov. 7 during...

Arizona rejects renewable initiative that spurred nuclear retirement fears | S&P Global Platts

Arizona rejects renewable initiative that spurred nuclear retirement fears | S&P Global Platts: Arizona voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot initiative to require electric utilities to get 50% of their electricity from renewables by 2030, up from the current mandate for 15% renewables by 2025.

Fr. Warren's Week Reflection November 7, 2018


Clouds
THIS WEEK'S REFLECTION from Fr. Bob Warren, SA
A man in his 30s came to St. Christopher’s Inn seeking help. He was a lawyer, and appeared successful. I asked him what made him come into treatment, and he replied that he been drinking for years and years. Some people held an intervention for him, he listened well, and said he would cut down on his drinking, but he never did.
He lived in a beautiful home, with one of the few houses in the area that had a pool. His eight year old son always had his friends over to play. One afternoon, as he was starting to drink, he noticed how quiet it was, there were no kids around. He asked his son, where are your friends? The eight year old looked him straight in the eye and said, their parents won’t let them come anymore because of the way you are: the drinking, the shouting at mom and me, and the falling over.
The man told me he had listened to all the professionals, he had made promises that he never kept, but it was that five minute conversation with his little son that changed his life. It was a conversion experience: he reached a moment of truth.
The same thing happened in the Gospel. Jesus only gave us two rules to live by: love God and each other. He gave them in response to a question. We are told that the question was asked by a scribe. A scribe in those days was roughly equivalent to a lawyer. This incident comes right after some very unpleasant and hostile encounters Jesus had with the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and they did not come off too well.
These opposing religious parties hated each other and had only teamed up to make Jesus out to be unfaithful to the religious traditions of the nation. The scribe is a front man who has been hired by the opposition to embarrass Jesus. The scribe is told to ask Jesus a trick question, an endlessly debated question, one that the rabbis and the lawyers had puzzled and argued about for centuries: of the 613 laws that Moses had given to the people of Israel, which was the greatest?
No matter which one Jesus picked, what answer He gave, He was bound to offend some group. It is obvious that the scribe is coming from deceit and not sincerity, with the Pharisees and the Sadducees who put him up to it silently standing by, delighting in the dilemma. They have done this all before. Remember the woman caught in adultery? Or when they asked, is it lawful to pay tax to Caesar? Always trying to catch Him out, and make Him look foolish.
This time, Jesus gives the scribe such a stunning answer that it catches him in the middle of his conscience and fundamental decency. You can almost sense it after Jesus’ reply. There is a long period of silence as the scribe stands there struggling between his loyalty to his party bosses, and the insight and rightness of the truth that he had just heard from the teacher who looked at him, not with triumph , but with love and compassion.
The scribe reaches his moment of truth. He turns his back on the establishment and he says slowly to Jesus, you are right in saying that the love of God and the love of neighbor are more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices one could make. And then the scribe heard wonderful words from Jesus: you are not far from the reign of God. And that is all we ever hear of the scribe. We are not told what happened to him, whether he lost his job, we just do not know. But the Gospel clearly means to pass on to us a story of conversion.
The scribe moves from deceit to sincerity. The scribe lets his basic decency, so long overshadowed by ambition and self-service, become active once more. His encounter with Jesus brought him back to the center, and restored his integrity. All the debates and tricky questions he was so good at simply became secondary to the realities of the truth he had just heard from the lips of Jesus.
Many of us lead hectic lives: we have careers, projects, programs, hobbies, agendas, schedules, and more, and all these things are good. Once in a while ask yourself, does coming here week after week make any difference in my life out there? How do I treat those at work, at school? How do I tend my neighbor? Do I ever comfort the sorrowing? Do I every visit the sick? Do I ever care for anyone other than myself?
Remember the words of the scribe: to love God and your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. This Gospel reminds us all of that profound truth, a truth we must never forget. And if we learn this truth, like the man with the young son, like the scribe, we will have out conversion moment. Then we are not far from the reign of God.

DiNardo, USCCB head, was bishop during years diocese hid priest's abuse | National Catholic Reporter

DiNardo, USCCB head, was bishop during years diocese hid priest's abuse | National Catholic Reporter: The Diocese of Sioux City admitted Oct. 31 that it had concealed for decades the identity of a priest who had abused dozens of Iowa boys, as reported by the Associated Press. One of the bishops during...

Bishop Barron's Gospel Reflection November 7, 2018

Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 14:25-33
Friends, in our Gospel today the Lord offers one of the greatest, most “slap you in the face” challenges he ever offered. “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother…and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

There is the great spiritual principle that undergirds the entire Gospel: detachment. The heart of the spiritual life is to love God and then to love everything else for the sake of God. But we sinners, as St. Augustine said, fall into the trap of loving the creature and forgetting the Creator. That’s when we get off the rails.

We treat something less than God as God—and trouble ensues. And this is why Jesus tells his fair-weather fans that they have a very stark choice to make. Jesus must be loved first and last—and everything else in their lives has to find its meaning in relation to him.

In typical Semitic fashion, he makes this point through a stark exaggeration: “Unless you hate your mother and father, wife and children, sisters and brothers....” Well yes, hate them in the measure that they have become gods to you. For precisely in that measure are they dangerous.

Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 487

Reading 1 Phil 2:12-18

My beloved, obedient as you have always been,
not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For God is the one who, for his good purpose,
works in you both to desire and to work.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning,
that you may be blameless and innocent,
children of God without blemish
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life,
so that my boast for the day of Christ may be
that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
But, even if I am poured out as a libation
upon the sacrificial service of your faith,
I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.
In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.

Gospel Lk 14:25-33

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
"If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.'
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple."

Europe’s Iran Dilemma – LobeLog

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Buffalo and the silence of the bishops – Catholic World Report

Buffalo and the silence of the bishops – Catholic World Report

Roots of Catholic anger – Catholic World Report

Roots of Catholic anger – Catholic World Report

How Saudi "Donations" to American Universities Whitewash Its Religion

How Saudi "Donations" to American Universities Whitewash Its Religion

by Raymond Ibrahim  •  November 7, 2018 at 4:00 am
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  • Saudi funding of an American academic "doesn't mean that he's bought and paid for." Rather, "there is a kind of silencing effect. It's more about what doesn't get written about... there may be some self-censoring on certain topics you don't raise unnecessarily, topics that are sensitive to the Saudis." — from a Washington, DC "insider," quoted in Vox.
  • "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the heartland of Islam, the birthplace of its history, the site of the two holy mosques and the focus of Islamic devotion and prayer. Saudi Arabia is committed to preserving the Islamic tradition in all areas of government and society..... The Holy Qur'an is the constitution of the Kingdom and Shari'ah (Islamic law) is the basis of the Saudi legal system." — Website of the Saudi Arabian Embassy, Washington, DC.
  • A Saudi fatwa — in Arabic only — entitled, "Duty to Hate Jews, Polytheists, and Other Infidels," was written by Sheikh Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz (d. 1999), former grand mufti and highest religious authority in the government. It comes from the fatwa wing of the government, meaning it has the full weight of the government behind it.
George Mason University and George Washington University (pictured) in the Washington, D.C. area, have each received tens of millions of dollars in Saudi-affiliated funding, according to a report in the Daily Caller. (Image source: Ingfbruno/Wikimedia Commons)
Why would the center of illiberalism, religious fanaticism, and misogyny ever sponsor the center of liberalism, secularism, and gender equality?
This is the question that crops up when one considers the largesse that human-rights-abusing Saudi Arabia bestows on the leading universities — those putative bastions of progressive, free thinking — in the United States.
According to a recent report in the Daily Caller:
"... elite U.S. universities took more than half a billion dollars from the country [Saudi Arabia] and its affiliates between 2011 and 2017. Saudi Arabian interests paid $614 million to U.S. universities over a six-year period, more than every country but Qatar and the United Kingdom."

Xinjiang's Re-Education and Securitization Campaign: Evidence from Domestic Security Budgets - Jamestown

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Remarks by Henry M. Paulson, Jr., on the United States and China at a Crossroads – Paulson Institute

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After Morality - The Catholic Thing

After Morality - The Catholic Thing: Randall Smith: Trying to teach morality by laying out a list of “rules” is like teaching calculus by giving answers from the back of the book.

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Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Has Bloomberg Begun the Battle for 2020? | Patrick J. Buchanan - Official Website

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Newspapers examine U.S. bishops' responses to abuse allegations | National Catholic Reporter

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(28) Is Stephen Hawking Right About God? - YouTube

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From public policy to personal choice, God invites us to choose life | National Catholic Reporter

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Anger erupts in Egypt after massacre of Christian pilgrims | National Catholic Reporter

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Divisions at synod on sex abuse send wrong message, survivor says

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The Point of Gosnell | Charlotte Allen | First Things

The Point of Gosnell | Charlotte Allen | First Things: Our daily blog content exclusive to the web hits on hot topics in both religion and public life and will keep you informed and entertained all week.

Bishop Barron's Gospel Reflection November 6, 2018


 

Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 14:15-24
Friends, today’s Gospel likens the kingdom of heaven to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. Notice that the father (God the Father) is giving a banquet for his son (God the Son), whose bride is the Church. Jesus is the marriage of divinity and humanity—and we his followers are invited to join in the joy of this union.

The joyful intimacy of the Father and the Son is now offered to us to be shared. Listen to Isaiah to learn the details of this banquet: “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.”

Now, there is an edge to all of this. For it is the king who is doing the inviting, and it is a wedding banquet for his son. We can see how terribly important it is to respond to the invitation of the King of kings.

We have heard the invitation of God to enter into intimacy with him, to make him the center of our lives, to be married to him in Christ—and often we find the most pathetic excuses not to respond.

 

Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 486

Reading 1 Phil 2:5-11

Brothers and sisters:
Have among yourselves the same attitude
that is also yours in Christ Jesus,

Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and, found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Gospel Lk 14:15-24

One of those at table with Jesus said to him,
"Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God."
He replied to him,
"A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
'Come, everything is now ready.'
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
'I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.'
And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.'
And another said, 'I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.'
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.'
The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.'
The master then ordered the servant,
'Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'"

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Danny
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