Listen to HIM

February 28, 2021, Sunday
Second Sunday of Lent (Violet)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: GN 22:1-2. 9. 10-13. 15-18/ PS 116:10. 15. 16-17. 18-19/ ROM 8:31-34
GOSPEL: MK 9:2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and John 
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them, 
and his clothes became dazzling white, 
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, 
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, 
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents: 
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; 
from the cloud came a voice, 
“This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves, 
questioning what rising from the dead meant.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

A listening heart is a heart warmed by the love of God, and taught by his words. The one we listen to is the Son of God, Jesus transfigured in his humanity. Prayer is better described as listening than speaking. Spend some time echoing his words, or just listening to the mood of love and peace in prayer. Following Jesus up the mountain for Peter, James and John was a following in love that would be part of their lives in the future. Going up the mountain had its tough moments for the apostles, but the view at the top was worthwhile: the glory of Jesus and the invitation of God. This is the same for us in our discipleship.

In our journey to God, we have peak moments when the ground is holy. Like Peter, we want them to last forever. But Jesus, 'only Jesus', brings us down the mountain and prepares us for the hard times ahead, living on the memory of brief transfigurations. Can I recall any of my peak moments?

PRAYER:

Jesus, you needed this deep experience of transfiguration to strengthen you before your Passion. Life is hard, so help me to believe that like you, I am the beloved of God’ as Saint Paul says (Rom 1:7). This will steady me in times of trial.

Be Perfect

February 27, 2021, Saturday
Saturday of the First Week of Lent (Violet)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: DT 26:16-19/ PS 119:1-2. 4-5. 7-8 
GOSPEL: MT 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples:

"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

There are times, Lord when you lift us beyond what we thought possible. Here you ask me to be perfect: meaning that in my heart I should bless even those who hate me and wrong me. The love of God can be poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. Even when I feel far from blessed myself, even when old age makes me feel there is little I can do for others, I can still give my approval and blessing to those I meet; that will lift them.

PRAYER:

The rain that God sends is a blessing for some and a burden to others. I ask God to help me to recognize this day how I am blessed and strengthened to offer blessings to others.

Teaching About Anger

February 26, 2021, Friday
Friday of the First Week of Lent (Violet)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: EZ 18:21-28/ PS 130:1-2. 3-4. 5-7. 7-8
GOSPEL: MT 5:20-26

Jesus said to his disciples: 
"I tell you, 
unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, 
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court.
Otherwise, your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Is there anybody who I need to forgive? Pray for the grace to forgive that person in my heart, and let go fully of any feelings of anger or resentment I may have towards them. Ask the Lord for the grace to go to that person and be reconciled with them, and restore the relationship to one of friendship and love.

PRAYER:

You are speaking to my heart here, Lord. I cannot be reconciled to you unless I am reconciled to my neighbor. Forgiveness requires contrition and atonement. If I have stolen, I cannot ask God’s forgiveness unless I have given back what I stole. If I feel a barrier in talking to you, Lord, it may be because I have not tackled the barrier between me and my neighbor.

Lord, grant me the humility to ask forgiveness of anyone I upset.

Ask, Seek, Knock

February 25, 2021, Thursday
Thursday of the First Week of Lent (Violet)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: EST 4:12. 14-16. 23-25/ PS 138:1-2. 2-3. 7-8
GOSPEL: MT 7:7-12

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. 
This is the law and the prophets.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Prayer-time is never wasted. Good things come in prayer even if they are maybe not what we asked for. Prayer opens the heart for good things from God. Be grateful at the end of the prayer for time spent with the God of all goodness. Prayer time is always productive by making us people of more love. True prayer brings peace of mind and heart. It also brings the peace of knowing we are loved and of being called into following the Lord.

PRAYER:

Lord, that you always hear my cry, but I do not always understand your answer. I will still go on praying to you, as always.

The Sign of Jonah

February 24, 2021, Wednesday 
Wednesday of the First Week of Lent (Violet)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: JON 3:1-10/ PS 51:3-4. 12-13. 18-19
GOSPEL: LK 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
"This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah. 
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment 
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation 
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here. 
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Jesus compares himself to Jonah, another sign, calling for conversion. Our reaction to this call to the conversion will be our own judgment. I ask for a listening heart, open to Jesus, and ready to change its ways.

The word of God can transform us. Jonah proclaimed God’s word and the people repented. Saint Teresa of Avila, a great mystic and reformer, drew her inspiration from the riches of Sacred Scripture. Do I allow the gospels to transform me?

PRAYER:

You, Lord Jesus, are the sign of signs. Those who go seeking further wonders have not truly seen you. In you, I find all that I need to be fully human and to find my destiny with God.

This Is How You Are to Pray

February 23, 2021, Tuesday
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent (Violet)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: IS 55:10-11/ PS 34:4-5. 6-7. 16-17. 18-19
GOSPEL: MT 6:7-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

"This is how you are to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
"If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Prayer engages us in praise of God, in desiring God's will to be done and God's kingdom to come on earth; in prayer, we ask for what we need for the day, and for the grace of forgiveness for self and others, and to stay on the path of our love and convictions. This is the main part of Jesus' prayer; daily prayer engages us in one or more of these as we grow in the likeness of the heart of Jesus.

I pray that I may receive from God what I need and that I may be generous and free in my giving to others. I see that everything I give comes from God.

PRAYER:

Father, as I turn to you in prayer, you already know what I need. I do not charge you by asking; I change myself. I love to reflect on Jesus’ words: that I may call God my father and work to make his name known and revered. I shall be forgiven as I forgive others. I beg for nourishment enough for the day, and for deliverance from evil.

You are the Messiah

February 22, 2021, Monday 
FEAST OF THE CHAIR OF SAINT PETER, APOSTLE (White)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: 1 PT 5:1-4 / PS 23:1-3. 4. 5. 6
GOSPEL: MT 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply, 
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock, I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Our faith requires that we give a personal answer to the question as to who Jesus (the Son of Man) is. It is not enough to quote the Catechism of the Catholic Church or the views of one or another theologian. "But who do you say that I am?" Try to answer not only from the head but from the heart. You might helpfully rephrase the question as: "Who is Jesus for me?" An answer can only be given in prayer.

PRAYER:

I proclaim Jesus by the way I live as my words and actions, my attitudes, and choices demonstrate who influences me.

Temptation of Christ

February 21, 2021, Sunday
FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT (Violet)
NATIONAL MIGRANTS SUNDAY
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: GN 9:8-15/ PS 25:4-5. 6-7. 8-9/ 1 PT 3:18-22
GOSPEL: MK 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, 
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
and the angels ministered to him.
After John had been arrested, 
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

The intention of the temptations of the devil was for Jesus to make himself ‘number one’ with a focus on himself. To feed his hunger with a miraculous conversion of stone to bread; to look for temporary power, and to trust in himself rather than God. However, the goal in the life of Jesus was that his Father would always be number one’. We are called to do this too in our lives, even when it involves suffering as it did for Jesus which led to the cross. We watch him during Lent putting others first, even after the resurrection.

What spirit drives me in the things I do? Is my heart a home for the Spirit? Could the Holy Spirit be inviting me to take a more quiet space? In the bible, the ‘wilderness’ is a place of revelation and of intimacy with God. I need to put secondary things aside to meet God. God is found in emptiness as well as in fullness. I can find him in the emptiness of sickness and old age and disappointment and failure and solitude.

PRAYER:

Lord, come with me into my wilderness. Speak to my preoccupied heart. Reveal to me where addiction to power, possession, and gratification choke my path. Only when I am free from these can I be good news to others. Only then do I become part of the solution to the world’s problems.

Follow Me

February 20, 2021, Saturday
Saturday after Ash Wednesday (Violet)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: IS 58:9-14/ PS 86:1-2. 3-4. 5-6
GOSPEL: LK 5:27-32

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
"Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
Jesus said to them in reply,
"Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Tax-collectors were the most despised of people. But Jesus challenges the prejudices of his day. He calls Levi (St Matthew) and awakens him to his human potential and dignity. Matthew leaves the money-table to sit with Jesus at the banqueting table of forgiveness. Mercy is at the heart of Jesus’ mission.

Where are the Levis in my world? The drug-pushers, pedophiles, wife-batterers, rapists, those who cheat on tax or social welfare, those who are headlined for hatred in the tabloid press. Lord, these are the sick who need you as a physician. Can I help you to reach out to them?

In prayer, we know our place before God. We know we are needy, all of us in different ways. We need the physician for the weakness and ills of the spirit, as well as needing the doctor for the ills of the body. Jesus can enter our lives only if we know that we deep down really need him - otherwise he would not have come. He looks out always for the space in our personalities that need strength, healing, forgiveness. In prayer let your eyes meet his - and receive the light of strength, healing, and forgiveness.

PRAYER:

Lord, your outreach towards sinners consoles me. Forgive me for the times when I am swayed by prejudice, when I judge, despise or exclude others. I want to be at your table no matter who else is there! Grant me the grace to respond to your call – to follow you wherever you lead.

Question About Fasting

February 19, 2021, Friday
Friday after Ash Wednesday (Violet)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: IS 58:1-9/ PS 51:3-4. 5-6. 18-19
GOSPEL: MT 9:14-15

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, 

"Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?"
Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

The Pharisees and the disciples of John fasted several times a week. Fasting shows self-control, it is a symbol of mourning, and it purifies the heart. Most of all it expresses an inner hunger for God. Here Jesus uses the notion of fasting to reveal that the God whom the Jews hunger for has arrived. Rejoicing not mourning is the appropriate response to the presence of divine mercy revealed in Jesus.

Spend some time each day allowing the joy of God fills the heart. Spend some time mourning with him, as joy is lost for so many. Any fasting is to remind us that the Lord of all joy suffers in his people, perhaps in people who are near to us. Prayer brings us near to others and near to God.

PRAYER:

Lord, this Lent let me feast with gratitude for your merciful love, and let me fast from oppressive behavior towards those around me. May my prayer and my fasting reveal my inner hunger for you.

Conditions of Discipleship

February 18, 2021, Thursday
Thursday after Ash Wednesday (Violet)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: DT 30:15-20/ PS 1:1-2. 3. 4. 6
GOSPEL: LK 9:22-25

Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised."
Then he said to all,
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?"

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Life holds so many challenges - the losses and daily disappointments that come my way. Do I just despair, fall apart, give up, or do I rise to them, shoulder my crosses with courage, knowing that Jesus shares the load, thereby filling me with deep contentment, even joy?
True fulfillment is not to be found in possessions or celebrity, but in hospitality, generosity, sharing, goodness of life.

PRAYER:

Deny yourself and take up your cross daily. Lord, I used to think this meant looking for mortifications. You have taught me that my cross is myself, my ego, the pains in my body, my awkwardness, my mistakes. To follow you is to move beyond ego-trips. It means coping with the business of life without trampling on others or making them suffer. There is a world here to be explored this Lent.

Your Father Who Sees In Secret Will Repay You- ASH WEDNESDAY (YEAR B)

February 17, 2021, Wednesday
ASH WEDNESDAY (Violet)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: JL 2:12-18/ PS 51:3-4. 5-6. 12-13. 14. 17/ 2 COR 5:20-6:2
GOSPEL: MT 6:1-6. 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door,
and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
"When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to others to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Jesus calls for generosity - Give! Share! Lend! When somebody is looking for help, do we pass by on the other side, like the priest in the parable of the Good Samaritan? Pope Francis calls on us not to ignore anybody begging on the street, and says the way one reaches out to the person looking for help must be done "by looking them in the eyes and touching their hands".

PRAYER:

I ask the Father to give me the spirit of Jesus, the readiness to walk the extra mile and turn the other cheek.

Leaven of the Pharisees

February 16, 2021, Tuesday
Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY FACE OF JESUS
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: GN 6:5-8--7:1-5. 10/ PS 29:1. 2. 3-4. 9-10
GOSPEL: MK 8:14-21

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.”
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When he became aware of this he said to them,
“Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?”
They answered him, “Twelve.”
“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?”
They answered him, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

The daily bread of which Jesus speaks is not for the stomach. I pray that my eyes may see, that my ears may hear, and that my memory be blessed to notice God's goodness and to receive the food God offers to me each day.

PRAYER:

Lord, break down the walls that press in on my small heart: let me believe that you are the Son of God, and that in company with you I truly live. Help me see that you yourself are the ‘bread’ which I need to stay alive. Help me to hang all my hope on you.

Demand for a Sign

February 15, 2021, Monday
Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: GN 4:1-15. 25/ PS 50:1. 8. 16-17. 20-21
GOSPEL: MK 8:11-13

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Then he left them, got into the boat again,
and went off to the other shore.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Arguing can be acceptable, but the Pharisees’ are hostile: they have decided that Jesus is their enemy. From now on in the gospel they will be ‘testing’ Jesus, trying to find his weaknesses, so they can do away with him. Nothing he does will satisfy them: their hearts are closed. God often ‘tests’ us, but it is in order to bring out the best in us, to make our faith and love grow deeper.

Do I sometimes make Jesus ‘sigh deeply’? Am I waiting for him to do something spectacular for me? Is it not enough for him to have given his life to save the world? Am I a wavering disciple who cannot be depended on? I pray: ‘Jesus, don’t leave me behind! Drag me along with you as you ‘cross over’ to a place I cannot reach without you, the kingdom of God’.

PRAYER:

Lord, let me see everything that is good around me, including nature, as the signs that I was seeking. Let me be grateful and use my energy in building the better world I desire.

Cleansing of a Leper

February 14, 2021, Sunday
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: LV 13:1-2. 44-46/ PS 32:1-2. 5. 11/ 1 COR 10:31--11:1
GOSPEL: MK 1:40-45

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him, 
"I do will it. Be made clean."
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, "See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Jesus, the compassionate one, enters fully into the human mess of our lives. Leprosy was the most dreaded of diseases in his day. Jesus risks conflict and division for the sake of a nobody who was suffering exclusion and isolation from family and community. The leper approaches in confident trust and Jesus touches his sore, leprous body. Lord, how do I approach you in prayer? Begging, kneeling, and asking for what I want? Let me feel your touch.

PRAYER:

Touch me, Lord. Touch the ugly bits of me that I do not like to look at. If you will, you can make me clean.

Feeding of the Four Thousand

February 13, 2021, Saturday 
Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: GN 3:9-24/ PS 90:2. 3-4. 5-6. 12-13
GOSPEL: MK 8:1-10

In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat,
Jesus summoned the disciples and said,
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
If I send them away hungry to their homes,
they will collapse on the way,
and some of them have come a great distance.”
His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread
to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”
Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
They replied, “Seven.”
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,
and gave them to his disciples to distribute,
and they distributed them to the crowd.
They also had a few fish.
He said the blessing over them
and ordered them distributed also.
They ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.
There were about four thousand people.
He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples
and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

The loaves of the people fed the crowd. Jesus uses what we can give to him in his service. He speaks his word through us and loves the world through us. We are as amazed as the disciples were that our small contribution can do so much when joined to his power of love.

PRAYER:

Lord, today let me see some of the miracles that surround me. So many good things happen to me that need not happen. I have food and drink, while others are ‘in the desert’. Someone is good to me, someone smiles. Even my computer is your gift. And I meet you, my God, in this time of prayer. Others support me with their prayer, and I support them too. Thank you, Lord – for everything!

Be Opened!

February 12, 2021, Friday
Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: GN 3:1-8/ PS 32:1-2. 5. 6. 7
GOSPEL: MK 7:31-37

Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis. 
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him.

He took him off by himself away from the crowd. 
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly. 
He ordered them not to tell anyone. 
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it. 
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well. 
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

The healing work of Jesus involved the body and well as mind and soul. Some 'Christian' teaching devalues the body. Our body is the 'place' of the Holy Spirit and through words, touch and feel we affect the lives of others. In prayer, we thank God for the sacredness of our bodies and ask that we care well for them. We offer this care to the Lord in the ways we eat, drink, touch and taste. We believe that Jesus, Son of God, is present and incarnate today in our bodies.

The people around Jesus were able to recognize the good that he did. I ask God to strengthen me, to give me the courage to keep acting in the hope that I may give witness by how I live.

PRAYER:

You were always on the side of health, Lord. You communicated your own vigorous health to people by touching them, even sharing your saliva. Let me relish my senses while I have them, open my ears to music and my lips to speak. Touch me with health.

The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

February 11, 2021, Thursday
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES (White)
(WORLD DAY OF THE SICK)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: GN 2:18-25/ PS 128:1-2. 3. 4-5
GOSPEL: MK 7:24-30

Jesus went to the district of Tyre.
He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it,
but he could not escape notice.
Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.
She came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,
and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She replied and said to him,
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”
Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter.”
When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed
and the demon gone.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

The depth of the woman’s faith is an example to us. She has not presented her daughter to Jesus, but in her eyes, the prospect of long-distance healing presents no difficulties. Jesus sometimes said that he met deeper faith among foreigners than among his own people.

PRAYER: 

Lord, I would like to talk to you as the Syrophoenician did, not hesitating to bother you with my needs, and trusting in your goodness and your sense of humor.

What Defiles A Person?

February 10, 2021, Wednesday
MEMORIAL OF SAINT SCHOLASTICA, VIRGIN (White)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: GN 2:4-9. 15-17/ PS 104:1-2. 27-28. 29-30
GOSPEL: MK 7:14-23

Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
When he got home away from the crowd
his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them,
“Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?”
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Jesus directs our focus to what is inside us. We find good and evil inside our hearts. Harsh judgments, retaining of past hurts, thoughts of greed, and misuse of others are part of the human heart as well as the love that dwells there. Prayer purifies the thoughts and desires of the heart as we allow the love of God in Jesus Christ to flood our personalities.

PRAYER:

Lord, you see into my heart. A pure heart creates in me. Take away my heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, so that I may become as compassionate as you are.

That Which Defiles

February 09, 2021, Tuesday
Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: GN 1:20--2:4/ PS 8:4-5. 6-7. 8-9
GOSPEL: MK 7:1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead, eat a meal with unclean hands?"  
He responded,
"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:

This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He went on to say,
"How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
'If someone says to father or mother,
"Any support you might have had from me is qorban"'
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Jesus invites me to consider how I follow God in my heart and cautions me against being distracted by human traditions. I review my habits and patterns of activity, asking God to help me to recognize where they lead me to life.

PRAYER:

Lord, it is different for me. I do not have to face the hundreds of ritual regulations with which the scribes had burdened their religion. But I can still be caught by foolish scruples, which have nothing to do with love but come from a superstitious fear of regulations. Free my heart for joy and love.

Healings at Gennesaret

February 08, 2021, Monday
Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
Saint Jerome Emiliani, Priest - Opt. Mem. (White)
Saint Josephine Bakhita, Virgin - Opt. Mem. (White)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
RDGS: GN 1:1-19/ PS 104:1-2. 5-6. 10. 12. 24. 35
GOSPEL: MK 6:53-56

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country    
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

They came to him in their numbers because they wanted something from him, a cure for themselves or they're sick. We come to prayer often with our needs. We can come to prayer also to know what we might do for Jesus, or what he might do through us. Discipleship brings us into both friendship and partnership. We are grateful for both these callings, knowing that every time we meet the Lord, we are healed and strengthened.

The magnetism of Jesus is extraordinary. Do I share the enthusiasm of the crowds or do I miss the action? What difficulties do I overcome to get to him – like rising earlier to pray, or going to visit the sick, or taking quality time in a busy day to sit with him? 

PRAYER:

Jesus, you loved to cure people. You taught the disciples to show compassion to the needy. I am your disciple now. May I spread your love and compassion to the needy around me today. May I be a healing presence for those I meet.

Jesus Heals Many

February 07, 2021, Sunday

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)

CYCLE B - YEAR I

RDGS: JB 7:1-4. 6-7/ PS 147:1-2. 3-4. 5-6/ 1 COR 9:16-19. 22-23

GOSPEL: MK 1:29-39

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

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

Rising very early before dawn, he left 
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come.”
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

The Gospel stories tell us that as well as healing, casting out demons, and preaching, Jesus was in the habit of going off to a quiet place to pray. He felt this need to be in touch with the fact that he was the Father’s beloved. He must have found the lack of human affirmation very wearing.

In prayer, perhaps you might speak to Jesus about your shared experience of this lack of human acceptance and appreciation. Let him tell you how much he appreciates you as a companion and as one who shares his work. Notice and express how much you resist as well as relish what he says to you. 

PRAYER:

Lord, deliver me from seeking your help only in times of difficulty. May I grow in grateful love for the ways you daily raise me up and call me to the service of the community.

The Return of the Twelve

February 06, 2021, Saturday

Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Red)

CYCLE B - YEAR I

RDGS: HEB 13:15-17. 20-21/ PS 23:1-3. 3-4. 5. 6

GOSPEL: MK 6:30-34

The Apostles gathered together with Jesus

and reported all they had done and taught.

He said to them,

"Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." 

People were coming and going in great numbers,

and they had no opportunity even to eat.

So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.

People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.

They hastened there on foot from all the towns

and arrived at the place before them.

When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd,

his heart was moved with pity for them,

for they were like sheep without a shepherd;

and he began to teach them many things.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Jesus cares about me and invites me too to come away and rest a while. I will be helped if I can go to a ‘deserted place’ occasionally to allow my soul to catch up. Otherwise, as T. S. Eliot says, I have the experience of God’s action in my life, but miss its meaning because I don’t give time to reflection.

I may be too busy or too poor ‘to get away from it all’. It can restore my frayed nerves and re-orient me to what really matters. I will never regret the time I give to this daily encounter with God.

PRAYER:

Lord, there are times when I want to get away from the crowds, when I feel oppressed by company. There are other times when I just wish that somebody knew that I exist; I can have too much of aloneness. If I can reach you in prayer, and know that you are more central to me than my own thoughts, I feel at peace, as the apostles must have felt.

The Death of John The Baptist

February 05, 2021, Friday

Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin & Martyr (Red)

CYCLE B - YEAR I

RDGS: HEB 13:1-8/PS 27:1.3.5.8-9

GOSPEL: MK 6:14-29

King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread,

and people were saying,

"John the Baptist has been raised from the dead;

That is why mighty powers are at work in him."

Others were saying, "He is Elijah";

still others, "He is a prophet like any of the prophets."

But when Herod learned of it, he said,

"It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up."

Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison

on account of Herodias,

the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.

John had said to Herod,

"It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

Herodias harbored a grudge against him

and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.

Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,

and kept him in custody.

When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,

yet he liked to listen to him.

Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,

gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers,

and the leading men of Galilee.

His own daughter came in and performed a dance

that delighted Herod and his guests.

The king said to the girl,

"Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you."

He even swore many things to her,

"I will grant you whatever you ask of me,

even to half of my kingdom."

She went out and said to her mother,

"What shall I ask for?"

Her mother replied, "The head of John the Baptist."

The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request,

"I want you to give me at once on a platter

the head of John the Baptist."

The king was deeply distressed,

but because of his oaths and the guests

he did not wish to break his word to her.

So he promptly dispatched an executioner

with orders to bring back his head.

He went off and beheaded him in the prison.

He brought in the head on a platter

and gave it to the girl.

The girl in turn gave it to her mother.

When his disciples heard about it,

they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

John the Baptist was a channel of grace for King Herod, and the king ‘liked to listen to him’. But the people around Herod, and his own unruly appetites, got in the way. Doesn’t that sound so familiar? Do I get trapped too, and then act out of my lack of freedom?

‘Remember those who are in prison as though you were in prison with them’, says the letter to the Hebrews. The Gospel tells the sordid story of the final hours of John the Baptist, beheaded for a frivolous promise of Herod.

How did those who loved John, including Jesus, feel when they heard why and how he had died? What do they do? How do I react when evil occurs?

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, you spent your last night before your crucifixion in prison. Bring comfort to the thousands of good people who are languishing behind bars. They are my sisters and brothers. There but for the grace of God I would be too.