RE: 01.26.12~Readings for Sunday, January 29th-2012 + Study Catholic Matters.org

Saint Max Bible Study meets at the back of the church in the Mother Cabrini room Fridays 9AM – 10AM.. Please join us!

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***Please invite your family, friends and neighbors for the FREE showing of the award-winning film “WHICH WAY HOME,” Friday, January 27th-2012 Reception 6:30PM, Film 7PM! This is a FREE Event in the St. Max Church Parish Center!!! See you there!***
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JANUARY 29, 2012

« January 28 | January 30 »
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 71
READING 1 DT 18:15-20
Moses spoke to all the people, saying:
"A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin;
to him you shall listen.
This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb
on the day of the assembly, when you said,
'Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God,
nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.'
And the LORD said to me, 'This was well said.
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin,
and will put my words into his mouth;
he shall tell them all that I command him.
Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name,
I myself will make him answer for it.
But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name
an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak,
or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.'"
RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
READING 2 1 COR 7:32-35
Brothers and sisters:
I should like you to be free of anxieties.
An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord,
how he may please the Lord.
But a married man is anxious about the things of the world,
how he may please his wife, and he is divided.
An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord,
so that she may be holy in both body and spirit.
A married woman, on the other hand,
is anxious about the things of the world,
how she may please her husband.
I am telling you this for your own benefit,
not to impose a restraint upon you,
but for the sake of propriety
and adherence to the Lord without distraction.
GOSPEL MK 1:21-28
Then they came to Capernaum,
and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are?the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebuked him and said,
"Quiet! Come out of him!"
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
"What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

SUNDAY READINGS - 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
FIRST READING: Deuteronomy 18:15-20. Moses said to the people, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren---him you shall heed---just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, or see this great fire any more, lest I die.' And the Lord said to me, 'They have rightly said all that they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not give heed to my words which he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die."'
EXPLANATION: This central section of the book of Deuteronomy (16:18-18: 22) describes the various offices and officers of the theocratic society which Yahweh, through his servant Moses, is setting up for the Chosen People. Judges, kings, priests and prophets are promised to the people, to regulate their civil and religious life. The prophet was to be the mouth-piece of Yahweh among the people. He was to be listened to because he brought the word of God, Yahweh's revelation, to them. And just as there had to be a line of kings, judges and priests, so there had to be a line of prophets, who would interpret previous revelation and add some new truths, when necessary for each generation. After the return from the Babylonian exile (c. 538 B.C.) however, the people began to interpret this text of Deuteronomy as referring to one individual eschatological prophet, the Messiah who was to come. New Testament followed this interpretation and saw these words of Moses "a prophet like me" verified in Christ (Acts 3: 22; 7: 37). That this was the opinion of our Lord's contemporaries is clear from Jn. 1: 21; 6:14; 7: 40. These verses therefore, have been chosen for today's first reading because they refer to the "preacher with authority" who is mentioned in today's gospel.
for you a prophet: Moses promises the people that after his own death God will send one of themselves ("from your brethren") to take his place as God's interpreter or mouth-piece.
him...heed: They must obey his commands and advice because he is taking God's place in their regard. at
Horeb...you said: The reference is to the giving of the ten commandments on Mount Sinai or Horeb. The people heard the voice of Yahweh which was accompanied by thunder and lightning: "they shook with fear, (Ex. 20: 18) and begged that Moses should speak to them rather than that Yahweh himself should address them. Moses now says Yahweh will grant their request. He will speak to them only through his prophets.
put my words in his mouth: Yahweh will reveal to the prophet all he wants him to tell the people.
whoever...heed: Whoever disobeys or refuses to do what the prophet commands is disobeying Yahweh and will have to answer to him.
prophet who presumes: Any man claiming the office or charism of prophecy who has not received it from Yahweh, is guilty of serious deception and is to be put to death. Likewise any Israelite who would encourage the cult of a false god deserves death.
APPLICATION: That God fulfilled his promise to send prophets to speak in his name and with his authority is evident from the pages of the Old Testament. Beginning with Joshua, the immediate successor of Moses, there was a continuous line of representatives of God, who directed the people, corrected their faults and filled them with hopes for a better future, right down to John the Baptist who was the precursor of the final and greatest of all prophets. God could, of course, have spoken directly to his people, but through Moses the people had asked him not to do so, because the hearing of his voice on Mount Sinai had struck terror into their hearts. In his mercy and love Yahweh granted their request.
Had the Chosen People listened to those prophets and obeyed their instructions, their history would have been different. They would have avoided much temporal suffering, and more important still, their large percentage who lost faith in God and his promises of future happiness would have remained faithful and would now be enjoying that promised happiness. But when they got full possession of the land God gave them, they began to get too interested in the economic and political affairs of their world. They forgot God who had been so generous toward them, and took credit to themselves for all that they were and had.
Who are we, living as we are in glass-houses, to throw stones? The prophets of the Old Testament were but fore-shadowings or types of the real prophet, God's divine Son. He humbled himself to share in our humanity so that we could share in his divinity. Of this astounding fact every Christian is aware, and yet how many millions of "ex-Christians" are there in our world today? How many live their lives in total disregard of Christ's teaching and complete oblivion of what he did and suffered for them, or, what is worse still for themselves, with complete disinterest in their own future state. Yet this is the sad fact of history. More than half the people of what were once the Christian nations are no longer interested in the Christian message today. Their days and their lives are so given to acquiring things and pleasures that every thought of a future life is blotted from their minds.
This neo-paganism which has been developing over the past centuries, has reached frightening proportions today. God has little, if any, place in the councils of nations. Man-made laws have replaced the ten commandments, and the result is, of course, a world in turmoil. There is not and there cannot be any brotherhood of man if we exclude the Fatherhood of God. There will never be "peace on earth among men" until all men make their peace with the God of heaven. False prophets and promoters of false gods, advertisers of pornography and permissiveness surround us on all sides today. There are those who are trying to prevent the pollution of land, water and atmosphere but too few, if any, who oppose the mental and moral pollution of people which is being propagated daily in our midst. All would like this world of ours to be a beautiful place to live in, only very few think to provide for a beautiful place to which they can go after they leave this world.
Please God we are among that few, but instead of clapping one another on the back for this, let us rather beat our breasts in repentance for our past faults and resolve to let the light of our Christian faith shine before our neighbors in future. Every good-living Christian is a prophet, a representative, of God among his neighbors. His example will speak and its message will be the word of God and it will produce fruit in God's good time. We are our brothers' keepers in that they are God's adopted children too, and he wants them. He is looking to us to give them a helping hand. Would we refuse him, the all-loving Father who sent his Son to open heaven for us? Would we be so ungrateful as to refuse the little he asks of us in return?
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SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 7:32-35. I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.
EXPLANATION: Paul devotes the whole of chapter seven of this Epistle to answering questions he was asked concerning marriage and virginity. Because the first Christian converts, not only in Thessalonica and Corinth, but everywhere, believed or strongly hoped that the end of this world and the second coming of Christ as Judge were imminent (and St. Paul himself must have, at least, encouraged this belief and hope), many of them thought they should not enter into marriage, lest marriage should interfere with their whole-hearted service of God. As regards those already married when they became converts, the Apostle tells them marriage is a holy state ordained by God and it is a life-long partnership according to the teaching of the Lord (see Mt. 5: 32; 19 :3-9). To those not yet married he recommends a life of virginity but only if they feel they can live that life in all fidelity. In today's extract St. Paul emphasizes freedom to serve God fully, freedom from earthly cares which those who choose a life of celibacy have.
The unmarried man: The celibate can give all his undivided attention to living his Christian life and pleasing God.
married man...divided: The married man on the other hand has to give a lot of his attention to pleasing his wife and to providing for her needs as well as his own. He has less time therefore for the things of God.
unmarried...woman: The same applies to women.
lay...way: St. Paul says he had no direction from the lord as regards virginity (7: 25). Our Lord's words in Mt. 19:12 are not a command but only a counsel or recommendation, and so Paul is making only a recommendation. He does not wish to restrict their choice.
your...attention: He tells those as yet unmarried that they will be in a better position to serve the Lord if they remain single.
APPLICATION: While it is true that St. Paul recommended a celibate life to those who were still single because of the general feeling at the time that the end of this world was at hand, his recommendation of celibacy and its advantages have been accepted through the ages down to our own day. The truth of his statement: "the unmarried man (or woman) is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, the married man (or woman) is anxious about worldly affairs (as well as about the affairs of God) and his interests are divided," needs no demonstration, it is self-evident. For this reason we have had a line of men (and later of women also) through the nineteen centuries of the Church's life who gladly deprived themselves of earthly comforts in order to devote their lives exclusively to God's service. The voluntary celibates of the early Church were followed by the Fathers of the Desert, later by the Eastern and Western monks, then the religious orders and in more recent centuries by various congregations for men and women.
These celibates, of course, were always a small minority of the body of the faithful and it was always understood (as it was by St. Paul) that while their vocation was a call to the exclusive service of God it was by no means the only way of serving God and earning heaven. The married life is also a Christian vocation, a vocation indeed ordained by God for the vast majority. For the Christian who is sincere in his service of God, it entails many difficulties and trials from which his celibate life sets the religious free. On the other hand the life of a religious, of a celibate for God, has its own difficulties. But for both the married and the religious there is always available for the asking, the grace of God to help them over life's hurdles. When God calls a man or woman for a task, he gives him or her the strength to carry it out, he fits the shoulder for the cross.
While the married life is indeed a vocation, a means of earning heaven, and an ordinance of God necessary for the procreation of citizens of heaven, the religious life, this voluntary abstention from marriage, by those so called, is a divine plan to help the married (as well as the religious themselves). Apart from the spiritual and material help which religious give to their married neighbors---teaching their children, caring for the disabled, running homes for the aged, helping families in need and the thousand other ways in which the spiritual and corporal works of mercy are joyously done in our midst each day---the special value of this total dedication of self to God, which the religious life demands and gives, is that it is a sign, a reminder, not only to all Christians but to all men, of the real purpose of life on earth.
God created us in order to raise us up after death to a new and endless life of happiness. Our few years on this earth are but the apprenticeship we must serve in order to earn our eternal standing or status as heirs of God in the eternal kingdom. But because man's human nature can, and does so often, get so enmeshed in the things of earth we need reminders. We need signs and sign-posts to keep our true purpose in life before our minds. This is exactly what the few of our members who dedicate their whole life to God's exclusive service, do for us. They remind us, urge us on by their noble example to serve God in our own limited, but sufficient way so that we too can reach the future life prepared for us.
Both the married life and the religious celibate life are vocations from God. While the religious help the married and their families on the road to heaven, the married can and must help the religious to continue their exclusive and devoted service to God, by providing them with the material necessities of life. This is part of their own devoted service of God, this is one of the ways in which they fulfill, their vocation. Heaven is the goal of both religious and married people. Where each of the parties devotedly and loyally fulfilIs the duties arising from each one's vocation, that goal will be successfully reached by both.
________________________________________
GOSPEL: Mark 1: 21-28. They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
EXPLANATION: St. Mark enters abruptly into the public ministry of Christ. He describes very briefly the preaching of the Baptist, the temptation in the desert place, the call of the first four Apostles and then tells of Jesus beginning to preach the good news in Galilee. It was in east Galilee that he called the first Apostles and it was in the town called Capernaum, a day or two later, that he preached one of his first sermons to his fellow Jews. It was in their synagogue on the Sabbath day that he also worked a miracle.
Jesus...synagogue: Every town of any size in Palestine had a synagogue, a sacred building where all pious Jews gathered on the Sabbath day (Saturday) to recite prayers and to hear the scriptures read, and explained by the local rabbi or teacher.
he taught them: Jesus was probably invited by the local rabbi to address the people because it seems to have been the custom of the time to invite any stranger present to speak to the congregation (see Acts 13: 15).
taught as...authority: Unlike the scribes and the rabbis, he did not quote others to prove his words. He laid down the law himself on his own authority (see Mt. 5: 21: "You have heard that it was said . . . but I say to you"). He was the Messiah and the Son of God but the people did not grasp this though the "unclean spirit" did.
man...spirit: A devil or evil spirit dwelt in this man. This seems clear from the remarks that follow. The others present in the synagogue did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. The evil spirit could have this knowledge and he used it with the hope of embarrassing Jesus in some way.
you...us: That the Messiah would put an end to the reign of Satan and sin in the world was the general expectation among the Jews. This particular spirit is aware of this and realizes that he and his fellow fallen angels are about to be conquered.
you come...us: To end our reign, is what is implied. This is what Christ did, for by his incarnation, death and resurrection, he gave all men the means of becoming sons of God, free from the snares of Satan and sin.
the Holy...God: One very close to God. To the unclean spirit and to Mark and his Christian readers, the title equaled "the Son of God," but the Jews of Capernaum did not attach such a meaning to it.
Be silent...out: As Jesus does not want his true relationship with God known as yet, he forbids the spirit to say anymore, but orders him to leave the man whom he had possessed.
They were all amazed: Exorcisms were often practiced by their rabbis but a long liturgical formula was used. Here, by a simple word of command, Jesus makes the spirit depart.
a new teaching: The authority with which he expounded the Scriptures in his sermon, and the same super-human authority exercised over the unclean spirit, gave the people food for thought. They would understand it later.
his fame...Galilee: The people of Capernaum told their fellow-Jews in the other towns of Galilee what had happened in their synagogue. Therefore before he left Capernaum to preach and work miracles in other parts of Galilee, his fame as a man with super-human power had reached these outlying districts and towns.
APPLICATION: St. Mark makes it clear that, from the very first day of Christ's public ministry, his messianic power began to be manifested to those who saw and heard him. The Jews of Capernaum were "astonished" at his teaching and "amazed" at his power over the evil spirits. "What is this," they asked one another, "a new teaching and the unclean spirits obey him!" But they were still a long way from recognizing him for what he was, the Messiah and Son of God. This is as might be expected, the astounding mystery of the incarnation was away beyond human expectation or human imagination. And it was our Lord's own plan to reveal this mystery, slowly and gradually, so that when the chain of evidence had been completed by his resurrection, his followers could look back and see each link in that chain. Then they would be ready to accept without hesitation the mystery of the incarnation and realize the infinite love and power of God that brought it about. We look back today through, the eyes of the Evangelists, and, like them, know that Christ was God as well as man-two natures in one person. We should not therefore be "amazed" at the teaching of Jesus or at his power over the unclean spirits. What should amaze us really is the love that God showed mankind in becoming one of our race.
We are creatures with nothing of our own to boast of. We were created by God, and every talent or power we possess was given us by God. God's benevolence could have stopped them and we would have no right to complain. But when we recall the special gifts he gave man, which raise him above all other created things, we see that he could not, because of his own infinitely benevolent nature, leave us to an earthly fate. What thinking man could be content with a short span of life on earth? What real purpose in life could an intelligent being have who knew that nothing awaited him but eternal oblivion in the, grave? What fulfillment would man's intellectual faculties find in a few years of what is for the majority of people perpetual struggle for earthly survival? No, God created us to elevate us, after our earthly sojourn, to an eternal existence where all our desires and potentialities would have their true fulfillment. Hence the incarnation, hence the life, death and resurrection of Christ, who was God's Son, as the central turning point of man's history.
Today, while amazed at God's love for us, let us also be justly amazed at the shabby and grudging return we make for love. Many amongst us even deny that act of God's infinite love, not from convincing historical and logical proofs, but in order to justify their own unwillingness to cooperate with the divine plan for their eternal future. This is not to say that their future, after death, does not concern them; it is a thought which time and again intrudes on all men, but they have allowed the affairs of this world which should be stepping stones to their future life, to become instead mill-stones which crush their spirits and their own true self-interests.
While we sincerely hope that we are not in that class, we can still find many facets in our daily Christian lives which can and should make us amazed at our lack of gratitude to God and to his incarnate Son. Leaving out serious sin which turns us away from God if not against him, how warm is our charity, our love of God and neighbor? How much of our time do we give to the things of God and how much to the things of Caesar? How often does our daily struggle for earthly existence and the grumbles and grouses which it causes, blot out from our view the eternal purpose God had in giving us this earthly existence. How often during the past year have we said from our heart: "Thank you, God, for putting me in this world, and thank you a thousand times more, for giving me the opportunity and the means of reaching the next world where I shall live happily for evermore in your presence"? If the true answer for many of us is "not once," then begin today. Let us say it now with all sincerity, and say it often in the years that are left to us.-b093
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RE: 01.19.12~Readings for Sunday, January 22nd-2012

Saint Max Bible Study meets at the back of the church in the Mother Cabrini Room Fridays 9AM to 10AM.. Please join us!

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Please mark your calendar! Friday, January 27th-2012 – Reception 6:30PM Film 7:00PM
“WHICH WAY HOME,”-award winning film will be shown in the St.MaxParish Center
FREE! This is a FREE event!!!
http://mkpjministry.blogspot.com
Sponsored by the Saint Max Kolbe Church Peace & Justice Ministry


JANUARY 22, 2012
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 68
READING 1 JON 3:1-5, 10
The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying:
"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD'S bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,
"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, "
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (4a) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.

R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
READING 2 1 COR 7:29-31
I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.
GOSPEL MK 1:14-20
After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
"This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel."

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;
they were fishermen.
Jesus said to them,
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.
He walked along a little farther
and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They too were in a boat mending their nets.
Then he called them.
So they left their father Zebedee in the boat
along with the hired men and followed him.


SUNDAY READINGS - 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
FIRST READING: Jonah 3: 1-5; 10. The word of the Lord came to Jonah, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he cried, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it.
EXPLANATION: The book of Jonah is not an historical account of the life and preaching of a prophet called Jonah who lived in the eighth century B.C. (see 2 Kgs. 14:25). but rather a fictional, didactic composition written after the return from the Babylonian exile, some time in the fifth century. The book is a sermon in the form of a story. The theme of the sermon is that Yahweh is the God of all nations, not of the Jews only, and that the Jews who have knowledge of him should spread that knowledge among the Gentiles. The returned exiles (the Jews back from Babylon) refused to do this. Instead their ambition and hope was that all Gentiles would be severely punished, if not annihilated, by Yahweh.
According to the story, a man called Jonah was told by God to go to a pagan city and preach repentance to the sinful people there. He refused and tried to escape. God punished him but spared him (the storm at sea and the fish which swallowed him), and eventually made him go.
word...Jonah: The command had already been given in 1: 1, here it is repeated.
message...you: The message was already given in 1: 1. The wickedness of Nineveh was known to Yahweh, he would punish them if they did not repent.
Nineveh: This was the capital city of Assyria, the arch-enemy of Israel in the eighth century. Jonah would naturally prefer to see them punished by Yahweh rather than that they should be converted and spared. This city was no longer standing when the book was written; it was razed to the ground in 612 B.C.
a great city...journey: There is some slight exaggeration here. It is said to have been three miles in width. But the larger the city the more wondrous its conversion.
forty days: If the people of Nineveh do not repent Yahweh will destroy them and their city after forty days.
people...God: They accepted as true what the God of this Jewish prophet had said. They believed that he had dominion over them also, and that they should cease to offend him. This they did.
put on sackcloth: They immediately began to do penance "in sackcloth and fasting," mortifying their flesh.
God repented: There was no change in God, but because the sinners of Nineveh had changed God accepted them back in his favor once more.
he did not...them: Because of their conversion neither they nor their city would be destroyed.
APPLICATION: The lesson of this story should have been very clear to the writer's Jewish contemporaries. They could see from it that God did not approve of their narrow-minded religious and nationalistic outlook. Even if they were God's Chosen People, he was not their God to the exclusion of all other races. He owned them but they did not own him, and this was exactly what they were trying to do. Yet, had they known the history of God's dealings with them, they should have understood that God had chosen them in order that the blessings of the incarnation would come through them to all nations. Abraham, their Father, was called to be a blessing for his descendants and for the whole world (Gen. 12: 3). Too often many of them forgot this.
These verses from Jonah have not been chosen for today's reading so that we should condemn the narrow-mindedness of the Jews of past ages. They have been chosen to remind us of our duty to look on all men as adopted sons of God and our brothers, toward whom we have a grave obligation to help on the road to heaven. God has destined all men for heaven. He sent his divine Son as man to make heaven available for all. He expected his Chosen People of old to share their special knowledge of him with their pagan neighbors. So too does he expect every Christian worthy of the name to do all in his power to spread the greater knowledge of Christ the Savior among all peoples, so that they too can share in the blessings he brought and avail of the happy future which is in store for them.
Have we been doing this? Have we really been interested in our fellowman? How often have we given them a thought or prayed for their conversion? How often have we donated a dime or a dollar to help the missionaries who, at home and abroad, have dedicated their lives to the conversion of pagans and sinners? There are Christians who excuse themselves from this obligation because they say: "we have more than enough to do to work out our own salvation." Their statement is more true than they realize. They will never succeed in reaching their own eternal salvation if they refuse to help their fellowman. No one who does not love God can get to heaven. The proof of real love of God is love of our neighbor, St. John tells us. So, to know if we are on the right road to heaven let us examine our consciences as regards our love of neighbor. Have we been practicing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, especially the spiritual works? It is they that are in question in today's reading.
Pope Pius XI used to say: "The Christian who is not an Apostle is on the way to becoming an apostate." The reason is that the very essence of Christianity is love, and love like heat diffuses itself automatically. The Christian who is not spreading the love of God has not got that love within him. His heart is full of self. There is no room in it for God. Down through the ages we have more than enough proof of this, but more so perhaps in recent times. We have men and women today who at one time gave themselves wholeheartedly to the service of God and their neighbor. But through over concentration on themselves, on their rights and freedoms, they have forgotten their neighbor, and to all intents and purposes therefore, they are forgetting God and their own eternal welfare.
While we beg of God to keep us on the right road to heaven, let us realize that if we want to stay on that road we must help all our brothers that we meet on the way. We must help our next-door neighbors by example and word. Those who are far off too, we must help financially, and by our prayers and penances. There is abundant room for all in God's heaven. Because of the good influence he had, directly or indirectly, on their lives on earth, each one's own personal happiness will be intensified and increased by seeing and knowing the happiness these others are enjoying in heaven.
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SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31. Brethren, the appointed time has grown very short; from now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the form of this world is passing away.
EXPLANATION: Christ clearly revealed to his disciples that he would return to this earth in his glory to judge the living and the dead (see Mt. 24; 1 Th. 4: 13-17; 5: 2-11; 1 Cor. 15, etc.). However, he did not reveal to them when this would be, so some of the first Christians (including, perhaps, St. Paul himself) thought and hoped it would be during their own lifetime. In these three verses of his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul does not say, for he does not know, whether the end of the world is near or far off; all he does is to admonish his converts to do what our Lord himself advised his follower---always to be ready for the judgement (Mt. 24: 43-44; 25: 13: "so stay awake because you do not know either the day or the hour").
appointed...short: The appointed time for Paul is the messianic era. It has already begun, is of a limited duration and is of its nature short.
who have wives: The moment of judgement, that moment on which each one's eternity depends, is unknown. It behoves all to be always ready to answer the call when it comes. To be able to do this, we must be detached from persons and things in this world. He mentions wives, joys and sorrows, the goods and affairs of this world. He does not forbid them the lawful use of matrimony or of the goods and joys, as well as the sorrows of this life, but they must use and possess them in a way in which they can be ever ready to leave them when Christ calls them to judgement.
form of this world: The Christian era, just begun, is moving toward its culmination: the end of time and the beginning of eternity.
APPLICATION: St. Paul is speaking to each one of us here today and is giving us the very same sound, spiritual advice which he gave to his converts in Corinth. Unlike them, we are not expecting the general judgement in our lifetime; but what is worse, most of us are giving little thought to the particular judgement, to the fact that each one of us will soon be called to meet Christ in a judgement that will decide our eternal future. It is a strange, human phenomenon that while we plan and provide for future probabilities, some of which will never happen, few of us plan and provide for the one certain, future fact in our lives, which is that we are certain to die some day.
Men train for occupations and professions. Men build houses for themselves and their families. Men take out insurances against illness and unemployment. Men put money into businesses or investments which are likely to give them a sound income later. And all the while they are speculating, perhaps wisely, on future probabilities, but failing to face and prepare for the one certain future happening: their departure from this world.
Someone may say: must we take no interest then in temporal affairs? Of course, we must! It is 'by taking an interest in, and honestly and fully carrying out, our temporal duties that we are making ourselves ready at all times to meet our Judge. Each one's daily task faithfully carried out is a devout prayer to God, it is an honor given by man to his Creator; it is the Christian's way of saying "thank you" to Christ our Savior.
Preparing for heaven does not mean removing oneself from association with the world. Some devout Christians did this in the early Church. It means using the world as the stairs on which we can climb to heaven. Men can have wives, and women can have husbands, they can have homes and property, investments and insurances, provided all these things are accepted as God's gifts and used for their own and their neighbor's sanctification. It is the abuse of these gifts that can make us all unfit and not ready to meet our Judge. A healthy bank account---the fruit of honest labor---will be no hindrance to entering heaven, whereas the rags and poverty of the idler are no open sesame for the heavenly portals. Let us remember this always: the time in which we can earn the everlasting life after death is very short even for the youngest amongst us. But be it thirty days or sixty years, whatever length of time it is, each one of us can make sure that we shall be found ready when our last moment comes. We can indeed assure ourselves of this, if we begin today to live a Christian life, loving God and neighbor. This is indeed the word of the Lord coming to us through the great Apostle St. Paul.
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GOSPEL: Mark 1: 14-20. After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel."
And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him.
EXPLANATION: St. Mark's gospel, which he calls "the Good News about Jesus Christ the Son of God," abruptly enters into the public life of Christ. He takes it for granted that his readers know all the facts of his human origin (they were already described by Luke and Matthew) and the fact of his divinity. In thirteen short verses he mentions the Baptist (without describing his origin or his call, except the fact that he fulfilled a prophecy of Isaiah), the baptism of Jesus and his temptation in the wilderness. Then he comes directly to the public ministry of Christ in Galilee.
after John...arrested: The precursor had finished his work. The One for whom he was preparing had come. The Baptist had publicly denounced Herod Antipas for taking, in unlawful wedlock, Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip who was still living. Herod had John cast into prison where he was later beheaded because of the hatred Herodias (not Herod) bore toward him.
The time is fulfilled: From all eternity God had decided the when and the where of the messianic era. This now kingdom of God which would embrace all men on earth, if they accepted it, would make them worthy of sharing eternal happiness with him. Christ tells his audience in Galilee that the time has now come. During his public life he unfolds this mystery and his own part in it.
repent...gospel: The first essential for becoming members of the messianic kingdom on earth is conversions change of life from one of sin to one of sanctity, a true return to God. Secondly, those who would enter the kingdom must believe in the message Christ is bringing to them: it is the message of salvation which tells them how they can earn the eternal life in heaven which Christ's coming on earth will win for them.
Simon...John: In last Sunday's gospel, taken from St. John (1: 35-42), we saw that certainly Peter and Andrew and most probably John and James, left the Baptist and followed Jesus after the baptism in the Jordan. That some (if not all) of the Apostles were with him ever after his baptism by John, was the firm belief of the first Christian community, as expressed in Acts 1: 22. By inserting this account of the call of the first four Apostles at the very beginning of Christ's public ministry, St. Mark is following this tradition. As he does not tell us of what happened at the Jordan or of the wedding feast in Cana as John does, he inserts the call of the first Apostles at the earliest opportunity.
They were fishermen: The four Apostles mentioned here earned their livelihood by fishing in the sea of Galilee. Jesus promised to make them fishers of men; they would bring their fellowman to the shores of heaven.
left...father: Peter and Andrew left their nets, their means of livelihood; John and James left their father as well. All four left everything to follow Jesus. This was, and is, what true discipleship of Jesus means for those to whom he gives a special call.
APPLICATION: "Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God." Jesus came to announce to all men the good news of God's eternal plan for them. He spent his public life convincing the Jews of Palestine of the truth of this message, and he died on the cross because be claimed to be what he was---God's divine Son, who had come in human nature to raise all men to the standing and status of adopted sons of God. That very death, cruel and unjust though it was, was part of the divine plan. He conquered death and was raised from the grave to prove that we too, if we accept his divine gospel and live by it, will be raised from the dead and reign with Christ in the kingdom of his Father forever. Christ preached this doctrine in Palestine. It is the doctrine for which he gave his human life and which he gave to his Apostles to hand down to all future generations. This is the self-same doctrine preached by Christ's Church to all men today. It is the good news of God's mercy and love toward us weak, mortal creatures. To some it seems too good to be true; it would indeed be so if God were a limited, finite being like us, but he is Being itself. He is without limit, his goodness and love are limitless as is his nature. What God can see in creatures has ever been a puzzle to thinking man. One of the psalm-writers said centuries ago: "what is man that you should spare a thought for him, the son of man that you should care for him?" (Ps. 8: 4). Many a saint too, has repeated this remark ever since.
We cannot hope to fathom the mind of God, nor do we need to. He has gone to such a length as the humiliation of his divine Son in the incarnation in order to give us a new standing in relation to himself and a new mode of eternal living after death. We are still God's creatures, "the work of his hands," but through accepting Christ and his gospel---his message of divine truth---we are no longer mere mortals. We shall die, but death is the beginning of the true life which God has arranged for us. It is no wonder that St. Paul could cry out: "O death where is your victory, O death, where is your sting?"
We Christians should be the happiest people on earth. We know why we are here, we know where we are going and we know how to get there. There are trials and troubles which beset us on our journey; there are rough parts of the road and weaknesses in our human nature which often lead us off the right road, but we are not left to our own human resources. We have help from above to strengthen and comfort us on our journey. We have divine aids in the Church which Christ set us and we have the guarantee of our Good Shepherd that he will keep us in his fold or bring us back should we foolishly wander from it (Jn. 10: 14; Lk. 15: 4-7).
We Christians can indeed be the happiest people on earth, if we live according to the divine good news revealed to us through Christ. "Repent and believe in the gospel," Christ told the people of Galilee. The same call goes out from our loving Savior to each of us today: repent---change your outlook on life---see it, as God sees it to be for us, a short journey toward heaven. If we really believe in the gospel of Christ, the revelation of God's plan for our eternal happiness, our earthly troubles will look small, our trials and temptations will appear to us as they really are---a means of earning the eternal victory. Christ, the innocent victim for our salvation, has gone before us, carrying his heavy cross, can we refuse to carry the relatively lighter cross which he places on our shoulders as our means of making atonement for our own failings and for those of our fellowman? God forbid that we should! If we have failed in the past, let us repent today and show our belief in the truth of the Christian gospel, by living as true Christians who are on their way to heaven.-b087
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RE: 01.12.12~Readings for Sunday, January 112th-2012

Saint Max Bible Study meets at the back of the church in the Mother Cabrini Room Fridays 9AM to 10AM.. Please join us!

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Please mark your calendar! Friday, January 27th-2012 – Reception 6:30PM Film 7:00PM
“WHICH WAY HOME,”-award winning film will be shown in the St.MaxParish Center
FREE! This is a FREE event!!!
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Sponsored by the Saint Max Kolbe Church Peace & Justice Ministry

JANUARY 15, 2012
Second Sunday In Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 65
READING 1 1 SM 3:3B-10, 19
Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD
where the ark of God was.
The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."
Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me."
"I did not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep."
So he went back to sleep.
Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.
"Here I am, " he said. "You called me."
But Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."

At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD,
because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time.
Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me."
Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,
Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
the LORD came and revealed his presence,
calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!"
Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,
not permitting any word of his to be without effect.


RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
READING 2 1 COR 6:13C-15A, 17-20
Brothers and sisters:
The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord is for the body;
God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him.
Avoid immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body,
but the immoral person sins against his own body.
Do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
For you have been purchased at a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body.


GOSPEL JN 1:35-42
John was standing with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" - which translated means Teacher -,
"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."
So they went and saw where Jesus was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah" - which is translated Christ -.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
"You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas" - which is translated Peter.

SUNDAY READINGS - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
FIRST READING: 1 Samuel 3:3-10;-19. Samuel was lying down within the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, lie down again." So he went and lay down. And the Lord called again, "Samuel!" And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I
And the Lord came and stood forth, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for thy servant hears."
And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
EXPLANATION: We have here the account of Samuel's vocation to take over the leadership of the Chosen People---to be Yahweh's prophet and visible representative among them. This was an office to be filled from the death of Eli until Saul was appointed king (c. 1050-1030). The call came while he was still a youth and he served under Eli at the shrine of Shiloh, where the Ark then was, until Eli died. He then became the official leader of the people until God told him to anoint Saul as king and satisfy the people's demand for a king. His birth was God's answer to the prayers of a devout mother who had been barren for years, hence the etymology of his name "I asked Yahweh for him" (1 Sm. 1: 20). His mother Hannah was so grateful to God that she dedicated him to serve in the shrine at Shiloh from an early age. It was during his early youth that he was given his special call, his "vocation," to take Eli's place.
Lying down...temple: He slept somewhere within the shrine very probably in order to re-light the temple lamp should it go out during the night.
the Lord called: Sometime during the night ("the lamp of God had not yet gone out"---it was extinguished at daylight), Samuel heard his name called. He thought Eli was calling him.
did not...Lord: The young boy had never heard the voice of Yahweh. He naturally thought the voice calling him was that of Eli, the only one with him in the precincts of the shrine. He had no expectation that Yahweh would speak to him.
again...time: Three distinct times he heard his name called and each time he promptly rose and went to Eli; obedience was one of his virtues! Eli said: When this call had come a third time Eli grasped its meaning. He told the young boy how to answer if called once more: "Speak Lord for thy servant hears." Samuel replied thus to the fourth call and the Lord then gave him a message for Eli and his own prophetic vocation.
Lord...him: The power of God was with Samuel, enabling him to become worthy of the office he was to hold.
words...ground: Because of this power of God, Samuel's judgements and decisions as leader of the people were true and solid--they did not fail, they were not proved false. Verse 20 (which is not in the reading) proves this: "All Israel from Dan to Beersheba came to know that Samuel was accredited as a prophet of Yahweh."
APPLICATION: God's ways are surely wonderful! He could govern and regulate this world and all its inhabitants most correctly and successfully all by himself. However, he has decided to give man a chance of co-operating with him in the running of the material and spiritual affairs of his world. Perhaps they are more often a hindrance rather than a help to the Lord. Yet, he not only allows them but he calls them, selects them for various roles in the government of his world.
This is true in the running of the temporal affairs as well as the government of the spiritual life of men on earth. The exercise of power over a nation or community of people is not from man but from God, hence the obligation on subjects to obey the just laws of their rulers. God it is who delegates his authority to earthly rulers.
During the first eight hundred years of God's dealings with his Chosen People, both the temporal and spiritual leadership of the people always resided in one and the same individual. The Patriarchs, Moses, Joshua, the Judges down to the appointment of kings (1030 B.C.), were individually called by God to administer both the temporal and spiritual affairs of the community. Today's lesson tells us how Samuel got his call to fulfill this double task of temporal and spiritual leadership of God's people. Because God was with him in all his doings he carried it out very successfully for about twenty years.
All men have a vocation, a call from God in this life. Each individual has duties to perform which, if faithfully carried out, will earn for him the place God has planned for him in the eternal kingdom. A few are called to be the leaders of their fellowman. The vast majority are called to follow the leaders by loyally obeying the laws enacted for their just government. Each one of us has a call from God, a part to play in the temporal and spiritual affairs of this life. The future status of each one of us will be determined by the manner in which we carried out our role on earth.
Samuel had not the faintest idea that it was God Who was speaking to him when he first got his call, his vocation, in the shrine at Shiloh. But when he eventually realized the truth he immediately offered his humble service to the Lord, "thy servant hears." How few of us have seen a call from God, a divine vocation, in the humdrum activities of our daily lives, and yet these ordinary daily tasks are the road to heaven that God has mapped out for us. These are the "vocations" he has given us. We may say that we ourselves chose our careers in life, we decided what occupation we should follow, but behind our free decisions the wise providence of God, working through parents, neighbors, circumstances of time and place, has so arranged our earthly journey that it would end for us in heaven. Many grumble at their role in life. They think their lot is so inferior and demanding when compared with the life others lead, and even go so far as to say that God could have no part in such a bad arrangement. Yet, God is in charge of his world. He chooses each individual for the role he is to carry to its successful conclusion.
"There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them as we will," Shakespeare, the wise Christian tells us. God has a master plan for the human race; to each one of us he has given a little niche in that plan. If we play the part he has given us, let it be noble or humble in the eyes of this world, we shall make a success of God's master-plan, of this great human drama. Our own eternal success will be assured. With Samuel today, let us accept our vocation and humbly submit ourselves to his divine will: "speak Lord for thy servant hears."
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SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 6:13-15; 17-20. The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? He who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own, you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
EXPLANATION: One of the most besetting sins of the pagan port-town of Corinth was fornication, or more precisely prostitution. Some of Paul's converts found the Christian obligation of chastity rather difficult, and, falling back on the ideas of their pagan days, ideas still prevalent among the pagans all around them, they tried to justify fornication as part of the Christian liberty which Paul had preached to them. In this letter, which Paul wrote from Ephesus to his Corinthian converts, he makes it crystal clear that such an interpretation of Christian liberty was wrong.
The body...immorality: These lax converts in Corinth tried to justify their sexual aberrations by saying that sex was a natural desire of the body, and within the Christian code that it should be lawful to satisfy such desires, just as was the bodily desire for food and drink. Paul's answer is an emphatic "no." In baptism the whole man, body as well as spirit, is dedicated and united to Christ. To unite such a body with an illicit partner, which happens in fornication (the use of sex in marriage is, of course, lawful) is a profanation of the union between Christ and the Christian in baptism and is therefore a sacrilege.
God...up: The union with Christ, established by baptism, will last forever. We shall die, but just as Christ was raised from the dead, so shall we too be raised by God, and so remain united with Christ forever.
bodies...Christ: Paul had taught them this truth: "do you not know," he says, "that your bodies are members of Christ?" As the human body is made up of many and different members, so the body of Christ---his visible Church on earth---is made of all the Christian people. But Paul goes further here and implies that each Christian forms "one flesh," as it were, with Christ: the union is corporal rather than corporate. Hence the malice of fornication.
becomes...with him: Christ has sent his Spirit on all the baptized; this will effect the spiritualization of their mortal bodies on the day of their resurrection.
every other sin...body: Although the body plays a part in other sins, for example, gluttony, sins against chastity (fornication and adultery) engage the body more than sins against other virtues. It is an abuse of the body; it separates it from the Lord to whom it was united in baptism.
temple...Spirit: Christian baptism confers the Holy Spirit. Every Christian thus becomes a temple of the Spirit---God dwells in a special way within him.
you...own: Christians belong to God. Through the incarnation and death of Christ they were made God's chosen ones, free men and heirs of heaven.
glorify God in your body: By preserving free from immorality their bodies, as temples pure and holy, fit abodes of the Holy Spirit, they should honor God and show their appreciation of his infinite goodness.
APPLICATION: St. Paul wrote these words almost two thousand years ago. Ninety per cent of the world's population was still pagan, knowing nothing of the true God or of his divine plans for them. The only practical philosophy they could and did follow was the enjoyment of every comfort and pleasure. They believed that when they died all was ended forever. St. Paul's converts in Corinth were living in the midst of pagans who practiced this philosophy. This made Christian living very difficult for some of them. They fell back into the immoral practices in which they had indulged before their conversion.
The Apostle, hearing of this, condemned their conduct in clear and forceful language. "Shun immorality"; "the body is not meant for immorality," he tells them. He then gives the reason why the use of sex, outside of marriage, is not only a sin but a sacrilege. In baptism the Christian has given his body to Christ. He has become a member of Christ, and therefore, such a body cannot be given to anyone but to a lawful spouse. To join the Christian body to a prostitute in fornication therefore, was a desecration of the sacred, a direct denial of the bond which bound the Christian to Christ. Furthermore, he reminds these immoral converts of a truth he had already told them, namely, that ever since their baptism the Holy Spirit dwelt within them---they were temples of God. They belonged in a very special way to God, for, through Christ, he had brought them out of slavery to be his own heirs for all eternity.
This teaching of St. Paul is, if anything, more necessary today than it was at that time in Corinth. The weak converts of Corinth had the bad example of their local pagan neighbors to contend with. They also had the good example of the majority of their fellow-converts to uplift and encourage them. Today we have to contend, not only with the bad example of local pagan or rather neo-pagan neighbors, but the full force of the world's immorality is blazoned daily before our eyes by the mass-media of television, papers, and scandal-mongering writers.
The campaign for absolute freedom for the individual, the demands of the permissive society, are being daily shouted from the house-tops with such insistence and constancy, that even devout Christians cannot entirely avoid their impact. Sex, or rather the abuse of it, has become the battle-cry of youth. Indeed, it has been raised to the status of a god whose every whim must be obeyed and satisfied. Pornography today has become a billion-dollar industry. As long as there is a demand for it suppliers will not be found wanting. If this sexual extravagance was the invention of the communist countries as a means of reducing the rest of the world to impotency, the democracies of the West would be immediately up in arms. But as it is their own brain-child, they have no word of condemnation for it. If they do not openly encourage it, they at least permit this social cancer to grow and propagate itself. They do not realize or perhaps do not care, that it will eventually corrupt their nations and make social life, and even human existence impossible.
But we Christians can and must stand up and oppose with every means in our power, this pagan immorality. Our bodies are members of Christ's sacred body. We must not desecrate them by indulging in sexual aberrations. We are temples of the Holy Spirit; sin must have no place within us. Parents of families: instruct your children by word and example. Protect them, as far as you can, from this immoral cancer which is being encouraged and developed all around you. Under the guise of liberty our permissive society is demanding more and more license to violate, not only the sacred laws of God himself, but the very nature of humanity. Human intelligence and reason are thrown overboard in the search for sexual pleasure, and man who was made "a little less than the angels" is now debased to the level of the beast of the field.
Listen to St. Paul's advice: "The body is not meant for immorality---it is meant to glorify God."
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GOSPEL: John 1: 35-42. John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).
EXPLANATION: For some months before Jesus came to him at the Jordan, John the Baptist had been preaching and baptizing---preparing his fellow-Jews for the Messiah. As was the custom with the prophets and other holy men, disciples had come to join him. But the Baptist, who knew that his mission was a temporary one, encouraged these disciples to follow Jesus, as soon as he had learned from divine revelation (Jn. 1: 32-34) that Jesus was the promised Messiah. In today's extract from the fourth gospel, we see four of the Baptist's disciples. Three of them, Peter, James and John, were always among his closest and most privileged Apostles.
Behold...God: Calling Jesus the Lamb of God the Baptist points him out to two of his disciples. This title most probably refers to the suffering servant described in second-Isaiah (40-55). In Is. 53 :7-12, this servant of Yahweh is described as an innocent Lamb who is slaughtered for the sins of all the erring sheep : " taking their faults on himself." These servant poems in Isaiah were accepted as messianic, and the Baptist's disciples understand that their prophet is pointing out the Messiah to them.
they followed Jesus: They had come from Galilee thinking, as many other Jews did, that the Baptist himself was the Messiah. Now the Baptist has made it clear to all (Jn. 1: 19-34) that he is as nothing compared to the Messiah. From the Baptist's words, the two disciples understood that Jesus was the Messiah foretold by Isaiah. So they left John and followed Jesus.
what do you seek: He wants them to declare their reason for following him. come and see: Clearly, their reason was to know more about him, and so they hinted that they wished to live with him. He invites them to come along.
one...was Andrew: It is generally accepted that the other was the Evangelist. He never mentions his own name in his gospel, but speaks of the "beloved disciple" or the "son of Zebedee."
his brother Simon: Simon was at the Jordan and evidently was a disciple of the Baptist also. Andrew, who recognized Jesus as the Messiah, told Simon who then also came to follow him. The statement "he (Andrew) first found his brother" seems to imply that the other (John) found his brother (James) also and brought him to Jesus. In the synoptic gospels Peter, Andrew, James and John are the first four disciples to be called by Jesus (see Mk. I : 16-20).
you shall...Cephas: The Aramaic name, Cephas, means "rock." On his very first encounter with Simon, Jesus promises him that his name will be changed to "Rock," which means strength, solidity. A change of name among the Chosen People meant a change of position or function. This change of position or function took place later, when Simon was given the primacy of the Church. He was then made the Church's solid foundation on which it was to stand for all time (Mt.16: 18). He was to be the Rock (Petros or Peter=Cephas or Rock) on which Christ would build his Church.
APPLICATION: In the eight short verses read to us today from St. John's gospel we have an account of the vocation of the first four Apostles who followed Jesus. It was a momentous event in the history of salvation. It was the beginning of a stream of vocations that would grow and spread down through the ages until the end of the world. It was momentous, firstly, in that Christ, who had come to open heaven for all men and who could find means of bringing them all to that eternal home without help from any man, decided instead to let men co-operate with him in this divine task. He decreed to set up a kingdom in this world---his Church---which would be run by mere mortals for their fellow-mortals, but which would be under his protection and assisted by his divine aid until the end of time. Christ chose this very human way, in order to make his Church more acceptable to our limited, human understanding and more approachable for sinful, human nature.
Christ, as God, could deal directly with every human being on earth. He could teach the infallible truth; he could pardon sins; he could give all the graces needed to travel successfully to heaven. There would then be no need for a Church with its teaching magisterium, no need for the sacrament of initiation, baptism, or of reconciliation, penance, nor of the Holy Eucharist itself or of any other such aids. Christ could do all that his Church does for the salvation of mankind, and more successfully, of course, but yet he chose the way which divine wisdom saw was best.
We mortals know that God can speak directly to our hearts, and actually has done so to many men in the past. We know that he can do directly all that is done by his Church, to whom he gave the power, with its teaching magisterium and sacraments. If he were to act in this way we should be open to continuous doubts about the source of our inspirations and the objectivity of the graces we thought we were receiving. It was to remove such doubts, and the possibility of self-deception that Christ left to us the external visible kingdom to which he gave all the powers necessary for men's salvation. It was for the security and peace of men's consciences that he set up a visible Church founded on the Apostles, men like ourselves, but transformed by his assisting grace.
Another momentous fact in Christ's choice of the Apostles on whom he was to build his Church, is that he "chose the lowly and the humble to confound the wise." The first four Apostles, as well as the other eight, were simple, lowly fishermen from Galilee. They may possibly have been able to read and write a little, but they were certainly not men of education or any social standing in their communities. He could have converted and chosen some of the more highly educated scribes of Jerusalem, or some of the Roman centurions then in Palestine, or some of the many philosophers in Greece, or even Roman senators whose influence as Christian teachers would carry such weight with the educated elite of the empire. But he did not. The instrument he chose to carry his message to all men, was not dependent on human ingenuity or on the educational or social standing of his witnesses. Rather was it to stand on the power of God, of which it was the expression and proof.
We can see clearly the divine wisdom governing Christ's choice of Apostles! Had his message of salvation been spread and promulgated by men of learning and social standing, the cry would soon go up on all sides: "This religion is the invention of philosophers; it is a clever plan of the upper classes to keep the poor and humble workers in subjection." But it was the poor and working classes who spread Christ's message, and who suffered imprisonment and death itself at the hands of the educated and upper classes for so doing.
Today, let us thank our blessed Lord who provided so humanly and yet so divinely for our eternal welfare. In the Church, which he founded on the lowly but solid foundation of simple fishermen of Galilee, he erected an institution against which the gates of hell, the power of all the enemies of our salvation, cannot prevail, for his divine guidance and help will be with it forever. It has had enemies and opposition from the beginning; they may be more numerous and more destructive than ever, today. But the promise of Christ still holds good, his word cannot fail. Therefore, neither the opposition of materialistic enemies from without, nor the even more insidious attacks from faint-hearted and worldly-minded members from within, can affect the safety and permanence of the building which Christ built on the Rock. "If God is with us," it matters not "who is against us."-b079 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
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01.05.12~Catholic Matters RE: Sunday, Jan 8th-2012

SUNDAY READINGS - Feast of the Epiphany
FIRST READING: Isaiah 60:1-6. Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms.

Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

EXPLANATION: The prophet (second-Isaiah probably) is trying to cheer the exiles by foretelling the glorious future of the new Jerusalem which is not yet rebuilt. The special radiance of God will illuminate it. Gentiles (who once despised, it) will bring their riches to it. From Fast and West peoples will flock to it.
glory of the Lord: The gloom of sadness and despair which enveloped the derelict Jerusalem during the exile will give way to a heavenly brightness, for God will dwell within it once more.
darkness...covers the earth: This divine brightness is first and foremost for the Chosen People.
nations shall come to your light: The Gentiles will partake of this divine blessing---their kings will come to share in the light of Zion.
all gather...come to you: The glory of Jerusalem will be such that all nations will come to it, and the scattered children of Israel will return home also (see 49: 22).
abundance...sea: The nations of the West (the sea the Mediterranean) will bring their riches in ships.
Midian, Ephah and Sheba: The eastern nations will come in camel caravans, the usual way of travel through the desert, bearing their gifts.
gold and frankincense: Two of the most valuable means of barter-trading of the time.
proclaim the praise of the Lord: They will come with their gifts to honor the God of Israel, forsaking their pagan idols for the true God.

APPLICATION: The feast of the Epiphany is the feast which commemorates the manifestation of God to the Gentiles. This manifestation began when the Wise Men from the East came to Bethlehem to pay their respects and offer their gifts to the newly-born king of the Jews (see Mt. 2 in today's gospel). Though the words of second-Isaiah were not understood by his hearers as referring to this event, it was only in the coming of the Magi, to welcome Christ, that they were really fulfilled. Jerusalem was in no sense an attraction for the nations in the intervening centuries. But the Magi at Bethlehem were the first-fruits of the thousands and millions of Gentiles who have since then seen the glory of God in the Babe of Bethlehem and who have figuratively come to Jerusalem from the West and from the East to form the new Chosen People, the new Kingdom of God.

Let us thank God today for having called us, Gentiles, to his kingdom, his Church, and for giving us the means to reach heaven. Let us never imitate the Chosen People of the Old Testament who so often forgot how good God was to them, and who often so provoked him, that he allowed them to be taken into exile as slaves of a pagan nation. We too could bring exile on ourselves, an exile much more fatal than the Babylonian one. Whatever else may be my lot, whatever hardship I may have to suffer during the few years I am on earth, God forbid that I should ever, through my unfaithfulness, cause myself to be excluded from my true home, heaven, where "the glory of the Lord will shine" forever.


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SECOND READING: Ephesians 3: 2-3; 5-6. I assume that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that is, how the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

EXPLANATION:
stewardship...grace: Paul, writing from a prison in Rome to the Ephesians, whom he had converted to Christianity about 53-56, reminds them of the fact that he was "the Apostle of the Gentiles."
to me for you: This mission to bring the knowledge of Christ to the Gentiles Paul counted as a special grace from God, which it was, both for him and for his converts (see also Rom. 1: 5; 15: 15; Gal. 2: 9).
by revelation: His mission was revealed to him when Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9: 15; 22: 21).
in...generations: The expected Messiah of the Old Testament was understood to be for the Jews only---this was the common opinion of the Jewish people. Even the prophets, many of whom referred to the Gentiles in relation to the Messiah, had no clear understanding of him.
revealed...Apostles and prophets: That Christ the Messiah had come for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews was revealed to the Apostles and prophets---those Christians who in the early Church had special revelations from God for the community. To the Apostles Christ gave the command after his resurrection: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Mt. 28: 19; see Mk. 16: 15; 24: 47).
members of the same body: The Gentiles are equal members with the Jewish converts in the mystical body of Christ, the Church.
promise...through the gospel: The eternal reward promised by Christ to his followers, in the gospel, and through living up to its teaching.

APPLICATION: St. Paul's thoughts in his prison in Rome are not for himself nor for the fate that awaits him. He is thinking instead of the mission Christ gave him, to evangelize the Gentile nations. He has done much already, and even in prison he does all he can to continue the good work. He writes to his Gentile converts from Rome, to remind them of their great privilege in being called to the Christian faith. They are now God's new Chosen People, they are now members of Christ's mystical body, they are now guaranteed heaven if they appreciate and live up to their vocation.

Today, on the feast of the Epiphany, we are celebrating the coming of the first Gentiles to the feet of Christ. They were the first of the long stream of Gentile peoples and nations that flowed steadily toward Christ's mystical body, the Church, down through the years. We have the privilege of being part of that stream, and St. Paul, who today in heaven is as interested in us as he was in his Ephesian converts, is exhorting us, through these words of his, to appreciate the privilege which is ours. Through the grace of God and not through any merits of our own, we are Christians and are on the road to heaven. "Rejoice and persevere" is St. Paul's advice to us today. If we truly rejoice it means we truly appreciate what the gift of the true faith means. We know where we came from, we know where we are going, and we are certain there is a place, a wonderful, eternal place, to go to. We know too how to get there. This is no mean knowledge in the world of today, where so many seem content to make this world their heaven, and let the future look after itself---if there be a future (and logically to ease their consciences they must hope there isn't one).

Thank God, our faith and our ordinary intelligence tell us there has to be a future life---God would be a cruel joker if he gave us the nature we possess with its spiritual gifts and desires only to have them end in a grave after a few short years. We can rejoice then because we appreciate the great privilege given us, and if we appreciate it we shall hold on to it and follow the path it indicates. We may have to climb some hills and they may look as steep as Calvary, but after Calvary comes the Mount of Olives, the mount of the Ascension.


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GOSPEL: Matthew 2:1-12. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 'And you, 0 Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel."'

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

EXPLANATION:
Wise men: The term was usually reserved for men learned in the sciences, and among the Persians these were especially the priestly caste.
from the East: From Mesopotamia, of which Persia was the only country of any importance then.
to Jerusalem: Evidently God had revealed to them that a new King of the Jews had been born, and they understood from God that he was a special King; they did not come when Herod or Herod's son was born.
we have seen his star: Astrology was one of the sciences studied by Magi. There was a firm conviction that each human being had his own star and that his fate in life was governed by that star. This was not and is not so, but God made use of their superstition to teach them truth. Some unusual light in the sky aroused their interest; God did the rest.
Herod...troubled: He knew the Magi had not come to honor his son---all his sons were grown up at the time, so he immediately thought of an opponent who would oust him from the throne.
all Jerusalem with him: Not because Herod might lose his throne, but for fear of what excess Herod would go to if any opposition arose.
Christ was to be born: Herod, who was a pagan, may have had some idea of the messianic promises which were the kernel of the Old Testament. But when the question of a special king of the Jews arose, some of his household must have told him that this must be the expected Messiah (a Hebrew word meaning the Anointed, or the Christ).
the priests and scribes: They knew their bible, they remembered the prophecy of Micah (see Cycle C (3) 4th Sunday of Advent), and so informed Herod that Bethlehem was to be the birthplace of the Christ.
time the star appeared: Herod had already formed his plans---he would destroy that infant. The Magi had probably spent months on their journey. The star may have appeared some months before they left. The Baby could possibly be a year old. But Herod took no chances: when ordering the murder of all the male children of Bethlehem (3:16), he said: "from two years and under."
I may...come and worship: He may have deceived the Magi but could not deceive God.
star...over the place: This heavenly light directed them to the place (not the stable, as it says, they "entered the house") where they found the Child.
with Mary his mother: The omission of Joseph may be due to the simple fact that he was absent because he had found employment in Bethlehem as a carpenter. It is, however, more likely that Matthew who has already (1 : 18-25) told of the virginal conception of Christ, is emphasizing here the fact that Joseph was only the foster-father of Christ.
worshiped him: That is, they paid him reverence by prostrating themselves before him. It does not prove they recognized him as God but they did recognize him as a special King.
gold...myrrh: Precious gifts to show their respect and esteem.
departed...another way: Herod had told them to return to him but God had other plans---the Magi were instructed to return not via Jerusalem but by another route. This gave time to Joseph to remove the Child before Herod could lay hands on him.

APPLICATION: The Magi are the central personages in today's feast of Epiphany. They were pagans who did not know the true God of the Jews. Yet that true God revealed to them that the King he had promised to the Jews had come. The expected Prince was born. They came to Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, expecting, of course, to find the city and the whole country rejoicing. Instead they found suspicion and hatred in the reigning king---a hatred which in a few days turned to murder. Among the religious leaders they found knowledge of their past history, but utter indifference as regards the present and the future. These leaders knew the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; they must have realized that the Magi were very sure of the truth revealed to them---they would not have come such a long journey on a "fool's errand." In spite of that, the thought of going to Bethlehem with the Magi never entered their minds. These were the leaders who some years later refused to listen to Christ and in spite of his miracles refused to admit his claim that he was not only the promised Messiah, but the true Son of God. These were the men who rejected him because he had mercy on sinners, and spoke of a future life. What they wanted from their Messiah was political power and earthly freedom and prosperity. Like Herod they ended with murder---the crucifixion of the "King of the Jews." The pagan king was not much worse than the indifferent leaders of God's Chosen People.

We too know the true facts concerning Christ, his mission, and his present and future kingdom. Like the leaders of the Jews of his day, we also could become absorbed in the affairs of this life and the quest for wealth, pleasure and power. We could become so totally absorbed in such things as to have neither the interest nor the time to pay our respects to Christ or to welcome him into our homes and our hearts, as our true Lord. God forbid it should ever be thus with us. Rather let us resolve this morning to make the Magi our models, to follow them to Bethlehem and offer him all that we have and are. He will accept our offering and we will return by another way, wiser and better men.-b067

RE: 01.05.12~Readings for Sunday, January 8th-2012

Saint Max Bible Study Meets at the back of the church in the Mother Cabrini Room on Fridays 9AM to 10AM.. Please join us!

To see the online version, please go to: http://facilitator-stmaxbiblestudy.blogspot.com

***PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR & “SAVE THE DATE,” Friday January 27th at 7PM in the Sat Max Parish Center***
St. Max Peace & Justice Ministry is holding a reception and showing the award-winning film “WHICH WAY HOME,”
Please join us for this very moving, informative, and fast paced HBO film!

For more information, please go to: http://mpjministry.blogspot.com



JANUARY 8, 2012

« January 7 | January 9 »
The Epiphany of the Lord
Lectionary: 20
READING 1 IS 60:1-6
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.


RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.
R. (cf. 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.
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.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
READING 2 EPH 3:2-3A, 5-6
Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.




GOSPEL MT 2:1-12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
"Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage."
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel."
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
"Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage."
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in
SUNDAY READINGS - Feast of the Epiphany
FIRST READING: Isaiah 60:1-6. Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
EXPLANATION: The prophet (second-Isaiah probably) is trying to cheer the exiles by foretelling the glorious future of the new Jerusalem which is not yet rebuilt. The special radiance of God will illuminate it. Gentiles (who once despised, it) will bring their riches to it. From Fast and West peoples will flock to it.
glory of the Lord: The gloom of sadness and despair which enveloped the derelict Jerusalem during the exile will give way to a heavenly brightness, for God will dwell within it once more.
darkness...covers the earth: This divine brightness is first and foremost for the Chosen People.
nations shall come to your light: The Gentiles will partake of this divine blessing---their kings will come to share in the light of Zion.
all gather...come to you: The glory of Jerusalem will be such that all nations will come to it, and the scattered children of Israel will return home also (see 49: 22).
abundance...sea: The nations of the West (the sea the Mediterranean) will bring their riches in ships.
Midian, Ephah and Sheba: The eastern nations will come in camel caravans, the usual way of travel through the desert, bearing their gifts.
gold and frankincense: Two of the most valuable means of barter-trading of the time.
proclaim the praise of the Lord: They will come with their gifts to honor the God of Israel, forsaking their pagan idols for the true God.
APPLICATION: The feast of the Epiphany is the feast which commemorates the manifestation of God to the Gentiles. This manifestation began when the Wise Men from the East came to Bethlehem to pay their respects and offer their gifts to the newly-born king of the Jews (see Mt. 2 in today's gospel). Though the words of second-Isaiah were not understood by his hearers as referring to this event, it was only in the coming of the Magi, to welcome Christ, that they were really fulfilled. Jerusalem was in no sense an attraction for the nations in the intervening centuries. But the Magi at Bethlehem were the first-fruits of the thousands and millions of Gentiles who have since then seen the glory of God in the Babe of Bethlehem and who have figuratively come to Jerusalem from the West and from the East to form the new Chosen People, the new Kingdom of God.
Let us thank God today for having called us, Gentiles, to his kingdom, his Church, and for giving us the means to reach heaven. Let us never imitate the Chosen People of the Old Testament who so often forgot how good God was to them, and who often so provoked him, that he allowed them to be taken into exile as slaves of a pagan nation. We too could bring exile on ourselves, an exile much more fatal than the Babylonian one. Whatever else may be my lot, whatever hardship I may have to suffer during the few years I am on earth, God forbid that I should ever, through my unfaithfulness, cause myself to be excluded from my true home, heaven, where "the glory of the Lord will shine" forever.
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SECOND READING: Ephesians 3: 2-3; 5-6. I assume that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that is, how the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
EXPLANATION:
stewardship...grace: Paul, writing from a prison in Rome to the Ephesians, whom he had converted to Christianity about 53-56, reminds them of the fact that he was "the Apostle of the Gentiles."
to me for you: This mission to bring the knowledge of Christ to the Gentiles Paul counted as a special grace from God, which it was, both for him and for his converts (see also Rom. 1: 5; 15: 15; Gal. 2: 9).
by revelation: His mission was revealed to him when Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9: 15; 22: 21).
in...generations: The expected Messiah of the Old Testament was understood to be for the Jews only---this was the common opinion of the Jewish people. Even the prophets, many of whom referred to the Gentiles in relation to the Messiah, had no clear understanding of him.
revealed...Apostles and prophets: That Christ the Messiah had come for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews was revealed to the Apostles and prophets---those Christians who in the early Church had special revelations from God for the community. To the Apostles Christ gave the command after his resurrection: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Mt. 28: 19; see Mk. 16: 15; 24: 47).
members of the same body: The Gentiles are equal members with the Jewish converts in the mystical body of Christ, the Church.
promise...through the gospel: The eternal reward promised by Christ to his followers, in the gospel, and through living up to its teaching.
APPLICATION: St. Paul's thoughts in his prison in Rome are not for himself nor for the fate that awaits him. He is thinking instead of the mission Christ gave him, to evangelize the Gentile nations. He has done much already, and even in prison he does all he can to continue the good work. He writes to his Gentile converts from Rome, to remind them of their great privilege in being called to the Christian faith. They are now God's new Chosen People, they are now members of Christ's mystical body, they are now guaranteed heaven if they appreciate and live up to their vocation.
Today, on the feast of the Epiphany, we are celebrating the coming of the first Gentiles to the feet of Christ. They were the first of the long stream of Gentile peoples and nations that flowed steadily toward Christ's mystical body, the Church, down through the years. We have the privilege of being part of that stream, and St. Paul, who today in heaven is as interested in us as he was in his Ephesian converts, is exhorting us, through these words of his, to appreciate the privilege which is ours. Through the grace of God and not through any merits of our own, we are Christians and are on the road to heaven. "Rejoice and persevere" is St. Paul's advice to us today. If we truly rejoice it means we truly appreciate what the gift of the true faith means. We know where we came from, we know where we are going, and we are certain there is a place, a wonderful, eternal place, to go to. We know too how to get there. This is no mean knowledge in the world of today, where so many seem content to make this world their heaven, and let the future look after itself---if there be a future (and logically to ease their consciences they must hope there isn't one).
Thank God, our faith and our ordinary intelligence tell us there has to be a future life---God would be a cruel joker if he gave us the nature we possess with its spiritual gifts and desires only to have them end in a grave after a few short years. We can rejoice then because we appreciate the great privilege given us, and if we appreciate it we shall hold on to it and follow the path it indicates. We may have to climb some hills and they may look as steep as Calvary, but after Calvary comes the Mount of Olives, the mount of the Ascension.
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GOSPEL: Matthew 2:1-12. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 'And you, 0 Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel."'
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
EXPLANATION:
Wise men: The term was usually reserved for men learned in the sciences, and among the Persians these were especially the priestly caste.
from the East: From Mesopotamia, of which Persia was the only country of any importance then.
to Jerusalem: Evidently God had revealed to them that a new King of the Jews had been born, and they understood from God that he was a special King; they did not come when Herod or Herod's son was born.
we have seen his star: Astrology was one of the sciences studied by Magi. There was a firm conviction that each human being had his own star and that his fate in life was governed by that star. This was not and is not so, but God made use of their superstition to teach them truth. Some unusual light in the sky aroused their interest; God did the rest.
Herod...troubled: He knew the Magi had not come to honor his son---all his sons were grown up at the time, so he immediately thought of an opponent who would oust him from the throne.
all Jerusalem with him: Not because Herod might lose his throne, but for fear of what excess Herod would go to if any opposition arose.
Christ was to be born: Herod, who was a pagan, may have had some idea of the messianic promises which were the kernel of the Old Testament. But when the question of a special king of the Jews arose, some of his household must have told him that this must be the expected Messiah (a Hebrew word meaning the Anointed, or the Christ).
the priests and scribes: They knew their bible, they remembered the prophecy of Micah (see Cycle C (3) 4th Sunday of Advent), and so informed Herod that Bethlehem was to be the birthplace of the Christ.
time the star appeared: Herod had already formed his plans---he would destroy that infant. The Magi had probably spent months on their journey. The star may have appeared some months before they left. The Baby could possibly be a year old. But Herod took no chances: when ordering the murder of all the male children of Bethlehem (3:16), he said: "from two years and under."
I may...come and worship: He may have deceived the Magi but could not deceive God.
star...over the place: This heavenly light directed them to the place (not the stable, as it says, they "entered the house") where they found the Child.
with Mary his mother: The omission of Joseph may be due to the simple fact that he was absent because he had found employment in Bethlehem as a carpenter. It is, however, more likely that Matthew who has already (1 : 18-25) told of the virginal conception of Christ, is emphasizing here the fact that Joseph was only the foster-father of Christ.
worshiped him: That is, they paid him reverence by prostrating themselves before him. It does not prove they recognized him as God but they did recognize him as a special King.
gold...myrrh: Precious gifts to show their respect and esteem.
departed...another way: Herod had told them to return to him but God had other plans---the Magi were instructed to return not via Jerusalem but by another route. This gave time to Joseph to remove the Child before Herod could lay hands on him.
APPLICATION: The Magi are the central personages in today's feast of Epiphany. They were pagans who did not know the true God of the Jews. Yet that true God revealed to them that the King he had promised to the Jews had come. The expected Prince was born. They came to Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, expecting, of course, to find the city and the whole country rejoicing. Instead they found suspicion and hatred in the reigning king---a hatred which in a few days turned to murder. Among the religious leaders they found knowledge of their past history, but utter indifference as regards the present and the future. These leaders knew the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; they must have realized that the Magi were very sure of the truth revealed to them---they would not have come such a long journey on a "fool's errand." In spite of that, the thought of going to Bethlehem with the Magi never entered their minds. These were the leaders who some years later refused to listen to Christ and in spite of his miracles refused to admit his claim that he was not only the promised Messiah, but the true Son of God. These were the men who rejected him because he had mercy on sinners, and spoke of a future life. What they wanted from their Messiah was political power and earthly freedom and prosperity. Like Herod they ended with murder---the crucifixion of the "King of the Jews." The pagan king was not much worse than the indifferent leaders of God's Chosen People.
We too know the true facts concerning Christ, his mission, and his present and future kingdom. Like the leaders of the Jews of his day, we also could become absorbed in the affairs of this life and the quest for wealth, pleasure and power. We could become so totally absorbed in such things as to have neither the interest nor the time to pay our respects to Christ or to welcome him into our homes and our hearts, as our true Lord. God forbid it should ever be thus with us. Rather let us resolve this morning to make the Magi our models, to follow them to Bethlehem and offer him all that we have and are. He will accept our offering and we will return by another way, wiser and better men.-b067
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