St. Gerard, who, like the Savior, loved children so tenderly and by your prayers freed many from disease and even death, listen to us who are pleading for our sick child. We thank God for the great gift of our son (daughter) and ask him to restore our child to health if such be his holy will. This favor, we beg of you through your love for all children and mothers. Amen.
Author: WebDept ParishAdmin
Weathering the Storms with God
As we come to the end of this Christmas season, the readings today remind us of the Good News the season brings. The news of the birth of a Savior; the news that God loves us so much that He Himself became man in order to save us from our sins; the news that there is indeed hope for eternal life with our Maker!
Despite the overwhelmingly good news of the Christmas season, we may not feel as though all is good. We will still weather storms. In fact, many of us may have weathered brutal storms during the Christmas season. Today’s readings remind us that no matter what storms we face, God is with us and He loves us.
In today’s Gospel we hear the story of Jesus walking on water during a storm. He sees the disciples in a boat on the stormy sea and walks toward them intending to pass them by. However when the disciples see Christ walking on water, they fear He is a ghost and call out to Him. His response is “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid”. In the midst of their storm, the disciples did not recognize the love of Christ Himself enveloping them and ensuring their safety. Seeing their fear, Christ enters the boat with the disciples and He calms the storm. How often do we, in the midst of our own struggles and storms, fail to recognize Christ’s presence and love? Do we invite Him into our boat and ask him to calm our storms? In the First Reading, John tells us that “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him….there is no fear in love but perfect love drives out fear.” When we fully allow God into our lives and give Him control, we have nothing to fear because His love will drive out that fear.
Of course, that’s much easier said than done. It seems to be an impossible task to place our full and unconditional trust in God and allow Him to take control of those things we cling to so closely. Perhaps we can begin by praying to Him in the small storms and that way when the big storms come, and the big storms will come, we will know exactly where to go because we will recognize God’s immense love for us.
May we follow the example of St. André Bessette who said “There is so little distance between heaven and earth that God always hears us. Nothing but a thin veil separates us from God.”
Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.
Feature Image Credit: GDJ,https://pixabay.com/vectors/jesus-christ-miracle-5000359/
St. Andre Bessette: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, January 06, 2021
When Alfred Bessette came to the Holy Cross Brothers in 1870, he carried with him a note from his pastor saying, “I am sending you a saint.” The Brothers found that difficult to believe. Chronic stomach pains had made it impossible for Alfred to hold a job very long and since he was a boy he had wandered from shop to shop, farm to farm, in his native Canada and in the United States, staying only until his employers found out how little work he could do. The Holy Cross Brothers were teachers …
Holy Guardian Angels : Prayer of the Day for Wednesday, January 06, 2021
Dear Angel at my side, my good and loyal friend, you have been with me since the moment I was born. You are my own personal guardian, given me by God as my guide and protector, and you will stay with me till I die. He who created you and me gave me to you as your particular charge. You assisted in great joy at my baptism, when I became part of the Mystical Body of Christ, and was made a member of the household of God and an heir of heaven. You saw the dangers that beset my path, and, if I …
Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop
- Readings for the [In the Dioceses of the United States]
Reading I 1 Jn 4:7-10
Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only-begotten Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Responsorial Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4, 7-8
R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The mountains shall yield peace for the people,
and the hills justice.
He shall defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Alleluia Lk 4:18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor
and to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mk 6:34-44
When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already very late.
Dismiss them so that they can go
to the surrounding farms and villages
and buy themselves something to eat.”
He said to them in reply,
“Give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food
and give it to them to eat?”
He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
And when they had found out they said,
“Five loaves and two fish.”
So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.
Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples
to set before the people;
he also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments
and what was left of the fish.
Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men.
– – –
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.
God’s Providence
“They were like sheep without a shepherd.”
When sheep do not have the boundaries of a field fence, or the guidance of a shepherd to direct them, they wander and range without concern or care. They follow their nose, looking for food, not noticing if they are near a cliff or a bunch of bramble.
As broken human beings, we struggle to keep ourselves oriented toward our Creator. We wander and waver, following a path for no other reason than that it was under our feet. We seek out things the world tells us are good, even if they lead us close to cliffs and gnarly undergrowth.
Jesus and his disciples had just disembarked from a boat they used to escape to a deserted place to rest and recover after much preaching and healing. But the people, who had found in Jesus something attractive, something real, someone to follow, came after them. Jesus observes them coming into this deserted place as sheep would, no plans or preparations, they were just following the trail of something good.
Rather than send them back, Jesus takes pity on them and begins to preach. We all know this story well. The people have no food, the disciples find a few simple loaves and fish, Jesus blesses them and the miracle occurs. This passage from Mark, and its counterparts in the other three Gospels, have been the source of much biblical and theological scholarship. Usually the focus is on the Eucharistic element of the breaking of the bread and the community sharing in the miracle.
Branching off from that point, I would like to turn your attention to the deserted area the people came to. They were drawn by Christ’s presence there, led by His previous teachings and hungering for more. They came without a plan, not knowing what they would hear or do next. They simply came. And when they were hungry, they turned to Jesus and his disciples with trust and expectation.
This simple faith is all that Jesus needs to work miracles in our lives. We are constantly being called by Jesus to come follow Him. However, He doesn’t always tell us where we are going, who will be coming with us, what we should bring and what we ought to leave behind. He asks us to trust in God’s Providence to provide for our needs. No matter where we are led, God will provide for us, perhaps in ways we do not expect. No one would have ever expected the gift of the Eucharist, yet this Sacrament of Sacraments has sustained the Church through good and bad, through arid deserts and flourishing community.
We may be like sheep, but we do have a Shepherd, if we choose to follow Him.
Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.
Feature Image Credit: LoggaWiggler, https://pixabay.com/photos/wadi-rum-negev-negev-desert-jordan-3030/
St. John Neumann: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, January 05, 2021
This American saint was born in Bohemia in 1811. He was looking forward to being ordained in 1835 when the bishop decided there would be no more ordinations. It is difficult for us to imagine now, but Bohemia was overstocked with priests. John wrote to bishops all over Europe but the story was the same everywhere no one wanted any more priests. John was sure he was called to be a priest but all the doors to follow that vocation seemed to close in his face. But John didn’t give up. He had …
Prayer Before Surgery: Prayer of the Day for Tuesday, January 05, 2021
Loving Father, I entrust myself to your care this day; guide with wisdom and skill the minds and hands of the medical people who minister in your Name, and grant that every cause of illness be removed, I may be restored to soundness of health and learn to live in more perfect harmony with you and with those around me. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Into your hands, I commend my body and my soul. Amen.
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious
Reading I 1 Jn 3:22–4:6
Beloved:
We receive from him whatever we ask,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this:
we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,
and the way we know that he remains in us
is from the Spirit whom he gave us.
Beloved, do not trust every spirit
but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God,
because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
This is how you can know the Spirit of God:
every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh
belongs to God,
and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus
does not belong to God.
This is the spirit of the antichrist
who, as you heard, is to come,
but in fact is already in the world.
You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them,
for the one who is in you
is greater than the one who is in the world.
They belong to the world;
accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world,
and the world listens to them.
We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us,
while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us.
This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.
Responsorial Psalm 2:7bc-8, 10-12a
R. (8ab) I will give you all the nations for an inheritance.
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
this day I have begotten you.
Ask of me and I will give you
the nations for an inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.”
R. I will give you all the nations for an inheritance.
And now, O kings, give heed;
take warning, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
with trembling rejoice.
R. I will give you all the nations for an inheritance.
Alleluia See Mt 4:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mt 4:12-17, 23-25
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
His fame spread to all of Syria,
and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases
and racked with pain,
those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics,
and he cured them.
And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea,
and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
– – –
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.
Repentance and Trust
The arrest of St. John the Baptist marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. St. John the Baptist’s arrest was heartbreaking for Jesus. This was His relative and childhood friend. We can recall the powerful Gospel story when St. John leapt in the womb of Elizabeth when meeting Jesus. St. John would later grow up to become the voice crying out in the desert to prepare the way for the Messiah, and his arrest set Jesus’ public ministry into motion.
St. John the Baptist chose to live a life with few physical possessions, in the harsh desert. Jesus, on the other hand, would begin His ministry in a land full of water and beauty. In this Gospel, Jesus traveled to Capernaum to start His ministry. Capernaum is the land where life bloomed, blossomed, and there was water! There is a vast difference between Capernaum by the sea and the lifeless desert. Jesus went to the land of water and life to begin his ministry and in many ways taught us that He is the way, the truth, and the life.
In the Gospel today, Jesus says, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And the words of Isaiah are also inserted: “The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light.” Jesus desires to free us from our darkness. Sin blocks, clouds, and distorts our perspective, and yet the darkness of the world cannot blot out the light of Christ.
How do we allow the light of Christ into our hearts? Jesus is clear in this Gospel that we need to repent of our past sins and seek the Kingdom of God. Notice that Jesus takes the initiative to allow us to trust Him. This Gospel passage states that “He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.” We should not be discouraged from our past, but rather trust Jesus and be healed.
Emily Jaminet is a Catholic author, speaker, radio personality, wife, and mother of seven children. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mental health and human services from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is the co-founder of www.inspirethefaith.com and the Executive Director of The Sacred Heart Enthronement Network www.WelcomeHisHeart.com. She has co-authored several Catholic books and her next one, Secrets of the Sacred Heart: Claiming Jesus’ Twelve Promises in Your Life, comes out in Oct. 2020. Emily serves on the board of the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference, contributes to Relevant Radio and Catholic Mom.com.
Feature Image Credit: ferchu1965, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/4391-paisaje-marino