July 07, 2009

Familiarity Breeds Disbelief

The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. In today’s gospel reading from Mark, chapter 6, verses 1-6, we hear of how Jesus is received in His own community, by His own people. It might be hard to understand how He, the One who can cure the sick and raise the dead, the One who can preach the peace and Word of God, is looked at by those who know Him best with such doubt and with such a lack of understanding and faith (“Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?”). I guess it is all about familiarity breeds disbelief.

But if we look in our own lives it is not hard to understand how this could happen. For us, no matter who we are or what we were in our past lives, when we become something completely different (change careers or something bigger, such as a change in the way we live our lives) those who know us and knew of our “past” may have a difficult time in accepting the change or who we have become. With Jesus, it was more of a knowing of His humble beginnings and the human expectations that come along with that knowledge that blinded others to seeing who He truly was. It was less of “His past” and more of their lack of understanding that brought about this questioning of Him.

In our own lives, it is usually (with the exception of our closest family members and supporters) the ones who know us best who might have a difficult time in “seeing” us as who we have now become or the new career path we have chosen. But the message in today’s gospel from Jesus is that while “a prophet is not without honor except in his native place” do not let that roadblock prevent you from be-coming the person God has destined you to be. Accept the questioning or even the ridicule, and have faith enough in God and trust in Christ that the grace of the Holy Spirit will lead you into the righteousness which God has prepared for you and your life. Remember the Beatitude…”Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

You will notice in the last line of today’s gospel, “So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith,” that the mighty power of God—save for healing the sick of those who believed—was not recognized due to a lack of faith on the part of the people. As I have said before in homilies, the grace of God, as we receive in the Sacraments of the Church, is not “magic” but requires an assent of the faith. Grace calls for belief. God does not force Himself on us but rather asks for us to freely love Him and to desire to follow Him in our lives.

The gift of God’s own love is not given to us so that we take it with the sense of obligation, but rather because we want to have His love in our lives. If you come home one night with a gift for your wife or husband, flowers or Red Sox tickets, and after you give them to your beloved and they respond to your gesture with great excitement and appreciation, and you then tell them, “Oh, it was nothing, they were inexpensive and I felt as if I should do this,” the luster and love of the gift or gesture fades. The excitement disappears; your gesture seems almost a waste or insult. God offers divine life and love freely, not because we deserve it or He feels as if He should but rather because He so much wants to do it. Completely free—a great desire. So should our response to Him.

Whether it is easy or difficult, let us all go out and be prophets for the Lord—especially in our own community—even when it “hurts us to do so.”

A Liturgical or Ritual Question or Two. I was asked this past week a few questions about the Mass and I thought I would respond to them in the bulletin since others might be wondering about the same thing…or not.

Q. After Communion and when I am back in the pew kneeling, when should I return to a sitting position?

A. There is a “dual” answer to this question. First, ritually speaking…when the Blessed Sacrament is reposed in the tabernacle after Holy Communion one may return to the sitting position. We kneel after reception of the Lord in the Sacrament both as a sign of respect and because we are sup-posed to return to our pews and offer a prayer of thanksgiving for this great gift. We do not consume the Lord and then immediately go about our business with regular conversation. Some people return to their pews and begin singing the Communion hymn, and that is certainly fine since the song being sung is sacred music and a form of prayer. By way of custom, some folks, particularly the French, Irish and Italian (and perhaps many others of which I am unaware), remain kneeling until the priest returns to the presider’s chair. This also is an acceptable practice.

Q. Why do some people genuflect while others bow to the altar—either in procession at Mass or before they take their seat in the pew?

A. The simple answer is that we bow to the altar and genuflect to the tabernacle. The altar, where the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass takes place, receives a bow since the object is sacred; having been consecrated and blessed by the Archbishop when our church was first built, and is the central focus of our Mass. The tabernacle is where we repose and keep the Blessed Sacrament—the precious Body and Blood of Christ—for distribution outside of Mass, particularly in visiting the sick and dying. While also a sa-cred object and blessed, the tabernacle normally is not found directly behind the altar…thus the confusion. At this point, due to the placement of the altar and tabernacle here at Saint Catherine, either gesture is fine.

Q. After the second reading at Mass, it seems odd that the cantor comes back to the ambo (lectern) to sing the gospel acclimation while Father is trying to get to the ambo to proclaim the gospel. Why not sing the Acclimation from the cantor’s microphone? Just as the readings from the New and the Old Testaments and the Gospel are the Word of God, so too is the psalm and the gospel acclimation—and all are to be proclaimed form the Ambo. They all speak to us with God’s Word and His love and thus are worthy of the respect as to be proclaimed from the Sanctuary of the Church.

If you have a question about our Mass—either due to a ritual or a custom—feel free to send it along either by email (stcathy@comcast.net) or by phone, 658-1642, and we will be happy to answer it either in the bulletin or maybe during a homily.

Peace!


Religious Education News

RE-REGISTRATIONS —COMPLETE
ALL INFO AND SIGN THE BACK AFTER
READING, PLEASE.
Re-registration and New Registration for the 2009/2010 Religious
Education year has begun and re-registration forms
were mailed last week if you presently have a child in Religious
Education. New Registrations must be done in person. All
Religious Education families must be registered in the parish.
For more information, please contact Kathi Bonner, DRE,
658-4737 or e-mail Kathidre@aol.com. PLEASE DO NOT
ADD NEW STUDENTS TO THE RE-REGISTRATION
FORM.

NEW REGISTRATIONS - - BLUE FORMS
New Registration Forms (BLUE FORMS) can be found in
the vestibule and atrium. New registrations must be done in
person with Kathi Bonner, 658-4737 or Kathidre@aol.com.
To register for Grade 2 you must have completed Grade 1
and for Confirmation I you must have completed Grade 8.

CATECHISTS NEEDED! Have you thought about sharing
your faith by teaching our parish youth about our Catholic Faith?
Training, support and excellent teacher’s manuals are provided.
Current openings are in Grades 5, 6 & 7. Please contact Kathi
Bonner, DRE, @ 658-4737 or kathidre@aol.com for info.

“Feed the Hungry” Youth Group

“Feed the Hungry” Youth Group will visit the shelter in Hartford on Saturday, July
11th. Please contact Peter or Lisa Sheary @ shearyreal@aol.com or call
658-2899 if you would like to participate.

Two adult chaperones are needed. Shelter donations may be brought to the
Church the morning of the visit by 9:30AM.

If you cannot bring the donations at that time, please contact the Sheary’s to make other arrangements. The donations are greatly appreciated and will be hand delivered by our youth group volunteers. Toiletries and new or gently used clothing items are greatly appreciated.

ALTAR SERVER TRAINING

The next Altar Server Training Sessions will be held in the Church on:
Tuesday, July 7th @ 4PM
Wednesday, July 8th @ 10AM
Thursday, July 9th @ 4PM
Friday, July 10th @ 10AM
A sign up sheet is in the atrium. At least two training sessions must be completed in order to serve and be put on the Altar Participants 8 week schedule.

Unclaimed Raffle prizes

The following RED ticket raffle prizes have not been claimed and must be picked up by Sunday, June
28th, in Russell Hall or by contacting Eric or Anne Davis at davisfive@comcast.net or 651-7391

Artworks Habitat #1610520
Tulmeadow Ice Cream & Roaring Brook Pass #613058
Domestic Aide Carpet Cleaning #3715509
Wine & Cheese Basket #612440
Hand Painted Wine Decanter & Glasses w/wine rack #613654
LEGO Creator Fierce Creatures #612429
Flamig Farm Season Pass #614193
Giant Gourmet Fortune Cookie #612706
Citrus Solution Carpet Cleaning #1610376
Children’s Fun Basket #612071
Jewelry Set (necklace & earrings) #613172
Kitchen Aid Mixer #612425
Framed Acrylic by Mary Grace Dembeck #612956
Farmington Symphony Orchestra tickets #614181 & #3444441

High School Youth Ministry News

A HEARTFELT THANK-YOU -- attendance at the Christian Leadership retreat ends the youth ministry
program for the year. I would like to extend a HEARTFELT THANK YOU to all who supported youth ministry
this year; the teens for their openness to growing in faith and service, the parents for providing rides and showing up to help “just at the right time”, to Fr. Whyte for his constant support, and to the community who supported us with contributions toward the mission trip and the bake sale, and most of all, with your prayers.
Have a blessed, relaxing and safe summer. See you in September !!

 (Save the dates: September 12th - YOUTH MINISTRY 2009/2010 and September 20th - The Catholic Youth Spectacular -- details to follow)
- Mrs. Pluta

UPCOMING PARISH MEETINGS

Mon., July 20th @ 7PM - Buildings & Grounds Mtg. - Library

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 5

First Reading: Ezekiel 2:2-5;

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10;

Gospel: Mark 6:1-6.

Focus Question: What prevents you from believing in the goodness of others - -
sometimes in your own relatives and friends?

Mass Intentions

Sunday, July 5th @ 10:00AM, Mass for Margaret Treanor, requested by Julia & Myles McCabe.
Monday, July 6th @ 8:30AM, Mass for Esterina Montenora, requested by Anna Carullo.
Saturday, July 11th @ 5:00PM, Birthday Remembrance for Margaret Geraci, requested by Theresa & Bob Bellacosa.
Sunday, July 12th @ 10:00AM, Mass for Robert G. Donahue, a gift to Meg Griffin & Family.
Sunday, July 19th @ 8:00AM, Mass for Eleanor Sok, requested by Amy L’Esperance.
Friday, July 24th @ 8:30AM, 3rd Anniversary Mass for Dennis Zapp, by his Family.

Please call the office @ 658-1642 for Mass Intentions. If you would like to bring up the gifts in the offertory procession,please let the usher know when you arrive at church.