Saint Casimir Parish

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2014 m.

         Lietuviškai              

MINISTRY OF PRAISE
 

JANUARY, 2015
 
St. Casimir Parish
 

Almighty God,
grant that with the help of St. Casimir’s intercession
we may serve you in holiness and justice.

 

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING INTENTIONS

 

  • That those with diverse religious traditions and all people of good will may work together for peace.            
                                                                                                                    (January Papal intention)

  • That we reach out to the migrants of the world, responding in generosity to their needs and their suffering.

  • That our Lord's humility in "emptying himself, taking the form of a slave" (2 Phil 2:7) be a model for the way all Christians live their lives.

  • That God bless Father Bacevice and the Pastoral and Finance Councils in their efforts to secure the future of St. Casimir Parish.

  • That all parishioners recognize their responsibility to St. Casimir Parish's future through financial support, fund-raising efforts, commitment to parish activities, sharing ideas and, most importantly, prayer.

  • That for families this new year will be a time of profound peace and of the flowering of deep and abiding love.

  • That those who face the hardships of life without the benefit of faith will experience the presence of Christ in the person of others who bring them compassion and help.

  • That we recognize Jesus in the ordinary circumstances of our daily life.

  • That our Ministers of Praise be validated in their belief in the power of prayer.

 

WHAT’S HAPPENING            AT ST. CASIMIR PARISH?

 

First Friday Holy Hour for Life:  Friday, Jan. 2th after 7:30am Mass and until 9:00am

Monthly Evening Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament:  Wednesday, Jan 7th from 6:00-9:00pm

SAINT FOR JANUARY


 

St. Basil the Great

Bishop, Doctor
(329 - 379)

  January 2nd  

 

     I had wasted much time on follies and spent nearly all my youth in vain labors and devotion to a teaching of a wisdom that God had made foolish. Suddenly I awoke as out of a deep sleep. I beheld the wonderful light of the Gospel truth…I shed a flood of tears over my wretched life, and I prayed for a guide who might form in me the principles of piety.…             (words of St. Basil in a letter he wrote in his 20’s)

     Saint Basil the Great was born in Caesarea (in present day central Turkey). As a young man in his 20’s he resolved to devote his life to God. After he was baptized, he set out to seek spiritual guidance from the ascetics in the desert. When he returned home, he gave his wealth to the poor and returned to live austerely in the desert. Others were attracted to him for guidance, and out of that grew the monastic movement in the east.

     Because of his talents he was called to Church administration which involved him in ecclesiastical and political disputes involving the Arians. (Arianism was a heresy which made the Son of God the highest of creatures, greater that us but less than God. This heresy was condemned by the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.) Basil was a prolific writer, and his treatises, sermons, and letters were admired in his lifetime.

     St. Basil was the founder and leader of the monastic movement. He influenced Saints Benedict and Cassian and others in the West, and his legislation survives today in the East.

 Sources:  IN HIS LIKENESS by Rev. Charles E.Yost, SCJ, STL)

 

THOUGHTS FROM THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Epiphany

 

#528  The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Isael, Son of God and Savior of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. In the magi, representatives of the neighboring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. The magi’s coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations. Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Savior of the world only by turning toward the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament. The Epiphany shows that “the full number of the nations” now takes its “place in the family of the patriarchs,” and acquires Israelitica dignitas (are made “worthy of the heritage of Israel”).

 

REFLECTION

DIALOGUE BETWEEN FAITH, REASON AND SCIENCE

      Dialogue between science and faith also belongs to the work of evangelization at the service of peace. Whereas positivism and scientism “refuse to admit the validity of forms of knowledge other than those of the positive sciences,” the Church proposes another path, which calls for a synthesis between the responsible use of methods proper to the empirical sciences and other areas of knowledge such as philosophy, theology, as well as faith itself, which elevates us to the mystery transcending nature and human intelligence. Faith is not fearful of reason; on the contrary, it seeks and trusts reason, since “the light of reason and light of faith both come from God” and cannot contradict each other. Evangelization is attentive to scientific advances and wishes to shed on them the light of faith and natural law so that they will remain respectful of the centrality and supreme value of the human person at every stage of life. All of society can be enriched thanks to this dialogue, which opens up new horizons for thought and expands the possibilities of reason. This too is a path of harmony and peace. 

     The Church has no wish to hold back the marvelous progress of science. On the contrary, she rejoices and even delights in acknowledging the enormous potential that God has given to the human mind.  Whenever the sciences—rigorously focused on their specific field of inquiry—arrive at a conclusion which reason cannot refute, faith does not contradict it. Neither can believers claim that a scientific opinion which is attractive, but not sufficiently verified, has the same weight as a dogma of faith. At times some scientists have exceeded the limits of their scientific competence by making certain statements or claims. But here the problem is not with reason itself, but with the promotion of a particular ideology which blocks the path to authentic, serene and productive dialogue.

By Pope Francis, “Evangelii Gaudium”, #242 and #243