Posted on 02/19/2007 6:40:24 AM PST by Salvation
Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Sir 1:1-10
All wisdom comes from the LORD
and with him it remains forever, and is before all time
The sand of the seashore, the drops of rain,
the days of eternity: who can number these?
Heaven’s height, earth’s breadth,
the depths of the abyss: who can explore these?
Before all things else wisdom was created;
and prudent understanding, from eternity.
The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom
and her ways are everlasting.
To whom has wisdom’s root been revealed?
Who knows her subtleties?
To whom has the discipline of wisdom been revealed?
And who has understood the multiplicity of her ways?
There is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring,
seated upon his throne:
There is but one, Most High
all-powerful creator-king and truly awe-inspiring one,
seated upon his throne and he is the God of dominion.
It is the LORD; he created her through the Holy Spirit,
has seen her and taken note of her.
He has poured her forth upon all his works,
upon every living thing according to his bounty;
he has lavished her upon his friends.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Gospel
Mk 9:14-29
As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John
and approached the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.
Immediately on seeing him,
the whole crowd was utterly amazed.
They ran up to him and greeted him.
He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
Someone from the crowd answered him,
“Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit.
Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down;
he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid.
I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.”
He said to them in reply,
“O faithless generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.”
They brought the boy to him.
And when he saw him,
the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions.
As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around
and foam at the mouth.
Then he questioned his father,
“How long has this been happening to him?”
He replied, “Since childhood.
It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him.
But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
Jesus said to him,
“‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”
Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering,
rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it,
“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you:
come out of him and never enter him again!”
Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out.
He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!”
But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.
When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private,
“Why could we not drive the spirit out?”
He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”
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For study and reflection during Lent - Mind, Heart, Soul [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Fast-Family observance Lenten season [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Pre-Lenten Days -- Family activities-Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras)[Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
40 Ways to Get the Most Out of Lent! [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Lenten Fasting or Feasting? [Catholic Caucus]
THE TRUE NATURE OF FASTING (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
The Three Practices of Lent: Praying, Fasting. Almsgiving
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI FOR LENT 2006
Lent a Time for Renewal, Says Benedict XVI
Lent: A Time to Fast From Media and Criticism Says President of Pontifical Liturgical Institute
Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of February has been primarily asociated with the holy Family, probably due to the feast of Our Lord's presentation at the temple, celebrated on February 2. At the very outset of Christ's work on earth, God showed the world a family in which, as Pope Leo XIII teaches, "all men might behold a perfect model of domestic life, and of all virtue and holiness." The harmony, unity, and holiness which characterized this holy Family make it the model for all Christian families.
INVOCATION
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph most kind, Bless us now and in death's agony.
FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE HOLY FAMILY
Grant unto us, Lord Jesus, ever to follow the example of Thy holy Family, that in the hour of our death Thy glorious Virgin Mother together with blessed Joseph may come to meet us and we may be worthily received by Thee into everlasting dwellings: who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Roman Missal
CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY FAMILY
O Jesus, our most loving Redeemer, who having come to enlighten the world with Thy teaching and example, didst will to pass the greater part of Thy life in humility and subjection to Mary and Joseph in the poor home of Nazareth, thus sanctifying the Family that was to be an example for all Christian families, graciously receive our family as it dedicates and consecrates itself to Thee this day. Do Thou defend us, guard us and establish amongst us Thy holy fear, true peace, and concord in Christian love: in order that, by conforming ourselves to the divine pattern of Thy family, we may be able, all of us without exception, to attain to eternal happiness.
Mary, dear Mother of Jesus and Mother of us, by thy kindly intercession make this our humble offering acceptable in the sight of Jesus, and obtain for us His graces and blessings.
O Saint Joseph, most holy guardian of Jesus and Mary, assist us by thy prayers in all our spiritual and temporal necessities; that so we may be enabled to praise our divine Savior Jesus, together with Mary and thee, for all eternity.
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be, three times.
IN HONOR OF THE HOLY FAMILY
O God, heavenly Father, it was part of Thine eternal decree that Thine only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, should form a holy family with Mary, His blessed mother, and His foster father, Saint Joseph. In Nazareth home life was sanctified, and a perfect example was given to every Christian family. Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may fully comprehend and faithfully imitate the virtues of the Holy Family so that we may be united with them one day in their heavenly glory. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
Imitating the Holy Family; Four Traits that Make It Possible
Lots of Graphics: Post your favorite image of the St. Mary and Child, the Holy Family...
From: Sirach 1:1-10
All Wisdom Comes from the Lord
From: Mark 9:14-29
The Curing of an Epileptic Boy
| First reading | Ecclesiasticus 1:1 - 10 © |
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| All wisdom is from the Lord, and it is his own for ever. The sand of the sea and the raindrops, and the days of eternity, who can assess them? The height of the sky and the breadth of the earth, and the depth of the abyss, who can probe them? Before all other things wisdom was created, shrewd understanding is everlasting. For whom has the root of wisdom ever been uncovered? Her resourceful ways, who knows them? One only is wise, terrible indeed, seated on his throne, the Lord. He himself has created her, looked on her and assessed her, and poured her out on all his works to be with all mankind as his gift, and he conveyed her to those who love him. |
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| Psalm or canticle: Psalm 92 |
| Gospel | Mark 9:14 - 29 © |
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| When they rejoined the disciples they saw a large crowd round them and some scribes arguing with them. The moment they saw him the whole crowd were struck with amazement and ran to greet him. ‘What are you arguing about with them?’ he asked. A man answered him from the crowd, ‘Master, I have brought my son to you; there is a spirit of dumbness in him, and when it takes hold of him it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid. And I asked your disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.’ ‘You faithless generation’ he said to them in reply. ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.’ They brought the boy to him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell to the ground and lay writhing there, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ ‘From childhood,’ he replied ‘and it has often thrown him into the fire and into the water, in order to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ ‘If you can?’ retorted Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.’ Immediately the father of the boy cried out, ‘I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!’ And when Jesus saw how many people were pressing round him, he rebuked the unclean spirit. ‘Deaf and dumb spirit,’ he said ‘I command you: come out of him and never enter him again.’ Then throwing the boy into violent convulsions it came out shouting, and the boy lay there so like a corpse that most of them said, ‘He is dead’. But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him up, and he was able to stand. When he had gone indoors his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ ‘This is the kind’ he answered ‘that can only be driven out by prayer.’ | |
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 49 (50) |
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| True reverence for the Lord |
| The Lord, the God of gods has spoken; he has summoned the whole earth, from east to west. God has shone forth from Sion in her great beauty. Our God will come, and he will not be silent. Before him, a devouring fire; around him, a tempest rages. He will call upon the heavens above, and on the earth, to judge his people. “Bring together before me my chosen ones, who have sealed my covenant with sacrifice”. The heavens will proclaim his justice; for God is the true judge. 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 49 (50) |
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| Listen, my people, and I will speak; Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. I will not reproach you with your sacrifices, for your burnt offerings are always before me. But I will not accept calves from your houses, nor goats from your flocks. For all the beasts of the forests are mine, and in the hills, a thousand animals. All the birds of the air – I know them. Whatever moves in the fields – it is mine. If I am hungry, I will not tell you; for the whole world is mine, and all that is in it. Am I to eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer a sacrifice to God – a sacrifice of praise; to the Most High, fulfil your vows. Then you may call upon me in the time of trouble: I will rescue you, and you will honour 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. |
| Psalm 49 (50) |
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| To the sinner, God has said this: Why do you recite my statutes? Why do you dare to speak my covenant? For you hate what I teach you, and reject what I tell you. The moment you saw a thief, you joined him; you threw in your lot with adulterers. You spoke evil with your mouth, and your tongue made plans to deceive. Solemnly seated, you denounced your own brother; you poured forth hatred against your own mother’s son. All this you did, and I was silent; so you thought that I was just like you. But I will reprove you – I will confront you with all you have done. Understand this, you who forget God; lest I tear you apart, with no-one there to save you. Whoever offers up a sacrifice of praise gives me true honour; whoever follows a sinless path in life will be shown the salvation of 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 2:1 - 26 © |
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| I thought to myself, ‘Very well, I will try pleasure and see what enjoyment has to offer’. And there it was: vanity again! This laughter, I reflected, is a madness, this pleasure no use at all. I resolved to have my body cheered with wine, my heart still devoted to wisdom; I resolved to embrace folly to see what made mankind happy, and what men do under heaven in the few days they have to live. My reflections then turned to wisdom, stupidity, folly. For instance, what can the successor of a king do? What has been done already. More is to be had from wisdom than from folly, as from light than from darkness; this, of course, I see: The wise man sees ahead, the fool walks in the dark. No doubt! But I know, too, that one fate awaits them both. ‘The fool’s fate’ I thought to myself ‘will be my fate too. Of what use my wisdom, then? This, too,’ I thought ‘is vanity.’ Since there is no lasting memory for wise man or for fool, and in the days to come both will be forgotten; wise man, alas, no less than fool must die. Life I have come to hate, for what is done under the sun disgusts me, since all is vanity and chasing of the wind. All I have toiled for and now bequeath to my successor I have come to hate; who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master of all the work into which I have put my efforts and wisdom under the sun. That, too, is vanity. And hence I have come to despair of all the efforts I have expended under the sun. For so it is that a man who has laboured wisely, skilfully and successfully must leave what is his own to someone who has not toiled for it at all. This, too, is vanity and great injustice; for what does he gain for all the toil and strain that he has undergone under the sun? What of all his laborious days, his cares of office, his restless nights? This, too, is vanity. There is no happiness for man but to eat and drink and to be content with his work. This, too, I see as something from God’s hand, since plenty and penury both come from God; wisdom, knowledge, joy, he gives to the man who pleases him; on the sinner lays the task of gathering and storing up for another who is pleasing to God. This, too, is vanity and chasing of the wind. |
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| Reading | A sermon on Ecclesiastes by St Gregory of Nyssa |
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| Christ is our head, and the wise man keeps his eyes upon him | |
| We shall be blessed with clear vision if we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, for he, as Paul teaches, is our head, and there is in him no shadow of evil. Saint Paul himself and all who have reached the same heights of sanctity had their eyes fixed on Christ, and so have all who live and move and have their being in him. As no darkness can be seen by anyone surrounded by light, so no trivialities can capture the attention of anyone who has his eyes on Christ. The man who keeps his eyes upon the head and origin of the whole universe has them on virtue in all its perfection; he has them on truth, on justice, on immortality and on everything else that is good, for Christ is goodness itself. The wise man, then, turns his eyes toward the One who is his head, but the fool gropes in darkness. No one who puts his lamp under a bed instead of on a lamp-stand will receive any light from it. People are often considered blind and useless when they make the supreme Good their aim and give themselves up to the contemplation of God, but Paul made a boast of this and proclaimed himself a fool for Christ’s sake. The reason he said, We are fools for Christ’s sake was that his mind was free from all earthly preoccupations. It was as though he said, “We are blind to the life here below because our eyes are raised toward the One who is our head”. And so, without board or lodging, he travelled from place to place, destitute, naked, exhausted by hunger and thirst. When men saw him in captivity, flogged, shipwrecked, led about in chains, they could scarcely help thinking him a pitiable sight. Nevertheless, even while he suffered all this at the hands of men, he always looked toward the One who is his head and he asked: What can separate us from the love of Christ, which is in Jesus? Can affliction or distress? Can persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger or death? In other words, “What can force me to take my eyes from him who is my head and to turn them toward things that are contemptible?” He bids us follow his example: Seek the things that are above, he says, which is only another way of saying: “Keep your eyes on Christ”. |
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| Concluding Prayer |
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| Almighty God, we ask you to grant us that our minds may be turned to what is pleasing to you and that our words and actions may follow. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. |
| Monday, February 19, 2007 Feria |
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February 19, 2007    Monday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, "Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!" Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, "He is dead!" But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, "Why could we not drive it out?" He said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer (Mk 9:25-29)." On Lent Use Lent to vanquish the enemy, and be thus preparing for Eastertide. Accordingly, dearly-beloved, that we may be able to overcome all our enemies, let us seek Divine aid by the observance of the heavenly bidding, knowing that we cannot otherwise prevail against our adversaries, unless we prevail against our own selves. For we have many encounters with our own selves: the flesh desires one thing against the spirit, and the spirit another thing against the flesh. And in this disagreement, if the desires of the body be stronger, the mind will disgracefully lose its proper dignity, and it will be most disastrous for that to serve which ought to have ruled. But if the mind, being subject to its Ruler, and delighting in gifts from above, shall have trampled under foot the allurements of earthly pleasure, and shall not have allowed sin to reign in its mortal body, reason will maintain a well-ordered supremacy, and its strongholds no strategy of spiritual wickednesses will cast down: because man has then only true peace and true freedom when the flesh is ruled by the judgment of the mind, and the mind is directed by the will of God. And although this state of preparedness, dearly-beloved, should always be maintained that our ever-watchful foes may be overcome by unceasing diligence, yet now it must be the more anxiously sought for and the more zealously cultivated when the designs of our subtle foes themselves are conducted with keener craft than ever. For knowing that the most hollowed days of Lent are now at hand, in the keeping of which all past slothfulnesses are chastised, all negligences alerted for, they direct all the force of their spite on this one thing, that they who intend to celebrate the Lord's holy Passover may be found unclean in some matter, and that cause of offence may arise where propitiation ought to have been obtained. Fights are necessary to prove our faith. As we approach then, dearly-beloved, the beginning of Lent, which is a time for the more careful serving of the Lord, because we are, as it were, entering on a kind of contest in good works, let us prepare our souls for fighting with temptations, and understand that the more zealous we are for our salvation, the more determined must be the assaults of our opponents. But "stronger is He that is in us than He that is against us," and through Him are we powerful in whose strength we rely: because it was for this that the LORD allowed Himself to be tempted by the tempter, that we might be taught by His example as well as fortified by His aid. For He conquered the adversary, as ye have heard, by quotations from the law, not by actual strength, that by this very thing He might do greater honour to man, and inflict a greater punishment on the adversary by conquering the enemy of the human race not now as God but as Man. He fought then, therefore, that we too might fight thereafter: He conquered that we too might likewise conquer. For there are no works of power, dearly-beloved, without the trials of temptations, there is no faith without proof, no contest without a foe, no victory without conflict. This life of ours is in the midst of snares, in the midst of battles; if we do not wish to be deceived, we must watch: if we want to overcome, we must fight. And therefore the most wise Solomon says, "My son in approaching the service of God prepare thy soul for temptation." For He being a man full of the wisdom of God, and knowing that the pursuit of religion involves laborious struggles, foreseeing too the danger of the fight, forewarned the intending combatant; lest haply, if the tempter came upon him in his ignorance, he might find him unready and wound him unawares. Excerpted from Sermon 39, Leo the Great
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A Major League Possession
Mark 9:14-29 Introductory Prayer: Lord, you know how firmly I believe in you and how much I need you and depend on you for everything. I therefore trust in your grace. Help me grow in confidence and put all my hope in your love and mercy in my daily actions. Petition:Lord, help me to do all things with confidence in your grace and power; in a spirit of trusting prayer to you. 1. Down from the Mountain. Jesus and the three apostles were on their way down from the mountain of the Transfiguration, where they had had an incredible, mystical experience. But it was not to last. They had work to do since there was still the devil below to be dealt with, and troubled souls who were powerless in the face of evil. Jesus would need to continue his work of overcoming the power of the devil and only later would he return to be with the Father again. We too need to renew ourselves each day in prayer and union with God so as to then go out and dedicate ourselves once again to the task of building his kingdom in the world. There will be time for rest in the life to come. 2. “Help My Unbelief!” So often, like this man, we want to believe fully in the power of Christ to help us, but something holds us back, something that blocks that total confidence in him. This man and his son had suffered so long, yet he prays for more faith, for more confidence, knowing that now Christ is present. We too must constantly ask for an increase in faith so that as we move through the challenges of every day, we will have peace and serenity in our hearts, knowing that Christ is with us every day. “Everything is possible for the one who has faith.” Do I believe this? 3. The Failures. The disciples are perplexed that they were unable to drive out the demon. After all, Jesus had earlier given them the power over demons and it had worked. But now they had failed. God gives us grace to meet the challenges we face and to overcome evil and sin, but as we move through life we need to grow in faith, hope, and love and not remain trapped in the same place. We need to pray for more and more grace since the devil will come at us with more strength and power than before. Prayer – real, faith-filled prayer – needs to be our principal weapon amid all the temptations and trials we face each day. Conversation with Christ: Jesus, increase my faith in you every day of my life. Let me be a person of prayer, putting all my confidence in you and your presence. Teach me that when you are near, no evil can overcome me. Resolution: I will resolve to deepen my prayer, not just going through the motions, but rather praying with real faith, hope, and love. |
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| Don’t Be a Helpless Pawn to Your Demons | ||
Sir 1:1-10 / Mk 9:14-29
For those of us who think ourselves ever so modern as we stand here in the new millennium, it’s easy to scoff at stories about demons and to conjure up pictures of little red men with horns and pointed tails. But to do that is foolhardy, for the reality of evil in the world is not to be sniffed at, and our struggle with it is undeniable and lifelong.
Each of us has our own “demons,” our own disabling soul-wounds and compulsions which seek to rob us of our freedom and to drive us in directions that do not lead to life. To fail to recognize them and to acknowledge the full extent of their power over us is to make ourselves their willing victims and their helpless pawns.
But that need not happen. Our alternative is to ask the Spirit who dwells within us to help us see those inner “demons” clearly and to see where they are leading us, indeed, driving us. And that is away from life, love, and communion. The next step is to give ourselves into the hands of the Spirit, just as the boy’s father did in the gospel. "I do believe," he said. "Help my lack of trust!"
That kind of prayer the Spirit always answers. And step by step He will lead us out of slavery’s darkness and into freedom’s light.
When we give it free rein, the Spirit’s power always prevails.
Amen.
| Short reading | James 2:12 - 13 © |
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| Talk and behave like people who are going to be judged by the law of freedom, because there will be judgement without mercy for those who have not been merciful themselves; but the merciful need have no fear of judgement. | |
| Canticle | Benedictus |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
| Lord God, King of heaven and earth, guide and sanctify, rule and govern our hearts and our bodies, our feelings, words and actions, according to your law and following your commandments. With your help, in this world and the next, may we deserve to receive freedom and salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
Faith-sharing bump.
The mighty legions that had stamped the Pax Romana on the world had degenerated into the Roman equivalent of the post-Vietnam, pot-smoking, demoralized American army under President Jimmy Carter. Gibbon...records that the "relaxation of discipline and the disuse of exercise rendered the soldiers less able and less willing to support the fatigues of service; they complained of the weight of the armour, which they seldom wore; and they successively obtained the permission of laying aside both their cuirasses and their helmets. The heavy weapons of their ancestors, the short sword and the formidable pilum, which had subdued the world, insensibly dropped from their feeble hands....
They reluctantly marched into the field, condemned to suffer either the pains of wounds or the ignominy of flight, and always disposed to prefer the more shameful alternative....The enervated soldiers abandoned their own and the public defense; and their pusillanious indolence may be considered as the immediate cause of the downfall of the empire."
Displacing them were the barbarians, as both the defenders and the assaulters of Rome....The political intriguers of the Western empire seemed intent on suicide, more concerned with eliminating talented, industrious men who by their courage might rise to the purple, than fighting with the enemy."
Happy Presidents' Day to everyone!
Thanks for going to the trouble of typing that for us!
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 122 (123) |
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| The Lord guards his people |
| To you I lift up my eyes, to you who dwell in the heavens. Like the eyes of a servant watching his master, like the eyes of a maid on her mistress’s hands, so we keep our eyes on the Lord our God, as we wait for his kindness. Take pity on us, Lord, take pity: we have had our fill of contempt. Our souls have had their fill of the laughter of the rich, of the contempt of the proud. 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 123 (124) |
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| Our help is in the name of the Lord |
| If the Lord had not been with us (so let Israel sing), If the Lord had not been with us when men rose up against us, they might have skinned us alive, such was their anger. The waters could have drowned us, the torrent poured over us, the foaming waters poured over us. Blessed be the Lord, who saved us from being torn to pieces by their teeth. We have escaped, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. The snare was broken, and we escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 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 | Ephesians 1 |
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| God the Saviour | |
| Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us, in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in heaven. In love, he chose us before the creation of the world, to be holy and spotless in his sight. He predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ, simply because it pleased him to do so. This he did for the praise of the glory of his grace, of his free gift of us to his Beloved, in whose blood we have gained redemption, and the forgiveness of our sins. This he did according to the riches of his grace, which he gave us in abundance, with all wisdom and discernment, revealing to us the mysteries of his will, because it pleased him to do so. In this action he has planned, in the fulfilment of time, to bring all things together in Christ, from the heavens and from the earth. 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. |
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| Short reading | James 4:11 - 12 © |
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| Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who slanders a brother, or condemns him, is speaking against the Law and condemning the Law. But if you condemn the Law, you have stopped keeping it and become a judge over it. There is only one lawgiver and he is the only judge and has the power to acquit or to sentence. Who are you to give a verdict on your neighbour? | |
| Canticle | Magnificat |
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| My soul rejoices in the Lord | |
| My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation. For he has shown me such favour – me, his lowly handmaiden. Now all generations will call me blessed, because the mighty one has done great things for me. His name is holy, his mercy lasts for generation after generation for those who revere him. He has put forth his strength: he has scattered the proud and conceited, torn princes from their thrones; but lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever. 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. |
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| 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. |
| God, you are truly said to be inexhaustible light. You have brought us to this hour: enlighten our souls and be pleased to forget our sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
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Monday, February 19, 2007 Meditation Sirach 1:1-10 We all have days we’d sooner forget. Maybe we’ve been late for work and missed a meeting; maybe our family has caught “the bug”; or maybe we’ve been in a fender-bender. Maybe we’ve just been overwhelmed by the tasks of daily life. Or perhaps we’ve experienced something really traumatic, like the death of a loved one. Whenever we have a day like this, it can be very hard to look heavenward. Nevertheless, God has left us something we can turn to right here on earth—his word. As Sirach tells us, the Scriptures contain the wisdom we need to see the bigger picture. When our vision of life gets too small, God’s word can open to us a window into his marvelous ways. When our concerns oppress us, the Scriptures can lift us up and change our perspective. We can see that all the events in our lives—even the most unpleasant ones—can be transformed into seasons of grace. Of course we can and should come to God in prayer—but what forms our prayer? God’s word is a key to developing the faith that we bring to him in prayer. The Scriptures can help us to deal with the conflicting emotions and thoughts that come to us as we pray. They are the ultimate reality check when we are feeling down, showing us proof that God is always there for his people, always loving and forgiving, and always calling us to himself. They are like God’s love letters to his children! But the Scriptures can do much more than bring us peace of mind. They are also a guide to help us in our day-to-day decisions. Should I accept this new job? Should I marry this person? How much should I spend at the grocery store? We won’t get specific answers to these questions, but we will begin to see things from a heavenly perspective. We’ll get a look into the mind of God, and our minds will gradually be transformed as we begin to see things the way he sees them. Is your Bible gathering dust on the shelf? Remember that none of us lives “by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). “Lord Jesus, give me a hunger for your word. Fill me with your wisdom as I meditate on the Scriptures.” Psalm 93:1-2,5; Mark 9:14-29 |
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