Ignatian Spirituality: Set the World Ablaze
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New Year’s Day – The Solemnity of Mary
January 1, 2017
Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 67; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke
2:16-21
We begin the new year with an
ancient blessing from Moses that is designed to launch us with the Lord’s
renewed goodwill. The responsorial Psalm refreshes the blessing and the reading
from Galatians tells us that we are estranged no longer, but are brought into
the bosom of God’s family – never to stray far from the Lord’s protection. In
the Gospel, Mary, realizing how blessed she was, cherishes the solemn events in
her memory. One of the most profound ways we can honor our blessings is to let
it be nourished by our silent reverence.
What is
our history with giving or receiving blessings? We receive a blessing routinely
at the end of mass, but for many, it is just something we do, but when we think
of it, God’s goodwill is being imparted to your soul. We start mass by wishing
grace and peace and the communing love of God as a standard greeting. What a
terrific way to greet people! Imagine if we did that throughout the day, to our
family, co-workers, and colleagues, in a way they could hear the goodwill we
intend.
To give a blessing is to give a
person your unconditional positive regard. We wish well for the person because
we care for one’s humanity, even if we are not so well disposed to the person.
It is quite an attitude adjustment that keeps us feeling very level. We wish
the best for the person despite the relationship, and when we do so, we are
changed for the better. Did you ever have an encounter with a persistently
annoying person who you just wish would go away? Of course, you have. Try
spending some time with him or her and acknowledge that they are trying to converse
with you because they like you or admire you. You may want to brush them away,
but when you spend time with them and honor them with positive words, you feel
much better about them and yourself. It is an effort well spent. We learn to
the see goodness in others, especially when we do not want to bother to find
something good. However, it is there. You will like yourself better because
your goodness meets theirs, and they become less burdensome.
When we bless a person, we do not
criticize. Instead, we lift up, we behold, we honor, and we appropriately give
glory. This is a good way to live. We all know those people who offer critical
analyses all the time. It may be helpful in particular professions and it is
important to dissect essential details, but it is not the most fulfilling way
to develop one’s soul. We can separate our profession from our being. Criticisms
take people down and deconstruct and we do not want to be people who do that.
We want to build bridges, to construct possibilities, to link and forge future
opportunities, and we do that by finding that which is possible, which begins
by affirming and encouraging others. Relationships mend when we honor another
person and discover our common humanity.
Let’s begin this year by blessing
those around us, and by appropriately praising them, especially when we are
prone to criticizing. Watch the change
you see in people because they want your positive regard. You are meaningful to
them and your words will carry much weight. Use your words to lift people up
and give them hope and encouragement. Too many people need joy or even just
acceptance. They want to know from you whether you will still regard them well
even though they are mired in chaos. Gift them with your blessing and watch
them transform into even more beautiful people. This is the gift of life. This
is kindness that creates peace. This is the power of God being honored through
your words and actions. Give God’s blessing to those who come to you today. It
is the best gift you can give someone.
Mary, who blesses us all, will cherish all these things in her heart because she will be more than content with the love you are generating because she first has generated this love within you. It is free. Give it away, and free others with your goodwill.
Mary, who blesses us all, will cherish all these things in her heart because she will be more than content with the love you are generating because she first has generated this love within you. It is free. Give it away, and free others with your goodwill.
Scripture for Daily Mass
First
Reading:
Monday:
(1 John 2) The liar is the one who denies Jesus is the Christ. Anyone who
denies the Son also denies the Father. Let what you heard from the beginning
remain with you.
Tuesday:
(1 John 2) See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called
the children of God. The world doesn’t know us because they don’t know him.
Wednesday:
(1 John 3) The person who acts in righteousness is righteous. Whoever sins
belongs to the Devil. Stay in the Light as the children of God.
Thursday:
(1 John 3) The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us;
so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Friday
(1 John 5) Who is the victor of this world? The one who believes in Jesus, who
came through water and Blood, and the Spirit testifies to him.
Saturday
(1 John 5) We have confidence that if we ask anything according to his will,
God hears us.
Gospel:
Monday:
(John 1) This is the testimony of John: I am the voice of one crying out in the
desert: Make straight the way of the Lord.
Tuesday:
(John 1) John the Baptist saw Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the world” The Spirit will come upon him and remain with
him.
Wednesday
(John 1) The disciples of John were asked by Jesus, “What are you looking for?”
They asked, “Where are you staying?” Come and see.
Thursday
(John 1) In Galilee, Jesus called Philip, who found Nathaniel and brought him
to Jesus. “He is a true Israelite in whom there is no guile.”
Friday
(Mark 1) John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. The heavens were torn open
and the Spirit, like a dove, descended upon him.
Saturday
(John 2) In Cana, Jesus and his disciples attended a wedding, but the wine had
run out. At his mother’s urging, Jesus performed his first miracle.
Saints of the Week
January 2: Basil the Great and Gregory Nanzianzen, bishops and doctors (fourth
century), are two of the four great doctors of the Eastern Church. They are
known for their preaching especially against the Arian heretics. Basil began as
a hermit before he was named archbishop of Caesarea. He influenced Gregory who
eventually became archbishop of Constantinople. Their teachings influenced both
the Roman and Eastern Churches.
January 3: The Name of Jesus was given to the infant as the angel foretold. In
the Mediterranean world, the naming of person stood for the whole person.
Humans were given the power to name during the Genesis creation accounts. If
one honors the name of the person, they honor the person. The name Jesus means
“Yahweh saves.”
January 4: Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious (1774-1821), was born into an
Episcopalian household where she married and had five children. When her
husband died, she became a Catholic and founded a girls’ school in Baltimore.
She then founded the Sisters of Charity and began the foundation for the
parochial school system in the U.S. She is the first native-born American to be
canonized.
January 5: John Neumann, bishop (1811-1860), emigrated from Bohemia to New
York and joined the Redemptorists in Pittsburgh before being named bishop of
Philadelphia. He built many churches in the diocese and placed great emphasis
on education as the foundation of faith.
January 6: Andre Bessette, religious (1845-1937), was born in Quebec, Canada.
He joined the Congregation of the Holy Cross and taught for 40 years at the
College of Notre Dame. He cared for the sick and was known as a intercessor for
miracles. He built St. Joseph’s Oratory, a popular pilgrimage site in Canada.
January 7: Raymond of Penyafort, priest (1175-1275), was trained in philosophy
and law and was ordained in 1222 to preach to the Moors and Christians. Though
he was appointed bishop of Tarragon, he declined the position. Instead he
organized papal decrees into the first form of canon law. He was later elected
Master of the Dominican Order.
This Week in Jesuit History
·
Jan. 1, 1598: Fr. Alphonsus Barréna, surnamed
the Apostle of Peru, died. He was the first to carry the faith to the Guaranis
and Chiquitos in Paraguay.
·
Jan. 2, 1619: At Rome, John Berchmans and
Bartholomew Penneman, his companion scholastic from Belgium, entered the Roman
College.
·
Jan. 3, 1816: Fr. General Brzozowski and 25
members of the Society, guarded by soldiers, left St. Petersburg, Russia,
having been banished by the civil government.
·
Jan. 4, 1619: The English mission is raised to
the status of a province.
·
Jan. 5, 1548: Francis Suarez, one of the
greatest theologians of the church, was born at Granada.
·
Jan. 6, 1829: Publication of Pope Leo XII's
rescript, declaring the Society to be canonically restored in England.
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·
Jan. 7, 1566: Cardinal Ghislieri was elected
pope as Pius V. He was a great friend of the Francis Borgia and appointed
Salmeron and Toletus as apostolic preachers at the Vatican. He desired to
impose the office of choir on the Society and even ordered it. He was canonized
as St. Pius V.
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