Daily Gospel for Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Daily Gospel for Wednesday, 22 October 2014
"Peter replied, 'Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.'"(John 6:68-69)
Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Feast of the Church:
Saints of the Day:
Saint John Paul II (Karol Wotjyła)
Pope from 1978 to 2005
(1920-2005)
Karol Józef Wojtyła, elected to the Papacy on October 16, 1978, was born in Wadowice (Poland) on May 18, 1920. He was the second of two children born to Karol Wojtyła and Emilia Kaczorowska. His mother died in 1929. His older brother, Edmund, a doctor, died in 1932 followed by his father, an under official of the Armed Forces, who died in 1941.
At the age of nine Karol made his First Holy Communion, followed at the age of eighteen by the sacrament of Confirmation. After having completed high school in Wadowice, he enrolled as a student at the Jagiellonian University of Cracow in 1938.
Following the occupation by the Nazi forces and the University's closure in 1939, the young Karol was forced to earn a living by working in a mine and in the Solvay chemical factory in order to avoid deportation to Germany.
Starting in 1942, after having felt the call to the priesthood, Karol began secretly to frequent courses at the clandestine Major Seminary in Cracow, directed by the Archbishop, Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha. At the same time, he was also one of the promoters of the clandestine "Rhapsodic Theater". After the war, Karol continued his studies at Cracow's Major Seminary which had been reopened, and then at the Faculty of Theology of the Jagiellonian University until his priestly ordination in Cracow on November 1, 1946. He was then sent to Rome by Cardinal Sapieha where he pursued a Doctorate in Theology (1948), with a thesis on the topic of faith in the works of St. John of the Cross. During that time, in vacation periods, he exercised his pastoral ministry among Polish immigrants in France, Belgium and Holland.
In 1948, he returned to Poland and was at first assistant priest in the parish of Niegowić, near Cracow, and then in the Church of Saint Florian in the same city. As University Chaplain until 1951, he continued to study both Philosophy and Theology. In 1953, he presented a thesis at the Catholic University of Lublin on the "Evaluation of the Possibility of Constructing a Christian Ethic on the Ethical System of Max Scheler". Later, he would become Professor of Moral Theology and Ethics at the Major Seminary of Cracow and at the Theological Faculty of Lublin.
On July 4, 1958, he was nominated by Pope Pius XII as Auxiliary Bishop of Cracow and Titular Bishop of Ombi. He was ordained Bishop on September 28, 1958 in the Cathedral of Wawel (Cracow) by Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak.
On January 13, 1964, he was nominated as Archbishop of Cracow by Pope Paul VI, who also later made him a Cardinal on June 26, 1967.
Wojtyła also participated in the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), at which he made an important contribution to the preparation of the Constitution Gaudium et Spes. Preceding his Pontificate, Wojtyła would also take part in five assemblies of the Synod of Bishops.
He was elected to the Papacy on October 16, 1978. On October 22nd he began his ministry as Shepherd of the Universal Church.
Pope John Paul II made 146 pastoral visits in Italy and as Bishop of Rome he visited 317 of the 332 parishes in Rome. The apostolic trips made throughout the world, an expression of his constant pastoral solicitude as Successor of St. Peter for the whole Church, added up to a total of 104.
Among the primary documents which he wrote are: 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic xhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions and 45 Apostolic Letters. He also wrote numerous other works including five books: "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" (October 1994), "Gift and Mystery: on the Fiftieth Anniversary of My Priesthood" (November 1996), "Roman Triptych: editations" (March 2003), "Rise, Let us be on our way!" (May 2004), and "Memory and Identity" (February 2005).
Pope John Paul II presided over 147 Beatifications, declaring 1,338 beatified and 51 canonizations, proclaiming a total of 482 saints. He also officiated in nine Consistories thereby creating 231 (plus 1 "in pectore") Cardinals and presided at six plenary reunions of the College of Cardinals.
Beginning in 1978, he convoked 15 Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops: six Ordinary General Assemblies (1980, 1983, 1987, 1990; 1994 and 2001), one Extraordinary General Assembly (1985) and eight Special Assemblies (1980, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998 [2] and 1999).
On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was the victim of an attack in St. Peter's Square. Having been saved by the maternal hand of the Mother of God, and following a long recovery, he forgave his attacker. Grateful for the gift of new life, he intensified his pastoral work with heroic generosity.
His solicitude as pastor was expressed, moreover, in the erection of numerous dioceses and ecclesiastical circumscriptions, as well as by the promulgation of the Codes of Canon Law for the Latin Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches. As an encouragement to the People of God, he also inaugurated moments of particular spiritual intensity such as the Year of the Redemption, the Marian Year, and the Eucharistic Year as well as the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. He also attracted younger generations by the celebration of World Youth Days.
No other Pope had ever encountered as many people as John Paul II: the number of pilgrims at the Wednesday General Audiences alone (more than 1,160 audiences) came to over 17 million pilgrims, to say nothing of the special audiences and other religious services (the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone saw the arrival of 8 million pilgrims), and the other millions of faithful that he met during apostolic visits in Italy or throughout the world.
Numerous government officials were also received in audience: there were 38 official visits and a further 738 audiences or meetings with Heads of State, along with 246 visits with Prime Ministers.
John Paul II died in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace on Saturday, April 2, 2005 at 9:37 p.m., on the Vigil of the Sunday in Albis, also commemorated as Divine Mercy Sunday, which he had instituted.
On April 8th, John Paul II was buried in the Vatican Grotto following the solemn funeral celebrated in St. Peter's Square.
He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on May 1, 2011.
The annual celebration of Blessed John Paul II is to be inserted into the liturgical calendars of the Diocese of Rome and all the Dioceses of Poland as a "memorial" to be observed on 22 October. - Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana 
Collect
O God, who are rich in mercy 
and who willed that the blessed John Paul the Second 
should preside as Pope over your universal Church, 
grant, we pray, that instructed by his teaching, 
we may open our hearts to the saving grace of Christ, 

the sole Redeemer of mankind.
SAINT MARY SALOME
(1st century)
St. Mary Salome was one of the "Three Marys" who served Christ during his earthly ministry.. She was the mother of St. James the Great and St. John the Apostle, and was the wife of Zebedee.
Mary Salome witnessed the Crucifixion and was among the women who were at the burial place on the day of the Resurrection (Mark 15, 40-41 & Mark 16, 1).
SAINT MELLO 
Bishop
(3rd-4th centuries)
St. Mello is said to have been a native of Great Britain; his mal for the Faith engaged him in the sacred ministry, and God having blessed his labors with wonderful success, he was consecrated first bishop of Rouen in Normandy, which see he is said to have held forty years.
He died in peace, about the beginning of the fourth century.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Letter to the Ephesians 3: The Secret Plan of God
1-3 This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you’re familiar with the part I was given in God’s plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.
4-6 As you read over what I have written to you, you’ll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God’s Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
7-8 This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
8-10 And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
11-13 All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!
(Psalm) Isaiah 12:2 “Yes, indeed—God is my salvation.
    I trust, I won’t be afraid.
God—yes God!—is my strength and song,
    best of all, my salvation!”
3-4 Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water
    from the wells of salvation.
And as you do it, you’ll say,
    “Give thanks to God.
Call out his name.
    Ask him anything!
Shout to the nations, tell them what he’s done,
    spread the news of his great reputation!
5-6 “Sing praise-songs to God. He’s done it all!
    Let the whole earth know what he’s done!
Raise the roof! Sing your hearts out, O Zion!
    The Greatest lives among you: The Holy of Israel.”
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12:39-40 “You know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he wouldn’t have stayed out late and left the place unlocked. So don’t you be slovenly and careless. Just when you don’t expect him, the Son of Man will show up.”
41 Peter said, “Master, are you telling this story just for us? Or is it for everybody?”
42-46 The Master said, “Let me ask you: Who is the dependable manager, full of common sense, that the master puts in charge of his staff to feed them well and on time? He is a blessed man if when the master shows up he’s doing his job. But if he says to himself, ‘The master is certainly taking his time,’ begins maltreating the servants and maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk, the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes.
47-48 “The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he’ll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!
Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the Day:
Blessed Guerric of Igny (c.1080-1157), Cistercian abbot 
1st Sermon Advent, 2-3 ; SC 166 (trans. ©Cistercian publications Inc. 1970) 
"Be prepared"
“I overflow with hope in your word” (Ps 118[119],81 Vg)… The soul does not have just a bare hope in God; it overflows with hope, hope mounting upon hope as trial comes upon trial, delay upon delay. I am absolutely sure that in the end “he will appear and will prove not to have deceived me”; so “in spite of the delay he imposes I shall go on waiting for him confidently, because he certainly will come and will not be later” (Hab 2,3 Vg) than the most timely day. 
When will this timely day be? When the full number of all these brethren of ours has been reached (Rv 6,11) and the time of mercy set for penance is completed. Listen to Isaiah… tell us with what design the Lord puts off the judgment for a time: "The Lord delays so that he can be merciful towards you, and thus he will be honored for having spared you. The Lord is a God of judgment; blessed is everyone who waits for him" (30,18). So, if you are wise, give an eye to yourself and see how you are using this delay. If you are a sinner, do not be heedless but take the opportunity to repent. If you are holy the time is given you to progress in holiness, not to slip away from the faith. For if “the evil servant said in his heart: ‘My Lord's coming is delayed,’ and began to behave brutally towards his subordinates, even indulging in feasting and carousals with drunken companions, it will be a day he did not know upon which the Lord of that servant will return and mark him out and give him a place among the hypocrites”… 
This is the proper way of waiting for the Lord, keeping his troth. Even though we may miss the consolation of his presence we must not look about us adulterously but wait in suspense for his return. The Lord says this in the same prophet: “The people will wait in suspense for my return” (Hos 11,7 Vg). Fitting indeed it is that the people should be in suspense, as it were, between heaven and earth, unable as yet to grasp heavenly affairs but preferring even so not to have contact with those of earth. 
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