MAY 21, 2013 : TUESDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 342

Reading 1 SIR 2:1-11

My son, when you come to serve the LORD,

stand in justice and fear,

prepare yourself for trials.

Be sincere of heart and steadfast,

incline your ear and receive the word of understanding,

undisturbed in time of adversity.

Wait on God, with patience, cling to him, forsake him not;

thus will you be wise in all your ways.

Accept whatever befalls you,

when sorrowful, be steadfast,

and in crushing misfortune be patient;

For in fire gold and silver are tested,

and worthy people in the crucible of humiliation.

Trust God and God will help you;

trust in him, and he will direct your way;

keep his fear and grow old therein.

You who fear the LORD, wait for his mercy,

turn not away lest you fall.

You who fear the LORD, trust him,

and your reward will not be lost.

You who fear the LORD, hope for good things,

for lasting joy and mercy.

You who fear the LORD, love him,

and your hearts will be enlightened.

Study the generations long past and understand;

has anyone hoped in the LORD and been disappointed?

Has anyone persevered in his commandments and been forsaken?

has anyone called upon him and been rebuffed?

Compassionate and merciful is the LORD;

he forgives sins, he saves in time of trouble

and he is a protector to all who seek him in truth.

Responsorial Psalm PS 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40

R. (see 5) Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.

Trust in the LORD and do good,

that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.

Take delight in the LORD,

and he will grant you your heart’s requests.

R. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.

The LORD watches over the lives of the wholehearted;

their inheritance lasts forever.

They are not put to shame in an evil time;

in days of famine they have plenty.

R. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.

Turn from evil and do good,

that you may abide forever;

For the LORD loves what is right,

and forsakes not his faithful ones.

R. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.

The salvation of the just is from the LORD;

he is their refuge in time of distress.

And the LORD helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.

R. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.

Gospel MK 9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,

but he did not wish anyone to know about it.

He was teaching his disciples and telling them,

“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men

and they will kill him,

and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”

But they did not understand the saying,

and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,

he began to ask them,

“What were you arguing about on the way?”

But they remained silent.

For they had been discussing among themselves on the way

who was the greatest.

Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,

“If anyone wishes to be first,

he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”

Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,

and putting his arms around it, he said to them,

“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;

and whoever receives me,

receives not me but the One who sent me.”

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "Who is the greatest"

Whose glory do you seek? There can be no share in God's glory without the cross. When Jesus prophesied his own betrayal and crucifixion, it did not make any sense to his disciples because it did not fit their understanding of what the Messiah came to do. And they were afraid to ask further questions! Like a person who might receive a bad verdict from the doctor and then refuse to ask further questions, they, too, didn't want to know any more. How often do we reject what we do not wish to see? We have heard the good news of God's word and we know the consequences of accepting it or rejecting it. But do we give it our full allegiance and mold our lives according to it? Ask the Lord to fill you with his Holy Spirit and to inspire within you a reverence for his word and a readiness to obey it.
How ashamed the disciples must have been when Jesus overheard them arguing about who among them was the greatest! But aren’t we like the disciples? We compare ourselves with others and desire their praise. The appetite for glory and greatness seems to be inbred in us. Who doesn't cherish the ambition to be "somebody" whom others admire rather than a "nobody"? Even the psalms speak about the glory God has destined for us. You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5). Jesus made a dramatic gesture by embracing a child to show his disciples who really is the greatest in the kingdom of God.  What can a little child possibly teach us about greatness? Children in the ancient world had no rights, position, or privileges of their own. They were socially at the "bottom of the rung" and at the service of their parents, much like the household staff and domestic servants. What is the significance of Jesus' gesture? Jesus elevated a little child in the presence of his disciples by placing the child in a privileged position of honor. It is customary, even today, to seat the guest of honor at the right side of the host. Who is the greatest in God's kingdom? The one who is humble and lowly of heart – who instead of asserting their rights willingly empty themselves of pride and self-seeking glory by taking the lowly position of a servant or child.
Jesus, himself, is our model. He came not to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28). Paul the Apostle states that Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7). Jesus lowered himself (he whose place is at the right hand of God the Father) and took on our lowly nature that he might raise us up and clothe us in his divine nature. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). If we want to be filled with God's life and power, then we need to empty ourselves of everything which stands in the way – pride, self-seeking glory, vanity, etc. God wants empty vessels so he can fill them with his own glory, power, and love (2 Corinthians 4:7). Are you ready to humble yourself and to serve as Jesus did?
"Lord Jesus, by your cross you have redeemed the world and revealed your glory and triumph over sin and death. May I never fail to see your glory and victory in the cross.  Help me to conform my life to your will and to follow in your way of holiness."

www.dailyscripture.net

The Journey Away from Self

Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Father Edward Hopkins, LC Mark 9:30-37 Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise." But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the one who sent me." Introductory Prayer:Lord Jesus, I believe in you, present and interested in my life. I believe you await my prayer to guide my heart, my visits to the Eucharist to strengthen my will, and my challenges to help my surrender. I trust you will give your life to me in exchange for my self-denial. I love you and want to love you more by embracing and living out your will. Mother Mary, teach me to say with you, “Let it be done unto me.” Petition:“Speak Lord, your servant is listening” 1. Apostolic Training: This was one journey Jesus chose to do in secret. Why? Because he wanted to dedicate all his attention and efforts to teaching his apostles the deepest and most important secret of his life: He must die! All that they had lived so far was thus incomplete, merely a preparation for the final act of his mission: the consummation of his love, his total immolation on the cross. Would they understand the need for the seed to die before rising to new life? How hard it would be for them to listen! He was their Lord, the powerful, Messianic king coming to free them and establish his kingdom of truth and love. They still imagined scenarios of new victories, cures, defeat of demons, the silencing of their opposition…. How far their dreams were from Jesus’ message! We too have our own desires and needs. Can we detach ourselves from these dreams long enough to understand in prayer his will and his plan of salvation for us? 2. Slow Learners: Not only did they “not understand the saying,” but “they were afraid to question him.” In other words, they did not want to know. How often our communication problem is not something intellectual, but rather something of the will! Our desire is more to “get our way,” “make our point” or “affirm ourselves.” Learning Christ’s way requires that we in some way unlearn our own ways. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). This explains why no one can be neutral before Christ; he challenges us to change our life. Jesus occasioned the fierce opposition of those who would ultimately put him to death. How open am I to his challenges? Do I listen in prayer in order to respond with a docile but firm “Amen”? 3. The Hardest Lesson: Like little boys caught in the act, the apostles don’t dare admit that they have been arguing about who among them is greatest. Not only do they fail “to listen” to Jesus; to the contrary, they are busy asserting their will. What would it take to teach them this most difficult but vital truth? So Jesus, with a father’s love, holds a child before them and begins the lesson anew. This small child is the greatest! To be last, to serve, to give your life makes you great, since this is how God comes to us. Only the sight of Jesus crucified would burn this lesson more deeply on their hearts. Am I learning this lesson of sacrificial love to become the greatest I can become? Conversation with Christ: Dear Lord, open my heart to listen to your will for me. Free me from my own self-love, ideas and dreams. Teach me to die to myself as I enter into prayer and as I enter into work. Help me to work, pray and live so that you and your love can rise up in my life in place of the poverty of my own qualities and efforts. Resolution:I will listen well before trying to offer my own thoughts or desires in prayer and in interacting with family and others, so better to hear the Lord.

www.regnumchristi.org

TUESDAY, MAY 21
Weekday

MARK 9:30-37
(Sirach 2:1-11; Psalm 37)
KEY VERSE: "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me" (v 37).
READING: As Jesus traveled through Galilee, he taught his disciples about his impending suffering and death (see Mk 8:31). For a second time, his disciples failed to comprehend his words. Their concept of the Messiah was one who would reign with power over Israel's enemies. Consequently, they argued among themselves about what rank and position each of them would have in the coming kingdom. When they arrived in Capernaum, Jesus corrected their distorted view. He lovingly placed a small child in their midst, and in that way, he taught them by means of a living parable. The child represented the powerless and needy in the community whom the disciples must be willing to serve. Whoever cared for these lowly ones, were in reality serving Jesus and God who sent him.
REFLECTING: How do I serve the "little ones" in my community? 
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to see you in the poor and suffering.

Optional Memorial of Christopher Magallanes, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs

Christopher Magallanes was a parish priest at Totatiche, Mexico. He worked with the indigenous people to form agrarian cooperatives with the town's people and to evangelize the poorest populations that were being neglected. When the anti-Church government closed all seminaries, he started his own seminary at Totatiche, which was quickly suppressed. He formed another, and another, and when they were all closed, the seminarians conducted classes in private homes. Captured by government authorities, he was heard to shout from his jail cell: "I am innocent and I die innocent. I forgive with all my heart those responsible for my death, and I ask God that the shedding of my blood serve the peace of our divided Mexico." Christopher Magallanes was joined in martyrdom by twenty-one diocesan priests and three devout laymen, all members of the Cristeros movement, who rose up in rebellion against the anti-Catholic Mexican government during the 1920s.

www.daily-word-of-life.com

Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.

Commit your life to the Lord and he will help you.
Commitment is one of those rather frightening words. It asks of us fidelity and perseverance in God’s service. The book of Ecclesiasticus tells us that serving the Lord will involve hardship. Jesus says the same to his followers who miss the significance of the death he is prophesying. It is about being small, about being the servant of all, about abandoning oneself to the Father.

The beauty of this message is that it is a promise, not an order. The Father, for his part, assures us of his love that will bring us through all difficulties to a share in the resurrection of Jesus. Lord, grant that I may cling to you and so not falter in my way to the Father.

www.churchresources.info

May 21
St. Eugene de Mazenod
(1782-1861)

Born into a noble family in Aix (Provence), Eugene spent part of his childhood in Italy because of the French Revolution. Ordained a priest at Amiens in 1811, he soon organized missionaries to go to rural parts of Provence, instructing the people whose religious training had been disrupted for many years by the French Revolution and its aftermath.

Eugene began the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1816, obtaining papal approval for them 10 years later. From rural preaching, they soon moved into running seminaries to improve the quality of the clergy. Their first foreign mission was in Canada in 1841; soon they were in Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America.
In 1851, Eugene followed his uncle as archbishop of Marseilles; Eugene died in that city 10 years later. He had focused his energies on Church renewal and reform while vigorously defending the Church’s right to spread the Good News.
His congregation has grown to become one of the largest in the Church, serving in over 50 countries, especially in northern and western Canada. Many of its members have become missionary bishops.
At Eugene’s canonization in 1998, Pope John Paul II praised his vision, perseverance and conformity to God’s will.

Comment:

Eugene de Mazenod allowed the grace of God to bear rich fruit in his life. That required a certain amount of flexibility as well as courage to face the problems every growing group encounters. We look to saints like Eugene not to borrow their courage and zeal but, with God’s grace, to discover our own, always seeking first God’s kingdom (see Matthew 6:33).

Quote:

“Holiness is the grace of God operating in and through human beings” (Kenneth Woodward, Making Saints).

May 21
St. Cristóbal Magallanes and Companions
(d. 1915-1928)

Like Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, S.J., Cristóbal and his 24 companion martyrs lived under a very anti-Catholic government in Mexico, one determined to weaken the Catholic faith of its people. Churches, schools and seminaries were closed; foreign clergy were expelled. Cristóbal established a clandestine seminary at Totatiche, Jalisco. Magallanes and the other priests were forced to minister secretly to Catholics during the presidency of Plutarco Calles (1924-28).

All of these martyrs except three were diocesan priests. David, Manuel and Salvador were laymen who died with their parish priest, Luis Batis. All of these martyrs belonged to the Cristero movement, pledging their allegiance to Christ and to the Church that he established to spread the Good News in society—even if Mexico's leaders once made it a crime to receive Baptism or celebrate the Mass.
These martyrs did not die as a single group but in eight Mexican states, with Jalisco and Zacatecas having the largest number. They were beatified in 1992 and canonized eight years later.

Comment:

Every martyr realizes how to avoid execution but refuses to pay the high price of doing so. A clear conscience was more valuable than a long life. We may be tempted to compromise our faith while telling ourselves that we are simply being realistic, dealing with situations as we find them. Is survival really the ultimate value? Do our concrete, daily choices reflect our deepest values, the ones that allow us to “tick” the way we do? Anyone can imagine situations in which being a follower of Jesus is easier than the present situation. Saints remind us that our daily choices, especially in adverse circumstances, form the pattern of our lives.

Quote:

During his homily at the canonization Mass on May 21, 2000, Blessed John Paul II addressed the Mexican men, women and children present in Rome and said: “After the harsh trials that the Church endured in Mexico during those turbulent years, today Mexican Christians, encouraged by the witness of these witnesses to the faith, can live in peace and harmony, contributing the wealth of gospel values to society. The Church grows and advances, since she is the crucible in which many priestly and religious vocations are born, where families are formed according to God's plan, and where young people, a substantial part of the Mexican population, can grow with the hope of a better future. May the shining example of Cristóbal Magallanes and his companion martyrs help you to make a renewed commitment of fidelity to God, which can continue to transform Mexican society so that justice, fraternity and harmony will prevail among all.”

May 21
St. Crispin of Viterbo
(1668-1750)

Crispin, who lived during the Age of Enlightenment, showed the enlightenment that gospel living provides.

Born in Orvieto, he was apprenticed to a shoemaker. In 1693 he received the Franciscan Capuchin habit and the name Crispin. After serving as a cook at Tolfa and Albano, he was the official beggar of the friary in Orvieto for almost 40 years.
He developed a reputation for curing the sick and catechized those he encountered in his work. The poor and needy recognized him as their friend. One of Crispin’s favorite sayings was, "God’s power creates us, his wisdom governs us, his mercy saves us." He was canonized in 1982.

Comment:

Henri de Lubac, S.J., once wrote, "We should have a great love for our age, but make no concessions to the spirit of the age, so that in us the Christian mystery may never lose its sap" (The Splendor of the Church, p. 183). Crispin appreciated the people whom God brought into his life and the historical period in which God placed him. Crispin became a living gospel for his confreres and for the people of Orvieto. His holiness encouraged them to live out their baptism more generously.

Quote:

During his homily at Crispin’s canonization, Pope John Paul II said that the human family is frequently "tempted by false autonomy, by denial of Gospel values, for which it necessarily needs saints, that is, models who concretely express by their lives the reality of Transcendence, the values of the Revelation and Redemption achieved by Christ" (L'Osservatore Romano 1982, Vol. 26, No. 1).

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO: MARK 9,30-37

Lectio: 

 Tuesday, May 21, 2013  

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Father,
keep before us the wisdom and love
you have revealed in your Son.
Help us to be like him
in word and deed,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Mark 9,30-37

After leaving that place Jesus and his disciples made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, 'The Son of man will be delivered into the power of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.' But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him.
They came to Capernaum, and when he got into the house he asked them, 'What were you arguing about on the road?' They said nothing, because on the road they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, 'If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.'
He then took a little child whom he set among them and embraced, and he said to them, 'Anyone who welcomes a little child such as this in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me.'

3) Reflection

• Today’s Gospel narrates the second announcement of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Like in the first announcement (Mk 8, 27-38), the disciples were terrified and they are afraid. They do not understand the words about the cross, because they are not capable to understand or to accept a Messiah who becomes the servant of the brothers. They continue to dream in a gloriousMessiah and besides that, they show a great incoherence. When Jesus announces his Passion and Death, they discuss who among them will be the greatest. Jesus wants to serve, they only think in commanding! Ambition leads them to promote themselves at the cost of Jesus. Up until the present time, this same desire of self promotion exists in our communities.

• In the time of Jesus as well as in that of Mark, there was the “yeast” of a dominating ideology. Today also, the ideology of the propaganda of business, of consumerism, of the television novels, influence profoundly the way of thinking and of acting of people. At the time of Mark, the communities were not always capable to maintain a critical attitude before the invasion of the ideology of the Roman Empire. And today?

• Mark 9, 30-32: The announcement of the Cross. Jesus goes across Galilee, but he does not want people to know it, because he is busy with the formation of the disciples, and he speaks with them about the Cross. He says that according to the prophecy of Isaiah (Is 53, 1-10), the Son of Man has to be handed over and condemned to death. This indicates the orientation of Jesus toward the Bible, whether in the carrying out of his own mission, as in the formation given to his disciples. He drew his teaching from the prophecies. Like in the first announcement (Mk 8, 32), the disciples listen to him, but they do not understand what he says about the Cross. But they do not ask for any clarification. They are afraid to show their ignorance!

• Mark 9, 33-34: The competitive mentality. When they got home, Jesus asked: “What were you arguing about on the road?” They did not answer. It is the silence of the one who feels guilty, “on the road, in fact, they had been arguing which of them was the greatest”. Jesus is a good pedagogue. He does not intervene immediately. He knows how to wait for the opportune moment to fight against the influence of the ideology in those whom he is forming. The competitive mentalityand of prestige, which characterized the society of the Roman Empire, was already penetrating into the small community which was just being formed! Behold the contrast: incoherence: Jesus is concerned with being the Messiah Servant and they think only in who is the greatest. Jesus tries to descend, they think of going up!

• Mark 9, 35-37:. To serve instead of commanding. The response of Jesus is a summary of the witness of life which he himself was giving from the beginning: If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all!Because the last one does not win a prize nor obtain a reward. He is a useless servant (cfr. Lk 17, 10). Power must be used not to ascend and dominate, but to descend and serve. This is the point on which Jesus insists the most and of which he gives a greater witness (cf. Mk 10, 45; Mt 20, 28; Jn 13. 1-16). Then Jesus took a little child whom he set among them. A person, who only thinks to go up and to dominate, would not lend much attention to little ones and to children. But Jesus overturns everything! He says: “Anyone who welcomes a little child such as this in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me”. He identifies himself with little ones. Anyone who welcomes the little ones in the name of Jesus welcomes God himself!

• A person is not a saint and is not renewed by the simple fact of “following Jesus”. In the midst of the disciples, and always again, the “yeast of Herod and of the Pharisees” (Mk 8, 15) could be observed. In the episode of today’s Gospel, Jesus appears as a teacher forming his followers. “To follow” was a term that formed part of the educational system of that time. It was used to indicate the relationship between the disciple and the teacher. The relationship teacher-disciple is different from that of professor-pupil. The pupils go to the class of the professor of a determinate subject. The disciples “follow” the teacher and live with him, twenty-four hours a day. In this “living together” with Jesus during three years, the disciples will receive their formation. Tomorrow’s Gospel will give us another quite concrete example of how Jesus formed his disciples.

4) Personal questions

• Jesus wants to lower himself and serve. The disciples want to ascend and to dominate. And I? Which is the most profound motivation of my “unknown I”?
• To follow Jesus and to be with him, twenty-four hours a day, and allow his way of living to become my way of living and of living together with others. Is this taking place in me?

5) Concluding Prayer

May the words of my mouth always find favour,
and the whispering of my heart,
in your presence, Yahweh,
my rock, my redeemer. (Ps 19,14)

 

www.ocarm.org