Posted on 05/19/2008 9:35:19 PM PDT by Salvation
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Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
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Reading 1
Jas 4:1-10
Beloved:
Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly,
to spend it on your passions.
Adulterers!
Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?
Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says,
The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy?
But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says: God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
So submit yourselves to God.
Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners,
and purify your hearts, you of two minds.
Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep.
Let your laughter be turned into mourning
and your joy into dejection.
Humble yourselves before the Lord
and he will exalt you.
Responsorial Psalm
55:7-8, 9-10a, 10b-11a, 23
R. (23a) Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
And I say, “Had I but wings like a dove,
I would fly away and be at rest.
Far away I would flee;
I would lodge in the wilderness.”
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
“I would wait for him who saves me
from the violent storm and the tempest.”
Engulf them, O Lord; divide their counsels.
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
In the city I see violence and strife,
day and night they prowl about upon its walls.
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
Cast your care upon the LORD,
and he will support you;
never will he permit the just man to be disturbed.
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
Gospel
Mk 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”
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From: Mark 9:30-37
Second Prophecy of the Passion
Being the Servant of All
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Commentary:
30-32. Although moved when He sees the crowds like sheep without a shepherd
(Matthew 9:36), Jesus leaves them, to devote time to careful instruction of the
Apostles. He retires with them to out-of-the-way places, and there He explains
points of His public preaching which they had not understood (Matthew 13:36).
Here, specifically, for a second time, He announces His death and resurrection.
In His relationships with souls Jesus acts in the same way: He calls man to be
with him in the quiet of prayer and there He teaches him about His more intimate
plans and about the more demanding side of the Christian life. Later, like the
Apostles, Christians were to spread this teaching to the ends of the earth.
34-35. Jesus uses this argument going on behind his back to teach His dis-
ciples about how authority should be exercised in His Church—not by lording it
over other, but by serving them. In fulfilling His own mission to found the Church
whose head and supreme lawgiver He is, He came to serve and not to be served
(Matthew 20:28).
Anyone who does not strive to have this attitude of self-forgetful service, not only
lacks one of the main pre-requisites for proper exercise of authority but also runs
the risk of being motivated by ambition or pride. “To be in charge of an apostolic
undertaking demands readiness to suffer everything, from everybody, with infinite
charity” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 951).
36-37. To demonstrate to His Apostles the abnegation and humility needed in
their ministry, He takes a child into His arms and explains the meaning of this
gesture: if we receive for Christ’s sake those who have little importance in the
world’s eyes, it is as if we are embracing Christ Himself and the Father who sent
Him. This little child whom Jesus embraces represents every child in the world,
and everyone who is needy, helpless, poor or sick—people who are not naturally
attractive.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: James 4:1-10
The Source of Discord
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Commentary:
1. “Wars” and “fighting” are an exaggerated reference to the contention and
discord found among those Christians. “Passions”, as elsewhere in the New
Testament, means concupiscence, hedonism, pleasure-seeking (cf. verse 3;
Luke 8:14; Titus 3:3; 2 Peter 2:13).
St. James points out that if one fails to fight as one should against one’s evil
inclinations, one’s inner disharmony overflows in the form of quarreling and figh-
ting. The New Testament often refers to the good kind of fight, which confers
inner freedom and is a prerequisite for salvation (cf., e.g., Matthew 11:12;
Romans 7:14-25; 1 Peter 2:11).
“How can you be at peace if you allow passions you do not even attempt to
control to drag you away from the ‘pull’ of grace?
“Heaven pulls you upwards; you drag yourselves downwards. And don’t seek
excuses—that is what you are doing. If you go on like that, you will tear yourself
apart” (St. J. Escriva, “Furrow”, 851).
2-3. St. James is describing the sad state to which free-wheeling hedonism
(specifically, greed for earthly things) leads.
“You do not receive, because you ask wrongly”: “He asks wrongly who shows
no regard for the Lord’s commandments and yet seeks Heavenly gifts. He also
asks wrongly who, having lost his taste for Heavenly things, seeks only earthly
things—not for sustaining his human weakness but to enable him to indulge
himself” (St. Bede, “Super Iac. Expositio, ad loc.”).
4-6. The sacred writer warns that inordinate love of the world, which stems from
ambition, is incompatible with the love of God. “World” here has the meaning
of “enemy of God”, opposed to Christ and His followers (cf. note on 1:26-27).
The teaching contained in these verses echoes that of our Lord: “No one can
serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will
be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon” (Matthew 6:24).
The Saints have frequently reminded us—by their lives as well as their teachings
—that inordinate love of the world is incompatible with the love of God: “Worldly
society has flowered from a selfish love which dared to despise even God,
whereas the communion of saints is rooted in a love of God that is ready to
trample on self” (St. Augustine, “The City of God”, 14, 28).
“Unfaithful creatures!”: the original Greek simply says, “Adulterers” (feminine)
and the New Vulgate, “Adulterers” (masculine). This echoes the symbol the
prophets often use (cf., e.g. Hosea 1:2ff; Jeremiah 3:7-10; Ezekiel 16:1ff) of the
marriage of God and His people sealed by the Covenant. St. James, therefore,
is not referring to the sin of adultery; he is berating those whose excessive love
for the things of this world makes them unfaithful to God.
5. The original Greek is open to various interpretations and the quotation as
gi- ven here is not to be found in the Bible. Translated word for word it means:
“Jealously he loves the spirit which dwells in us.” It is not clear who “loves”—
God or the spirit; and “the spirit” may mean the soul or the Holy Spirit; moreover,
the jealousy can be either something good or something bad (like envy). It might
perhaps be translated as “The Spirit who dwells in us jealously loves us” (which
is how the New Vulgate translates it).
Although this sentence does not appear literally in the Bible, St. James may be
referring not so much to a specific passage as to an idea which often occurs in
the Bible when it depicts God as a jealous lover (cf., e.g., Exodus 20:5; 34:14;
Zechariah 1:14; 8:2), who expects His love to be returned wholeheartedly; this
very human kind of language is a most moving evocation of God’s immense love
for man. St. Alphonsus teaches: “Since He loves us with infinite love, He de-
sires all our love; that is why He is jealous when He sees others having a share
in hearts which He wants entirely for His own. ‘Jesus is jealous’, St. Jerome
said (Epistle 22), in the sense that He does not want us to love anything that
is outside Himself. And if He sees that some creature has a part of your heart,
He is in a sense envious of it, as the Apostle James writes, because He
tolerates no rival for our love; He wants to have all our love” (”The Love of Jesus
Christ”, Chapter 11).
6. The sacred writer foresees the possibility that some may draw back from this
“jealous” love God expects to be reciprocated: but God never expects the impos-
sible; He gives us all the grace we need to do what He asks: “All my hope is
naught,” St. Augustine exclaims, “save in Your great mercy. Grant what You
command, and command what You will” (”Confessions”, 10, 29).
However, only people who are humble are given this grace, and have it bear fruit.
The proud, who are full of self-love, even fail to realize that they need grace, and
so they do not ask for it, or do not ask for it properly. The second part of the
verse is a literal quotation from Proverbs 3:34 (according to the Septuagint
Greek): it is an example of the “poetic” form, with the characteristic antithetical
parallelism of Hebrew verse. St. Augustine, in his explanation of the fact that
the Bible refers in places to the sins of prominent men, urges his readers to be
humble, commenting that “there is scarcely a page in the sacred books which
does not echo the fact that ‘God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble’”
(”De Doctrina Christiana”, 3, 23).
7-10. Some ways of countering pride are identified here: basically what is
required is a sincere and deep conversion, which must begin with the humility
of recognizing that we are sinners and in need of purification. The tone of these
verses is reminiscent of the way the Old Testament prophets upbraid the people
of Israel for the unfaithfulness to Yahweh.
To draw near to God the sinner needs purification. “Cleaning your hand” should
not be understood as referring to the physical ablutions of the Jews (cf. Exodus
30:19-21; Mark 7:1-5); but should be taken in a moral sense—purification from
sins, and upright actions (e.g., Isaiah 1:15-17; 1 Timothy 2:8). Of all the pos-
sible ways of being purified and converted (for example, the penitential rite at
Mass, a visit to a shrine, or fasting), “none is more significant,” [Pope] John
Paul II reminds us, “more divinely efficacious or more lofty and at the same time
easily accessible as a rite than the Sacrament of Penance [...]. For a Christian,
“the sacrament of Penance is the ordinary way of obtaining forgiveness and the
remission of sins committed after Baptism” (”Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia”, 28
and 31).
7. When someone resists the devil’s temptations, the devil leaves him alone:
he cannot force a man to commit sin. The “Shepherd of Hermas” (a work by
an anonymous Christian writer, around the middle of the Second Century) elabo-
rates on the same idea: “Be converted, you who walk in the commandments of
the devil, commandments that are hard, bitter, cruel and foul. And do not fear
the devil either, because he has no power against you [...]. The devil cannot
lord it over those who are servants of God with their whole heart and who place
their hope in Him. The devil can wrestle with, but not overcome them. So, if
you esist him, he will flee from you in defeat and confusion” (”Eleventh Com
mandment”, 4, 6 and 5,2).
9. “Be wretched”: “To acknowledge one’s sin—penetrating still more deeply into
the consideration of one’s own personhood—”to recognize oneself as a sinner”,
capable of sin and inclined to commit sin, is the essential first step in returning
to God” (”Reconciliatio Et Paenitencia”, 13).
Mourning and weeping are the external expression of sincere repentance (cf.
Matthew 5:4 and note; Tobias 2:6; Amos 8:10): “You are crying? Don’t be
ashamed of it. Yes, cry: men also cry like you, when they are alone and before
God. Each night, says King David, I soak my bed with tears. With those tears,
those burning manly tears, you can purify your past and supernaturalize your
present life” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 216).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
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May Devotion: Blessed Virgin Mary
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Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Toward the end of the eighteenth century a zealous Jesuit priest, Father Lalomia, started among the students of the Roman college of his Society the practice of dedicating May to Our Lady. The devotion, which others had promoted in a small way, soon spread to other Jesuit Colleges and to the entire Latin church and since that time it has been a regular feature of Catholic life.
INVOCATIONS
Thou who wast a virgin before thy delivery, pray for us. Hail Mary, etc.
Thou who wast a virgin in thy delivery, pray for us. Hail Mary, etc.
Thou who wast a virgin after thy delivery, pray for us. Hail Mary, etc.
My Mother, deliver me from mortal sin.
Hail Mary (three times).
Mother of love, of sorrow and of mercy, pray for us.
Remember, O Virgin Mother of God, when thou shalt stand before the face of the Lord, that thou speak favorable things in our behalf and that He may turn away His indignation from us.
Roman Missal
Thou art my Mother, O Virgin Mary: keep me safe lest I ever offend thy dear Son, and obtain for me the grace to please Him always and in all things.
FOR THE HELP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
May we be assisted, we beseech Thee, 0 Lord, by the worshipful intercession of Thy glorious Mother, the ever-Virgin Mary; that we, who have been enriched by her perpetual blessings, may be delivered from all dangers, and through her loving kindness made to be of one heart and mind: who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Roman Missal
THE SALVE REGINA
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus! O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
Roman Breviary
PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
O blessed Virgin Mary, who can worthily repay thee thy just dues of praise and thanksgiving, thou who by the wondrous assent of thy will didst rescue a fallen world? What songs of praise can our weak human nature recite in thy honor, since it is by thy intervention alone that it has found
the way to restoration? Accept, then, such poor thanks as we have here to offer, though they be unequal to thy merits; and, receiving our vows, obtain by thy prayers the remission of our offenses. Carry thou our prayers within the sanctuary of the heavenly audience, and bring forth from it the antidote of our reconciliation. May the sins we bring before Almighty God through thee, become pardonable through thee; may what we ask for with sure confidence, through thee be granted. Take our offering, grant us our requests, obtain pardon for what we fear, for thou art the sole hope of sinners. Through thee we hope for the remission of our sins, and in thee, 0 blessed Lady, is our hope of reward. Holy Mary, succour the miserable, help the fainthearted, comfort the sorrowful, pray for thy people, plead for the clergy, intercede for all women consecrated to God; may all who keep thy holy commemoration feel now thy help and protection. Be thou ever ready to assist us when we pray, and bring back to us the answers to our prayers. Make it thy continual care to pray for the people of God, thou who, blessed by God, didst merit to bear the Redeemer of the world, who liveth and reigneth, world without end. Amen.
Saint Augustine
PETITION TO MARY
Most holy Virgin Immaculate, my Mother Mary, to thee who art the Mother of my Lord, the queen of the universe, the advocate, the hope, the refuge of sinners, I who am the most miserable of all sinners, have recourse this day. I venerate thee, great queen, and I thank thee for the many graces thou hast bestowed upon me even unto this day; in particular for having delivered me from the hell which I have so often deserved by my sins. I love thee, most dear Lady; and for the love I bear thee, I promise to serve thee willingly for ever and to do what I can to make thee loved by others also. I place in thee all my hopes for salvation; accept me as thy servant and shelter me under thy mantle, thou who art the Mother of mercy. And since thou art so powerful with God, deliver me from all temptations, or at least obtain for me the strength to overcome them until death. From thee I implore a true love for Jesus Christ. Through thee I hope to die a holy death. My dear Mother, by the love thou bearest to Almighty God, I pray thee to assist me always, but most of all at the last moment of my life. Forsake me not then, until thou shalt see me safe in heaven, there to bless thee and sing of thy mercies through all eternity. Such is my hope. Amen.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori
Magnificat Prayer
My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit finds joy in God my savior,
For he has looked upon his servant in her lowliness; all ages to come shall call me blessed.
God who is mighty has done great things for me,
holy is his name; His mercy is from age to age on those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm; he has confused the proud in their inmost thoughts. He has deposed the mighty from their thrones and raised the lowly to high places. The hungry he has given every good thing, while the rich he has sent empty away. He has upheld Israel his servant, ever mindful of his mercy; Even as he promised our fathers, promised Abraham and his descendants forever.
(Lk 1:46-55)
Seen above is the Blessed Virgin Mary, portrayed as Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
It was she who was chosen by God, to provide His Son with His Sacred Humanity.
She did so in humble and total cooperation with the Holy Spirit and the Divine will of the Holy Trinity; providing God's Son with the Blood He shed for us on the Cross.
TO MARY, REFUGE OF SINNERS
Hail, most gracious Mother of mercy, hail, Mary, for whom we fondly yearn, through whom we obtain forgiveness! Who would not love thee? Thou art our light in uncertainty, our comfort in sorrow, our solace in the time of trial, our refuge from every peril and temptation. Thou art our sure hope of salvation, second only to thy only-begotten Son; blessed are they who love thee, our Lady! Incline, I beseech thee, thy ears of pity to the entreaties of this thy servant, a miserable sinner; dissipate the darkness of my sins by the bright beams of thy holiness, in order that I may be acceptable in thy sight.
FOR THE GRACE OF LOVE
O Mary, my dear Mother, how much I love thee! And yet in reality how little! Thou dost teach me what I ought to know, for thou teachest me what Jesus is to me and what I ought to be for Jesus. Dearly beloved Mother, how close to God thou art, and how utterly filled with Him! In the measure that we know God, we remind ourselves of thee. Mother of God, obtain for me the grace of loving my Jesus; obtain for me the grace of loving thee!
Cardinal Merry del Val
TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY FOR MAY
O most august and blessed Virgin Mary! Holy Mother of God! glorious Queen of heaven and earth! powerful protectress of those who love thee, and unfailing advocate of all who invoke thee! look down, I beseech thee, from thy throne of glory on thy devoted child; accept the solemn offering I present thee of this month, specially dedicated to thee, and receive my ardent, humble desire, that by my love and fervor I could worthily honor thee, who, next to God, art deserving of all honor. Receive me, 0 Mother of Mercy, among thy best beloved children; extend to me thy maternal tenderness and solicitude; obtain for me a place in the Heart of Jesus, and a special share in the gifts of His grace. 0 deign, I beseech thee, to recognize my claims on thy protection, to watch over my spiritual and temporal interests, as well as those of all who are dear to me; to infuse into my soul the spirit of Christ, and to teach me thyself to become meek, humble, charitable, patient, and submissive to the will of God.
May my heart bum with the love of thy Divine Son, and of thee, His blessed Mother, not for a month alone, but for time and eternity; may I thirst for the promotion of His honor and thine, and contribute, as far as I can, to its extension. Receive me, 0 Mary, the refuge of sinners! Grant me a Mother's blessing and a Mother's care, now, and at the hour of my death. Amen.
TO OUR LADY
Saint John Vianney, better known as the Cure of Ars, when asked how long he had loved Mary, said: "I loved her almost before I could know her." In this prayer he expresses that love.
O thou most holy virgin Mary, who dost evermore stand before the most holy Trinity, and to whom it is granted at all times to pray for us to thy most beloved Son; pray for me in all my necessities; help me, combat for me, and obtain for me the pardon of all my sins. Help me especially at my last hour; and when I can no longer give any sign of the use of reason, then do thou encourage me, make the sign of the cross for me, and fight for me against the enemy. Make in my name a profession of faith; favor me with a testimony of my salvation, and never let me despair of the mercy of God. Help me to overthrow the wicked enemy. When I can no longer say: "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I place my soul in your hands," do thou say it for me; when I can no longer hear human words of consolation, do thou comfort me. Leave me not before I have been judged; and if I have to expiate my sins in purgatory, oh! pray for me earnestly; and admonish my friends to procure for me a speedy enjoyment of the blessed sight of God. Lessen my sufferings, deliver me speedily, and lead my soul into heaven with thee: that, united with all the elect, I may there bless and praise my God and thee for all eternity. Amen.
Saint John Vianney
ACT OF REPARATION
O blessed Virgin, Mother of God, look down in mercy from heaven, where thou art enthroned as Queen, upon me, a miserable sinner, thine unworthy servant. Although I know full well my own unworthiness, yet in order to atone for the offenses that are done to thee by impious and blasphemous
tongues, from the depths of my heart I praise and extol thee as the purest, the fairest, the holiest creature of all God's handiwork. I bless thy holy name, I praise thine exalted privilege of being truly Mother of God, ever virgin, conceived without stain of sin, co-redemptrix of the human race. I bless the Eternal Father who chose thee in an especial way for His daughter; I bless the Word Incarnate who took upon Himself our nature in thy bosom and so made thee His Mother; I bless the Holy Spirit who took thee as His bride. All honor, praise and thanksgiving to the ever-blessed Trinity, who predestined thee and loved thee so exceedingly from all eternity as to exalt thee above all creatures to the most sublime heights. 0 Virgin, holy and merciful, obtain for all who offend thee the grace of repentance, and graciously accept this poor act of homage from me thy servant, obtaining likewise for me from thy divine Son the pardon and remission of all my sins. Amen.
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
| Memorare of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
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Remember O Most Gracious Virgin Mary! That never was it known Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto Thee! To Thee I come before Thee I stand,
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| Tuesday, May 20, 2008 St. Bernadine of Siena, OFM Priest (Memorial) |
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| Mk 9:30-36 | ||
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| # | Douay-Rheims | Vulgate |
| 30 | And he taught his disciples and said to them: The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise again the third day. | docebat autem discipulos suos et dicebat illis quoniam Filius hominis tradetur in manus hominum et occident eum et occisus tertia die resurget |
| 31 | But they understood not the word: and they were afraid to ask him. | at illi ignorabant verbum et timebant eum interrogare |
| 32 | And they came to Capharnaum. And when they were in the house, he asked them: What did you treat of in the way? | et venerunt Capharnaum qui cum domi esset interrogabat eos quid in via tractabatis |
| 33 | But they held their peace, for in the way they had disputed among themselves, which of them should be the greatest. | at illi tacebant siquidem inter se in via disputaverant quis esset illorum maior |
| 34 | And sitting down, he called the twelve and saith to them: If any man desire to be first, he shall be the last of all and be minister of all. | et residens vocavit duodecim et ait illis si quis vult primus esse erit omnium novissimus et omnium minister |
| 35 | And taking a child, he set him in the midst of them. Whom when he had embraced, he saith to them: | et accipiens puerum statuit eum in medio eorum quem cum conplexus esset ait illis |
| 36 | Whosoever shall receive one such child as this in my name receiveth me. And whosoever shall receive me receiveth not me but him that sent me. | quisquis unum ex huiusmodi pueris receperit in nomine meo me recipit et quicumque me susceperit non me suscipit sed eum qui me misit |
Wishing you a return to full health, Salvation.
http://www.lemans.org/accueil/index_gb.html
Tickets are cheap (absolutely nobody sits in the grandstands, as I discovered the first year I attended) save for green flag and chequered flag) and if you go to Club Arnage http://www.clubarnage.com/campsites.htm you will find a cheap campsite.
I will be leaving the Saturday before. I cannot wait.
P.S. Getting marginally back on topic, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is much more relevant to the Church than NA$CAR is, because it includes every country in the world and although it is in France, it is not French but is in fact British, Dutch and German. (Unlike NA$CAR which is both in and of America.)
| First reading | James 4:1 - 10 © |
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| Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you haven’t got it; so you are prepared to kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force. Why you don’t have what you want is because you don’t pray for it; when you do pray and don’t get it, it is because you have not prayed properly, you have prayed for something to indulge your own desires. You are as unfaithful as adulterous wives; don’t you realise that making the world your friend is making God your enemy? Anyone who chooses the world for his friend turns himself into God’s enemy. Surely you don’t think scripture is wrong when it says: the spirit which he sent to live in us wants us for himself alone? But he has been even more generous to us, as scripture says: God opposes the proud but he gives generously to the humble. Give in to God, then; resist the devil, and he will run away from you. The nearer you go to God, the nearer he will come to you. Clean your hands, you sinners, and clear your minds, you waverers. Look at your wretched condition, and weep for it in misery; be miserable instead of laughing, gloomy instead of happy. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up. |
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| Psalm or canticle: Psalm 54 |
| Gospel | Mark 9:30 - 37 © |
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| After leaving that place they made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, ‘The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him. They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms round him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’ |
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Appreciating your prayers.
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 67 (68) |
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| The Lord's triumphal journey |
| God arises and his enemies are scattered: those who hate him flee from his sight. You blow them away like wisps of smoke; as wax melts in front of a fire, so the wicked melt away before God. The righteous are glad and exult in God’s sight; they rejoice in their gladness. Sing to the Lord and celebrate his name! Make a road for him who rides upon the clouds – “The Lord” is his name. Rejoice in his sight, the father of orphans, defender of widows, God in his holy dwelling-place, God, who gives the lonely a house to dwell in, God, who leads captives out into prosperity; but the rebellious shall live in a desert land. God, when you set out in the sight of your people, when you crossed the wilderness – the earth shook. The heavens sent down dew at your coming – the God of Sinai, the God of Israel. At your bidding the rains came, O God, your inheritance was worn out but you refreshed it. All your creatures took up residence there, in your goodness you made a place for the needy. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 67 (68) |
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| The Lord gives out the word, and a great army of maidens brings the news: “The kings of the armies are fleeing, they are fleeing, and the fair one at home is dividing the spoils. While you sleep among the sheepfolds, the wings of the dove shine with silver, her feathers glow with green gold. Through her the Almighty scatters the kings, and the mountain of Salmon is white with snow. The mountain of Bashan is God’s mountain; the mountain of God is a high-peaked mountain. Why do you envy it, you high-peaked mountains, envy the mountain that God has chosen? The Lord will dwell there for ever. The chariots of God are ten thousand thousand: the Lord has come from Sinai to his holy sanctuary. You have scaled the heights, you have taken captives, you have received men as gifts so that even the rebels live with the Lord God. Blessings on the Lord, day after day! God will carry us, God our saviour. Our God is a God of salvation, our Lord is a Lord who rescues from death. Truly God will break the heads of his enemies, take the scalps of those who tread the path of crime. The Lord has spoken: “I shall bring them back from Bashan, I shall bring them back from the depths of the sea, so that your feet may be dipped in blood and the tongues of your dogs receive food from your enemies”. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 67 (68) |
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| They have seen your processions, O God, the processions of God, my king, to his sanctuary. First came the singers, last the musicians, between them the maidens playing their drums. “Bless God in the assemblies: bless the Lord, you who spring from Israel!” There was young Benjamin, leading them, the princes of Judah in their rich robes, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. O God, command in your strength; make firm what you have achieved in us. From your temple in Jerusalem, kings shall bring you tribute. Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, the herd of bulls, the lords of peoples. Let them lie prostrate before you with tribute of silver. Scatter the peoples that delight in war. Nobles will come from Egypt, Ethiopia will stretch out its hands to God. Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; celebrate the Lord. Sing to God who rides on the highest heavens, at the origin of all things. Listen! – he speaks, a voice of power. Acknowledge the strength of the Lord: his majesty is over Israel, his strength is in the clouds. God inspires awe in his holy place; he, the God of Israel, gives power to his people; he gives them strength. Blessed be God! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Reading | Ecclesiastes 3:1 - 22 © |
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| There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven: A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for planting, a time for uprooting what has been planted. A time for killing, a time for healing; a time for knocking down, a time for building. A time for tears, a time for laughter; a time for mourning, a time for dancing. A time for throwing stones away, a time for gathering them up; a time for embracing, a time to refrain from embracing. A time for searching, a time for losing; a time for keeping, a time for throwing away. A time for tearing, a time for sewing; a time for keeping silent, a time for speaking. A time for loving, a time for hating; a time for war, a time for peace. What does a man gain for the efforts that he makes? I contemplate the task that God gives mankind to labour at. All that he does is apt for its time; but though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness, man cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end. I know there is no happiness for man except in pleasure and enjoyment while he lives. And when man eats and drinks and finds happiness in his work, this is a gift from God. I know that what God does he does consistently. To this nothing can be added, from this nothing taken away; yet God sees to it that men fear him. What is, already was; what is to be, has been already; yet God cares for the persecuted. But I still observe that under the sun crime is where law should be, the criminal where the good should be. ‘God’ I thought to myself ‘will judge both virtuous and criminal, because there is a time here for all that is purposed or done.’ I also thought that mankind behaves like this so that God may show them up for what they are, and expose them for the brute beasts they are to each other. Indeed, the fate of man and beast is identical; one dies, the other too, and both have the selfsame breath; man has no advantage over the beast, for all is vanity. Both go to the same place; both originate from the dust and to the dust both return. Who knows if the spirit of man mounts upward or if the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth? I see there is no happiness for man but to be happy in his work, for this is the lot assigned him. Who then can bring him to see what is to happen after his time? |
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| Reading | A sermon on Ecclesiastes by St Gregory of Nyssa |
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| There is a time to be born and a time to die | |
| There is a time to be born and a time to die. The fact that there is a natural link between birth and death is expressed very clearly in this text of Scripture. Death invariably follows birth, and everyone who is born comes at last to the grave. There is a time to be born and a time to die. God grant that mine may be a timely birth and a timely death! Of course no one imagines that the Speaker regards as acts of virtue our natural birth and death, in neither of which our own will plays any part. A woman does not give birth because she chooses to do so; neither does anyone die as a result of his own decision. Obviously, there is neither virtue nor vice in anything that lies beyond our control. So we must consider what is meant by a timely birth and a timely death. It seems to me that the birth referred to here is our salvation, as is suggested by the prophet Isaiah. This reaches its full term and is not stillborn when, having been conceived by the fear of God, the soul’s own birth pangs bring it to the light of day. We are in a sense our own parents, and we give birth to ourselves by our own free choice of what is good. Such a choice becomes possible for us when we have received God into ourselves and have become children of God, children of the Most High. On the other hand, if what the Apostle calls the form of Christ has not been produced in us, we abort ourselves. The man of God must reach maturity. Now if the meaning of a timely birth is clear, so also is the meaning of a timely death. For Saint Paul every moment was a time to die, as he proclaims in his letters: I swear by the pride I take in you that I face death every day. Elsewhere he says, For your sake we are put to death daily and we felt like men condemned to death. How Paul died daily is perfectly obvious. He never gave himself up to a sinful life but kept his body under constant control. He carried death with him, Christ’s death, wherever he went. He was always being crucified with Christ. It was not his own life he lived; it was Christ who lived in him. This surely was a timely death-a death whose end was true life. I put to death and I shall give life, God says, teaching us that death to sin and life in the Spirit is his gift, and promising that whatever he puts to death he will restore to life again. |
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| Concluding Prayer |
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| Almighty God, we ask you to grant us that our minds may be turned to what is pleasing to you and that our words and actions may follow. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen |
Holy Name of Jesus-San Bernadino of Siena |
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The Holy Name of Jesus The name of Jesus is the glory of preachers, because the shining splendor of that name causes his word to be proclaimed and heard. And how do you think such an immense, sudden and dazzling light of faith came into the world, if not because Jesus was preached? Was it not through the brilliance and sweet savour of this name that God called us into his marvellous light? When we have been enlightened, and in that same light behold the light of heaven, rightly may the apostle Paul say to us: Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, walk as children of light.
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Collect: Father, you gave St. Bernadine a special love for the holy name of Jesus. By the help of his prayers, may we always be alive with the spirit of your love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Optional Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, priest This feast is celebrated today both in the Ordinary Form and Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
A powerful and eloquent preacher (Pius II called him "a second Paul") and a zealous apostle, Bernardine traveled the length and breadth of Italy, inculcating love and reverence toward the holy Name of Jesus. He exerted a powerful influence upon his contemporaries, inaugurating a genuine reformation within the Church. Seldom has a saint had so many and so distinguished followers (including St. John Capistran). Upon entering a city, Bernardine had a standard carried before him upon which was the holy Name of Jesus (IHS) encircled with twelve golden rays and surmounted by a cross. When he preached, this symbol was placed alongside the pulpit; or he would hold in his hand a tablet bearing the divine monogram in letters large enough to be visible to the entire audience. It was also his zealous appeals that induced many priests to put the Name of Jesus on the altars and walls of their churches, or to have little cards with the inscription distributed among the people. At his instigation the public buildings in many cities of Italy were adorned with the monogram suitably enlarged, as can still be seen in Siena. At the Council of Florence St. Bernardine labored strenuously to end the schism (1439). Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch. Symbols: IHS within a circle of golden rays; open book; pile of vanities in flames; Patron: advertisers; advertising; against hoarseness; communications; compulsive or uncontrolled gambling; gambling addicts; lungs; public relations; chest, respiratory, or lung problems; Aquila, Italy; diocese of San Bernardino, California; Italy; Things to Do:
Old Calendar: St. Bernadine of Siena, confessor
Born in 1380, St. Bernardine of Siena left the world at an early age in order to lead a hermit's life. When he was twenty-two, he entered the Franciscan Order, one of whose glories he is. Having been made General of the Order, he resigned this charge in order to devote himself to preaching. He preached the name of Jesus with such love that it wrought the transformation of many souls. He was instrumental in effecting many conversions. He died at Aquilea, in the midst of his missionary labors, on May 20, 1444, and was canonized six years later.
St. Bernadine
Bernardine was born in Carrara, Italy, in 1380. Even as a boy he nursed the sick during a time of pestilence in Siena. During a severe illness he decided upon entering a monastery and becoming a Franciscan. His superiors assigned him the task of preaching, and he submitted humbly despite a throat affliction. God heard his petition, and the ailment was miraculously cured.
Often portrayed as: A Franciscan holding a sun upon which the Name of Jesus is inscribed.
The Book of James is an excellent practical manual on Christianity, I think. I read it frequently to remind me how to conduct myself as a Christian.
What a great idea! Thanks!
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Greatest in the Kingdom Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Mark 9:30-37 Introductory Prayer: Lord, I know that you are present in all the circumstances of my life and that you allow me to grow in your love through obedience to your will. May I love you by serving you and others in your name. Petition: Lord Jesus, help me to be simple and humble like a child. 1. The Son of Man Must Suffer 2. Who Is the Greatest? 3. Childlike Simplicity as Condition for Salvation Conversation with Christ: My Lord Jesus, you call me to greater generosity by taking up my cross daily with joy in my heart. I don’t want to flee from the cross anymore. I want to embrace it and even grow to love it. To the world this is foolishness, but if this is what brings happiness, then let me be counted as the biggest fool in the world. Resolution: I will make a spiritual communion during the day and pray to our Lord as a child speaks to his father. |
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San Bernardino of Siena (a.k.a. St. Bernadine of Siena) was a great Franciscan preacher from Tuscany who died in 1444. He was very successful at fostering devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. This excerpt from his sermon on the Holy Name of Jesus (Sermo 49, De Glorioso Nomine Iesu Christi, cap. 2: Opera Omnia, 4, 505-506) is used in the Roman Office of Readings for the liturgical memorial of St. Bernadine of Siena on May 20.