Posted on 02/05/2014 7:59:15 PM PST by Salvation
February 6, 2014
Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs
Reading 1 1 kgs 2:1-4, 10-12
When the time of David’s death drew near,
he gave these instructions to his son Solomon:
“I am going the way of all flesh.
Take courage and be a man.
Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways
and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees
as they are written in the law of Moses,
that you may succeed in whatever you do,
wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill
the promise he made on my behalf when he said,
‘If your sons so conduct themselves
that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart
and with their whole soul,
you shall always have someone of your line
on the throne of Israel.’”
David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.
The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years:
he reigned seven years in Hebron
and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David,
with his sovereignty firmly established.
Responsorial Psalm 1 Chr 29:10, 11ab, 11d-12a, 12bcd
R. (12b) Lord, you are exalted over all.
“Blessed may you be, O LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity.”
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
“Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,
majesty, splendor, and glory.”
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
“LORD, you are exalted over all.
Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you.”
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
“In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.”
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
Gospel mk 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Feast Day: February 4
Born: 1562, Tsunokuni, Japan
Died: 5 February 1597, Nagasaki, Japana
Canonized: 8 June 1862 by Pope Pius IX
St. Paul Miki and Companions
Feast Day: February 06
Born:1562 :: Died:1597
Paul Miki was born to a wealthy family at Tsunokuni in Japan. His father Miki Handayu was a military leader.
St. Francis Xavier brought the Good News of Jesus to Japan in 1549. Many received the Word and were baptized by St. Francis himself. Although Francis later left to continue his mission in other countries, the faith had grown in Japan.
Paul Miki felt the call to follow Jesus. He studied at the Jesuit college at Azuchi and Takatsuki and became a Jesuit priest in 1580. He too worked hard as a Catechist and was able to bring many people to Jesus.
By 1587 there were over two hundred thousand Catholics. Missionaries from various religious orders came to work in Japan. Japanese priests, religious and lay people lived the faith joyfully.
In 1597, forty-five years after St. Francis Xavier came to Japan, a powerful Japanese official, Hideyoshi, listened to the gossip and lies of a Spanish merchant. The merchant said that the missionaries were traitors of Japan who would cause Japan to be defeated by Spain and Portugal.
Hideyoshi overreacted and had twenty-six people arrested. The group included six Franciscans from Spain, Mexico and India; three Japanese Jesuit catechists, including St. Paul Miki; and seventeen Japanese Catholic lay people, including children.
The twenty-six were led to the place of execution outside Nagasaki. Each of them was tied to a cross with chains and cords and had iron collars clamped around their necks. Then they were killed with spears. They died almost immediately.
These twenty-six martyrs are sometimes called the martyrs of Nagasaki and the martyrs of Japan. Their blood-stained clothes were treasured by the Christian community and miracles happened through their intercession.
Each martyr was a gift to the Church. Before he died on February 5, 1597, St. Paul Miki fearlessly gave a sermon from the cross as he encouraged the Christian community to be faithful until death.
Reflection: Stop for a moment today to pray for Christians who are persecuted throughout the world.
What does it mean to say that Jesus Christ is at the same time true God and true man?
In Jesus, God really became one of us and thus our brother; nevertheless, he did not cease to be God at the same time and thus our Lord. The Council of Chalcedon in the year 451 taught that the divinity and the humanity in the one person Jesus Christ are united together "without division or confusion".
The Church grappled for a long time with the problem of how to express the relation between the divinity and humanity in Jesus Christ. Divinity and humanity are not in competition with each other, which would make Jesus only partially God and only partially man. Nor is it true that the divine and human in Jesus are confused. God took on a human body in Jesus; this was no mere appearance (Docetism), but he really became man. Nor are there two different persons in Christ, one human and one divine (Nestorianism). Nor is it true, finally, that in Jesus Christ the human nature was completely absorbed into the divine nature (Monophysitism). Contrary to all these heresies, the Church has adhered to the belief that Jesus Christ is at the same time true God and true man in one Person. The famous formula, "without division or confusion" (Council of Chalcedon) does not attempt to explain something that is too sublime for human understanding, but rather draws the boundaries, so to speak, of the faith. It indicates the "line" along which the mystery of the person of Jesus Christ can be investigated. (YOUCAT question 77)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (464-469) and other references here.
Part 1: The Profession of Faith (26 - 1065)
Section 2: The Profession of the Christian Faith (185 - 1065)
Chapter 2: I Believe in Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God (422 - 682)
Article 3: "He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the Virgin Mary" (456 - 570)
Paragraph 1: The Son of God Became Man (456 - 483)
III. TRUE GOD AND TRUE MAN ⇡
The unique and altogether singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. He became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man.
During the first centuries, the Church had to defend and clarify this truth of faith against the heresies that falsified it.
The first heresies denied not so much Christ's divinity as his true humanity (Gnostic Docetism). From apostolic times the Christian faith has insisted on the true incarnation of God's Son "come in the flesh".87 But already in the third century, the Church in a council at Antioch had to affirm against Paul of Samosata that Jesus Christ is Son of God by nature and not by adoption. The first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325 confessed in its Creed that the Son of God is "begotten, not made, of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father", and condemned Arius, who had affirmed that the Son of God "came to be from things that were not" and that he was "from another substance" than that of the Father.88
87.
Cf. 1 Jn 4:2-3; 2 Jn 7.
88.
Council of Nicaea I (325): DS 130, 126.
The Nestorian heresy regarded Christ as a human person joined to the divine person of God's Son. Opposing this heresy, St. Cyril of Alexandria and the third ecumenical council, at Ephesus in 431, confessed "that the Word, uniting to himself in his person the flesh animated by a rational soul, became man."89 Christ's humanity has no other subject than the divine person of the Son of God, who assumed it and made it his own, from his conception. For this reason the Council of Ephesus proclaimed in 431 that Mary truly became the Mother of God by the human conception of the Son of God in her womb: "Mother of God, not that the nature of the Word or his divinity received the beginning of its existence from the holy Virgin, but that, since the holy body, animated by a rational soul, which the Word of God united to himself according to the hypostasis, was born from her, the Word is said to be born according to the flesh."90
89.
Council of Ephesus (431): DS 250.
90.
Council of Ephesus: DS 251.
The Monophysites affirmed that the human nature had ceased to exist as such in Christ when the divine person of God's Son assumed it. Faced with this heresy, the fourth ecumenical council, at Chalcedon in 451, confessed: Following the holy Fathers, we unanimously teach and confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, composed of rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father as to his divinity and consubstantial with us as to his humanity; "like us in all things but sin". He was begotten from the Father before all ages as to his divinity and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, was born as to his humanity of the virgin Mary, the Mother of God.91
We confess that one and the same Christ, Lord, and only-begotten Son, is to be acknowledged in two natures without confusion, change, division or separation. The distinction between the natures was never abolished by their union, but rather the character proper to each of the two natures was preserved as they came together in one person (prosopon) and one hypostasis.92
91.
Council of Chalcedon (451): DS 301; cf. Heb 4:15.
92.
Council of Chalcedon: DS 302.
After the Council of Chalcedon, some made of Christ's human nature a kind of personal subject. Against them, the fifth ecumenical council, at Constantinople in 553, confessed that "there is but one hypostasis [or person], which is our Lord Jesus Christ, one of the Trinity."93 Thus everything in Christ's human nature is to be attributed to his divine person as its proper subject, not only his miracles but also his sufferings and even his death: "He who was crucified in the flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ, is true God, Lord of glory, and one of the Holy Trinity."94
93.
Council of Constantinople II (553): DS 424.
94.
Council of Constantinople II (553): DS 432; cf. DS 424; Council of Ephesus, DS 255.
The Church thus confesses that Jesus is inseparably true God and true man. He is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother: "What he was, he remained and what he was not, he assumed", sings the Roman Liturgy.95 And the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom proclaims and sings: "O only-begotten Son and Word of God, immortal being, you who deigned for our salvation to become incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, you who without change became man and were crucified, O Christ our God, you who by your death have crushed death, you who are one of the Holy Trinity, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us!"96
95.
LH, 1 January, Antiphon for Morning Prayer; cf. St. Leo the Great, Sermo in nat. Dom. 1, 2; PL 54, 191-192.
96.
Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Troparion "O monogenes."
Thursday, February 6
Liturgical Color: Red
Today is the Memorial of St. Paul Miki
and Companions, martyrs. In 1597, St.
Paul and 25 others were arrested for
evangelizing by the governor of Japan.
They were crucified and stabbed with
lances, an act which horrified even the
pagans of the area.
Daily Readings for:February 06, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: O God, strength of all the Saints, who through the Cross were pleased to call the Martyrs Saint Paul Miki and companions to life, grant, we pray, that by their intercession we may hold with courage even until death to the faith that we profess. 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
ACTIVITIES
PRAYERS
o Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes
LIBRARY
o The Catholic Holocaust of Nagasaki—“Why, Lord?” | Brother Anthony Josemaria
· Ordinary Time: February 6th
· Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, martyrs
Old Calendar: St. Titus, confessor and bishop; St. Dorothy, virgin and martyr
Paul Miki, a Japanese Jesuit, and his twenty-five companions were martyred in Nagasaki, Japan. They were the first martyrs of East Asia to be canonized. They were killed simultaneouly by being raised on crosses and then stabbed with spears. Their executioners were astounded upon seeing their joy at being associated to the Passion of Christ.
According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Titus, whose feast in the Ordinary Form is combined with St. Timothy on January 26. It is also the feast of St. Dorothy, virgin and martyr, in the Extraordinary Form.
St. Paul Miki and Companions
Nagasaki, Japan, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped, killing hundreds of thousands. Three and a half centuries before, twenty-six martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki. Among them were priests, brothers and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits and members of the Secular Franciscan Order; there were catechists, doctors, simple artisans and servants, old men and innocent children—all united in a common faith and love for Jesus and his church.
Brother Paul Miki, a Jesuit and a native of Japan, has become the best known among the martyrs of Japan. While hanging upon a cross Paul Miki preached to the people gathered for the execution: "The sentence of judgment says these men came to Japan from the Philippines, but I did not come from any other country. I am a true Japanese. The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I certainly did teach the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason I die. I believe that I am telling only the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you to become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ's example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain."
When missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860s, at first they found no trace of Christianity. But after establishing themselves they found that thousands of Christians lived around Nagasaki and that they had secretly preserved the faith. Beatified in 1627, the martyrs of Japan were finally canonized in 1862.
— Excerpted from Saint of the Day, Leonard Foley, O.F.M.
Things to Do:
St. Dorothy
St. Dorothy, (i.e., the gift of God), a virgin from Caesarea in Cappadocia, allegedly suffered a martyr's death under Diocletian. Her relics are honored in a church dedicated to her honor in the Trastevere section of Rome. (On the door of St. Dorothy's Church the names of those who had not received holy Communion during Easter time used to be posted.) Her feast was introduced into the Roman calendar during the Middle Ages.
A very edifying story is related in connection with her name. As Dorothy was being led to execution because of her faith in Christ, she prayed, "I thank You, 0 Lover of souls, for having called me to Your paradise." A certain Theophilus, an official of the Roman governor, jestingly retorted, "Farewell, bride of Christ, send me apples or roses from your Bridegroom's garden of bliss." Dorothy answered, "I most certainly will."
While devoting herself to prayer during the few moments permitted before receiving the death stroke, she beheld a vision of a beautiful youth who carried three apples and three roses in a napkin. She said to him, "I implore you to take these to Theophilus." Soon the sword severed her neck, and her soul returned to God.
As Theophilus was mockingly telling his friend of Dorothy's promise, a young man stood before him holding a linen in which were wrapped three beautiful apples and three magnificent roses.
"See, the virgin Dorothy sends you these from the garden of her Bridegroom, even as she promised you." Highly astonished, for it was February and everything in nature was frozen, Theophilus received the gifts and cried out: "Truly indeed, Christ is God." And soon he too died a martyr's death for publicly confessing the faith.
— Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Patron: Brewers; brides; florists; gardeners; midwives; newlyweds.
Symbols: Crowned with flowers and surrounded by stars as she kneels before the executioner; crowned with palm and flower basket; surrounded by stars; crowned; carrying a flower basket; in an orchard with the Christ-child in an apple tree; leading the Christ-child by the hand; maiden carrying a basket of fruit and flowers, especially roses; roses; veiled with flowers in her lap; veiled; holding apples from heaven on a branch; with a basket of fruit and the Christ-child riding a hobby horse; with an angel and wreath of flowers; with an angel carrying a basket of flowers.
Things to Do:
Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs
He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out. (Mark 6:7)
At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus proclaimed, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Later, in keeping with his opening message, he sent his apostles out to preach the same message of repentance to make way for the kingdom.
But the apostles didn’t preach in the mode of a street-corner evangelist threatening hellfire. Rather, they delivered the same good news that Jesus had preached: God loves you. He wants to heal you and give you peace. He is near, holding out freedom to all who turn to him.
This is the heart of repentance. God’s love brims over with a desire to liberate us from our “demons,” restore our spirits, and renew our minds. He has no interest in piling on guilt or fear or shame—not even to force us to repent. Rather, he wants to tell us that because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can live in freedom.
So many voices tell us that we have no right to live in freedom as children of God. They tell us that our sins and failings have disqualified us. They tell us that God doesn’t love us enough or that he does little more than tolerate us. At the very least, we should stay meek and timid and expect only the smallest crumbs of his attention. Those voices lie! Jesus went so far as to die so that we could be set free. He gave his life so that we could enter his kingdom.
So approach the throne of grace boldly. Open your heart, and accept everything Jesus has won for you. If it seems hard or vague or perplexing, try this. Sit quietly, and tell God one thing that keeps you from him: one habitual sin, one weakness, or one fear that you think bars your access to him. Offer to trade that one thing for a taste of his love. Then wait for the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Perhaps he will tell you he loves you. Perhaps he will show you that God is not ashamed of you. Maybe he will offer you his truth in place of a lie. Whatever happens, know that the Father is with you, ready to forgive and heal and free.
“Father, I want to live in freedom, so I come to you today repenting and seeking more of your love.”
1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12; (Psalm) 1 Chronicles 29:10-12
Mark | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Mark 6 |
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7. | And he called the twelve; and began to send them two and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. | Et vocavit duodecim : et cpit eos mittere binos, et dabat illis potestatem spirituum immundorum. | και προσκαλειται τους δωδεκα και ηρξατο αυτους αποστελλειν δυο δυο και εδιδου αυτοις εξουσιαν των πνευματων των ακαθαρτων |
8. | And he commanded them that they should take nothing for the way, but a staff only: no scrip, no bread, nor money in their purse, | Et præcepit eis ne quid tollerent in via, nisi virgam tantum : non peram, non panem, neque in zona æs, | και παρηγγειλεν αυτοις ινα μηδεν αιρωσιν εις οδον ει μη ραβδον μονον μη πηραν μη αρτον μη εις την ζωνην χαλκον |
9. | But to be shod with sandals, and that they should not put on two coats. | sed calceatos sandaliis, et ne induerentur duabus tunicis. | αλλ υποδεδεμενους σανδαλια και μη ενδυσησθε δυο χιτωνας |
10. | And he said to them: Wheresoever you shall enter into an house, there abide till you depart from that place. | Et dicebat eis : Quocumque introieritis in domum, illic manete donec exeatis inde : | και ελεγεν αυτοις οπου εαν εισελθητε εις οικιαν εκει μενετε εως αν εξελθητε εκειθεν |
11. | And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you; going forth from thence, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony to them. | et quicumque non receperint vos, nec audierint vos, exeuntes inde, excutite pulverem de pedibus vestris in testimonium illis. | και οσοι αν μη δεξωνται υμας μηδε ακουσωσιν υμων εκπορευομενοι εκειθεν εκτιναξατε τον χουν τον υποκατω των ποδων υμων εις μαρτυριον αυτοις αμην λεγω υμιν ανεκτοτερον εσται σοδομοις η γομορροις εν ημερα κρισεως η τη πολει εκεινη |
12. | And going forth they preached that men should do penance: | Et exeuntes prædicabant ut pnitentiam agerent : | και εξελθοντες εκηρυσσον ινα μετανοησωσιν |
13. | And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. | et dæmonia multa ejiciebant, et ungebant oleo multos ægros, et sanabant. | και δαιμονια πολλα εξεβαλλον και ηλειφον ελαιω πολλους αρρωστους και εθεραπευον |
(*) In v.11: αμην λεγω υμιν ανεκτοτερον εσται σοδομοις η γομορροις εν ημερα κρισεως η τη πολει εκεινη -- "Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city" is not in the translations
Daily Marriage Tip for February 6, 2014:
High school biology is good but not sufficient for the more important medical decisions we make in life. Learning Natural Family Planning as a couple can update and deepen your knowledge of how the female body works. Consider taking an NFP class together.
God hid amidst Thine own
Thursday, 06 February 2014 20:31
Dom Benedict and I translated from the Latin this Matins hymn from the Office of Reparation given in the Mectildian Propers of the Benedictine breviary. The Office and Votive Mass of Reparation are celebrated on the first Thursday of every month whenever the rubrics permit.
Hymn at Matins of the Office of Reparation
Nunc te flebilibus
[Anonymous, 17th c.--"What is there that I ought to do more to my vineyard, that I have not done to it? was it that I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it hath brought forth wild grapes?"--Isaias 5]
1. O thou who art our Joy, our tender Grace and Rest,
God hid amidst thine own, the end of all our quest,
Thou Bread and Cup of Saints, receive our psalms and tears,
O hidden God, O silent Word.
2. Alas! while heaven outpours true Manna, living Bread,
The hearts of men grow cold, in shades amidst the dead,
No gratefulness, no praise to welcome thy descent,
O God, forsaken by thine own!
3. Ah! hath he so deserved? Hath he not given thee,
O thou his Vineyard dear, his love most tenderly?
For clustered grapes he looks, and lo! a tangle wild
Of bitter leaves and wood he finds!
4. Blasphemers circle ’round, with fangs of hatred bared,
To pierce with cruel words the Lamb in thorns ensnared,
Betrayed and sold again, his Passion still unfolds
In sacrilege and treachery.
5. Upon thine altars shine, O long desiréd King,
With radiance all divine and healing in thy wings;
O everlasting Love, reveal thy hidden Face,
That men may own thee, and adore.
6. Zeal for thy House profaned by men so wantonly,
Consumes our heart and soul, O gracious Trinity;
Open to us that House ne’er stained by evil’s blight,
Where Saints with thee abide in light. Amen.
One must never fear to give Mary too much
Thursday, 06 February 2014 21:38
I continue today my translation of Mother Mectilde’s text on true devotion to the Blessed Virgin. She wrote this text sometime during her Benedictine noviciate (1639–1640). She was about twenty–six years old at the time. Anyone familiar with Saint Louis–Marie Grignion de Montfort’s True Devotion will recognise that Mother Mectilde belongs to the same school.
What Mary Does Best
Love Mary, and you will not die without her having made you love Jesus. This is what she does best, and this is what she never fails to do, if are willing to correspond to the graces she presents to us.
The Assurance of Salvation
When I encounter a soul who has what she ought regarding the Mother of God, it seems to me that I hold such a soul’s salvation in my hands; by this I mean that I take it as something assured. If all souls were persuaded of this, they would love her tenderly and have a total trust in her. One must never fear to give her too much, nor to go beyond what is due her, because nothing remains in her, and all returns to Jesus and in Jesus.
The Advantages of Devotion to Mary
I would have much more to say if I could express the advantages of this devotion. It is certain that it opens the intelligence to the understanding of ineffable things concerning the sacred mysteries and the ways of grace. It teaches one to pray, to practice mortification. It sustains and consoles one in sorrows. It keeps one from falling in the hour of temptation. It chases away our enemies visible and invisible, and defends us against their wicked designs.
Confidence and Abandonment
O admirable Mother, thy bounties are not perceived for want of confidence and because we do not abandon ourselves lovingly into thy hands. Grant me the mercy of looking upon me in thy gentle kindness. Even though I have, all my life, abused of thy graces, reject not the broken and humbled heart that knows itself to be infinitely unworthy.
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Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, martyrs
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Mark 6:7-13 Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick -- no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them." So they went off and preached repentance. They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. Introductory Prayer: Father, I come before you today hungry for all the graces you desire for me in this meditation. I believe in your goodness. I wish to become more like your son, Jesus Christ, every day. I want to live a life of self-giving love like Christ. Thank you for your grace. Petition: Christ Jesus, grant me a spirit of teamwork in spreading your Gospel. 1. Silent Testimony: Christ sent out his apostles in pairs. The fact that the Gospel mentions this detail shows that it is not just an accident. There are some passages in Matthew’s Gospel that can shed some light on this desire of Christ. First, “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20). The apostles are first and foremost called to witness to Christ by their example. They are to foster communion and charity among themselves, so that others, seeing how they interact with each other, will be led to exclaim, “See how they love one another!” The apostle-teams exhibited oneness of heart and soul, sharing in common what they were able to procure: lodging, success, failure. With such an attitude, Christ promises that he would be there in their midst. 2. Apostolic Teamwork: “If you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses” (Matthew 18:16). The word of one person, who has witnessed a miraculous event alone, is often taken as no more than the word of a crazy man. However, if more than one person confesses to having witnessed the event, there is much stronger proof. The apostles went about witnessing to the things that Jesus was doing and the signs he was working: healing the sick, casting out demons, etc. It is wonderful to team up with fellow Christians in the workplace or in the family, in order to witness to the work of Christ in our lives. 3. Two is Better Than One: Jesus makes it clear: with regard to the mission, another apostle is much more important than other material tools. Jesus teaches us here the principle of teamwork. An apostolic “colleague” helps us to be vigilant against dangers to our health and well-being (physical and spiritual). Prayer can be in community; Jesus assures that “if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). Working in a team also helps to improve apostolic efficacy: Each enriches the other with the exchange of knowledge, personal and lived experiences, and views on the situation. Each complements the other, contributing their God-given gifts, abilities and qualities. “Two heads are better than one.” Conversation with Christ: You sent your apostles out in twos, Lord Jesus, to teach me about the importance of teamwork. Help me not presume that I am alone in the mission. When I try to do everything myself, sometimes it may be out of subtle pride. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the gift of apostolic colleagues. Increase in my heart true fraternal charity for those who work alongside me in building up your kingdom, so that the world may believe. Resolution: I will make it a point to involve an apostolic colleague in my effort to help some friend or family member encounter Christ. |
To bring no provisions when going on a journey is really unthinkable. If we were in the place of the disciples, how would we have reacted? We would certainly welcome being sent on a mission with another companion, but why did our Lord give such an impractical stipulation as to “take nothing for the journey?” These two conditions which the Lord imposed on his disciples were meant to inculcate in his followers (and that includes us today) the right disposition or attitude in the work we are called to do. It is a way of emptying ourselves to rely on others which is a very humbling experience. What a good way to teach us faith and trust in every aspect of our life. As for the command to go with a companion, not only is it an encouragement to go to unknown territories with a supportive companion, but it also awakens in us the realization that in everything we do, we are part of a much greater undertaking. Can we be less attached to our talents, our achievements, our treasure, knowing that all of these are God’s gifts that must be shared with our needy brothers, thus reinforcing the teachings on love?
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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 2
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“First and foremost, the right to life of every human person – from conception to natural death – is the primary and thus most essential of all human rights,” the letter stated. “Faith teaches and human reason confirms that human life is not a privilege bestowed on us by others, but rather a right that society must recognize and protect.
"As Christians, we are called to witness to an authentic ‘human ecology’ which safeguards all human life – no matter how frail or impaired – from being manipulated or destroyed.”
Bishops of Wisconsin
VOTE FOR LIFE!
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