Posted on 01/17/2006 7:38:38 AM PST by Salvation
Memorial of Saint Anthony, abbot
Reading I
1 Sm 16:1-13
The LORD said to Samuel:
“How long will you grieve for Saul,
whom I have rejected as king of Israel?
Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”
But Samuel replied:
“How can I go?
Saul will hear of it and kill me.”
To this the LORD answered:
“Take a heifer along and say,
‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do;
you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.”
Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him.
When he entered Bethlehem,
the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired,
“Is your visit peaceful, O seer?”
He replied:
“Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.
So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet.”
He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves
and invited them to the sacrifice.
As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel,
who said, “The LORD has not chosen him.”
Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said,
“The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There–anoint him, for this is he!”
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 89:20, 21-22, 27-28
R. (21a) I have found David, my servant.
Once you spoke in a vision,
and to your faithful ones you said:
“On a champion I have placed a crown;
over the people I have set a youth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
And I will make him the first-born,
highest of the kings of the earth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
Gospel
Mk 2:23-28
As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Alleluia Ping List.
From: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
David is Anointed
From: Mark 2:23-28
The Law of the Sabbath
| Tuesday, January 17, 2006 St. Anthony, Abbot (Memorial) |
||
|
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 42 (43) |
|---|
| Longing for the temple |
| Vindicate me, Lord: judge my case against an unholy nation, rescue me from betrayers, from the wicked. For you are the God of my refuge; why have you rejected me? why must I suffer while my enemies torment me? Send forth your light and your truth; let them lead me away, let them lead me up your holy mountain, up to your sanctuary. I shall go in to the altar of God, to the God of my gladness and joy. I will sing out to you on the lyre, O God, my God. Why are you so sad, my soul, and anxious within me? Put your hope in the Lord, I will praise him still, my saviour and my God. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Canticle | Isaiah 38 |
|---|---|
| The psalm of Hezekiah on recovering from sickness | |
| I said, in the middle of my days I am going to the gates of the underworld. Where shall I find the remainder of my years? I said, I will not see the Lord God in the land of the living, I will never see another of the inhabitants of the earth. My dwelling-place is taken away, taken far away from me, like the tent of a shepherd. Like a weaver, he has rolled up my life and cut it off from the loom. From morning to night, you have made an end of me. I cried for help till daybreak; like a lion, he has crushed all my bones. From morning to night, you have made an end of me. I twitter like a fledgling sparrow, make noises like a dove. My eyes are weak from looking upward. But you have pulled my soul out of the pit of destruction, you have put all my sins behind you. For after all, the underworld will not proclaim you, nor death praise you; those who go down there do not wait in hope for your faithfulness. It is the living, the living who will proclaim you, as I do today. Fathers will pass on to their children the truth of your faithfulness. Save me, Lord, and to the sound of the harp we will sing to you, all the days of our life, in the house of the Lord. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
|
| Psalm 64 (65) |
|---|
| A solemn thanksgiving |
| To you we owe praise, O God, in Sion; to you we will fulfil our vows, in Jerusalem. It is you who answer prayers: to you must all men come, because we are sinners; even if our transgressions overwhelm us, you will blot them out. Blessed is the man you have taken up and chosen: he will live within your halls. We shall be filled with the good things of your house, with the holiness of your temple. Marvellous is the justice with which you listen to us, God of our salvation, hope of all the earth and far-off coasts. You make firm the mountains in their place, clothed in your power and might. You make still the roaring of the sea, the crash of its waves; and the tumult of the peoples. Those who live at the ends of the earth will tremble at your wonders. You will fill the east and the west with joy. You have come to the earth, you have filled it, saturated it with fruitfulness. The river of God is filled with water, as you prepare the harvest: for thus you have prepared the land, watering its furrows, smoothing its roughnesses, softening it with showers, blessing the seeds within it. You have crowned the year with your kindness. Your footsteps will drip with fruitfulness. The desert pastures will be soaked, the hills will be wrapped in rejoicing. The fields will be clothed with flocks, the vales overflow with corn. They will cry out, and sing your praise. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| A short Bible reading and responsory may follow here. |
| Canticle | Benedictus |
|---|---|
| The Messiah and his forerunner | |
| Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of peace. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
|
| Some short prayers may follow here, to offer up the day's work to God. |
| Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. |
| A concluding prayer may follow here. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
Recipes:
Activities:
|
 |
January 17, 2006    Memorial of St. Anthony, abbot Old Calendar: St. Antony, abbot
St. Anthony Anthony "the Great", the "Father of Monks", ranks with those saints whose life exercised a profound influence upon succeeding generations. He was born in Middle Egypt (about 250) of distinguished parents. After their untimely deaths, he dedicated himself wholly to acts of mortification. One day while in church he heard the words of the Gospel: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give it to the poor" (Matt. 19:21). It seemed as if Christ had spoken to him personally, giving a command he must obey. Without delay he sold his property, gave the proceeds to the poor, and went into the desert (about 270). When overcome by fatigue, his bed was the hard ground. He fasted rigorously, ate only bread and salt, and never drank anything except water. Nor would he take food before sundown; and at times he passed two days without any nourishment at all. Often, too, he spent whole nights in prayer. The saint suffered repeatedly from diabolical attacks, but these merely made him more steadfast in virtue. He would encourage his disciples in their struggle with the devil with such words: "Believe me; the devil fears the vigils of pious souls, and their fastings, their voluntary poverty, their loving compassion, their humility, but most of all their ardent love of Christ our Lord. As soon as he sees the sign of the Cross, he flees in terror." He died in 356 on Mount Kolzin by the Red Sea, 105 years old. A year later his friend, the fearless bishop and confessor St. Athanasius, wrote his biography, which for centuries became the classic handbook of ascetics. As seen by St. Anthony, the purpose of asceticism is not to destroy the body but to bring it into subjection, re-establishing man's original harmonious integrity, his true God-given nature.
Here are a few of his famous sayings to monks. "Let it be your supreme and common purpose not to grow weary in the work you have begun, and in time of trial and affliction not to lose courage and say: Oh, how long already have we been mortifying ourselves! Rather, we should daily begin anew and constantly increase our fervor. For man's whole life is short when measured against the time to come, so short, in fact, that it is as nothing in comparison with eternity. . . . Therefore, my children, let us persevere in our acts of asceticism. And that we may not become weary and disheartened, it is good to meditate on the words of the apostle: 'I die daily.' If we live with the picture of death always before our eyes, we will not sin. The apostle's words tell us that we should so awaken in the morning as though we would not live to evening, and so fall asleep as if there were to be no awakening. For our life is by nature uncertain and is daily meted out to us by Providence. If we are convinced of this and live each day as the apostle suggests, then we will not fall into sin; no desire will enslave us, no anger move us, no treasure bind us to earth; we will await death with unfettered hearts." Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch. Patron: Amputees; animals; basket makers; basket weavers; brushmakers; butchers; cemetery workers; domestic animals; eczema; epilepsy; epileptics; ergotism (Saint Anthony's fire); erysipelas; gravediggers; hermits; hogs; monks; pigs; relief from pestilence; skin diseases; skin rashes; swine; swineherds. Symbols: Bell; pig; t-shaped staff; tau cross with a bell on the end; man with a pig at his side. Things to Do:
|
|
January 17, 2006
 St. Anthony of Egypt
(251-356)
The life of Anthony will remind many people of St. Francis of Assisi. At 20, Anthony was so moved by the Gospel message, “Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor” (Mark 10:21b), that he actually did just that with his large inheritance. He is different from Francis in that most of Anthony’s life was spent in solitude. He saw the world completely covered with snares, and gave the Church and the world the witness of solitary asceticism, great personal mortification and prayer. But no saint is antisocial, and Anthony drew many people to himself for spiritual healing and guidance. At 54, he responded to many requests and founded a sort of monastery of scattered cells. Again like Francis, he had great fear of “stately buildings and well-laden tables.” At 60, he hoped to be a martyr in the renewed Roman persecution of 311, fearlessly exposing himself to danger while giving moral and material support to those in prison. At 88, he was fighting the Arian heresy, that massive trauma from which it took the Church centuries to recover. “The mule kicking over the altar” denied the divinity of Christ. Anthony is associated in art with a T-shaped cross, a pig and a book. The pig and the cross are symbols of his valiant warfare with the devil—the cross his constant means of power over evil spirits, the pig a symbol of the devil himself. The book recalls his preference for “the book of nature” over the printed word. Anthony died in solitude at 105.
|
||||
|
1 Sam 16:1-13 / Mk 2:23-28 King Saul made the ultimate foolish choice: he refused to trust the God who made him and who had given him the kingship. Instead, he turned inward upon himself, with predictably disastrous results. There would have to be a new king, but God warned Samuel to judge more astutely this time. “Man sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.” Samuel listened to the Lord and ended up selecting the youngest and least likely of the candidates, David, a youth of pure heart, who became a great king. It’s so easy to get caught in the trap of judging by appearances, rejecting too quickly what may have hidden merits, and giving our applause and our hearts to what glitters, but has no staying power. It’s especially hurtful when we do that to our fellow human beings. Seeing as God sees takes time and requires an open and discerning spirit that is willing to be surprised, and willing to see goodness, truth and beauty in the most unexpected places. Seeing as God sees is not only a more truthful way of living, it’s a lot happier way of living as well. Let the truth set you free. |
Faith-sharing bump.
So true. Perhaps we should all try more often to look into peoples' hearts to see the beauty there.
What is important? Spiritual things or material things? God knows the answer for each of us!
Tuesday January 17, 2006 Second Week in Ordinary Time
Reading (1 Samuel 16:1-13) Gospel (St. Mark 2:23-28)
In the first reading today, we hear about the anointing of David as the king of Israel. It is one of those fascinating things, again, to see the way God works. We hear about how Samuel sees Eliab and thinks to himself, “Surely, the Lord’s anointed is here before me,” because he was tall and strong and handsome and all the external appearances were there; but the Lord had rejected him because it is not by appearance that the Lord judges, as He tells Samuel, because the Lord sees into the heart. Man sees only the appearance, but God sees the reality and the depth of the being. So as Jesse presents seven sons before Samuel, the Lord rejects them all. But the one who had not even been invited, the one who was considered too young, too inexperienced, in essence, the one who was considered to be the least and who was now tending the sheep, he was the one whom God chose.
Now for all of us, all we have to do is go home and look in the mirror, and we are going to see pretty much the same basic pattern. We are going to see that God chose the ones the world would not expect, in fact, more than likely, the ones even people within our own families would not have expected. Yet these are the ones God picks because God looks at what is on the inside. The other half of the problem is that within our own lives we know what is on the inside, and we know that what is in there is not always too impressive, that we have committed many, many offenses against the Lord. And we wonder, “Why is it that God would choose the likes of me if there are so many sins?” But God not only sees the sinfulness that is there, He also sees the goodness that is there; He sees what it is that He has placed within us.
Unfortunately, Satan also sees what God has placed within us, and because the devil is able to recognize what God’s intent is with each one of us, he attacks us. Interestingly, he attacks us oftentimes in the very area that God is intending to work in order to use us. But regardless of that, what we need to see is we are just like David, whom God had chosen, Remember the problems David got himself into. He committed adultery; he committed murder; he did all kinds of heinous things. Yet what did God say about him? Here is David, a man after My own heart who will do My will. Now we look at his sinfulness, and we say, “But how could God say this about this man?” It is because not only did God see the unfortunate things David was capable of, but He saw that what David really intended in his heart and what he wanted was to do the Will of God. And it was only through his stupidity that he came to realize that only by relying on God was he going to be able to do God’s Will.
Once again, we see the human problem: arrogance. David got caught up in himself, as probably somewhere along the line all of us have done too. We think ourselves to be somehow impressive. We forget about God and we look at ourselves and we think ourselves better than what we are, or we think we can do it by ourselves. We will tell the Lord when we need His help; otherwise, we are just fine all by ourselves. So we take matters into our own hands and fall flat on our face. The Lord sometimes allows even some pretty hideous sins to take place in our lives in order to bring about the humility we need in order to do His Will. It is not that He wants us to commit those sins, but He will use those sins to bring about a greater good.
We see, then, for ourselves that what we have to do is keep our heart focused on God, that we have to learn the lesson to seek the Lord’s Will, to go to Him for the grace we need to do His Will. Otherwise, we will be like David and commit some pretty stupid sins. At the same time, we also learn from David the importance of repentance. We see the mercy of God, and so we know that His call is irrevocable. We also know that if we are willing to do what God wants, if we are intent on seeking His Will, that He will give us the grace we need to be able to carry it out. He will not make it easy, necessarily. Again, look at Samuel. God asks him to go to Bethlehem, and what is Samuel’s first response? But Saul will hear of it and kill me! God asked Samuel to go – did Samuel really think God was going to let him be killed? We see the human response; we see the fear. We simply need to learn to trust God, to seek His Will, and not worry about anything beyond that. He will handle it all. That is an important lesson we need to learn.
So we see all of these lessons in this one little reading. God does not choose the ones the world would choose. God does not choose the ones that externally look to be the most impressive. God does not choose what, on the natural level, we would think to be most important. God knows what is in our hearts, and if God has chosen us, it is because He knows that we will do His Will, or that we want to. What we have to do now is to make that act of the will, to seek the Will of God, and to try with all our hearts to carry out His Will. Otherwise, we will learn the lessons the hard way. It is much easier just to say that we want to do His Will, to seek Him in prayer, and try to carry it out.
* This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 61 (62) |
|---|
| Peace in God |
| My soul, find peace in God alone: from him comes my salvation. It is he who is my refuge and my safeguard, my stronghold: I shall never be shaken. How long will you assail a man and band together to crush him, like a toppling wall or a falling fence? They plan to thrust him down from his high place. They delight in lies: with their lips they bless, but a curse is in their hearts. My soul, find peace in God alone, for he gives me strength to endure. It is he who is my God and my safeguard, my stronghold: I shall never be shaken. In God is my salvation and my glory, God is my strength – my refuge is with God. Trust in him, all you people together, pour out your hearts before him; God is our refuge. The children of Adam are as nothing; the children of men are a deceit. Weigh them in the scales, and they rise: they are lighter than a puff of smoke. Put no trust in violence, do not be seduced into robbery; and if riches come, do not count upon them. God has spoken once and for all. Two things have I heard him say: that strength belongs to God, and that mercy, Lord, belongs to you. For to each of us you give whatever our actions have deserved. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 66 (67) |
|---|
| All peoples, praise the Lord |
| O God, take pity on us and bless us, and let your face shine upon us, so that your ways may be known across the world, and all nations learn of your salvation. Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you. Let the nations be glad and rejoice, for you judge the peoples with fairness and you guide the nations of the earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you. The earth has produced its harvest: may God, our God, bless us. May God bless us, may the whole world revere him. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Canticle | Colossians 1 |
|---|---|
| Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead | |
| Let us give thanks to God the Father, who has made us worthy to share in the light that is the saints’ inheritance. He has rescued us from the power of the shadows and brought us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation, for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, thrones and dominations, principalities and powers. All things were created through him and for him: he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the Church. He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, and so he is pre-eminent above all. For it was the Father’s will that the fullness of God should dwell in him, and that through him all things should be reconciled to himself. Through the blood of the Cross he brought peace to all things, both on Earth and in the heavens. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
|
| A short Bible reading and responsory may follow here. |
| Canticle | Magnificat |
|---|---|
| My soul rejoices in the Lord | |
| My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation. For he has shown me such favour – me, his lowly handmaiden. Now all generations will call me blessed, because the mighty one has done great things for me. His name is holy, his mercy lasts for generation after generation for those who revere him. He has put forth his strength: he has scattered the proud and conceited, torn princes from their thrones; but lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
|
| Some short prayers may follow here, to offer up the day's work to God. |
| Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. |
| A concluding prayer may follow here. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
thank you for these posts.
"Voice in the Desert" bump.
Here's wishing all FReepers reading this thread a peaceful night's rest, covered by the Lord's blessings.
Salvation,Mass bump.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
St. Anthony lived in solitude for about twenty years. "His was a perfectly purified soul. No pain could annoy him, no pleasure bind him. In him was neither laughter nor sadness. The sight of the crowd did not trouble him, and the warm greetings of so many men did not move him. In a word, he was thoroughly immune to the vanities of the world, like a man unswervingly governed by reason, established in inner peace and harmony." 
