Monday - January 28, 2019
You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy - the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good. For God resists the proud.
-- St. Vincent de Paul
You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy - the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good. For God resists the proud.
-- St. Vincent de Paul
January 28 2019
Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 317
Reading 1HEB 9:15, 24-28
Christ is mediator of a new covenant:
since a death has taken place
for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant,
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands,
a copy of the true one, but heaven itself,
that he might now appear before God on our behalf.
Not that he might offer himself repeatedly,
as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary
with blood that is not his own;
if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly
from the foundation of the world.
But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages
to take away sin by his sacrifice.
Just as it is appointed that human beings die once,
and after this the judgment, so also Christ,
offered once to take away the sins of many,
will appear a second time, not to take away sin
but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.
since a death has taken place
for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant,
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands,
a copy of the true one, but heaven itself,
that he might now appear before God on our behalf.
Not that he might offer himself repeatedly,
as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary
with blood that is not his own;
if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly
from the foundation of the world.
But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages
to take away sin by his sacrifice.
Just as it is appointed that human beings die once,
and after this the judgment, so also Christ,
offered once to take away the sins of many,
will appear a second time, not to take away sin
but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.
Responsorial PsalmPS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4, 5-6
R. (1a) Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Reading 2SEE 2 TM 1:10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 3:22-30
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
"He is possessed by Beelzebul," and
"By the prince of demons he drives out demons."
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."
"He is possessed by Beelzebul," and
"By the prince of demons he drives out demons."
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."
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Seeing the glory of Jesus the Savior
Praise the Lord, for he has done marvelous deeds -- for YOU! Sing with the psalmist of today's responsorial Psalm; sing to the Lord a new song. The Lord has made known his salvation to you!
That's right, he's made it plainly clear that he cares about you. How? By offering up his own life for you (as we hear in today's first reading) to heal you from the destructiveness of your sins, and the next time he appears, he will bring eternal salvation -- heaven -- to you.
Although this scripture is first of all speaking about Christ's Second Coming, it's also referring to your life here and now, and mine, as all scripture does, because Jesus is always with us.
We don't have to be visionaries to see Jesus. He comes to us in the humble form of bread and wine, with all his humanity and divinity mysteriously packaged in the gift of the Eucharist. The next time you go to Mass, as the priest speaks the prayers of consecration, ask Jesus to "appear" to you. Prayerfully entrust your imagination to the Holy Spirit and see what happens.
Sometimes when I do this, if he's calling me to a new task or a busy day, I imagine him beckoning me as if to say, "Come on! Let's get going! We have work to do for the Kingdom!" Other times, he's holding out his arms to welcome and embrace me. Sometimes I can sense him smiling at me or praying for me or reminding me that he is already victorious in the trials that are causing me anguish.
We can also see his True Presence in people. Because each baptized person is an earthly "tabernacle" where Christ dwells, we can encounter him in others, including those whom we do not like, if we remember to look beneath the surface. He also comes to us in beautiful sunsets, in our private meditations, in the Word that's read at Mass, and ___ (fill in the blank; how does he reveal himself to you?).
Always, Jesus is interceding for you. He's working behind the scenes and on the front lines to help you. He's more concerned than you are about the evils you suffer.
Whenever we turn to him for help, he readily enters the "strong man's house" and trashes the place, tossing out all the weapons that have been used against us, restraining every evil spirit that works for the "strong man" (as in today's Gospel reading). And the more we purify our hearts and work on our spiritual growth, the more this will make a lasting difference.
Jesus has not yet come to bring us the fullness of salvation. He'll do that when we die (unless his Second Coming happens first). But in the meantime, we can be sure that he is busy mediating for us in our current situations. Things might look disastrous, or it might seem that life is not going as it should, but if we take our eyes off of the evil and look instead at Jesus, we will see and feel the victorious love of our Savior.
Remember my motto: Keep your eyes on Jesus!
Lord: Give us a clear awareness of the need to remain united in community and that You are victorious in our unity. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
Rosary Family
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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