FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – July 14, 2024

Please, check out the Hungarian section (link at the bottom) as well, as some Hungarian related news or information may be found only there.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

TODAY’S MASS INTENTIONS: 11:00 AM: Miklós Peller, by Ildikó Peller

MASS SCHEDULE & INTENTIONS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

TIME AWAY: I will be away from the parish and will be back on 26^th. There will not be weekday Masses until the 29^th and substitute priests will be covering the weekend Masses. If there is an emergency, please call your closest, neighboring parish. If there are funerals, please email me at rbona@dioceseofcleveland.org and I will try to arrange for a priest. I keep you all in my prayers.

FROM THE DESK OF FR. BONA: Last week, in our gospel reading we had a reference to the brothers of Jesus. In spite of this mention the Catholic Church dogmatically (meaning infallibly) teaches that Jesus did not have any siblings and that Mary was a virgin throughout her life. Why is that when the Bible mentions the brothers of Jesus?

There are at least four reasons. First, the term brother (Gk. adelphos) has a broader meaning than a biological brother. It can mean a biological brother, but it can also mean an extended relative, or even a spiritual brother. Take Genesis 13:8 for example. Here the word brother is being used to describe the relationship between Abraham and Lot, who were not biological brothers but uncle and nephew. Because of the Bible’s broad semantic range of “brother,” we can rest assured that although St. Paul writes, “[Jesus] appeared to more than five hundred…brothers at the same time” (1 Cor. 15:6), we need not infer from this verse that Mary gave birth to more than 500 children!

Secondly, these “brothers” are never once called the children of Mary, although Jesus himself is (John 2:1; Acts 1:14).

Thirdly, there were other women named Mary. Therefore, our last week’s reference to James and Joseph (also called Joses), who are called Jesus’ “brothers” (Mark 6:3) are indeed the children of Mary – just not Mary, the mother of Jesus. According to St. Matthew’s account of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, we read: “There were also many women there, looking on from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him; among who were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” (Matt. 27:56; see also Mark 15:40).

Finally, there is the consensus of the Early Church. The earliest explanation of the “brothers” of the Lord is found in a document known as the Protoevangelium of James, which was written around A.D. 150. It speaks of Mary as a consecrated virgin since her youth, and of St. Joseph as an elderly widower with children who was chosen to be Mary’s spouse for the purposes of guarding and protecting her while respecting her vow of virginity. Though this document is not on the level of Sacred Scripture, it was written very early, and it may contain accurate historical traditions. Also, other important figures in their works, such as Athanasius of Alexandria (AD 360), St. Jerome (A.D. 383), and Pope St. Leo I (A.D. 450), attested to this teaching. And therefore, the same Church today affirms:

Jesus is Mary’s only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom indeed he came to save: “The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren, that is, the faithful in whose generation and formation she co-operates with a mother’s love (Catechism of the Catholic Church 501).

(Source: catholic.com)

TEMPORARY MASS SCHEDULE CHANGES: I just wanted to let you know that on Sunday July 14 and 21 there will not be a 9AM English Mass. Likewise, on weekdays from July 10-25 we will not have a 9AM Mass.

NEW PAYMENT PROCESS AT WEST SIDE MARKET: To secure free parking for our events, you must submit a form. The filled-out form (check the Opt Out option, but don’t do the log-in part), should be scanned and emailed to: tiffany@westsidemarket.org. We can help scan and email the filled out forms.

LAST WEEKEND’S COLLECTION: Collection: $2,407; Maintenance: $300; Renovation Fund: $100. May God reward your generosity in supporting the church. Thank you for sending in your donations by mail or using our website https://stemeric.com/donations/.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SICK, especially for Bev Kimar, Teréz Kalász, Lajos Boday, Márta Takács, Zsuzsanna Hunyadi, Kathy Szabó, Dorothy Fromhercz, Alex Szaday, Virginia Kachmar, Margaret Falk, and Mária Hokky.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE DECEASED: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen

NO ONLINE LIVESTREAMING: Please note that on July 14 and July 21 at 11AM we will have English Masses and so we will not have online livestreaming as there are many English livestream Masses available. Thank you for your understanding.

LET US PRAY THREE HAIL MARYS FOR OUR PARISH EVERY DAY!

Ez a bejegyzés olvasható Hungarian nyelven is.