Prayer: Ignatius of Loyola

 O Christ Jesus, when all is darkness and we feel our weakness and helplessness, give us the sense of your presence, your love, and your strength. Help us to have perfect trust in your protecting love and strengthening power so that nothing may frighten or worry us, for, living close to you, we shall see your hand, your purpose, your will though all things. 

Poem: "Do You Love Me?," by Rumi

A lover asked his beloved,

Do you love yourself more
than you love me?

The beloved replied,
I have died to myself
and I live for you.

I’ve disappeared from myself
and my attributes.
I am present only for you.

I have forgotten all my learning,
but from knowing you
I have become a scholar.

I have lost all my strength,
but from your power
I am able.

If I love myself
I love you.
If I love you
I love myself.

Poem: "The Guesthouse" by Rumi

 This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.

Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.

Because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

Poem: "Not Anyone Who Says" by Mary Oliver

Not anyone who says, “I’m going to be
careful and smart in matters of love,”
who says, “I’m going to choose slowly,”
but only those lovers who didn’t choose at all
but were, as it were, chosen
by something invisible and powerful and uncontrollable
and beautiful and possibly even
unsuitable —
only those know what I’m talking about
in this talking about love.

Prayer: Vaclav Havel, Summer Meditations

It is I who must begin.

Once I begin, once I try -
here and now,
right where I am,
not excusing myself
by saying things
would be easier elsewhere...
- to live in harmony
with the "voice of Being," as I
understand it within myself
- as soon as I begin that,
I suddenly discover,
to my surprise, that
I am neither the only one,
nor the first,
nor the most important one
to have set out
upon that road.
Whether all is really lost
or not depends entirely on
whether or not I am lost.

Prayer: Therese of Lisieux

 My life is an instant, an hour which passes by. My life is a moment which I have no power to stay. You know, O God, that to love you here on earth - I only have today. 

The Mission is to Preach. The Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2021

                                      The Mission is to Preach God's Nearness.

The Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2021

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February 7, 2021

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

 

 

A heaviness permeates these readings today as we enter in Job’s account of his life on earth, one that became filled with drudgery and suffering. He has been toiling for long months with many sleepless nights as he endures his afflictions. It is not unlike the turmoil that we face as we have endured a long year of pandemic and we are still not free from its shackles, but Job soldiered on as we must too with increased vigilance against an invisible foe. Let’s remember the rest of the story: Job does indeed see happiness again, though it is tempered by his memory of suffering.

 

The Gospel tells us of the healing ministry of Jesus, first with Peter’s Mother-in-law and then with the town’s sick, and then from farther out. We notice that Jesus is intent on healing all who are brought to him because he wanted to bring God’s compassion to the people. He sought out a remote place to pray and presumably to tell God about all the suffering he saw and to give thanks, but his prayer was interrupted by those who witnessed the miracles. They felt like they hit the jackpot and they wanted Jesus to return as a miracle worker to heal everyone. 

 

Jesus redirected the people to focus upon his mission, which was to preach the good news that God cares about their suffering and that Jesus wanted them to have the same relationship with God. The most important work of Jesus at the time was to be in prayer, which is often seen as passive, while the people wanted Jesus to fix the whole world. Instead, Jesus is showing them that prayer and the relationship with God is the most important cure for our souls.

 

I am a beneficiary of the effects of prayer when my father died a week ago. I was flooded with phone calls, emails, texts, and cards to reassure me that people were praying for the repose of his soul and for my consolation and that of the family. In a time when prayer was difficult for me, the prayers of friends and loved ones lifted me up and I knew that there was nothing for me to do but to receive the kind gestures of goodwill and the offers of masses and remembrances. I needed time in silence to receive the care that others were showing me. Without them, I was in a daze; with them, I could see the abundant blessings around me. To me, all these people were proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was here; they were preaching the Gospel to me. 

 

No one wants to be sick; most want to be made whole. The message of Jesus is that the most important matter is to enter into this friendship with God in such a way that we know of God’s care whether we are sick or well, without regard for any condition in life. Yes, God wants our physical healing, but the healing of our souls is the reason he came. Jesus does not want us to feel alienated from God; He does not want us to feel unworthy to enter into this friendship; He wants us to know that we have always been in the heart of God and that we can go to God for any need and God will provide. This is the preaching of Jesus: that God knows our suffering and desires our friendship.

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

First Reading:

Monday: (Genesis 1) In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.

 

Tuesday: (Genesis 1) God blessed them, saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth.”

 

Wednesday: (Genesis 2) Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 

Thursday: (Genesis 2) So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man.

 

Friday (Genesis 3) The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”

 

Saturday (Genesis 3) The LORD God called to Adam and asked him, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.” Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Mark 6) As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.

 

Tuesday: (Mark 7) You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!

 

Wednesday (Mark 7) “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” 

 

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) And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. 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!”)

 

Saturday (Mark 8) My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.

 

Saints of the Week

 

February 8: Jerome Emiliani (1481-1537), was a Venetian soldier who experienced a call to be a priest during this imprisonment as a captor. He devoted his work to the education of orphans, abandoned children, the poor and hungry. He founded an order to help in his work, but he died during a plague while caring for the sick. 

 

February 8: Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947) was a Sudanese who was sold as a slave to the Italian Consul, who treated her with kindness. She was baptized in Italy and took the name Josephine. Bakhita means fortunate. She was granted freedom according to Italian law and joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity where she lived simply as a cook, seamstress, and doorkeeper. She was known for her gentleness and compassion.

 

February 10: Scholastica (480-543) was the twin sister of Benedict, founder of Western monasticism. She is the patroness of Benedictine nuns. She was buried in her brother's tomb; they died relatively close to one another. 

 

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.

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• Feb 7, 1878. At Rome, Pius IX died. He was sincerely devoted to the Society; when one of the cardinals expressed surprise that he could be so attached to an order against which even high ecclesiastics brought serious charges, his reply was: "You have to be pope to know the worth of the Society." 
• Feb 8, 1885. In Chicago, Fr. Isidore Bourdreaux, master of novices at Florissant, Missouri, from 1857 to 1870, died. He was the first scholastic novice to enter the Society from any of the colleges in Missouri. 
• Feb 9, 1621. Cardinal Ludovisi was elected Pope Gregory XV. He was responsible for the canonization of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier. 
• Feb 10, 1773. The rector of Florence informed the general, Fr. Ricci, that a copy of the proposed Brief of Suppression had been sent to the Emperor of Austria. The general refused to believe that the Society would be suppressed. 
• 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."

La misión es predicar . La Cinco Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario 2021

                                                      La misión es predicar .

La Cinco Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario 2021

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7 de febrero de 2021

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

 

 

Una pesadez impregna estas lecturas hoy al entrar en el relato de Job sobre su vida en la tierra, una que se llenó de trabajo penoso y sufrimiento . Ha estado trabajando durante largos meses con muchas noches de insomnio mientras soporta sus aflicciones. No es diferente de la confusión que enfrentamos ya que hemos soportado un largo año de pandemia y todavía no estamos libres de sus grilletes, pero Job siguió adelante como debemos también con mayor vigilancia contra un enemigo invisible. Recordemos el resto de la historia: Job sí que ve la felicidad nuevamente, aunque se ve atenuada por su recuerdo del sufrimiento.

 

El Evangelio nos habla del ministerio de curación de Jesús, primero con la suegra de Pedro y luego con los enfermos del pueblo, y luego desde más lejos. Notamos que Jesús tiene la intención de sanar a todos los que le son traídos porque quería llevar la compasión de Dios a la gente. Buscó un lugar remoto para orar y presumiblemente para contarle a Dios todo el sufrimiento que vio y para dar gracias, pero su oración fue interrumpida por aquellos que presenciaron los milagros. Sentían que habían ganado el premio gordo y querían que Jesús regresara como un hacedor de milagros para sanar a todos.

 

Jesús redirigió a la gente para que se centrara en su misión, que era predicar las buenas nuevas de que Dios se preocupa por su sufrimiento y que Jesús quería que tuvieran la misma relación con Dios. La obra más importante de Jesús en ese momento era estar en oración, que a menudo se considera pasiva, mientras que la gente quería que Jesús arreglara el mundo entero. En cambio, Jesús les está mostrando que la oración y la relación con Dios es la cura más importante para nuestras almas.

 

Soy un beneficiario de los efectos de la oración cuando mi padre murió hace una semana. Me inundaron llamadas telefónicas, correos electrónicos, mensajes de texto y tarjetas para asegurarme que la gente estaba orando por el reposo de su alma y por mi consuelo y el de la familia. En un momento en que la oración me resultaba difícil, las oraciones de amigos y seres queridos me levantaban y supe que no me quedaba más que hacer que recibir los amables gestos de buena voluntad y los ofrecimientos de misas y recuerdos. Necesitaba tiempo en silencio para recibir la atención que otros me estaban mostrando. Sin ellos, estaba aturdido; con ellos, pude ver las abundantes bendiciones a mi alrededor. Para mí, toda esta gente estaba proclamando que el Reino de Dios estaba aquí; me estaban predicando el evangelio.

 

Nadie quiere enfermarse; la mayoría quiere estar completa. El mensaje de Jesús es que lo más importante es entrar en esta amistad con Dios de tal manera que sepamos del cuidado de Dios, ya sea que estemos enfermos o sanos, sin tener en cuenta ninguna condición en la vida. Sí, Dios quiere nuestra curación física, pero la curación de nuestras almas es la razón por la que vino. Jesús no quiere que nos sintamos alejados de Dios; No quiere que nos sintamos indignos de entablar esta amistad; Quiere que sepamos que siempre hemos estado en el corazón de Dios y que podemos acudir a Dios para cualquier necesidad y Dios proveerá. Esta es la predicación de Jesús : que Dios conoce nuestro sufrimiento y desea nuestra amistad.

 

Escritura para la misa diaria

 

Primera lectura:

Lunes: ( Génesis 1 ) Al principio, cuando Dios creó los cielos y la tierra, la tierra era un páramo sin forma, y ​​las tinieblas cubrían el abismo, mientras un viento impetuoso barría las aguas.

 

Martes: ( Génesis 1 ) Dios los bendijo, diciendo: “Sed fecundos y multiplicaos; llena la tierra y sométela. Domina los peces del mar, las aves del cielo y todos los seres vivientes que se mueven sobre la tierra ".

 

Miércoles: ( Génesis 2 ) Entonces el SEÑOR Dios plantó un huerto en Edén, al oriente, y puso allí al hombre que había formado. El SEÑOR Dios hizo brotar de la tierra varios árboles deliciosos a la vista y buenos para comer, con el árbol de la vida en medio del huerto y el árbol del conocimiento del bien y del mal.

 

Jueves: ( Genesi s 2 ) Entonces el SEÑOR Dios arrojó un sueño profundo sobre el hombre, y mientras dormía, le sacó una costilla y cerró su lugar con carne. Entonces el SEÑOR Dios transformó en una mujer la costilla que le había quitado al hombre.

 

Viernes ( Genesi s 3 ) La mujer respondió a la serpiente: “Podemos comer del fruto de los árboles en el jardín; Dios dijo solamente acerca del fruto del árbol en medio del jardín: 'No lo comerás ni lo tocarás, para que no mueras' ”.

 

Sábado ( Genesi s 3 ) El Señor Dios llamó al hombre y le preguntó: “¿Dónde estás?” Él respondió: “Te escuché en el jardín; pero tenía miedo, porque estaba desnudo, así que me escondí ". Luego preguntó: “¿Quién te dijo que estabas desnudo? ¡Has comido, entonces, del árbol del que te había prohibido comer!

 

Evangelio: 

Lunes: ( Marcos 6 ) Cuando salían del bote, la gente lo reconoció de inmediato. Se apresuraron por los alrededores y empezaron a traer a los enfermos en colchonetas adonde oían que estaba.

 

Martes: ( Marcos 7 ) Descuidas el mandamiento de Dios pero te aferras a la tradición humana ”. Continuó diciendo: “¡Qué bien has dejado de lado el mandamiento de Dios para mantener tu tradición!

 

Miércoles (Marcos 7 ) “Escúchenme todos y comprendan. Nada que entre a uno desde el exterior puede contaminar a esa persona; pero lo que sale de dentro es lo que contamina ”.  

 

Jueves (Marcos 7 ) La mujer era griega, sirofenicia de nacimiento, y le rogó que expulsara al demonio de su hija. Él le dijo: “Primero que los niños se alimenten. Porque no está bien tomar la comida de los niños y arrojarla a los perros ”.

 

Viernes (Marcos 7 ) Y la gente le trajo a un hombre sordo que tenía problemas de habla y le rogaron que le pusiera la mano encima. Se lo llevó solo, lejos de la multitud. Metió el dedo en los oídos del hombre y, escupiendo, le tocó la lengua; luego miró al cielo, gimió y le dijo: " ¡ Efatá !" (es decir, "¡Ábrete!")  

 

Sábado (Marcos 8 ) Mi corazón se conmueve de lástima por la multitud, porque ya hace tres días que están conmigo y no tienen qué comer. Si los envío hambrientos a sus casas, se derrumbarán en el camino y algunos de ellos han recorrido una gran distancia.

 

Santos de la semana

 

8 de febrero : Jerome Emiliani (1481-1537), fue un soldado veneciano que experimentó un llamado a ser sacerdote durante este encarcelamiento como captor. Dedicó su trabajo a la educación de huérfanos, niños abandonados, pobres y hambrientos. Fundó una orden para ayudar en su trabajo, pero murió durante una plaga mientras cuidaba a los enfermos.

 

8 de febrero: Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947) era una sudanesa que fue vendida como esclava al cónsul italiano, quien la trató con amabilidad. Fue bautizada en Italia y tomó el nombre de Josefina. Bakhi t a significa afortunado. Se le concedió la libertad de acuerdo con la ley italiana y se unió a las Hijas de la Caridad de Canossian, donde vivió simplemente como cocinera, costurera y portera. Ella era conocida por su gentileza y compasión.

 

F EBRERO 10 : Escolástica (480-543) era la hermana gemela de Benedict, fundador del monaquismo occidental. Ella es la patrona de las monjas benedictinas. Fue enterrada en la tumba de su hermano; murieron relativamente cerca el uno del otro.

 

11 de febrero : Nuestra Señora de Lourdes es recordada porque entre el 11 de febrero y el 16 de julio de 1858, María se apareció a Bernadette Soubirous en una cueva cerca de Lourdes, Francia dieciocho veces. El sitio sigue siendo uno de los destinos de peregrinos más grandes. Muchos encuentran curación en las aguas de la gruta durante la primavera.
 

Esta semana en la historia de los jesuitas

 

·                7 de febrero de 1878. En Roma, muere Pío IX. Estaba sinceramente dedicado a la Sociedad; cuando uno de los cardenales expresó su sorpresa por estar tan apegado a una orden contra la cual incluso altos eclesiásticos presentaron serios cargos, su respuesta fue: "Tienes que ser Papa para conocer el valor de la Compañía".

·                8 de febrero de 1885. En Chicago, el p. Isidoro Bo u rdreaux , maestro de novicios en Florissant, Missouri, 1857-1870, muerto. Fue el primer novicio escolástico en ingresar a la Sociedad desde cualquiera de las universidades de Missouri.

·                9 de febrero de 1621. El cardenal Ludovisi fue elegido Papa Gregorio XV. Fue el responsable de la canonización de San Ignacio y San Francisco Javier.

·                10 de febrero de 1773. El rector de Florencia informó al general, P. Ricci, que se había enviado una copia del escrito de represión propuesto al emperador de Austria. El general se negó a creer que la Sociedad sería suprimida.

·                11 de febrero de 1563. En el Concilio de Trento, el p. James Laynez , el teólogo del Papa, causó tal impresión en el cardenal presidente con su conocimiento y elocuencia, que el cardenal decidió de inmediato abrir un colegio jesuita en Mantua, su sede episcopal.

·                12 de febrero de 1564. Francis Borgia fue nombrado asistente para España y Portugal.

·                13 de febrero de 1787. En Milán, el p. Rudjer Boskovic, ilustre matemático, científico y astrónomo, murió. En París fue nombrado " Director de la Marine ".

 

Prayer: Joan Chittister from "Prayer for Conscience and Courage"

God of light and God of darkness,

God of conscience and God of courage
lead us through this time
of spiritual confusion and public uncertainty.

Give us the conscience it takes
to comprehend what we're facing,
to see what we're looking at
and to say what we see
so that others, hearing us,
may also brave the pressure that comes
with being out of public step.

Give us the courage we need
to confront those things
that compromise our consciences
or threaten our integrity.

Prayer: Pope Paul VI

 Lord, God of peace, we thank you for the desire, the efforts, the realizations which your spirit of peace has roused to replace hatred with love, diffidence with understanding, unconcern with care. Open yet more our hearts to the needs of all our brothers and sisters, so we may be better able to build a true peace. Remember, God of mercy, all who are in pain, who suffer and die in the cause of a more just world. For the people of every race, of every tongue - may your kingdom come: your kingdom of justice, of peace, of love; and may the earth be filled with your glory.