We started with an opening prayer by Mathias and then shared our insights from Sunday Mass. We also enjoyed a visit from Father Jay.
We decided to work on the following for our mission of the week:
1) Read the readings for Mass ahead of time (they are pasted below).
2) Record in your mass notebook one thing that struck you in the Mass on Sunday.
3) Reflect on how the readings shed light upon our thoughts and the events in our daily lives.
Susan Andrews read a message from Fr. Paul Scalia that emphasizes the fact that one often forgotten purpose of Mass is to worship God. This thought provoking article has been pasted below and may also be found at: http://www.
The rest of the meeting we focused on the information from the reading, especially taking note of the changes in the translation of the Nicene Creed:
“I believe” replaces the “We believe” and emphasizes the personal relationship we have with God. By reciting it together, we still express unity with the rest of the congregation. English is the only language that had translated “Credo” into the first person plural.
“visible and invisible” replaces “seen and unseen” and more correctly identifies the spiritual and the material things that have been Created by God.\
“Only begotten” repeats the words of the Gloria and emphasizes that Christ has been part of the divine plan from before time.
“born of the Father before all ages” replaces “eternally begotten of the Father” reflects the reality expressed at the beginning of St.
John’s account of the Gospel.
“Consubstantial” replaces “one in Being” and flows from the original Latin word “consubstantialis” which was chosen by the early Church fathers to express the fact that the Father and Son share the same substance.
“incarnate,” meaning “given flesh” replaces the word “born” and highlights the fact that Jesus became man in the womb rather than through the state of being born.
“suffered death” replaces “he suffered, died and was buried” and more accurately reflects the original Latin.
“In accordance with the Scriptures” replaces “in fulfillment of the Scriptures” and embraces the role of the writings of the New Covenant (and Testament) while retaining the fact that the Old Testament foretold the coming of Christ.
“Adored” replaces “worshipped” and more accurately matches the original Latin.
“I confess” replaces “We acknowledge”. It is a more forceful and personal expression that unifies the heart and the mind in the expression of faith.
“I look forward to the resurrection” replaces “look for the resurrection” and more clearly translates the original Latin while heightening a sense of hope and confidence in our faith.
Other points we made regarding the reading assignment include:
An awareness that the gifts offered at the offertory include our own sacrifices and prayers from our daily lives.
I was struck by the idea that the Creed is where we declare our unity with God and one another and the Eucharist is where we consummate that unity.
Another interesting point is the symbolism behind the mixing of the water and the wine: it is a connection with the Seder meal of Passover, represents the unity of the human and divine natures of Jesus, reflects the communion of Christ and the Church and reminds us of the water and blood flowing from Christ’s side during the Crucifixion.
We closed with a prayer. Then we travelled to the pool (which unfortunately was closed due to the thunder) so we enjoyed fellowship time at the Hoppel Home.
In addition to our mission of the week, the reading assignment is pp 152-207 in The Mass book by Cardinal Wuerl!
Session 3: Journey to Emmaus
Thank you all for coming and for your wonderful participation. We had a lively and
fun time and lots of insights were shared with the group. We began our meeting with an
opening prayer. Then we reviewed our 2 missions from last week while we introduced
participants who arrived for the first time:
1) Read the readings for Mass ahead of time.
2) Record in your mass notebook one thing that struck you in the Mass on Sunday.
We decided to repeat the mission from last week for the upcoming week. We got a head
start by reading and reflecting upon the Gospel in a large group.
Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
Romans 8:26-27
Matthew 13:24-43
We then reviewed the idea of our Sunday obligation in small groups.
Next, we had a competition to test and review the knowledge of the reading regarding
Books, Vessels, Vestments, etc. The groups attempted to answer questions.
If the answer was wrong they lost a group member to the pit. They were able
to rescue someone in the pit with a correct answer. The group with the most
members at the end was the winner. Both groups were very knowledgeable
(even with the very difficult questions) and the competition ended in a draw.
We closed with a prayer.
We decided to conclude our meeting with a pool party next week at the Chesapeake
Swim Club. We will be there from 8-10. Each person needs to bring $3.00
and a snack or drink to share. The reservation for the party will be for
the first 30 swimmers. We will reserve space first for the teens and then
additional space will be offered to siblings and parents. Please RSVP to me at
phoppel@msn.com with the subject line: POOL PARTY so I can keep track
of the numbers. We will leave Good Shepherd at 7:45 during our refreshment
and fellowship time. Swimmers can be picked up at 9:50 pm or before. We
need to have the area cleaned up and cleared out by 10:00 pm
July 17, 2011
Reading 1
Wis 12:13, 16-19
There is no god besides you who have the care of all,
that you need show you have not unjustly condemned.
For your might is the source of justice;
your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.
For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved;
and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity.
But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency,
and with much lenience you govern us;
for power, whenever you will, attends you.
And you taught your people, by these deeds,
that those who are just must be kind;
and you gave your children good ground for hope
that you would permit repentance for their sins.
86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
Responsorial Psalm
R. (5a) Lord, you are good and forgiving.
You, O LORD, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
All the nations you have made shall come
and worship you, O LORD,
and glorify your name.
For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are God.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
You, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity.
Turn toward me, and have pity on me;
give your strength to your servant.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
Rom 8:26-27
Reading II
Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God’s will.
Mt 13:24-43
Gospel
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be
likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good
seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in
bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”
He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened.”
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.
Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house.
July 5th,
Tonight we were led in an opening prayer by Kathy Flood. We then reviewed our 2 missions from last week:
1) Reflect on what we learned during our reading and through Fr. Henry’s talk and then share those with our families. Some of the points made included:
*The journey began before the Road to Emmaus
*The bible was put together for the Mass
*The mass means “to go” or “to be sent forth” thus highlighting our own mission to spread the good news as apostles of Christ
*The Lord’s Day is on Sunday (rather than the Jewish Sabbath: Saturday) because we are celebrating the1st day of the New Creation
*The new translation was ordered in part because English is the new Latin (or universal language) and the Church recognizes the importance of ensuring an accurate and faithful translation.
2) Record in your mass notebook one thing that struck you in the Mass on Sunday. Some of the points that were made include:
*While visiting a different parish the bells were not rung at the Consecration. We discusses that role of the bells, the changes that occurred when the Mass was celebrated in the vernacular, and the impact of engaging all the senses in the liturgy.
*The importance of taking quiet time for reflection and prayer in order to grow closer to God.
*The changes that will take place in the Confiteor (including changing “I have sinned through my own fault” to “I have greatly sinned.” And adding “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.” While striking our breast.
We then reviewed several important points in the reading:
We discussed how to prepare for Mass and for receiving the Eucharist:
We must be Catholic to receive the Eucharist
We must recognize that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist
We must be obedient to the teachings of the Church
We must be able to say “Amen” without reservation
We must be in a state of Grace (and not in a state of mortal sin—we reviewed the requirements for a sin to be mortal: it must be serious, the sinner must be aware that it is serious and it must be committed deliberately and with full consent).
We must fast for an hour.
We should attend to small but important details (such as arriving on time and staying till the end, dressing modestly and appropriately, behaving reverently, reducing distractions such as chatting and cell phones, etc)
We discussed whether it is appropriate to receive Communion in non-Catholic churches. We concluded that although other churches have vibrant faith and worship, they are not in complete union with the Catholic Church. Other churches reject in varying degrees the theology of the Eucharist and other aspects of the faith. Therefore, partaking in their communion services falsely indicates a sense of unity in the faith that does not exist. We should hope and pray for unity so one day we can all join together in celebration of the sacrament of Holy Communion.
We also discussed the idea of “Sonblock” that is described in Michael Dubruiel’s book The How-To Book of the Mass. He writes: “When I lived in Florida, I was able ot spend the entire day out in the scorching sun without getting burned. How? By applying a generous portion of sunblock with a high SPF before going out, of course. “Son” block works the same, but in reverse. If we have too much “Son” block on our heads, chests or bodies, we risk being burned worse than anything the sun could ever do to us. And the burning here is meant both figuratively and literally, both in this life and in the next…..If you truly want to get something out of the Mass, you must remove whatever “Son” block you are wearing, and in the process, you’ll open your mind, heart, and soul to receive the rays of the Lord’s Grace.”
In small groups, we brainstormed ways in which we can “block” the Son in Mass and in our lives by keeping him out of our minds (e.g. by focusing on unimportant things or by criticizing others deficiencies), hearts (e.g. attending to things that take priority over God such as other people, worldly desires, etc) and bodies (not coming to church and not developing a prayer life).
We then decided to prepare for Mass this week by reading the scriptures ahead of time.
Isaiah 55:10-11
Psalm 65: 10-14
Romans 8:18-23
Matthew 13:1-23
We got a head start by reading the Gospel and reflecting upon it together. The ground upon which the seed fell was compared to the idea of “Son” block.
July 10, 2011
Fifteenth Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Is 55:10-11
Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (Lk 8:8) The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
You have visited the land and watered it;
greatly have you enriched it.
God’s watercourses are filled;
you have prepared the grain.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows,
breaking up its clods,
Softening it with showers,
blessing its yield.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
You have crowned the year with your bounty,
and your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
The untilled meadows overflow with it,
and rejoicing clothes the hills.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
The fields are garmented with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain.
They shout and sing for joy.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
You have visited the land and watered it;
greatly have you enriched it.
God’s watercourses are filled;
you have prepared the grain.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows,
breaking up its clods,
Softening it with showers,
blessing its yield.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
You have crowned the year with your bounty,
and your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
The untilled meadows overflow with it,
and rejoicing clothes the hills.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
The fields are garmented with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain.
They shout and sing for joy.
R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
Reading II
Brothers and sisters:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing
compared with the glory to be revealed for us.
For creation awaits with eager expectation
the revelation of the children of God;
for creation was made subject to futility,
not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itself
would be set free from slavery to corruption
and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;
and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing
compared with the glory to be revealed for us.
For creation awaits with eager expectation
the revelation of the children of God;
for creation was made subject to futility,
not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itself
would be set free from slavery to corruption
and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;
and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
Gospel
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The disciples approached him and said,
“Why do you speak to them in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted,
and I heal them.
“Why do you speak to them in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted,
and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
“Hear then the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one
who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it,
and the evil one comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
The seed sown on the path is the one
who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it,
and the evil one comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
or
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Paula Hoppel is the fearless leader of the youth.
Her plan is to lead the youth on the Journey through discussion, journal writing, and sending them back to their families with a "mission" each week, to accomplish and share with the group.
She will post items as they go along....
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