.: 05/28/21

Friday, May 28, 2021

† Be lifted up and thrown

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Bl. Margaret Pole

Feastday: May 28
Birth: 1473
Death: 1541

She was born Margaret Plantagenet, the niece of Edward IV and Richard III. She married Sir Reginald Pole about 1491 and bore five sons, including Reginald Cardinal Pole. Margaret was widowed, named countess of Salisbury, and appointed governess to Princess Mary, daughter of Hemy VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon, Spain. She opposed Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn, and the king exiled her from court, although he called her "the holiest woman in England." When her son, Cardinal Pole, denied Henry's Act of Supremacy, the king imprisoned Margaret in the Tower of London for two years and then beheaded her on May 28. In 1538, her other two sons were executed. She was never given a legal trial. She was seventy when she was martyred. Margaret was beatified in 1886.
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Sirach 44:1, 9-13

Now will I praise those godly men,
our ancestors, each in his own time.
But of others there is no memory,
for when they ceased, they ceased.
And they are as though they had not lived,
they and their children after them.
Yet these also were godly men
whose virtues have not been forgotten;
Their wealth remains in their families,
their heritage with their descendants;
Through God's covenant with them their family endures,
their posterity, for their sake.

And for all time their progeny will endure,
their glory will never be blotted out.

Psalm 149

R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or R. Alleluia.
Sing to the Lord a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
Alleluia.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.

Cf. Jn 15:16
Alleluia, alleluia.

Mark 11:11-26

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple area. He looked around at everything and, since it was already late, went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry. Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs. And he said to it in reply, "May no one ever eat of your fruit again!" And his disciples heard it.

They came to Jerusalem, and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. Then he taught them saying, "Is it not written:

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples?

But you have made it a den of thieves."

The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. When evening came, they went out of the city.

Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. Peter remembered and said to him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered." Jesus said to them in reply, "Have faith in God. Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions."

Daily Meditation: Mark 11:11-26

He went over to see if he could find anything on it. (Mark 11:13)

What's with the fig tree anyway? Here Mark is building up to the climax of his Gospel: Jesus' passion, and he interrupts it with a fig tree—not once, but twice! Why would he do that?

Take a look at where these two fig tree stories are: Mark uses them to bracket his account of Jesus cleansing the Temple. He says that Jesus was heading for the Temple when he went up to the fig tree to look for fruit. Finding it barren, he cursed it and then entered the Temple. Becoming angry at the state of the house of the Lord, he drove out the money changers who were corrupting it. Then on his way home, he passed by the fig tree, which had withered. Mark is telling us that the fig tree represents the Temple: Jesus found no spiritual fruit in the Temple, and so he cursed it as well.

These examples of Jesus' anger can be frightening. But remember the bigger picture: left to our own devices, we humans cannot bear fruit. It is as the prophet Isaiah said, "We have all withered like leaves, and our crimes carry us away like the wind" (64:5). But just as Jesus entered the Temple, God has entered our story to set things right. He didn't abandon his people; instead, he gave his life for us. So yes, Jesus cursed the fruitless fig tree, but he replaced it with another tree, the cross. And that tree, planted in our hearts, has the power to bear "fruit that will remain" (John 15:16).

You are not a withered, fruitless tree, and Jesus is not angry with you! By your baptism you have his own divine life in you, and that life is capable of producing abundant, lasting fruit. No doubt you have already seen some of this fruit—perhaps in healed wounds, reconciled friendships, or growth in virtue. But Jesus is not done with you. He still wants you to bear even more fruit. And he can help you, just as long as you stay close to him and try to follow his ways.

"Lord, Jesus, come into my life more deeply today so that I can bear fruit for you."

Sirach 44:1, 9-13
Psalm 149:1-6, 9

Bro. Adrian Reads reflection Outloud. Click here

my2cents:
From Sirach:
"Through God's covenant with them their family endures, their posterity, for their sake. And for all time their progeny will endure, their glory will never be blotted out."

Today we pray in the Psalms:
"The Lord takes delight in his people.
Sing to the Lord a new song of praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel be glad in their maker, let the children of Zion rejoice in their king."
God loves His people. Even when we reprimand our children, it is out of sheer love, isn't it? A parent that does not admonish is not a loving parent. I don't know personally, any parent that does not punish their children. But some do not punish certain things, like fighting, or looking at bad stuff, is that true love? You see, we need to have God to set the bar, not ourselves to set the bar. That's where we as a nation of God must have Him as the center, Him as the ruler. Otherwise, we face chaos and destruction...of self.

In the Holy Scripture, we heard about our Lord doing something unforgettable:

"They came to Jerusalem, and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. Then he taught them saying, "Is it not written:

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples?

But you have made it a den of thieves."

The temple became a marketplace, a place of self interest. I am in charge of running our parish festival. Many times I get people wanting to set up a booth for xyz, for example, their baseball team fundraiser, or their own food stand, etc., and so once I say "all proceeds are for the church" their faces change, and they walk away...sad. It is said that once we do not give, it is the same as taking. It is robbing. Think about charity. And so, our Lord saw the commerce, the commercial liability transpiring in the temple. He saw people carrying animals across the temple, money, and those running it, causing the focus to turn away from God who was supposedly living in the temple in the Holy of Holies. Can you see why our Lord was righteously angry? It is right to admonish the sinner. To punish the child that is doing their own (wrong) thing is then, an act of kindness.

We heard:
"Then he taught them saying, "Is it not written:

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples?

But you have made it a den of thieves."
The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death...".

And as they left, they saw a dead fig tree that our Lord had cursed.

This is a lesson for us all. Let us be found fruitful, giving fruit at all times, and not be caught just living...for nothing.
And we know what fruitfulness means, right?
In the house of God, it is a house of sacred adoration and prayer of the Holy of Holies, and this is most true in Catholic Churches where our Lord's Holy and True Presence resides in the tabernacle and inside, the consecrated body of our Lord Himself.
The house of prayer...the temple. They say we are a temple, and I believe it. Our body is a physical temple for the spiritual. This place shall be a place of prayer, and adoration, and beauty, to house our Lord. All things spiritual are matters of the realms we don't see, but are called to realize is truth.

There are two ways we can approach the reproach of our Lord, one way is humility, and the other is resentment.
How do we answer the call? Many hit their knees that day, they repented and believed. Others hated the truth and wanted Him dead.
It will always be this way, until the Truth prevails in victory as it is said will be, is now and forever in eternity.

Let's pray:
Lord, I desire to be a holy temple for Thee to reside in me.
I pray that this temple becomes a beautiful place Thoust loves to dwell in. I desire that I can be a house of prayer, of adoration, and worship, not a place of consumerism, not a place of other thigns, but a heart giving hope to the world that You so much care to shed Your every last drop of blood for, day after day.
Amen

from your brother in Christ our Lord,
adrian