Home
The
Community
at
Prayer
Reflection
by
Father
Paul
M.
Baca
September
13,
2009,
24th
Sunday
in
Ordinary
Time
Click
to
see
the
readings
Leading
up
to
Vatican
II,
liturgists
throughout
the
world
were
trying
to
make
the
liturgy
come
alive
for
all
people
with
an
emphasis
on
a
better
understanding
of
the
scriptures
that
are
read
at
every
Mass.
I
experienced
a
great
breakthrough
when
we
were
allowed
to
use
the
vernacular.
I
remember
all
my
days
(in
the
missions
especially)
where
hardly
anyone
had
a
missal
where
they
could
follow
the
Mass
which
was
in
Latin.
I
remember
that
the
Masses
came
alive
as
people
heard
the
readings
and
the
prayers
in
a
language
they
could
understand.
I
remember
the
comments
that
I
heard
on
many
occasions
by
very
happy
people
that
came
to
Mass
saying,
"Now
I
feel
I
am
praying
the
Mass
and
am
no
longer
a
bystander.
The
changes
gave
me
an
opportunity
to
start
reflecting
more
and
more
on
the
readings
and
allowed
me
to
find
new
and
deeper
meanings
as
I
interacted
with
the
people.
I
remember
one
comment
that
made
me
sit
up
and
take
notice,
"I
feel
now
that
God
is
talking
to
me
and
this
allows
me
to
take
the
scriptures
much
more
personally."
The
Second
Reading
last
week
and
this
week
come
from
the
Letter
of
St.
James
which
has
been
a
favorite
of
mine
since
seminary
days
because
he
seems
to
be
in
the
real
world
as
he
writes
his
message.
Last
week
he
focused
on
partiality
that
seems
so
prevalent
in
our
society.
"For
if
a
man
with
gold
rings
and
fine
clothes
comes
into
your
assembly,
and
a
poor
person
in
shabby
clothes
also
comes
in,
and
you
pay
attention
to
the
one
wearing
fine
clothes
and
say,
'Sit
here,
please,'
while
you
say
to
the
poor
one,
'Stand
over
there
or
sit
at
my
feet,'
have
you
not
made
distinctions
among
yourselves
and
become
judges
with
evil
designs?"
This
brought
back
memories
of
the
Great
Depression
when
Frances
Perkins
and
Harry
Hopkins,
who
were
trying
to
implement
the
New
Deal
which
contained
so
much
of
the
social
teaching
of
the
church.
The
unemployed
and
the
poor
listened
with
great
hope
while
those
who
had
the
power
and
the
wealth
did
everything
possible
to
block
the
implementation.
It
seems
to
me
that
the
poor
have
a
hard
time
making
their
voice
heard.
This
week
St.
James
tries
to
teach
us
how
we
should
make
a
real
act
of
faith
not
by
saying
a
lot
of
words
and
telling
the
world
how
great
our
faith
is,
but
rather,
giving
evidence
in
what
we
do
that
we
really
believe
and
have
confidence
that
God
will
hear
our
prayer
and
respond
to
our
many
needs.
"If
someone
says
he
has
faith
but
does
not
have
works,
can
that
faith
save
him?
If
a
brother
or
a
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
life,
what
good
is
it?
So
also
faith
of
itself,
if
it
does
not
have
good
works,
is
dead.
Indeed
someone
might
say,
'You
have
faith,
and
I
have
works.'
Demonstrate
your
faith
to
me
without
works
and
I
will
demonstrate
to
you
my
faith
through
my
works."
I
really
love
my
Catholic
faith
perhaps
not
so
much
the
bureaucracy
therein,
but
the
faith
as
I
learned
it
at
home
and
from
the
many
wonderful
people
in
the
parishes
where
I
have
served.
This
faith
is
truly
a
way
of
life.
At
home
I
learned
to
pray
even
before
I
understood
all
the
words
and
even
though
I
did
not
realize
it
then,
I
was
being
prepared
for
life.
My
Dad
and
Mom
are
long
gone
from
this
life
but
I
still
hear
their
voices
resonate
in
the
words
of
sacred
scripture
which
I
read
daily.
Like
that
little
old
lady
said
out
in
the
missions,
"Now
I
feel
God
is
talking
to
me,"
but
I
realize
that
God
is
talking
not
only
to
me
but
also
to
you
and
to
every
human
being
but
in
the
midst
of
it
all,
how
many
are
listening
and
of
those
who
are
listening,
how
many
of
us
are
making
an
effort
to
live
the
lessons
that
are
proclaimed
in
God's
word?
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