Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
Showing posts with label Vecelliio Tiziano (Titian). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vecelliio Tiziano (Titian). Show all posts
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again (Mark 8: 31; Gospel).
Readings(Jerusalem
Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)
GospelMark 8:27-35(English Standard Version, Anglicised)
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea
Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”And they
told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one
of the prophets.”And
he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”And he strictly charged them to tell no one
about him.
And he began to teach them that the
Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and
the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise
again.And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and
began to rebuke him.But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and
said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not
setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come
after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.For whoever
would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my
sake and the gospel's will save it.
On 28 August 2001 my Columban confrere and friend Fr Rufus Halley, was ambushed while on his motorcycle from Balabagan to nearby Malabang, his parish in Lanao del Sur, Philippines, and murdered. This was in the the Prelature of Marawi, sometimes called the Prelature of St Mary's in Marawi, in a predominantly Muslim area of Mindanao, the southern island that is larger than Ireland.
After spending ten years or so in a rural parish near Manila he felt called by God to go to the Prelature of Marawi around 1980 where he learned Cebuano, the language of the Christians there, and Maranao, the language of most of the Muslims. He became fluent in both, as he was in Tagalog, now the basis of the national language, Filipino.
Father Rufus chose to live in a situation where for centuries there had been tension and, at times, violence. Ten years before he went to Marawi there had been civil war in the area.
At the heart of his life each day was the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and an hour's adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Both Christians and Muslims saw him as a man of God. He was deeply influenced by the spirituality of St Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916), a French priest who spent most of his priestly life living among Muslims in the Sahara, spending much time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and welcoming the Muslims who knocked on his door looking for help.
Father Rufus was an active member of the Jesus Caritas Fraternity of Priests, an international movement inspired by the spirituality of St Charles. St Charles was murdered in the Sahara on 1 December 1916.
He was very aware of the possible danger he lived with daily but was deeply respected and loved by those who knew him, Christian and Muslim. On one occasion he was invited to mediate between two warring Maranao clans, a truly extraordinary situation. With God's help he succeeded.
This heroic priest, who came from a wealthy background in County Waterford, Ireland, chose to live very frugally. In a letter to his father he explained, My needs are few and one of the things I feel called to do is to make my life a little simpler. This vision, if that's what you'd call it, comes from trying to be a follower of a poor man, and also, from the poverty on a grand scale which I've seen in the Philippines.
St George Maronite Cathedral and Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, side by side in Beirut
Pope Benedict XVI visited Lebanon from 14-16 September 2012. Lebanon is a country that has seen much conflict down the centuries. Roughly 60 percent of the people are Muslims and 40 percent Christians. In his homily on the last day of his visit, which used the readings of this Sunday's Mass, some of his words might have been about Father Rufus: Following Jesus means taking up one’s cross and walking in his footsteps, along a difficult path which leads not to earthly power or glory but, if necessary, to self-abandonment, to losing one’s life for Christ and the Gospel in order to save it. We are assured that this is the way to the resurrection, to true and definitive life with God.
Choosing to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, who made
himself the Servant of all, requires drawing ever closer to him, attentively
listening to his word and drawing from it the inspiration for all that we do.
Prayer of Abandonment of St Charles de Foucauld
The Prayer of Abandonment of St Charles de Foucauld was central to the life of Fr Rufus Halley.
Traditional Latin Mass
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 09-15-2022 if necessary).
The Rosary belongs among the finest and most praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation. Developed in the West, it is a typically meditative prayer, corresponding in some way to the “prayer of the heart” or “Jesus prayer” which took root in the soil of the Christian East.' [St John Paul II,Rosarium Virginis Mariae, No 5.]
The Rosary here is the formula prayed by members of the Legion of Mary, the way I prefer. There are various ways of beginning and ending the Rosary but the Five Mysteries are the heart of the prayer.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of Your love.
v. Send forth Your Spirit, O Lord, and they shall be created.
R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
God our Father, pour out the gifts of Your Holy Spirit on the world. You sent the Spirit on Your Church to begin the teaching of the gospel: now let the Spirit continue to work in the world through the hearts of all who believe. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy; hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, O most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
v. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
O God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech You, that meditating upon these mysteries in the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
v. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus R. Have mercy on us. v. Immaculate Heart of Mary R. Pray for us. v. St Joseph R. Pray for us. v. St John the Evangelist R. Pray for us.
v. St Louis-Marie deMontfort R. Pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ave Regina Caelorum
Sung by the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey at Ganagobie.
Ave Regina Caelorum is one of four seasonal Marian anthems sung or recited at the end of Compline (Night Prayer) in the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours, Breviary). This anthem is sung from after Purification (February 2 or Candlemas) until the Easter Vigil.
Mocking of Christ
