Page 1. ST.
PETERS CATHOLIC CHURCH BULLETIN: 30th. SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, 10/25/20
Page 2.
THEME: THE LAW OF LOVE, by REV. FR. ANSELM CHIGOZIE AMADI.
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October 25, 2020 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time |
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MASS INTENTIONS: 10/25/20 thru 10/30/20 SUNDAY: ENGLISH MASS: 9:00am. Courtney Castelhano. SPANISH MASS: 11:00am. WEEKDAY MASS INTENTIONS:
MONDAY: 9:00am. TUESDAY: 9:00am. WEDNESDAY: 9:00am. +Wendy Halbert. THURSDAY: 9:00am. FRIDAY: 9:00am. FINANCIAL REPORT FOR
WEEK 10/18/2020 YOUR GIFTS TO THE LORD: Sunday
Offering
.$1404.17 Childrens Fund
.
.
N/A Capital Fund
..$00.00 Other (Rectory Fund)
$20.00 World Missions
$297.00 EXPENSES General Fund:
....
.$2789.97 Capital Fund:
.$00.00 Childrens Fund:
.
$00.00 The Quarterly Financial Report is Available in The Church Office for Review Church Secretary; Vacant Office Telephone: 928-333-4423 PRAYER TREE: Please contact Monica Boehning at 333-5539 for
prayer requests. Leave a message if no answer, include your name and phone
number, with info. THIS WEEK PLEASE PRAY FOR: Jason Pittman, Eileen Tyrrell, Rebeka
Talbot, Charles Rand, Roxanne Chavez, Ricky
Barraza, Lily Hill, Susie Apodaca, Confie LeSuer, Pat
& Victor Rubalcaba, Bernice Chavez, Maria Morales, Teresa Barbier, Richard
Pena, Clara Archuletta, Judy Bragg, Dolores
Jackson, Jessica Williams, Eva Orona, Sophie
Montoya, Joe Tapia, Juanito Quevedo, Krystna Kocol, Irene Moya, Lydia Gonzalez. GIFT SHOP: Gift Shop is open every
Sunday after the 9:00 am
Mass or Contact; Dean Smith at
928-853-6307 Office Hours; Weekdays from 7:45am-8:45am and 10:00am-12:30pm Closed, Tuesday and during daily mass times. |
CALENDAR OF WEEKLY EVENTS: WEEKLY EVENTS: Weekly Events Currently Suspended Due
to COVID
Baptism
Preparation Classes to be Determined. SUNDAY: Rosary
before 9:00am mass. Sacrament of Reconciliation, 8:00am
8:50am. Rosary before
Mass. CCD classes after
9:00am Mass. MONDAY: C.C.D.
Classes 4:00pm. RCIA Classes: 7:00pm. TUESDAY: Church Cleaning. Spanish
Choir Practice, 7:00pm 8:30pm. WEDNESDAY: 6:30pm English Choir practice in church THURSDAY: 7:00pm Baptism classes in
Spanish, 2nd Thursday of the month. FRIDAY: Eucharistic Adoration; First Friday of the Month. ST. HELENA PARISH, ALPINE, AZ. SATURDAY: Confessions,
3:30pm
Mass 4:00 pm ---------------------------------------------- PASTORAL
STAFF
Pastoral Administrator Rev. Fr. Anselm Amadi Rectory Telephone: 928-333-4707 Emergencies Only; 505-906-8421 Deacon:
Rev. Mr. Jorge Campos 928-245-5638 Pastoral Council: Chairperson: Lora
Harrison - (928) 333-0148 Secretary: Esmerelda
Ontiveros - (928) 812-0049 Building Committee: Chairperson: Jackielyn
Harrington Finance Council: Chairperson: Jackielyn
Harrington Finance Secretary: Ed
Fritz - (928) 333-5919 PARISH MINISTRIES: Altar Servers: Tasheena James
. Eucharistic Ministers: Charles Rand
.
..
.(928)
333-3541 Church Cleaning: Susan Ely
. Funeral Director: Diane Fritz
(928) 333-5919 Lectors: Mary DiFilippo
.
(928) 333-3338 Maintenance: Vacant. Music Director: Bob Dyson
.
(928) 333-2809 Prayer Tree: Monica
Boehning
(928)
333-5539 RCIA: Deacon Jorge Campos
(928) 245-5638 Religious Ed. Devon Ditmore
(928) 245-5382 Sacristans: Elizabeth Ketring..
...(928) 245-6992 St. Vincent De Paul Org
.(928) 333-4879 Ushers: Jim Morrison
..(928) 333-0928 |
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MINISTRY SCHEDULES FOR November 1st. |
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Altar Servers: 9:00am. No Servers Assigned Due to Phase One Reopening. |
Lectors: 9:00am. Brooke Becker. 11:00am. To be
appt. |
Eucharistic Ministers: 9:00am. No Eucharist Ministers Assigned Due to Phase One Reopening. |
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PLEASE JOIN US IN OUR STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM OF TIME, TREASURE & TALENT, VISIT OUR WEB AT www.stpeterchurch-az.com |
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Holy Fathers Prayer Intention: October, 2020 The Laitys Mission in the Church We pray that by the virtue of baptism, the laity,
especially women, may participate more in areas of
responsibility in the church. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUR PARISH If you are in need of assistance
please call our office phone (928) 333-4423 and leave a message with your
contact information. We return calls
during normal business hours Monday thru Friday 8:00am 12 Noon. We are closed on Tuesday and Holidays. A reminder that our mailing
address is: PO Box 1566, Springerville, AZ 85938. For security
reasons we ask that you do not leave items at the office door. Thank you.
·
PARISH SECRETARY: St. Peters is in need
of a Church Office Secretary to work 4 mornings per week. If interested,
please call Fr. Amadi or Deacon Campos.
Theyre telephone numbers can be found on the above page under
Pastoral Staff. This is a paid position. OUR COMMUNITY: ·
HEALTH START PROGRAM: Now Located
at North Country Healthcare: Serves All Pregnant women
and their children until age 2. Not income based. Community Health Worker home
based visits to ensure improved pregnancy outcomes and support healthy child
development. Car seat safety, immunization and
well checks, safety in home, mother and infant nutrition, and referral to
community resources are among many other services provided. For more information Call: Laura
Ramirez: (928) 699-1742 ·
TOWN OF SPRINGERVILLE COMMUNITY
Services Department provides service for the residents of Springerville,
Eagar, Alpine, Nutrioso and Greer. . For further information please call the Community
Services Department at (928) 333-2516 |
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Page 2.
THIRTIETH
SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: YEAR A.
(Ex.
22:20-26; 1Thes. 1:5-10; Mt. 22:34-40)
THEME:
THE LAW OF LOVE
BY REV.
FR. ANSELM CHIGOZIE AMADI
The foundation of the law of love for
our neighbor springs from the fact that we are made in Gods image. First, it
commands us to recognize the image of God in our neighbor and secondly, invites
us to reflect the quality of God who is compassionate. Compassion simply means
feeling of sorrow or deep tenderness for one who is suffering or experiencing
misfortune, literally a suffering with another (Online Etymology
Dictionary). God calls us to feel the pain of the poor and the needy among us
in imitation of his divine nature. Hence, he commands us: love your neighbor
as yourself.
In the gospel, Jesus presents the love
of God as the greatest commandment seconded by love of neighbor. The reason why
the love of God is the supreme commandment is because God is the supreme and
infinite goodness. That is to say, he is the only perfect being. Naturally,
that which is good attracts; that which is all good (supreme goodness) ought to
attract our entire attention. Hence, the Torah summons us to love God with the
combined strength of our heart, soul, and mind.
LOVING GOD WITH OUR ALL: God demands that we love him with all our heart,
soul, and mind, meaning the totality of our being. This is what the love of God
demands. We cannot love God unless we are willing to give him our all. It is so
because God is infinite in his nature while we are finite beings. We would need
an infinite amount of love to be able to love God sufficiently. But since we
are not infinite, it is necessary that we reserve for God the whole love of our
souls in acknowledgement of his supreme goodness. This is why God commanded
Abraham to sacrifice his one and only beloved son, Isaac, in a burnt offering.
God, in making this demand, does not thirst for the blood of Isaac, but demands
supreme love of Him (God), from Abraham over that of Isaac. Nothing should
compete in priority with the love of God; hence, the Apostles left everything
to follow Jesus.
Again, according to St. Francis de
Sales, love is like honor. Just as honor varies according to different
qualities of things and those it is given, so also love differs in accordance
with the diversity of goods we love. Supreme honor belongs to supreme
perfection and supreme love to supreme goodness. Love of God is love without
equal because Gods goodness is goodness without equal. Since God is infinitely
high above all goodness, he must be loved with a love that is above all
comparison (Cf. Treatise on Love of God: Bk. 10, Ch. 6).
When we love God with all our strength,
we are also strengthened in virtue. But if our love is divided, the soul is
weakened with regard to virtues. Such a soul is like a stream with an outlet
below wherein to empty itself. In which case, the water cannot rise in volume.
Again, it is like hot water, when uncovered, which readily loses heat. It is
like aromatic spices, when they are unwrapped, they gradually lose the
fragrance and strength of their perfume. So is it with the soul that fails to
concentrate its power of love on God alone but is open to other things. Such a
soul loses the heat and vigor of its virtues St. John of the Cross, Ascent of
Mount Carmel.
WHY LOVE? Christian perfection consists primarily in
love. The end of perfection is to unite the soul and all its potencies with
God. A thing is perfect says Aquinas, insofar as it attains its proper end
which is the ultimate perfection thereof. Now it is charity that unites us to
God, who is the last end of the human mind, since he that abides in love
abides in God, and God in him (Jn. 4:16). Therefore, the perfection of the
Christian life consists chiefly in love (Summa 11a 11ae, q.184, a.1). Hence,
the love of God is the first and greatest commandment.
Love says the Apostle, is the
bond of perfection (Col. 3:14). In Pauline theology, love is the aggregate of
all virtues: Love is patient; love is kind, it is not jealous, it is not
pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude
(1Cor.13:4-7). St. Paul in this
lyric language, describes the excellence of love. This means, not only that
love is the queen of and the soul of all the virtues, but that its worth is
such that it suffices to make men perfect by imparting to him all the virtues
Adulphe Tanquerey.
Note that it was a scholar of the law
that posed the question to Jesus. Scholars are those that pursue knowledge
of the law but sometimes lack the virtue of love. The response of Jesus places
love of God above knowledge of God. The love of God is superior to the
knowledge of God in this life. Speculative and abstract knowledge of God can
exist without being accompanied by profound righteousness of the will. It may
exist in a very intelligent but heartless man, who could not be called a man
of goodwill in the meaning given to this term by the gospel
(Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of Spiritual life, Vol.2, p.155). The
knowledge of God belongs to the intellect and makes its students wise and
learned men, while love of God makes its students saints and ardent
affectionate lovers of God. The essence of Knowledge is to lead us to the love
of God and neighbor.