February 16, 2015

Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

The man had relations with his wife Eve,
and she conceived and bore Cain, saying,
“I have produced a man with the help of the LORD.”
Next she bore his brother Abel.
Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the soil.
In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD
from the fruit of the soil,
while Abel, for his part,
brought one of the best firstlings of his flock.
The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but on Cain and his offering he did not.
Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen.
So the LORD said to Cain:
“Why are you so resentful and crestfallen.
If you do well, you can hold up your head;
but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door:
his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master.”

Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out in the field.”
When they were in the field,
Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Then the LORD asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
He answered, “I do not know.
Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The LORD then said: “What have you done!
Listen: your brother’s blood cries out to me from the soil!
Therefore you shall be banned from the soil
that opened its mouth to receive
your brother’s blood from your hand.
If you till the soil, it shall no longer give you its produce.
You shall become a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Cain said to the LORD: “My punishment is too great to bear.
Since you have now banished me from the soil,
and I must avoid your presence
and become a restless wanderer on the earth,
anyone may kill me at sight.”
“Not so!” the LORD said to him.
“If anyone kills Cain, Cain shall be avenged sevenfold.”
So the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest anyone should kill him at sight.

Adam again had relations with his wife,
and she gave birth to a son whom she called Seth.
“God has granted me more offspring in place of Abel,” she said,
“because Cain slew him.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 50:1 and 8, 16bc-17, 20-21

R. (14a) Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.”
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
“You sit speaking against your brother;
against your mother’s son you spread rumors.
When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.”
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.

Alleluia Jn 14:6

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 8:11-13

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Then he left them, got into the boat again,
and went off to the other shore.

From: Genesis 4:1-15, 25

The First Children of Adam and Eve

[1] Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I
have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” [2] And again, she bore his brother
Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.

Cain and Abel

In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground,
[4] and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the
Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, [5] but for Cain and his offering he had
no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. [6] The Lord said
to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? [7] If you
do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at
the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

[8] Cain said to Abel his brother, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they
were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. [9] Then
the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am
I my brother’s keeper?” [10] And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice
of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. [11] And now you are cur-
sed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood
from your hand. [12] When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its
strength; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” [13] Cain said to
the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. [14] Behold, thou hast dri-
ven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden; and
I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay
me.” [15] Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If any one slays Cain, vengeance
shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who
came upon him should kill him.

The birth of Seth

[25] And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name
Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another child instead of Abel, for
Cain slew him.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

4:1. To refer to sexual intercourse between man and woman, the Bible uses the
term “to know”, thereby signalling the human depth of that relationship: although
it takes place via the body, it does so in a context of mind and will.

The name of Cain has an explanation in the biblical text: it echoes Eve’s excla-
mation, “I have gotten (in Hebrew, “qaniti”). This shows God’s part in the genera-
tion of her child. The Bible will keep on teaching that children are a gift from God,
and that it is God who gives or withholds fertility. Consequently the Church reminds
married couples of their duty “to transmit human life and to educate their children;
they should realize that they are thereby cooperating with the love of God the Cre-
ator and are, in a certain sense, its interpreters’” (Vatican II, “Gaudium et spes”,
50).

4:3-8. We can see here how from the start God picks out particular people (with-
out any merit on their part), sometimes giving preference to the youngest or the
weakest: Isaac is preferred to Esau, for example; David to his brothers. The ori-
gin of Cain’s sin lies in the fact that he does not accept God’s preference for his
younger brother, and he gives way to anger, envy (cf. Wis 10:3) and gloominess.
Despite that, God loves Cain too and he invites him to master temptation (v. 7)
by acting rightly; but Cain killed his brother Abel.

Cain is the prototype of the perverse and murderous man; Abel, of the just man
who blamelessly suffers violent death. For this reason Abel is seen as a figure
of Jesus Christ, whose blood spilt on the cross speaks even more eloquently
than the blood of Abel: “But you have come [. . .] to Jesus, the mediator of a
new covenant, and to the spiritual blood that speaks more graciously than the
blood of Abel” (Heb 12:24). Cain, on the other hand, symbolizes every man who
hates his neighbour, for hatred implies desiring that the other person should not
exist. St John interprets the story of Cain in this sense when he writes: “This is
the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one
another, and not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother.
And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s
righteous. [. . .] Any one who hates his brother is a murderer, and we know that
no murderer has eternal life abiding in him’’ (Jn 3:11-12, 15).

Assuming that Cain was ill-intentioned in his offerings, St Bede the Venerable
comments that “men often are placated by gifts from those who have offended
them; but God, who ‘discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart’ (Heb 4:
12), lets himself be placated by no gift as much as by the pious devotion of the
offerer. Once he has seen the purity of our heart, he will then also accept our
prayers and our works” (”Hexaemeron 2: in Gen, 4:4-5).

4:9-16. The question God puts to Cain is one that is constantly being asked of
all human beings as regards their fellows. And the death by violence of any inno-
cent person cries for justice, a cry to which God is never indifferent. He burdens
Cain’s conscience with the weight of his crime, even though he protects his life
by putting a mark on him to prevent anyone taking revenge. In the context of this
account, the mark is meant as a protection, not a sign of infamy. The fact that
Cain, on account of what he has done, is sent out of God’s presence and has
to wander on the earth symbolizes the break with God that sin causes.

“Human life is sacred,” the Church teaches, “because from its beginning it in-
volves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship
with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its begin-
ning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the
right directly to destroy an innocent human being’’ (Catechism of the Catholic
Church, 2258).

4:25-26. This is the part of mankind which retained its knowledge of the true
God, who in due course will reveal himself to Abraham (cf. chap. 12) and Moses
(cf. Ex 3:14). Seth’s name is given an etymological explanation, but now one con-
nected not with cities and skills (cf. the note on 4:17-24) but with God: Seth gets
his name because God gave him to Eve to take the place of Abel. This will be the
line of descendants of Adam and Eve from which will come the chosen people,
through the calling of Abraham. The fact that there is no mention of Seth’s des-
cendants devoting themselves to trades may he designed to show that their spe-
cific contribution to mankind was their keeping the knowledge of the true God —
a greater contribution than that made by others.

“In a figurative manner,” St Bede explains, “Enoch, the son of Seth, stands for
the Christian people who, through faith and the sacrament of the passion and
resurrection of the Lord, is born every day, the world over, of water and the Holy
Spirit. This people [. . .] in all that it does is always invoking the name of the
Lord, saying, Our Father, who are in heaven, hallowed by thy name” (”Hexaeme-
ron 2: in Gen”, 4:25-26).

*********************************************************************************************
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: Mark 8:11-13

The Leaven of the Pharisees

[11] The Pharisees came and began to argue with Him (Jesus), seeking from Him
a sign from Heaven, to test Him. [12] And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given
to this generation.” [13] And He left them, and getting into the boat again He depa-
rted to the other side.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

11-12. Jesus expresses the deep sadness He feels at the hardheartedness of
the Pharisees: they remain blind and unbelieving despite the light shining around
them and the wonderful things Christ is doing. If someone rejects the miracles
God has offered him, it is useless for him to demand new signs, because he asks
for them not because he is sincerely seeking the truth but out of ill will: he is try-
ing to tempt God (cf. Luke 16:27-31). Requiring new miracles before one will be-
lieve, not accepting those already performed in the history of salvation, amounts
to asking God to account for Himself before a human tribunal (cf. Romans 2:1-11).
Unfortunately, many people do act like this. But God can only be found if we have
an open and humble attitude to Him. “I have no need of miracles: there are more
than enough for me in the Gospel. But I do need to see you fulfilling your duty
and responding to grace” (St J. Escriva, “The Way”, 362).

12. The generation to which Jesus refers does not include all the people of His
time, but only the Pharisees and their followers (cf. Mark 8:38; 9:19; Matthew
11:16), who do not want to see in Jesus’ miracles the sign and guarantee of His
messianic mission and dignity: they even attribute His miracles to Satan (Mat-
thew 12:28).

If they do not accept the signs offered to them, they will be given no other sign
of the spectacular kind they seek, for the Kingdom of God does not come noisily
(Luke 17:20-21) and even if it did they in their twisted way would manage to mis-
interpret the event (Luke 16:31). According to Matthew 12:38-42 and Luke 11:29-
32, they are offered yet another sign—the miracle of Jonah, the sign of the death
and resurrection of Christ; but not even this remarkable proof will lead the Phari-
sees to shed their pride.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading

Genesis 4:1-15,25 ©

The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. ‘I have acquired a man with the help of the Lord’ she said. She gave birth to a second child, Abel, the brother of Cain. Now Abel became a shepherd and kept flocks, while Cain tilled the soil. Time passed and Cain brought some of the produce of the soil as an offering for the Lord, while Abel for his part brought the first-born of his flock and some of their fat as well. The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering. But he did not look with favour on Cain and his offering, and Cain was very angry and downcast. The Lord asked Cain, ‘Why are you angry and downcast? If you are well disposed, ought you not to lift up your head? But if you are ill disposed, is not sin at the door like a crouching beast hungering for you, which you must master?’ Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out’; and while they were in the open country, Cain set on his brother Abel and killed him.

The Lord asked Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I do not know’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s guardian?’ ‘What have you done?’ the Lord asked. ‘Listen to the sound of your brother’s blood, crying out to me from the ground. Now be accursed and driven from the ground that has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood at your hands. When you till the ground it shall no longer yield you any of its produce. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer over the earth.’ Then Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear. See! Today you drive me from this ground. I must hide from you, and be a fugitive and a wanderer over the earth. Why, whoever comes across me will kill me!’ ‘Very well, then,’ the Lord replied ‘if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance shall be taken for him.’ So the Lord put a mark on Cain, to prevent whoever might come across him from striking him down.

Adam had intercourse with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she named Seth, ‘because God has granted me other offspring’ she said ‘in place of Abel, since Cain has killed him.’

Psalm

Psalm 49:1,8,16-17,20-21 ©

Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.

The God of gods, the Lord,

has spoken and summoned the earth,

from the rising of the sun to its setting.

‘I find no fault with your sacrifices,

your offerings are always before me.’

Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.

‘But how can you recite my commandments

and take my covenant on your lips,

you who despise my law

and throw my words to the winds?

Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.

‘You who sit and malign your brother

and slander your own mother’s son.

You do this, and should I keep silence?

Do you think that I am like you?’

Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.

Gospel Acclamation

Ps94:8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Harden not your hearts today,

but listen to the voice of the Lord.

Alleluia!

Or	Jn14:6

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;

No one can come to the Father except through me.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 8:11-13 ©

The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went away to the opposite shore.

Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

Pray the Rosary

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: 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.

Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, 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! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Joyful Mysteries
(Mondays and Saturdays)
1. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) [Spiritual fruit - Humility]
2. The Visitation (Luke 1: 39-56) [Spiritual fruit - Love of Neighbor]
3. The Nativity (Luke 2:1-20) [Spiritual fruit - Poverty of Spirit]
4. The Presentation (Luke 2:21-38) [Spiritual fruit - Purity of mind & body]
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) [Spiritual fruit - Obedience ]

A Prayer for our Free Nation Under God
God Save Our Country web site (prayer warriors)
Prayer Chain Request for the United States of America
Pray for Nancy Pelosi
Prayer and fasting will help defeat health care reform (Freeper Prayer Thread)
Prayer Campaign Started to Convert Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians to Pro-Life
[Catholic Caucus] One Million Rosaries
Non-stop Rosary vigil to defeat ObamaCare

From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:

"Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8"

PLEASE JOIN US -

Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have. Please forward this to your praying friends.

February Devotion: The Holy Family

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of February has been primarily asociated with the Holy Family, probably due to the feast of Our Lord's presentation at the temple, celebrated on February 2. At the very outset of Christ's work on earth, God showed the world a family in which, as Pope Leo XIII teaches, "all men might behold a perfect model of domestic life, and of all virtue and holiness." The harmony, unity, and holiness which characterized this holy Family make it the model for all Christian families.

INVOCATION
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph most kind, Bless us now and in death's agony.

FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE HOLY FAMILY
Grant unto us, Lord Jesus, ever to follow the example of Thy holy Family, that in the hour of our death Thy glorious Virgin Mother together with blessed Joseph may come to meet us and we may be worthily received by Thee into everlasting dwellings: who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Roman Missal

CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY FAMILY
O Jesus, our most loving Redeemer, who having come to enlighten the world with Thy teaching and example, didst will to pass the greater part of Thy life in humility and subjection to Mary and Joseph in the poor home of Nazareth, thus sanctifying the Family that was to be an example for all Christian families, graciously receive our family as it dedicates and consecrates itself to Thee this day. Do Thou defend us, guard us and establish amongst us Thy holy fear, true peace, and concord in Christian love: in order that, by conforming ourselves to the divine pattern of Thy family, we may be able, all of us without exception, to attain to eternal happiness.

Mary, dear Mother of Jesus and Mother of us, by thy kindly intercession make this our humble offering acceptable in the sight of Jesus, and obtain for us His graces and blessings.

O Saint Joseph, most holy guardian of Jesus and Mary, assist us by thy prayers in all our spiritual and temporal necessities; that so we may be enabled to praise our divine Savior Jesus, together with Mary and thee, for all eternity.

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be, three times.

IN HONOR OF THE HOLY FAMILY
O God, heavenly Father, it was part of Thine eternal decree that Thine only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, should form a holy family with Mary, His blessed mother, and His foster father, Saint Joseph. In Nazareth home life was sanctified, and a perfect example was given to every Christian family. Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may fully comprehend and faithfully imitate the virtues of the Holy Family so that we may be united with them one day in their heavenly glory. Through the same Christ our Lord. 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

Holy Family Chaplet

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with me in my last hour.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul
in peace with you.

Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse. Amen.

Say 3 Our Father's, 3 Hail Mary's, and 3 Glory be's.

The Holy Family Icon by Nicholas Markell

PRAYER TO
THE HOLY FAMILY
=====================================================================================

GOD our Heavenly Father, You call all peoples to be united as one family in worshipping You as the one and true God. You willed that Your Son become man, giving Him a virgin mother and a foster father to form the Holy Family of Nazareth.

WE pray: may the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, image and model of every human family unit walk in the spirit of Nazareth and grow in the understanding of its particular mission in society and the Church. May our families be living cells of love, faithfulness and unity, thus reflecting God's covenant with humanity and Christ's redeeming love for His Church.

JESUS, Mary and Joseph protect our families from all evil; keep us, who are away from home, one in love with our dear ones.

Parent's Prayer

Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man, and Son of Mary, I thank you for the gift of life you have entrusted to my care. Help me be a parent both tender and wise, both loving and forgiving.

Mary, Holy Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and our Motherly Queen of Heaven, nourish our family with your heavenly grace. Help us to remain faithful to The Most Holy Trinity, in all our sorrows and joys.

Joseph, Earthly father to our Lord God, guardian and spouse of Mary, keep our family safe from harm. Help us in all times of discouragement or anxiety.

Holy Family of Nazareth, help our family to walk in your footsteps. May we be peace-loving and peace-giving.
Amen.

Imitating the Holy Family: Four Traits that Make It Possible
[Catholic Caucus] On the Holy Family [Angelus]
Biblical Teachings on Marriage and Family. A Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Recovering God’s Plan for Marriage and Family: A Sermon on the Feast of the Holy Family

“Why were you looking for me?" (On the Feast of The Holy Family)
U.S. Postal Service Issues Holy Family Forever Stamp
On Prayer in the Life of the Holy Family
The Holy Family - held together by Love through all their problems [Ecumenical]
Feast of the Holy Family: The Christian Family is a Domestic Church
Chesterton on "The Human Family and the Holy Family"
Joseph, Mary and Jesus: A Model Family
ADVICE TO PARENTS by Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
The Holy Family
St. Joseph as Head of the Holy Family (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)

Feast of the Holy Family
Feast of the Holy Family (Dom Guéranger OSB)
The Feast of the Holy Family
The Holy Family vs. The Holy Innocents: A Christmas season reflection [Catholic Caucus]
Vatican creche to place Holy Family in Joseph's carpentry workshop
The Redemption and Protection of the Family [Feast of the Holy Family]
Study Backs Tradition of Loreto House - Stones in Altar Match Those in Nazareth, It Says
Unraveling Jesus' mystery years in Egypt
Gaudi’s Church of the Holy Family to be ready for worship in 2008
Imitating the Holy Family; Four Traits that Make It Possible
Lots of Graphics: Post your favorite image of the St. Mary and Child, the Holy Family...

Daily Gospel Commentary

Monday of the Sixth week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 126, 4-5

"Why does this generation seek a sign?"

Admire God’s wonderful works ; come out of your sleep. Are you only going to admire extraordinary miracles? But are they any greater than those that daily take place before your eyes? Are people astonished because our Lord Jesus Christ satisfied several thousand persons with five loaves (Mt 14,19f) and are not surprised that a few seeds are enough to cover the ground with abundant harvests? They are filled with wonder when they see our Savior change water into wine (Jn 2,19); isn’t it the same thing when rain goes through the roots of the vine? The author of both these miracles is the same…

Our Lord worked miracles and yet many despised him… They said to themselves : « The works are divine but, as for him, he is only a man. » Therefore you see two things: divine works on the one hand and a man on the other. If those divine works can only be carried out by God, could it not be because God is hidden in this man? Yes. Be very attentive to what you see and believe what you do not see. He who calls on you to believe has not abandoned you to yourself; even if he asks you to believe what you cannot see, he has not left you without anything to see to help you believe what is unseen. Isn’t creation itself a faint sign, a faint manifestation of the Creator? In addition, look at him who comes into the world and works miracles. You were unable to see God but you were able to see a man: therefore God became man so that what you see and what you believe should be but one.

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