Tuesday - January 08, 2019
So, you will ask me, who then are the people most tempted? They are these, my friends; note them carefully. The people most tempted are those who are ready, with the grace of God, to sacrifice everything for the salvation of their poor souls, who renounce all those things which most people eagerly seek. It is not one devil only who tempts them, but millions seek to entrap them.
-- St. John Vianney
So, you will ask me, who then are the people most tempted? They are these, my friends; note them carefully. The people most tempted are those who are ready, with the grace of God, to sacrifice everything for the salvation of their poor souls, who renounce all those things which most people eagerly seek. It is not one devil only who tempts them, but millions seek to entrap them.
-- St. John Vianney
January 8 2019
Tuesday after Epiphany
Lectionary: 213
Reading 11 JN 4:7-10
Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only-begotten Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only-begotten Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Responsorial PsalmPS 72:1-2, 3-4, 7-8
R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The mountains shall yield peace for the people,
and the hills justice.
He shall defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The mountains shall yield peace for the people,
and the hills justice.
He shall defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
AlleluiaLK 4:18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor
and to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor
and to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 6:34-44
When Jesus 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.
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said,
"This is a deserted place and it is already very late.
Dismiss them so that they can go
to the surrounding farms and villages
and buy themselves something to eat."
He said to them in reply,
"Give them some food yourselves."
But they said to him,
"Are we to buy two hundred days' wages worth of food
and give it to them to eat?"
He asked them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see."
And when they had found out they said,
"Five loaves and two fish."
So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.
Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples
to set before the people;
he also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments
and what was left of the fish.
Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men.
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said,
"This is a deserted place and it is already very late.
Dismiss them so that they can go
to the surrounding farms and villages
and buy themselves something to eat."
He said to them in reply,
"Give them some food yourselves."
But they said to him,
"Are we to buy two hundred days' wages worth of food
and give it to them to eat?"
He asked them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see."
And when they had found out they said,
"Five loaves and two fish."
So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.
Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples
to set before the people;
he also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments
and what was left of the fish.
Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men.
******************************
Getting to Know God Better
Today's first reading tells us that by loving others we come to know God. This means that when an irritating person angers us and we respond with an argument or retaliation or anything else unloving, we don't know God well enough. If we knew him better, we'd be appalled at the idea of treating anyone that way, no matter what they've done.
When we fight off the impulse to strike back at those who hurt and dismay us, responding to every person in every situation with unconditional love, forgiveness, patience, and (if possible) an act of kindness, we gain a fuller understanding of God, for this is how he treats us, whether we deserve it or not.
Unconditional love does not mean that we tolerate evil. It means doing good to troublemakers while standing firm behind the boundaries of truth that keep us united to God. Our boundaries invite other people to trade up to a holier, healthier life. This is how God deals with our sinfulness; thus, by doing to others what the Lord does to us, we learn more about him. We develop a better understanding of how he rejects sin while embracing the sinner.
To understand God better, we must love those who are the most difficult to love, since God is Love Itself. When we categorize certain people as outside the realm of those whom we will love, this comes from our ignorance about God's way of embracing diversity. By condemning them as unworthy of our attention and time, we use that as permission to ignore them and avoid them, which is so unlike God that this could only happen because we don't know him.
God loves you and me so much that he doesn't leave us in this mess of ignorance! As this scripture says, the Father gave us Jesus as an offering -- an expiation -- for our sins. When we fail to love everyone all the time, we're relying on our feelings and our limited human ability to love, which is very inadequate. To succeed at love, we have to rely on the ability of Jesus to love. We have to let him supernaturally love others through us.
To succeed at love, we have to rely on what love truly is: It is God's gift to us. He loves you so much that the Father sent the Son to take your sins upon himself in an awesome deed of great suffering and sacrifice. Such a powerful love never fails. When loving others is difficult, get in touch with God's love for you. He wants to kiss your wounds and heal your heart and defend your goodness.
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus multiplies the loaves and fish. It's an excellent reminder that he can multiply our small ability to love and produce an over-abundance of love.
Today's Prayer
Even in the middle of the desert, if I'm by your side I find the abundant nourishment I need. 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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