Reading I
Jas 4:1-10

Beloved:
Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly,
to spend it on your passions.
Adulterers!
Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?
Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world
makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says,
The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy?
But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.

So submit yourselves to God.
Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners,
and purify your hearts, you of two minds.
Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep.
Let your laughter be turned into mourning
and your joy into dejection.
Humble yourselves before the Lord
and he will exalt you.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 55:7-8, 9-10a, 10b-11a, 23

R. (23a) Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
And I say, “Had I but wings like a dove,
I would fly away and be at rest.
Far away I would flee;
I would lodge in the wilderness.”
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
“I would wait for him who saves me
from the violent storm and the tempest.”
Engulf them, O Lord; divide their counsels.

R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
In the city I see violence and strife,
day and night they prowl about upon its walls.
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
Cast your care upon the LORD,
and he will support you;
never will he permit the just man to be disturbed.
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.

Gospel
Mk 9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”

February 21, 2006

St. Peter Damian

(1007-1072)

Maybe because he was orphaned and had been treated shabbily by one of his brothers, Peter Damian was very good to the poor. It was the ordinary thing for him to have a poor person or two with him at table and he liked to minister personally to their needs.

Peter escaped poverty and the neglect of his own brother when his other brother, who was archpriest of Ravenna, took him under his wing. His brother sent him to good schools and Peter became a professor.

Already in those days Peter was very strict with himself. He wore a hair shirt under his clothes, fasted rigorously and spent many hours in prayer. Soon, he decided to leave his teaching and give himself completely to prayer with the Benedictines of the reform of St. Romuald at Fonte Avellana. They lived two monks to a hermitage. Peter was so eager to pray and slept so little that he soon suffered from severe insomnia. He found he had to use some prudence in taking care of himself. When he was not praying, he studied the Bible.

The abbot commanded that when he died Peter should succeed him. Abbot Peter founded five other hermitages. He encouraged his brothers in a life of prayer and solitude and wanted nothing more for himself. The Holy See periodically called on him, however, to be a peacemaker or troubleshooter, between two abbeys in dispute or a cleric or government official in some disagreement with Rome.

Finally, Pope Stephen IX made Peter the cardinal-bishop of Ostia. He worked hard to wipe out simony, and encouraged his priests to observe celibacy and urged even the diocesan clergy to live together and maintain scheduled prayer and religious observance. He wished to restore primitive discipline among religious and priests, warning against needless travel, violations of poverty and too comfortable living. He even wrote to the bishop of Besancon, complaining that the canons there sat down when they were singing the psalms in the Divine Office.

He wrote many letters. Some 170 are extant. We also have 53 of his sermons and seven lives, or biographies, that he wrote. He preferred examples and stories rather than theory in his writings. The liturgical offices he wrote are evidence of his talent as a stylist in Latin.

He asked often to be allowed to retire as cardinal-bishop of Ostia, and finally Alexander II consented. Peter was happy to become once again just a monk, but he was still called to serve as a papal legate. When returning from such an assignment in Ravenna, he was overcome by a fever. With the monks gathered around him saying the Divine Office, he died on February 22, 1072.

In 1828 he was declared a Doctor of the Church.

Comment:

Peter was a reformer and if he were alive today would no doubt encourage the renewal started by Vatican II. He would also applaud the greater emphasis on prayer that is shown by the growing number of priests, religious and laypersons who gather regularly for prayer, as well as the special houses of prayer recently established by many religious communities.

Quote:

“...Let us faithfully transmit to posterity the example of virtue which we have received from our forefathers” (St. Peter Damian).

From: James 4:1-10

The Source of Discord

[1] What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is not your
passions that are at war in your members? [2] You desire and do not
have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and
wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. [3] You ask and do
not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. [4]
Unfaithful creatures! Do you not know that friendship with the world
is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the
world makes himself an enemy of God. [5] Or do you suppose it is in
vain that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit
which He has made to dwell in us"? [6] But He gives more grace;
therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the
humble." [7] Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and
he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to God and He will draw near to
you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men
of double mind. [9] Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter
be turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. [10] Humble
yourselves before the Lord and He will exalt you.

Commentary:

1. "Wars" and "fighting" are an exaggerated reference to the contention
and discord found among those Christians. "Passions", as elsewhere in
the New Testament, means concupiscence, hedonism, pleasure-seeking (cf.
verse 3; Luke 8:14; Titus 3:3; 2 Peter 2:13).

St. James points out that if one fails to fight as one should against
one's evil inclinations, one's inner disharmony overflows in the form
of quarreling and fighting. The New Testament often refers to the good
kind of fight, which confers inner freedom and is a prerequisite for
salvation (cf., e.g., Matthew 11:12; Romans 7:14-25; 1 Peter 2:11).

"How can you be at peace if you allow passions you do not even attempt
to control to drag you away from the 'pull' of grace?

"Heaven pulls you upwards; you drag yourselves downwards. And don't
seek excuses--that is what you are doing. If you go on like that, you
will tear yourself apart" ([St] J. Escriva, "Furrow", 851).

2-3. St. James is describing the sad state to which free-wheeling
hedonism (specifically, greed for earthly things) leads.

"You do not receive, because you ask wrongly": "He asks wrongly who
shows no regard for the Lord's commandments and yet seeks Heavenly
gifts. He also asks wrongly who, having lost his taste for Heavenly
things, seeks only earthly things--not for sustaining his human
weakness but to enable him to indulge himself" (St. Bede, "Super Iac.
Expositio, ad loc.").

4-6. The sacred writer warns that inordinate love of the world, which
stems from ambition, is incompatible with the love of God. "World"
here has the meaning of "enemy of God", opposed to Christ and His
followers (cf. note on 1:26-27). The teaching contained in these
verses echoes that of our Lord: "No one can serve two masters; for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted
to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon"
(Matthew 6:24).

The Saints have frequently reminded us--by their lives as well as their
teachings--that inordinate love of the world is incompatible with the
love of God: "Worldly society has flowered from a selfish love which
dared to despise even God, whereas the communion of saints is rooted in
a love of God that is ready to trample on self" (St. Augustine, "The
City of God", 14, 28).

"Unfaithful creatures!": the original Greek simply says, "Adulterers"
(feminine) and the New Vulgate, "Adulterers" (masculine). This echoes
the symbol the prophets often use (cf., e.g. Hosea 1:2ff; Jeremiah
3:7-10; Ezekiel 16:1ff) of the marriage of God and His people sealed by
the Covenant. St. James, therefore, is not referring to the sin of
adultery; he is berating those whose excessive love for the things of
this world makes them unfaithful to God.

5. The original Greek is open to various interpretations and the
quotation as given here is not to be found in the Bible. Translated
word for word it means: "Jealously he loves the spirit which dwells in
us." It is not clear who "loves"--God or the spirit; and "the spirit"
may mean the soul or the Holy Spirit; moreover, the jealousy can be
either something good or something bad (like envy). It might perhaps
be translated as "The Spirit who dwells in us jealously loves us"
(which is how the New Vulgate translates it).

Although this sentence does not appear literally in the Bible, St.
James may be referring not so much to a specific passage as to an idea
which often occurs in the Bible when it depicts God as a jealous lover
(cf., e.g., Exodus 20:5; 34:14; Zechariah 1:14; 8:2), who expects His
love to be returned wholeheartedly; this very human kind of language is
a most moving evocation of God's immense love for man. St. Alphonsus
teaches: "Since He loves us with infinite love, He desires all our
love; that is why He is jealous when He sees others having a share in
hearts which He wants entirely for His own. 'Jesus is jealous', St.
Jerome said (Epistle 22), in the sense that He does not want us to love
anything that is outside Himself. And if He sees that some creature
has a part of your heart, He is in a sense envious of it, as the
Apostle James writes, because He tolerates no rival for our love; He
wants to have all our love" ("The Love of Jesus Christ", Chapter 11).

6. The sacred writer foresees the possibility that some may draw back
from this "jealous" love God expects to be reciprocated: but God never
expects the impossible; He gives us all the grace we need to do what He
asks: "All my hope is naught," St. Augustine exclaims, "save in Your
great mercy. Grant what You command, and command what You will"
("Confessions", 10, 29).

However, only people who are humble are given this grace, and have it
bear fruit. The proud, who are full of self-love, even fail to realize
that they need grace, and so they do not ask for it, or do not ask for
it properly. The second part of the verse is a literal quotation from
Proverbs 3:34 (according to the Septuagint Greek): it is an example of
the "poetic" form, with the characteristic antithetical parallelism of
Hebrew verse. St. Augustine, in his explanation of the fact that the
Bible refers in places to the sins of prominent men, urges his readers
to be humble, commenting that "there is scarcely a page in the sacred
books which does not echo the fact that 'God resists the proud and
gives grace to the humble'" ("De Doctrina Christiana", 3, 23).

7-10. Some ways of countering pride are identified here: basically what
is required is a sincere and deep conversion, which must begin with the
humility of recognizing that we are sinners and in need of
purification. The tone of these verses is reminiscent of the way the
Old Testament prophets upbraid the people of Israel for the
unfaithfulness to Yahweh.

To draw near to God the sinner needs purification. "Cleaning your
hand" should not be understood as referring to the physical ablutions
of the Jews (cf. Exodus 30:19-21; Mark 7:1-5); but should be taken in a
moral sense--purification from sins, and upright actions (e.g., Isaiah
1:15-17; 1 Timothy 2:8). Of all the possible ways of being purified
and converted (for example, the penitential rite at Mass, a visit to a
shrine, or fasting), "none is more significant," [Pope] John Paul II
reminds us, "more divinely efficacious or more lofty and at the same
time easily accessible as a rite than the Sacrament of Penance [...].
For a Christian, "the sacrament of Penance is the ordinary way of
obtaining forgiveness and the remission of sins committed after
Baptism" ("Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 28 and 31).

7. When someone resists the devil's temptations, the devil leaves him
alone: he cannot force a man to commit sin. The "Shepherd of Hermas"
(a work by an anonymous Christian writer, around the middle of the
Second Century) elaborates on the same idea: "Be converted, you who
walk in the commandments of the devil, commandments that are hard,
bitter, cruel and foul. And do not fear the devil either, because he
has no power against you [...]. The devil cannot lord it over those
who are servants of God with their whole heart and who place their hope
in Him. The devil can wrestle with, but not overcome them. So, if you
resist him, he will flee from you in defeat and confusion" ("Eleventh
Commandment", 4, 6 and 5,2).

9. "Be wretched": "To acknowledge one's sin--penetrating still more
deeply into the consideration of one's own personhood--"to recognize
oneself as a sinner", capable of sin and inclined to commit sin, is the
essential first step in returning to God" ("Reconciliatio Et
Paenitencia", 13).

Mourning and weeping are the external expression of sincere repentance
(cf. Matthew 5:4 and note; Tobias 2:6; Amos 8:10): "You are crying?
Don't be ashamed of it. Yes, cry: men also cry like you, when they are
alone and before God. Each night, says King David, I soak my bed with
tears. With those tears, those burning manly tears, you can purify
your past and supernaturalize your present life" ([St] J. Escriva,
"The Way", 216).

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: Mark 9:30-37

Second Prophecy of the Passion

[30] They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And He
(Jesus) would not have any one know it; [31] for He was teaching His
disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man will be delivered into the
hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He is killed, after
three days He will rise." [32] But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to ask Him.

Being the Servant of All

[33] And they came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house He asked
them, "What were you discussing on the way?" [34] But they were silent;
for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the
greatest. [35] And He sat down and called the Twelve; and He said to
them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of
all." [36] And He took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and
taking him in His arms, He said to them, [37] "Whoever receives one
such child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives
not Me but Him who sent Me".

Commentary:

30-32. Although moved when He sees the crowds like sheep without a
shepherd (Matthew 9:36), Jesus leaves them, to devote time to careful
instruction of the Apostles. He retires with them to out-of-the-way
places, and there He explains points of His public preaching which they
had not understood (Matthew 13:36). Here, specifically, for a second
time, He announces His death and resurrection.

In His relationships with souls Jesus acts in the same way: He calls
man to be with him in the quiet of prayer and there He teaches him
about His more intimate plans and about the more demanding side of the
Christian life. Later, like the Apostles, Christians were to spread
this teaching to the ends of the earth.

34-35. Jesus uses this argument going on behind his back to teach His
disciples about how authority should be exercised in His Church--not by
lording it over other, but by serving them. In fulfilling His own
mission to found the Church whose head and supreme lawgiver He is, He
came to serve and not to be served (Matthew 20:28).

Anyone who does not strive to have this attitude of self-forgetful
service, not only lacks one of the main pre-requisites for proper
exercise of authority but also runs the risk of being motivated by
ambition or pride. "To be in charge of an apostolic undertaking
demands readiness to suffer everything, from everybody, with infinite
charity" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 951).

36-37. To demonstrate to His Apostles the abnegation and humility
needed in their ministry, He takes a child into His arms and explains
the meaning of this gesture: if we receive for Christ's sake those who
have little importance in the world's eyes, it is as if we are
embracing Christ Himself and the Father who sent Him. This little
child whom Jesus embraces represents every child in the world, and
everyone who is needy, helpless, poor or sick--people who are not
naturally attractive.

Awakening Prayer

Office of Readings

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 67 (68)
The Lord's triumphal journey
God arises and his enemies are scattered: those who hate him flee from his sight. You blow them away like wisps of smoke; as wax melts in front of a fire, so the wicked melt away before God. The righteous are glad and exult in God’s sight; they rejoice in their gladness. Sing to the Lord and celebrate his name! Make a road for him who rides upon the clouds – “The Lord” is his name. Rejoice in his sight, the father of orphans, defender of widows, God in his holy dwelling-place, God, who gives the lonely a house to dwell in, God, who leads captives out into prosperity; but the rebellious shall live in a desert land. God, when you set out in the sight of your people, when you crossed the wilderness – the earth shook. The heavens sent down dew at your coming – the God of Sinai, the God of Israel. At your bidding the rains came, O God, your inheritance was worn out but you refreshed it. All your creatures took up residence there, in your goodness you made a place for the needy. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 67 (68)

The Lord's triumphal journey

God arises and his enemies are scattered:
those who hate him flee from his sight.
You blow them away like wisps of smoke;
as wax melts in front of a fire,
so the wicked melt away before God.
The righteous are glad and exult in God’s sight;
they rejoice in their gladness.

Sing to the Lord and celebrate his name!
Make a road for him who rides upon the clouds –
“The Lord” is his name.
Rejoice in his sight,
the father of orphans, defender of widows,
God in his holy dwelling-place,
God, who gives the lonely a house to dwell in,
God, who leads captives out into prosperity;
but the rebellious shall live in a desert land.

God, when you set out in the sight of your people,
when you crossed the wilderness – the earth shook.
The heavens sent down dew at your coming –
the God of Sinai, the God of Israel.
At your bidding the rains came, O God,
your inheritance was worn out but you refreshed it.
All your creatures took up residence there,
in your goodness you made a place for the needy.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 67 (68)
The Lord gives out the word, and a great army of maidens brings the news: “The kings of the armies are fleeing, they are fleeing, and the fair one at home is dividing the spoils. While you sleep among the sheepfolds, the wings of the dove shine with silver, her feathers glow with green gold. Through her the Almighty scatters the kings, and the mountain of Salmon is white with snow. The mountain of Bashan is God’s mountain; the mountain of God is a high-peaked mountain. Why do you envy it, you high-peaked mountains, envy the mountain that God has chosen? The Lord will dwell there for ever. The chariots of God are ten thousand thousand: the Lord has come from Sinai to his holy sanctuary. You have scaled the heights, you have taken captives, you have received men as gifts so that even the rebels live with the Lord God. Blessings on the Lord, day after day! God will carry us, God our saviour. Our God is a God of salvation, our Lord is a Lord who rescues from death. Truly God will break the heads of his enemies, take the scalps of those who tread the path of crime. The Lord has spoken: “I shall bring them back from Bashan, I shall bring them back from the depths of the sea, so that your feet may be dipped in blood and the tongues of your dogs receive food from your enemies”. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 67 (68)

The Lord gives out the word,
and a great army of maidens brings the news:
“The kings of the armies are fleeing, they are fleeing,
and the fair one at home is dividing the spoils.
While you sleep among the sheepfolds,
the wings of the dove shine with silver,
her feathers glow with green gold.
Through her the Almighty scatters the kings,
and the mountain of Salmon is white with snow.

The mountain of Bashan is God’s mountain;
the mountain of God is a high-peaked mountain.
Why do you envy it, you high-peaked mountains,
envy the mountain that God has chosen?
The Lord will dwell there for ever.
The chariots of God are ten thousand thousand:
the Lord has come from Sinai to his holy sanctuary.
You have scaled the heights, you have taken captives,
you have received men as gifts
so that even the rebels live with the Lord God.

Blessings on the Lord, day after day!
God will carry us, God our saviour.
Our God is a God of salvation,
our Lord is a Lord who rescues from death.
Truly God will break the heads of his enemies,
take the scalps of those who tread the path of crime.

The Lord has spoken:
“I shall bring them back from Bashan,
I shall bring them back from the depths of the sea,
so that your feet may be dipped in blood
and the tongues of your dogs receive food from your enemies”.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 67 (68)
They have seen your processions, O God, the processions of God, my king, to his sanctuary. First came the singers, last the musicians, between them the maidens playing their drums. “Bless God in the assemblies: bless the Lord, you who spring from Israel!” There was young Benjamin, leading them, the princes of Judah in their rich robes, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. O God, command in your strength; make firm what you have achieved in us. From your temple in Jerusalem, kings shall bring you tribute. Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, the herd of bulls, the lords of peoples. Let them lie prostrate before you with tribute of silver. Scatter the peoples that delight in war. Nobles will come from Egypt, Ethiopia will stretch out its hands to God. Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; celebrate the Lord. Sing to God who rides on the highest heavens, at the origin of all things. Listen! – he speaks, a voice of power. Acknowledge the strength of the Lord: his majesty is over Israel, his strength is in the clouds. God inspires awe in his holy place; he, the God of Israel, gives power to his people; he gives them strength. Blessed be God! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 67 (68)

They have seen your processions, O God,
the processions of God, my king, to his sanctuary.
First came the singers, last the musicians,
between them the maidens playing their drums.
“Bless God in the assemblies:
bless the Lord, you who spring from Israel!”
There was young Benjamin, leading them,
the princes of Judah in their rich robes,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

O God, command in your strength;
make firm what you have achieved in us.
From your temple in Jerusalem,
kings shall bring you tribute.
Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds,
the herd of bulls, the lords of peoples.
Let them lie prostrate before you with tribute of silver.
Scatter the peoples that delight in war.
Nobles will come from Egypt,
Ethiopia will stretch out its hands to God.

Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
celebrate the Lord.
Sing to God who rides on the highest heavens,
at the origin of all things.
Listen! – he speaks, a voice of power.

Acknowledge the strength of the Lord:
his majesty is over Israel,
his strength is in the clouds.
God inspires awe in his holy place;
he, the God of Israel, gives power to his people;
he gives them strength.
Blessed be God!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Reading	Ecclesiastes 3:1 - 22 ©
There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven: A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for planting, a time for uprooting what has been planted. A time for killing, a time for healing; a time for knocking down, a time for building. A time for tears, a time for laughter; a time for mourning, a time for dancing. A time for throwing stones away, a time for gathering them up; a time for embracing, a time to refrain from embracing. A time for searching, a time for losing; a time for keeping, a time for throwing away. A time for tearing, a time for sewing; a time for keeping silent, a time for speaking. A time for loving, a time for hating; a time for war, a time for peace. What does a man gain for the efforts that he makes? I contemplate the task that God gives mankind to labour at. All that he does is apt for its time; but though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness, man cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end. I know there is no happiness for man except in pleasure and enjoyment while he lives. And when man eats and drinks and finds happiness in his work, this is a gift from God. I know that what God does he does consistently. To this nothing can be added, from this nothing taken away; yet God sees to it that men fear him. What is, already was; what is to be, has been already; yet God cares for the persecuted. But I still observe that under the sun crime is where law should be, the criminal where the good should be. ‘God’ I thought to myself ‘will judge both virtuous and criminal, because there is a time here for all that is purposed or done.’ I also thought that mankind behaves like this so that God may show them up for what they are, and expose them for the brute beasts they are to each other. Indeed, the fate of man and beast is identical; one dies, the other too, and both have the selfsame breath; man has no advantage over the beast, for all is vanity. Both go to the same place; both originate from the dust and to the dust both return. Who knows if the spirit of man mounts upward or if the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth? I see there is no happiness for man but to be happy in his work, for this is the lot assigned him. Who then can bring him to see what is to happen after his time?

Reading

Ecclesiastes 3:1 - 22 ©

There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven:
A time for giving birth,
a time for dying;
a time for planting,
a time for uprooting what has been planted.

A time for killing,
a time for healing;
a time for knocking down,
a time for building.

A time for tears,
a time for laughter;
a time for mourning,
a time for dancing.

A time for throwing stones away,
a time for gathering them up;
a time for embracing,
a time to refrain from embracing.

A time for searching,
a time for losing;
a time for keeping,
a time for throwing away.

A time for tearing,
a time for sewing;
a time for keeping silent,
a time for speaking.

A time for loving,
a time for hating;
a time for war,
a time for peace.

What does a man gain for the efforts that he makes? I contemplate the task that God gives mankind to labour at. All that he does is apt for its time; but though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness, man cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end.
I know there is no happiness for man except in pleasure and enjoyment while he lives. And when man eats and drinks and finds happiness in his work, this is a gift from God.
I know that what God does he does consistently. To this nothing can be added, from this nothing taken away; yet God sees to it that men fear him. What is, already was; what is to be, has been already; yet God cares for the persecuted. But I still observe that under the sun crime is where law should be, the criminal where the good should be. ‘God’ I thought to myself ‘will judge both virtuous and criminal, because there is a time here for all that is purposed or done.’ I also thought that mankind behaves like this so that God may show them up for what they are, and expose them for the brute beasts they are to each other. Indeed, the fate of man and beast is identical; one dies, the other too, and both have the selfsame breath; man has no advantage over the beast, for all is vanity. Both go to the same place; both originate from the dust and to the dust both return. Who knows if the spirit of man mounts upward or if the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth?
I see there is no happiness for man but to be happy in his work, for this is the lot assigned him. Who then can bring him to see what is to happen after his time?

Reading	A sermon on Ecclesiastes by St Gregory of Nyssa
There is a time to be born and a time to die
There is a time to be born and a time to die. The fact that there is a natural link between birth and death is expressed very clearly in this text of Scripture. Death invariably follows birth, and everyone who is born comes at last to the grave. There is a time to be born and a time to die. God grant that mine may be a timely birth and a timely death! Of course no one imagines that the Speaker regards as acts of virtue our natural birth and death, in neither of which our own will plays any part. A woman does not give birth because she chooses to do so; neither does anyone die as a result of his own decision. Obviously, there is neither virtue nor vice in anything that lies beyond our control. So we must consider what is meant by a timely birth and a timely death. It seems to me that the birth referred to here is our salvation, as is suggested by the prophet Isaiah. This reaches its full term and is not stillborn when, having been conceived by the fear of God, the soul’s own birth pangs bring it to the light of day. We are in a sense our own parents, and we give birth to ourselves by our own free choice of what is good. Such a choice becomes possible for us when we have received God into ourselves and have become children of God, children of the Most High. On the other hand, if what the Apostle calls the form of Christ has not been produced in us, we abort ourselves. The man of God must reach maturity. Now if the meaning of a timely birth is clear, so also is the meaning of a timely death. For Saint Paul every moment was a time to die, as he proclaims in his letters: I swear by the pride I take in you that I face death every day. Elsewhere he says, For your sake we are put to death daily and we felt like men condemned to death. How Paul died daily is perfectly obvious. He never gave himself up to a sinful life but kept his body under constant control. He carried death with him, Christ’s death, wherever he went. He was always being crucified with Christ. It was not his own life he lived; it was Christ who lived in him. This surely was a timely death-a death whose end was true life. I put to death and I shall give life, God says, teaching us that death to sin and life in the Spirit is his gift, and promising that whatever he puts to death he will restore to life again.

Reading

A sermon on Ecclesiastes by St Gregory of Nyssa

There is a time to be born and a time to die

There is a time to be born and a time to die. The fact that there is a natural link between birth and death is expressed very clearly in this text of Scripture. Death invariably follows birth, and everyone who is born comes at last to the grave.
There is a time to be born and a time to die. God grant that mine may be a timely birth and a timely death! Of course no one imagines that the Speaker regards as acts of virtue our natural birth and death, in neither of which our own will plays any part. A woman does not give birth because she chooses to do so; neither does anyone die as a result of his own decision. Obviously, there is neither virtue nor vice in anything that lies beyond our control. So we must consider what is meant by a timely birth and a timely death.
It seems to me that the birth referred to here is our salvation, as is suggested by the prophet Isaiah. This reaches its full term and is not stillborn when, having been conceived by the fear of God, the soul’s own birth pangs bring it to the light of day. We are in a sense our own parents, and we give birth to ourselves by our own free choice of what is good. Such a choice becomes possible for us when we have received God into ourselves and have become children of God, children of the Most High. On the other hand, if what the Apostle calls the form of Christ has not been produced in us, we abort ourselves. The man of God must reach maturity.
Now if the meaning of a timely birth is clear, so also is the meaning of a timely death. For Saint Paul every moment was a time to die, as he proclaims in his letters: I swear by the pride I take in you that I face death every day. Elsewhere he says, For your sake we are put to death daily and we felt like men condemned to death.
How Paul died daily is perfectly obvious. He never gave himself up to a sinful life but kept his body under constant control. He carried death with him, Christ’s death, wherever he went. He was always being crucified with Christ. It was not his own life he lived; it was Christ who lived in him. This surely was a timely death-a death whose end was true life.
I put to death and I shall give life, God says, teaching us that death to sin and life in the Spirit is his gift, and promising that whatever he puts to death he will restore to life again.

A concluding prayer may follow here.

Catholic Culture

Collect:
All-powerful God, help us to follow the teachings and example of Peter Damian. By making Christ and the service of his Church the first love of our lives, may we come to the joys of eternal light where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Activities:

» Elementary Parent Pedagogy: Teaching Purity at the Elementary Age

Prayers:

» Prayer for Purity

February 21, 2006

Optional Memorial of St. Peter Damian, bishop and doctor

St. Peter Damian, a man of vehemence in all his actions who was brought up in the hard school of poverty, found that he had the vocation of a reformer. He exercised it in the first place against himself as one of the hermits of Fontavellana in about 1035, but he did not remain for long hidden in his cell: his colleagues soon made him their abbot (1043). In 1057, Stephen I made him Cardinal Bishop of Ostia. By his preaching and writings he was one of the valuable collaborators of the eleventh century popes in their great work of reform. Pope Leo XII declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1823. Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar his feast was celebrated on February 23.

St. Peter Damian
St. Peter Damian must be numbered among the greatest of the Church's reformers in the Middle Ages, yes, even among the truly extra ordinary persons of all times. In Damian the scholar, men admire wealth of wisdom: in Damian the preacher of God's word, apostolic zeal; in Damian the monk, austerity and self-denial; in Damian the priest, piety and zeal for souls; in Damian the cardinal, loyalty and submission to the Holy See together with generous enthusiasm and devotion for the good of Mother Church. He was a personal friend of Pope Gregory VII. He died in 1072 at the age of 65.

On one occasion he wrote to a young nephew, "If I may speak figuratively, drive out the roaring beasts from your domain; do not cease from protecting yourself daily by receiving the Flesh and Blood of the Lord. Let your secret foe see your lips reddened with the Blood of Christ. He will shudder, cower back, and flee to his dark, dank retreat."

In his poem, the Divine Comedy, Dante places Damian in the "seventh heaven." That was his place for holy people who loved to think about or contemplate God.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Symbols: Cardinal bearing a discipline in his hand; pilgrim holding a papal Bull, to signify his many legations.

Things to Do:

St. Peter Damian was a great reformer, often prescribing penances and fasting to lax religious. Choose a day every week, most appropriately Friday, on which you will fast and offer penances for specific intentions. Pray especially that our nation and the world will recognize the evil of homosexuality. Pray for those who are guilty of this sin.

Read more about St. Peter Damian at EWTN.

Pray the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Peter Damian revised and recommended it. Go to The Mary Page for a copy.

Lauds -- Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 84 (85)
Our salvation is very near
You looked kindly, O Lord, on your land: you ended the captivity of Jacob. You forgave your people’s unrighteousness and covered over their sins. You reined back all of your anger and renounced your indignant fury. Rescue us, God, our saviour, and turn your anger away from us. Do not be angry for ever – or will you let your wrath last from one generation to the next? Surely you will turn round and give us life – so that your people can rejoice in you? Show us, Lord, your kindness and give us your salvation. I will listen to whatever the Lord God tells me, for he will speak peace to his people and his chosen ones, and to those who repent in their hearts. Truly his salvation is close to those who fear him, so that glory may dwell in our land. Kindness and faithfulness have met together, justice and peace have kissed. Faithfulness has sprung from the earth, and justice has looked down from heaven. Truly the Lord will give generously, and our land will be fruitful. Justice will walk before him and place its footsteps on his path. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 84 (85)

Our salvation is very near

You looked kindly, O Lord, on your land:
you ended the captivity of Jacob.
You forgave your people’s unrighteousness
and covered over their sins.
You reined back all of your anger
and renounced your indignant fury.

Rescue us, God, our saviour,
and turn your anger away from us.
Do not be angry for ever
– or will you let your wrath last from one generation to the next?
Surely you will turn round and give us life
– so that your people can rejoice in you?
Show us, Lord, your kindness
and give us your salvation.

I will listen to whatever the Lord God tells me,
for he will speak peace to his people and his chosen ones,
and to those who repent in their hearts.
Truly his salvation is close to those who fear him,
so that glory may dwell in our land.
Kindness and faithfulness have met together,
justice and peace have kissed.
Faithfulness has sprung from the earth,
and justice has looked down from heaven.

Truly the Lord will give generously,
and our land will be fruitful.
Justice will walk before him
and place its footsteps on his path.

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.

Canticle	Isaiah 26
Thanksgiving for victory
The city is ours, with its walls and ramparts, a refuge and stronghold. Open the gates, let the just people enter, the nation that keeps faith. The agreement is made: you will keep peace, for peace is entrusted to you. Trust in the Lord for all ages, for the Lord is your strength for ever. The way of the just is straight; you smooth the straight path of the just. As we follow the path of your judgements, we put all our trust in you, Lord. Our soul’s one desire is your name and your memory. My soul longs for you at night, my desire for you leaves me breathless. When your judgements shine out on the earth – then the peoples of the world will know your justice. Lord, you will give us peace, for all you have done, you did for us. 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.

Canticle

Isaiah 26

Thanksgiving for victory

The city is ours,
with its walls and ramparts,
a refuge and stronghold.
Open the gates, let the just people enter,
the nation that keeps faith.

The agreement is made: you will keep peace,
for peace is entrusted to you.
Trust in the Lord for all ages,
for the Lord is your strength for ever.

The way of the just is straight;
you smooth the straight path of the just.
As we follow the path of your judgements,
we put all our trust in you, Lord.
Our soul’s one desire
is your name and your memory.
My soul longs for you at night,
my desire for you leaves me breathless.
When your judgements shine out on the earth –
then the peoples of the world will know your justice.

Lord, you will give us peace,
for all you have done, you did for us.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 66 (67)
All peoples, praise the Lord
O God, take pity on us and bless us, and let your face shine upon us, so that your ways may be known across the world, and all nations learn of your salvation. Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you. Let the nations be glad and rejoice, for you judge the peoples with fairness and you guide the nations of the earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you. The earth has produced its harvest: may God, our God, bless us. May God bless us, may the whole world revere him. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 66 (67)

All peoples, praise the Lord

O God, take pity on us and bless us, and let your face shine upon us,
so that your ways may be known across the world, and all nations learn of your salvation.

Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and rejoice, for you judge the peoples with fairness and you guide the nations of the earth.

Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has produced its harvest: may God, our God, bless us.
May God bless us, may the whole world revere him.

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.

A short Bible reading and responsory may follow here.

Canticle	Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of peace. 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.

Canticle

Benedictus

The Messiah and his forerunner

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.
He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David,
as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages:
to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies –
in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,
to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven.
Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us
to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death;
to lead our feet in the path of peace.

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.

Some short prayers may follow here, to offer up the day's work to God.

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 that trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

A concluding prayer may follow here.

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

A M E N

Regnum Christi

Spending Time with the Lord
February 21, 2006

The Christian first of all has to spend time with Christ.

Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Father Andrew Mulcahey, LC

Mark 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise." But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for the grace to spend time with you now in prayer. Help me to be faithful in prayer so that it will truly help me live my day closer to you.

Petition: Grant me understanding and a firm conviction to do your will, knowing it will not always be easy.

1. Christ’s Simple Teaching in Plain View. In today’s Gospel Christ wishes to spend time alone with his disciples to enlighten them in a deeper, more personal way. Some might call it favoritism or keeping secrets; in reality, Jesus chooses to spend time with his closest collaborators to bring them closer to his mind and heart, and to prepare them to one day multiply and build his Kingdom. Christ shows us by his example that it is important to spend time with those closest to us, those for whom we have a responsibility. The Christian first of all has to spend time with Christ, to listen to him and to let him change our way of thinking, making it more like his. Spouses need to spend time with each other and with their children, to communicate what each one has, for parents to teach and pass their faith onto their children in the many ordinary things of daily life.

2. Afraid to Ask Questions? For our sake Christ showed his love for us and for his Father in his obedience, which in turn earned him the Cross and Death before rising again. This Cross ransomed humanity (see Philippians 2:8). But we find it hard to take this lesson into our own lives. Like the apostles we still think in terms of ambition, the first places. We still think human success and the applause of others is “where it’s at”.

An inseparable companion of obedience is humility. Obedience can flourish only on humble ground, for the face of humility is simplicity. Christ teaches us humility and meekness, which was the platform for his heroic obedience. Christ gives us this example for us to follow, and thus we will always be willing to love Christ by giving our lives for those he has entrusted to us.

3. Let Him Ask You A Question or Two. Today Christ wants to ask us a few questions. How willing am I to let him into my heart and daily life? What will it take to convince me that I need him? Will I share this treasure with everyone I know? Christ wants to spend time with us – real quality time, not our leftovers. How much time will I commit to spend with him today?

Dialogue with Christ: Lord, I need to grow closer to you. This can happen only when I spend time with you. Help me to be humble and proactive in searching for time to spend with you. Help me to make this decision with determination. I entrust my efforts to you.

Resolution: Write down (in my daily planner or on a post-it for the refrigerator) the times I will use for prayer this day. Do the same for every day of this month.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Stand Tall Like Jesus!
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Jas 4:1-10 / Mk 9:30-37

How often we find ourselves putting out good money for things that look good, but turn out to be shoddy and worthless. How many kids’ new toys don’t even make it home before they’ve begun to fall apart? How many clothes have we purchased that barely made it past the first trip to the laundry or dry cleaners? And how many legislatures have had to pass “lemon laws” to help the victims of sleek-looking automobiles that feel apart fast? Far, far too many! The shabbiness and pointlessness of it all is frustrating and demoralizing as well.

When we shop, we look for something that will last. And the same is true when we’re choosing our friends: we look for people of substance, people with staying power. But if that’s what we seek in others, shouldn’t it be our own highest priority as we set out to construct our own lives? Indeed so.

Staying power, the ability to set a right course and then hold to it, is a quality that marked Jesus’ whole life, and it’s a quality that should be conspicuous at all times in our own. How else will God’s kingdom ever come to be within us and around us? The challenge in standing firm and holding to course is that in the heat of “battle” the din can grow so loud and confusing that we lose our way. It can become so terrifying that we lose heart and flee. This is what could have happened to Jesus, but it did not, because at the very core of His being He knew Who He was and what was His mission.

May God help each of us to find that clear sense of self and of the mission that He has in mind for us. And may He bless our efforts to be faithful, and stand firm and true, just as Jesus did to the very end.

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