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.
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.
“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.
Responsorial
Psalm112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
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.
AlleluiaJN 15:15B
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 8:34–9:1
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.”
“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.”
“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.”
For the readings of the Optional Memorial
of Saint Peter Damian, please go here.
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.
God
gives without measure - we give all we have in return
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.
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. To know the Lord Jesus Christ is to
know the power of his saving death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit gives us
the gift of faith to know Jesus personally, power to live the gospel
faithfully, and courage to witness to others the joy and truth of the gospel.
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."
Daily
Quote from the early church fathers: Would you follow Christ?, by
Caesarius of Arles, 470-542 A.D.
"When the Lord tells us in the Gospel that anyone who wants to be his
follower must renounce himself, the injunction seems harsh; we think he is
imposing a burden on us (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23). But an order is
no burden when it is given by one who helps in carrying it out. To what place
are we to follow Christ if not where he has already gone? We know that he has risen
and ascended into heaven; there, then, we must follow him. There is no cause
for despair - by ourselves we can do nothing, but we have Christ’s promise...
"One who claims to abide in Christ ought to walk as he walked. Would you follow Christ? Then be humble as he was humble. Do not scorn his lowliness if you want to reach his exaltation. Human sin made the road rough. Christ’s resurrection leveled it. By passing over it himself, he transformed the narrowest of tracks into a royal highway. Two feet are needed to run along this highway; they are humility and charity. Everyone wants to get to the top - well, the first step to take is humility. Why take strides that are too big for you - do you want to fall instead of going up? Begin with the first step, humility, and you will already be climbing." (excerpt from SERMONS 159, 1.4–6)
"One who claims to abide in Christ ought to walk as he walked. Would you follow Christ? Then be humble as he was humble. Do not scorn his lowliness if you want to reach his exaltation. Human sin made the road rough. Christ’s resurrection leveled it. By passing over it himself, he transformed the narrowest of tracks into a royal highway. Two feet are needed to run along this highway; they are humility and charity. Everyone wants to get to the top - well, the first step to take is humility. Why take strides that are too big for you - do you want to fall instead of going up? Begin with the first step, humility, and you will already be climbing." (excerpt from SERMONS 159, 1.4–6)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, MARK 8:34--9:1
Weekday
(James 2:14-24, 26; Psalm 112)
Weekday
(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).
TO KNOW: Many Jews believed that the Messiah would come as a powerful warrior to liberate Israel from foreign oppression and restore the kingdom to its former glory. Some hoped that Jesus was this Messiah (God's anointed one). Jesus helped his followers understand that his was a spiritual, not a political mission. He explained to them the meaning of discipleship. 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 heard and acted on Jesus' words, they would experience life everlasting.
TO LOVE: What is the Lord asking me to sacrifice for the sake of his kingdom?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to open my heart and hands to do your will.
Optional Memorial of Saint Peter Damian, bishop and doctor of
the Church
Peter Damian was a professor of great ability. In time, he gave up teaching to become a Benedictine monk. He founded hermitages, and was occasionally called on by the Vatican to make peace between arguing monastic houses, clergymen, and government officials. As Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, Peter Damian tried to restore discipline among priests and religious who were becoming worldly. A prolific correspondent, he wrote dozens of sermons, seven biographies (including Saint Romuald), and poetry, comprising some of the best Latin 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.
Friday 21 February 2020
Day of Penance
James 2:14-24, 26. Psalm 111(112):1-6. Mark 8:34-9:1.
Happy are those who do what the Lord commands – Psalm 111(112):1-6.
‘Good deeds sustain faith.’
James 2:14-24, 26. Psalm 111(112):1-6. Mark 8:34-9:1.
Happy are those who do what the Lord commands – Psalm 111(112):1-6.
‘Good deeds sustain faith.’
Today’s readings call to mind wise words from the late Emmett
Costello SJ: ‘God never makes a demand of us which is not for our own good.’
St James told his readers that to be faithful is to take action;
specifically, good action. It is not that good deeds are important for showing
or proving faith; James, as a Christian, was not a promoter of shallow
virtue-signaling. No; much more importantly, good deeds sustain faith: ‘Faith
without works is . . . dead.’ Human beings are not only minds, receptacles for
a concept of ‘faith’; we are flesh and blood, and so what our minds embrace as
the reason for our hope, must also drive us to divinely-inspired action in this
physically needy world.
And Christ points out the benefit: “What will it profit them to
gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” Lord, help me to do works of
faith.
Saint Peter Damian
Saint of the Day for February 21
(988 – February 22, 1072)
 |
| Detail of Cardinal Peter Damian recruits young hermits in the maps room of the Vatican Museums | photo by Livioandronico2013 |
Saint Peter Damian’s Story
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 Saint Romuald 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 Pope 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.
Reflection
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.
Lectio Divina: Mark 8:34-9:1
Lectio Divina
Friday, February 21, 2020
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 Savior 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 Savior 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 Jesus’ proposal 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 (Deut 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 come afterwards (1 Thess 4:15-18). But in fact, Jesus had already come and was already present in the people, 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!” (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 (Deut 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 come afterwards (1 Thess 4:15-18). But in fact, Jesus had already come and was already present in the people, 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!” (Mt 25:34-45).
4) For Personal Confrontation
• What 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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