Sunday January 24th. Third Sunday in Year Two.

 Reflections on the Readings at Daily Mass.

 

Sunday January 24^th.  Third Sunday in Year Two.

 

Readings

Jonah 3/1-5, 10     :     First Letter to the Corinthians 7/29-31     :     Mark 1/14-20

Today we begin to read Mark’s Gospel which we shall continue to do for the rest of this year. Mark’s Gospel is a narrative proclamation of the Christ event. Like those who received Paul’s Letters, Mark’s readers, living and generation after the death of Jesus, would have either undergone a significant adult conversion or would be converts to the Christian movement within Judaism. They would have learnt an early outline of Jesus’ life from the early statements of faith such as those in 1 Corinthians 11/23-26 or 15/1-11. We also find such statements of faith in the Acts of the Apostles as in chapters 2/23-26, 4/10-12, 5/30-32 or 10/36-41. There are also certain fragments of hymns that would have been used in their communities such as Philippians 2/5-11, Colossians 1/15-20, 1 Timothy 3/16 or 1 Peter 3/18-22.

The purpose of Mark’s Gospel is not to prove that Jesus was the ‘Son of God’ nor simply to offer biographical information about him. It’s purpose was more to engage the readers in the unfolding story of Jesus ‘from Nazareth of Galilee’ (Mark 1/9) so that they too might be caught up by his message and be challenged to believe that neither demonic powers nor brutal rulers  could ultimately triumph over Jesus or over them.

The Prologue to Mark’s Gospel (Mark 1/13) supplies the reader with impartial ‘inside’ information about Jesus that none of the human characters in the body of the gospel possess.

Jesus arrives on the scene only after John the Baptist has been ‘handed over’ a fate which anticipates the fate of Jesus and of his followers. The whole text of the Prologue is dense with references to the Jewish Scriptures. Having been commissioned at his baptism by John, like other figures of destiny in the Jewish story, Moses, David, Elijah and so on, Jesus goes to be tested in the wilderness. Here he meets with the power of evil but is not overcome by it and he is then ready to take up where John has left off.

It is here that we begin to read Mark’s Gospel today. Jesus is immediately proclaiming the Good News from God, ‘the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent and believe the good News’.

This is the essential message that Jesus has to proclaim and it is this same message that he will send out his disciples to also proclaim..

In the extract today we see Jesus calling others to follow him. In doing this he shows that in his work, he ‘the stronger one’ who proclaims the Good News of God, would involve other people in a very radical way.

The short extract read today from the beginning of Mark’s Gospel is located in Galilee. Its mention of Peter and the other followers and especially the picture of Jesus ‘going before’ the disciples provides, as it were, an arch to the conclusion of the Gospel  where the writer tells of the command ‘Go tell Peter and his disciples that he going before you to Galilee’ (Mark 16/7).

All the major sections of Mark’s Gospel begin with stories involving the disciples. This first call is a model of all the subsequent stories of Jesus calling someone (Mark 2/13-15, 3/13-19, and 6/6b-13).

Each consists of the following elements  1), Jesus takes the initiative, 2). Those called are engaged in ordinary work, 3).the call is in the clear form of a summons to ‘follow me’, 4), the call is to share in the mission or activity of the One who calls, 5). The response to the call is immediate and unreflective with a ‘leaving’ of former occupations and 6). Responding to the call is not a private choice since it means joining others who have also responded to that call.

Subsequently in the Gospels we see that the disciples are to ‘be with Jesus’ (Mark 3/13-19) and to be sent out an to ‘have authority’ over demons. They are to be explicitly itinerant missionaries (Mark 6/6b-13) and, like Jesus, to preach repentance (Mark 1/15), to exorcise and to heal the sick. It becomes apparent that the two essential elements in discipleship are ‘to be with Jesus’ and to do the tasks that Jesus does.

The background to these stories of Jesus calling the disciples is complex but the present extract resembles the call of Elisha by the prophet Elijah, a prophet endowed with God’s spirit (1 Kings 19/19-21). Although the Rabbis had disciples it was they who chose their teacher rather than the teacher calling them.

This passage must make us think of our own call to follow Jesus either by some dramatic event or experience or more probably through a long and gradual development of faith without any particular moment of conversion. What is essential is that we recognise our call and respond to it generously not just once but each and every day of our life and do so with gratitude that we should have been called for no merit of our own.

The reading from the story of Jonah is, obviously, meant to complement the Gospel reading although Jonah was an unwilling recipient of God’s call and tried to escape from it. Jonah’s message, when he eventually gives it, is also one of repentance but when the Ninevites respond to his invitation to repent, he is somewhat disappointed since he had been unwilling to go to them in the first place and believed them to be a lost cause.

The message is always the same, to repent and this sums up Mark’s theology. Jesus’ call to repent is not an admonition to be sorry for sin but a call for a change of heart (‘metanoia’) which his deeds and words will evoke in the hearer. To repent is to turn around and to change one’s way of life, to put aside selfishness and sin and to turn towards love of the neighbour above all. When Jesus calls his hearers to ‘believe the Good News, he is not simply urging them to accept the truth of what he is saying and to be intellectually convinced. Belief here involves trust and personal commitment, often with the possibility of a threatening future. 

The extract from Paul’s First letter to the Christian people of Corinth must be read in context. The Corinthian Christians are living with the expectation of the imminent return of their Lord. Paul recommends that they do not allow worldly cares and interests to distract them ‘because the world as we know it is passing away’. Twenty centuries later we know that those first Christians were mistaken and we are still .living in what we call the ‘end times’. The message is till relevant though. We ought not to let anything distract us from trying to live the Gospel in our everyday lives. We live in a world where there are many difficulties in living the Gospel because we are surrounded by the temptation to see ‘getting on’ as the main purpose of life. It may be easier for us at this time to see that what is important is to live loving and generous lives whish bring fulfilment and we have seen so many examples of this over the past months from people of every faith and none. Maybe we might examine our lives and ask ourselves how much I live by the values of the Gospel and how much do I allow the false values of the world to distract me from that?

Today then we can give thanks for our call from Jesus to follow him and to be his disciple and we can resolve to be more faithful to ‘being with Jesus’ in our reading and reflecting on the Gospels in silence and alone.  Grateful too for all those who have helped us on our way, from whom we received the faith and who have helped us mature in it.

 

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Today’s theme is ‘Growing in Unity, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches’ ( John 15/5a)

What we have been saying about discipleship is very relevant for today’s theme. As Jesus’ followers and disciples we are called not only to follow him as an example but to recognise that we are grafted into him like the branch is grafted into the Vine so that we live by his life. That life is the Spirit which he freely shares with us, the Spirit of love.

In the measure that we become more and more aware of this ‘oneness’ with Jesus we become more and more aware of our oneness with all those who are his disciples. In our prayer we can remember this and recognise that, as we pray, we are one with people of every church through our oneness with Jesus himself. We live by the same life, the same Spirit and his must impel us to seek every greater unity.

 

Monday January 25^th.  Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle.

 

Today’s feast marks an event which changed the whole course of Christian history. It is important to understand that we are not celebrating Paul’s leaving the Jewish faith to become a Christian, rather we are remembering that moment when Paul became aware that Jesus was the fulfilment of his Jewish faith.

Paul, in some mysterious way, encounters the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus and it is this encounter which enables him to recognise that his Jewish faith is totally fulfilled in this man, Jesus. His understanding of his Jewish faith will increase and deepen as the years go by.

This event will have enormous repercussions for the whole Christian movement and change it from being primarily a Jewish sect to becoming a movement that embraces people of every race. This notion of their God being the God of all the peoples had been largely forgotten by the Jews but the  psalm appointed to be sung between the readings today captures that thread of Jewish theology which held that non-Jews or Gentiles as we usually call them (from the Latin word ‘Gentes’ which means simply ‘peoples’) were all part of God’s plan. ‘O praise the Lord, all you peoples’ (Psalm 116).

Paul was a tent maker from the city of Tarsus and had studied the Jewish Law so as to become a Teacher of the Law. If we are to believe Paul’s own words, he was something of a fanatic, the stuff of which terrorists are made! It was he who witnessed the stoning of Stephen approvingly and held the coats of the mob! He had accepted a commission from the Jewish authorities to arrest any who followed the Christian way and had fled from Jerusalem after the death of Stephen and he was on his way Damascus for this purpose when he was struck down in his strange encounter with Jesus. It is significant that Paul heard Jesus reproaching him for persecuting him! Could this be a reminder of Stephen’s death and how much would this influence Paul’s teaching about the Body of Christ?

Saul, as he was then known, was struck blind by his experience and he allowed himself to be led to the house of Ananias, one of the Damascus Christian community, where, after prayer, he regained his sight and was baptised in the name of Jesus. Saul then withdrew to an isolated place to reflect on what had happened to him and to deepen his new found faith in Jesus. It was only after this that Saul began to proclaim Jesus as the promised Messiah not only to Jews but, above all, to those who were not Jews. From then on Saul would be known by his Latin name, Paul.

 

Readings

Acts of the Apostles 22/3-16 or 9/1-22     :      Mark 16/15-18

Tha author of the Acts of the Apostles regards the event which we celebrate today as of such importance that he tells it more than once and so there is a choice for the first reading.

In the first choice it is Paul who is telling a mildly hostile Jewish audience in front of the Temple what has happened to him.

In the second choice the story is recounted in the third person. Paul will himself tell the story again in his Letter to the Galatians (Galatians 1/11-23)

Both the accounts offered as alternative readings today have Paul being instructed to proclaim Jesus to those who would listen to him. In the first account he is specifically told by Ananias that he is chosen by God to proclaim the Good News to all the peoples.

In the Gospel reading Jesus commissions the Eleven, as they had become, to go out and proclaim the Good News and to bring healing and wholeness to all those who come to them. Paul, of course, received that same commission in the mysterious event we celebrate today but it is also one which is given to all Jesus’ disciples.

We, the Church, are sent into the world, first and foremost, to proclaim the Good News of God’s love and we do that by forming communities of love. We are called to be the sign and sacrament of the Reign of Go’s love so that others may see in us what it means to be truly human. Although we do this as individuals, it is primarily in our communities that fulfil Jesus’ commission.

We give thanks today for Paul’s zeal and commitment and we ask forgiveness for our own lack of enthusiasm. How can I be more what the Lord wants me to be and how can my community be more a sign of the coming Reign of God’s love by its involvement in the world around us?  

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The Week ends today and the theme chosen by the Sisters of Grandchamp is the following:

‘Reconciling with all nations’, ‘So that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete’ (John 15/11)

Today’s final theme reminds us that our reconciliation between the churches is not an end in itself. It is in order that we may be a sign of reconciliation to the world around us. More than that, it is reminder that together we can be involved in all those movements which, although they don’t speak of it in these terms, are concerned with the bringing about of the Kingdom, the Reign of God. Climate change, the preservation of the environment, the struggle to create a more just and equitable world, the abolition of nuclear arms and pursuit of peace, these are all areas in which we can co-operate with our Christian sisters and brothers of other churches. What more can we do?

Tuesday January 26^th.  Memory of Titus (+97) and Timothy (+94) co-workers with Paul.

 

The day after celebrating Paul’s conversion we remember two of those who worked with him in the task of proclaiming the Good News far and wide.

Both Timothy and Titus travelled with Paul. Sometimes he would send one of them ahead as his messenger and sometimes he would ask one of them to stay behind when he moved on. They would help new communities establish themselves. Because they had some non-Jewish ancestry, both of these young men seemed well suited to bringing the Gospel to those who were not Jews and they became among Paul’s dearest friends.

Timothy’s mother was Jewish and so he would have studied the Jewish Scriptures while growing up and this helped him to grasp Paul’s message when he first preached in Timothy’s home town of Lystra.  Paul later called Timothy a ‘preacher’ which was a great compliment. Eventually, Timothy was to become the first leader or ‘bishop’ of the Christian community in Ephesus, a city now in Turkey. This would have meant that he had responsibility for all the Christian communities in that region.

Legend has it that Timothy was martyred by pagans when he was protesting against the worship of their gods, probably Dionysius and it further says that he was killed by stones and clubs which would have been at hand for the celebration of Katagogia.

Titus was probably from Antioch, another city now in Turkey and he served Paul as his secretary. He was also a talented peacemaker. It was he who was sent by Paul to Corinth when there was scandal in the community with a stern letter from Paul to back his mission. Titus’ patience and tact persuaded the Corinthian Christians to accept Paul’s scolding and he became so well respected there that he was able to return later to ask for donations for the needy of the other churches. Titus became, eventually, the leader or ‘bishop’ of the Christian community in Crete where he is said to have worked tirelessly and to have died a peaceful death. He is revered as the first bishop of Crete.                                                       

Although Titus and Timothy hold a special place among those who helped Paul in his work, there are many others that we know by name. There was the married couple, Prisca and Aquila who were Christian leaders in both Ephesus and Rome. There was Chloe who was head of a Christian community in Corinth and many more, both men and women, married and single whom Paul mentions in his letters.

All this serves to remind us that the Church is not run by great individuals but it is served by people together in their various ministries and functions.

 

Readings

Second Letter to Timothy 1/1-8 or Letter to Titus 1/1-5     :     Luke 10/1-9

There are special readings today because both Timothy and Titus figure in the Scriptures and we are able to read about them.  In the first alternative reading, Paul begins his letter by reminding his ‘dear child Timothy’ of how his faith was due to his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice who had both shared their faith with him. This is a reminder of how much we owe to our parents and families or, perhaps, to our friends or our partner who have shared their faith with us and strengthened and encouraged our own. Paul goes on to remind Timothy that when he had laid hands on him he had been given the gift of the Spirit but this gift, he says, must be ‘fanned into a flame’ as it were. So it is with us, our faith must be constantly strengthened both by our own prayer and by the encouragement of others and by living the Christian life in community. Above all, Paul tells Timothy that he must never be ashamed of being a witness for the Lord and for the Gospel.

The other reading which may be used is from Paul’s Letter to Titus where he begins by his declaring his own call to be a servant in the proclamation of the Gospel and again he speaks to Titus as his ‘true child’. Paul explains that the reason for his leaving Titus behind in Crete was for him to organise the local Christian community and to appoint elders in every town. It is obvious that Paul has great confidence in Titus.

In both of these extracts from the beginning of Paul’s letter to his friends we are reminded that the work of proclaiming the gospel cannot be done alone. It is by building up the communities that the proclamation of the Gospel is most effectively ensured.

The Gospel reading reinforces that message by the way that Jesus sends out the seventy two. They go out in pairs and are not dependent on what they take with them. They go out as beggars and their task is to proclaim that the Kingdom, the Reign of God, is very close.

We pray today for the churches of Crete and the Middle East, suffering in so many places and with so many having to seek refuge in other countries. We remember too all those who seek to help and support them and to offer them asylum. We pray too for all those communities of eastern Christians which have grown up here in the West.

Above all we must remember today that the Christian faith originated in the East and the notion of the Roman Catholic church being the one true church is a development which betrays our origins and insults all these ancient Eastern churches.

Wednesday January 27^th.  Memory of Angela Merici, religious founder (1474-1540)

 

Readings

Letter to the Hebrews 10/11-18     :     Mark 4/1-20

Because of the Feast of Paul’s conversion and the Memory of Timothy and Titus we have missed out the readings for those two days and it would be good to catch up on them before reading those for today.

In the reading for Monday (Hebrews 9/15, 24-28) the writer continues his argument that Jesus is the great High Priest, ‘the Mediator of the New Covenant’. It is through Jesus that what God has promised can become a reality. Unlike the former High Priests who had to offer sacrifices repeatedly, Jesus has entered the true Holy of Holies, the very presence of God to offer himself once and for all for the whole of humanity so that, through him, the whole of humanity is once again at one with God. His next appearance will not be to deal with sin but to give final salvation to all who awaiting him.

In the reading for Tuesday (Hebrews 10/1-10) the writer continues to explain how the worship of the Jerusalem Temple could not bring perfection to those who offered it there but Jesus has abolished all the old sacrifices by offering himself on our behalf. This offering is summed up by the words of the psalm ‘Here I am, coming to obey your will’. This is the perfect sacrifice, doing the will of the Father and in Jesus’ case this meant taking our humanity and living our life and sharing our death. In this offering Jesus has taken the whole of humanity with him since he is truly one of us and our great High Priest. Our part is to unite ourselves with him and make with him the same offering to the Father and doing the Father’s will is to become what we are, truly human. To live our life to the full is to do the Father’s will and living life to the full means letting love direct us.

Today’s reading continues the same thoughts, comparing Jesus’ priesthood with that of the Temple and telling us that the one sacrifice of Jesus, unlike the repeated sacrifices of the Temple is able to ‘achieve the eternal perfection of all whom he is sanctifying’. The author then speaks of the new covenant that God will make when he says that he will ‘put my laws into their hearts and write them on their minds. I will never call their sins to mind or their offences’. Because of this there is no further need for the sin offerings of the Temple. In a word the writer is saying that Jesus has once and for all united us with God in the offering of himself, not only on the Cross but in becoming one of us and sharing our humanity. There is no further need of sacrifice for our sins because Jesus has brought us forgiveness and union with God himself.

The readings from Mark’s Gospel which we missed are also worth reading before we look at today’s extract.

In Monday’s reading (Mark 3/22-30) after Jesus’ family have so misunderstood him as to think that he must be mad, it is the Scribes who become Jesus’ most bitter opponents. They have come down from Jerusalem and make the most dreadful allegation that Jesus is possessed by Beelezebul. This is a very unusual name and is not found anywhere in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the Gospels, however, it occurs in several different versions.  Beelzebul or Beelzeboul are most likely derived from the name of the old Canaanite god and mean ‘Baal, the prince’. Another variant, Beelzebub, does appear in the Second Book of Kings (2 Kings 1/3,6) and means ‘Lord of the flies’. This is a mocking distortion of the name of the Canaanite god. Mark, typically, explains this by saying that he is the ‘prince of demons’. The Gospel writer uses another name for this spirit, ‘Satan’, the ‘Tempter’.

Instead of showing his anger with the Scribes, Jesus calmly reasons with them as to what an absurd accusation their’s is.

Now for the first time in this Gospel, Jesus speaks in parables, telling stories to illustrate his point. Again, it is worth quoting one of the greatest New Testament authorities, C.H.Dodd who explains parables in this way ‘A parable is a metaphor or simile, drawn from nature or common life, arresting hearer by its vividness or strangeness and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application as to tease it into active thought’.

Stan cannot be opposed to himself Jesus explains and he makes the comparison with a kingdom or house divided against itself. Both the household and the kingdom of Herod the Great were divided after his death in 4 B.C.E. and ‘came to an end’. Also, when Herod Antipas divorced the daughter of the Nabatean King Aretas and married Herodias, Aretas attacked and defeated Herod Antipas’ armies which led to his eventual downfall. Mark’s audiences would have been aware of the internal divisions that brought about the defeat of the Jews in the Jewish War and also of the internal strife in Rome attending the death of Nero and its aftermath with three Emperors in one year, 68-9 C.E. These are details worth noting to explain hos the Gospel writer might have arranged his material to make Jesus’ words more vivid.

The further story of the burglary in the strong man’s house makes the point that although Satan may be strong, Jesus is stronger and can overcome him.

The final verses of Monday’s Gospel reading begin with the words ‘I tell you solemnly’ which is better translated by the old fashioned but powerful ‘Amen! I say to you’ which introduces the solemn authoritative declarations of the prophets.

The ‘blasphemy against the Holy Spirit’ is unforgiveable because those who charge Jesus with being possessed by an evil spirit, see goodness as evil so that they are closed to the action of God’s Spirit. They themselves refuse forgiveness.

In yesterday’s reading from Mark’s Gospel which we also missed (Mark 3/31-35) Jesus once again turns our ideas upside down. His mother and his brothers are outside waiting to see him. When told this, Jesus’ reply is astonishing. To all those listening to him, family would mean everything but Jesus extends the idea of family to include all those who do the will of God. In other words, Jesus is saying that all those who are of good will are his sisters and brothers with all that that implies.

Jesus is not rejecting his mother and brothers but extending the whole notion of family. They are already trying to do the will of God but the family must become much bigger than just them.

Another question poses itself. Who were these ‘brothers’ of Jesus and some manuscripts add sisters as well? There are. Of course, many possibilities but the most obvious is that Jesus did have brothers and sisters and, many ways this would seem to be the most obvious and make more sense if the purpose of the Incarnation was that the Word should take flesh and become one of us in every sense. It is only with the development of the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity that it has become necessary to explain these relatives away.

An old tradition, stemming from the Apocryphal Gospels is that Joseph was an old man and already had children from his former marriage. Again this stems from the Apocryphal Gospels. Finally it must be noted that the term ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ was much more used in Jewish society, as it is some other societies today. In Jesus’ time this could have meant just ‘relatives’. But why is it so important? A question we need to ask ourselves. Is Mary’s perpetual virginity so vital among our beliefs? Does all this spring from our suspicion of the whole area of sexuality and a false veneration of virginity which, it has to be said, is a very masculine idea where women have to be kept free from taint until a husband comes along, else she is so]poilt goods?  This is an area of church teaching that really needs revisiting in our day and age.

In today’s reading from Marks’ Gospel Jesus begins his teaching by parables. This sermon in parables is one of the two major speeches of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel, the other being in chapter 13. There seem to be a variety of sources for this chapter with the elaborate introduction in Mark 4/1-2 and the threefold emphasis on teaching.  It is also not clear to whom Jesus is addressing this parable since in Mark 4/1-9 he is speaking to the crowds but in Mark 4/10-12 he is speaking to the disciples and then to others in private (Mark 4/13,21,24,26 and 30) So, in all, it would seem that this chapter is from a variety of sources.

After a scenic beginning which stresses the magnetism and authority of Jesus, he tells the parable of the sower or better of the ‘four sowings’. In what would seem a  haphazard manner the sower scatters the seed. Three of the sowings fail but the fourth yields an extraordinary harvest. This parable has often been used as a key to the ministry of Jesus himself. It is a parable of assurance despite failure and opposition telling us that what God has begun in Jesus’ ministry will have ultimate success. The harvest is a surprising gift of God which underscores the gift-like quality of the Reign of God. The final harvest emphasises, after the three previous failures, the way in which the coming of the Reign of God shatters that by which life normally operates. Again, it is Jesus who is turning things upside down.

Jesus’ explanation of the parable which he gives to the Twelve is easy enough to understand but it is important to remember that the state of the soil is not of its own choice and the state of those who hear Jesus is not necessarily of their own choice. They are just unable to take the message in. Those of us who are able are doubly blessed.

The verses between the parable and its explanation are thought by some scholars to have been a later insertion  and reflect, perhaps, the disputes with the Jewish Synagogues that the emergent Christian Jewish communities were having in the early decades after Christ and the rejection by those those who believed themselves faithful to the Jewish Law of the claims made by the Christian Jews.

What this parable teaches us is that we must never judge those who cannot accept our Christian faith. We never know the underlying reasons for this or what has made them unable to accept that which seems obvious to us. This is a great mystery and should only make us more grateful for the gift of faith which has been given to us.

It is, of course, equally a mystery why some respond to the Spirit within them in various ways and faiths and lead good and loving lives while others find it impossible to do so and are able to live unloving lives and even to commit terrible atrocities. Ours is never to judge but to pray for those who cannot believe either within or outside the Church and to leave the rest to God’s loving mercy.

 

Memory of Angela Merici, religious founder (1474-1540)

 

We remember today Angela Merici who was born in Desenzano near Lake Garda in Italy and who had a very unhappy childhood, losing her parents and her favourite sister, the uncle who brought her up and her best friend all of whom died before she was twenty. Instead of spending her days grieving, Angela joined the Third Order of the Franciscans and seeing the needy children all round her, with four friends, she began to teach the poor girls their faith.  This work went well and Angela designed programme for teachers and she was soon asked to open a school in the city of Brescia. She also gave spiritual encouragement to a group of women and men who helped her with funds for the school.

In 1525 Angela was asked by the then Pope to take over a congregation of nursing Sisters but she refused because she felt her calling was to education. In time, she had a group of young women around her, some living in community, some at home who wore simple clothing, prayed and studied together and, inspired by the spirit of Saint Francis, devoted their lives to the teaching of young women. This group called themselves the Ursulines, taking the somewhat legendary martyr and her companions as their patrons.  In 1565 the Roman authorities forced Angela to turn her community into a religious Congregation since they were unable to accept the idea of unenclosed women who were not under their authority! These were in fact the first teaching Order of Religious Women in our Church and they still flourish today with many schools. Angela remained in charge of the Order until her death.

We remember the Ursulines today and all teachers and schools and we pray too for all those who seek to enable women to be educated in places where this has not been the custom that they may be built up into young people equipped for life and readyto take their place in the world.

Almost certainly the readings used today will be those of the day as above but there are proper readings for Angela as follows;_

First Letter of Peter 4/2-11

which speaks of the sort of spirit that Angela sought to achieve in her communities and how all must be directed by love.

Mark 9/14-17

which speaks of the ideal to which we should all spire of each one of us being servant to the rest and above the importance of children which was the reason for all Angela’s work.

Thursday January 28^th.  Memory of Thomas Aquinas, Doctor or Teacher of the Church (+1274)

 

Born of a knightly family at Rocco Secca near Aquino in Italy in 1274, Thomas was educated by the Benedictines at Monte Cassino and continued his studies at the University of Naples. It was there that he met the Dominicans and, eventually, after much opposition from his family, he was able to join them in 1244. The remainder of his life was spent between Paris and Italy, studying, writing and lecturing incessantly until his death at the early age of forty nine. Thomas’ first Master was Albert the Great who recognised in him an exceptional student and is said to have commented that, although he was nicknamed ‘a dumb ox’ by his fellow students ‘his bellowing would soon be heard all over the world’. Thomas was a man of intense prayer but he was also blessed with amazing powers of concentration being able to dictate to four secretaries at the same time! He began teaching at the Dominican house of saint Jacques in Paris in 1252 and he became Master of Theology at the early age of thirty one in 1256. Towards 1259 he began his great work, the ‘Summa contra Gentes’, a theological exposition of the Christian faith, argued partly by the use of pure reason against Islam, Judaism, heretics and pagans. This work was put to one side when Thomas went to teach in Italy at Anagni, Orvieto, Rome and Viterbo, organising the schools of his Order. He completed the ‘Contra Gentes’ about 1264 and then about 1256 he began his most important work, the ‘Summa Theologica’ . This is a massive work of five volumes and contains Thomas’ mature thought on all the Christian mysteries. Over succeeding centuries this work was adopted as the standard theological text  for schools and Universities and has been highly valued ever since even though Thomas was unable to complete it until 1269.  He was recalled to Paris by King Louis IXth., where he was consulted by both the King and the University. In 1272 he was recalled to Naples to be Regent of Studies and it was on December 6^th. that year that he had a mysterious experience of God which made him declare that all that he had written was like so much straw and, after that, he wrote nothing more.

Thomas died on his way to the Council of Lyons in 1274 after a partial breakdown or stroke, most probably caused by overwork.

Throughout his life Thomas remained a man of deep prayer, both modest and unassuming and though he wrote works of deep theological insight he was equally able to write simple works for ordinary Christians and to preach to ordinary folk.

Thomas was canonised in1323 and declared a Doctor or Teacher of the Church in 1567. His ‘Summa Theologica’ was given particular honour at the Council of Trent and is still held in high esteem by theologians today. He is the patron saint of all theologians for whom we pray especially today and we pray also for a greater knowledge and understanding of the teaching of the Church among the people of the Church.

It is always worth remembering Thomas’ mysterious experience when he felt all his writing and thinking was no more than straw because it brings home to us that however, great minds may try to speak of God, when all is said and done, we can say nothing because God is beyond all our understanding and the only way we can think of him is through Jesus who shows him to us.

Readings

Letter to the Hebrews 10/19-25     :     Mark 4/21-25

In the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews today the author develops his thinking about the high priesthood of Christ. He recalls the annual ceremony when the High Priest would pass through the great veil of the Temple which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple and would offer the blood of goats and bulls in expiation for the sins of the people. The people would then be sprinkled with the blood of the slaughtered beasts to unite them with the offering. Jesus is now, the author says, a ‘living opening’ through that which divides humankind from God. In his body, his humanity, he makes us one with God and through the waters of Baptism we are cleansed and washed from our sinfulness rather than being sprinkled with the blood of animals.

The author then becomes much more practical and after exhorting his readers not to  lose hope in Christ he tells them how they must love one another in a practical way and, above all, they must be faithful to the meetings of the community.

This last piece of advice is important for us especially at this time when we are probably not in physical contact with our Christian community. It is the community that matters above all and the Eucharist is what gathers us together to share a common meal which is why the practice of ‘zooming’ the Mass seems to be so reprehensible and makes the Mass into a sort of performance to be watched rather than a meal to be shared. From that meeting around the Lord’s table should stem our fellowship and our love for one another and so it is important, when we are unable to meet together, that we do all that we can to maintain that fellowship in other ways. It is that which makes a sign and sacrament of the reign of God.

Today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel is made up of two rather enigmatic sayings of Jesus which Mark seems to have placed here deliberately between the parable of the four sowings and the further two seed parables (Mark 4/26-32) which are explicitly about the Reign of God.

The first saying (Mark 4/21-22) seems to be intended to counter any sectarian interpretation of the ‘mystery’ given to the insiders in Mark 4/10-12. The purpose of the disclosure of God’s plan to the Twelve is, ultimately, so that it may be revealed and its light may be put on to a lampstand. Marks’ readers may well see in this a challenge to missionary activity. Living after the disclosure of the Kingdom in the death and the resurrection of Jesus, they are now summoned to bring it into the light, in confidence that all that has been hidden, will be revealed at the final judgement.

With the call to listen (Mark 4/23) the thrust of the saying shifts. The final two sayings (Mark 4/24-25) seem to maintain the atmosphere of threat and warning that we saw in the interpretation of the parable of the sower (Mark 4/13-20).

What can we draw from these obscure saying? Perhaps it is that we should never be afraid to speak of our Christian faith when the opportunity seems to offer itself though we must be careful not to thrust in on people. Elsewhere Jesus tells us that when the moment comes the Spirit of the Father will guide us. If we speak from the heart and with sincerity then others will surely listen to us even they are unable to accept what we say. The main thing is to open up a dialogue.

The second saying seems to be telling us that the more we give the more we receive and we know from experience that, even when we may not be repaid in material ways, we always gain by giving.

There are special readings for Thomas Aquinas though, almost certainly, the above readings will be used. Those for Thomas are :

Wisdom 7/7-10, 15-16

which extols the wisdom of God which is the greatest of God’s gifts and with which Thomas was so richly endowed.

Matthew 23/8-12  which reminds us that however great our earthly teachers may be our true teacher is Christ himself.

 

Friday January 29^th.  Friday in Week Three in Year One

 

Readings

Letter to the Hebrews 10/32-39     :     Mark 4/26-34

The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews in today’s reading reminds his readers of all the sufferings that they have already endured and how these sufferings have united them with those who are already in prison. More than that, he says, they have cheerfully forfeited their worldly belongings because they believe that they have something far greater than worldly goods . He encourages them to be confident and to continue to do what they know to be God’s will since their reward will be great. The writer goes on to affirm his faith that the ‘one who is coming will have come’ and meanwhile ‘the righteous person will live by faith’.

The writer acknowledges that it is not easy to keep faith, especially when, for them, the Lord seemed to be delaying his return. For us too, though we do not expect the imminent return of Christ, it is still difficult to keep faith and to hang on when things look bleak, especially at this time. We must have faith that all is in God’s hands and that ‘all will be well’, though, of course, we must still keep on working to bring about the Reign of God in our world now.

In the Gospel reading we have the last two parables in this set which Jesus gives to his followers.

The way in which the sower scatters his seed is even more random than in the previous parable (Mark 4/3) and the whole way in which the parable is couched suggests a sense of the unhurried passage of time, night and day as people thought of each day, the sower going to sleep, the seed sprouting and growing, the shoot, then the ear and then the full grain in the ear and then, when all is ready, the reaper begins to reap.

Again in the parable of the mustard seed the mysterious growth of the smallest of seeds  becoming the biggest shrub of them all where all the birds may shelter suggests slow and mysterious growth.

Both of these parables are about the way in which the Kingdom or Reign of God grows secretly and mysteriously until the time comes when the harvest will be ready or the birds of the air will all find a shelter in the bush. We cannot know how and where the Kingdom of God is being established, only God knows that but, as the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews said, we must keep faith and believe that, in spite of appearances, God is at work the hearts and minds of women and men of every faith and none, establishing the Reign of Love of which we, the Church, are called to be the sign.

Today we give thanks for that secret and mysterious activity of God, of which sometimes we catch a glimpse as during this Pandemic we have seen so much generosity and love ebing shown by so many and in ways which, normally, we might fail to notice.

 

Saturday January 30^th.  Saturday in Week Three in Year One.

 

Readings

Letter to the Hebrews 11/1-2, 8-19     :     Mark 4/35-41

Today in the extract from the Letter to the Hebrews the writer develops what he means by ‘faith’. It is important to remember that faith, both as the Church understands uit and as the writer explains is not believing a lot of things that seem impossible or unreasonable like the virgin birth. Faith is much more a matter of commitment and trust. When we say we have faith in someone, a friend or a partner, it doesn’t mean that we accept as true a lot of statements about them but ratherthat we trust them totally and without any ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’. Faith, the author says, is the assurance of things hped for and the conviction of things not seen’. We don’t read the whole of this chapter of the Letter in which the author gives several examples of of what he means by faith. We stop at Abraham and Sarah, two great examples of faith. Abraham set out in faith  and believed that god would be true to his promise when it came to his having a child even though both he and Sarah were advanced in age. The author then goes on to cite other examples of faith after Abraham which we don’t read.

For us this reading is very important because we are called to live by faith, to trust in the God who is love and to commit ourselves to him, even when all seems dark and impossible as we may feel at this time. Faith does not mean not having doubts. In the story Abraham would have had constant doubts surely. Had he made a mistake in setting out in the first place? Had he made a mistake in trusting that it would go well with elderly wife if she had a child, especially as the time of her delivery approached and so on? Faith is plodding on in spite of our doubts, journeying on even though everything seems dark and hopeless and that is certainly something we need in these dark days.

In view of this many modern manifestations of Catholicism would seem to be suspect. Visions of the Mother of God and messages from her, miracles of one kind or another, religious gimmicks that are bound to ensure results, all these and many more seem to run counter to what God is really asking of us, to have faith and to trust him, the God who is love and not to ask for signs and miracles as Jesus himself said. ThomasAquinas whom we remembered recently would have understood this since he laboured on in spite of great difficulties and physical ills.He was nicknamed an ox but the ox plods on under the yoke.                  

The Gospel reading gives us another example of faith when the disciples are struggling in the storm and Jesus is asleep and doesn’t seem to be bothered by the peril they believe themselves to be in. When they wake him he shows that he is in charge and stills the storm but he reproaches them that they failed to trust in him, to have faith in him.

We often feel that God is distant and doesn’t care about what goes on in our life and it is at these times that we are called to have faith and to trust in God in spite of everything and his apparent indifference. The story of the Jewish rabbi who survived the Holocaust and was asked later ‘Where was God when you and your fellow Jews were in the camp and being led into the Gas Chambers?’ to which he replied ‘He was with us’. That is the faith that we are called to have, that is what the Incarnation is all about, that even when God seems absent as he must have done when Abraham was trudging up Mount Moriah to sacrifice his only son Isaac upon whom all his hopes rested. God was there as he is with us, not someone outside controlling things like a puppet master and acting in our favour if we are good or say the right prayers. God is with us in all our joys and our sufferings, sharing them with us, never abandoning us, going down into the tomb with us and bringing us, eventually through death into life.

Today our prayer must be that of the Centurion ‘Lord, I believe, help my unbelief’.