Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales,
Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 318
Lectionary: 318
Brothers and sisters:
Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come,
and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect
those who come to worship by the same sacrifices
that they offer continually each year.
Otherwise, would not the sacrifices have ceased to be offered,
since the worshipers, once cleansed, would no longer
have had any consciousness of sins?
But in those sacrifices there is only a yearly remembrance of sins,
for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats
take away sins.
For this reason, when he came into the world, he said:
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, As is written of me in the scroll,
Behold, I come to do your will, O God.
First he says, Sacrifices and offerings,
burnt offerings and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, Behold, I come to do your will.
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this "will," we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come,
and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect
those who come to worship by the same sacrifices
that they offer continually each year.
Otherwise, would not the sacrifices have ceased to be offered,
since the worshipers, once cleansed, would no longer
have had any consciousness of sins?
But in those sacrifices there is only a yearly remembrance of sins,
for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats
take away sins.
For this reason, when he came into the world, he said:
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, As is written of me in the scroll,
Behold, I come to do your will, O God.
First he says, Sacrifices and offerings,
burnt offerings and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, Behold, I come to do your will.
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this "will," we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 40:2 AND 4AB, 7-8A,
10, 11
R. (8a and 9a) Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
AlleluiaMT 11:25
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 3:31-35
The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."
Meditation: "Whoever does the will of God is
my brother and sister"
Who do you love and cherish the most? God did not
intend for us to be alone, but to be with others. He gives us many
opportunities for developing relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and
co-workers. Why did Jesus, on this occasion, seem to ignore his own relatives
when they pressed to see him? His love and respect for his mother and his
relatives was unquestionable. Jesus never lost an opportunity to teach his
disciples a spiritual lesson and truth about the kingdom of God. On this
occasion when many gathered to hear Jesus he pointed to another higher reality
of relationships, namely our relationship with God and with those who belong to
God.
What is the essence of being a Christian? It is
certainly more than doctrine, precepts, and commandments. It is first and
foremost a relationship - a relationship of trust, affection, commitment,
loyalty, faithfulness, kindness, thoughtfulness, compassion, mercy,
helpfulness, encouragement, support, strength, protection, and so many other
qualities that bind people together in mutual love and unity. God offers us the
greatest of relationships - union of heart, mind, and spirit with himself, the
very author and source of love (1 John 4:8,16).
God's love never fails, never forgets, never compromises,
never lies, never lets us down nor disappoints us. His love is consistent,
unwavering, unconditional, and unstoppable. We may choose to separate ourselves
from him, but nothing will make him ignore us, leave us, or treat us unkindly.
He will pursue us, love us, and call us to return to him no matter what might
stand in the way. It is his nature to love. That is why he created us - to be
united with him and to share in his love and unity of persons (1 John 3:1). God
is a trinity of persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and a community of
love. That is why Jesus challenged his followers and even his own earthly
relatives to recognize that God is the true source of all relationships. God
wants all of our relationships to be rooted in his love.
Jesus is God's love incarnate - God's love made
visible in human flesh (1 John 4:9-10). That is why Jesus describes himself as
the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep and the shepherd who
seeks out the sheep who have strayed and lost their way. God is like the father
who yearns for his prodigal son to return home and then throws a great party
for his son when he has a change of heart and comes back (Luke 15:11-32). Jesus
offered up his life on the cross for our sake, so that we could be forgiven and
restored to unity and friendship with God. It is through Jesus that we become
the adopted children of God - his own sons and daughters. That is why Jesus
told his disciples that they would have many new friends and family
relationships in his kingdom. Whoever does the will of God is a friend of God
and a member of his family - his sons and daughters who have been ransomed by
the precious blood of Christ.
An early Christian martyr once said that "a
Christian's only relatives are the saints" - namely those who have been
redeemed by the blood of Christ and adopted as sons and daughters of God. Those
who have been baptized into Jesus Christ and who live as his disciples enter
into a new family, a family of "saints" here on earth and in heaven.
Jesus changes the order of relationships and shows that true kinship is not
just a matter of flesh and blood. Our adoption as sons and daughters of God
transforms all of our relationships and requires a new order of loyalty to God
first and to his kingdom of righteousness and peace. Do you want to grow in
love and friendship? Allow God's Holy Spirit to transform your heart, mind, and
will to enable you to love freely and generously as he loves.
"Heavenly Father, you are the source of all true
friendship and love. In all my relationships, may your love be my constant
guide for choosing what is good and for rejecting what is contrary to your
will."
10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is
the King of glory!
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The cross of Christ as victory, by
Augustine of Hippo, 430-543 A.D.
"[Mary] did the Father's will. It was this in her
that the Lord magnified, not merely that her flesh gave birth to flesh... When
he said, 'Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it' (Luke 11:28),
he was in effect saying: 'My mother whom you have called blessed is blessed for
the reason that she keeps the Word of God, not that the Word was made flesh in
her and dwelt among us (John 1:14), but that she keeps the very Word of God
through which she was made and which was made flesh in her." (excerpt from TRACTATE ON JOHN 10.3.2)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, MARK 3:31-35
(Hebrews 10:1-10; Psalm 40)
(Hebrews 10:1-10; Psalm 40)
KEY VERSE: "Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother" (v 35).
TO KNOW: In the early Christian community, there was an influential group called the "Brothers of the Lord" who were counted among Jesus' relatives. One of them was James, who became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. When Jesus was informed that his mother and his "brothers and sisters" were “outside” the house asking for him, he told his followers that it took more than blood relationships to bind them together. The disciples were a very mixed group but they were bound to one another because they had accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord. They had a common goal: that of seeking to win men and women for Jesus Christ. Those "inside" God's household were those who were obedient to God's will. Jesus' mother Mary exemplified this in all she did and said.
TO LOVE: Are others able to recognize me as a member of Jesus' family?
TO SERVE: Mary my mother, teach me to be God's child so that I can be a brother or sister to your Son.
NOTE: In Semitic language, "brothers" or "sisters" can mean children of the same parent, but can also imply extended members of a family such as cousins, etc. If Mark intended to say that Mary had other children, he would have said, "the sons and daughters of your mother are here," which would explain that these were Jesus' natural brothers and sisters. The doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity was defined by the Lateran Council in 649 CE.
Memorial of Saint Francis de
Sales, bishop and doctor of the Church
Francis de Sales was born in Savoy near Annecy in 1567, shortly after the conclusion of the Council of Trent. He studied the law, but abandoned the prospect of a brilliant career, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1593. Francis was appointed bishop of Geneva, and spent the rest of his life reforming and reorganizing the diocese and in caring for the souls of his people by preaching and spiritual guidance. He became the spiritual director of Saint Jane de Chantal with whom he founded the nuns of the Visitation in 1610. In his most famous writings, the “Introduction to the Devout Life” (1609) and the “Treatise on the Love of God” (1616), Francis taught that that true holiness is not reserved for monks and hermits alone. We can all attain a devout and spiritual life no matter what our position in society. In this he anticipated the Second Vatican Council's teaching that all Christians are called to holiness (Lumen Gentium, chapter 4). Francis died at Lyons on December 28, 1622 and was canonized in 1665. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1877 and Patron of the Catholic Press in 1923.
Tuesday 24 January 2017
Tue 24th. St Francis de Sales. Hebrews
10:1-10. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will—Ps 39(40):2, 4, 7-8, 10, 11.
Mark 3:31-35.
Christianity on God's terms.
People never know we are Christians simply
by our status as Christians. Indeed, the extent that they do is the extent to
which they are presented with a distortion of Christianity. Rather, as the hymn
goes, they know we are Christians by our love. Love is not an emotion or a
series of good wishes. It is a series of rather specific actions – the will of
God. This may sound rather nebulous, but what comes clear is that it is not we
who set the terms of what counts as Christian, but God.
Thus it is necessary to find out how God's will be made manifest in our lives.
This involves a constant prayerful discernment with the person that sets the terms, namely God. In doing so, the Gospels remind us that we are not only finding out what God wants for us. We are also being incorporated into his family.
Thus it is necessary to find out how God's will be made manifest in our lives.
This involves a constant prayerful discernment with the person that sets the terms, namely God. In doing so, the Gospels remind us that we are not only finding out what God wants for us. We are also being incorporated into his family.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES
Jan. 24 marks the
Feast of St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers and Christian unity
whose role as a priest and bishop helped bring thousands of Protestants back to
the Catholic Church.
In the late 16th and early 17th century, St. Frances de Sales conducted spiritual direction both in person and in written correspondence. This inspired his famous work “Introduction to the Devout Life.”
During his ministry in Switzerland, he wrote and distributed religious tracts that made inroads among Protestants and helped between 40,000 and 70,000 return to the Catholic faith.
Because he is a patron saint of writers, his feast day traditionally marks the release of the Pope’s annual message for World Communications Day. Pope Benedict XVI’s 2013 message reflected on social networks and their potential to strengthen unity and harmony between people. He also warned that these enable a mindset that rewards popularity, rather than rewarding what has intrinsic value.
St. Francis de Sales was no stranger to unpopularity. As a priest he volunteered to lead a mission to return the Calvinist Switzerland back to the Catholic faith. He faced much hostility, including death threats and would-be assassins.
He was born in 1567 in the Savoy region in what is now part of France. He was a diplomat’s son, born into a household with great devotion to St. Francis of Assisi.
He studied rhetoric, the humanities and law in preparation for a political career. He had resolved to hold to religious celibacy and he held a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary, but he kept this strong spiritual life secret from the world.
This devotion clashed with the wishes of his father, who had arranged a marriage for him. The Catholic bishop of Geneva found Francis de Sales a position in the Swiss Church, leading to his ordination as a priest in 1593.
He was named Bishop of Geneva in 1602, after which he worked to restore Geneva’s churches and religious orders. He helped the future saint Jean Frances de Chantal, whom he had served as spiritual director, found a women’s religious order.
He died in 1622 in Lyons at a convent he had helped to found. Frances de Sales was canonized in1665 and named a Doctor of the Church in 1877.
In the late 16th and early 17th century, St. Frances de Sales conducted spiritual direction both in person and in written correspondence. This inspired his famous work “Introduction to the Devout Life.”
During his ministry in Switzerland, he wrote and distributed religious tracts that made inroads among Protestants and helped between 40,000 and 70,000 return to the Catholic faith.
Because he is a patron saint of writers, his feast day traditionally marks the release of the Pope’s annual message for World Communications Day. Pope Benedict XVI’s 2013 message reflected on social networks and their potential to strengthen unity and harmony between people. He also warned that these enable a mindset that rewards popularity, rather than rewarding what has intrinsic value.
St. Francis de Sales was no stranger to unpopularity. As a priest he volunteered to lead a mission to return the Calvinist Switzerland back to the Catholic faith. He faced much hostility, including death threats and would-be assassins.
He was born in 1567 in the Savoy region in what is now part of France. He was a diplomat’s son, born into a household with great devotion to St. Francis of Assisi.
He studied rhetoric, the humanities and law in preparation for a political career. He had resolved to hold to religious celibacy and he held a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary, but he kept this strong spiritual life secret from the world.
This devotion clashed with the wishes of his father, who had arranged a marriage for him. The Catholic bishop of Geneva found Francis de Sales a position in the Swiss Church, leading to his ordination as a priest in 1593.
He was named Bishop of Geneva in 1602, after which he worked to restore Geneva’s churches and religious orders. He helped the future saint Jean Frances de Chantal, whom he had served as spiritual director, found a women’s religious order.
He died in 1622 in Lyons at a convent he had helped to found. Frances de Sales was canonized in1665 and named a Doctor of the Church in 1877.
LECTIO DIVINA: MARK
3,31-35
Lectio Divina:
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
All-powerful and ever-living God,
direct your love that is within us,
that our efforts in the name of your Son
may bring mankind to unity and peace.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
All-powerful and ever-living God,
direct your love that is within us,
that our efforts in the name of your Son
may bring mankind to unity and peace.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 3,31-35
Now his mother and his brothers arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him.
A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, 'Look, your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.'
He replied, 'Who are my mother and my brothers?' And looking at those sitting in a circle round him, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.'
Now his mother and his brothers arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him.
A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, 'Look, your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.'
He replied, 'Who are my mother and my brothers?' And looking at those sitting in a circle round him, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.'
3) Reflection
• The family of Jesus. The relatives reached the house where Jesus was. Probably they have come from Nazareth. From there up to Capernaum there is a distance of forty kilometres. His mother also comes together with them. They do not enter, but they send a messenger: “Look, your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you! Jesus’ reaction is clear: Who are my mother and my brothers? And he himself responds turning to look toward the crowd who is there around: Here are my mother and my brothers! Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother! To understand well the sense of this response it is convenient to look at the situation of the family in the time of Jesus.
• In the Old Israel, the clan, that is, the large family (the community), was the basis for social living together. It was the protection of the families and of the persons, the guarantee of the possession of the land, the principle vehicle of the tradition, the defence of identity. It was the concrete way on the part of the people of that time to incarnate the love of God and the love toward neighbour. To defend the clan was the same as to defend the Covenant.
• In the Galilee at the time of Jesus, because of the system established during the long periods of government of Herod the Great (37 BC to 4 BC) and of his son Herod Antipas (4 BC to 39 AD), the clan, (the community) was becoming weaker. The taxes to be paid, both to the Government and to the Temple, the debts which were increasing, the individualistic mentality of the Hellenistic ideology, the frequent threats of violent repression on the part of the Romans and the obligation to accept the soldiers and give them hospitality, the ever growing problem of survival , all this impelled the families to close themselves in self and to think only of their own needs. This closing up was strengthened by the religion of the time. For example: the one who gave his inheritance to the Temple, could leave his parents without any help. This weakened the fourth commandment which was the backbone of the clan (Mk 7, 8-13). Besides this, the observance of the Norms of purity was a factor of marginalization for many persons: women, children, Samaritans, foreigners, lepers, possessed persons, tax collectors or Publicans, the sick, mutilated persons and paraplegic persons.
• And thus, the concern with the problems of one’s own family prevented the persons to meet in community. Now, in order that the Kingdom of God could manifest itself in community living of the people, the persons had to overcome the narrow limits of the small family and open themselves again to the large family, to the Community. Jesus gave the example. When his own family tries to take possession of him, he reacted and extended the family: “Who are my mother and my brothers?”. And he himself gave the answer, turning his look toward the crowd: Here are my mother and my brothers! Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother, sister and mother! (Mk 3, 33-35). He crated a community.
• Jesus asked the same thing from all those who wanted to follow him. Families could not close themselves up in self . The excluded and the marginalized had to be accepted in the life with others, and in this way feel accepted by God (Lk 14, 12-14) This was the path to attain the objective of the Law which said “There must, then, be no poor among you” (Dt 15, 4). Like the great Prophets of the past, Jesus tries to consolidate community life in the villages of Galilee. He takes back the profound sense of the clan, of the family, of the community, as an expression of the incarnation of the love toward God and toward neighbour.
• The family of Jesus. The relatives reached the house where Jesus was. Probably they have come from Nazareth. From there up to Capernaum there is a distance of forty kilometres. His mother also comes together with them. They do not enter, but they send a messenger: “Look, your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you! Jesus’ reaction is clear: Who are my mother and my brothers? And he himself responds turning to look toward the crowd who is there around: Here are my mother and my brothers! Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother! To understand well the sense of this response it is convenient to look at the situation of the family in the time of Jesus.
• In the Old Israel, the clan, that is, the large family (the community), was the basis for social living together. It was the protection of the families and of the persons, the guarantee of the possession of the land, the principle vehicle of the tradition, the defence of identity. It was the concrete way on the part of the people of that time to incarnate the love of God and the love toward neighbour. To defend the clan was the same as to defend the Covenant.
• In the Galilee at the time of Jesus, because of the system established during the long periods of government of Herod the Great (37 BC to 4 BC) and of his son Herod Antipas (4 BC to 39 AD), the clan, (the community) was becoming weaker. The taxes to be paid, both to the Government and to the Temple, the debts which were increasing, the individualistic mentality of the Hellenistic ideology, the frequent threats of violent repression on the part of the Romans and the obligation to accept the soldiers and give them hospitality, the ever growing problem of survival , all this impelled the families to close themselves in self and to think only of their own needs. This closing up was strengthened by the religion of the time. For example: the one who gave his inheritance to the Temple, could leave his parents without any help. This weakened the fourth commandment which was the backbone of the clan (Mk 7, 8-13). Besides this, the observance of the Norms of purity was a factor of marginalization for many persons: women, children, Samaritans, foreigners, lepers, possessed persons, tax collectors or Publicans, the sick, mutilated persons and paraplegic persons.
• And thus, the concern with the problems of one’s own family prevented the persons to meet in community. Now, in order that the Kingdom of God could manifest itself in community living of the people, the persons had to overcome the narrow limits of the small family and open themselves again to the large family, to the Community. Jesus gave the example. When his own family tries to take possession of him, he reacted and extended the family: “Who are my mother and my brothers?”. And he himself gave the answer, turning his look toward the crowd: Here are my mother and my brothers! Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother, sister and mother! (Mk 3, 33-35). He crated a community.
• Jesus asked the same thing from all those who wanted to follow him. Families could not close themselves up in self . The excluded and the marginalized had to be accepted in the life with others, and in this way feel accepted by God (Lk 14, 12-14) This was the path to attain the objective of the Law which said “There must, then, be no poor among you” (Dt 15, 4). Like the great Prophets of the past, Jesus tries to consolidate community life in the villages of Galilee. He takes back the profound sense of the clan, of the family, of the community, as an expression of the incarnation of the love toward God and toward neighbour.
4) Personal questions
• To live faith in the community. What place and what influence does the community have in my way of living faith ?
• Today, in the large city, overcrowding promotes individualism which is contrary to life in community. What am I doing to counteract this evil?
• To live faith in the community. What place and what influence does the community have in my way of living faith ?
• Today, in the large city, overcrowding promotes individualism which is contrary to life in community. What am I doing to counteract this evil?
5) Concluding prayer
I waited, I waited for Yahweh,
then he stooped to me
and heard my cry for help.
He put a fresh song in my mouth,
praise of our God. (Ps 40,1.3)
I waited, I waited for Yahweh,
then he stooped to me
and heard my cry for help.
He put a fresh song in my mouth,
praise of our God. (Ps 40,1.3)
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