2017
#PopeFrancis " Prayer is an antidote against hatred, against wars, these wars that begin at home, that begin in the neighborhood, that begin in families." Homily FULL TEXT + Mass Video
Today's Mass Readings and Video : Monday February 20, 2017
Saint February 20 : Blessed Jacinta and Francesco of #Fatima - with #Prayers to SHARE
Today, there is what I would call a unique message in the Readings. In the first Reading there is the Word of the Lord who says to us: “Be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy” Leviticus 19:2). God the Father says this to us. And the Gospel ends with that Word of Jesus: “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”(Matthew 5:48) – the same thing. This is the program of life. Be holy, for He is holy; be perfect, for He is perfect. And you can ask me: But, Father, what is the way to holiness, what is the path to become saints?” Jesus explains it well in the Gospel: He explains it with concrete things.
First of all: “It was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil” (Matthew 5:38-39), namely, no revenge. If I have rancor in my heart for something that someone did to me and I want to revenge myself, this moves me away from the path to sanctity. No revenge. “You did it to me, you’ll pay for it!” Is this Christian? No. “You will pay for it” does not enter the language of a Christian. No revenge. No rancor. “But he makes my life impossible! …” That neighbor speaks badly about me every day! I also speak badly about her …” No. What does the Lord say? “Pray for her” – “But must I pray for her?” – “Yes, pray for her.” It’s the path of forgiveness, of forgetting offenses. You are slapped on the right cheek? Give the other too. Evil is overcome by good, sin is overcome with this generosity, with this strength. Rancor is awful. We all know it’s not a small thing. The great wars – we see it on the TV news, in the newspapers, this massacre of people, of children … How much hatred there is! But it is the same hatred, the same hatred you have in your heart for this man, for that woman, or for that relative or that mother-in-law, or for that other one, it’s the same. It’s greater, but it’s the same. Rancor, the desire to vindicate myself: “You’ll pay for it!” this isn’t Christian.
“Be holy as God is holy”; “be perfect as your Father is perfect,” who makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). He is good. God gives His goods to all. “But if he speaks badly of me, if he has done a bad thing to me, if he has …” Forgive, in your heart. This is the path of sanctity; and this dispels wars. If all the men and women of the world learnt this, there wouldn’t be wars, there wouldn’t be. War begins here, in bitterness, in rancor, in the desire for vengeance, to make one pay. But this destroys families, destroys friendships, destroys neighborhoods, destroys so much, so much …. “And what must I do, Father, when I feel this?” Jesus says it, I don’t say it: “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44). “Must I love that person?” – Yes – “I can’t” – Pray so that you can –. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Ibid.). “Must I pray for one who does me harm?” – Yes, so that he changes his life , so that the Lord forgives him. This is the magnanimity of God, the magnanimous God, the God of a great heart, who forgives everything, who is merciful. “It’s true, Father, God is merciful.” And you, are you merciful with persons who have harmed you? Or who do not love you? If He is merciful, if He is holy, if He is perfect, we must be merciful, holy and perfect like Him.
This is holiness. A man or a woman who does this merits to be canonized: they become saints. Christian life is that simple. I suggest that you begin somewhat. We all have enemies; we all know that he or she speaks badly of me; we all know it. And we all know that he or she hates me. We all know it. And we begin a little. “But I know he’s calumniated me, he has said awful things about me.” I suggest to you: take a minute, turn to God the Father: “He or she is your child, she is your daughter: change her heart. Bless him, bless her.” This is called praying for those who don’t love you, for enemies. It can be done with simplicity. Perhaps rancor remains; perhaps rancor remains in us, but we are making the effort to go on the path of this God who is so good, merciful, holy and perfect; who has the sun rise on the evil and on the good: He is for all, He is good to all. We must be good to all, and we must pray for those who aren’t good – for all.
Do we pray for those who kill children in war? It’s difficult, it’s very far away, but we must learn to do so, so that they convert. Do we pray for those persons who are closest to us and hate us or do us harm? Ah, Father, it’s difficult. I would like to ring his neck!” – Pray, pray so that the Lord changes their life. Prayer is an antidote against hatred, against wars, these wars that begin at home, that begin in the neighborhood, that begin in families. Think only of the wars in families over inheritance: how many families are destroyed, hate one another over inheritance. Pray so that there is peace. And if I know that someone wishes me evil, doesn’t love me, I must pray especially for him. Prayer is powerful, prayer overcomes evil; prayer brings peace.
The Gospel, God’s Word today is simple. This advice: “Be holy for I, the Lord your God am holy.” And then: “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Therefore, we must ask for the grace not to remain in rancor, the grace to pray for enemies, to pray for people who don’t love us, for the grace of peace.
I ask you, please, to have this experience: a prayer every day. ”Oh, he doesn’t love me, but Lord, I ask you …” One a day, thus one overcomes, thus we’ll go on this path of holiness and of perfection. So be it.
ZENIT - [Original text: Italian] [Translation by Virginia M. Forrester]
Today's Mass Readings and Video : Monday February 20, 2017
Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 341
Reading 1SIR 1:1-10
All wisdom comes from the LORDand with him it remains forever, and is before all time
The sand of the seashore, the drops of rain,
the days of eternity: who can number these?
Heaven's height, earth's breadth,
the depths of the abyss: who can explore these?
Before all things else wisdom was created;
and prudent understanding, from eternity.
The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom
and her ways are everlasting.
To whom has wisdom's root been revealed?
Who knows her subtleties?
To whom has the discipline of wisdom been revealed?
And who has understood the multiplicity of her ways?
There is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring,
seated upon his throne:
There is but one, Most High
all-powerful creator-king and truly awe-inspiring one,
seated upon his throne and he is the God of dominion.
It is the LORD; he created her through the Holy Spirit,
has seen her and taken note of her.
He has poured her forth upon all his works,
upon every living thing according to his bounty;
he has lavished her upon his friends.
Responsorial PsalmPS 93:1AB, 1CD-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Alleluia2 TM 1:10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 9:14-29
As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, Johnand approached the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.
Immediately on seeing him,
the whole crowd was utterly amazed.
They ran up to him and greeted him.
He asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?"
Someone from the crowd answered him,
"Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit.
Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down;
he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid.
I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so."
He said to them in reply,
"O faithless generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you? Bring him to me."
They brought the boy to him.
And when he saw him,
the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions.
As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around
and foam at the mouth.
Then he questioned his father,
"How long has this been happening to him?"
He replied, "Since childhood.
It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him.
But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."
Jesus said to him,
"'If you can!' Everything is possible to one who has faith."
Then the boy's father cried out, "I do believe, help my unbelief!"
Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering,
rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it,
"Mute and deaf spirit, I command you:
come out of him and never enter him again!"
Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out.
He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, "He is dead!"
But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.
When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private,
"Why could we not drive the spirit out?"
He said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer."
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Saint February 20 : Blessed Jacinta and Francesco of #Fatima - with #Prayers to SHARE
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Jacinta developed pneumonia and then tuberculosis. She died in hospital just before her 11th birthday. Visitors who saw Jacinta in her open coffin exclaimed that she seemed to be alive, with the loveliest colour. When Jacinta’s coffin was opened on 12th September, 1935 and her face was seen to be perfectly incorrupt.
Jacinta's relics and those of Francisco lie in the Basilica at Fatima, with the simple inscription: “Here lie the mortal remains of Francisco and Jacinta to whom Our Lady appeared.” Jacinta and her brother Francisco were beatified- declared ‘Blessed’, by Pope John Paul II on 13th May, 2000 at Fatima.
SPECIAL PRAYERS GIVEN TO THE CHILDREN AT FATIMA:
Our Lady of Fatima:
My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee! I beg pardon for all those that do not believe, do not adore, do not trust and do not love Thee. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy. Amen.
O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary I beg the conversion of poor sinners. The Angel's Prayer is an Act of Reparation to The Holy Trinity.
Edited from “The Message of Fatima” by Fr. Martindale, S.J. and other sources. (All Images Google )
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#PopeFrancis Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” #Angelus - FULL TEXT + Video
Before the Angelus
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!
In this Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 5:38-48) – one of those pages that expresses best the Christian “revolution” – Jesus shows the way of true justice through the law of love, which surmounts that of retaliation, namely, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” This ancient rule imposed inflicting on transgressors punishments equivalent to the damages caused: death to one who killed, amputation to one who wounded someone, and so on. Jesus does not ask His disciples to suffer evil, rather, He asks them to react, but not with another evil, but with goodness. Only thus is the chain of evil broken: an evil leads to another evil, another evil leads to another evil … This chain of evil is broken, and things truly change. Evil in fact is a “void,” a void of goodness, and it cannot be filled with another void, but only with “fullness,” namely, with goodness. Reprisals never lead to the resolution of conflicts. “You did it to me, I’ll do it to you”: this never resolves a conflict, nor is it Christian.
For Jesus the rejection of violence can also imply giving up a legitimate right; and He gives some examples: to give the other cheek, to give one’s cloak or one’s money, to accept other sacrifices (cf. vv. 39-42). However, this renunciation does not mean that the demands of justice are ignored or contradicted; on the contrary, Christian love, which manifests itself in a special way in mercy, represents a higher realization of justice. What Jesus wants to teach us is the clear distinction we must make between justice and retaliation – to distinguish between justice and retaliation. Retaliation is never just; we are permitted to ask for justice; it is our duty to practice justice. Instead, we are prohibited from vindicating ourselves and from fomenting retaliation in some way, in as much as expression of hatred and of violence.
Jesus does not wish to propose a new civil rule, but rather the commandment to love our neighbor, which also includes love of enemies: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (v. 44). And this is not easy. This word is not understood as approval of the evil done by an enemy, but as an invitation in a higher, a magnanimous perspective, similar to that of the heavenly Father, who – Jesus says — “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (v. 45). In fact, an enemy is also a human person, created as such in the image of God, even if at present this image is obfuscated by unworthy conduct.
When we speak of “enemies” we must not think, perhaps, of those persons who are different and distant from us; we speak also of ourselves, who can enter in conflict with our neighbor, at times with our relatives. How many enmities there are in families, how many! Enemies are those also who speak badly of us, who calumniate us and do us wrongs. And it is not easy to digest this. We are called to respond to all of them with goodness, which also has its strategies, inspired by love.
May the Virgin Mary help us to follow Jesus in this demanding way, which truly exalts human dignity and makes us live as children of our Father who is in Heaven. May she help us to practice patience, dialogue, forgiveness, and thus be craftsmen of communion, craftsmen of fraternity in our daily life, especially in our family.
[Original text: Italian] [Translation by Virginia M. Forrester]
*
After the Angelus:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Unfortunately, news continues to reach us of violent and brutal clashes in the region of Central Kasai of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I feel intensely the grief of the victims, especially for so many children torn from their families and from school to be used as soldiers. Child soldiers are a tragedy. I assure my closeness and prayer, also for the religious and humanitarian personnel who work in that difficult region; and I renew my heartfelt appeal to the conscience and the responsibility of the National Authorities and of the International Community, so that appropriate and timely decisions are taken to help these brothers and sisters of ours.
Let us pray for them and for all peoples suffering also in other parts of the African Continent and of the world due to violence and war. I am thinking, in particular, of the beloved populations of Pakistan and of Iraq, scourged by cruel terrorist acts in past days. Let us pray for the victims, for the wounded and for their relatives. Let us pray ardently that every heart hardened by hatred is converted to peace, in keeping with God’s will. Let us pray for a moment in silence. [Hail Mary …]
I greet you all, families, Associations, parish groups and individual pilgrims from Italy and from various parts of the world.
In particular, I greet the students of Armagh, Ireland, the faithful of the dioceses of Asidonia-Jerez, Cadiz and Ceuta and Madrid in Spain; the Guanellian Youth Movement, the Confirmation candidates of Castelnuovo di Prato and the pilgrims of Modena and Viterbo.
I wish you all a good Sunday – a beautiful day! [he points to the blue sky]. And please, do not forget to pray for me.
Have a good lunch and see you soon!
[Original text: Italian] [ZENIT Translation by Virginia M. Forrester]
Sunday Mass Online : Sunday February 19, 2017 - 7th Ord. - A - #Eucharist
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 79
Reading 1LV 19:1-2, 17-18
The LORD said to Moses,"Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them:
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
"You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.
Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen,
do not incur sin because of him.
Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD."
Responsorial PsalmPS 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13
R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Reading 21 COR 3:16-23
Brothers and sisters:Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.
Let no one deceive himself.
If any one among you considers himself wise in this age,
let him become a fool, so as to become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God,
for it is written:
God catches the wise in their own ruses,
and again:
The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are vain.
So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,
Paul or Apollos or Cephas,
or the world or life or death,
or the present or the future:
all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.
Alleluia1 JN 2:5
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 5:38-48
Jesus said to his disciples:"You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand over your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Saint February 19 : St. Conrad of Piacenza : Patron of #Cure for #Hernias
1290, Piacenza, Province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Died:
February 19, 1351, Noto, Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy
Patron of:
cure of hernias
CONFESSOR
Hermit of the Third Order of St. Francis, date of birth uncertain; died at Noto in Sicily, 19 February, 1351. He belonged to one of the noblest families of Piacenza, and having married when he was quite young, led a virtuous and God-fearing life. On one occasion, when he was engaged in his usual pastime of hunting, he ordered his attendants to fire some brushwood in which game had taken refuge. The prevailing wind caused the flames to spread rapidly, and the surrounding fields and forest were soon in a state of conflagration. A mendicant, who happened to be found near the place where the fire had originated, was accused of being the author. He was imprisoned, tried, and condemned to death. As the poor man was being led to execution, Conrad, stricken with remorse, made open confession of his guilt; and in order to repair the damage of which he had been the cause, was obliged to sell all his possessions. Thus reduced to poverty, Conrad retired to a lonely hermitage some distance from Piacenza, while his wife entered the Order of Poor Clares. Later he went to Rome, and thence to Sicily, where for thirty years he lived a most austere and penitential life and worked numerous miracles. He is especially invoked for the cure of hernia. In 1515 Leo X permitted the town of Noto to celebrate his feast, which permission was later extended by Urban VIII to the whole Order of St. Francis. Though bearing the title of saint, Conrad was never formally canonized. His feast is kept in the Franciscan Order on 19 February.
(Taken from Catholic Encyclopedia)
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