Tag: Eden

First Sunday of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert for the purpose of being tempted by the devil. Twice, Satan tempts Jesus beginning with the words “If you are the Son of God.” In Jesus’ many encounters with the evil spirits that he rebuked, the spirits recognize Jesus immediately by saying “I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” Satan knows well that Jesus is the Son of God; it is the Father of Lies who tries to weaken Jesus by questioning his divine identity. In the same way, the first reading from Genesis shows how Satan questioned Eve, weakening her reliance God’s word: “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?”

God, help me understand how to face temptations as Jesus did. He gives us the exact way to respond when tempted: not through argument buy by invoking your holy name. “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” And “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” Jesus says to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” For every lie Satan presents to Jesus, he refutes it with truth, the word that comes forth from your mouth. By saying “Get away, Satan!” Jesus declares his divine authority as your Son. Just as you spoke light into existence, Jesus speaks and Satan leaves him.

When tempted, Lord, let me look to what follows as Jesus conquers temptation. “Then the devil left him,” Matthew says, “and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.” When I am tempted, Lord, and desire what I want when I want it, let your Spirit within me speak your name, my Lord and my God.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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Readings

Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.”

Speaking to the disciples as well as to the crowds, Jesus addresses all who would hear him. It is a universal message spoken for the salvation of the whole world. The counterintuitive instruction to deny oneself and lose one’s life for the sake of saving it calls all into authentic relationship with God. Once in that relationship, having reached out toward him, the cross becomes the way to salvation. What is the purpose of this life unless it is to gain eternal life with the Father who made us? As the psalmist says, “From his fixed throne he beholds all who dwell on the earth, He who fashioned the heart of each, he who knows all their works.” Jesus’ call to holiness is universal because it is the Father who made the heart of each of us.

Help me understand, God, what it means to pick up my cross today. It is too great a scope for me to imagine what that means in days or weeks or years to come. Give me the grace today to recognize my cross and pick it up. Loving Father, teach me the way to gain everlasting life rather than forfeiting it on passing things. Lord, guide me today and give me the courage to come after you.

Thank you, Lord, for the call to follow you. When you come in the Father’s glory with the holy angels, may it be that I lived a life worthy of that call.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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Readings

Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Along the way to Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They tell Jesus that some people say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others one of the prophets. Then Jesus asks them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter says to him: “You are the Christ.” Seconds later, Peter rebukes Jesus for saying that he must suffer and die (and rise after three days), and Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan.” I can only imagine how Peter felt—one minute in what must have been a mountaintop moment as he recognizes Jesus as the Messiah and the next minute brought right back down to earth: “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

God, help me understand how to recognize my human limitations and to strive to think as you do. I’m not sure what it might mean to think as you do except to die to my limitations in this life so to rise with Christ. As Jesus says in Matthew about the conditions of discipleship: “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” To consider discipleship in this way echoes what Jesus says would follow his Passion and death: the resurrection. To think as you think, God, is to know that death does not have the final word. There is great joy in that—something Peter himself would come to see when he saw the empty tomb and encountered the risen Christ.

Lord, help me hear your voice today, teach me to offer you my “prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.” Throughout the day, let me hear you ask me, “Who do you say that I am?” I want to answer with complete trust: “You are the Christ.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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Readings

Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Putting spittle on his eyes Jesus laid his hands on the man and asked, “Do you see anything?” Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”

The people in Bethsaida bring to Jesus a blind man and beg Jesus to touch him. Jesus leads him outside the village to cure him. At first, the man sees only indistinctly. Then Jesus lays hands on the man’s eyes a second time, and he sees clearly. What did Jesus see in the people of the village? Were they coercing him into performing a miracle? And why did the man see only partially the first time Jesus laid hands on the man? Partial faith, partial sight. In the first reading from Genesis, Noah receive partial answers as he sends out birds to see if the floodwaters are receding. In both readings, what is partial becomes whole as Noah sees the fullness of God’s mercy and the blind man sees distinctly. Jesus sends the man home and tells him not to return to the village. It may be that to return to the village was to return to a place of little faith.

Thank you, God, for meeting me where I am at those times when my faith is less than complete. You constantly send forth your Spirit through your Son to strengthen me in unending love. As the Responsorial Psalm says, “May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to his call.”

Be patient with me, God, in the little faith I have. Just as you are patient with me, let me be at peace in you when I meet others today who seem to lack conviction in what is true and good and beautiful.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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Readings

Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?”

Jesus responds to the disciples, who had brought only one loaf with them in the boat, first by saying, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And then: “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?” Is it possible that the disciples failed to recognize that Jesus could just as well provide for them as he had for the five thousand by breaking and sharing the five loaves? The leaven of the Pharisees and Herod—only a little bad leaven added to a large batch contaminates the whole. The limitations of tradition and customs—even natural law—can limit the ability to see God at work in creation and to cooperate with it.

God, I have little to give and often forget you; open my mind to understand today’s Gospel. Act in me through the Holy Spirit to see how your will is being done today.

Thank you, God, for your abundant gifts! I ask you to be present with me today by keeping your word. As the Responsorial Psalm says, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father will love him and we will come to him.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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Readings

Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus had just performed the Miracle of the Loaves, feeding a large crowd, when the Pharisees approach him. It’s not difficult to imagine Jesus getting out of the boat to talk with the Pharisees. It would also be understandable to see Jesus displaying frustration at the Pharisees, especially after performing the miracle with the loves and the fishes. Instead, Mark tells us, Jesus sighs and gets into the boat again to go to the other shore. The boat would seem to symbolize the Church here, where Jesus travels in it elsewhere to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We know from other Gospel passages that when Jesus wanted to pass through Samaria he was not welcomed and went by another way.

Help me understand, God, that there comes a certain restlessness of spirit from asking for signs from heaven that no number of signs will satisfy. Just as Jesus sighed from the depth of his spirit, do you sigh at me when I ask for something you have provided already but I fail to recognize? I don’t need to think long to realize that in whatever place I pass through that seems dry and deserted, you are there to sustain, as Jesus did with the loaves and the fishes. However grand my human aims and aspirations might be, you far surpass them in ways I sometimes fail to see; for that, Lord, how can I not give you thanks and praise? Help me know you are near.

God, thank you for hearing me! Be present with me today, not as a way to test you but because I know I need your grace to sustain me. Keep me in your care!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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Readings

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues preaching the Sermon on the Mount. In the Gospel passage, he refers to the Ten Commandments in speaking to them about the law and its fulfillment. For each of the laws that he teaches about, such as You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment, he follows with the words and introduces his teaching by saying “But I say to you.” Jesus says to the disciples at the beginning of the passage: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” He goes on to address anger, lust, adultery, and falsehood. For each of these, Jesus does not offer his opinion but Truth and Wisdom itself, the Son of God, speaking of right relationships with the Father.

God, help me grasp the meaning of today’s Gospel as it applies to the choices I make today. The evil one excels at subtle deception. In his compassion, your Son looks deep into the human heart to teach the disciples—to teach all of us—where sin occurs. From within our hearts, choices lie before us, says Sirach, of fire and water, life and death, good and evil. As Jesus says about false oaths, “Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.” By this, your Son guides us to depend on you through the Holy Spirit in discerning the mysteries of your kingdom and keeping your words.

From the Responsorial Psalm: “Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes, that I may exactly observe them. Give me discernment, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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Readings

Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”

These words of the disciples from today’s Gospel are in response to Jesus’ compassion for the crowd that had been following him for three days. He is afraid that on their long journey home the people will collapse along the way. Jesus replies to the disciples question: “How many loaves do you have?” They told him seven. Mark tells us that Jesus ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves and some fish, he gives thanks, breaks the bread, and gives the food to his disciples to distribute. After the four thousand people ate and were satisfied, the leftover fragments filled seven baskets. Jesus satisfies and fills the crowd physically and spiritually. In response to the disciples’ question, “enough bread to satisfy,” Jesus goes far beyond expectation in his extravagant love and compassion for the crowd.

God, open my eyes and my mind to understand today’s Gospel. After Jesus fed the crowd, he dismissed them and went by boat with his disciples to the region of Dalmanutha. I can’t help seeing in Jesus’ dismissal of the crowd the same dismissal at the end of every celebration of Mass when the priest or deacon says, “Go, you are dismissed,” which translated from Latin is “Ite, missa est.” Thank you, God, for the Eucharist, for the supersubstantial bread to sustain me in this life as I strive to live in the light of your glory in the life to come. Let me be dismissed to know and do your will.

In restlessness, Lord, nothing is enough, nothing satisfies. Take the little I have, as you did the seven loaves, and do with it what you will. I ask for the grace today to know your will, to know you are present, placing me far beyond my own idea of what is enough.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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Readings

Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone.

As Jesus leaves the district of Tyre and goes by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, people bring to him a deaf man who has a speech impediment. Jesus takes the man away from the crowd to heal him, and Mark tells us exactly what Jesus does to restore his speech and hearing. The crowd, seeing this say, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” By taking the man away from the crowd, he sets him apart from others in his individual identity; that is, he calls him by name and looks up to heaven—to his Father—and intercedes in prayer before curing him. Jesus does the same today through Baptism, as we are configured to Christ, and through his intercession at the right hand of the Father.

God, just as you formed Adam out of clay and breathed life into him, you restored the deaf man to health with your word. Help me understand that you are the living God and that we would cease to exist without the breath of your Spirit. Open my heart today, Lord, to listen to the words of your Son, who calls me away from the crowd to receive his unfathomable love.

Lord, I know you love me, but I am bound to forget that as the day unfolds. Call me back and open my ears to hear your voice, and teach me to desire your guidance and to trust you completely. Saint Scholastica, pray for us! As Saint Gregory the Great said of her, “She was able to do more because she loved more.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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Readings

Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” Then Jesus said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.”

The woman who speaks these words in today’s Gospel is Syrophoenician, a Gentile. Still, aware that Jesus is nearby, she begs him to drive a demon out of her daughter. Referring to Jews, Jesus says to her in words that seem harsh: “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” Whether it helps to soften Jesus’ statement, consider that some translations from Greek include “house dog” or “puppy.” But what appears to be abrasive evokes in the woman greater faith. The woman’s reply to Jesus is a profession of faith in God’s mercy: “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” When the woman goes home, she finds her daughter lying in bed, the demon gone. Jesus sees in the woman a mirror of his compassion; her faith in the Lord saves her daughter.

Help me, God, take to heart today’s Gospel to become a mirror of your compassion. Through your Son, the woman found healing and wholeness for her daughter. Today how can I look within as you caused the woman to look within to bring forth greater faith in you? The woman came to you first in falling at your feet and then by calling on your mercy from the depths of her heart. When my prayers seem to sputter and fail, grant me the grace to persist in calling on your name wholeheartedly to know you better.

Lord, to touch only the tassel of your cloak is to receive your healing and mercy in its fullness. Give me the grace today to be aware of you, asking like a child for things great and small. Be with me, Lord, as I strive to hear your voice!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings