Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 313
Lectionary: 313
Melchizedek, king of Salem
and priest of God Most High,
met Abraham as he returned from his defeat of the kings
and blessed him.
And Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything.
His name first means righteous king,
and he was also “king of Salem,” that is, king of peace.
Without father, mother, or ancestry,
without beginning of days or end of life,
thus made to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
It is even more obvious if another priest is raised up
after the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become so,
not by a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent
but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.
For it is testified:
You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
met Abraham as he returned from his defeat of the kings
and blessed him.
And Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything.
His name first means righteous king,
and he was also “king of Salem,” that is, king of peace.
Without father, mother, or ancestry,
without beginning of days or end of life,
thus made to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
It is even more obvious if another priest is raised up
after the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become so,
not by a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent
but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.
For it is testified:
You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Responsorial PsalmPS 110:1, 2, 3, 4
R. (4b) You
are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
GospelMK 3:1-6
Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up here before us.”
Then he said to the Pharisees,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up here before us.”
Then he said to the Pharisees,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
www.usccb.org
Meditation:"Doing good on the Sabbath"
Christians celebrate Sunday as the Lord's Day, to commemorate God's work of redemption in Jesus Christ and the new work of creation he accomplished through Christ's death and resurrection. Taking "our sabbath rest" is a way of expressing honor to God for all that he has done for us. Such "rest" however does not exempt us from our love for our neighbor. If we truly love the Lord above all else, then the love of God will overflow to love of neighbor as well. Do you honor the Lord in the way you celebrate Sunday, the Lord's Day and in the way you treat you neighbor?
"Lord Jesus, in your victory over sin and death on the cross and in your resurrection you give us the assurance of sharing in the eternal rest of heaven. Transform my heart with your love that I may freely serve my neighbor for his good and find joy and refreshment in the celebration of Sunday as the Lord's Day."
www.dailyscripture.net
 To Do Good or Evil? |
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Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary
Time
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Father Walter Schu, LC
Mark 3:1-6
Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched him closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, "Come up here before us." Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death. Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you. Thank you for the gift of faith, more precious than life itself. I hope in you. May the dark waters of doubt never break through my dike of hope. I love you. I want to let you purify me, so that my love for you may be more ardent and more courageous. Petition: Lord, help me to bear witness to you even in adverse circumstances. 1. “They Watched Him Closely”:At the beginning of his public ministry, Christ already incurs the bitter opposition of the Pharisees. Having reduced them to silence in a wheat field, Christ bravely enters the synagogue to confront them once again. There the Pharisees are in the first places of honor, and they watch his every move, hoping he will cure against the laws of the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. The Pharisees were right about one thing. They did well to observe Christ closely. If only they had done so with the right spirit: to learn from him and to glorify God for the wonders he did through him. How closely do we watch Christ in our own lives? How readily do we perceive his actions through the circumstances of the day? How often do we glorify God for the great things Christ does and longs to do in us? 2. To Do Good or Evil? Christ obliges the Pharisees. With fearless courage he calls the man with the withered hand forward, so that no one can mistake what he is about to do. Then he puts his antagonists in a dilemma with two clear questions. First: “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil?” “They are bound to admit that it is lawful to do good; and it is a good thing he proposed to do. They are bound to deny that it is lawful to do evil; and, yet, surely it is an evil thing to leave a man in wretchedness when it is possible to help him.” (William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 68-69) Then Christ asks the second question: “Is it lawful to save life rather than to destroy it?” “Here he is driving the thing home. He is taking steps to save this wretched man’s life; they are thinking out methods of killing Christ. On any reckoning it is surely a better thing to be thinking about helping a man than it is to be thinking of killing a man. No wonder they had nothing to say!” (Ibid.) 3. “Angered by Their Hardness of Heart”:Seldom does the Gospel show Christ angry. Here his anger is provoked by the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and their hardness of heart. They close themselves off from his message of salvation. What happens when someone definitively closes his heart to Christ? The Pharisees, the defenders of the law and Jewish customs, were bitter enemies of the Herodians, who collaborated with King Herod and the Romans. Yet this Gospel relates the chilling fact that these two joined forces to plot to kill Jesus. They are united not by the intrinsic force of goodness, but by the malignant power of evil. Do I at times make small concessions to hypocrisy, envy or even hatred? These could slowly harden my heart toward Christ. Am I willing to be courageous like Christ and endure even bitter opposition for the sake of the Gospel? Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for your goodness and courage. How small I feel when I compare myself with you in the Gospel. What an infinite distance separates us! Thank you for calling me — with all of my weakness, sins, and limitations — to be your apostle. Help me never to surrender to evil in my heart, but to grow in goodness of heart in order to be more like you. Resolution: I will do a good deed for someone today, even if it is difficult, in order to bear witness to Christ. |
www.regnumchristi.com
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 23
MARK 3:1-6
MARK 3:1-6
(Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17; Psalm 119)
KEY VERSE: "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil?" (v 4).
READING: Jesus was often critical of those who used the Sabbath laws to avoid the care needed by others. One Sabbath, while Jesus was worshiping in the synagogue, he saw a man with a crippled hand. Jesus was asconcerned with the man's physical well-being as he was with his spiritual welfare. Since the man was unable to work with his hands, the future of his livelihood was in Jesus' hands. Knowing that the man dared not ask for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus called him to stand before the entire assembly. He asked those gathered whether it was preferable to heal on the Sabbath or to do evil by allowing the man's suffering to continue. When no one answered him, Jesus grew angry and was grieved by their cold-heartedness. Then he healed the man with a simple command. The irate religious leaders saw no violation of the Sabbath law when they went out to plot Jesus' death.
REFLECTING: Am I more concerned with keeping rules than with helping others?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, give me the wisdom to respond with your love in each circumstance.
Optional Memorial of Vincent, deacon and martyr
Vincent is the earliest Spanish martyr whose name is known to us. Vincent was a deacon who was arrested with his bishop Valerius during a persecution by Dacian, the governor of Spain. It is said that when heand Valerius were brought to trial, Vincent spoke for both, since the bishop had a speech impediment. His fearless manner so angered the governor that Vincent was tortured and killed, although the aged bishopwas only exiled. Vincent was submitted to the fiercest of tortures. His flesh was torn by iron hooks; he was placed on a red hot gridiron; he was thrown into a dungeon strewn with broken pottery�yet he still survived. At last his friends were allowed to visit him. They prepared a bed for him, and as they laid him on it he died.
www.daily-word-of-life,com
You
are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek
In this Year of Grace we are called to be grateful. As we draw near to Australia Day there are many things to be grateful for, but we still need to confront areas where injustice is being done.
Jesus was frustrated by the attitudes of those Pharisees and the Herodians when they saw him about to heal the man with the withered hand. They were so wrapped up in their man-made laws that their lack of compassion clouded out the desperate need of the disabled man. As a result that they headed off to plot the downfall of the Messiah. But Jesus’ pity for this man drove him to continue with the healing, despite knowing where it would lead - to Calvary. Lord, help me always to do good rather than evil, even when the outcome may be oppressive for me.
www.churchresources.info
January 23
Saint Marianne Cope
(1838-1918)
Saint Marianne Cope
(1838-1918)
Though leprosy scared off most people
in 19th-century Hawaii, that disease sparked great generosity in the woman who
came to be known as Mother Marianne of Molokai. Her courage helped tremendously
to improve the lives of its victims in Hawaii, a territory annexed to the
United States during her lifetime (1898).
Mother
Marianne’s generosity and courage were celebrated at her May 14, 2005, beatification
in Rome. She was a woman who spoke “the language of truth and love” to the
world, said Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for
Saints’ Causes. Cardinal Martins, who presided at the beatification Mass in St.
Peter’s Basilica, called her life “a wonderful work of divine grace.” Speaking
of her special love for persons suffering from leprosy, he said, “She saw in
them the suffering face of Jesus. Like the Good Samaritan, she became their
mother.”
On January 23,
1838, a daughter was born to Peter and Barbara Cope of Hessen-Darmstadt,
Germany. The girl was named after her mother. Two years later the Cope family
emigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York. Young Barbara
worked in a factory until August 1862, when she went to the Sisters of the
Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After profession in
November of the next year, she began teaching at Assumption parish school.
Marianne held
the post of superior in several places and was twice the novice mistress of her
congregation. A natural leader, three different times she was superior of St.
Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, where she learned much that would be useful
during her years in Hawaii.
Elected
provincial in 1877, Mother Marianne was unanimously re-elected in 1881. Two
years later the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the
Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having leprosy. More than 50
religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the
request was put to the Syracuse sisters, 35 of them volunteered immediately. On
October 22, 1883, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii where
they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu; on the
island of Maui they also opened a hospital and a school for girls.
In 1888, Mother
Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for “unprotected women
and girls” there. The Hawaiian government was quite hesitant to send women for
this difficult assignment; they need not have worried about Mother Marianne! On
Molokai she took charge of the home that St. Damien de Veuster [May 10, d.
1889] had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai
by introducing cleanliness, pride and fun to the colony. Bright scarves and
pretty dresses for the women were part of her approach.
Awarded the
Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by
Robert Louis Stevenson, Mother Marianne continued her work faithfully. Her
sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on
Molokai.
Mother Marianne
died on August 9, 1918 and was beatified in 2005 and canonized seven years
later.
Comment:
The government authorities were reluctant to allow Mother Marianne to be a mother on Molokai. Thirty years of dedication proved their fears unfounded. God grants gifts regardless of human short-sightedness and allows those gifts to flower for the sake of the kingdom.
The government authorities were reluctant to allow Mother Marianne to be a mother on Molokai. Thirty years of dedication proved their fears unfounded. God grants gifts regardless of human short-sightedness and allows those gifts to flower for the sake of the kingdom.
Quote:
Soon after Mother Marianne died, Mrs. John F. Bowler wrote in the Honolulu Advertiser, “Seldom has the opportunity come to a woman to devote every hour of 30 years to the mothering of people isolated by law from the rest of the world. She risked her own life in all that time, faced everything with unflinching courage and smiled sweetly through it all.”
Soon after Mother Marianne died, Mrs. John F. Bowler wrote in the Honolulu Advertiser, “Seldom has the opportunity come to a woman to devote every hour of 30 years to the mothering of people isolated by law from the rest of the world. She risked her own life in all that time, faced everything with unflinching courage and smiled sweetly through it all.”
www.americancatholic.org
St. Ildephonsus
Feastday: January 23
Died: 667
St. Ildephonsus is highly regarded in Spain and closely
associated with devotion to the Blessed Virgin which he fostered by his famous
work concerning her perpetual virginity. Born around 607, Ildephonsus came from
a noble family and was probably a pupil of St. Isidore of Seville. While still
quite young, he entered the Benedictine monastery of Agalia near Toledo and
went on to become its Abbot. In that capacity he attended the Councils of
Toledo in 653 and 655.
In 657 the clergy and people elected this holy man to succeed
his uncle, St. Eugenius, as Archbishop of Toledo. He performed his episcopal
duties with diligence and sanctity until his death in 667. This saint was a
favorite subject for medieval artists, especially in connection with the legend
of Our Lady's appearance to present him with a chalice. St. Ildephonsus was a
prolific writer, but unfortunately only four of his works have survived. Among
these are the one already mentioned and an important document of the history of
the Spanish Church during the first two-thirds of the seventh century, entitled
Concerning Famous Men.
www.catholic.org
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