Photo: Purple Orchids on Red

 

Poem: “The Greated Evil in the World” by St. Teresa of Calcutta

 Many today are starving for ordinary bread.

But there is another kind of hunger – 

the hunger to be wanted, to be loved, to be recognized.

Nakedness too is not just a want of clothes, 

but also about loss of dignity, purity, and self-respect.

And homelessness is not just want of a house; 

there is the homelessness of being rejected, 

of being unwanted in a throwaway society.

The biggest disease in the world today 

is the feeling of being unwanted and uncared for.

The greatest evil in the world is lack of love, 

the terrible indifference towards one’s neighbor.

Photo: Pasttimes

 

Spirituality: Two Statements on Love

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.:

Love is the only force that can make things one without destroying them.

Tomas Halik:

Love is the courage to die to one selfishness, to forget oneself because of others, to step out of oneself. Love is essentially transcendence, crossing the borders that surround our existence. Love is an unconditional and all embracing form of unification. God happens where we love people, our neighbors.

Photo: Time for Worship

 

Poem: “Letting Go” by Edwina Gateley

It is time to go.

I can smell it.

Breathe it.

Touch it.

And something in me

Trembles.

I will not cry.

Only sit bewildered.

Brave and helpless

That it is time.

Time to go.

Time to step out

Of the world

I shaped and watched

Become.

Time to let go

Of the status and

The admiration.

Time to go.

To turn my back

On a life that throbs

With my vigor and a spirit

That soared

Through my tears.

Poem: “Lenten Poem” by Ann Weems

 Lent is a time to take time to let the power 

of our faith story take hold of us, 

a time to let the events get up 

and walk around in us, 

a time to intensify our living unto Christ, 

a time to hover over the thoughts of our hearts, 

a time to place our feet in the streets of 

Jerusalem or to walk along the sea and 

listen to his Word, 

a time to touch his robe 

and feel the healing surge through us, 

a time to ponder and a time to wonder …. 

Lent is a time to allow 

a fresh new taste of God! 

Perhaps we’re afraid to have time to think, 

for thoughts come unbidden. 

Perhaps we’re afraid to face our future 

knowing our past. 

Give us courage, O God, 

to hear your Word 

and to read our living into it.

Give us the trust to know we’re forgiven 

and give us the faith 

to take up our lives and walk.

Photo: Gate of Heaven Church

 

Prayer: Cyril of Jerusalem

Our actions have a tongue of their own. They have an eloquence of their own, even when the tongue is silent. For deeds prove the lover more than words.

Photo: Letting Go

 

Spirituality: Fr. Predmore is running the Boston Marathon to raise money for Boston Healthcare for the Homless Program

May God bless you for your generosity and care. The Jesuits are deeply committed to caring for the most vulnerable in Society, and we have a motto called "being a person with and for others." We know that greater meaning in life happens when we become aware of and care for the needs of others.

To be a "person without housing" affects all families. We often know someone who has struggled to make ends meet and to make the best choices. As Jesuits, we honor the dignity of each person made in the image and likeness of God.

Each person we encounter has a story.

I am a 63 year old man and this will be my third Boston Marathon. It takes a lot of training. I provide adult faith formation at my work at B.C. High. I give the 19th annotation of the Spiritual Exercises online and Ignatian Spirituality retreats. I provide a Theology Book group by Zoom, and classes on compassionate communications, the Synod, and current religion events. As an artist, I have a studio at SoWa, 450 Harrison Avenue, Studio 230, where I paint with oil and provide art and spirituality classes.

I’m committed to raising funds for Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. They provide essential healthcare services to individuals experiencing homelessness in the Boston area. Their work ensures that everyone has access to necessary medical attention, regardless of their circumstances. By supporting this campaign, you bring healthcare to those in need. Let’s work together to make a difference in their lives!

Thank you for your generosity. May God bless you abundantly.

https://www.givengain.com/project/john-raising-funds-for-boston-health-care-for-the-homeless-program-89025

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The God who Abides: The First Sunday of Lent 2025

                                                      The God who Abides:

The First Sunday of Lent 2025 

March 9, 2025

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Psalm 91; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13

 

We begin another season of Lent, and we enter it as a time for metanoia, a change of heart. We want to be closer to Jesus as he goes through his days until his Passion. Obviously, we focus upon the thought and actions of Jesus, and today, I would like to reflect upon what God the Father, the Parent, is doing during this time as well because God is always present in God’s absence, and sometimes God is silent. We begin with the First Reading that shows us that Moses is speaking for God. Though God seems silent, God is aware of the way humans treat one another. 

 

Moses tells us that we are to be sympathetic to wanderers and migrants because their and our ancestors were mistreated aliens. One who has been wounded and has suffered is better able to respond compassionately to the suffering of others. God, as Father-Parent to this people, heard the cries of the people and was aware of their suffering and pain. God was not deaf to the cries back then, as God is not deaf to today’s cries of the poor. God will work to change human hearts in order to liberate those who toil in misery.

 

Was God present to Jesus when he suffered temptations in the desert? Jesus, in his weakened state, was vulnerable to quickly end his suffering, and yet he trusted in the presence of the absent God. Jesus demonstrated his trust and established the basis for a profoundly solid relationship. This allowed Jesus to know God would abide by him throughout his ministry to the very end. Jesus knew that a fundamental characteristic of God is God’s abiding fidelity. God will remain by his side, even though God may seem hidden and silent.

 

Watch this Lent how God relates to Jesus. How do we imagine God to be? Many want a God of majesty, when in fact, we have a God of weakness. We have a God who has a special place in God’s heart for those who are the least, the weakest, and the most vulnerable. Our God is a wounded God because God’s heart is wounded each time we hurt another person. We cannot say that we truly love God unless we can take seriously our neighbor’s pain. Our sensitivity to the suffering of others must increase because wounds do not heal unless we see and acknowledge them. We know that God abides when whenever we touch the wounds of another person. Then we realize God is alive and concerned. God is a sympathetic God, who feels with us, who suffers with us. 

 

During Lent, we will hear about the pain carried by many people, and we will experience how Jesus is derided, degraded, rejected, betrayed, and turned over entirely into the hands of his enemies. Through it all, God seems to remain silent. We will see how Jesus shows solidarity with those who are regarded as small and insignificant, the uninvited and the wounded. He identifies with them and becomes them, so much so that “what you did to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did to me?” Jesus is with them. In fact, he is them. He stands by them and abides by them, and he reveals to us that he is doing what God does – abides. We know the rest of the story, and there are times in our lives that God seems to be silent. We need to hear this story over and over again so that we do not become indifferent, that we may continue to change our hearts when it is so easy to look away. We cannot be deaf or blind to God’s hidden presence among us. We can hear them in the screams, in the cries, of the poor, the needy, the wounded. God happens when we attend to their needs. God is always there. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

Monday: (Leviticus 19) The Lord gives Moses ten commandments that he inscribes on stone tablets. 

 

Tuesday: (Isaiah 55) God’s word will issue forth from his mouth and shall not return until it has fulfilled his will.

 

Wednesday: (Jonah 3) Jonah set out to Nineveh asking them to proclaim a fast and then repent. The king does repent and the Lord dropped his threat because they turned from evil.

 

Thursday: (Esther 3) Queen Esther appeals to God for help in converting the king’s heart for hatred of the enemy that threatens them.

Friday: (Ezekiel 18) If the wicked turns from sinfulness and keeps the Lord’s statutes, he will surely live. Likewise, if a virtuous man becomes wicked, he shall die. 

 

Saturday: (Deuteronomy 26) Moses tells the people to observe the Lord’s statutes and decrees with their whole heart and soul. The Lord will stand by you. 

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Matthew 25) Jesus tells his disciples about the last judgment when the goats and sheep will be separated. The measuring stick is the mercy shown to the most vulnerable.

 

Tuesday: (Matthew 6) The disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray. He tells them not to pray like the pagans, who seek honor and glory, and then gives them the Lord’s prayer. 

 

Wednesday: (Luke 11) Jesus chastises the crowd that seeks a sign, but none will be given to them. Because of Jonah’s preaching, the king and people repented.

 

Thursday: (Matthew 7) Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. The Father is generous, especially to those who love him.

 

Friday: (Matthew 5) Your righteousness must surpass the levels of the scribes and Pharisees in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Show righteousness by quickly settling disputes. 

 

Saturday: (Matthew 5) Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Heavenly Father. Be perfect as the Father is perfect.

 

Saints of the Week

 

March 9: Frances of Rome (1384-1440), was born into a wealthy Roman family and was married at age 13. She bore six children and when two died in infancy, she worked to bring the needs of the less fortunate to others. She took food to the poor, visited the sick, cared for the needy in their homes. When other women joined in her mission, they became Benedictine oblates. She founded a monastery for them after her husband's death. 

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• March 9, 1764. In France, all Jesuits who refused to abjure the Society were ordered by Parliament to leave the realm within a month. Out of 4,000 members only five priests, two scholastics, and eight brothers took the required oath; the others were driven into exile. 
• March 10, 1615. The martyrdom in Glasgow, Scotland, of St John Ogilvie. 
• Mar 11, 1848. In Naples, Italy, during the 1848 revolution, 114 Jesuits, after much suffering, were put into carts and driven ignominiously out of the city and the kingdom. 
• March 12, 1622. Pope Gregory XV canonized Sts Ignatius, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, and Philip Neri. 
• March 13, 1568. John Segura and five companions set sail from Spain for Florida, a fertile field of martyrs. (Nine Jesuits were killed there between 1566 and 1571.) 
• March 14, 1535. Ignatius received his degree from the University of Paris. 
• March 15, 1632. The death of Diego Ruiz, a great theologian, who studied on his knees.

El Dios que permanece: Primer Domingo de Cuaresma 2025

                                                   El Dios que permanece:

Primer Domingo de Cuaresma 2025

9 de marzo de 2025

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

Deuteronomio 26:4-10; Salmo 91; Romanos 10:8-13; Lucas 4:1-13

 

Comenzamos otra temporada de Cuaresma, y la iniciamos como un tiempo de metanoia , un cambio de corazón. Queremos estar más cerca de Jesús a medida que va pasando por sus días hasta su Pasión. Obviamente, nos centramos en el pensamiento y las acciones de Jesús, y hoy, me gustaría reflexionar sobre lo que Dios Padre, el Padre, está haciendo durante este tiempo también porque Dios siempre está presente en la ausencia de Dios, y a veces Dios está en silencio. Comenzamos con la Primera Lectura que nos muestra que Moisés está hablando por Dios. Aunque Dios parece estar en silencio, Dios es consciente de la forma en que los humanos se tratan entre sí.

 

Moisés nos dice que debemos ser compasivos con los vagabundos y los migrantes porque sus antepasados y los nuestros fueron extranjeros maltratados. Quien ha sido herido y ha sufrido está en mejores condiciones de responder compasivamente al sufrimiento de los demás. Dios, como Padre de este pueblo, escuchó los gritos del pueblo y era consciente de su sufrimiento y dolor. Dios no fue sordo a los gritos de entonces, como Dios no es sordo a los gritos de los pobres de hoy. Dios trabajará para cambiar los corazones humanos a fin de liberar a quienes sufren en la miseria.

 

¿Dios estuvo presente junto a Jesús cuando sufrió tentaciones en el desierto? Jesús, en su estado de debilidad, era vulnerable a terminar rápidamente con su sufrimiento, y sin embargo confió en la presencia del Dios ausente. Jesús demostró su confianza y estableció las bases para una relación profundamente sólida. Esto le permitió saber que Dios permanecería a su lado durante todo su ministerio hasta el final. Jesús sabía que una característica fundamental de Dios es su fidelidad permanente. Dios permanecerá a su lado, aunque parezca oculto y silencioso.

 

Observad esta Cuaresma cómo se relaciona Dios con Jesús. ¿Cómo imaginamos que es Dios? Muchos quieren un Dios de majestad, cuando en realidad tenemos un Dios de debilidad. Tenemos un Dios que tiene un lugar especial en su corazón para los más pequeños, los más débiles y los más vulnerables. Nuestro Dios es un Dios herido porque su corazón se hiere cada vez que lastimamos a otra persona. No podemos decir que verdaderamente amamos a Dios a menos que podamos tomar en serio el dolor de nuestro prójimo. Nuestra sensibilidad hacia el sufrimiento de los demás debe aumentar porque las heridas no sanan a menos que las veamos y las reconozcamos. Sabemos que Dios permanece cuando tocamos las heridas de otra persona. Entonces nos damos cuenta de que Dios está vivo y se preocupa. Dios es un Dios compasivo, que siente con nosotros, que sufre con nosotros.

 

Durante la Cuaresma, escucharemos acerca del dolor que llevan muchas personas, y experimentaremos cómo Jesús es ridiculizado, degradado, rechazado, traicionado y entregado completamente en manos de sus enemigos. A pesar de todo, Dios parece permanecer en silencio. Veremos cómo Jesús se solidariza con aquellos que son considerados pequeños e insignificantes, los no invitados y los heridos. Se identifica con ellos y se convierte en ellos, tanto que “lo que hicisteis a uno de mis hermanos más pequeños, a mí me lo hicisteis”. Jesús está con ellos. De hecho, él es ellos. Está a su lado y permanece junto a ellos, y nos revela que está haciendo lo que Dios hace: permanece. Conocemos el resto de la historia, y hay momentos en nuestras vidas en que Dios parece permanecer en silencio. Necesitamos escuchar esta historia una y otra vez para no volvernos indiferentes, para que podamos seguir cambiando nuestros corazones cuando es tan fácil mirar hacia otro lado. No podemos ser sordos o ciegos a la presencia oculta de Dios entre nosotros. Los podemos escuchar en los gritos, en los llantos de los pobres, de los necesitados, de los heridos. Dios aparece cuando atendemos sus necesidades. Dios siempre está ahí.

 

Escritura para la misa diaria

Lunes: (Levítico 19) El Señor le da a Moisés diez mandamientos que él escribe en tablas de piedra.

 

Martes: (Isaías 55) La palabra de Dios saldrá de su boca y no regresará hasta que haya cumplido su voluntad.

 

Miércoles: (Jonás 3) Jonás se dirige a Nínive y les pide que proclamen un ayuno y luego se arrepientan. El rey se arrepiente y el Señor retira su amenaza porque se apartan del mal.

 

Jueves: (Ester 3) La reina Ester pide ayuda a Dios para convertir el corazón del rey del odio hacia el enemigo que los amenaza.

Viernes: (Ezequiel 18) Si el malvado se aparta del pecado y guarda los estatutos del Señor, seguramente vivirá. Asimismo, si un hombre virtuoso se vuelve malvado, morirá.

 

Sábado: (Deuteronomio 26) Moisés le dice al pueblo que observe los estatutos y decretos del Señor con todo su corazón y alma. El Señor estará a su lado.

 

Evangelio:

Lunes: (Mateo 25) Jesús habla a sus discípulos sobre el juicio final, cuando las cabras y las ovejas serán separadas. La vara de medir es la misericordia mostrada a los más vulnerables.

 

Martes: (Mateo 6) Los discípulos le piden a Jesús que les enseñe a orar. Él les dice que no oren como los paganos, que buscan honor y gloria, y luego les da el Padre Nuestro.

 

Miércoles: (Lucas 11) Jesús reprende a la multitud que pide una señal, pero no se la dan. Gracias a la predicación de Jonás, el rey y el pueblo se arrepienten.

 

Jueves: (Mateo 7) Pedid y se os dará; buscad y hallaréis; llamad y se os abrirá. El Padre es generoso, especialmente con los que le aman.

 

Viernes: (Mateo 5) Tu justicia debe superar los niveles de los escribas y fariseos para poder entrar al Reino de los Cielos. Demuestra justicia resolviendo rápidamente las disputas.

 

Sábado: (Mateo 5) Amen a sus enemigos y oren por quienes los persiguen, para que sean hijos de su Padre Celestial. Sean perfectos como el Padre es perfecto.

 

Santos de la semana

 

9 de marzo: Francisca de Roma (1384-1440), nació en una familia romana adinerada y se casó a los 13 años. Tuvo seis hijos y cuando dos murieron en la infancia, trabajó para llevar las necesidades de los menos afortunados a otros. Llevó comida a los pobres, visitó a los enfermos, cuidó a los necesitados en sus hogares. Cuando otras mujeres se unieron a su misión, se convirtieron en oblatas benedictinas. Fundó un monasterio para ellas después de la muerte de su esposo.

Esta semana en la historia de los jesuitas

 

• 9 de marzo de 1764. En Francia, el Parlamento ordenó a todos los jesuitas que se negaron a abjurar de la Compañía que abandonaran el reino en el plazo de un mes. De los 4.000 miembros, sólo cinco sacerdotes, dos escolásticos y ocho hermanos prestaron el juramento requerido; los demás fueron obligados al exilio.
• 10 de marzo de 1615. Martirio en Glasgow, Escocia, de San Juan Ogilvie.
• 11 de marzo de 1848. En Nápoles, Italia, durante la revolución de 1848, 114 jesuitas, después de mucho sufrimiento, fueron puestos en carros y expulsados ignominiosamente de la ciudad y del reino.
• 12 de marzo de 1622. El Papa Gregorio XV canonizó a Santos Ignacio, Francisco Javier, Teresa de Ávila y Felipe Neri.
• 13 de marzo de 1568. Juan Segura y cinco compañeros zarparon de España rumbo a Florida, un campo fértil de mártires. (Nueve jesuitas fueron asesinados allí entre 1566 y 1571.)
• 14 de marzo de 1535. Ignacio recibió su título en la Universidad de París.
• 15 de marzo de 1632. Muere Diego Ruiz, gran teólogo, que estudiaba de rodillas.

Photo: A Costume for Carnival

 

Prayer: Thomas A Kempis

Grant me, Lord, to know what is worth knowing, to love what is worth loving, to praise what delights you most, to value what is precious in your sight. Do not let me judge by what I see, nor pass sentence according to what I hear, but judge rightly between things that differ and above all to search out and to do what pleases you.

Photo: Rowe's Wharf, Boston

 

Spirituality: "Hope," by Barbara Kingsolver

The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof. What I want is so simple I almost can’t say it: elementary kindness. Enough to eat, enough to go around. The possibility that kids might one day grow up to be neither the destroyers nor the destroyed. That’s about it. Right now I'm living in that hope, running down its hallway and touching the walls on both sides.”

Photo: A Jesuit, Catholic College

 

Prayer: Joseph Bernardin

Grant us the gift of modesty. When we speak, teach us to give our opinion quietly and sincerely. Help us in success to realize what we owe to you and to the efforts of others, in failure to avoid dejection, and in all ways to be simple and natural, quiet in manner and lowly in thought, through Christ our Lord.

Prayer: Alcuin of York

Give me the grace, Lord, to be strong, prudent, just, and wise in all things. Give me an exact faith, generous love, and unshakeable trust in you. Fill me with the spirit of intelligence and wisdom. Let me always be considerate of other people. O perfect and eternal light, enlighten me.

Photo: Pixels and Orchids

 

Spirituality: Joan Borysenko in "Minding the Body, Mending the Mind"

Forgiveness means accepting the core of every human being as the same as yourself and giving them the gift of not judging them... Forgiveness starts with ourselves and extends to others. Accepting that the core of your own being is as precious and wonderful as that of any other person is the greatest gift you can ever give yourself.

Photo: A Mural at the Worcester Art Museum

 

Prayer: Thomas More

I will not mistrust God, though I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear…. I trust God shall place a holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold me up from drowning.

Known by our Words: The Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2025

                                                   Known by our Words:

The Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2025 

March 2, 2025

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

Sirach 27:4-7; Psalm 92; 1 Corinthians 15:54-58; Luke 6:39-45

  ^{To Donate to Boston Marathon – Healthcare for Homeless}

 

Sirach states that when one speaks, one’s faults are shown, and that one’s speech reveals the contents of one’s mind. Jesus tells us in the Gospel that a tree is known by its fruit, and therefore, a person is known by how one speaks. These are relevant words for our times because many people rush in to speak and are known by their interjections. So many problems are created by undistinguished words that cause hasty judgments. Sirach counsels us to pause before we speak and to reflect upon how we might be perceived. Do we want to be known as one with passionate beliefs who is quick to get a point across, or do we want to be regarded as one who is wise, slow to speak, compassionate, and seeks to understand? Our words reveal who we are, and many people do not realize how they come across to others. Our words matter.

 

Many people have been able to skillfully navigate difficult conversations over the past months, and yet we are prepared for those who fill the space with microaggressions or impose their ideologies upon others. We think of that concise line of truth: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Just because someone makes a fool of oneself does not mean that we must respond at that same level. We can choose how we respond. We can elevate the conversation and raise the standard of relating to each other. The art of communicating is a precious, acquired skill, and the one who does it well is highly regarded. 

 

          As Christians, we can help others see through the eyes of faith. Jesus is not the only Risen One, because we have been raised with him. We do not have to give in to the enemy of human nature. We can raise up those around us through our sight and our right speaking. We can notice the huge log in our eye first before seeing the splinter in the other. Who are we to judge? It is not our right. Our responsibility is to give mercy and to reconcile. When we are selfish, we want mercy for ourselves and justice for others. We are to help people see and we do it through our actions. When others act selfishly, we need courage to die to our own selfishness. When others condemn, we need to absolve and to commend. When others move to divide and destroy, we must speak words of union and communion. When others use words of violence, threat, and harm, we must work overtime to produce goodness because in the end, good will prevail over hatred. Love will be the ultimate power that endures. We must learn to love in difficult times because the balance of the world depends upon it. 

 

          Jesus speaks about blind guides as a warning to us. We must do all that we can to learn this unique love of God that unifies, does not give way to violence, that cannot destroy or degrade, that pledges no allegiance to an ideology, that does not seek victory or its own rightness. Rather, it is the way forward to one who wants to know God. Coming to sight, coming to know God, coming to love each person as God loves each person, will be the way of righteousness. We will then speak rightly of what we know, and all that we say will lift up those around us. 

 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading: 

Monday: (Sirach 17) To the penitent God provides a way back, he encourages those who are losing hope and has chosen for them the lot of truth. Return to him and give up sin, pray to the LORD and make your offenses few.

 

Tuesday: (Sirach 35) To keep the law is a great oblation, and he who observes the
commandments sacrifices a peace offering. In works of charity, one offers fine flour, and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.

 

Wednesday: (Joel 2) Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.

 

Thursday: (Deuteronomy 30) Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.

 

Friday (Isaiah 58) Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; Tell my people their wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins. They seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways, Like a nation that has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God.

 

Saturday (Isaiah 58) If you hold back your foot on the sabbath from following your own pursuits on my holy day; If you call the sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable; If you honor it by not following your ways, seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice Then you shall delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Mark 10) As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, ""Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"" Jesus answered him, ""Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

 

Tuesday: (Mark 10) Peter began to say to Jesus, 'We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age.

 

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. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others.

 

Thursday (Luke 9) The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. 

 

Friday (Mark 9) “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

 

Saturday (Luke 5) Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them.

 

Saints of the Week

 

March 7: Perpetua and Felicity (d. 203), were two catechumens arrest and killed during a persecution in North Africa. Perpetua was a young noblewoman who was killed alongside her husband, their young son, and their pregnant slave, Felicity. They were baptized while under arrest and would not renounce their faith. Felicity was excused from death because it was unlawful to kill a pregnant woman, but she gave birth prematurely three days before the planned execution. They were flogged, taunted by wild beasts, and then beheaded. They appear in the First Eucharistic Prayer. 

 

March 8: John of God (1495-1550), was a Portuguese soldier of fortune who was brought to Spain as a child. He was a slave master, shepherd, crusader, bodyguard and peddler. As he realized that he frittered away his life, he sought counsel from John of Avila. He then dedicated his life to care for the sick and the poor. He formed the Order of Brothers Hospitallers and is the patron saint of hospitals and the sick.

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• March 2, 1606. The martyrdom in the Tower of London of St Nicholas Owen, a brother nicknamed "Little John." For 26 years he constructed hiding places for priests in homes throughout England. Despite severe torture he never revealed the location of these safe places. 
• March 3, 1595. Clement VIII raised Fr. Robert Bellarmine to the Cardinalate, saying that the Church had not his equal in learning. 
• March 4, 1873. At Rome, the government officials presented themselves at the Professed House of the Gesu for the purpose of appropriating the greater part of the building. 
• March 5, 1887. At Rome, the obsequies of Fr. Beckx who died on the previous day. He was 91 years of age and had governed the Society as General for 34 years. He is buried at San Lorenzo in Campo Verano. 
• March 6, 1643. Arnauld, the Jansenist, published his famous tract against Frequent Communion. Fifteen French bishops gave it their approval, whereas the Jesuit fathers at once exposed the dangers in it. 
• March 7, 1581. The Fifth General Congregation of the Society bound the professors of the Society to adhere to the doctrine of St Thomas Aquinas. 
• March 8, 1773. At Centi, in the diocese of Bologna, Cardinal Malvezzi paid a surprise visit to the Jesuit house, demanding to inspect their accounting books.

Conocido por nuestras palabras: El octavo domingo del tiempo ordinario 2025

                                            Conocido por nuestras palabras:

El octavo domingo del tiempo ordinario 2025

2 de marzo de 2025

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Eclesiástico 27:4-7; Salmo 92; 1 Corintios 15:54-58; Lucas 6:39-45

^{Donaciones para el Maratón de Boston: atención médica para personas sin hogar}

 

El Eclesiástico afirma que cuando uno habla, se muestran sus defectos y que su forma de hablar revela el contenido de su mente. Jesús nos dice en el Evangelio que un árbol se conoce por sus frutos y, por lo tanto, una persona se conoce por cómo habla. Estas palabras son relevantes para nuestros tiempos porque muchas personas se apresuran a hablar y se las conoce por sus interjecciones. Son muchos los problemas que se crean por palabras indistintas que provocan juicios apresurados. El Eclesiástico nos aconseja que hagamos una pausa antes de hablar y reflexionemos sobre cómo nos pueden percibir. ¿Queremos ser conocidos como alguien con creencias apasionadas que es rápido para transmitir un mensaje o queremos ser considerados como alguien sabio, lento para hablar, compasivo y que busca comprender? Nuestras palabras revelan quiénes somos y muchas personas no se dan cuenta de cómo las perciben los demás. Nuestras palabras importan.

 

Muchas personas han sabido desenvolverse hábilmente en conversaciones difíciles durante los últimos meses, y sin embargo, estamos preparados para quienes llenan el espacio con microagresiones o imponen sus ideologías a los demás. Pensamos en esa línea de verdad concisa: los tontos se precipitan donde los ángeles temen pisar. El hecho de que alguien haga el ridículo no significa que debamos responder al mismo nivel. Podemos elegir cómo respondemos. Podemos elevar la conversación y el nivel de relación con los demás. El arte de comunicarse es una habilidad valiosa que se adquiere, y quien lo hace bien es muy valorado.

 

          Como cristianos, podemos ayudar a otros a ver con los ojos de la fe. Jesús no es el único Resucitado, porque hemos resucitado con él. No tenemos por qué rendirnos ante el enemigo de la naturaleza humana. Podemos levantar a quienes nos rodean con nuestra vista y nuestro hablar correcto. Podemos notar primero la gran viga en nuestro ojo antes de ver la paja en el otro. ¿Quiénes somos nosotros para juzgar? No es nuestro derecho. Nuestra responsabilidad es dar misericordia y reconciliar. Cuando somos egoístas, queremos misericordia para nosotros y justicia para los demás. Debemos ayudar a las personas a ver y lo hacemos a través de nuestras acciones. Cuando otros actúan egoístamente, necesitamos valor para morir a nuestro propio egoísmo. Cuando otros condenan, necesitamos absolver y elogiar. Cuando otros se mueven para dividir y destruir, debemos decir palabras de unión y comunión. Cuando otros usan palabras de violencia, amenaza y daño, debemos trabajar horas extra para producir bondad porque al final, el bien prevalecerá sobre el odio. El amor será el poder supremo que perdure. Debemos aprender a amar en los momentos difíciles porque de ello depende el equilibrio del mundo.

 

          Jesús habla de los guías ciegos como una advertencia para nosotros. Debemos hacer todo lo que podamos para aprender este amor único de Dios que unifica, que no da lugar a la violencia, que no puede destruir ni degradar, que no se apega a ninguna ideología, que no busca la victoria ni su propia justicia. Más bien, es el camino a seguir para quien quiere conocer a Dios. Llegar a la vista, llegar a conocer a Dios, llegar a amar a cada persona como Dios ama a cada persona, será el camino de la rectitud. Entonces hablaremos correctamente de lo que sabemos, y todo lo que digamos elevará a quienes nos rodean.

 

 

Escritura para la misa diaria

Primera lectura: 

Lunes: (Eclesiástico 17) Dios ofrece a los penitentes un camino de regreso, anima a los que están perdiendo la esperanza y les ha elegido la suerte de la verdad. Vuelve a él y abandona el pecado, reza al Señor y reduce tus ofensas.

 

Martes: (Eclesiástico 35) Guardar la ley es una gran oblación, y quien observa los 
mandamientos sacrifica un sacrificio de paz. En las obras de caridad se ofrece harina fina, y cuando se da limosna se presenta el sacrificio de alabanza.

 

Miércoles: (Joel 2) Volveos a mí con todo vuestro corazón, con ayuno y llanto y lamento; rasgad vuestro corazón, no vuestros vestidos, y volved al Señor vuestro Dios. Porque él es clemente y misericordioso, lento para la ira, rico en misericordia y arrepentido del castigo.

 

Jueves: (Deuteronomio 30) Hoy he puesto delante de ti la vida y el bien, la muerte y el mal. Si obedeces los mandamientos del Señor tu Dios que yo te ordeno hoy, amándolo, andando en sus caminos y guardando sus mandamientos, estatutos y decretos, vivirás y te multiplicarás, y el Señor tu Dios te bendecirá en la tierra que vas a tomar posesión de ella.

 

Viernes (Isaías 58) Clama a voz en cuello y sin cesar; alza tu voz como un toque de trompeta; anuncia a mi pueblo su maldad, y a la casa de Jacob su pecado. Me buscan día tras día y desean conocer mis caminos, como pueblo que ha practicado la justicia y no ha abandonado la ley de su Dios.

 

Sábado (Isaías 58) Si en el día de reposo retienes tu pie para no seguir tus propios caminos en mi día santo; si al día de reposo llamas delicia y al día santo de Jehová, glorioso; si lo honras no siguiendo tus caminos, ni buscando tus propios intereses, ni hablando con malicia, entonces te deleitarás en Jehová, y yo te haré cabalgar sobre las alturas de la tierra.

 

Evangelio:

Lunes: (Marcos 10) Mientras Jesús emprendía un viaje, un hombre corrió hacia él, se arrodilló ante él y le preguntó: "Maestro bueno, ¿qué debo hacer para heredar la vida eterna?" Jesús le respondió: "¿Por qué me llamas bueno? Nadie es bueno sino solo Dios.

 

Martes: (Marcos 10) Pedro comenzó a decirle a Jesús: "Nosotros lo hemos dejado todo y te hemos seguido". Jesús dijo: "En verdad les digo que no hay nadie que haya dejado casa, hermanos, hermanas, madre, padre, hijos o tierras por mí y por el Evangelio, que no reciba cien veces más ahora en este siglo.

 

Miércoles (Mateo 6) Cuídense de hacer obras de justicia para que los demás las vean, pues de lo contrario no recibirán recompensa de su Padre celestial. Cuando den limosna, no toquen trompeta delante de ustedes, como hacen los hipócritas en las sinagogas y en las calles para ganarse la alabanza de los demás.

 

Jueves (Lucas 9) Es necesario que el Hijo del Hombre padezca mucho y sea rechazado por los ancianos, los principales sacerdotes y los escribas, y sea asesinado y resucite al tercer día.

 

Viernes (Marcos 9) “¿Por qué nosotros y los fariseos ayunamos mucho, pero tus discípulos no ayunan?” Jesús les respondió: “¿Acaso los invitados a la boda pueden estar de luto mientras el novio está con ellos? Llegarán días en que les será arrebatado el novio, y entonces ayunarán”.

 

Sábado (Lucas 5) Jesús vio a un recaudador de impuestos llamado Leví, sentado al banco de los tributos. Le dijo: «Sígueme». Y dejándolo todo, se levantó y lo siguió. Entonces Leví le ofreció un gran banquete en su casa, y una gran multitud de recaudadores de impuestos y otros estaban a la mesa con ellos.

 

Santos de la semana

 

7 de marzo: Perpetua y Felicidad (f. 203), Dos catecúmenos fueron arrestados y asesinados durante una persecución en el norte de África. Perpetua era una joven noble que fue asesinada junto con su esposo, su hijo pequeño y su esclava embarazada, Felicidad. Fueron bautizados mientras estaban arrestados y no renunciaron a su fe. Felicidad fue excusada de la muerte porque era ilegal matar a una mujer embarazada, pero dio a luz prematuramente tres días antes de la ejecución planificada. Fueron azotados, acosados por fieras y luego decapitados. Aparecen en la Primera Plegaria Eucarística.

 

8 de marzo: Juan de Dios (1495-1550), fue un soldado portugués que llegó a España siendo niño. Fue amo de esclavos, pastor, cruzado, guardaespaldas y vendedor ambulante. Al darse cuenta de que estaba desperdiciando su vida, buscó el consejo de Juan de Ávila. Luego dedicó su vida a cuidar a los enfermos y a los pobres. Formó la Orden de los Hermanos Hospitalarios y es el santo patrón de los hospitales y de los enfermos.

Esta semana en la historia de los jesuitas

 

• 2 de marzo de 1606. Martirio en la Torre de Londres de San Nicolás Owen, un hermano apodado "Little John". Durante 26 años construyó escondites para sacerdotes en casas de toda Inglaterra. A pesar de las severas torturas que sufrió, nunca reveló la ubicación de estos lugares seguros.
• 3 de marzo de 1595. Clemente VIII elevó al padre Roberto Bellarmino al cardenalato, diciendo que la Iglesia no tenía igual en saber.
• 4 de marzo de 1873. En Roma, los funcionarios del gobierno se presentaron en la Casa Profesa del Gesú con el propósito de apropiarse de la mayor parte del edificio.
• 5 de marzo de 1887. En Roma, funerales del P. Beckx , fallecido el día anterior. Tenía 91 años y había gobernado la Sociedad como General durante 34 años. Está enterrado en San Lorenzo en Campo Verano.
• 6 de marzo de 1643. Arnauld , el jansenista, publicó su famoso tratado contra la comunión frecuente. Quince obispos franceses lo aprobaron, mientras que los padres jesuitas expusieron inmediatamente los peligros que encierra.
• 7 de marzo de 1581. La Quinta Congregación General de la Compañía obligó a los profesores de la Compañía a adherirse a la doctrina de Santo Tomás de Aquino.
• 8 de marzo de 1773. En Centi , en la diócesis de Bolonia, el cardenal Malvezzi realizó una visita sorpresa a la casa de los jesuitas, exigiendo inspeccionar sus libros de contabilidad.