Scriptual Commentary

Don’t Outsource Compassion

| St. Charles Borromeo

Saint Martin and the Beggar, El Greco, 1597–1599, National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC)

If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
“Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, ”
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
(James 2:15-16)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
James 2:14-18
September 12, 2021

Today’s selection from the “Letter of St. James” is often interpreted as a criticism of St. Paul. It seems to contrast salvation by faith with salvation by works. This lies behind Martin Luther’s statement that James wrote the “Epistle of Straw.” This is not the case indeed Paul and James are both good Jews and share a common set of beliefs and attitudes.

They both held that the LORD wished to create a covenant with humanity. A covenant is a sharing of life and love so close that one becomes part of the same family. Through this covenant we are not only “related” to the LORD but to all his people as well. This attitude is found throughout scripture.

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Homilies

23rd Sunday Ordinary Time – Homily (Fr. Gribowich)

| St. Charles Borromeo

Good morning, everyone.

So joyous to be here with you this morning, so many faces from so many different parts of my life actually here today.

And they’re all here for one reason. That is to welcome Jason Chen into the church, we have with us someone who has been on a journey.

A journey that has led him to having an encounter with Jesus Christ and that encounter has led him to affirm it through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and communion, the three sacraments that initiate you into the church and not just becoming a member of a social organization, but becoming actually who you are called to be the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world.

That’s what we are all called to be as Christians, the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world, when people gaze upon us, they should see something different coming through our eyes and how we speak.

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Events, Videos

Community Mass – 23rd Sunday Ordinary Time

| St. Charles Borromeo


Please join us to celebrate the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time on Sunday, September 5, 2021. The 11:15 am mass will be Fr. John Gribowich’s last mass with us. He will be leaving to join the Trappists this month. Please pray for the success of his vocation.

Our current Mass times are:

  • 9 AM EDT – Morning Mass – in person
  • 11:15 AM EDT – Community Mass – in person and livestreamed online
  • 7 PM EDT – Evening Mass – in person

    Watch the video live or on replay via YouTube Live by clicking in the window above.

The Gather 3rd Edition Hymnal/Missals are now available for use in the church – pick one up as you enter and return it after Mass. Instructions on how to use the hymnal missal are available here: https://www.stcharlesbklyn.org/hymnal-missal/ .

Todays music and readings can be found in the Hymnal Missal at the following numbers:

Entrance: The King of Love My Shepherd Is – 712
Readings and Psalm -1159
Offertory: Open My Eyes – 651
Communion: Christ, Be Our Light – 590
Closing: Healing River – 643

Today’s readings are also available to read online here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090521.cfm

Bulletin

Keeping Love Alive in a Busy World

| St. Charles Borromeo

A talk for married couples, engaged couples, and those in the single life

Sunday, October 3, 12:15 PM

All are welcome Sunday, October 3rd, after the 11:15 AM Mass, to a talk on how couples can stay connected in the midst of busy lives. The talk will provide research-based practical tips on how to have more fun in relationships, how to have more intimate conversations, and how to find more joy in the humdrum of daily life.

Our presenter, Peter McFadden, is a New York-based marriage educator who has worked with more than five thousand couples over the past eighteen years. He has received training directly from Dr. John Gottman, the world’s leading researcher on marriage. This talk is the first of many he will be giving at St. Charles over the coming year. You can watch Peter’s introduction to the Marriage and Relationships program here.

So we can prepare for how many will be in attendance, please RSVP to Peter at [email protected]. If you can’t attend in person, you can email Peter to obtain the Zoom link.

Scriptual Commentary

Needing All Our Brothers and Sisters to be Saints

| Fr. William Smith

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
(Isaiah, 35:6-7)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Letter of St. James 2:1-6
September 5, 2021

We continue today with the Letter of St. James. It was, as we discovered last week, written by a Jew to fellow Jews. Whether the author was James, the kinsman of Jesus or not, he had significant prestige among the people and insight into their communities.

These communities were within the Roman empire. It was part of the managerial genius of the Romans to realize that they could not directly administer every aspect of life, especially in small towns in faraway places. Therefore, they used the native ruling elites to maintain order and peace. We see this with the trial of Jesus. The priests were the local elite entrusted with this task and they first examined Jesus. When they deemed him a greater danger than a mere rabble rouser and thought he needed to be put to death, they needed the Romans to approve and perform the execution.  

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