Catholic Caucus; Daily Mass Readings, 01-10-14

January 10, 2014

Friday after Epiphany

Beloved:
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Lk 5:12-16

It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. William of Bourges

Feast Day: January 10
Born: (around)1155 :: Died:1209

St. William was born at Nevers in France and came from a wealthy French family of the Counts of Nevers. His father Baldwin wanted William to be a part of the French military. William was educated by his uncle Peter the Hermit who was archdeacon of Soissons.

Even as a boy, he did not waste time fooling around or being idle. He spent time praying every day. When he joined the Cistercian order, he tried to be a good monk. His fellow monks admired him, even though he was not trying to impress anybody.

St. William had a great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He practiced penance without showing how hard it was. He always seemed to be happy. When he was made abbot of the community, he remained humble.

When the archbishop of Bourges died, William was chosen to take his place. He was grateful to be consecrated a bishop, but unhappy because of all the attention he would receive. He stayed humble by doing penances for his own soul and for the conversion of sinners.

Although William loved to be alone with God in the Blessed Sacrament, he knew it was his duty as archbishop to travel all over his diocese willingly. He celebrated the Eucharist and preached the faith. He visited prisoners, the poor and sick, cared for them, consoled them and helped bring them to Jesus.

Archbishop William died on January 10, 1209. He was buried in the cathedral of Bourges and many miracles were reported by people who prayed at his tomb.

Reflection: How do I respond to the attention and praise that I receive? Do I take the credit or do I thank God for what he has done through me?

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 5
12.	And it came to pass, when he was ina certain city, behold a man full of leprosy, who seeing Jesus, and falling on his face, besought him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.	Et factum est, cum esset in una civitatum, et ecce vir plenus lepra, et videns Jesum, et procidens in faciem, rogavit eum, dicens : Domine, si vis, potes me mundare.	και εγενετο εν τω ειναι αυτον εν μια των πολεων και ιδου ανηρ πληρης λεπρας και ιδων τον ιησουν πεσων επι προσωπον εδεηθη αυτου λεγων κυριε εαν θελης δυνασαι με καθαρισαι
13.	And stretching forth his hand, he touched him, saying: I will. Be thou cleansed. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.	Et extendens manum, tetigit eum dicens : Volo : mundare. Et confestim lepra discessit ab illo.	και εκτεινας την χειρα ηψατο αυτου ειπων θελω καθαρισθητι και ευθεως η λεπρα απηλθεν απ αυτου
14.	And he charged him that he should tell no man, but, Go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing according as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.	Et ipse præcepit illi ut nemini diceret : sed, Vade, ostende te sacerdoti, et offer pro emundatione tua, sicut præcepit Moyses, in testimonium illis.	και αυτος παρηγγειλεν αυτω μηδενι ειπειν αλλα απελθων δειξον σεαυτον τω ιερει και προσενεγκε περι του καθαρισμου σου καθως προσεταξεν μωσης εις μαρτυριον αυτοις
15.	But the fame of him went abroad the more, and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.	Perambulabat autem magis sermo de illo : et conveniebant turbæ multæ ut audirent, et curarentur ab infirmitatibus suis.	διηρχετο δε μαλλον ο λογος περι αυτου και συνηρχοντο οχλοι πολλοι ακουειν και θεραπευεσθαι υπ αυτου απο των ασθενειων αυτων
16.	And he retired into the desert, and prayed.	Ipse autem secedebat in desertum, et orabat.	αυτος δε ην υποχωρων εν ταις ερημοις και προσευχομενος

12. And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.
13. And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be you clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
14. And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and show yourself to the Priest, and offer for your cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.
15. But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
16. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

AMBROSE; The fourth miracle after Jesus came to Capernaum was the healing of a leprous man. But since He illumined the fourth day with the sun, and made it more glorious than the rest, we ought to think this work more glorious than those that went before; of which it is said, And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy. Rightly no definite place is mentioned where the leprous man was healed, to signify that not one people of any particular city, but all nations were healed.

ATHAN. Now the leper worshipped the Lord God in His bodily form, and thought not the Word of God to be a creature because of His flesh, nor because He was the Word did he think lightly of the flesh which He put on; nay rather in a created temple he adored the Creator of all things, falling down on his face, as it follows, And when he saw Jesus he fell on his face, and besought him.

AMBROSE; In falling upon his face he marked his humility and modesty, for every one should blush at the stains of his life, but his reverence kept not back his confession, he shows his wound, and asks for a remedy, saying, If you will, you can make me clean. Of the will of the Lord he doubted, not from distrust of His mercy, but checked by the consciousness of his own unworthiness. But the confession is one full of devotion and faith, placing all power in the will of the Lord.

CYRIL; For he knew that leprosy yields not to the skill of physicians, but he saw the devils cast out by the Divine authority, and multitudes cured of divers diseases, all which he conceived was the work of the Divine arm.

TITUS BOST. Let us learn from the words of the leper not to go about seeking the cure of our bodily infirmities, but to commit the whole to the will of God, Who knows what is best for us, and disposes all things as He will.

AMBROSE; He heals in the same manner in which He had been entreated to heal, as it follows, And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, &c. The law forbids to touch the leprous man, but He who is the Lord of the law submits not to the law, but makes the law; He did not touch because without touching He was unable to make him clean, but to show that he was neither subject to the law, nor feared the contagion as man; for He could not be contaminated Who delivered others from the pollution. On the other hand, He touched also, that the leprosy might be expelled by the touch of the Lord, which was wont to contaminate him that touched.

THEOPHYL. For His sacred flesh has a healing, and life-giving power, as being indeed the flesh of the Word of God.

AMBROSE; In the words which follow, I will, be you clean, you have the will, you have also the result of His mercy.

CYRIL; From majesty alone proceeds the royal command, how then is the Only-begotten counted among the servants, who by His mere will can do all things? We read of God the Father, that He has done all things whatsoever He pleased. But He who exercises the power of His Father, how can He differ from Him in nature? Besides, whatsoever things are of the same power, are wont to be of the same substance. Again; let us then admire in these things Christ working both divinely and bodily. For it is of God so to will that all things are done accordingly, but of man to stretch forth the hand. From two natures therefore is perfected one Christ, for that the Word was made flesh.

GREG. NYSS. And because the Deity is united with each portion of man, i.e. both soul and body, in each are evident the signs of a heavenly nature. For the body declared the Deity hidden in it, when hen by touching it afforded a remedy, but the soul, by the mighty power of its will, marked the Divine strength. For as the sense of touch is the property of the body, so the motion of the will of the soul. The soul wills, the body touches.

AMBROSE; He says then, I will, for Photinus, He commands, for Arius, He touches, for Manichaeus. But there is nothing intervening between God's work and His command, that we may see in the inclination of the healer the power of the work. Hence it follows, And immediately the leprosy departed from him. But lest leprosy should become rife among us, let each avoid boasting after the example of our Lord's humility.

For it follows, And he commanded him that he should tell it to no one, that in truth he might teach us that our good deeds are not to be made public, but to be rather concealed, that we should abstain not only from gaining money, but even favor. Or perhaps the cause of His commanding silence was that He thought those to be preferred, who had rather believed of their own accord than from the hope of benefit.

CYRIL; Though the leper was silent, the voice of the transaction itself was sufficient to publish it to all who acknowledged through him the power of the Curer.

CHRYS. And since frequently men, when they are sick, remember God, but when they recover, wax dull, He bids him to always keep God before his eyes, giving glory to God. Hence it follows, But go and show yourself to the Priest, in order that the leprous man being cleansed might submit himself to the inspection of the Priest, and so by his sanction be counted as healed.

AMBROSE; And that the Priest also should know that not by the order of the law but by the grace of God above the law, he was cured. And since a sacrifice is commanded by the regulation of Moses, the Lord shows that He does not abrogate the law, but fulfill it. As it follows, And offer for your cleansing according as Moses commanded.

AUG. He seems here to approve of the sacrifice which had been commanded through Moses though the Church does not require it. It may therefore be understood to have been commanded, because not as yet had commenced that most holy sacrifice which is His body. For it was not fitting that typical sacrifices should be taken away before that which was typified should be confirmed by the witness of the Apostles' preaching, and the faith of believers.

AMBROSE; Or because the law is spiritual He seems to have commanded a spiritual sacrifice. Hence he said, As Moses commanded. Lastly, he adds, for a testimony to them. The heretics understand this erroneously, saying, that it was meant as a reproach to the law. But how would he order an offering for cleansing, according to Moses' commandments, if he meant this against the law?

CYRIL; He says then, for a testimony to them, because this deed makes manifest that Christ in His incomparable excellence is far above Moses. For when Moses could not rid his sister of the leprosy, he prayed the Lord to deliver her. But the Savior, in His divine power, declared, I will, be you clean.

CHRYS. Or, for a testimony against them, i.e. as a reproof of them, and a testimony that I respect the law. For now too that I have cured you, I send you for the examination of the priests, that you should bear me witness that I have not played false to the law. And although the Lord in giving out remedies advised telling them to no one, instructing us to avoid pride; yet His fame flew about every where, instilling the miracle into the ears of every one, as it follows, But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him.

THEOPHYL; Now the perfect healing of one brings many multitudes to the Lord, as it follows, And great multitudes came together that they should be healed. For the leprous man that he might show both his outward and inward cure, even though forbid ceases not, as Mark says, to tell of the benefit he had received.

GREG. Our Redeemer performs His miracles by day, and passes the night in prayer, as it follows, And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed, hinting, as it were, to perfect preachers, that as neither they should entirely desert the active life from love of contemplation, so neither should they despise the joys of contemplation from an excess of activity, but in silent thought imbibe that which they might afterwards give back in words to their neighbors.

THEOPHYL; Now that He retired to pray, you would not ascribe to that nature which says, I will, be you clean, but to that which putting forth the hand touched the leprous man, not that according to Nestorius there is a double person of the Son, but of the same person, as there are two natures, so are there two operations.

GREG. NAZ. And His works He indeed performed among the people, but He prayed for the most part in the wilderness, sanctioning the liberty of resting a while from labor to hold converse with God with a pure heart. For He needed no change or retirement, since there was nothing which could be relaxed in Him, nor any place in which He might confine Himself, for He was God, but it was that we might clearly know that there is a time for action, a time for each higher occupation.

THEOPHYL; How typically the leprous man represents the whole race of man, languishing with sins full of leprosy, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; that so by the hand put forth, i.e. the word of God partaking of human nature, they might be cleansed from the vanity of their old errors, and offer for cleansing their bodies as a living sacrifice.

AMBROSE; But if the word is the healing of leprosy, the contempt of the word is the leprosy of the mind.

THEOPHYL. But mark, that after a man has been cleansed he is then worthy to offer this gift, namely, the body and blood of the Lord, which is united to the Divine nature.

Catena Aurea Luke 5

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:January 10, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Cast your kindly light upon your faithful, Lord, we pray, and with the splendor of your glory set their hearts ever aflame, that they may never cease to acknowledge their Savior and may truly hold fast to him. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

o Coq au Vin

ACTIVITIES

o Day Seventeen ~ Activities for the Seventeenth Day of Christmas

PRAYERS

o Christmas Table Blessing 1

o Christmas Table Blessing 2

o Christmas Table Blessing 3

o Christmas Table Blessing 4

o Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Christmas Season (2nd Plan)

o Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Christmas (1st Plan)

o Collect Prayer for Feast of St. William of Bourges

· Christmas: January 10th

· Friday Christmas Weekday

Old Calendar: St. William of Bourges (Hist)

Historically today is the feast of St. William of Bourges, Cistercian bishop who distinguished himself by his austerities, concern for the poor, the defense of the rights of the Church against the French crown, and his success in converting many members of the Albigensian heresy.

The Seventeenth Day of Christmas

Meditation on the Baptism of Christ
And Jesus being baptized, forthwith came out of the water; and lo, the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him. And behold a voice from heaven saying, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased."

Jesus stoops so low as to mingle with the multitude of sinners, and forthwith the heavens are opened to magnify Him — He acknowledges Himself worthy of the strokes of divine justice, and behold, the Father declares that He takes all His delight in Him: Humiliavit semetipsom... propter quod et Deus exaltavit illum.

It is at this moment that the mission of Jesus, as One sent by God, is declared authentic. The Father's testimony accredits, so to speak, His Son before the world, and hence this testimony relates to one of the characters of Christ's work as regards ourselves.

The mission of Jesus has a double aspect: it bears at the same time the character of redemption and of sanctification. It is to redeem souls, and, this done, to infuse life into them. That is the whole work of the Savior.

— Excerpted from Christ in His Mysteries by Dom Columba Marmion

St. William of Bourges

William Berruyer, of the illustrious family of the ancient Counts of Nevers, was educated by Peter the Hermit, Archdeacon of Soissons, his uncle by the mother's side.

From his infancy William learned to despise the folly and emptiness of the world, to abhor its pleasures, and to tremble at its dangers. His only delight was in exercises of piety and in his studies, in which he employed his whole time with indefatigable application. He was made canon, first of Soissons, and afterwards of Paris; but he soon resolved to abandon the world, and retired into the solitude of Grandmont, where he lived with great regularity in that austere Order until finally he joined the Cistercians, then in wonderful odor of sanctity. After some time he was chosen prior of the Abbey of Pontigny, and afterwards became Abbot of Chaalis.

On the death of Henri de Sully, Archbishop of Bourges, William was chosen to succeed him. The announcement of this new dignity which had fallen on him overwhelmed him with grief, and he would not have accepted the office had not the Pope and his general, the Abbot of Citeaux, commanded him to do so. His first care in his new position was to conform his life to the most perfect rules of sanctity. He redoubled all his austerities, saying it was incumbent on him now to do penance for others as well as for himself. He always wore a hair-shirt under his religious habit, and never added to his clothing in winter or diminished it in summer; he never ate any flesh-meat, though he had it at his table for strangers.

When he drew near his end, he was, at his request, laid on ashes in his hair-cloth, and in this posture expired on the l0th of January, 1209. His body was interred in his cathedral, and being honored by many miracles, was taken up in 1217, and in the year following, William was canonized by Pope Honorius III.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 5:12-16

Christmas Weekday

Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean. (Luke 5:12)

To be an outcast, banished from society, must be a disastrous experience. Can you even imagine what it would be like to be told, “You don’t belong here anymore”? Yet this was the lot of those afflicted with skin diseases like leprosy in the time of Jesus. Having to live outside of town, these people were deprived of friends, family, and even religious observance. And this was on top of the physical suffering and decay of their diseases.

We can see one result of this devastating experience in today’s Gospel reading. The leprous man had no doubt heard talk of this young rabbi, of his ability and disposition to heal, of his kindness to those cast out by society. So when he had the chance to meet Jesus, he knew just what to do. He prostrated himself and proclaimed that he knew Jesus was able to heal him. He knew what he needed, he knew Jesus could help him, and he wasn’t about to miss his chance.

Praise God, his hope was not disappointed! While the people around Jesus may have cringed or turned away, Jesus didn’t hesitate. No, he reached out and touched the man, even though he was “full of leprosy” (Luke 5:12). He seems to be saying, “Of course I want to heal you. That’s why I’m here!” In that moment, Jesus gave back to the man all that he had lost: his health, his home, his family, and his right to worship at the Temple. It didn’t take convincing, bargaining, pleading, or perseverance. With one simple cry to Jesus, he was healed!

How about us? We all have the disease of sin, and it threatens to isolate us just as much as that skin disease isolated the man in today’s Gospel passage. But remember Jesus’ response to him: “I do will it. Be made clean” (Luke 5:13). This is how he sees us when we come to him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. “Of course I’ll forgive you!” He is always willing to touch us, to heal us, and to bring us back to our Father. So no matter how “leprous” your sin may make you feel, throw yourself at Jesus’ feet. You won’t be disappointed.

“Lord, teach me my need for you. Help me to put myself fully in your hands.”

Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20; 1 John 5:5-13

Vultus Christi

Come ye to adore me

Friday, 10 January 2014 20:19

Here is the conclusion of Mother Mectilde’s Epiphany conference of 1694. Mother Mectilde wisely counsels against seeking extraordinary sensible manifestations of God’s will, subject to illusion and to deception. Instead, she invites her Benedictines to incline the ear of their heart to the quiet inward inspiration of the Holy Spirit and to respond to the voice of Christ who speaks in silence, saying, “Adore Me in spirit and in truth.”

Adore Me in Spirit and in Truth

God has bestowed this grace upon you, preferring you to so many other holy souls who are more worthy than you and who would carry out this duty better if Our Lord would show them the mercy that He has granted you, and if they were to hear His voice say to them: “Come ye to adore me. Come ye to be my perpetual adorers.” How they would run [to Him]! And you also, if you were to hear these words, would you not all be transported out of yourselves for sheer joy? And even so, He has spoken these words to you in the depths of your heart, by means of the appeal of His grace, more really than if you had heard them by means of a voice’s distinct sound, which could be subject to illusion and to deception. Instead, the movement of His grace and the inspiration of His Spirit within you, by which you have been called to the vocation in which you find yourselves, should give you the assurance that He has spoken these words, and that day after day He repeats them, saying to you at every moment, “Adore Me in spirit and in truth.”

One of the most remarkable characteristics of Mother Mectilde’s teaching is her conviction that all the baptized are called to holiness. This is borne out in her rich correspondence with laymen and laywomen living in the world. She never hesitates to invite them to the same life of victimhood through Jesus, with Jesus, and in Jesus that she presents to her daughters in so compelling a way. The life of perpetual adoration is not for a coterie of elite souls; it belongs to the life of all who, being baptized, are called to become the adorers in spirit and in truth whom the Father seeks.

Tend to It with All your Heart

Oh, what a boon God has given us in choosing us! I shall never be able to repeat it enough. Our hearts must remain immersed in a continual thanksgiving towards this God of goodness. All our care must be to please Him, to serve Him, and to satisfy Him. Given that we owe Him all our very selves, is it not then just that we should give ourselves to Him, continuing faithfully to free ourselves of ourselves and of creatures, so to devote ourselves to Him alone? This is our obligation, this is the perfection to which God calls us. But, for your consolation, I want to say to you that if you have not yet attained this perfection, it is enough that you should tend to it with all your heart. We are not, in fact, bound to be perfect all at once, but — under pain of mortal sin — we are bound to tend to perfection. Indeed, some theologians think this of all Christians. If this is so how few will be those who are saved, given that so few think of this! But let us reflect upon ourselves since we are doubly bound to this by our profession. Let us, then, work seriously to become faithful to what we have promised to God. It is up to us to think on these things and to examine ourselves in consequence.

Here, Mother Mectilde’s teaching corresponds to that of Saint Paul: “Whatever you are about, in word and action alike, invoke always the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, offering your thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). And again this text must be read in the light of Saint Paul’s injunction to the Romans: “And now, brethren, I appeal to you by God’s mercies to offer up your bodies as a living sacrifice, consecrated to God and worthy of his acceptance; this is the worship due from you as rational creatures” (Romans 12:1).

Always and Everywhere

Oh, let us begin seriously to adore Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth, to be true perpetual adorers. Let us adore Him in all places and in all that we do. There is not a single action that can dispense us from this. You will say to me, “What, then, even while eating?” Yes, because you do not eat as animals do, only to satisfy yourselves but, rather, by way of homage and submission to the will of God, to renew your necessary strength and to sacrifice yourselves anew to His majesty. Doing this with these intentions, sanctify this action and others like it that, of themselves, are merely natural. In this way, you will maintain in these [actions] that spirit of adoration that, if you are faithful, will lead you on to the highest holiness, moving you to the perpetual sacrifice of yourselves. This will cause you to die to your passions, to your disordered inclinations and to all that is opposed to your sanctification, making you, at the same time, true victims, ever immolated to His glory and to His honour.

Regnum Christi

When God So Wills

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Friday after Epiphany

Luke 5:12-16

It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where he was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." And the leprosy left him immediately. Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but "Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them." The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments, but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I approach you today with a heart as humble as this leper’s, who can claim no beauty apart from what you can give him. My willful defects have disfigured your plan for me, and I seek from you today the power to make all my works and words clean. I hope in you and trust in your infinite mercy.

Petition:Lord, grant me an unshakeable confidence in your infinite mercy.

1. "Lord, If You Wish, You Can Make Me Clean": If God so wills.... This marks a disposition of soul that says the leper wants God more than he wants his cure. By demonstrating patience and acceptance, he shows he is ready to live his cross according to God’s plan for him. Being self-absorbed and not accepting problems and defects is, in itself, an obstacle to being cured of them. Some lose patience in the fight because they want the cure more than they want the one who cures. Such cures may heal the body, but leave the soul diseased and unattractive to God. Openness to God’s time, detachment from an easy life, and total abandonment into Our Lord hands permits illness to cure the soul long before it is freed from the body. How beautiful the soul of this humble leper was in Christ’s eyes! May I let this prayer today open my heart to accept all trials of the moment with humility and love for the God who guides me.

2. "I Do Will It. Be Made Clean": The disfigurement of leprosy becomes a symbol for the soul of a sinner in need of redemption. Suffering the miserable and disfiguring effects of sin provokes man to begin the path to conversion and change. There is something of disbelief in a new life for those who still feel the sting of a grievous sin of their past. They work to draw close to God, but find it hard to believe he would ever want to be close to them. The intervention of God––definitive, eternal, absolute––moves Christ’s hand, which reaches out to touch the leper saying, “I do will it!” From his flesh to his soul––God’s will to forgive and heal surpasses our human comprehension! When we stop measuring our failures from wounded self-love and accept with living faith the decisive will of the redemptive God, we will find ourselves fully immersed in the life of the new man in Christ, dead to sin and dead to the world.

3. Then He Ordered Him Not to Tell Anyone: Our Lord imposes silence. Not all that is known needs to be said, and prudence is demanded from a disciple of Christ. How often do we slow down God’s work by speaking too much, manifesting too much of our knowledge for vanity’s sake? Christ is secure in himself because he lives his mission face-to-face with his Father, and the time and place of his formal manifestation to the Jews will come at his bidding. Discretion, as a virtue, is a self-giving work, not in the least self-serving. We speak so as to maximize the good we wish to do for others. Our Lord’s discretion proves such a posture. When will his identity be formerly declared? “When I am raised up, then I will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). Only in his passion, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, will he fully show his hand. May I communicate my experience of Christ, my knowledge of him, with the humility, charity and restraint that prudence imposes, so that I may maximize the effect of Christ’s truth in the world.

Conversation with Christ:Lord, I see your hand moving from the leper to my soul, showing its power to transform. No sin should ever break my fighting spirit; no longtime defect should ever weaken my hope in victory. Your hand but moves and all is cured, forgiven, and redeemed. Today I anchor my program of holiness with confidence in your grace and unconditional love.

Resolution:I will entrust someone I know to be living a bad life to the power of Our Lord’s mercy.

One Bread One Body

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 1

<< Friday, January 10, 2014 >>

1 John 5:5-13
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Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20

Luke 5:12-16
Similar Reflections

CHRISTMAS MISERY

"On one occasion in a certain town, a man full of leprosy came to" Jesus. —Luke 5:12

We ask everyone if they had a good holiday and Christmas season, and they all say "Fine." Yet behind those sad smiles and between the lines of our "small talk," we sense a deep hurt, severe depression, unrepentant sin, and devastating bondage. Marriages are destroyed; bitterness and resentment poison family life; hearts are broken by rejection. Some mourn over the death and loss of loved ones. Some have lost contact with God because of sin and self. Many have had a terrible Christmas.

You don't have to smile faintly and tell Jesus about your "nice" Christmas. He sees your sin and pain and "leprosy." Bow "down to the ground" before the Christ-Child and say to Him: "Lord, if You will to do so, You can cure me" (Lk 5:12). Jesus will stretch out His hand, touch you, and say: "I do will it. Be cured" (Lk 5:13). Jesus wills Christmas for us. He wills life, repentance, and healing. He wills salvation for us. Remember the laborers in the vineyard who got the full day's pay even though hired at the last minute (Mt 20:9). Jesus wants to give you the fullness of Christmas, no matter what has happened and how late it is. "I have written this to you to make you realize that you possess eternal life — you who believe in the name of the Son of God" (1 Jn 5:13).

Prayer: Father, not by my might, not by my power, but by Your Spirit, I will have Christmas (Zec 4:6).

Promise: "Who, then, is conqueror of the world? The one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." —1 Jn 5:5

Praise: Michele ruined Christmas by committing fornication. She repented and went to Confession. Jesus gave her the best finish to the Christmas season ever.

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Meditation: Luke 5:12-16

Marriage=One Man and One Woman 'Til Death Do Us Part

One Bread, One Body

CHRISTMAS MISERY