Father Kubicki???s Prayer Reflection

In St. Paul’s letter to the Romans 8:28, he says “that all things work for good for those who love God.” We see this in nature. God uses the dead leaves to fertilize the soil for new life.

Today’s reading from the eighth chapter of St. Paul to the Romans has a particularly beautiful image. He writes: “We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.”

October is the month dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. It’s also known as respect life month, and yesterday was the feast of a great respecter of life; St. Luigi Guanella. He was canonized in 2013.

In today’s gospel from Mark chapter 10, Jesus heals a blind man named Bartimaeus. The blind man’s prayer is simple: “Jesus son of David, have pity on me.” This was picked up by later Christians and became part of what we know as the Jesus prayer.

Today’s saint is the patron saint of military chaplains; St. John of Capistrano. He was born during one of the worst times in human history; the 14th century when one third of the world’s population died from the Bubonic Plague.  

When Pope Benedict XVI beatified Pope John Paul II, he declared this day to be his feast day, the day on which he was officially inaugurate as pope in 1978. Pope Saint John Paul II, pray for us!

The gospel at Mass today is from the 12th chapter of the gospel of St. Luke. It begins with these words of Jesus to His disciples: ” I have come to set the world on fire, and how I wish it was already blazing.”

St. Paul of the Cross was known for his deep devotion to the passion of Jesus. In the 18th century he founded a religious order named the Passionists. The word passion comes from the Latin word which means “to suffer.”

There are two major shrines built to honor the saints whom we celebrate today; the Jesuit saints of North America. What motivated  these saints was the knowledge of their love of Jesus Christ which they wanted the rest of the world to know.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. In addition to his gospel writing, he is also know for being the author of the Acts of the Apostles.

In the gospel at Mass today, two of Jesus’ closest friends, the brothers James and John who were there at Jesus’ transfiguration, and again at the Garden of Gethsemane, during His agony, bring a request to Jesus.

At the Last Supper, according to the 17th chapter of the gospel of St. John, Jesus prayed for his apostles, consecrating Himself so that they too would be consecrated in the truth.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Teresa of Avila. This great woman lived in the 16th century and almost single handedly reformed the Carmelite orders of both women and men. Pope St. Paul VI named her a Doctor of the Church in 1970.

One of the Corporeal Works of Mercy is to bury the dead. Before becoming pope in the 3rd century, today’s saint, Callixtus I,  was known for burying the dead.

Today is the anniversary of the final apparition of our Blessed Mother at Fatima in 1917. At that time she fulfilled her promise to give a great sign to the world and on that day, the sun seemed to dance and fall to the earth.

We know that God listens to the prayers of all people because Jesus listened to the request of sinners. He told a parable about a sinner who prayed for mercy, and a Pharisee who prayed thanking God that he wasn’t like that sinner.

In today’s Prayer Reflection, Fr. James Kubicki discusses the Daily decalogue of Pope St. John XXIII. These are his personal set of rules for living one day at a time.

Today’s gospel from the 10th chapter of St Mark tells the story of the rich young man who asks Jesus what he has to do in order to make sure that he gets to heaven.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. John Leonardi. He was a 16th century pharmacist who left the world of medicine to relieve physical problems, to become a priest and provide spiritual medicine for people.

Every human life, whether it’s a person from the city, or someone from a rural area, immigrant or native is important because every human person is important to God.