1. And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
2. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
3. And he said to the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
4. And he said to them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
5. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

THEOPHYL. After confounding the Jews, who had blamed His disciples, for pulling the ears of corn on the sabbath day, by the example of David, the Lord now further bringing them to the truth, works a miracle on the sabbath; showing that, if it is a pious deed to work miracles on the sabbath for the health of men, it is not wrong to do on the sabbath things necessary for the body: he says therefore, And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath-day; that they might accuse him.

BEDE; For, since He had defended the breaking of the sabbath, which they objected to His disciples, by an approved example, now they wish, by watching Him, to calumniate Himself, that they might accuse Him of a transgression, if He cured on the sabbath, of cruelty or of folly, if He refused. It goes on: And he said to the man which had the withered hand, Stand in the midst.

PSEUD-CHRYS. He placed him in the midst, that they might be frightened at the sight, and on seeing him compassionate him, and lay aside their malice.

BEDE; And anticipating the calumny of the Jews, which they had prepared for Him, He accused them of violating the precepts of the law, by a wrong interpretation. Wherefore there follows: And he said to them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath-day, or to do evil? And this He asks, because they thought that on the sabbath they were to rest even from good works, whilst the law commands to abstain from bad, saying, You shall do no servile work therein; that is, sin: for Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin. What He first says, to do good on the sabbath-day or to do evil, is the same as what He afterwards adds, to save a life or to lose it; that is, to cure a man or not. Not that God, Who is in the highest degree good, can be the author of perdition to us, but that His not saving is in the language of Scripture to destroy.

But if it be asked, wherefore the Lord, being about to cure time body, asked about the saving of the soul, let him understand either that in the common way of Scripture the soul is put for the man; as it is said, All the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob; or because He did those miracles for time saving of a soul, or because the healing itself of the hand signified the saving of the soul.

AUG. But someone may wonder how Matthew could have said, that they themselves asked the Lord, if it was lawful to heal on the sabbath-day; when Mark rather relates it that they were asked by our Lord, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath-day, or to do evil? Therefore we must understand that they first asked the Lord, if it was lawful to heal on the sabbath-day, then that understanding their thoughts, and that they were seeking an opportunity to accuse Him, He placed in the middle him whom He was about to cure, and put those questions, which Mark and Luke relate. We must then suppose, that when they were silent, He propounded the parable of the sheep, and concluded, that it was lawful to do good on time sabbath-day. It goes on: But they were silent.

PSEUD-CHRYS. For they knew that He would certainly cure him. It goes on: And looking round about upon them with anger. His looking round upon them in anger, and being saddened at the blindness of their hearts, is fitting for His humanity, which He deigned to take upon Himself for us. He connects the working of the miracle with a word, which proves that the man is cured by His voice alone. It follows therefore, And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. Answering by all these things for His disciples, and at time same time showing that His life is above the law.

BEDE; But mystically, the man with a withered hand shows the human race, dried up as to its fruitfulness in good works, but now cured by the mercy of the Lord; the hand of man, which in our first parent had been dried up when He plucked the fruit of the forbidden tree, through time grace of the Redeemer, Who stretched His guiltless hands on the tree of the cross, has been restored to health by the juices of good works. Well too was it in the synagogue that the hand was withered; for where the gift of knowledge is greater there also the danger of inexcusable guilt is greater.

PSEUDO-JEROME; Or else it means the avaricious, which, being able to give had rather receive, and love robbery rather than making gifts. And they are commanded to stretch forth their hands, that is, let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hand the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needs.

THEOPHYL. Or, he has his right hand withered, whom does not the works which belong to the right side; for from the time that our hand is employed in forbidden deeds, from that time it is withered to the working of good. But it will be restored whenever it stands firm in virtue; wherefore Christ said, Arise, that is, from sin, and stand in the midst; that thus it may stretch itself forth neither too little or too much.

6. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

BEDE; The Pharisees, thinking it a crime that at the word of the Lord the hand which was diseased was restored to a sound state, agreed to make a pretext of the words spoken by our Savior; wherefore it is said, And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. As if every one amongst them did not greater things on the sabbath day, carrying food, reaching forth a cup, and whatever else is necessary for meals. Neither could He, Who said and it was done, be convicted of toiling on the sabbath day.

THEOPHYL. But the soldiers of Herod the king are called Herodians, because a certain new heresy had sprung up, which asserted that Herod was the Christ. For the prophecy of Jacob intimated, that when the princes of Judah failed, then Christ should come; because therefore in the time of Herod none of the Jewish princes remained, and he, an alien, was the sole ruler, some thought that he was the Christ, and set on foot this heresy. These, therefore, were with the Pharisees trying to kill Christ.

BEDE; Or else he calls Herodiamus the servants of Herod the Tetrarch, who on account of the hatred which their Lord had for Joimum, pursued with treachery and hate the Savior also, Whom John preached it goes on, But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea; He fled from their treachery, because the hour of His passion had not yet come, and no place away from Jerusalem was proper for His Passion. By which also he gave an example to His disciples, when they suffer persecution in one city, to thee to another.

Catena Aurea Mark 3

Saint Agnes, Virgin & Martyr
Memorial
January 21st

Saint Agnes
Ambrogio Borgognone - 1495 - Detached Fresco
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

History

Agnes, the daughter of a noble Roman family who had become a Christian, was martyred at the age of twelve or thirteen during a persecution of Christians when she openly declared her belief. Her name is in the Roman Canon, and in the earliest Church calendar (354 AD), her feast was assigned to January 21, on which all accounts of her death agree. Agnes was martyred in 304, in the persecution of Diocletian, or possibly earlier, in a third century persecution. According to very early accounts, her enraged persecuters attempted to burn Agnes, and when this failed, they decapitated her.

Testimony to her courageous witness was given in early accounts. An account of her martyrdom was written by Saint Ambrose (340-387) in "De Virginibus", and Pope Damasus (ca. 304-384) extolled the heroism and virtue of the young girl, reportedly telling in a poem how she bravely faced fire, concerned only that her stripped body be covered by her long hair. The Pope also wrote an inscription to her on a marble slab, which can still be seen at the foot of the stairs leading to the sepulchre in the church built over her grave during the reign of Constantine (ca 275-337). According to the description of her martyrdom by Prudentius (348-413), as part of the persecution "the judge threatened to give over her virginity to a house of prostitution, and even executed this threat; but when a young man turned a lascivious look upon the virgin, he fell to the ground stricken with blindness...".

The church built over her tomb in the 4th Century, Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura ("Saint Agnes outside the walls), stands today -- on the Via Nomentana -- much the same as it was after it was remodeled by Pope Honorius (625-638). A mosaic in the apse of the church shows the young saint as a Byzantine empress, amid flames with a sword at her feet.

Another perhaps more famous church, Sant'Agnese in Agone, faces the Piazza Navona in Rome. Originally a 9th century oratory built over the the site of her martyrdom, a brothel in the arcades of the Circus of Domitian, also known as the Circus Agonalis, it was consecrated as a church by Pope Calixtus II on January 28, 1123. The present church was extensively remodeled in the 17th century by Rainaldi, according to plans by Borromini, and was influential in Baroque architecture. The Roman ruins of the brothel where Agnes was martyred are accessible from inside the church.

Since the early middle-ages, Saint Agnes is usually depicted holding a lamb (agnus - a pun on her name) as a symbol of her purity. At least since the 9th Century, each year on the Feast of Saint Agnes, two lambs are solemnly blessed at the church of Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura. From the wool of these lambs are made the pallium (a strip of white wool with black crosses woven into the fabric) given by the Pope to an archbishop as a sign of office.

Propers for the Feast of Saint Agnes

Collect:
Almighty ever-living God,
who choose what is weak in the world to confound the strong,
mercifully grant,
that we, who celebrate the heavenly birthday of your Martyr Saint Agnes,
may follow her constancy in the faith.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; therefore, as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord."

Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:44-46
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Politics

January 21, 2015 by Patti Maguire Armstrong

Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Politics

Editor’s Note: Today, one day before the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, Patti Maguire Armstrong reminds us of the words of wisdom Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen published in the 1940s and how they still ring true today.

… Sheen: A Lesson on Politics

Regarding religion and politics, I was…taken aback while reading a book written by Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen in 1947 titled: Characters of the Passion (Liguouri/Triumph). In it, he takes a look at the characters that played a role in the Passion of Jesus Christ and relates them to our modern world. No one would call 1947 modern, but the lessons of the passion held true in 1947 and still ring true today.

In chapter 3, “Pilate: A Lesson on Political Power,” Sheen dissecussed public opinion as it relates to politics. He stated:

“Those who have their finger on the pulse of contemporary civilization have probably noted that there are two contradictory charges against religions today. The first is that religion is not political enough; the other is that religion is too political. On the one hand, the Church is blamed for being too divine, and on the other, for not being divine enough. It is hated because it is too heavenly and hated because it is too earthly.”

Same old, same old.

Sheen portrayed the political/religious process as Jesus stood before the political Pilate and the religious Annas and Caiaphas. Christ was accused of being too religious before Annas and Caiaphas. Under the veil of mock indignation at the supposed insult to God’s majesty, Christ was declared too religious, too concerned with souls, too infallible and too Godly. After all, they cornered him into declaring Himself to be God. Sheen writes:

“Because He was too religious, He was not political enough. The religious judges said that He had no concern for the fact that the Romans were their masters, and that they might take away their country (John 11:47-48). By talking about a spiritual kingdom, a higher moral law, and His divinity, and by becoming the leader of a spiritual crusade, He was accused of being indifferent to the needs of the people and nation’s well being.”

Counter Church

Likewise, pro-lifers are accused of being too religious. Who are they to know the mind of God…to know when life really begins? We are accused of trying to force our religion on others, of being fanatics, of being downright dangerous to a free society.

Ultimately, Jesus was sent into the political arena, to Pilate. There, religious charges would not have prevailed. So instead, he was accused of being too political. Jesus is charged with meddling in national affairs; that He was not patriotic enough. “We have found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he is Christ the king” (Luke 23:2).

Sheen explained:

“And so throughout history, these two contradictory charges have been leveled against the Person of Christ in His Body the Church. His Church was accused of not being political enough when it condemned Nazism and Fascism; it is accused of being too political when it condemns Communism. It is the second charge that needs specific consideration, namely, that the Church is interfering in politics. Is this true? It all depends upon what you mean by politics. If by interference in politics is meant using influence to favor a particular regime, party, or system that respects the basic God-given rights and freedom of persons, the answer is emphatically No! The Church does not interfere in politics. If by interference in politics is meant judging or condemning a philosophy of life that makes the party or state, or the class, or the race, the source of all rights, and that usurps the soul and enthrones party over conscience and denies those basic rights for which the war was fought, the answer is emphatically Yes!

The Church does judge such a philosophy. But when it does this, it is not interfering with politics, for such politics is no longer politics but theology. When a state sets itself up as absolute as God, when it claims sovereignty over the soul, when it destroys freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, then the state has ceased to be political and has begun to be a counter-Church.”

It’s the Government that is Trespassing

In reality, the Church adapts itself to government, supporting authority. The Church teaches that the state is supreme in temporal matters. But when politics make religious proclamations–such as women have the right to end the life of their unborn babies–politics enters into the religious realm and claims supremacy over the human soul. Voting and campaigning against candidates and issues that compete with religion, is not against politics but against a counter religion.

For all the accusations that fundamentalist Christian and Catholic teaching is dangerous to our free society, the reality is quite the contrary. Preaching Christianity is sometimes labeled dangerous and incendiary. For instance, on the issue of homosexuality, the Christian churches are increasingly coming under fire for teaching against homosexual marriages. Never mind that the teaching advocates loving the sinner but hating the sin, politics claims that it’s not okay to hate the sin. Any teaching against this sin is more and more being labeled “hate” and said to encourage discrimination. Christians are not being allowed moral stances that could be viewed as discriminating against a lifestyle. Such a social straightjacket makes it impossible to teach right and wrong because it will offend the people engaging in the wrong.

As Sheen reminded his reader:

“It was Jesus Christ who suffered under Pontius Pilate; it was not Pontius Pilate who suffered under Jesus Christ. The grave danger today is not religion in politics but politics in religion.”

So when politicians preach a counter-religion message, such as the HHS [Health and Human Services] Mandate, which is the government forcing Catholic businesses to offer artificial birth control and abortifacients to their employees, our religious leaders have no choice but to protest. Although the politically correct clamor against invasion of the spiritual, if our eyes are open, we will see that the problem is just the opposite—the invasion of the spiritual by the political.

Christ was always and is forever our example. He did not deliver himself from the power of the state although he ultimately held all power: “You would have no power unless it were given to you from above” (John 19:11). But he never stopped preaching and living the truth. The state is often indifferent to God’s moral laws. Still, we must never give in or give up. We must be willing to bear the marks of Christ as we follow him.

Sheen equated God’s truths with true freedom:

“But whatever be the reason for these trying days, of this we may be certain: The Christ Who suffered under Pontius Pilate signed Pilate’s death warrant; it was not Pilate who signed Christ’s. Christ’s Church will be attacked, scorned, and ridiculed, but it will never be destroyed…. The bold fact the enemies of God must face is that modern civilization has conquered the world, but in doing so has lost its soul. And in losing its soul it will lose the very world it gained. Even our own so-called liberal culture in the United States, which has tried to avoid complete secularization by leaving little zones of individual freedom, is in danger of forgetting that these zones were preserved only because religion was in their soul. And as religion fades so will freedom, for only where the spirit of God is, is there liberty.”

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:January 21, 2015
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, who choose what is weak in the world to confound the strong, mercifully grant, that we, who celebrate the heavenly birthday of your Martyr Saint Agnes, may follow her constancy in the faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

o Lamb Cake

ACTIVITIES

o Celebration for the Feast of St. Agnes

o Customs on the Feast of St. Agnes

PRAYERS

o Prayer to St. Agnes

o Hymn to St. Agnes

o Novena for Church Unity

o Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity

LIBRARY

o Divini Amoris Scientia (Apostolic Letter Proclaiming St. Therese of Lisieux a Doctor of the Church) | Pope John Paul II

o The Role of the Woman in the Life of the Church | Fides Dossier

· Ordinary Time: January 21st

· Memorial of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr

Old Calendar: St. Agnes

St. Agnes (c. 304) like St. Cecilia, is to be numbered among the most famous martyrs of Rome. When the Diocletian persecution was at its height, and when priests as well as laymen were apostatizing from the faith, Agnes, a girl of twelve, freely chose to die for Christ. When she was commanded to offer incense to false gods, she raised her hand to Christ and made the Sign of the Cross. When the heathens threatened to bind her hand and foot, she herself hastened to the place of torture as a bride to her wedding feast. Pain had no terror for her—although the fetters slipped from her small hands while even the pagan bystanders were moved to tears.

When the son of the Roman prefect offered to marry her, she replied: "The one to whom I am betrothed is Christ Whom the angels serve." When the executioner, who was to behead her, hesitated, she encouraged him with the words: "Strike, without fear, for the bride does her Spouse an injury if she makes Him wait". The name of "Agnes" means "lamb-life," and hence the lamb is the symbol of the modesty and innocence of the virgin-martyr.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

St. Agnes
Agnes is one of the most glorious saints in the calendar of the Roman Church. The greatest Church Fathers vie with one another in sounding her praise and glory. St. Jerome writes: "All nations, especially their Christian communities, praise in word and writing the life of St. Agnes. She triumphed over her tender age as well as over the merciless tyrant. To the crown of spotless innocence she added the glory of martyrdom."

Our saint's name should be traced to the Greek hagne - the pure, rather than to the Latin agna - lamb. But the Latin derivation prevailed in the early Church. The reason may have been that eight days after her death Agnes appeared to her parents with a train of virgins, and a lamb at her side. St. Augustine knew both derivations. "Agnes", he writes, "means 'lamb' in Latin, but in Greek it denotes 'the pure one'". The Latin interpretation occasioned the yearly blessing of the St. Agnes lambs; it takes place on this day in the Church of which she is patron, and the wool is used in weaving the palliums worn by archbishops and, through privilege, by some bishops. In the church built by the Emperor Constantine over the saint's grave, Pope Gregory the Great preached a number of homilies. Reliable details concerning the life of St. Agnes are very few. The oldest material occurs in St. Ambrose's De Virginibus, parts of which are read today at Matins. The value of the later (definitely unauthentic) "Passion" of the saint is enhanced by the fact that various antiphons and responsories in the Office are derived from it.

From such liturgical sources we may construct the following "life of St. Agnes". One day when Agnes, then thirteen years old, was returning home from school, she happened to meet Symphronius, a son of the city prefect. At once he became passionately attracted to her and tried to win her by precious gifts. Agnes repelled him, saying: "Away from me, food of death, for I have already found another lover" (r. Ant.). "With His ring my Lord Jesus Christ has betrothed me, and He has adorned me with the bridal crown" (3. Ant., Lauds). "My right hand and my neck He has encircled with precious stones, and has given me earrings with priceless pearls; He has decked me with lovely, glittering gems" (2. Ant.). "The Lord has clothed me with a robe of gold, He has adorned me with priceless jewels" (4. Ant.). "Honey and milk have I received from His mouth, and His blood has reddened my cheeks" (5. Ant.). "I love Christ, into whose chamber I shall enter, whose Mother is a virgin, whose Father knows not woman, whose music and melody are sweet to my ears. When I love Him, I remain chaste; when I touch Him, I remain pure; when I possess Him, I remain a virgin" (2. Resp.). "I am betrothed to Him whom the angels serve, whose beauty the sun and moon admire" (9. Ant.). "For Him alone I keep my troth, to Him I surrender with all my heart" (6. Ant.).

Incensed by her rebuff, Symphronius denounced Agnes to his father, the city prefect. When he threatened her with commitment to a house of ill fame, Agnes replied: "At my side I have a protector of my body, an angel of the Lord" (2. Ant., Lauds). "When Agnes entered the house of shame, she found an angel of the Lord ready to protect her" (1. Ant., Lauds). A light enveloped her and blinded all who tried to approach. Then another judge condemned her to the stake because the pagan priests accused her of sorcery.

Surrounded by flames she prayed with outstretched arms: "I beseech You, Father almighty, most worthy of awe and adoration. Through Your most holy Son I escaped the threats of the impious tyrant and passed through Satan's filth with feet unsullied. Behold, I now come to You, whom I have loved, whom I have sought, whom I have always desired." She gave thanks as follows: "O You, the almighty One, who must be adored, worshipped, feared - I praise You because through Your only begotten Son I have escaped the threats of wicked men and have walked through the filth of sin with feet unsullied. I extol You with my lips, and I desire You with all my heart and strength."

After the flames died out, she continued: "I praise You, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, because by Your Son the fire around me was extinguished" (4. Ant., Lauds). And now she longed for union with Christ: "Behold, what I yearned for, I already see; what I hoped for, I already hold in embrace; with Him I am united in heaven whom on earth I loved with all my heart" (Ben. Ant.). Her wish was granted; the judge ordered her beheaded. —The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Affianced couples; betrothed couples; bodily purity; chastity; Children of Mary; Colegio Capranica of Rome; crops; engaged couples; gardeners; Girl Scouts; girls; rape victims; diocese of Rockville Centre, New York; virgins.

Symbols: Lamb; woman with long hair and a lamb, sometimes with a sword at her throat; woman with a dove which holds a ring in its beak; woman with a lamb at her side.

Things to Do:

Read St. Ambrose's De Virginibus about the martyrdom of St. Agnes. "It is the birthday of a martyr, let us offer the victim. It is the birthday of St. Agnes, let men admire, let children take courage, let the married be astounded, let the unmarried take an example."

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Day Four: Then the woman left her water jar (John 4:28)

Loving God, help us to learn from Jesus and the Samaritan that the encounter with the other opens for us new horizons of grace. Help us to break through our limits and embrace new challenges. Help us to go beyond fear in following the call of your Son. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Vatican Resources

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17

Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

His name first means . . . king of peace. (Hebrews 7:2)

What brings you peace? A few moments of silence? A clean home? A colorful sunset?

What about a peace that persists even in the midst of a chaotic, noisy, disrupted day? A peace that is founded on an interior calm and not external circumstances? That’s the kind of peace that today’s first reading is pointing to—the peace that comes from a clear conscience.

Think of the sinful woman, whose story is told in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 7:36-50). Moved by Jesus’ words of mercy and forgiveness, she offers him an extravagant gesture of love: she anoints his feet, bathes them in her tears, and wipes them with her hair. Jesus is moved by her display and gives voice to what she has already experienced: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (7:50). Freed from guilt over her sins, she can now move forward in her life, at peace with herself and with the Lord.

This woman’s story is our story. So is the story of the prodigal son and Zacchaeus and so many others. The Gospels are filled with stories of men and women who had a personal encounter with Jesus, experienced his merciful touch, and went away filled with peace. They tell us that the same experience is available to us: Jesus can become our own king of peace!

Where can we find this peace? In the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this very personal, very private sacrament, we encounter Jesus in the person of the priest. We seek forgiveness, and we hear the comforting, inspiring words: I absolve you of all your sins… . May God grant you pardon and peace.” In that moment, we become the sinful woman, the prodigal son, the unjust tax collector, and every other person who met Jesus and felt his love. In that moment, we receive the peace we long for.

The next time you have an opportunity for Confession, take advantage of it. Know that in some mysterious way, you will be meeting Jesus—the Savior who came not to condemn you but to redeem you. Come to him, and let him fill you with his peace.

“Jesus, thank you for the gift of peace that flows from your merciful touch!”

Psalm 110:1-4
Mark 3:1-6

Regnum Christi

To Do Good or Evil?

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

January 21, 2015. Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

Mark 3:1-6

Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched him closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, "Come up here before us." Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you. Thank you for the gift of faith, more precious than life itself. I hope in you. May the dark waters of doubt never break through my dike of hope. I love you. I want to let you purify me, so that my love for you may be more ardent and more courageous.

Petition: Lord, help me to bear witness to you even in adverse circumstances.

1. “They Watched Him Closely”:At the beginning of his public ministry, Christ already incurs the bitter opposition of the Pharisees. Having reduced them to silence in a wheat field, Christ bravely enters the synagogue to confront them once again. There the Pharisees are in the first places of honor, and they watch his every move, hoping he will cure against the laws of the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. The Pharisees were right about one thing. They did well to observe Christ closely. If only they had done so with the right spirit: to learn from him and to glorify God for the wonders he did through him. How closely do we watch Christ in our own lives? How readily do we perceive his actions through the circumstances of the day? How often do we glorify God for the great things Christ does and longs to do in us?

2. To Do Good or Evil? Christ obliges the Pharisees. With fearless courage he calls the man with the withered hand forward, so that no one can mistake what he is about to do. Then he puts his antagonists in a dilemma with two clear questions. First: “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil?” “They are bound to admit that it is lawful to do good; and it is a good thing he proposed to do. They are bound to deny that it is lawful to do evil; and, yet, surely it is an evil thing to leave a man in wretchedness when it is possible to help him.” (William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 68-69) Then Christ asks the second question: “Is it lawful to save life rather than to destroy it?” “Here he is driving the thing home. He is taking steps to save this wretched man’s life; they are thinking out methods of killing Christ. On any reckoning it is surely a better thing to be thinking about helping a man than it is to be thinking of killing a man. No wonder they had nothing to say!” (Ibid.)

3. Angered by Their Hardness of Heart:Seldom does the Gospel show Christ angry. Here his anger is provoked by the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and their hardness of heart. They close themselves off from his message of salvation. What happens when someone definitively closes his heart to Christ? The Pharisees, the defenders of the law and Jewish customs, were bitter enemies of the Herodians, who collaborated with King Herod and the Romans. Yet this Gospel relates the chilling fact that these two joined forces to plot to kill Jesus. They are united not by the intrinsic force of goodness, but by the malignant power of evil. Do I at times make small concessions to hypocrisy, envy or even hatred? These could slowly harden my heart toward Christ. Am I willing to be courageous like Christ and endure even bitter opposition for the sake of the Gospel?

Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for your goodness and courage. How small I feel when I compare myself with you in the Gospel. What an infinite distance separates us! Thank you for calling me — with all of my weakness, sins, and limitations — to be your apostle. Help me never to surrender to evil in my heart, but to grow in goodness of heart in order to be more like you.

Resolution: I will do a good deed for someone today, even if it is difficult, in order to bear witness to Christ.

By Father Walter Schu, LC

Homily of the Day

January 21, 2015

Jesus is the God of mercy; he wants to make us whole by his healing and forgiving power. When he healed a man with a paralyzed hand in today’s Gospel reading, he set the man free from his bodily disability. This was another act of pity and love of Jesus.

But the healing was done on the sabbath in the presence of Pharisees and others who cared more about the letter of the Law than about the Law’s true spirit. They took it against Jesus that he healed on the Sabbath and thus broke the sanctity of the Sabbath. In their teaching they could not understand that the Law was made for the good of man and not man for the Law. They cared for the letter and the strict observance of the Law in the way they interpreted it but failed to appreciate its core values and true rationale. They loved the Law and forgot about the Giver and intent of the Law.

The man with the paralyzed hand was cured when, at one sabbath, he encountered the Lord, the Giver of the Law. This man left Jesus healed and restored.

Jesus was filled “with anger and deep sadness because they [the Pharisees] had closed their minds.” They did not care about the man with the paralyzed hand; they could not be joyful and thankful that this afflicted man was cured by the power of Jesus. Afraid and silent, unable to reply to Jesus questions, “What does the Law allow us to do on the sabbath? To do good or do harm? To save life or to kill,” all the Pharisees could do was to go away with their “closed minds” to immediately conspire with the followers of Herod, “looking for a way to destroy Jesus.”
Let us pray that we follow and live God’s Law with joy and true understanding.

One Bread, One Body

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St. Agnes

Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17
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Psalm 110:1-4

Mark 3:1-6
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HOW WE BECAME PRIESTS

"You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." —Hebrews 7:17; Psalm 110:4

Like almost all peoples throughout history, the Jewish people believed that sacrifice was one of the essential elements for dealing with sin and setting humanity free. The person who offers sacrifices to God on behalf of the people is called a priest. Thus, priests are an essential part of God's plan of salvation. Consequently, because Jesus is the Savior of the world, He must be a priest. For the Jews, all priests descended from the tribe of Levi. Yet Jesus was from the tribe of Judah. How can Jesus be a priest?

In the book of Genesis, we hear about the priest Melchizedek. He was a priest before there were the tribes of Israel. He was a mysterious figure "without father, mother or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life" (Heb 7:3). The psalmist prophesied that Melchizedek's priesthood would continue (Ps 110:4). The writer of the book of Hebrews proclaimed that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus sacrificed Himself on the altar of the cross. He is truly the Savior of the world, and we who are baptized into Him share in His priesthood (see 1 Pt 2:9; Rv 5:10). In Christ, we are priests in the order of Melchizedek. Alleluia!

Prayer: Father, may I live my baptismal priesthood to the full. I offer You my body as a living sacrifice (Rm 12:1).

Promise: "Then He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' The man did so and his hand was perfectly restored." —Mk 3:5

Praise: As St. Agnes, a thirteen-year-old girl, was led to her martyrdom, she was as happy as a bride walking up the aisle to meet her groom. She kept her eyes ever fixed on Jesus (Heb 12:2).

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