Faithful Disciple

Father Corapi in March 2011

2010-07-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

The legendary Father John Corapi will be coming to DeKalb next March 26, 2010. You may have seen him here at St. Thomas More several years ago. You may have heard him on Relevant Radio. If there is interest, we can get tickets and hire a bus. Please contact the rectory at 773-436-4444.

40 Days of Prayer and Fasting

2010-07-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

This global prayer and fasting crusade is sponsored by numerous Catholic organizations to make this
summer a powerful 40 days to convert America and to transform the world. People from across the globe are needed to pray and fast for the conversion of nations imploring God’s Mercy on our world. This is the 14th crusade of 40 Days since it began in Lent 2003 and is in response to escalating global threats:

• Nuclear armed nations

• Natural and manmade disasters like the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe

• The smoldering powder keg in the Middle East

• The killing of the innocent (abortion) and the marginalizing of the elderly

and the disabled

“The great St. John Marie Vianney said „Don‟t lift your voice to the newspaper, lift your

voice to the tabernacle— for the One who can do something about it lives there.‟ So we go

before the Lord of Lords and King of Kings…When enough of us do that, the Church

will be totally renewed.”

The 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting website, http://www.40daysofprayerandfasting.org/, offers online resources to individuals, parishes and organizations to facilitate these 40 Days in unity with participants worldwide. It is updated daily so that you can find information on prayer, fasting, scripture, books, and other media.
We need your help to spread this prayer crusade as quickly as possible. The Fast begins on July 1st, Feast of the Most Precious Blood, and continues through August 9th, Feast of St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein). Please spread the word through your email contacts, internet sites, prayer groups, and parishes. Enlist the aid of your pastor and parish ministries to promote these 40 Days.

http://www.40daysofprayerandfasting.org/

40 DAYS OF PRAYER AND FASTING
PO BOX 345
HERNDON, VIRGINIA 20172
1-888-478-pray (7729)

Blow the Trumpet in Zion. Proclaim a Holy Fast. — Joel 2:15

What will convert America and save the world?

“My answer is prayer. What we need is for every Parish to come before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in Holy Hours of prayer.” — Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Certain evil spirits can only be driven out by prayer and fasting.– Mark 9:29

7 Point Plan

1. Intensify your prayer life by making holy hours of adoration.

2. Attend daily Mass.

3. Fast on Wednesdays and Fridays on bread and water.

4. Read the Bible (Holy Scripture).

5. Pray the Holy Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet

6. Pray the Precious Blood Chaplet

7. Help our neighbor by spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

Thursday Adoration

2010-07-05T09:40:00.001-07:00

The traditional day for the Holy Eucharist is Thursday. It was on this day of the week that our Blessed Lord instituted the Mass and gave the Apostles their First Communion. The old calen-dar also had the feasts of the Ascension and Cor-pus Christi (the Body and Blood of Christ) on Thursday.

Here at St. Thomas More we use Thurs-days to have Adoration of the Most Blessed Sac-rament for 12:30pm to 5:00pm. The Holy Hour for Vocations is each Thursday from 4:00 to 5:00. We say Evening Prayer, hear a talk, say the rosary and conclude with Benediction. Do not sit at home! Jesus is waiting for you. Turn off the soaps! Spend your time well. Spend your time with God Himself in the Eucharist! O Come, let us adore Him! Christ the Lord!

July Is the Month of the Precious Blood

2010-07-05T09:39:00.001-07:00

The month of July is dedicated to Christ’s Precious Blood. We think of all the blood He shed at the Agony and the Scourging! The movie “The Passion” showed us how very much Blood was shed. We think of the soldier who pierced His side and Blood and Water came forth to bring the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. Think also of the Blood of Christ that some people waste and pour down the sink after Communion under both species? How much Blood is poured out with mil-lions of abortions and other murders? How much of Christ’s Blood is poured out for Chris-tians and all people! Let us repair these hurts to Christ for all He still suffers to give us salvation. O Precious Blood of Christ, have mercy on us!

Fr. Kreis and the Showbread

2010-05-15T07:24:00.001-07:00

Fr. Mark Kreis will continue his Bible Classes on Thursday, May 20th at 7:00 p.m. in Donlan Hall. The topic will be “The Showbread” which in the Old Testament prefigured The Holy Eucharist. Every-one is cordially invited for the classes each Thursday until June 10.

Evangelization - A Personal Mandate

2010-05-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

The new evangelization that the Pope and the Cardinal have urged us to engage in needs the contribution of everyone. It is extremely impor-tant for all us to think in a fresh way of the personal involvement in our parish growth. Here is our first assignment:

On June 27 at the 10:00 a.m. Mass, we ask the men of the parish to try to fill the pews of the church. We ask every man (the young and the young at heart) to bring at least one guest to church (of course, the more the better). We ask the women on this date to be in charge of a reception afterwards of soda and dessert.

By the same token, on July 25 at 10:00 a.m. Mass the women are asked to do the same, to make every effort to fill the church by inviting as many people as possible to church. The men in turn will be in charge of soda and dessert for the reception afterwards.

The Evangelization committee thanks everyone and wishes good luck to all of us. With prayers and dedication, we can celebrate 2011 with a noticeable growth in our parish community.

Read what Pope Benedict XVI said about evangelization this past week while in Portugal.

Prayer To End Abortion

2010-05-12T20:50:00.001-07:00

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,
And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.
I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion,
Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death
by the Resurrection of Your Son.
I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.
Today I commit myself
Never to be silent,
Never to be passive,
Never to be forgetful of the unborn.
I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement,
And never to stop defending life
Until all my brothers and sisters are protected,
And our nation once again becomes
A nation with liberty and justice.
Not just for some, but for all,
Through Christ our Lord. Amen!

40th Reunion for STM Class of 1970

2010-05-12T20:49:00.001-07:00

Looking for graduates of St. Thomas More School Class of 1970. Join your former classmates for a 40th Reunion celebration at Gaelic Park on November 27, 2010. Please contact Irene Ahern Smith , 708-952-9722 or John Tunney, 312-607-2014 for more information and to give us your contact information.

New Bible Class!

2010-05-12T20:48:00.001-07:00

The Great Adventure Bible Class

The Great Adventure is the journey through the Bible to find the story of salvation. Jeff Cavins leads us through video lessons to find the great story of God’s family in the Old and New Testaments. Join us Tuesdays at 7:00 PM starting on May 11th for the 24 sessions. We read and study the Bible together in the rectory!

Go Ask Your Father! What to do with the ashes from cremation.

2010-05-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

What is the proper disposal of ashes from cremation?
The Church allows cremation because it does not mean the rejection of the resurrection of the body as it did previously. Nonetheless the ashes must be buried in a Catholic Cemetery. It is not right to keep ashes in your home or worse to spread over the water or other place. Both the corpses and the ashes must wait in holy ground for the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the world!

You have a quesion?
Send an e-mail to info@stthomasmorechicago.org

Go Ask Your Father! The Abomination of Desolation

2010-05-12T20:45:00.001-07:00

What is the Abomination of Desolation?
The term refers back to the Old Testament and Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem. It represents evil and the punishment from God. No matter how much evil, God always wins! He will punish those that oppose Him!

Since it is true that if we do not go forward in the spiritual life, we fall backward (according to Saint Catherine of Siena’s book “Dialogue”), how do we grow in holiness? There are many fine books written on this point but one common point is that holiness is doing the Will of God. We should ask ourselves often if we are doing what God wants. We can check our daily duty as Our Lady of Fatima called it. We should try to work our duty with the idea that I am serving God in this work and that I also want to offer the work for a special intention of mine. We can have a continuous Presence of God through small aspirations so that we keep a constant conversation going with our Father God. Check the new Spiritual Library for some of those good books.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

2010-03-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

The Divine Mercy Chaplet Starts on Good Friday,
April 2, 2010 at 2:30 p.m.

What is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy?

In the 1930s, Sister Faustina received from the Lord a message of mercy that she was told to spread throughout the world. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world.

The message of mercy that Sister Faustina received is now being spread throughout the world; she has been recognized by the Church as a "Saint"; and her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, has become the handbook for devotion to The Divine Mercy. She would not have been surprised, for she had been told that the message of God's mercy would spread through her writings for the great benefit of souls.

Through Saint Faustina, Jesus also revealed special ways to live out the response to His mercy–one of which is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, as both a novena and a prayer for the three o'clock hour–the hour of His death.

How to Recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

The Chaplet of Mercy is recited using ordinary rosary beads of five decades. At the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts the Chaplet is preceded by two opening prayers from the Diary of Saint Faustina and followed by a closing prayer.

Optional Opening Prayers

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Begin with the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostle's Creed.

Then, on the large bead before each decade:

Eternal Father,
I offer you the Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity,
of Your Dearly Beloved Son,
Our Lord, Jesus Christ,
in atonement for our sins
and those of the whole world.

On the ten small beads of each decade, say:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Conclude with (Say 3 Times):

Holy God,
Holy Mighty One,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us
and on the whole world.

Optional Closing Prayer

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Our Lord said to Saint Faustina:

Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you ... Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death ... When they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between my Father and the dying person, not as the Just Judge but as the Merciful Savior ... Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from my infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy ... Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will.

The different souls prayed for on each day of the novena are:

DAY 1 (Good Friday) - All mankind, especially sinners

DAY 2 (Holy Saturday) - The souls of priests and religious

DAY 3 (Easter Sunday) - All devout and faithful souls

DAY 4 (Easter Monday) - Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him

DAY 5 (Easter Tuesday) - The souls of separated brethren

DAY 6 (Easter Wednesday) - The meek and humble souls and the souls of children

DAY 7 (Easter Thursday) - The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy

DAY 8 (Easter Friday) - The souls who are detained in purgatory;

DAY 9 (Easter Saturday) - The souls who have become lukewarm.

3:00 p.m. – Divine Mercy Sunday Chaplet Holy Hour at STM. Plenary indulgence is available if you go to Mass and Communion today; Confession within 8 days, and pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy during the Holy Hour.

Holy Week 2010

2010-03-26T17:18:00.001-07:00

This is the holiest week of the year! It is the time to consider and relive Christ’s Passion and Death and Resurrection. The priests will be going to the Chrism Mass to get the holy oils that we use yearlong to anoint the sick, children at their Baptism and those for Confirmation.

The Mass on Holy Thursday recounts the Institution of the Holy Eucharist and of the Holy Priesthood. The washing of the feet reminds us of Christ’s example of charity for His Apostles. On the bus to other churches, we pray the seven penitential psalms and recall Jesus in His Agony and Imprisonment.
Good Friday begins with Stations of the Cross at Noon and the Tre Ore, made famous by Bishop Sheen at St. Agnes in New York. Father Behnke will present meditations on the seven last words of Christ. There is no Mass on Good Friday but we do gather to listen to the Passion and pray and venerate the Cross and receive Holy Communion.
Holy Saturday is always at night to remind us of the darkness before Christ. The fire and the lighting of candles show how Jesus enters the world with His truth and life. The Baptisms and Entrance into Full Communion will bring the freshness of Faith right here in our own parish. We get seven weeks to celebrate the joy of Easter!
What will we do after Lent? Do we really want to return back to sins of laziness, gluttony and temptation? Try to keep your Lenten penances going as long as possible and keep your new life!

Holy Week 2010 Schedule

March 29, 2010 – Monday

8:00 a.m. – Confessions

March 30, 2010 – Tuesday

8:00 a.m. – confessions

March 31, 2010 – Wednesday

8:00 a.m. – confessions

April 1, 2010 - Holy Thursday

Morning Prayer at 8:30 a.m.

2:00 – 5:00 p.m. – confessions

7:00 p.m. – English mass of the Lord’s Supper

Parish visit to other churches after the 7:00 p.m. Mass

Adoration until midnight

April 2, 2010 – Good Friday

Morning Prayer at 8:30 a.m.

and

Sacred Heart Devotion

12:00 – 4:00 P.M. – CONFESSIONS

12:00 – STATIONS OF THE CROSS; SEVEN LAST WORDS and divine mercy chaplet

3:00 P.M. - GOOD Friday OF THE LORD’S PASSION AND

VENERATION OF THE CROSS

7:00 P.M. – STATIONS OF THE CROSS

APRIL 3, 2010 – HOLY SATURDAY

MORNING PRAYER AT 8:30 A.M.

First Saturday Devotions

12:00 P.M. – BLESSING OF EASTER BASKETS

7:00 P.M. – SOLEMN English EASTER VIGIL MASS

APRIL 4, 2010 – EASTER SUNDAY

8:00 A.M., 10:00 A.M., 12:00 P.M. LATIN MASS

(NO 7:00 P.M. Mass)

April 11, 2010 – divine mercy Sunday

8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 12:00 Latin mass

7:00 p.m. – mass

3:00 p.m. – divine mercy Sunday chaplet holy hour. Plenary indulgence is available if you go to mass and communion today; confession within 8 days, and pray the chaplet of the divine mercy during our holy hour.

On Father Fanelli

2010-01-11T00:20:00.000-08:00

Dearest Brethren in Christ,

Later today a series of meetings and discussions are to take place about the future of our parish Saint Thomas More. There has been much confusion, anger, and sorrow surrounding the issue of Rev. Charles Fanelli being transferred at the end of his six year term, on July 1st, 2010. Let me start out by saying this, while the diocese may not have given what we would consider adequate reasons for transferring Father Fanelli, they are well within their canonical rights to transfer any priest at the end of their six year term. The fact of the matter is, pastors leave, priest move, and we as a parish community have to accept this fact, and Father Fanelli was destined to leave or retire at some point just as we move from place to place and retire.

Regarding any feelings of sadness, anger, confusion, they are all justified feelings and no one disputes this. The way this transfer is happening is beyond comprehension, but we must respond with prayer and most of all dignity. We are members of one Church, and as a Church father once said “where the BISHOP is there is the Catholic Church” and we must be obedient to the decisions of our Vicar! At the meeting tonight at 7PM for the parish and 6PM for those on the Parish Council and Finance Committee, representatives of the Archbishop of Chicago, namely Bishop Garcia-Siller, vicariate V auxiliary, the dean of our area Father Conde, pastor of Christ the King, and one or more members of the priest placement board will be present. They are meeting with is to discus the future of our parish and what type of characteristics we want in a new pastor. It is probably more than appropriate to respectfully show support for Father Fanelli and to let them know that we as a community would like to see Father Fanelli remain for another six years, but be respectful and also let them know that if it is not possible for our current pastor to remain then we have some qualities in mind. This meeting is not a time to tell the Bishop that we feel persecuted or “picked on” or to be undignified because as I said before, priests are transferred and in addition we will only make the situation worse for Father Fanelli and for ourselves.

We as a parish have a golden opportunity to make the best out of this situation. This is a time of regeneration for our parish and any new pastor we get we MUST show him respect and honor for he is a vicar of Christ just as Father Fanelli and Father Brankin before him are vicars of Christ. Let is invoke our Blessed Mother for protection over all God’s holy priests and let us call on the Holy Spirit to guide us into the Light of Christ!

Be blessed!

Activating the Body of Christ

2009-09-05T00:00:00.007-07:00

How to get involved in the Church in the parish, area, and diocese

Saturday, September 19th, 2009, the Office of Black Catholics will be sponsoring a free workshop in evangelizing in the African American community. Saint Thomas More Parish is hoping to have a committee of parishioners attending this, please contact the Rectory at (773) 436-4444 if you are interested.

Friday, October 16th through Saturday, October 17th, the Archdiocese of Chicago will be hosting its Catholic Festival of Faith, a once in three year event. The Festival will be held at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. For price info, general info, and to register visit www.catholicfest.org.

Sunday, September 13th, Charis Ministries will be hosting a Catholic Open House at The Ark Café from 4 to 7 p.m, This ministry is geared towards Catholics in their 20’s and 30’s. Bring a friend interested in the Catholic faith to this free session on how YOU can get involved in the Church! www.charisministries.org

Catholic Patriot News

2009-09-05T00:00:00.006-07:00

...for God, Church, and Country!

This summer national leaders have been drafting a long awaited public healthcare plan. While in itself this is a noble task, the bill the House of Representatives is drafting leaves open the opportunity for taxpayer funded abortions. In addition, an amendment was added by Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) that further opens the possibility for abortion funding in the future and mandates that each region of the U.S. have at least one private health plan that covers abortion.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and President Obama have been dodging direct questions about abortion funding in the taxpayer funded health plan, NARAL (an abortion advocacy group) and Catholics United (a social justice advocacy group) have teamed up against the Family Research Council and its allies who have run ads against the “abortion mandate” in the Obama healthcare legislation. More info at www.lifesitenews.com.
(By Devin Jones)

Heaven Bound

2009-09-05T00:00:00.004-07:00

The Nativity Of The Blessed Virgin Mary

September 8th is the celebration of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast, while not a Holy Day of Obligation, is one of the most important feasts of the liturgical calendar, so great in fact that it is one of only three births celebrated in the Church calendar (the others being the bith of Christ and the birth of John the Baptist).

Why is this feast so important? Because it is a precursor to the Incarnation of our own Salvation (Jesus). In Mary’s Conception she was spared from Original Sin and with her birth she became the new Eve, mother of all living, and since we have eternal life in Christ we are the living.

Mary was spared form sin, by the grace of God, retroactively . While the rest of Creation had to wait for the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, Mary, in preparation for the birth of our Lord, was credited with the merits of Jesus’ earthly ministry before He entered her womb and the world. This is possible because God works not in our time limitations (2 Peter 3:8”...that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.”).

On this Feast of Mary’s Nativity, let us pray in thanksgiving, through the intercession of Mary, for the gift of salvation, the hope of resurrection in Christ, and restraint from the near occasion of sin.

(By Devin Jones)

This Week @ The Vatican

2009-09-05T00:00:00.003-07:00

Last month, the Italian government authorized the use of the drug Mifepriston. Mifepriston, more commonly known as RU-486 or the “abortion pill,” is used as an abortifacient in the first two months of pregnancy and for emergency contraception.

The authorization of RU-486 in Italy has brought about a frenzy of condemnation from the Vatican, which has fought against international acceptance of the abortion pill at the United Nations. The President of the Pontifical Academy for Life (the bioethics research arm of the Vatican), Archbishop Rino Fisichella, stated that though taking the abortion pill is less traumatic and less invasive than surgical abortion, “it is still abortion.”

Archbishop Fisichella told Corriere della Sera (an Italian newspaper in Milan), “it is obvious that the canonical consequences” of the pill are the same as in surgical or invasive abortion, which according to the Code of Canon Law is automatic excommunication (CC 1398). He also went on to state “do not take it, first of all, because it is evil...do not do it because the collateral effects are not known. Do not do it because science should serve life, not death.”

The Archbishop said that RU-486 “is a direct and deliberate” abortion.

(By Devin Jones)

From The Pews...

2009-09-05T00:00:00.002-07:00

"With Confession, I do not feel totally absolved. I have things from the past fill my head that I forget to confess. How particular do I have to be? I feel it's useless at times and I feel nervous on going."

Excellent question. First of all, if you are in the confessional and you make as honest and open confession as possible, upon walking out, you remember something you did not mention, that sin has been absolved with the ones that you actually confessed. If a person walks into a confessional with the intention of confessing all their sins and holding nothing back (as one should) and (because we're only human) accidentally forgets to mention something, the intention covers the memory lapse. If you can, when you go back to confession, you can state the ones that you had forgotten. A good practice for preparing for Confession is to make an examination of conscience before receiving the sacrament. "The passages best suited to this can be found in the Ten Commandments, the moral catechesis of the Gospels and the apostolic letters, such as the Sermon on the Mount and the apostolic teachings." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1454) An online source for a good examination can be found here. The examination should be in a quite place, preferably in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. While meditating on the examination, you can write down what you would like to confess and take it with you into the confessional. But most importantly, confession is not something that God intended us to fear. Another name for the sacrament is Reconciliation. In the story of the Prodigal Son, the Father rejoices and runs out to meet the son who had strayed. Our Heavenly Father is the same way, He wants, more than anything, for His children to be reconciled to Himself and His love. Our sins tear us from Him and Reconciliation is the way in which we can look squarely at the sins [we're] guilty of, take responsibility got them, and thereby open ourselves again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible. (CCC 1455) So always remember that our God is merciful and overflowing with love for us. Also, the priest is bound to never speak of what he hears in confession. The priest is just the ear and mouth piece of God, you're really confessing to a merciful and loving God, not the to the priest.

(By Ashley Collins)

Our Church Today (Inside the American Church)

2009-09-05T00:00:00.001-07:00

Changes in the way we celebrate the Mass

The Mass is celebrated all over the world in various languages and rites. The Latin rite is the version of the Mass with which we are most familiar. Although it is no longer in Latin, the Mass that we attend here at St. Thomas More is in the Latin Rite because it is the rite (or version) of the Mass that the Pope in Rome celebrates. In order to keep the Latin Mass the same throughout the world, a guide as to how it is supposed to be celebrated has to be used. This guide is called a “missal.” The missal is the text which lays out how the Mass is supposed to be said and includes all the prayers, movements, and responses for the Celebrant as well as those in the assembly.

A universal missal was not present throughout Church history, but rather eventually came about by taking different parts from different missals that were used during the middle ages. In 1970, Pope Paul VI made the Missale Romanum (Roman Missal) the definitive text for the reformed liturgy of the Second Vatican Council. This meant that the Latin language had to be translated into the languages of the people who were going to hear the Mass. The International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) was asked to translate all the liturgical text on behalf of the conferences of bishops for English-speaking countries. The translations have gone through various revisions throughout the years trying to get as close to the original Latin text as possible. These translations have given us our General Instruction for the Roman Missal (GIRM).

Another new translation will soon enter the Church in the next year or so with many changes in the wording of the prayers and responses. Both the priests as well as the laity are in for some getting used to as we move closer to a better translation reflecting the true theology that lays within the words we speak at Mass.

Some examples of what are to change:

Today, as the priest begins the Mass, he says, “The Lord be with you.” And the everyone responds, “And also with you.” However, with the new translation that more closely reflects the original Latin, the assembly will respond with, “And with your Spirit.”

Perhaps the change that will be most difficult for some will be the new translation of the Creed that we recite at Mass. In the Latin, the creed begins with the word “Credo.” The ‘cred’ part signifies the verb “believe” while the ‘o’ at the end designates the pronoun “I.” This means that “Credo en unum Deum” is properly translated as “I believe in One God.” It becomes a more personal statement of faith so that the person can claim the creed as his own.

Some of these changes in the wording are made in order to more closely reflect their Biblical references. For example, when the we say, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,” will be changed to say, “ Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof,” in order to reference the centurion’s words in Matthew 8:8.

These changes are not an overhaul of the rite, but rather a refinement of the language used. It may be challenging to some people to accept these changes because they are slightly contrary to what we’re used to, but know that these changes are important and meaningful. For more information, visit http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal/faqs.shtml.

(By Ashley Collins)

Ephphatha!

2009-09-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

The first reading, from the Book of Isaiah, is a prophetic reading about the what is to happen when Christ comes, but is also still relevant now that Christ has already come. The reading tells us to “be strong, fear not,” because our God is to come save us. The reading then goes on to say, the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf cleared.

In a real sense our Lord has come and healed us and as today's gospel proclaims, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” But in another way there are some who are able to see, but are blind to the vision of hope the Church provides. There are also those who may have the ability to hear, but are deaf to the reception of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In our world today it seems that many are “afflicted” in these manners.

Holy Mother Church often lovingly admonishes and corrects our wrongdoing on the issues of life, such as abortion and the death penalty, and on social justice issues, such as our treatment of the poor, as talked about in the second reading, and war and oppression. The Church even speaks on issues such as the dignity of Marriage. It is at these times, when the Church speaks on truth and justice, that we stop looking and listening (today's gospel talks about the more Jesus ordered the people not so do, the more they did) like the novelty monkeys, “see no evil, hear not evil, speak no evil,” only it is not evil we become unreceptive to, but it is our Lord.

The first reading directs us to “fear not” and to be courageous. In Isaiah it says our God will come but we know He has come and is to come again. So, when we push forward with the truth and justice that the Church proclaims we know it is not in vain, because Christ gives us hope that one day He will speak into the hearts of man and say “Ephphatha!” (Be opened). When that day comes, those who listen not to the gospel will hear and those who see not the beacon of light that is the Church will have their eyes opened!

(By Devin Jones)