Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 01-05-04, Memorial, St. John Neumann

Reading I
1 Jn 3:22–4:6

Beloved:
We receive from him whatever we ask,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this:
we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,
and the way we know that he remains in us
is from the Spirit whom he gave us.

Beloved, do not trust every spirit
but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God,
because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
This is how you can know the Spirit of God:
every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh
belongs to God,
and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus
does not belong to God.
This is the spirit of the antichrist
who, as you heard, is to come,
but in fact is already in the world.
You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them,
for the one who is in you
is greater than the one who is in the world.
They belong to the world;
accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world,
and the world listens to them.
We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us,
while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us.
This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 2:7bc-8, 10-12a

R (8ab) I will give you all the nations for an inheritance.
The LORD said to me, "You are my Son;
this day I have begotten you.
Ask of me and I will give you
the nations for an inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession."
R I will give you all the nations for an inheritance.
And now, O kings, give heed;
take warning, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
with trembling rejoice.
R I will give you all the nations for an inheritance.

Gospel
Mt 4:12-17, 23-25

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
"Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand."

He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
His fame spread to all of Syria,
and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases
and racked with pain,
those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics,
and he cured them.
And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea,
and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

For your discussions about the Holy Name of Jesus:

From: 1 John 3:22-4:6 Loving One Another ------------------ [22] And we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. [23] And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. [24] All who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us. Faith in Christ, Not Antichrist ------------------------------- [1] Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, [3] and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist) of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already. [4] Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. [5] They are of the world, therefore what they say is of the world, and the world listens to them. [6] We are of God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and he who is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. *********************************************************************** Commentary: 19-22. The Apostle reassures us: God knows everything; not only does he know our sins and our frailties, he also knows our repentance and our good desires, and he understands and forgives us (St Peter, on the Lake of Tiberias, made the same confession to Jesus: "Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you": Jn 21:17). St John's teaching on divine mercy is very clear: if our conscience tells us we have done wrong, we can seek forgiveness and strengthen our hope in God; if our conscience does not accuse us, our confidence in God is ardent and bold, like that of a child who has loving experience of his Father's tenderness. The love of God is mightier than our sins, Pope John Paul II reminds us: "When we realize that God's love for us does not cease in the face of our sin or recoil before our offenses, but becomes even more attentive and generous; when we realize that this love went so far as to cause the Passion and Death of the Word made flesh who consented to redeem us at the price of his own blood, then we exclaim in gratitude: 'Yes, the Lord is rich in mercy', and even: 'The Lord "is" mercy'" ("Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 22). This confidence in God makes for confidence in prayer: "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you" (Jn 15:7; cf. 14:13f; 16:23, 26-27). 23-24. The commandments of God are summed up here in terms of love for Jesus and love for the brethren. "We cannot rightly love one another unless we believe in Christ; nor can we truly believe in the name of Jesus Christ without brotherly love" (St Bede, "In I Epist. S. Ioannis, ad loc."). Faith and love cannot be separated (cf. Gal 5:6); our Lord himself told us what would mark his disciples out--their love for one another (Jn 13:34-35). Keeping the commandments confirms to the Christian that he is abiding in God: "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love" (Jn 15:10). Moreover, it ensures that God abides in his soul, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit: "If you love me you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever" (Jn 14:15-16). "May God be your house and you God's; dwell in God that God may dwell in you. God dwells in you to support you; you dwell in God in order not to fall. Keep the commandments, have charity" ("In 1 Epist. S. Ioannis, ad loc."). 1-6. In the third part of the letter (4:1-5:12), the sacred writer expands further on the two things which sum up God's commandments (3:23f faith in Jesus (4:1-6; 5:1-12) and brotherly love (4:7-21). He begins by giving criteria for recognizing the true spirit of God and for identifying false teachers (4:1-6), clearly echoing what he said in the second chapter (cf. 2:18-29). There the heretics were called "antichrists", here "false prophets". There he underlined the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity in believers ("you will abide in the Son and in the Father": 2:24), the anointing "abides in you" (2:27); here he emphasizes rather the fact of belonging to God or not. This idea is developed in three points: 1) he who confesses Jesus Christ "is of God"; 2) he who does not confess him "is not of God" (vv. 2-3); you "are of God", they "are of the world" (vv. 4-5); 3) we (he must surely mean the Apostles) "are of God", and therefore apostolic teaching merits attention and must be listened to (v. 6). "Being of God", in St John's language, does not refer to originating from God, because in fact everyone, good and bad, faithful or not, comes from God. It means, rather, belonging to a group ("to my sheep": Jn 10:26) and it also means a mode of existence: 'he who is from the earth...of the earth speaks" (Jn 3:31); "you are from below, I am from above" (In 8:23); "Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice" (Jn 18:37). Faith, therefore, is not a superficial thing, something that affects us on the outside only: it actually changes a person's inner life; belonging to the community of the children of God involves a new way of being, which can be seen from the fact that we live in accordance with the faith we profess. 2-3. "Every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh...": according to this translation (which fits certain Greek manuscripts) the Apostle would be emphasizing the fact that the Incarnation really happened, as if the false prophets opposed to the faith were saying that Christ's human nature was not real but only apparent (that was the position of the Docetists). In the context, the alternate reading--"every spirit which confesses Jesus Christ come in the flesh"--may fit in better, since St John often insists that the Christian's faith centers on the person of Jesus Christ, who, being God, became man (cf. 2:22; 4:15; 5:1-5). By emphasizing this he is taking issue with the Gnostics particularly, who were saying that Jesus was the Son of God only from his Baptism onwards (cf. note on 1 Jn 5:6). On the antichrist, see the note on 2:18. 4. St John repeats his conviction that Christians are assured of victory in their battle against the evil one (cf. 2:13; 5:4, 18). But what makes them victorious is the power of Christ working in them; so, while bolstering their faith he is also calling on them to be humble: "Do not become proud; recognize who has conquered in you. why did you win? 'Because he who is in you is more powerful than he who is in the world.' Be humble; carry your Lord; be a little donkey for your rider. It is in your best-interest to have him guide and direct you; because if you do not have him as your rider, you will be inclined to toss your head and kick out; but woe to you if you have no guide! That freedom would mean your ending up as prey for wild beasts" (St Augustine, "In Epist. Ioann. ad Parthos", 7, 2). 6, "Whoever knows God listens to us": as elsewhere in the letter, there is a change from "you" to "we" (cf. 2:18, 28; 3:13-14). One could argue that the Apostle is simply including himself in the Christian community as a whole, as if to say "Whoever knows God listens to the Christians." However, the obvious interpretation is that the "us" refers to those in authority in the Church, bringing it perfectly into line with what Jesus says: "He who hears you hears me" (Lk 10:16). Obedience to the living Magisterium of the Church is, therefore, the rule for distinguishing the spirit of truth from the spirit of error. It could not be otherwise, for it is the Holy Spirit himself who guides the Church in its teaching and leads the faithful to accept that teaching: "the assent of the Church can never be lacking to such definitions [of the Supreme Magisterium] on account of the same Holy Spirit's influence, through which Christ's whole flock is maintained in the unity of the faith and makes progress in it" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 25). *********************************************************************** Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.


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From: 1 John 3:22-4:6

Loving One Another

[22] And we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his
commandments and do what pleases him. [23] And this is his commandment,
that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one
another, just as he has commanded us. [24] All who keep his
commandments abide in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he
abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us.

Faith in Christ, Not Antichrist

[1] Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see
whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the
world. [2] By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which
confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, [3] and
every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the
spirit of antichrist) of which you heard that it was coming, and now it
is in the world already. [4] Little children, you are of God, and have
overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the
world. [5] They are of the world, therefore what they say is of the
world, and the world listens to them. [6] We are of God. Whoever knows
God listens to us, and he who is not of God does not listen to us. By
this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Commentary:

19-22. The Apostle reassures us: God knows everything; not only does he
know our sins and our frailties, he also knows our repentance and our
good desires, and he understands and forgives us (St Peter, on the Lake
of Tiberias, made the same confession to Jesus: "Lord, you know
everything, you know that I love you": Jn 21:17).

St John's teaching on divine mercy is very clear: if our conscience
tells us we have done wrong, we can seek forgiveness and strengthen our
hope in God; if our conscience does not accuse us, our confidence in
God is ardent and bold, like that of a child who has loving experience
of his Father's tenderness. The love of God is mightier than our sins,
Pope John Paul II reminds us: "When we realize that God's love for us
does not cease in the face of our sin or recoil before our offenses,
but becomes even more attentive and generous; when we realize that this
love went so far as to cause the Passion and Death of the Word made
flesh who consented to redeem us at the price of his own blood, then we
exclaim in gratitude: 'Yes, the Lord is rich in mercy', and even: 'The
Lord "is" mercy'" ("Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 22).

This confidence in God makes for confidence in prayer: "If you abide in
me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be
done for you" (Jn 15:7; cf. 14:13f; 16:23, 26-27).

23-24. The commandments of God are summed up here in terms of love
for Jesus and love for the brethren. "We cannot rightly love one
another unless we believe in Christ; nor can we truly believe in the
name of Jesus Christ without brotherly love" (St Bede, "In I Epist. S.
Ioannis, ad loc."). Faith and love cannot be separated (cf. Gal 5:6);
our Lord himself told us what would mark his disciples out--their love
for one another (Jn 13:34-35).

Keeping the commandments confirms to the Christian that he is abiding
in God: "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love" (Jn
15:10). Moreover, it ensures that God abides in his soul, by the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit: "If you love me you will keep my
commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another
Counselor, to be with you for ever" (Jn 14:15-16).

"May God be your house and you God's; dwell in God that God may dwell
in you. God dwells in you to support you; you dwell in God in order not
to fall. Keep the commandments, have charity" ("In 1 Epist. S. Ioannis,
ad loc.").

1-6. In the third part of the letter (4:1-5:12), the sacred writer
expands further on the two things which sum up God's commandments
(3:23f faith in Jesus (4:1-6; 5:1-12) and brotherly love (4:7-21).

He begins by giving criteria for recognizing the true spirit of God and
for identifying false teachers (4:1-6), clearly echoing what he said in
the second chapter (cf. 2:18-29). There the heretics were called
"antichrists", here "false prophets". There he underlined the
indwelling of the Blessed Trinity in believers ("you will abide in the
Son and in the Father": 2:24), the anointing "abides in you" (2:27);
here he emphasizes rather the fact of belonging to God or not. This
idea is developed in three points: 1) he who confesses Jesus Christ "is
of God"; 2) he who does not confess him "is not of God" (vv. 2-3); you
"are of God", they "are of the world" (vv. 4-5); 3) we (he must surely
mean the Apostles) "are of God", and therefore apostolic teaching
merits attention and must be listened to (v. 6).

"Being of God", in St John's language, does not refer to originating
from God, because in fact everyone, good and bad, faithful or not,
comes from God. It means, rather, belonging to a group ("to my sheep":
Jn 10:26) and it also means a mode of existence: 'he who is from the
earth...of the earth speaks" (Jn 3:31); "you are from below, I am from
above" (In 8:23); "Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice" (Jn
18:37). Faith, therefore, is not a superficial thing, something that
affects us on the outside only: it actually changes a person's inner
life; belonging to the community of the children of God involves a new
way of being, which can be seen from the fact that we live in
accordance with the faith we profess.

2-3. "Every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh...": according to this translation (which fits certain Greek
manuscripts) the Apostle would be emphasizing the fact that the
Incarnation really happened, as if the false prophets opposed to the
faith were saying that Christ's human nature was not real but only
apparent (that was the position of the Docetists).

In the context, the alternate reading--"every spirit which confesses
Jesus Christ come in the flesh"--may fit in better, since St John often
insists that the Christian's faith centers on the person of Jesus
Christ, who, being God, became man (cf. 2:22; 4:15; 5:1-5). By
emphasizing this he is taking issue with the Gnostics particularly, who
were saying that Jesus was the Son of God only from his Baptism onwards
(cf. note on 1 Jn 5:6).

On the antichrist, see the note on 2:18.

4. St John repeats his conviction that Christians are assured of
victory in their battle against the evil one (cf. 2:13; 5:4, 18). But
what makes them victorious is the power of Christ working in them; so,
while bolstering their faith he is also calling on them to be humble:
"Do not become proud; recognize who has conquered in you. why did you
win? 'Because he who is in you is more powerful than he who is in the
world.' Be humble; carry your Lord; be a little donkey for your rider.
It is in your best-interest to have him guide and direct you; because
if you do not have him as your rider, you will be inclined to toss your
head and kick out; but woe to you if you have no guide! That freedom
would mean your ending up as prey for wild beasts" (St Augustine, "In
Epist. Ioann. ad Parthos", 7, 2).

6, "Whoever knows God listens to us": as elsewhere in the letter, there
is a change from "you" to "we" (cf. 2:18, 28; 3:13-14). One could argue
that the Apostle is simply including himself in the Christian community
as a whole, as if to say "Whoever knows God listens to the Christians."
However, the obvious interpretation is that the "us" refers to those in
authority in the Church, bringing it perfectly into line with what
Jesus says: "He who hears you hears me" (Lk 10:16). Obedience to the
living Magisterium of the Church is, therefore, the rule for
distinguishing the spirit of truth from the spirit of error. It could
not be otherwise, for it is the Holy Spirit himself who guides the
Church in its teaching and leads the faithful to accept that teaching:
"the assent of the Church can never be lacking to such definitions [of
the Supreme Magisterium] on account of the same Holy Spirit's
influence, through which Christ's whole flock is maintained in the
unity of the faith and makes progress in it" (Vatican II, "Lumen
Gentium", 25).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

Preaching in Galilee. The First Disciples Called

[12] Now when He (Jesus) heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew
into Galilee; [13] and leaving Nazareth He went and dwelt in Capernaum
by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, [14] that what
was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: [15] "The land of
Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles-- [16] the people who sat in darkness have seen
a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned." [17] From that time Jesus began to preach, saying,
"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."

[23] And He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and
preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing every disease and every
infirmity among the people. [24] So His fame spread throughout Syria,
and they brought Him all the sick, those afflicted with various
diseases
and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and He healed them.
[25] And great crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and
Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.

Commentary:

15-16. Here St. Matthew quotes the prophecy of Isaiah 8:23-9:1. The
territory referred to (Zebulun, Naphtali, the way of the sea, the land
beyond the Jordan), was invaded by the Assyrians in the period 734-721
B.C., especially during the reign of Tilgathpilneser III. A portion of
the Jewish population was deported and sizeable numbers of foreigners
were planted in the region to colonize it. For this reason it is
referred to in the Bible henceforth as the "Galilee of the Gentiles".

The Evangelist, inspired by God, sees Jesus' coming to Galilee as the
fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. This land, devastated and abused in
Isaiah's time, will be the first to receive the light of Christ's life
and preaching. The messianic meaning of the prophecy is, therefore,
clear.

17. See the note on Matthew 3:2 This verse indicates the outstanding
importance of the first step in Jesus' public ministry, begun by
proclaiming the imminence of the Kingdom of God. Jesus' words echo
John the Baptist's proclamation: the second part of this verse is the
same, word for word, as Matthew 3:2. This underlines the role played
by St. John the Baptist as prophet and precursor of Jesus. Both St.
John and our Lord demand repentance, penance, as a prerequisite to
receiving the Kingdom of God, now beginning. God's rule over mankind
is a main theme in Christ's Revelation, just as it was central to the
whole Old Testament. However, in the latter, the Kingdom of God had an
element of theocracy about it: God reigned over Israel in both
spiritual and temporal affairs and it was through Him that Israel
subjected other nations to her rule. Little by little, Jesus will
unfold the new-style kingdom of God, now arrived at its fullness. He
will show it to be a Kingdom of love and holiness, thereby purifying it
of the nationalistic misconceptions of the people of His time.

The King invites everyone without exception to this Kingdom (cf.
Matthew 22:1-4). The Banquet of the Kingdom is held on this earth and
has certain entry requirements which must be preached by the proponents
of the Kingdom: "Therefore the Eucharistic celebration is the center of
the assembly of the faithful over which the priest presides. Hence
priests teach the faithful to offer the divine Victim to God the Father
in the sacrifice of the Mass, and with the Victim to make an offering
of their whole lives. In the spirit of Christ the pastor, they
instruct them to submit their sins to the Church with a contrite heart
in the Sacrament of Penance, so that they may be daily more and more
converted to the Lord, remembering His words, `Repent, for the Kingdom
of Heaven is at hand'" (Vatican II, "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 5).

23. "Synagogue": this word comes from the Greek and designates the
building where the Jews assembled for religious ceremonies on the
Sabbath and other feast days. Such ceremonies were non-sacrificial in
character (sacrifices could be performed only in the Temple of
Jerusalem). The synagogue was also the place where the Jews received
their religious training. The word was also used to designate local
Jewish communities within and without Palestine.

24. "Epileptic" (or, in some translations, "lunatic"). This word was
applied in a very general way to those who had illnesses related to
epilepsy. The disease was popularly regarded as being dependent on the
phases of the moon (Latin: "luna").

23-25. In these few liens, the evangelist gives us a very fine summary
of the various aspects of Jesus' work. The preaching of the gospel or
"good news" of the Kingdom, the healing of diseases, and the casting
out of devils are all specific signs of the Messiah's presence,
according to the Old Testament prophecies (Is 35:5-6; 61:1; 40:9;
52:7).

FEAST OF THE DAY

Saint John Nepomucene Neumann was born in 1811 in the city of
Pachitz, ninety miles southwest from Prague in the modern day
Czech Republic. As a youth, John showed his strong intelligence and
decided to apply it to studies for the priesthood. After completing his
preliminary schooling, John entered the seminary at Budweis for his
priestly formation. While in the seminary, John showed a strong
desire to become a missionary in the Americas, studying English and
French on his own with hopes that he would be able to use these
languages in the United States or Canada. After completing his
seminary studies, the bishop of Prague would not ordain him,
although he was near the top of his class in his studies, because the
diocese of Prague could support no new priests. An opportunity to
travel to America and be ordained for a bishop there showed itself to
John and he accepted it.

In 1836, John was ordained in the diocese of Buffalo by Bishop
James Dubois, and in the following four years worked in several
different parishes throughout the diocese. At the age of twenty-nine,
he made a decision to join the Redemptorist order and became the
first of this order to profess vows in the United States. After joining,
John's missionary work expanded outside of New York to much of
Maryland, Virginia, and Ohio. While doing this work, he became very
popular with the German immigrants, partially because he could
speak their language. German speaking immigrants always
remained close to the heart of St. John. John authored two different
catechisms in German and worked to improve the situation of
German immigrants wherever he went.

St. John soon gained renown for his holiness, spiritual writing and
preaching. In 1852, John was consecrated as the fourth bishop of
Philadelphia. As bishop of this diocese, he reorganized the parochial
schools into a diocesan system, increased the enrollment numbers,
and brought many religious communities of both men and women
into the diocese to work in various ministries. The School Sisters of
Notre Dame consider St. John as a secondary founder of the order
for his work in establishing the order in America. During his time as
bishop, John also began the Forty Hours Eucharistic devotion in his
diocese and wrote a rule for Third Order Franciscan women
dedicated to spreading the newly proclaimed dogma of the
Immaculate Conception. St. John worked hard for his people and
showed his great love for them until he died in 1860. St. John
Neumann was declared venerable in 1921, beatified in 1963 and in
1977, he became the first American bishop to be canonized.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Since every man of whatever race is endowed with the dignity of a
person, he has an inalienable right to an education corresponding to
his proper destiny and suited to his native talents, his cultural
background, and his ancestral heritage. At the same time, this
education should pave the way to brotherly association with other
peoples, so that genuine unity and peace on earth may be promoted.
For a true education aims at the formation of the human person with
respect to the good of those societies of which, as a man, he is a
member, and in whose responsibilities, as an adult, he will share. -
St. John Neumann

TODAY IN HISTORY

1964 Following an unprecedented pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Pope
Paul VI met with Greek Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I in
Jerusalem. It was the first such meeting between leaders of the
Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches in over 500 years
(since 1439).

TODAY'S TIDBIT

On the eleventh day of Christmas my True Love gave to me, eleven
pipers piping.
The eleven pipers represent the eleven original Apostles who
remained faithful to Jesus.
These Apostles are Andrew, Bartholomew, James the Greater,
James the Lesser, John, Jude, Matthew, Thomas, Philip, Simon and
Peter. Although Peter denied Jesus before the Crucifixion, he is
included in this list because he repented of his mistake.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for the conversion of all people who have denied their Faith.

The Word Among Us

Monday, January 05, 2004

Meditation
Matthew 4:12-17,23-25

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching . . . and proclaiming the good news . . . and curing every disease and every sickness. (Matthew 4:23)

According to these words of Matthew, healing comprised a good part of Jesus’ earthly ministry, along with teaching and preaching. In all three of these activities, Jesus showed that the kingdom of God had come and that the reign of sin was coming to an end. Isn’t it funny, then, that we tend to talk about Jesus healing people in the past and not as something that can happen here and now? But the truth is that the kingdom of God is still with us today, and Jesus still has the power to heal.

Throughout Scripture, we see God using ordinary men and women to perform miraculous healings. So why do we think he wouldn’t use us? One way to overcome our doubts is to pray for healing in small things. Pray for people’s headaches or colds or for a child’s skinned knee. Ask God to comfort someone who is burdened or to encourage someone who is fearful. As you begin to see some results, you’ll become more comfortable praying for bigger things like cancer or depression.

As you experiment in praying for healing, remember that the outcome is up to God, not us. We’ll never be able to explain why some are healed while others are not, but that shouldn’t stop us from praying with expectant faith. According to one woman with extensive experience in healing prayer, “Sometimes God heals instantly, and sometimes he heals as people go on their way. Sometimes he heals them and leaves them here with us; and sometimes he heals them and takes them home to be with him.”

Regardless of the outcome, we can trust that something of the Holy Spirit has been imparted to those we pray with. At the very least, they will be touched by the love of God flowing through us. So step out in faith and let the Holy Spirit use you as his vessel. Offer to pray with family members, friends, and neighbors for healing and watch how God works.

“Lord Jesus, thank you for your intimate love for us. Thank you for the full healing we will all know in heaven. Give us the courage to step out in faith and be your vessels of healing love.”

One Bread, One Body

<< Monday, January 5, 2004 >>

St. John Neumann

1 John 3:22—4:6

Psalm 2

Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

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A CHRISTIAN CHRISTMAS

“Every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, while every spirit that fails to acknowledge Him does not belong to God. Such is the spirit of the antichrist which, as you have heard, is to come; in fact, it is in the world already.” —1 John 4:2-3

Most of us are Christians. That means that we do things not primarily because they are good but because they are ways of imitating Christ. For example, we heal the sick not primarily to help the sick but to imitate Christ, for He heals the sick (see Mt 4:23ff). We pray not primarily because it’s a good thing to do but because Jesus prayed, and we want to be like Him. Christians are baptized into Jesus (Rm 6:3). We are immersed in Him and are preoccupied with producing His life in our lives (Gal 2:20).

Therefore, to become one of the antichrists we don’t have to deny Christ or do bad things. Antichrists simply fail to acknowledge Christ (see 1 Jn 4:2-3) and fail to make the imitation of Christ the main meaning of their lives.

In this last week of the Christmas season, let us give Christ the birthday present of deciding to be His disciples, that is, to imitate Him so closely that we could rightly be called Christians. Give Christ the Christmas gift of making more Christians, acknowledging Him constantly by imitating Him closely.

Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit, the true Christmas Spirit, to teach me the meaning of Christianity.

Promise: “A people living in darkness has seen a great light. On those who inhabit a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen.” —Mt 4:16

Praise: St. John Neumann helped others to imitate Christ by spending time and energy encouraging them to lead lives of hidden sanctity.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Monday, January 5, 2004

1 Jn 3:22-4:6 / Mt 4:12-17,23-25

"Should," "must," and "ought" are words for which we seem to have an inordinate affection. We like to use them a lot when we're giving free advice to our friends or when we're evaluating the decisions of others, whether they be coaches or politicians. Somehow, we have plenty of answers for other people's questions. But what about our own?

Every day, whether we like it or not and whether we're ready or not, we have to make all sorts of decisions large and small. Very few of them fall into the category of "life determining," such as choosing a mate or a profession or deciding to have a family. But many of our tiny, seemingly insignificant choices have a way of adding up into whole life styles with major consequences.

So how do we discern what is true and what is not? John's epistle tells us: "Do not trust every spirit, but put the spirits to the test to see if they belong to God." The Holy Spirit will guide us in doing that, if we're willing to take the time and to listen. And the most pertinent question the Holy Spirit will help us ask of ourselves concerns consequences. The old saying is right on the mark, "By their fruits you shall know them." Does this choice or that life pattern produce "good fruit" and have good consequences? Are life and love built up or are they broken down and worn away by this or that choice? The Holy Spirit will save us from the demon of self-deception if we are willing to invest in listening time with an open heart.

May your heart be open and listening, now and always!

Catholic Online Saints
St. John Neumann
Feastday: January 5

b. 1811 d. 1860

This American saint was born in Bohemia in 1811. He was looking forward to being ordained in 1835 when the bishop decided there would be no more ordinations. It is difficult for us to imagine now, but Bohemia was overstocked with priests. John wrote to bishops all over Europe but the story was the same everywhere no one wanted any more bishops. John was sure he was called to be a priest but all the doors to follow that vocation seemed to close in his face.

But John didn't give up. He had learned English by working in a factory with English-speaking workers so he wrote to the bishops in America. Finally, the bishop in New York agreed to ordain him. In order to follow God's call to the priesthood John would have to leave his home forever and travel across the ocean to a new and rugged land.

In New York, John was one of 36 priests for 200,000 Catholics. John's parish in western New York stretched from Lake Ontario to Pennsylvania. His church had no steeple or floor but that didn't matter because John spent most of his time traveling from village to village, climbing mountains to visit the sick, staying in garrets and taverns to teach, and celebrating the Mass at kitchen tables.

Because of the work and the isolation of his parish, John longed for community and so joined the Redemptorists, a congregation of priests and brothers dedicated to helping the poor and most abandoned.

John was appointed bishop of Philadelphia in 1852. As bishop, he was the first to organize a diocesan Catholic school system. A founder of Catholic education in this country, he increased the number of Catholic schools in his diocese from two to 100.

John never lost his love and concern for the people -- something that may have bothered the elite of Philadelphia. On one visit to a rural parish, the parish priest picked him up in a manure wagon. Seated on a plank stretched over the wagon's contents, John joked, "Have you ever seen such an entourage for a bishop!"

The ability to learn languages that had brought him to America led him to learn Spanish, French, Italian, and Dutch so he could hear confessions in at least six languages. When Irish immigration started, he learned Gaelic so well that one Irish woman remarked, "Isn't it grand that we have an Irish bishop!"

Once on a visit to Germany, he came back to the house he was staying in soaked by rain. When his host suggested he change his shoes, John remarked, "The only way I could change my shoes is by putting the left one on the right foot and the right one on the left foot. This is the only pair I own."

John died on January 5, 1860 at the age of 48.

In His Footsteps:
John was a Redemptorist priest. To learn more about the Redemptorists visit the Web site for Redemptorist Publications in England, www.redempt.org.

Prayer:
Saint John Neumann, you helped organize Catholic education in the United States. Please watch over all Catholic schools and help them be a model of Christianity in their actions as well as their words. Amen

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