Month: January 2020

Personal Romance

Today we remember St. Agnes, a martyr for the faith back in the 300s. She devoted her life to Christ, set apart for him alone, and thus she refused men who pursued her for marriage. Due to outrage at her refusal, she was killed for being a Christian. God protected her throughout her life, including the trials she faced before her martyrdom. God loved her perfectly, and He loves each of us perfectly.

The other day our parish priest said that Catholics everywhere would fall in love with Jesus truly if they realized the perfect love He has for us, how He is always waiting in the tabernacle for us. If we truly pray and meditate upon the love of God and what that really means, we would never be able to miss Mass or put other agendas as a higher priority than our relationship with Christ. This made me reflect upon my relationship with Christ even further and how if I am to follow Him truly, then He must become Lord of my life beyond the words I say – I must show this in my daily actions.

Do I attend a weekly holy hour? John Paul II, during his pontificate, asked that the Faithful attend a weekly holy hour. He would visit Jesus multiple times daily. This statement alone is so hard for me to picture. While I know he was pope and had the ability to visit Jesus often, his schedule was very busy, beyond many of the days I think I am busy. He would visit towns, and if there was an adoration chapel, he would pause his entire schedule to go make time to sit at the feet of Jesus in prayer.

Do we have a devotion to Christ, like St. Agnes, a true romance? Do we faithfully find time to spend with Jesus in our local parish each week (or even once a month)? My challenge to you and me is to find a time to go sit with Jesus this week. Even if we just sit with Him for five minutes, we will be joining in the mission to satisfy His thirst for souls. He longs for you and me – this is personal and not just a fluffy story. His love is real; just like His true presence in the Eucharist is real. Let us increase our devotion to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament more than we ever have.

“When you approach the tabernacle, remember that He has been waiting for you for twenty centuries.”
-St. Josemaria Escriva

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Nathalie Shultz is a joyful convert to the Catholic faith and a competitive swimmer with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).  She loves to share her passion for Catholicism with others, including her conversion story and how God continues to work miracles in her life through her OCD. She is the Director of Religious Education for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative of parishes. Nathalie is married to her best friend, Tommy Shultz. Her favorite saints include St. Peter the Apostle, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and St. John Paul II.  She is also a huge fan of C.S. Lewis. If you have any questions for Nathalie, or just want her to pray for you, you can email her at rodzinkaministry@gmail.com.

Memorial of Saint Agnes, virgin and martyr

Reading 1 1 Sm 16:1-13

The LORD said to Samuel:
“How long will you grieve for Saul,
whom I have rejected as king of Israel?
Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”
But Samuel replied:
“How can I go?
Saul will hear of it and kill me.”
To this the LORD answered:
“Take a heifer along and say,
‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do;
you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.”

Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him.
When he entered Bethlehem,
the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired,
“Is your visit peaceful, O seer?”
He replied:
“Yes!  I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.
So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet.”
He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves
and invited them to the sacrifice.
As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel,
who said, “The LORD has not chosen him.”
Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said,
“The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There–anoint him, for this is he!”  
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.

Responsorial Psalm 89:20, 21-22, 27-28

R.    (21a)  I  have found David, my servant.
Once you spoke in a vision,
and to your faithful ones you said:
“On a champion I have placed a crown;
over the people I have set a youth.”
R.    I  have found David, my servant.
“I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong.”
R.    I  have found David, my servant.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
And I will make him the first-born,
highest of the kings of the earth.”
R.    I  have found David, my servant.

Alleluia Eph Eph 1:17-18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to our call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 2:23-28

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

 

For the readings of the Memorial of Saint Agnes, please go here.

– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Mission in Life

It seems like I am always harping on my kids to listen to me. “Come down and eat your breakfast!” “Go put on your socks and shoes!” “Where’s the TV remote?” “Quit pushing your brother!” I give so many time outs for disobedience or “selective hearing” if that’s what you want to call it. There is always a reason, always an excuse. When it comes down to it, they simply don’t do what I ask them to or stall for roughly a month or two.

Samuel expresses his frustration with Saul in today’s First Reading for similar reasons. He didn’t obey the Lord’s command. Saul tries to explain it away by saying he did some of what the Lord asked, a portion of it, and then whines about how his army started misbehaving. Well, just like putting on one sock instead of two really isn’t obeying, Saul really didn’t obey, and God decided it was time for someone else to rule.

We truly are blessed abundantly when we walk alongside the Lord. Saul was given the privilege of ruling as long as he obeyed. Once he disobeyed, that privilege was taken away. Most of the time, when I tell my kids to put their socks and shoes on, it’s because I am going to take them someplace fun. When they listen, they have the privilege of going with me.

Just as Samuel told Saul, “The Lord anointed you the king of Israel and sent you on a mission,” we have also been anointed by the Lord in baptism and given a mission in life. The great majority of us are not kings or rulers or even CEO’s, but we do have a mission. Perhaps for some, their mission is more clear, like those called to the priesthood or religious life, but for others, we struggle to realize what that mission is.

Maybe we can draw some direction from the Gospel and seek to pour new wine into fresh wineskins. Yes, we can be a font of renewal, a breath of fresh air, a positive voice in this negative world. We can care, engage, share, listen, and love. We can attempt to be that upright person the Psalmist speaks of in order to see and spread the saving power of God. Through obedience to Him, we can truly be the face of Christ to all we meet.

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Tami grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling home improvement projects, finding fun ways to keep her four boys occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works at Diocesan, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for almost 20 years.

Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 Sm 15:16-23

Samuel said to Saul:
“Stop! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”
Saul replied, “Speak!”
Samuel then said: “Though little in your own esteem,
are you not leader of the tribes of Israel?
The LORD anointed you king of Israel and sent you on a mission, saying,
‘Go and put the sinful Amalekites under a ban of destruction.
Fight against them until you have exterminated them.’
Why then have you disobeyed the LORD?
You have pounced on the spoil, thus displeasing the LORD.”
Saul answered Samuel:  “I did indeed obey the LORD
and fulfill the mission on which the LORD sent me.
I have brought back Agag, and I have destroyed Amalek under the ban.
But from the spoil the men took sheep and oxen,
the best of what had been banned,
to sacrifice to the LORD their God in Gilgal.”
But Samuel said:
“Does the LORD so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as in obedience to the command of the LORD?
Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission than the fat of rams.
For a sin like divination is rebellion,
and presumption is the crime of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the command of the LORD,
he, too, has rejected you as ruler.”

Responsorial Psalm 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23

R.    (23b)  To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R.    To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R.    To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R.    To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Alleluia Hb 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 2:18-22

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.
People came to Jesus and objected,
“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
 but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them,
“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on that day.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”

 

For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Fabian, please go here.

For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Sebastian, please go here.

– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.