Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 01-16-19

Since the children share in blood and Flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the Devil, and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life. Surely he did not help angels but rather the descendants of Abraham; therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever. or: R. Alleluia.

Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds.

Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD! Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly.

You descendants of Abraham, his servants, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones! He, the LORD, is our God; throughout the earth his judgments prevail.

He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a thousand generationsB Which he entered into with Abraham and by his oath to Isaac.

On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.

Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you." He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come." So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

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Ordinary Time: January 16th
Wednesday of the First Week of Ordinary Time

MASS READINGS
January 16, 2019 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER
Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen. 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.
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Old Calendar: St. Marcellus, pope and martyr; St. Honoratus, archbishop (Hist)
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Marcellus who was elected Pope just at the time when Diocletian had spent somewhat his first violence against the Church. In Rome he reorganized the Catholic hierarchy disrupted by the persecution. He was exiled and put to labor. He is considered a martyr as he died in 309 because of his treatment during his exile.
Historically today is the feast of St. Honoratus who was born in Gaul (modern France) about 350, and came from a distinguished Roman family. After a pilgrimage to Greece and Rome, he became a hermit on the isle of Lerins, where he was joined by Sts Lupus of Troyes (July 29), Eucherius of Lyons (November 16), and Hilary of Arles (May 5), among others.

St. Marcellus
Diocletian’s terrible persecution had taken its toll. It was reported that within a period of thirty days, sixteen thousand Christians were martyred. The Church in Rome was left scattered and disorganized, and the Holy See remained vacant for over two years. It wasn’t until the ascension of Emperor Maxentius and his policy of toleration that a pope could be chosen. Marcellus, a Roman priest during the reign of Marcellinus, was elected.
The new pope was confronted with enormous problems. His first challenge was to reorganize the badly shaken Church. He is said to have accomplished this by dividing Rome into twenty-five parishes, each with its own priest. The next task was more challenging. Once again a pope was faced with the problem of what to do with the many brethren who had compromised their faith during the reign of Diocletian. Marcellus upheld the doctrine of required penance before absolution. The apostates keenly desired readmission to communion, but they violently opposed the harshness of the penance demanded by the rigorist, Marcellus. Riots broke out throughout the city, and even bloodshed, to the point that Emperor Maxentius intervened. He believed that the pontiff was the root of the problem, and in the interest of peace, he banished Marcellus; the pope died a short time later. Apart from persecution, this was the first time that the secular government was known to have interfered with the Church. There is some confusion whether his body was brought back to Rome or whether he was allowed to return to the Holy See before his death. There is no doubt, however, that he was buried in the cemetery of Priscilla on the Via Salaria.
Symbols: Pope with a donkey or horse nearby; pope standing in a stable.

St. Honoratus
St. Honoratus was of a consular Roman family settled in Gaul. In his youth he renounced the worship of idols, and gained his elder brother, Venantius, to Christ. Convinced of the hollowness of the things of this world, they wished to renounce it with all its pleasures, but a fond pagan father put continual obstacles in their way. At length, taking with them St. Caprais, a holy hermit, for their director, they sailed from Marseilles to Greece, with the intention to live there unknown in some desert.
Venantius soon died happily at Methone, and Honoratus, being also sick, was obliged to return with his conductor. He first led a hermitical life in the mountains near Frejus. Two small islands lie in the sea near that coast; on the smaller, now known as St. Honoré, our Saint settled, and, being followed by others, he there founded the famous monastery of Lerins, about the year 400. Some of his followers he appointed to live in community; others, who seemed more perfect, in separate cells as anchorets. His rule was chiefly borrowed from that of St. Pachomius.
Nothing can be more amiable than the description St. Hilary has given of the excellent virtues of this company of saints, especially of the charity, concord, humility, compunction, and devotion which reigned among them under the conduct of our holy abbot.
He was, by compulsion, consecrated Archbishop of Arles in 426, and died, exhausted with austerities and apostolical labors, in 429.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

Meditation: Hebrews 2:14-18

1st Week in Ordinary Time

He himself was tested through what he suffered. (Hebrews 2:18)

Today’s first reading reminds us that Jesus wasn’t some superhero. He became a man just like us; he suffered and was tempted just as we are. He got tired and hungry, just as we do. He felt hurt when people spoke against him, just as we do. And he needed to pray, just as we do. Jesus never sinned, of course, but he nevertheless experienced so many of the effects of sin that we know. This means that Jesus not only understands our suffering—he can also help us.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is pulled in every direction: healing, casting out demons, proclaiming the kingdom, dealing with a huge group of people crowding around his front door (Mark 1:33). Surely all those demands took their toll on him. And still he got up “very early before dawn” and went off “to a deserted place, where he prayed” (1:35). Didn’t he deserve to sleep in a bit?

Like Jesus, we can feel pulled every which way at times. The best thing we can do when this happens is to try to carve out a few minutes for prayer. When we are vulnerable, the devil will try to sneak in and take advantage of our weakness. He might tell us that it’s okay to be irritable; it’s only because we’re hungry. Or he might tell us not to worry about our word choice; anyone who is as tired as we are deserves to let off a little steam. Those are only the first steps on a slippery slope, and the sooner we get off that path, the better.

Remember, Jesus knows what you’re going through. He chose to become fully man so that he could feel what we feel. He chose to become one like us so that he could relate to us—and so that we could relate to him!

Every time you feel tired or tempted, hungry or hurt, remember that Jesus knows. Remember how he turned to his Father in prayer before the devil even had a chance. Then pray. Find a “deserted place,” and ask Jesus for his grace to see you through (Mark 1:35). Always remember that he is with you. He is always at your side, ready to help you and encourage you. Always remember that he knows.

“Jesus, you know what it is like to struggle with the demands of life. Help me, Lord.”

Psalm 105:1-4, 6-9
Mark 1:29-39

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Daily Gospel Commentary

Saint Jerome (347-420)
priest, translator of the Bible, Doctor of the Church Commentary on Saint Mark's Gospel, 2; PLS 2, 125f.

“Jesus grasped her hand and helped her up”

“Jesus approached her, grasped her hand and helped her up.” For indeed, the sick woman was unable to get up on her own. Since she was confined to bed, she could not come before Jesus. This compassionate doctor came to her bed himself; he who carried a sick lamb on his shoulders now drew near to this bed... He draws closer that he might heal more fully. Take good note of what is written here... “You should certainly have come to meet me, you should have come to greet me at the threshold of your house, but in that case your healing would have been the result, less of my compassion than of your will. But since such a strong fever oppresses you and prevents you from getting up, I am coming myself.”

“And he helped her up.” As she couldn't stand up by herself, it was the Lord who helped her. “He grasped her hand and helped her up.” When Peter was in danger on the sea, just as he was going to drown, he too was grasped by the hand and raised up... What a beautiful sign of friendship and love towards this sick woman! He helped her up by taking her hand; his hand healed the sick woman's hand. He grasped that hand as a doctor would have done, he who was both doctor and remedy took her pulse and assessed the gravity of the fever. Jesus touched it and the fever vanished.

Let us want him to touch our hand so that in this way what we do may be made pure. Should he enter our house, let us get off our bed at last and not remain lying down. Jesus stands at our bedside and will we remain lying down? Come on! To your feet!... “There is one among you whom you do not recognize” (Jn 1:26); “the kingdom of God is among you” (Lk 17:21). Let us have faith and we shall see Jesus among us.

Homily of the Day

In many instances during his public ministry, the Gospels tell us that Jesus went off to a quiet place to pray, to commune with his heavenly Father. At the night before his arrest, trial, condemnation and death on the cross, “filled with anguish and distress,” Jesus prayed to his Father at Gethsemane, “Father, if it is your will, remove this cup from me; still not my will but yours be done.” (Lk 22:42) In prayer he was in complete union with his Father.

The Church offers the Eucharistic sacrifice as our great prayer to the Father; participation at Sunday Mass is very important in the life of all members of the Church. The Church stresses the importance of prayer: ordained ministers and religious are required daily prayer. We are all urged to pray and to pray unceasingly.

St. Augustine of Hippo is quoted as saying, “Every Christian must spend an hour daily in prayer; but, if he is too busy, then he should spend at least three hours.”

Are we too busy to spend time with God in daily prayer?

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<< Wednesday, January 16, 2019 >>

Hebrews 2:14-18
View Readings Psalm 105:1-4, 6-9 Mark 1:29-39
Similar Reflections

LORD OF OUR DARKNESS

“As evening drew on, they brought Him all who were ill, and those possessed by demons.” —Mark 1:32

In today’s Gospel, Jesus heals in the evening, in the midst of the darkness (Mk 1:32-34). Jesus entered the darkness to drive the demons out of the darkness. “A people living in darkness has seen a great light. On those who inhabit a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen” (Mt 4:16).

In today’s first reading, Jesus enters the darkness of our fallen human state (Heb 2:14ff). He became one of us. The Almighty God, Whom the universe could not contain (1 Kgs 8:27), became “like His brothers in every way, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest before God on their behalf, to expiate the sins of the people. Since He was Himself tested through what He suffered, He is able to help those who are tempted” (Heb 2:17-18).

Jesus took on our human condition. He bears our afflictions and infirmities (Mt 8:17; Is 53:4). He takes the initiative to come to us not in our strength and beauty, but in our weakness and darkness. Have you ever felt unworthy of God’s love? You are not unworthy to Jesus. He came to seek and save the lost (Lk 19:10). He is the Lamb of God, gentle, innocent, and pure, yet He comes to take away the sins of the world, including yours (Jn 1:29).

Jesus stands and knocks at the door of your darkness (Rv 3:20). “Open wide your hearts!” (2 Cor 6:13) Let the Lord enter.

Prayer: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, nothing can separate me from Your love, not even the darkness (Rm 8:35-39). Come into my heart right now.
Promise: “Jesus likewise had a full share in [our humanity], that by His death He might rob the devil, the prince of death, of his power.” —Heb 2:14
Praise: Jesus delivered David from addiction, thereby changing David’s life and the lives of many others.

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January, 2019

The Holy Father's Prayer Intention

Evangelization – Religious Minorities in Asia, That Christians and other religious minorities in Asian countries, may be able to practice their faith in full freedom.