†Quote of the Day "Love takes up where knowledge leaves off."
–St. Thomas Aquinas Today's Meditation "You judge me, O Lord, for, although no one 'knows the things of a man but the spirit of man which is in him,' there is something further in man which not even that spirit of man which is in him knows. But you, Lord, who made him, know all things that are in him. Although I despise myself before your sight, and account myself but dust and ashes, yet I know something of you which I do not know about myself. In truth, 'we see now through a glass in a dark manner,' and not yet 'face to face.' … Let me confess, then, what I know about myself. Let me confess also what I do not know about myself, since that too which I know about myself I know because you enlighten me. As to that which I am ignorant of concerning myself, I remain ignorant of it until my 'darkness shall be made as the noonday in your sight.'"
—St. Augustine, p. 197 An Excerpt From
The Confessions of Saint Augustine Daily Verse "Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father."
–Matthew 5:16 Pope St. Hyginus Pope St. Hyginus (d. 142 A.D.) was born in Athens, Greece, and became the ninth successor to the Chair of St. Peter. He reigned as pope for four years from about 138-142 A.D. Many of the details of his life have not been preserved, although various actions are credited to him: defending the Catholic faith against the Gnostic heresy which spread in Rome; beginning the practice of including godparents at infant baptisms to help the newborn child receive a Christian upbringing; and decreeing that all churches must be consecrated. Pope St. Hyginus is buried near the tomb of St. Peter on Vatican Hill. It is uncertain whether he became a martyr under the persecutions of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His feast day is January 11. | Pope St. Hyginus Pope St. Hyginus (d. 142 A.D.) was born in Athens, Greece, and became the ninth successor to the Chair of St. Peter. He reigned as pope for four years from about 138-142 A.D. Many of the details of his life have not been preserved, although various actions are credited to him: defending the Catholic faith against the Gnostic heresy which spread in Rome; beginning the practice of including godparents at infant baptisms to help the newborn child receive a Christian upbringing; and decreeing that all churches must be consecrated. Pope St. Hyginus is buried near the tomb of St. Peter on Vatican Hill. It is uncertain whether he became a martyr under the persecutions of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His feast day is January 11. | Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time Reading I 1 Sm 4:1-11 The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel.
Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,
while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.
After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.
When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said
"Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today
by the Philistines?
Let us fetch the ark of the Lord from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies." So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there
the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.
When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.
The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked,
"What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?"
On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,
the Philistines were frightened.
They said, "Gods have come to their camp."
They said also, "Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us!
Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?
These are the gods that struck the Egyptians
with various plagues and with pestilence.
Take courage and be manly, Philistines;
otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews,
as they were your slaves.
So fight manfully!"
The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
.in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead. Responsorial Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25 R. (27b) Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace, and you go not forth with our armies.
You have let us be driven back by our foes; those who hated us plundered us at will.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
You made us the reproach of our neighbors, the mockery and the scorn of those around us.
You made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Why do you hide your face, forgetting our woe and our oppression?
For our souls are bowed down to the dust, our bodies are pressed to the earth.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy. Alleluia See Mt 4:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 1:40-45 A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
"I do will it. Be made clean."
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, "See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
| Daily Meditation: 1 Samuel 4:1-11 Let us fetch the ark. (1 Samuel 4:3) Raising children can be demanding at times. As a parent, you want to help them grow in virtue, but they just want their own way. You teach them to say "please" and to be polite, but they shout "please" like a magic word to get what they want. They overlook your larger purpose—and the love that lies behind it. This relationship of parent and child illustrates God's patient work with Israel. God chose a people, formed them in his commands, and gave them a homeland, but he also had a larger aim. He wanted them to walk in his ways so that they could be a light to the surrounding nations. Often, however, the Israelites missed this bigger purpose. That's what happened in today's first reading. In the desert, God had showed them that he could provide everything for them; they needed only to rely on him. But once they arrived in the Promised Land, they started fearing their enemies and stopped obeying the Lord. They put up pagan idols in their homes (1 Samuel 7:3-4). They looked to the nations for wisdom rather than looking to the Lord. Even the priests sinned and used their authority to enrich themselves (2:12-17). Then, when Philistines attacked, the Israelites said, "Let us fetch the ark" (1 Samuel 4:3). They thought they could use the ark—the home of God's presence and the sign of his covenant with them—like a "magic wand," without keeping the covenant. The results were disastrous: Israel was defeated, and the ark was lost. Just as God loved Israel, he loves us. He calls us to be his children and to obey his commands from our heart, both for our own blessing and so that we can be a light to the world. That's his larger purpose behind his covenant with us. But too often, we don't see the big picture. We bargain with God. We obey him to avoid punishment and get the blessings that we want. This is a bit like trying to "fetch the ark" to win some small prize. All the while, the greatest prize, God himself, is in the ark. God himself is with you today. Like a good parent, he didn't give up on the Israelites, and he won't give up on you. "Lord, thank you for your patience with me. You are my treasure." Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25
Mark 1:40-45 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
"A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
"I do will it. Be made clean."......" end of Gospel verse.
. . . | From Bishop Barron today:
"Once in the Lord's presence, the leper kneels down and begs him. The suffering man realizes who Jesus is: not one prophet among many but the incarnation of the God of Israel, the only one before whom worship is the appropriate attitude.
In our sickness, our weakness, our shame, our sin, our oddness—lots of us feel like this leper. We feel as though we're just not worthy. Whatever trouble we are in, we have to come to Jesus in the attitude of worship. He is the Lord and we're not. This is the key step in getting our lives in order: right praise.
Consider the leper's beautiful plea, essential in any act of petitionary prayer: "If you wish, you can make me clean." He is not demanding; he is acknowledging the lordship of Jesus, his sovereignty. "Thy will be done" is always the right attitude in any prayer.
..." end quote Bishop Barron.
In today's 1st Holy Scripture we heard of a war, and then:
"Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today
by the Philistines?
Let us fetch the ark of the Lord from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies." What a stark difference of prayer, if any, from the people in war in Israel. They demanded in a sense, victory. They went and "fetched" the Ark of the Covenant to use it to defeat their enemies, like a lucky charm. And the poor leper didn't approach God like that. Rather, the leper said "If you wish, Lord". And the Lord obliged. We should leave the ultimate outcome to our Lord, shouldn't' we? But sometimes, things are so tough, that faith seems to blind us in our view of faith. I say this because when my dad was dying in the hospital, I prayed on my knees, and in tears, and at the Ark of the Covenant, with arms stretched, and my heart bleeding out in prayers to save my dad, my best friend, my boss, and for days, and on cold dark windy nights, night after night, and I believed my dad would pull through, and I made thousands of promises. To no avail.
And as I speak, tears want to roll out of my eyes. Why?
Probably because my faith needs to be increased. How?
Right now is when the rubber hits the road. This is the moment of faith. Do I trust now? Do I believe now?
I've seen others lose their dads, and they lose their faith.
I've seen others lose their dads, and they come back to the faith.
I told my students last night, "you can read the whole bible, but in the end, you will still have an ultimate choice...to believe it...or not".
The leper was healed. Israel lost 30,000 men in that battle and they lost the Ark of the Covenant to their enemies.
They lost God.
The leper went berserk about the Lord, couldn't contain himself and told the whole world he was healed by Jesus, even though Jesus had told him not to tell anyone.
Who is right in all of the cases?
Jesus our Lord and King is right. He is the truth, and sometimes it hits us like an ice cold bucket of water.
Are you willing to take the chalice? Pray with me:
Lord, everything is about faith. Help me love you as I ought! And forever. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse. Revelation 4:11 11 "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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