FEBRUARY 24, 2017 : FRIDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 345

Reading 1SIR 6:5-17

A kind mouth multiplies friends and appeases enemies,
and gracious lips prompt friendly greetings.
Let your acquaintances be many,
but one in a thousand your confidant.
When you gain a friend, first test him,
and be not too ready to trust him.
For one sort is a friend when it suits him,
but he will not be with you in time of distress.
Another is a friend who becomes an enemy,
and tells of the quarrel to your shame.
Another is a friend, a boon companion,
who will not be with you when sorrow comes.
When things go well, he is your other self,
and lords it over your servants;
But if you are brought low, he turns against you
and avoids meeting you.
Keep away from your enemies;
be on your guard with your friends.
A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter;
he who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price,
no sum can balance his worth.
A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy,
such as he who fears God finds;
For he who fears God behaves accordingly,
and his friend will be like himself.

Responsorial PsalmPS 119:12, 16, 18, 27, 34, 35

R. (35a) Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
In your statutes I will delight;
I will not forget your words.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Open my eyes, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.

AlleluiaJN 17:17B, 17A

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMK 10:1-12

Jesus came into the district of Judea and across the Jordan.
Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom,
he again taught them.
The Pharisees approached him and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"
They replied,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her."
But Jesus told them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate."
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."

www.usccb.org

Meditation: What God has joined together

What is God's intention for our state in life, whether married or single? Jesus deals with the issue of divorce by taking his hearers back to the beginning of creation and to God's plan for the human race. In Genesis 2:23-24 we see God's intention and ideal that two people who marry should become so indissolubly one that they are one flesh. That ideal is found in the unbreakable union of Adam and Eve. They were created for each other and for no one else. They are the pattern and symbol for all who were to come.

We belong to God and not to ourselves
Jesus explains that Moses permitted divorce as a concession in view of a lost ideal. Jesus sets the high ideal of the married state before those who are willing to accept his commands. Jesus, likewise sets the high ideal for those who freely renounce marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:11-12). Both marriage and celibacy are calls from God to live a consecrated life, that is to live as married couples or as singles who belong not to themselves but to God. Our lives are not our own - they belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:19b,20; Romans 14:7-8). 

The Lord Jesus through the gift of the Holy Spirit gives the grace and the power to those who seek to follow his way of holiness in their state of life. His grace and power bring freedom, discipline, and strength to live a life of love, joy, and holiness. Do you seek the Lord and his grace (his strength and power) in your state of life?

"Lord Jesus Christ, your call to holiness extends to all in every state of life. Sanctify our lives - as married couples and as singles - that we may live as men and women who are consecrated to you. Make us leaven in a society that disdains life-long marriage fidelity, chastity, and living single for the Lord".   

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Mutual servants, equally serving, by Tertullian, 160-225 A.D.

"Where are we to find language adequately to express the happiness of that marriage which the church cements, the oblation confirms, the benediction signs and seals, the angels celebrate, and the Father holds as approved? For all around the earth young people do not rightly and lawfully wed without their parents' consent. What kind of yoke is that of two believers who share one hope, one desire, one discipline, one service? (Ephesians 4:4) They enjoy kinship in spirit and in flesh. They are mutual servants with no discrepancy of interests. Truly they are 'two in one flesh' (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5; Ephesians 5:31). Where the flesh is one, the spirit is one as well. Together they pray, together bow down, together perform their fasts, mutually teaching, mutually entreating, mutually upholding. In the church of God they hold an equal place. (Romans 12:15; 15:6; Galatians 3:28; 1 Corinthians 12:12) They stand equally at the banquet of God, equally in crises, equally facing persecutions, and equally in refreshments. Neither hides anything from the other. Neither neglects the other. Neither is troublesome to the other (Philippians 1:27)." (excerpt from TO HIS WIFE 2.8)

www.dailyscripture.net

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, MARK 10:1-12
Weekday
(Sirach 6:5-17; Psalm 119)

KEY VERSE: "Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate" (v 9).
TO KNOW: At the time of Jesus, Rabbis differed in their opinion as to what constituted sufficient grounds for divorce. The scriptures permitted a man to divorce his wife for immoral behavior (Dt 24:1). A woman had no such rights. When some Pharisees questioned Jesus regarding divorce, he gave them the authentic interpretation of the Law by recalling the basic values underlying the scriptures. God's original intent was that a man and woman become "one body" (Gn 2:21-24), a symbol of God's unity with the people. This relationship should not be sundered without sufficient cause or capricious human will. In the letter to the Ephesians, marriage foreshadowed Christ's oneness with his Church (Eph 5:32).
TO LOVE: Am I committed to my vocation as a sign of my fidelity to Christ?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, bring your compassionate healing to all who suffer separation and divorce.
​www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Friday 24 February 2017

Fri 24th. Day of penance.Ecclesiasticus 6:5-17. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands—Ps 118(119):12, 16, 18, 27, 34-35. Mark 10:1‑12.

Readings

Marriage exists ‘from the beginning.’

In this Gospel passage, Jesus reminds us about the sanctity of marriage. But sanctity here goes beyond the debates we are currently having about how marriage should be defined.

While the Pharisees tried to ground the practice of divorce in tradition, Jesus responds, not by rejecting the tradition, but by delving even deeper into it, all the way back to the beginning.

Pope St. John Paul II attributed great significance to this passage, which became the launching point for his famous Theology of the Body.

Marriage is sacred not only because it is between a man and a woman, but because every marriage is a reenactment of the lives of the first man and woman, the Garden of Eden and the original plan of God for the universe.

www.pray.com.au

BLESSED THOMAS MARIA FUSCO

Thomas was born to a noble family in 1831 in Pagani, Italy. He was the seventh of eight children.

When he was only six years old, his mother died of cholera. A few years later, his father also died.

His uncle, a primary school teacher, took charge of Thomas' education.

The canonization of St. Alphonsus Liguori in 1839 stirred aspirations for the priesthood in Thomas' heart.

He entered the seminary in 1847 and was ordained a priest in 1855.

Immediately Thomas opened a morning school for the formation of boys and organized evening prayers for youth and adults.

During these years, Thomas nurtured a deep devotion to the crucified Christ and to his Blessed Sorrowful Mother because of the deaths of his uncle and younger brother.

In 1862 he opened a school of moral theology in his home to train priests for the ministry of confession. That same year he also founded the priestly Society of the Catholic Apostolate for missions among the faithful.

In 1873, Thomas was deeply moved by the plight of an orphaned street girl. After careful discernment, he founded the Congregation of the “Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood”.

For the remainder of his years, he was completely dedicated to his priestly ministry, preaching spiritual retreats and missions, teaching catechism to youth and organizing prayer for young people and adults at his parish. He worked to build a strong devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus among the people he served.

In 1891, Thomas died of liver disease at the age of 59.

The cause for his beatification was opened in 1955 and the decree of his heroic Christian virtues was published in 2001.

At Thomas' beatification, Blessed John Paul II presented him as “an example and a guide to holiness for priests, for the people of God and for his spiritual daughters, the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood.”

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=157

LECTIO DIVINA: MARK 10,1-12

Lectio Divina: 

 Friday, February 24, 2017

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 10,1-12

After leaving Capharnaum, Jesus came into the territory of Judaea and Transjordan. And again crowds gathered round him, and again he taught them, as his custom was. Some Pharisees approached him and asked, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?' They were putting him to the test. He answered them, 'What did Moses command you?' They replied, 'Moses allowed us to draw up a writ of dismissal in cases of divorce.'

Then Jesus said to them, 'It was because you were so hard hearted that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation he made them male and female. This is why a man leaves his father and mother, and the two become one flesh. They are no longer two, therefore, but one flesh. So then, what God has united, human beings must not divide.'

Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them, 'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.'

3) Reflection

• Yesterday’s Gospel indicated the advice given by Jesus on the relationship between adults and children, between the great and the little ones in society. Today’s Gospel advises us how the relationship between man and woman should be, between wife and husband.

• Mark 10, 1-2: the question of the Pharisees: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” The question is a malicious one. It wants to put Jesus to the test: “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” This is a sign that Jesus had a different opinion, because if this was not so the Pharisees would not have questioned him on this matter. They do not ask if it is lawful for the wife to divorce the husband. They never thought of that. This is a clear sign of the strong dominion of men and the marginalization of women in the society of that time.

• Mark 10, 3-9: The answer of Jesus: man cannot divorce his wife. Instead of responding, Jesus asks: “What did Moses command you?” The Law permitted a man to draw up a writ of dismissal in cases of divorce. This permission reveals the reigning machismo of the time. Man could divorce his wife, but the woman did not have the same right. Jesus explains that Moses acted that way because they were so hard hearted, but that the intention of God was different when he created the human being. Jesus goes back to the project of the Creator and denies to man the right of divorce his wife. He takes away the privilege of man regarding his wife and asks for the maximum equality between the two.

• Mark 10, 10, 12: Equality of man and woman. At home the disciples asked Jesus something on this point. Jesus draws the conclusions and reaffirms the equality of rights and duties between man and woman. He proposes a new type of relationship between the two. He does not allow the marriage in which man can command his wife as he wishes, nor vice-versa. The Gospel of Matthew adds a comment of the disciples on this point. They say: “If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is advisable not to marry” (Mt 19, 10). They prefer not to marry, than to marry without having the privilege of continuing to command the woman and without having the right of being able to ask for the divorce in the case that they no longer like the woman. Jesus goes to the very depth of the question and says that there are only three cases in which a person is permitted not to get married: “Not everyone can understand it but only those to whom it is granted. In fact there are eunuchs born so from their mother’s womb; there are eunuchs made so by human agency and there are eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can. (Mt 19, 11-12). The three cases are: “(a) impotence, (b) castration, and (c) for the Kingdom. Not to get married only because man does not want to lose dominion over woman, this is not permitted by the New Law of Love! Matrimony as well as celibacy should be at the service of the Kingdom and not at the service of egoistic or selfish interests. Neither one of these can be a reason to maintain man’s dominion on woman. Jesus changed the relationship man-woman, wife-husband.

4) Personal questions

• In my personal life, how do I live the relationship man-woman?

• In the life of my family and of my community, how is this relationship man-woman lived?

5) Concluding Prayer

Yahweh is tenderness and pity,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love;
his indignation does not last for ever,
nor his resentment remain for all time. (Ps 103,8-9)

www.ocarm.org