Phillipe Petit paralyzed New York in 1974 when he walked between the Twin Towers for 45 minutes.

At the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus says that: “Every scribe of the Kingdom is like the head of the household who brings out from his storeroom both the new and the old.”  Jesus spoke to the Jewish people, well versed in Hebrew scripture. Jesus is not replacing what we call the Old Testament with the New Testament. He is combining the best of the Hebrew Scriptures with the New Way, the Kingdom of God. The wise one, the scribe of the Kingdom, therefore, knows how to use what is old and what is new. It takes wisdom to understand how to deal with the past and the present. There are many people who idealize the past and want to return to life as it was, for example, in the fifties. There are many others who want to reject the past and concentrate only on the advancements of modern life. So, how do we best deal with the past and the present? It was the Russian poet Yevtushenko the one who said that the trick to handling the past is to know what should be brought with us and what should be left behind. That is wisdom. Within the Church, we should bring with us from the past devotion to the sacraments, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the importance of the Catholic Family, firm standards of morality, a determination to practice the faith. What should be left behind would include the subordination of the laity, the repression of the roles of women in the faith, the glorification of the clergy, and the diminishing of the study of Sacred Scripture. We should also apply this to our lives. All of us can look back on our lives and note numerous positive and multiple negative aspects of our lives. We have got to stop persecuting ourselves by dwelling on the negatives of our past. When we do this, we are bringing the past into the present. At the same time, it is not pride to recognize the gifts we have shown and to be sure that we utilize our potential or make our talents real in the present. In today’s first reading we just heard how Solomon prayed for wisdom. Great idea. It takes wisdom to combat the challenges of life. It takes wisdom to be a good parent, a good husband, a good wife, a good priest, and a good person. It takes wisdom to discern what needs to be brought into the present and what needs to be left in the past #Balance #Equilibrium Where do we get this wisdom? Well: the same place that Solomon received his: God! •

---

St. Dominic Catholic Church

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Saturday July 29, 2023

12.00 p.m. XV Años Celebration for Gianna Kristi Granado (Fr. Agustin)

3.00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional) Fr. Agustin

5. 00 p.m. Mass Fr. Agustin

Sunday July 30, 2023

7.30 a.m. Mass Fr. Agustin

10.00 a.m. Mass Fr. Agustin

12.30 p.m. Mass Fr. Agustin

3.00 p.m. Misa en Español Fr. Agustin

---

XVII Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo A)

Cornelis de Vos, La unción de Salomón (1630), óleo sobre tela, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Viena)

El relato que escuchamos en la primera de las lecturas este domingo es simplemente fascinante, pero hay que entenderlo también desde una perspectiva histórica. La realidad es que el reinado de Salomón estuvo lejos de ser admirable. El pueblo lo fue idealizando y presentándolo como un rey sabio, como el gran sucesor de David, como el organizador del comercio exterior, pero también hay muchas sombras en su vida. Para que pueda suceder a su padre en el trono, su madre hará todo tipo de trampas para ganarse una parte de la casta sacerdotal, incluido el sumo sacerdote. Por su parte Salomón impondrá grandes impuestos al pueblo para poder llevar a cabo sus empresas militares y las grandes construcciones de su reinado. Y del tema de la idolatría mejor ni hablar. Todo pareciera indicar que a Salomón le importaba más la gloria de su reinado que su pueblo. Pero – y aquí está lo maravilloso de la historia- a pesar de sus errores y sus caídas, el autor bíblico le atribuye un papel importante en la historia de la salvación, y hace notar que la magnificencia del reinado de Salomón es la prueba palpable, el testimonio más contundente, de la fidelidad divina a las promesas dinásticas que un día el Señor hizo a David. Dios se revela a Salomón en Gabaón a través de una visión que tiene en sueños y lo confirma en su cargo a pesar de sus errores y miserias, y además le da sabiduría para poder gobernar y dirigir a su pueblo, para administrar verdadera justicia. Esta petición de petición de Salomón que hoy nos presenta la liturgia podría ser un buen modelo oración. Salomón no pide victorias militares, ruega por algo simple y difícil a la vez: saber escuchar y saber discernir entre lo bueno y lo malo. Que el Señor en su misericordia nos regale esa claridad y aperturas interiores para saber ver la verdad allí donde esté, y no donde deseamos encontrarla, a veces caprichosamente •

---

Lecturas para el Verano

---

Today I am going to write about a complicated topic. And I’m also going to spread a little more than usual. I am going to talk about a real concern we are experiencing in the twenty-first century Roman Catholic Church. This concern confuses our children. This concern steers people away when they want to inquire about the Church. The concern is the negative things that are written or said about Pope Francis, and many of the leaders of the Church, particularly the Bishops of the United States. How could God let this happen? People need to put their faith in the Church. How could God allow some who claim to be the real Catholics continually discredit Pope Francis, bishops who are not radical conservatives, the American Church, and so forth? This is a real problem, and it is horrible. I hear confessions. It is not infrequent to hear people confess that they were uncharitable in something they said about the Holy Father and then add, “Even though he is a heretic.” I don’t let them get away with that. I’ll ask, “What? Where are you getting that from?” “Well, Father, I read this in a highly respected blog.” “Highly respected by whom?,” I ask, “the devil?” Pope Francis is the legitimate pope. He was choose by the cardinals who met in conclave. Our Holy Father is doing his best to focus the Church on its mission to the poor. He is calling on us to join him in continuing the work of Jesus Christ. Yet, many people criticize him for this. Pope Francis wrote in the encyclical Laudato Si about the obligation we have to care for God’s gift of creation and to preserve it for future generations. And for this some treat him as an idealistic tree hugger. Pope Francis reminds Catholics of his predecessor’s teachings on social justice, Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, Of New Things, Pius XI’s Quadragesimo Anno, Forty Years from Rerum Novarum, St. John XXIII’s Mater and Magister, Mother and Teacher, St. Paul VI’s Populorum Progressio, On the Progress of People, St. John Paul II’s Laborem Exercens, Through Work, and his Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, the Social Concerns of the Church. Pope Francis has called for an emphasis on Catholic social teaching. For that some so called super Catholics call him a Communist. Who do these people think they are? What right do they have to disrupt the People of God, the Church. Don’t they realize that they are confusing our children and driving inquirers away from the Church. Don’t they realize that they are doing the work of the devil? Why do we have to put up with these weeds among our wheat? We have to put up with them because many who join in on the blasphemy against the Church are not in their hearts bad people, just misguided people. “Give them time,” the Lord says in the parable of the Weeds among the Wheat.” “By their fruit we will know them,” he says. In time those who are really committed to the faith will produce good fruit, people who are supportive of the work of the Church. And those who are doing the work of the devil will have no fruit to show for their lives.

Going back to my opening question: “Why does God let this happen? Why does he allow people who claim to be real Catholics discredit the Catholic Church?” God is aware of the evil in our world. Evil is the price of freedom. If mankind did not have the ability to choose between good and bad, he wouldn’t be free. The choice of bad effects all people, but it is the price of having the ability to choose good. The farmer does not refuse to plant because he might find weeds among the wheat. He plants knowing that the result might not be perfect, but there will be wheat. God created man with the ability to bear fruit. That also gave him the ability not to bear fruit. We call out to God in times of evil. Like the blood of the martyrs under the altar in the Book of Revelation we ask, «How long, O Lord until you vindicate your people.» The Lord responds that he recognizes our suffering and suffers with us, but He will give others time to choose Him and also to be numbered among his wheat. God sees the weeds among the wheat. He also sees the wheat among the weeds. Good people will turn from calumnies against the Holy Father and the Church. So where does this leave us? What are we to do when we hear people saying negative things about Pope Francis or about the Bishops of the United States, or about the universal Church? Should we just ignore them? No, we should stand up for what is right and true. We are Roman Catholic. We should let those critics know that we stand with the teaching of the Bishop of Rome. We are called to till the soil of the Lord. We are called to bring forth fruit. We can’t allow evil to exist when we come upon it. The confusion caused by those who would attack the Church and her ministers must be answered with humility, prayer and with faith that the Lord who sees all will in the wisdom of His time remove the weeds from the wheat • AE

---

Music for summer reading

---

St. Dominic Catholic Church

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Saturday July 22, 2023

2.30 p.m. Sacrament of Matrimony for Joshua & Misty (Fr. Agustin)

4.00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional) Fr. Agustin

5. 00 p.m. Fr. Agustin

Sunday July 23, 2023

7.30 a.m. Fr. Jaime

10.00 a.m. Fr. Jaime

12.30 p.m. Fr. Agustin

3.00 p.m. Fr. Agustin (Misa en Español)

---

XVI Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo A)

Por lo general, tendemos a buscar a Dios en lo espectacular y prodigioso, no en lo pequeño e insignificante. Por eso, les resultaba difícil a quienes le escuchaban creer a Jesús cuando decía que Dios estaba ya actuando en el mundo. ¿Dónde se podía sentir su poder? ¿Dónde estaban esas señales extraordinarias de las que hablaban los escritores apocalípticos? Jesús tuvo que enseñarles a captar la presencia salvadora de Dios de otra manera. Les descubrió su gran convicción: la vida es más que lo que se ve. Mientras vamos viviendo de manera distraída sin captar nada especial, algo misterioso está sucediendo en el interior de la vida. Con esa fe vivía Jesús. No podemos experimentar nada extraordinario, pero Dios está trabajando el mundo. Su fuerza es irresistible. Se necesita tiempo para ver el resultado final. Se necesita, sobre todo, fe y paciencia para mirar la vida hasta el fondo e intuir la acción secreta de Dios. Tal vez, la parábola que más los sorprendió fue la de la semilla de mostaza. Es la más pequeña de todas, como la cabeza de un alfiler, pero con el tiempo se convierte en un hermoso arbusto. Por abril, todos pueden ver bandadas de jilgueros cobijándose en sus ramas. Así es el reino de Dios.  El desconcierto tuvo que ser general. No hablaban así los profetas. Ezequiel lo comparaba con un cedro magnífico, plantado en una montaña elevada y excelsa que echaría un ramaje frondoso y serviría de cobijo a todos los pájaros y aves del cielo. Para Jesús, la verdadera metáfora de Dios no es el cedro que hace pensar en algo grandioso y poderoso, sino la mostaza que sugiere lo pequeño e insignificante. Para seguir a Jesús no hay que soñar en cosas grandes. Es un error que quienes nos decimos sus seguidores busquemos una Iglesia poderosa y fuerte, que se imponga sobre los demás. El ideal no es el cedro encumbrado sobre una montaña alta, sino el arbusto de mostaza que crece junto a los caminos y acoge a los pajarillos que no valen nada (¡nada según los criterios humanos!). Dios no está en el éxito, el poder o la superioridad. Tampoco en los bordados en oro, los encajes y los cálices cuajados de pedrería. Para descubrir su presencia salvadora, hemos de estar atentos a lo pequeño, lo ordinario y cotidiano. La vida no es sólo lo que se ve. Es mucho más. Así pensaba Jesús • AE

---

¿Qué leer en verano?

---

The big question for this weekend could be: What we have to do to have that rich and fertile soil that Jesus mention in the gospel today? The best way is through prayer, of course. Without prayer, without a genuine prayerful life, we will be easily persuaded, tempted and finally turned away from God and His path. This warm morning of July, in the middle of Ordinary Time, in the middle of the summer … let’s go a little further; let’s take more step asking ourselves a personal, intimate, and honest question: What can I do to make my soul become rich and fertile soil? What must I do so that my heart is well prepared to receive the seed of the Word of God? We must return to a topic in which, perhaps, we have not gone deep: silence. Silence is the beginning of spiritual life. Silence is a good medicine for mind, body, And inner world. Silence is a good remedy for anxiety; silence helps improve relationships with others; silence helps, above all, to listen to the voice of conscience. If we do not cultivate this silence, how can we find God? Let´s be honest:  We barely have silence in our lives, from the beginning to the last hours of the day we listen to rumors, news, radio, cell phone, music, We live wrapped in noise. So, where’s the solution? How to break that addiction to noise that we have? What is the recipe for achieving silence? Well, keeping silent is not a spontaneous or natural attitude. It demands a decision and a purpose. To enter into silence, FIRST we must want it, and SECOND we must know why we want it. If we intend to become men and women of silence, we must assume responsibility for our quest. Actually silence is a peaceful listening of the heart that allows God to enter through all its doors. Again: silence is a tranquil listening of the heart that allows God to enter through all its doors. If we really want God to enter into our life, we must spend time every day in silence. That could be the opening of the soil preparation In order to receive the seed. So, let’s try this sometime this week we start today. Let us stop everything and pause for… 60 seconds. 60 seconds in silence, not looking at our phone, but simply… in silence. This is a very small action, and it may seem silly to you, but it may be the beginning of a great bonfire, a silent bonfire that warms our inner world • AE

---

St. Dominic Catholic Church •

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Saturday July 15, 2023

2.30 p.m. Sacrament of Matrimony for Alessandra and Abram (Fr. Agustin)

4.00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional) Fr. Agustin

5. 00 p.m. Fr. Agustin

Sunday July 9, 2023

7.30 a.m. Fr. Agustin

10.00 a.m. Fr. Agustin

12.30 p.m. Fr. Jaime

3.00 p.m. Fr. Jaime (Misa en Español)

---

XV Domingo Del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo A)

H. Martin, El Sembrador (1914), óleo sobre tela, Museo Nacional Tyssen-Bornemiza (Madrid)

Al terminar el relato de la parábola del sembrador, Jesús hace esta llamada: “El que tenga oídos para oír, que oiga”. Se nos pide que prestemos mucha atención a la parábola. Pero, ¿en qué hemos de reflexionar? ¿En el sembrador? ¿En la semilla? ¿En los diferentes terrenos? Tradicionalmente, los cristianos nos hemos fijado casi exclusivamente en los terrenos en que cae la semilla, para revisar cuál es nuestra actitud al escuchar el Evangelio. Sin embargo es importante prestar atención al sembrador y a su modo de sembrar. Es lo primero que dice el relato: “Salió el sembrador a sembrar”. Lo hace con una confianza sorprendente. Siembra de manera abundante. La semilla cae y cae por todas partes, incluso donde parece difícil que la semilla pueda germinar. Así lo hacían los campesinos de Galilea, que sembraban incluso al borde de los caminos y en terrenos pedregosos. A la gente no le es difícil identificar al sembrador. Así siembra Jesús su mensaje. Lo ven salir todas las mañanas a anunciar la Buena Noticia de Dios. Siembra su Palabra entre la gente sencilla que lo acoge, y también entre los escribas y fariseos que lo rechazan. Nunca se desalienta. Su siembra no será estéril. Desbordados por una fuerte crisis religiosa, podemos pensar que el Evangelio ha perdido su fuerza original y que el mensaje de Jesús ya no tiene garra para atraer la atención del hombre o la mujer de hoy. Ciertamente, no es el momento de “cosechar” éxitos llamativos, sino de aprender a sembrar sin desalentarnos, con más humildad y verdad. No es el Evangelio el que ha perdido fuerza humanizadora, somos nosotros los que lo estamos anunciando con una fe débil y vacilante. No es Jesús el que ha perdido poder de atracción. Somos nosotros los que lo desvirtuamos con nuestras incoherencias y contradicciones. El Santo Padre Francisco dice que, cuando un cristiano no vive una adhesión fuerte a Jesús, pronto pierde el entusiasmo y deja de estar seguro de lo que transmite, le falta fuerza y pasión. Y una persona que no está convencida, entusiasmada, segura, enamorada, no convence a nadie. Evangelizar no es propagar una doctrina, sino hacer presente en medio de la sociedad y en el corazón de las personas la fuerza humanizadora y salvadora de Jesús. Y esto no se puede hacer de cualquier manera. Lo más decisivo no es el número de predicadores, catequistas y enseñantes de religión, sino la calidad evangélica que podamos irradiar los cristianos. ¿Qué contagiamos? ¿Indiferencia o fe convencida? ¿Mediocridad o pasión por una vida más humana? • AE

---

+ lEcTurAs para el vErAno

---

The Gospel tells us to be united to the Lord, to turn our burdens over to him and to allow him to refresh us. We need to turn everything over to the Lord: our feelings of being overwhelmed with financial burdens, the down times in our relationships, the boring aspects of our jobs, our continual concern for our children, our concern for our parents or our children or our own health. We need to turn it all over to the Lord and be at peace. We need to have faith that no matter what happens, if we have union with the Lord, as Julian of Norwich, that mystic of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century wrote, «All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.» The first reading, from the prophet Zechariah, tells us to rejoice because the Savior has come. God is not far away from us. He is right here, in our hearts. The saints, even the martyrs, especially the martyrs, were people of joy. It is said that the martyrs marched into the Coliseum singing. No matter what happened to them, they died at peace. St. Ignatius of Antioch, who lived from 32 to 120, was the bishop of what was at that time the second largest city in the Roman Empire. He wrote to the various Christian communities to be strong and courageous in the faith. When Ignatius was quite elderly, he was arrested and put to the test. Either offer incense to the Emperor and deny Christ, or be killed. He would not turn from the Lord. Ignatius was found guilty of being a Christian, and sentenced to be killed by the wild animals in the Colosseum in Rome. Rome was far away from Antioch, so it would be a long trip of two to three years for the elderly Ignatius and the soldiers guarding him. There were many Christians who wanted to save him. The Roman soldiers could easily be bribed to release him. A judge could be bought to overturn the verdict. But Ignatius wrote to those Christians and told them not to interfere. He valued it a gift to be allowed to suffer for being a Christian. He pleaded with them to allow him to die in joy. We believe that God became one of us to join us in our turmoil so he could lead us to the joy of his peace. «But, Father,» you might say. «You have no idea of the grief I have. A loved one has died recently. Am I not to grieve, not to cry?» No, grieve, cry! That is a sign of the love you have. No one cries over the death of someone they did not love. But remember, in your grief, your inner turmoil, remember that the life of your loved one is transformed, not ended. Mourn missing him or her here, but know that your loved one is in the peace and love of Jesus Christ. Even in sorrow we Christians have fundamental joy. The Lord says, «Come to me all you who are weary with life, and I will give you rest.» Yes, we commemorate the Passion of the Lord solemnly during Lent. But the tears of Good Friday magnify the joy of Easter Sunday. We are the Easter people, filled with the joy of the Risen Lord! Death has been defeated by eternal life. We should not be so somber, so serious, so negative, so out and out gloomy. Maybe some of us, beginning with priests, need this reminder: if your heart is filled with the joy of the Lord, kindly tell it to inform your face. The presence of the Lord brings joy, peace and refreshment to the soul • AE

---

St. Dominic Catholic Church •

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Saturday July 8, 2023

3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional) Fr. Agustin

5. 00 p.m. Fr. Jaime Paniagua

Sunday July 9, 2023

7.30 a.m. Fr. Jaime

10.00 a.m. Fr. Jaime

12.30 p.m. Fr. Agustin

3.00 p.m. Fr. Agustin (Misa en Español).

---

XIV Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo A)

G. Seurat, Tarde de domingo en la isla de la Grande Jatte (1884), óleo sobre tela, Art Institute (Chicago)

Hay cansancios típicos en la sociedad actual que no se curan con las vacaciones. No desaparecen por el mero hecho de irnos a descansar unos días. La razón es sencilla. Las vacaciones pueden ayudar a rehacemos un poco, pero no pueden darnos el descanso interior, la paz del corazón y la tranquilidad de espíritu que necesitamos. Hay un primer cansancio que proviene de un activismo agotador. No respetamos los ritmos naturales de la vida. Hacemos cada vez más cosas en menos tiempo. De un día queremos sacar dos. Vivimos acelerados, en desgaste permanente, deshaciéndonos cada día un poco más. Ya llegarán las vacaciones para «cargar pilas». Es un error. Las vacaciones no sirven para resolver este cansancio. No basta desconectar de todo. A la vuelta de vacaciones todo seguirá igual. Lo que necesitamos es no acelerar más nuestra vida, imponernos un ritmo más humano, dejar de hacer algunas cosas, vivir más despacio y de manera más descansada. Hay otro tipo de cansancio que nace de la saturación. Vivimos un exceso de actividades, relaciones, citas, encuentros, comidas. Por otra parte, el contestador automático, el móvil, el ordenador, el correo electrónico facilitan nuestro trabajo, pero introducen en nuestra vida una saturación. Estamos en todas partes, siempre localizables, siempre conectados. Ya llegarán las vacaciones para desaparecer y perdernos. Otro error. Lo que necesitamos es aprender a ordenar nuestra vida: elegir lo importante, relativizar lo accidental, dedicar más tiempo a lo que nos da paz interior y sosiego. Hay también un cansancio difuso, difícil de precisar. Vivimos cansados de nosotros mismos, hartos de nuestra mediocridad, sin encontrar lo que desde el fondo anhela nuestro corazón. ¿Cómo nos van a curar unas vacaciones? No es superfluo escuchar las palabras del Señor este domingo (domingo de verano, por cierto): «Vengan a mí los que están cansados y agobiados y yo los aliviaré». Hay una paz y un descanso que sólo se puede encontrar en el misterio de Dios acogido en Jesús • AE

---

Lecturas para el Verano

---