Readings & Reflections: Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time & St. Louis of Toulouse, August 18,2018
The Lord speaks through the Prophet Ezekiel: “Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.” What kind of new heart? The heart of the child. And with it, we heed the Lord’s command: “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them.”
AMDG+
Opening Prayer
“Lord, may we never hinder our youth from coming to you to receive your blessing and healing power. Make our youth strong in faith and character that they may follow you zealously. And as we grow with age, may we never lose that child-like simplicity and humility which draws us into your loving presence.” Amen.
Reading 1
Ez 18:1-10, 13b, 30-32
The word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, what is the meaning of this proverb
that you recite in the land of Israel:
“Fathers have eaten green grapes,
thus their children’s teeth are on edge”?
As I live, says the Lord GOD:
I swear that there shall no longer be anyone among you
who will repeat this proverb in Israel.
For all lives are mine;
the life of the father is like the life of the son, both are mine;
only the one who sins shall die.
If a man is virtuous—if he does what is right and just,
if he does not eat on the mountains,
nor raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel;
if he does not defile his neighbor’s wife,
nor have relations with a woman in her menstrual period;
if he oppresses no one,
gives back the pledge received for a debt,
commits no robbery;
if he gives food to the hungry and clothes the naked;
if he does not lend at interest nor exact usury;
if he holds off from evildoing,
judges fairly between a man and his opponent;
if he lives by my statutes and is careful to observe my ordinances,
that man is virtuous—he shall surely live, says the Lord GOD.
But if he begets a son who is a thief, a murderer,
or lends at interest and exacts usury—
this son certainly shall not live.
Because he practiced all these abominations, he shall surely die;
his death shall be his own fault.
Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel,
each one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD.
Turn and be converted from all your crimes,
that they may be no cause of guilt for you.
Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed,
and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Why should you die, O house of Israel?
For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,
says the Lord GOD. Return and live!
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. (12a) Create a clean heart in me, O God.
A clean heart create for me, O God;
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Gospel
Mt 19:13-15
Children were brought to Jesus
that he might lay his hands on them and pray.
The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said,
“Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them;
for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
After he placed his hands on them, he went away.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection 1 – Let the children come to me
God is asking us to look back to the very first time we met Jesus, the time He touched our hearts and moved us into conversion. We may have covered a lot of miles and our circumstances may have changed. What was once so warm may now be cool. What was once so simple has become so complicated with layers of activity. Maybe at that time we thought we had a lot of Jesus in our hearts, but not much of His works.
Going through life, may have deformed us. We may have been greatly wounded that God is summoning us back to the simplicity of where we all started. Because then, it was all about Jesus – it was all about a relationship. It was just talking openly with Jesus in simple, childlike faith that He met our needs, healed our hurts and moved our mountains.
As His children, God is summoning us back to Him and wants us to look deep down in our hearts where we need to change. Jesus Himself said: “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Are we going to respond to our Lord with a clean and pure heart? As we receive our Lord’s call, we may want to do what’s right, but our actions do not always represent our true desires. God recognizes the difficulty that is pulling us down. That is why He wants us to give our lives to Him, so that He may mold us, change us and strengthen us and set us in His ways.
Let us all follow our Lord and in faith present our lives to Him, not to be judged and condemned but to be transformed back into His likeness. God wants us to have that passionate “first love” relationship with us no matter how many miles we may have traveled, no matter how far and distant we have been to Him.
While there is time, let us listen to that pull in our hearts-that homing instinct for God- to go home to Him and serve Him and His people. For in day’s end we have to answer to Him on how we have conducted our affairs, how well we have lived our faith, how we have related with one another as His children, how we have drawn all into His fold and how we have abided by His Word!
Scripture says: “If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling.” To do this, our response should be complete with child-like innocence and humility, “as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Direction
“Now, therefore, put away the strange gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” Serve the LORD, our God, and obey His voice.”
Prayer
Heavenly Father, my heart’s is to love and serve you. Bless me and show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence and the delights at your right hand forever. May you be my inheritance, forever. In Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Reflection 2 – Let the children come to me
Do you seek to help others draw near to the Lord?
The parents who brought their children to Jesus wanted Jesus to lay his hands upon them. They knew of the healing power, both physical and spiritual, which came from Jesus’ touch. Jesus, in turn, rebuked his disciples for hindering the children from coming. The disciples may have wanted to shield Jesus from the nuisance of noisy children. But Jesus delighted in the children and demonstrated that God’s love has ample room for everyone, including children.
Pray for the young to grow strong in faith
No one is unimportant to God. He comes to each person individually and uniquely that he might touch them with his healing love and power. Do you show kindness to the youth you encounter in your neighborhood, home, and church? And do you pray for them that they may grow in the knowledge and wisdom of Jesus Christ?
“Lord Jesus, may we never hinder our youth from coming to you to receive your blessing, instruction, and healing power. Make our youth strong in faith and in character that they may follow you zealously. And as we grow with age, may we never lose that child-like simplicity and humility which draws us into your loving presence.” – Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2018/aug18.htm
Reflection 3 – Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” —Matthew 19:14
Today, people around the globe will observe the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. The lessons and encouragement contained in his tales of The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, and The Emperor’s New Clothes are still considered a great gift to children everywhere.
I’m reminded, however, that Jesus Christ is the greatest friend of children the world has ever known. No one has done more for them than Jesus.
When Jesus’ disciples reprimanded people for bringing little ones to Him, the Lord said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).
Jesus valued children as persons of worth. After His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the Lord accepted the praise of children and reminded those who criticized them that God has ordained praise even “out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants” (Matthew 21:16; Psalm 8:2).
Companionship with the Savior is the privilege of everyone who trusts Him with the simple faith of a child. His loving arms and tender heart are ready to embrace every child who accepts Him. He willingly receives all who open their hearts to Him. He is the children’s Friend.
— David C. McCasland
O Jesus, You who once did say
To little children at their play,
“Come to Me, you will be blessed,”
So come to us and be our Guest. —Anon
The Creator hides secrets from sages, yet He can be known by children (Source: Our Daily Bread: RBC Ministries).
Reflection 4 – I will judge you according to your ways
In today’s first reading, God questions Ezekiel about a common proverb in Israel: Parents have eaten green and sour grapes, thus their children’s teeth are set on edge and are irritated. The proverb means that children suffer for the sins of their parents. God tells Ezekiel that this proverb is not to be repeated in Israel: for the righteous and virtuous will live; those who sin will be punished and die. The Lord delights not in the death, but in the life of his people, and the way to life consists in fidelity to God’s commandments (Ezekiel 18:5-9).
Ezekiel teaches the people that the sinner is responsible for his own fate: “A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of a parent, nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child; the righteousness of the righteous shall be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be his own” (Ezekiel 18:20). As God’s prophet, Ezekiel calls sinners to repentance, fulfills his prophetic mission and makes each person responsible for their actions.
Understanding the relation between personal responsibility, sin and punishment also corrects the mistaken view of the people of Israel who think that they suffer in exile only because they are victims of history, because their parent, forefathers and ancestors sinned while they are guiltless. “They believed they were not responsible but rather were victims. Ezekiel challenges this erroneous mindset and argues that each person bears responsibility for his or her own conduct” (T. Leclerc, Introduction to the Prophets, Paulist Press, 295). Each generation can break with the past and begin a new life in conformity with God’s law. This opens to Israel the way to hope.
Another reason for hope is the possibility of repentance. “Repentance brings freedom because puts an end to the influence of the past and opens one’s life to the future that God will form. In repentance, one takes on a new heart and a new spirit (18:30-32)” (M. Duggan, The Consuming Fire, Ignatius Press, 312). Those who turn from evil to good will escape judgment for their past deeds; the righteous who turn from good to evil, however, will be punished. “A person’s fate depends not on past actions but on present choices and conduct. This means that repentance is always possible, but so, too, is backsliding” (T. Leclerc, Introduction to the Prophets, Paulist Press, 295).
In the Gospel, Jesus continues to teach the way of humility that leads to life. Earlier, he said to the people: “Unless you turn and become like children, you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4). The Kingdom belongs to the poor in spirit, to those who mourn, to the meek, to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, to the merciful, to the pure in heart, to the peacemakers, to those who are persecuted for the sake of justice. The humble are able to shoulder their cross with Christ. The simple are able to love without reserve. The child-like allow themselves to be loved and guided by God. – Read the source text: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/daily-homily-i-will-judge-you-according-to-your-ways
Reflection 5 – St. Louis of Toulouse (1274-1297 A.D.)
When he died at the age of 23, Louis was already a Franciscan, a bishop and a saint!
Louis’s parents were Charles II of Naples and Sicily and Mary, daughter of the King of Hungary. Louis was related to St. Louis IX on his father’s side and to Elizabeth of Hungary on his mother’s side.
Louis showed early signs of attachment to prayer and to the corporal works of mercy. As a child he used to take food from the castle to feed the poor. When he was 14, Louis and two of his brothers were taken as hostages to the king of Aragon’s court as part of a political deal involving Louis’s father. At the court Louis was tutored by Franciscan friars under whom he made great progress both in his studies and in the spiritual life. Like St. Francis he developed a special love for those afflicted with leprosy.
While he was still a hostage, Louis decided to renounce his royal title and become a priest. When he was 20, he was allowed to leave the king of Aragon’s court. He renounced his title in favor of his brother Robert and was ordained the next year. Very shortly after, he was appointed bishop of Toulouse, but the pope agreed to Louis’s request to become a Franciscan first.
The Franciscan spirit pervaded Louis. “Jesus Christ is all my riches; he alone is sufficient for me,” Louis kept repeating. Even as a bishop he wore the Franciscan habit and sometimes begged. He assigned a friar to offer him correction — in public if necessary — and the friar did his job.
Louis’s service to the Diocese of Toulouse was richly blessed. In no time he was considered a saint. Louis set aside 75 percent of his income as bishop to feed the poor and maintain churches. Each day he fed 25 poor people at his table.
Louis was canonized in 1317 by Pope John XXII, one of his former teachers.
Comment:
When Cardinal Hugolino, the future Pope Gregory IX, suggested to Francis that some of the friars would make fine bishops, Francis protested that they might lose some of their humility and simplicity if appointed to those positions. Those two virtues are needed everywhere in the Church, and Louis shows us how they can be lived out by bishops.
Quote:
“All the faithful were edified by the fervor of his devout celebration of Mass, the efficacy of his deep humility, his tender compassion, his upright life, the harmonious congruity in all his actions, words and bearing. Who without wonderment could look upon a most charming young man, the son of so mighty a king, outstanding for his generosity, raised to such dignity, renowned for his influence, preeminent for humility, living a life of such mortification, endowed with such wisdom, clothed in so poor a habit yet renowned for the charm of his discourse and a shining example of upright life?” (contemporary biography).
Read the source: http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1105
SAINT OF THE DAY
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God’s invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint.
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This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
| SAINT LOUIS OF TOULOUSE | |
|---|---|
Saint Louis of Toulouse, by Piero della Francesca
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| BORN | February 9, 1274 Brignoles, France |
| DIED | August 19, 1297 (aged 23) Brignoles, France |
| VENERATED IN | Roman Catholic Church |
| CANONIZED | April 7, 1317 by John XXII |
| MAJOR SHRINE | Valencia |
| FEAST | 19 August |
| ATTRIBUTES | boy bishop, often with a discarded crown by his feet; represented vested in pontifical garments and holding a book and a crosier |
| PATRONAGE | Valencia; Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa |
Saint Louis of Toulouse (9 February 1274 – 19 August 1297) was a cadet of the royal French house of Anjou who was made a Catholic bishop.
Contents
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Life[edit]
He was born in Brignoles, Provence, (or in Italy, at Nocera, where he spent a part of his early life), the second son ofCharles of Anjou “the Lame” and Maria Arpad of Hungary,[1] daughter of the King Stephen V of Hungary. His father was appointed King of Naples by Pope Clement IV, the former secretary to Louis IX of France. The boy was himself a nephew of Saint Louis (Louis IX) and of Mary of Hungary(her great-aunt being Saint Elizabeth of Hungary), and also the aunt of Saint Louis’ mother was Saint Margaret of Hungary.
When Charles II of Naples was taken prisoner in Italy, during the war with King Peter III of Aragon that followed theSicilian Vespers, he obtained his own freedom by giving over his three sons as hostages. The boys were taken toCatalonia;where they were placed under the care of Franciscan friars for their education and held for seven years.[2]Though still held in captivity, Louis was made archbishop of Lyon as soon as he reached his majority. When his older brother died in 1295, Louis also became heir to his father’s secular titles; however, when he was freed that same year, Louis went to Rome and gave up all claims to his royal inheritance in favor of his brother Robert of Anjou and announced that instead he would take the Franciscan vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
On 5 February 1297, Louis was also consecrated Bishop of Toulouse, where his uncle, Alphonse of Toulouse had until recently been Count, but had died in 1271 leaving no heir. In this ambivalently dynastic and ecclesiastical position, in a territory between Provence and Aquitaine that was essential to Angevin interests, despite the princely standing that had won him this important appointment at the age of about 22, Louis rapidly gained a reputation for serving the poor, feeding the hungry, and ignoring his own needs. After just six months, however, apparently exhausted by his labors, he abandoned the position of Bishop. Shortly thereafter, at age 23, he died of a fever, possibly typhoid, at Brignoles.
Two music theory treatises, De musicae commendacione and Sentencia in musica sonora subiecti, are sometimes attributed to him, but are now thought to be the work of Lodewijk Heyligen (1304-1361).[3]
Veneration[edit]
Silver reliquary of Saint Louis of Toulouse (Musée de Cluny)
Saint Louis de Toulouse with the Hungarian-Anjou coat of arms on his chest. Image from theHungarian Illuminated Chronicle.
Saint Louis de Toulouse, 1450, byAntonio Vivarini. Louvre Museum.
Procedures for his canonization were quickly urged. His case was promoted by Pope Clement V in 1307, and he was canonized by John XXII on 7 April 1317.[4] His brother Robert at Naples who owed his crown to Louis commissioned a great altarpiece fromSimone Martini, depicting Louis with that other saint in the family, Louis IX of France.
The cult of Saint Louis of Toulouse became relevant in the Medieval Hungary. His nephew the King Charles I of Hungary (1307–1342) exalted his image and veneration, consecrating churches and a monastery in the settlement of Lippa in his honor, and giving the name of the Saint to his eldest son, which later succeeded him in the throne as Louis I of Hungary (1342–1382).
St Louis of Toulouse was not otherwise widely venerated in the rest of Europe, but the Franciscans embraced him, keeping his day in their calendar and removing his relics in 1423 to Valencia, where he was made patron saint.
He can be recognized in iconography as a boy bishop, often with a discarded crown by his feet.
A polyphonic motet, Flos/Celsa/Quam magnus pontifex, was written in honor of Louis’s canonization in 1317. The piece appears anonymously in the Ivrea Codex and has been attributed by modern scholars to Philippe de Vitry.
Legacy[edit]
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, a Franciscan mission in California founded in 1772, is named for him as are the surrounding city and county of San Luis Obispo, California.
Kolleg St Ludwig in Vlodrop, the Netherlands, was dedicated to him (not to be confused with Saint Louis of France, who was king of France and undertook many crusades). The college was founded by Franciscan monks in 1905. It had more than 3000 students until the college was closed and sold in 1984. The building had a large statue of Saint Ludwig of Toulouse on the front of the building. The statue has recently been removed from the building and placed beside the road side on the road from Vlodrop to the college (as a road altar) with a short inscription. The building is preserved as a national monument, even though the present owners (Transcendental Meditation movement) have torn parts of it down.[5] A Vlodrop hotel is also named for Saint Ludwig.[6]
Ancestry[edit]
| [SHOW]ANCESTORS OF LOUIS OF TOULOUSE |
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See also[edit]
References[edit]
- Jump up^ Ronald G. Musto, Apocalypse in Rome: Cola di Rienzo and the Politics of the New Age, (University of California, 2003), 78.
- Jump up^ In Some Way Even More than Before: Approaches to Understanding St. Louis of Anjou, Franciscan Bishop of Toulouse, Holli J. Grieco, Center and Periphery: Studies on Power in the Medieval World in Honor of William Chester Jordan, ed. Katherine L. Jansen, G. Geltner and Anne E. Lester, (Brill, 2013), 137.
- Jump up^ Andreas Giger. “Ludovicus Sanctus”. In Macy, Laura. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. (subscription required)
- Jump up^ Poverty and Charity: Pope John XXII and the canonization of Louis of Anjou, Melanie Brunner, Franciscan Studies