Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."
Reflection:
Martha's hospitality was made edgy because of her becoming burdened with the cooking and serving. Martha is settling to be a servant where Jesus is looking for disciples. Mary's hospitality was gracious because she focused her attention on Jesus: "she sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak." The surprise is that Jesus affirms that the "better part" is to sit and listen-both metaphors for discipleship. The "better part" is to be a disciple! Before we can carry on the mission of Jesus as disciples we must become disciples by sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to him. Practically speaking, this means being attentive to the Scriptures during Mass. It also means taking the time to be with Jesus in prayer-not just saying prayers, but being quiet and listening to how Jesus speaks to our hearts. (Living Liturgy, p.176)
Vincentian Meditation:
"Have you noticed that there is no rejection of Martha, no suggestion that she should not have been engaged in preparing the meal? Jesus merely underlines a truth that St.Luke records earlier, namely, that they are blessed who hear the word of God and keep it. He is putting emphasis on a sense of attention to the word of God, if we are to offer that service to others which is the fulfillment of the second great commandment of the law. Hearing the word of God in prayer through reflection is a condition for true selfless loving service of the body of Christ." (McCullen, Deep Down Things, p. 298)
Discussion: (Share your thoughts after a moment of silence)
In our Conference how can we become disciples more like Mary ?
Closing Prayer:
Lord, show us the way to be disciples who "sit and listen,"
Click the Map Link above for the July 21st Training. Please enter your location and you will be guided to the OLOG - Helotes House of Neighborly Service.
There are burnt orange gates & fence at entrance.
The OLPH St Vincent De Paul in Selma, has introduced a Cash Flow Sheet to use with our brothers and sisters. During their third visit, we introduce the sheet to them. Each brother and sister are different. Some will decline intervention, some may take it home and some may show a real interest. Our goal is to make them aware of "wants" and "needs". We do not tell them they must stop buying something, we only plant the seed as a small step up the ladder, and out of severe poverty. We also link our Home Visit teams with the brothers and sisters who want more financial guidance than our volunteers can provide. A copy of the Cash Flow sheet is an attachment. We only ask our conference name be retained on the original.
We are now enrolling 3 and 4 year olds and we welcome children with Special Needs
Date: July 11, 12, 13 2016
Time: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Place: Carroll ECE , 463 Holmgreen, San Antonio TX 78220;(Gym around back, doors will have signs) Required Documents:
· Child's Social Security Card
· Child's Birth Certificate
· Proof of income for last 12 months
· Current Proof of Residence
· Photo ID of Parent
· Child's most recent physical & immunization record
· Insurance Card
*Please contact Lisa Gonzales at lisa.gonzales@sanantonio.gov<mailto:lisa.gonzales@sanantonio.gov> or 210-417-6105 for flyers or questions about documentation needed to complete application.
Thank you so much to the following grantors and foundations who have recently provided funding to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. We are truly grateful for their faith and support of our mission to serve our Brothers and Sisters in Need.
St Mark's Episcopal Church
The John G and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation
Irene B. Kocurek Family Foundation
2016 Archbishop's Appeal
COPY PAPER BOXES NEEDED
The Council Office is in need of copy paper boxes for file storage. If your Conference has any that they can spare, please contact Rachel Esposito at rachel.esposito@svdpsa.org. to coordinate a pick-up time. Thank you!
SAINTS OF THE WEEK
Friday, July 8 -
St. Gregory Grassi and Companions
Christian missionaries have often gotten caught in the crossfire of wars against their own countries. When the governments of Britain, Germany, Russia and France forced substantial territorial concessions from the Chinese in 1898, anti-foreign sentiment grew very strong among many Chinese people.
Gregory Grassi was born in Italy in 1833, ordained in 1856 and sent to China five years later. Gregory was later ordained Bishop of North Shanxi. With 14 other European missionaries and 14 Chinese religious, he was martyred during the short but bloody Boxer Uprising of 1900.
Twenty-six of these martyrs were arrested on the orders of Yu Hsien, the governor of Shanxi province. They were hacked to death on July 9, 1900. Five of them were Friars Minor; seven were Franciscan Missionaries of Mary - the first martyrs of their congregation. Seven were Chinese seminarians and Secular Franciscans; four martyrs were Chinese laymen and Secular Franciscans. The other three Chinese laymen killed in Shanxi simply worked for the Franciscans and were rounded up with all the others. Three Italian Franciscans were martyred that same week in the province of Hunan. All these martyrs were beatified in 1946 and were among teh 120 martyrs canonized in 2000.
Saturday, July 9 - St. Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions
Christianity arrived in China by way of Syria in the 600s. Depending on China's relations with the outside world, Christianity over the centuries was free to grow or was forced to operate secretly.
The 120 martyrs in this group died between 1648 and 1930. Most of them (87) were born in China and were children, parents, catechists or laborers, ranging from nine years of age to 72. This group includes four Chinese diocesan priests.
The 33 foreign-born martyrs were mostly priests or women religious, especially from the Order of Preachers, the Paris Foreign Mission Society, the Friars Minor, Jesuits, Salesians and Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.
Augustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese solider who accompanied Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse (Paris Foreign Mission Society) to his martyrdom in Beijing. Augustine was baptized and not long after was ordained as a diocesan priest. He was martyred in 1815.
Monday, July 10 - St. Veronica Giuliani
Veronica's desire to be like Christ crucified was answered with the stigmata.
Veronica was born in Mercatelli, Italy. It is said that when her mother Benedetta was dying she called her five daughters to her bedside and entrusted each of them to one of the five wounds of Jesus. Veronica was entrusted to the wound below Christ's heart.
At the age of 17, Veronica joined the Poor Clares directed by the Capuchins. Her father had wanted her to marry, but she convinced him to allow her to become a nun. In her first years in the monastery, she worked in the kitchen, infirmary and sacristy and also served as portress. At the age of 34, she was made novice mistress, a position she held for 22 years. When she was 37, Veronica received the stigmata. Life was not the same after that.
Church authorities in Rome wanted to test Veronica's authenticity and so conducted an investigation. She lost the office of novice mistress temporarily and was not allowed to attend Mass except on Sundays or holy days. Through all of this Veronica did not become bitter, and the investigation eventually restored her as novice mistress.
Though she protested against it, at the age of 56 she was elected abbess, an office she held for 11 years until her death. Veronica was very devoted to the Eucharist and to the Sacred Heart. She offered her sufferings for the missions. Veronica was canonized in 1839.
Tuesday, July 11 - St. Benedict
It is unfortunate that no contemporary biography was written of a man who has exercised the greatest influence on monasticism in the West. Benedict is well recognized in the later Dialogues of St. Gregory, but these are sketches to illustrate miraculous elements of his career.
Benedict was born into a distinguished family in central Italy, studied at Rome and early in life was drawn to the monastic life. At first he became a hermit, leaving a depressing world-pagan armies on the march, the Church torn by schism, people suffering from war, morality at a low ebb.
He soon realized that he could not live a hidden life in a small town any better than in a large city, so he withdrew to a cave high in the mountains for three years. Some monks chose him as their leader for a while, but found his strictness not to their taste. Still, the shift from hermit to community life had begun for him. He had an idea of gathering various families of monks into one "Grand Monastery" to give them the benefit of unity, fraternity, permanent worship in one house. Finally he began to build what was to become one of the most famous monasteries in the world-Monte Cassino, commanding three narrow valleys running toward the mountains north of Naples.
The Rule that gradually developed prescribed a life of liturgical prayer, study, manual labor and living together in community under a common father (abbot). Benedictine asceticism is known for its moderation, and Benedictine charity has always shown concern for the people in the surrounding countryside. In the course of the Middle Ages, all monasticism in the West was gradually brought under the Rule of St. Benedict.
Wednesday, July 12 - Sts. John Jones and John Wall
These two friars were martyred in England in the 16th and 17th centuries for refusing to deny their faith.
John Jones was Welsh. He was ordained a diocesan priest and was twice imprisoned for administering the sacraments before leaving England in 1590. He joined the Franciscans at the age of 60 and returned to England three years later while Queen Elizabeth I was at the height of her power. John ministered to Catholics in the English countryside until his imprisonment in 1596. He was condemned to be hanged, drawn and quartered. John was executed on July 12, 1598.
John Wall was born in England but was educated at the English College of Douai, Belgium. Ordained in Rome in 1648, he entered the Franciscans in Douai several years later. In 1656 he returned to work secretly in England.
In 1678 Titus Oates worked many English people into a frenzy over an alleged papal plot to murder the king and restore Catholicism in that country. In that year Catholics were legally excluded from Parliament, a law which was not repealed until 1829. John Wall was arrested and imprisoned in 1678 and was executed the following year.
John Jones and John Wall were canonized in 1970.
Thursday, July 13 - St. Henry
As German king and Holy Roman Emperor, Henry was a practical man of affairs. He was energetic in consolidating his rule. He crushed rebellions and feuds. On all sides he had to deal with drawn-out disputes so as to protect his frontiers. This involved him in a number of battles, especially in the south in Italy; he also helped Pope Benedict VIII quell disturbances in Rome. Always his ultimate purpose was to establish a stable peace in Europe.
According to eleventh-century custom, Henry took advantage of his position and appointed as bishops men loyal to him. In his case, however, he avoided the pitfalls of this practice and actually fostered the reform of ecclesiastical and monastic life. He was canonized in 1146.
Does your Conference have any news, events, or any other information that you would like to share in the Friday Five? **Please note, that events can be advertised if they ONLY support the SVDP Conference. Any events that are put on by a parish can no longer be advertised.**
If so, please email Rachel Esposito at rachel.esposito@svdpsa.org to be include in the next edition of the Friday Five! All information must be submitted by 3:00 pm on Wednesday. Thank you.
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Please continue prayers for Council Treasurer, Langston Rodge, during his difficult illness.
Please continue praying for Yolanda and Ramiro Ramirez, Angela Angel and Gloria de Luna, all from St. Ann's Conference who are experiencing health issues.
