Friday - January 07, 2022
"Extend your mercy towards others so that there can be no one in need whom you meet without helping."
--St. Vincent de Paul
TODAY'S READINGS
Friday after Epiphany
Lectionary: 216
Reading 1 1 Jn 5:5-13
Beloved:
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
Responsorial Psalm Mt 4:23
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Alleluia Lk 4:18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Lk 5:12-16
It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
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HAVE A BUSY SCHEDULE?
We live in a very fast-paced world and it seems like we can never keep up with all the demands of this speed. We try harder and work faster and stay busy longer, yet it seems like the people who demand a piece of our time are more numerous than we can handle.
How does this make you feel? Frustrated? Worried? Angry? Tired? These feelings are warning signs that we need to schedule more time for ourselves, alone with God. But we feel guilty if we slow down for our own sake!
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus shows us that we should not feel guilty. It's good spiritual medicine to go away from the busy world and, for a little while, forget the hectic demands of normal life. It's the principle of the Sabbath, the biblical day of rest that God himself took. Did the Creator need to restore lost energy after making the universe? Of course not. It's an example set for our benefit.
The Sabbath is not really about a particular day of the week; it's about prioritizing good mental, physical and spiritual health. As Jesus became more popular, the demands on his time increased. So did his human need to spend time away from it, alone with the Father. He didn't wait for the crowds to subside. He didn't finish his checklist of tasks before withdrawing. He made Sabbath-thinking a normal priority.
Jesus could not have given himself fully to the crowds if he hadn't spent time giving himself fully to the Father and sitting quietly long enough to receive fully from the Father. We cannot give to others what we don't have, and we cannot receive it if we don't take time to nurture our relationship with God.
If we don't spend time letting the Father nurture our spirits, how can we overcome the temptations of the flesh? How can we feel joyful instead of frustrated? How can we be at peace instead of worried? How can we remain calm when things go wrong? How can we find renewed energy when an unexpected demand hits us after we're already tired?
Where is your deserted place? The busier you are, the more you need to spend time there. The harder it is to be alone with God without distractions, the more you need a quiet place.
When is your pre-scheduled, top-priority prayer time? This is the most important time of your day. Take what you need!
What if you've been nodding your head vigorously to these words but you simply don't see a way to take the time off you need for vacation or a Sabbath or daily quiet time with God? Try what I've done: Pick a time, put it on the calendar, announce to everyone that this sacred event is set in stone, and entrust the "how? where?" of it to God. He'll figure out a great plan.
Today's Prayer
Lord, You want to heal in me what seems to be impossible. Help me to give You the yes You need so I can be a witness of Your salvation. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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