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Showing posts from September, 2020

Fifth Sunday of Lent (Cycle A)

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The Raising of Lazarus Lectionary:  34 Reading 1 -  Ezekiel 37:12-14 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 130:1-8 Reading 2 -  Romans 8:8-11 Verse - John 11:25a, 26 Gospel -  John 11:1-45 Lazarus, come out! LESSON: The Power of God Through Those Who Believe We’re a week away from the start of Holy Week. Our Lord now has his sights set on Jerusalem, and the pace is quickening. In these next two weeks, we’re living just one part of the Gospel passage from today: an encounter with the reality of suffering and death. Jesus is asking us to have faith in him. In today’s First Reading the prophet Ezekiel reminds us of the Lord’s promise to not only to bring us back to life but to bring us home. The background of this passage is the famous "Valley of Dry Bones." The people of Israel were in exile in Babylon. They weren't just sad; they were spiritually and nationally "dead." Their common saying was: "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off." They d...
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Dominican Novitiate

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  Reception : After being "received" into the Lay Fraternities as a "novice," you are given a small, all white (with no embellishments), scapular in place of the blessing and giving of the habit of the order.   This ritual "clothing" is to be worn at all times unless replaced by other approved "signs" that have been specially blessed.  A medal of St. Dominic or of St. Dominic with the Blessed Virgin is the preferred substitute.  In addition, the novice is presented with The Rule by which they are to begin living (see obligations below). Congratulations ... you're a novice.  Please pay your (prorated) dues.  Be sure to cross your T's and dot your I's while minding all P's and Q's because this is a probationary year.  You are not yet fully incorporated into the Order, which is achieved through profession (promise), so there are still things you can't do ... such as participate in the election of fraternity officers/council m...
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Deacon Aspirant

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  Back to School ... The first year in formation is primarily focused on the spiritual aspect of the diaconate; although there are some academic classes that provide brief introductions to the Old Testament (Fall Semester) and the New Testament (Spring Semester) to aid in interpretation and exegesis.  Classes were twice a week on Monday and Wednesday evenings; and we were initially expected schlep down to the Pastoral Center in Braintree until COVID threw the whole program into chaos and everything went 100% remote for this year.  This was a HUGE blessing since the wives were also required to attend ... only now by Zoom instead of trying to figure out how to manage all this with only one car from two different work locations.   It took a bit to ramp up though and many of the instructors in the other classes were a tad technically challenged ... Having some prior experience with asynchronous learning for my own Masters degree from the University of Phoenix, I have to ...
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