†Quote of the Day "And above all, be on your guard not to want to get anything done by force, because God has given free will to everyone and wants to force no one, but only proposes, invites and counsels."
–St. Angela Merici Today's Meditation "We have difficulty understanding this, just as a blind man has difficulty understanding color, but our difficulty doesn't alter this fact: God's omnipotence and omniscience respects our freedom. In the core of our being we remain free to accept or reject God's action in our lives—and to accept or reject it more or less intensely. God wants us to accept him with all our 'heart, soul, mind, and strength'—in other words, as intensely as possible. But he also knows that we are burdened with selfishness and beset by the devil, so it will take a great effort on our part to correspond to his grace. … Every time our conscience nudges us to refrain from sharing or tolerating that little bit of gossip, every time we feel a tug in our hearts to say a prayer or give a little more effort, every time we detect an opportunity to do a hidden act of kindness to someone in need, we are faced with an opportunity to please the Lord by putting our faith in his will."
—Fr. John Bartunek, p. 591 Daily Verse "He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
–Colossians 1:13-14 | St. Priscilla of Rome St. Priscilla of Rome (1st c.) was a Christian noblewoman who served as a benefactor to the Christian community in Rome. She supported St. Peter the Apostle, the first Bishop of Rome, and her home near the catacombs served as his headquarters. She was the wife of Manius Acilius Glabrio, a Roman politician, who was executed by the Emperor Domitian for atheism, that is, his refusal to worship the Roman gods because he was Christian. Priscilla buried him in what was once a quarry and donated the property to the Church so that others could also be laid to rest there. Her catacombs, known since the earliest days of Christianity as the "Catacombs of Priscilla" are also referred to as the "Queen of the Catacombs" because such a large number of martyrs and popes were buried there. It also holds a significant collection of early Christian iconography including the earliest known depiction of the Madonna and Child. St. Priscilla was also martyred for her Christian faith and buried there. Her feast day is January 16. | Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Reading I 1 Sm 16:1-13 The LORD said to Samuel:
"How long will you grieve for Saul,
whom I have rejected as king of Israel?
Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons."
But Samuel replied:
"How can I go?
Saul will hear of it and kill me."
To this the LORD answered:
"Take a heifer along and say,
'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.'
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do;
you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you." Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him.
When he entered Bethlehem,
the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired,
"Is your visit peaceful, O seer?"
He replied:
"Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.
So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet."
He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves
and invited them to the sacrifice.
As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought,
"Surely the LORD's anointed is here before him."
But the LORD said to Samuel:
"Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart."
Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel,
who said, "The LORD has not chosen him."
Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said,
"The LORD has not chosen this one either."
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
"The LORD has not chosen any one of these."
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
"Are these all the sons you have?"
Jesse replied,
"There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep."
Samuel said to Jesse,
"Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here."
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
"There–anoint him, for this is he!"
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah. Responsorial Psalm 89:20, 21-22, 27-28 R. (21a) I have found David, my servant.
Once you spoke in a vision, and to your faithful ones you said:
"On a champion I have placed a crown; over the people I have set a youth."
R. I have found David, my servant.
"I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him, and that my arm may make him strong."
R. I have found David, my servant.
"He shall say of me, 'You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior.'
And I will make him the first-born, highest of the kings of the earth."
R. I have found David, my servant. Alleluia See Eph 1:17-18 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to our call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 2:23-28 As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
"Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?"
He said to them,
"Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?"
Then he said to them,
"The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
| Daily Meditation: 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Not as man sees does God see. (1 Samuel 16:7) After years of pleading, Israel had a king (1 Samuel 8:18). Saul appeared to be everything they had hoped for! He was handsome, intelligent, and powerful. He rallied the nation and helped Israel grow in political and military strength. From all indicators, Saul was a great king. But that's not how God saw things. Saul failed to acknowledge or thank the Lord for all he helped him to do. Over and over, he disobeyed God, the source of his success (28:17-18). By contrast, David became a king "after [God's] own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14). When Samuel first anointed him, David was a shepherd, forgotten and overlooked by his family. But God didn't overlook David because "not as man sees does God see" (16:7). God saw, hidden in David, the internal qualities of a great king. Would David be a perfect king? Certainly not. But David reminds us that God delights in a humble heart. Like Saul, David was handsome and, as king, also became strong and successful. But that's not why God had chosen him. God anointed David because his heart was ablaze with love for him and because he recognized his dependence on God, even when he strayed and sinned against him (Psalm 51). The story of David's anointing tells us about God's love for those who are forgotten or left behind. You may feel forgotten or belittled by other people, even those who should love you. Rest assured that the Lord's gaze is fixed on you. You are his beloved child; he sees you, especially when nobody else does. David can also bring you hope in your battle against sin. You may be struggling with a persistent weakness or bad habit, and you just can't seem to overcome it. Your repeated attempts to break the cycle can make you feel that God is disappointed with you. But the Lord still sees you, even when you fail, and he still loves you. His approval does not depend on your perfect triumph in this life. His love is constant, and it remains fixed on every heart that comes to him in humility. Our vision is so limited. But God sees everything and loves us always. Let's thank and praise him today! "Thank you, Lord, for seeing me even when I can't see myself." Psalm 89:20-22, 27-28
Mark 2:23-28 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
"He said to them,
"Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?"
Then he said to them,
"The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."....." end of Gospel verse.
. . . | From a Bishop Barron's reflection today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus acknowledges that he is "lord even of the sabbath."
And the claim of the first Christians was Iesous Kyrios—Jesus is Lord. This was bound to annoy both Jews and Gentiles. The Jews would be massively put off by the use of the term Kyrios in describing an ordinary human being. Moreover, the implication that this man was the Messiah of Israel—when he had died at the hands of Israel's enemies—was simply blasphemous.
And for the Greeks, this claim was subversive, for a watchword of the time was Kaiser Kyrios—the Emperor is Lord. A new system of allegiance was being proposed, a new type of ordering and lordship—and this was indeed a threat to the regnant system.
Christians should enter the public arena boldly and confidently, for we are not announcing a private or personal spirituality, but rather declaring a new King under whose lordship everything must fall. If Jesus is truly Lord, then government, business, family life, the arts, sexuality, and entertainment all come properly under his headship.
..." End Quote Bishop Barron.
"The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath." Have you ever heard a saying that really bothers you? Or perhaps it was a teaching that you didn't really agree with. I can think of one that put me on the edge a bit when a brother told me "my mom always told me, if you're going to church on Sunday and you see someone broken on the side of the road, go help them first, then go to Church". Sounds right, but something could go wrong here. That's what bothered me. Because at any moment, one could make any excuse to choose others before Christ. Things could backwards in a hurry. What do I mean?
I've seen it to where a man will not go to Mass on Sunday because "he has family from out of town over at his house".
Or, I've seen it where a wife will not go to Mass 4 blocks away because "her husband has diarrhea" other than that they are perfectly healthy.
Or the most popular "I have to provide for my family so I have to work". And so, the United States, the only country in the world makes provisions so you can miss Mass if you "have to" work, and they offer Saturday Vigil Masses. But this doesn't really work. Most that work and can go on Saturdays still won't go, and so all others go on Saturdays out of convenience, and wearing shorts by the way! The reverence and sacrifice soon falls by the wayside.
So what of the broken down person on the side of the road? This is a rare instance that very few would actually pull over and help. It is like the lies and misconceptions of making abortion a law so you don't have evil doctors "tearing out babies out of wombs in the alleys in the cities", and so, abortion is provided across the nation to "safely" kill the unborn.
And so what about the Sabbath that was made for man?
It was made for Man to come to God. It is the 7th day, which is a sacramental number, an oath, or a covenant. It is a place of sharing with each other. It is where God comes to provide the bread, and this is where the Pharisees had a hard time seeing things our Lord said, because He was putting Himself as the provider of the bread of thanksgiving, which has always been the "Holy Bread of the Holy Presence" of the Jewish tradition.
Our Lord was saying "I AM the bread". He is the Eucharistic Holy presence.
"That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
The whole Scripture here gets under me, and cuts deep, and why?
Because His whole incarnation is being realized in a whole new radical way, the Son of Man has come to mingle among humans as the God Man, to make us one with Him...especially in this Sacrifice in the temple in which the "Son of David" has come, which means the promised King, Warrior, and Ruler of all for an eternity.
Have you not a King? Then let us turn to our Lord, the lowliest and the highest being ever to touch the earth...Jesus, meek, and humble, yet, the rejected one, who is now King of the Universe. Pray with me:
My Lord and My God! What a gift of faith to be able to truly love Thee as Lord, Friend, Brother, and Savior! I love my King, My Father in Heaven! |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
James 1:13–14 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
