Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-12-14

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 02-12-14 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

February 12, 2014

Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

 

 

Reading 1 1 Kgs 10:1-10

The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon’s fame,
came to test him with subtle questions.
She arrived in Jerusalem with a very numerous retinue,
and with camels bearing spices,
a large amount of gold, and precious stones.
She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subject
in which she was interested.
King Solomon explained everything she asked about,
and there remained nothing hidden from him
that he could not explain to her.

When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon’s great wisdom,
the palace he had built, the food at his table,
the seating of his ministers, the attendance and garb of his waiters,
his banquet service,
and the burnt offerings he offered in the temple of the LORD,
she was breathless.
“The report I heard in my country
about your deeds and your wisdom is true,” she told the king.
“Though I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes,
I have discovered that they were not telling me the half.
Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard.
Blessed are your men, blessed these servants of yours,
who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom.
Blessed be the LORD, your God,
whom it has pleased to place you on the throne of Israel.
In his enduring love for Israel,
the LORD has made you king to carry out judgment and justice.”
Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty gold talents,
a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones.
Never again did anyone bring such an abundance of spices
as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40

R. (30a) The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom
and his tongue utters what is right.
The law of his God is in his heart,
and his steps do not falter.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.

Gospel Mk 7:14-23

Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”

When he got home away from the crowd
his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them,
“Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?”
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”

[Salvation]

Part 1: The Profession of Faith (26 - 1065)

Section 2: The Profession of the Christian Faith (185 - 1065)

Chapter 2: I Believe in Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God (422 - 682)

Article 3: "He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the Virgin Mary" (456 - 570)

Paragraph 3: The Mysteries of Christ's Life (512 - 570)

1163
(all)

512

Concerning Christ's life the Creed speaks only about the mysteries of the Incarnation (conception and birth) and Paschal mystery (passion, crucifixion, death, burial, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension). It says nothing explicitly about the mysteries of Jesus' hidden or public life, but the articles of faith concerning his Incarnation and Passover do shed light on the whole of his earthly life. "All that Jesus did and taught, from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven",¹⁷¹ is to be seen in the light of the mysteries of Christmas and Easter.

171.

Acts 1:1-2.

426
561
(all)

513

According to circumstances catechesis will make use of all the richness of the mysteries of Jesus. Here it is enough merely to indicate some elements common to all the mysteries of Christ's life (I), in order then to sketch the principal mysteries of Jesus' hidden (II) and public (III) life.

I. CHRIST'S WHOLE LIFE IS MYSTERY ⇡

514

Many things about Jesus of interest to human curiosity do not figure in the Gospels. Almost nothing is said about his hidden life at Nazareth, and even a great part of his public life is not recounted.¹⁷² What is written in the Gospels was set down there "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name."¹⁷³

172.

Cf. Jn 20:30.

173.

Jn 20:31.

126
477
609
774
(all)

515

The Gospels were written by men who were among the first to have the faith¹⁷⁴ and wanted to share it with others. Having known in faith who Jesus is, they could see and make others see the traces of his mystery in all his earthly life. From the swaddling clothes of his birth to the vinegar of his Passion and the shroud of his Resurrection, everything in Jesus' life was a sign of his mystery.¹⁷⁵ His deeds, miracles and words all revealed that "in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily."¹⁷⁶ His humanity appeared as "sacrament", that is, the sign and instrument, of his divinity and of the salvation he brings: what was visible in his earthly life leads to the invisible mystery of his divine sonship and redemptive mission

174.

Cf. Mk 1:1; Jn 21:24.

175.

Cf Lk 2:7; Mt 27: 48; Jn 20:7.

176.

Col 2:9.

Characteristics common to Jesus' mysteries ⇡

2708
65
(all)

516

Christ's whole earthly life — his words and deeds, his silences and sufferings, indeed his manner of being and speaking — is Revelation of the Father. Jesus can say: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father", and the Father can say: "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"¹⁷⁷ Because our Lord became man in order to do his Father's will, even the least characteristics of his mysteries manifest "God's love... among us".¹⁷⁸

177.

Jn 14:9; Lk 9:35; cf. Mt 17:5; Mk 9:7 ("my beloved Son").

178.

1 Jn 4:9.

1115
606
(all)

517

Christ's whole life is a mystery of redemption. Redemption comes to us above all through the blood of his cross,¹⁷⁹ but this mystery is at work throughout Christ's entire life:

• already in his Incarnation through which by becoming poor he enriches us with his poverty;¹⁸⁰
• in his hidden life which by his submission atones for our disobedience;¹⁸¹
• in his word which purifies its hearers;¹⁸²
• in his healings and exorcisms by which "he took our infirmities and bore our diseases";¹⁸³
• and in his Resurrection by which he justifies us.¹⁸⁴

179.

Cf. Eph 1:7; Col 1:13-14; 1 Pet 1:18-19.

180.

Cf. 2 Cor 8:9.

181.

Cf. Lk 2:51.

182.

Cf. Jn 15:3.

183.

Mt 8:17; cf. Isa 53:4.

184.

Cf. Rom 4:25.

2748
668
(all)

518

Christ's whole life is a mystery of recapitulation. All Jesus did, said and suffered had for its aim restoring fallen man to his original vocation: When Christ became incarnate and was made man, he recapitulated in himself the long history of mankind and procured for us a "short cut" to salvation, so that what we had lost in Adam, that is, being in the image and likeness of God, we might recover in Christ Jesus.¹⁸⁵ For this reason Christ experienced all the stages of life, thereby giving communion with God to all men.¹⁸⁶

185.

St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 18, 1: PG 7/1, 932.

186.

St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 18, 7: PG 7/1, 937; cf. 2, 22, 4.

Our communion in the mysteries of Jesus ⇡

1085
602
793
(all)

519

All Christ's riches "are for every individual and are everybody's property."¹⁸⁷ Christ did not live his life for himself but for us, from his Incarnation "for us men and for our salvation" to his death "for our sins" and Resurrection "for our justification".¹⁸⁸ He is still "our advocate with the Father", who "always lives to make intercession" for us.¹⁸⁹ He remains ever "in the presence of God on our behalf, bringing before him all that he lived and suffered for us."¹⁹⁰

187.

John Paul II, RH 11.

188.

1 Cor 15:3; Rom 4:25.

189.

1 Jn 2:1; Heb 7:25.

190.

Heb 9:24.

2607
359
459
(all)

1

 

520

In all of his life Jesus presents himself as our model. He is "the perfect man",¹⁹¹ who invites us to become his disciples and follow him. In humbling himself, he has given us an example to imitate, through his prayer he draws us to pray, and by his poverty he calls us to accept freely the privation and persecutions that may come our way.¹⁹²

191.

GS 38; cf. Rom 15:5; Phil 2:5.

192.

Cf. Jn 13:15; Lk 11:1; Mt 5:11-12.

1391
2715
(all)

521

Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us. "By his Incarnation, he, the Son of God, has in a certain way united himself with each man."¹⁹³ We are called only to become one with him, for he enables us as the members of his Body to share in what he lived for us in his flesh as our model: We must continue to accomplish in ourselves the stages of Jesus' life and his mysteries and often to beg him to perfect and realize them in us and in his whole Church... For it is the plan of the Son of God to make us and the whole Church partake in his mysteries and to extend them to and continue them in us and in his whole Church. This is his plan for fulfilling his mysteries in us.¹⁹⁴

193.

GS 22 § 2.

194.

St. John Eudes, LH, Week 33, Friday, OR.

II. THE MYSTERIES OF JESUS' INFANCY AND HIDDEN LIFE ⇡

The preparations ⇡

711
762
(all)

522

The coming of God's Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the "First Covenant".¹⁹⁵ He announces him through the mouths of the prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming.

195.

Heb 9:15.

1

 

523

St. John the Baptist is the Lord's immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his way.¹⁹⁶ "Prophet of the Most High", John surpasses all the prophets, of whom he is the last.¹⁹⁷ He inaugurates the Gospel, already from his mother's womb welcomes the coming of Christ, and rejoices in being "the friend of the bridegroom", whom he points out as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world".¹⁹⁸ Going before Jesus "in the spirit and power of Elijah", John bears witness to Christ in his preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through his martyrdom.¹⁹⁹

196.

Cf. Acts 13:24; Mt 3:3.

197.

Lk 1:76; cf. 7:26; Mt 11:13.

198.

Jn 1:29; cf. Acts 1:22; Lk 1:41; 16:16; Jn 3:29.

199.

Lk 1:17; cf. Mk 6:17-29.

1171
(all)

524

When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming.²⁰⁰ By celebrating the precursor's birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire: "He must increase, but I must decrease."²⁰¹

200.

Cf Rev 22:17.

201.

Jn 3:30.

The Christmas mystery ⇡

2443
437
(all)

525

Jesus was born in a humble stable, into a poor family.²⁰² Simple shepherds were the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's glory was made manifest.²⁰³ The Church never tires of singing the glory of this night: The Virgin today brings into the world the Eternal
And the earth offers a cave to the Inaccessible.
The angels and shepherds praise him
And the magi advance with the star,
For you are born for us,
Little Child, God eternal!²⁰⁴

202.

Cf. Lk 2:61.

203.

Cf. Lk 2:8-20.

204.

Kontakion of Romanos the Melodist.

460
(all)

526

To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the kingdom.²⁰⁵ For this, we must humble ourselves and become little. Even more: to become "children of God" we must be "born from above" or "born of God".²⁰⁶ Only when Christ is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us.²⁰⁷ Christmas is the mystery of this "marvelous exchange": O marvelous exchange! Man's Creator has become man, born of the Virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share our humanity.²⁰⁸

205.

Cf. Mt 18:3-4.

206.

Jn 3:7; 1:13; 1:12; cf. Mt 23:12.

207.

Cf. Gal 4:19.

208.

LH, Antiphon I of Evening Prayer for Janyary 1st.

The mysteries of Jesus' infancy ⇡

1214
580
(all)

527

Jesus' circumcision, on the eighth day after his birth,²⁰⁹ is the sign of his incorporation into Abraham's descendants, into the people of the covenant. It is the sign of his submission to the Law²¹⁰ and his deputation to Israel's worship, in which he will participate throughout his life. This sign prefigures that "circumcision of Christ" which is Baptism.²¹¹

209.

Cf. Lk 2:21.

210.

Cf. Gal 4:4.

211.

Cf. Col 2:11-13.

122
439
(all)

528

The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.²¹² In the magi, representatives of the neighboring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. The magi's coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations.²¹³ Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Savior of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament.²¹⁴ The Epiphany shows that "the full number of the nations" now takes its "place in the family of the patriarchs", and acquires Israelitica dignitas²¹⁵ (is made "worthy of the heritage of Israel").

212.

Mt 2:1; cf. LH, Epiphany, Evening Prayer II, Antiphon at the Canticle of Mary.

213.

Cf Mt 2:2; Num 24:17-19; Rev 22:16.

214.

Cf Jn 4:22; Mt 2:4-6.

215.

St. Leo the Great, Sermo 3 in epiphania Domini 1-3, 5: PL 54, 242; LH, Epiphany, OR; Roman Missal, Easter Vigil 26, Prayer after the third reading.

439
583
614
(all)

529

The presentation of Jesus in the temple shows him to be the firstborn Son who belongs to the Lord.²¹⁶ With Simeon and Anna, all Israel awaits its encounter with the Savior-the name given to this event in the Byzantine tradition. Jesus is recognized as the long-expected Messiah, the "light to the nations" and the "glory of Israel", but also "a sign that is spoken against". The sword of sorrow predicted for Mary announces Christ's perfect and unique oblation on the cross that will impart the salvation God had "prepared in the presence of all peoples".

216.

Cf. Lk 2:22-39; Ex 13:2, 12-13.

574
(all)

530

The flight into Egypt and the massacre of the innocents²¹⁷ make manifest the opposition of darkness to the light: "He came to his own home, and his own people received him not."²¹⁸ Christ's whole life was lived under the sign of persecution. His own share it with him.²¹⁹ Jesus' departure from Egypt recalls the exodus and presents him as the definitive liberator of God's people.²²⁰

217.

Cf. Mt 2:13-18.

218.

Jn 1:11.

219.

Cf. Jn 15:20.

220.

Cf. Mt 2:15; Hos 11:1.

The mysteries of Jesus' hidden life ⇡

2427
(all)

531

During the greater part of his life Jesus shared the condition of the vast majority of human beings: a daily life spent without evident greatness, a life of manual labor. His religious life was that of a Jew obedient to the law of God,²²¹ a life in the community. From this whole period it is revealed to us that Jesus was "obedient" to his parents and that he "increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man."²²²

221.

Cf. Gal 4:4.

222.

Lk 2:51-52.

 

II. THE MYSTERIES OF JESUS' INFANCY AND HIDDEN LIFE ⇡

The mysteries of Jesus' hidden life ⇡

612
(all)

1

 

532

Jesus' obedience to his mother and legal father fulfills the fourth commandment perfectly and was the temporal image of his filial obedience to his Father in heaven. The everyday obedience of Jesus to Joseph and Mary both announced and anticipated the obedience of Holy Thursday: "Not my will..."²²³ The obedience of Christ in the daily routine of his hidden life was already inaugurating his work of restoring what the disobedience of Adam had destroyed.²²⁴

223.

Lk 22:42.

224.

Cf. Rom 5:19.

2204
2427
2712
(all)

533

The hidden life at Nazareth allows everyone to enter into fellowship with Jesus by the most ordinary events of daily life: The home of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand the life of Jesus — the school of the Gospel. First, then, a lesson of silence. May esteem for silence, that admirable and indispensable condition of mind, revive in us... A lesson on family life. May Nazareth teach us what family life is, its communion of love, its austere and simple beauty, and its sacred and inviolable character... A lesson of work. Nazareth, home of the "Carpenter's Son", in you I would choose to understand and proclaim the severe and redeeming law of human work... To conclude, I want to greet all the workers of the world, holding up to them their great pattern their brother who is God.²²⁵

225.

Paul VI at Nazareth, 5 January 1964: LH, Feast of the Holy Family, OR.

2599
583
964
(all)

534

The finding of Jesus in the temple is the only event that breaks the silence of the Gospels about the hidden years of Jesus.²²⁶ Here Jesus lets us catch a glimpse of the mystery of his total consecration to a mission that flows from his divine sonship: "Did you not know that I must be about my Father's work?"²²⁷ Mary and Joseph did not understand these words, but they accepted them in faith. Mary "kept all these things in her heart" during the years Jesus remained hidden in the silence of an ordinary life.

226.

Cf. Lk 2:41-52.

227.

Lk 2:49

[Salvation]

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Wednesday, February 12

Liturgical Color: Green

February is dedicated to the Holy
Family. In 2001, Pope John Paul II said
the future of humanity passes through
the family. The Holy Family’s mutual
understanding and respect is a model
for all families to follow.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

 

Daily Readings for:February 12, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care, that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace, they may be defended always by your protection. 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    Gingersnaps

ACTIVITIES

o    Security of Faith within the Home

o    The Home, a Training Ground

PRAYERS

o    Ordinary Time, Pre-Lent: Table Blessing 1

o    February Devotion: The Holy Family

o    Prayer to the Holy Family

o    Novena to the Holy Family

·         Ordinary Time: February 12th

·         Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: St. Eulalia

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of Seven Founders of the Servite Order. Their feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on February 17th. Historically today is the feast of St. Eulalia the most celebrated virgin martyr of Spain. She was a native of Merida, thirteen years of age, and was burnt at the stake in her native city under Diocletian.

---

St. Eulalia

Prudentius has celebrated the triumph of this holy virgin who was a native of Merida, then the capital city of Lusitania in Spain now a declining town in Estremadura, the archiepiscopal dignity having been translated to Compostella. Eulalia, descended from one of the best families in Spain, was educated in the Christian religion, and in sentiments of perfect piety, from her infancy distinguished herself by an admirable sweetness of temper, modesty, and devotion, showed a great love of the holy state of virginity, and by her seriousness and her contempt of dress, ornaments diversions, and worldly company, gave early proofs of her sincere desire to lead on earth a heavenly life. Her heart was raised above the world before she was thought capable of knowing it, so that its amusements, which usually fill the minds of young persons, had no charms for her, and every day of her life made an addition to her virtues.

She was but twelve years old when the bloody edicts of Dioclesian were issued, by which it was ordered that all persons, without exception of age, sex, or profession, should be compelled to offer sacrifice to the gods of the empire. Eulalia, young as she was, took the publication of this order for the signal of battle; but her mother, observing her impatient ardor for martyrdom, carried her into the country. The saint found means to make her escape by night, and after much fatigue arrived at Merida before break of day. As soon as the court sat, the same morning, she presented herself before the cruel judge, whose name was Dacianus, and reproached him with impiety in attempting to destroy souls, by compelling them to renounce the only true God. The governor commanded her to be seized, and first employing caresses, represented to her the advantages which her birth, youth and fortune gave her in the world, and the grief which her disobedience would bring to her parents. Then he had recourse to threats, and caused the most dreadful instruments of torture to be placed before her eyes, saying to her, "All this you shall escape if you will but touch a little salt and frankincense with the tip of your finger." Provoked at these seducing flatteries, she threw down the idol, trampled upon the cake which was laid for the sacrifice, and, as Prudentius relates, spat at the judge; an action only to be excused by her youth and inattention under the influence of a warm zeal, and fear of the snares which were laid for her. At the judge's order two executioners began to tear her tender sides with iron hooks, so as to leave the very bones bare. In the mean time she called the strokes so many trophies of Christ. Next, lighted torches were applied to her breasts and sides: under which torment, instead of groans, nothing was heard from her mouth but thanksgivings. The fire at length catching her hair, surrounded her head and face, and the saint was stifled by the smoke and flame. Prudentius tells us, that a white dove seemed to come out of her mouth, and to wing its way upward when the holy martyr expired: at which prodigy the executioners were so much terrified that they fled and left the body. A great snow that fell covered it and the whole forum where it lay; which circumstance shows that the holy martyr suffered in winter. The treasure of her relics was carefully entombed by the Christians near the place of her martyrdom: afterwards a stately church was erected on the spot, and the relics were covered by the altar which was raised over them, before Prudentius wrote his hymn on the holy martyr in the fourth century He assures us that "pilgrims came to venerate her bones; and that she, near the throne of God, beholds them, and, being made propitious by hymns, protects her clients. Her relics are kept with great veneration at Oviedo, do, where she is honored as patroness. The Roman Martyrology mentions her name on the 10th of December.

Excerpted from Butler's Lives of the Saints

Patron: Merida, Spain; Oviedo, Spain, runaways; torture victims; widows

Symbols: Maiden with a cross, stake, and dove; naked maiden lying in the snow.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

.

Meditation: Mark 7:14-23

5th Week in Ordinary Time

Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. (Mark 7:15)

In no uncertain terms, Jesus made it clear that the most serious spiritual challenge we face is our own heart. Wounded by sin, clouded by temptation, we are our own worst enemy. Even the desire to blame other people or our environment for our failings is something that comes “from within”!

So what is this “from within” that Jesus spoke about? To try to answer that, take a look at how you might respond to an unexpected event. What would you do if a friend suddenly started treating you harshly? What if your supervisor at work gave you a strong rebuke? Would you become defensive and cynical? Or would you try to make amends and seek reconciliation? How about trying to overcome a tendency to complain or criticize? Or maybe, as Pope Francis has urged, you might not just hand a poor person some food but look him in the eye and learn his name and a bit of his story.

There are many other examples, but the main point is to try to become more honest about the motives behind our actions, both bad and good. It can be tempting to shift the blame to external influences like the media, our often abrasive culture, or even “those people” who get on our nerves. But the reality is that everything we say or do arises from within our own heart. If our hearts change, it stands to reason that our actions will follow.

Spend some time with Jesus. Let him put his finger on just one trait he would like to work on with you. Is it kindness or humility? Patience or generosity? Gentleness or straightforwardness? Each of these is a manifestation of love. Each is a blessing that can “come out” of us more if we ask the Lord for help.

Jesus is eager to pour his grace into you so that you can become more like himself in this special corner of your heart. So open yourself to his love so that what comes “out from within” gives glory to him and helps build his kingdom on earth.

“Jesus, I offer you my heart. Let your love penetrate and transform its darkest corner.”

1 Kings 10:1-10; Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40

[Salvation]

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

Daily Marriage Tip for February 12, 2014:

Renew your vows today or on Valentine’s Day. “I _____, take you, _____, to be my wife/husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

Ut perfectam disciplinam teneamus in Christo

Wednesday, 12 February 2014 08:30

A Soldier Turned Monk

Today is the feast of Saint Benedict of Aniane (745-821). Under the patronage of Louis the Pious (778-840), Benedict of Aniane, an ex-soldier whose baptismal name was Witiza, promoted the observance of the Rule of Saint Benedict (of Nursia) in the monasteries of the Carolingian empire. As a novice — many, many years ago — I was introduced to his Concordia Regularum, a collection of ancient monastic rules.

Liturgy of the Day

The liturgy for today’s feast has some lovely elements. At Vigils there is a proper hymn; the rest of the Office, apart from the Collect, is from the Common of Monks. The Collect asks for the grace that, through the ages, monks have sought, recovered, and lost over and over again: perfect discipline in Christ!

Deus, qui beati Benedicti abbatis
doctrina et exemplis vitam monasticam renovasti,
eius intercessione concede propitius,
ut perfectam disciplinam teneamus in Christo.

O God, Who by the teaching and example of the blessed abbot Benedict,
didst renew the monastic life,
graciously grant, through his intercession,
that we may hold fast to perfect discipline in Christ.

I don’t have at hand the Latin text of the Cistercian variant of the Collect, but I do have the French, which I translate as follows:

Lord our God,
Who called Saint Benedict of Aniane
to restore the monastic fervour of earlier times;
rekindle in us that love of solitude,
relish of the Divine Office,
and zeal for unity,
that inspired him in his work of renewal.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

The Kingdom Within

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time

Mark 7:14-23

He summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile." When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, "Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) "But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles. From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile."

Introductory Prayer:Lord, I believe that you are my Creator and Redeemer and that you know all things. Though none of my sins are hidden from you, I know that you still love me unconditionally and are waiting for me to repent and turn to you so that you can forgive me and wash me clean once more. Thank you for loving me infinitely. I offer you my weak love in return.

Petition: Lord, help me to overcome my fallen nature and to put you first in my life.

1. “Nothing that goes into a man from the outside can make him unclean.” “The Kingdom of God,” as Christ tells us in the Gospel, “is within you.” Consequently, all that wars against the Kingdom is also within us. Number 405 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that original sin is a “deprivation of original holiness and justice.” It states that human nature has been “wounded in the natural powers proper to it,” and that it is subject to “ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death; and inclined to sin – an inclination to evil that is called ‘concupiscence.’” This concupiscence causes all sorts of disordered tendencies to surface from within us. These disordered tendencies—if accepted—are, as our Lord tells us, what defiles a man. Our holiness and purification must start from within (in ordering our thoughts and desires according to the Gospel standard), and rise to the surface in concrete deeds of goodness (in words and actions). Where does concupiscence do the most damage in my life?

2. “It is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean." Sin and death entered the world through the disobedience of the Adam. But, “if death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:15). It is true that death and sin strive to reign in us due to our concupiscence, but it is not less true that we have at our disposal all the means necessary to root sin out from our hearts and live a new life in Christ. Christ has already conquered sin and death. With his grace we can conquer them within our hearts. Without ever looking back we must start out on this path, the path of the reign of Christ within us. Am I sincerely striving to overcome concupiscence in my life?

3. “If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.” “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” This is a familiar theme in the Liturgy due to the fact that throughout the centuries, people have often closed their hearts to the message of the Gospel and to their own greatest good. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the rich man petitions Abraham to send Lazarus from the dead so that he can warn his brothers about the fate that awaits them due to their materialistic, self-centered way of life. The rich man is told that they have the Law and the Prophets, to which he replies that if only someone would return from the dead, the brothers would believe. He is told that even then people would not believe. I cannot permit my heart to be hardened against God’s saving Word! But to remain open, my heart needs to be detached from the pleasures and easy way of living that make me deaf to Christ’s gentle instructions.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, open my ears and lift the veil from my eyes so that I will allow your Kingdom to reign in my heart. Free me from loving anything more than you. Free me to allow you to make demands in my life, demands which are proof of your love. Help me, Lord, to live Christian charity so that I will not be caught off guard on the Day of Judgment.  

Resolution: I will foster goodness in my thoughts and desires, and I will deny entrance to anything that would drive Jesus away.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

February 12, 2014

God conceived and created the world with the purest of intentions. However, in His desire for us to live in freedom He gave us the free
will to decide and make our own choices. God created us out of love for us. Yet this freedom is not absolute in itself; God is the only absolute one. This freedom had to be exercised within the confines of
what is good for humanity and what is good can only be defined by the origin and source of that good. Man cannot know what is good unless it is revealed by God to him. God did this through his Son, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life. Any attempt to know what is good or bad is to abuse and override God’s authority and play God ourselves.

From Biblical history, man’s attempt for perfection had always fallen
short even when he followed the commandments and hundreds of precepts Men may assume that he is justified just because he is following the letter of the law, but in reality it is how he follows the law in his heart that the law was intended. Only the love that Jesus Christ has shown us, the love that ultimately led him to his crucifixion, can set us free of the evil that live in men’s hearts. Evil intentions like fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly, all these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.

Have we examined ourselves lately? What are our attitudes when we
relate with others? How have we loved others? Or perhaps we express externally our “love” for God alone forgetting that love of God is also love for all men and women, without exception?

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Mark
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Mark 7
14.	And calling again the multitude unto him, he said to them: Hear ye me all, and understand.	Et advocans iterum turbam, dicebat illis : Audite me omnes, et intelligite.	και προσκαλεσαμενος παντα τον οχλον ελεγεν αυτοις ακουετε μου παντες και συνιετε
15.	There is nothing from without a man that entering into him, can defile him. But the things which come from a man, those are they that defile a man.	Nihil est extra hominem introiens in eum, quod possit eum coinquare, sed quæ de homine procedunt illa sunt quæ communicant hominem.	ουδεν εστιν εξωθεν του ανθρωπου εισπορευομενον εις αυτον ο δυναται αυτον κοινωσαι αλλα τα εκπορευομενα απ αυτου εκεινα εστιν τα κοινουντα τον ανθρωπον
16.	If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.	Si quis habet aures audiendi, audiat.	ει τις εχει ωτα ακουειν ακουετω
17.	And when he was come into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked him the parable.	Et cum introisset in domum a turba, interrogabant eum discipuli ejus parabolam.	και οτε εισηλθεν εις οικον απο του οχλου επηρωτων αυτον οι μαθηται αυτου περι της παραβολης
18.	And he saith to them: So are you also without knowledge? understand you not that every thing from without, entering into a man cannot defile him:	Et ait illis : Sic et vos imprudentes estis ? Non intelligitis quia omne extrinsecus introiens in hominem, non potest eum communicare :	και λεγει αυτοις ουτως και υμεις ασυνετοι εστε ου νοειτε οτι παν το εξωθεν εισπορευομενον εις τον ανθρωπον ου δυναται αυτον κοινωσαι
19.	Because it entereth not into his heart, but goeth into the belly, and goeth out into the privy, purging all meats?	quia non intrat in cor ejus, sed in ventrum vadit, et in secessum exit, purgans omnes escas ?	οτι ουκ εισπορευεται αυτου εις την καρδιαν αλλ εις την κοιλιαν και εις τον αφεδρωνα εκπορευεται καθαριζον παντα τα βρωματα
20.	But he said that the things which come out from a man, they defile a man.	Dicebat autem, quoniam quæ de homine exeunt, illa communicant hominem.	ελεγεν δε οτι το εκ του ανθρωπου εκπορευομενον εκεινο κοινοι τον ανθρωπον
21.	For from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,	Ab intus enim de corde hominum malæ cogitationes procedunt, adulteria, fornicationes, homicidia,	εσωθεν γαρ εκ της καρδιας των ανθρωπων οι διαλογισμοι οι κακοι εκπορευονται μοιχειαι πορνειαι φονοι
22.	Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.	furta, avaritiæ, nequitiæ, dolus, impudicitiæ, oculus malus, blasphemia, superbia, stultitia.	κλοπαι πλεονεξιαι πονηριαι δολος ασελγεια οφθαλμος πονηρος βλασφημια υπερηφανια αφροσυνη
23.	All these evil things come from within, and defile a man.	Omnia hæc mala ab intus procedunt, et communicant hominem.	παντα ταυτα τα πονηρα εσωθεν εκπορευεται και κοινοι τον ανθρωπον

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14. And when he had called all the people to him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
15. There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
16. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
17. And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
18. And he said to them, Are you so without understanding also? Do you not perceive, that whatever thing from without enters into the man, it cannot defile him;
19. Because it enters not into his heart, but into the belly, and goes out into the draught, purging all meats?
20. And he said, That which comes out of the man, that defiles the man.
21. For from within, out of time heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22. Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

PSEUD-CHRYS. The Jews regard and murmur about only the bodily purification of the law; our Lord wishes to bring in the contrary. Wherefore it is said, And when he had called all the people to him, he said to them. Hearken in unto me every one, and understand; there is nothing from without a man, that entering into sin can defile him but the things which come out of a man, those are they which defile a man; that is, which make him unclean. The things of Christ have relation to the inner man but those which are of the law are visible and external, to which, as being bodily, the cross of Christ was shortly to put an end.

THEOPHYL. But the intention of the Lord in saying this was to teach men, that the observing of meats, which the law commands, should not be taken in a carnal sense, and from this He began to unfold to them the intent of the law.

PSEUD-CHRYS. Again he subjoins, If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. For He had not clearly shown them, what those things are which proceed out of a man, and defile a man; and on account of this saying, the Apostles thought that the foregoing discourse of the Lord implied some other deep thing;

wherefore there follows: And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable; they called it parable, because it was not clear.

THEOPHYL. The Lord begins by chiding them, wherefore there follows, Are you so without understanding also?

BEDE; For that man is a faulty hearer who considers what is obscure to be a clear speech, or what is clear to he obscurely spoken.

THEOPHYL. Then the Lord shows them what was hidden, saying, Do you not perceive, that whatever thing from without enters into the man, it cannot make him common?

BEDE; For the Jews, boasting themselves to be the portion of God, call common those meats which all men use, as shellfish, hares, and animals of that sort. Not even however what is offered to idols is unclean, in as far as it is food and God's creature; it is the invocation of devils which makes it unclean; and He adds the cause of it saying, Because it enters not into his heart. The principal seat of the soul according to Plato is time brain, hut according to Christ, it is in the heart.

GLOSS. It says therefore into his heart, that is, into his mind, which is the principal part of his soul, on which his whole life depends; wherefore it is necessary, that according to the state of his heart a man should be called clean or unclean, and thus whatsoever does not reach the soul, cannot bring pollution to the man. Meats therefore, since they do not reach the soul, cannot in their own nature defile a man; but an inordinate use of meats, which proceeds from a want of order in the mind, makes men unclean. But that meats cannot reach the mind, He shows by that which He adds, saying, But into the belly, and goes out into the draught, purging all meats. This however He says, without referring to what remains from the food in the body, for that which is necessary for the nourishment and growth of the body remains. But that which is superfluous goes out, and thus as it were purges the nourishment, which remains.

AUG. For some things are joined to others in such a way as both to change and be changed, just as food, losing its former appearance, is both itself turned into our body, and we too are changed, and our strength is refreshed by it. Further a most subtle liquid, after the food has been prepared and digested in our veins, and other arteries, by some hidden channels, called from a Greek word, pores, passes through us, and goes into the draught.

BEDE; Thus then it is not meat that makes men unclean, but wickedness, which works in us the passions which come from within; wherefore it goes on: And he said, That which comes out of a man, that defiles a man.

GLOSS. The meaning of which He points out, when He subjoins, from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts. And thus it appears that evil thoughts belong to the mind, which is lucre called the heart, and according to which a man is called good or bad, clean or unclean.

BEDE; From this passage are condemned those men who suppose that thoughts are put into them by the devil, and do not arise from their own evil will. The devil may excite and help on evil thoughts, he cannot be their author.

GLOSS. From evil thoughts, however, evil actions proceed to greater lengths, concerning which it is added, adulteries, that is acts which consist in the violation of another man's bed; fornications, which are unlawful connections between persons, not bound by marriage; murders, by which hurt is inflicted on the person of one's neighbor; thefts, by which his goods are taken from him; covetousness, by which things are unjustly kept; wickedness, which consists in calumniating others; deceit, in overreaching them; lasciviousness, to which belongs any corruption of mind or body.

THEOPHYL. An evil eye, that is, hatred and flattery, for he who hates turns an evil and envious eye on him who he hates, and a flatterer, looking askance at his neighbor's goods, leads him into evil; blasphemies, that is, faults committed against God; pride, that is, contempt of God, when man ascribes to God, which he does, not to God, for it to his own virtue; foolishness, that is, an injury against one's neighbor.

GLOSS. Or, foolishness consists in wrong thoughts concerning God; for it is opposed to wisdom, which is the knowledge of divine things. It goes on, All these evil things come from within inn, and defile the man. For whatever is in the power of a man, is imputed to him as a fault, because all such things proceed from the interior will, by which man is master of his own actions.

Catena Aurea Mark 7

[annalex]

Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery

Lucas Cranach the Younger

after 1532

[Salvation]

One Bread One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 2

<< Wednesday, February 12, 2014 >>

1 Kings 10:1-10
View Readings

Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40

Mark 7:14-23
Similar Reflections

HEART CONDITIONS

"Wicked designs come from the deep recesses of the heart." —Mark 7:21

Solomon asked the Lord for a wise and understanding heart (1 Kgs 3:9). The Lord answered His prayer and made Him the wisest person in history (1 Kgs 3:12). Yet, through his sins, Solomon turned his heart away from the Lord (1 Kgs 11:3). His heart was not entirely devoted to the Lord (1 Kgs 11:4). He died a fool with his kingdom on the verge of civil war. Solomon died of a spiritual heart attack.

We Christians are greater than Solomon (see Mt 11:11). Through baptism, we have received not only a wise heart, but a new heart promised by the Lord (see Ez 36:26). However, we can likewise sin and turn our hearts away from the Lord. We can lose our first love (see Rv 2:4) and no longer decide to love the Lord with all our hearts (see Mt 22:37). If we persist in this lukewarmness (Rv 3:16), we, like Solomon, will also die and damn ourselves through a spiritual heart attack. Consequently, we must repent of any sinful compromises with the ways of the world and keep our new heart beating with pure love of the Lord. We received a new heart at our baptism and will receive a renewed heart through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Repentance prevents spiritual heart attacks.

Prayer: Father, "create in me a clean heart" (Ps 51:12, our transl.).

Promise: "The report I heard in my country about your deeds and your wisdom is true." —1 Kgs 10:6

Praise: "Heart of Christ, we sing Your praises!"

[Salvation]