February 18, 2015

Ash Wed.

February 18, 2015:  Ash Wednesday


  • Forehead with ashes—thanks, guest dresser Lourdes):  "remember you're dust and will return to dust; turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel" (distribution of ashes at Ash Wednesday liturgy)
  • 'Hearts' suspenders:  "rend your hearts"; "return to me with your whole heart" (1st reading); "create for me a clean heart" (psalm)
  • 'Angel with trumpet' pin:  "blow the trumpet" (1st reading); "don't blow a trumpet" (gospel)
  • 'Clock' tie bar:  "in an acceptable time I heard you.... Now is the acceptable time..." (2nd reading)
  • 'Hands' tie:  "when you give, don't let your left hand know what the right is doing" (gospel)
  • 'Kneeling person' tie bar:  "go to your inner room and pray in secret" (gospel)
  • Purple shirt:  Lenten season
Listen

Pope Francis
Lenten message:  Make your hearts firm:  (part 1 of 4)  Lent is a time of grace, a time of renewal for the Church, communities, and every believer.  God doesn't ask anything that he hasn't first given. “We love because he first has loved us.”  He's not aloof; each of us has a place in his heart.  He knows us by name, cares for us, and seeks us out when we turn from him.  His love doesn't let him be indifferent to what happens to us.  When we're comfortable, our heart can grow cold and we can forget those less well off and not be unconcerned about their problems, sufferings and injustices they endure.  This indifference has taken on global proportions; we need to confront it.  Here I'll address the globalization of indifference.  Indifference to our neighbor and God is a real temptation.  We need to hear once more the voice of the prophets who trouble our conscience.
God isn't indifferent to our world; he so loves it that he gave his Son for our salvation. In his Incarnation, life, death, and resurrection, the gate between heaven and earth opens.  The Church is like the hand holding the gate open, proclaiming God’s word, celebrating the sacraments, and witnessing faith working through love.  The world withdraws and shuts the door, so the hand, the Church, must never be surprised when rejected, crushed, and wounded.  We need renewal lest we become indifferent and withdraw.
Audience:  Brothers and sisters.  Christianity loves the words 'brother' and 'sister,'  and, thanks to family experience, everyone understands them.  The fraternal bond has a special place in salvation history; the psalmist sings of its beauty:  "How good, how pleasant it is, when brothers dwell together as one!"  Jesus brought the experience of being brothers and sisters to fulfillment, assimilating it into Trinitarian love and strengthening it so it goes beyond kinship and can overcome every obstacle of estrangement.  When the fraternal relationship is ruined, conflict, betrayal, and hatred can ensue.  God keeps asking us about our brother, and we unfortunately repeat Cain's "Am I my brother's keeper?"
The bond of brotherhood formed in an family climate open to others, is the great school of freedom and peace.  The blessing God in Christ poured out on this bond expands it, enabling it to overcome all differences.  History has shown that freedom and equality without brotherhood become full of individualism and personal interest.
Brotherhood is particularly illuminating when we see the care, patience, affection with which the weaker, sick, or disabled is surrounded, and when one helps parents take care of the kids.  Having a brother or sister who loves you is powerful, priceless, and irreplaceable.  Christian brotherhood is similar:  the weak and poor must provoke our tenderness; they have the "right."  They're our brothers and sisters to love; when they're part of our family, our Christian brotherhood comes back to life.  Only when brotherhood is at the heart of society will there be true freedom and equality.
Read
  • Jl 2:12-18  Return to me with fasting and weeping; rend your hearts.  The Lord is gracious, merciful, kind, and relenting.  Proclaim a fast; gather the people; say, “Lord, spare your people, and don't make your heritage a reproach.”  Then the Lord took pity.
  • Ps 51:3-6ab, 12-14, 17  "Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned."  I acknowledge my offense.  Create a clean heart for me.  Don't cast me out from your presence.  Give me back the joy of your salvation.  Open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
    Wordle: Readings 2-18-15
  • 2 Cor 5:20-6:2  We're ambassadors for Christ.  Be reconciled to God who made Jesus who didn't know sin to be sin, so we might become God's righteousness.  Now is a very acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.
  • Mt 6:1-6, 16-18  “Don't do righteous deeds so that people see them.  When you give alms, pray, or fast, don't call attention to it like hypocrites do.  Do it in secret; your Father will see and repay you.”
Reflect
  • Creighton:  Ash Wednesday reminds us of life's fragility and that we're not at our permanent dwelling place.  It's a time to reflect on our relationship with God who loves us so much he sent his son to save us.  Our reflection can teach us how to interact with others.  Pope Francis warns us about “global indifference,” the enemy of the engaged service we're called to.  How can I be more aligned with God’s goodness and imitate Christ better?  I'm called to serve others; there's no “indifference” in looking out for the needy.
  • One Bread One Body:  "Home alone":  As essential as communal life is, there's the danger of going with the crowd; we must go with the Lord from our personal commitment....
  • Passionist:  "Come back to me with all your heart."  God is full of mercy and forgiveness and wants us to have a life of authenticity, integrity, and belonging.  It's easy to perform for the crowd, our satisfaction, and shallow praise, selling out our deep needs only our relationship with God can satisfy.  We can be distracted till we rest in God.  Jesus gives us an inner compass, the Spirit's promptings.  May we give alms not to win praise but to imitate Jesus and his option for the poor.  May we pray not to be seen as holy but to be in communion with God.  May we fast not to attract attention but to overcome basic, self-centered desires.  May our Lenten practice be an outward sign of our inner desire to grow into the person God sees.
  • DailyScripture.net:  God wants to set us ablaze so we'll radiate gospel joy.  St. Augustine:  there are two kinds of people and love: "One is holy, the other selfish; one subject to God, the other trying to equal him."  We are what we love.  God wants to free our hearts from captivity to selfishness and sin. "Rend your hearts, not garments."  The Spirit is ready to transform us and lead us in God's way.  Jews considered prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as key works.  Jesus:  do them to glorify God, not draw attention to yourself.  St. Augustine:  When I'm united to you, there will be no more sorrows or trials; full of you, my life will be complete.
40 in Scripture:  Moses' days of prayer and fasting, Israel's years in the wilderness, Elijah's days of fasting.  Journey with the Lord in this season of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and penitence to prepare to celebrate Easter.....
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February 17, 2015

Mardi Gras

February 17, 2015:  Tuesday, 6th week, Ordinary Time

  • 'Stick figures,' 'bird' pins; 'beasts' tie NEW:  “I'll wipe out the men, beasts, creeping things, and birds I created”; ark contents  (1st reading)
  • 'Boat' tie bar:  Noah's ark (1st reading)
  • 'Peace sign' tie bar:  "The Lord will bless his people with peace." (psalm)
  • Blue shirt:  The Lord's voice is over the waters (psalm)
  • 'Crown' tie bar NEW:  The Lord is enthroned as king forever (psalm)
  • 'Wheat' pin:  The disciples forgot to bring bread... (gospel)
  • 'Girl with heart' pin:  "Are your hearts hardened?" (gospel)
  • 'Question mark' tie pin:  "Do you still not understand?" (gospel) [Would you after those questions?]
  • Buttonholes:  Adore the Lord in 'holey' attire (psalm :-)
  • Green and purple beads:  Mardi Gras; green for Ordinary Time (resumes May 25), purple for Lent (starts tomorrow)
Listen

  • Rain down/ Cortez (1st reading :-), but see here re problem with lyrics
Pope Francis homily
In Genesis we see how God’s wrath at our wickedness led to the flood.  People seem more powerful than God, because we can destroy the good things God made.  In the first part of the Bible we find many examples of people's wickedness, evil lurking in our depths.  We can destroy fraternity, as Cain and Abel did; wars begin with jealousy, envy, greed for power.  Our weak heart is wounded.  We want autonomy; "I'll do what I want!"  We're capable of destruction:  wars, arms trafficking.... Everyone has this seed within, but we also have the Spirit who saves us!  We must choose, in little things.
Jesus told the disciples to watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees (hypocrites) and Herod (a murderer) and reminded them of what God has done for us.  They didn't understand; their hearts were hardened by passion, by the need to argue about who forgot the bread.  Take the Lord’s message seriously.  We can do much good, but we can also destroy; even our family, our children, not allowing them to grow in freedom, cancelling them out.  So we need to meditate, pray, discuss things with each other, so as not to fall into destructive evil.  We have the strength, Jesus reminds us:  "Remember me!  I shed my blood for you; I saved you, I have the strength to accompany you on the path of goodness, of doing good to others, of building a family, a city, a culture, a home, and more."  Lord, help us choose the right path and not be misled by temptations.
Read
  • Gn 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10  When God saw how evil people were, he regretted creating them:  “I'll wipe them out, and the beasts, animals, and birds too.”  But Noah found favor with God.  To Noah:  “Go into the ark; I've found you just.  Take 7 pairs of every clean animal and bird, one pair of each unclean animal and bird.  In a week I'll bring rain down for 40 days and wipe out all creatures I made.”  Noah did as commanded, and the flood came.
    Noah's ark/ Hoodook
  • Ps 29:1a, 2, 3ac-4, 3b, 9c-10  "The Lord will bless his people with peace."  Give the Lord glory and praise; adore him in holy attire.  God's voice, mighty and majestic, is over the waters.  The Lord is enthroned above the flood as king.
  • Mk 8:14-21  The disciples had forgotten to bring bread.  Jesus:  “Watch out for the Pharisees' and Herod's leaven....”  “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?  Are your hearts hardened?  Don't you see or hear?  Don't you remember how much was left over after I fed the 5,000 and the 4,000?  Don't you understand yet?”
Reflect
    • Creighton:  God sent the flood to save creation.  Through Noah's trust, his family was saved. / Power and peacefulness don't usually coexist, but our loving God is an exception.  The Pharisees and Herod had asked for, but Jesus' signs were of love.  May we see God's loving acts and trust God even without a display of power.
      Noah's ark/ Hicks
    • One Bread One Body:  "Blinding speed":  Jesus was appalled at his disciples' blindness.  Blindness led to Jesus' death, the Third Reich, the Holocaust, slavery, and other atrocities.  May we receive sight...
    • Passionist:  In today's reading, the human family is depicted as a failed project, but God gives us a second chance with Noah.  We're part of the second chance.  It's hard to live up to our calling to give glory to God; often our hearts are hardened and closed, not receptive and open, and we hold back and betray God's gifts.  May our motto be AMDG. 
    • DailyScripture.net:  Jesus cautioned the disciples to beware of bread that corrupts.  Our "daily bread" should nourish us physically, spiritually, intellectually, and morally.  To the Jew leaven was a sign of evil, associated with rot.  Jesus warned them to avoid evil influence.
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    February 16, 2015

    Feb. 16

    February 16, 2015:  Monday, 6th week, Ordinary Time




    • 'Sheep' tie bar:  Abel kept flocks (1st reading)
    • 'Blood drop' pin:  "Your brother’s blood cries out to me!" (1st reading)
    • 'Eyeball' pin:  "I'll correct you by drawing these things up before your eyes" (psalm)
    • 'Signs' tie:  The Pharisees sought a sign; “Why?  None will be given.” (gospel)
    • 'Boat' tie bar:  Jesus got into the boat again (gospel)
    • Green shirt:  Ordinary Time season (to go on hold Wednesday)
    Listen

    The leper, once cured, became a messenger of God’s love.  This is the ‘logic’ of Jesus and the way of the Church:  not only to welcome and reinstate with courage all who knock, but to go out and to seek, fearlessly and without prejudice, those who are distant, sharing what we've freely received.  God's mercy overcomes all barriers.  Christ does not act from a safe distance or by proxy but is exposed directly to our evil.  Look the afflicted in the eye, and show tenderness and compassion to the suffering.
    Read
      Give us a sign!
      (animate)
    • Gn 4:1-15, 25  Eve bore Cain, then Abel; Abel became a keeper of flocks, Cain a tiller of soil.  Lord to Cain:  “Why are you so resentful?  If you don't do well, sin is lurking, but you can be his master.”  Cain killed his brother.  Lord/Cain:  “Where's your brother?” / “Am I my brother’s keeper?” / “His blood cries out to me!  You'll be banned from the soil:  it won't produce for you.  You'll become a restless wanderer.” / “Then anyone may kill me.” / “No!”  He put a mark on him, lest anyone kill him.  Adam and Eve again had relations, and she bore Seth....
    • Ps 50:1, 8, 16bc-17, 20-21  "Offer to God a sacrifice of praise."  “Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; you profess my covenant with your mouth but hate discipline, speak against your brother, and spread rumors.  I'll correct you....”
    • Mk 8:11-13  The Pharisees argued with Jesus, seeking a sign to test him.  Jesus, sighing:  “Why do you seek a sign?  None will be given to you.”  He left by boat....
    Reflect
      • Creighton:  “Compare and despair.”  Jealousy destroys our heart, our being, and relationships.  It can take the form of bitterness, resentment, gossip, malicious actions, and we can feel helpless to it.  God tells Cain sin is ready to attack, control, and consume, and we must rule over it.  The Pharisees were jealous in today's gospel, and jealousy remains a top killer.  Love can free us, showing us God wants us and we don't need to compete....
      • One Bread One Body:  "The best or the rest?"  Abel brought to the Lord his "best"; Cain merely brought "an offering."  May we give our best to the Lord....
      • Passionist:  Most of us want something:  love, health, money, control, assurance, affirmation, God's smile, signs of God's love.  People may be given signs then left to grope in spiritual darkness; saints cling to faith and remain true to God's work....
      • DailyScripture.net:  People of Jesus' time expected signs would announce the Messiah's coming; leaders tested Jesus to see whether he had a true sign.  False messiahs had made extraordinary claims to attract followers.  Jesus knew the Pharisees were more interested in signs than God's word.  Simeon prophesied Jesus was "to be a sign to be opposed so that thoughts of many will be revealed."  Jesus himself was the sign.  If we seek the Lord, we can be confident he'll give us what we need to understand and do his will.... 
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      February 15, 2015

      6th Sun., Ordinary Time

      February 15, 2015:  6th Sunday in Ordinary Time


      • 'Hand' tie pin:  Jesus stretched out his hand, cleansed leper (gospel)
      • 'Kneeling person' tie bar:  Leper knelt before Jesus (gospel)
      • 'People around the world' tie:  People came to Jesus from everywhere (gospel)
      • Green shirt:  Ordinary Time season
      Listen

      God's mercy overcomes barriers.  Jesus' hand touched the leper; he doesn't act from a safe distance or by proxy, but is exposed directly to our evil.  Our evil becomes the place of contact:  he takes away our sick humanity and we take his healing, his healthy humanity.  Whenever we receive a sacrament with faith, he ‘touches’ us and gives us grace.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation heals us from the leprosy of sin.
      To be imitators of Christ before the poor or sick, look the afflicted in the eye, and be close to the suffering with tenderness and compassion.  If evil is contagious, so is good; allow good to abound in you, be infected by it and spread the contagion.
      Read
      • Lv 13:1-2, 44-46  Lord to Moses:  “If someone has signs of leprosy, bring him to a priest.  If he's leprous, the priest shall declare him so.  Lepers are to rend their garments, cry out, ‘Unclean!’ and dwell apart.”

        Wordle: Readings 2-15-15
      • Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11  "I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation."  Blessed is he whose fault is taken away.  I acknowledged my sin to you,  and you took away my guilt.  Rejoice!

      • 1 Cor 10:31—11:1  Do everything for God's glory.  Don't give offense.  Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

      • Mk 1:40-45  A leper came to Jesus and begged him, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”  Moved, he stretched out his hand: “I do will it. Be made clean.”  He dismissed him: “Don't tell anyone, but show the priest and make the prescribed offering.”  He went away and publicized the matter.  Jesus couldn't enter a town openly; he stayed in deserted places, but people kept coming to him from everywhere.
      Reflect
      • Creighton:  In Paul’s Corinth, much meat came from animals sacrificed as offerings to idols, and Christians were divided about whether to eat it.  Paul said they could—the 'gods' didn't exist—but also gave a yardstick for future cases:  avoid scandal; ask how exercising your rights will affect the community.  We need to be concerned for others' rights and act on their behalf.  Jesus didn't assert his rights; neither can we.  Paul also built on cultural family values, giving his converts a tool to help solve such questions.  “You already do this for your kin; now your family is bigger:  all Christians are your sisters and brothers.”
      • One Bread One Body:  "Scabs and pus":  A scab is a past hurt beginning to heal; you feel like picking at and opening the wound once again, but don't.  A pustule is an effect of spiritual infection:  unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness, anger...; don't let it burst.  A blotch is like an allergic reaction:  when you bring up a subject people were allergic to, there's tension, changed tone, and ugliness.  Jesus can cure all these!
      • Passionist:  People can still feel like lepers/outcasts, feeling rejected and worthless:  the unemployed, elderly, or poor, people after a relationship that's ended or being self-destructive....  When we feel alienated like that, we can go to Jesus, and he can heal us of the pain of being cut off.  We should never cast people out from God’s love.  If I consider people 'unclean,' may I see them as Jesus does.
      • DailyScripture.net:  Normally a leper would be stoned if he approached a rabbi, but Jesus healed him and demonstrated God's love and tenderness by touching him.  Do I approach those I find hard to love, or those others shun, with kindness and mercy?
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      February 14, 2015

      Cyril and Methodius

      February 14, 2015:  SS. Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop

      • 'Apple' pin:  symbol of forbidden fruit (whatever it is; 1st reading)
      • 'Serpent' tie pin:  “The serpent tricked me into eating it.” (1st reading) (Don't say it's a dolphin unless you can find me something closer to a serpent :-)
      • 'Tree' pin:  Tree of knowledge of good and evil (1st reading)
      • 'Wheat' pin:  By your sweat shall you get bread to eat (1st reading); multiplication of the loaves (gospel)
      • 'Hand' tie pin:  “The man must not be allowed to put out his hand to take from the tree of life” (1st reading)
      • 'Angel' and 'sword' pins:  God stationed the cherubim and the fiery sword... (1st reading)
      • 'Clock' tie bar:  1,000 years are as yesterday to you (psalm)
      • 'Calculator' tie, 'owl' pin:  Teach us to number our days, that we may gain wisdom (psalm); multiplication of the fish (gospel) [OK, it's probably a remote control, but I've been wearing my abacus too much.]
      • 'Hearts' suspenders:  "My heart is moved with pity" (gospel); Valentine's Day
      • 'Fish' tie pin:  Multiplication of the fish (gospel)
      Listen
      “Cardinal” is from cardo, hinge, a pivot, an essential point of support and movement.  You are “hinges” “incardinated” in the Church of Rome.  “Presiding” flows from charity, must be exercised in charity, and is ordered towards charity.  Preside in charity, guided by Paul's words listing the marks of charity.  May Mary, who gave the world Charity, help us to receive the Word and advance on the Way.  May she assist us by her humility and tenderness, because charity grows wherever they're found.  Charity...
      • "is patient and kind."  Our hearts must expand as Christ's heart.  Patience/forbearance is being able to love without limits, being faithful in particular situations, loving the great without neglecting the small.  Love through acts of kindness.  Kindness/benevolence is always willing others' good.
      • “is not jealous or boastful, it is not puffed up with pride”.  This is surely a miracle of love, since we humans – all of us, at every stage of our lives – are inclined to jealousy and pride, since our nature is wounded by sin.  Nor are Church dignitaries immune from this temptation.  But for this very reason, dear brothers, the divine power of love, which transforms hearts, can be all the more evident in us, so that it is no longer you who live, but rather Christ who lives in you.  And Jesus is love to the fullest.
      • “is not arrogant; it doesn't insist on its own way.”  Those who abide in it aren't self-centred.  The self-centred become disrespectful, often without noticing, since respect is acknowledging others' dignity, condition, and needs.  The self-centred seek their own interests, but charity draws us back from the center to set ourselves in the real center, Christ; only then can we be attentive to others' good.
      • “isn't irritable or resentful.”  Pastors have plenty of opportunities to be irritable. Charity alone can free us from the risk of impulsiveness, of doing the wrong thing, of pent-up or smoldering anger.
      • “rejoices not at the wrong but in the right.”  You need a strong sense of justice, so any injustice is unacceptable, even if it brings gain to you or the Church.  You must “rejoice in the right,” captivated by truth.
      • “bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things.”  Christs's love, poured into our hearts, enables us to live like this, ready to forgive, trust, inspire hope, and bear situations and people, in union with Christ, who bore the burden of our sins.
      God is love and accomplishes this in us if we're docile to the Spirit.
      Read
      Happy Valentine's Day
      (animate)
      • Gn 3:9-24  God/Adam:  “Where are you?” / “I was naked, so I hid.” / “You ate the forbidden fruit!” / “The woman you put here gave it to me.”  God/Eve:  “Why?” / “The serpent tricked me.” / “[Serpent,] you're banned....  I'll make you and Eve, and your offsprings, enemies.”  “[Eve,] in pain shall you bear children....” “[Adam,] cursed be the ground because of you!  In toil shall you eat its yield.  By your sweat shall you get bread....  You're dirt, and to dirt you'll return.”  Eve became mother of all the living.  “The man must not be allowed to live forever,” so God banished him from the garden and stationed cherubim and a sword to guard the tree of life.
      • Ps 90:2, 3-4abc, 5-6, 12-13 "In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge."  From everlasting to everlasting you are God.  You turn man back to dust.  A thousand years are as yesterday to you.  Teach us to number our days and so gain wisdom of heart....
      • Mk 8:1-10  Jesus / disciples:  “I'm moved with pity; the crowd has been with me three days with no food.” / “Where can anyone get bread out here?” / “How many loaves do you have?” / “Seven.”  He took them, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them.  They also had a few fish.  He blessed them and ordered them distributed too.
      • They ate and were satisfied, and seven baskets were left over.  There were about 4,000....
      Reflect
        • Creighton:  "A Holy Madness Called Love":  “Love is a madness and deserves a dark house and whip as madmen do: they're not so punished and cured because the whippers are in love too” (As You Like It, 3.2).  Jesus’ call to holiness was intertwined with his passionate love for people.  He was sensitive to their needs; in today’s gospel he, moved by love, blessed loaves and fish to feed the crowd.  Lord, fill my heart with your love, forgiveness, and compassion.  Walk with me, give me a smile, and help me to be sensitive to others' needs.
        • One Bread One Body:  "Daily grind or daily bread?"  After we sinned, we and the world changed; we were no longer in harmony.  We had to sweat to get food, and the ground was cursed.  Then Jesus came and told us that the Father would provide our daily bread, and we could now work for Jesus (Col 3:23) rather than for perishable food (Jn 6:27). Jesus is "the Bread of life" (Jn 6:35). He can multiply a few loaves and fish to feed thousands of people (Mk 8:9). He can change bread and wine into His Body and Blood. He has removed the curse of sin. Jesus is Lord of all creation.
        • Passionist:  Mark's version of the multiplication of the loaves reads like a love story.  A Jesus did then, he wants to enter our lives and help.  It takes two; we need to love the Lord and accept the love he pours out.
        • DailyScripture.net:  The crowd was hungry for more than food; they hung upon Jesus' words.  When they fled Egypt, the Israelites had the same dilemma the disciples did: "Where can we find food?"  God provided manna and Jesus provided his word and bread, abundantly.  The multiplication of the loaves prefigures the Eucharist, the "bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live forever in Christ" (Ignatius of Antioch), healing for body and soul, strength for our journey.  Do I hunger for Jesus?
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        February 13, 2015

        Feb. 13

        February 13, 2015:  Friday, 5th week, Ordinary Time

        • 'Serpent' tie pin:  Serpent to woman:  "You'll be like gods..." (1st reading)
        • 'Apple' tie pin:  Forbidden fruit (1st reading; yes, I know it's not necessarily an apple)
        • 'Eyeball' tie pin:  Then their eyes were opened (1st reading)
        • 'Tree' pin:  tree of knowledge of good and evil; they hid among the trees (1st reading)
        • 'Hand' tie pin:  Jesus puts his finger into the deaf-mute's ears... (gospel)
        • Tie, for Eden garden
        Listen

        • Gloria/ Rutter:  We practiced this last night though we won't be singing it till our May 16 concert at St. Bede.  (I wanted to get the link in before Lent :-)
        Read

          'Fig leaf' (animate)
        • Gn 3:1-8  The serpent told the woman, “When you eat the fruit, your eyes will be opened and you'll be like gods....”  Seeing the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom, she ate and gave some to her husband.  Their eyes were opened, and they realized that they were naked and hid from God.

        • Ps 32:1-2, 5-7  "Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven."  I acknowledged my sin to you.  You're my shelter....

        • Mk 7:31-37  People brought Jesus a deaf-mute.  He put his finger into his ears, spat, touched his tongue, prayed, and the man was healed.  “He's done well.  He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”

         Reflect
        • Creighton:  In our culture we grow harder of hearing to what's really good for us.  Lord, free us to listen to our hearts and others' needs.

        • One Bread One Body:  "Answer the fall":  As Adam and Eve sinned, hid, and shifted blame, so do we.  God, rich in mercy, shifts sin's weight onto Jesus....
        • Passionist:  Adam and Eve wanted more than God had given.  I act this out when I sin. 
        • DailyScripture.net:  Jesus never turned anyone aside who approached him with sincerity and trust.  St. Gregory the Great re deaf-mute's healing:  “The Spirit is called the finger of God.  When the Lord puts his fingers into the deaf mute's ears, he was opening the man's soul to faith through the Spirit's gifts.”
        • Yesterday's joke:  If you missed it, and the fine homily that followed, check it out here.
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        February 12, 2015

        Feb. 12

        February 12, 2015:  Thursday, 5th week, Ordinary Time

        • 'Lion' pin:  God formed wild animals and birds and brought them to the man (1st reading)
        • 'Cow' pin:  The man gave names to the cattle... (1st reading)
        • 'Skeleton' tie pin; flesh-colored shirt, tie, and suspenders:  God took out one of his ribs and built a woman from it, "bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh..." (1st reading)
        • 'Fruit' pin:  You who walk in God's ways shall eat the fruit of your handiwork (psalm)
        • 'Grapes' pin:  Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine (psalm)
        • 'Dogs' tie:  “It's not right to throw children's food to the dogs” / “Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” (gospel)
        Listen

          Dogs eat the scraps...
          (animate)
        • Gn 2:18-25  God:  “I'll make a partner for the man.”  He brought animals and birds for the man to name, but since none proved a suitable partner, he put him to sleep and took a rib to form a woman.  “Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!”  That's why a man clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.  They were naked but felt no shame.
        • Ps 128:1-5  "Blessed are those who fear the Lord."  You'll eat the fruit of your handiwork.  Your wife shall be fruitful, your children like olive plants.
        • Mk 7:24-30  A woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit fell at Jesus'feet and begged for her daughter's deliverance.  Jesus / mother:  “It's wrong to throw children's food to dogs.” / “Even dogs eat children’s table scraps.” / “Go; the demon has gone out of her.”  She found the child in bed and the demon gone.
        Reflect
          • Creighton:  "Rewriting the script" is common to the readings:  2nd story of creation, and Jesus moving outside Jewish circles.  May I rise above details to hear and be open to the message.
          • One Bread One Body:  "Strike the original match":  'Eve' literally completed the flesh of 'Adam.'  God is still a talented matchmaker so long as we cooperate.
          • Passionist:  God's' "hidden presence" within is real, powerful, and salvific.  Allow God's hiddenness to surface.  Intentional silence helps.
          • DailyScripture.net:  Jesus likely dismissed the Syrophoenician woman at first to test her sincerity and faith.  Jews spoke of Gentiles as 'dogs' since they were excluded from God's covenant with Israel; the dog, symbol of dishonor, was used to describe a shameless, audacious woman.  Jesus likely spoke with a smile (vs. insult) since the woman responded with wit and faith; then he praised her for her faith and love.  She was willing to be rebuffed to obtain her daughter's healing.  Her faith grew once she was in contact with Jesus; no one who seeks him with faith is refused help.
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