Friday after Epiphany
Lectionary: 216
Lectionary: 216
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| Lk 5:12-16 |
Beloved:
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise
the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel Lk 5:12-16
It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the
towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
www.usccb.org
Meditation:"Lord, you can make me clean"
Do you seek the Lord Jesus with
expectant faith? No one who sought Jesus out was refused his help. Even the
untouchables and the outcasts of Jewish society found help in him. Unlike the
people of Jesus' time who fled at the sight of a leper, Jesus touched the leper
who approached him and he made him whole and clean. Why was this so remarkable?
Lepers were outcasts of society. They were driven from their homes and
communities and left to fend for themselves. Their physical condition was
terrible as they slowly lost the use of their limbs and withered away. They
were not only shunned but regarded as "already dead" even by their
relatives. The Jewish law forbade anyone from touching or approaching a leper,
lest ritual defilement occur.This leper did something quite remarkable. He approached Jesus confidently and humbly, expecting that Jesus could and would heal him. Normally a leper would be stoned or at least warded off if he tried to come near a rabbi. Jesus not only grants the man his request, but he demonstrates the personal love, compassion, and tenderness of God in his physical touch. The medical knowledge of his day would have regarded such contact as grave risk for incurring infection. Jesus met the man's misery with compassion and tender kindness. He communicated the love and mercy of God in a sign that spoke more eloquently than words. He touched the man and made him clean – not only physically but spiritually as well.
How do you approach those who are difficult to love, or who are shunned by others because they are deformed or have some physical or mental weakness? Do you show them kindness and offer them mercy and help as Jesus did? The Lord is always ready to show us his mercy and to free us from whatever makes us unclean, unapproachable, or unloving towards others.
Lord Jesus, inflame my heart with your love and make me clean and whole in body, mind, and spirit. May I never doubt your love nor cease to tell others of your mercy and compassion."
www.dailyscripture.net
 When God So Wills |
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Friday after Epiphany
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Luke 5:12-16
It happened that
there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where he was; and when he
saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, "Lord, if you
wish, you can make me clean." Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him,
and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." And the leprosy left him
immediately. Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but "Go, show
yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them." The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their
ailments, but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I approach you today with a
heart as humble as this leper’s, who can claim no beauty apart from what you
can give him. My willful defects have disfigured your plan for me, and I seek
from you today the power to make all my works and words clean. I hope in you
and trust in your infinite mercy.
Petition: Lord, grant me an unshakeable confidence in
your infinite mercy.
1. "Lord, If You Wish, You Can Make Me Clean": If God so wills....
This marks a disposition of soul that says the leper wants God more than he
wants his cure. By demonstrating patience and acceptance, he shows he is
ready to live his cross according to God’s plan for him. Being self-absorbed
and not accepting problems and defects is, in itself, an obstacle to being
cured of them. Some lose patience in the fight because they want the cure
more than they want the one who cures. Such cures may heal the body, but
leave the soul diseased and unattractive to God. Openness to God’s time,
detachment from an easy life, and total abandonment into Our Lord hands
permits illness to cure the soul long before it is freed from the body. How
beautiful the soul of this humble leper was in Christ’s eyes! May I let this
prayer today open my heart to accept all trials of the moment with humility
and love for the God who guides me.
2. "I Do Will It. Be Made Clean": The disfigurement of
leprosy becomes a symbol for the soul of a sinner in need of redemption.
Suffering the miserable and disfiguring effects of sin provokes man to begin
the path to conversion and change. There is something of disbelief in a new
life for those who still feel the sting of a grievous sin of their past. They
work to draw close to God, but find it hard to believe he would ever want to
be close to them. The intervention of God––definitive, eternal,
absolute––moves Christ’s hand, which reaches out to touch the leper saying,
“I do will it!” From his flesh to his soul––God’s will to forgive and heal
surpasses our human comprehension! When we stop measuring our failures from
wounded self-love and accept with living faith the decisive will of the
redemptive God, we will find ourselves fully immersed in the life of the new
man in Christ, dead to sin and dead to the world.
3. Then He Ordered Him Not to Tell Anyone: Our Lord imposes
silence. Not all that is known needs to be said, and prudence is demanded
from a disciple of Christ. How often do we slow down God’s work by speaking
too much, manifesting too much of our knowledge for vanity’s sake? Christ is
secure in himself because he lives his mission face-to-face with his Father,
and the time and place of his formal manifestation to the Jews will come at
his bidding. Discretion, as a virtue, is a self-giving work, not in the least
self-serving. We speak so as to maximize the good we wish to do for others.
Our Lord’s discretion proves such a posture. When will his identity be
formerly declared? “When I am raised up, then I will draw all men to myself”
(John 12:32). Only in his passion, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, will he
fully show his hand. May I communicate my experience of Christ, my knowledge
of him, with the humility, charity and restraint that prudence imposes, so
that I may maximize the effect of Christ’s truth in the world.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, I see your hand
moving from the leper to my soul, showing its power to transform. No sin
should ever break my fighting spirit; no longtime defect should ever weaken
my hope in victory. Your hand but moves and all is cured, forgiven, and
redeemed. Today I anchor my program of holiness with confidence in your grace
and unconditional love.
Resolution: I will entrust someone I know to be living a
bad life to the power of Our Lord’s mercy.
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www.regnumchristi.com
FRIDAY, JANUARY 11
Christmas Weekday
LUKE 5:12-16
(1 John 5:5-13; Psalm 147)
KEY VERSE: "I do will it. Be made clean" (v 13).
READING: After Jesus announced his mission to the poor and suffering (Lk 4:18-19), he acted upon his words by healing a leper who begged to be made clean. Leprosy included a variety of skin diseases (and even household mold), but the disfiguring leprosy (Hansen's disease) was thought to be incurable. This leprosy was regarded as a living death, a scourge sent from God as punishment for sin. Repentance was necessary before a healing could occur. The leper was regarded as an outcast, separated from the community and denied access to Temple worship. Although touching a leper made one "unclean," Jesus reached out to cure the man with his healing touch. Jesus then sent the man to the priest who alone could pronounce him healed and fit to return to society (Lv 14:2-3a). Jesus' fame spread throughout the region, and great crowds gathered to hear him preach and to be healed of their afflictions. After an exhausting day, Jesus found it necessary to renew himself, and he withdrew to a deserted place to pray.
REFLECTING: Who in my community needs my healing touch?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, cleanse me, heal me and restore me to the fullness of life.
www.daily-word-of-life.com
Lord,
every nation on earth will adore you
How slow we can sometimes be to hear and accept God’s word. Yet faith in Jesus is eternal life! Jesus came to heal the sick, to comfort the poor and afflicted, to offer every one of us ‘life to the full’. This is the Good News!
As John points out, in Jesus, God has given us eternal life. Jesus’ victory over death is our victory. To believe the truth is to be begotten by God: and to be begotten by God is to overcome the world. If God is for us, who can be against us?
www.churchresources.info
January 11
Servant of God John the Gardener
(d. 1501)
Servant of God John the Gardener
(d. 1501)
John was born of poor parents in
Portugal. Orphaned early in life, he spent some years begging from door to
door. After finding work in Spain as a shepherd, he shared the little he earned
with those even more needy than himself.
One day two
Franciscans encountered him on a journey. Engaging him in conversation, they
took a liking to the simple man and invited him to come and work at their
friary in Salamanca. He readily accepted and was assigned to the task of
assisting the brother with gardening duties. A short time later John himself
entered the Franciscan Order and lived a life of prayer and meditation, fasting
constantly, spending the nights in prayer, still helping the poor. Because of
his work in the garden and the flowers he produced for the altar, he became
known as "the gardener."
God favored John
with the gift of prophecy and the ability to read hearts. Important persons,
including princes, came to the humble, ever-obedient friar for advice. He was
so loving towards all that he never wanted to take offense at anything. His
advice was that to forgive offenses is an act of penance most pleasing to God.
He predicted the
day of his own death: January 11, 1501.
Comment:
A monastery garden was tended well to feed the community, not to make the grounds pretty. John saw to it that the refectory table was well supplied. But he also added a bit of beauty, growing flowers to enhance the chapel. God is surely pleased when we add a bit of beauty to the world—especially when we warm it with an act of forgiveness. For, as John insisted, forgiveness is the loveliest thing in God’s eyes.
A monastery garden was tended well to feed the community, not to make the grounds pretty. John saw to it that the refectory table was well supplied. But he also added a bit of beauty, growing flowers to enhance the chapel. God is surely pleased when we add a bit of beauty to the world—especially when we warm it with an act of forgiveness. For, as John insisted, forgiveness is the loveliest thing in God’s eyes.
January 11
Blessed William Carter
(d. 1584)
Blessed William Carter
(d. 1584)
Born in London, William Carter entered
the printing business at an early age. For many years he served as apprentice
to well-known Catholic printers, one of whom served a prison sentence for persisting
in the Catholic faith. William himself served time in prison following his
arrest for "printing lewd [i.e., Catholic] pamphlets" as well as
possessing books upholding Catholicism.
But even more,
he offended public officials by publishing works that aimed to keep Catholics
firm in their faith. Officials who searched his house found various vestments
and suspect books, and even managed to extract information from William's
distraught wife. Over the next 18 months William remained in prison, suffering torture
and learning of his wife's death.
He was
eventually charged with printing and publishing the Treatise of Schisme, which allegedly incited violence by
Catholics and which was said to have been written by a traitor and addressed to
traitors. While William calmly placed his trust in God, the jury met for only
15 minutes before reaching a verdict of "guilty." William, who made
his final confession to a priest who was being tried alongside him, was hanged,
drawn and quartered the following day: January 11, 1584.
He was beatified
in 1987.
Comment:
It didn’t pay to be Catholic in Elizabeth I’s realm. In an age when religious diversity did not yet seem possible, it was high treason, and practicing the faith was dangerous. William gave his life for his efforts to encourage his brothers and sisters to keep up the struggle. These days, our brothers and sisters also need encouragement—not because their lives are at risk, but because many other factors besiege their faith. They look to us.
It didn’t pay to be Catholic in Elizabeth I’s realm. In an age when religious diversity did not yet seem possible, it was high treason, and practicing the faith was dangerous. William gave his life for his efforts to encourage his brothers and sisters to keep up the struggle. These days, our brothers and sisters also need encouragement—not because their lives are at risk, but because many other factors besiege their faith. They look to us.
www.americancatholic.org
St. Theodosius the
Cenobiarch
Feastday: January 11
Died: 529
Abbot and founder. Born at Garissus,
Cappadocia (modern Turkey), in 423, he undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and
after meeting with the famed St. Simeon Stylites, he entered a monastery. Later,
he was named the head of a church between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, but departed
to live as a hermit near the Dead Sea. As he attracted a large number of
followers, Theodosius established a monastery which was divided among the
various nationalities of the monks (Greek, Armenian, etc.), each with their own
church. Appointed by the patriarch of Jerusalem to the post of visitor to all
the cenobitical communities of Palestine, he used his influence as cenobiarch
to oppose the spread of the heretical doctrines of Eutychianism, displaying
such zeal in his preaching that Emperor Anastasius I (r. 491-518), who was
sympathetic to the Eutychians, exiled him. Recalled by Emperor Justin soon
after Anastasius' death, Theodosius spent his last years in poor health.
www.catholic.org
LECTIO: LUKE 5,12-16
Lectio:
Friday,
January 11, 2013
1) Opening prayer
All-powerful Father,
you have made known the birth of the Saviour
by the light of a star.
May he continue to guide us with the light,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
you have made known the birth of the Saviour
by the light of a star.
May he continue to guide us with the light,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading -
Luke 5,12-16
Now it happened that Jesus was in one of the
towns when suddenly a man appeared, covered with a skin-disease. Seeing Jesus
he fell on his face and implored him saying, 'Sir, if you are willing you can
cleanse me.'
He stretched out his hand, and touched him saying, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.' At once the skin-disease left him. He ordered him to tell no one, 'But go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering for your cleansing just as Moses prescribed, as evidence to them.'
But the news of him kept spreading, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their illnesses cured, but he would go off to some deserted place and pray.
He stretched out his hand, and touched him saying, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.' At once the skin-disease left him. He ordered him to tell no one, 'But go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering for your cleansing just as Moses prescribed, as evidence to them.'
But the news of him kept spreading, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their illnesses cured, but he would go off to some deserted place and pray.
3) Reflection
• A leper came close to Jesus. He had to live
far away from others, because whoever touched him remained impure! But that
leper had great courage. He transgressed or broke the norms of religion so as
to be able to get close to Jesus. He said: Lord, if
you want, you can heal me! That is: “It is not necessary for you to touch
me. It is sufficient for the Lord to want it, and he cured him!” The sentence
shows two evils: a) the evil of leprosy which
renders him impure; b) the evil of solitude to which he was condemned
by society and by religion. This also reveals the man’s great faith in the
power of Jesus. And Jesus profoundly moved, heals him from both evils! In the
first place, to cure the solitude, he touches the leper. It is as if he would
say: “For me you are not excluded. I accept you as a brother!” And then he
cures the leper saying: I want it, be cured!
• The leper, in order to be able to enter in contact with Jesus, had transgressed the norms of the law. Jesus also, in order to be able to help that excluded man and reveal to him a new face of God , transgresses the norms of his religion and touches the leper. At that time, whoever touched a leper became impure according to the religious authority and by the law of the time.
• Jesus, not only cures, but also wants the cured person to be able to live with others. He once again inserts the person in society so that he can live together with others. At that time for a leper to be accepted again in the community, he needed a certificate from a priest, that he had been cured. It is the same today. The sick person leaves the hospital having a document signed by the doctor of the section. Jesus obliges the person to go and look for the document, so that he can live normally with the others. He obliges the authority to recognize that this man has been cured.
• The leper, in order to be able to enter in contact with Jesus, had transgressed the norms of the law. Jesus also, in order to be able to help that excluded man and reveal to him a new face of God , transgresses the norms of his religion and touches the leper. At that time, whoever touched a leper became impure according to the religious authority and by the law of the time.
• Jesus, not only cures, but also wants the cured person to be able to live with others. He once again inserts the person in society so that he can live together with others. At that time for a leper to be accepted again in the community, he needed a certificate from a priest, that he had been cured. It is the same today. The sick person leaves the hospital having a document signed by the doctor of the section. Jesus obliges the person to go and look for the document, so that he can live normally with the others. He obliges the authority to recognize that this man has been cured.
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• Jesus forbids the leper to speak about the healing. The Gospel of Mark informs us that this prohibition was not effective, did not serve. The leper, went away, but then started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but stayed outside in deserted places(Mk 1, 45) Why? Because Jesus had touched a leper. For this reason, according to the opinion of the religion of the time, now he himself was impure and should be far away from everybody. He could no longer enter into the cities. And Mark says that the people did not care at all about these official norms, in fact, people came to him from all parts (Mk 1, 45). Total Subversion!
• The two-fold message which Luke and Mark give the community of their time and to all of us is the following: a) to announce the Good News means to give witness of the concrete experience that one has of Jesus. What does the leper announce? He tells the others the good that Jesus has done to him. That is all! All this! And this is the witness which impels the others to accept the Good News of God, those brought by Jesus. b) In order to take the Good News to people, it is not necessary to be afraid to transgress the religious norms which are contrary to God’s project and which render communication, dialogue and the lived experience of love, difficult. Even if this implies difficulty for the people, as it happened with Jesus.
4) Personal
questions
• In order to help the neighbour, Jesus
transgresses the law of purity. In the Church today, are there any laws which
render difficult or prevent the practice of love toward neighbour?
• In order to be cured, the leper had the courage to challenge the public opinion of his time. And I?
• In order to be cured, the leper had the courage to challenge the public opinion of his time. And I?
5) Concluding prayer
Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem, Zion, praise your
God.
For he gives strength to the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you. (Ps 147,12-13)
For he gives strength to the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you. (Ps 147,12-13)
www.ocarm.org
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