A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 22, n.6)
Epiphany/Lord’s Baptism/Week 1 in Ordinary Time: January 7-13, 2024
(The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY & WEEKDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy from various perspectives. For the Lectio Divina on the liturgy of the past week: December 31, 2023 – January 6, 2024 please go to ARCHIVES Series 21 and click on “Holy Family/Mother of God/Christmas Weekday”.
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: January 7-13, 2024.)
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January 7, 2024: THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD (USA)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Epiphany of God’s Glory
and Peace”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 60:1-6 // Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6 // Mt 2:1-12
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 2:1-12): “We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”
Today’s feast of Epiphany reminds me of O. Henry’s classic story, “The Gift of the Magi” about a poverty stricken, but self-sacrificing married couple, Dell and Jim. Out of deep love, they sold their most precious possessions in order to present to each other the best Christmas gift one could ever give. Dell sold the beautiful hair that rippled down to her knees like brown cascades to buy Jim a grand platinum chain for his gold watch heirloom. Jim sold his gold watch to get money for a set of beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jeweled rims, to adorn the gorgeous tresses of Dell. Jim ended up with a precious chain for a watch that had been sold for her sake. Dell received the coveted adornments for her beautiful tresses that had been unselfishly sacrificed for him. O. Henry concluded the beautiful story of self-giving in the following words:
The magi, as you know, were wise men – wonderfully wise men – who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones … And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in the last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts such as they are the wisest. Everywhere they are the wisest. They are the magi.
Today’s Gospel reading (Mt 2:1-12) depicts the journey of magi from the east in search of the King of the Jews. They had seen his star at its rising and wanted to do him homage. The insidious King Herod met them privately and told them hypocritically to look for the child that he too might adore him. The star guided the magi and preceded them until it stopped over the place where the child was. The evangelist Matthew narrates: “On entering the home they saw the child and Mary his mother. Then, they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Mt 2:11). The magi were a caste of wise men variously associated with interpretation of dreams, Zoroastrianism, and astrology. In Church tradition, their number settled at three, deduced from the three gifts that they brought to the Child or from the belief that they represented the three races of those who came to Christ and welcomed his Gospel: the Semites, the Black and the Indo-Germanic.
In Matthew’s Gospel, the magi from the East who came to do homage to the King of the Jews represented the fulfillment of the messianic prophecy: “The wealth of the nations shall be brought to you … All from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord” (Is 60:5-6) // “The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring him tribute. All kings shall pay him homage, all nations shall serve him” (Ps 72:1-11). Eventually, the Christian tradition gleaned a deeper meaning from the threefold gift of the magi to the Child in Bethlehem. St. Irenaeus (c. 135-202) remarks: “Myrrh signified that he, for our mortal human race, would die and be buried; gold, that he was the King whose reign would be without end; incense, that he was God who came to make himself known in Judea, and to show himself to those who never sought him.”
In the context of the Christmas-Epiphany liturgy which celebrates the stupendous manifestation of the Father’s love in his beloved Son Jesus, born of the ever-virgin Mother Mary, the enchanting figures of the magi from the East offer us a lesson in gift–giving. In her article, “Journeying with the Magi” (cf. The WORD Among Us, Advent 2003, p. 50), Louise Perrotta exhorts us: “The magi presented Jesus with a sampling of the ancient world’s costliest gifts. They gave the best. Finding much to ponder in these offerings, the Church Fathers often interpreted them as symbols of what every Christian is called to present to God: the gold of charity and good works, the incense of prayer and faith, the myrrh of purifying suffering and belief in the resurrection. During this season, we might consider how to make such an offering in our own lives. While it is always right to turn to God for what we need, this season encourages us to find ways of giving him what we value most, beginning with our very selves. As we give ourselves to Jesus, we will find ourselves side by side with the magi.”
The beautiful homage of the gift-giving Magi as they encountered the Christ-Child in Bethlehem, together with Mary his Mother, gently leads us to the divine gift-giver: the loving God the Father who loved the world so much that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life (cf. Jn 3:16). The Son of God, Jesus, the Word made flesh, is the paramount GIFT – the Father’s gift to us – the sign of his great love for us. Indeed, the Son of God made flesh, born as a child, is the most powerful sign of the Father’s will to bring us salvation. As the Christmas liturgy proclaims: “UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN! UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN!” He is the sign of the Father’s marvelous love and the means of salvation. The Child who is the Father’s gift to us is JESUS, humankind’s model of ultimate self-giving.
B. First Reading (Is 60:1-6): “The glory of the Lord shines upon you.”
It was the day after Christmas in 2007 at the Cathedral of the Our Lady of Angels. The peaceful garden and the enormous sanctuary were blazing with beauty coming from myriads and myriads of potted red poinsettias. The intense red splendor of the poinsettias was utterly fitting for the feast of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen, which we were celebrating that December 26. There were merely a handful of worshippers for the 7:00 daily morning Mass in comparison with the thousands and thousands that came for the Christmas midnight Mass and the liturgical celebrations on December 25. The visiting priest who presided at Mass led us incisively into the spirit of the Christmas season and helped us contemplate the mature commitment needed by those who follow the Christ Child, as exemplified by St. Stephen.
The presiding priest also informed us of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and requested prayers for the people of Pakistan. The bad news about the trouble in the nuclear-armed Pakistan cast a shadow of sadness on my holiday spirit. I was despondent as images of the suffering Pakistani nation came into my mind. I tried to ward off specters of rampage, carnage and vengeance in that deeply convulsed nation. I prayed for the deceased Benazir Bhutto and all the other victims of violence, hatred and war. I prayed deeply for the safety of the civilians, especially my former student, Sr. Catherine Sardar, a Pakistani. However, as I studied later that day the bible readings of the feast of Epiphany, Isaiah’s prophecy and the Gospel event of the Lord’s “manifestation” mercifully dispelled my gloom. The comforting words of the Scriptures replaced the fearful images with a vision of hope. Indeed, darkness and sadness do not have the ultimate word. The celebration of the Christmas-Epiphany mystery warmly assures us that the birthday of the Lord is the birthday of peace.
The Old Testament reading (Is 60:1-6) proclaimed on this feast of Epiphany presents a prophetic vision of Jerusalem’s future glory even as “darkness covers the earth and thick clouds cover the peoples” (v. 2). This passage needs to be seen against the following historical context: the fall of the kingdom of Judah and the destruction of the city of Jerusalem (587 B.C.), the period of the Babylonian exile and captivity (587 B.C. – 538 B.C.), and the promise and beginning of the exiles’ return (538 B.C. – 520 B.C.). In its original context, the passage delineates the future grandeur of Jerusalem, restored and rebuilt. It portrays not only the glorious restoration of the defeated and disgraced Jewish nation, but also the universal vocation and assembly of all nations called to give praise to Yahweh.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 1, comment: “The prophet’s gaze focuses on Jerusalem, toward which he sees a long and joyous procession of her children who “were from afar”, i.e. from the Exile from which God has delivered them. On the summit of Zion, the newly reconstructed Temple blazes with the light of candelabra. What a marvelous and glorious spectacle! … Then, in his ecstatic view, all is changed. The city appears to him brightly illuminated, ablaze with the glory of the Lord upon it, while the rest of the world remains in darkness. Toward the glittering light, it is no longer the throng of exiles or the procession of the feast of Tabernacles that is marching up, but the countless multitudes of nations and kings from every land. They bear their offerings – gold, incense, riches – while singing the praises of the Lord. The prophet sees this transfigured Jerusalem, and he lets us see what looms beyond the horizon of history, the point toward which all eyes look, the assembly place for all the nations marching toward the full manifestation – Epiphany – of the Lord.”
The “epiphany” of Yahweh’s glory in Jerusalem and the gathering of nations envisioned in the Book of Isaiah find absolute fulfillment in the marvelous “epiphany” of the Word of God made flesh - Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In the Christ Child, born of Mary in Bethlehem, is God’s ultimate “epiphany” or manifestation of love. In the incarnation of the Divine Word is the full revelation of the Father’s saving plan to bring peace and unity to all nations, and to bring redemption to all. Isaiah’s vision of the future glory of Jerusalem gives us a glimpse of the final “Epiphany” – the ultimate manifestation of love in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The “Christian Epiphany” is the grandiose expression of the splendor of God and his abounding love for us.
C. Second Reading (Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6): “Now it has been revealed that the Gentiles are co-heirs of the promise.”
Today’s Second Reading (Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6) delineates the special “epiphany” experienced by Saint Paul, the “prisoner of Christ Jesus” for the sake of the Gentiles. By divine grace, he was set apart to proclaim the Good News to non-Jews. A privileged recipient of divine “epiphany”, Saint Paul became a herald of God’s “secret plan”, that is, by means of the gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in divine blessings. All are called to be members of the same body and share in the promise that God made through Jesus Christ. Paul’s experience of “epiphany” made him in turn an instrument of God’s continuing revelation of life and love to the nations.
Indeed, the Second Reading gets to the heart of the Epiphany celebration. The biblical scholar Eugene Maly remarks: “The reading speaks of God’s secret plan now revealed, a plan, we learn elsewhere, that God had intended from the beginning. It was a plan that the prophets of the Old Testament had hinted at, but whose full meaning even they did not know. Only with Jesus Christ was it fully revealed. Epiphany, God manifest in Jesus Christ, is the whole message of the Scriptures … The Christian Epiphany took place not as an act of divine self-satisfaction, but for us. God hoped that we would be amazed at it all, that we would react like the magi and give him ourselves as gifts, that we would be awestruck by this supreme act of love and begin to love him in return. Will he be disappointed?”
On this feast of Epiphany, we thank God for Love’s pure love revealed. We are also grateful to him for the ongoing “epiphany” of his saving love in today’s world. The history of the world and that of the Church is that of a developing “epiphany”. It is a mystery of love that is revealed each day. Like Saint Paul, we have a part in the unfolding of that revelation. As Christian disciples in the “here and now”, we are called to manifest God’s love to all by proclaiming and witnessing to the Good News of salvation.
The feast of Epiphany is marked by “gift-giving”. The following Christmas story gives us a glimpse into the ongoing “epiphany” of God’s all-embracing love that is unfolding in today’s world and it also teaches us what “gift-giving” means (cf. Claudia Girsham, “A West Texas Christmas” in Country, December/January 2010, p. 26-27). May the spirit of Christmas and the Lord’s Epiphany fill our hearts and guide us through the days of the New Year and the forthcoming years.
The winter whistled across the west Texas plains. Tumbleweeds drifted into our barbed-wire fence, and laundry froze stiff on the line. Christmas 1944 was just days away, and I hoped a deep snow would come with it. One morning, my brother, Bobby, and I stepped outside and watched a battered truck pull up beside the rundown house at the end of the road. Kids piled out and scattered across the yard, moving too fast to count.
After lunch, I heard someone in the backyard. It was one of the new kids, and he was on my red scooter. I tried to be nice, because I knew Mother was watching me, but I didn’t want him on that scooter. The boy’s name was Herbert, and he wanted to know if we had anything else to play with. Bobby picked up a baseball and asked if he wanted to play catch. Herbert threw down my scooter, and I quickly escaped down the road with it, where I had a not-so-nice discussion about the new kids with our neighbors Patsy and Jane Palmer.
On top of that, we still didn’t have a Christmas tree and Mother had just told us we weren’t going to my grandparents this year. My father had only one day off, and we didn’t have enough time or money for the trip. No family at Christmas! No grandmother to hug me and fix my favorite food. No granddaddy to dance his jig and make us laugh. No aunts, uncles or cousins. It would be the first Christmas I could remember without family. I didn’t say much, but I wanted to cry. The howling wind just made it worse.
The next day, Herbert and two of his brothers were in our yard again. Mother made sugar cookies and handed them out the kitchen door to us. Those boys gobbled them down as if they’d never eaten cookies before. While we sat on the doorstep, I mentioned that Santa Claus was coming on Saturday. Herbert munched his cookie and matter-of-factly told us Santa had never been to his house. I felt so terrible I didn’t know what to say. At supper, I told Mother what Herbert had said. She looked at my dad, and I saw the sadness in her eyes. My father told us that Santa might have trouble finding Herbert’s family because they probably moved a lot.
The next morning, Mother rushed off to see Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. Palmer. They were planning something. When Daddy got home, Mother told us we were going to do something to help Herbert’s family. It had to be a secret; we couldn’t talk about it at all, not even with our friends. We had no money to buy gifts, so Mother asked us to make or find something to give the children. The Phillips and Palmer families would do the same. We didn’t have many store-bought toys. Bobby had a slingshot, but the rubber band was broken. I had an old rubber Betsy Wetsy. I hated that doll, and I didn’t think the neighbors would like her any better than I did. I wanted to give something special that they’d really love.
That night, my mind churned as I tried to think of the perfect gift. When I came up with an idea, I really wished I hadn’t. I liked the scooter better than anything I had. It wasn’t new when I got it, but I thought it was the best scooter in the world because Aunt Winnie had given it to me. I tossed and turned, trying to make up my mind. The next morning, I told my parents I wanted to give Herbert my scooter. They looked surprised. “Are you sure?” my father asked. I was. Daddy suggested I paint it a different color so Herbert wouldn’t recognize it. That night, Daddy brought home a paper sack with a small can of pretty blue paint and a little bell for the handlebars. Mother put newspapers on the kitchen floor, and Bobby and I painted the scooter.
Then Bobby got his baseball from his bedroom and wrote “Babe Ruth” on it in black crayon so Herbert wouldn’t know it had been his. It must have been hard for him to give up that beat-up ball as it was for me to give away my scooter. He and J.C. Phillips played a lot of catch. The lump in my throat was so big I could hardly swallow. I wanted to hug Bobby, which is what Mother did, but I figured he’d kick me in the shin.
On Christmas Eve, Daddy brought home our tree, a blue spruce from the nursery where he worked. After supper, we walked down to the Palmers’ with our gifts for Herbert’s family. The Phillips family was already there. It was like a grand, happy party. Mrs. Palmer made punch, and Mother and Mrs. Phillips brought fudge and cookies.
As we walked home, a million stars twinkled in the clear black sky. The Christmas star seemed to shine right down on us. It didn’t look like we’d be getting any snow tonight. We walked quietly, holding hands. I felt like my heart would explode with love and happiness. I started singing O Holy Night, and the family joined in. We sang the rest of the way home.
Daddy was reading the Christmas story from the Bible when we heard a car pull up. Who could be visiting us this late on Christmas Eve? We couldn’t believe our eyes: Aunt Frances, Uncle Raney and their children, Judy and little Raney, had driven from California to surprise us. Mother fried the hen she’d planned for Christmas dinner. We decorated the tree, sang carols and hung up our socks. Overnight, we got about a foot of snow. Big flakes were still fluttering down when I went out to help Daddy feed the dogs. I could hear kids talking.
Daddy and I sneaked over to where we could see Herbert’s porch without him seeing us. Herbert was yelling, “He came! He came!” I blinked back tears. Daddy took my hand, and we walked back to our very full little house.
I’ve often wondered if Herbert and his family weren’t really angels sent down to help us understand the joy of giving and the spirit of Christmas. Our gifts were small, but the Lord poured out his blessings in a way I will never forget.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Why is the Divine Word made flesh the greatest and ultimate “Epiphany” of our loving God? What is our response to the Father’s gift of Christian Epiphany? What are the lessons we can glean from the magi and their search for the newborn King? Are we ready to welcome the various “epiphanies” of God’s love in our lives and in the world today? Are we willing to be “epiphanies” and manifestations of God’s saving love for the people of today and their quest for meaning in life?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
we thank you for the great “Epiphany” of love
that you have given us in the incarnate Word,
Jesus Christ – your only begotten Son.
In Jesus,
the radiance of your love shines upon us with healing rays,
transforming us into people of joy and lovers of light.
Help us to respond fully
to the radiant beauty streaming from the Holy Child.
Transformed by the great “Epiphany” of the Christ Child,
may we in turn be “epiphanies” of your compassionate love
for a troubled world
and for the people of today,
who are in quest for meaning and for the gift of peace.
We glorify you and adore you, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“They offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Mt 2:11)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
By your acts of charity to the poor and the needy, endeavor to be living “epiphanies” of the Father’s saving love in today’s world. Pray for peace and be a channel of God’s peace, especially for the victims of violence and strife. To help experience more deeply the mystery of the Lord’s Epiphany, make an effort to spend some quiet moments before the Blessed Sacrament.
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January 8, 2024: MONDAY – SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD
“JESUS SAVIOR: His Baptism is an Epiphany … A Messianic Investiture”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 55:1-11 or 1 Jn 5:1-9 // Mk 1:7-11
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 1:7-11): “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.”
One of the most powerful accounts that I have read was the one written by Sr. Mary Rose McGeady, leader of the Covenant House, the nation’s largest system of emergency shelters for homeless kids. In chapter 5 of her book, “Please Forgive Me, God”, she narrates the story of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, Colorado: “The two kids walked into the schoolyard, an arsenal of weapons hanging from their bodies and hidden inside their black trench coats. Their first two victims were a 17-year-old girl and 15-year-old freshman boy, both classmates, who were shot in the head and the back immediately outside the front entrance to the school. Once inside, the two killers strode quickly through the school, first to the cafeteria then upstairs to the library, pointing guns at their terrified classmates, casually deciding who should live and who should die. As each shot rang out, and each innocent life was snuffed out, we’re told the kids laughed triumphantly, and then moved on to the next victim … In one particularly nightmarish sequence, one of the killers confronted a girl trembling on the ground, and asked if she believed in God. Knowing full well the safe answer, the girl stood her ground. ‘There is a God’, she said quietly, ‘and you need to follow along God’s path’. ‘There is no God’, the boy gunman said, and shot her in the head.”
Sr. Rose McGeady remarks: “The girl proclaimed her belief in God, knowing that her answer would be the last words she ever spoke.” Indeed, the girl proclaimed her baptismal faith in the blood bath of martyrdom. She followed the destiny of the Lord Jesus who offered his life totally to God, manifesting his fidelity to the Father at his water bath at the Jordan and at his sacrificial death on the cross where “blood and water” flowed from his saving side.
Today’s Gospel reading (Mk 1:7-11) depicts the Lord’s baptism at the River Jordan. The event is an epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus as the faithful Servant of Yahweh, the one who fulfills the divine messianic plan. The event, moreover, is a theophany in which God reveals his relationship with Jesus as his own Son. The baptismal scene of Jesus has exquisite paschal undertones. The ritual immersion in the waters of the Jordan prefigures the death and rising of Jesus. By his blood bath on the cross and glorification, Jesus brought to fulfillment his baptismal promise at the Jordan to serve totally the Father’s saving will.
The ritual baptism of a Christian is both a call to a covenant relationship with God the Father and a paschal event. Our covenant with God involves faithful witnessing through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a daily heroic witnessing even to the point of martyrdom. It is a configuration to Jesus - the Word of God made flesh - the same Jesus who shed his blood in love for the salvation of the world. Our baptismal consecration is confirmed by the choices we make in the ordinary humdrum moments as well as in the supreme sacrificial events of our life.
B. First Reading (Is 55:1-11): “Come to the waters: listen, that you may have life.”
The invitation to a life-giving covenant relationship with God is sounded off with enthusiasm in the First Reading (cf. Is 55:1-11), which is a part of Deutero-Isaiah’s conclusion to the Book of Comfort. The words are ecstatic and impelling: “Come to the water … Come, receive grain and eat … Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk … Heed me and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare …” The invitation to a rich banquet, a symbol of God’s providential care for his people, titillates one’s imagination about the abundance of the new messianic age. Here we are presented with the vision of the fullness of time when all will be filled with God’s love and mercy. According to Aelred Rosser: “With the baptism of Jesus and the inauguration of the reign of God, the time of peace and plenty foretold by Isaiah has come!” Indeed, Isaiah’s prophetic vision of abundance, peace and salvation is fulfilled in Jesus Savior.
The following personal experience gives insight into the beauty of intimacy that our baptismal covenant relation with God entails and the spiritual riches it bestows (cf. Erin MacPherson in Daily Guideposts 2015, p. 387).
The cardamom bread is homemade, fumbled together by hands far less experienced than the now-arthritic pair that had carefully crafted it for me so many times before. Hot from the oven, mine looks serviceable and smells like my childhood.
My china cups are mismatched – one blue, one pink, three green – from the antiques store down the road. The purple-and-white-flowered linen tablecloth was found at a garage sale. The napkins are plain white paper.
My tea party is far from the perfect ones of my childhood, but it is fueled by a loving nostalgia that I hope will overcome any inadequacies I have. Because while I’ll never be able to serve like my grandmother used to, I pray that my efforts will be enough to show her aging heart, her waning spirit, that I love her and that I remember, even if she can’t.
I hold her feeble hand; I butter her bread; I pour cream into her tea and stir gently. Then I wait. Not for appreciative words or remembrances of tea parties past, but for a glimmer of a smile, that glint in her eyes, which show a small spark of enduring spirit.
C. Alternative First Reading (I Jn 5:1-9): “The Spirit and the water and the blood.”
The Reading (I Jn 5:1-9) reinforces the reality of the messianic role of Jesus, whom the author John acknowledges energetically as fully human and fully divine in both life and death. The threefold witness of “the Spirit and the water and the blood” confirms Jesus’ authenticity as the Messiah and the Son of God. The scholar Aelred Rosser comments: “The point is that all three (water, blood and Spirit) testify that Jesus is truly the Messiah. In Jesus’ baptism we see two of these: the water of the Jordan River and the hovering Spirit accompanied by the voice revealing to the Baptist that this truly is the Son of God. Only later will we see the third witness – blood – in Jesus’ suffering and death. All three give testimony – not water only, John says, but water and blood! This Jesus, the Word who was with God in the beginning and who is God, is the same Jesus who shed his blood in love for the salvation of the world.”
The immersion of Jesus into the waters of the Jordan and into the redeeming “blood bath” on the cross is made possible through the presence of the Holy Spirit who anointed Jesus with power and love. Indeed, Jesus Christ is “baptized” in “the Spirit and the water and the blood”. Today’s baptized Christians are likewise immersed into Christ’s paschal destiny in “the Spirit and the water and the blood”. Through the threefold sacrament of initiation (baptism-confirmation-Eucharist) we are vivified, anointed and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. By faith the Christian disciples are filled with the power of the Spirit. Fortified with the grace of God, they are enabled to overcome hostile forces that prevent total surrender to God’s benevolent will. Indeed, faith in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior permeates the Christian disciples with courage and power, making possible “the victory that conquers the world” (I Jn 5:5).
The following story circulated through the Internet illustrates the victorious power of a faith-filled Christian and how he lives out fully the challenge of his baptismal consecration in “the Spirit and water and the blood”.
This is a true story of something that happened just a few years ago at USC. There was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester to prove that God couldn’t exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever really gone against him because of his reputation.
At the end of every semester on the last day, he would say to his class of 300 students, “If there is anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!” In twenty years, no one had ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would say, “Because anyone who believes in God is a fool. If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple task to prove that he is God, and yet he can’t do it.” And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter into a hundred pieces. All of the students would do nothing but stop and stare. Most of the students thought that God couldn’t exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but for twenty years, they had been too afraid to stand up.
Well, a few years ago there was a freshman who happened to enroll. He was a Christian, and had heard the stories about his professor. He was required to take the class for his major, and he was afraid … But for three months that semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said, or what the class thought. Nothing they said could ever shatter his faith … he hoped.
Finally, the day came. The professor said, “If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!” The professor and the class of 300 people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up in the back of the classroom. The professor shouted, “You fool!!! If God existed, he would keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!” He proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleat of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away unbroken. The professor’s jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at the young man, and then ran out of the lecture hall. The young man who had stood proceeded to walk to the front of the room and shared his faith in Jesus for the next half hour. Three hundred students stayed and listened as he told of God’s love for them and of his power through Jesus.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
How faithful are we to our baptismal covenant? Do we reflect our baptismal commitment in our daily life with renewed vigor and zeal for the spread of God’s kingdom of love, justice and peace?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving God,
we thank you for the saving event
of Christ’s baptism at the River Jordan.
We also thank you for the gift of our own baptism
which makes us sharers in your divine life.
Make us faithful to our baptismal promises.
Help us to live out our baptismal commitment in our daily life.
In Jesus Christ, your only begotten Son and faithful Servant,
make us limpid witnesses of the baptismal covenant.
Be with us as we spread your kingdom of love, joy and peace
through Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
We praise you, love you and serve you,
now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mk 1:11)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray that the baptized may be faithful to their promise to be at the total service of the Father’s saving will. Be ready to attest your faith in the public square by imbibing the Church’s social teaching on the dignity of the human person and respect for life, on the call to family, community and participation, etc.
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January 9, 2024: TUESDAY – WEEKDAY (1)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Teaches with Authority … He Bestows Grace on the Lowly”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Sm 1:9-20 // Mk 1:21-28
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 1:21-28): “He taught them as one having authority.”
Today’s Gospel (Mk 1:21-28) continues to depict the early phase of the public ministry of Jesus - God’s “Good News” in person. The passage portrays him in the synagogue at Capernaum on a Sabbath, speaking the saving word of God and teaching with authority. The evangelist Mark describes the impact of Jesus’ teaching-prophetic ministry on the worshipping assembly: “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes”. Indeed, Jesus speaks with authority as he truthfully and faithfully reveals God’s message to the people. Moreover, he reinforces the power of God’s saving word by performing a healing sign – by curing a man possessed by an unclean spirit. The Benedictine liturgist, Adrian Nocent, comments: “Both word and action highlight the authority – that is the point St. Mark wants to make. Jesus is manifesting himself as Messiah, and his teaching differs from that of others not only by its content but by the fact that it is linked to an effective power from on high. His teaching thus manifests his person and the fact that he has been sent from God.”
Bong Tiotuico, a member of the Association of Pauline Cooperators: Friends of the Divine Master, sends us, from the Philippines, his insightful reflection on today’s Gospel.
The crowd is amazed at the ability of Jesus to command an unclean spirit to depart from one person’s body. Jesus performs the ritual of exorcism a few times in the gospel of Mark. The Church has received this power and office from him. Exorcisms may not be commonplace in the 21st century, but as we ponder through our everyday lives, we carry with us certain mindsets and behaviors we call our “personal demons”. While they may not fall under the category of psychological illness, we need to “exorcise” them too because they bring long term harm to our health, to our relationships with others, to our careers/vocations and even draw us farther away from God’s kingdom. These are big words we often hear at Sunday homilies, but never had a chance to reflect on, like: covetousness, envy, vice, selfishness, despair, anger, hatred, impulsiveness, depression, cynicism, loneliness, blind ambition, instant gratification, indifference, conflict, violence, bigotry and others. They represent a cabal of “demons and unclean spirits” that we live with, while surviving in a very competitive and materialistic world.
We must pray to our Lord through the intercession of our Blessed Mother to help us cast out these “evil spirits” from our lives. We can start by being attentive to the reading of the word of God during the Mass and supplement it by private study. This will make the gospels more instructive in our lives. It will not be easy, as these “unclean” spirits will be convulsing and screaming as we attempt to get rid of them. Also with the help of people around us: our loved ones, close friends who care, co-workers, members of our congregation, and if necessary, professional help – we can certainly succeed. Then we create room for the Holy Spirit to occupy our lives and produce within us, as St. Paul tells us in Gal. 5:22, his gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control: big words we also hear during Sundays, but sadly more and more alien to us these days. Amen.
B. First Reading (1 Sm 1:9-20): “The Lord God remembered Hannah, and she gave birth to Samuel.”
The story of the birth of Samuel (I Sm 1:9-20) underlines the power of the compassionate God, who sent his only Son to be our Savior. In her bitterness Hannah prays to the Lord, weeping copiously. She makes a vow that if she is given a son, she will consecrate him to the Lord as a “nazirite”: neither wine nor liquor shall he drink and no razor shall touch his head. Hannah’s offer shows considerable renunciation, for that means the child would be with her only three years. Hannah’s prayer, reinforced by the invocation of the priest Eli, is heard. Hannah becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son whom she names “Samuel”, which means “he over whom the name of God is pronounced”. After she has weaned the boy, Samuel, Hannah brings him to the temple, saying to the priest Eli: “Do you remember me? I am the woman you saw standing here, praying to the Lord. I asked him for this child and he gave me what I asked for. So I am dedicating him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he will belong to the Lord.”
The favor received by Hannah illustrates the goodness of God and the power of trusting prayer. The same elements can be verified in the following modern-day story (cf. Alex Domokos, “The Making of a Miracle” in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories of Faith, ed. Jack Canfield, et. al. Cos Cob: CSS, 2008, p. 322-324).
I was a strong supporter of the Hungarian freedom fighters, and in 1956, when they were subdued by the Soviets after a spontaneous uprising, we were suddenly forced to flee. First we headed for my parent’s home to get our daughter, but our attempts to reach her failed …Despite our terrible despair over leaving our daughter behind, we had to leave. With the help of some very good people, we made our escape from Hungary to Austria and eventually to Canada and to freedom. We settled in Winnipeg and started a new life. Our beautiful little daughter was only three years old when we came to Canada and we began the process of applying for her to come join us in Winnipeg. Little did we know how many years it would take. (…)
One day my wife said to me, “I’m going to pray for the intervention of St. Jude. He is the patron saint of hopeless causes.” “Fine with me”, I replied. But I had lost faith in such supernatural intervention long ago. At that time, I was working in the basement of a downtown building in the evening as a sculptor. Day after day, after finishing my regular job, I went to work for a church supplies company for a few extra dollars. The bonus was, I was allowed to use the facilities for some of my own work – and sculpture is an art from that really requires a work space. In the church basement I was surrounded by dusty plaster figures of various saints. My job was to finish them and prepare them for painting. Hollow lifeless figures, I thought to myself. Ridiculous to expect any help from them.
But what did I have to lose? Why not take a chance? One evening I made a sudden decision. I dropped my work pail and went to the heap of wood where I often chose pieces for my own carvings. There I found a nice block of basswood that seemed to offer itself up for the task I was planning. I began to envision the features of St. Jude. I had to see him first in my imagination. In a sudden flash, I saw a bearded face full of dignity and hope. That’s it! I thought. I put my chisel to the wood and started carving like I’d never carved before. The hours slipped away. Usually I arrived home at eight every evening, but on this occasion it was well past ten when I finally entered our little attic apartment.
I realized immediately that my wife was very agitated. “Where have you been?” she cried. “I was anxious to reach you, but there is no phone in that basement!” “Why, what happened!” I asked. “Look!” she said excitedly. “A new response from the Canadian government. They put some pressure on the Hungarian government, and they have finally relented. They’re letting her go! Our daughter is coming to us in six weeks!”
I was speechless. Suddenly feeling weak, I reached for a chair to sit down. I gently placed my new carving on the kitchen table. “What is that?” my wife asked. “Don’t you see? It’s a statue of St. Jude”, I replied. I told her then the reason why I was late, about my sudden impulse to carve and about my vision of St Jude’s face. We looked at each other. There were no words to express our emotions. Joy, disbelief, shock – all of these and more were wrapped into one.
Six weeks later, my wife and I stood at the Winnipeg Airport waiting for the plane that would bring our daughter! At home to us, to Canada and to freedom … And suddenly I saw her! Our little girl – now almost ten years old … I ran to her and in one miraculous moment embraced her. My heart was overjoyed!
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we surrender ourselves to the power and authority of Jesus as he teaches us with his life-giving word and releases us from the shackles of our “personal demons”?
2. Like Hannah, do we open ourselves to the goodness of God and his marvelous works for us?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O loving Jesus, Divine Master,
you are the holy and mighty One of God!
We recognize your great power and you teach with authority.
The power of your word
drives away the “personal demons” within us.
Cleansed from sin and evil,
we turn to you in humility
to receive the gifts of your Holy Spirit.
Teach and reign in our life, now and forever.
Amen.
***
Father of love and goodness,
give us the humility and the spirit of self-surrender of Hannah
and, together with her,
let us sing our canticle of praise to your glory.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“A new teaching with authority!” (Mk 1:27) //“The Lord remembered her.” (1 Sm 1:19)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
By your gracious words and acts of charity, be united with Jesus in his ministry of deliverance from evil. // Be an instrument of grace and peace for those who are hopeless and desperate.
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January 10, 2024: WEDNESDAY – WEEKDAY (1)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Healer … He Hears and Proclaims the Word”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Sm 3:1-10; 19-20 // Mk 1:29-39
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 1:29-39): “Jesus cured many who were sick with various diseases.”
In today’s Gospel reading (Mk 1:29-39), the paschal victory of Jesus Healer is prefigured in the healing he carries out on behalf of Simon’s sick mother-in-law and many others with various diseases and those possessed by demons. The healing ministry of Jesus is a sign that the kingdom of wholeness has come. By his mission of healing, he shows that sickness, suffering and death do not have the ultimate word. The evangelist Mark narrates: “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed”. The “dawn” of Jesus is poised in earnest towards greater intimacy with the loving Father and the proclamation of the Gospel. The saving ministry of the healing Lord is sustained by his life of prayer and personal dialogue with the Father. Hence, the restoring touch of Jesus reaches out more extensively and the Good News extends, propelled by a life of recollection and prayer.
From the Philippines, the psychiatrist Dr. Eleanor Ronquillo, a member of the Association of Pauline Cooperators: Friends of the Divine Master, sends her inspiring reflection on today’s Gospel.
These days, many people are getting sick from grave illnesses like strokes, heart attacks, cancer, AIDS, rare pneumonias. People seek many types of cures, search for doctors far and near, the latest medicines, the most advanced medical technology, herbal medicine, etc. They seek the CURE, not the HEALING. Amidst the sick person’s suffering is a big plea to God to take away this illness and this suffering. In the Gospel, as Jesus HEALS many, one is led to believe in such a “miraculous” CURE. And it is not surprising for some to turn away from God for not providing such a cure. “Why me God … why do you let me be sick like this? … I’m not a bad person … There are so many out there criminals/murderers, why don’t they get this illness? … I can’t take this anymore … You must have forgotten me Lord … I do not wish to live like this.”
It is beyond physical CURE of an illness that is the essence of the Lord’s HEALING. The Gospel says, “People brought to Jesus all the sick … Jesus healed many who had various diseases.” I recall the story of a man who was disabled and paralyzed. He continually sought cures to be able to walk again. He struggled with his condition and felt his life was full of difficulties and hopelessness because of his disability. He prayed that God might take away his illness. One time (I think it was his visit to Lourdes in the Grotto in France) after a deep prayer, he felt an aura of peace within. He began to cry, to accept what he had, to see life as God willed it to be, to find hope and meaning in his “suffering”, to embrace the Lord and find peace. Finally, when he left, he had been healed.
We must seek the Lord in our suffering, that he may heal us. For a lot of people in crisis, that is the time when opportunity knocks. The opportunity to seek and be closer to the Lord knocks on our doors in the face of crisis. And healing will come, as Jesus heals us, if we seek him and let him heal us. This healing is a process that only the suffering person can undergo. No doctor can effect a healing for the patient, a treatment perhaps, yes; but the healing, no. The person himself has to undergo the internal process of accepting his condition and surrendering to the Lord one’s suffering … and find peace and solace in his loving arms.
“And he also drove away demons.” The words tell us that the devil was at work in people. The devil works in people’s hearts and minds. The “illness” is not exactly a phenomenon of possession. It can be masked as a wonderful extramarital affair though immoral, a wealth ill gotten, a successful oppression, an ongoing sexual abuse of a child. The list is long. The many facets of evil are within and among us. But do we recognize them? Do we recognize that we spite our neighbor, endlessly criticize people, persist in being unforgiving and harboring anger, scheme and carry out revenge, plan the next move to take what is not ours? The driving out of demons is our turning away from evil and seeking Jesus to rule our hearts. That is also our process of healing.
B. First Reading (1 Sm 3:1-10, 19-20): “Speak, O Lord, for your servant is listening.”
The call of Samuel that is narrated in the reading (1 Sm 3:1-10, 19-20) marks a new “dawn” in the history of Israel. The images of Samuel are all sweetness and light. Through his birth, the anguished existence of Hannah as a barren woman is ended, and through his consecration as a servant of the Lord in the temple, he becomes a source of new life. Today’s episode underlines that while young Samuel is serving the Lord under the guidance of the priest Eli, the revelation of the Lord is uncommon and visions are infrequent. The picture of Eli, now very old and practically blind, describes Israel’s state in relation to the Lord. Israel is in need of the light of the word. The lamp of God, symbol of the divine word, is almost extinguished through the sacrilegious and immoral acts of the officiating priests, the sons of Eli.
The boy attendant, Samuel, sleeps in the temple of the Lord in Shiloh where the ark of God is located. This is to enable him to tend the lamp that burns in the sanctuary. God addresses his word directly to Samuel. There is humor in Samuel’s naïve running to Eli three times before the old priest realizes that it is the Lord calling. Upon Eli’s prompting, at the fourth call Samuel makes an eventful response: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” The Lord speaks to the young boy about the destruction of the priestly house of Eli. When Samuel opens the door of the temple in the morning light, he enacts the bursting forth of the word of God to the people of Israel after a long silence. The Lord is with Samuel who grows up to be God’s prophet. God brings to realization the word that Samuel speaks and reinforces his stature as a man of God.
The call and response of Samuel to God for a special task in salvation history is replicated through the ages. The following episode in the life o Dolores Hart, a movie actress who became a Benedictine nun, illustrates the fascinating character of God’s call and our response to it (cf. Mother Dolores Hart, O.S.B. and Richard DeNeut, The Ear of the Heart: An Actress’ Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2013, p. 176-178)
Later Dolores met with Reverend Mother Benedict. She spoke of her walk and finding herself at the crest of the hill and standing still, not knowing why she was there. The founder of the monastery told her that, years before in 1947, when she and Mother Mary Aline came to Bethlehem with the mission to found a Benedictine order, they stood at the same place, holding medals they had carried from France. They buried those medals beneath the ground Dolores had stood upon and photographed.
“What is it that you want?” Reverend Mother asked me. I told her that was what I was trying to find out. I said, “I want my career, I want to get married. I want to have a home. I want most of all to do the will of God.” I think I hoped that she would not accept me but just say again that I should go back to Hollywood.
“I can’t tell you what the will of God is”, she said. “You must decide what you want to do, and in your deepest desire you will find the will of God. What is it that you want?” Again I said, “I want my career. I want to marry. I want to please God and to serve Him with all my heart.”
“You will find the will of God when you find what it is in your own heart that you know you must do”, she repeated. “Don’t look for God in some abstraction. The answer comes from within yourself. Dolores, what is it that you want?”
In his Rule, Saint Benedict cautions against granting newcomers to monastic life an easy entry. A pilgrim must knock on the door three times to be recognized.
When I got back to my room I began packing. I felt the decision had been made for me. God had not spoken. Reverend Mother had not invited me in. I was going home to pick up my life, and I was very relieved to have the whole thing off my back.
That evening I went to supper in the refectory. Mother Placid was serving. She smiled and said, “Well’ Dolores, you won’t be able to chew gum when you come in.” I hadn’t realized I was chewing gum. We both laughed. “But I am not entering”, I told her. “Oh,” she said surprised. “Reverend Mother said you were. She said it was clear you had a monastic calling because you were fighting so hard. I’ll let her know she was mistaken.” She turned to leave, and I suddenly stopped her. “No, don’t.”
That was it. My answer didn’t come in a lightning bolt. I simply knew at that moment what Reverend Mother was trying to tell me when she insisted that I say what I wanted to do. If I was honest about my answer, I would give God a point of departure He could work with. This is the exact opposite of the way many people think spiritual life proceeds. (…)
When Don met Dolores at LAX, he was in good spirits. Nothing in Dolores’ letters from the monastery indicated he would not have a fiancée when she returned. When he saw her, however, his mood changed. “She looked like a refugee, pale and drawn, no makeup, and her hair wasn’t even fixed. We stopped at a steak house near the airport. It was packed, and we were seated smack in the middle of the room.”
Dolores hadn’t planned on telling Don her decision that evening, and she tried to keep up a conversation that, before long, gave way to silence. Don remembered, “I began thinking, ‘Where are we heading?’ I finally asked point-blank if she was entering the monastery.”
Don’s perception was so strong that I knew I couldn’t put it off. I told him I was.
“I just fell apart”, Don said, “right in the middle of the packed room.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do you turn to Jesus, the wounded Healer, for healing?
2. Do we listen to God as he speaks to us, and are we ready to do the divine will?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
God our Father,
great is your love for us!
You sent your beloved Son to save us
and to heal us of all our infirmities.
He was tested through what he suffered
and, in solidarity with us,
he remained faithful.
We thank you for Jesus, our ultimate Healer.
Let him bless us with complete healing of mind, soul and body.
We praise and bless you, now and forever.
Amen.
***
God our Father,
grant us a listening heart
and the readiness to do your will.
Like Samuel, help us to say to you:
“Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Help us to follow Jesus who listens to your word.
He proclaims the Gospel throughout Galilee
and manifests its saving power.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“He cured many who were sick with various diseases and he drove out many demons.” (Mk 1:34a) //“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Sm 3:10)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Be an instrument of God’s healing love by alleviating the problems and sufferings of the people around you. // Give yourself time and leisure for some quiet contemplative prayer. Search deep within you and see the various ways God speaks to you. Make a positive effort to do his will.
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January 11, 2024: THURSDAY – WEEKDAY (1)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Touches the Leper …He Helps Those in Distress”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Sm 4:1-11 // Mk 1:40-45
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 1:40-45): “The leprosy left him and he was made clean.”
In today’s Gospel reading (Mk 1:40-45), the evangelist Mark depicts one of the most beautiful pictures of Christian compassion. Breaking down the barriers of hygiene and ritual purity, Jesus does the unimaginable. Responding with compassion to the leper’s faith invocation, “If you wish, you can make me clean”, Jesus stretches out his hand and touches him saying, “I do will it. Be made clean.” He touches the “untouchable” with his healing hand. He comforts the outcast with an authoritative cleansing word that brings wholeness. Indeed, in the Gospel accounts, the cleansing of lepers is a messianic sign that the Kingdom of God has come.
One of the exigencies of Christian life is to bring the healing ministry of Jesus to the many “lepers” of today, especially the millions of victims of Hansen’s disease all over the world who, more than all others, fit the description “the poorest of the poor”. Mother Teresa of Calcutta dedicated her ministry of charity in a special way to these lepers, impelled by the slogan that was a rewording of the ancient taboo. “Touch a leper with your compassion.” Mother Teresa, moreover, spoke of the “leprosy of the Western world”, which is, the leprosy of loneliness. In her ministry to the lonely, the unwanted, the marginalized, the rejected, the AIDS victim, etc. she had given witness that with the love of Christ, there is healing for the leprosy of our modern times. Indeed, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, together with St. Francis of Assisi, Blessed Damien of Molokai, and many other Christian disciples, had shown that it is possible to respond to the Christian missionary imperative: “Cure the sick … cleanse the lepers!” and that it is necessary to replicate the healing gesture of Christ: “Touch a leper with your compassion.”
B. First Reading (1 Sm 4:1-11): “Israel was defeated and the ark of God was captured.”
The Old Testament reading (1 Sm 4:1-11) is about the defeat of the Israelites by their most dangerous enemy, the Philistines, who are militarily and culturally superior. Greatly disadvantaged in an earlier battle by the Philistines, the Israelites attempt to use the presence of the Lord to bring about victory. Ever since their journeying in the desert of Sinai, the Israelites are accompanied by the Ark of the Covenant, the tangible symbol of the Lord’s presence among them. The Ark is a gold-plate wooden box that contains the tables of the Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Ark’s presence in the Israelite camp dismays the Philistines and it instigates them to fight for dear life with extraordinary bravery. The Ark is captured, and among the 30,000 Israelites slain are Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli. It is clear that because of the crimes of Eli’s sons, Israel is no longer worthy of the presence of God in the Ark. The horrible news of the capture of the Ark causes the death of the ninety-year-old Eli, and the news of the death of her father-in-law, Eli, and husband, Phinehas, induces the latter’s widow to labor and give birth to a son. The dying woman names her son, Ichabod, meaning “God’s glory has left Israel”.
The grief and the fear of the defeated Israelites are akin to the anguish that the persecuted Christians of today are experiencing. The present-day tragedy in Syrian gives us a glimpse into the suffering of the victims of violence and war, then and now (cf. “Media Silence about Anti-Christian Atrocity in Syria” in Alive! December 2013, p. 5).
Six members of one family were killed in late October when they were thrown down a well by rebel forces in the Syrian town of Sadad. Those killed ranged in age from 16 to 90, and included 18-year-old university student Ranim. They were among more than 45 Christian civilians murdered in what is being seen as the worst act of anti-Christian persecution since the war in Syria began. Thirty bodies were found in two mass graves. Speaking of the family drowned in the well, Patriarch Gregorios of Damascus asked, “How can somebody do such inhumane and bestial things to an elderly couple and their family? I do not understand why the world does not raise its voice against such acts of brutality.”
Muslim rebels who captured the largely Orthodox town held 1,500 families hostage, using them as a human shield for a week, until they were driven out by government forces. Church leaders have also reported widespread looting and destruction of shops and homes, as well as of a hospital, clinic, post office and schools, during the attack. And young people have told how they were insulted and taunted about their Christian faith by the rebels.
At least 2,500 families had fled to neighboring towns, and the scale of the atrocity has only come to light since they returned home. Gregorios, the Catholic Melkite Patriarch, described the massacre as “a sign of the rise of fundamentalism and extremism”. Until now the faithful had seen Sadad, where Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ, is spoken, as a safe haven. But “what happened there is very significant in that it is frightening the Christians into leaving the country”, said the Patriarch.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. A touch can be a beautiful gesture of encouragement, reconciliation and love. A touch can heal the suffering spirit of a person. When was the last time you showed your love and concern with a gentle, healing touch?
2. What do you do when totally anguished and helpless? Do you turn to God and allow him to strengthen you? Do you perceive and reverence the various modes of the presence of God within and around us?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O loving God,
great and compassionate are you!
Fill us with tender feelings for your injured children,
for a society that needs healing,
and for “the holy mystery of creation”
besieged by threats of cosmic destruction.
Let everything we do and say in love and healing for today’s lepers
become a sign of Christ’s paschal victory over sin and death
and of the beauty of the resurrected world.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
O gracious Father,
help us to perceive and treasure
the various modes of your presence in our lives.
We entrust ourselves to you
and let us walk by faith with Jesus,
especially in tragic moments.
We give you glory and praise, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper …” (Mk 1:41) //“It was a disastrous defeat.” (1 Sm 4:10)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
By your kind words and charitable deeds, encourage those whose faith is getting weak and those who are losing hope on account of various trials. // Pray for the persecuted Christians in today’s world. By your prayers, concrete works of charity and concerted humanitarian action, enable them to experience the “gift” of survival, freedom and peace.
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January 12, 2024: FRIDAY – WEEKDAY (1)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Source of Total Healing …He Guides Us by His Wisdom”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Sm 8:4-7, 10-22a // Mk 2:1-12
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 2:1-12): “The Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth.”
The following story gives insight into the message of today’s Gospel (Mk 2:1-12) about a person’s need for total healing (cf. Hal Manwaring, "Fourteen Steps" in A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Deerfield Beach: Health Communications, Inc., 1996, p. 264-267).
I became afflicted with a slowly progressive disease of the motor nerves, affecting first my right arm and leg, and then my other side … In spite of my disease I still drove to and from work each day, with the aid of special equipment installed in my car … As I became older, I became more disillusioned and frustrated. I’m sure that my wife and friends had some unhappy times when I chose to expound to them my philosophy of life. I believed that in this whole world I alone had been chosen to suffer …
On a dark night in August 1971, gusty winds and slashing rain beat down on the car as I drove slowly down one of the less-traveled roads. Suddenly the steering wheel jerked in my hands and the car swerved violently to the right. In the same instant I heard the dreaded bang of a blowout … It was impossible for me to change that tire! Utterly impossible! … Then I remembered that a short distance up a little side road was a house. I started the engine and thumped slowly along … Lighted windows welcomed me to the house and I pulled into the driveway and honked the horn … The door opened and a little girl stood there, peering at me. I rolled down the window and called out that I had a flat and needed someone to change it for me because I had a crutch and couldn’t do it myself. She went into the house and a moment later came out bundled in a raincoat and hat, followed by a man who called a cheerful greeting. I sat there comfortable and dry, and felt a bit sorry for the man and the little girl working so hard in the storm. Well, I would pay them for it … It seemed to me that they were awfully slow and I was beginning to become impatient … Then they were standing at my car window. He was an old man, stooped and frail-looking under his slicker. The little girl was about eight or 10 I judged, with a merry face and a wide smile as she looked up at me. He said, “This is a bad night for car trouble, but you’re all set now.” “Thanks,” I said, “thanks. How much do I owe you?” He shook his head. “Nothing, Cynthia told me you were a cripple – on crutches. Glad to be of help. I know you’d do the same for me. There’s no charge, friend.” I held out a five-dollar bill. “No! I like to pay my way.” He made no effort to take it and the little girl stepped closer to the window and said quietly, “Grandpa can’t see it.”
In the next few frozen seconds the shame and horror of that moment penetrated, and I was sick with an intensity I had never felt before. A blind man and a child! … They changed a tire for me – changed it in the rain and wind, with me sitting in snug comfort in the car with my crutch. My handicap. I don’t remember how long I sat there after they said good night and left me, but it was long enough for me to search deep within myself and find some disturbing traits. I realized that I was filled to overflowing with self-pity, selfishness, indifference to the needs of others and thoughtlessness. I sat there and said a prayer. In humility I prayed for strength, for a greater understanding, for keener awareness of my shortcomings and for faith to continue asking in daily prayer for spiritual help to overcome them.
Here we have the personal account of a crippled man who discovers that his need for inner healing is greater than that of physical healing. Indeed, there is more to it than physical malady. There is more to it than a physical cure. Jesus Christ, who embodies the Reign of God, shows us that the Kingdom of wholeness involves more than just physical healing. The messianic ministry of Jesus, the Healer, includes the liberation of human beings from the bondage of sin. The Kingdom of wholeness includes the forgiveness of sins.
B. First Reading (1 Sm 8:4-7, 10-22a): “You will complain against the sin you have chosen, but on that day the Lord will not answer you.”
Today’s Old Testament reading (1 Sm 8:4-7, 10-22a) speaks of “power” – the power of governance and the guidance of the people of Israel. Here we have a transition from the “period of the judges”, when charismatic heroes sent by the Lord have led the people, to the “period of the monarchy” when the nation is led by kings. Samuel, the last of the judges, stands between two periods in the history of Israel. The prophet Samuel has been a remarkable deliverer-judge whose intercession before God caused the menacing Philistines to rout. By his guidance, the Philistine threat is removed for a generation. But now that he is old, the elders of Israel are concerned that his two sons are corrupt, dishonest and self-seeking and will not assure justice for the nation. The elders therefore ask Samuel for a king. Samuel is angry on behalf of the Lord whom he recognizes as the true and only king of Israel. God bids him to listen to the people and to warn them about the implications of having a king. The people’s request for a king is not only a desire to emulate the other nations, but also to have an effective leadership to meet the challenge of other nations. They reiterate their request and after listening to them, Samuel goes to the Lord and tells him everything. The Lord commands Samuel to grant the people’s request and to appoint a king to rule them.
Monarchy brings advantages as well as burdensome and negative effects as the following experience of Israel with King Herod shows (cf. “A Window of History: A Man of Violence” in Alive! April 2013, p. 13).
King Herod was afraid that no one would grieve when he died, so he gathered a large group of prominent men to his palace in Jericho, where he resided, and gave orders that they were to be killed at the time of his death. This would ensure that the country mourned his departure. Fortunately for the men, the king’s son Archelaus did not carry out the order.
Herod the Great, as he is called, was born in Idumea, the most southern region of the Holy Land, earlier known as Edom, about 74 B.C. He was the second son of Antipater, an official who rose to power under the later Jewish kings belonging to the Hasmonean dynasty. Antipater was involved in Rome’s civil war, siding first with Pompey, then with Julius Caesar. Coming out on top, Caesar made him chief minister of Judea, and thus he became founder of the Herodean dynasty.
Antipater made his second son, Herod, Governor of Galilee at the age of 25. Some years later, in 43 B.C., Antipater’s harshness in raising taxes was resented and he was poisoned. Although an Edomite, Herod considered himself a Jew, but the religious authorities didn’t recognize him as such. And already the debauchery of his court and his brutality in putting down a revolt were being condemned by the Sanhedrin.
After a coup d’état in the region, Herod fled to Rome for backing. There the Senate chose him as “King of the Jews”, about 40 B.C. He returned to take possession of his kingdom, banished his wife Doris and married Mariamne, a Hasmonean princess, in an attempt to bolster his claim to the throne and gain Jewish favor. In the coming decades, Mariamne would be succeeded by another eight wives.
After three years of fighting, and with the help of the Romans, Herod finally captured Jerusalem, becoming sole ruler of Judea and taking the title of King. He began a huge building program, including a complete rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem (known as the Second Temple or Herod’s Temple), referred to by Jesus in the gospels (cf. Mk 13:1). This Temple was completed in a year and a half, and about 1,000 rabbis were employed for the task as masons and carpenters, in keeping with Jewish law. It would be completely destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. Herod also developed the water supply system for the city, constructed the port city of Caesarea Maritima and built the famous fortress of Masada.
Considered a madman, and suffering from paranoia, he would later execute various members of his family, including his wife Mariamne. In 36 B.C., he made his 17-year-old brother-in-law Aristobulus, the high priest and, fearing revolt, had him drowned at a party the following year. Two years later he put Mariamne on trial, accusing her of adultery. Herod’s sister, Salome, and Mariamne’s own mother Alexandria, gave evidence against her and she was executed. Alexandra then declared herself Queen and stated that Herod was mentally unfit to govern. A big mistake. She too was executed. In 28 B.C. Herod executed his brother-in-law, husband of Salome, for conspiracy. The following year he escaped unharmed when an attempt was made on his life.
In 12 B.C. he provided funding for the financially strapped Olympic Games, ensuring their future. In the few years remaining before his death, Herod had, at different times, three of his sons tried for high treason and then executed. Despite all the violence, however, his long reign was a time of relative peace and prosperity for the ordinary people.
He ruled for a total of 37 years, dying about the year 4 B.C., aged 70. In his will, which had had to be changed many times, he divided his kingdom among three of his surviving sons. Archelaus became ruler over the tetrarchy of Judea, his half brother Antipas got Galilee in the north, and Philip from marriage no. 5 got Peraea (Transjordan). St. Matthew (chapter 2) informs us that Jesus was born towards the end of Herod’s reign. Tricked by the magi, Herod sent his soldiers to the small town of Bethlehem to slaughter the baby boys aged 2 or under. It is estimated that, given the size of the town, about 20 children would have been killed.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we realize that a situation of sin is an illness that weakens, paralyzes and imprisons us in pain? Do we realize that being reconciled with God entails true healing?
2. Do we allow Jesus to have full authority over us, or do we seek other lords to have sway over us?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Lord,
our sinful hearts are broken and we are in pain.
But we believe, O Christ, that you are the “healing Physician”.
Heal our hearts and make us turn back to you.
Take away the “paralysis” that results from our sins.
Strengthen our will
and fill us with the strength of new life.
May your healing hand and word of forgiveness
be the source of joy for God’s injured children.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
Loving Father,
we thank you for Jesus,
the true King and the center of our life.
He has authority to heal
and to forgive sins,
and for this we give you glory and praise.
In Jesus we are the recipients
of your love and compassion.
You are our almighty God, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“He said to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven’.” (Mk 2:5b) //“Appoint a king to rule them.” (I Sm 8:22a)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for the grace of inner healing. Extend God’s gift of healing forgiveness to a person who has offended you. // Pray for rulers of the earth that they may guide the people on the path of peace, justice and prosperity. Be pro-active with regards to social issues to help the governing body choose what is for the common good.
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January 13, 2024: SATURDAY – WEEKDAY (1)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Healing Physician … He Chose Us”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Sm 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1 // Mk 2:13-17
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 2:13-17): “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Today’s Gospel (Mk 2:13-17) tells us that healing love springs forth from Christ. Jesus is the physician par excellence and he does not have to justify his presence among the sick. His presence amidst tax collectors and sinners is a mandate and a mission of mercy. He is sent by the Father to assuage suffering of every kind. The vocation to experience God’s mercy and compassion is offered to the entire Church and the challenge to incarnate the divine mercy in today’s world is directed to each of us.
The Fresno-based Poverello House is a nonprofit, nondenominational organization whose mission is to enrich the lives and spirits of all who pass their way, to feed the hungry, offer focused rehabilitation programs, temporary shelter, medical, dental and other basic services to the poor, the homeless, the disadvantaged, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex or disability through Providential and community support. Its founder is Mike McGarvin, a man who had experienced God’s mercy and transforming compassion through a saintly Franciscan priest, Fr. Simon Scanlon. They met at the “Poverello Coffee House” which Fr. Simon opened in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, notorious for its poverty, prostitution and violence. Mike narrates: “Gradually my life of self-indulgent destruction was being replaced by a life of service … I began seeing people through Father Simon’s eyes. He, in turn, saw people through Christ’s eyes, and he deeply believed that Jesus walked among the poor and the outcast. It was a revelation to me. The more I got to know the people who came to Poverello, the more compassion I felt for them.” Indeed, through the mercy and compassion of Fr. Simon, the “wayward” Mike finally experienced the healing and transforming love of Christ.
B. First Reading (1 Sm 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1): “This is the man of whom the Lord spoke, Saul who will rule his people.”
The Old Testament reading (1 Sm 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1a) speaks of the vocation of Saul to govern God’s people and his anointing as ruler of the people. Saul is described as the son of Kish, a wealthy and influential man from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul is handsome and in the prime of life. He is a foot taller than anyone else and more handsome as well. He presents a very impressive figure at the onset. Saul, heeding his father’s request, searches for the missing donkeys and his obedient quest leads him to the prophet-seer Samuel. God tells Samuel about Saul: “This is the man I told you about. He will rule my people.” At dawn Samuel takes a jar of olive oil, pours it on Saul’s head, kisses him and says, “The Lord anoints you are ruler of his people Israel.
Saul, as God’s anointed, needs to respond positively to the mandate received. The following article about a recently crowned beauty queen gives an example of a proper response to a special title or mandate received (cf. Anne Nolan, “New Miss World Is Princess of Charm” in Alive! December 2013, p.6).
When Megan Young, a Filipina American, took part in a TV reality show the viewers were so taken with her kindness and gentleness that they dubbed her “The Princess of Charm”. At the end of September, in Bali, Indonesia, 23-year-old Megan was crowned Miss World. Born in Virginia in the US, she was aged six when her family moved back to the Philippines, which she represented in the beauty contest. An actress and model, Megan has been studying digital film-making at the De La Salle College in Manila.
Charming she definitely is, but not at the price of her convictions. She is, in fact, a Catholic young lady who actually thinks and speaks like a Catholic. After her win in Bali she was interviewed on ANC, a Filipino TV news network. She was asked what she thought of the new law in the Philippines which in fact undermines respect for life. She replied, “I’m pro-life, and if it means killing one that’s already there, then I’m against that, of course, I’m against abortion.”
That led the interviewer to question her about contraception. “I don’t engage in stuff like that”, she replied, explaining that sex is for marriage, that’s what I believe. It should be with your partner for life.” That led on to divorce. “I’m actually against divorce”, said Megan, “because I’ve seen that in my family. So I think if you marry someone, that should be the person you should be with forever, through sickness and health, through good or through bad.”
It seemed that the interviewer was finding it hard to cope with these answers. Finally she asked, “A woman as gorgeous as yourself, how do you say no to sex?” At this Megan laughed and said, “You just say no; that’s it.” She added: “If they try to push you, then you step away because you know that that person doesn’t value you, doesn’t value the relationship as much.” On the other hand, “If the guy is willing to sacrifice that, then that means a lot.”
She told how she chose to compete in the Miss World pageant rather than Miss Universe because of its principal focus. “After you win”, she said, “your main focus, your duties, will all be helping out with charities.”
A princess of charm indeed.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Are we willing to welcome fully into our hearts Jesus and the gift of divine mercy that he brings into our fragile, often times broken and self-destructive lives? Are we ready to incarnate God’s compassionate heart in today’s distressed world so needful of healing and mercy?
2. What does it mean to be chosen by God for a special task? How does Samuel inspire you as an obedient prophet of God?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
you are the most beautiful expression of God’s mercy.
You come to us with your healing touch.
You are the divine physician
who assists us in all our distress.
Heal us in our mind, body and soul
that fully restored we may give you praise, now and forever.
Amen.
***
Loving Father,
we thank you for Samuel’s obedient response to your word.
Above all, we thank you for Jesus
whom you sent to bring healing and salvation
to sinners and the sick.
Help us to respond fully to the gift of our vocation.
Let your will be done upon us
and may we be instruments
of your mercy and compassion.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“I did not come to call the righteous but sinners…” (Mk 2:17) //“The Lord has anointed you commander of his heritage.” (I Sm 10:1a)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
In your compassionate stance for the poor and needy, and especially for the “outcasts”, let the loving mercy of God be revealed in today’s world. // Be grateful to God for your Christian-baptismal vocation and for the specific charismatic vocation you have received for the good of the people around you. Maximize the spiritual gifts you have received for the common good.
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Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US