:: Faith Today ::
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday Feb. 14, 2010
+ "... Blessed are you when people hate you,
and ... exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
... your Reward will be great in Heaven....'"+ "Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters ... in the year of drought it ... still bears fruit."
News and Inspiration :: Today's Mass :: Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) :: Saintly Example :: Holy Father's and other Prayer Intentions
News & Inspiration
+ Saints News: Saint Bonaventure: A Man of Action and Contemplation - Pope Benedict XVI
+ Lent: Catechism of the Catholic Church
+ Lent: Papal Message for Lent 2010
+
Bioethics: Human Dignity and Natural Moral Law
+ Abide in God and Keep His Commandments: Pope Benedict on John Chapters 15-16
+ Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes: Pope Benedict tells Church to evangelize and care for the sick in body and spirit
+ Saint Anthony of Padua: Example to preachers, one of most popular Saints ― Pope Benedict XVI Audience
News Links
:: USCCB: Bishops Call For Extension Of Trade Preferences For Haiti As Part Of Long-Term Recovery Support
:: USCCB: Bishops Call for Bipartisan Action to Advance Health Care Reform That Protects Human Life and Dignity
:: USCCB: Series of Seminars Slated to Introduce Revised Translation of Roman Missal
:: USCCB: Archbishop O’Brien Speaks At Summit Aimed At Eliminating Nuclear Weapons
:: CNS: Pope expresses sorrow over murder of Christians in Iraq
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Today's Mass
Readings: usccb.org/nab/021410.shtml
+ "'Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours ...
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
... your Reward will be great in Heaven....'"
+ "... Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."
+ "Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters ... in the year of drought it ... still bears fruit."
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GOSPEL: Luke 6:17, 20-26
Sermon on the Plain
Jesus, accompanied by the Twelve Apostles, stands on a great stretch of level ground and teaches a great multitude from all over the Holy Land.
He recites Beatitudes, focused Blessings similar to those in the Sermont on the Mount (in the Gospel of Matthew).
Jesus teaches:
+ Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.
+ Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.
+ Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.
+ Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
Jesus offers comfort and hope to the down-trodden. Human beings on earth experience life sequentially in time, while God is in Eternity and can see the end result that will unfold, offering reassurance to those currently suffering.
The series of inversions Jesus relates continues with a promise of woe for those said to already have received consolation in the present life, such as fleeting earthly riches.
The inversions Jesus cites, perhaps, imply that the framework of understanding in place is upside-down. Recall that the world Jesus enters into is one of terrible evil. The Holy Land, for example, is occupied by an enemy power of pagans who watch people in arenas killing each other, or being eaten alive by animals, and consider it entertainment.
Jesus not only brings the Hope of Eternal Life to individuals, but restores Life to the world by conquering sin and death and beginning the process of rolling back evil in a world that Holy Scripture explains had been taken over by the evil one.
In such a world it would come as little suprise that, essentially for being normal and faithful to God, an average person would find themself impoverished.
Note Jesus' use of the word "exclude." He explains how those who are faithful to God can face enemies who deliberately falsely condemn them, and exclude them.
While a thief simply takes property, there are those who deny by default, excluding the faithful from opportunities and then acting as if the resulting impoverishment was simply an act of nature rather than the result of evil wilfully and consciously attacking good.
For example, consider the case of the supposedly prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm interviewing someone for a support staff professional position. The interviewee learns that the firm, on a rare occasion, represented the interests of prenatal child killing, euphemistically termed "abortion." She asked simply if she could be assured that she would not ever be asked to involve herself in such a matter.
After a lengthy interview, including testing, a law firm employee, incredibly, openly admitted in an e-mail that the interviewees talents and abilities were outstanding, implying that they deserved to be hired based upon their merit. By the law firm added that they did not think the interviewee would be comfortable working amidst their "diversity" and excluded the capable person from their employ. They excluded, and denied access to their resources, in terms of the associated income, essentially because, unlike the law firm, the interviewee was simply normal, and faithful to God rather than being abnormal and evil like the law firm, and would not associate herself with the murder of a child in the womb.
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20
The Apostle Paul reminds us that "... Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" and how the Resurrection is central to Christianity.
FIRST READING: Jeremiah 17:5-8
The Holy Prophet Jeremiah teaches that one who seeks earthly strength and trusts in humans, in time, will prove barren.
images.nbii.govOne who trusts in God is Blessed, like a tree near a stream that stretches its roots towards the water and, over time, remains alive and bearing fruit even during drought.
How can we move closer to God, realize He is near, and stretch our personal roots towards Him to truly live from what He provides us?
PSALM 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
Psalm 1 teaches: " Blessed the man who ... delights in the Law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night."
The psalmist echoes Jeremiah refering to the man who delights in God's Law as a tree planted near running water and therefore remaining vibrant and yielding fruit.
God's Law is not simply a static set of concepts but a source of Life. Recall that God's Law is included among the Word of God, which is so Alive It is a Person, Jesus Christ.
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament © 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., at times enhanced to provide additional capitalization. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours)
The beginning of the Invitatory includes a verse from the Letter to the Hebrews:
Encourage each other daily, while it is still today.
Invitatory, The Ordinary of the Liturgy of the Hours, The Liturgy of the Hours, According to the Roman Rite, e.g., Vol. III, Ordinary Time Weeks 1-17, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1975, at 649, quoting The Letter to the Hebrews 3:13.
At some point, today will be gone, and we should be certain to have taken advantage of all the opportunities today offered for our Sanctification and true growth as human beings on the Path of Discipleship along which God beckons us to Eternal Life.
In today's Office of Readings, Saint Ephrem explains that the font of the Word of God is infinite, such that we should enjoy drinking from it and never grow tired from the fact that it is limitless, instead persevering in our continued discovery of the Riches God offers:
... so whenever anyone discovers some part of the Treasure, he should not think that he has exhausted God's Word. ... precisely because he could not capture it all he should give thanks for its Riches.
* * *
What you have received and attained is your present share, while what is left will be your Heritage. For what you could not take at one time because of your weakness, you will be able to grasp at another if you only persevere.
Saint Ephrem, Deacon, Commentary on the Diatessaron, Office of Readings, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, The Liturgy of the Hours, According to the Roman Rite, Vol. III, Ordinary Time Weeks 1-17, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1975, at 199-200.
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Saints of February
+ "Saint of the Day" by the USCCB
+ "Saint of the Day" by AmericanCatholic.org (Franciscans; on rare occasions, slightly different than the official feast day)
+ Saints of the Day, from St. Patrick's Church, Washington, D.C.
+ Saints with Feast Days in February
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Prayer Intentions
Pope Benedict's Prayer Intentions for February 2010
+ General Intention: scholarly sincere search for truth enhancing understanding of God - "That by means of sincere search for the truth scholars and intellectuals may arrive at a[ better] understanding of the One True God."
+ Mission intention: Church being Faithful to Christ, universality of Gospel Mission: - "That the Church, aware of Her own Missionary Identity, may strive to follow Christ faithfully and to proclaim His Gospel to all peoples."
Additional Faith Central Prayer Intentions
+ For additional support and guidance for the development of Faith Central
+ For the elderly and infirmed, their protection by the Blessed Mother, and that they be treated with respect, dignity, and love.
+ For respect for human life and the dignity of the human person, from their creation
prior to conception, to natural death.
+ That God's Will be obeyed by all actions of government and all government-related actions of the populace
+ For an end to the recession, and for all humanity to work together to bear fruit in service to the needs of all
+ For those of means to divert resources to help those in the human family, locally or abroad, who are hungry, starving, or homeless
+ For peace in the world, and the conversion of the hearts of terrorists.
+ For peace in the world in families, especially for women and men facing crisis pregnancies, their preborn children, and those assisting them, especially their relatives and those volunteers and professionals dedicated to prolife work.
+ For the conversion of the hearts of sinners.
+ For the Faithful Departed, especially the relatives of those
praying and those they have met or have known.
+ For the Faithful Departed, especially those with no one praying for
them.
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Keywords: Sermon on the Plain, Jesus Christ, Catholic, Gospel of Luke 6, Holy Prophet Jeremiah, Psalm 1, 1 Corinthians 15, Saint Paul, Saint Ephrem, Letter to the Hebrews, Diatessaron, Divine Office, Liturgy of the Hours, Daily Readings, Mass, Catholic Faith, Christian, Pope Benedict XVI, Holy Father, Prayer Intentions, Catholic News
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