Almighty and loving Father, I thank you for giving St. Gerard to us as a most appealing model and powerful friend. By his example, he showed us how to love and trust you. You have showered many blessings on those who call upon him. For your greater glory and my welfare, please grant me the favors which I ask in his name.
(Here mention them privately)
And you, my powerful patron, intercede for me before the throne of God. Draw near to that throne and do not leave it until you have been heard. …
Month: February 2022
Kings and Commoners
Today’s readings offer us something that we in this current age of television, movies and mystery novels are pretty familiar with — the flashback. In the First Reading, Sirach flashes back to the glory of King David hundreds of years before the writer of Sirach picked up his pen. In the Gospel of Mark, King Herod flashes back to his own killing of John the Baptist as he tries to figure out who this Jesus is that he is hearing about. Two kings — David and Herod — two flashbacks, at least two very interesting lessons for us today.
Not that many days ago, our daily readings told us about David’s big sins, the taking of Uriah’s wife and the sending of Uriah to die in battle, and the prophet Nathan confronting him with the truth. Adultery and murder, of course, are Ten Commandment-level bad, yet Sirach hails him as Israel’s greatest, “like the choice fat of the sacred offerings.” Numerous great things are attributed to David, things previously chronicled in the books of Samuel. Perhaps the most important for our purposes is that “With his every deed he offered thanks to God Most High, in words of praise” and “With his whole being he loved his Maker and daily had his praises sung.” Sirach admits David was not perfect, because “The Lord forgave him his sins.”
Sirach reminds us that kings can be just like the rest of us, sinful and in need of forgiveness. And David reminds us of what we need to do: to love God with our whole being, to thank and praise Him always, to repent of our sins and turn to God’s mercy.
And then there’s Herod. Mark reminds us that kings can be just like the rest of us, refusing to see the wrongs we have done, committed to our own pride instead of the will of God. Herod had John arrested because he didn’t like the truth John told him; he killed John to impress others. And when he heard of Jesus, he couldn’t comprehend that there would be one ever greater, one whom John wasn’t fit to untie His sandal straps. Instead of trying to hear the Lord’s message, he dismissed it as some sort of supernatural hocus-pocus.
Sirach’s flashback shows us that God can forgive our sins and exalt us when we repent and love, serve and praise Him. Mark’s flashback shows us that it is up to us to want God’s forgiveness and love. If we only focus on ourselves and reject our Lord’s most loving gift, we waste that most precious love of our own accord.
Today’s Responsorial Psalm wraps it all up very nicely. The psalmist tells us “God’s way is unerring” and “He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.” Once again, it comes down to this: God, who doesn’t need us in the slightest, wants a relationship with us. He wants to be our God if we will be his people. And I know God knows it’s hard for us to overcome ourselves, but His love and grace are freely given to all who sincerely call on His name. He is more than willing to transform us commoners into kings after His own heart.
Mike Karpus is a regular guy. He grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, graduated from Michigan State University and works as an editor. He is married to a Catholic school principal, raised two daughters who became Catholic school teachers at points in their careers, and now relishes his two grandchildren, including the 3-year-old who teaches him what the colors of Father’s chasubles mean. He has served on a Catholic School board, a pastoral council and a parish stewardship committee. He currently is a lector at Mass, a Knight of Columbus, Adult Faith Formation Committee member and a board member of the local Habitat for Humanity organization. But mostly he’s a regular guy.
Feature Image Credit: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1578925518470-4def7a0f08bb?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1471&q=80
St. Joan of Valois: Saint of the Day for Friday, February 04, 2022
Joan of Valois, 1464 – 1505, was the second daughter of Louis X1, King of France, and Charlotte of Savoy, She was born on April 23, 1464. At the ge of two months she was betrothed to Louis, Duke of Orleans, and the marriage took place in 1476. There is no doubt that it was invalid, for Louis of Orleans married her in fear of his life if he did not comply with the king’s orders to do so. Joan was by no means a prepossessing figure: she was hunch-backed, lame and …
A Prayer for Church Unity: Prayer of the Day for Friday, February 04, 2022
Almighty and eternal God,
You have promised that there will someday be but one fold and one Shepherd.
Hasten that day, we pray You,
in Your most merciful kindness and generosity.
Pour the light of Your grace
into the minds of our non-Catholic friends
so that they may see the truth,
and fully realize that the truth is one and undivided.
Give them also the strength of will
needed to follow in the direction of the light You give them.
Let us, their neighbors and …
Memorial of St. Blaise: There’s a Saint for Everyone and Everything
Today is the Memorial of St. Blaise. St. Blaise was the Bishop of Sebastia in Armenia, which is a city located midway between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Blaise lived during the early fourth century, and while Christianity was tolerated in Armenia, he and other Christians suffered tremendous persecution.
Under threat of death, Blaise was forced from his episcopal seat into hiding and solitude in the wilderness. When he was eventually discovered praying in his cave, he was hauled off to prison. As the story goes, while Blaise was in prison a mother and her son visited him. The child had a fish bone lodged in his throat, but at Blaise’s command, the child was able to expel the bone and received healing.
Blaise was eventually challenged by the local Roman governor to renounce Christianity and faith in Jesus. When he refused, he was tortured, hung from a tree, and eventually beheaded. Some of the lore surrounding St. Blaise is that he was tortured and flayed with the pins from a wool comb, which as it sounds, is a special comb used on animal wool as it is prepared for use in fabrics.
As a Christian devotion, Blaise embodied the verse, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13). Blaise died for his faith in Jesus and gave witness to those whom he served as bishop. In this way, we honor his sacrifice today.
As a particular devotion, today we honor and remember Blaise as patron for those suffering from illnesses of the throat and the patron of wool combers. No ailment is too small for a particular intercessor. No profession is too specific for a particular intercessor.
Our Church has a patron, intercessor or devotional for practically every aspect of life. The abundance of intercessors should remind us that all aspects of our lives should be prayed over and oriented toward sanctification. Think of an aspect of your life that makes you unique: your profession, interests, appearance, or geography. There’s a particular intercessor for you. Take some time today to find out who a specific intercessor may be for your life.
Today especially though, let us also pray for those who are being persecuted for their Christian faith, for those suffering from throat ailments, and for those who still comb sheep. St. Blaise, pray for us!
Elizabeth Tomlin is the author of Joyful Momentum: Building and Sustaining Vibrant Women’s Groups and contributing author to the Ave Prayer Book for Catholic Mothers. She is General Counsel for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Elizabeth is an Army wife and mother of three and currently lives in the DC area. She blogs at JoyfulMomentum.org or @elizabethannetomlin on social media.
Feature Image Credit: ulleo, https://pixabay.com/photos/parish-church-of-st-blaise-fulda-2892750/
St. Blaise: Saint of the Day for Thursday, February 03, 2022
Saint Blaise was the bishop of Sebastea and a doctor. The first known record of the saint’s life comes from the medical writings of AĂ«tius Amidenus, where he is recorded as helping with patients suffering from objects stuck in their throat. Many of the miraculous aspects of St. BlaiseÂ?s life are written of 400 years after his martyrdom in the Â?Acts of St. Blaise.Â?
Saint Blaise is believed to begin as a healer then, eventually, became a “physician of souls.” He then retired to a cave, where he …
For Healing: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, February 03, 2022
Lord, You invite all who are burdened to come to You. Allow your healing hand to heal me. Touch my soul with Your compassion for others. Touch my heart with Your courage and infinite love for all. Touch my mind with Your wisdom, that my mouth may always proclaim Your praise. Teach me to reach out to You in my need, and help me to lead others to You by my example. Most loving Heart of Jesus, bring me health in body and spirit that I may serve You with all my strength. Touch gently this life …
Healing in His Wings
“Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Where in your life is Jesus speaking that to you? With this freedom from fear, let’s take a look at today’s readings. The main theme today is feeling a parent’s heartbreak over their child. Regardless of where you personally stand in that scenario, parent or child, these stories are relevant to us all. We have the opportunity to open our hearts and see our lives reflected in these stories. But before we continue, I think it is important to address why we might put ourselves in them. In the book of Revelations, we hear that “the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy” (Rev 19:10). What does that mean for you and me? In short, this testimony of what Jesus did in their lives breathes prophetic truth into our lives, into my life. In fact, that is why our Scriptures are, “alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12) as the Holy Spirit connects our lives to the story of salvation, God stirs faith in our hearts that He can do in my life what He did then. I encourage you to read on with the simple truth that Jesus loved these people, healed these people, and this is their testimony. He did it for them, so He can do it for you and me.
The First Reading is the end of a tragic story in the later years of David. We know this because of two main reasons: his son is old enough to have started a revolt against him, and his army has asked him not to fight. This part of the story has always brought me to tears. Every time that I read, “He said as he wept, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!” I hear the heart cry of my heavenly Father over me for the times I chose fear, sin, and rebellion.
The Gospel opens with a man begging Jesus to heal his daughter and shortly after, we hear that his daughter is not just sick but dead. This makes healing problematic, it’s one thing to heal disease, but another to bring someone back from the dead. But how does Jesus respond, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” A woman who had suffered for twelve years with hemorrhages came onto the scene. But she should not have. Her culture, and in fact her religion, forbid her from being near or making contact with healthy people since she was bleeding and that made her unclean, it made her isolated. Yet she had the courage to say, “if I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” She had that faith even after twelve years of isolation and suffering. She wasn’t just cured and remained hidden from Jesus, she was recognized and known. She was publicly brought back into the community and called ‘daughter’ by God.
But do not worry, Jesus did not say, ‘I used my one miracle for today, that’s all you people get.’ He traveled on to Jairus’s house, the man whose daughter had just died. We get to see a stark contrast between the woman who was named daughter and the family that ridicules Jesus. But He did not give up but rather sent them away. They lost their chance to witness the girl being brought back to life. It makes me wonder, how many times have I been filled with doubt and was not allowed to witness a miracle happen in my life.
I want to leave you with one last thought on these readings: God shows that He knows and walks with us in our pain and He wants to bless us. He wants to reaffirm that we are His children, even when we rebel, even when we are the outcast. May Jesus bless you!
Featured Image Credit: pelau, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/4472-solo-tocando-manto-sere-sanada
Arthur Richardson is married to his wonderful wife, Gabby Richardson. They will be married for two years this January! Most of his work experience is in ministry. He was a retreat missionary in Wisconsin for two years and a youth minister for three years. He is now the Web Project Manager here at Diocesan, and loves it!
St. Joan de Lestonnac: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, February 02, 2022
St. Joan de Lestonnac was born in Bordeaux, France, in 1556. She married at the age of seventeen. The happy marriage produced four children, but her husband died suddenly in 1597. After her children were raised, she entered the Cistercian monastery at Toulouse. Joan was forced to leave the Cistercians when she became afflicted with poor health. She returned to Bordeaux with the idea of forming a new congregation, and several young girls joined her as novices. They ministered to victims of a …
Blessing of Grapes: Prayer of the Day for Wednesday, February 02, 2022
Bless, O Lord, these new fruits of the vine which Thou hast brought to maturity by the dew of heaven, by plentiful rains, and by tranquil and favorable weather. Thou hast given us this fruit for our use that we may receive it with thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.