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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. |
Posted on 03/23/2014 8:18:09 PM PDT by Salvation
March 24, 2014
Monday of the Third Week of Lent
Reading 1 2 Kgs 5:1-15ab
Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram,
was highly esteemed and respected by his master,
for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram.
But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.
Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel
a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife.
“If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,”
she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”
Naaman went and told his lord
just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.
“Go,” said the king of Aram.
“I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”
So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents,
six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.
To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read:
“With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you,
that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
When he read the letter,
the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed:
“Am I a god with power over life and death,
that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?
Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!”
When Elisha, the man of God,
heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments,
he sent word to the king:
“Why have you torn your garments?
Let him come to me and find out
that there is a prophet in Israel.”
Naaman came with his horses and chariots
and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.
The prophet sent him the message:
“Go and wash seven times in the Jordan,
and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.”
But Naaman went away angry, saying,
“I thought that he would surely come out and stand there
to invoke the LORD his God,
and would move his hand over the spot,
and thus cure the leprosy.
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,
better than all the waters of Israel?
Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?”
With this, he turned about in anger and left.
But his servants came up and reasoned with him.
“My father,” they said,
“if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,
would you not have done it?
All the more now, since he said to you,
‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.”
So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times
at the word of the man of God.
His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before him and said,
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4
R. (see 42:3) Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Gospel Lk 4:24-30
Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel
in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. |
We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! I hope we can all remember that.
Feast Day: March 24
Born: 1331 at Sweden
Died: 24 March 1381
Canonized: 1484 (cultus confirmed) by Pope Innocent VIII
Patron of: against abortion, against miscarriages
Blessed Didacus
Feast Day: March 24
Born: 1743 :: Died: 1801
Blessed Didacus was born in Cadiz, Spain. He was baptized Joseph Francis by his parents who loved their faith and practiced it. They were delighted when their child built an altar and decorated it. He would kneel and pray to Jesus, to Our Lady and to St. Joseph.
When he was old enough, Joseph learned to love the Mass and became an altar server at the Capuchin Franciscan church just down the street. He used to get up early enough to be at the church each morning and wait for the doors to be unlocked. He never missed a day.
One of the Capuchin priests or brothers gave Joseph a book about the lives of the Capuchin saints. He read it and read it again learning. every story. He grew to love the holy men who were poor and humble like Jesus. The day came when he asked to join the order. He was accepted and went to Seville, Spain, for his training, called a novitiate. He began a new life with a new name, Brother Didacus.
After years of preparation, Brother Didacus was ordained a priest. He was sent throughout Spain to preach to the people the Good News of Jesus which he did with joy. His homilies (sermons) were so clear and kind that people listened. They even brought friends to listen. Soon an ordinary church was too small for the crowds.
When Father Didacus was preaching, the talks were held outdoors, usually in the town square or in the streets. Father Didacus loved to preach about the Blessed Trinity and was know as “the Apostle of the Blessed Trinity and of Our Lady, the Mother of the Good Shepherd.” He was always available to hear confessions, too. He was happy when people came to the sacrament of Reconciliation.
Whenever he had some free time, he visited prisons, hospitals and the homes of shut-ins (people with infectious diseases). Father Didacus died in 1801 and was declared "blessed" by Pope Leo XIII in 1894.
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Why is the Church not a democratic organization?
Democracy operates on the principle that all power comes from the people. In the Church, however, all power comes from Christ. That is why the Church has a hierarchical structure. At the same time, however, Christ gave her a collegial structure as well.
The hierarchical element in the Church consists in the fact that Christ himself is the one who acts in the Church when ordained ministers, by God's grace, do or give something that they could not do or give by themselves, in other words, when they administer the sacraments in Christ's place and teach with his authority. The collegial element in the Church consists in the fact that Christ entrusted the entire faith to a group of twelve apostles, whose successors govern the Church, with the Pope, the Petrine ministry presiding. Given this collegial approach, councils are an indispensable part of the Church. Yet even in other administrative bodies of the Church, in synods and councils, the manifold gifts of the Spirit and the universality of the Church throughout the world can be fruitful. (YOUCAT question 140)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (874-879) and other references here.
Part 1: The Profession of Faith (26 - 1065)
Section 2: The Profession of the Christian Faith (185 - 1065)
Chapter 3: I Believe in the Holy Spirit (683 - 1065)
Article 9: "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church" (748 - 975)
Paragraph 4: Christ's Faithful — Hierarchy, Laity, Consecrated Life (871 - 945)
I. THE HIERARCHICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH ⇡
Why the ecclesial ministry? ⇡
Christ is himself the source of ministry in the Church. He instituted the Church. He gave her authority and mission, orientation and goal: In order to shepherd the People of God and to increase its numbers without cease, Christ the Lord set up in his Church a variety of offices which aim at the good of the whole body. The holders of office, who are invested with a sacred power, are, in fact, dedicated to promoting the interests of their brethren, so that all who belong to the People of God ... may attain to salvation.389
389.
LG 18.
"How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent?"390 No one — no individual and no community — can proclaim the Gospel to himself: "Faith comes from what is heard."391 No one can give himself the mandate and the mission to proclaim the Gospel. The one sent by the Lord does not speak and act on his own authority, but by virtue of Christ's authority; not as a member of the community, but speaking to it in the name of Christ. No one can bestow grace on himself; it must be given and offered. This fact presupposes ministers of grace, authorized and empowered by Christ. From him, bishops and priests receive the mission and faculty ("the sacred power") to act in persona Christi Capitis; deacons receive the strength to serve the people of God in the diaconia of liturgy, word and charity, in communion with the bishop and his presbyterate. The ministry in which Christ's emissaries do and give by God's grace what they cannot do and give by their own powers, is called a "sacrament" by the Church's tradition. Indeed, the ministry of the Church is conferred by a special sacrament.
390.
391.
Intrinsically linked to the sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry is its character as service. Entirely dependent on Christ who gives mission and authority, ministers are truly "slaves of Christ,"392 in the image of him who freely took "the form of a slave" for us.393 Because the word and grace of which they are ministers are not their own, but are given to them by Christ for the sake of others, they must freely become the slaves of all.394
392.
Cf. Rom 1:1.
393.
394.
Cf. 1 Cor 9:19.
Likewise, it belongs to the sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry that it have a collegial character. In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as "the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy."395 Chosen together, they were also sent out together, and their fraternal unity would be at the service of the fraternal communion of all the faithful: they would reflect and witness to the communion of the divine persons.396 For this reason every bishop exercises his ministry from within the episcopal college, in communion with the bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter and head of the college. So also priests exercise their ministry from within the presbyterium of the diocese, under the direction of their bishop.
395.
AG 5.
396.
Cf. Jn 17:21-23.
Finally, it belongs to the sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry that it have a personal character. Although Christ's ministers act in communion with one another, they also always act in a personal way. Each one is called personally: "You, follow me"397 in order to be a personal witness within the common mission, to bear personal responsibility before him who gives the mission, acting "in his person" and for other persons: "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ..."; "I absolve you . ..."
397.
Jn 21:22; Cf. Mt 4:19-21; Jn 1:4.
Sacramental ministry in the Church, then, is a service exercised in the name of Christ. It has a personal character and a collegial form. This is evidenced by the bonds between the episcopal college and its head, the successor of St. Peter, and in the relationship between the bishop's pastoral responsibility for his particular church and the common solicitude of the episcopal college for the universal Church.
Monday, March 24
Liturgical Color: Violet
Today the Church honors St. Catherine
of Sweden. Widowed at a young age,
she spent her time with her mother, St.
Bridget, teaching religion to the poor.
She entered a convent founded by her
mother, and served as its abbess until
her death in 1381.
Daily Readings for:March 24, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: May your unfailing compassion, O Lord, cleanse and protect your Church, and since without you she cannot stand secure, may she be always governed by your grace. 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 Precious Coins: Mortification and Self-Denial
PRAYERS
o Prayer for the Third Week of Lent
· Lent: March 24th
· Monday of the Third Week of Lent
Old Calendar: St. Gabriel, archangel; St. Catherine of Sweden (Hist)
According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Gabriel. His feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on September 29 which is also the feast of Sts. Michael and Raphael. Historically the feast of St. Catherine of Sweden, the fourth child of St. Bridget of Sweden, is celebrated today.
This Saturday, in the early ages of Christianity, was called Sitientes, from the first word of the Introit of the Mass, in which the Church addresses her catechumens in the words of Isaias and invites them that thirst after grace to come and receive it in the holy Sacrament of Baptism.
St. Catherine of Sweden
Catherine of Sweden, Saint, the fourth child of Saint Bridget of Sweden (q.v.) and her husband, Ulf Gudmarsson, b. 1331 or 1332; d. March 24, 1381. At the time of her death St. Catherine was head of the convent of Wadstena, founded by her mother; hence the name, Catherine Vastanensis, by which she is occasionally called. At the age of seven she was sent to the abbess of the convent of Riseberg to be educated and soon showed, like her mother, a desire for a life of self-mortification and devotion to spiritual things. At the command of her father, when about thirteen or fourteen years old, she married a noble of German descent, Eggart von Kürnen. She at once persuaded her husband, who was a very religious man, to join her in a vow of chastity. Both lived in a state of virginity and devoted themselves to the exercise of Christian perfection and active charity. In spite of her deep love for her husband, Catherine accompanied her mother to Rome, where St. Bridget went in 1349.
Soon after her arrival in that city Catherine received news of the death of her husband in Sweden. She now lived constantly with her mother, took an active part in St. Bridget's fruitful labors, and zealously imitated her mother's ascetic life. Although the distinguished and beautiful young widow was surrounded by suitors, she steadily refused all offers of marriage. In 1372 St. Catherine and her brother, Birger, accompanied their mother on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; after their return to Rome St. Catherine was with her mother in the latter's last illness and death.
In 1374, in obedience to St. Bridget's wish, Catherine brought back her mother's body to Sweden for burial at Wadstena, of which foundation she now became the head. It was the mother-house of the Brigittine Order, also called the Order of St. Savior. Catherine managed the convent with great skill and made the life there one in harmony with the principles laid down by its founder. The following year she went again to Rome in order to promote the canonization of St. Bridget, and to obtain a new papal confirmation of the order. She secured another confirmation both from Gregory XI (1377) and from Urban VI (1379), but was unable to gain at the time the canonization of her mother, as the confusion caused by the Schism delayed the process. When this sorrowful division appeared she showed herself, like St. Catherine of Siena, a steadfast adherent of the party of the Roman Pope, Urban VI, in whose favor she testified before a judicial commission. Catherine stayed five years in Italy and then returned home, bearing a special letter of commendation from the pope. Not long after her arrival in Sweden she was taken ill and died. In 1484 Innocent VIII gave permission for her veneration as a saint and her feast was assigned to March 22 in the Roman martyrology. Catherine wrote a devotional work entitled "Consolation of the Soul" (Sielinna Troest), largely composed of citations from the Scriptures and from early religious books; no copy is known to exist. Generally she is represented with a hind at her side, which is said to have come to her aid when unchaste youths sought to ensnare her.
Excerpted from The Catholic Encyclopedia, J.P. Kirsch
The Station is in the church of St. Mark, which was built in the fourth century in honor of the evangelist, by the holy Pope Mark, whose relics are kept there.
3rd Week of Lent
I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the Lord his God. (2 Kings 5:11)
Poor Naaman! He has carefully planned his journey in search of healing, but he keeps having to adjust his expectations. Fortunately, God puts his agents in the right place at the right time to help Naaman accept these changes.
First is the slave girl who tells Naaman that there may be a cure for the leprosy he has assumed would always plague him. When the king of Israel expresses alarm at Naaman’s request, Elisha hears about it and sends a messenger to invite Naaman to come discover that there is indeed a prophet in Israel. But Naaman has already played the scene of his cure in his imagination, and it doesn’t include plunging into a dirty river. Offended by what Elisha tells him to do, Naaman is ready to go home without being healed. Again, his servants act as God’s agents. They persuade him that he might as well give it a try. As a result, not only is Naaman healed; he comes to know the one true God.
Naaman shows us how we can start off in good faith but find ourselves limited or even led astray by our past experiences. Our notions of how things are or how they should be can blind us to what God wants to do for us now, in this new moment.
Fortunately, God has many agents who can help us correct our course. It may be a character from Scripture whose situation seems familiar. It may be a present-day hero of the faith whose triumph speaks to our lives. It may be a wise friend who prays with us at just the right time or a spiritual director who listens to us and asks questions that help us get unstuck. It may even happen in a “chance” encounter, a “God-incidence.”
If you are facing a challenge or an important decision, lay it before the Lord, and ask him to direct you. Then open your eyes and ears! He has already placed his agents in strategic locations, ready to move you along his path.
“Lord, I want to do things your way and not on my own. Send your messengers to shine light on my path.”
Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4; Luke 4:24-30
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| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| Luke 4 |
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| 24. | And he said: Amen I say to you, that no prophet is accepted in his own country. | Ait autem : Amen dico vobis, quia nemo propheta acceptus est in patria sua. | ειπεν δε αμην λεγω υμιν οτι ουδεις προφητης δεκτος εστιν εν τη πατριδι αυτου |
| 25. | In truth I say to you, there were many widows in the days of Elias in Israel, when heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a great famine throughout all the earth. | In veritate dico vobis, multæ viduæ erant in diebus Eliæ in Israël, quando clausum est cælum annis tribus et mensibus sex, cum facta esset fames magna in omni terra : | επ αληθειας δε λεγω υμιν πολλαι χηραι ησαν εν ταις ημεραις ηλιου εν τω ισραηλ οτε εκλεισθη ο ουρανος επι ετη τρια και μηνας εξ ως εγενετο λιμος μεγας επι πασαν την γην |
| 26. | And to none of them was Elias sent, but to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman. | et ad nullam illarum missus est Elias, nisi in Sarepta Sidoniæ, ad mulierem viduam. | και προς ουδεμιαν αυτων επεμφθη ηλιας ει μη εις σαρεπτα της σιδωνος προς γυναικα χηραν |
| 27. | And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian. | Et multi leprosi erant in Israël sub Elisæo propheta : et nemo eorum mundatus est nisi Naaman Syrus. | και πολλοι λεπροι ησαν επι ελισσαιου του προφητου εν τω ισραηλ και ουδεις αυτων εκαθαρισθη ει μη νεεμαν ο συρος |
| 28. | And all they in the synagogue, hearing these things, were filled with anger. | Et repleti sunt omnes in synagoga ira, hæc audientes. | και επλησθησαν παντες θυμου εν τη συναγωγη ακουοντες ταυτα |
| 29. | And they rose up and thrust him out of the city; and they brought him to the brow of the hill, whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. | Et surrexerunt, et ejecerunt illum extra civitatem : et duxerunt illum usque ad supercilium montis, super quem civitas illorum erat ædificata, ut præcipitarent eum. | και ανασταντες εξεβαλον αυτον εξω της πολεως και ηγαγον αυτον εως οφρυος του ορους εφ ου η πολις αυτων ωκοδομητο εις το κατακρημνισαι αυτον |
| 30. | But he passing through the midst of them, went his way. | Ipse autem transiens per medium illorum, ibat. | αυτος δε διελθων δια μεσου αυτων επορευετο |
Daily Marriage Tip for March 24, 2014:
“In a family you don’t have to look very far to find your cross,” a father observes in Follow the Way of Love. Who in your family seems to have a mission to purify YOU today, to teach you patience, to challenge you? What cross do you bring to the others in your family?
361 Years of Adoration
Monday, 24 March 2014 20:00
Navigating the Avenues of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction
March 25, 2014 marks the 361st anniversary of the establishment of the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar by Mother Mectilde de Bar. New monasteries come to birth, and develop, and thrive within the Body of Christ, the Church, and under the care of her bishops. At the time of Mother Mectilde de Bar, the avenues of ecclesiastical jurisdiction were exceedingly complex. Given that Mectilde and her little community were living in the territory of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, she needed, first of all, to secure the permission of the (secular) abbot of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the natural son of Henri IV, who was the Duke of Verneuil, and the holder of the bishopric of Metz.
The Request Refused
The Abbot-Duke was utterly opposed to the foundation of new monasteries. Paris, he argued, was already cluttered with too many cloisters vying for economic support. He had promised the Queen Regent, Anne of Austria, that he would forbid the foundation of new monasteries in his territory. Already, for lack of resources, six ancient communities under his authority had ceased to exist. In vain did the Countess of Châteauvieux beg the Queen to make an exception; the Queen remained inflexible.
A Vow in Time of Crisis
Divine Providence was at work, all the same. “We know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.” (Romans 8:28) France was in complete turmoil. Forces in rebellion against the crown were gaining ground. The court was obliged to flee to Compiègne. The Queen Regent learned, to her dismay, that the rebellion had spread from Paris and Bordeaux to Orléans and Angers. In desperation she turned to the Abbé Picoté, a priest of Saint-Sulpice, and beseeched him to make whatever vow he thought necessary to obtain from God the return of peace, order, and stability to France.
Adoration andReparation
The good priest, knowing absolutely nothing of Mother Mectilde’s proposed foundation, vowed that if tranquility were restored to France, the Queen would found a house of religious vowed to adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in reparation for the outrages committed against the Sacred Body of Christ. The Abbé Picoté, in all likelihood, had heard that the consecrated Host was, more than once, trampled under foot by soldiers, and even fed to their horses. Miraculously, no sooner was the vow made in the name of the Queen, than the whole situation changed. On 21 October 1652, Louis XIV entered Paris in triumph. The revolt was over; peace returned.
The Royal Yes
In the meantime, the Abbé Picoté learned of Mother Mectilde’s project. Struck by the affinity between the vow he had made in the name of the Queen and the foundation that Mother Mectilde desired to undertake, he spoke of it to the Queen on 8 December 1652 while the latter was in retreat at the Benedictine abbey of Val-de-Grâce. The graces of the retreat must have been in operation because he found the Queen well disposed. In execution of her vow, the Queen ordered the Duke of Verneuil to authorize the foundation in his territory of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The Duke-Abbot immediately entrusted the whole affair to his Vicar General, Dom Roussel, a Benedictine of the Congregation of Saint-Maur, and the prior of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Difficulties
Mother Mectilde and her community now found themselves under the authority of the prior of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. From all accounts, Dom Placide Roussel was anything but placid, in spite of his name. A Benedictine of the Congregation of Saint-Maur, Dom Roussel was a difficult man: legalistic, pessimistic, stubborn, and authoritarian. He had the talent of seeing difficulties where no one else could see them. More than once, Mother Mectilde and the Countess de Châteauvieux returned completely discouraged from a meeting with Dom Roussel. To a friend, Mother Mectilde wrote, “We were to see the Reverend Father Prior who, as much as possible, turns everything upside down.”
Dom Roussel required that Mectilde purchase land to build a future monastery and that she collect a large sum of money to assure the upkeep of a community of five. His exigencies blocked the establishment of the monastery at every turn.
Dom Roussel Relents
Mectilde held her peace; she prayed, did penance, and waited. On 24 March, 1653, in response to an intervention by Madame de Châteauvieux, the dreaded Dom Roussel surprised Mother Mectilde by sending her a message authorizing exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament for the following day, the feast of the Annunciation. Benefactors of the monastery had previously provided a chalice, paten, monstrance, and thurible, so that all would be in readiness once the long-awaited permission came.
The First Solemn Exposition
On the feast of the Annunciation, then, 25 March 1653, Holy Mass was sung in the Oratory of the house, and the Most Blessed Sacrament was exposed in the monstrance. Alerted at the last minute, a considerable number of the faithful attended the celebration. During Holy Mass, Mother Mectilde saw the Most Holy Virgin Mary, clothed in the raiment of an abbess, and holding the crosier in her hand. Our Lady presented the nascent community to Jesus the Host, as victims offered to His Eucharistic love. Even today, the Benedictines of the Most Holy Sacrament consider this feast of the Annunciation 1653 as the first solemnity of perpetual adoration of the Institute. Mother Mectilde wrote to Madame de Châteauvieux, “All that paradise loves and adores, I now possess, thanks to you.”
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Monday of the Third Week of Lent
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Luke 4:24-30 Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away. Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, as I prepare for Easter during this Lenten season, I turn to you once again in prayer. I believe that you are my creator and that you have created me to know, love and serve you. I believe that you want to help me fulfill my purpose in life; that is why you came to earth to suffer and die. I offer you my prayer today as a small token of my gratitude, a small token of my desire to live my life for you. I know that sometimes I can let things get between us. Now, during this time of prayer, I want to give all my attention to you so that you – and not my egoism or passions – may govern my life choices. Petition: Lord, help me to have the humility to accept your will for my life. 1. No Special Privileges: Jesus’ fellow townsmen are upset with Jesus for pointing out that there were times in history that God showed his favor to Gentiles and not just Jews. They are upset because they had put their security in their Jewish heritage and the promises made to their people through the Patriarchs. They want to think that because they are Jews somehow God must show them more favor than the Gentiles. We, too, can make this mistake. We think that because we belong to this or that organization, or because we have this or that position, somehow God must give us more attention and special privileges. Isn’t this often the cause of indignation in our lives? We are upset when do not receive preferential treatment. We think that we are deserving of more. Does that indignation ever grow so strong that I try to rid myself of Christ? 2. Seeking God’s Blessings: Why did God send Elijah to help the widow in Zarephath and Elisha to cleanse Naaman the Syrian? Surely it was not because they were more important or holier people. God chose them because they welcomed him. The widow in Zarephath happily went to fetch Elijah a drink of water when he asked for it and obediently gave him the last of the food she had. Naaman repented from his indignation and went to bathe in the Jordan as Elisha told him to do. God gives his gifts to those who welcome him. 3. Willful Acceptance of Christ: Christ is perhaps too familiar to his townsmen. They are not able to recognize who he really is. They are upset with the way he speaks, and so they do not accept him. Will I accept Christ in my life? Perhaps he is too familiar to me. I think I know who he is. Perhaps I am unwilling to accept his teachings. Perhaps I am indignant that he has blessed others more than me. The people of Nazareth tried to throw Jesus over a cliff, but they could not get rid of him. Their assault was futile. Christ simply walked away. Christ cannot be gotten rid of. Perhaps there are times in my life when I want to get rid of Christ, but I can never destroy or blot him out of existence. He is always there waiting for me to accept him. Conversation with Christ: Lord, please help me so that my ideas about how things should be will not cloud my vision of who you are. As I prepare for the approaching Easter, help me to purify myself of all egoism, sensuality, vanity and pride so that I can accept your love with an open heart. Resolution: I will look for an instance during the day when I can welcome Christ’s teaching into my life. |
March 24, 2014
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is rejected by the people of his home town of Nazareth because he is too familiar to them, coming from a simple family. Crab mentality! He cannot be better than they? Who is he to teach them? They do not accept the new image of God Jesus presented to them in his interpretation of Isaiah where he conveyed that God’s people are not only the Jews but also the non-Jews. Not only did they ridicule him, but they rose up against him in anger, and wanted to throw him over the hill of the town. But Jesus patiently moved through their midst, and went away.
Why did Jesus’ town mates become angry and violent? They are envious because he came from a lowly family and yet here he is teaching them. They are jealous because he did not perform miracles in his hometown while in Capernaum he did. They are angry because they could not accept his new teaching that God’s people includes the excluded, going beyond the limits of race.
But what was Jesus’ response to all this? He remained calm. He could not change the mentality of the people, so he let them be for the time being.
Let us not be like the town mates of Jesus. We should not be too exclusive but be accepting of others even those who are outsiders of our group or our communities.
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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 2
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“First and foremost, the right to life of every human person – from conception to natural death – is the primary and thus most essential of all human rights,” the letter stated. “Faith teaches and human reason confirms that human life is not a privilege bestowed on us by others, but rather a right that society must recognize and protect.
"As Christians, we are called to witness to an authentic ‘human ecology’ which safeguards all human life – no matter how frail or impaired – from being manipulated or destroyed.”
Bishops of Wisconsin
VOTE FOR LIFE!
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