Saturday - January 18, 2020
"The
religion established by the sacrament of the Cross of Christ cannot be
destroyed by any kind of cruelty."
--Pope
St. Leo the Great
TODAY'S READINGS
January 18 2020
Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 310
Reading 11 SM 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1
There was a stalwart man from Benjamin named Kish,
who was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror,
son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite.
He had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man.
There was no other child of Israel more handsome than Saul;
he stood head and shoulders above the people.
who was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror,
son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite.
He had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man.
There was no other child of Israel more handsome than Saul;
he stood head and shoulders above the people.
Now the asses of Saul’s father, Kish, had wandered off.
Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you
and go out and hunt for the asses.”
Accordingly they went through the hill country of Ephraim,
and through the land of Shalishah.
Not finding them there,
they continued through the land of Shaalim without success.
They also went through the land of Benjamin,
but they failed to find the animals.
Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you
and go out and hunt for the asses.”
Accordingly they went through the hill country of Ephraim,
and through the land of Shalishah.
Not finding them there,
they continued through the land of Shaalim without success.
They also went through the land of Benjamin,
but they failed to find the animals.
When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD assured him,
“This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people.”
“This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people.”
Saul met Samuel in the gateway and said,
“Please tell me where the seer lives.”
Samuel answered Saul: “I am the seer.
Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today.
In the morning, before dismissing you,
I will tell you whatever you wish.”
“Please tell me where the seer lives.”
Samuel answered Saul: “I am the seer.
Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today.
In the morning, before dismissing you,
I will tell you whatever you wish.”
Then, from a flask he had with him, Samuel poured oil on Saul’s head;
he also kissed him, saying:
“The LORD anoints you commander over his heritage.
You are to govern the LORD’s people Israel,
and to save them from the grasp of their enemies roundabout.
he also kissed him, saying:
“The LORD anoints you commander over his heritage.
You are to govern the LORD’s people Israel,
and to save them from the grasp of their enemies roundabout.
“This will be the sign for you
that the LORD has anointed you commander over his heritage.”
that the LORD has anointed you commander over his heritage.”
Responsorial Psalm21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (2a) Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
O LORD, in your strength the king is glad;
in your victory how greatly he rejoices!
You have granted him his heart’s desire;
you refused not the wish of his lips.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
For you welcomed him with goodly blessings,
you placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked life of you: you gave him
length of days forever and ever.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
Great is his glory in your victory;
majesty and splendor you conferred upon him.
For you made him a blessing forever;
you gladdened him with the joy of your face.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
O LORD, in your strength the king is glad;
in your victory how greatly he rejoices!
You have granted him his heart’s desire;
you refused not the wish of his lips.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
For you welcomed him with goodly blessings,
you placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked life of you: you gave him
length of days forever and ever.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
Great is his glory in your victory;
majesty and splendor you conferred upon him.
For you made him a blessing forever;
you gladdened him with the joy of your face.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
AlleluiaLK 4:18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor
and to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor
and to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 2:13-17
Jesus went out along the sea.
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
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SOLEMNITY OF OUR LADY OF ARABIA
A Marian title is a Jewel in Mary’s crown, making her more visible and her blessedness, more radiant! Yet, her glory is not for herself as she always points the way to her Son…
From the earliest ages of the Church, whether in times of triumph or in times of crisis, Catholics have always offered prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven. And never has that hope wavered which they placed in the Mother of the Divine King, Jesus Christ for we have been taught that the Virgin Mother of God reigns with a mother’s solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a Queen.
Hence, it is not surprising that even in this part of the world, the Arabian Peninsula, that we extol Mary’s queenly dignity. The title ‘Our Lady of Arabia’ (or ‘Queen of Arabia’) even though it seemed quite “new”, yet, the Right Rev. Apostolic Administrator of Arabia had approved it in 1948. It was meant to fulfill the prophecy of the Blessed Virgin contained in the Magnificat,
“Behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed!” (Luke 1:48). A Marian title is thus a jewel in Mary’s crown, making her more visible and her blessedness, more radiant! Yet, her glory is not for herself as she always points the way to her Son… “Because the Virgin Mary was raised to such a lofty dignity as to be the mother of the King of kings, it is deservedly and by every right that the Church has honored her with the title of ‘Queen’.” (St. AlphonsusLigouri) But, she is called ‘Queen’, not only because of her Divine Motherhood, but also because God has willed her to have an exceptional role in the work of our eternal salvation.
To represent Our Lady under the title of Our Lady of Arabia, Fr. Stella (who later became the first Vicar Apostolic of Kuwait) wanted to have a special statue made in her honour. An Italian firm in Rome was requisitioned to make the statue, carved out of a solid block of cedar from Lebanon. The Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, himself gave a grand lead to this devotion to Our Lady of Arabia, when on 17th December 1949, on the eve of the Great Jubilee Year, he personally blessed the new statue of Our Lady of Arabia in the Vatican Palace. The same Pope proclaimed the Queenship of Mary in 1954! This statue has been prominently placed above the altar in the Church in Ahmadi. A smaller statue of Our Lady of Arabia (again, blessed by Pope Pius X11 in 1954) is placed above the side altar in the Holy Family Cathedral, Kuwait City.
In 1956, Bishop Teophano Stella, OCD, sent a petition to the Holy See to proclaim Our Lady of Arabia, Patroness of the Vicariate Apostolic of Kuwait. The following year, granting the request of the new Vicar Apostolic of Kuwait, H.H. Pope Pius XII, by a pontifical decree Regnum Mariae, dated 25th January, 1957, declared Our Lady of Arabia the Principal Patron of the territory and the Vicariate Apostolic of Kuwait.
However, no official date was set for a proper feast day in honour of Our Lady of Arabia, so, in early 2007, His Lordship Bishop CamilloBallin, MCCJ, the present Vicar Apostolic of Kuwait, petitioned the Holy See to have a feast day established in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary under this title. His prayer and wish were fulfilled this year 2011, when His Lordship Bishop Camillo received an official intimation from the Vatican that his request has been granted.
On 5th January 2011, the Holy See officially proclaimed Our Lady of Arabia Patroness of both the Vicariates in the Arabian Peninsula: The Vicariate Apostolic of Kuwait and the Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia. A Solemnity in her honour will henceforth be celebrated on Saturday preceding the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time with the permission to celebrate it also on Sunday. HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL ANTONIO CAÑIZARES LLOVERA (Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments) arrived in Kuwait to personally inaugurate the special occasion.
This is a time of manifold graces and blessings for all – in the Vicariate Apostolic of Kuwait and the Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia, as the loving patronage of Our Lady of Arabia extends to all Catholics in the Arabian peninsula, and indeed the whole world, that, we may renew the praises of Our heavenly Mother, and enkindle a more fervent devotion towards her, to the spiritual benefit of all mankind. Few are aware that devotion to Our Lady of Arabia actually began in 1948, on 8th December – the day on which the Chapel in Ahmadi was dedicated in her honour and that her statue in the shrine at Ahmadi was blessed in 1949 by Pope Pius XII who later proclaimed the Queenship of Mary in 1954. In 1949 the Church of Our Lady of Arabia in Ahmadi was aggregated to the Patriarchal Liberian Basilica (Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major) in Rome and has been granted the same indulgences as for visiting this greatest Marian Shrine in the world. Many will surely be enriched by indulgences and privileges by a visit or a pilgrimage to the church in Ahmadi.
Pope Pius XII in his Encyclical AD CAELI REGINAM proclaiming the Queenship of Mary said, “Whoever, therefore, reverences the Queen of heaven and earth — and let no one consider himself exempt from this tribute of a grateful and loving soul — let him invoke the most effective of Queens, the Mediatrix of peace; let him respect and preserve peace to which the Virgin Mary impels us, which is not wickedness unpunished, nor freedom without restraint, but, a well-ordered harmony under the rule of the will of God!”
We pray that Our Lady of Arabia may hear our prayers, and by her peace make happy a world shaken by discord, and after our earthly exile … show unto us all Jesus, Who will be our eternal peace and joy.
Our Blessed Mother will surely be honored with more titles and feasts
as time goes by, as her patronage extends, and love and
devotion to her increase in every part of the world.
devotion to her increase in every part of the world.
PRAYER IN HONOR OR OUR LADY OF ARABIA
O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Arabia and our Patroness! To you we offer up our prayers for the needs of the Church here and throughout the world. Help us to remain one with your Son Jesus and united amongst ourselves, so that we may be true witnesses for Christ in our daily lives and that the Lord’s blessings of peace and harmony be within our families and communities always. Trusting in your maternal intercession, we beseech you to hear our humble prayers and grant us the graces we seek… so that we may give glory to God forever. Amen. Our Lady of Arabia, pray for us!“
God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day
through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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