January 30, 2014

Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

After Nathan had spoken to King David,
the king went in and sat before the LORD and said,
“Who am I, Lord GOD, and who are the members of my house,
that you have brought me to this point?
Yet even this you see as too little, Lord GOD;
you have also spoken of the house of your servant
for a long time to come:
this too you have shown to man, Lord GOD!

“You have established for yourself your people Israel as yours forever,
and you, LORD, have become their God.
And now, LORD God, confirm for all time the prophecy you have made
concerning your servant and his house,
and do as you have promised.
Your name will be forever great, when men say,
‘The LORD of hosts is God of Israel,’
and the house of your servant David stands firm before you.
It is you, LORD of hosts, God of Israel,
who said in a revelation to your servant,
‘I will build a house for you.’
Therefore your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer to you.
And now, Lord GOD, you are God and your words are truth;
you have made this generous promise to your servant.
Do, then, bless the house of your servant
that it may be before you forever;
for you, Lord GOD, have promised,
and by your blessing the house of your servant
shall be blessed forever.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 132:1-2, 3-5, 11, 12, 13-14

R. (Lk 1:32b) The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
LORD, remember David
and all his anxious care;
How he swore an oath to the LORD,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob.
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
“I will not enter the house where I live,
nor lie on the couch where I sleep;
I will give my eyes no sleep,
my eyelids no rest,
Till I find a home for the LORD,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
The LORD swore an oath to David
a firm promise from which he will not withdraw:
“Your own offspring
I will set upon your throne.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
“If your sons keep my covenant,
and the decrees which I shall teach them,
Their sons, too, forever
shall sit upon your throne.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.
For the LORD has chosen Zion,
he prefers her for his dwelling:
“Zion is my resting place forever;
in her I will dwell, for I prefer her.”
R. The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father.

Gospel Mk 4:21-25

Jesus said to his disciples,
“Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lampstand?
For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light.
Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.”
He also told them, “Take care what you hear.
The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you,
and still more will be given to you.
To the one who has, more will be given;
from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

21. And he said to them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
22. For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
23. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
24. And he said to them, Take heed what you hear: with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you: and to you that hear shall more be given.
25. For he that has, to him shall be given: and he that has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has.

CHRYS. After the question of the disciples concerning the parable, and its explanation, He well subjoins, And he said to them, Is a candle brought, &c. As if he said, A parable is given, not that it should remain obscure, and hidden as if under a bed or a bushel, but that it should be manifested to those who are worthy. The candle within us is that of our intellectual nature, and it shines either clearly or obscurely according to the proportion of our illumination. For if meditations which feed the light, and the recollection with which such a light is kindled, are neglected, it is presently extinguished.

PSEUDO-JEROME; Or else the candle is the discourse concerning the three sorts of seed. The bushel or the bed is the hearing of the disobedient. The Apostles are the candlestick, whom the word of the Lord has enlightened; wherefore it goes on, For there is nothing hidden, &c. The hidden and secret thing is the parable of the seed, which comes forth to light, when it is spoken of by the Lord.

THEOPHYL. Or else the Lord warns His disciples to be as light, in their life and conversation; as if He said, As a candle is put so as to give light, so all will look to your life. Therefore be diligent to lead a good life; sit not in corners, but be you a candle. For a candle gives light, not when placed under a bed, but on a candlestick; this light indeed must be placed on a candlestick, that is, on the eminence of a godly life, that it may be able to give light to others. Not under a bushel, that is, in things pertaining to the palate, nor under a bed, that is, in idleness. For no one who seeks after the delights of his palate and loves rest can be a light shining over all.

BEDE; Or, because the time of our life is contained under a certain measurement of Divine Providence, it is rightly compared to a bushel. But the bed of the soul is the body, in which it dwells and reposes for a time. He therefore who hides the word of God under the love of this transitory life, and of carnal allurements, covers his candle with a bushel or a bed. But be puts his light on a candlestick, who employs his body in the ministry of the word of God; therefore under these words He typically teaches them a figure of preaching. Wherefore it goes on, For there is nothing hidden, which shall not be revealed, nor is there any thing made secret, which shall not come abroad. As if He said, Be not afraid of the Gospel, but amidst the darkness of persecution raise the light of the word of God upon the candlestick of your body, keeping fixedly in your mind that day, when the Lord will throw light upon the hidden places of darkness, for then everlasting praise awaits you, and everlasting punishment your adversaries.

CHRYS. Or else, There is nothing hid; as if He said, If you conduct your life with care, accusation will not be aide to obscure your light.

THEOPHYL. For each of us, whether he have done good or evil, is brought to light in this life, much more in that which is to come. For what can be more hidden than God, nevertheless He Himself is manifested in the flesh. It continues, If any man have ears to ear, let him hear.

BEDE; That is, if any man have a sense for understanding. the word of God, let him not withdraw himself, let him not turn his ear to fables, but let him lend his ear to search those things which truth has spoken, his hands for fulfilling them, his tongue for preaching them. There follows, And he said to them, Take heed what you hear.

THEOPHYL. That is, that none of those things which are said to you by me should escape you. With what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you, that is, whatsoever degree of application you bring, in that degree you will receive profit.

BEDE; Or else, If you diligently endeavor to do all the good which you can, and to teach it to your neighbors, the mercy of God will come in, to give you both in the present life a sense to take in higher things, and a will to do better things, and will add for the future an everlasting reward. And therefore it is subjoined, And to you shall more be given.

PSUEDO-JEROME; According. to the measure of his faith the understanding of mysteries is divided to every man, and the virtues of knowledge will also be added to them. It goes on: For he that has, to him shall be given; that is, he who has faith shall have virtue, and he who has obedience to the word, shall also have the understanding of the mystery. Again, he who, on the other hand, has not faith, fails in virtue; and he who has not obedience to the word, shall not have the understanding of it; and if he does not understand he might as well not have heard.

PSEUD-CHRYS Or else, he who has the desire and wish to hear and to seek, to him shall be given. But be who has not the desire of hearing. divine things even what he happens to have of the written law is taken from him.

BEDE; For sometimes a clever reader by neglecting his mind, deprives himself of wisdom, of which he tastes the sweetness, who, though slow in intellect, works more diligently.

CHRYS. Again it may be said, that he has not, who has not truth. But our Lord says that he has, because he has a lie, for every one whose understanding believes a lie, thinks that he has something.

Catena Aurea Mark 4

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:January 30, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, direct our actions according to your good pleasure, that in the name of your beloved Son we may abound in good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

o None

ACTIVITIES

o Life of St. Martina

PRAYERS

o Hymn to St. Martina

o Novena for Purification

· Ordinary Time: January 30th

· Wednesday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: St. Martina, virgin and martyr

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Martina who was a Roman virgin born of an illustrious family. Both of her parents died while she was very young. She distributed among the poor the immense wealth which she inherited and so laid up for herself unfailing treasures in heaven. With great constancy she refused to offer sacrifices to false gods. She was tortured in various inhuman ways, she was exposed to the attacks of beasts in the amphitheater, and was finally beheaded about the year 228.

St. Martina
She was a noble Roman virgin, who glorified God, suffering many torments and a cruel death for her faith, in the capital city of the world, in the third century. There stood a chapel consecrated to her memory in Rome, which was frequented with great devotion in the time of St. Gregory the Great. Her relics were discovered in a vault, in the ruins of her old church and translated with great pomp in the year 1634, under the Pope Urban VIII, who built a new church in her honor, and composed himself the hymns used in her office in the Roman Breviary. The city of Rome ranks her among its particular patrons. The history of the discovery of her relics was published by Honoratus of Viterbo, an Oratorian.

— Taken from Vol. I of The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints by the Rev. Alban Butler, the 1864 edition published by D. & J. Sadlier, & Company.

Patron: Nursing mothers; Rome, Italy.

Symbols: Maiden with a lion; being beheaded by a sword; tortured by being hung on a two-pronged hook; receiving a lily and the palm of martyrdom from the Virgin and Child.

Things to Do:

Read about the Roman Church dedicated to St Luke the Evangelist and St Martina.
Pray to St. Martina for the courage to destroy those idols of our affections, to which we are so prone to offer the sacrifice of our hearts. Examine your conscience and try to identify what these idols might be.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Mark 4:21-25

3rd Week in Ordinary Time

To the one who has, more will be given. (Mark 4:25)

Many experts agree that exploring alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power is very important for the world’s future. At the same time, the world still has vast untapped resources that can be used right now. For example, Brazil and Venezuela combined have the potential to produce over six hundred billion barrels of oil. And the United States could produce an estimated 2.3 trillion barrels. But these resources will remain unused unless we can find a safe way to bring them out from under the ground.

Jesus has some very important things to say about untapped resources as well, but he’s talking about the resources within us—our gifts and talents. Much like the earth’s resources, they were given to us for a reason: they were meant to be used and not kept “under a basket” (Mark 4:21). But there are a couple of remarkable differences between our resources and those found in nature. Oil will eventually run out, and there are some places where we shouldn’t go drilling to get it. But there’s no limit on how we can use our gifts. In fact, the more we use them, the more they grow. The more we give out, the more we have to give!

Some of us may not realize the awesome potential we have for building the kingdom of God. Or we may wonder if we are using our gifts to the fullest. If you need a little inspiration, think of those whose service to God has made a big difference in your life—not necessarily Mother Teresa, but your neighbors and friends who do so much with the skills they have. Your parish, small group, or Bible study wouldn’t be the same if they weren’t making their own unique contributions.

Today, let’s praise and thank the Lord for the gifts that these people are to us. Let’s also ask him how we can shine our lights a little more brightly today. God has called each of us to shine in different ways, and each light does something to scatter the darkness in the world. Joined together in Christ, we can become a glorious source of renewable, spiritual energy!

“Lord, you have given me so much. Help me to use all that I have to bring glory to you!”

2 Samuel 7:18-19, 24-29; Psalm 132:1-5, 11-14

Vultus Christi

I lost myself in Him

Thursday, 30 January 2014 14:11

Catherine de Bar’s Mysterious Prophetic Dream

Some time after her religious profession in 1633, and before the destruction of the monastery of Bruyères in 1635, Catherine de Bar (Mother Saint John the Evangelist) had a mysterious dream. She wrote an account of this dream for her spiritual director. The text of this account, given by Mère Marie–Véronique Andral in Catherine de Bar: Itinéraire spirituel, is an extraordinary revelation of all that will come to characterize the spiritual experience of the future Benedictine. Mother Saint John writes:

It seemed to me that I was in a fairground in which there were a great number of boutiques enriched with the most beautiful and precious things imaginable. I was a merchant, and I had a boutique that appeared even more magnificent than the others.

As I was occupied with looking at all these riches, I heard a great noise and each one began to run, saying, “Behold, the Lord!” At once I felt that I had so burning a desire to see Him that I did everything possible to discover where He was. Having seen Him stopping in all the boutiques, I thought in myself that He would also stop in mine, which obliged me to wait in the entry to welcome Him.

At length, my Lord arrived in the midst of a great crowd of people. He was clothed in a long white robe with a cincture of gold; His hair, almost blonde, hung to His shoulders; His face was somewhat long, and His eyes so charming that they stole away every heart. In truth, He barely passed in front of me but, in passing, He cast upon me such a glance that I remained altogether transported by it and heartily compelled to leave my boutique in order to follow Him. I took with me in my robe, nonetheless, the most beautiful things and the easiest to carry, and so I followed Him in the crowd.

I felt within myself that I was not only to follow Him, but also to walk in His footsteps. It required great attention to recognize His footprints among those of the people. This caused me to neglect all the rest and so, almost imperceptibly, I lost all that I was carrying with me.

The multitude being, little by little, dispersed, I found myself outside the city, alone with Our Lord, whom I tried to follow as closely as possible. Then, I fell. All my attention was to put myself again in His footsteps, and as quickly as possible. He led me by very difficult paths, extremely narrow, all rocky, and full of thorns, which tore away my shoes, my headdress, and my clothes. My arms, my hands, my feet, and my whole body were bloodied.

Finally, after these inconceivable sufferings, being stripped of my garments by the briars and thorns, I found myself clothed now in a white robe, with a cincture of gold like that of Our Lord, in a lovely path where still I was following Him closely. For all of this, He did not look at me. I thought within myself, “If only He would look at me, I should be content!” And then, to console myself, I said, “He knows well that I love him!” I felt a kind of channel between His Heart and mine, something like a tube or conduit, which went from one to the other, and which united them in such a way that the two [hearts] were but one.

After having walked a long time following Our Lord, I found myself in a great prairie where the grass appeared to be of gold — which signifies charity — all adorned with flowers. In it were big sheep with raised heads, feeding only on the dew from heaven; although they were up to their necks in the pasture, they ate nothing of it. I was shown that these sheep represent the contemplative souls who feed on God alone, and who fill themselves on nothing apart from His divine plenitude. Among these sheep, I saw one who was very thin and who was going away from the flock. The sheep did this so much that, at the end, he left the flock altogether.

I so wanted to enjoy the happiness of the souls whom these sheep represented, but I was allowed only to look at them and, so doing, I went beyond them, always following my divine guide. He led me then into a great plain, at the end of which there was a magnificent palace, but its door was so low and so narrow that one could hardly see it. This made me think that I should never be able to pass through it. I was extremely saddened by this. Then, Our Lord, who had been pretending not to see me, ever since that first glance when He passed in front of my boutique, turned around and looked at me. I understood, at the same time that, in order to enter into the palace, I would have to be brought to nothing utterly. In that moment, Our Lord entered in, and I with Him. But I made such efforts to go in after Him that, not only was my tunic stripped away, but I left there even my skin all in shreds. I lost myself in Him, and so lost was I that I no longer found myself.

The future foundress of the Benedictine of Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament gives no explanation of her mysterious dream. For Mother Saint John, it is transparent enough by itself. Are the various boutiques of the fair the many religious orders of the Church, each one displaying its wares? Why, after a single personal glance of Jesus, must she leave her own boutique behind to follow Him, losing everything she has along the way? Mother Saint John was not permitted even to linger among those perfect contemplative souls whom she saw represented as sheep in the meadow, feeding only on dew from heaven. Why does she find herself, in the end, completely alone? She was called to make her way past them all into a vast solitary plain. The little door she sees in the distance resembles the famous low door of the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem. Going through that door is like passing through a birth channel; it is in fact a new birth. On the other side of that door she will be established by grace in a humility so profound that, through her life and in all her writings, she will describe it as an anéantissement, a being brought to nothing.

Vultus Christi

Prayer: Something Very Simple

Thursday, 30 January 2014 16:43

It is enough for you to be with Me.
This is all I ask of you.
I do not ask for elevated thoughts,
or for emotional outpourings,
or for nicely constructed phrases.
I ask only that you stay with Me.

I need your company even now
just as I needed the company
of Peter, James, and John
in Gethsemani.
They slept on, it is true, but I knew they were there,
and their mere presence
was a consolation to My agonizing Heart.

You are afraid of distractions, of daydreams,
and of foolish thoughts;
these do not offend Me
because they are no more than flies
buzzing in the background.
I am absorbed by your presence before Me.
Does this shock you that I should say such a thing?
But I am absorbed by you:
My eyes rest upon you;My Heart is all yours;
I am listening intently to you;
and all My attention is focused on you
when you come seeking Me.
Believe that I am totally absorbed by you,
and soon you will be totally absorbed by Me.

I speak here using human terms,
using the language of friendship, of affection, of love.
I am present here in all the sensitivity and tenderness of My humanity.
I am here offering you My friendship,
ready to spend as much time with you
as you are ready to spend with Me.

I want you close to Me:
as close as John was to Me when, at My last supper,
he rested his head upon My breast.
Prayer such as this cannot be calculated or measured
in terms of minutes and hours.
It is what it is and this for as long as you abide in My presence.

Even when the time of your adoration is ended,I remain with you.
I am in you, all attentive to you, all loving,
ready at every moment to enter into conversation with you,
to strengthen you in temptation,
to comfort you in your sorrows,
to be a light for you in your darkness.

It requires but a little bit of faith
to realise that one is never alone,
to become aware of My presence,
of My readiness to communicate Myself to you wordlessly
by an infusion of My grace.

Use what I am telling you now
to comfort others who struggle in their prayer,
who find that prayer is difficult, and arduous,and wholly exceptional in the lives of ordinary people.For the man who seeks My Faceand desires to rest upon My Heart,
I make prayer something very simple:
wordless, peace–giving, cleansing, and divinely fruitful.

From In Sinu Iesu, The Journal of a Priest

Regnum Christi

Let Christ’s Light Shine

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

Mark 4:21-25

He said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear." He also told them, "Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

Introductory Prayer:Lord, thank you for reminding me today of my dignity as a Christian. By your grace in baptism and by your teaching in the gospels and in the Church, you have put light in my soul. Lord, you are my light.

Petition:Christ, help me to be a sincere witness of your light.

1. Transparency in Our Lives: God sees us. This is a simple truth—an extremely powerful truth. God looks at us with love. We cannot hide from God. We cannot hide from ourselves. We cannot even hide from others. We need to live in the presence of God. God lets light shine on our lives so that we can see the truth about ourselves, and so that we need not be ashamed that others see the truth about who we are. True happiness is preserved and increased by the tenacious living of sincerity.

2. Light for the World: Our life is not just for ourselves. We are called to be a gift for others, a gift that leads them to God. This is the greatest thing about our life: We are called to give life. We are called to participate in the fruitfulness of God. We give life by enlightening others. We help other people come to the light by trying sincerely to go clearly towards the light and by not fearing to show people the truth. The light shed by our lives produces a real effect in souls. Vatican II reminds us that modern man needs reasons for hope. A Christian carries hope. Will I keep it hidden; perhaps even kill it by being afraid to share it? Or will I let the world receive hope? Will I let the world see that we all can be much greater than we think because our Father is greater than we think?

3. Standing up for the Light of Truth to Be Lived: Moral relativism seems to be the norm for our times. Many people think that they can decide what principles they will live by, instead of seeking to form their consciences by principles in accordance with God’s loving design for the human person. Am I content merely to follow what I know to be right, or do I also look to enlighten the consciences of others, prudently and charitably? Have I ever given the impression of condoning actions that are wrong? Do I take an interest in promoting the value of life in all of its stages? Am I courageous in nobly defending others when people criticize them behind their backs?

Conversation with Christ:Lord, thank you for this calling. You have given light to my soul so that I can be a light for others. Lord, help me to have confidence in the power of your light: the power of your truth and grace. Let me be brave enough to allow this light to penetrate my soul even more today. Let me be brave enough to not hide from your light; let me be brave enough to give it to others.

Resolution:I will enlighten my conscience better about a point of our faith or morals by looking it up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (It can be found on-line at http://www.vatican.vaif needed).

Come to the light

by Food For Thought on January 30, 2014 ·

When David prayed to God saying: “…you make your promises extend to the House of your servant for a far-distant future …” he realized that it was beyond his vision. God had plans for the nation of Israel but not according to man’s limited understanding because it was God himself who will build it. Men are just partners in the historical process. Remember, that the Israelites understood that man cannot gaze at God because he will surely perish. Man’s finite capacity cannot comprehend that which is infinite. This is why, in order for man to understand, it would take the initiative of God to reveal it in a way that his finite capacity can understand. This is through Jesus. Now, seeing God is possible. When we see Jesus, we can see God and not perish. Jesus comes as the Light to a world in darkness. His light is to be held up as a beacon for all to be led out of our sinful world of darkness and into the light of his presence and love. He will show us the way towards the “House” that David once spoke of – far, far into the distant future. We are also told to listen. If we abide and remain in his love and light, we can become fruitful because we will share in that vision for the building up of the “Kingdom of God.” We are given the choice whether or not to respond to his invitation to come into the light and hold it up for others to see.

One Bread One Body

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 1

<< Thursday, January 30, 2014 >>

2 Samuel 7:18-19, 24-29
View Readings

Psalm 132:1-5, 11-14

Mark 4:21-25
Similar Reflections

"NO GREATER LOVE" (Jn 15:13)

"Who am I, Lord God, and who are the members of my house, that You have brought me to this point?" —2 Samuel 7:18

David was awed by the graces the Lord had given to him and his family. Yet, "the least born into the kingdom of God is greater" than David (Mt 11:11). David was a king, but he was not an adopted child of God, as is each Christian. It was prophesied that the Messiah would come from David's line. However, David could not even dream that the Messiah would be God, Who would live among us, change our human nature by dying on the cross, rise from the dead, and live within us.

The Lord promised that David's house would last forever (see 2 Sm 7:16, 29), but David had no idea that God would raise from the dead those who believe in Jesus, the son of David (see Jn 11:25-26). Of course, David never had any opportunity to receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus, God Himself. It would have been impossible for David even to conceive of such a thing.

David was blessed, but we as Christians are much more than blessed (Mt 13:16-17). No one has ever been loved more than we are (see Jn 15:13). Thank, live, and love accordingly.

Prayer: Father, I will live in Love and live in You (1 Jn 4:16).

Promise: "Listen carefully to what you hear. In the measure you give you shall receive." —Mk 4:24

Praise: Ralph awoke with a terrible headache and couldn't see out of one eye. After attending Sunday Mass, his wife urged him to approach his priest for prayer. His priest prayed for him right on the street outside the church. A moment later, Jesus restored his sight and the headache vanished.

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Meditation: Mark 4:21-25

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

Come to the light

One Bread, One Body

"NO GREATER LOVE" (Jn 15:13)