Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 339
Lectionary: 339
What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
“Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,”
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.
Indeed someone might say,
“You have faith and I have works.”
Demonstrate your faith to me without works,
and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
You believe that God is one.
You do well.
Even the demons believe that and tremble.
Do you want proof, you ignoramus,
that faith without works is useless?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works
when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?
You see that faith was active along with his works,
and faith was completed by the works.
Thus the Scripture was fulfilled that says,
Abraham believed God,
and it was credited to him as righteousness,
and he was called the friend of God.
See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
For just as a body without a spirit is dead,
so also faith without works is dead.
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
“Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,”
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.
Indeed someone might say,
“You have faith and I have works.”
Demonstrate your faith to me without works,
and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
You believe that God is one.
You do well.
Even the demons believe that and tremble.
Do you want proof, you ignoramus,
that faith without works is useless?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works
when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?
You see that faith was active along with his works,
and faith was completed by the works.
Thus the Scripture was fulfilled that says,
Abraham believed God,
and it was credited to him as righteousness,
and he was called the friend of God.
See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
For just as a body without a spirit is dead,
so also faith without works is dead.
R. (see 1b) Blessed the man who greatly delights in the
Lord’s commands.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Wealth and riches shall be in his house;
his generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Wealth and riches shall be in his house;
his generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this faithless and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
He also said to them,
“Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this faithless and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
He also said to them,
“Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”
Meditation: "Whoever loses his life for my sake
will save it"
What is the most important investment you can make with your
life? Jesus poses some probing questions to challenge our assumptions about
what is most profitable and worthwhile. In every decision of life we are making
ourselves a certain kind of person. The kind of person we are, our character,
determines to a large extent the kind of future we will face and live. It is
possible that some can gain all the things they set their heart on, only to
wake up suddenly and discover that they missed the most important things of
all. Of what value are material things if they don't help you gain what truly
lasts in eternity. Neither money nor possessions can buy heaven, mend a broken
heart, or cheer a lonely person.
Jesus asks the question: What will a person give in
exchange for his life? Everything we have is an out-right gift from
God. We owe him everything, including our very lives. It's possible to give God
our money, but not ourselves, or to give him lip-service, but not our hearts. A
true disciple gladly gives up all that he or she has in exchange for an
unending life of joy and happiness with God. God gives without measure. The joy
he offers no sadness or loss can diminish. The cross of Christ leads to victory
and freedom from sin and death. What is the cross which Jesus Christ commands
me to take up each day? When my will crosses with his will, then his will must
be done. Are you ready to lose all for Jesus Christ in order to gain all with
Jesus Christ?
"Lord Jesus Christ, I want to follow you as your disciple.
I gladly offer all that I have to you. Take and use my life as a pleasing
sacrifice of praise to your glory."
 The Transforming Power of the Cross |
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Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
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Mark 8: 34-9:1
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross,
and follow me. And he said to them, "Truly I tell you, there are some
standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God
has come with power."
Introductory Prayer: O
Lord, this day you wish to take away from me any false ideas about what it
means to be your friend. I believe that by attending to the sacred message of
your cross, I can learn authentic love of you and your Kingdom. In your
cross is an example of every virtue I need and every goal I wish to attain.
In the cross there is hope, an all-powerful hope that transcends every human
disappointment. I wish to carry my cross with joy as a token of my love and
gratitude to you.
Petition: Lord,
make the cross a singular place of friendship with you in my life.
1. Becoming Through Suffering: Most
people move through the day with self-preservation and self-interest influencing
their decision-making. Choosing a harder road can still be a self-interested
affair, if people seek their own advancement in life. Christ’s message is not
simply about a work ethic—sweating, toiling and sacrificing to be successful.
The self-denial that is asked of a Christian goes deeper than that. It must
reach into that place where we try to preserve ourselves and our most
cherished desires. Nothing teaches Christ’s lesson better than the crosses
that have surprised us, the crosses that were not planned or wanted. Every
step with these crosses on our backs is true following, true loving, true
salvation without delusion or bitterness.
2. Following or Leading?One day
Mother Teresa saw one of her sisters headed out into the streets with a long
face. She called her over and said, “What did Jesus say, to carry the cross
in front of Him or to follow Him?” The sister responded, smiling, “To follow
Him.” Mother then asked, “Why are you trying to go ahead of Him?” (Mother
Teresa: Come be My Light, p.221) “The cross of Christ” is not just the
rightful assumption of the weight of a holy life, it is also an attitude. The
wrong attitude can crush our spirits and make us suffer like a pagan: alone.
Humble faith reveals the One we follow, who shows us the way, who sustains
our hope, and who leads us to profound Christian joy.
3. Sacrificial Love and Life Are
Inseparable: Seeing the Kingdom in power is a consequence
for those who suffer for Christ. Our Lord guarantees this: Love will never be
defeated in this life or the next. Although they might seem to have suffered
in vain, many saints saw the glory of the Lord in special moments during
their life and in abundance after they passed to heaven. The incorrupt, the
documented miracles of intercession, the great movement of spirituality in
the Church—all these attest that God will never let love for him be separated
from the coming of his Kingdom in power.
Conversation with Christ: Lord,
bring my soul to the cross without fear, trusting in its mysterious power to
change me and the world around me. I should not withdraw from life when it
wounds me. May I resolve in every low moment, when Christ asks for more from
me, to live the resolution of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta: “A hearty ‘Yes’ to
God, and a big smile for all” (Mother Teresa: Come be My Light,
p.217).
Resolution: At night
I will examine well my attitudes towards difficulties and ensure that they
reflect the spirit of a true disciple.
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21,
MARK 8:34--9:1
(James 2:14-24, 26; Psalm 112)
(James 2:14-24, 26; Psalm 112)
KEY VERSE: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up the cross, and follow me" (v 34).
READING: Many people hoped that Jesus was the Messiah, but they had different expectations of who the Messiah would be. Some believed that God's anointed one would come as a powerful warrior to liberate Israel from foreign oppression and restore the kingdom to its former glory. Jesus helped his followers understand that his mission was spiritual, not political. He explained to his followers what it would mean to be his disciple. Whoever was committed to the establishment of God's reign must follow the way of the cross. They must be willing to sacrifice their own self-seeking and self-centered ambitions. If they lived contrary to Jesus' teachings, they would lose the fullness of life they sought. If they acted on Jesus' words, they would experience life everlasting.
REFLECTING: What is the Lord asking me to sacrifice for the sake of his kingdom?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to open my heart and hands to do your will.
Optional Memorial of
Peter Damian, bishop and doctor of the Church
Peter Damian escaped poverty and mistreatment by his own brother when his other brother, archpriest of Ravenna, took him under his wing. His brother sent him to good schools and Peter became a professor. Soon, he decided to leave teaching and give himself completely to prayer with the Benedictines of the reform of St. Romuald at Fonte Avellana. He founded hermitages, and was occasionally called on by the Vatican to make peace between arguing monastic houses, clergymen, and government officials. Pope Stephen IX made Peter the cardinal-bishop of Ostia. Peter tried to restore discipline among worldly priests and religious, warning them against violations of poverty and living too comfortably. He worked hard to wipe out simony* and encouraged his priests to observe celibacy and maintain scheduled prayer and religious observance. Peter was very strict with himself. When he was not praying, he studied the Bible. A prolific correspondent, Peter wrote dozens of sermons, seven biographies (including one of St. Romuald), and some of the best Latin poetry of the time. He tried to retire to be a monk, but was routinely recalled as papal legate. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1828.
NOTE: Simony is the act of paying for sacraments and holy offices or positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus, who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Breathe First
You just can't know how hard a sarcasm, retaliation, or verbal
smack is unless you hit another with it and then watch the size and color of
the bruise formed. That's very risky to both of you in yielding to a momentary
urge to send off.
Happy are those who do what the Lord commands
‘Those who lose their life will save it.’Symbols add a dimension to our lives as we seek their meaning. There is a moving example in the football stadium in Brisbane - a veil embossed on windows above the cemetery which is under the stadium in memory of the ancestors buried there. Jesus loved symbols and parables to stimulate his listeners to explore the hidden meanings of his descriptions of the kingdom of God, of life and death. As we dig deeper into his sayings and ponder them, we find such treasures to transform our lives and bring us closer to his message that he wants to reveal to us.
February
21
St. Peter Damian
(1007-1072)
St. Peter Damian
(1007-1072)
Maybe because he was orphaned and had been treated shabbily by one
of his brothers, Peter Damian was very good to the poor. It was the ordinary
thing for him to have a poor person or two with him at table and he liked to
minister personally to their needs.
Peter
escaped poverty and the neglect of his own brother when his other brother, who
was archpriest of Ravenna, took him under his wing. His brother sent him to
good schools and Peter became a professor.
Already
in those days Peter was very strict with himself. He wore a hair shirt under
his clothes, fasted rigorously and spent many hours in prayer. Soon, he decided
to leave his teaching and give himself completely to prayer with the
Benedictines of the reform of St. Romuald (June 19) at Fonte Avellana. They
lived two monks to a hermitage. Peter was so eager to pray and slept so little that
he soon suffered from severe insomnia. He found he had to use some prudence in
taking care of himself. When he was not praying, he studied the Bible.
The abbot
commanded that when he died Peter should succeed him. Abbot Peter founded five
other hermitages. He encouraged his brothers in a life of prayer and solitude
and wanted nothing more for himself. The Holy See periodically called on him,
however, to be a peacemaker or troubleshooter, between two abbeys in dispute or
a cleric or government official in some disagreement with Rome.
Finally,
Pope Stephen IX made Peter the cardinal-bishop of Ostia. He worked hard to wipe
out simony (the buying of church offices), and encouraged his priests to
observe celibacy and urged even the diocesan clergy to live together and
maintain scheduled prayer and religious observance. He wished to restore
primitive discipline among religious and priests, warning against needless
travel, violations of poverty and too comfortable living. He even wrote to the
bishop of Besancon, complaining that the canons there sat down when they were
singing the psalms in the Divine Office.
He wrote
many letters. Some 170 are extant. We also have 53 of his sermons and seven
lives, or biographies, that he wrote. He preferred examples and stories rather
than theory in his writings. The liturgical offices he wrote are evidence of
his talent as a stylist in Latin.
He asked
often to be allowed to retire as cardinal-bishop of Ostia, and finally
Alexander II consented. Peter was happy to become once again just a monk, but
he was still called to serve as a papal legate. When returning from such an
assignment in Ravenna, he was overcome by a fever. With the monks gathered
around him saying the Divine Office, he died on February 22, 1072.
In 1828
he was declared a Doctor of the Church.
Comment:
Peter was a reformer and if he were alive today would no doubt encourage the renewal started by Vatican II. He would also applaud the greater emphasis on prayer that is shown by the growing number of priests, religious and laypersons who gather regularly for prayer, as well as the special houses of prayer recently established by many religious communities.
Peter was a reformer and if he were alive today would no doubt encourage the renewal started by Vatican II. He would also applaud the greater emphasis on prayer that is shown by the growing number of priests, religious and laypersons who gather regularly for prayer, as well as the special houses of prayer recently established by many religious communities.
Quote:
“...Let us faithfully transmit to posterity the example of virtue which we have received from our forefathers” (St. Peter Damian).
“...Let us faithfully transmit to posterity the example of virtue which we have received from our forefathers” (St. Peter Damian).
LECTIO DIVINA:
MARK 8,34-9,1
Lectio:
Friday, February 21, 2014
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
we believe in you with all our being.
Let this faith never be a lifeless belief
in abstract truths outside ourselves,
but a deep personal commitment
to your Son Jesus Christ.
Give us the courage, we pray you,
to live for our brothers and sisters
and if need be to lose our life for them
and for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
we believe in you with all our being.
Let this faith never be a lifeless belief
in abstract truths outside ourselves,
but a deep personal commitment
to your Son Jesus Christ.
Give us the courage, we pray you,
to live for our brothers and sisters
and if need be to lose our life for them
and for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 8,34-9,1
Jesus called the people and his disciples to him and said, 'If
anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his
cross and follow me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone
who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
What gain, then, is it for anyone to win the whole world and forfeit his life? And indeed what can anyone offer in exchange for his life?
For if anyone in this sinful and adulterous generation is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.'
And he said to them, 'In truth I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.'
What gain, then, is it for anyone to win the whole world and forfeit his life? And indeed what can anyone offer in exchange for his life?
For if anyone in this sinful and adulterous generation is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.'
And he said to them, 'In truth I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.'
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel speaks about the conditions necessary to follow
Jesus. Peter does not understand the proposal of Jesus when he speaks about
suffering and of the cross. Peter accepts Jesus as Messiah, but not a Suffering
Messiah. Before this misunderstanding of Peter, Jesus describes the
announcement of the Cross and explains the significance of the cross for the
life of the disciples (Mk 8, 27 to 9, 1).
• Historical context of Mark: In the years 70’s, when Mark writes, the situation of the communities was not easy. There was much suffering, there were many crosses. Six years before, in 64, the Emperor Nero had decreed the first great persecution, killing many Christians. In the year 70, in Palestine, the Romans were destroying Jerusalem. In the other countries an enormous tension between converted Jews and non converted Jews was beginning to arise. The greatest difficulty was the Cross of Jesus. The Jews thought that a crucified person could not be the Messiah, because the law affirmed that any crucified person should be considered a cursed person by God (Dt 21, 22-23).
• Mark 8, 34-37: Conditions to follow Jesus. Jesus draws the conclusions which are valid for the disciples, for the Christians of the time of Mark and for us who are living today: If anyone wants to follow me let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me! At that time the cross was death penalty which the Roman Empire attributed to the marginalized. To take up the Cross and follow him meant, definitively, to accept to be marginalized by the unjust system which legitimized injustice. The Cross was not the fruit of fatalism of history, nor demanded by the Father. The Cross is the consequence of the freely assumed commitment by Jesus to reveal the Good News of the One who is Father and that, therefore, all have to be accepted and treated as brothers and sisters. Because of this revolutionary announcement, he was persecuted and he was not afraid to give his own life. There is no greater love than to give one’s life for one’s brother. Immediately, after Mark inserts two separate phrases of the text.
• Mark 8, 38-9, 1: Two phrases: a requirement and an announcement. The first one (Mk 8, 38) is the requirement not to be ashamed of the Gospel, but to have the courage to profess it. The second one (Mk 9, 1), is an announcement about the coming or the presence of Jesus in the facts of life. Some thought that Jesus would have come afterwards (1 Th 4, 15-18). But in fact, Jesus had already come and was already present in the persons, especially in the poor. But they were not aware of this. Jesus himself had said: “Every time that you helped the poor, the sick, the homeless, the imprisoned, the pilgrim it was me!” (cfr, Mt 25, 34-45).
• Historical context of Mark: In the years 70’s, when Mark writes, the situation of the communities was not easy. There was much suffering, there were many crosses. Six years before, in 64, the Emperor Nero had decreed the first great persecution, killing many Christians. In the year 70, in Palestine, the Romans were destroying Jerusalem. In the other countries an enormous tension between converted Jews and non converted Jews was beginning to arise. The greatest difficulty was the Cross of Jesus. The Jews thought that a crucified person could not be the Messiah, because the law affirmed that any crucified person should be considered a cursed person by God (Dt 21, 22-23).
• Mark 8, 34-37: Conditions to follow Jesus. Jesus draws the conclusions which are valid for the disciples, for the Christians of the time of Mark and for us who are living today: If anyone wants to follow me let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me! At that time the cross was death penalty which the Roman Empire attributed to the marginalized. To take up the Cross and follow him meant, definitively, to accept to be marginalized by the unjust system which legitimized injustice. The Cross was not the fruit of fatalism of history, nor demanded by the Father. The Cross is the consequence of the freely assumed commitment by Jesus to reveal the Good News of the One who is Father and that, therefore, all have to be accepted and treated as brothers and sisters. Because of this revolutionary announcement, he was persecuted and he was not afraid to give his own life. There is no greater love than to give one’s life for one’s brother. Immediately, after Mark inserts two separate phrases of the text.
• Mark 8, 38-9, 1: Two phrases: a requirement and an announcement. The first one (Mk 8, 38) is the requirement not to be ashamed of the Gospel, but to have the courage to profess it. The second one (Mk 9, 1), is an announcement about the coming or the presence of Jesus in the facts of life. Some thought that Jesus would have come afterwards (1 Th 4, 15-18). But in fact, Jesus had already come and was already present in the persons, especially in the poor. But they were not aware of this. Jesus himself had said: “Every time that you helped the poor, the sick, the homeless, the imprisoned, the pilgrim it was me!” (cfr, Mt 25, 34-45).
4) For Personal Confrontation
• Which is the cross that weighs down on me and which makes my
life heavy? How do I bear it?
• To gain or to lose life; to gain the whole world or to lose the soul; to be ashamed of the Gospel or to profess it publicly. How does this take place in my life?
• To gain or to lose life; to gain the whole world or to lose the soul; to be ashamed of the Gospel or to profess it publicly. How does this take place in my life?
5) Concluding Prayer
How blessed is anyone who fears Yahweh,
who delights in his commandments!
His descendants shall be powerful on earth,
the race of the honest shall receive blessings. (Ps 112,1-2)
who delights in his commandments!
His descendants shall be powerful on earth,
the race of the honest shall receive blessings. (Ps 112,1-2)
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