Father Kubicki???s Prayer Reflection

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux. She is know as the Little Flower. Before she died, she said that she would spend her heaven on earth doing good for others.

Today is the feast of St. Jerome, famous for his love of scripture. He translated the bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin which was the language of the people.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Archangels; Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. They are strong protectors, guides, healers and messengers of God’s word.

Today, is the feast of St. Wenceslaus. He was a Duke in Bohemia which is now part of the Czech Republic. He was a Duke there over 1,000 years ago. He is well know for being named in the Christmas song Good King Wenceslaus.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Vincent De Paul. He was known for gentleness and charity. He is the patron saint of all charitable societies and all peoples engaged with works of charity.

A lot of people think of Jesus as a nice guy who would never make people feel bad. Yes, Jesus loves everyone but as we can see in the gospel, sometimes Jesus practiced tough love.

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ is perfect and reveals to us what it means to be fully human. He is the standard by which we are to judge ourselves.

Back in the 13th century, Our Lady appeared to three Spaniards and she asked them to start a new religious order that had as it’s purpose, the liberation of Christian slaves from the hands of the Moors who controlled much of Spain and the Mediterranean Sea.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. He was tutored privately until his entry to the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at the age of 15 and was ordained a priest in 1910.

Today is the first day of Autumn. The Autumns of our lives give way to Winters, but it doesn’t end there. Though the seasons come and go, we humans are made for an eternal Spring.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Matthew. He was an apostle and Evangelist and was martyred in the 1st century A.D. He is the patron saint of Accountants; Salerno, Italy; bankers and tax collectors.

When Pope Francis visited South Korea in the year 2014, he beatified Paul Yun Ji-chung and 123 other martyrs, adding their names to the list of the other Korean martyrs which the Church honors today.

In today’s gospel at Mass we read from the ninth Chapter of St. Mark where Jesus is teaching His disciples that the Son of man will be killed, and then three days later rise from the dead. His disciples were afraid to ask any questions about this.

St. Thomas of Villanova joined the Augustinians in the year 1516 when he was 28 years old. In time he was named the Archbishop of Valencia in Spain and was greeted with cheers because he was the first bishop in 117 years to actually show up in the city.

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Robert Bellarmine. He was an Italian Cardinal and theologian, and a great part of the Catholic Church’s counter-reformation in the 17th century.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two martyrs; St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian. St. Cornelius was elected pope in 251 and was sent into exile a year later and died from his mistreatment. St. Cyprian became bishop of Carthage in Africa in 249. He was beheaded in 258.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. After celebrating a feast in honor of the Cross of Jesus yesterday, today we honor the memory of the one who shared most inanimately in the sufferings of that cross.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of The Exultation of the Holy Cross. It is a feast that goes back to the dedication of the first Church that was built over the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

Today, the Church honors the memory of a great preacher and bishop of Constantinople, the center of the Byzantine Empire in the year 400. It is the feast of St. John Chrysostom. His name in Greek means “golden mouthed.”

Who do people today say that Jesus is? A good man and teacher?  A prophet in the line of Jewish prophets? A myth? Who do you say that Jesus is? Why not take some time to think and pray about this today.