Dear Parishioners:
The Gospel of the Man Born Blind offers the themes of light and darkness, sight and blindness, seeing and not seeing, to our spiritual understanding this weekend. We are invited to acknowledge that the world around us is not always as it seems and that the answers to our questions must come from a level different from that in which the problems arise. “Whose sin caused this?” is the wrong question. Fault and Blame are a pastime in which we often indulge, but it never succeeds in offering true peace.
The next time you are in an argument, try this on for size: “You get to be right this time” or “It’s my turn to be wrong.” Then what happens? Do you not find that you can go deeper once that disagreement is out of the way? “This happened so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” Forget that question, now watch this!
Someone should do a screenplay with this Gospel tale. It is truly funny when you get into the movement of things. The Man Born Blind is the only one who can see. Everyone else around him lacks insight into the way things really are. The people who saw him as the blind beggar every day are not sure it is the same man when he is able to see. His own parents won’t acknowledge more than that he is their son and they distance themselves from all the hubbub surrounding him. The religious leaders miss entirely the import of the miracle of his sight, and so, although they claim to see, they remain blind to Who Jesus IS.
We are called, in our time, to open our own eyes to the truth of things. Can we recognize and acknowledge that we are in need of Salvation? God alone is God. Only God can save. Jesus is the Word of Salvation, spoken in our very nature. Hearing that Word, we can open our eyes and our blindness is healed. What are you called to see?
As you know, we are now in the final months of preparation needed before our Parish Golden Jubilee. The first event has been set, with a special opening Mass to be celebrated by Bishop Frederick Campbell on November 26, 2011. (St. Timothy Parish was officially established November 29, 1961.) Plans for that evening will include Mass, a meal, and a presentation by one who knew our first Pastor, Fr. “Gus” Winkler. We also want to allow the year to unfold with other celebrations and events. Leadership is needed. If you are reading this, decide to be a part of something and bring ideas to your next group meeting. Be sure that it is on your agenda before summer arrives.
The Year of Prayer: Prayer for Guidance
O Holy Spirit of God, take me as Your disciple:
guide me, illuminate me, sanctify me.
Bind my hands that they may do no evil;
cover my eyes that they may see it no more;
sanctify my heart that evil may not dwell within me.
Be my God; be my guide.
Wherever You lead me, I will go;
whatever You forbid me, I will renounce;
and whatever You command me,
in Your strength, I will do.
Lead me, then, into the fullness of Your Truth. Amen.
Countdown to our Golden Jubilee: Getting to know Saint Timothy.
“Then Paul sent to Macedonia two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, while he himself stayed for a while in the province of Asia.” (Acts 19:22)
Putting trust in one’s co-workers is a sign of confidence that a vision is shared. St. Paul puts his trust in Timothy and Erastus and sends them ahead of him while he wraps up some business in Asia. They have successfully preached Jesus to a group of followers of John the Baptist, imparting the Holy Spirit to them. Trouble has begun to be stirred up by non-believers in the synagogue and by pagans worshiping the goddess Artemis. Paul makes his proclamation of the Gospel in the context of all this controversy. When it becomes clear that he has done all that he is able to do for the moment, he goes on to join the others in Macedonia. It is ironic to realize that our Timothy will return to Ephesus one day as its bishop. The troubles faced by Paul at this moment will not settle, and in fact, it will be in the effort to preach to the same hostility that Timothy will be martyred.
Who are the members of your circle of trust in matters of Faith? Do you share the tales of your struggles with others? Whose witness in the face of difficulties has enabled you to continue to proclaim the Faith in spite of obstacles?
Reflections on the Liturgy: GLORIA
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you, we bless you, we adore you,
we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
The Gloria has a few changes that come from the original text in Latin. As before, a number of these texts now relate more clearly to their source in Sacred Scripture. We are all familiar with the song of the Angelic Choir at Bethlehem. “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will.” (Lk 2:14). The Vulgate (the Latin Bible) has this: “Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra, pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis.”
There is a lovely movement from the Hymn of Praise sung by the Angels, the Glory given in the highest, to the kind of praise that human beings have to offer. In order to give high praise from earth, we need to express it in multiple ways. “Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te….” – “We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you.”
Our current translation opted to simplify, leaving out several expressions and rearranging the order for some unknown reason. There is a “build-up” to the acknowledgement of Who God IS, with the titles “Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.” A three-fold expression is repeated using “glory” and addressing God as Lord and King and Father.
Similarly Jesus is addressed with distinct titles as Lord and Christ, Only-Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God and Son of the Father. The cry for mercy is restored to its three-fold pattern as in the Penitential Rite. Here the role of Jesus as God’s Lamb is brought out in great relief. This also comes from Scripture: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
Parts that are not changed have Scriptural references that have not been obscured: Holy One -- “For you alone are holy” (Rev 15:4) and Most High - “Let them know that you alone, you whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth.” (Psalm 83:19)
We praise God with the highest praise, singing to Him in words of Scripture with titles that remind us of His exalted nature. Earth offers the Trinity tokens of praise and glory that draw us into the Communion of Life and Love shared by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That gives us Pax – Shalom: Peace and Wholeness in a Living Relationship with God as Church.
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