Monday - February 12, 2018
“Prayer is an aspiration of the heart. It is a simple glance directed to Heaven. It is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy.”
–St. Therese Lisieux
February 12, 2018
Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 335
Reading 1JAS 1:1-11
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.
Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,
when you encounter various trials,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
And let perseverance be perfect,
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,
and he will be given it.
But he should ask in faith, not doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea
that is driven and tossed about by the wind.
For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,
since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.
The brother in lowly circumstances
should take pride in high standing,
and the rich one in his lowliness,
for he will pass away "like the flower of the field."
For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass,
its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes.
So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.
Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,
when you encounter various trials,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
And let perseverance be perfect,
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,
and he will be given it.
But he should ask in faith, not doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea
that is driven and tossed about by the wind.
For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,
since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.
The brother in lowly circumstances
should take pride in high standing,
and the rich one in his lowliness,
for he will pass away "like the flower of the field."
For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass,
its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes.
So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Responsorial PsalmPS 119:67, 68, 71, 72, 75, 76
R. (77a) Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I hold to your promise.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
You are good and bountiful;
teach me your statutes.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I may learn your statutes.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just,
and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I hold to your promise.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
You are good and bountiful;
teach me your statutes.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I may learn your statutes.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just,
and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.
R. Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.
AlleluiaJN 14:6
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 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.
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How to Remain Steady in the Faith
Today's first reading is a good summary of how to handle adversity as a Christian. The warning about the dangers of doubt is very important: "Ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind." Such waves are so erratic, you never know which one's going to swamp you. It's the kind of water that Peter began to walk on and then sank into.
When we doubt God's love or his desire to intervene during our trials, we're double-minded. We believe, we don't believe, we trust, we don't trust, we hope, we don't hope. Having two minds makes us very unstable and we soon fall over. We must not suppose that we'll receive anything from the Lord; although he gives it, we won't notice! All we see are the waves.
What challenges the steadiness of your faith? What tosses you like the surf and drives you like the wind?
Probably your answer is the same as mine: people. Yeah, those people who seem to be in our face just to undermine our joy, those people who are difficult to deal with, those people who criticize us or ridicule us, and those people who are on the road of destruction and we worry about them and we try to help them but they won't stop to seek God's healing and peace.
Those people who cause the various trials we're encountering -- they challenge our patience, our ability to love unconditionally, our quickness to forgive, our endurance, our hopefulness, etc. In other words, they challenge the steadiness of our faith. The more vulnerable we are to these challenges, the more easily our faith is tossed around by doubts and other destructive forces.
Are these people really to blame, though? No, we can only blame ourselves, for we are responsible for how we react to the trials. Others might limit the possible outcomes of the trials, but we don't have to let them control our faith, too, or our moods. Our response is always our choice, and if we fail to take ownership of this, we let others toss us around like wind-driven waves on the sea, and we let their behavior make us doubt God's goodness and his love and his desire to help.
James says that we are to be joyful about our trials. This seemingly impossible joy comes from knowing that no one can control our faith but us; it's ours and God alone has access to it.
As James reminds us, we should ask God for wisdom, and he will respond by teaching us how to endure our trials. That's not a bad way to live! As long as we choose to believe him and act upon his wisdom, rather than react to the troublemakers, we'll enjoy a steady faith that calms the waters even while the storms continue to rage.
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God Bless You.....
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