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The Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time
predmore.blogspot.com
February 11, 2018
Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Psalm
147; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39
In biblical times, the priest
served not only religious functions, but was equivalent to a medical doctor who
protected both the health of the individual and the community. They were the
modern-day Center for Disease Control. Leviticus clinically described the times
when a person needed to see the doctor. Most of the biblical cleanliness and
dietary rituals were established to keep the community free from contagion.
A leper asked Jesus to heal him.
Jesus can no longer minister publicly because he is ritually unclean, which, at
the very beginning of his ministry, puts his mission at risk. Jesus is now an
outcast, but throngs of people keep coming to him. Mercy and hope take
precedence over the law.
Jesus reveals to us the mind and
heart of God, and in this scenario, he answers the question raised by the
leper, “Do you want to heal me?” Jesus responds like this: “Yes, of course I
do. More than you can know.” Jesus risks everything to heal the leper; Jesus
will risk everything to help the one who is hurting.
The healing ministry can be a
significant mission of the church today. The church asks priests to pray and to
administer the sacraments of Christ, but the church needs to take greater risks
to heal a broken world. The church can be a place where differences are reconciled,
and it needs to take risks by getting immersed in the messy chaos of people’s
lives. It means touching scabs and wounds gently. It means helping people expand
their worldview to see common points of agreement. It needs to convert hearts,
so people can see the fundamental goodwill and hope at the root of meaningful
relationships. It can advance the pursuit of the common good and raise levels
of conduct within communities because we imitate the behavior of Jesus. The
church and its priests can challenge values contrary to the Gospel, and it can help
poor, the marginalized, and our weaker brothers and sisters speak for their
needs.
Christ’s mercy is at the heart
of the healing ministry. Mercy takes us to messy places, but we have no choice
as Christians because our hearts are always informed by compassion for the one
in need. Does God will us to be healed? Yes. God does not want us to hurt any
more. Call upon the Christ’s church to hear the cries of those in need. Teach
it to hear these cries once again. Christ will give us the mercy we need to
care for one another.
Scripture for Daily Mass
First Reading:
Monday: (James 1) Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when
you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith
produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be
perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Tuesday: (James 1) Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him.
Tuesday: (James 1) Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him.
Wednesday: (Joel 2) Blow the trumpet in Zion! proclaim a fast, call
an assembly; Gather the people, notify the congregation; Assemble the elders, gather
the children.
Thursday: (1 Kings 11) When Solomon was old his wives had turned
his heart to strange gods, and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his
God, as the heart of his father David had been.
Friday (1 Kings 11) Jeroboam left Jerusalem, and the prophet
Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road. ‘I will tear away the kingdom from
Solomon’s grasp and will give you ten of the tribes. One tribe shall remain to
him for the sake of David my servant, and of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen
out of all the tribes of Israel.’” Israel went into rebellion against David’s
house to this day.
Saturday (1 Kings 12) Jeroboam did not give up his evil ways after
this, but again made priests for the high places from among the common people.
Whoever desired it was consecrated and became a priest of the high places. This
was a sin on the part of the house of Jeroboam for which it was to be cut off
and destroyed from the earth.
Gospel:
Monday: (Mark 8) The Pharisees came
forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to
test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?
Tuesday: (Mark 8) The disciples
had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, "Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod."
Wednesday (Matthew 6) Take care not to perform righteous deeds in
order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from
your heavenly Father.
Thursday (Mark 7) The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by
birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. He said to
her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of
the children and throw it to the dogs.”
Friday (Mark 7) people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech
impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He put his finger into the
man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and
groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be
opened!") And immediately the man's ears were opened, his speech
impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.
Saturday (Mark 8) Jesus summoned the disciples and said, “My heart
is moved with pity for the crowd, because they
have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.
Saints of the Week
February 11: Our Lady of Lourdes is remembered
because between February 11 and July 16, 1858, Mary appeared to Bernadette
Soubirous in a cave near Lourdes, France eighteen times. The site remains one
of the largest pilgrim destinations. Many find healing in the waters of the
grotto during the spring.
February 13: Mardi Gras is your last chance to eat meat before
Lent. This is the last day of Carnival (Carne- meat, Goodbye – vale). Say
goodbye to meat as we begin the fasting practices tomorrow.
February 14: Ash Wednesday is the customary beginning to the season of Lent. A penitential time marked by increased fasting, prayer and almsgiving, we begin our 40-day tradition of sacrifice as we walk the way of Jesus that ends at the Cross during Holy Week. Lent is a time of conversion, a time to deepen one’s relationship with Christ, for all roads lead to his Cross of Suffering and Glory.
February 14: Ash Wednesday is the customary beginning to the season of Lent. A penitential time marked by increased fasting, prayer and almsgiving, we begin our 40-day tradition of sacrifice as we walk the way of Jesus that ends at the Cross during Holy Week. Lent is a time of conversion, a time to deepen one’s relationship with Christ, for all roads lead to his Cross of Suffering and Glory.
February 14: Cyril,
monk, and Methodius, bishop (Ninth Century), were brothers who were born in
Thessalonica, Greece. They became missionaries after they ended careers in
teaching and government work. They moved to Ukraine and Moravia, a place
between the Byzantium and Germanic peoples. Cyril (Constantine) created
Slavonic alphabet so the liturgy and scriptures could be available to them.
Cyril died during a visit to Rome and Methodius became a bishop and returned to
Moravia.
February 15: Claude La Colombiere, S.J., religious
(1641-1682), was a Jesuit missionary, ascetical writer, and confessor to
Margaret Mary Alocoque at the Visitation Convent at Paray La Monial. As a
Jesuit, he vowed to live strictly according to the Jesuit Constitutions to
achieve utmost perfection. Together, they began a devotion to the Sacred Heart
of Jesus.
February 17: The
Seven Founders of the Servites (Thirteenth Century) were from Florence
and they joined the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin, who were also known as
Praisers. They devoted their apostolate to prayer and service and withdrew to a
deserted mountain to build a church and hermitage. After adopting a rule and
gaining recruits, they changed their name to the Servants of Mary.
This Week in Jesuit History
·
Feb
11, 1563. At the Council of Trent, Fr. James Laynez, the Pope's theologian,
made such an impression on the cardinal president by his learning and
eloquence, that cardinal decided at once to open a Jesuit College in Mantua,
his Episcopal see.
·
Feb
12, 1564. Francis Borgia was appointed assistant for Spain and Portugal.
·
Feb
13, 1787. In Milan, Fr. Rudjer Boskovic, an illustrious mathematician,
scientist, and astronomer, died. At Paris he was appointed "Directeur de la Marine."
·
Feb
14, 1769. At Cadiz, 241 Jesuits from Chile were put on board a Swedish vessel
to be deported to Italy as exiles.
·
Feb
15, 1732. Fr. Chamillard SJ, who had been reported by the Jansenists as having
died a Jansenist and working miracles, suddenly appeared alive and well!
·
Feb
16, 1776. At Rome, the Jesuit prisoners in Castel S Angelo were restored to
liberty. Fr. Romberg, the German assistant, aged 80, expressed a wish to remain
in prison.
·
Feb
17, 1775. The French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Neapolitan Ambassadors in Rome
intimate to the newly elected Pope Pius VI the will of their respective
sovereigns that the Jesuits imprisoned in Castel S Angelo should not be
released.
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