Christ and saints
817-824
Santa Prassede, Rome
Posted on 02/25/2014 10:28:04 PM PST by Salvation
St. Porphyry
Feast Day: February 26
Born: (around)360 : : Died: 420
Porphyry was born at Thessalonica, in Greece to wealthy, noble parents. He left his family when he was twenty-five and went to Egypt to enter a monastery as a Hermit, in the desert of Skete. After five years, he made a trip to Jerusalem. He wanted to visit the places where Jesus had actually been while he was on earth.
Porphyry was very fascinated by the Holy Land. His love for Jesus made him more deeply aware of the sufferings of the poor. At home in Thessalonica he had never known what it was like to be poor. Now he still owned all the property and wealth that his parents had left him, but not for long.
He asked his friend Mark to go to Thessalonica and sell everything for him. After three months, Mark returned with the money. This, Porphyry gave away to those who really needed it. He then lived for a while as a Hermit in Palestine on the banks of the river Jordan.
At the age of forty he became a priest and was given care of the relics (remains) of the true cross of Jesus. Porphyry was then made bishop of Gaza in Palestine. He worked generously to lead the people to believe in Jesus and to accept the faith.
But it was hard and slow work that required a great amount of patience. Most of people who lived there at that time were pagans who worshiped false gods and had wrong ideas. Although Porphyry was able to stop many of these pagan practices, he had enemies who made him suffer much.
Others who were Christians loved and admired him very much. They prayed and made sacrifices for him begging God to protect him. Bishop Porphyry spent many years strengthening the Christian community, teaching and preaching about all that Christianity stood for. He died in 420.
Have I trusted God in all my undertakings, believing that he watches over me? Are there some parts of my life still controlled by fear?
| Mark | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| Mark 9 |
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| 38. | 9:37 John answered him, saying: Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, who followeth not us, and we forbade him. | 9:37 Respondit illi Joannes, dicens : Magister, vidimus quemdam in nomine tuo ejicientem dæmonia, qui non sequitur nos, et prohibuimus eum. | απεκριθη δε αυτω [ο] ιωαννης λεγων διδασκαλε ειδομεν τινα τω ονοματι σου εκβαλλοντα δαιμονια ος ουκ ακολουθει ημιν και εκωλυσαμεν αυτον οτι ουκ ακολουθει ημιν |
| 39. | 9:38 But Jesus said: Do not forbid him. For there is no man that doth a miracle in my name, and can soon speak ill of me. | 9:38 Jesus autem ait : Nolite prohibere eum : nemo est enim qui faciat virtutem in nomine meo, et possit cito male loqui de me : | ο δε ιησους ειπεν μη κωλυετε αυτον ουδεις γαρ εστιν ος ποιησει δυναμιν επι τω ονοματι μου και δυνησεται ταχυ κακολογησαι με |
| 40. | 9:39 For he that is not against you, is for you. | 9:39 qui enim non est adversum vos, pro vobis est. | ος γαρ ουκ εστιν καθ υμων υπερ υμων εστιν |
Why are we, too, supposed to accept suffering in our lives and thus "take up our cross" and thereby follow Jesus?
Christians should not seek suffering, but when they are confronted with unavoidable suffering, it can become meaningful for them if they unite their sufferings with the sufferings of Christ: "Christ ... suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps" (1 Pet 2:21).
Jesus said, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mk 8:34). Christians have the task of alleviating suffering in the world. Nevertheless, there will still be suffering. In faith we can accept our own suffering and share the suffering of others. In this way human suffering becomes united with the redeeming love of Christ and thus part of the divine power that changes the world for the better.
Was Jesus really dead? Maybe he was able to rise again because he only appeared to have suffered death.
Jesus really died on the Cross; his body was buried. All the sources testify to this.
In John 19:33ff., the soldiers even make an explicit determination of death: They open the side of Jesus' dead body with a lance and see blood and water come out. Furthermore, it says that the legs of the men crucified with him were broken - a step that hastened the dying process; this was not required in Jesus' case since his death had already occurred. (YOUCAT questions 102-103)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (618-630) and other references here.
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 4: "Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried" (571 - 630)
Paragraph 2: Jesus Died Crucified (595 - 623)
III. CHRIST OFFERED HIMSELF TO HIS FATHER FOR OUR SINS ⇡
Our participation in Christ's sacrifice ⇡
The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the "one mediator between God and men".452 But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, "the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery" is offered to all men.453 He calls his disciples to "take up [their] cross and follow [him]",454 for "Christ also suffered for [us], leaving [us] an example so that [we] should follow in his steps."455 In fact Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries.456 This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering.457 Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.458
452.
453.
GS 22 § 5; cf. § 2.
454.
455.
456.
Cf Mk 10:39; Jn 21:18-19; Col 1:24.
457.
Cf. Lk 2:35.
458.
St. Rose of Lima, cf. P. Hansen, Vita mirabilis (Louvain, 1668).
IN BRIEF ⇡
"Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures" (1 Cor 15:3).
Our salvation flows from God's initiative of love for us, because "he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins" (1 Jn 4:10). "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19).
Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation. Beforehand, during the Last Supper, he both symbolized this offering and made it really present: "This is my body which is given for you" (Lk 22:19).
The redemption won by Christ consists in this, that he came "to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28), that is, he "loved [his own] to the end" (Jn 13:1), so that they might be "ransomed from the futile ways inherited from [their] fathers" (1 Pet 1:18).
By his loving obedience to the Father, "unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8), Jesus fulfills the atoning mission (cf. Is 53:10) of the suffering Servant, who will "make many righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities" (Is 53:11; cf. Rom 5:19).
Paragraph 3: Jesus Christ Was Buried (624 - 630)
"By the grace of God" Jesus tasted death "for every one".459 In his plan of salvation, God ordained that his Son should not only "die for our sins"460 but should also "taste death", experience the condition of death, the separation of his soul from his body, between the time he expired on the cross and the time he was raised from the dead. The state of the dead Christ is the mystery of the tomb and the descent into hell. It is the mystery of Holy Saturday, when Christ, lying in the tomb,461 reveals God's great sabbath rest462 after the fulfillment463 of man's salvation, which brings peace to the whole universe.464
459.
460.
461.
Cf. Jn 19:42.
462.
Cf. Heb 4:7-9.
463.
Cf. Jn 19:30.
464.
Cf Col 1:18-20.
Christ in the tomb in his body ⇡
Christ's stay in the tomb constitutes the real link between his passible state before Easter and his glorious and risen state today. The same person of the "Living One" can say, "I died, and behold I am alive for evermore":465 God [the Son] did not impede death from separating his soul from his body according to the necessary order of nature, but has reunited them to one another in the Resurrection, so that he himself might be, in his person, the meeting point for death and life, by arresting in himself the decomposition of nature produced by death and so becoming the source of reunion for the separated parts.466
465.
466.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, Orat. catech. 16: PG 45, 52D.
Since the "Author of life" who was killed467 is the same "living one [who has] risen",468 the divine person of the Son of God necessarily continued to possess his human soul and body, separated from each other by death: By the fact that at Christ's death his soul was separated from his flesh, his one person is not itself divided into two persons; for the human body and soul of Christ have existed in the same way from the beginning of his earthly existence, in the divine person of the Word; and in death, although separated from each other, both remained with one and the same person of the Word.469
467.
468.
469.
St. John Damascene, De fide orth. 3, 27: PG 94, 1098A.
"You will not let your Holy One see corruption" ⇡
Christ's death was a real death in that it put an end to his earthly human existence. But because of the union which the person of the Son retained with his body, his was not a mortal corpse like others, for "it was not possible for death to hold him"470 and therefore "divine power preserved Christ's body from corruption."471 Both of these statements can be said of Christ: "He was cut off out of the land of the living",472 and "My flesh will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption."473 Jesus' Resurrection "on the third day" was the sign of this, also because bodily decay was held to begin on the fourth day after death.474
470.
471.
St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 51, 3.
472.
473.
Acts 2:26-27; cf. Ps 16:9-10.
474.
Cf. 1 Cor 15:4; Lk 24:46; Mt 12:40; Jon 2:1; Hos 6:2; cf. Jn 11:39.
"Buried with Christ..." ⇡
Baptism, the original and full sign of which is immersion, efficaciously signifies the descent into the tomb by the Christian who dies to sin with Christ in order to live a new life. "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."475
475.
Rom 6:4; cf. Col 2:12; Eph 5:26.
IN BRIEF ⇡
To the benefit of every man, Jesus Christ tasted death (cf. Heb 2:9). It is truly the Son of God made man who died and was buried.
During Christ's period in the tomb, his divine person continued to assume both his soul and his body, although they were separated from each other by death. For this reason the dead Christ's body "saw no corruption" (Acts 13:37).
Wednesday, February 26
Liturgical Color: Green
Today the Church recalls St. Paula of
Saint Joseph of Calasanz. In 1847, she
founded the Daughters of Mary, which
operated several schools in Spain. The
goal of the order was to provide a good
education while maintaining devotion
to God.
Daily Readings for:February 26, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you. 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
ACTIVITIES
o Relating the Bible to Liturgy
PRAYERS
LIBRARY
o Greater International Solidarity For The Holy Land | Cardinal Renato R. Martino
o Prayer For Peace at the Greek-Orthodox Church in Quneitra | Pope John Paul II
· Ordinary Time: February 26th
· Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: Saint Porphyrius, bishop (Hist)
Historically today is the feast of St. Porphyrius, a wealthy Greek who became a hermit first in the desert of Skete in Egypt and then in Palestine on the banks of the Jordan. Much against his will he was raised to the see of Gaza, which he ruled with extraordinary energy, ability and success. He almost completely uprooted the remnants of paganism in his diocese. His biography written by his deacon Mark is one of the most valuable historical sources of the fifth century.
Saint Porphyrius
Saint Porphyrius, Archbishop of Gaza, was born about the year 346 at Thessalonica. His parents were people of substance, and this allowed St Porphyrius to receive a fine education. Having the inclination for monastic life, he left his native region at twenty-five years of age and set off for Egypt, where he lived in the Nitrian desert under the guidance of St Macarius the Great (January 19). There he also met St Jerome (June 15), who was then visiting the Egyptian monasteries. He went to Jerusalem on pilgrimage to the holy places, and to venerate the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord (September 14), then he moved into a cave in the Jordanian wilderness for prayer and ascetic deeds.
After five years, St Porphyrius was afflicted with a serious malady of the legs. He decided to go to the holy places of Jerusalem to pray for healing. As he lay half-conscious at the foot of Golgotha, St Porphyrius fell into a sort of trance. He beheld Jesus Christ descending from the Cross and saying to him, "Take this Wood and preserve it."
Coming out of his trance, he found himself healthy and free from pain. Then he gave away all his money to the poor and for the adornment of the churches of God. For a time he supported himself by working as a shoemaker. The words of the Savior were fulfilled when the saint was forty-five years old. The Patriarch of Jerusalem ordained St Porphyrius to the holy priesthood and appointed him custodian of the Venerable Wood of the Cross of the Lord.
In 395 the bishop of the city of Gaza (in Palestine) died. The local Christians went to Caesarea to ask Metropolitan John to send them a new bishop who would be able to contend against the pagans, which were predominant in their city and were harassing the Christians there. The Lord inspired the Metropolitan to summon the priest Porphyrius. With fear and trembling the ascetic accepted the office of bishop, and with tears he prostrated himself before the Life-Creating Wood and went to fulfill his new obedience.
In Gaza there were only three Christian churches, but there were a great many pagan temples and idols. During this time there had been a long spell without rain, causing a severe drought. The pagan priests brought offerings to their idols, but the woes did not cease. St Porphyrius imposed a fast for all the Christians; he then served an all-night Vigil, followed by a church procession around the city. Immediately the sky covered over with storm clouds, thunder boomed, and abundant rains poured down. Seeing this miracle, many pagans cried out, "Christ is indeed the only true God!" As a result of this, 127 men, thirty-five women and fourteen children were united to the Church through Holy Baptism, and another 110 men soon after this.
The pagans continued to harass the Christians. They passed them over for public office, and burdened them with taxes. St Porphyrius and Metropolitan John of Caesarea journeyed to Constantinople to seek redress from the emperor. St John Chrysostom (September 14, January 27 and 30) received them and assisted them.
Ss. John and Porphyrius were presented to the empress Eudoxia who was expecting a child at that time. "Intercede for us," said the bishops to the empress, "and the Lord will send you a son, who shall reign during your lifetime". Eudoxia very much wanted a son, since she had given birth only to daughters. Through the prayer of the saints an heir was born to the imperial family. As a result of this, the emperor issued an edict in 401 ordering the destruction of pagan temples in Gaza and the restoration of privileges to Christians. Moreover, the emperor gave the saints money for the construction of a new church, which was to be built in Gaza on the site of the chief pagan temple.
St Porphyrius upheld Christianity in Gaza to the very end of his life, and guarded his flock from the vexatious pagans. Through the prayers of the saint numerous miracles and healings occurred. The holy archpastor guided his flock for twenty-five years, and reposed in 420 at an advanced age.
Excerpted from http://molonlabe70.blogspot.com/2008/02/st-porphyrius-bishop-of-gaza.html
Things to Do:
7th Week in Ordinary Time
If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that. (James 4:15)
Using an expression that goes back to the primitive Church, many Arab Christians end their conversations with “if God wills.” “I will see you next week, if God wills.” “My daughter is set to get married in the spring, if God wills.” We see Paul using this expression when he wrote to the Christians at Corinth: “I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing” (1 Corinthians 4:19). And in today’s first reading, James reminds us that our future is in God’s control. We can make the best of plans, but only God can guarantee the future.
If this is the case, wouldn’t it make sense simply to sit on our front porches and wait for the Second Coming? Well, not exactly. Nothing would ever get done! God wants us to be out in the world, building his kingdom—but doing it in a way that keeps us free from anxiety or worry over the future. After all, if he provides so abundantly for the birds and the flowers, how much more can we, his own children, rely on his care and guidance?
The same principle applies to our personal lives as well. God wants us to work hard at our jobs, be involved in our family and neighborhood, and take care of ourselves both physically and mentally. But he doesn’t want the demands of any of these responsibilities to overshadow our joy and confidence in him and his provision.
Anxiety is neither helpful nor necessary. It robs us of our faith and saps us of our energy. God wants us to place our hope in him and in the future he has promised us. He wants us to be free to serve him. So don’t let the cares of this world make you afraid. Don’t let your worries convince you that you have to overcome every obstacle on your own. Instead, turn to the Lord, and surrender your future into his hands. Ask his Spirit to help you let go of worry so that you can live in the light of his promises.
“Lord, free me from needless worry and preoccupation. I want to abandon myself to your plan. May I live every day with trust and gratitude for your providential care.”
Psalm 49:2-3, 6-11; Mark 9:38-40
Daily Marriage Tip for February 26, 2014:
“Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mk 1:15) Any two people who live as closely as husband and wife are bound to emotionally hurt each other at times. It may be a careless word or wanting your way. Don’t be too proud to repent. “I’m sorry” is the first step. Making amends is the next.
Laws of Degenerative Liturgical Evolution
Wednesday, 26 February 2014 20:58
The Highjacking of the Reform
I have believed for some time that the Consilium ad exsequendam Constitutionem de sacra Liturgia rather overstepped its mandate and, to put it bluntly, hijacked the reforms intended by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council. Father Louis Bouyer’s journal — which I had occasion to read in unpublished manuscript form — makes it clear, alas, that there was a good deal of double–agent style manipulation going on: the Holy Father being told what was the mind of the experts of the Consilium, and the experts of the Consilium being told what was the mind of the Holy Father. In fact, what prevailed was the mind of a few pushers for reforms exceeding what is envisaged in Sacrosanctum Concilium.
The Perfect Liturgical Storm
Three things came into play to make the perfect liturgical storm: 1) a culture of uncritical obedience at nearly every level of the ecclesiastical bureaucracy; 2) a lack of communication and transparency in various key instances — the Pontifical Household, the Consilium itself, the Sacred Congregation of Rites, the Holy Office, and the Secretariat of State — that should have been working together towards a common goal, and 3) a clergy (particularly in the English–speaking world) largely in the grip of a legalistic minimalism that left them unprepared to welcome and implement liturgical reforms. The biased transmission of the decisions of the Consilium by national conferences of bishops, dioceses, and parishes is another story.
The 1965 Missale Romanum
In spite of so many obstacles and risks, the appearance of the so–called 1965 Missale Romanum was thought by many to be the terminus ad quem of the Consilium‘s work on the reform of the Mass. Monsignor Klaus Gamber writes:
As recently as May 28, 1966, in an official letter written on behalf of the Pope and addressed to the Abbot of Beuron, who had sent to the Pope a copy of the new (post-Council) edition of the Schott-Missal, then Cardinal Secretary of State Cicognani stated, “The singular characteristic and primary importance of this new edition is that it [the revisions of 1965] reflects completely the intent of the Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.”
The 1965 Missale Romanum represented a faithful implementation of Sacrosanctum Concilium. Had it been kept in continuous use for, let us say, fifty to a hundred years, the Church would, I think, have enjoyed a period of greater liturgical serenity and the Roman Rite a healthy spatium of organic development.
The Lectionary
The 1965 Missale Romanum was completed by a Lectionary for Weekdays. The edition I have on hand was published by Geoffrey Chapman in 1966. The Primate of Ireland, William Cardinal Conway, Archbishop of Armagh, introduces the Lectionary:
This series of Scripture readings for weekday Masses is designed to implement paragraph 51 of the Constitution “De Sacra Liturgia” which asks that the treasures of Sacred Scripture be more widely opened to the faithful in the Liturgy of the Word.
Heretofore people attending daily Mass heard the same extracts from Sacred Scripture read three or four times weekly, practically throughout the entire year. With the new use of this series they will hear almost the whole of each of the four gospels each year and, in alternate years, readings from the other books of the New Testament and from the books of the Old Testment which record the early beginnings of the history of salvation. The readings have been chosen with great care and with reference to the particular aspect of the paschal mystery which is being celebrated at each season of the liturgical year.
This series has now been approved by the Holy See for experimental use. The liturgical committees of the hierarchies of England, Ireland, and Scotland are taking a leading part in this experiment, for the English–speaking world, by welcoming the series and giving permission for its general use. Thus the need has arisen for a suitable lectionary. That need is now supplied with the publication of the present volume which, in a worthy format, gives the entire two–year cycle according to the beautiful Revised Standard Version. I have no doubt that its appearance will be very greatly appreciated.
The Prayer of the Faithful
The Missale Romanum of 1965 provides for the Oratio Communis seu Fidelium, in accordance with Sacrosanctum Concilium, article 53:
Especially on Sundays and feasts of obligation there is to be restored, after the Gospel and the homily, “the common prayer” or “the prayer of the faithful.” By this prayer, in which the people are to take part, intercession will be made for holy Church, for the civil authorities, for those oppressed by various needs, for all mankind, and for the salvation of the entire world.
The sobriety of the Roman Rite is maintained; there is no provision for a verbose introduction to the Oratio Fidelium by the priest. The rubric concerning it reads:
The Symbol (Creed) being completed, the celebrant, turned towards the people, says, “The Lord be with you”. . . . Thereupon he adds, “Let us pray,” and makes the Oratio Fidelium.
The Weight–Bearing Structure of the Mass
While some might object to the loss of the complete psalm Iudica at the foot of the altar and of the Last Gospel, the weight–bearing structure of the Mass remains untouched. The aims advanced by the Council Fathers in Sacrosanctum Concilium are achieved, and the organic continuity of the Mass of the Roman Rite is admirably preserved in the context of its traditional round of seasons, fasts, and feasts; the precious Propers of the Mass are untouched. The Roman Canon, the Holy Sacrifice’s venerable, distinctive, and central element remains unchanged, enshrined in its familiar setting. The intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints is not minimised.
The Roman Rite Destroyed?
The Missale Romanum of 1965 could have — and should have — served the Church well for generations. Instead, a mere four years later, it was cast aside and replaced a whole new Order of Mass fabricated with bits and pieces of the the Old, but having no claim to organic continuity with the historic Roman Rite. Thus was Jesuit Father Joseph Gelineau, the apostle of popularized psalmody and an eminent member of the Consilium, able to write his chilling indictment:
Let it be candidly said: the Roman Rite which we have known hitherto no longer exists. It is destroyed.
This was not what the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council intended. It is, in fact, a betrayal of the vision expressed in Sacrosanctum Concilium.
There must be no innovations unless the good of the Church genuinely and certainly requires them; and care must be taken that any new forms adopted should in some way grow organically from forms already existing (Sacrosanctum Concilium, article 23).
My Own Law of Liturgical Evolution
No one at the grassroots level was prepared to deal with the multiplicity of options set out in the Missale Romanum of 1969. Very few of the clergy, long accustomed to a dry rubricism with little mystagogical catechesis, could manoeuvre their way through the options of the Novus Ordo Missae intelligently. It was a blueprint for liturgical chaos. The Introductory Rites alone presented a bewildering array of options. Reading article 48 of the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani one discovers, for example, that there are four or, some would say, five options for the Introit alone. There are, moreover, six different ways of executing the four or five options. In the end, concretely, what happened in the vast majority of parishes? The Introit disappeared altogether, and so too have the other elements of the Proper of the Mass. I am no Professor Anton Baumstark, but I have formulated my own law of degenerative liturgical evolution. It is this: elements of the rite tend to be neglected and, in the end, disappear altogether, in direct proportion to the number of options by virtue of which they may be replaced or modified.
Options and Variants
In counting the sum total options set forth in the third typical edition of the reformed Missale Romanum, I arrive at forty odd variants subject to the choice of the celebrant, not counting the four Eucharistic Prayers in the body of the volume and, in the Appendix to the Order of the Mass, the two Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation and the four Eucharistic Prayers for use in Masses for Various Needs. In the Ordinary of the Mass alone, therefore, there are in excess of fifty variants and options left to the choice of the celebrant. I do not speak here of the Prefaces, given that they merit and require being considered separately.
Modular Liturgy
In effect, the Ordo Missae of 1969 as amended in subsequent editiones typicae, is a — pardon the expression, I intend no irreverence — “Build Your Own Mass Kit”. It presents a kind of modular liturgy; the various modules can be added, taken away, or embellished according to the individual celebrant’s competence and subjective inspiration. In the most gifted hands, this does happen with the occasional felicitous result but, more often than not, celebrants fall back into a routine determined by the gravitational pull towards minimalism. Consider, for example, the simple fact that the single most widely used Eucharistic Prayer in English–speaking countries is the prex brevissima, Eucharistic Prayer II. Dare I formulate yet another law of degenerative liturgical evolution? The gravitational pull towards liturgical minimalism tends to increase in direct proportion to the number of options left to the choice of the celebrant.
| The Zeal of Charity | ||
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Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
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Mark 9:38-40 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.” Introductory Prayer:Lord Jesus, I believe in you and in all the expressions of your goodness and love in my life. I believe in your Eucharist, where you have made yourself my bread and a prisoner of love to teach me goodness of heart. I trust that you can train my heart to react more as you do, with forgiveness and blessing. I love you, Lord; I wish to love you with my prayer and increased charity. Mary, teach me to love with the heart of your son. Petition: Make my heart more like yours, Lord. 1. A Son of Thunder: The young apostle says with uncontrolled fervor, “We tried to prevent him.” They obviously acted first and consulted Jesus only afterwards. What moved them? What so often moves us––a sense of righteous zeal! We know or think we know what is right. “Let no one step out of line, or we will let him know!” Moreover, this person “does not follow us,” so he should not be able to act in your name! What is this “Son of Thunder” missing? Is not the mightiest deed an act of charity? How often do I make rash judgments without really knowing the full picture and without consulting Jesus first? Conversation with Christ: Dear Lord, grant me a heart overflowing with your love. Make charity my first reaction, my constant hope and my irresistible tendency. Open my eyes in faith to see you working in people of all backgrounds and faiths. Help me to dismiss all personal, unnecessary judgments with an assumption of charity. May I win souls with my goodness and never be without charity in my fight for your Kingdom. Resolution: I will counter every thought against charity with two thoughts of charity. I will counter every word against charity with two words of sincere charity for the one maligned. |
February 26, 2014
In the First Reading, James gives us a rich counsel on Christian life starting with disunity among Christians, revealing to us the root of disunity which is actually coming from within one’s self. Our desire to get what we want manifests itself externally and can cause the turmoil that destroys communion. James warns us on worldly desires that oppose the spiritual life, describing those with these desires as adulterous wives for they are unfaithful to the Lord. If you find yourself choosing the world instead of God, let us accept the invitation of James to weep for this wretched situation. The Lord is pleased with the tears coming from a sorrowful heart that is mourning for his own sins. Yet the reality is that we rarely weep for our sins. Why is that? It is because, first of all, we do not recognize our sinfulness. We do not realize that we are enemies of God. To weep for one’s sins is a gift we can ask for. God is always pleased with a humble and contrite heart; and to the humble one, he gives generously; first and foremost, he endows grace.
James also warns us against slander among Christians for the only one who can judge is the Lord. For us, it is difficult not to judge because everyone thinks of himself as better than the other. We think we are always right and cannot look at something from someone else’s point of view. Little do we know that if we were in the place of the other, with the same history and circumstances, we would have done the same or even worse. James also cautions us from being too confident. A Christian knows that nothing is ever sure. The only sure thing in life is death, which visits every individual sooner or later. Everything else is up to the Lord. We do not even know if we will get up the next morning, so how can we be confident in our plans, in our projections. Only if God wills it, will one’s plans come to fruition.
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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 2
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"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." ~Jeremiah 1:5
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