Our Gospel reading for this Sunday offers us a challenge through the words of Jesus:

In a world where a few live like kings, many exist as paupers, and astonishing numbers are dying of starvation, don’t you wonder about the deafening silence on the topic of wealth and poverty from our televangelists? Particularly at this time of great economic distress?
Most pastors would not touch the topic of contemporary greed.
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Now, there are some exceptions:
The Church of England's two most senior clerics strongly condemned some share traders as "bank robbers" and called for more government regulation of capitalism's greedier instincts.
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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged White House and congressional officials to consider the human impact of the financial crisis in their efforts to rescue the economy from, "the scandalous search for excessive economic rewards even to the point of dangerous speculation that exacerbates the pain and losses of the more vulnerable are egregious examples of an economic ethic that places economic gain above all other values."
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In 1987, Michael Douglas won an Oscar for Best Actor in the movie Wall Street. In it, Douglas played the role of Gordon Gekko, a fiendishly avaricious stock market speculator. To thunderous applause, in one of the climactic scenes of the film, Douglas alias Gekko tells his adoring audience: "There's a new law of evolution in corporate America. Greed is good."
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It is a quote that was to become an accepted motto for the decades that followed. Many cultural analysts define the eighties and nineties as "decades of greed" -- a time when only money counted and it didn't matter how you got it. It became socially acceptable to desire excessive amounts of material possessions. Greed became not only accepted; it was encouraged.
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Today greed is not only accepted as a good, it's encouraged in ways that would have seemed utterly impossible years ago. There couldn't have been a more outlandish illustration of our idealization of greed than Fox network's brilliant concept for a show called Who Wants To Marry A Multi-millionaire? Thousands of contestants competed to marry a man they hadn't dated or even met just because he was a "multi-millionaire." Encouraging this gross display of greed were the more than twenty million people who actually tuned in to the premier show.
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What would Jesus say? Contrary to Gekko's conclusion, greed is not good. “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions,” he warned. In the gospel of John, Jesus tells us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. . . . You cannot serve both God and Money." Although current events show that we continue to try, our Christian faith exhorts us to change our ways.
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A few notes for your perusal:

Greed drives our consumerist, capitalist society. Everything is a commodity to be consumed for your own personal pleasure, including Jesus. Therefore, it becomes all about marketing the church to meet the demands of a picky consumer & selling Jesus as cheaply as possible. I would imagine that great men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer are rolling over in their graves because of this.
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Greed will never make us rich toward God. Somewhere along the line we've the mistaken notion that an abundance of possessions is the same as abundant living.
Greed never knows how much is enough. The thin line between our "wants" and "needs" becomes blurred. Is it possible that we mostly desire the wrong things to fill our restless hearts?
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Greed can make you coldhearted. Is it possible that greed, a perverted form of self-love, prevents us from any concern for others?
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Greed diverts our reliance on God--in essence it's a form of idolatry. Is it possible that our well-meaning quest for financial security lessens (or replaces) our need to trust in God?

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Three interesting Comments:

"There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed." —Frank Buchman on Greed
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"The point is that you can't be too greedy." —Donald Trump on Greed
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"You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are still filthy--full of greed and wickedness! – Jesus
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Today is the Feast Day of Saint Maria Goretti

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This is a lengthy video (30 minutes) but well worth watching, even in brief segments.

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St. Maria Goretti drew over a quarter of a million people to her canonization. She is one of the most popular of modern saitns. She is an icon of purity in an age where this virtue is needed more than ever. The following is a bit more information on the saint:

Born in Corinaldo, Ancona, Italy, on October 16 1890; her farmworker father moved his family to Ferrier di Conca, near Anzio. Her father died of malaria and her mother had to struggle to feed her children.

In 1902 an eighteen-year-old neighbor, Alexander, grabbed her from her steps and tried to rape her. When Maria said that she would rather died than submit, Alexander began stabbing her with a knife.

As she lay in the hospital, she forgave Alexander before she died. Her death didn't end her forgivness, however.

Alexander was captured and sentenced to thirty years. He was unrepentant until he had a dream that he was in a garden. Maria was there and gave him flowers. When he woke, he was a changed man, repenting of his crime and living a reformed life. When he was released after 27 years he went directly to Maria's mother to beg her forgiveness, which she gave. "If my daughter can forgive him, who am I to withold forgiveness," she said.

When Maria was declared a saint in 1950, Alexander was there in the St. Peter's crowd to celebrate her canonization. She was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950 for her purity as model for youth.

She is called a martyr because she fought against Alexander's attempts at sexual assault. However, the most important aspect of her story is her forgiveness of her attacker -- her concern for her enemy extending even beyond death. Her feast day is July 6. St. Maria Goretti is the patroness of youth and for the victims of rape.


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July 4, 2010: Two very special commemorations today:

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Happy Birthday United States of America

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Today the Church remembers Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. The following comes from his Wikipedia page:

Pier Giorgio Frassati (April 6, 1901 - July 4, 1925) was an Italian Catholic activist. He has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church.
He was born in Turin into a wealthy family, who owned a newspaper called La Stampa. Pier's parents were named Alfredo and Adelaide. Though an average student, Frassati was known among his peers for his devotion and piety.

He was dedicated to works of social action, charity, prayer and community. He was involved with Catholic youth and student groups, the Apostleship of Prayer, Catholic Action, and was a third order Dominican. A line he would often say was "Charity is not enough: we need social reform" .[1] He helped establish a newspaper known as "Momento", its principles were based on Pope Leo XIII's encyclical: Rerum Novarum.

Despite his family's enormous wealth and power, Frassati's father was austere and never gave his children too much spending money, Frassati however donated most or all of his money to people he saw as more "needy" than him, and as a result he became accustomed to giving his train-fare to the poor and running back home or riding in third class. When asked by friends why he often rode third class on the trains he would reply with a smile, "Because there is not a fourth class."

At an Italian embassy in Berlin, he was admired by a German news reporter who wrote: "One night in Berlin, with the temperature at twelve degrees below zero, he gave his overcoat to a poor old man shivering with cold. His father scolded him, and he replied simply and matter-of-factly: 'But you see, papa, it was cold.'"

Despite the many organizations to which Pier Giorgio belonged, he was not a passive "joiner"; records show that he was active and involved in each, fulfilling all the duties of membership. Pier Giorgio was strongly anti-fascist and did nothing to hide his political views.
Participating in a Church-organized demonstration in Rome, he withstood police violence and rallied the other young people by grabbing the banner which the police had knocked out of someone else's hands. He held it even higher while using the pole to ward off their blows. When the demonstrators were arrested by the police, he refused special treatment that he might have received because of his father's political position, preferring to stay with his friends. One night a group of fascists broke into his family's home to attack him and his father. Pier Giorgio beat them off single-handedly chasing them down the street calling them, "Blackguards! Cowards!"

Frassati died in 1925 of polio. His family expected Turin's elite and political figures to come to offer their condolences and attend the funeral; they naturally expected to find many of his friends there as well. They were surprised, however, to find the streets of the city lined with thousands of mourners as the cortege passed by. Those who mourned his death most were the poor and needy whom he had served so unselfishly for seven years; many of these, in turn, were surprised to learn that the saintly young man they knew only as "Fra Girolamo" came from such an influential family. It was these poor people who petitioned the Archbishop of Turin to begin the cause for canonization. The process was opened in 1932 and he was beatified on May 20, 1990. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati's feast day is July 4.

It has become customary among many Catholic students to seek Pier Giorgio's intercession for success in their studies since he was a student. Frassati was called Man of Eight Beatitudes by Pope John Paul II, who beatified him on May 20, 1990.

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14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Jesus sends out His Aposles as if He were sending Lambs in the midst of wolves.

He is their protector.

In the same way He sends us out also into a world that is not always accepting.

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What's in our hearts in the context of reading these Scriptures for this weekend?

Is there a greater sign of contentment and satisfaction than a baby who's been well fed and well tended who falls asleep in their parent's arms?

God longs to satisfy our needs in the same way:
..... to feed our deespest hunger
..... to respond to our deepest longings

>> Do I trust that God's loving care is all I need?

>> Am I willing to rely so totally on Him?


Outward signs that we use, even those with great traditional meaning, are nothing if they aren't grounded in the truth that I have become a new creation.

>> What in my life serves as evidence that I am a new creation in Jesus Christ?


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Even in the midst of wolves, we might condiser these simple paths to peace:

>>Don't take the bait of someone itching for a fight.

>>If you dont't have anything nice to say, don't say anything.

>>Imagine the childhood of those you disdain or abhor.

>>Pray intentionally at least once a day.

>>Sing a song out loud.

>>Say please, thank you and excuse me to everyone, including family members.

>>Acknowledge that there are some things you are not good at.

>>Traavel outside of your usual circles on occasion -- different people, different places, different beliefs.


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Today is the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle

July 3


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St. Thomas was a Jew, called to be one of the twelve Apostles. He was a dedicated but impetuous follower of Christ. When Jesus said He was returning to Judea to visit His sick friend Lazarus, Thomas immediately exhorted the other Apostles to accompany Him on the trip which involved certain danger and possible death because of the mounting hostility of the authorities.

At the Last Supper, when Christ told His Apostles that He was going to prepare a place for them to which they also might come because they knew both the place and the way, Thomas pleaded that they did not understand and received the beautiful assurance that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

But St. Thomas is best known for his role in verifying the Resurrection of his Master. Thomas' unwillingness to believe that the other Apostles had seen their risen Lord on the first Easter Sunday merited for him the title of "doubting Thomas." Eight days later, on Christ's second apparition, Thomas was gently rebuked for his scepticism and furnished with the evidence he had demanded - seeing in Christ's hands the point of the nails and putting his fingers in the place of the nails and his hand into His side. At this, St. Thomas became convinced of thetruth of the Resurrection and exclaimed: "My Lord and My God," thus making a public Profession of Faith in the Divinity of Jesus.

St. Thomas is also mentioned as being present at another Resurrection appearance of Jesus - at Lake Tiberias when a miraculous catch of fish occurred. This is all that we know about St. Thomas from the New Testament. Tradition says that at the dispersal of the Apostles after Pentecost this saint was sent to evangelize the Parthians, Medes, and Persians; he ultimately reached India, carrying the Faith to the Malabar coast, which still boasts a large native population calling themselves "Christians of St. Thomas." He capped his left by shedding his blood for his Master, speared to death at a place called Calamine.

His feast day is July 3rd and he is the patron of architects.

A cute, and rare, Picture

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Ceremony In St. Peter's, Vatican City

Tuesday of this week, 38 new Archbishops received the symbol of their office (a stole, called a Pallium, made of lamb's wool)from Pope Benedict XVI.

Among those receiving the Pallium was Archbishop Thomas Wenski, the new Archbishop of Miami, a former schoolmate of mine:








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Three Future Priests: in their words

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