Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 01-21-14, M, St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

January 21, 2014

Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

The LORD said to Samuel:
“How long will you grieve for Saul,
whom I have rejected as king of Israel?
Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”
But Samuel replied:
“How can I go?
Saul will hear of it and kill me.”
To this the LORD answered:
“Take a heifer along and say,
‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do;
you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.”

Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him.
When he entered Bethlehem,
the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired,
“Is your visit peaceful, O seer?”
He replied:
“Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.
So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet.”
He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves
and invited them to the sacrifice.
As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel,
who said, “The LORD has not chosen him.”
Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said,
“The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There–anoint him, for this is he!”
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:20, 21-22, 27-28

R. (21a) I have found David, my servant.
Once you spoke in a vision,
and to your faithful ones you said:
“On a champion I have placed a crown;
over the people I have set a youth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
And I will make him the first-born,
highest of the kings of the earth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.

Gospel Mk 2:23-28

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

Mark
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Mark 2
23.	And it came to pass again, as the Lord walked through the corn fields on the sabbath, that his disciples began to go forward, and to pluck the ears of corn.	Et factum est iterum Dominus sabbatis ambularet per sata, et discipuli ejus cœperunt progredi, et vellere spicas.	και εγενετο παραπορευεσθαι αυτον εν τοις σαββασιν δια των σποριμων και ηρξαντο οι μαθηται αυτου οδον ποιειν τιλλοντες τους σταχυας
24.	And the Pharisees said to him: Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?	Pharisæi autem dicebant ei : Ecce, quid faciunt sabbatis quod non licet ?	και οι φαρισαιοι ελεγον αυτω ιδε τι ποιουσιν εν τοις σαββασιν ο ουκ εξεστιν
25.	And he said to them: Have you never read what David did when he had need, and was hungry himself, and they that were with him?	Et ait illis : Numquam legistis quid fecerit David, quando necessitatem habuit, et esuriit ipse, et qui cum eo erant ?	και αυτος ελεγεν αυτοις ουδεποτε ανεγνωτε τι εποιησεν δαυιδ οτε χρειαν εσχεν και επεινασεν αυτος και οι μετ αυτου
26.	How he went into the house of God, under Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the loaves of proposition, which was not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave to them who were with him?	quomodo introibit in domum Dei sub Abiathar principe sacerdotum, et panes propositionis manducavit, quos non licebat manducare, nisi sacerdotibus, et dedit eis qui cum eo erant ?	πως εισηλθεν εις τον οικον του θεου επι αβιαθαρ αρχιερεως και τους αρτους της προθεσεως εφαγεν ους ουκ εξεστιν φαγειν ει μη τοις ιερευσιν και εδωκεν και τοις συν αυτω ουσιν
27.	And he said to them: The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.	Et dicebat eis : Sabbatum propter hominem factum est, et non homo propter sabbatum.	και ελεγεν αυτοις το σαββατον δια τον ανθρωπον εγενετο ουχ ο ανθρωπος δια το σαββατον
28.	Therefore the Son of man is Lord of the sabbath also.	Itaque Dominus est Filius hominis, etiam sabbati.	ωστε κυριος εστιν ο υιος του ανθρωπου και του σαββατου

23. And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
24. And the Pharisees said to him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
25. And he said to them, Have you never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him?
26. How he went into the house of God, in the days of Abiathar the High Priest, and did eat the show-bread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
27. And he said to them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28. Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

PSEUD-CHRYS. The disciples of Christ, freed from the figure, and united to the truth, do not keep the figurative feast of the sabbath, wherefore it is said, And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

BEDE; We read also in the following part, that they who came and went away were many, and that they had not time enough to take their food, wherefore, according to man's nature, they were hungry.

CHRYS. But being hungry, they no ate simple food, not for pleasure, but on account of the necessity of nature. The Pharisees however, serving the figure and the shadow, accused the disciples of doing wrong. Wherefore there follows, But the Pharisees said to him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful.

AUG. For it was a precept in Israel, delivered by a written law, that no one should detain a thief found in his fields unless he tried to take something away with him. For the man, who had touched nothing else but what he had eaten, they were commanded to allow to go away free and unpunished. Wherefore the Jews accused our Lord's disciples, who were plucking the ears of corn, of breaking the sabbath, rather than of theft.

PSEUD-CHRYS. But our Lord brings forward David, to whom it once happened to eat though it was forbidden by the law, when he touched the Priest's food, that by his example, he might do away with their accusation of the disciples. For there follows, Have you never read, &c.

THEOPHYL. For David, when flying from the face of Saul, went to the Chief Priest, and ate the show-bread , and took away the sword of Goliath, which things had been offered to the Lord. But a question has been raised how the Evangelist called Abiathar at this time High Priest, when the Book of Kings calls him Abimelech.

BEDE; There is, however, no discrepancy, for both were there, when David came to ask for bread, and received it: that is to say, Abimelech, the High Priest, and Abiathar his son; but Abimelech having been slain by Saul, Abiathar fled to David, and became the Companion of all his exile afterwards. When he came to the throne, he himself also received the rank of High Priest, amid the son became of much greater excellence than the falter, and therefore was worthy to be mentioned as the High Priest, even during his father's life-time It goes on: And he said to them, the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.

For greater is the care to be taken of the health and life of a man, than the keeping of the sabbath. Therefore the sabbath was ordered to be observed in such a way, that, if there were a necessity, he should not be guilty, who broke the sabbath-day; therefore it was not forbidden to circumcise on the sabbath, because that was a necessary work. And the Maccabees, when necessity pressed on them, fought on the Sabbath-day. Wherefore, His disciples being hungry, what was not allowed in the law became lawful through their necessity of hunger; as now, if a sick man break a fast, he is not held guilty in any way.

It goes on: Therefore the Son of man is Lord, &c. As if he said, David the king is to be excused for feeding on the food of the priests, how much more the Son of man, the true King and Priest, and Lord of the sabbath, is free from fault, for pulling ears of corn on the sabbath-day.

PSEUD-CHRYS. He calls himself properly, Lord of the sabbath, and Son of man, since being the Son of God, he deigned to be called Son of man, for the sake of men. Now the law has no authority over the Lawgiver and Lord, for more is allowed the king, than is appointed by the law. The law is given to the weak indeed, but not to the perfect and to those who work above what the law enjoins.

BEDE; But in a mystical sense the disciples pass through the corn fields, when the holy doctors look with the care of a pious solicitude upon those whom they have initiated in the faith, and who, it is implied, are hungering for time best of all things, the salvation of men. But to pluck the ears of corn means to snatch men away from the eager desire of earthly things. And to rub with the hands is by examples of virtue to put from the purity of their minds the concupiscence of the flesh, as men do husks.

To eat the grains is when a man, cleansed from the filth of vice by the months of preachers, is incorporated amongst the members of the Church. Again, fitly are the disciples related to have done this, walking before the face of the Lord, for it is necessary that the discourse of the doctor should come first, although the grace of visitation from on high, following it, must enlighten the heart of the hearer. And well, on the sabbath-day, for the doctors themselves in preaching labor for the hope of future rest, and teach their hearers to toil over their tasks for the sake of eternal repose.

THEOPHYL. Or else, because when they have rest from their passions, then are they made doctors to head others to virtue, plucking away from them earthly things.

BEDE; Again, if they walk through the corn fields with the Lord, who rejoice in meditating upon His sacred words. They hunger, when they desire to find in them the bread of life; and they hunger on sabbath days, as soon as their minds are in a soothing rest, and they rejoice in freedom from troubled thoughts; they pluck the ears of corn, and by rubbing, cleanse them, till they come to what is fit to eat, when by meditation they take to themselves the witness of the Scriptures, to which they arrive by reading, and discuss them continually, until they find in them the marrow of love; this refreshment of the mind is truly unpleasing to fools, but is approved by the Lord.

Catena Aurea Mark 2

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:January 21, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

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

RECIPES

o Lamb Cake

ACTIVITIES

o Celebration for the Feast of St. Agnes

o Customs on the Feast of St. Agnes

PRAYERS

o Prayer to St. Agnes

o Hymn to St. Agnes

o Novena for Church Unity

o Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity

LIBRARY

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

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

· Ordinary Time: January 21st

· Memorial of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr

Old Calendar: St. Agnes

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

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

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Things to Do:

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

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Day Four: Together... we affirm that God is faithful

The eternal unity of Father, Son and Spirit draws us closer into the love of God, and calls us to participate in God’s work in the world which is love, mercy and justice. Mercy and justice are not divided in God, but rather are joined together in the steadfast love manifested in God’s covenant with us and with all of creation.

The new father Zechariah testifies to God’s manifestation of mercy in keeping his promises to Abraham and his descendents. God is faithful to his holy covenant.

As we continue to pray for the unity of the church, we must not neglect to meet together and encourage one another, spurring each other on towards love and good deeds, saying: "God is faithful."

Vatican Resources

Vultus Christi

Saint Agnes, Virgin Martyr

Tuesday, 21 January 2014 10:00

A Winter Constellation

The wintertime liturgy sparkles with a constellation of virgin martyrs and holy women. The Roman Canon enshrines their names: Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia and Anastasia. In the darkest months of the year, they shine like so many little flames taken from the Paschal Candle in the great and holy night of the Resurrection. Today, we fix our gaze on Agnes.

If I Love Him

The Office of Saint Agnes is one of the most beautiful in the Roman Liturgy. It expresses all the sentiments of the little virgin martyr’s pure and passionate heart. “Christ is my Lover,” she sings in the Third Responsory at Matins, “and I am entering with Him into the marriage-chamber. . . . The instruments of His music sound sweetly in my ears. If I love Him I shall be chaste; if I touch Him I shall be clean; if I embrace Him I shall be a virgin indeed.”

A Christian Child

Agnes was a mere child, a little girl of twelve. The year was 304, during the persecution of Diocletian. According to Roman law, a child of twelve was not held responsible for her choices and could not therefore be subject to trial and judgment. But Christians fell outside the pale of Roman law, and Agnes was a Christian.

What are we to make of these child saints and of others like them? Our Lord places them before us, saying, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:2). “To the boastful, I say: ‘Do not boast,’ to the wicked: ‘Do not flaunt your strength, do not flaunt your strength on high. Do not speak with insolent pride’” (Ps 74:5-6).

The Child Teacher

It is with little ones, “foolish in the eyes of the world” (1 Cor 1:27) that God shames the wise. It is with these little ones, “the weak in the world” (1 Cor 1:27) that God shames the strong. It is with these little ones, “low and despised in the world” (1 Cor 1:28) that God silences the boasting of the high and mighty. Saint Ambrose puts all his eloquence into praising Agnes: “She is not grown of stature to fight the battle, but she is ripe for the triumph; too weak to run in the race, and yet clearly entitled to the prize; unable from her age to be aught but a learner, she is found a teacher.”

The Shepherd and the Lamb

The name Agnes is derived both from the Greek for “pure” and the Latin for “lamb.” Agnes is the pure lamb; Christ is the Shepherd. The familiar Psalm 22 thus becomes Saint Agnes’s song. Agnes the lamb sings the psalm of Christ the Shepherd in the midst of the Church. The fourth verse of the psalm evokes the passion and martyrdom of the saint. “For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me” (Ps 22:4).

Perfect Charity Casteth Out Fear

In his treatise On Virginity, Saint Ambrose says: “Girls of her age tend to wilt under the slightest frown from a parent. Pricked by a needle, they cry as if given a mortal wound. But Agnes showed no fear of the blood-stained hands of her executioners.” He tells us that while the executioner shook as though he himself were the criminal, and the faces of bystanders turned white at the sight, Agnes all the while remained without fear. “I will fear no evils” (Ps 22:4). Saint John gives the explanation: “Fear is not in charity: but perfect charity casteth out fear” (1 Jn 4:18).

Chosen in Love

“Abide, remain, make thy home in my love,” says the Lord to the virgin child Agnes; “whoever abides, remains, makes his home in me and I in him will bear much fruit” (cf. Jn 15:9b, 5b). Manete in dilectione mea. Dilectio is that love by which one distinguishes another by selecting him from others. Dilectio is the love that chooses another. Jesus is, in fact, saying in today’s Alleluia Verse, “Abide in my choice of thee.”

Saint Agnes understood that she was chosen. She sings, “My Lord Jesus Christ hath espoused me with His ring, and hath set on my head a crown as the crown of the bride.” The ring and the crown are the traditional symbols of the virgin consecrated to Christ. They represent Our Lord’s election of a particular soul, the choice of His love. The secret of consecrated virginity is one’s assent to the choice made by Jesus, who says, “You have not chosen me: but I have chosen you” (Jn 15:16). The consecrated virgin elects to abide forever in the Divine Bridegroom’s election of her.

Stability

The notion of abiding is akin to dwelling, to stability, and to permanence. Agnes, while yet a child, found her home, her stability, her unshakable permanence in Christ’s choice of her. The liturgy of virgins applies to them the word of the psalm: “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved” (Ps 45:6). Agnes, abiding in Christ’s choice of her, became the abode of charity — agápe, sacrificial love — and charity abiding in her drove out fear.

Purchasing the Treasure

Stability in Christ’s choice of us, and freedom from fear, are not bought cheaply. Both are costly. Both demand a total investment, an investment deemed foolish by the worldly-wise: all that one has. Consider the costliness of the treasure in the field (Mt 13:44) and the pearl of great price purchased by nothing less than all that one has (Mt 13:45).

The Spendthrift Virgin

Agnes, a little child, took a foolish risk. She gave all that she had. “The crowds,” says Saint Ambrose, “marvelled at her spendthrift attitude to life, discarding it untasted, but as if she had lived it to the full.” Unlike the daughter of Jephthah who asked of her father two months to wander on the mountains and bewail her virginity (cf. Jg 11:37), Agnes went with willing and joyful steps to the place of her execution.

Toward the Banquet of Love Crucified

Agnes, pure lamb of the Shepherd-Christ, child-bride of the Lamb without stain, obtain for us who, at least, share thy weakness, a like share in the wisdom of thy folly. Lead us to the Banquet prepared by charity upon the altar, to the Banquet of Love Crucified, that we, like thee, may abide in Love’s choice of us.

Regnum Christi

Mankind in Dire Need

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Memorial of Saint Agnes, virgin and martyr

Father Walter Schu, LC

Mark 2:23-28

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?" He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?" Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, the most important moment of my day has arrived. I am alone with you for a heart-to-heart talk. Who am I that you should want to spend this time with me; that you should want to pour yourself out to me? What a joy, what an honor, what a glory to be the follower of a king like you!

Petition: Lord, help me to pray for and serve those who persecute me and to win them over to the Gospel through love, just like you did.

1. “Unlawful on the Sabbath”:How dire was mankind’s need for a Savior! The Jews were God’s chosen people; they had received God’s own revelation in the Old Testament. The Pharisees were the religious leaders of the Jewish people. Yet they buried God’s law so deeply beneath layers of man-made precepts that hungry men were not allowed to pick grain in order to eat on the Sabbath. The law had become an end in itself and had taken precedence over persons in need. How could mankind ever be led safely along the true path to salvation without becoming hopelessly entangled in the thickets of false rituals and arbitrary precepts? The Son of God, the Eternal Word of the Father, humbled himself to become the Son of Man in order to bring us the fullness of truth. But Christ did much more than bring us the fullness of God’s revelation. He gave us the strength, through his own life of grace within us, to live out that truth in our lives. Am I sufficiently tapped into that source of grace in my life?

2. Seeking to Win over Enemies: If we were in Christ’s place, what would have been our reaction to the Pharisees? Perhaps we would have yielded to their imposing presence. Maybe we would have summoned up our courage and dismissed their intransigence without even deigning to reply. Christ reveals both his fearlessness and his goodness of heart by seeking to win them over. He quotes the Scriptures that they believe in and cites 1 Samuel 21:1-6. David and his men, fleeing from Saul, eat the holy bread of the Presence: twelve loaves placed each morning on the table in the sanctuary, as homage to the Lord from the twelve tribes of Israel. When they were withdrawn to make room for fresh ones, these loaves were reserved for the Levitical priests. Christ seeks to reveal to the Pharisees, in a way they can accept, that they have gone astray from true religion, in which love of God and neighbor takes precedence over following rules. Christ sums up the nature of true religion and points out the Pharisees’ error in one sublime sentence: “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” Do I perceive the burden Christ has given me as light? That is what he intends and promises. If I do not, why not?

3. Lord of the Sabbath: Christ does not stop with revealing the nature and purpose of true religion. He makes a bold proclamation, one which must have stunned the Pharisees, and perhaps even widened the eyes of his own disciples: “The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” Christ declares in no uncertain terms that his authority is equal to that of God himself, who instituted the Sabbath at the dawn of man’s creation. Christ wants from the Pharisees nothing less than an act of faith in his own divine person. His heart longs to save them. Christ yearns to bring to salvation everyone he encounters, including his enemies. Does my own zeal for souls bring me to reflect something of Christ’s courage and love when I am faced with opposition? Do I desire and seek what is good for everyone regardless of their attitude towards me?

Conversation with Christ:Thank you, Lord, for becoming a man to save us in our dire need for you. Thank you for loving even your enemies and seeking to win them over to your new life. Help me to love more like you did. Help me to realize the value of a single soul.

Resolution: I will pray and make sacrifices for someone who is persecuting me or the Church. Forgetting about myself, I will look for ways to bring them to experience the love of Christ.

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One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 1

<< Tuesday, January 21, 2014 >>

St. Agnes

1 Samuel 16:1-13
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Psalm 89:20-22, 27-28

Mark 2:23-28
Similar Reflections

THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP

"Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David." —1 Samuel 16:13

The Lord told Samuel to end his pity-party and go raise up a new leader for God's people (1 Sm 16:1). We also need to raise up new Christian leaders.

Samuel replied to the Lord: "How can I go? Saul will hear of it and kill me" (1 Sm 16:2). When we focus on the Holy Spirit and leadership, we will be a threat to the devil, and we too will be in danger.

The Lord promised Samuel: "I Myself will tell you what to do" (1 Sm 16:3). When we obey the Lord, we will quickly crush Satan under our feet (Rm 16:19-20).

The Lord told Samuel to anoint not those who appeared to be leaders but the one chosen by the Lord (1 Sm 16:7). Likewise, the Lord chooses as leaders today "the world's lowborn and despised, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who were something" (1 Cor 1:28).

Don't waste your time worrying and complaining. Spend your time praying for the Holy Spirit to be stirred into flame (2 Tm 1:6) in the lives of simple, grassroots leaders. No matter what Satan does to discourage or intimidate you, keep obeying the Lord and inviting people to receive the fullness of the Spirit in their lives. By continually praying for as many leaders as possible to receive the Spirit, you will join the Spirit in renewing the face of the earth (Ps 104:30). Come, Holy Spirit!

Prayer: Father, give us several new Pentecosts and new leaders in Christ.

Promise: "The Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath." —Mk 2:28

Praise: St. Agnes is said to have been more joyful at her martyrdom than the most exultant brides have been at their weddings.

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Marriage=One Man and One Woman 'Til Death Do Us Part

Memorial, St. Agnes, virgin and martyr

One Bread, One Body

THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP