Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 01-07-04, Optional, St. Raymond of Penafort

Reading I
1 Jn 4:11-18

Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
In this is love brought to perfection among us,
that we have confidence on the day of judgment
because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love,
but perfect love drives out fear
because fear has to do with punishment,
and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 72:1-2, 10, 12-13

R (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
R Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Gospel
Mk 6:45-52

After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied,
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them,
he went off to the mountain to pray.
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing,
for the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
"Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!"
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves.
On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.

The Word Among Us

Wednesday, January 07, 2004

Meditation
1 John 4:11-18

He who abides in love abides in God. (1 John 4:16)

In a few simple words, John exposed the heart of life in the kingdom of God: “Love one another” (1 John 4:12). It appears quite straightforward and direct. We all know what love is supposed to be. And here Scripture is telling us that we should simply step out and do it. So how can something that sounds so simple be so hard to live out?

The answer lies not in the injustice of God’s commands nor in his unwillingness to turn us into people of love. The answer lies in our own hearts. Hard experience tells us that anyone who tries to love comes face to face with his or her fallen nature. It is humbling—but necessary—to realize that we do not have the resources within ourselves to love as fully and truly as Jesus loves. Such a realization brings us to our knees and moves us to cry out, “Lord, I can’t love on my own. I need your love. Please empower me to love selflessly.”

Such a prayer marks the beginning of a conversion that can last a lifetime as we are emptied of our self-love and filled with the love of Jesus. Whenever we find ourselves unable to love or unable to forgive, we can take comfort in the knowledge that God is inviting us to enter more deeply into his heart. Through sincere repentance, we learn how to empty ourselves and welcome the Spirit into our hearts. Then, filled with divine love, we find ourselves empowered to show love where once we would have drawn back in resentment, fear, pride, or selfishness.

We are still in the grace of the Christmas season, a time when God invites us to embrace more fully the light of Christ that has dawned on the world. What better time to ask for a deeper filling of divine love? What better time to put aside self-love so that Jesus can fill us again and again and again? Let’s step out in faith and commit ourselves to loving those around us with the love that flows from our heavenly Father.

“Jesus, you are the love of God poured into my heart. Overflow in me so that the world will see the love and grace it so deeply needs.”

One Bread, One Body

<< Wednesday, January 7, 2004 >>

St. Raymond of Penyafort

1 John 4:11-18

Psalm 72

Mark 6:45-52

View Readings

A COMPLETED PASS?

“He meant to pass them by.” —Mark 6:48

Are you rowing against the wind in the middle of the night? (see Mk 6:48) You need Jesus to pass by. When Jesus comes by, the wind dies down (see Mk 6:51). Jesus’ presence makes all the difference in the world.

The best Christmas presents are His presence: Jesus’ full, substantial presence in the Eucharist. A deeper faith in Jesus’ eucharistic presence at Mass is the present after which this season is named, “Christmas.”

The Lord is also present in His word. The teachings of the Church, particularly the Bible, are truly the word of God expressing the presence of God.

The Lord promised His heightened presence “where two or three are gathered” together in His name (Mt 18:20). When we gather as brothers and sisters in Christian community, we are living as the body of Christ and are experiencing His bodily presence in the Church.

Jesus is passing by. His presents of presence have been given again this Christmas season. By faith, open yourself, your family, work, and problems to His presence. Open your presence in these last days of Christmas.

Prayer: Father, come by here.

Promise: “God is Love, and He who abides in Love abides in God, and God in him.” —1 Jn 4:16

Praise: St. Raymond worked zealously for the conversion of Jews and Muslims.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Make No Place for Fear in Your Life
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Wednesday, January 7, 2004

1 Jn 4:11-18 / Mk 6:45-52

This world can be a scary place to live. With terrorists blowing up buildings at random and drive-by shooters menacing the innocent, with global warming imperiling future generations and nuclear weapons in the hands of unstable regimes, with carcinogens and good cholesterol and bad cholesterol confusing and threatening us, and with our retirement accounts looking pathetically small, the temptation to give in to fear is powerful indeed.

What, if anything, is there to prevent us from succumbing to paralyzing fear? One thing only, and that is absolute and total confidence that the Lord walks at our side at all times and never wanders away. If we listen carefully in our moments of uncertainty, we can hear Him speak to us as He did to the apostles in today's gospel, "Get hold of yourself. It is I. Do not be afraid."

If we trust in the Lord's loving presence at our side, we will find that we have both the confidence and the energy to live wholeheartedly in the now and to face, one at a time, the challenges that life inevitably brings our way. And we'll even enjoy the process.

The Lord has promised that with each new day he will give us whatever we need for that day. Trust his promise and his sun will shine on you every day.

From: 1 John 4:11-18

God is Love. Brotherly Love, the Mark of Christians

[11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
[12] No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in
us and his love is perfected in us.

[13] By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has
given us of his own Spirit. [14] And we have seen and testify that the
Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. [15] Whoever
confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in
God. [16] So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love,
and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. [17] In
this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence for the day
of judgment, because as he is so are we in this world. [18] There is no
fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with
punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.

Commentary:

11-12. The Apostle underlines here the theological basis of brotherly
love: the love which God has shown us by the incarnation and redemptive
death of his Son, places us in his debt: we have to respond in kind; so
we "ought" to love our neighbor with the kind of gratitude and
disinterest that God showed by taking the initiative in loving us.

Moreover, by loving one another we are in communion with God. The
deepest desire of the human heart, which is to see and to possess God,
cannot be satisfied in this life, because "no man has ever seen God"
(v. 12); our neighbor, on the other hand, we do see. So, in this life,
the way to be in communion with God is by brotherly love. "Love of God
is the first thing in the order of commands", St Augustine explains,
"and love of neighbor is the first thing in the order of practice
[...]. You, who do not yet see God, will, by loving your neighbor,
merit to see him. Love of neighbor cleanses our eyes to see God, as
John clearly says, If you do not love your neighbor, whom you see, how
can you love God, whom you do not see (cf. 1 Jn 4:20)" ("In Ioann.
Evang.", 17, 8).

13. Having the gift of the Holy Spirit is the sure sign of being in
communion with God. Since the Holy Spirit is the love of the Father and
of the Son, his presence in the soul in grace is necessarily something
dynamic, that is, it moves the person to keep all the commandments (cf.
3:24), particularly that of brotherly love. This interior impulse shows
that the third Person of the Blessed Trinity is at work within us; it
is a sign of union with God.

The Holy Spirit's action on the soul is a marvelous and deep mystery.
"This breathing of the Holy Spirit in the soul," says St John of the
Cross, "whereby God transforms it into himself, is so sublime and
delicate and profound a delight to it that it cannot be described by
mortal tongue, nor can human understanding, as such, attain to any
conception of it" ("Spiritual Canticle", stanza 39).

14-15. Once more (cf. v. 1:4) St John vividly reminds his readers that
he and the other Apostles have seen with their own eyes the Son of God,
made man out of love for us. They were eyewitnesses of his redemptive
life and death. And in the Son, sent by the Father as Savior of the
world, the unfathomable mystery of God is revealed--that his very being
is Love.

"It is 'God, who is rich in mercy' (Eph 2:4) whom Jesus Christ has
revealed to us as Father: it is his very Son who, in himself, has
manifested him and made him known to us (cf. Jn 1:18; Heb 1:1f)" (John
Paul II, "Dives In Misericordia", 1).

16. "Knowing" and "believing" are not theoretical knowledge but
intimate, experienced attachment (cf. notes on 2:3-6; 4:1-6; Jn 6:69;
17:8). Therefore when St John says that they knew and believed "the
love God has for us" he is not referring to an abstract truth but to
the historical fact of the incarnation and death of Christ (v. 14), the
supreme manifestation of the Father's love.

"He who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him": St Thomas
Aquinas explains "that in some way the loved one is to be found in the
lover. And so, he who loves God in some way possesses him, as St John
says (1 Jn 4:16) [...]. Also, it is a property of love that the lover
becomes transformed into the loved one; so, if we love vile and
perishable things, we become vile and perishable, like those who
'became detestable like the things they loved" (Hos 9:10). Whereas, if
we love God, we are made divine, for the Apostle says, 'He who is
united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him' (1 Cor 6:17)" ("In Duo
Praecepta", prol., 3).

17-18. The perfection of charity shows itself in serene confidence in
God and consequent absence of fear. Love is perfected "in us", as a
gratuitous gift from God, but it can also be said that it grows "with"
us, thanks to our free response to grace.

Confidence for the day of judgment (cf. also the note on 2:28) is
something we should have also in this life; a basis for it is to be
found in the daring statement, "...because as he is so are we in this
world". This is not just a reference to imitating Christ's virtues or
qualities: it means the profound identification with Christ which the
Christian should attain: "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who
lives in me" (Gal 2:20).

The fear which is incompatible with charity is servile fear, which
sees God only as one who punishes those who transgress his commandments.
But filial fear, which "is" compatible with charity, is what gives a
Christian a deep horror of sin because it is something which cuts him
off from the love of God his Father. In the early stages of Christian
life, fear of God is very helpful (cf., e.g., Ps 111:10; Sir 1:27): the
Council of Trent teaches that sinners "by turning from a salutary fear
of divine justice to a consideration of God's mercy, are encouraged to
hope, confident that God will be well-disposed to them for Christ's
sake" ("De Iustificatione", 6).

18. "The solution is to love", Monsignor Escriva says. "St John the
Apostle wrote some words which really move me: 'qui autem timet, non
est perfectus in caritate.' I like to translate them as follows, almost
word for word: the fearful man doesn't know how to love. You,
therefore, who do love and know how to show it, you musn't be afraid of
anything. So, on you go!" ("The Forge", 260).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Mark 6:45-52

Jesus Walks on Water

[45] Immediately he (Jesus) made his disciples get into the boat and go
before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the
crowd. [46] And after he had taken leave of them, he went into the
hills to pray. [47] And when evening came the boat was out on the sea,
and he was alone on the land. [48] And he saw that they were distressed
in rowing, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of
the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by
them, [49] but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was
a ghost, and cried out; [50] for they all saw him, and were terrified.
But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; have
no fear." [51] And he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased.
And they were utterly astounded, [52] for they did not understand about
the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Commentary:

48. The Romans divided the night into four parts or watches, whose
length varied depending on the season. St Mark (13:35) gives the
popular names for these watches: evening, midnight, cockcrow, morning.
Therefore, it is towards dawn that Jesus comes to the disciples.

He wishes to teach us that even when we are in very pressurized and
difficult situations, he is nearby, ready to help us; but he expects us
to make an effort, to strengthen our hope and temper our resolve (cf.
note on Mt 14:24-33); as an early Greek commentator puts it: "The Lord
allowed his disciples to enter danger to make them suffer, and he did
not immediately come to their aid: he left them in peril for the whole
night, to teach them to be patient and not to be accustomed to
receiving immediate succor in tribulation" (Theophylact, "Enarratio In
Evangelium Marci, in loc.").

52. The disciples do not yet see Jesus' miracles as signs of his
divinity. They witness the multiplication of the loaves and the fish
(Mk 6:33-44) and the second multiplication of the loaves (Mk 8:17), but
their hearts and minds are still hardened; they fail to grasp the full
import of what Jesus is teaching them through his actions--that he is
the Son of God. Jesus is patient and understanding with their defects,
even when they fail to grasp what he says when he speaks about his own
passion (Lk 18:34). Our Lord will give them further miracles and
further teaching to enlighten their minds, and, later, he will send the
Holy Spirit to teach them all things and remind them of everything he
said (cf. Jn 14:26).

St Bede the Venerable comments on this whole episode (Mk 6:45-52) in
this way: "In a mystical sense, the disciples' effort to row against
the wind point to the efforts the Holy Church must make against the
waves of the enemy world and the outpourings of evil spirits in order
to reach the haven of its heavenly home. It is rightly said that the
boat was out on the sea and He alone on the land, because the Church
has never been so intensely persecuted by the Gentiles that it seemed
as if the Redeemer had abandoned it completely. But the Lord sees his
disciples struggling, and to sustain them he looks at them
compassionately and sometimes frees them from peril by clearly coming
to their aid" ("In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").

Catholic Culture Calendar

January 07, 2004

Optional Memorial of St. Raymond of Penafort, priest

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Today the Church celebrates the optional memorial of St. Raymond of Penafort, priest. Born in Barcelona, Spain, he was the third Superior-General of the Domincan Order. He is famous for his work in the freeing of slaves. He wrote five books of Decretals which are now a valuable part of the Canon Law of the Church. The Summa Casuum, which is about the correct and fruitful administration of the Sacrament of Penance, is the most notable of his works.

St. Raymond of Penyafort
The blessed Raymund was born at Barcelona, of the noble family of Pennafort. Having been imbued with the rudiments of the Christian faith, the admirable gifts he had received, both of mind and body, were such that even when quite a boy he seemed to promise great things in his later life.

Whilst still young, he taught humanities in Barcelona. Later on, he went to Bologna, where he applied himself with much diligence to the exercises of a virtuous life, and to the study of canon and civil law. He there received the Doctor's cap, and interpreted the sacred canons so ably that he was the admiration of his hearers. The holiness of his life becoming known far and wide, Berengarius, the Bishop of Barcelona, when returning to his diocese from Rome, visited Bologna in order to see him; and after most earnest entreaties, induced Raymund to accompany him to Barcelona. He was shortly after made Canon and Provost of that Church, and became a model to the clergy and people by his uprightness, modesty, learning and meekness. His tender devotion to the Holy Mother of God was extraordinary, and he never neglected an opportunity of zealously promoting the devotion and honor which are due to her.

When he was about forty-five years of age, he made his solemn profession in the Order of the Friars Preachers. He then, as a soldier but just entered into service, devoted himself to the exercise of every virtue, but above all to charity to the poor, and this mainly to the captives who had been taken by the infidels. It was by his exhortation that St Peter Nolasco (who was his penitent) was induced to devote all his riches to this work of most meritorious charity. The Blessed Virgin appeared to Peter, as also to blessed Raymund and to James the First, King of Aragon, telling them that it would be exceedingly pleasing to herself and her divine Child, if an Order of Religious men were instituted whose mission it should be to deliver captives from the tyranny of infidels. Whereupon, after deliberating together, they founded the Order of our Lady of Mercy for the Ransom of Captives; and blessed Raymund drew up certain rules of life, which were admirably adapted to the spirit and vocation of the said Order. Some years after, he obtained their approbation from Gregory the Ninth, and made St Peter Nolasco, to whom he gave the habit with his own hands, first General of the Order.

Raymund was called to Rome by the same Pope, who appointed him to be his Chaplain, Penitentiary, and Confessor. It was by Gregory's order that he collected together, in the volume called the Decretals, the Decrees of the Roman Pontiffs, which were to be found separately in the various Councils and Letters. He was most resolute in refusing the Archbishopric of Tarragona, which the same Pontiff offered to him, and, of his own accord resigned the Generalship of the Dominican Order, which office he had discharged in a most holy manner for the space of two years. He persuaded James the King of Aragon to establish in his dominions the Holy Office of the Inquisition. He worked many miracles; among which is that most celebrated one of his having, when returning to Barcelona from the island of Majorca, spread his cloak upon the sea, and sailed upon it, in the space of six hours, the distance of a hundred and sixty miles, and having reached his convent, entered it through the closed doors. At length, when he had almost reached the hundredth year of his age, and was full of virtue and merit, he slept in the Lord, in the year of the Incarnation 1275. He was canonized by Pope Clement the Eighth.

Patron: Attorneys; barristers; canonists; lawyers; medical record librarians.

Things to Do:

St. Raymond diligently studied Canon Law, spend some time learning what are the obligations and rights of the laity under Church law.
Learn more about the Spanish Inquistion.
St. Raymond contributed much to the understanding of the Sacrament of Penance, make sure your family knows the Act of Contrition and says it every day.

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Raymond was born at the castle Penyafort in Catalonia, Spain in
the year 1175. His noble status allowed him to receive an excellent
education. By the age of twenty, Raymond was teaching philosophy
at Barcelona, and by the age of thirty, he had earned doctorate in
both canon and civil law. His excellent education and teaching
abilities caught the attention of an important bishop who ordained
Raymond and asked him to serve as his aide and assistant.

In 1222, at the age of forty-seven, Raymond discerned that he was
called to be a Dominican, and he joined the order. Raymond devoted
all of his energy into novitiate formation and the pursuit of holiness.
While in the monastery, Raymond gained the reputation as an
excellent confessor and was asked to write a book examining the
application of Church doctrines to situations of sin. In the year 1230,
Raymond was asked to come to Rome and serve as the chaplain
and confessor of the pope. He accepted the position and utilized his
time in Rome to bring together all the decrees and councils of the
previous eighty years into one work. This work became one of the
best collections of Church law until the 1917 codification of canon
law.

At the age of sixty, Raymond was appointed archbishop of
Tarragona, but he only held this position for two years due to
personal dislike of it and illness. At the age of sixty-three, Raymond
was elected by his fellow Dominicans to serve as the second master
general of the Dominican Order. While he held this position, he
visited all the established communities of Dominicans to encourage
their labors and to reorganize their constitutions. As superior of the
Dominican order, Raymond included a provision into the rule that the
master general is allowed to resign. After this provision was
accepted, he promptly gave up his position to retire to preach in
Spain and work for the conversion of the Moors. Raymond continued
his work for thirty-five years after his resignation until his death at the
age of ninety-nine in the year 1275. Before his death, St. Raymond
wrote several major works, including, Decretales Gregorii IX and
Summa de Casibus. St. Raymond is the patron of canonists and
lawyers.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Under the influence of fear, we bear the Cross of Christ with
patience. Under the more inspiring influence of home, we carry the
Cross with a firm and valiant heart. But under the consuming power
of love, we embrace the Cross with ardor. -St. Bernard

TODAY IN HISTORY

1566 Michaele Ghislieri is elected Pope Pius V
1789 1st presidential election in US

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Many men and women find their vocations to religious life or priesthood later in their lives. They can take as their example St. Raymond who joined the Dominicans at the age of 47 and was ordained only a few years earlier.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all people discerning their vocation.

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