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Prayer for the
Year of St. Joseph
Written by Pope Francis
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son; in you Mary placed her trust; with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too, show yourself a father, and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage, and defend us from every evil.
Amen.
Prayer for the
COVID-19 CORONA VIRUS PANDEMIC
Written by
Bishop Larry Silva
Dear God of all the living, you sent your Son Jesus to heal us from illness and sin.
We turn to his healing power in this time of anxiety over the pandemic of this potentially deadly virus.
St. Damien and
St. Marianne Cope dedicated their lives to the service of those who had an infectious disease. St. Marianne Cope said, “I am not afraid of any disease,” because she was confident in your power to save. At the same time, she took prudent precautions of hygiene to assure that she and her Sisters would not be infected.
Let us learn from this example to put our trust in you to save us from the ravages of disease and to take prudent measures to prevent its spread. Guide us to know when to isolate ourselves from the possibility of infection, but never let anyone be left without the care and concern of others in the community.
As our Diocese of Honolulu has been dedicated to the Divine Mercy, we pray with confidence,
Jesus,
I trust in you.
Saint Damien,
pray for us!
Saint Marianne,
pray for us!
Amen.
SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2021
TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Quiet! Be still! With these words, Jesus calmed the storm that was threatening the Apostles as their boats were being tossed about and filled with water. It must have been a fierce storm since it frightened these men, many of whom made their living on the sea. They were afraid enough to wake Jesus, who was asleep in the boat. They needed him to be present to them in their panic and fear.
Certainly, Jesus can calm the worst storms in our lives as well. What are those storms? Do we struggle in our relationships? Perhaps our storms are connected to physical or financial difficulties. Maybe we wrestle with our faith, or are challenged by anxiety or depression. How wonderful that Jesus can calm all those storms. He is there for us with his peace if we just turn our fears over to him. Just as he quieted the winds and silenced the waves, he can bring comfort to us.
The truth is that in our journey to the Father, we are still learning who Jesus is as well. It is often a big leap to go from the Jesus we read about or hear in the Gospels, to the Jesus who lives fully in our hearts. There is a difference between knowing Jesus intellectually and fully becoming one with him. As in any relationship that we want to nurture and deepen, our love and closeness will grow as we get to know each other better. This requires spending time together – listening and watching and learning.
In order to grow our faith, we need to deepen our relationship with Jesus –to spend time with him daily, and include him in our thoughts and decisions, through prayer. We can read the Gospels and spend time with others who also believe in him so we can learn from their experience. This is a lived faith. For Jesus to be in our hearts, we must invite him in and then nourish that relationship daily. We can survive the storms in our life with his help. In loving Jesus, the storms with which we live will be calmed, and our faith will grow stronger.
Rev. Joselito Hitosis, SSS returned to St. Joseph Church and was named Interim Pastor and Administrator until the situation of the work -status with Fr. Poli Ty is resolved. He celebrated his
birthday on June 3rd. Please continue your prayers for all our clergy who serve our parish.
Being Nourished by Sacred Scripture:
-Chrislyn A. Villena, (parish D.R.E)
“In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as human word, ‘but as what it really is, the Word of God’. In the sacred books, the Father in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children and talks with them” (CCC, 104).
Many Christians gather around the Word of God and create in their lives the foundation needed to sustain their faith. However, do we spend enough time reading, praying, and sharing the sacred scripture as if it were the food, we need to sustain our physical health? We can spend time looking for our favorite foods or utilize the new conveniences that bring prepared food as well as groceries right to our homes. How can we fill ourselves with the nourishing spiritual food that God provides for us as well as feed our physical appetites?
According to St. Augustine, On Christian Teaching 4:12, a learned eloquent speaker should speak so as to teach, to delight, and to change; to teach the ignorant, delight the weary, and change the lazy. These three [are achieved] most completely [by] Sacred Scripture’s eloquence. For it firmly teaches with its eternal truth. Psalm 118:89, Your word, O Lord, will remain for ever. It sweetly delights with its usefulness. Psalm 118:103, How sweet are your words to my mouth! And it efficaciously changes with its authority. Jeremiah 23:29, Are not my words as a fire, says the Lord? (Aquinas; Waldstein; Selected Writings; London and New York: Penguin Books, 1998)
The biblical canon is the list of books which belong in the Bible. We begin in the Old Testament with the first five books of Law (Torah)- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Then, the books following the Law that narrate the history of the Hebrew people from their entry into the promised land through their return from the Babylonian Captivity: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1-2 Maccabees are called the historical books.
Next, those books of the Old Testament which come down to us in Greek rather than in Hebrew: Tobit, Judith, certain portions of Esther, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, certain portions of Daniel, 1-2 Maccabees are called the Deuterocanonical books.
Then, the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament--Christians include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, and Sirach among these books; the ancient Hebrews also included several Historical Books among the Writing and are called Writings (Ketuvim).
Finally completing the Old Testament, the books of the Bible written by or about prophets--the major prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (some also include Daniel); the minor prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; the ancient Hebrews included several Historical Books among the Prophets as the "Former Prophets," contrasting them with the others as "Latter Prophets".
The New Testament which begin with the Gospels, four inspired accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, followed by the Acts of the Apostles, then the Epistles the inspired letters in the New Testament which applied an encounter with Jesus to the first Christian communities; there are Pauline Epistles (Roman, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon), and Catholic Epistles (Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude) and concluding with Revelation.
Now knowing what the architecture of sacred scripture looks like, the Bible should not be so intimidating. It should not be a foreigner or guest that you only pay attention to on the seasonal occasions. The Word of God should also not be reserved or limited to hearing it while attending Mass but a daily filling of your life force. Many of us need caffeine to start our day or our favorite breakfast to get ourselves moving. Maybe its your daily exercise routine to get your heart pumping. But praying with the Word of God should be held in higher regard. A special tip, meditate on the readings prior to attending Mass to help to open and exercise your mind and heart prior to the liturgies.
REFLECTION:
- What role does sacred Scripture currently play in your own life? How can you realistically open yourself to encounter God in the Scriptures in a more meaningful way?