The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: January 16th

Thursday of the First Week of Ordinary Time

MASS READINGS

January 16, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen. 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.

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Sole with Red Wine and Onions

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Collect Prayer for the Feast of St. Marcellus

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Masses for the Repose of Souls | Fr. William Saunders

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Old Calendar: St. Marcellus, pope and martyr; St. Honoratus, archbishop (Hist)

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Marcellus who was elected Pope just at the time when Diocletian had spent somewhat his first violence against the Church. In Rome he reorganized the Catholic hierarchy disrupted by the persecution. He was exiled and put to labor. He is considered a martyr as he died in 309 because of his treatment during his exile.

Historically today is the feast of St. Honoratus who was born in Gaul (modern France) about 350, and came from a distinguished Roman family. After a pilgrimage to Greece and Rome, he became a hermit on the isle of Lerins, where he was joined by Sts Lupus of Troyes (July 29), Eucherius of Lyons (November 16), and Hilary of Arles (May 5), among others.

St. Marcellus
Diocletian's terrible persecution had taken its toll. It was reported that within a period of thirty days, sixteen thousand Christians were martyred. The Church in Rome was left scattered and disorganized, and the Holy See remained vacant for over two years. It wasn't until the ascension of Emperor Maxentius and his policy of toleration that a pope could be chosen. Marcellus, a Roman priest during the reign of Marcellinus, was elected.

The new pope was confronted with enormous problems. His first challenge was to reorganize the badly shaken Church. He is said to have accomplished this by dividing Rome into twenty-five parishes, each with its own priest. The next task was more challenging. Once again a pope was faced with the problem of what to do with the many brethren who had compromised their faith during the reign of Diocletian. Marcellus upheld the doctrine of required penance before absolution. The apostates keenly desired readmission to communion, but they violently opposed the harshness of the penance demanded by the rigorist, Marcellus. Riots broke out throughout the city, and even bloodshed, to the point that Emperor Maxentius intervened. He believed that the pontiff was the root of the problem, and in the interest of peace, he banished Marcellus; the pope died a short time later. Apart from persecution, this was the first time that the secular government was known to have interfered with the Church. There is some confusion whether his body was brought back to Rome or whether he was allowed to return to the Holy See before his death. There is no doubt, however, that he was buried in the cemetery of Priscilla on the Via Salaria.

Symbols: Pope with a donkey or horse nearby; pope standing in a stable.

St. Honoratus
St. Honoratus was of a consular Roman family settled in Gaul. In his youth he renounced the worship of idols, and gained his elder brother, Venantius, to Christ. Convinced of the hollowness of the things of this world, they wished to renounce it with all its pleasures, but a fond pagan father put continual obstacles in their way. At length, taking with them St. Caprais, a holy hermit, for their director, they sailed from Marseilles to Greece, with the intention to live there unknown in some desert.

Venantius soon died happily at Methone, and Honoratus, being also sick, was obliged to return with his conductor. He first led a hermitical life in the mountains near Frejus. Two small islands lie in the sea near that coast; on the smaller, now known as St. Honoré, our Saint settled, and, being followed by others, he there founded the famous monastery of Lerins, about the year 400. Some of his followers he appointed to live in community; others, who seemed more perfect, in separate cells as anchorets. His rule was chiefly borrowed from that of St. Pachomius.

Nothing can be more amiable than the description St. Hilary has given of the excellent virtues of this company of saints, especially of the charity, concord, humility, compunction, and devotion which reigned among them under the conduct of our holy abbot.

He was, by compulsion, consecrated Archbishop of Arles in 426, and died, exhausted with austerities and apostolical labors, in 429.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Mark 1:40-45

1st Week in Ordinary Time

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, [and] touched the leper. (Mark 1:41)

In Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical The Phantom of the Opera, the title character is marred both physically and emotionally. This poor soul has suffered a lifetime of rejection and a lack of human intimacy. In the end, the kiss of the heroine Christine reaches through his self-pity and rage and brings him healing he had never thought possible.

In a similar way, when the man in today’s Gospel asks Jesus, “Will you make me clean?” he is not asking only to be healed of his disease and disfigurement; he is also asking to be loved and welcomed by other people again.

How long had it been since this man felt the touch of another person? Not a rough shove to get him out of the way, not the cruel pelting of stones from frightened children, but a hand offered in friendship or a caress given in love. How long since he had felt any kind of human companionship? No wonder Jesus was “moved with pity” (Mark 1:41)! And no wonder he did more than speak words of healing: he “stretched out his hand” and touched him (1:41).

That touch from Jesus did more than overcome the man’s horrible disease. It overcame his isolation as well. By reaching out to him physically, Jesus drew him back into fellowship and belonging. He reconciled this man to everyone around him.

We know that human touch is vital to our emotional and spiritual health. Think of how well an infant thrives when he is held, caressed, and cradled by his mother. Think of how positively anyone responds to a reassuring clap on the shoulder, a gentle kiss on the cheek, or a warm embrace. Through simple touch, we can speak volumes to each other, both about our companionship and about God’s love and compassion.

So reach out and touch someone today. Don’t rely only on your words. And don’t leave everything to God, thinking that he will sweep in and magically transform that person’s life. Jesus is relying on you to minister his touch. He is relying on you to show people that their heavenly Father loves them, treasures them, and welcomes them into his kingdom.

“Jesus, help me overcome my hesitation so that I can minister your healing touch.”

1 Samuel 4:1-11
Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25

Regnum Christi

January 16, 2020 – To Be Free to Love

16 Jan 2020

Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Father Paul Campbell, LC

Mark 1:40-45

A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for this time together. I need you in my life and the life of my family. It is easy to let activities overwhelm me so that I lose track of you. You fade into the distance, and sometimes sin grows closer. But I know you are always there for me with your unconditional love. Thank you. I love you and long to put you first in my life.

Petition: Lord, wash me from my sins and help me to be detached from them.

If You Choose: A leper approaches and falls before Jesus. “If you choose, you can make me clean.” This leper couldn’t free himself from his disease any more than we can free ourselves from our sin. Leprosy was a fatal disease. It separated a man from his family and drove him outside his village to lonely places. Leprosy is a symbol for sin. Sin separates us from God and from others. We need to approach Jesus with that same humility and trust we see in the leper. This story is for us, to show us Christ’s heart. It reveals his love and his desire to free us from sin. Am I convinced of the ugliness of all sin and how it defaces our souls?
I Do Choose: Jesus chose to heal the leper. Not only did he heal him, he touched him. He reached out to the loneliness of that man, and he touched his life to cure him of the disease. This reveals Christ’s heart so beautifully. Our sin never drives him away from us. He is always ready and willing to come to our aid if only we would cry out for his help. Am I capable of opening all of the inner wounds of my sins to Our Lord so that he can heal me, wash me clean and make me whole again?
Jesus Wants Us Free: Sin keeps us from being who we were meant to be. “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). Jesus was free from sin and so was free to love and serve others. He wasn’t compelled by greed or anger. He wasn’t moved by pride or impeded by laziness. He was free to love, and he loved to the extent of dying on a cross. Sin closes us in on ourselves. We get absorbed in ourselves and others take the back seat – or no seat at all. How often do we say “no” to others and turn a blind eye to their needs? Isn’t it sin that blinds us and selfishness that impedes us from loving others as Christ loves us? Christ can free us from sin so that we are empowered to love as he loves.

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, I want to be free, but I need your help. Without you, I can do nothing. Help me to trust you and to turn to you. Don’t let me go off on my own as if I could keep fighting without you. Free me to love you. Free me to love others.

Resolution: I will pray Psalm 51 for myself and my loved ones.

Homily of the Day

January 16, 2020

Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Such is the price of fame when word gets around. Jesus heals a leper and now it has become all but impossible for him to enter a town or village without him drawing attention. That’s why he chooses to stay on the outskirts of a residential area, and still people flock to see him.

Perhaps, the writer here wanted to express how magnanimous a personality Christ was and continues to be. For one to attract such crowds there had to be something more than just the miracles. There had to be some connection the masses felt to be so drawn to our Savior. There had to be some message people longed for and could only find it in Jesus.

Healing is a loving act. Whatever may inhibit us from becoming fully alive in our everyday actions should be a grave concern. Because, we’re never truly happy when there’s a scar on our soul. More than the physical handicap seen by the naked eye, the inner wounds and ill feelings affect us psychologically and somehow manifest on our bodies.

When we long for the Master’s touch for cleansing, for us to be made whole, a new life is reborn. We feel more alive than we’ve ever been. It’s difficult to blame the healed leper’s enthusiasm, who for so long had been shunned by society. Hopefully, we can be just as happy when we allow God to take away all that disturbs our minds and extremities, so that we can be found rejoicing in his love once more.

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Espanol

All Issues > Volume 36, Issue 1

<< Thursday, January 16, 2020 >>

1 Samuel 4:1-11
View Readings

Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25

Mark 1:40-45
Similar Reflections

THE WHY-WAIT

"After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield. When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said, 'Why has the Lord permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines' " �1 Samuel 4:2-3

When we suffer tragedy, it is good to ask God: "Why?" Then we must wait on ourselves to receive the Lord's revelation. The defeated Israelites asked the right question but didn't wait. They assumed that they wouldn't get an answer, so they proceeded to fight another battle in which "Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers" (1 Sm 4:10). If we don't stop and wait to hear God, we often make tragedies much worse. So don't just do something, sit there. "For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: by waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies. But this you did not wish" (Is 30:15).

When things are bad, we must not be stampeded into activity and decision-making. Even if we aren't good at hearing God, we have no acceptable alternative. If we act without hearing God, we are not under Jesus' lordship. Rather, we are doing our own thing. This is the very cause of our problems and repeats the pattern which has already brought about our downfall. We can't save ourselves. We must hear the Lord. He is faithful; He will break through our deafness. Stop and wait.

Prayer: Father, You are my only Hope and the only Hope I need.

Promise: "Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out His hand, touched him, and said, 'I do will it. Be cured.' The leprosy left him then and there, and he was cured." —Mk 1:41-42

Praise: Nick, a young adult, gave up a much-desired camping vacation in order to minister to a group of Catholic youth.

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