A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 23, n. 9)
Week 3 in Ordinary Time: January 26 – February 1, 2025
(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: January 19-25, 2025 please go to ARCHIVES Series 23 and click on
Ordinary Week 2.”
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: January 26 – February 1, 2025.)
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January 26, 2025: THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C
SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Fulfills the Saving Message
in Our Hearing”
BIBLE READINGS
Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 // 1 Cor 12:12-30 // Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21): “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled.”
Following a one-year sabbatical at Santa Clara University, California, where I enrolled in some courses at the Pastoral Ministry Program, I returned to the Philippines in 1996. Soon after that, I was invited to be a speaker at the Clergy Day of the Antipolo Diocese where I belong. I presented to the priests, including our Bishop, some insights on the Word of God proclaimed in the liturgy and encouraged them to read an important pastoral document, “Fulfilled in Your Hearing: The Homily in the Sunday Assembly” (Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, 1982). I was awed by the interest shown by the Antipolo clergy with regards to that document. The Diocesan Committee on the Priestly Formation made sure that each of the priests would have a copy of that document. I sensed in those priests the desire to be truly ministers of the Word and be vital instruments of the fulfillment of God’s “day of salvation”. Through their prophetic ministry, they desired to replicate the saving event in the synagogue of Nazareth, when Jesus proclaimed to the assembly of worshippers, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21).
Today’s Gospel passage tells us that Jesus goes to Nazareth, where he grew up, and goes according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and participates in the liturgy. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah is handed to him and, unrolling the scroll, Jesus solemnly proclaims the messianic prophecy: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord” (Lk 4:18-19). This passage is an excellent summary of the messianic work of Jesus, “the anointed” of the Spirit.
Jesus’ pronouncement about Isaiah’s prophecy: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21), is an astounding revelation and a challenging moment of truth. Jesus of Nazareth declares himself to be the long-awaited Messiah and the fulfillment of the messianic yearning through the ages. He radically avows that the moment of salvation is already being achieved in his person. Moreover, the “today” of salvation that he inaugurates is transcending. Indeed, the inaugural “today” of Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth continues to unfold in his public ministry until his death, resurrection, and glorification when it would become for us the eternal “today” of salvation. The continuous saving presence of the Risen Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit enables his divine Word of salvation to be present to us through time and space.
B. Old Testament Reading (Neh 8:2-4a; 5-6, 8-10): “They read from the book of the Law and they understood what was read.”
Two of our postulants who were teaching catechism at the San Jose Elementary School in Antipolo (Philippines) prepared their class to celebrate the Rite of Penance. They engaged the children actively and creatively. One little girl brought her family’s tablecloth to cover the teacher’s desk that would serve as a makeshift altar. Some brought flowers and candles. Others were trained to proclaim the bible readings and to offer the prayer intentions. The whole class learned some easy and delightful sung responses. The priest proclaimed the Parable of the Prodigal Son in the vernacular and, in simple terms, explained to the children the meaning of the Gospel reading. During the celebration of the Word, the class was unusually attentive and focused. Some were shedding tears. When the catechists asked why they were weeping, they replied: “It is because we are sorry for our sins!”
This Sunday’s Old Testament passage (Neh 8:2-41, 5-6, 8-10) describes a liturgy of the Word where the Law “which the Lord had given to Israel” was proclaimed and explained to the people, enabling them to understand what was read. When Ezra, the priest-scribe, read from the book of the Law, the people wept from the sheer emotion of hearing God’s Word. They had recognized the special character of the word proclaimed, producing a remarkable effect in their lives. Indeed, the community that actively sought the Law, not only heard it, but also understood its vital significance. The reading from the Law, constituted by the Pentateuch or the first five books of the Bible, must have shed light on their fragile and feckless inner core for the community responded with tears. The liturgical reading from the Law was not meant, however, to condemn, but to be a font of joy and strength for that assembly who hungered for the life-giving Word of God. Moreover, the divine Word that they had heard intently with their hearts moved them to a vital social action and impelled them to share compassionately their resources with the needy.
Against the backdrop of Nehemiah’s account of an assembly receptively listening to the Word of God and being effectively challenged by that Word, this Sunday’s Gospel episode of Jesus unrolling the scroll and reading the Isaiah prophecy about the Servant of Yahweh, anointed by the Spirit of the Lord to bring glad tidings to the poor and to fulfill the Father’s saving plan, acquires greater impact. The episode in the synagogue at Nazareth confronts us with a more vigorous challenge to listen, understand and respond positively and willfully to the Word of the Lord that is proclaimed and ever actualized – the all-powerful Word fulfilled in our hearing and in the here and now of our daily life. The Word of God read and proclaimed in the liturgical assembly seeks a listening and an understanding heart.
C. Second Reading (1 Cor 12:4-12-30): “You are Christ’s body and individually parts of it.”
In today’s Second Reading (I Cor 12:12-30), we glean that the messianic task of restoration continues to challenge the Church through all ages. Paul himself has to come to grips with various divisive issues that confront the early Christian community in Corinth. Writing to the contentious Corinthians in 70 A.D., Paul asserts that in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body and given to drink of one Spirit. He avows that we are the body of Christ and individually parts of it.
Indeed, Christ is one, just as the human body is one, in spite of the diversity and number of its members. By the sacrament of baptism we are incorporated into the risen, glorified body of Christ. The Church, the assembly of Christian believers, is the manifestation and extension of the Lord’s body in this world. The Church is the body of Christ – head and members. We are all significant and important members of this “mystical body” because we all share in the life of the Risen Lord, our head.
Baptized into one body, we are called to promote the unity of the members of Christ’s body and to overcome the divisions that diminish its vitality. It is greatly opportune to consider Saint Pope John XXIII and his effort to restore Christian unity (cf. Jeanne Kun, “’They Are Our Brethren’: John XXIII and Christian Unity” in THE WORD AMONG US, January 2008, p. 66-68).
Not long after his election as pope in 1959, Blessed John XXIII surprised the whole world when he announced his intention to convene the Second Vatican Council. Nobody expected this affable son of peasant farmers to take such a bold move. He was supposed to be a “caretaker pope”, spending his remaining years preparing for the next pope. But Angelo Roncalli had other plans.
Pope John XXIII caused an even greater stir when he stated that one of his primary intentions for the council was Christian unity. Having served as a papal representative in Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece, John XXIII experienced firsthand the divisions between Eastern and Western Christians. In addition, during his time as papal nuncio in France, he was appointed as the first permanent observer of the Holy See at UNESCO. This international perspective made the new pope keenly aware of the scandal of a divided church. He wanted Vatican II to put the church on a new path toward reconciliation with all believers.
It was for this reason that John XXIII took the extraordinary step of inviting to the Council representatives from every major Christian denomination. These “observers” were treated with great respect, and were given the opportunity to comment on the Council Fathers’ discussion throughout Vatican II’s four sections.
Most significantly, the Council released its Decree on Ecumenism, which expressed deep regard for Christians of all denominations. Among other things, it stated that in the long history of divisions of the church, “men on both sides were to blame”, not just those who separated from Rome and founded other churches or denominations. This is why all believers must undergo conversion of sorts, a “change of heart and holiness of life” that will bring us all together.
Throughout his pontificate, John XXIII instituted a number of innovations to help foster unity and reconciliation among churches and cultures. For one, he broadened the College of Cardinals, naming the first Indian and African cardinals. He created a new Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity and appointed the first-ever Catholic representative to the Assembly of the World Council of Churches.
Pope John also welcomed the heads of any churches to the Vatican. For instance, not since the fourteenth century had an archbishop of Canterbury set foot inside the Vatican – until Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher’s visit in 1960. The pope reminded those separated from the Catholic Church of the words of St. Augustine: “Whether they wish it or not, they are our brethren. They cease to be our brethren only when they stop saying ‘Our Father’.”
When once asked about the possibility of Christian unity, Pope John replied, “I realize that it will take a long time. Neither you nor I will be there to celebrate the great feast of reconciliation. Neither will my immediate successors. But someone must begin to clear away the obstacles that stand in the way.” And that’s just what John XXIII did. It is also what his successors have continued to do. In December, 1965, Pope Paul VI joined Patriarch Athenagoras I in lifting the mutual excommunications between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches that had been in place since 1054. In 1995, Pope John Paul II dedicated an entire encyclical to ecumenism (That They May Be One), and throughout his pontificate went out of his way to meet with the leaders of other Christian denominations. And Pope Benedict XVI has continued along this path, urging Catholics to pray and work for unity, and is himself making contacts and moving forward dialogue with a host of different Christian leaders.
As we observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from January 18-25, let’s dedicate ourselves to unity. Even if we feel inadequate, we can take on Pope John’s attitude: “Whenever I see a wall between Christians, I try to pull out a brick.” Each in our own way, let’s pray and work for the day when the followers of Jesus “may all be one” (John 17:21). We may not live to see full unity within the body of Christ, but it is possible that we will see hopeful signs of the reconciliation and healing God longs for!
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
When we listen to the Gospel according to St. Luke, do we respond with love and faith to the proclamation of Christ and the saving events that bring to fulfillment God’s plan of salvation? What is the personal significance of the following words of Jesus: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”? How do we respond to the task and challenge to actualize the “today” of salvation?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
we believe that you are “the anointed” of the Spirit
to bring good news to the poor;
the one sent to proclaim liberty to the captives
and give sight to the blind;
the liberator of the captives and the oppressed;
and the inaugurator of the “today” of salvation.
Through your prophetic and paschal ministry,
the message of salvation is fulfilled in our hearing
and in the daily events of our life.
Consecrate us anew
and let your creative and all-powerful Word transform us
that we may become docile and efficacious instruments
of the “today” of salvation.
By our lives of charity and ministry to the poor,
let us be your limpid witnesses
and instruments of your saving Word.
We love you, serve you,
and give ourselves totally to you.
You are our saving Lord,
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.
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk 4:21)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for all Christians that they may carry out with joy their prophetic ministry to proclaim the Good News. Offer special prayers for all those commissioned in the Christian community to be ministers of the Word, e.g. homilists, lectors, etc. By your acts of charity and by your kind and inspiring words, be an instrument of God’s healing word for the poor, the needy, the grieving, and the lonely.
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January 27, 2025: MONDAY – WEEKDAY (3); SAINT ANGELA MERICI, Virgin
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Was an Object of Blasphemy … He Takes Away Sin by His Sacrifice”
BIBLE READINGS
Heb 9:15, 24-28 // Mk 3:22-30
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 3:22-30): “It is the end of Satan.”
In today’s Gospel episode (Mk 3:22-30), the scribes who have come from Jerusalem to observe are vicious. Having witnessed the exorcisms performed by Jesus, they accuse him of demonic possession and collusion. The Divine Master refutes their tortured reasoning, tainted with cold venom and vitiated with jealousy. Indeed, Satan is not so foolish as to align with Jesus in destroying his very self. Rather, Jesus expels demons through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus is the “stronger one” who overpowers Satan and subdues his household. Jesus exorcises through the power of the Holy Spirit. To declare that the power at work in Jesus is “demonic” and that the Holy Spirit that animates him is “unclean” is blasphemy. The animosity of the scribes is such that they willfully reject the power of God’s saving grace to work in them. Hence, in this sense, forgiveness is not for them.
The following story could give us an idea of the misunderstanding and rejection that Jesus suffered both from his kinsmen and opponents – the same experience that his disciples and people of good will continue to have today (cf. Anthony de Mello, Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books, 1988, p. 124).
A family of five was enjoying their day at the beach. The children were bathing in the ocean and making castles in the sand when in the distance a little old lady appeared. Her gray hair was blowing in the wind and her clothes were dirty and ragged. She was muttering something to herself as she picked up things from the beach and put them into a bag. The parents called the children to their side and told them to stay away from the old lady. As she passed by, bending every now and then to pick things up, she smiled at the family. But her greeting wasn’t returned. Many weeks later they learned that the little old lady had made it her lifelong crusade to pick up bits of glass from the beach so children wouldn’t cut their feet.
B. First Reading (Heb 9:15, 24-28): “Christ, who offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time to those who eagerly await him.”
In today’s reading (Heb 9:15, 24-28) we hear that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant because, by his sacrifice on the cross, he delivers us from sin. Through him we receive the eternal blessings that God has promised. His life-giving sacrifice is definitive and final. It continues eternally in heaven on our behalf. Jesus’ priestly act surpasses the Day of Atonement sacrifice offered by the Old Testament High Priest. Through his once-and-for-all sacrifice, Christ has effectively made salvation available through time and space. He will appear a second time not to deal with sin, but to bring into eternal glory and salvation those who trust in him.
The eternal value of Christ’s efficacious sacrifice is made present in the Holy Mass. Hence, the “weight” of one Holy Mass is beyond our imagining. The following true story was related by Sr. M. Veronica Murphy, an elderly nun, who heard it from the lips of the late Reverend Father Stanislaus, SS.CC.
One day many years ago, in a little town in Luxemburg, a Captain of the Forest Guards was in deep conversation with the butcher when an elderly woman entered the shop. The butcher broke off the conversation to ask the old woman what she wanted. She had come to beg for a little meat but had no money. The Captain was amused with the woman and the butcher. “Only a little meat, but how much are you going to give her?” he wondered.
“I am sorry I have no money but I’ll hear a Mass for you”, the woman told the butcher. Both the butcher and the Captain were indifferent about religion, so they at once began to scoff at the old woman’s idea. “All right then”, said the butcher. “You go and hear a Mass for me and when you come back I’ll give you as much as the Mass is worth.”
The woman left the shop and returned later. She approached the counter and the butcher said, “All right then, we’ll see.” She took a slip of paper and wrote on it: “I heard a Mass for you.” He placed the paper on the scales and a tiny bone on the other side, but nothing happened. Next he placed a piece of meat instead of the bone, but still the paper proved heavier. Both men were beginning to feel ashamed of their mockery but continued their game. A large piece of meat was placed on the balance, but still the paper held its own. The butcher, exasperated, examined the scales but found they were correct. “What do you want, my good woman? Must I give you a whole leg of mutton? At this he placed the leg of mutton on the balance, but the paper outweighed the meat. A larger piece of meat was put on, but again the weight remained on the side of the paper. This so impressed the butcher that he was converted and promised to give the woman her daily ration of meat.
As for the Captain, he left the shop a changed man and became an ardent lover of daily Mass. Two of his sons became priests, one a Jesuit and the other a Father of the Sacred Heart. Father Stanislaus finished the story by saying, “I am from the Religious of the Sacred Heart and the Captain was my father.” From the incident the Captain became a daily Mass attendant and his children were trained to follow his example.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Are we guilty of jealousy and unable to recognize the grace at work in other persons? What do we do about this?
2. Do we believe in the eternal value of Christ’s once-and-for-all sacrifice? Do we truly welcome his gift of redemption, and look forward to the glory of his final coming at the end time?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
you were misunderstood and viciously accused.
But as for us, we embrace your love.
Let the power of your Holy Spirit be with us.
Help us to bring order and justice
to a world convulsed with the violence of evil and sin.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
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Jesus Lord,
you are the mediator of the New Covenant.
Through you, we receive
the eternal blessings that God has promised.
By your “once-and-for-all” sacrifice on the cross
we are saved.
We adore you and praise you
as our saving Lord.
Help us to be faithful to you so that,
as we look forward to your final coming,
we may give efficacious witness
that you are indeed Christ, the eternal High Priest,
living on in the heavenly sanctuary,
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.
“Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness.” (Mk 3:26) // “Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time.” (Heb 9:28)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for perpetrators of blasphemy against God, especially those who do this making use of the means of social communication. Make an effort today to spread the Good News to the people around you. // By your life of holiness and service, manifest to the world the efficacy of Christ’s once-and-for-all sacrifice.
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January 28, 2025: TUESDAY – SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS, Priest, Doctor of the Church
“JESUS SAVIOR: His True Family Does the Will of God … He Comes to Do God’s Will”
BIBLE READINGS
Heb 10:1-10 // Mk 3:31-35
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 3:31-35): “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
In today’s Gospel (Mk 3:31-35), the relatives of Jesus misunderstand his public ministry as “crazy” and “overdone”. They want to take charge of him. They probably have pleaded with Mary to come and see the frantic situation involving her son Jesus. They arrive when a crowd is sitting around Jesus and listening to him. The relatives send in a message, asking for him. Jesus uses the moment to declare what true family means to him. Those who do the will of God are his mother, his brother and his sister. Jesus redefines the sacred boundary of the family in a radical way. The biological family is replaced with the larger family of God, that is, those who do the will of God, of whom his mother Mary is foremost. Jesus subordinates natural kinship to a higher bond of relationship based on the obedience of faith. Indeed, the “family of God” inaugurated by Jesus is greatly inclusive and faith-intensive.
The following missioner tale illustrates the beauty and warmth of belonging to a spiritual family based on the love and service of God and his people (cf. Jason Obergfell, “Missioner Tales” in Maryknoll, May/June 2011, p. 11).
Recently, Maryknoll Sister Marilyn Bell passed away in Bolivia after countless years of service here. She was a tough woman who was active until a few months before her death, which is why she died in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where I serve as a Maryknoll lay missioner, rather than in the United States. Although no one from Marilyn’s biological family in the States was able to attend her funeral, her death brought together her Maryknoll family of priests, Brothers, Sisters and lay missioners who also serve in Bolivia.
Just last year being in mission in Bolivia, I was unable to attend the funeral of my grandmother, but now I was able to attend Sister Marilyn’s funeral as a “grandson” in our Maryknoll family. It was an experience that revealed what we only strive to describe with words. The Maryknoll family of missioners, thrown together by chance but held together by love for one another, is a lived example of Jesus’ message – we are all family. Sister Marilyn’s family in Bolivia wasn’t just limited to Maryknollers. The church was filled with Bolivians who had become her family because of her love for them. Being a model of God’s family, bound together by our love for one another, may just be the most important thing any of us will accomplish in mission or in life.
B. First Reading (Heb 10:1-10): “Behold, I come to do your will, O God.”
Today’s First Reading (Heb 10:1-10) gives us a profound insight into the “why” of the Lord’s incarnation. The Son of God became man so that through his “body” he could offer a sacrifice of perfect obedience to the Father’s saving will. The effect of Christ’s perfect sacrifice is our salvation and redemption. Through the offering of the body of Christ for all, we have been sanctified and consecrated to the loving, merciful God the Father. Through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, we are able to offer a sacrifice that is pleasing to God.
The following article in the Irish newspaper, Alive! (July/August 2009 issue, p. 6) extols the decision of a young Catholic couple to trust in God and accept the divine will. The moral commitment of Austin and Nuala Conway gives us an insight into Christ’s irrevocable resolve to follow the divine saving will.
The parents of Ireland’s first ever set of sextuplets decided to put their trust in God rather than follow the doctors’ immoral advice during their pregnancy. “These babies are a wonderful gift from God. Whatever God laid out for our lives we were taking it”, said 26-year-old Nuala Conway of Dunamore Co Tyrone. Doctors warned the married couple about the risks of a multiple pregnancy, and “more or less” advised them to have several of their unborn babies aborted. But the young Catholic couple rejected such a heartless solution and opted to trust in God and accept his will. “Doctors gave us a couple of days to think about it, but we knew without discussion what we both wanted”, said Nuala. “Whatever God laid out for our lives, we were taking it.”
The four girls and two boys, weighing between 1 lb 7 oz and 2 lb 7 oz, were delivered by Caesarian section 14 weeks early at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital, with the aid of 30 medical staff. In an interview with the Sunday Express, Mrs. Conway said, “I prayed as much as I could for a child. I would have been happy with one, but God blessed us with six, which is amazing.” It wasn’t until just three months before the birth that a scan showed she was carrying six babies. “I’m in love with every single one of them. I fell in love when they were in the womb. When one moved they would all move and I could definitely feel 24 limbs kicking”, she said.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we strive to belong truly to the family of God by our life of obedient faith and serving love?
2. Do you imitate Christ in his total submission to the Father’s saving will? Do you declare “through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ” with receptive heart: Behold, I come to do your will, O God?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O Jesus, you are our brother.
You revealed to us the criterion for belonging to the family of God:
by doing the Father’s saving will.
We thank you for Mother Mary.
She exemplifies in her life the obedient faith
that makes us belong to God’s family.
Teach us to be faithful children of God our Father.
You live and reign, and forever.
Amen.
***
Loving Father,
we thank you for Christ the Lord.
At his incarnation, your divine Son avowed,
Behold, I come to do your will, O God.
For this wondrous mystery of love,
we praise you, God our Father.
Grant us the grace to follow our vocation to holiness
and to live out our calling to perfect charity.
We adore you and praise 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.
“For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mk 3:35) // “Behold, I come to do your will, O God!” (Heb 10:7)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
By your acts of charity and compassion to the poor and vulnerable, prove to the world that you belong to the family of God and inspire people to be submissive to the divine saving will.
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January 29, 2025: WEDNESDAY – WEEKDAY (3)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Sows the Seedling of the Word … He Makes Us Perfect by His Sacrifice”
BIBLE READINGS
Heb 10:11-18 // Mk 4:1-20
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 4:1-20): “A sower went out to sow.”
Today’s Gospel (Mk 4:1-20) depicts Jesus as sitting in the boat on the sea, with a large crowd gathered on the shore. The eager crowd of country folks has the potential of opening their hearts to the word of Jesus. To them he addresses the parable of the sower and the seed. The seed sown by the sower falls on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns and on rich soil. In the first three cases nothing happens, but in the last case an abundant harvest is produced. Indeed, the coming of the kingdom of God means the abundance of all good. Jesus is the sower who sows abundantly the word of the Kingdom. The “seed” of the word is lavishly sown because the Lord wants to address all without discrimination.
Saint John Chrysostom asserts: “The sower does not make distinctions between different soils; he simply throws the seed. Similarly, Jesus does not distinguish between rich and poor, learned and unschooled, careless and fervent, courageous and timid. His word concerns everybody.” Though the parable underscores the inherent fecundity of the seed of God’s kingdom, it also emphasizes the responsibility and the positive response to be given by the recipients of the “seed” of the divine word. We need to believe and be more open to God’s word.
The following is a testimony regarding the power of God’s word and one’s personal response to the offer of God’s kingdom (cf. Janet Perez Eckles in Daily Guideposts 2015, p. 90). Janet lost her sight at the age of 31, when her sons were 3, 5 and 7. She uses her own example of victory to teach others to triumph over trials. She lives in Orlando, Florida, and is warmed by the love of Gene, her husband of thirty-eight years, and the joy of her two grandchildren.
“Retinitis pigmentosa”, the doctor said, and finally the dreaded day came. I awoke, held my hands in front of my face, and saw nothing. At thirty-one, I was facing the rest of my life as a blind person. It terrified me.
“I can’t do this, God. I hate my life”, I whispered. How could God let a young mother go blind? Why would He refuse to answer my prayers for sight? Family and friends tried to support me, but none could understand the depth of my pain.
Then a friend called. “Come to my church. You’ll enjoy the service.” A trace of hope flickered, and I went. The message of Matthew 6:33 shook me. God was asking me to seek Him first. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I soaked in God’s Word. He promised to be a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I believed it. I received it. And I applied it to my every moment as a wife and mom.
My life is peaceful now. Rest comes knowing God guides my footsteps, holds my future, and erases my fear.
B. First Reading (Heb 10:11-18): “He has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated.”
In today’s First Reading (Heb 10:11-18), the author of the letter to the Hebrews underlines for the umpteenth time the superiority of Christ’s priesthood over the Old Testament priesthood. The Jewish priest performs his services every day and offers the same sacrifices many times, but they can never take away sins. In contrast, Christ offers one sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins and is effective forever. By his death on the cross, Christ has made perfect forever those who share in his priestly consecration. The words of the Holy Spirit give witness to the efficacious power of the New Covenant for the transformation of hearts and the forgiveness of sins. God will remember our sins no more because, in Jesus, our sins are forgiven.
The Christian disciples who share in his priestly consecration by baptism are called to live out in today’s world the meaning of forgiveness of sins and total conversion (cf. Patricia Treece, God Will Provide, Brewster: Paraclete Press, 2011, p. 159-160).
A nineteen-year-old student of metallurgic engineering, Paul Caporali had been surrendered to Christ since he fell “in love with him” somewhere around the age of sixteen or seventeen. Paul was home in his native Terni, with his mother, his fiancée, Lea, and his sister and her toddler on August 11, 1943, when American planes bombed the Italian city during WW II. Although Paul survived, and his father and two younger brothers were later found alive, after the bombing the young student found those he loved the most were dead. They had headed toward a shelter a few minutes too late. As he knelt at the grisly site, Paul wrote in his 2009 memoir, “I wanted to curse the bombers, but a deep surging of Christian piety arose … and looking up at the sky I called out, ‘Father, forgive them! They know not what they do!’ And I meant it. They’re soldiers, I thought, bowing my head. They are only carrying out commands.”
Experiencing “desolation too strong for tears”, Paul found in his fiancée’s purse a little prayer book he himself had given her. He read the words Lea would have meditated on that morning after her daily Mass: “Do not be overly distressed if I take something from you; it is mine and I take it back.”
“Thanks a lot, Lord”, he said with momentary bitterness. Continuing reading, he came to the words, “If I take something good from you, it is to give you something better.” Lea had told Paul that if the devout youth ever felt a call to the priesthood she would work to put him through the seminary. “Trying to get rid of me?” he had teased this selfless woman – who, like him, put God above everything. Immediately with her death he knew marriage could no longer be in his future. Lea could never be replaced.
Some years after his harrowing loss, the ways of providence led Paul Caporali to become a Salesian priest sent to work in the very country whose bombers had killed those he loved. Because of that earlier, wholehearted forgiveness, the Italian priest has been able to help countless American souls forgive their own tragedies, opening them to all the joys of living in the flow of divine providence.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Are we thankful for the goodness and generosity of Jesus the Sower? Do we truly believe in the power of the word of God?
2. Do we value the efficacious “one sacrifice” that Christ offered to take away our sins? What is our response to God’s kindness and loving mercy?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(The first prayer is by Nerses Snorhali in Jesus, Fils unique du Pere in Sources chretiennes 203, Paris: Cerf, 1973, p. 133)
I hardened myself like a rock;
I became like the path;
the thorns of the world have choked me
and have made my soul unfruitful.
But, O Lord, Sower of good,
make the seedling of the Word grow in me
so I may yield fruit in one of these three:
Hundredfold, sixtyfold, or even thirtyfold.
Thank you, loving Jesus,
Amen.
***
God our Father,
we thank you for the priestly consecration
that we share with Christ, the eternal High Priest.
We are grateful that in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross,
we are saved from sin.
Help us to respond to your kindness and tender mercy
and let us be renewed in your love.
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.
“And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.” (Mk 4:8) // “For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated.” (Heb 10:14)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray that the seed of the Kingdom may find rich soil to make it grow and be fruitful. Be attentive to the word of God in the liturgical assembly and in the daily events of life. // Pray that the Christian disciples of today may be instruments of the mercy and forgiving love of God. Practice the acts of forgiveness in your daily life.
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January 30, 2025: THURSDAY – WEEKDAY (3)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Reveals the Mystery of the Kingdom … He Is the New and Living Way”
BIBLE READINGS
Heb 10:19-25 // Mk 4:21-25
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 4:21-25): “A lamp is to be placed on a lamp stand. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you .”
Jesus Master continues to reveal himself not only through miraculous deeds, but also by his teaching. His parables were not meant to conceal the mystery of the Kingdom but to enable his audience to take his word to heart more personally and more profoundly. A lit oil lamp is not put under the bed or covered with a bushel basket, but placed on a stand to maximize its light-giving. The parables of Jesus, when received with humble hearts, are like an oil lamp that shines brightly from a stand. They shed light on the heavenly kingdom that Jesus proclaims. They challenge the audience to conversion and, when pondered dutifully and lovingly, they evoke their faith response.
Today’s Gospel (Mk 4:21-25) also contains a parable-like saying of Jesus about the measure that is given is the measure that is received and that to one who has more will be given while the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is a powerful invitation to respond wisely and generously to the kingdom of God. The wise person who seeks to grow in the knowledge of God is fully rewarded. Those who foolishly refuse to listen to Jesus would end up terrible losers. Indeed, the Divine Master calls us to an attentive hearing and true understanding of his saving word. Jesus calls his disciples to a deep spirituality.
The following charming story gives insight into what true light means and what deep spirituality entails (cf. Anthony de Mello, Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books, 1988, p. 161).
A Guru asked his disciples how they could tell when the night had ended and the
day begun. One said, “When you see an animal in the distance and can tell whether it is a cow or a horse.” “No”, said the Guru. “When you look at a tree in the distance and can tell if it is a neem tree or a mango tree.” “Wrong again”, said the Guru. “Well, then, what is it?” asked his disciples. “When you look into the face of any man and recognize your brother in him; when you look into the face of any woman and recognize in her your sister. If you cannot do this, no matter what time it is by the sun it is still night.”
B. First Reading (Heb 10:19-25): “Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope and consider how to raise one another to love.”
In today’s First Reading (Heb 10:19-25), the author of the letter to the Hebrews enthusiastically describes the grace-filled situation resulting from Christ’s priestly offering on the cross. The Christian disciples now have access to the heavenly sanctuary “by the blood of Christ”, that is, through his sacrificial death that earned our salvation. Through the glorified humanity of Jesus, the new and living way, we are able to come near to God. Christ the Priest is our guide to a deeper relationship with God.
This privileged gift of access into the house of God obliges us to live in sincere faith, unwavering hope, and effective love. We are called to live our baptismal consecration to the full for Christ has washed us in his paschal blood. We are urged to hold on to the faith we profess because God is trustworthy. We are inspired to live in mutual love, showing concern for one another and encouraging each other to do good. Participation in the Eucharistic assemblies is a great stimulus for fraternal love and mutual encouragement. Hence, it is very unfortunate that some members of the congregation are neglecting to attend these Church gatherings. The imminence of the “Day of the Lord” makes the exhortation to live in faith, hope and love even more pressing.
The life of the great missionary to Russia, Fr. Ciszek, is an example of what it means to follow Jesus, “the new and living way” in today’s world (cf. Columbia, December 2012, p. 5). He is one who has held unswervingly to the faith that gives us hope and enables us love self-sacrificingly.
FATHER WALTER CISZEK (1904-1984): Born to Polish immigrant parents in the mining town of Shenandoah, Pa. Walter Ciszek grew up with a tough demeanor and often got into fights. To the surprise of his parents, he decided to become a priest and entered minor seminary in Michigan. Walter left to join the Jesuits in New York in 1928. In response to Pope Pius XI’s appeal for missionaries in Russia, he studied theology in Rome and was ordained to the Byzantine rite in 1937, receiving the name Father Vladimir.
Father Ciszek was first assigned to work in Poland. With the start of World War II two years later, he was able to enter Russia using false papers. In June 1941, the secret police arrested him under the suspicion that he was a spy. Father Ciszek spent five years in Moscow’s Lubianka prison, mostly in solitary confinement, and was subjected to torture and interrogation. He was then sent to serve a 15-year sentence at Gulag labor camp in Siberia. Amid brutal conditions, he managed to secretly celebrate Mass and hear the confessions of other prisoners.
Long presumed dead by his family and religious order, Father Ciszek was released under strict conditions in 1955. In 1963, he was allowed to return to the United States as a result of a prisoner exchange negotiated with the help of President John F. Kennedy.
After his return, Father Ciszek published a memoir titled With God in Russia (1964). In a second book, a spiritual reflection about his experience titled He Leadeth Me (1973), he explains how he found strength and comfort in realizing that God’s will was not an “abstract principle”, but was found in the unavoidable circumstances of any given day, even amid hardship and suffering.
Father Ciszek died in New York on December 8, 1984. His cause for canonization began five years later.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do I cherish the light of the Word of God and make it shine like a burning lamp on a stand? Do I dedicate myself to the meditation of God’s Word and the study of the parables of Jesus?
2. Trusting in the power of Christ’s priestly sacrifice and in the faithful love of God, do we hold unwaveringly to our confession of faith, to the hope that anchors it and to the love that gives substance to it?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus Lord,
your Word is a light that brightens our path.
Help us to respond generously to your saving Word.
Let it transform us and may we continue to grow in your love.
You are our Divine Master, our way, truth and life.
We love and adore you, now and forever.
Amen.
***
O loving Father,
your Son Jesus Christ is “the new and living way”
to the heavenly sanctuary.
His priestly sacrifice on the cross
enables us to live in filial relationship with you.
Help us to respond to such a gracious gift
by upholding the faith we profess,
the hope that anchors it
and the love that gives substance to it.
Teach us to nourish this gift in the sacred assembly
and in our celebration of the saving mystery.
We give you honor and praise, 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.
“Is a lamp not to be placed on a lamp stand?” (Mk 4:21) // “Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope.” (Heb 10:23)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Make an effort to study and meditate upon the Gospel parables. // Let your daily duties and acts of service to your family, friends, and the people around you be a manifestation of your faith, hope, and love for Jesus Christ.
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January 31, 2025: FRIDAY – SAINT JOHN BOSCO, Priest
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Makes the Seed Grow … He Helps Us to Endure”
BIBLE READINGS
Heb 10:32-39 // Mk 4:26-34
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 4:26-34): “A man scatters seed on the land and would sleep and the seed would sprout and grow; he knows not how.”
The farming images we have in today’s reading (Mk 4:26-34) are beautiful and powerfully symbolic. The parable of the growing seed while the farmer sleeps (verses 26-29) teaches us that the growth of the Kingdom is inevitable and that it is God’s initiative. The image of the sleeping farmer shatters the illusion of those who believe that the coming of the Kingdom is under human control. The Kingdom grows by the power of God. Like a seed that breaks forth from the ground, God’s Reign has already irrupted into the world through Jesus’ ministry.
The parable of the mustard seed (verses 30-34) underlines the contrast between an insignificant beginning and the full growth of God’s kingdom. The tiny seed grows into a full-blown tree. This symbolizes the organic continuity between Jesus’ ministry, so disappointing to Israel’s hopes, and the future of the Kingdom of God, that would encompass both the Israelites and the Gentiles – indeed peoples from all nations and cultures.
We are called to promote the growth of the Kingdom of God and the integration of creation. The following story illustrates the value of our personal contribution to bringing about the fruition of the divine saving plan (cf. Fr. Eric Haarer, “The Old Man in the Plaza” in Catholic Digest, July-August 2011, p.66-67).
Barcelona, Spain is an amazing city … I had been walking all day and it was hot, in the 80s. I wanted a rest away from the hustle and bustle, so I ambled down a side street and sat on a low wall in a tiny plaza near the Gothic Quarter. To my right was a small fountain, basically a pipe in the wall that spilled drinking water into a cement basin. In front of me stood a sickly looking sapling. It received little light in this narrow plaza, and its leaves were drooping and discolored from thirst and exhaust. An older, well-dressed gentleman at the fountain was filling an empty plastic soda bottle. He walked over to the tree and poured the water at its base. He returned to the fountain for more, and again watered the tree. And again. And again. I stopped counting after 12 trips and was on my way before he finished.
This simple act of kindness touched me deeply. It reminded me of something Mother Teresa said about her work in India: “We don’t do great things; we do small things with great love”. (…) This gentle man was tending the Earth, and in this “small thing done with great love”, he did his part to bring hope and new life into the world. Certainly he brought it to one foot-sore pilgrim.
B. First Reading (Heb 10:32-39): “Do not throw away your confidence. It will have a great reward.”
In today’s First Reading (Heb 10:32-39), the author of the letter to the Hebrews reminds them of their identity and dignity as baptized Christians – those “enlightened” by the light of faith. Having welcomed the light of Christ, they have endured all sorts of suffering. They have suffered for their Christian identity and share in the similar sufferings of others. They have been publicly insulted and mistreated; dispossessed and put in prison. Yet they are not defeated by the struggle. They are not disheartened by the loss of belongings because they know that they still possess something that which would last forever. Indeed, they need to endure and not lose courage. They should remember the prophet Habakkuk’s exhortation that the just one lives by faith. They have made a tremendous personal response in following Christ. It would be unfortunate if they give it up. Through the example of Christ in his passion, they will not turn back, but instead persevere in faith and be saved.
The following example of enduring faith in today’s society is very inspiring. Fr. Jon Sobrino, a Jesuit theologian based in El Salvador, gives us a firsthand account of an incident that illustrates Archbishop Oscar Romero’s radical faith response for Christ and his people.
“On May 19, 1977, the army went to Aguilares, expelled the three remaining Jesuits, desecrated the church and sacristy, and declared a state of emergency. After a month of the state of emergency, the army simply drove the people out of Aguilares. Archbishop Romero decided to go there at the first opportunity, denounce the atrocities that had been committed, and try to inspire a threatened, terrorized people with hope. ‘You are Christ today, suffering in history,’ he told them. After the Mass we held a procession of the Blessed Sacrament. We processed out into a little square in front of the church to make reparation for the soldiers’ desecration of the sacramental Body of Christ and the living Body of Christ, the murdered ‘campesinos’. Across the square, in front of the town hall, were armed troops, standing there watching us, sullen, arrogant and unfriendly. We were uneasy. In fact, we were afraid. We had no idea what might happen. And we all instinctively turned around and looked at Archbishop Romero, who was bringing up the rear, holding the monstrance. ‘Adelante! (Forward!)’, said Archbishop Romero. And we went right ahead.”
On March 24, 1980, Archbishop Romero was shot to death while celebrating the Mass, the blood of his martyred body mixing with the sacramental body and blood of Christ on the altar of Eucharistic sacrifice. His death was a priestly sacrifice radically united with the sacrificial offering of Jesus, the eternal Priest-Victim upon the cross. Archbishop Romero was beatified on May 23, 2015 in the capital city of El Salvador.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we believe in small beginnings and in the power of God to make his kingdom grow and embrace all nations and creation? What do we do to promote the growth?
2. Are we willing to live by faith and endure the sacrifices that Christian discipleship entails? Do we trust that, united with Christ, we will not be overcome by suffering and not be defeated by the struggle?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
how marvelous is the growth of the heavenly kingdom!
It is a seed sown in human history by your messianic ministry.
Its power irrupts into our lives and we are a part of its growth.
We thank you for the power of life
and the universal expanse of the kingdom of God.
Grant that we may continue to give our very best
– no matter how humble and insignificant –
to promote the growth and fruition of God’s Reign
upon earth and in all creation.
We love you and praise you, now and forever.
Amen.
***
Loving Father,
we thank you for the light of faith
and for our Christian identity.
Give us the grace to endure the sufferings
that our consecration to Christ entails.
Let the passion of Christ be our strength
and help us to believe
that with faith we will have eternal life.
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 week. Please memorize it.
“Once it is sown, it springs up.” (Mk 4:32) // “You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.” (Heb 10:36)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for social justice and the integration of creation. In view of the integration of God’s creation, practice proper waste management in your household using the ecological principles: reduce, reuse and recycle. // Be courageous to uphold the social teaching of the Church in the public square.
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February 1, 2025: SATURDAY – WEEKDAY (3)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Calms the Raging Sea … He Calls Us to Faith”
BIBLE READINGS
Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 // Mk 4:35-41
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 4:35-41): “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
(Gospel Reflection by Andy Ruperto, Fresno, CA – U.S.A.)
Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him? Lord, who are You? Is this not the question we must constantly ponder? In today’s Gospel we again see Jesus’ disciples continuing on their journey of faith and asking, “Lord, who are You? You have power over the wind and the sea!”
In this event, we must place ourselves in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. The wind and waves are beginning to violently shake the boat. The disciples are stumbling around and yelling, trying to get things under control. I do not know what it must have been like being in a potentially life-threatening storm, but I do remember being in a motorboat with family on a lake. When the front of the boat took on some water, because it was too heavy, there were screams and a bit of hysteria. How much more so if we were in a violent storm?
In the meantime, our Lord is asleep in the stern. So, then the disciples ask – “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” This is a question I sometimes ask in different life situations. God, do You not know what I’m going through?” “Why is this happening to me?” Sometimes I ‘feel’ like my life is ending or that I cannot go on. There are too many storms – confusion, stress, studies, relationships, finances … So I ask, “Lord, do You not care that I am perishing?”
Jesus then comes in power, and stills the storms with His word and says, “Peace! Be still.” This is the peace that comes from Jesus and it is a peace not as the world gives it. Christ is the only way to true peace. Here, our Lord Jesus shows His power over the wind and sea and amazes the disciples. Jesus is GOD. He is powerful. He is mighty. He can do anything. He can calm these modern-day storms. He is also humble and sometimes we cannot see through the veil of humanity.
A friend once told me that the hard part for God is not the miracles, but changing human hearts. It seems that in this event, our Lord Jesus was using the storm to awaken the disciples’ hearts to faith. He asks them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
The “good news” of the reading today is one that was constantly repeated by our late Holy Father, John Paul II. It was the message, “Do not be afraid!” Our Lord tells us not to let our hearts be troubled. He is with us, and so what can we fear? He will take care of us. It is our faith that enables us not to fear. Let us always call on the name of Jesus in the stormy chapters of our lives. In these times let us quickly say, “Jesus, I trust in You. Jesus, I trust in You …”
B. First Reading (Heb 11:1-2, 8-19): “He was looking forward to the city whose architect and maker is God.”
Today’s Second Reading (Heb 11:1-2, 8-19) gives beautiful insight into the meaning of faith. According to the author of the letter to the Hebrews, faith assures us of the reality of what is hoped for and gives evidence of things not seen. God’s own assurances are behind the object of our faith. Though we may not understand the events of our lives, we trust in the benevolent God and his saving word. Abraham and other patriarchs manifested great faith in God’s oath of salvation, which was fulfilled in due time. We therefore imitate our great ancestors in faith.
The following story illustrates models of faith in today’s situation (cf. Patricia Normile, “Caregivers Need Care Too” in Saint Anthony Messenger (May 2010, p. 22-26). Both the caregiver and the dying person are animated with dynamic faith. In our preparation for the eternal encounter with God, we must trust in his goodness, mercy and saving promise. The faith of a Christian is rooted, informed and deepened by the word of God spoken in his Son Jesus Christ.
Caregivers often share with patients the wisdom of Scripture and God’s mercy. A hospice visitor, Deacon Amado Lim of Blue Ash, Ohio, knew Richard well. World War II veteran, great story teller, man with a fine sense of humor, Richard (name has been changed) was a joy to visit. Then one evening Deacon Lim noted that he looked unusually sad. “I asked him why”, says the deacon. He said, “I was afraid.”
Richard continued, “I’ve shared many stories, but there’s one story I’ve not told you or anyone.” When Richard’s unit attacked a Nazi hiding place in Belgium, they met heavy fire and his best friend was mortally wounded. “I became livid”, Richard said. “I entered the building with my gun blazing. I saw two Nazi soldiers fall. I rushed toward them. They sprawled on the floor, covered with blood. I saw their faces. They were barely 12 years old – children! They didn’t say anything, just looked at me. Their faces were pleading, begging for mercy. My adrenaline pumped furiously. I shot them both. The faces of those boys have haunted me ever since. I cannot erase their images from my mind. Now I’m dying. I’m afraid to stand before God. He’ll never forgive me for what I did to those boys.”
Deacon Lim invited Richard to describe God. To Richard, God was a just God who rewards good and punishes evil. Voice trembling, Richard said that he couldn’t imagine God forgiving anyone who hurts children. Deacon Lim asked Richard to read aloud Bible stories describing God’s mercy. When the repentant criminal crucified on Calvary begged, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”, Jesus replied, “Amen I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23:42-43). Richard wept. When Deacon Lim returned later, Richard smiled. “I’m no longer afraid. Jesus forgave the criminal. He forgives me because he knows how sorry I am.” Richard died two days later.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we believe in faith that God is in control? Do we place our trust in Jesus whom even the wind and sea obey? Do we derive strength from the fact that the Lord Jesus masters the storms and the raging seas?
2. Do we experience in our daily life the assertion of the author of the letter to the Hebrews: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(Prayer n. 1 by Andy Ruperto, Fresno, CA-USA)
So, Lord, who are You?
You are my refuge, savior and teacher in the storms.
You are GOD!
I have often tried to control the storms myself.
Let me learn to go through them with You,
having recourse to You when I find myself in trouble.
Peace! Be still my soul!
Know that Jesus is GOD and that He does care
and that He loves me.
Mother Mary,
you know our Lord so intimately.
Please purify our faith in Him.
Form us into His likeness and into fearless saints.
Amen.
***
Loving Father,
how great was the faith of Abraham, Sarah and our ancestors
in your saving promise.
Help us to heed the call of Jesus
to live our faith in vigilance and readiness
for the advent of your kingdom of love, justice and peace.
Deepen our faith by your living Word spoken in your Son Jesus.
We praise and glorify 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.
“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mk 4:41) // “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Offer comfort and assistance to those whose faith is wavering. Share with those who are overwhelmed in the sea of sorrows the comforting presence of Jesus who masters the winds and the raging seas. // To grasp more deeply the meaning of Christian faith and respond to its challenges, spend some moments of quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
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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