“The devil is afraid of us when we pray and make sacrifices. He is also afraid when we are humble and good. He is especially afraid when we love Jesus very much. He runs away when we make the Sign of the Cross.”
+Saint Anthony, Abbot

Second Week in Ordinary Time

Monday, January 15

Holy Gospel: Mark 2:18-22 

Prayer: Almighty ever-living God, who governs all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: Which comes first, fasting or feasting? The disciples of John the Baptist were upset with Jesus’ disciples because they did not fast. Fasting was one of the three most important religious duties, along with prayer and almsgiving.  Jesus gave a simple explanation. There’s a time for fasting and a time for feasting (or celebrating). To walk as a disciple with Jesus is to experience a whole new joy of relationship akin to the joy of the wedding party in celebrating with the groom and bride their wedding bliss. But there also comes a time when the Lord’s disciples must bear the cross of affliction and purification. For the disciple, there is both a time for rejoicing in the Lord’s presence and celebrating his goodness and a time for seeking the Lord with humility and fasting and for mourning over sin.  Do you take joy in the Lord’s presence with you and do you express sorrow and contrition for your sins?

Tuesday, January 16  

Holy Gospel: Mark 2:23-28

Prayer: Almighty ever-living God, who governs all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: So how do you spend the Sabbath (Sunday for we Catholic Christians)?  There was a time when families and individuals spent Sunday attending Mass, relaxing in one way or another, having “Sunday Dinner” with family, visiting grandma.  The Sabbath—the “Lord’s Day” should always be a day of praise and worship to God through the Mass; it should also be a day of rest for us, giving us time to “re-create” ourselves for the coming week. In our hurried world, take some time to contemplate how you spend your Sundays.  Carve out time on this day to give praise and worship to God the Father and receive the Eucharist during Mass, then carve out some time for yourself and your family.

Wednesday, January 17  | Saint Anthony

Holy Gospel: Mark 3:1-6 

Prayer: O God, who brought the Abbot Saint Anthony to serve you by a wondrous way of life in the desert, grant, through his intercession, that, denying ourselves, we may always love you above all things. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Saint Anthony intercessory prayer: Dear God, Saint Anthony the Abbot accepted your call to renounce the world and to love you above all things. He faithfully served you in the solitude of the desert by fasting, prayer, humility and good works. In the Sign of the Cross, he triumphed over the devil. Through his intercession, may we learn to love you better; with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, all our strength and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Saint Antony the Abbot, great and powerful saint, intercede for us also for this special request (mention your request). We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: We Catholics—in fact all Christians—celebrate Sunday as the Lord’s Day, to commemorate God’s work of redemption in Jesus Christ and the new work of creation he accomplished through Christ’s death and Resurrection. Taking “our Sabbath rest” is a way of expressing honor to God for all that he has done for us.  Such “rest” however does not exempt us from our love for our neighbor. If we truly love the Lord above all else, then the love of God will overflow to love of neighbor as well. Do you honor the Lord in the manner with which you celebrate Sunday, the Lord’s Day, and in the way you treat you neighbor?

Thursday, January 18

Holy Gospel: Mark 3:7-12 

Prayer: Almighty ever-living God, who governs all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: In this scene, where Jesus is withdrawing a bit, do you feel a special closeness to him? He came to enter our world completely and be with us. It must have been a challenge for him to be so misunderstood by his disciples, to be so sought after by the poor, to be so rejected by the religious leaders, and have the demons proclaim that they alone seem to know who he is. In scenes like this, we  can recognize that he must understand us when we are tired or stretched, misunderstood or rejected, frustrated or discouraged. Knowing this, can you draw closer to him during times of anxiety or challenge?  Times of rejection or persecution?

Friday, January 19

Holy Gospel: Mark 3:13-19 

Prayer: Almighty ever-living God, who governs all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: While Jesus called twelve men to be his apostles, Jesus calls all of us to serve the Lord as his disciples. When the Lord calls us to serve, we must not shrug back because we think that we have little or nothing to offer. The Lord takes what ordinary people, like us, can offer and uses it for greatness in his kingdom. Do you make your life an offering to the Lord and allow him to use you as he sees fit?

Saturday, January 20 | Saint Fabian

Holy Gospel: Mark 3:20-21 

Prayer: Saint Sebastian, Grant us, we pray, O Lord, a spirit of fortitude, so that, taught by the glorious example of your Martyr Saint Sebastian, we may learn to obey you rather than men. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: The Gospel, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises all tell us that “talk is cheap”—that love ought to show itself more in deeds than in words, that we ought to focus more on acting like Catholics and Christians by loving one another than by going around simply talking about being a Catholic Christian. Part of today’s message is about not being a hypocrite, which begs the question—have you co-opted this directive for your own devices, using it as a reason to rarely talk about being a Catholic Christian? Why ask this? Because of what happened to Jesus and his followers in today’s Gospel passage. After beginning his ministry, he returns home where his friends and relatives reject him and think he is crazy.  What do you choose to do or not do in order to be “accepted” by others?  Do you shortchange your faith in order to be part of the crowd?

About Saint Fabian: St. Fabian, a Roman, was as energetic as he was admired and respected. He was able to accomplish a great deal during his long pontificate. Escaping the persecution of Emperor Maximus Thrax, who had been assassinated, Fabian enjoyed peace in the Church under the reigns of succeeding emperors. One of St. Fabian’s first acts was to reorganize the clergy of Rome to better serve the increasing flock. He is also credited with beautifying and enlarging the cemeteries. He ordered paintings to adorn the vaults, and he erected a church above the cemetery of Calixtus. The Church flourished under St. Fabian as a succession of emperors left the Christians to themselves. This peaceful time came to an abrupt end with the ascension of Emperor Decius. He was a cruel enemy and he decreed that all Christians were to deny Christ by openly worshipping pagan idols. The Church was to lose many followers, but more stood firm to suffer torture and even death. Certainly, one of the first was Pope Fabian. Arrested, he was thrown in prison and died at the hands of his brutal captors. He is buried in the cemetery of Calixtus.

About Saint Sebastian: St. Sebastian was widely venerated during the Middle Ages, particularly as a protector against the plague. Paul the Deacon relates that, in 670, a great pestilence at Rome ceased when an altar was dedicated in his honor. The Breviary account of the saint is highly legendary; in part it reads: “Diocletian tried by every means to turn Sebastian from the faith of Christ. After all efforts had proven fruitless, he ordered him tied to a post and pierced with arrows. When everyone thought him dead, a devout woman named Irene arranged for his burial during the night; finding him still alive, she cared for him in her own house. After his recovery, he appeared again before Diocletian and boldly rebuked him for his wickedness. Enraged by the saint’s sharp words, the emperor ordered him scourged until he expired. His body was thrown into a sewer.”

Scripture passages (NAB translation) courtesy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; prayers are from The Roman Missal, Catholic Book Publishing, 2011; information about saints, solemnities, feasts and memorials courtesy of the Catholic Culture website.

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By popular request from my Homily on the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus:

Jesus, Name full of glory, grace, love and strength! You are the refuge of those who repent, our banner of warfare in this life, the medicine of souls, the comfort of those who morn, the delight of those who believe, the light of those who preach the true faith, the wages of those who toil, the healing of the sick. To you our devotion aspires; by you our prayers are received; we delight in contemplating you. O Name of Jesus, you are the glory of all the saints for eternity. Amen.