February Devotion: The Holy Family

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

Holy Family Chaplet

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with me in my last hour.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul
in peace with you.

Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse. Amen.

Say 3 Our Father's, 3 Hail Mary's, and 3 Glory be's.

The Holy Family Icon by Nicholas Markell

PRAYER TO
THE HOLY FAMILY
===================================================================== ================

GOD our Heavenly Father, You call all peoples to be united as one family in worshipping You as the one and true God. You willed that Your Son become man, giving Him a virgin mother and a foster father to form the Holy Family of Nazareth.

WE pray: may the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, image and model of every human family unit walk in the spirit of Nazareth and grow in the understanding of its particular mission in society and the Church. May our families be living cells of love, faithfulness and unity, thus reflecting God's covenant with humanity and Christ's redeeming love for His Church.

JESUS, Mary and Joseph protect our families from all evil; keep us, who are away from home, one in love with our dear ones.

Parent's Prayer

Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man, and Son of Mary, I thank you for the gift of life you have entrusted to my care. Help me be a parent both tender and wise, both loving and forgiving.

Mary, Holy Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and our Motherly Queen of Heaven, nourish our family with your heavenly grace. Help us to remain faithful to The Most Holy Trinity, in all our sorrows and joys.

Joseph, Earthly father to our Lord God, guardian and spouse of Mary, keep our family safe from harm. Help us in all times of discouragement or anxiety.

Holy Family of Nazareth, help our family to walk in your footsteps. May we be peace-loving and peace-giving.
Amen.

Imitating the Holy Family: Four Traits that Make It Possible
[Catholic Caucus] On the Holy Family [Angelus]
Biblical Teachings on Marriage and Family. A Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Recovering God's Plan for Marriage and Family: A Sermon on the Feast of the Holy Family

"Why were you looking for me?" (On the Feast of The Holy Family)
U.S. Postal Service Issues Holy Family Forever Stamp
On Prayer in the Life of the Holy Family
The Holy Family - held together by Love through all their problems [Ecumenical]
Feast of the Holy Family: The Christian Family is a Domestic Church
Chesterton on "The Human Family and the Holy Family"
Joseph, Mary and Jesus: A Model Family
ADVICE TO PARENTS by Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
The Holy Family
St. Joseph as Head of the Holy Family (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)

Feast of the Holy Family
Feast of the Holy Family (Dom GuÃ©ranger OSB)
The Feast of the Holy Family
The Holy Family vs. The Holy Innocents: A Christmas season reflection [Catholic Caucus]
Vatican creche to place Holy Family in Joseph's carpentry workshop
The Redemption and Protection of the Family [Feast of the Holy Family]
Study Backs Tradition of Loreto House - Stones in Altar Match Those in Nazareth, It Says
Unraveling Jesus' mystery years in Egypt
Gaudi's Church of the Holy Family to be ready for worship in 2008
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...

21 posted on 02/13/2016 9:21:36 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

February 2016

Pope's Intentions

Universal: Care for Creation --That we may take good care of creation -- a gift freely given -- cultivating and protecting it for future generations.

Evangelization: Asia -- That opportunities may increase for dialogue and encounter between the Christian faith and the peoples of Asia.

22 posted on 02/13/2016 9:22:03 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Daily Gospel Commentary

First Sunday of Lent - Year C

Commentary of the day
Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407), priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church
Homily 13 on Matthew, 1

Strengthened by temptations

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."... For since Jesus did and underwent everything with a view to our instruction he likewise consented to be led there and wrestle against the devil in order that every baptized person who, after baptism, has to endure greater temptations may not be troubled as though this outcome were unexpected, but may continue to endure everything nobly as though it were happening in the natural course of things. For indeed, this was the reason you took up arms, not to be idle, but to fight.

For this reason God does not prevent temptations from coming, either. First of all to teach you that you are now much stronger; next, that you may remain humble and not be puffed up by the greatness of your gifts since the temptations have power to repress you; then, in order that that wicked demon, who remains for a while doubtful about your desertion of him, may be well assured by the touchstone of temptation that you have utterly forsaken and fallen from him; fourthly, that you may in this way be made stronger and better tempered than any steel; fifthly, that you may obtain a clear demonstration of the treasures entrusted to you. For the devil would not have assailed you unless he had seen that you had been brought to greater honor.

23 posted on 02/13/2016 9:28:31 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Arlington Catholic Herald

GOSPEL COMMENTARY LK 4:1-13

Devil on the prowl

Fr. Robert J. Wagner

Experience tells us that the times when we are most susceptible to temptation are when we are fatigued, in physical or emotional pain, hungry and thirsty, or when we feel alone or frightened. In such times, we must remain spiritually vigilant, for it is in moments like these when the evil one comes to us, expecting our defenses to be down.

Our Lord was no stranger to this dynamic; we see in the Gospels that He, too, often faced temptation when He was in distress. For example, on His last trip to Jerusalem, Jesus was burdened with the knowledge that His Passion and Death awaited Him. In order to prepare His disciples, Our Lord revealed to them that He would suffer and die when they reached the city. Understandably, they were taken aback, and Peter said, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall happen to you" (cf. Mt 16:21-22). Jesus recognized these words for what they were: a temptation from the evil one at a stressful time. Thus, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind me, Satan!" (Mt 16:23). Even with a heavy heart, Our Lord remained faithful to the will of His Father and continued on to Jerusalem and the cross.

Then, as Jesus hung dying on the cross, Satan tempted Him again. This time, it was through the words of the chief priests and scribes, who shouted, "He saved others; He cannot save himself ... Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him." (Mt 27:42). In His divinity, Our Lord could have come down from the cross. Yet even then, in the most agonizing suffering, Jesus did not succumb to the temptation of the evil one .

We find the devil on the prowl once more in this Sunday's Gospel (Lk 4:1-13). Our Lord had fasted in the desert for 40 days, so He was tired, hungry and weak. Satan saw the opportunity to pounce and approached Jesus with three temptations. First, he tempted Jesus with the desire of the flesh, commanding Him to turn stones into bread in order to satisfy His hunger. Jesus refused. The evil one then tempted Jesus with power, promising to give Our Lord all the kingdoms of the world if He would only worship the prince of lies. Again, Jesus refused. Finally, Satan asked Jesus to throw Himself from the high wall of the temple, for His Heavenly Father would surely save Him. With this challenge, the evil one asked Jesus to prove God is who God says He is. Our Lord faced this particular temptation many times in His life, for His followers would repeatedly command that He perform miracles or signs for them. Jesus calls us to faithfulness and trust, and we cannot see Him as an object of our bidding. Certainly, we can pray for miracles but never command them of God. Jesus denied Satan's last temptation as well by quoting Scripture: "You shall not put the Lord, Your God, to the test" (cf. Deut 6:16).

Each of us has been tempted by desires of the flesh and by the allure of power and prestige. We all have been tempted against our faith in God with a thought that God should prove He and His promises are true. Against all temptations, Jesus stood steadfast. We, however, often fall.

So why does the church offer us this Gospel at the beginning of Lent? Because it offers us hope. Jesus is more powerful than the evil one. Our Lord is near us in those moments when we meet the evil one, especially when we are weakest. Christ is readily present to us -- dwelling within us when we are in the state of grace (cf. Jn 14:23), filling us with His spiritual gifts, feeding us with His True Body and Blood in the Eucharist and uniting each of us within His Mystical Body, the church. Also, even though we turn from Jesus many times and in many ways in our sins, He remains faithful to us, calling us back to communion with Him through confession where He makes us new through His mercy.

Stubborn temptations call for a response of prayer, confession and the Eucharist. For when we face temptation, especially one to which we have fallen many times, we are as strong as our union with Christ who "gives us the victory" (cf. 1 Cor 15:57).

This Lent, as we seek to loosen ourselves from the clutches of the evil one and follow Jesus more closely, may we be filled with hope that we have an all-powerful Savior who desires that we remain with Him, that He may constantly offers us His mercy and love, even when we fall.

Fr. Wagner is Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde's secretary.

24 posted on 02/13/2016 9:46:17 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Archdiocese of Washington

The Gospel Train Reaches Temptation Station -- Stay on Board, Children! A Homily for the First Sunday of Lent

Msgr. Charles Pope - February 13, 2016 -

"Jesus Tempted in the Desert" by Jaci XIII is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

There's an old gospel song tradition that speaks of the Christian life as a ride on the "Gospel train." The Gospel train is not always an easy ride with perfect scenery, but you've gotta get your ticket and stay on board.

Mysteriously, the train sometimes passes through difficult terrain. But just stay on board! On his way to glory, Jesus faced trials, hatred, and even temptation (yet without sinning).

Today the Gospel train pulls into "Temptation Station" and we are asked to consider some of life's temptations. The three temptations faced by Jesus are surely on wide display in our own times. What are these temptations and how do we resist them?

In this desert scene, the Lord Jesus faces down three fundamental areas of temptation, all of which have one thing in common: they seek to substitute a couch for the cross.

In a way, the devil has one argument: "Why the cross?" His question is a rhetorical one. He wants you to blame God for the cross, and in your anger, to reject Him as some sort of despot.

Well, pay attention, Church! The cross comes from the fact that you and I, ratifying Adam and Eve's choice, have rejected the tree of life in favor of the tree that brought death. We, along with the devil, may wish to wince at the cross and scornfully blame God for it, but in the end the cross was our choice.

And if you think that you have never chosen the tree of death and that God is "unfair," then prove to me that you have never sinned. Only if you can do that will I accept that you have never chosen the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil over the Tree of Life and that you deserve something better than the cross. Only then will I accept that you have never insisted on "knowing" evil as well as good.

If you can't, then you've made the same self-destructive, absurd choice that the rest of us have. It is not God that is cruel but we who are wicked and are to blame for the presence of the cross. The cross comes not from God but from us. We ought to stop blaming God for evil, suffering, and the cross and look in the mirror instead. The glory of this gospel is that the Lord Jesus entered into this twisted world of our making and endured its full absurdity for our sake. If there is evil in this world it is our choice, not God's.

Have we finished blaming God? Are we ready to focus on our own issues? If so then let's look at some areas of temptation that the devil is able to exploit because we indulge them. Let's also see the answer that the Lord Jesus has for these temptations. For the Lord, though tempted, never yielded.

1. Pleasures and Passions - The devil encourages Jesus to turn stones into bread. After such a long fast the thought of bread is surely a strong temptation. In effect, the devil tells Jesus to "scratch where it itches," to indulge his desire, to give in to what his body craves.

We, too, have many desires and are told by the devil in many ways to "scratch where it itches." Perhaps no generation before has faced such strong temptation. We live in a consumer culture that is highly skilled at eliciting and then satisfying our every desire. All day long, we are bombarded with advertisements that arouse desire and then advise us that we simply must fulfill those desires. If something is out of stock or unavailable in exactly the form we want at the instant we want it, we are indignant. Why should I have to wait? Why can't I have it in that color? The advertiser's basic message is that you can have it all. This is a lie, of course, but it is told so frequently that we feel entitled to just about everything.

Some of our biggest cultural problems are ones stemming from overindulgence. We are a culture that struggles with obesity, addiction, sexual misconduct, and greed. We struggle with a level of overstimulation that robs us of a reasonable attention span; boredom is a significant issue for many who are too used to the frantic pace of video games and action movies. We have done well in turning stones into bread.

Jesus rebukes the devil, saying, Man does not live on bread alone. In other words, there are things that are just more important than bread and circuses, than creature comforts and indulgence. Elsewhere Jesus says, A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Lk 12:15). I have written on this in another post: The Most Important Things in Life Aren't Things.

2. Popularity and Power - Taking Jesus up a high mountain, the devil shows Him all the nations and people of the earth and promises them to Him if Jesus will but bow down and worship him. This is a temptation to both power and popularity; the devil promises Jesus not only sovereignty but also glory.

Because most of us are not likely to become sovereigns, and because temptation is only strong in those matters that seem remotely possible for us, I will focus instead on popularity, something we deal with regularly in this life. One of the deeper wounds in our soul is the extreme need that most of us have to be liked, to be popular, to be respected, and to fit in. We dread being laughed at, scorned, or ridiculed. We cannot stand the thought of feeling minimized in any way.

For many people the desire for popularity is so strong that they'll do almost anything to attain it. It usually starts in youth, when peer pressure "causes" young people to do many foolish things. They may join gangs, get tattoos, pierce their bodies, and/or wear silly clothes. Many a young lady, desperate to have a boyfriend (and thus feel loved and/or impress her friends), will sleep with boys or do other inappropriate things in order to gain that "love." As we get older, we might be tempted to bear false witness, to make "compromises" to advance our career, to lie to impress others, to spend money we don't have to buy things we don't really need, and/or to try to impress people whom we don't even like. Likewise, we may be tempted to be silent when we should speak out for what is right.

All of this is a way of bowing before the devil, because it says that we are willing to sin in order to fit in, to advance, or to be popular. Jesus says, You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.

The real solution to this terrible temptation of popularity is to fear the Lord. When we fear God we need fear no one else. If I can kneel before God I can stand before any man. If God is the only one we need to please, then we don't have to run around trying to please everyone else. Here too I have written on this matter elsewhere: What Does It Mean to Fear the Lord?

3. Presumption and Pride - Finally (for now) the devil encourages Jesus to test God's love for Him by casting Himself off the highest wall of the Temple Mount. Does not Scripture say that God will rescue Him? The devil quotes Psalm 91: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone. In our time the sin of presumption is epidemic.

Many people think that they can go one behaving sinfully, recklessly, and wantonly and that they will never face punishment. "God is love!" they boldly say, "He would never send anyone to Hell or punish them!" In saying this, they reject literally thousands of verses of Scripture that say otherwise. But they have refashioned God and worship this man-made idol. "God does not care if I go to Church," they boldly claim, "He does not care if I live with my girlfriend." The list continues to grow.

The attitude seems to be that no matter what I do, God will save me. It is presumptuous to speak and think like this. It is true that Hell and punishment are difficult teachings to fully comprehend and to reconcile with God's patience and mercy. Nevertheless, God teaches it and we need to stop pretending that it really isn't for real. This is presumption.

I have written elsewhere on the topic of Hell and why it makes sense in the context of a God who loves and respects us: Hell Has to Be.

A mitigated form of presumption is procrastination, wherein we constantly put our return to the Lord out of our mind. About this tendency it is said,

There were three demons summoned by Satan as to their plan to entrap as many human beings as possible. The first demon announced that he would tell them there is no God. But Satan wasn't too impressed. "You'll get a few, but not many and even those atheists are mostly lying and know deep down inside that someone greater than they made them and all things." The second demon said he would tell them there is no devil. But Satan said, "That won't work, most of them have already met me and know my power." Finally the third demon said, "I will not tell them there is no God or no devil, I will simply tell them there is no hurry!" And Satan smiled an ugly grin and said, "You're the man!"

Presumption, pride, and their ugly cousin procrastination are widespread today.

Jesus rebukes the devil by quoting Deuteronomy: You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test. We ought to be very careful about presumption, for it is widespread today.

This does not mean that we have to retreat into fear and scrupulosity. God loves us and is rich in mercy. But we cannot willfully go on calling "no big deal" what God calls sin. We should be sober about sin and call on the Lord's mercy rather than doubting that we that really need it or just presuming that God doesn't mind.

The train is leaving the station soon. I hope that we've all benefited from this brief stop and have stored up provisions for the journey ahead: insight, resolve, appreciation, understanding, determination, and hope.

The journey ahead is scenic but difficult; temptations are a reality. But as the old gospel song says, "The Gospel train's a'comin', I hear it just at hand. I hear the car wheel rumblin' And rollin' thro' the land. Get on board little children, Get on board, there's room for many more!"

Never heard the song? Here's a rendition of it:

25 posted on 02/13/2016 9:59:48 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

26 posted on 02/13/2016 10:03:46 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

http://www.theworkofgod.org/Devotns/Euchrist/HolyMass/gospels.asp?key=56

Year C - 1st Sunday of Lent

You shalt not tempt the Lord your God.
Luke 4:1-13
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ “
5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.
7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ “
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’
11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ “
12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ “
13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. (NRSV)

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus
I am the Eternal Word, the Son of God. In my spiritual nature I am pure Spirit. I am also the Son of Mary, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of my Virgin Mother, therefore I have shared human nature and for the sake of your salvation I became a man.

As a man I shared all the weaknesses and temptations of human beings. After my baptism, I was filled with the Holy Spirit and decided to prepare myself for the work I was going to do. I went to the desert to fast and to pray for my mission. Right at the end when I was at my weakest human point the devil appeared to me trying to seduce me with his temptations.

I represented the whole human race in my spiritual struggle with the powerful enemy of souls so that you all would learn a lesson and always draw your wisdom and strength from me. The three enemies of the soul are the flesh, the world and the devil. He tempted me as he tempts everyone but I overcame his temptations. You can also overcome the same way I did.

To the weakness of the flesh, the devil tempted me with bread in order to interrupt my self-denial, my reply to him was “Human beings live not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” I have taught you everything you need to know, my word will be your wisdom and your strength. Deny yourselves and you will have total self-control against temptation.

The devil tempted me to worship him in exchange for power, glory and riches, I said to Him “You must do homage to the Lord, Him alone must you serve” The first commandment calls to worship God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, but many people neglect God and worship the false gods of the world, therefore becoming victims of the devil.

The devil tempted me to throw myself from a pinnacle of the temple, to which, I replied, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God”. Every time you sin, you are doing just that. You are forgetting the damage you are doing to your soul, you are putting the Lord to the test. Therefore don’t put me to the test, avoid sin, do what is good and you will conquer temptations when they come.
Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary

27 posted on 02/13/2016 10:08:01 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Sunday Gospel Reflections

1st Sunday of Lent
Reading I: Dt 26:4-10 II: Rom 10:8-13

Gospel
Luke 4:1-13

¹ And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit
² for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry.
³ The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."
⁴ And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'"
⁵ And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,
⁶ and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.
⁷ If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours."
⁸ And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'"
⁹ And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here;
¹⁰ for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you,'
¹¹ and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"
¹² And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"
¹³ And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Interesting Details

This account immediately follows the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. The spirit given Jesus at His baptism (3:22) does not lead Him into temptation, but is the sustaining power with Him during this time. As the baptism revealed His divinity, so the temptation story emphasizes His humanity.
The wilderness/desert was believed to be the place of demons (Lk 8:29, Lk 11:24).
(v.2) Jesus' forty days in the desert recalls the forty years of the wilderness wandering of the Israelites during the exodus (Dt 8:2). While the people of God's forty years are described as years of testing and failure (Acts 7:39-43), Jesus' forty days are those of testing, faithful and victory.
(v.3) "stone to bread": Jesus is challenged to use His power for His own ends rather than to obey His Father.
(v.4) "man shall not live by bread alone": Jesus' response to the devil is taken from Deut. 8:3. His responses in vv 8 and 12 are also from Deut. (6:13,16).
"Son of God": Luke refers his readers back to Jesus' baptism, where God had declared, "You are my Son" (3:22). Jesus, God's Son, is faithful to His Father and does not fall during His testing as Israel, God's Son, had done.
Jesus' testing in Jerusalem is the final and climatic one. It is in Jerusalem that the devil will return at "the opportune time". As Jesus is about to begin His public ministry, Luke directs our attention to Jerusalem, where Jesus again remains victorious and God's promises will be ultimately fulfilled.
(vv.10-11) The devil tries to use Scripture (Ps 91:11-12) to offer Jesus to test His sonship against the promise of God to protect Him. Scripture is no more authorative than any other text if it is wrongly interpreted as in this case by the devil.

One Main Point

Jesus' victory over the devil. Luke presents Jesus precisely as the kind of person John the Baptizer predicted: the "more powerful one" (3:16)

Reflections

What have you found most helpful in Jesus' victory over temptation?
If the Devil could identify your three greatest weaknesses, what would they be?
In your prayer, be with Jesus, imagine His physical weakness and His strong determination to obey His Father's will.

28 posted on 02/13/2016 10:11:24 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

'St. Louis objected to private confidences and whisperings in society, especially at table, lest suspicion should be aroused that scandal was being repeated. "Those who have anything amusing or pleasant to say," he argued, "should let everybody share the entertainment, but if they want to speak of important matters, they should wait a more suitable time."'

St. Francis de Sales

29 posted on 02/13/2016 10:13:10 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

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).

30 posted on 02/13/2016 10:14:09 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Saint Cyril, monk, and Saint Methodius, bishop

Saint Cyril, monk,
& Saint Methodius, bishop
Memorial
February 14th

Saints Cyril and Methodius – Icon – tempera on wood. Artist unknown - ca 16th c

"The apostolic and missionary activity of Saints Cyril and Methodius, which belongs to the second half of the ninth century, can be considered the first effective evangelization of the Slavs. [ ] Their work is an outstanding contribution to the formation of the common Christian roots of Europe, roots which by their strength and vitality are one of the most solid points of reference, which no serious attempt to reconstruct in a new and relevant way the unity of the Continent can ignore [ ] Cyril and Methodius are as it were the connecting links or spiritual bridge between the Eastern and Western traditions, which both come together in the one great Tradition of the universal Church. For us they are the champions and also the patrons of the ecumenical endeavor of the sister Churches of East and West, for the rediscovery through prayer and dialogue of visible Unity in perfect and total communion...”

— Pope John Paul II
Slavorum Apostoli 23, 25, 27

In 1985, Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical, Slavorum Apostoli (Apostles to the Slavs) on the life and work of the brothers, Saints Cyril and Methodius.

Following is the Holy Father's biographical sketch of these two missionary brothers whose apostolic work was key to the evangelization of Europe. Pope John Paul also declared Saints Cyril and Methodius co-patrons of Europe (in addition to Sain Benedict).

The complete encyclical is accessible on the Vatican web site: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_19850602_slavorum-apostoli_en.html

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

4. ... The city which saw the birth of the two holy Brothers is the modern Salonika, which in the ninth century was an important centre of commercial and political life in the Byzantine Empire, and occupied a notable position in the intellectual and social life of that part of the Balkans. Being situated on the frontier of the Slav territories, it also certainly had a Slav name: Solun.

Methodius was the elder brother and his baptismal name was probably Michael. He was born between 815 and 820. His younger brother Constantine, who came to be better known by his religious name Cyril, was born in 827 or 828. Their father was a senior official of the imperial administration. The family's social position made possible for the two Brothers a similar career, which in fact Methodius did take up, reaching the rank of Archon or Prefect in one of the frontier Provinces where many Slavs lived. However, towards the year 840 he interrupted his career and retired to one of the monasteries at the foot of Mount Olympus in Bithynia, then known as the Holy Mountain.

His brother Cyril studied with great success in Byzantium, where he received Holy Orders, after having resolutely refused a brilliant political future. By reason of his exceptional intellectual and religious talents and knowledge, there were entrusted to him while he has still a young man delicate ecclesiastical appointments, such as that of Librarian of the Archive attached to the great church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople, and, simultaneously, the prestigious position of Secretary to the Patriarch of that city. However, he very soon made it known that he wished to be relieved of these posts, in order to be able to devote himself to study and the contemplative life, far from the pursuit of ambition. Thus he retired secretly to a monastery on the Black Sea coast. He was discovered six months later, and was persuaded to accept the task of teaching philosophy in the School of higher learning in Constantinople, where by reason of the excellence of his knowledge he gained the epithet of The Philosopher by which he is still known. Later on he was sent by the emperor and the Patriarch on a mission to the Saracens. On the completion of this task he retired from public life in order to join his elder brother Methodius and share with him the monastic life. But once again, together with Methodius, he was included in a Byzantine delegation sent to the Khazars, acting as a religious and cultural expert. While staying in the Crimea at Kherson, they identified what they believed to be the church in which had been buried Saint Clement, Pope of Rome and martyr, who had been exiled to that distant region. They recovered his relics and took them with them. These relics later accompanied the two holy Brothers on their missionary journey to the West, until they were able to bring them solemnly to Rome and present them to Pope Hadrian II.

5. The event which was to determine the whole of the rest of their lives was the request made by Prince Rastislav of Greater Moravia to the Emperor Michael III, to send to his peoples "a Bishop and teacher ... able to explain to them the true Christian faith in their own language".

Those chosen were Saints Cyril and Methodius, who readily accepted, set out and, probably by the year 863, reached Greater Moravia-a State then including various Slav peoples of Central Europe, at the crossroads of the mutual influences between East and West. They undertook among these peoples that mission to which both of them devoted the rest of their lives, spent amidst journeys, privations, sufferings, hostility and persecution, which for Methodius included even a period of cruel imprisonment. All of this they bore with strong faith and indomitable hope in God. They had in fact prepared well for the task entrusted to them: they took with them the texts of the Sacred Scriptures needed for celebrating the Sacred Liturgy, which they had prepared and translated into the Old Slavonic language and written in a new alphabet, devised by Constantine the Philosopher and perfectly adapted to the sounds of that language. The missionary activity of the two Brothers was accompanied by notable success, but also by the understandable difficulties which the preceding initial Christianization, carried out by the neighboring Latin Churches, placed in the way of the new missionaries.

About three years later, while travelling to Rome, they stopped in Pannonia where the Slav Prince Kocel, who had fled from the important civil and religious center of Nitra, gave them a hospitable reception. From here, after some months, they set out again for Rome together with their followers, for whom they desired to obtain Holy Orders. Their route passed through Venice, where the innovating elements of the mission they were carrying out were subjected to a public discussion. In Rome Pope Hadrian II, who had in the meantime succeeded Nicholas I, received them very cordially. He approved the Slavonic liturgical books, which he ordered to be solemnly placed on the altar in the Church of Saint Mary ad Praesepe, today known as Saint Mary Major, and recommended that their followers be ordained priests. This phase of their efforts concluded in a most favorable manner. Methodius however had to carry out the next stages by himself, because his younger brother, now gravely ill, scarcely had time to take religious vows and put on the monastic habit before he died shortly afterwards, on February 14, 869 in Rome.

6. Saint Methodius remained faithful to the words which Cyril had said to him on his deathbed: "Behold, my brother, we have shared the same destiny, ploughing the same furrow; I now fall in the field at the end of my day. I know that you greatly love your Mountain; but do not for the sake of the Mountain give up your work of teaching. For where better can you and salvation?"

Consecrated Archbishop for the territory of the ancient Diocese of Pannonia, and named Papal Legate "ad gentes" (for the Slav peoples), he assumed the ecclesiastical title of the re-established Episcopal See of Sirmium. However, Methodius' apostolic activity was cut short as the result of political and religious complications which culminated in his imprisonment for two years, on the charge of having invaded the episcopal jurisdiction of another. He was set free only on the personal intervention of Pope John VIII. The new sovereign of Greater Moravia, Prince Svatopluk, also subsequently showed hostility to the work of Methodius. He opposed the Slavonic liturgy and spread doubts in Rome about the new Archbishop's orthodoxy. In the year 880 Methodius was called ad limina Apostolorum, to present once more the whole question personally to John VIII. In Rome, absolved of all the accusations, he obtained from the Pope the publication of the Bull Industriae Tuae, which, at least in substance, restored the prerogatives granted to the liturgy in Slavonic by Pope John's predecessor Hadrian II.

When in 881 or 882 Methodius went to Constantinople, he received a similar recognition of perfect legitimacy and orthodoxy also from the Byzantine Emperor and the Patriarch Photius, who at that time was in full communion with Rome. He devoted the last years of his life principally to making further translations of the Sacred Scriptures, the liturgical books, the works of the Fathers of the Church and also the collection of ecclesiastical and Byzantine civil laws called the Nomocanon. Concerned for the survival of the work which he had begun, he named as his successor his disciple Gorazd. He died on April 6, 885 in the service of the Church established among the Slav peoples.

7. His far-seeing work, his profound and orthodox doctrine, his balance, loyalty, apostolic zeal and intrepid magnanimity gained Methodius the recognition and trust of Roman Pontiffs, of Patriarchs of Constantinople, of Byzantine Emperors and of various Princes of the young Slav peoples. Thus he became the guide and legitimate Pastor of the Church which in that age became established in the midst of those nations. He is unanimously venerated, together with his brother Constantine, as the preacher of the Gospel and teacher "from God and the holy Apostle Peter", and as the foundation of full unity between the Churches of recent foundation and the more ancient ones.

For this reason, "men and women, humble and powerful, rich and poor, free men and slaves, widows and orphans, foreigners and local people, the healthy and the sick" made up the throng that amid tears and songs accompanied to his burial place the good Teacher and Pastor who had become "all things to all men, that I might by all means save some".

To tell the truth, after the death of Methodius the work of the holy Brothers suffered a grave crisis, and persecution of their followers grew so severe that the latter were forced to abandon their missionary field. Nonetheless, their sowing of the Gospel seed did not cease to bear fruit, and their pastoral attitude of concern to bring the revealed truth to new peoples while respecting their cultural originality remains a living model for the Church and for the missionaries of all ages.

Collect:
O God, who enlightened the Slavic peoples
through the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius,
grant that our hearts may grasp the words of your teaching,
and perfect us as a people of one accord
in true faith and right confession.
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. +Amen.

First Reading: The Acts of the Apostles 13:46-49
And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.'"

And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God; and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord spread throughout all the region.

Gospel Reading: Luke 10:1-9
After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to come. And He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

GRANDE MUNUS
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII ON SS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS

To all the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops and
Bishops of the Catholic world who enjoy Favor and
Communion with the Apostolic See.
Venerable Brothers, Greetings and Apostolic Blessing.

Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs

The great duty of spreading the Christian name was entrusted in a special way to Peter, the head of the apostles, and to his successors. It urges the popes to send messengers of the Gospel to the various peoples of the earth, as the affairs of the merciful God demand. For this reason they sent Augustine to the Britons, Patrick to the Irish, Boniface to the Germans, and Willebrord to the Flemish, Dutch, and Belgians. Often they sent other men to other peoples to care for their souls. So in the exercise of their apostolic duty, they commissioned the holy men Cyril and Methodius to go to the Slavic people. Through their presence and more especially through their labors, those people have seen the light of the Gospel and have been led from their barbarian ways to a humane and civilized culture.

Extension of the Feast of Cyril and Methodius

2. All Slovenia has continued to celebrate the work of Cyril and Methodius, well-known peers of the apostles, and the Roman Church has honored both of them with just as much fervor. The Church honored both of them in many ways while they lived, and in death it did not want to be without the remains of one of them. The Bohemians, Moravians, and Croatians were accustomed to celebrating religious feasts annually on March 9. Since 1863 Pius IX granted them permission to hold their feasts on July 5 and to discharge due prayers in memory of Cyril and Methodius. Not long after that, when the great council was held at the Vatican, many bishops humbly requested from this Apostolic See that their cult and appointed feast be extended to the whole Church. Until now the matter has been under study. But because of the change in the status of the government in those areas over the years, it seems like an excellent opportunity to help the people of Slovenia, whose well-being and salvation greatly concern Us. Therefore, We shall not allow Our paternal love to fail. We wish to promote and increase the devotion to these most holy men who once spread the Catholic faith and recalled the Slavic people from ruin to salvation. They now serve as our heavenly advocates and will powerfully defend us. Moreover, in order to bring out more fully what kind of men We propose for the veneration and worship of the Catholic world, We wish to give a brief history of their deeds.

Youth and Cyril's First Mission

3. The brothers Cyril and Methodius, born in Thessalonica, went as boys to Constantinople in order to study the humanities in the chief city of the East. The spark of genius already discerned in these young men soon became apparent. They both advanced quickly, especially Cyril, who became so distinguished in learning that he won for himself the title of "The Philosopher." Soon after this, Methodius undertook the monastic life. Under the influence of the Patriarch Ignatius, the Empress Theodora commissioned Cyril to teach the Christian faith to the Khazer tribes who dwelt beyond the Chersonese. These people had asked that suitable priests might be sent to them from Constantinople. Cyril accepted the mission willingly and departed for Tauric Chersonese so that, as some relate, he could study the language of the people. It was at this time that he had the good fortune to discover the remains of Pope Clement I. This courageous martyr was thrown into the sea by order of the Emperor Trajan and was afterwards buried with the anchor to which he had been fastened. The anchor, together with the ancient tradition, made it very easy to identify the remains. With this priceless treasure, Cyril went into the towns and homes of the Khazars. In a short time, after abolishing many superstitions, he won for Jesus Christ these people, who were taught by his word and moved by the spirit of God. To the new Christian community Cyril gave an example of self control and charity by refusing all the gifts offered to him by the inhabitants, except the slaves whose liberty he restored to them when they embraced Christianity. He soon returned to Constantinople to enter the monastery of Polychronius, which Methodius had entered.

The Mission to Moravia

4. Meanwhile, reports of the great events happening among the Khazars reached Rastislav, Prince of Moravia. Aroused by their example, he negotiated with the Emperor Michael III for an evangelizing mission to be sent from Constantinople, and his wish was granted. Thus, the great worth of Cyril and Methodius as seen in their previous accomplishments, together with their zeal for helping their neighbors, caused their selection for the Moravian mission.

5. As they began their journey through Bulgaria, which had already been converted to Christianity, they let pass no opportunity for increasing the faith. Upon reaching Moravia, they were met by a large crowd who had come with great desire and joy to greet them. Without delay the apostles strove to penetrate their minds with the doctrines of Christianity and to raise their hopes to heavenly things. They did this with so much force and with such energetic zeal that in a very short rime the Moravian people gave themselves to Jesus Christ.

6. Much of their success was due to Cyril's knowledge of the Slavic language, which he had acquired earlier. The influence of the Old and New Testaments as translated by him into the vernacular was also considerable. The whole Slavic people owe much to the man who gave them the Christian faith and with it the advantages of civilization. Cyril and Methodius were also the inventors of the alphabet which afforded the Slavic tongue the means for a written language, and they are even looked upon as having formed the language.

Journey to Rome

7. Another report from these remote provinces announced to Dome the glory of their deeds. And so, when Pope Nicholas I ordered the brothers to Rome, they obeyed without hesitation. They began their Roman journey quickly, bringing with them the remains of St. Clement. At this news Adrian II, who was elected to replace the late Pope Nicholas, went out with the clergy and the people to greet the illustrious visitors. The body of St. Clement was brought with great portents into the basilica constructed at the time of Constantine, in the very tracks of the ancestral home of that invincible martyr.

8. Cyril and Methodius then recounted to the Supreme Pontiff and his clergy the apostolic mission they had fulfilled with so much holiness and labor. They were accused of acting in opposition to ancient customs and contrary to holy rites in making use of the Slavic language for religious matters. However, they pleaded their cause with such indisputable and noble reasoning that the pope and all the clergy praised them and approved their course of action. Both then took an oath in the Catholic manner and swore that they would remain in the faith of St. Peter and of the popes. After that they were created bishops and consecrated by Adrian himself, and many of their disciples were raised to different grades in Holy Orders.

Death of Cyril

9. However, it was divine foresight that Cyril should die on February 14, 869, more mature in virtue than in age. After a splendid public funeral like that given to popes, he was buried with honors in a tomb which Adrian had built for himself. Because the Roman people could not bear to send the holy corpse to Constantinople though his grieving parent asked for it, it was brought to the basilica of St. Clement and buried near him whom Cyril had held in reverence for so many years. As he was taken through the city among festal songs and psalms - not so much in the manner of a funeral as that of a triumph - the Roman people made offerings of heavenly honor to the holy man.

Methodius' Return to Moravia

10. After these things had taken place, Methodius returned under Papal orders to Moravia as bishop. In that province, having become a spiritual model for his flock, he began to serve Catholicism more keenly every day. He strongly resisted the factions of reform, lest the Catholic name fall through unsound thinking. He educated prince Svatopluk, who succeeded Rastislav in religious matters. He warned him about shirking his duties, rebuked him, and finally excommunicated him. For these reasons he incurred the anger of that revolting and wicked tyrant; then he was sent into exile. He was recalled a short time later, and his efforts produced a change of heart in the prince and an understanding that he should return to a new purity of life.

11. It is remarkable that Methodius' vigilant love had crossed the borders of Moravia and reached the Liburnians and Serbs, since he was Cyril's successor. Now it reached the Pannonians, whose prince, Kocel, he disposed to the Catholic religion and retained in his duties. It also reached the Bulgarians, whom he confirmed in the faith along with their leader Boris. Then he dispensed the gifts of heaven to the Dalmatians. Finally, he worked strenuously that the Carinthians might be brought to the knowledge and the worship of the one true God.

Methodius' Trip to Rome

12. But this became a source of trial to Methodius. Some members of the new Christian community became jealous of his accomplishments and virtue. They accused him, to Pope John VIII, Adrian's successor, of being unsound in faith, though he was innocent. They also accused him of violating the traditions of the Fathers who used only the Latin or Greek languages in discharging their religious duties. Wanting to preserve the integrity of the faith and to maintain the ancient traditions, the pope then summoned Methodius to Rome to justify himself. Methodius appeared before Pope John, several bishops, and the Roman clergy in 880, for he was ever ready to obey and confident in the testimony of his conscience. He obtained an easy victory by proving that he had followed Catholic teachings himself. He showed that he had always taught others the faith which he had sworn on the tomb of St. Peter, the prince of the Apostles, an oath given in the presence of Adrian and with his approval. If he had used the Slavic language in the celebration of the sacraments, he had done so for good reasons, since he had the special permission of Pope Adrian himself and the Holy Scriptures did not forbid it. Methodius freed himself so completely from every suspicion of guilt that the pope embraced him then and there and confirmed his archiepiscopal jurisdiction and his mission to the Slavs. Methodius returned to Moravia in the company of several bishops who were to be his coadjutors, with letters of recommendation and freedom of action in his work.

Return to Moravia

13. To confirm those things, the pope sent letters to Methodius so that he would not again become subject to the envy of his detractors. For this reason, Methodius performed his assigned duties more vigilantly, confident that he was joined to the pope and to the whole Roman church in a close bond of faith and love. His labor soon produced an exceptional harvest. With the assistance of a priest, he converted prince Boriwoj of Bohemia, then his wife Ludmilla, and before long Christianity spread throughout that land. At the same time he brought the light of the Gospel to Poland; he penetrated Galicia, where he established the episcopal see of Lwdw. Then, as some report, he penetrated into Muscovy and established the episcopal See of Kiev.

Death of Methodius

14. Having crowned himself with imperishable laurels, he returned to Moravia and his own people. He felt his death approaching and named his successor, and his last words exhorted the clergy and people to practice virtue. He departed in peace from this life, which had been the path to heaven for him. As Rome mourned Cyril, so Moravia mourned the loss of Methodius, showing its grief by giving his burial every honor.

Papal Concern for the Slavs

15. Venerable brothers, the memory of these events causes Us great joy. We are deeply moved by the magnificent association of the Slavic nation and the Roman church, an association with the noblest beginnings. Though these two apostles of the Christian faith went from Constantinople to preach to people in foreign lands, it was from this Apostolic See, the center of Catholic unity, that they received the investiture of their mission or, as happened more than once, its solemn approbation. Truly it was here in this city of Rome that they rendered an account of their mission and answered their accusers. It was here at the tombs of Peter and Paul that they swore to keep the Catholic faith. It was here that they received episcopal consecration and the power to establish the sacred hierarchy, while observing in it the distinction of each order. Finally, it was here that they sought and obtained permission to use the Slavic language in holy rites. This year, ten centuries will have passed since Pope John VIII wrote to prince Svatopluk of Moravia: "It is right that we praise the Slavic language, which re-echoes with the praises due to God. We ordain that the proclamations and works of our Lord Jesus Christ should be said in that language. Nothing in true faith, or doctrine forbids us to sing the Mass in the Slavic language, or to read the Gospel lessons (correctly translated and interpreted) in it, or to chant in it the Divine Hours." After many changes, Pope Benedict XIV sanctioned this custom in an apostolic letter dated August 25, 1754. Whenever the rulers of the peoples evangelized by Cyril and Methodius asked them, the popes gave generously of their humanity in teaching, kindness in giving advice, and singular good will wherever possible. Above all, Rastislav, Svatopluk, Kocel, Saint Ludmilla, and Boris have experienced the remarkable love of Our predecessors.

16. The paternal concern of the popes for the Slavic people did not stop with the death of Cyril and Methodius. Rather, it has always shone forth in preserving among them the holiness of religion and public prosperity. In fact, Nicholas I sent priests from Rome to the Bulgarians to educate the people, and he also sent the bishops of Populonia and Ostia to govern the new Christian community. He gave a loving response in the frequent controversies of the Bulgarians concerning holy law. In this matter, even those who do not favor the Roman Church praise and admire its prudence. After this calamitous disagreement, We must praise Innocent III for reconciling the Bulgarians with the Catholic Church, and We must praise Gregory IX, Innocent IV, Nicholas IV, and Eugene IV for preserving them in reconciled grace. Similarly the love of Our predecessors shines forth in their contacts with the Bosnians and Erzevovinenses, who were deceived by evil opinions. We make special note of Innocent III and Innocent IV, who eradicated this spiritual error, and of Gregory IX, Clement VI, and Pius II who were eager to establish firmly the levels of sacred authority in those areas. Innocent III, Nicholas IV, Benedict XI, and Clement V conferred neither the last nor the least of their cares on the Serbs, who cunningly prepared deceptions to harm religion, deceptions which the popes prudently contained. The Dalmatians and the Liburnians received singular favor because of the constancy of their faith and their changing duties. John X, Gregory VII, Gregory IX, and Urban IV held them up as examples for all. Finally, there are many evidences of the good will of Gregory IX and Clement XIV toward the church of Sirmium, which was destroyed in the sixth century by barbarians and later rebuilt through the care of St. Stephen I, king of Hungary.

Papal Decree

17. For this reason, We thank God for giving Us this suitable occasion to thank the Slavic people and to effect a common benefit for them. Indeed We do this no less eagerly than Our predecessors. Certainly We foresee and desire that the Slavic nation should learn from the great abundance of bishops and priests. May they be strengthened in the profession of the true faith, in true obedience to the Church of Jesus Christ. May they understand more each day how great a force of good comes from the customs of the Catholic Church in family life and in all the orders of government. Certainly those churches vindicate the many great cares We showed toward them. There is nothing We desire more than to take the appropriate measures for their comfort and prosperity and to have all their relations with Us be in perpetual harmony. This is the greatest and the best bond of safety. It remains that God, who is rich in mercy, might look upon Our plans and favor what We have begun. Meanwhile, We have Cyril and Methodius, the teachers of Slovenia, as intercessors with Him. As We wish to promote their veneration, so We trust in their future heavenly patronage.

18. Therefore, We decree that July 5 be set aside in the calendar of the universal Roman Church, as Pius IX ordained. On this day the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius shall be celebrated annually with the office and mass proper to a double minor rite, as approved by the holy council.

19. And We entrust to all of you, venerable brothers, the publication of this letter. Order every priest who celebrates the divine office according to the rites of the Roman Church to observe everything that is prescribed in this letter in each church, province, city, diocese, and monastery. We persuade and encourage you to stimulate prayer to Cyril and Methodius, so that they might intercede with God and watch over Christianity in the East. May there be constancy in all Catholic men and the will to reconcile all dissidents to the true Church.

20. We order this to be established and fixed as written above, notwithstanding the constitutions of Pope St. Pius V and other apostolic documents on the reform of the breviary and the Roman Missal, or other statutes and customs - even very old ones - or anything else to the contrary.

21. As a pledge of Our good wishes and of divine favor, venerable brothers, We lovingly impart Our apostolic blessing to each one of you, to all the clergy, and to each and every person committed to your care.

Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, on September 30, 1880, in the third year of Our Pontificate.

LEO XIII

31 posted on 02/14/2016 8:31:52 AM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

St. Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine's Day
February 14th

Let's Put the Saint back in Valentine's Day
Family prayers and activities/Bible-verse Valentines/Valentine treats

Cupids. Candy. Flowers. Lacy hearts. Strange, isn't it, that the best known Christian saint on the secular calendar -- a holiday devoted to romantic love -- is a martyr for the Christian faith?

Saint Valentine did "die of love", to be sure -- but not of the romantic sort! Strange, also, considering its enormous popularity, that this saint's feast no longer appears on the Church's calendar. (Officially, February 14 marks the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodias, 9th century missionaries to the Slavs.)
How did the "Saint" dissappear from Valentine's Day? Can we "re-Christianize" the celebration of this popular holiday? Who is Saint Valentine, anyway?
There are at three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, mentioned in the early martyrologies for the date of February 14th.
One is described as a priest in Rome, another a bishop (of Interamna, the modern Terni). Both apparently were martyred in the second half of the third century and buried at different places on the Flaminian Way outside of Rome. The third St. Valentine was martyred in Africa with a number of companions.
Almost nothing is known about any of these early Christian men -- except that they died for the love of Christ!
The popular customs connected with Saint Valentine's Day's probably originated in medieval Europe. At that time, when "courtly love" was in flower, there was a common belief in England and France that on February 14th, precisely half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair.
Thus, we read in the 14th century English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer's "Parliament of Foules":

For this was on Seynt Valentynes' day
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate. (Chaucer's original spelling).

This belief about "love-birds" is probably the reason Saint Valentine's feast day came to be seen as specially consecrated to lovers, and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lover's tokens. The literature of the fourteenth and fifteenth-century in both France and England contain allusions to this practice.
This association with romantic love, along with the medieval revival of interest in classic literature, no doubt led to the "paganizing" of this martyr's feast, so that the Roman god, Cupid (the counterpart of Eros in Greek mythology), supplanted the saint in the celebration of the feast. In Roman mythology, Cupid, the son of Venus, was a winged immortal who had the mischievous habit of shooting invisible arrows into the hearts of mortals, which inflamed them with blind and helpless passion -- for the next person they might see.
The Golden Legend, a medieval book of stories about saints, says that Valentine, a priest, was imprisioned by the emperor Claudius II for leading people to Christ. While Valentine was being interrogated by a Roman officer, the priest preached Christ as the "one and only Light". The officer, who had a blind daughter, challenged Valentine to pray to Christ for her cure. The girl was cured, and the entire family were converted to Christianity.
According to legend, while awaiting execution, he wrote notes of instruction, affection and encouragement to the Christian community in Rome, which were secretly delivered by a boy who visited him in prison.
It is ironic that a Roman Christian who died defending the faith is now chiefly associated with a pagan god, Cupid!

"Christianizing" Valentine's Day:
Family prayers and activities
On Saint Valentine's Day, we Christians have an opportunity for some real "inculturation" -- that is, planting seeds of Christ's truth into the culture in which we live.
When we remember that the heart of Saint Valentine was, like other Christian martyrs, "pierced" by the love of Our Lord, and he shed his blood for this, it seems appropriate that the red heart is a symbol for this powerful love. We think about the power of the love of God - our love for Him and His for us - to inspire our love for others. It is this kind of love that gives heart (or "en-courages") to faithful Christians to accomplish deeds of extraordinary courage - even unto death - to bring the truth of faith to others. We are reminded, too, that suffering that often accompanies genuine love.
In our Catholic families, we can focus our thoughts, this day, not only in expressing our love for our friends and families (and yes, sweethearts) by gifts and loving greetings; but also in prayer and meditation on Scripture.

A Prayer for Saint Valentine's Day
The following prayer is adapted from a collect (prayer) for feasts of martyrs.
Most Gracious Heavenly Father, You gave Saint Valentine the courage to witness to the gospel of Christ, even to the point of giving his life for it. Help us to endure all suffering for love of you, and to seek you with all our hearts; for you alone are the source of life and love. Grant that we may have the courage and love to be strong witnesses of your truth to our friends and family and to the whole world. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer to St. Valentine
Almighty God, grant we beseech You,
that we who celebrate the glorious martyrdom of St. Valentine, Your servant, may by his intercession be filled with the love of God and neighbor and be delivered from all the evils that threaten us.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen +

There are many passages of the Bible that reflect God's love. One of the best known of these is probably John 3:16:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
During family prayers, or at dinner time, older children could read aloud the "love chapter" of Saint Paul's first letter to the Christian Church in Corinth, I Corinthians 13.
This would be a good time, too, to explain the three kinds of "love" in the Scripture (in English there is only one word for these three separate kinds of love, but Greek has a word for each one).
Agape (a-gah-pay) - selfless love for others and for God
Philio (fee-lee-o) - brotherly love
Eros (air-ross) - romantic or sexual love

Bible-verse Valentines
Why not start children on memorizing parts of Holy Scripture with John 3:16, which tells about God's immense love for us and our response to this love? One way to help with memorizing is to have them write out this verse on cut-out paper hearts -- for Valentines!
The color red is used by the Church as a symbol of the blood shed by martyrs who died for the faith. (You can point out that priests wear red vestments on feasts of martyrs.) Hearts, too, are symbols of deep Christian love. (The traditional devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is an example.)
Young children may need help cutting out the hearts and printing the verse, but even very tiny ones can make original designs with crayon or markers.
In addition to construction paper, you might also supply some paper doilies, heart-shaped red foil stickers, markers or crayons, glitter glue, etc., red or gold ribbon, for a real assembly line of Valentine production. (We've found it's a good idea to start this project a few days before Valentine's day, to allow time to make enough for everyone - and to send to out-of-town grandparents and aunts and uncles.)
We can almost guarantee that teachers, parents and grandparents would be very, very pleased to receive a Valentine like this!
While you're overseeing the Valentine-making project, you can tell about the real saint, and about the great love he had for Christ and for other people.
Valentine treats
Valentine cake or cupcakes
If you have heart-shaped cake pans, you can make a very impressive big cake that will delight children. You can use any flavor cake-mix, and use a buttercream frosting or ready-made white icing. Cupcakes are another option -- especially as a treat to bring to school on Valentine's Day. The cake or cupcakes decorated with white or pink icing, adorned with candy sprinkles shaped like hearts (store-bought) or gum-drop hearts, heart-shaped red-hots, or red jelly beans. This is pretty, and simple enough that even toddlers can get into the spirit (and mess!) of it.

Store-bought sugar cookies or graham crackers can be decorated like this, too, if you're really short on time.
"Message" cookies
Of course, there's no substitute for real, home-made sugar cookies cut out with heart-shaped cutters. They can be frosted in different pastel colors (quickie hint: canned vanilla frosting divided into different bowls and colored with cake coloring).

Older children could use a tube of red icing to write "John 3:16" on each cookie - or "JOY" (which stands for "Jesus, Others, You"-- a Christian's order of priorities in loving). The cookies resemble those little candy hearts with cute sayings - only they have a real message of love. Kids can explain these "code messages" to their classmates.
Love Knots
More ambitious, but interesting, is this recipe for "Love Knots", a recipe from Evelyn Birge Vitz's cookbook for feasts of the church year, A Continual Feast (Ignatius Press). In the late Middle Ages, she says, there was a custom of wearing "love knots" on Saint Valentines's Day - golden pins shaped like sideways figure-8s, a symbol of infinity, to suggest that love is without end, eternal. The love knots were made of gold, which never tarnishes, never loses it perfection, and were given to one's sweetheart.
This is a recipe for edible "love Knots", a sweet pretzel-like twist.
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
a few drops yellow food coloring
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
Yellow sugar sprinkles
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk, the eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract and yellow food coloring (to make the dough more "golden"). Sift and stir in the flour; add the lemon rind.
Chill the dough for several hours and only remove it from the refrigerator a little at a time: this will make it easier to handle.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Shape the dough into ropes about 1/2 inch in diameter and 12 inches long, and twist these into figure 8s. Place the twists on a greased baking sheet, and bake for about 15 minutes. About halfway through the cooking, "gild" with yellow sprinkles.
Yield: 12 to 14 "love knots".

32 posted on 02/14/2016 8:51:32 AM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

33 posted on 02/14/2016 8:55:59 AM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Have a good and blessed St. Valentine’s Day as well!

http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/St.%20Valentine%20popup.html

St. Valentine, Priest and Martyr
by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger

The holy Priest Valentine lived at the time of the Emperor Claudius. He was held in high estimation, both by the Christians and heathens, on account of his natural amiability, wisdom and virtue. Claudius himself desired to see him, and on his being brought into his presence, said to him: “Why do you refuse to be my friend, when I wish to become yours? Nothing in you displeases me, but that you confess a faith which is against our gods.” Valentine replied: “O Emperor! if you knew the God I worship, you would consider yourself blessed to serve Him. He it is who has given you your life and your crown, and who alone can make you eternally happy.” One of those present interrupted him, saying: “What think you, then, of Jupiter,—of Mercury?” “I think that they have been wicked men, as their lives show,” answered the Priest;” and, therefore, they are unworthy to be called gods.” “That is sacrilege!” cried many: “Valentine deserves to die!” Valentine begged the Emperor graciously to lend him his ear, only for a short space of time, that he might defend his words.

Having received permission to speak, he placed the falsity, of the heathen gods and the truth of the God of the Christians so clearly before their eyes, that the Emperor, prepossessed in his favor, said to those surrounding him: “I must confess this man speaketh with much reason, and nothing can be said to confute his teaching.” Calphurnius, the Governor, who was also present, on hearing the Emperor speak thus, was filled with fear that he would embrace the Christian faith, and cried: “Valentine is a sorcerer, a blasphemer of the gods of the Empire! He must die, or an insurrection will break out among the people!” This speech alarmed the Emperor to such a degree that he gave up the holy Priest entirely into the hands of the Governor.

Calphurnius immediately cast him into a dungeon, and gave orders to Judge Asterius to accuse him as an enemy of the gods, according to law. Asterius wished first to make an attempt to win over the Priest, who was so universally loved, from the Christian faith, but to the good fortune of the judge, the contrary took place. Valentine restored the sight of the daughter of Asterius, who had been blind for many years, and, in consequence, the judge and his whole family forsook their idolatry and were baptized. When this was reported to the Emperor, he admired the power of the God whom Valentine adored, and endeavored to set the Saint free, but again frightened by Calphurnius with an insurrection, he at length gave orders to behead him. Saint Valentine received his death sentence with great joy, and ended his life by a glorious martyrdom.

Practical Considerations

The holy Priest Valentine desires to convert the heathen Emperor, and endeavors to convince him of the falsity of his idols and the truth of the Christian God. How is it with you? Have you a true knowledge of the God in whom you believe? Do you strive to obtain it? To prefer, and more frequently to go to the theatre than to listen to a sermon; to prefer, and more frequently to read, a silly, or perhaps a sinful book, than a book of devotion; to prefer, and more frequently to speak of worldly affairs, of voluptuousness, of games, of luxurious garments, of your neighbors’ faults, or even of obscenities, than of God and holy subjects; these are not the means by which men are led to the most necessary knowledge of God. By listening to the Word of God, by reading books of devotion, by pious conversation, and by divine contemplation, we come to the knowledge of God. Do you make use of these means, or do you, perhaps, think that it is not so necessary to attain a knowledge of God? What! You surely are aware that Christ said: “Now this is eternal life,” that is the condition, the foundation, the first means to the eternal life: “that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent” (St. John,, ch. xvii.).

Where there is no knowledge of God, there is no true faith in Him, no true hope, no true love, no fear of God, no hope of salvation. St. Jerome said rightly: “The man who acknowledges not God, should rather be called an unreasonable animal than a man.” Where the knowledge of God is wanting, there the greatest crimes find an easy entrance and prevail; according to the words of the Prophet, “There is no knowledge of God in the land. Cursing, and lying, and killing, and theft, and adultery have overflowed” (Osee, chapter iv.). What can follow such crimes but eternal ruin? Consequently, strive zealously, through the means above mentioned, to attain a true knowledge of God. The better your comprehension of God, the more immovable will be your faith, the firmer your hope, the more ardent your love for Him, the more fervent your zeal to serve Him, the more carefully will you shun sin and endeavor to perform good actions. And this, believe me, is the only path that leads to salvation.

34 posted on 02/14/2016 9:24:40 AM PST by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 4
1.	AND Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the desert,	Jesus autem plenus Spiritu Sancto regressus est a Jordane : et agebatur a Spiritu in desertum	ιησους δε πνευματος αγιου πληρης υπεστρεψεν απο του ιορδανου και ηγετο εν τω πνευματι εις την ερημον
2.	For the space of forty days; and was tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry.	diebus quadraginta, et tentabatur a diabolo. Et nihil manducavit in diebus illis : et consummatis illis esuriit.	ημερας τεσσαρακοντα πειραζομενος υπο του διαβολου και ουκ εφαγεν ουδεν εν ταις ημεραις εκειναις και συντελεσθεισων αυτων υστερον επεινασεν
3.	And the devil said to him: If thou be the Son of God, say to this stone that it be made bread.	Dixit autem illi diabolus : Si Filius Dei es, dic lapidi huic ut panis fiat.	και ειπεν αυτω ο διαβολος ει υιος ει του θεου ειπε τω λιθω τουτω ινα γενηται αρτος
4.	And Jesus answered him: It is written, that Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word of God.	Et respondit ad illum Jesus : Scriptum est : Quia non in solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo Dei.	και απεκριθη ιησους προς αυτον λεγων γεγραπται οτι ουκ επ αρτω μονω ζησεται [ο] ανθρωπος αλλ επι παντι ρηματι θεου
5.	And the devil led him into a high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time;	Et duxit illum diabolus in montem excelsum, et ostendit illi omnia regna orbis terræ in momento temporis,	και αναγαγων αυτον ο διαβολος εις ορος υψηλον εδειξεν αυτω πασας τας βασιλειας της οικουμενης εν στιγμη χρονου
6.	And he said to him: To thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I give them.	et ait illi : Tibi dabo potestatem hanc universam, et gloriam illorum : quia mihi tradita sunt, et cui volo do illa.	και ειπεν αυτω ο διαβολος σοι δωσω την εξουσιαν ταυτην απασαν και την δοξαν αυτων οτι εμοι παραδεδοται και ω εαν θελω διδωμι αυτην
7.	If thou therefore wilt adore before me, all shall be thine.	Tu ergo si adoraveris coram me, erunt tua omnia.	συ ουν εαν προσκυνησης ενωπιον εμου εσται σου πασα
8.	And Jesus answering said to him: It is written: Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.	Et respondens Jesus, dixit illi : Scriptum est : Dominum Deum tuum adorabis, et illi soli servies.	και αποκριθεις αυτω ειπεν ο ιησους υπαγε οπισω μου σατανα γεγραπται προσκυνησεις κυριον τον θεον σου και αυτω μονω λατρευσεις
9.	And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and he said to him: If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself from hence.	Et duxit illum in Jerusalem, et statuit eum super pinnam templi, et dixit illi : Si Filius Dei es, mitte te hinc deorsum.	και ηγαγεν αυτον εις ιερουσαλημ και εστησεν αυτον επι το πτερυγιον του ιερου και ειπεν αυτω ει υιος ει του θεου βαλε σεαυτον εντευθεν κατω
10.	For it is written, that He hath given his angels charge over thee, that they keep thee.	Scriptum est enim quod angelis suis mandavit de te, ut conservent te :	γεγραπται γαρ οτι τοις αγγελοις αυτου εντελειται περι σου του διαφυλαξαι σε
11.	And that in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone.	et quia in manibus tollent te, ne forte offendas ad lapidem pedem tuum.	και επι χειρων αρουσιν σε μηποτε προσκοψης προς λιθον τον ποδα σου
12.	And Jesus answering, said to him: It is said: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.	Et respondens Jesus, ait illi : Dictum est : Non tentabis Dominum Deum tuum.	και αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτω ο ιησους οτι ειρηται ουκ εκπειρασεις κυριον τον θεον σου
13.	And all the temptation being ended, the devil departed from him for a time.	Et consummata omni tentatione, diabolus recessit ab illo, usque ad tempus.	και συντελεσας παντα πειρασμον ο διαβολος απεστη απ αυτου αχρι καιρου
14.	And Jesus returned in the power of the spirit, into Galilee, and the fame of him went out through the whole country.	Et regressus est Jesus in virtute Spiritus in Galilæam, et fama exiit per universam regionem de illo.	και υπεστρεψεν ο ιησους εν τη δυναμει του πνευματος εις την γαλιλαιαν και φημη εξηλθεν καθ ολης της περιχωρου περι αυτου

35 posted on 02/14/2016 1:51:45 PM PST by annalex (fear them not)

1. And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2. Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3. And the devil said to him, If you be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

THEOPHYL. Christ is tempted after His baptism, showing us that after we are baptized, temptations await us. Hence it is said, But Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit it, &c.

CYRIL. God said in times past, My Spirit shall not always abide in men, for that they are flesh. But now that we have been enriched with the gift of regeneration by water and the Spirit, we are become partakers of the Divine nature by participation of the Holy Spirit. But the first-born among many brethren first received the Spirit, who Himself also is the giver of the Spirit, that we through Him might also receive the grace of the Holy Spirit.

ORIGEN; When therefore you read that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit, and it is written in the Acts concerning the Apostles, that they were filled with the Holy Spirit, you must not suppose that the Apostles were equal to the Savior. For as if you should say, These vessels are full of wine or oil, you would not thereby affirm them to be equally full, so Jesus and Paul were full of the Holy Spirit, but Paul's vessel was far less than that of Jesus, and yet each was filled according to its own measure. Having then received baptism, the Savior, being full of the Holy Spirit, which came upon Him from heaven in the form of a dove, was led by the Spirit, because, as many as are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God, but He was above all, especially the Son of God.

THEOPHYL; That there might be no doubt by what Spirit He was led, while the other Evangelists say, into the wilderness, Luke has purposely added, And he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days. That no unclean spirit should be thought to have prevailed against Him, who being full of the Holy Spirit did whatever He wished.

GREEK EX. But if we order our lives according to our own will, how was He led about unwillingly? Those words then, He was led by the Spirit, have some meaning of this kind: He led of His own accord that kind of life, that He might present an opportunity to the tempter.

BASIL; For not by word provoking the enemy, but by His actions rousing him, He seeks the wilderness. For the devil delights in the wilderness, he is not wont to go into the cities, the harmony of the citizens troubles him.

AMBROSE; He was led therefore into the wilderness, to the intent that He might provoke the devil, for if the one had not contended, the other it seems had not conquered. In a mystery, it was to deliver that Adam from exile who was cast out of Paradise into the wilderness. By way of example, it was to show us that the devil envies us, whenever we strive after better things; and that then we must use caution, lest the weakness of our minds should lose us the grace of the mystery. Hence it follows: And he was tempted of the devil.

CYRIL; Behold, He is among the wrestlers, who as God awards the prizes. He is among the crowned, who crowns the heads of the saints.

GREG. Our enemy was however unable to shake the purpose of the Mediator between God and men. For He condescended to be tempted outwardly, yet so that His soul inwardly, resting in its divinity, remained unshaken.

ORIGEN; But Jesus is tempted by the devil forty days, and what the temptations were we know not. They were perhaps omitted, as being greater than could be committed to writing.

BASIL; Or, the Lord remained for forty days untempted, for the devil knew that He fasted, yet hungered not, and dared not therefore approach Him. Hence it follows: And he eat nothing in those days. He fasted indeed, to show that He who would gird Himself for struggles against temptation must be temperate and sober.

AMBROSE; There are three things which united together conduce to the salvation of man; The Sacrament, The Wilderness, Fasting. No one who has not rightly contended receives a crown, but no one is admitted to the contest of virtue, except first being washed from the stains of all his sins, he is consecrated with the gift of heavenly grace.

GREG. NAZ. He fasted in truth forty days, eating nothing. (For He was God.) But we regulate our fasting according to our strength, although the zeal of some persuades them to fast beyond what they are able.

BASIL; But we must not however so use the flesh, that through want of food our strength should waste away, nor that by excess of mortification our understandings wax dull and heavy. Our Lord therefore once performed this work, but during this whole succeeding time He governed His body with due order, and so in like manner did Moses and Elias.

CHRYS. But very wisely, He exceeded not their number of days, lest indeed He should be thought to have come in appearance only, and not to have really received the flesh, or lest the flesh should seem to be something beyond human nature.

AMBROSE; But mark the mystical number of days. For you remember that for forty days the waters of the deep were poured forth, and by sanctifying a fast of that number of days, He brings before us the returning mercies of a calmer sky. By a fast of so many days also, Moses earned for himself the understanding of the law. Our fathers being for so many days settled in the wilderness, obtained the food of Angels.

AUG. Now that number is a sacrament of our time and labor, in which under Christ's discipline we contend against the devil, for it signifies our temporal life. For the periods of years run in courses of four, but forty contains four tens. Again, those ten are completed by the number one successively advancing on to four more. This plainly shows that the fast of forty days, i.e. the humiliation of the soul, the Law and the Prophets have consecrated by Moses and Elias, the Gospel by the fast of our Lord Himself.

BASIL; But because not to suffer hunger is above the nature of man, our Lord took upon Himself the feeling of hunger, and submitted Himself as it pleased Him to human nature, both to do and to suffer those things which were His own. Hence it follows: And those days being ended, he was as a hungered. Not forced to that necessity which overpowers nature, but as if provoking the devil to the conflict. For the devil, knowing that wherever hunger is there is weakness, sets about to tempt Him, and as the deviser or inventor of temptations, Christ permitting him tries to persuade Him to satisfy His appetite with the stones. As it follows; But the devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, command these stones that they be made bread.

AMBROSE; There are three especial weapons which we are taught the devil is wont to arm himself with, that he may wound the soul of man. One is of the appetite, another of boasting, the third ambition. He began with that wherewith he had already conquered, namely, Adam. Let us then beware of the appetite, let us beware of luxury, for it is a weapon of the devil. But what mean his words, If you are the Son of God, unless he had known that the Son would come, but supposed Him not to have come from the weakness of His body. He first endeavors to find Him out, then to tempt Him. He professes to trust Him as God, then tries to deceive Him as man.

ORIGEN; When a father is asked by his son for bread, he does not give him a stone for bread, but the devil like a crafty and deceitful foe gives stones for bread.

BASIL; He tried to persuades Christ to satisfy His appetite with stones, i.e. to shift his desire from the natural food to that which was beyond nature or unnatural.

ORIGEN; I suppose also that even now at this very time the devil shows a stone to men that he may tempt them to speak, saying to them, Command this stone to be made bread. If you see the heretics devouring their lying doctrines as if they were bread, know that their teaching is a stone which the devil shows them.

BASIL; But Christ while He vanquishes temptation, banishes not hunger from our nature, as though that were the cause of evils, (which is rather the preservative of life, but confining nature within its proper bounds, shows of what kind its nourishment is, as follows; And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.

THEOPHYL. As if He said, Not by bread alone is human nature sustained, but the word of God is sufficient to support the whole nature of man. Such was the food of the Israelites when they gathered manna during the space of forty, years, and when they delighted in the taking of quails. By the Divine counsel Elias had the crows to entertain him; Elisha feel his companions on the herbs of the field.

CYRIL; Or, our earthly body is nourished by earthly food, but the reasonable soul is strengthened by the Divine Word, to the right ordering of the spirit.

GREG. NAZ. For the body nourishes not our immaterial nature.

GREG. NYSS. Virtue then is not sustained by bread, nor by flesh does the soul keep itself in health and vigor, but by other banquets than these is the heavenly life fostered, and increased. The nourishment of tile good man is chastity, his bread, wisdom, his herbs, justice, his drink, freedom from passion, his delight, to be rightly wise.

AMBROSE; You see then what kind of arms He uses to defend man against the assaults of spiritual wickedness, and the allurements of the appetite. He does not exert His power as God, (for how had that profited me,) but as man He summons to Himself a common aid, that while intent upon the food of divine reading He may neglect the hunger of the body, and gain the nourishment of the word. For he who seeks after the word cannot feel the want of earthly bread for divine things doubtless make up for the loss of human. At the same time by saying, Man lives not by bread alone, He shows that man was tempted, that is, our flesh which He assumed, not His own divinity.

5. And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6. And the devil said to him, All this power will I give you, and the glory of them: for that is delivered to me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7. If you therefore will worship me, all shall be yours.
8. And Jesus answered and said to him, Get you behind me, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

THEOPHYL. The enemy had first assailed Christ by the temptation of the appetite, as also he did Adam. He next tempts Him with the desire of gain or covetousness, showing Him all the kingdoms of the world. Hence it follows, And the devil taking him up.

GREG. What marvel that He permitted Himself to be led by the devil into the mountains, who even in endured to be crucified in His own body?

THEOPHYL. But how did the devil show Him all the kingdoms of the world? Some say that he presented them to Him in imagination, but I hold that he brought them before Him in visible form and appearance.

TITUS BOS. Or, the devil described the world in language, and as he thought brought it vividly before our Lord's mind as though it were a certain house.

AMBROSE;; Truly in a moment of time, the kingdoms of this world are described. For here it is not so much the rapid glance of sight which is signified as is declared the frailty of mortal power. For in a moment all this passes by, and oftentimes the glory of this world has vanished before it has arrived. It follows, And he said to him, I will give you all this power.

TITUS; He lied in two respects. For he neither had to give nor could he give that which he had not; he gains possession of nothing, but is an enemy reduced to fight.

AMBROSE; For it is elsewhere said, that all power is from God. Therefore from God's hands comes the disposal of power, the lust of power is from the evil one; power is not itself evil, but he who evilly uses it. What then; is it good to exercise power, to desire honor? Good if it is bestowed upon us, not if it is seized. We must distinguish however in this good itself. There is one good use of the world, another of perfect virtue. It is good to seek God; it is a good thing that the desire of becoming acquainted with God should be hindered by no worldly business. But if he who seeks God, is from the weakness of the flesh, and the narrowness of his mind, often tempted, how much more is he exposed who seeks the world? We are taught then to despise ambition, because it is subject to the power of the devil. But honor abroad is followed by danger at home, and in order to rule others a man is first their servant, and prostrates himself in obedience that he may be rewarded with honors, and the higher he aspires the lower he bends with feigned humility; whence he adds, If you will fall down and worship me.

CYRIL; And do you, whose lot is the unquenchable fire, promise to the Lord of all that which is His own? Did you think to have Him for your worshiper, from dread of whom the whole creation trembles?

ORIGEN; Or, to view the whole in another light. Two kings are earnestly contending for a kingdom; The king of sin who reigns over sinners, that is, the devil; The king of righteousness who rules the righteous, that is, Christ. The devil, knowing that Christ had come to take away his kingdom, shows Him all the kingdoms of the world; not the kingdoms of the Persians and of the Medes, but his own kingdom whereby he reigned in the world, whereby some are under the dominion of fornication, others of covetousness. And he shows Him them in a moment of time, that is, in the present course of time, which is but a moment in comparison of eternity. For the Savior needed not to be shown for any longer time the affairs of this world, but as soon as He turned His eyes to look, He beheld sins reigning, and men made slaves to vice. The devil therefore says to Him, Came You to contend with me for dominion? Worship me, and behold I give You the kingdom I hold. Now the Lord would indeed reign, but being Righteousness itself, would reign without sin; and would have all nations subject to Him, that they might obey the truth, but would not so reign over others as that He Himself should be subject to the devil. Hence it follows, And Jesus answering said to him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God.

THEOPHYL, The devil saying to our Savior, If you will fall down and worship me, receives answer that he himself ought rather to worship Christ as his Lord and God.

CYRIL; But how comes it that the Son (if as the heretics say a created being) is worshipped? What charge can be brought against those who served the creature and not the Creator, if the Son (according to them a created being) we are to worship as God?

ORIGEN; Or else, All these, he says, I would have subject to me, that they might worship the Lord God, and serve Him alone. But do you wish sin to begin from Me, which I came hither to destroy?

CYRIL; This command touched him to the quick; for before Christ's coming he was every where worshipped. But the law of God casting him down from his usurped dominion, establishes the worship of Him alone who is really God.

THEOPHYL; But someone may ask how this injunction agrees with the word of the Apostle, which says, Beloved, serve one another. In the Greek, signifies a common service, (i.e. given either to God or man,) according to which we are bid to serve one another; but is the service due to the worship of the Deity, with which we are bid to serve God alone.

9. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If you be the Son of God, cast yourself down from hence:
10. For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you:
11. And in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone.
12. And Jesus answering said to him, It is said, You shall not tempt the Lord thy God.
13. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

AMBROSE; The next weapon he uses is that of boasting, which always causes the offender to fall down; for they who love to boast of the glory of their virtue descend from the stand and vantage ground of their good deeds. Hence it is said, And he led him to Jerusalem.

ORIGEN; He followed evidently as a wrestler, gladly setting out to meet the temptation, and saying, as it were, Lead me where you will, and you will find me the stronger in every thing.

AMBROSE; It is the fate of boasting, that while a man thinks he is climbing higher, he is by his pretension to lofty deeds brought low. Hence it follows, And he said, to him, you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.

ATHAN. The devil entered not into a contest with God, (for he durst not, and therefore said, you are the Son of God,) but he contended with man whom once he had power to deceive.

AMBROSE; That is truly the devil's language, which seeks to cast down the soul of man from the high ground of its good deeds, while he shows at the same time both his weakness and malice, for he can injure no one that does not first cast himself down. For he who forsaking heavenly things pursues earthly, rushes as it were willfully down the self-sought precipice of a falling life. As soon then as the devil perceived his dart blunted, he who had subdued all men to his own power, began to think he had to deal with more than man. But Satan transforms himself into an angel of light, and often from the Holy Scriptures weaves his mesh for the faithful: hence it follows, It is written, He shall give, &c.

ORIGEN; Whence know you, Satan, that those things are written? Have you read the Prophets, or the oracles of God? You have read them indeed, but not that yourself might be the better for the reading, but that from the mere letter you might slay them who are friends to the letter. You know that if you were to speak from His other books, you would not deceive.

AMBROSE; Let not the heretic entrap you by bringing examples from the Scriptures. The devil makes use of the testimony of the Scriptures not to teach but to deceive.

ORIGEN; But mark how wily he is even in this testimony. For he would fain throw a slur upon the glory of the Savior, as though He needed the assistance of angels, and would stumble were He not supported by their hands. But this was said not of Christ, but of the saints generally; He needs not the aid of angels, Who is greater than angels. But let this teach you, Satan, that the angels would stumble did not God sustain them; and you stumble because you refuse to believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God. But why are you silent as to what follows, You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk, except that you are the basilisk, you are the dragon and the lion?

AMBROSE; But the Lord, to prevent the thought that those things which had been prophesied of Him were fulfilled according to the devil's will, and not by the authority of His own divine power, again so foils his cunning, that he who had alleged the testimony of Scripture, should by Scripture himself be overthrown. Hence it follows, And Jesus answering said, It is said, You shall not tempt the Lord thy God.

CHRYS For it is of the devil to cast one's self into dangers, and try whether God will rescue us.

CYRIL; God gives not help to those who tempt Him, but to those who believe on Him. Christ therefore did not show ills miracles to them that tempted Him, but said to them, An evil generation seeks a sign, and no sign shall be given to them.

CHRYS. But mark how the Lord, instead of being troubled, condescends to dispute from the Scriptures with the wicked one, that you, as far as you are able, might become like Christ. The devil knew the arms of Christ, beneath which he sunk. Christ took him captive by meekness, He overcame him by humility. Do you also, when you see a man who has become a devil coming to meet you, subdue him in like manner. Teach your soul to conform its words to those of Christ. For as a Roman judge, who on the bench refuses to hear the reply of one who knows not how to speak as he does; so also Christ, except you speak after His manner, will neither hear you nor protect you.

GREG. NYSS. In lawful contests the battle is terminated either when the adversary surrenders of his own accord to the conqueror, or is defeated in three falls, according to the rules of the art of fighting. Hence it follows, And all the temptation being completed, &c.

AMBROSE; He would not have said that all the temptation was ended, had there not been in the three temptations which have been described the materials for every crime; for the causes of temptations are the causes of desire, namely, the delight of the flesh, the pomp of vain-glory, greediness of power.

ATHAN. The enemy came to Him as, man, but not finding in Him the marks of his ancient seed, he departed.

AMBROSE; You see then that the devil is not obstinate on the field, is wont to give way to true virtue; and if he ceases not to hate, he yet dreads to advance, for so he escapes a more frequent defeat. As soon then as he heard the name of God, he retired (it is said) for a season, for afterwards he comes not to tempt, but to fight openly.

THEOPHYL. Or, having tempted Him in the desert with pleasure, he retires from Him until the crucifixion, when he was about to tempt Him with sorrow.

MAXIMUS; Or the devil had prompted Christ in the desert to prefer the things of the world to the love of God. The Lord commanded him to leave Him, (which itself was a mark of Divine love.) It was afterwards then enough to make Christ appear the false advocate of love to His neighbors, and therefore while He was teaching the paths of life, the devil stirred up the Gentiles and Pharisees to lay traps for Him that He might be brought to hate them. But the Lord, from the feeling of love which He had towards them, exhorted, reproved, ceased not to bestow mercy upon them.

AUG. The whole of this narrative Matthew relates in a similar manner, but not in the same order. It is uncertain therefore which took place first, whether the kingdoms of the earth were first shown to Him, and He was afterwards taken up to the pinnacle of the temple; or whether this came first, and the other afterwards. It matters little however which, as long as it is clear that they all took place.

MAXIMUS; But the reason why one Evangelist places this event first, and another that, is because vain-glory and covetousness give birth in turn to one another.

ORIGEN; But John, who had commenced his Gospel from God, saying, In the beginning was the Word, did not describe the temptation of the Lord, because God can not be tempted, of whom he wrote. But because in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke the human generations are given, and in Mark it is man who is tempted, therefore Matthew, Luke, and Mark have described the temptation of the Lord.

14. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

ORIGEN; The Lord having overcome the tempter, power was added to Him, i.e. as far as regards the manifestation of it. Hence it is said, And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit.

THEOPHYL; By the power of the Spirit he means showing forth of miracles.

CYRIL; Now He performed miracles not from any external power, and from having as it were the acquired grace of the Holy Spirit, as other saints, but rather as being by nature the Son of God, and partaking of all things which are the Father's, He exercises as by His own power and operation that grace which is of the Holy Spirit. But it was right that from that time He should become known, and that the mystery of His humanity should shine forth among those who were of the seed of Israel. It therefore follows, And his fame went out.

Catena Aurea Luke 4

36 posted on 02/14/2016 1:54:15 PM PST by annalex (fear them not)

The Temptations of Christ
12th century mosaic
St Mark's Basilica, Venice

37 posted on 02/14/2016 1:55:00 PM PST by annalex (fear them not)

Information: St. Cyril & St. Methodius

Feast Day: February 14

Born: 827 and 826, Thessaloniki, Byzantine Empire (present-day Greece)

Died: February 14, 869 and 6 April 885

Patron of: Bulgaria, Czech Republic (including Bohemia, and Moravia), Ecumenism, unity of the Eastern and Western Churches, Europe, Slovakia

38 posted on 02/14/2016 2:51:32 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Information: St. Valentine

Feast Day: February 14

39 posted on 02/14/2016 2:53:20 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

St. Cyril and St. Methodius

Feast Day: February 14
Born:827/815 :: Died:869/885

Cyril and Methodius were brothers from Thessalonica in Greece. In their youth they learnt how to speak many languages, including Slavonic which at that time was not written down. Methodius was a provincial governor and the younger brother Cyril was a distinguished professor of Philosophy in Constantinople.

They both became priests and shared the same holy desires to spread the faith. Then the prince of Moravia asked for missionaries. He wanted them to bring the Good News of Jesus and the Church to his country. The prince added one more request: that the missionaries speak the language of his people.

The two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, volunteered and were accepted. They realized that they were being asked to leave their own country, language and culture behind out of love for Jesus. They did this willingly. They became missionaries to the Slav nations of Moravia, Bohemia and Bulgaria.

Cyril and Methodius invented a Slav alphabet. They translated the Bible and the Church's liturgy into the Slav language. Because of them, the people were able to receive Christianity in words they could understand.

Some people in the Church at that time did not approve of the use of a native language in the Church's liturgy and complained about the two brothers to the pope. Pope Nicholas I called them to Rome for a meeting to solve the problem.

But by the time they arrived, Adrian II had became pope and he was in favor of using the local language of the people in the liturgy. The pope showed his gratitude and admiration for the two missionaries. He approved their methods of spreading the faith and named them bishops.

Unfortunately, Cyril died on February 14, 869 before he could actually be consecrated a bishop and is buried in the Church of St. Clement in Rome. But Methodius became bishop, returned to the Slav countries and continued his labors for fifteen more years. He died on April 6, 885.

Cyril and Methodius were Greeks, under the authority of a Roman Pope, working together with the authorities of the Eastern Church. They symbolized bridge-building and connection between the two churches and are now seen as patron saints of ecumenism (unity) between the Eastern and Western branches of Christendom (Christianity).

St. Cyril and St. Methodius are also named co-patrons of Europe along with St. Benedict.

Reflection: These two men brought the light of the Gospel to the Slavic nations and helped promote unity without imposing rigid uniformity. Let us pray for unity among Christians that we may become one in faith and praise.

40 posted on 02/14/2016 3:01:08 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

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February 14, 2016

First Sunday of Lent

Reading 1 Dt 26:4-10

Responsorial Psalm Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15

Reading 2 Rom 10:8-13

Verse Before the Gospel Mt 4:4b

Gospel Lk 4:1-13