Prayer: Augustine

 O God, it is you alone I love, you alone I follow, you alone I seek, you alone I am ready to serve. Heal and open my ears that I may hear your voice. Heal and open your eyes that I may see your will. Tell me where to look that I may see you and I will place my hope in doing your will. 

Poem: Chief Dan George.

The beauty of the trees,the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass,
speaks to me...
The strength of fire,
the freshness of morning,
the taste of salmon,
the trail of the sun,
and the life that never goes away,
they speak to me.
And my heart soars.

Prayer: Alphonsus Liguori

 O God, help me to remember that time is short, eternity is long. What good is all the greatness of this world at the hour of death? To love you, my God, and save my soul is the one thing necessary. Without you, there is no peace, no joy. My God, I need fear nothing with you, for to lose you is to lose all. 

Prayer: Ignatius of Loyola

O God, I dedicate this new day to you; as I go about my work. I ask you to bless those with whom I come in contact. Lord, I prayer for all men and women who work to earn their living; tive them satisfaction in what they do. Spirit of God, comfort the unemployed and their families; they are your children and my brothers and sisters. I ask you to help them find work soon.  

Such Power. The Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2021

                                                          Such Power.

The Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2021

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

January 31, 2021

Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 95; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28

 

 

The villagers in Capernaum realize that the words of Jesus have an unmatched veracity that when he speaks, good actions result. In this case the authoritative preaching of Jesus has power to expel demons, who recognize immediately that he is the Holy One of God. The potency of his words do not only move people emotionally and spiritually, but they bring about right actions and authority. In this passage, this is his first moment of preaching, and the young man that everyone knew as a carpenter has seriously impressed the most learned community elders.

 

As we listen to the Gospel words, we are called to something similar: we are to hear and to act, because when we act, we know that faith has taken root. It is dangerous for our well-being to repeatedly feel an emotion and then never translate it into an action, because it will only lead us to a hardening of our hearts. We are reluctant to act at once. We do this with lifestyle changes, whether it is to limit sugar, alcohol, tobacco, or exercise. If we do not act right away, if the time is never now, when will it be time? We can feel moved to higher matters, we might have the conviction, but if we do not convert our feelings into action, we are left with resignation and despair.

 

Think about a well-to-do person who goes to a theater performance and is in tears while watching the play, and is intensely moved to deep emotions, but then when the play is over, the person steps outside the theater, notices how someone is in a misfortunate situation, and does not really pay attention to his or her plight. The tears that flowed because the core of humanity was profoundly touched were wasted. The whole theatrical experience was wasted if one does not become aware of an opportunity to put compassion into action. We cannot compartmentalize our emotions; we are to integrate them. They must provide us the energy for our good actions. 

 

The only way for us to escape the danger of unconsciously substituting emotion for action is to act on the emotion at once, before we have a chance to talk ourselves out of it, before we can rationalize our next steps. It does not mean that we are reckless and have not thought it through; it means we are rightly acting on our emotions and we still retain the ability to make further choices down the road. You have to put the first step into action. Just think about the hardest sentence to write in any essay; it is the first one; the most difficult line to draw on a blank piece of paper is the first one, because the blank page has tremendous power to stop us in our track. 

 

The first move is important and it can be adjusted, and when we are moved by Jesus and our emotions are engaged, we have to begin to express those emotions in daily life. That might mean that we are impelled to help someone, to be of greater service, to get rid of something evil, to be less selfish. Those are great resolutions, and we have to translate those emotions into practical action. Our page is no longer blank, but it is filled with the richest, choicest emotions we have. The rest is easy, and we can begin to take the long view and engage our reason. Our souls can become endangered it if we hear the Gospel proclaimed again and again and we do nothing to translate the emotion into answer Christ’s call to us.

 

The words that we just heard proclaimed to us? They are from Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy One of God, the one whose words can expel demons, calm storms, heal, and even raise from the dead. These words are the source of eternal life. Such power. Such authoritative power. Wow! 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

First Reading:

Monday: (Hebrews 11) Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.

 

Tuesday: (Malachy 3) Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

 

Wednesday: (Hebrews 12) Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God, that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble, through which many may become defiled.

 

Thursday: (Hebrews 12) No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled Blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.

 

Friday (Hebrews 13) Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body.

 

Saturday (Hebrews 13) Through Jesus, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind. 

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Mark 5) The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain. In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.

 

Tuesday: (Luke 2) When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

 

Wednesday (Mark 6) They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? 
And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 

 

Thursday (Mark 6) “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance.

 

Friday (Mark 6) Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.

 

Saturday (Mark 6) “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.

 

Saints of the Week

 

January 31: John Bosco, priest (1815-1888), formed his Society to aid children who were imprisoned. He used Francis de Sales as his inspiration. He taught poor and working class boys in the evenings wherever it was possible to meet them - in fields, factories, or homes. A sister community was set up to assist young girls who were sent to work. 

 

February 2: The Presentation of the Lord is the rite by which the firstborn male is presented in the Temple as an offering to God. It occurs 40 days after the birth while the new mother is considered ritually unclean. Two church elders, Simeon and Anna, who represent the old covenant, praise Jesus and warn his mother that her heart will be pierced as her son will bring the salvation of many.

 

February 3: Blase, bishop and martyr (d. 316), was an Armenian martyr of the persecution of Licinius. Legends hold that a boy, choking to death on a fishbone, was miraculously cured. Blase's intercession has been invoked for cures for throat afflictions. The candles presented at Candlemas the day earlier are used in the rite of the blessings of throats.

 

February 3: Angsar, bishop (815-865), became a monk to preach to pagans. He lived at the French Benedictine monastery of New Corbie and was sent to preach in Denmark and Sweden. He was made abbot and then became archbishop of Hamburg. He is known as the Apostle of the North because he restored Denmark to the faith and helped bolster the faith of other Scandinavians. 

 

February 4: John de Brito, S.J., priest, religious, and martyr (1647-1693), was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary who served in India and was named “The Portuguese Francis Xavier” to the Indians. De Brito was martyred because he counseled a Maravan prince during his conversion to give up all but one of his wives. One of the wives was a niece to the neighboring king, who set up a round of persecutions against priests and catechists. 

 

February 5: Agatha, martyr, (d. 251), died in Sicily during the Diocletian persecution after she refused to give up her faith when sent to a brothel for punishment. She was subsequently tortured. Sicilians believe her intercession stopped Mount Etna from erupting the year after her burial. She has been sought as a protector against fire and in mentioned in the First Eucharistic prayer. 

 

February 6: Paul Miki and Companions, martyrs (d. 1597), were martyred in Nagasaki, Japan for being Christians. Miki was a Jesuit brother and a native Japanese who was killed alongside 25 clergy, religious, and laypeople. They were suspended on crosses and killed by spears thrust into their hearts. Remnants of the Christian community continued through baptism without any priestly leadership. It was discovered when Japan was reopened in 1865.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• Jan 31, 1774. Fr. General Laurence Ricci, a prisoner in Castel S Angelo, claimed his liberty, since his innocence had been fully vindicated. He received from the Papal Congregation the reply that they would think about it. Pope Clement XIV was said at this time to be mentally afflicted. 
• Feb 1, 1549. The first Jesuit missionaries to go to Brazil set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, under Fr. Emmanuel de Nobrega. 
• Feb 2, 1528. Ignatius arrived in Paris to begin his program of studies at the University of Paris. 
• Feb 3, 1571. In Florida, the martyrdom of Fr. Louis Quiros and two novices, shot with arrows by an apostate Indian. 
• Feb 4, 1617. An imperial edict banished all missionaries from China. 
• Feb 5, 1833. The first provincial of Maryland, Fr. William McSherry, was appointed. 
• Feb 6, 1612. The death of Christopher Clavius, one of the greatest mathematicians and scientists of the Society.

Tal poder . El Cuarto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario 2021

                                                                 Tal poder.

El Cuarto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario 2021

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

31 de enero de 2021

Deuteronomio 18: 15-20 ; Salmo 95 ; 1 Corintios 7 : 32-35 ; San Marcos 1: 21-28

 

 

Los aldeanos de Cafarnaum se dan cuenta de que las palabras de Jesús tienen una veracidad inigualable que cuando habla, resultan buenas acciones. En este caso, la predicación autorizada de Jesús tiene poder para expulsar demonios, quienes reconocen inmediatamente que él es el Santo de Dios. La potencia de sus palabras no solo conmueve a las personas emocional y espiritualmente, sino que también genera autoridad y acciones correctas. En este pasaje, este es su primer momento de predicación, y el joven que todos conocían como carpintero ha impresionado seriamente a los ancianos de la comunidad más eruditos.

 

Al escuchar las palabras del Evangelio, estamos llamados a algo similar: debemos escuchar y actuar, porque cuando actuamos, sabemos que la fe ha echado raíces. Es peligroso para nuestro bienestar sentir repetidamente una emoción y luego nunca traducirla en una acción , porque solo nos conducirá a un endurecimiento de nuestro corazón. Somos reacios a actuar de inmediato. Hacemos esto con cambios en el estilo de vida, ya sea para limitar el azúcar, el alcohol, el tabaco o el ejercicio. Si no actuamos de inmediato, si el momento nunca es ahora, ¿cuándo será el momento? Podemos sentirnos movidos a asuntos superiores, podríamos tener la convicción, pero si no convertimos nuestros sentimientos en acción, nos quedamos con resignación y desesperación.

 

Piense en una persona con ganas de hacer algo que va a una obra de teatro y llora mientras mira la obra, y se conmueve intensamente por emociones profundas, pero luego, cuando la obra termina, la persona sale del teatro y se da cuenta de cómo alguien se encuentra en una situación desafortunada y realmente no presta atención a su difícil situación . Las lágrimas que fluyeron porque el corazón de la humanidad fue profundamente tocado se desperdiciaron. Toda la experiencia teatral se desperdicia si uno no se da cuenta de la oportunidad de poner en acción la compasión. No podemos compartimentar nuestras emociones ; debemos integrarlos . Deben proporcionarnos la energía para nuestras buenas acciones.

 

La única forma de escapar del peligro de sustituir inconscientemente la emoción por la acción es actuar sobre la emoción de inmediato, antes de que tengamos la oportunidad de convencernos de que no lo haga, antes de que podamos racionalizar nuestros próximos pasos. No significa que seamos imprudentes y no lo hayamos pensado bien; significa que estamos actuando correctamente sobre nuestras emociones y aún conservamos la capacidad de tomar más decisiones en el futuro. Tienes que poner el primer paso en acción. Piense en la oración más difícil de escribir en cualquier ensayo; es el primero; la línea más difícil de dibujar en una hoja de papel en blanco es la primera, porque la página en blanco tiene un poder tremendo para detenernos en nuestro camino.

 

El primer paso es importante y se puede ajustar, y cuando Jesús nos mueve y nuestras emociones están comprometidas, tenemos que comenzar a expresar esas emociones en la vida diaria. Eso podría significar que estamos impulsados ​​a ayudar a alguien, a ser de mayor utilidad, a deshacernos de algo malo, a ser menos egoístas. Esas son grandes resoluciones y tenemos que traducir esas emociones en acciones prácticas. Nuestra página ya no está en blanco, sino que está llena de las emociones más ricas y selectas que tenemos. El resto es fácil y podemos empezar a tener una visión a largo plazo y comprometer nuestra razón. Nuestras almas pueden ponerse en peligro si escuchamos el Evangelio proclamado una y otra vez y no hacemos nada para traducir la emoción en una respuesta al llamado de Cristo.

 

¿Las palabras que acabamos de escuchar que nos proclamaron? Son de Jesús de Nazareth, el Santo de Dios , el que tiene las palabras pueden expulsar a los demonios, tormentas tranquilas, sanar , e incluso aumento de los muertos. Estas palabras son la fuente de la vida eterna. Tal poder. Tal poder autoritario . ¡Guauu!

 

Escritura para la misa diaria

 

Primera lectura:

Lunes: ( Hebreos 11 ) Sin embargo, todos estos, aunque fueron aprobados por su fe, no recibieron lo que se les había prometido. Dios había previsto algo mejor para nosotros, para que sin nosotros no se perfeccionaran.

 

Martes: ( Malaquías 3 ) He aquí, estoy enviando a mi mensajero para preparar el camino ante mí; Y de repente vendrá al templo el SEÑOR a quien buscas, y el mensajero del pacto a quien deseas. Sí, viene, dice el SEÑOR de los ejércitos.

 

Miércoles: (Hebreos 1 2 ) Lucha por la paz con todos, y por esa santidad sin la cual nadie verá al Señor. Procura que nadie sea privado de la gracia de Dios, que ninguna raíz amarga brote y cause problemas por los que muchos puedan contaminarse.

 

Jueves: (Hebreos 1 2 ) No, usted ha acercado al monte Sion ya la ciudad del Dios vivo, la Jerusalén celeste, y un sinnúmero de ángeles, reunión solemne y asamblea de los primogénitos inscritos en el cielo, y Dios el Juez de todos, y los espíritus de los justos perfeccionados, y Jesús, el mediador de un nuevo pacto, y la Sangre rociada que habla con más elocuencia que la de Abel.

 

Viernes (Hebreos 1 3 ) Permanezca el amor fraternal. No descuides la hospitalidad, porque a través de ella algunos, sin saberlo, hospedaron ángeles. Tengan presente a los presos como si compartieran su encarcelamiento, y a los maltratados como a ustedes mismos, porque ustedes también están en el cuerpo.

 

Sábado (Hebreos 1 3 ) A través de Jesús, ofrezcamos continuamente a Dios un sacrificio de alabanza, es decir, fruto de labios que confiesan su nombre. No descuides hacer el bien y compartir lo que tienes; A Dios le agradan los sacrificios de ese tipo.

 

Evangelio: 

Lunes: ( Marcos 5 ) El hombre había estado morando entre los sepulcros, y ya nadie podía retenerlo, ni siquiera con una cadena. De hecho, con frecuencia lo habían atado con grilletes y cadenas, pero él había tirado de las cadenas y roto los grilletes, y nadie era lo suficientemente fuerte como para someterlo.

 

Martes: ( Lucas 2 ) Cuando se cumplieron los días para su purificación según la ley de Moisés, María y José llevaron a Jesús a Jerusalén para presentarlo al Señor, de acuerdo con el mandato de la ley del Señor .

 

Miércoles (Marcos 6 ) Dijeron: “¿De dónde sacó este hombre todo esto? ¿Qué tipo de sabiduría se le ha dado? ¡Qué maravillas ha realizado sus manos! ¿No es el carpintero, el hijo de María, y el hermano de Jacobo, José, Judas y Simón? ¿Y no están sus hermanas aquí con nosotros? Y se sintieron ofendidos por él.     
  

 

Jueves (Marcos 6 ) “Dondequiera que entren a una casa, quédense allí hasta que salgan de allí. Cualquier lugar que no los reciba ni los escuche, salga de allí y sacuda el polvo de sus pies en testimonio contra ellos ". Entonces se fueron y predicaron el arrepentimiento.

 

Viernes (Marcos 6 ) Herodes fue quien hizo arrestar y encarcelar a Juan
a causa de Herodías, la esposa de su hermano Felipe, con quien se había casado. Juan le había dicho a Herodes: "No te es lícito tener la esposa de tu hermano". Herodías le guardaba rencor y quería matarlo, pero no pudo. 

 

Sábado (Marcos 6 ) "Vayan solos a un lugar desierto y descansen un rato". La gente iba y venía en gran número y no tenían ni la oportunidad de comer. Así que se fueron solos en la barca a un lugar desierto. 

 

Santos de la semana

 

31 de enero : Juan Bosco, sacerdote (1815-1888), forma su Sociedad para ayudar a los niños encarcelados. Usó a Francisco de Sales como inspiración. Enseñaba a los niños pobres y de clase trabajadora por las tardes siempre que era posible reunirse con ellos: en el campo, las fábricas o los hogares. Se creó una comunidad hermana para ayudar a las jóvenes que eran enviadas a trabajar.

 

2 de febrero : La Presentación del Señor es el rito por el cual el primogénito varón se presenta en el Templo como ofrenda a Dios. Ocurre 40 días después del nacimiento, mientras que la nueva madre se considera ritualmente impura. Dos ancianos de la iglesia, Simeón y Ana, que representan el antiguo pacto, alaban a Jesús y advierten a su madre que su corazón será traspasado ya que su hijo traerá la salvación de muchos.

 

F EBRERO 3 : Blase , obispo y mártir (. D 316) , fue un mártir armenio de la persecución de Licinio . Las leyendas sostienen que un niño , que se asfixió hasta morir con una espina de pescado, se curó milagrosamente . Se ha invocado la intercesión de Blase para curar las aflicciones de garganta. Las velas presentadas en la Candelaria el día anterior se utilizan en el rito de la bendición de las gargantas.

 

3 de febrero: Angsar , obispo (815-865), se convirtió en monje para predicar a los paganos. Vivió en el monasterio benedictino francés de New Corbie y fue enviado a predicar en Dinamarca y Suecia. Fue nombrado abad y luego arzobispo de Hamburgo. Se le conoce como el Apóstol del Norte porque restauró a Dinamarca a la fe y ayudó a reforzar la fe de otros escandinavos.

 

4 de febrero: John de Brito, SJ , sacerdote, religioso y mártir (1647-1693), fue un misionero jesuita portugués que sirvió en la India y fue nombrado "El Francisco Javier portugués" para los indios. De Brito fue martirizado porque aconsejó a un príncipe de Maravan durante su conversión que renunciara a todas menos una de sus esposas. Una de las esposas era sobrina del rey vecino, quien montó una ronda de persecuciones contra sacerdotes y catequistas.

 

5 de febrero: Agatha, mártir (m. 251), murió en Sicilia durante la persecución de Diocleciano después de que se negó a renunciar a su fe cuando fue enviada a un burdel para ser castigada. Posteriormente fue torturada. Los sicilianos creen que su intercesión impidió que el Etna entrara en erupción un año después de su entierro. Se la ha buscado como protectora contra el fuego y se la menciona en la Primera Plegaria Eucarística.

 

6 de febrero : Paul Miki y Compañeros, mártires (m. 1597), fueron martirizados en Nagasaki, Japón por ser cristianos. Miki era un hermano jesuita y un japonés nativo que fue asesinado junto con 25 clérigos, religiosos y laicos. Fueron suspendidos en cruces y asesinados con lanzas clavadas en sus corazones. Los restos de la comunidad cristiana continuaron mediante el bautismo sin ningún liderazgo sacerdotal. Fue descubierto cuando Japón fue reabierto en 1865.

 

Esta semana en la historia de los jesuitas

 

·                31 de enero de 1774. P. El general Laurence Ricci, preso en Castel S Angelo, reclamó su libertad, ya que su inocencia había sido plenamente reivindicada. Recibió de la Congregación Papal la respuesta de que lo pensarían. Se dijo que el Papa Clemente XIV en este momento estaba mentalmente afligido.

·                1 de febrero de 1549. Los primeros misioneros jesuitas que fueron a Brasil zarparon desde Lisboa, Portugal, bajo el mando del P. Emmanuel de Nobrega .

·                2 de febrero de 1528. Ignacio llegó a París para comenzar su programa de estudios en la Universidad de París.

·                3 de febrero de 1571. En Florida, el martirio del p. Luis Quirós y dos novicios, disparados con flechas por un indio apóstata.

·                4 de febrero de 1617. Un edicto imperial desterró a todos los misioneros de China.

·                5 de febrero de 1833. El primer provincial de Maryland, el p. William McSherry, fue nombrado.

·                6 de febrero de 1612. Muerte de Christopher Clavius , uno de los más grandes matemáticos y científicos de la Sociedad.

Prayer: Roger of Taize

 Christ, Savior of all life, you come to us always. Welcoming you in the peace of our nights, in the silence of our days, in the beauty of creation, in the hours of great combat within, welcoming you is knowing that you will be with us in every situation, always. 

Prayer: Elizabeth Ann Seton

O God, the first rule of our Savior’s life was to do your will. Let his will of the present moment be the first rule of our daily life and work, with no other desire but for its most full and complete accomplishment. Help us to follow it faithfully so that, doing what your wish, we will be pleasing to you.

Prayer Class: Honoring Father William Barry, S.J., A Friendship like no Other

To honor the life of Fr. William Barry, S.J., we will read together his book on prayer called, “A Friendship Like No Other.” 

Classes meet for fourteen weeks on Tuesday mornings from 8:00 to 9:00 by Zoom, and the link is at the bottom of this email. Purchase a copy of the book and join us. If you can’t make every meeting, come when you are able. 

The book is broken into three parts, and the contents are listed below. Bring a friend or feel free to refer one. 

Feb. 2 Part 1, Ch. 1: The meaning of friendship 

Feb. 9 Part 1, Ch. 2: Friendship with God in the Bible 

Feb. 16 Part 1, Ch. 3: The First Stages: Attractions and Disturbances 

       Feb. 17: Ash Wednesday 

Feb. 23 Part 1, Ch. 4: Going Deeper; Knowing Jesus as a Friend 

Feb. 27: Prayer and Poems for Lent 

Mar. 2 Part 1, Ch. 5: The Spirit and Community of Friends 

Mar. 9 Part 2, Ch. 6: How could God want my friendship? 

Mar. 16 Part 2, Ch. 7: A self-centered spirituality? 

          Mar. 17: St Patrick’s Day 

Mar. 23 Part 2, Ch. 8: Salvation and Friendship 

          Mar. 28: Palm Sunday 

Mar. 30 Part 2, Ch. 9: Does friendship lead to Compassion 

         Apr. 4: Easter Sunday 

Apr. 6 Part 2, Ch. 10: Is this a way to treat your friends? 

         Apr. 10: Poems for Easter Triumph 

Apr. 13 Part 2, Ch. 11: How to Understand God’s Anger and Justice? 

Apr. 20 Part 2, Ch. 12: God reveals divine inner life to us 

Apr. 27 Part 3, Ch. 13: How do we experience God? 

May 4 Part 3, Ch. 14: How do I know I experience God 

Join Zoom Meeting https://bchigh.zoom.us/j/95340683174?pwd=aGxvU3RJQi9FZ1B4NVk1VUZFQU0ydz09 

Meeting ID: 953 4068 3174 

Password: 029639

Prayer: Gilbert of Hoyland

When, good Lord, will you manifest yourself to us in bright sunshine? Yes, we are slow to understand and slow to see, but we are quick to believe, and we believe that if you chose to reveal yourself to us, you could do so this very day. O Lord, please appear to us, at dawn or dusk or at the height of day. Come to our table at mealtimes, that we may share our meals with you. Come to our bed, that we may share our rest with you. Come to us at prayers, that we may rejoice and be glad.

Poem: Amanda Gorman, Part I, The Hill We Climb

When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry. A sea we must wade.

We braved the belly of the beast.

We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace, and the norms and notions of what “just” is isn’t always justice.

And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it.

Somehow we do it.

Somehow we weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished.

Poem: Amanda Gorman, Conclusion Excerpt "The Hill We Climb"

 So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left.

Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.

We will rise from the golden hills of the West.

We will rise from the windswept Northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution.

We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the Midwestern states.

We will rise from the sun-baked South.

We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover.

And every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country, our people diverse and beautiful, will emerge battered and beautiful.

When day comes, we step out of the shade of flame and unafraid.

The new dawn balloons as we free it.

For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it.

If only we’re brave enough to be it.

Now is the Time. The Third Sunday of Ordinary Time 2021

Now is the Time.

The Third Sunday of Ordinary Time 2021

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January 24, 2021

Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 25; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

 

 

The church continues to present us with call and conversion narratives as Jesus begins his young ministry. We are given the story of Jonah to show (1.) the ministry will not be easy and will often seem impossible, and (2.) through God’s power, some people turn away from track they are on and believe more fully in the sacred message that is proclaimed. In Jonah’s story, the prophet is amazed that the people hear the message and reform their ways. Surely, God’s action in the prophet’s words meet the searching for integrity and meaning from within the people. 

 

In the Gospel, Jesus calls two sets of brothers into his ministry and declares this is the time of fulfillment, the Kingdom of God is at hand. He asks the disciples and those who hear his word for one thing: believe. The excitement for ministry is palpable. For Jesus, the kingdom of God was an ideal community where God reigned supreme and people lived as God desired. It was a new way of living together that included anyone who believed, and this could be Jew and Gentile alike, who were people often at odds with one another. The kingdom reconciled the differences because they saw what they had in common. God would be the king who treated everyone benevolently, which would make everyone try to work together because each person sees an image of God in the other person, even the person who was once a fierce foe. That is the power of God’s love.

 

After a few difficult weeks in Washington, D.C., we have seen that divisiveness is not our Christian way, and that it is far better for us to learn to understand each other and work towards common goals. We have a chance to help Jesus bring the kingdom of God to our lives. When he preached, he said, “This is the time of fulfillment.” Today, we have to do the hard work of rebuilding trust, re-establishing care and affection, finding the goodwill in each other, and moving towards a future where reverence for each person is guaranteed, where God’s justice of mercy is the mode of legislating actions, where equality and dignity are provided for each individual. It means that today we have to reach our hands out to our adversary and say, “Friend, can we do this together? Can we learn from each other? I need you in my life.”

 

Let me start by reforming my life and by allowing God to soften my rough edges. Let me hear myself speak words of reconciliation, words of affirmation and praise, words of acceptance. Let me continue by letting my heart be warmed over by another’s story of suffering and pain, while my words and attitudes set the stage for someone else’s process of reformation. Let me go into vulnerable places within myself as I risk establishing a friendship when I know the offer may be misunderstood and I might feel unsafe. The prophet Jonah, and Jesus as well, experienced much hardship as he did God’s work; we too will be quite uncomfortable as we move from bondage into freedom. 

 

However, trying is better than not bothering to care, and it is God’s work after all. My prayer for us is that we can capture into the work that we have to do today the excitement and energy that Jesus conveyed the first time he proclaimed his mission. This is the time of fulfillment. Let’s be on our way to bring the kingdom here now. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

First Reading:

Monday: (Acts 22) I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.

 

Tuesday: (2 Timothy 1) I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.

 

Wednesday: (Hebrews 10) Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool.

 

Thursday: (Hebrews 10) Since through the Blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and since we have “a great priest over the house of God,” let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust.

 

Friday (Hebrews 10) Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense. You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.

 

Saturday (Hebrews 11) Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Mark 16) Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.

 

Tuesday: (Mark 3) And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.

 

Wednesday (Mark 4) And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables.

 

Thursday (Mark 4) Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

 

Friday (Mark 4) This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.

 

Saturday (Mark 4) Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

 

Saints of the Week

 

January 24: Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor (1567-1622), practiced both civil and canon law before entering religious life. He became bishop of Geneva in 1602 and was prominent in the Catholic Reformation. He reorganized his diocese, set up a seminary, overhauled religious education, and found several schools. With Jane Frances de Chantal, he founded the Order of the Visitation of Mary.

 

January 25: The Conversion of Paul, the Apostle, was a pivotal point in the life of the early church. Scripture contains three accounts of his call and the change of behavior and attitudes that followed. Paul's story is worth knowing as it took him 14 years of prayer and study to find meaning in what happened to him on the road to Damascus.

 

January 26: Timothy and Titus, bishops (1st century), were disciples of Paul who later became what we know of as bishops. Timothy watched over the people of Ephesus and Titus looked after Crete. Both men worked with Paul and became a community leader. Timothy was martyred while Titus died of old age. 

 

January 27: Angela Merici (1474-1540), was the founder of the Ursuline nuns. Relatives raised her when her parents died when she was 10. As an adult, she tended to the needs of the poor and with some friends, she taught young girls at their home. These friends joined an association that later became a religious order. Ursula was the patron of medieval universities.

 

January 28: Thomas Aquinas, priest and Doctor (1225-1274), studied in a Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino as a boy. He joined the newly formed Dominicans where he studied in France and Italy. He is a giant scholar. He wrote much on Scripture and theology, including his summation of theology (Summa Theologiae). He wrote several songs for liturgy, such as the Tantum Ergo, Pange Lingua, and Adoro Te Devote.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• Jan 24, 1645. Fr. Henry Morse was led as a prisoner from Durham to Newgate, London. On hearing his execution was fixed for February 1, he exclaimed: "Welcome ropes, hurdles, gibbets, knives, butchery of an infamous death! Welcome for the love of Jesus, my Savior." 
• Jan 25, 1707. Cardinal Tournon, Apostolic Visitor of the missions in China, forbade the use of the words 'Tien' or 'Xant' for God and ordered the discontinuance by the Christians of the Chinese Rites. 
• Jan 26, 1611. The first Jesuit missionaries sailed from Europe for New France (Canada). 
• Jan 27, 1870. The Austrian government endeavored to suppress the annual grant of 8,000 florins to the theological faculty of Innsbruck and to drive the Jesuit professors from the university, because of their support of the Papal Syllabus. 
• Jan 28, 1853. Fr. General John Roothaan, wishing to resign his office, summoned a General Congregation, but died on May 8, before it assembled. 
• Jan 29, 1923. Woodstock scholastics kept a fire vigil for several months to prevent the Ku Klux Klan from setting the college on fire. 
• Jan 30, 1633. At Avignon, Fr. John Pujol, a famous master of novices, died. He ordered one of them to water a dry stick, which miraculously sprouted.