Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-14-14, M, Sts. Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop

Saint Valentine's Day
February 14th

Let's Put the Saint back in Valentine's Day
Family prayers and activities/Bible-verse Valentines/Valentine treats

Cupids. Candy. Flowers. Lacy hearts. Strange, isn't it, that the best known Christian saint on the secular calendar -- a holiday devoted to romantic love -- is a martyr for the Christian faith?

Saint Valentine did "die of love", to be sure -- but not of the romantic sort! Strange, also, considering its enormous popularity, that this saint's feast no longer appears on the Church's calendar. (Officially, February 14 marks the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodias, 9th century missionaries to the Slavs.)

How did the "Saint" dissappear from Valentine's Day? Can we "re-Christianize" the celebration of this popular holiday? Who is Saint Valentine, anyway?

There are at three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, mentioned in the early martyrologies for the date of February 14th.

One is described as a priest in Rome, another a bishop (of Interamna, the modern Terni). Both apparently were martyred in the second half of the third century and buried at different places on the Flaminian Way outside of Rome. The third St. Valentine was martyred in Africa with a number of companions.

Almost nothing is known about any of these early Christian men -- except that they died for the love of Christ!

The popular customs connected with Saint Valentine's Day's probably originated in medieval Europe. At that time, when "courtly love" was in flower, there was a common belief in England and France that on February 14th, precisely half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair.
Thus, we read in the 14th century English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer's "Parliament of Foules":

For this was on Seynt Valentynes' day
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate. (Chaucer's original spelling).

This belief about "love-birds" is probably the reason Saint Valentine's feast day came to be seen as specially consecrated to lovers, and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lover's tokens. The literature of the fourteenth and fifteenth-century in both France and England contain allusions to this practice.

This association with romantic love, along with the medieval revival of interest in classic literature, no doubt led to the "paganizing" of this martyr's feast, so that the Roman god, Cupid (the counterpart of Eros in Greek mythology), supplanted the saint in the celebration of the feast. In Roman mythology, Cupid, the son of Venus, was a winged immortal who had the mischievous habit of shooting invisible arrows into the hearts of mortals, which inflamed them with blind and helpless passion -- for the next person they might see.

The Golden Legend, a medieval book of stories about saints, says that Valentine, a priest, was imprisioned by the emperor Claudius II for leading people to Christ. While Valentine was being interrogated by a Roman officer, the priest preached Christ as the "one and only Light". The officer, who had a blind daughter, challenged Valentine to pray to Christ for her cure. The girl was cured, and the entire family were converted to Christianity.
According to legend, while awaiting execution, he wrote notes of instruction, affection and encouragement to the Christian community in Rome, which were secretly delivered by a boy who visited him in prison.

It is ironic that a Roman Christian who died defending the faith is now chiefly associated with a pagan god, Cupid!

"Christianizing" Valentine's Day:
Family prayers and activities

On Saint Valentine's Day, we Christians have an opportunity for some real "inculturation" -- that is, planting seeds of Christ's truth into the culture in which we live.

When we remember that the heart of Saint Valentine was, like other Christian martyrs, "pierced" by the love of Our Lord, and he shed his blood for this, it seems appropriate that the red heart is a symbol for this powerful love. We think about the power of the love of God - our love for Him and His for us - to inspire our love for others. It is this kind of love that gives heart (or "en-courages") to faithful Christians to accomplish deeds of extraordinary courage - even unto death - to bring the truth of faith to others. We are reminded, too, that suffering that often accompanies genuine love.

In our Catholic families, we can focus our thoughts, this day, not only in expressing our love for our friends and families (and yes, sweethearts) by gifts and loving greetings; but also in prayer and meditation on Scripture.

A Prayer for Saint Valentine's Day

The following prayer is adapted from a collect (prayer) for feasts of martyrs.

Most Gracious Heavenly Father, You gave Saint Valentine the courage to witness to the gospel of Christ, even to the point of giving his life for it. Help us to endure all suffering for love of you, and to seek you with all our hearts; for you alone are the source of life and love. Grant that we may have the courage and love to be strong witnesses of your truth to our friends and family and to the whole world. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer to St. Valentine
Almighty God, grant we beseech You,
that we who celebrate the glorious martyrdom of St. Valentine, Your servant, may by his intercession be filled with the love of God and neighbor and be delivered from all the evils that threaten us.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen +

There are many passages of the Bible that reflect God's love. One of the best known of these is probably John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

During family prayers, or at dinner time, older children could read aloud the "love chapter" of Saint Paul's first letter to the Christian Church in Corinth, I Corinthians 13.

This would be a good time, too, to explain the three kinds of "love" in the Scripture (in English there is only one word for these three separate kinds of love, but Greek has a word for each one).

Agape (a-gah-pay) - selfless love for others and for God
Philio (fee-lee-o) - brotherly love
Eros (air-ross) - romantic or sexual love

Bible-verse Valentines

Why not start children on memorizing parts of Holy Scripture with John 3:16, which tells about God's immense love for us and our response to this love? One way to help with memorizing is to have them write out this verse on cut-out paper hearts -- for Valentines!

The color red is used by the Church as a symbol of the blood shed by martyrs who died for the faith. (You can point out that priests wear red vestments on feasts of martyrs.) Hearts, too, are symbols of deep Christian love. (The traditional devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is an example.)

Young children may need help cutting out the hearts and printing the verse, but even very tiny ones can make original designs with crayon or markers.

In addition to construction paper, you might also supply some paper doilies, heart-shaped red foil stickers, markers or crayons, glitter glue, etc., red or gold ribbon, for a real assembly line of Valentine production. (We've found it's a good idea to start this project a few days before Valentine's day, to allow time to make enough for everyone - and to send to out-of-town grandparents and aunts and uncles.)

We can almost guarantee that teachers, parents and grandparents would be very, very pleased to receive a Valentine like this!

While you're overseeing the Valentine-making project, you can tell about the real saint, and about the great love he had for Christ and for other people.

Valentine treats

Valentine cake or cupcakes

If you have heart-shaped cake pans, you can make a very impressive big cake that will delight children. You can use any flavor cake-mix, and use a buttercream frosting or ready-made white icing. Cupcakes are another option -- especially as a treat to bring to school on Valentine's Day. The cake or cupcakes decorated with white or pink icing, adorned with candy sprinkles shaped like hearts (store-bought) or gum-drop hearts, heart-shaped red-hots, or red jelly beans. This is pretty, and simple enough that even toddlers can get into the spirit (and mess!) of it.

Store-bought sugar cookies or graham crackers can be decorated like this, too, if you're really short on time.

"Message" cookies

Of course, there's no substitute for real, home-made sugar cookies cut out with heart-shaped cutters. They can be frosted in different pastel colors (quickie hint: canned vanilla frosting divided into different bowls and colored with cake coloring).

Older children could use a tube of red icing to write "John 3:16" on each cookie - or "JOY" (which stands for "Jesus, Others, You"-- a Christian's order of priorities in loving). The cookies resemble those little candy hearts with cute sayings - only they have a real message of love. Kids can explain these "code messages" to their classmates.

Love Knots

More ambitious, but interesting, is this recipe for "Love Knots", a recipe from Evelyn Birge Vitz's cookbook for feasts of the church year, A Continual Feast (Ignatius Press). In the late Middle Ages, she says, there was a custom of wearing "love knots" on Saint Valentines's Day - golden pins shaped like sideways figure-8s, a symbol of infinity, to suggest that love is without end, eternal. The love knots were made of gold, which never tarnishes, never loses it perfection, and were given to one's sweetheart.
This is a recipe for edible "love Knots", a sweet pretzel-like twist.

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
a few drops yellow food coloring
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
Yellow sugar sprinkles

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk, the eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract and yellow food coloring (to make the dough more "golden"). Sift and stir in the flour; add the lemon rind.
Chill the dough for several hours and only remove it from the refrigerator a little at a time: this will make it easier to handle.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Shape the dough into ropes about 1/2 inch in diameter and 12 inches long, and twist these into figure 8s. Place the twists on a greased baking sheet, and bake for about 15 minutes. About halfway through the cooking, "gild" with yellow sprinkles.
Yield: 12 to 14 "love knots".

The Elusive St. Valentine
The Legend of Saint Valentine
Lovers' holiday originates from wise, caring Italian bishop
The Life of St. Valentine, [The Golden Legend]
SAINT VALENTINE Priest and Martyr

Information: St. Cyril & St. Methodius

Feast Day: February 14

Born: 827 and 826, Thessaloniki, Byzantine Empire (present-day Greece)

Died: February 14, 869 and 6 April 885

Patron of: Bulgaria, Czech Republic (including Bohemia, and Moravia), Ecumenism, unity of the Eastern and Western Churches, Europe, Slovakia

Information: St. Valentine

Feast Day: February 14

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Cyril and St. Methodius

Feast Day: February 14
Born:827/815 :: Died:869/885

Cyril and Methodius were brothers from Thessalonica in Greece. In their youth they learnt how to speak many languages, including Slavonic which at that time was not written down. Methodius was a provincial governor and the younger brother Cyril was a distinguished professor of Philosophy in Constantinople.

They both became priests and shared the same holy desires to spread the faith. Then the prince of Moravia asked for missionaries. He wanted them to bring the Good News of Jesus and the Church to his country. The prince added one more request: that the missionaries speak the language of his people.

The two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, volunteered and were accepted. They realized that they were being asked to leave their own country, language and culture behind out of love for Jesus. They did this willingly. They became missionaries to the Slav nations of Moravia, Bohemia and Bulgaria.

Cyril and Methodius invented a Slav alphabet. They translated the Bible and the Church's liturgy into the Slav language. Because of them, the people were able to receive Christianity in words they could understand.

Some people in the Church at that time did not approve of the use of a native language in the Church's liturgy and complained about the two brothers to the pope. Pope Nicholas I called them to Rome for a meeting to solve the problem.

But by the time they arrived, Adrian II had became pope and he was in favor of using the local language of the people in the liturgy. The pope showed his gratitude and admiration for the two missionaries. He approved their methods of spreading the faith and named them bishops.

Unfortunately, Cyril died on February 14, 869 before he could actually be consecrated a bishop and is buried in the Church of St. Clement in Rome. But Methodius became bishop, returned to the Slav countries and continued his labors for fifteen more years. He died on April 6, 885.

Cyril and Methodius were Greeks, under the authority of a Roman Pope, working together with the authorities of the Eastern Church. They symbolized bridge-building and connection between the two churches and are now seen as patron saints of ecumenism (unity) between the Eastern and Western branches of Christendom (Christianity).

St. Cyril and St. Methodius are also named co-patrons of Europe along with St. Benedict.

Reflection: These two men brought the light of the Gospel to the Slavic nations and helped promote unity without imposing rigid uniformity. Let us pray for unity among Christians that we may become one in faith and praise.

Friday, February 14

Liturgical Color: White

Today is the Memorial of St. Cyril, monk
and St. Methodius, bishop. They were 8th
century brothers of Greek nobility with a
calling to the religious life. Together they
evangelized Slavic countries and translated
the Bible into the Slavic languages.

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:February 14, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who enlightened the Slavic peoples through the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius, grant that our hearts may grasp the words of your teaching, and perfect us as a people of one accord in true faith and right confession. 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 Biskkupsky Chelbicek

o Greek Homestyle Chicken

o Pirogs

o Saint Valentine Cookies

o Valentine Gingerbread

ACTIVITIES

o Hymn: Ubi Caritas

o Hymn: Where Charity and Love Prevail

o St. Valentine's Day

o St. Valentine's Day, Saint Exchange

o Valentine Game

o Valentine-Making Ideas

PRAYERS

o Litany of the Love of God

LIBRARY

o Sts Cyril And Methodius: Christian Faith Does Not Stifle But Purifies, Exalts, Integrates Cultural Values | Pope John Paul II

· Ordinary Time: February 14th

· Memorial of Sts. Cyril, monk and St. Methodius, bishop

Old Calendar: St. Valentine, priest and martyr ; Other Titles: St. Valentine's Day

St. Cyril was a priest and a philosopher and accompanied his brother St. Methodius to Moravia to preach the Gospel. They both perfected a Slavonic alphabet which is now known as the Cyrillic alphabet and translated the liturgy into this language. They were summoned to Rome, where Cyril died on this date in 869, and Methodius was consecrated bishop and sent to Pannonia. He died on April 6, 885, in Velehrad, Czech Republic, after working tirelessly on spreading the Gospel. According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, their feast is celebrated on July 7.

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Valentine. St. Valentine, a priest of Rome, was martyred, it would appear, in about 270. On the Flaminian Way, at the site of his martyrdom, Julius I built a basilica which was visited frequently.

Sts. Cyril and Methodius

Cyril and Methodius, the apostles of the Slavs, were brothers who hailed from Thessalonia. After receiving an excellent education, they were sent by the Eastern Emperor Michael III (842-856) into the kingdom of Grand-Moravia; through great effort and in spite of tremendous difficulties they converted the Slavonic nations. They translated the Bible into Slavonic and devised a kind of writing, called glagolitic, which even to the present day is used in the liturgical services of some Eastern rites.

In 867 the two brothers came to Rome, were met by Pope Hadrian II (867-872) and the whole papal court. They gave a report of their labors but encountered opposition on the part of jealous clergy who took offense, it was said, because of their liturgical innovations. Cyril and Methodius explained their methods and from the Pope himself received episcopal consecration (868). Soon after, Cyril died at Rome, only forty-two years old, and was buried in St. Peter's; later his body was transferred to San Clemente, where his remains still rest. His funeral resembled a triumphal procession.

Methodius returned to Moravia and labored as a missionary among the Hungarians, Bulgarians, Dalmatians, and the inhabitants of Carinthia. Falling again under suspicion, he returned to Rome and defended the use of the Slavonic language in the liturgy. The Pope bestowed upon him the dignity of archbishop. After his return to Moravia, he converted the duke of Bohemia and his wife, spread the light of faith in Bohemia and Poland, is said to have gone to Moscow (after the erection of the See of Lemberg), and to have established the diocese of Kiev. After his return he died in Bohemia and was buried in the Church of St. Mary at Velehrad, the services being conducted in Greek, Slavonic, and Latin.

— Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Slavic Peoples; Bohemia; Bulgaria; Bosnia; Croatia; Czech Republic; Czechoslovakia; ecumenism; Europe; Moravia; Russia; unity of the Eastern and Western Churches; Yugoslavia; ecumenism; against storms.

Symbols for St. Cyril: With Saint Methodius; Oriental monk holding a church with the help of Methodius; surrounded by Bulgarian converts; wearing a long philosopher's coat.

Symbols for St. Methodius: With Saint Cyril; Oriental bishop holding up a church with Saint Cyril; Oriental bishop holding a picture of the Last Judgement.

Things to Do:

Learn more about the Missionaries to the Slavs.
Read Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, Grande Munus (On Ss. Cyril And Methodius) and Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Slavorum Apostoli.
If you are interested in languages you can learn more about the Glagolitic alphabet created by St. Cyril and Methodius.

St. Valentine

Legend states that Valentine, along with St. Marius, aided the Christian martyrs during the Claudian persecution. In addition to his other edicts against helping Christians, Claudius had also issued a decree forbidding marriage. In order to increase troops for his army, he forbade young men to marry, believing that single men made better soldiers than married men.

Valentine defied this decree and urged young lovers to come to him in secret so that he could join them in the sacrament of matrimony. Eventually he was discovered by the Emperor, who promptly had Valentine arrested and brought before him. Because he was so impressed with the young priest, Claudius attempted to convert him to Roman paganism rather than execute him. However, Valentine held steadfast and in turn attempted to convert Claudius to Christianity, at which point the Emperor condemned him to death.

While in prison, Valentine was tended by the jailer, Asterius, and his blind daughter. Asterius' daughter was very kind to Valentine and brought him food and messages. They developed a friendship and toward the end of his imprisonment Valentine was able to convert both father and daughter to Christianity. Legend has it that he also miraculously restored the sight of the jailer's daughter.

The night before his execution, the priest wrote a farewell message to the girl and signed it affectionately "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lives on even to today. He was executed on February 14th, 273 AD in Rome. The Martyrology says, "At Rome, on the Flaminian Way, the heavenly birthday of the blessed martyr Valentine, a priest. After performing many miraculous cures and giving much wise counsel he was beaten and beheaded under Claudius Caesar."

The church in which he is buried existed already in the fourth century and was the first sanctuary Roman pilgrims visited upon entering the Eternal City.

The valentine has become the universal symbol of friendship and affection shared each anniversary of the priest's execution -- St. Valentine's Day. Valentine has also become the patron of engaged couples.

Patron: Affianced couples; against fainting; bee keepers; betrothed couples; engaged couples; epilepsy; fainting; greeting card manufacturers; greetings; happy marriages; love; lovers; plague; travelers; young people.

Symbols: Birds; roses; bishop with a crippled or epileptic child at his feet; bishop with a rooster nearby; bishop refusing to adore an idol; bishop being beheaded; priest bearing a sword; priest holding a sun; priest giving sight to a blind girl.

Things to Do:

Read the Golden Legend account of St. Valentine's life.
Pray to St. Valentine for an increase of true, sacrificial love within marriages.
Make Valentines for those closest to you — your family and friends. If you have children, teach them to make valentines from red construction paper and doilies.
Introduce your family to some of our delicious Valentine's day recipes, such as heart cake or peppermint mousse.
Begin to read and discuss some of our Holy Father's works on marriage; for example, Love and Responsibility or his The Theology of the Body Human Love in the Divine Plan (Parish Resources).

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Mark 7:31-37

Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop

People brought to him a deaf man. (Mark 7:32)

“Come here; you’ve got to see this!” You’ve probably had someone say this and tug you along to witness something amazing. Or a friend calls you to tell you that something you need is on sale at the store. “Quick! Get over there while you can still get it!” So it seems to have been with these people in the Decapolis, hurrying the deaf man up to Jesus. “Quick, he’s here now. Let’s get him to heal you!” Being deaf, the man hadn’t heard anything about Jesus. Being impeded in speech, he hadn’t said anything about wanting to go to Jesus for healing. He just stood there as his friends begged Jesus to heal him.

Still, for all his impediments, this man didn’t resist Jesus. He went along with him away from the crowd. He was open to finding out what would happen. The results—complete restoration of his hearing and speech—tell us that the man’s limited understanding of the whole situation didn’t keep Jesus from working a miracle. Healing doesn’t depend absolutely on whether we think we can be healed or not. It’s not a matter, or a sign, of our faith. We can be disposed to receive healing, or we can be unsure; we can be full of faith, or we can have our doubts. It doesn’t all depend on us.

Know this: whether you’re eager or baffled, believing or skeptical, Jesus can heal. He can work wonders, even in the face of the things we consider obstacles. Sometimes, as in the case of this deaf man, he does things that cause exceeding astonishment. Sometimes we ask and feel let down because we aren’t healed exactly as we imagined. But God is sovereign, and we are children whom he loves. Jesus said that we are to ask, and it will be given to us.

So ask! Imitate this deaf man. Be present to Jesus. Be open to what happens—because if you ask, something will happen. Be open, and keep looking for the gift God has for you, especially if you haven’t seen precisely what you are expecting. God is good; he does all things well. He is faithful; he hears you when you call on him. He loves you, and he loves to give you good gifts.

“Jesus, I open my heart to you today. Take me off by myself with you, and heal me.”

1 Kings 11:29-32; 12:19; Psalm 81:10-15

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

Daily Marriage Tip for February 14, 2014:

What’s the most romantic trip you can take? Perhaps it’s a trip down memory lane. On this day of love, remember how you met, your first date, your first kiss, your proposal/acceptance, your first night as a married couple…

An Act of Hope and Confidence in God

Friday, 14 February 2014 20:30

February 15th is the liturgical memorial of Saint Claude La Colombière, Priest, S.J.

My God, I believe most firmly
that Thou watchest over all who hope in Thee,
and that we can want for nothing
when we rely upon Thee in all things;
therefore I am resolved for the future to have no anxieties,
and to cast all my cares upon Thee.

People may deprive me of worldly goods and of honors;
sickness may take from me my strength
and the means of serving Thee;
I may even lose Thy grace by sin;
but my trust shall never leave me.
I will preserve it to the last moment of my life,
and the powers of hell shall seek in vain to wrestle it from me.

Let others seek happiness in their wealth, in their talents;
let them trust to the purity of their lives,
the severity of their mortifications,
to the number of their good works, the fervor of their prayers;
as for me, O my God, in my very confidence lies all my hope.
“For Thou, O Lord, singularly has settled me in hope.”
This confidence can never be in vain.
“No one has hoped in the Lord and has been confounded.”

I am assured, therefore, of my eternal happiness,
for I firmly hope for it, and all my hope is in Thee.
“In Thee, O Lord, I have hoped; let me never be confounded.”
I know, alas! I know but too well that I am frail and changeable;
I know the power of temptation against the strongest virtue.
I have seen stars fall from heaven, and pillars of firmament totter;
but these things alarm me not.
While I hope in Thee I am sheltered from all misfortune,
and I am sure that my trust shall endure,
for I rely upon Thee to sustain this unfailing hope.

Finally, I know that my confidence cannot exceed Thy bounty,
and that I shall never receive less than I have hoped for from Thee.
Therefore I hope that Thou wilt sustain me against my evil inclinations;
that Thou wilt protect me against the most furious assaults of the evil one,
and that Thou wilt cause my weakness to triumph over my most powerful enemies.
I hope that Thou wilt never cease to love me,
and that I shall love Thee unceasingly.
“In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded.”

Saint Claude La Colombière, Priest, S.J.

Regnum Christi

Immutable

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Memorial of Saints Cyril, monk and Methodius, bishop

Mark 7:31-37

Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Introductory Prayer:Lord, I truly sense your love in my heart. I hope in you, for you have won my confidence by revealing your sacrificial love to me. I love you, Lord, and I wish to be a witness of your love to all.

Petition: Lord, open my heart to your love so I may be a convincing witness to the world that your love exists.

1. Who Would I Be if I Did Not Have the Faith? We can be so familiar with and immersed in our Catholic heritage that we take for granted the truths we have received from our Catholic Church, much like most of us take for granted our ability to hear or speak. Today’s Gospel gives us an opportunity to contemplate a man who from birth did not enjoy either of these common faculties. There are people who cannot embrace Jesus’ revelation not because it isn’t given, but because they are not prepared to receive it. Let us rejoice in the grace we have received and honor it with our fidelity. What type of person would I be (or soon become) if I didn’t have the gift of faith to support, guide or mold my values?

2. Christ Is the Revelation of the Father and His Love: Christ revealed himself to this man, and his power gave him hearing and good speech. “Christ … by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and his love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear”(Gaudium et Spes, no. 22).Inasmuch as we are deaf to divine revelation we are like this man. Unable to speak the message of the meaning of our lives, unable to give ourselves to God and others, life just passes us by. But if God touches our ears and tongue, if he cures and empowers us with his grace, our lives take on a whole new direction and significance. God does touch our ears and tongue, but we must embrace his grace and purpose in our lives.

3. We Are Witnesses to the World that Love Exists: Our Lord restored to this man the health of his ears and tongue. Christ thus revealed to him his real identity: “He, who is ‘the image of the invisible God’ (Colossians 1:15), is himself the perfect man” (Redemptor Hominis, no. 10). How difficult his life must have been before this revelation! How hard must it have been for him to believe and love! “Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it” (Ibid). With his health restored, the man became an agent of God’s redemption. Who could keep him silent now about this wonderful experience of his Savior he has had? How loved by God this man must have felt that day when Christ restored his health! This man believed and so he speaks! Why am I silent? Do I not know that as a Catholic I am to be a witness to the world that love exists?

Conversation with Christ:

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!

You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.

In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things, which you created.

You were with me, but I was not with you.

Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all.

You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.

You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.

You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you.

I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.

You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

(The Confessions of St. Augustine)

Resolution: Today, I will share an aspect of my faith with a friend or family member.

http://catholicexchange.com/quote-day-21

February 14, 2014
Homily of the Day

“There shall be no strange god among you, you shall not worship any alien god, for I the Lord am your God, who led you forth from the land of Egypt. But my people did not listen; Israel did not obey. So I gave them over to their stubbornness and they followed their own counsels.” Ps 81: 10-11ab, 12-13

Our lives are filled to the brim. But what is it filled with? Earning a living and making it big? Becoming successful and rich? Being beautiful and popular? Owning the latest and newest gadgets? Buying a new car or a new house? Going on trips to see and be seen? In the midst of living our life to the fullest, where is God in the everyday of our lives? Are we, through our actions and without conscious thoughts, running after and worshipping “other” gods? Are success, fame and fortune dominating our minds, hearts, and souls? Are we still in touch with what is important in our lives? God? Our family? Our friends? Are we happy with where we are now?

“If only my people would listen, if only Israel would walk in my ways, I would quickly subdue their adversaries and turn my hand against their enemies.” Ps 81:14-15

Maybe now is a good time to be still and listen. To take stock of our life. To pray and to listen to our Lord. For he knows what is good for us.

Mark
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Mark 7
31.	And again going out of the coasts of Tyre, he came by Sidon to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.	Et iterum exiens de finibus Tyri, venit per Sidonem ad mare Galilææ inter medios fines Decapoleos.	και παλιν εξελθων εκ των οριων τυρου και σιδωνος ηλθεν προς την θαλασσαν της γαλιλαιας ανα μεσον των οριων δεκαπολεως
32.	And they bring to him one deaf and dumb; and they besought him that he would lay his hand upon him.	Et adducunt ei surdum, et mutum, et deprecabantur eum, ut imponat illi manum.	και φερουσιν αυτω κωφον μογγιλαλον και παρακαλουσιν αυτον ινα επιθη αυτω την χειρα
33.	And taking him from the multitude apart, he put his fingers into his ears, and spitting, he touched his tongue:	Et apprehendens eum de turba seorsum, misit digitos suos in auriculas ejus : et exspuens, tetigit linguam ejus :	και απολαβομενος αυτον απο του οχλου κατ ιδιαν εβαλεν τους δακτυλους αυτου εις τα ωτα αυτου και πτυσας ηψατο της γλωσσης αυτου
34.	And looking up to heaven, he groaned, and said to him: Ephpheta, which is, Be thou opened.	et suscipiens in cælum, ingemuit, et ait illi : Ephphetha, quod est, Adaperire.	και αναβλεψας εις τον ουρανον εστεναξεν και λεγει αυτω εφφαθα ο εστιν διανοιχθητι
35.	And immediately his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke right.	Et statim apertæ sunt aures ejus, et solutum est vinculum linguæ ejus, et loquebatur recte.	και ευθεως διηνοιχθησαν αυτου αι ακοαι και ελυθη ο δεσμος της γλωσσης αυτου και ελαλει ορθως
36.	And he charged them that they should tell no man. But the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal did they publish it.	Et præcepit illis ne cui dicerent. Quanto autem eis præcipiebat, tanto magis plus prædicabant :	και διεστειλατο αυτοις ινα μηδενι ειπωσιν οσον δε αυτος αυτοις διεστελλετο μαλλον περισσοτερον εκηρυσσον
37.	And so much the more did they wonder, saying: He hath done all things well; he hath made both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.	et eo amplius admirabantur, dicentes : Bene omnia fecit : et surdos fecit audire, et mutos loqui.	και υπερπερισσως εξεπλησσοντο λεγοντες καλως παντα πεποιηκεν και τους κωφους ποιει ακουειν και τους αλαλους λαλειν

31. And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.
32. And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.
33. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;
34. And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
35. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plain.
36. And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;
37. And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He has done all things well: he makes both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

THEOPHYL. The Lord did, not wish to stay in the parts of the Gentiles, lest He should give the Jews occasion to say, that they esteemed Him a transgressor of the law, because He held communion with the Gentiles, and therefore He immediately returns; wherefore it is said, And again departing from the coasts of Tyre, he came through Sidon, to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis.

BEDE; Decapolis is a region of ten cities, across the Jordan, to the east, over against Galilee . When therefore it is said that the Lord came to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis, it does not mean that He entered the confines of Decapolis themselves; for He is not said to have crossed the sea, but rather to have come to the borders of the sea, and to have reached quite up to the place, which was opposite to the midst of the coasts of Decapolis, which were situated at a distance across the sea.

It goes on, And they bring him one that was deaf and dumb, and they besought him to lay hands upon him.

THEOPHYL. Which is rightly placed after the deliverance of one possessed with a devil, for such an instance of suffering came from the devil. There follows, And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears.

PSEUD-CHRYS. He takes the deaf and dumb man who was brought to Him apart from the crowd, that He might not do His divine miracles openly; teaching us to cast away vain glory and swelling of heart, for no one can work miracles as he can, who loves humility and is lowly in his conduct. But He puts His fingers into his ears, when He might have cured him with a word, to show that His body, being united to Deity, was consecrated by Divine virtue, with all that He did. For since on account of the transgression of Adam, human nature had incurred much suffering and hurt in its members and senses, Christ coming into the world showed the perfection of human nature in Himself, and on this account opened ears with His fingers, and gave the power of speech by His spittle. Wherefore it goes on, And spit, and touched his tongue.

THEOPHYL. That He might show that all the members of His sacred body are divine and holy, even the spittle which loosed the string of the tongue. For the spittle is only the superfluous moisture of the body, but in the Lord all things are divine. It goes on, And looking up to haven, he groaned, and said to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

BEDE; He looked up to heaven, that He might teach us that thence is to be procured speech for the dumb, hearing for the deaf, health for all who are sick. And He sighed, not that it was necessary for Him to beg any thing from His Father with groaning, for He, together with the Father, gives all things to them who ask, but that He might give us an example of sighing, when for our own errors and those of our neighbors, we invoke the guardianship of the Divine mercy.

PSEUD-CHRYS. He at the same time also groaned, as taking our cause upon Himself, and pitying human nature, seeing the misery into which it had fallen.

BEDE; But that which He says, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened, belongs properly to the ears, for the ears are to be opened for hearing, but the tongue to be loosed from the bonds of its impediment, that it may be able to speak.

Wherefore it goes on, And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plain. Where each nature of one and the same Christ is manifestly distinct, looking up indeed, into Heaven as man, praying unto God, He groaned, but presently with one word, as being strong in the Divine Majesty, He healed.

It goes on, And be charged them that they should tell to man.

PSEUD-CHRYS. By which He has taught us not to boast in our powers, but in the cross and humiliation. He also bade them conceal the miracle, lest He should excite the Jews by envy to kill Him before the time.

PSEUDO-JEROME; A city, however, placed on a hill cannot be hid, and lowliness always comes before glory . Wherefore it goes on, But the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it.

THEOPHYL. By this we are taught , when we confer benefits on any, by no means to seek for applause and praise; but when we have received benefits, to proclaim and praise our benefactors, even though they be unwilling.

AUG. If however He, as one Who knew the present and the future wills of men, knew that they would proclaim Him the more in proportion as He forbade them, why did He give them this command? If it were not that He wished to prove to men who are idle, how much more joyfully, with how such greater obedience, they whom He commands to proclaim Him should preach, when they who were forbidden could not hold their peace.

GLOSS. From the preaching however of those who were healed by Christ, the wonder of the multitude, and their praise of the benefits of Christ, increased. Wherefore it goes on, And they were beyond measure astonished, saying, He has done all things well; he makes the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

PSEUDO-JEROME; Mystically, Tyre is interpreted narrowness, and signifies Judea, to which the Lord said, "For the bed is grown too narrow," and from which he turns himself to the Gentiles. Sidon means' hunting,' for our race is like an untamed beast, and 'sea,' which means a wavering inconstancy. Again, the Savior comes to save the Gentiles in the midst of the coasts of Decapolis, which may be interpreted, as the commands of the Decalogue. Further, the human race throughout its many members is reckoned as one man, eaten up by varying pestilence, in the first created man; it is blinded, that is, its eye is evil; it becomes deaf, when it listens to, and dumb when it speaks, evil. And they prayed Him to lay His hand upon him, because many just men, and patriarchs, wished and longed for the time when the Lord should come in the flesh.

BEDE; Or he is deaf and dumb who neither has ears to hear the words of God, nor opens his mouth to speak them, and such must be presented to the Lord for healing, by men who have already learned to hear and speak the divine oracles.

PSEUDO-JEROME; Further, he who obtain healing is always drawn aside from turbulent thoughts, disorderly actions, and incoherent speeches. And the fingers which are put into the ears are the words and the gifts of the Holy Ghost, whom it is said, This is the finger of God. The spittle is heavenly wisdom, which loosens the sealed lips of the human race, so that it can say, I believe in God, the Father Almighty and the rest of the Creed. And looking up to heaven, he groaned, that is, He taught us to groan, and to raise up the treasures of our hearts to the heavens; because by the groaning of hearty compunction, the silly joy of the flesh is purged away. But the ears are opened to hymns, and songs, and psalms; and He looses the tongue, that it may pour forth the good word, which neither threats nor stripes can restrain.

Catena Aurea Mark 7

Christ healing a deaf-mute

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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 2

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Sts. Cyril & Methodius

1 Kings 11:29-32; 12:19
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Psalm 81:10-15

Mark 7:31-37
Similar Reflections

ONE TO ONE

"Jesus took him off by himself away from the crowd." —Mark 7:33

Jesus sometimes healed people impersonally. For instance, sometimes He may have healed hundreds at one time. When Jesus healed a woman who was hemorrhaging for twelve years, He didn't even know she was healed until after the fact (Mk 5:30). However, Jesus' healing of the deaf man with a speech impediment was one of His most personal healings. Jesus took this man "off by himself away from the crowd" (Mk 7:33). He gave him One-on-one attention. Jesus "put His fingers into the man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue" (Mk 7:33).

Do you need Jesus' very personal touch for healing? If so, step out of the crowded conditions of your life. Lock yourself in a prayer closet with Jesus (see Mt 6:6). Have a heart-to-heart talk with Jesus. Meet Jesus in solitude and silence. Intimately receive the body and blood of Jesus into your body at Mass (see Jn 6:56).

People may laugh at you and call you stupid or ugly, but Jesus treasures you. You are beautiful in Him and to Him. Come away to be alone with Jesus. He loves you so much He died for you. Be alone with Jesus; be alone with Love Himself (see 1 Jn 4:16).

Prayer: Father, open me and free me so that I will speak freely and plainly of Your love (see Mk 7:34-35).

Promise: "If only My people would hear Me, and Israel walk in My ways, quickly would I humble their enemies."—Ps 81:14-15

Praise: St. Methodius endured great opposition during his mission to Moravia. He was imprisoned for several years but nonetheless translated the entire Bible into Slavonic before he died.

Parents for Life

Love both the parent and the child.

They never asked us to vote for Obama. I have a string of links to Bishops who urged us NOT to vote for Obama.