Ghost Writer, Holy

Wednesday 2/1/23

Readings: Heb 12:4-7, 11-15; Ps 103:1-2, 13-14, 17-18a; Mk 6:1-6

Title: “Whom the Lord Loves, He Disciplines”

This passage from Hebrews 12 (Heb 12:4-7, 11-15) is immensely important. It discusses the crucial component of the discipline of the Lord. We can find similar passages in Proverbs and Revelation: “The discipline of the Lord, my son, do not spurn; do not disdain his reproof; For whom the Lord loves he reproves, as a father, the son he favors” (Prov 3:11-12); “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates reproof is stupid” (Prov 12:1);“A wise son loves correction, but the scoffer heeds no rebuke” (Prov 13:1); “Whoever spares the rod hates the child, but whoever loves will apply discipline” (Prov 13:24); and, “Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent” (Rev 3:19). This idea of discipline has little to do with punishment, despite the close association of these words, and much to do with teaching, correction, molding and shaping, and instruction. If we are to conform to Christ (cf. Rom 12:1-2; cf. Phil 3:17-21), and bend our wills to fit God’s will, this is done by discipline.

This discipline is a necessary part, not only of religious formation, but also of growing up, and becoming a responsible, reliable, and mature human person (cf. 1 Cor 3:1-4; cf. Phil 3:12-16; cf. Heb 5:11-14). The discipline of the Lord entailed for religious formation is of a particular type and spiritual sort, just as there are many types of disciplines and fields for learning and growth of any sort. This discipline is training. As this passage states, “At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it” (Heb 12:11). Just as we train our children, and train our pets, and a coach trains athletes (cf. 1 Cor 9:24-27), and a teacher trains students, so too does God train His children. This warning may seem harsh, but it is also true: “Endure your trials as ‘discipline’; God treats you as sons. For what ‘son’ is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards” (Heb 12:7-8).

We know that we do God’s will, when we do His and not our own (cf. Matt 6:10; cf. Matt 12:46-50; cf. Matt 26:39, 42, 44; cf. Luke 11:28; cf. Rom 12:1-2). This seems obvious, but it follows, that we know we are God’s children, when we are trained and disciplined to act like Him, and not ourselves, and when we conform to His will, and not our own (cf. John 5:19-30). This teaching about the discipline of the Lord has much to do with not being hypocritical in our beliefs. For it is not enough that we believe in God (cf. James 2:19-20), and the truths presented to us by the Church and God’s Holy Spirit—we also need to act like it. We must show our love not in words only, “but in deeds and truth” (1 John 3:18).

And so, in contemplating how, as we know from James 2, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26; cf. James 2:14-26; cf. 1 John 3:16-18), we can perhaps begin to understand why this discipline of the Lord is so necessary. This training and discipline provides the instruction and correction we need to become as true Christians and children of God. For in the frailty of our human nature, we cannot adhere perfectly to God’s grace without much effort, instruction, and training in the virtues, right behavior, and right belief. As we wish to conform to Christ’s example, which He has given us to follow (cf. John 13:15-17), this will be painful, difficult, and require the denial of self (cf. Matt 10:37-39; cf. Matt 16:24-28) and mortification of the will. It will be as if nailing our sinful flesh to the cross (cf. Col 2:9-15) to conform our souls, by humility, faith, and obedience, to the cruciform shape Jesus has laid out for us, as our cookie cutter and mold on the path of true religion.

We must conform to Christ, by God’s correction and discipline, and so it is one hundred percent crucially necessary that we accept human instructors as vessels of God’s teaching (cf. 2 Sam 7:14-17; cf. Gal 6:6; cf. 1 Tim 4:6-16; cf. 1 Tim 6:1-10; cf. 2 Tim 2:14-26; cf. 2 Tim 3:10-17; cf. 2 Tim 4:1-5; cf. Titus 1:9-16), as well as the teaching of God Himself (cf. Isa 30:18-21; cf. Isa 54:13; cf. Jer 31:31-34; cf. Ezek 36:25-28; cf. John 6:45-51; cf. 1 Cor 2) through His Holy Spirit (cf. John 14:25-31; cf. John 16:13-15), in our souls and in the magisterium of the Church. Through God and our fellow humankind, we can receive true instruction in the Faith, and so we must be very diligent and careful to “not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges” (Heb 12:5-6; cf. Prov 3:11-12). Let us be children of God (cf. Rom 8:14-17), and “suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom 8:17). For by living rightly, we glorify God, and in the unity of Jesus’ divine and human natures, we wish to be one (cf. John 17:20-26) with the God whom we glorify, as well. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. 2 Samuel 7:8-17

⁸Now then, speak thus to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts:^[a] I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to become ruler over my people Israel. ⁹I was with you wherever you went, and I cut down all your enemies before you. And I will make your name like that of the greatest on earth. ¹⁰I will assign a place for my people Israel and I will plant them in it to dwell there; they will never again be disturbed, nor shall the wicked ever again oppress them, as they did at the beginning, ¹¹and from the day when I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you: ¹²when your days have been completed and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, sprung from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³He it is^[b] who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. ¹⁴I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. If he does wrong, I will reprove him with a human rod and with human punishments; ¹⁵but I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from Saul who was before you. ¹⁶Your house and your kingdom are firm forever before me; your throne shall be firmly established forever.^[c] ¹⁷In accordance with all these words and this whole vision Nathan spoke to David.

2. Psalm 103:1-2, 13-14, 17-18

¹Of David.

Bless the Lord, my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name!
²Bless the Lord, my soul;
and do not forget all his gifts,

¹³As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
¹⁴For he knows how we are formed,
    remembers that we are dust.
¹⁷But the Lord’s mercy is from age to age,
    toward those who fear him.
His salvation is for the children’s children
¹⁸    of those who keep his covenant,
    and remember to carry out his precepts.

3. Proverbs 3:1-12

¹My son, do not forget^[b] my teaching,
    take to heart my commands;
²For many days, and years of life,
    and peace, will they bring you.
³Do not let love and fidelity forsake you;
    bind them around your neck;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴Then will you win favor and esteem
    before God and human beings.
⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    on your own intelligence do not rely;
⁶In all your ways be mindful of him,
    and he will make straight your paths.
⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes,
    fear the Lord and turn away from evil;
⁸This will mean health for your flesh
    and vigor for your bones.
⁹Honor the Lord with your wealth,
    with first fruits of all your produce;
¹⁰Then will your barns be filled with plenty,
    with new wine your vats will overflow.
¹¹The discipline of the Lord, my son, do not spurn;
    do not disdain his reproof;
^12 [c]For whom the Lord loves he reproves,
    as a father, the son he favors.

4. Proverbs 12:1

¹Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but whoever hates reproof is stupid.

5. Proverbs 13:1, 23-25

¹A wise son loves correction,
but the scoffer heeds no rebuke.^[a]

²³The tillage of the poor yields abundant food,
    but possessions are swept away for lack of justice.^[l]
²⁴Whoever spares the rod hates the child,
    but whoever loves will apply discipline.
²⁵When the just eat, their hunger is appeased;
    but the belly of the wicked suffers want.

6. Isaiah 30:18-21

¹⁸Truly, the Lord is waiting to be gracious to you,
    truly, he shall rise to show you mercy;
For the Lord is a God of justice:
    happy are all who wait for him!
¹⁹Yes, people of Zion, dwelling in Jerusalem,
    you shall no longer weep;
He will be most gracious to you when you cry out;
    as soon as he hears he will answer you.
²⁰The Lord will give you bread in adversity
    and water in affliction.
No longer will your Teacher^[h] hide himself,
    but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
²¹And your ears shall hear a word behind you:
    “This is the way; walk in it,”
    when you would turn to the right or the left.

7. Isaiah 54:13

¹³All your children shall be taught by the Lord;
great shall be the peace of your children.

8. Jeremiah 31:31-34

³¹See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, though I was their master—oracle of the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days—oracle of the Lord. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴They will no longer teach their friends and relatives, “Know the Lord!” Everyone, from least to greatest, shall know me—oracle of the Lord—for I will forgive their iniquity and no longer remember their sin.

9. Ezekiel 36:25-28

^25 [c]I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them. ²⁸You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

10. Matthew 6:9-13

^9 [e]“This is how you are to pray:

Our Father in heaven,^[f]
    hallowed be your name,
¹⁰    your kingdom come,^[g]
    your will be done,
        on earth as in heaven.
¹¹    ^[h]Give us today our daily bread;
¹²    and forgive us our debts,^[i]
        as we forgive our debtors;
¹³    and do not subject us to the final test,^[j]
        but deliver us from the evil one.

11. Matthew 10:37-39

³⁷“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up his cross^[o] and follow after me is not worthy of me. ^39 [p]Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

12. Matthew 12:46-50

⁴⁶While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. ⁴⁷[Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.”]^[ag] ⁴⁸But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

13. Matthew 16:24-28

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,^[t] take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.^[u] ²⁶What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? ^27 [v]For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ^28 [w]Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

14. Matthew 26:36-46

^36 [u]Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane,^[v] and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,^[w] and began to feel sorrow and distress. ³⁸Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death.^[x] Remain here and keep watch with me.” ³⁹He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, “My Father,^[y] if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.” ⁴⁰When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? ⁴¹Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.^[z] The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ^42 [aa]Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, “My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!” ⁴³Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open. ⁴⁴He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again. ⁴⁵Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. ⁴⁶Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand.”

15. Mark 6:1-6

¹He departed from there and came to his native place,^[a] accompanied by his disciples. ^2 [b]When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! ³Is he not the carpenter,^[c] the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. ^4 [d]Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” ⁵So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,^[e] apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. ⁶He was amazed at their lack of faith.

16. Luke 11:27-28

²⁷While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” ²⁸He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

17. John 5:19-30

^19 [h]Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also. ²⁰For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. ²¹For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,^[i] so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. ²²Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment^[j] to his Son, ²³so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. ²⁵Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself. ²⁷And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ^28 [k]Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.

³⁰“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

18. John 6:45-51

⁴⁵It is written in the prophets:

‘They shall all be taught by God.’

Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. ⁴⁶Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; ⁵⁰this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

19. John 13:12-20

¹²So when he had washed their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? ¹³You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. ¹⁴If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. ¹⁶Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger^[g] greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. ¹⁸I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so that the scripture might be fulfilled, ‘The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me.’ ¹⁹From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. ²⁰Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

20. John 14:25-31

²⁵“I have told you this while I am with you. ²⁶The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you. ²⁷Peace^[l] I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. ^28 [m]You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. ³⁰I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world^[n] is coming. He has no power over me, ³¹but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go.

21. John 16:12-15

¹²“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. ^13 [e]But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. ¹⁴He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.

22. John 17:20-26

²⁰“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. ²²And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am^[g] they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. ²⁶I made known to them your name and I will make it known,^[h] that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

23. Romans 8:14-17

¹⁴For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba,^[c] Father!” ¹⁶The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

24. Romans 12:1-2

^1 [b]I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. ²Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

25. 1 Corinthians 2

¹When I came to you, brothers, proclaiming the mystery of God,^[a] I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. ²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. ³I came to you in weakness^[b] and fear and much trembling, ⁴and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive [words of] wisdom,^[c] but with a demonstration of spirit and power, ⁵so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

⁶Yet we do speak a wisdom to those who are mature, but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. ⁷Rather, we speak God’s wisdom,^[e] mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, ⁸and which none of the rulers of this age^[f] knew; for, if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹But as it is written:

“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,”

¹⁰this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. ¹¹Among human beings, who knows what pertains to a person except the spirit of the person that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. ¹²We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.

¹⁴Now the natural person^[h] does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually. ¹⁵The spiritual person, however, can judge everything but is not subject to judgment^[i] by anyone.

¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

26. 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

^1 [a]Brothers, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people,^[b] as infants in Christ. ²I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, ³for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you,^[c] are you not of the flesh and behaving in an ordinary human way? ⁴Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?

27. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

^24 [h]Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. ²⁵Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. ²⁶Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. ²⁷No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

28. Galatians 6:6-10

⁶One who is being instructed in the word should share all good things with his instructor.^[d] ⁷Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows, ⁸because the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. ⁹Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. ¹⁰So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all, but especially to those who belong to the family of the faith.

29. Philippians 3:12-21

¹²It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity,^[i] but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]. ¹³Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵Let us, then, who are “perfectly mature” adopt this attitude. And if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you. ¹⁶Only, with regard to what we have attained, continue on the same course.

¹⁷Join with others in being imitators of me,^[l] brothers, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us. ¹⁸For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things. ²⁰But our citizenship^[m] is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.

30. Colossians 2:9-15

⁹For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity^[d] bodily, ¹⁰and you share in this fullness in him, who is the head of every principality and power. ¹¹In him^[e] you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand, by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ. ¹²You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³And even when you were dead [in] transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; ^14 [f]obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross; ¹⁵despoiling the principalities and the powers, he made a public spectacle of them, leading them away in triumph by it.

31. 1 Timothy 4:6-16

³⁰“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

^11 [e]Command and teach these things. ¹²Let no one have contempt for your youth,^[f] but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. ¹³Until I arrive, attend to the reading,^[g] exhortation, and teaching. ¹⁴Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word^[h] with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate. ¹⁵Be diligent in these matters, be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to everyone. ¹⁶Attend to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in both tasks, for by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

32. 1 Timothy 6:1-10

^1 [a]Those who are under the yoke of slavery must regard their masters as worthy of full respect, so that the name of God and our teaching^[b] may not suffer abuse. ²Those whose masters are believers must not take advantage of them because they are brothers but must give better service because those who will profit from their work are believers and are beloved.

Teach and urge these things.^[c] ³Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching ⁴is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes. From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, ⁵and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, who are deprived of the truth, supposing religion to be a means of gain. ^6 [d]Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. ⁸If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. ⁹Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.

33. 2 Timothy 2:14-26

^14 [c]Remind people of these things and charge them before God^[d] to stop disputing about words. This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen. ¹⁵Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without deviation. ¹⁶Avoid profane, idle talk, for such people will become more and more godless, ¹⁷and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸who have deviated from the truth by saying that [the] resurrection has already taken place and are upsetting the faith of some. ¹⁹Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands, bearing this inscription, “The Lord knows those who are his”; and, “Let everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord avoid evil.”

²⁰In a large household there are vessels not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for lofty and others for humble use. ²¹If anyone cleanses himself of these things, he will be a vessel for lofty use, dedicated, beneficial to the master of the house, ready for every good work. ²²So turn from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord^[e] with purity of heart. ²³Avoid foolish and ignorant debates, for you know that they breed quarrels. ²⁴A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant, ²⁵correcting opponents with kindness. It may be that God will grant them repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth, ^26 [f]and that they may return to their senses out of the devil’s snare, where they are entrapped by him, for his will.

34. 2 Timothy 3:10-17

¹⁰You have followed my teaching, way of life, purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, persecutions that I endured. Yet from all these things the Lord delivered me. ¹²In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. ¹³But wicked people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. ¹⁴But you, remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, ¹⁵and that from infancy you have known [the] sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ^16 [c]All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness,^[d] ¹⁷so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

35. 2 Timothy 4:1-5

¹I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: ²proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. ³For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity,^[b] will accumulate teachers ⁴and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. ⁵But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry.

36. Titus 1:9-16

⁹holding fast to the true message as taught so that he will be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents. ^10 [c]For there are also many rebels, idle talkers and deceivers, especially the Jewish Christians.^[d] ¹¹It is imperative to silence them, as they are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain what they should not. ¹²One of them, a prophet of their own, once said, “Cretans have always been liars, vicious beasts, and lazy gluttons.”^[e] ¹³That testimony is true. Therefore, admonish them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴instead of paying attention to Jewish myths and regulations of people who have repudiated the truth. ¹⁵To the clean all things are clean, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is clean; in fact, both their minds and their consciences are tainted. ¹⁶They claim to know God, but by their deeds they deny him. They are vile and disobedient and unqualified for any good deed.

37. Hebrews 5:11-14

^11 [g]About this we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, for you have become sluggish in hearing. ¹²Although you should be teachers by this time, you need to have someone teach you again the basic elements of the utterances of God. You need milk, [and] not solid food. ¹³Everyone who lives on milk lacks experience of the word of righteousness, for he is a child. ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties are trained by practice to discern good and evil.

38. Hebrews 12:4-15

⁴In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. ⁵You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons:

“My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
⁶for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges.”

⁷Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards. ⁹Besides this, we have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not [then] submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰They disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness. ¹¹At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.

¹²So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. ¹³Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.

¹⁴Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord. ^15 [c]See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God, that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble, through which many may become defiled,

39. James 2:14-26

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, ¹⁶and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? ¹⁷So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. ¹⁹You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. ²⁰Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? ²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? ²²You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. ²³Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.” ²⁴See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? ²⁶For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

40. 1 John 3:11-18

^11 [e]For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, ¹²unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous. ¹³Do not be amazed, [then,] brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. ¹⁵Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? ¹⁸Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

41. Revelation 3:14-19

¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea,^[j] write this:

“‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation, says this: ¹⁵“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot.^[k] I wish you were either cold or hot. ^16 [l]So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ^17 [m]For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire^[n] so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. ¹⁹Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.

Thursday 2/2/23

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Readings: Mal 3:1-4; Ps 24:8, 9, 10; Heb 2:14-18; Lk 2:22-40

Title: “The Thoughts of Many Hearts”

In the presentation of the Lord at the temple in Luke 2 (Luke 2:22-40), we hear two inspired or prophetic utterances from Simeon, and we also hear from Anna the prophetess. As we hear Simeon described in Luke 2, “This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the holy Spirit was upon him” (Luke 2:25). We are informed that he had divine knowledge of the coming Christ, as it reads, “It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord” (Luke 2:26).

And so, with this context of the inspired nature of Simeon’s words, we can look into his first utterance: “‘Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel’” (Luke 2:29-32). This certainly calls to mind the prophets and a passage from Isaiah (Isa 49:6). It also, however, shows how Simeon placed His hope fully in God. For once he sees the Christ, he is so satisfied and convinced of God’s salvation, that he can then die a happy man. For what he has laid eyes upon is God’s love, “Love is strong as Death” (Song 8:6), and the salvation of Christ which is resurrected from death, unto eternal life (cf. 1 Cor 15:50-58).

Simeon is so confident in the infant Christ child, that he will willingly greet death, for he has found God’s own life, victorious over mortal death. Simeon’s own life is now complete, for he has found something better; for he has found God. God’s gift of life to humankind through Christ is the ultimate meaning of all of our lives, and so, Simeon, having realized this, understands the final import of this discovery in the presentation of Christ at the temple. Jesus is “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel” (Luke 2:32), because the realization of God which had not previously been known among the nations is made known to the Gentiles (cf. Ps 57:10-12; cf. Matt 28:16-20), and the revelation of God which had been made known to Israel, is now made imminent, abounding to God’s glory.

As we look to Simeon’s second utterance, we read: “‘Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed’” (Luke 2:34-35). We can read some edification of this statement in Romans 11 (Rom 11:11-36); for the Israelites who lived in expectation of the Messiah rejected the Christ, while the Gentiles who awaited Him not, received Him gladly (cf. John 1:10-13). Thus, the tables were turned, as the righteous became disobedient, and the Gentiles became righteous.

Mary suffered all that Jesus went through by virtue of her deep connection to Him as His Mother, and so, when the sword pierced Jesus, it pierced Mary’s heart, as well. Indeed, a mother’s heart is her son, and Mary’s heart is Jesus. And the thoughts of many hearts which were revealed? We can find some light on this line as we read Acts 2 (Acts 2:1-21), about the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, where they speak with tongues of fire about “the mighty acts of God” (Acts 2:11).

Jesus, too, says, “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops” (Matt 10:26-27). For as St. Peter quotes the prophet Joel in Acts 2, “‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids. I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. And I will work wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord, and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord’” (Acts 2:17-21; cf. Joel 3). The thoughts of many hearts may be revealed, so that, as we have heard from the prophets, all may know God (Jer 31:31-34; cf. Isa 30:18-21; cf. Isa 54:13; cf. Ezek 36:25-28; cf. John 6:45-51; cf. John 14:25-31; cf. John 16:13-15; cf. 1 Cor 2). Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 24:8-10

⁸Who is this king of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in war.
⁹Lift up your heads, O gates;
    rise up, you ancient portals,
    that the king of glory may enter.
¹⁰Who is this king of glory?
    The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory.
Selah

2. Psalm 57:10-12

¹⁰I will praise you among the peoples, Lord;
    I will chant your praise among the nations.
¹¹For your mercy towers to the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
¹²Exalt yourself over the heavens, God;
    may your glory appear above all the earth.

3. Song of Songs 8:6-7

⁶Set me as a seal^[^c^] upon your heart,
    as a seal upon your arm;
For Love is strong as Death,
    longing is fierce as Sheol.
Its arrows are arrows of fire,
    flames of the divine.
⁷Deep waters^[^d^] cannot quench love,
    nor rivers sweep it away.
Were one to offer all the wealth of his house for love,
    he would be utterly despised.

4. Isaiah 30:18-21

¹⁸Truly, the Lord is waiting to be gracious to you,
    truly, he shall rise to show you mercy;
For the Lord is a God of justice:
    happy are all who wait for him!
¹⁹Yes, people of Zion, dwelling in Jerusalem,
    you shall no longer weep;
He will be most gracious to you when you cry out;
    as soon as he hears he will answer you.
²⁰The Lord will give you bread in adversity
    and water in affliction.
No longer will your Teacher^[^h^] hide himself,
    but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
²¹And your ears shall hear a word behind you:
    “This is the way; walk in it,”
    when you would turn to the right or the left.

5. Isaiah 49:4-7

⁴Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
    for nothing and for naught spent my strength,
Yet my right is with the Lord,
    my recompense is with my God.
⁵For now the Lord has spoken
    who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
    and Israel gathered to him;
I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
    and my God is now my strength!
⁶It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
    to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
    and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.^[^d^]
⁷Thus says the Lord,
    the redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
To the one despised, abhorred by the nations,
    the slave of rulers:
When kings see you, they shall stand up,
    and princes shall bow down
Because of the Lord who is faithful,
    the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.

6. Isaiah 54:13

¹³All your children shall be taught by the Lord;
great shall be the peace of your children.

7. Jeremiah 31:31-34

8. Ezekiel 36:25-28

^25 [^c^]I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them. ²⁸You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

9. Joel 3

^1 [^a^]It shall come to pass
    I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
²Even upon your male and female servants,
    in those days, I will pour out my spirit.
³I will set signs in the heavens and on the earth,
    blood, fire, and columns of smoke;
⁴The sun will darken,
    the moon turn blood-red,
Before the day of the Lord arrives,
    that great and terrible day.
⁵Then everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord
    will escape harm.
For on Mount Zion there will be a remnant,
    as the Lord has said,
And in Jerusalem survivors
    whom the Lord will summon.

10. Malachi 3:1-4

¹Now I am sending my messenger—
    he will prepare the way before me;^[^a^]
And the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple;
The messenger of the covenant whom you desire—
    see, he is coming! says the Lord of hosts.
²But who can endure the day of his coming?
    Who can stand firm when he appears?
For he will be like a refiner’s fire,
    like fullers’ lye.
³He will sit refining and purifying silver,
    and he will purify the Levites,
Refining them like gold or silver,
    that they may bring offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
⁴Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
    will please the Lord,
    as in ancient days, as in years gone by.

11. Matthew 10:26-33

²⁶“Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.^[^m^] ²⁷What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. ³⁰Even all the hairs of your head are counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ^32 [ⁿ^]Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. ³³But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.

12. Matthew 28:16-20

¹⁶The eleven^[i] disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. ^17 [j]When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. ^18 [k]Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go, therefore,^[l] and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.^[m] And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

13. Luke 2:22-40

^22 [^h^]When the days were completed for their purification^[i] according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, ²³just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” ²⁴and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel,^[^j^] and the holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. ²⁷He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, ²⁸he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

²⁹“Now, Master, you may let your servant go
    in peace, according to your word,
³⁰for my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹    which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and glory for your people Israel.”

³³The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; ³⁴and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted ³⁵(and you yourself a sword will pierce)^[^k^] so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” ³⁶There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, ³⁷and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. ³⁸And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

14. John 1:10-13

¹⁰He was in the world,
    and the world came to be through him,
    but the world did not know him.
¹¹He came to what was his own,
    but his own people^[^g^] did not accept him.

¹²But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, ^13 [^h^]who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

15. John 6:45-51

⁴⁵It is written in the prophets:

‘They shall all be taught by God.’

16. John 14:25-31

²⁵“I have told you this while I am with you. ²⁶The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you. ²⁷Peace^[^l^] I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. ^28 [^m^]You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. ³⁰I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world^[ⁿ^] is coming. He has no power over me, ³¹but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go.

17. John 16:12-15

18. Acts 2:1-21

^1 [^a^]When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. ²And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind,^[^b^] and it filled the entire house in which they were. ³Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,^[^c^] which parted and came to rest on each one of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues,^[^d^] as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. ⁶At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? ⁹We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, ¹¹both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.” ¹²They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others said, scoffing, “They have had too much new wine.”

^14 [^e^]Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words. ¹⁵These people are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says,
    ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit
    upon all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your young men shall see visions,
    your old men shall dream dreams.
¹⁸Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids
    I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days,
        and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹And I will work wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below:
        blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke.
²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness,
    and the moon to blood,
        before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord,
²¹and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.’

19. Romans 11:11-36

^11 [^b^]Hence I ask, did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not! But through their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. ¹²Now if their transgression is enrichment for the world, and if their diminished number is enrichment for the Gentiles, how much more their full number.

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry ¹⁴in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? ^16 [^c^]If the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch of dough; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place and have come to share in the rich root of the olive tree, ¹⁸do not boast against the branches. If you do boast, consider that you do not support the root; the root supports you. ¹⁹Indeed you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰That is so. They were broken off because of unbelief, but you are there because of faith. So do not become haughty, but stand in awe. ²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, [perhaps] he will not spare you either. ²²See, then, the kindness and severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but God’s kindness to you, provided you remain in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. ²³And they also, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated one, how much more will they who belong to it by nature be grafted back into their own olive tree.

²⁵I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not become wise [in] your own estimation: a hardening has come upon Israel in part, until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, ²⁶and thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The deliverer will come out of Zion,
he will turn away godlessness from Jacob;
²⁷and this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”

²⁸In respect to the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but in respect to election, they are beloved because of the patriarchs. ²⁹For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

^30 [^e^]Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may [now] receive mercy. ³²For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.

^33 [^f^]Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord^[^g^]
or who has been his counselor?”
^35 [^h^]“Or who has given him anything
that he may be repaid?”

³⁶For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

20. 1 Corinthians 2

¹When I came to you, brothers, proclaiming the mystery of God,^[^a^] I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. ²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. ³I came to you in weakness^[^b^] and fear and much trembling, ⁴and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive [words of] wisdom,^[^c^] but with a demonstration of spirit and power, ⁵so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

⁶Yet we do speak a wisdom to those who are mature, but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. ⁷Rather, we speak God’s wisdom,^[^e^] mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, ⁸and which none of the rulers of this age^[^f^] knew; for, if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹But as it is written:

“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,”

¹⁰this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

¹⁴Now the natural person^[^h^] does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually. ¹⁵The spiritual person, however, can judge everything but is not subject to judgment^[i] by anyone.

¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

21. 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

^50 [^w^]This I declare, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption^[^x^] inherit incorruption. ^51 [^y^]Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, ⁵²in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality. ^54 [^z^]And when this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
⁵⁵Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin,^[^aa^] and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

20. Hebrews 2:14-18

¹⁴Now since the children share in blood and flesh, he likewise shared in them, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life. ¹⁶Surely he did not help angels but rather the descendants of Abraham; ¹⁷therefore, he had to become like his brothers in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people. ¹⁸Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Friday 2/3/23

Saint Blaise; Saint Ansgar

Readings: Heb 13:1-8; Ps 27:1, 3, 5, 8b-9abc; Mk 6:14-29

Title: “Let Brotherly Love Continue”

This passage from Hebrews 13 includes some very important lessons. We will go through it line by line. As it begins, “Let brotherly love continue” (Heb 13:1). This type of encouragement is very useful, because it acknowledges something done well, which puts listeners in an open and accepting mind frame, in which we will be more ready and willing to take further advice, to reinforce and increase this positive acknowledgement. In fact, even if something isn’t done well, the best way to elicit change on that front is to provide positive reinforcement and affirmation on the very thing that needs to change. This brings our attention to it in an open and uncritical way, and often leads to more positive behavioral change than a reprimand for not having done a certain action or behavior well (cf. 2 John 1:4-6; cf. 3 John 1:3-4).

As this passage goes on, “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels” (Heb 13:2). This line no doubt refers to the story of the encounter with the angel Raphael from the Book of Tobit (Tob 12:11-22). Perhaps we can also call to mind popular stories or fairy tales where a visitor in disguise passes a curse or a blessing upon some character for the way in which they treated a supernatural being when disguised as a poor beggar. This should remind us that, like the Lord (Acts 10:34; Rom 2:11; Eph 6:9; Col 3:24-25), we are to show no partiality (James 2:1-13), and treat all with respect.

As Hebrews 13 continues, “Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body” (Heb 13:3). We may consider that we are all members of the same body, the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12-31). The glory of one member is our glory, as well, and the shame of one member is our shame, as well. A healthy sense of empathic concern is encouraged in us, so that as we would wish to be treated, we should treat others, as well. This is the Golden Rule (Matt 7:12; cf. Lev 19:18; cf. Matt 22:36-40; cf. Rom 13:8-10), and one of the most characteristic hallmarks of Christianity.

Hebrews 13 further says, “Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers” (Heb 13:4). We are urged to be chaste, and honor and respect our own bodies, just as we care for and respect each other. It is God to whom we look to follow this injunction, and no one else (cf. Eph 6:5-9; cf. Phil 2:12-18; cf. Col 3:22-25). For it is God to whom we must answer, and God whom, in our bodies, we must glorify (1 Cor 6:15-20).

As Hebrews 13 goes on, “Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never forsake you or abandon you’” (Heb 13:5). We also hear in Matthew 6: “So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Matt 6:31-33). And in 1 Timothy 6, as well, we hear: “For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Tim 6:7-10).

Our love is precious, and we must direct it all to the Lord, and not waste our desire upon material things or money, thereby watering down what otherwise could have been a pure and undiluted love of the Lord. A love so pure, God will reciprocate, and this is a precious gift not to be missed (cf. Song 8:7). And as Hebrews 13 continues, “Thus we may say with confidence: ‘The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’” (Heb 13:6; cf. Gen 2:18-24; cf. Ps 27:1; cf. Ps 118:5-9; cf. John 14:16-24; cf. Eph 5:23-33). Our Lord must be our Spouse (cf. Eph 5:21-33), and our best friend (cf. James 2:23), and this is how we shall know that we have union with Him and do what pleases Him (cf. 1 John 3:19-24; cf. 1 John 4:13-16). Our conscience and His Holy Spirit shall guide us as we look to His teaching in our Mother Church (cf. John 14:26-27; cf. John 16:13-15).

And as Hebrews 13 proceeds, “Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:7-8). Jesus is forever, while temporal designs come and go. But we have reliable teachers and leaders in Christ’s body and the Catholic Church, and so we need never fear, for we shall always be able to discern what pleases God (cf. Heb 13:17-21), as we seek Him in truth (cf. Ps 145:18), and honestly try to do His will (cf. Rom 12:1-2; cf. Heb 5:11-14; cf. Heb 13:20-21). And this blessed union of the soul and God is the most important relationship and marriage of our lives (cf. Eph 5:21-33), and the only one which will outlive our mortal lives and bodies, on into heaven (cf. Matt 22:28-31). Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 2:18-24

¹⁸The Lord God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him.^[j] ¹⁹So the Lord God formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each living creature was then its name. ²⁰The man gave names to all the tame animals, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be a helper suited to the man.

²¹So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²²The Lord God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When he brought her to the man, ²³the man said:

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
This one shall be called ‘woman,’
for out of man this one has been taken.”

²⁴That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.

2. Leviticus 19:17-18

^17 [f]You shall not hate any of your kindred in your heart. Reprove your neighbor openly so that you do not incur sin because of that person. ¹⁸Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

3. Tobit 12:11-15

¹¹“I shall now tell you the whole truth and conceal nothing at all from you. I have already said to you, ‘A king’s secret should be kept secret, but one must declare the works of God with due honor.’ ¹²Now when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed, it was I who presented the record of your prayer before the Glory of the Lord; and likewise whenever you used to bury the dead.^[d] ¹³When you did not hesitate to get up and leave your dinner in order to go and bury that dead man, ¹⁴I was sent to put you to the test. At the same time, however, God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. ¹⁵I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand and serve before the Glory of the Lord.”

¹⁶Greatly shaken, the two of them fell prostrate in fear. ¹⁷But Raphael said to them: “Do not fear; peace be with you! Bless God now and forever. ¹⁸As for me, when I was with you, I was not acting out of any favor on my part, but by God’s will. So bless God every day; give praise with song. ¹⁹Even though you saw me eat and drink, I did not eat or drink anything; what you were seeing was a vision. ²⁰So now bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. Look, I am ascending to the one who sent me. Write down all that has happened to you.” And he ascended. ²¹They stood up but were no longer able to see him. ²²They kept blessing God and singing his praises, and they continued to give thanks for these marvelous works that God had done, because an angel of God appeared to them.

4. Psalm 27:1, 3, 5, 8-9

¹Of David.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life’s refuge;
    of whom should I be afraid?
³Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart does not fear;
Though war be waged against me,
    even then do I trust.

⁵For God will hide me in his shelter
in time of trouble,
He will conceal me in the cover of his tent;
and set me high upon a rock.

⁸“Come,” says my heart, “seek his face”;^[^c^]
    your face, Lord, do I seek!
⁹Do not hide your face from me;
    do not repel your servant in anger.
You are my salvation; do not cast me off;
    do not forsake me, God my savior!

5. Psalm 118:5-9

⁵In danger I called on the Lord;
    the Lord answered me and set me free.
⁶The Lord is with me; I am not afraid;
    what can mortals do against me?
⁷The Lord is with me as my helper;
    I shall look in triumph on my foes.
⁸Better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to put one’s trust in mortals.
⁹Better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to put one’s trust in princes.

6. Psalm 145:16-21

¹⁶You open wide your hand
    and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
¹⁷The Lord is just in all his ways,
    merciful in all his works.
¹⁸The Lord is near to all who call upon him,
    to all who call upon him in truth.
¹⁹He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰The Lord watches over all who love him,
    but all the wicked he destroys.
²¹My mouth will speak the praises of the Lord;
    all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

7. Song of Songs 8:6-7

⁶Set me as a seal^[c] upon your heart,
    as a seal upon your arm;
For Love is strong as Death,
    longing is fierce as Sheol.
Its arrows are arrows of fire,
    flames of the divine.
⁷Deep waters^[d] cannot quench love,
    nor rivers sweep it away.
Were one to offer all the wealth of his house for love,
    he would be utterly despised.

8. Matthew 6:25-34

⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? ²⁷Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?^[q] ²⁸Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. ²⁹But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. ^30 [r]If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ ³²All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness,^[s] and all these things will be given you besides. ³⁴Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.

9. Matthew 7:12

^12 [f]“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.

10. Matthew 22:23-40

²³On that day Sadducees approached him, saying that there is no resurrection.^[o] They put this question to him, ²⁴saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies^[p] without children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ ²⁵Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died and, having no descendants, left his wife to his brother. ²⁶The same happened with the second and the third, through all seven. ²⁷Finally the woman died. ²⁸Now at the resurrection, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had been married to her.” ^29 [q]Jesus said to them in reply, “You are misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. ³¹And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you^[r] by God, ³²‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” ³³When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

³⁴When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵and one of them [a scholar of the law]^[t] tested him by asking, ³⁶“Teacher,^[u] which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷He said to him,^[v] “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the greatest and the first commandment. ³⁹The second is like it:^[w] You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ^40 [x]The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

11. Mark 6:14-29

¹⁴King Herod^[^k^] heard about it, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” ¹⁵Others were saying, “He is Elijah”; still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.” ¹⁶But when Herod learned of it, he said, “It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”

¹⁷Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. ¹⁸John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹Herodias^[^m^] harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. ²⁰Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. ²¹She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. ²²Herodias’s own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” ²³He even swore [many things] to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ²⁶The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. ²⁷So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. ²⁸He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. ²⁹When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

12. John 14:15-31

¹⁵“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate^[h] to be with you always, ¹⁷the Spirit of truth,^[i] which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.^[j] ¹⁹In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. ²⁰On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. ²¹Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” ²²Judas, not the Iscariot,^[k] said to him, “Master, [then] what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” ²³Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. ²⁴Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.

13. John 16:12-15

14. Acts 10:34-35

³⁴Then Peter proceeded to speak and said,^[m] “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. ³⁵Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.

15. Romans 2:11

^11 [d]There is no partiality with God.

16. Romans 12:1-2

17. Romans 13:8-10

⁸Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, [namely] “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

18. 1 Corinthians 6:15-20

¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take Christ’s members and make them the members of a prostitute?^[g] Of course not! ¹⁶[Or] do you not know that anyone who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For “the two,” it says, “will become one flesh.” ¹⁷But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. ¹⁸Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body.^[h] ¹⁹Do you not know that your body is a temple^[i] of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ²⁰For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.

19. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

¹²As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. ¹³For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴Now the body is not a single part, but many. ¹⁵If a foot should say, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. ¹⁶Or if an ear should say, “Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. ¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. ²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.” ²²Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, ²³and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, ²⁴whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, ²⁵so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. ²⁶If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

²⁷Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it. ²⁸Some people God has designated in the church to be, first, apostles;^[f] second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then, gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? ³⁰Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

20. Ephesians 5:21-33

^21 [e]Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.^[f] ²²Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. ²⁴As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her ²⁶to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, ²⁷that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. ²⁸So [also] husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, ³⁰because we are members of his body.

³¹“For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.”

³²This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church. ³³In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

21. Ephesians 6:5-9

⁵Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ, ⁶not only when being watched, as currying favor, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷willingly serving the Lord and not human beings, ⁸knowing that each will be requited from the Lord for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. ⁹Masters, act in the same way toward them, and stop bullying, knowing that both they and you have a Master in heaven and that with him there is no partiality.

22. Philippians 2:12-18

¹²So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.^[k] ¹³For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. ¹⁴Do everything without grumbling or questioning, ¹⁵that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,^[l] among whom you shine like lights in the world, ¹⁶as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷But, even if I am poured out as a libation^[m] upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. ¹⁸In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.

23. Colossians 3:22-25

²²Slaves,^[i] obey your human masters in everything, not only when being watched, as currying favor, but in simplicity of heart, fearing the Lord. ²³Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, ²⁴knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment of the inheritance; be slaves of the Lord Christ. ²⁵For the wrongdoer will receive recompense for the wrong he committed, and there is no partiality.

24. 1 Timothy 6:3-10

³Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching ⁴is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes. From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, ⁵and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, who are deprived of the truth, supposing religion to be a means of gain. ^6 [d]Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. ⁸If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. ⁹Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.

25. James 2:1-13, 18-26

¹My brothers, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ²For if a man with gold rings on his fingers and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, ³and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,” ⁴have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?

⁵Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not God choose those who are poor^[c] in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? ⁶But you dishonored the poor person. Are not the rich oppressing you? And do they themselves not haul you off to court? ⁷Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you? ⁸However, if you fulfill the royal^[d] law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law, but falls short in one particular, has become guilty in respect to all of it. ¹¹For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not kill.” Even if you do not commit adultery but kill, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak and so act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom.^[e] ¹³For the judgment is merciless to one who has not shown mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

26. Hebrews 5:11-14

27. Hebrews 13:1-8, 17-21

^1 [^a^]Let mutual love continue. ²Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. ³Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body. ⁴Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers. ⁵Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.” ⁶Thus we may say with confidence:

“The Lord is my helper,
[and] I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?”

⁷Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

^17 [d]Obey your leaders and defer to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account, that they may fulfill their task with joy and not with sorrow, for that would be of no advantage to you.

¹⁸Pray for us, for we are confident that we have a clear conscience, wishing to act rightly in every respect. ¹⁹I especially ask for your prayers that I may be restored to you very soon.

^20 [e]May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus our Lord, ²¹furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will. May he carry out in you what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever [and ever]. Amen.

28. 1 John 3:19-24

¹⁹[Now] this is how we shall know that we^[g] belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him ²⁰in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. ²¹Beloved, if [our] hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God ²²and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. ²³And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. ²⁴Those 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 that he gave us.

29. 1 John 4:7-21

^7 [c]Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. ⁸Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. ¹⁰In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

^13 [d]This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. ¹⁵Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. ¹⁶We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. ¹⁷In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God^[e] whom he has not seen. ²¹This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

30. 2 John 1:4-6

⁴I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children^[c] walking in the truth just as we were commanded by the Father. ⁵But now, Lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing a new commandment but the one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another. ⁶For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments;^[d] this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning, in which you should walk.

31. 3 John 1:2-4

²Beloved, I hope you are prospering in every respect and are in good health, just as your soul is prospering. ³I rejoiced greatly when some of the brothers^[b] came and testified to how truly you walk in the truth. ⁴Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Saturday 2/4/23

Readings: Heb 13:15-17, 20-21; Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6; Mk 6:30-34

Title: “Sacrifice of Praise”

As we read through this section of Hebrews 13 (Heb 13:15-17, 20-21), several important insights may stand out. As we go through this passage verse by verse, it begins, “Brothers and sisters: Through Jesus, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Heb 13:15). Our lives are meant to be a living, continual, and eternal sacrifice offered up to God, as we live in the image of Christ and understand the meaning of His sacrifice on the cross (cf. John 3:14-21). For as we read in Romans 12: “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rom 12:1-2). And as Jesus says in John 15: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13; cf. 1 John 3:16-18).

Viewing live as a sacrifice, in the context of Christ’s crucifixion, is indeed how we live life to the fullest, both giving it our all and deriving the very most from it. For it is in this selfless, kenotic (cf. Phil 2:7-8) self-giving that we receive God, as we receive His life by giving Him our own (cf. Matt 10:37-39; cf. Matt 16:24-28). The idea of sacrifice must always be fruitful for it to fulfill God’s meaning of sacrifice. For what sacrifice is, is not merely giving something up, suffering something, or doing without. Rather, sacrifice must be some sort of self-denial or unpleasantness undertaken because we can thereby better produce good works, benefit our fellow humankind, or give glory to God in the fullest and most complete way possible. We must not confuse the means for the end. Self-denial is not done for some sort of punitive reason—it is done to better enable us for service, as a part of good works and service (cf. Gal 5:13-14), to the benefit of our neighbor and to the glory of God. This, is the meaning of sacrifice. Just as Jesus has said, “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples…. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you” (John 15:8-16). And as this passage from Hebrews 13 further elucidates this subject: “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind” (Heb 13:16).

As we proceed with this passage, it reads, “Obey your leaders and defer to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account, that they may fulfill their task with joy and not with sorrow, for that would be of no advantage to you (Heb 13:17). We are urged to obey, just as Jesus obeyed, and Hebrews also does an excellent job of explaining specifically just how necessary and fruitful Jesus’ obedience was: “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (Heb 5:8-9; cf. John 5:19-30; cf. John 14:30-31; cf. Heb 2:10-11). We are shown that when we obey, it works to the mutual benefit of both ourselves and our leaders, and Hebrews directly relates this obedience to joy, as contrasted with sorrow. Indeed, as we read in James 3: “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace” (James 3:17-18; cf. Eph 5:21; cf. Phil 2:1-5; cf. James 3:13-18). Learning to get along with and defer to our superiors is part of group harmony, humility, docility and teachability, agreeableness, positive character development, and all of God’s joys and blessings (cf. Gal 5:22-25), as well.

And as this passage continues, ^“May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the Blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus our Lord, furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will. May he carry out in you what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Heb 13:20-21). We see here a further clarification related to the theme of sacrifice. The sacred author blesses us with “all that is good” (Heb 13:21). And this is not done for our own pleasure or for no reason. Indeed, the gifts of God are only ever given to each of us individually so that we may use them for the benefit of the Church, to build up the eternal Kingdom and the people of God (cf. Eph 5:7-16). And in just this way, the sacred author wishes us to receive “all that is good” (Heb 13:21), so “that you may do his will” (Heb 13:21). And it is crucially “through Jesus Christ” (Heb 13:21) that we are made pleasing to God, by doing God’s will, just as Christ did God’s will, culminating in His gift of self, bearing the good fruit of God’s divine grace and the Holy Spirit from the cross. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 23

¹A psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd;^[b]
    there is nothing I lack.
²In green pastures he makes me lie down;
    to still waters he leads me;
³    he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths^[c]
    for the sake of his name.
⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff comfort me.

^5 [d]You set a table before me
    in front of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶Indeed, goodness and mercy^[e] will pursue me
    all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    for endless days.

2. Matthew 10:37-39

³⁷“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up his cross^[^o^] and follow after me is not worthy of me. ^39 [^p^]Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

3. Matthew 16:24-28

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,^[^t^] take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.^[^u^] ²⁶What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? ^27 [^v^]For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ^28 [^w^]Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

4. Mark 6:30-34

³⁰The apostles^[n] gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. ^31 [o]He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. ³²So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. ³³People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.

³⁴When he disembarked and 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.

5. John 3:1-21

¹Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.^[b] ²He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” ³Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born^[c] from above.” ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸The wind^[d] blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⁹Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can this happen?” ¹⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? ¹¹Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. ¹²If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up^[e] the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ^15 [f]so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave^[g] his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn^[h] the world, but that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ^19 [i]And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. ²⁰For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. ²¹But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

6. John 5:19-30

³⁰“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

7. John 14:25-31

8. John 15:1-17

^1 [a]“I am the true vine,^[b] and my Father is the vine grower. ²He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes^[c] so that it bears more fruit. ³You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. ⁴Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. ^6 [d]Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. ⁸By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

¹¹“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. ¹²This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. ^13 [e]No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends,^[f] because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. ¹⁷This I command you: love one another.

9. Romans 12:1-2

10. Galatians 5:13-26

¹³For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve^[k] one another through love. ¹⁴For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”^[l] ¹⁵But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.

¹⁶I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.^[m] ¹⁷For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ^19 [n]Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, ²¹occasions of envy,^[o] drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²²In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴Now those who belong to Christ [Jesus] have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.

11. Ephesians 5:7-16, 21

⁷But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸Therefore, it says:

“He ascended^[c] on high and took prisoners captive;
he gave gifts to men.”

⁹What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended into the lower [regions] of the earth? ¹⁰The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

^11 [d]And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, ¹²to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,^[e] for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,^[f] to the extent of the full stature of Christ, ¹⁴so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming. ¹⁵Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ,^[g] ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love.

^21 [e]Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.

12. Philippians 2:1-11

¹If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, ²complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. ³Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, ⁴each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.

⁵Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,

⁶Who,^[c] though he was in the form of God,
    did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.^[d]
⁷    Rather, he emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    coming in human likeness;^[e]
    and found human in appearance,
⁸    he humbled himself,
        becoming obedient to death,
        even death on a cross.^[f]
⁹Because of this, God greatly exalted him
    and bestowed on him the name^[g]
    that is above every name,
¹⁰    that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bend,^[h]
    of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹    and every tongue confess that
    Jesus Christ is Lord,^[i]
    to the glory of God the Father.

13. Hebrews 2:10-11

¹⁰For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. ¹¹He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers,”

14. Hebrews 5:7-10

⁷In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death,^[e] and he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸Son though he was,^[f] he learned obedience from what he suffered; ⁹and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰declared by God high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

15. Hebrews 13:15-21

¹⁵Through him [then] let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. ¹⁶Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.

¹⁸Pray for us, for we are confident that we have a clear conscience, wishing to act rightly in every respect. ¹⁹I especially ask for your prayers that I may be restored to you very soon.

16. James 3:13-18

¹³Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. ¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. ¹⁸And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.

17. 1 John 3:16-18

¹⁶The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? ¹⁸Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

Sunday 2/5/23

Readings: Is 58:7-10; Ps 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Cor 2:1-5; Mt 5:13-16

Title: “Demonstration of Spirit and Power”

This introductory passage from 1 Corinthians 2 contains several critical and fundamental truths of our Faith. As we read through this passage, it begins, “When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom” (1 Cor 2:1). St. Paul explains how he did not rely upon verbosity, eloquence, or sophistry in order to win others over to the Faith, by sounding flowery or intelligent. Rather, as St. Paul explains, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). This is one of the most provocative statements we can find in the Bible, and it follows nicely upon his previous edification in 1 Corinthians 1 (1 Cor 1:17-31), regarding how, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…. For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor 1:17-25).

In a culture where rhetoric and philosophizing generated public esteem, inflated egos (cf. 1 Cor 4:18-21; cf. 1 Cor 8:1-3; cf. 1 Cor 13:4), and a false idolatry, worshipping each other, the self, and pride (cf. Rom 1:18-32), what Paul comes declaring turns the world’s values on their head, as he declares not himself, but God. As Jesus also had noted in John 5, “‘I do not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?” (John 5:41-44). For St. Paul has found the secret of life (cf. John 5:39-40; cf. John 6:53-58, 63) in the mystery of God, revealed to us all through Christ (cf. John 1:18; cf. John 14:6-7) on the cross, Christ crucified. This is the true source of all life, glory, and power, and next to it, human glory and power is truly nothing (cf. Phil 3:7-11). For humankind has nothing which we have not received from God (cf. John 3:27-30; cf. 1 Cor 4:7; cf. James 1:16-18; cf. 1 John 4:10, 19).

St. Paul explains this, and describes how human weakness, honesty, and humility lead him to knowledge and acceptance of the power of God, which allows him to rely on God’s Spirit and power, and not his own. In this way, human weakness becomes strength, and God’s strength becomes available to humankind (cf. John 1:10-13), just as God intended through Christ’s sacrifice and gift of grace and the Holy Spirit from the cross. Indeed, we can hear this relationship between human weakness and God’s power described beautifully in 1 Corinthians 1 (1 Cor 1:17-31), as well as these passages from Philippians 2 and 2 Corinthians 12: “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me” (Phil 4:13); and, “but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:9-10).

As St. Paul goes on, “I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God” (1 Cor 2:3-5). St. Paul clearly describes how he proceeded in the proclamation of the gospel in such as way so as not to inspire admiration for himself, but faith in the power of God. He willed to be as transparent and lowly as possible, so that he should not, through his pride or ego, obstruct a clear demonstration of the true power and glory of God. For we are all at our best when we strive to be selfless vessels (cf. 2 Tim 2:20-26) of the Holy Spirit, shining as lanterns and torches of God’s light, and not our own (cf. John 1:1-9; cf. John 5:33-36; cf. John 8:12; cf. John 9:5; cf. Matt 5:13-16; cf. 1 John 1:5-10). For God’s light is the true light (John 1:9), next to which all other light is merely darkness. And as we know from Matthew 6: “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be” (Matt 6:22-23).

And so, as Jesus explains in Matthew 5: “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father’” (Matt 5:13-16). In just this way, we must shine God’s light through the power and knowledge of Christ crucified, because this is the true source and summit of the wisdom and power of God (cf. 1 Cor 1:24). Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 112:4-9

⁴Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
    gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
⁵It is good for the man gracious in lending,
    who conducts his affairs with justice.
⁶For he shall never be shaken;
    the righteous shall be remembered forever.
⁷He shall not fear an ill report;
    his heart is steadfast, trusting the Lord.
⁸His heart is tranquil, without fear,
    till at last he looks down on his foes.
⁹Lavishly he gives to the poor;
    his righteousness shall endure forever;
    his horn^[c] shall be exalted in honor.

2. Isaiah 58:7-10

⁷Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry,
    bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
    and not turning your back on your own flesh?
⁸Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
    and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,
    you shall cry for help, and he will say: “Here I am!”
If you remove the yoke from among you,
    the accusing finger, and malicious speech;
¹⁰If you lavish your food on the hungry
    and satisfy the afflicted;
Then your light shall rise in the darkness,

and your gloom shall become like midday;

3. Matthew 5:13-16

¹³“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.^[l] ¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

4. Matthew 6:19-24

^19 [m]“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

²²“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; ²³but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.

^24 [o]“No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

5. John 1:1-18

¹In the beginning^[b] was the Word,
    and the Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
²He was in the beginning with God.
^3 [c]All things came to be through him,
    and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be ⁴through him was life,
    and this life was the light of the human race;
^5 [d]the light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness has not overcome it.

^6 [e]A man named John was sent from God. ⁷He came for testimony,^[f] to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. ⁹The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

¹²But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, ^13 [h]who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

¹⁰He was in the world,
    and the world came to be through him,
    but the world did not know him.
¹¹He came to what was his own,
    but his own people^[g] did not accept him.

¹⁴And the Word became flesh^[i]
    and made his dwelling among us,
    and we saw his glory,
    the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
    full of grace and truth.

^15 [j]John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” ¹⁶From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace,^[k] ¹⁷because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God,^[l] who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

6. John 3:27-30

²⁷John answered and said, “No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. ²⁹The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man,^[n] who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. ³⁰He must increase; I must decrease.”

7. John 5:31-47

³¹“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified. ³²But there is another^[l] who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. ³³You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. ³⁴I do not accept testimony from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved. ³⁵He was a burning and shining lamp,^[m] and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. ³⁶But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. ³⁷Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. ³⁹You search^[n] the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. ⁴⁰But you do not want to come to me to have life.

⁴¹“I do not accept human praise;^[o] ⁴²moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. ⁴³I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? ⁴⁵Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. ⁴⁶For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. ⁴⁷But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

8. John 6:52-65

⁵²The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?” ⁵³Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats^[s] my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. ⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

⁶⁰Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” ⁶¹Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? ⁶²What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?^[u] ⁶³It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh^[v] is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. ⁶⁵And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”

9. John 8:12

¹²Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

10. John 9:5

⁵While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

11. John 14:6-7

⁶Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth^[e] and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you know me, then you will also know my Father.^[f] From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
12. Romans 1:18-32

^18 [l]The wrath^[m] of God^[n] is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness. ¹⁹For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them. ²⁰Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse; ²¹for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. ²²While claiming to be wise, they became fools ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.

13. 1 Corinthians 1:17-31

^17 [g]For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,^[h] so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.

¹⁸The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the learning of the learned I will set aside.”

²⁰Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish? ^21 [i]For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, ²⁸and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, ²⁹so that no human being might boast^[k] before God. ³⁰It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, ³¹so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”

14. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

15. 1 Corinthians 4:6-8, 18-21

⁶I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written,^[b] so that none of you will be inflated with pride in favor of one person over against another. ⁷Who confers distinction upon you? What do you possess that you have not received? But if you have received it, why are you boasting as if you did not receive it? ⁸You are already satisfied; you have already grown rich; you have become kings^[c] without us! Indeed, I wish that you had become kings, so that we also might become kings with you.

^18 [f]Some have become inflated with pride, as if I were not coming to you. ¹⁹But I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing, and I shall ascertain not the talk of these inflated people but their power. ²⁰For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. ²¹Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a gentle spirit?

16. 1 Corinthians 8:1-3

¹Now in regard to meat sacrificed to idols:^[b] we realize that “all of us have knowledge”; knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up. ²If anyone supposes he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. ³But if one loves God, one is known by him.

17. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

^4 [c]Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, ⁵it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, ⁶it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

18. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

⁸Three times^[d] I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, ^9 [e]but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,^[f] in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. ¹⁰Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

19. Philippians 3:7-11

⁷[But] whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss^[g] because of Christ. ⁸More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith ¹⁰to know him and the power of his resurrection and [the] sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, ¹¹if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

20. Philippians 4:10-14

¹⁰I rejoice greatly in the Lord that now at last you revived your concern for me. You were, of course, concerned about me but lacked an opportunity. ¹¹Not that I say this because of need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient. ¹²I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. ¹³I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. ¹⁴Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress.

21. 2 Timothy 2:20-26

22. James 1:16-18

^16 [h]Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers: ¹⁷all good giving and every perfect gift^[i] is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. ¹⁸He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

23. 1 John 1:5-10

⁵Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light,^[b] and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. ⁸If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves,^[c] and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. ¹⁰If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

24. 1 John 4:7-21

Monday 2/6/23

Memorial of Saint Miki and Companions, Martyrs

Readings: Gn 1:1-19; Ps 104:1-2a, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35c; Mk 6:53-56

Title: “And There Was Light”

Monday 2/6/23

Memorial of Saint Miki and Companions, Martyrs

Readings: Gn 1:1-19; Ps 104:1-2a, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35c; Mk 6:53-56

Title: “And There Was Light”

As we look to today’s two readings from Genesis and Mark (Gen 1:1-19; Mark 6:53-56), we may at first wonder what they have in common. We read the beginning of the creation account in Genesis 1, beginning with the famous words, “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth—and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters—” (Gen 1:1-2). As this passage proceeds, we hear about God’s wonderful act of creation, imposing order and goodness over the chaos and abyss. What God created was “good” (Gen 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25), and “very good” (Gen 1:31), as we hear repeatedly, and this goodness all existed in its own precise divisions, hierarchy, and harmony—alongside free will (cf. Deut 30:11-20; cf. Sir 15:14-17; cf. Rom 1:18-32)—in God’s created order.

What this passage has in common with today’s second reading has to do with the way in which God’s created order became disrupted through the sin of Adam only a couple chapters later. In Genesis 1 (Gen 1:1-19), we hear of God’s generation, of creation and life—and in Mark 6 (Mark 6:53-56), we hear about God’s healing and regeneration, after humankind suffers the grievous effects of original sin. The common thread between today’s two readings is, in fact, original sin, and humankind’s consequent need for redemption and divine grace. God’s original act of creation in Genesis was disrupted through the sin of Adam—willful disobedience of the order and commandment of God through free choice—and required re-creation through the gift of Christ Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, in His gift of eternal life, divine love, and grace from the cross.

We can, in fact, view Christ’s coming and His Passion as a second creation, necessitated by original sin. As we read in 2 Corinthians 5: “Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor 5:16-21).

And as we read in Titus 3: “But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7; cf. Rom 5:1-11).

And as we can gain further understanding of this regeneration through this passage from John 3: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?’ Jesus answered, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit’” (John 3:3-8).

This new life of God is given to us through Christ in baptism, and our experience of a need for healing, and all the afflictions we experience in this life, are the result of original sin, a corruption of God’s original design, brought about by free choice, as what transpires when humankind takes the world into its own hands, and directs its heart away from God. We all require regeneration in Christ, so as to become new creatures and a new creation by the power of God. And as we pray in the Exultet, “O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!” Because of the sin of Adam, Christ’s coming though the Incarnation became as necessary as if set in stone.

And now, we can all look the aftereffects of sin and disobedience square in the face, to see just how much we truly need and ought to appreciate the divine order, life, and grace of God. We can understand God better through an understanding of our own nothingness through humility, and thereby better appreciate, exalt, praise, and glorify Him. In our experience and observation of the effects of original sin, we can now see and take in the full picture, of the imminent impact, necessity, and full dynamics, of God’s beautiful, healing, all-powerful grace. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 1

¹In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth— ^2 [b]and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters—

³Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light. ⁴God saw that the light was good. God then separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” Evening came, and morning followed—the first day.

⁶Then God said: Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other. ⁷God made the dome,^[d] and it separated the water below the dome from the water above the dome. And so it happened. ⁸God called the dome “sky.” Evening came, and morning followed—the second day.

⁹Then God said: Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear. And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. ¹⁰God called the dry land “earth,” and the basin of water he called “sea.” God saw that it was good. ¹¹Then God said: Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. And so it happened: ¹²the earth brought forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw that it was good. ¹³Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.

¹⁴Then God said: Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the seasons, the days and the years, ¹⁵and serve as lights in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth. And so it happened: ¹⁶God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night, and the stars. ¹⁷God set them in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth, ¹⁸to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. ¹⁹Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.

²⁰Then God said: Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky. ²¹God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of crawling living creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw that it was good, ²²and God blessed them, saying: Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth. ²³Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.

²⁴Then God said: Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: tame animals, crawling things, and every kind of wild animal. And so it happened: ²⁵God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw that it was good. ²⁶Then God said: Let us make^[e] human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.

²⁷God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female^[f] he created them.

²⁸God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.^[g] Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth. ^29 [h]God also said: See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; ³⁰and to all the wild animals, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the earth, I give all the green plants for food. And so it happened. ³¹God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.

2. Deuteronomy 30:11-20

¹¹For this command which I am giving you today is not too wondrous or remote for you. ¹²It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who will go up to the heavens to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” ¹³Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” ¹⁴No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth^[c] and in your heart, to do it.

¹⁵See, I have today set before you life and good, death and evil. ¹⁶If you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I am giving you today, loving the Lord, your God, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and ordinances, you will live and grow numerous, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. ¹⁷If, however, your heart turns away and you do not obey, but are led astray and bow down to other gods and serve them, ¹⁸I tell you today that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land which you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. ¹⁹I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, ²⁰by loving the Lord, your God, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land which the Lord swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them.

3. Psalm 104: 1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35

¹Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and splendor,
² robed in light as with a cloak.
You spread out the heavens like a tent;

^5 [c]You fixed the earth on its foundation,
so it can never be shaken.
⁶The deeps covered it like a garment;
above the mountains stood the waters.

¹⁰You made springs flow in wadies
that wind among the mountains.
¹²Beside them the birds of heaven nest;
among the branches they sing.

²⁴How varied are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

³⁵May sinners vanish from the earth,
and the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, my soul! Hallelujah!

4. Sirach 15:14-17

¹⁴God in the beginning created human beings
    and made them subject to their own free choice.
¹⁵If you choose, you can keep the commandments;
    loyalty is doing the will of God.
¹⁶Set before you are fire and water;
    to whatever you choose, stretch out your hand.
¹⁷Before everyone are life and death,
    whichever they choose will be given them.

5. Mark 6:53-56

⁵³After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. ⁵⁴As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. ⁵⁵They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.

6. John 3:1-21

7. Romans 1:18-32

²⁴Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts^[o] for the mutual degradation of their bodies. ²⁵They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. ²⁶Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural, ²⁷and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity. ²⁸And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper. ²⁹They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite. They are gossips ³⁰and scandalmongers and they hate God. They are insolent, haughty, boastful, ingenious in their wickedness, and rebellious toward their parents. ³¹They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Although they know the just decree of God that all who practice such things deserve death, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

8. Romans 5:1-11

¹Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace^[b] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. ³Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, ⁴and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us. ⁶For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.^[c] ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. ⁹How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. ¹⁰Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. ¹¹Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

9. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

¹⁶Consequently,^[k] from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. ¹⁷So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. ^18 [l]And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ^21 [m]For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

10. Titus 3:4-8

⁴But when the kindness and generous love
    of God our savior appeared,
⁵not because of any righteous deeds we had done
    but because of his mercy,
he saved us through the bath of rebirth
    and renewal by the holy Spirit,
⁶whom he richly poured out on us
    through Jesus Christ our savior,
⁷so that we might be justified by his grace
    and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

⁸This saying is trustworthy.

Tuesday 2/7/23

Readings: Gn 1:20-2:4a; Ps 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Mk 7:1-13

Title: “In the Divine Image”

As we take in today’s two readings from Genesis and Mark (Gen 1:20-2:4a; Mark 7:1-13), we can gain a deeper understanding of the human condition and how this relates to God’s plan for us. In this section of Genesis 1, containing the first creation account, we hear of the creation of humankind: “Then God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.’ God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:26-27).

It is said that God created humankind in His image, in the imago Dei. We know that Jesus is the Word (John 1:1-5, 14) and eternal Wisdom, as the image Dei within our souls, by the power of grace. And so, it is in Christ that we are created, and it is in Christ, through the restoration of God’s grace by baptism, that we can live out the fullness of our human calling. For that image was sullied through original sin, but Christ restores that image. And this is why we strive after the imitation of Christ (cf. John 13:14-17; cf. 1 Cor 4:16; cf. 1 Cor 11:1; cf. Phil 3:17; cf. 1 Thess 1:5-7; cf. 2 Thess 3:7) in our lives, as a way in which we cooperate with God’s gift to our souls of divine, salvific grace. What was lost through Adam in all of humankind was regained through Christ, and we have this internal help and aid of God’s Spirit within our souls, so that, through Christ, we can conform our wills to God’s will (cf. Rom 8:26-27, 29; cf. Rom 12:1-2; cf. Phil 3:17-21) and our hearts and souls to Christ, to live out the fullness of God’s beatific plan for us (cf. Eph 1:3-14; cf. Rev 4:11).

For as we read in today’s Gospel from Mark (Mark 7:1-13), Jesus’ people had turned from God, to follow human tradition instead of God’s commandment. As Jesus quotes Isaiah: “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts’” (Mark 7:6-7; cf. Isa 29:13). And this is how humankind behaves after the fashion of Adam’s disobedience, turning away from God to follow its own inclinations, thus cutting itself off from God’s life and God’s grace. To truly place one’s heart in the Lord (cf. 1 Sam 13:14; cf. Acts 13:22) is to conform to God’s will (cf. Matt 12:50), and not our own whims, wills, or sinful suggestions by our lower natures or unbridled passions, after the manner of Eve and the serpent (Gen 3:1-13).

For as we read in Romans 5: “Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned—for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law. But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come” (Rom 5:12-14). And as we also know from 1 Corinthians 15: “So, too, it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living being,’ the last Adam a life-giving spirit. But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one” (1 Cor 15:45-49).

As we know from 1 Corinthians 15 (1 Cor 15:45-49), there is a first Adam and a last Adam. And just as all died in the turning away from God represented by original sin in Adam, so too, do we all live by the new gift of life and grace in Christ. The tree of knowledge was a temptation to pride, which cut us off from the tree of life (Gen 2:8-9; Gen 3:20-24). But as we turn our hearts to God and accept our need for Him to be our God (cf. Exo 3:14-15), with His free gift of salvation and gratuitous grace in Christ, we can turn to Him, and find the tree of life in Christ’s crucifixion, as He lays down His life to take it up again (John 10:15, 17-18), with us. He shares His divine eternal life with us, so that we may be one (cf. John 17:20-26), as adoptive brothers, sisters, and coheirs with Christ (cf. Rom 8:14-17; cf. Gal 4:1-7).

For we were made by God to glorify God (cf. Eph 1:3-14; cf. Rev 4:11)—“so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ” (Eph 1:12); “for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved” (Eph 1:6)—and so, it is fitting that we should not be able to do so without Him, but that in order to glorify God, we must rely upon God, and do so in Jesus Christ, true God from true God. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 1:20-2:4

²⁷God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female^[f] he created them.

¹Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. ^2 [a]On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. ³God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.

This is the story^[b] of the heavens and the earth at their creation. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens—

2. Genesis 2:8-9

⁸The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,^[f] and placed there the man whom he had formed. ^9 [g]Out of the ground the Lord God made grow every tree that was delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

3. Genesis 3:1-13, 20-24

¹Now the snake was the most cunning^[a] of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?” ²The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; ³it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’” ⁴But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! ⁵God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know^[b] good and evil.” ⁶The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

⁸When they heard the sound of the Lord God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day,^[c] the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹The Lord God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? ¹⁰He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” ¹¹Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? ¹²The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” ¹³The Lord God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.”

²⁰The man gave his wife the name “Eve,” because she was the mother of all the living.

²¹The Lord God made for the man and his wife garments of skin, with which he clothed them. ²²Then the Lord God said: See! The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil! Now, what if he also reaches out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life, and eats of it and lives forever? ²³The Lord God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴He expelled the man, stationing the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword east of the garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life.

4. Exodus 3:14-15

⁴God replied to Moses: I am who I am.^[h] Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.

¹⁵God spoke further to Moses: This is what you will say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.

This is my name forever;
this is my title for all generations.

5. 1 Samuel 13:10-14

¹⁰As he finished sacrificing the burnt offering, there came Samuel! So Saul went out toward him in order to greet him. ¹¹Samuel asked him, “What have you done?” Saul explained: “When I saw that the army was deserting me and you did not come on the appointed day, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, ¹²I said to myself, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not yet sought the Lord’s blessing.’ So I thought I should sacrifice the burnt offering.” ¹³Samuel replied to Saul: “You have acted foolishly! Had you kept the command the Lord your God gave you, the Lord would now establish your kingship in Israel forever; ¹⁴but now your kingship shall not endure. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart^[e] to appoint as ruler over his people because you did not observe what the Lord commanded you.”

6. Psalm 8:4-9

⁴When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and stars that you set in place—
^5 [d]What is man that you are mindful of him,
    and a son of man that you care for him?
⁶Yet you have made him little less than a god,^[e]
    crowned him with glory and honor.
⁷You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
    put all things at his feet:
⁸All sheep and oxen,
    even the beasts of the field,
⁹The birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
    and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

7. Isaiah 29:13-16

¹³    The Lord said:
Since this people draws near with words only
    and honors me with their lips alone,
    though their hearts are far from me,
And fear of me has become
    mere precept of human teaching,
¹⁴Therefore I will again deal with this people
    in surprising and wondrous fashion:
The wisdom of the wise shall perish,
    the prudence of the prudent shall vanish.
¹⁵Ah! You who would hide a plan
    too deep for the Lord!
Who work in the dark, saying,
    “Who sees us, who knows us?”
¹⁶Your perversity is as though the potter
    were taken to be the clay:
As though what is made should say of its maker,
    “He did not make me!”
Or the vessel should say of the potter,
    “He does not understand.”

8. Matthew 12:46-50

9. Mark 7:1-13

¹Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, ²they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. ³(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands,^[b] keeping the tradition of the elders. ⁴And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles [and beds].) ⁵So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders^[c] but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” ⁶He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
⁷In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.’

⁸You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” ⁹He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! ¹⁰For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ ¹¹Yet you say, ‘If a person says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’^[d] (meaning, dedicated to God), ¹²you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. ¹³You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.”

10. John 1:1-5, 14

In the beginning^[b] was the Word,
    and the Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
²He was in the beginning with God.
^3 [c]All things came to be through him,
    and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be ⁴through him was life,
    and this life was the light of the human race;
^5 [d]the light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness has not overcome it.

¹⁴And the Word became flesh^[i]
    and made his dwelling among us,
    and we saw his glory,
    the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
    full of grace and truth.

11. John 10:7-18

^7 [e]So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. ^8 [f]All who came [before me] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. ¹¹I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. ¹³This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep^[g] that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.^[h] This command I have received from my Father.”

12. John 13:12-20

13. John 17:20-26

14. Acts 13:22-25

²²Then he removed him and raised up David as their king; of him he testified, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.’ ²³From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. ²⁴John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; ²⁵and as John was completing his course, he would say, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’

15. Romans 5:12-14

^12 [d]Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned^[e]— ¹³for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law. ¹⁴But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come.

16. Romans 8:14-17, 26-30

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. ²⁷And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will.

^28 [e]We know that all things work for good for those who love God,^[f] who are called according to his purpose. ^29 [g]For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.

17. Romans 12:1-2

18. 1 Corinthians 4:14-17

¹⁴I am writing you this not to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.^[e] ¹⁵Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶Therefore, I urge you, be imitators of me. ¹⁷For this reason I am sending you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord; he will remind you of my ways in Christ [Jesus], just as I teach them everywhere in every church.

19. 1 Corinthians 11:1

20. 1 Corinthians 15:42-49

^42 [t]So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. ⁴³It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. ⁴⁴It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one.

⁴⁵So, too, it is written, “The first man, Adam,^[u] became a living being,” the last Adam a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. ⁴⁸As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. ⁴⁹Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image^[v] of the heavenly one.

21. Galatians 4:1-7

¹I mean that as long as the heir is not of age,^[b] he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything, ²but he is under the supervision of guardians and administrators until the date set by his father. ³In the same way we also, when we were not of age, were enslaved to the elemental powers of the world.^[c] ⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. ⁶As proof that you are children,^[d] God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” ⁷So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

22. Ephesians 1:3-14

^3 [c]Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,^[d] ⁴as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love ⁵he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, ⁶for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.

⁷In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace ⁸that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, ⁹he has made known to us the mystery^[e] of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.

¹¹In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, ¹²so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped^[f] in Christ. ¹³In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed^[g] with the promised holy Spirit, ¹⁴which is the first installment^[h] of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

23. Philippians 3:17-21

24. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10

²We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly ³calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope^[b] of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father, ⁴knowing, brothers loved by God, how you were chosen. ⁵For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the holy Spirit and [with] much conviction. You know what sort of people we were [among] you for your sake. ⁶And you became imitators^[c] of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the holy Spirit, ⁷so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and [in] Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. ⁹For they themselves openly declare about us what sort of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God ¹⁰and to await his Son from heaven, whom he raised from [the] dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.

25. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-16

⁶We instruct you, brothers, in the name of [our] Lord Jesus Christ, to shun any brother who conducts himself in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us.^[b] ⁷For you know how one must imitate us. For we did not act in a disorderly way among you, ⁸nor did we eat food received free from anyone. On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked, so as not to burden any of you. ⁹Not that we do not have the right. Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us. ¹⁰In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat. ¹¹We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a disorderly way, by not keeping busy but minding the business of others. ¹²Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and to eat their own food. ¹³But you, brothers, do not be remiss in doing good. ¹⁴If anyone does not obey our word as expressed in this letter, take note of this person not to associate with him, that he may be put to shame. ¹⁵Do not regard him as an enemy but admonish him as a brother. ¹⁶May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

26. Revelation 4:11

¹¹“Worthy are you, Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
because of your will they came to be and were created.”

Wednesday 2/8/23

Saint Jerome Emiliani; Saint Josephine Bakhita

Readings: Gn 2:4b-9, 15-17; Ps 104:1-2a, 27-28, 29bc-30; Mk 7:14-23

Title: “To Cultivate and Care for It”

One theme common to both of today’s two readings (Gen 2:4b-9; Mark 7:14-23) is the idea of care and cultivation. As we read in Genesis 2: “The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it” (Gen 2:15). This can be read as humankind’s first calling. Humankind was placed in the garden, not to enjoy it, not to pass the time in leisure within it, not merely to dominate and subdue it (cf. Gen 1:26, 28), and not merely to be fruitful and multiply within it (cf. Gen 1:28). First and foremost, as the hierarchical umbrella over all of these secondary, tangential callings, humankind was placed in the garden of Eden “to cultivate and care for it” (Gen 2:15). If any other part of humankind’s calling is read without this piece of the puzzle—as like a linchpin without which the whole will not adhere together—then none of the rest of it will be properly understood or make sense.

We are created in God’s image, and so we must exercise care of God’s creation just as He exercises in providential care over us. With this stipulation, premise, and preliminary understanding properly in place—that we are made to be good stewards (cf. Matt 24:42-51) and responsible caretakers of God’s creation and this earth and home—we can then understand other basic truths of the human calling in their proper context and perspective. To subdue and dominate the earth (cf. Gen 1:26, 28) without caring for and cultivating it would be an excellent way in which we could misunderstand God’s will, by not paying proper attention, and not interpreting each part of God’s word in the unity of the whole of Sacred Scripture (cf. CCC 110-114), but taking it apart piecemeal, to misapply it improperly to our own sinful designs or disordered desires. For the desire to dominate is a residual effect of original sin, and demonstrates a refusal of God’s grace, rather than cooperation with it.

And as we read in the Gospel from Mark (Mark 7: 7:14-23), evil that comes from outside a person is not what defiles us. It is what comes forth from our own hearts and wills in the form of sinful or evil acts and intentions that defiles us. And all evil and wickedness evidences a lack of love within us, as the privation of a basic good. If we accept God’s gift (cf. Luke 11:13; cf. John 1:11-13; cf. Acts 2:38; cf. Rom 5:5, 15-21; cf. Rom 6:23; cf. Eph 2:8; cf. James 1:17) of love, grace, and goodness, He will find a way into our hearts, because no human design or system can place a limit on the power of God. And so, any good to come forth from us is always necessarily God’s goodness, for “There is only One who is good” (Matt 19:17) and all goodness is God’s, and we have none on our own (cf. Luke 11:13; cf. John 1:10-13; cf. John 3:27-30; cf. Acts 2:38; cf. Rom 3:23-24; cf. Rom 5:5, 15-21; cf. Rom 6:22-23; cf. 1 Cor 3:7-9; cf. 1 Cor 4:7; cf. Eph 2:8-9; cf. James 1:16-18; cf. 1 John 4:10, 19).

It is ultimately by placing God in charge of our hearts that we can bring forth good out of them (cf. Rom 8:28-30), and care for and cultivate His creation just as God cares for and cultivates us (cf. 1 Cor 3:5-9). For we were made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27) to love God, just as He has given us His Son so that we may know Him (cf. John 1:18; cf. John 14:6-7; cf. 1 John 3:7-9), and believe and accept His providential, divine care over us, which we know to be love (cf. 1 John 4:10-12, 16-17, 19, 21). Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 1:24-31

²⁷God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female^[f] he created them.

2. Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17

⁴This is the story^[b] of the heavens and the earth at their creation. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens— ⁵there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the Lord God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man^[c] to till the ground, ⁶but a stream^[d] was welling up out of the earth and watering all the surface of the ground— ⁷then the Lord God formed the man^[e] out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

¹⁵The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it. ¹⁶The Lord God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden ¹⁷except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.

3. Psalm 104:1-2, 27-30

¹Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and splendor,
² robed in light as with a cloak.
You spread out the heavens like a tent;

²⁷All of these look to you
    to give them food in due time.
²⁸When you give it to them, they gather;
    when you open your hand, they are well filled.
^29 [f]When you hide your face, they panic.
    Take away their breath, they perish
    and return to the dust.
³⁰Send forth your spirit, they are created
    and you renew the face of the earth.

4. Matthew 19:16-17

¹⁶Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”^[l] ¹⁷He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good.^[m] If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

5. Matthew 24:36-51

³⁶“But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,^[v] but the Father alone. ^37 [w]For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸In [those] days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. ³⁹They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be [also] at the coming of the Son of Man. ^40 [x]Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. ^42 [y]Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. ⁴³Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

⁴⁵“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?^[aa] ⁴⁶Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. ⁴⁷Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. ^48 [ab]But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ ⁴⁹and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, ⁵⁰the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour ⁵¹and will punish him severely^[ac] and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

6. Mark 7:14-23

¹⁴He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. ¹⁵Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” [¹⁶]

^17 [f]When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. ¹⁸He said to them, “Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, ^19 [g]since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰“But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles. ²¹From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, ²²adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. ²³All these evils come from within and they defile.”

7. Luke 11:9-13

⁹“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? ¹²Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? ¹³If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit^[e] to those who ask him?”

8. John 1:10-13, 15-18

¹⁰He was in the world,
    and the world came to be through him,
    but the world did not know him.
¹¹He came to what was his own,
    but his own people^[g] did not accept him.

9. John 3:27-30

10. John 15:6-7

11. Acts 2:37-41

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?” ³⁸Peter [said] to them, “Repent and be baptized,^[g] every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” ⁴⁰He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.

12. Romans 3:21-26

²¹But now^[g] the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets, ²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; ²³all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. ²⁴They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God set forth as an expiation,^[h] through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed, ²⁶through the forbearance of God—to prove his righteousness in the present time, that he might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

13. Romans 5:1-11, 15-21

¹⁵But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by that one person’s transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many. ¹⁶And the gift is not like the result of the one person’s sinning. For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation; but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal. ¹⁷For if, by the transgression of one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus Christ. ¹⁸In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. ¹⁹For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous. ²⁰The law entered in^[f] so that transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, ²¹so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

14. Romans 6:22-23

²²But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit that you have leads to sanctification,^[e] and its end is eternal life. ²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

15. Romans 8:28-30

16. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

⁵What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers^[e] through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. ⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. ⁷Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. ⁸The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. ⁹For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

17. 1 Corinthians 4:6-8

18. Ephesians 2:8-9

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; ⁹it is not from works, so no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.

19. James 1:16-18

20. 1 John 4:7-21

Thursday 2/9/23

Readings: Gn 2:18-25; Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5; Mk 7:24-30

Title: “Two of Them Become One”

As we read this section of the second creation account in Genesis 2—after the first creation account in Genesis 1—we hear how God creates a “suitable partner” (Gen 2:18) for the man. As it begins, “The LORD God said: ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him’” (Gen 2:18). This is a very interesting point. For as we read in the first creation account in Genesis 1, “Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness…. God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:26-27). This can be seen as a first indication of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, for God identifies as “us” (Gen 1:26), and it says, “in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). We know of the Holy Trinity that God is three Persons in one God, as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three Persons are distinct but not separate, all equally and fully God, with one divine nature. God is one (Deut 6:4; cf. Matt 19:17; cf. James 2:19-20), and God is also three Persons in one. This is wholly fitting and suitable to the mystery of God, to be contemplated for all eternity.

And so, when we read in Genesis 2, “The LORD God said: ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him’” (Gen 2:18), we can see how this creation of two that should become one (Gen 2:24; cf. Eph 5:31), as like a mirror, shadow (cf. Heb 8:5-6; cf. Heb 9:23-10:10), or reflection of the Holy Trinity who is God. We know that the three Persons of the Holy Trinity exist in loving communion, and can be identified in relation to one another. The essence of their loving communion is divine trinitarian love, in a mutual gift of self-giving, sacrifice, and wholehearted reciprocity. The Holy Spirit is the love shared between the Father and the Son, and can also be seen as like the offspring of the Father and Son. The human family is made in the image of the divine family of the Holy Trinity (cf. Gen 1:26-27; cf. Eph 5:31), as an earthly representation of the higher reality which it represents in heaven, and in this way, the love shared between the spouses is the offspring likened to the Holy Spirit. The love we see in human families is a participation by proxy in the divine trinitarian love of God, and just as humankind was made in the image of God—”in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27)—so too, the human family is an image and reflection of the Holy Trinity, who is God.

We can gain additional insight into this mysterious dynamic of the eternal exchange of love in the Holy Trinity, and how this is participated in by proxy by humankind, in this telling passage from Ephesians 5 (Eph 5:21-33). As it begins, “For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body…. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her…” (Eph 5:23-25). This passage from Genesis 2 (Gen 2:24) is also then quoted in Ephesians 5, and St. Paul explains it in this way: “‘For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.” (Eph 5:31-32, emphasis added; cf. Gen 2:24).

This sheds new light on Genesis 1-2, and allows us additional insight in interpreting this text. Here, we are told that the man and woman who become one are Christ and the Church. In this way, Adam and Eve (cf. Rom 5:12-21; cf. 1 Cor 15:45-49) are prefigurations of Christ and His Church, and furthermore, there is also a long tradition in the Old Testament of referring to God and His people as a Groomsman and His bride (cf. Isa 61:10; cf. Isa 62:4-5; cf. Jer 2:1-2, 32-33; cf. Hosea 2:18-25; cf. Rev 19:6-10; cf. Rev 21:19-27). All these pieces of the puzzle do fit nicely together, to point us in the direction of this interpretation, of the man and woman as Christ and the Church.

We can also read about Christ’s desire for us to share in His oneness with God in John 17: “‘I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them’” (John 17:20-26; cf. John 10:30).

And so, when we look to the man and woman, and husband and wife, we can see this earthly reality as a shadow (cf. Heb 8:5-6; cf. Heb 9:23-10:10) and prefiguration (cf. Rom 5:12-21; cf. 1 Cor 15:45-49) of the divine reality, which consists of the marriage of the soul itself, and God’s people together, the Church, to God in heaven. While glorious union and the beatific vision must wait until the soul rests with God in heaven, we can still experience a taste of this oneness through a temporary state of divine union, in which we may know the Lord GOD as the Bridegroom of the soul, who is the bride and the woman, as the two become one (cf. Gen 2:24; cf. Eph 5:31). Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 1:24-31

²⁷God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female^[f] he created them.

2. Genesis 2:18-25

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
This one shall be called ‘woman,’
for out of man this one has been taken.”

²⁴That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.

²⁵The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.

3. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

⁴Hear, O Israel!^[b] The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! ⁵Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength. ⁶Take to heart these words which I command you today. ⁷Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸Bind them on your arm as a sign^[c] and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. ⁹Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

4. Psalm 128:1-5

¹A song of ascents.

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
    and who walk in his ways.
²What your hands provide you will enjoy;
    you will be blessed and prosper:
³Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
    within your home,
Your children like young olive plants
    around your table.
⁴Just so will the man be blessed
    who fears the Lord.

⁵May the Lord bless you from Zion;
may you see Jerusalem’s prosperity
all the days of your life,

5. Isaiah 61:10-11

^10 [d]I will rejoice heartily in the Lord,
    my being exults in my God;
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation,
    and wrapped me in a robe of justice,
Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
    as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹As the earth brings forth its shoots,
    and a garden makes its seeds spring up,
So will the Lord God make justice spring up,
    and praise before all the nations.

6. Isaiah 62:1-5

^1 [a]For Zion’s sake I will not be silent,
    for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still,
Until her vindication shines forth like the dawn
    and her salvation like a burning torch.
²Nations shall behold your vindication,
    and all kings your glory;
You shall be called by a new name
    bestowed by the mouth of the Lord.
³You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord,
    a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
⁴No more shall you be called “Forsaken,”
    nor your land called “Desolate,”
But you shall be called “My Delight is in her,”
    and your land “Espoused.”
For the Lord delights in you,
    and your land shall be espoused.
⁵For as a young man marries a virgin,
    your Builder shall marry you;
And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
    so shall your God rejoice in you.

7. Jeremiah 2:1-3, 32-33

¹The word of the Lord came to me: ²Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear!

I remember the devotion^[b] of your youth,
    how you loved me as a bride,
Following me in the wilderness,
    in a land unsown.
³Israel was dedicated to the Lord,
    the first fruits^[c] of his harvest;
All who ate of it were held guilty,
    evil befell them—oracle of the Lord.

³²Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
    a bride her sash?
Yet my people have forgotten me
    days without number.
³³How well you pick your way
    when seeking love!
In your wickedness,
    you have gone by ways unclean!

8. Hosea 2:18-25

¹⁸On that day—oracle of the Lord—
You shall call me “My husband,”
and you shall never again call me “My baal.”^[k]
¹⁹I will remove from her mouth the names of the Baals;
they shall no longer be mentioned by their name.

²⁰I will make a covenant for them on that day,
    with the wild animals,
With the birds of the air,
    and with the things that crawl on the ground.
Bow and sword and warfare
    I will destroy from the land,
    and I will give them rest in safety.

²¹I will betroth you to me forever:
    I will betroth you to me with^[l] justice and with judgment,
    with loyalty and with compassion;
²²I will betroth you to me with fidelity,
    and you shall know the Lord.
²³On that day I will respond—oracle of the Lord—
    I will respond to the heavens,
    and they will respond to the earth;
²⁴The earth will respond to the grain, and wine, and oil,
    and these will respond to Jezreel.
²⁵I will sow her for myself in the land,
    and I will have pity on Not-Pitied.
I will say to Not-My-People, “You are my people,”
    and he will say, “My God!”

9. Matthew 19:16-17

10. Mark 7:24-30

²⁴From that place he went off to the district of Tyre.^[h] He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. ²⁵Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. ²⁶The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.^[i] For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” ²⁹Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” ³⁰When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

11. John 10:22-30

²²The feast of the Dedication^[i] was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. ^23 [j]And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. ²⁴So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?^[k] If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” ²⁵Jesus answered them, “I told you^[l] and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. ²⁶But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. ²⁷My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. ²⁹My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,^[m] and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. ^30 [n]The Father and I are one.”

12. John 17:20-26

13. Romans 5:12-21

14. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49

15. Ephesians 5:21-33

³¹“For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.”

³²This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church. ³³In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

16. Hebrews 8:1-6

¹The main point of what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ²a minister of the sanctuary^[b] and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up. ³Now every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus the necessity for this one also to have something to offer. ⁴If then he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are those who offer gifts according to the law. ⁵They worship in a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, as Moses was warned when he was about to erect the tabernacle. For he says, “See that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” ⁶Now he has obtained so much more excellent a ministry as he is mediator of a better covenant, enacted on better promises.

17. Hebrews 9:23-28

^23 [r]Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified by these rites, but the heavenly things themselves by better sacrifices than these. ²⁴For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf. ²⁵Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own; ²⁶if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages^[s] to take away sin by his sacrifice. ²⁷Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment, ²⁸so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many,^[t] will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

18. Hebrews 10:1-10

^1 [a]Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come,^[b] and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect those who come to worship by the same sacrifices that they offer continually each year. ²Otherwise, would not the sacrifices have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, once cleansed, would no longer have had any consciousness of sins? ³But in those sacrifices there is only a yearly remembrance of sins, ⁴for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins. ⁵For this reason, when he came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
⁶holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in.
⁷Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
Behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”

⁸First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings,^[d] you neither desired nor delighted in.” These are offered according to the law. ⁹Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. ¹⁰By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

19. James 1:18-26

20. Revelation 19:6-10

⁶Then I heard something like the sound of a great multitude or the sound of rushing water or mighty peals of thunder, as they said:

    “Alleluia!
The Lord has established his reign,
    [our] God, the almighty.
⁷Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory.
For the wedding day of the Lamb^[c] has come,
    his bride has made herself ready.
⁸She was allowed to wear
    a bright, clean linen garment.”

(The linen represents the righteous deeds of the holy ones.)

⁹Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed^[e] are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These words are true; they come from God.” ¹⁰I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t! I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brothers who bear witness to Jesus. Worship God. Witness to Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

21. Revelation 21:19-27

⁹One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”^[k] ¹⁰He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal. ¹²It had a massive, high wall, with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed and on which names were inscribed, [the names] of the twelve tribes of the Israelites. ¹³There were three gates facing east, three north, three south, and three west. ¹⁴The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were inscribed the twelve names of the twelve apostles^[l] of the Lamb.

^15 [m]The one who spoke to me held a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. ¹⁶The city was square, its length the same as [also] its width. He measured the city with the rod and found it fifteen hundred miles^[n] in length and width and height. ¹⁷He also measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits^[o] according to the standard unit of measurement the angel used. ^18 [p]The wall was constructed of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. ¹⁹The foundations of the city wall were decorated with every precious stone; the first course of stones was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, ²⁰the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh hyacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ²¹The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made from a single pearl; and the street of the city was of pure gold, transparent as glass.

^22 [q]I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. ^23 [r]The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. ²⁴The nations will walk by its light,^[s] and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure. ²⁵During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. ²⁶The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, ²⁷but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Friday 2/10/23

Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

Readings: Gn 3:1-8; Ps 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7; Mk 7:31-37

Title: “The Breezy Time of the Day”

As we look over this passage from Genesis 3 (Gen 3:1-8), we hear the story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit (Gen 2:15-17). There are several important points that stand out in this passage, and so it is worth going over in detail. We see the serpent described as the most cunning of God’s creatures. This requires a certain subtlety, and we can see this quality cast in a positive light by Jesus, in the sending out of the disciples in Matthew 10: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves” (Matt 10:16). We can also find a reference to serpents in Numbers 21, as Moses crafts the bronze serpent to heal the disobedient Israelites from the bite of the deadly seraph serpents (Num 21:4-9). Jesus likens His own crucifixion to Moses’ bronze serpent, as in John 3, we read: “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15; cf. 2 Cor 5:21). The symbolism of the serpent is a theme that is carried over throughout other parts of the Bible as well, although we see the serpent here in Genesis 3 as an instrument of the evil one, perhaps due to or as a fact associated with its cunning or subtlety.

As this passage goes on, the serpent asks Eve a question. It does not ask Adam, representing the higher order reasoning and intellect within the soul, but it asks Eve, representing the lower, baser nature, of the emotions, instincts, and passions. As Adam and Eve represent the two who “become one body” (Gen 2:24; cf. Eph 5:31-32), they may be viewed as symbolic of one unified human person (cf. Gen 2:21-25; cf. Eph 5:29-33), with Adam representing the rationality and Eve representing the passions, with the serpent as the voice of temptation. The voice of temptation temps us not through our knowledge of what is good to do, but with our emotions and desires, or what we would want apart from or even in defiance of our better judgment, and dispassionate or more impartial reasoning.

Each person, as a single human being, is composed of an Adam and an Eve, so to speak, and the way Adam’s obedience to God is overturned is not through the voice of reason, but through the voice of temptation, which finds its way to Adam not directly—for he knows right from wrong insofar as it means obeying God—but indirectly, through Eve, by playing upon the desires to overthrow the intellect and reason. In this way, we must guard our passions with our reason to avoid falling prey to sin, rather than letting our higher nature succumb to its lower nature, by not properly controlling the passions and keeping fleshly lusts (cf. Rom 6; cf. Rom 8:1-17; cf. Gal 5:13-26; cf. James 4:1-5; cf. 1 John 2:15-17), wants (cf. Rom 7:13-25), and concupiscence tightly reined over (cf. Gen 4:6; cf. Rom 6:12-14; cf. Gal 5:24-25; cf. 2 Tim 1:7-8; cf. James 3) and in check.

As we can see from the serpent’s question, it asks Eve a misleading lie (Gen 3:1), and she responds with yet more inaccurate information, adding (cf. Deut 4:2; cf. Deut 13:1-6; cf. Prov 30:5-6; cf. Rev 22:18-19) the stipulation, “or even touch it” (Gen 3:3), to what she knew of God’s command (Gen 2:16-17). What pervades this dialogue is the taint of factual inaccuracy in what they judge to be true or right, as it is the instigation of deception that brings about Adam and Eve’s downfall, and original sin. As Jesus describes in John 8, this aspect of deception is the hallmark of the devil: “‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. Can any of you charge me with sin? If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God’” (John 8:42-47; cf. John 8:31-32; cf. John 14:6-7).

And as we see of God’s entrance into the scene, during “the breezy time of the day” (Gen 3:8), symbolizing perhaps the freedom (cf. Gal 5:13-26) of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gen 1:2; cf. John 3:8), this should cause joy for God’s creatures, to see their God (cf. Matt 5:8; cf. 1 John 3:1-3). But instead, they hide themselves, an act of deception, and this is because He is no longer their God (cf. Rom 1:18-32). For whom one serves and honors is one’s God (cf. Matt 6:24), and Adam and Eve served sin (cf. John 8:34) instead of the LORD.

And so, we must strive for transparency, openness, and honesty in all our dealings, so that we should not fear God (cf. 1 John 4:18), in the secrecy of sin, but rather pray for His coming, “at the breezy time of the day” (Gen 3:8). This may call to mind what Jesus says in John 3: “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:5-8).

And as we know about Jesus’ judgment, also from John 3: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God” (John 3:16-21; cf. Matt 6:22-23).

May we all open our hearts to God (cf. 2 Cor 6:11-13; cf. Eph 1:18-23), by following and honoring him as God, which we may do as we guard our lower natures with our higher natures, keeping God as the hierarchical LORD over our hearts. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 1:1-2

¹In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth— ^2 [b]and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters—

2. Genesis 2:15-17, 21-25

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
This one shall be called ‘woman,’
for out of man this one has been taken.”

²⁴That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.

²⁵The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.

3. Genesis 3:1-8

⁸When they heard the sound of the Lord God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day,^[c] the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

4. Genesis 4:1-6

¹The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, saying, “I have produced a male child with the help of the Lord.”^[a] ²Next she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel became a herder of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the ground.^[b] ³In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground, ⁴while Abel, for his part, brought the fatty portion^[c] of the firstlings of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry and dejected. ⁶Then the Lord said to Cain: Why are you angry? Why are you dejected? ⁷If you act rightly, you will be accepted;^[d] but if not, sin lies in wait at the door: its urge is for you, yet you can rule over it.

5. Numbers 21:4-9

⁴From Mount Hor they set out by way of the Red Sea, to bypass the land of Edom, but the people’s patience was worn out by the journey; ⁵so the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!”

⁶So the Lord sent among the people seraph^[d] serpents, which bit the people so that many of the Israelites died. ⁷Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, ⁸and the Lord said to Moses: Make a seraph and mount it on a pole, and everyone who has been bitten will look at it and recover.^[e] ⁹Accordingly Moses made a bronze serpent^[f] and mounted it on a pole, and whenever the serpent bit someone, the person looked at the bronze serpent and recovered.

6. Deuteronomy 4:1-2

¹Now therefore, Israel, hear the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. ²In your observance of the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I am commanding you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.

7. Deuteronomy 13:1-6

¹Every word that I command you, you shall be careful to observe, neither adding to it nor subtracting from it.

²If there arises in your midst a prophet or a dreamer^[a] who promises you a sign or wonder, ³saying, “Let us go after other gods,” whom you have not known, “and let us serve them,” and the sign or wonder foretold to you comes to pass, ⁴do not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer; for the Lord, your God, is testing you to know whether you really love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and soul. ⁵The Lord, your God, shall you follow, and him shall you fear; his commandments shall you observe, and to his voice shall you listen; him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast. ⁶But that prophet or that dreamer shall be put to death, because, in order to lead you astray from the way which the Lord, your God, has commanded you to take, the prophet or dreamer has spoken apostasy against the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst.

8. Psalm 32:1-2, 5-7

¹Of David. A maskil.

Blessed is the one whose fault is removed,
whose sin is forgiven.
²Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no deceit.

⁵Then I declared my sin to you;
    my guilt I did not hide.
I said, “I confess my transgression to the Lord,”
    and you took away the guilt of my sin.
Selah
⁶Therefore every loyal person should pray to you
    in time of distress.
Though flood waters^[c] threaten,
    they will never reach him.
⁷You are my shelter; you guard me from distress;
    with joyful shouts of deliverance you surround me.
Selah

9. Proverbs 30:5-6

^5 [d]Every word of God is tested;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
⁶Add nothing to his words,
lest he reprimand you, and you be proved a liar.

10. Matthew 5:8

^8 [h]Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.

11. Matthew 6:22-24

^24 [o]“No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

12. Matthew 10:16-25

¹⁶“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. ^17 [h]But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, ¹⁸and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. ¹⁹When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. ²⁰For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ^21 [i]Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. ²²You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end^[j] will be saved. ²³When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.^[k] ²⁴No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. ²⁵It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,^[l] how much more those of his household!

13. Mark 7:31-37

³¹Again he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. ³²And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. ³³He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; ³⁴then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) ³⁵And [immediately] the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. ^36 [j]He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. ³⁷They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and [the] mute speak.”

14. John 3:1-21

15. John 8:31-38, 39-47

³¹Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him,^[p] “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.^[q] How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” ³⁴Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son^[r] always remains. ³⁶So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free. ³⁷I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you. ^38 [s]I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence; then do what you have heard from the Father.”

^39 [t]They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. ⁴⁰But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. ⁴¹You are doing the works of your father!” [So] they said to him, “We are not illegitimate. We have one Father, God.” ⁴²Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me. ⁴³Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. ⁴⁴You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶Can any of you charge me with sin? If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God.”

16. John 14:6-7

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth^[e] and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you know me, then you will also know my Father.^[f] From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

17. Romans 1:18-32

18. Romans 6

¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Of course not! ¹⁶Do you not know that if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient from the heart to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted.^[c] ¹⁸Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your nature. For just as you presented the parts of your bodies as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness for lawlessness, so now present them as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. ²⁰For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness.^[d] ²¹But what profit did you get then from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. ²²But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit that you have leads to sanctification,^[e] and its end is eternal life. ²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

^1 [a]What then shall we say? Shall we persist in sin that grace may abound? Of course not! ²How can we who died to sin yet live in it? ³Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.

⁵For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. ⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin. ⁷For a dead person has been absolved from sin. ⁸If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. ⁹We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. ¹⁰As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. ¹¹Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as [being] dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.

^12 [b]Therefore, sin must not reign over your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires. ¹³And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin as weapons for wickedness, but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life and the parts of your bodies to God as weapons for righteousness. ¹⁴For sin is not to have any power over you, since you are not under the law but under grace.

19. Romans 7:13-25

¹³Did the good, then, become death for me? Of course not! Sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin, worked death in me through the good, so that sin might become sinful beyond measure through the commandment. ¹⁴We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold into slavery to sin. ¹⁵What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. ¹⁶Now if I do what I do not want, I concur that the law is good. ¹⁷So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. ¹⁸For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. ¹⁹For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. ²⁰Now if [I] do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. ²¹So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. ²²For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, ²³but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.^[e] ²⁴Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? ²⁵Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with my mind, serve the law of God but, with my flesh, the law of sin.

20. Romans 8:1-17

¹Hence, now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death. ³For what the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless to do, this God has done: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for the sake of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us, who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. ⁵For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit. ⁶The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace. ⁷For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; ⁸and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you. ¹²Consequently, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

21. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

22. 2 Corinthians 6:11-13

^11 [i]We have spoken frankly to you, Corinthians; our heart is open wide. ¹²You are not constrained by us; you are constrained by your own affections. ¹³As recompense in kind (I speak as to my children), be open yourselves.

23. Galatians 5:13-26

24. Ephesians 1:15-23

¹⁵Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love^[j] for all the holy ones, ¹⁶do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. ¹⁸May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, ¹⁹and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, ²⁰which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, ²¹far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²²And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³which is his body,^[k] the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

25. Ephesians 5:31-33

²⁹For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, ³⁰because we are members of his body.

³¹“For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.”

³²This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church. ³³In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

26. 2 Timothy 1:6-8

⁶For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God^[e] that you have through the imposition of my hands. ⁷For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. ⁸So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,^[f] nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.

27. James 3

¹Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize that we will be judged more strictly, ²for we all fall short in many respects. If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also. ³If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. ⁴It is the same with ships: even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination wishes. ⁵In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions.

Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze. ⁶The tongue is also a fire. It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna. ⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, ⁸but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers. ¹¹Does a spring gush forth from the same opening both pure and brackish water? ¹²Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can salt water yield fresh.

28. James 4:1-5

¹Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions^[b] that make war within your members? ²You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. ³You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴Adulterers!^[c] Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks without meaning when it says, “The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy”?^[d]

29. 1 John 2:15-17

¹⁵Do not love the world or the things of the world.^[g] If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world, sensual lust,^[h] enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

30. 1 John 3:1-3

^1 [a]See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ²Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed^[b] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.

31. 1 John 4:17-21

¹⁷In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God^[e] whom he has not seen. ²¹This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

32. Revelation 22:18-19

¹⁸I warn everyone who hears the prophetic words in this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹and if anyone takes away from the words in this prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book.

Saturday 2/11/23

Readings: Gn 3:9-24; Ps 90:2, 3-4abc, 5-6, 12-13; Mk 8:1-10

Title: “To Guard the Way to the Tree of Life”

As we read this passage from Genesis 3 (Gen 3:9-24), we hear of what transpires as Adam and Eve eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As we had previously read in Genesis 2: “The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame” (Gen 2:25). And now, in Genesis 3, after eating the fruit, we see how they have knowledge of their nakedness, and feel both fear and shame. This knowledge they have of their bodies is not merely anatomical knowledge, but it is directly related to lust, concupiscence, and sexual knowledge, regarding things which exist on a moral spectrum of right and wrong, and which therefore cause them shame. For one cannot be ashamed of that which one does not know to be wrong (cf. Rom 7:5-13). It is this knowledge which causes guilt and shame. In this way, what Adam and Eve gain knowledge of is sin. Their knowledge of sin—specifically lust—is what now causes them to feel shame over their nakedness, and to feel fear because of it in God’s presence.

We can gain some additional insight about this dynamic between fear and God from this passage from 1 John 4: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). If they had not been aware of an inclination towards lust which they perceived to be wrong, or a sin (cf. Matt 5:28), as a result of their nakedness, as a result of eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, then they would not have feared God. And as we can deduce, it is perhaps that they feared punishment for having done something wrong, or for sin, that they feared God, as the human instinct has a natural sense of justice and consequences, such that we expect some sort of retribution or punishment when we do things we know to be wrong. This is evidence of God’s law written on our hearts (cf. Rom 2:14-16), as a natural result of our being God’s creatures and His creation.

And what directly ensues, after Adam admits to fearing God for his knowledge of sin, is God’s decree of the curse (Gen 2:14-19), or of punishment for their moral crime or transgression. And as Adam and Eve face their sentence, what they do is to try to defer responsibility for their actions to each other, as Adam blames Eve, and Eve blames the serpent. None of them immediately take ownership over their actions, but blame it upon something outside of themselves. This could be seen to point to an innate but misplaced knowledge of God, who is beyond blame, but which quality they mistake for their own instead of His, when they become their own gods (Gen 3:5; cf. Rom 1:18-32). In addition, this tendency to defer blame could also indicate a core quality of concupiscence and the effects of original sin, which resists responsibility, guilt, and correction, so that it may thereby go on unremedied and continue to persist. We can see the negative self-perpetuating quality of this feature, and take proper care to guard against it in our own lives (cf. Gen 3:24; cf. Rom 13:12; cf. 2 Cor 10:3-6; cf. Eph 6:10-18; cf.1 Thess 5:8; cf. Heb 4:12-13).

What if we take responsibility for our actions and choices in the way in which Adam and Eve did not? The curse against moral transgressions still stands, but the promise of a Savior in the protoevangelium (Gen 3:15) comes to the forefront, to intercede for us (cf. Rom 8:26-30; cf. Heb 4:12-16). For that which is contained in the tree of life in the middle of the garden, is none other than Jesus Christ, with the gift of eternal life through God’s divine, salvific grace (cf. Rom 5:15-20; cf. Rom 6:23). And it is this gift of grace, Christ, and God’s Spirit in our souls, that we must protect and guard (cf. Gen 3:24; cf. Rom 13:12; cf. 2 Cor 10:3-6; cf. Eph 6:10-18; cf.1 Thess 5:8; cf. Heb 4:12-13), just as God protected and guarded over it in the garden of Eden, “stationing the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword east of the garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen 3:24; cf. John 14:6-7). These guards and protections are the sacraments and the practice of the virtues, which in a prayerful life of right worship (cf. John 4:21-26) oriented towards God, will help us to regain in Christ what was lost in Adam (cf. Rom 5:12-14; cf. 1 Cor 15:45-58), as we perceive a new Eden within the soul, which is gifted back to us in our divine eternal life of grace, through Christ. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 2:25

²⁵The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.

2. Genesis 3

¹⁴Then the Lord God said to the snake:

Because you have done this,
    cursed are you
    among all the animals, tame or wild;
On your belly you shall crawl,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.^[d]
¹⁵I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
They will strike at your head,
    while you strike at their heel.

¹⁶To the woman he said:

I will intensify your toil in childbearing;
in pain^[f] you shall bring forth children.
Yet your urge shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.

¹⁷To the man he said: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You shall not eat from it,

Cursed is the ground^[g] because of you!
    In toil you shall eat its yield
    all the days of your life.
¹⁸Thorns and thistles it shall bear for you,
    and you shall eat the grass of the field.
¹⁹By the sweat of your brow
    you shall eat bread,
Until you return to the ground,
    from which you were taken;
For you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.

²⁰The man gave his wife the name “Eve,” because she was the mother of all the living.

3. Psalm 90:2-6, 12-13

²Before the mountains were born,
    the earth and the world brought forth,
    from eternity to eternity you are God.
³You turn humanity back into dust,^[b]
    saying, “Return, you children of Adam!”
⁴A thousand years in your eyes
    are merely a day gone by,
Before a watch passes in the night,
⁵    ^[c]you wash them away;
They sleep,
    and in the morning they sprout again like an herb.
⁶In the morning it blooms only to pass away;
    in the evening it is wilted and withered.

¹²Teach us to count our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.

¹³Relent, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!

4. Matthew 5:27-30

^27 [s]“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^29 [t]If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

5. Mark 8:1-10

¹When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. ²And then a leper^[b] approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” ³He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. ^4 [c]Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

⁵When he entered Capernaum,^[e] a centurion approached him and appealed to him, ⁶saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” ⁷He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” ⁸The centurion said in reply,^[f] “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. ⁹For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ¹⁰When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel^[g] have I found such faith.

6. John 4:16-26

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” ¹⁷The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ ¹⁸For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” ¹⁹The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;^[h] but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;^[i] and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. ²⁴God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” ^25 [j]The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” ²⁶Jesus said to her, “I am he,^[k] the one who is speaking with you.”

7. John 14:6-7

8. Romans 1:18-32

9. Romans 2:12-16

¹²All who sin outside the law will also perish without reference to it, and all who sin under the law will be judged in accordance with it. ¹³For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified. ¹⁴For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts,^[f] while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them ¹⁶on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge people’s hidden works through Christ Jesus.

10. Romans 5:12-20

11. Romans 6:15-23

12. Romans 7:4-25

⁴In the same way, my brothers, you also were put to death to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to the one who was raised from the dead in order that we might bear fruit for God. ⁵For when we were in the flesh, our sinful passions, awakened by the law, worked in our members to bear fruit for death. ⁶But now we are released from the law, dead to what held us captive, so that we may serve in the newness of the spirit and not under the obsolete letter.

^7 [b]What then can we say? That the law is sin? Of course not!^[c] Yet I did not know sin except through the law, and I did not know what it is to covet except that the law said, “You shall not covet.” ⁸But sin, finding an opportunity in the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetousness. Apart from the law sin is dead. ⁹I once lived outside the law, but when the commandment came, sin became alive; ¹⁰then I died, and the commandment that was for life turned out to be death for me. ¹¹For sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and through it put me to death. ¹²So then the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

13. Romans 8:26-30

14. Romans 13:11-14

¹¹And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; ¹²the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness [and] put on the armor of light; ¹³let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day,^[d] not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy. ¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

15. 1 Corinthians 15:45-58

^50 [w]This I declare, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption^[x] inherit incorruption. ^51 [y]Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, ⁵²in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality. ^54 [z]And when this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
⁵⁵Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin,^[aa] and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

16. 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

¹Now I myself, Paul, urge you through the gentleness and clemency of Christ,^[c] I who am humble when face to face with you, but brave toward you when absent, ^2 [d]I beg you that, when present, I may not have to be brave with that confidence with which I intend to act boldly against some who consider us as acting according to the flesh. ³For, although we are in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh,^[e] ⁴for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments ⁵and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ, ⁶and we are ready to punish every disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

17. Ephesians 6:10-20

^10 [a]Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. ¹²For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. ¹³Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. ¹⁴So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, ¹⁵and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones ¹⁹and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains, so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.

18. 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11

⁴But you, brothers, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief. ⁵For all of you are children of the light^[a] and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. ⁶Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober. ⁷Those who sleep go to sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. ⁸But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation. ⁹For God did not destine us for wrath, but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live together with him.^[b] ¹¹Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do.

19. Hebrews 4:12-16

¹²Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. ¹³No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

^14 [a]Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. ¹⁶So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

20. 1 John 4:17-21

Sunday 2/12/23

Readings: Sir 15:15-20; Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34; 1 Cor 2:6-10; Mt 5:17-37

Title: “All-Seeing, the Eyes of God”

As we look over this passage from Sirach (Sir 15:15-20), we can learn a few prophetic things about free will. As the verse directly preceding this passage reads, “God in the beginning created human beings and made them subject to their own free choice” (Sir 15:14). There has been some debate over whether humans have free will or not. If we look at the practical consequences entailed by holding this belief in free will or not, this should be enough to convince us of its necessary existence. However, for us believers, we have this direct statement of the existence of free will in divine revelation, as well. In addition, we can find other supporting passages similar to this one in other parts of the Bible. Deuteronomy 11 (Deut 11:26-32) and 30 (Deut 30:11-20) are two good examples. As we read in Deuteronomy 11: “See, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: a blessing for obeying the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I give you today; a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, but turn aside from the way I command you today, to go after other gods, whom you do not know…. be careful to observe all the statutes and ordinances that I set before you today (Deut 11:26-32).

And as we read in Deuteronomy 30: “For this command which I am giving you today is not too wondrous or remote for you. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to the heavens to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?’ Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?’ No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it. See, I have today set before you life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I am giving you today, loving the Lord, your God, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and ordinances, you will live and grow numerous, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. If, however, your heart turns away and you do not obey, but are led astray and bow down to other gods and serve them, I tell you today that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land which you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land which the Lord swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them” (Deut 30:11-20).

This all helps us to remember that it is within our reach to perceive God’s will and choose that which is good (cf. Rom 12:1-2; cf. Phil 1:9-11; cf. Heb 5:11-14). This saying also helps us to take responsibility for our own actions, and not defer blame, when we, ourselves, are the ones who choose and control what it is that we do. To understand the autonomy of the human person within God’s creation means to accept the reality of free choice, and how this works in conjunction with merit, punishment, justice, consequences, and right action. This fact of free choice is a necessary component of creation, and a part of reality which hangs together coherently and cohesively with all other parts of reality. Without this fact, other aspects of existence will necessarily cease to make sense. What his means is that free choice is a fundamental truth of human existence.

As this passage goes on, we read: “If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand” (Sir 15:15-16). This may call to mind this passage from Matthew 7: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him” (Matt 7:7-11). And as we read a more specific description of this giving and gift in Luke 11: “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:13). This gift is the living water (cf. John 4:10-15; cf. John 7:37-39; cf. Rev 22:17), to which we are urged to reach, and if we seek God, He will give us of His Spirit.

As this passage continues, “Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him” (Sir 15:17). We know of God’s giving and gift (cf. Rom 5:15-21; cf. Rom 6:23) also from several other Scripture passages. As we read in James 3, John 3, 1 Corinthians 4, and 1 John 4: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers: all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:16-18); and, “John answered and said, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven…. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease’” (John 3:27-30); and, “Who confers distinction upon you? What do you possess that you have not received? But if you have received it, why are you boasting as if you did not receive it?” (1 Cor 4:7); as well as, “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10); and, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

All that is good is from God (cf. Matt 19:17). And furthermore, even from evil—which is a result of human choices made poorly by free will—even from sin and evil, God is able to bring forth a greater good. As we read in Romans 8: “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28; cf. Gen 50:20). Even when things seem to be going wrong, if we choose good and reach for God, God can bring goodness out of our troubles (cf. Ps 34:22; cf. John 14:27; cf. John 16:33; cf. 1 Cor 10:13), as we faithfully search for and trust in Him. As we hear from Jesus in John’s Gospel: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27); and, “I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33; cf. Ps 34:20).

As this passage goes on, “Immense is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power, and all-seeing. The eyes of God are on those who fear him; he understands man’s every deed” (Sir 15:18-19; cf. Ps 34:15-20; cf. 1 Pet 3:10-12). God is omnipresent, and His eyes are always upon us. We can be aware of His presence to a greater or lesser degree, but His presence never departs from us; it is only we who ever depart from Him. Abiding in the Lord (cf. John 15:1-17) means to remain in prayerful cognizance and a general loving awareness of Him. As we keep our knowledge and perception of the Lord in our hearts and minds, we can feel His eyes upon us.

We can also read passages describing something similar to this awareness of God’s gaze, instead of humankind’s, in Ephesians 6, Colossians 3, and Philippians 2: “Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ, not only when being watched, as currying favor, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, willingly serving the Lord and not human beings” (Eph 6:5-7); and, “Slaves, obey your human masters in everything, not only when being watched, as currying favor, but in simplicity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others” (Col 3:22-23); and, “So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world” (Phil 2:12-15).

And as this passage from Sirach 15 concludes: “No one does he command to act unjustly, to none does he give license to sin” (Sir 15:20). God does not sin (cf. Heb 4:15), and if ever we depart from righteousness, we also depart from the presence of the Lord. As we read in Wisdom 1: “For perverse counsels separate people from God, and his power, put to the proof, rebukes the foolhardy; Because into a soul that plots evil wisdom does not enter, nor does she dwell in a body under debt of sin. For the holy spirit of discipline flees deceit and withdraws from senseless counsels and is rebuked when unrighteousness occurs” (Wis 1:4-5). Abiding in God and remaining in God’s presence goes hand in hand with acting righteously and refraining from sin.

As we read in 1 John 3: “Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God. In this way, the children of God and the children of the devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:4-10; cf. 1 John 2:1-6).

And so, in summation, we may know God, receive His Spirit, and abide in the Lord by choosing Him, by virtue of free will within the workings of God’s loving providence. And by seeking God, He shall give us of Himself, as the living water of His Spirit in the free gift of grace, through Christ’s oblation on the cross. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 50:19-21

¹⁹But Joseph replied to them: “Do not fear. Can I take the place of God? ²⁰Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve this present end, the survival of many people. ²¹So now, do not fear. I will provide for you and for your children.” By thus speaking kindly to them, he reassured them.

2. Deuteronomy 11:26-32

²⁶See, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: ²⁷a blessing for obeying the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I give you today; ²⁸a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, but turn aside from the way I command you today, to go after other gods, whom you do not know. ²⁹When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land which you are to enter and possess, then on Mount Gerizim you shall pronounce the blessing, on Mount Ebal, the curse.^[f] ³⁰(These are beyond the Jordan, on the other side of the western road in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal beside the oak of Moreh.) ³¹Now you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you. When, therefore, you take possession of it and settle there, ³²be careful to observe all the statutes and ordinances that I set before you today.

3. Deuteronomy 30:11-20

4. Psalm 34:12-23

¹²Come, children,^[c] listen to me;
    I will teach you fear of the Lord.
¹³Who is the man who delights in life,
    who loves to see the good days?
¹⁴Keep your tongue from evil,
    your lips from speaking lies.
¹⁵Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.
¹⁶The eyes of the Lord are directed toward the righteous
    and his ears toward their cry.
¹⁷The Lord’s face is against evildoers
    to wipe out their memory from the earth.
¹⁸The righteous cry out, the Lord hears
    and he rescues them from all their afflictions.
¹⁹The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
    saves those whose spirit is crushed.
²⁰Many are the troubles of the righteous,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all.
²¹He watches over all his bones;
    not one of them shall be broken.
²²Evil will slay the wicked;
    those who hate the righteous are condemned.
²³The Lord is the redeemer of the souls of his servants;
    and none are condemned who take refuge in him.

Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34

¹Blessed those whose way is blameless,
    who walk by the law of the Lord.
²Blessed those who keep his testimonies,
    who seek him with all their heart.
⁴You have given them the command
    to observe your precepts with care.
⁵May my ways be firm
    in the observance of your statutes!

¹⁷Be kind to your servant that I may live,
that I may keep your word.
¹⁸Open my eyes to see clearly
the wonders of your law.

³³Lord, teach me the way of your statutes;
I shall keep them with care.
³⁴Give me understanding to keep your law,
to observe it with all my heart.

5. Wisdom 1:1-5

¹Love righteousness,^[b] you who judge the earth;
    think of the Lord in goodness,
    and seek him in integrity of heart;
²Because he is found by those who do not test him,
    and manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.
³For perverse counsels separate people from God,
    and his power, put to the proof, rebukes the foolhardy;
^4 [c]Because into a soul that plots evil wisdom does not enter,
    nor does she dwell in a body under debt of sin.
⁵For the holy spirit of discipline^[d] flees deceit
    and withdraws from senseless counsels
    and is rebuked when unrighteousness occurs.

6. Sirach 15:14-20

¹⁴God in the beginning created human beings
and made them subject to their own free choice.

¹⁵If you choose, you can keep the commandments;
    loyalty is doing the will of God.
¹⁶Set before you are fire and water;
    to whatever you choose, stretch out your hand.
¹⁷Before everyone are life and death,
    whichever they choose will be given them.

¹⁸Immense is the wisdom of the Lord;
    mighty in power, he sees all things.
¹⁹The eyes of God behold his works,
    and he understands every human deed.
²⁰He never commands anyone to sin,
    nor shows leniency toward deceivers.

7. Matthew 5:17-37

^17 [m]“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. ¹⁹Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.^[n] ²⁰I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’^[p] ^22 [q]But I say to you, whoever is angry^[r] with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. ²³Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, ²⁴leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.

^31 [u]“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.’ ³²But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

^33 [v]“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’ ³⁴But I say to you, do not swear at all;^[w] not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. ^37 [x]Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.

8. Matthew 7:7-11

⁷“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,^[e] ¹⁰or a snake when he asks for a fish? ¹¹If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

9. Matthew 19:16-17

10. Luke 11:9-13

11. John 3:27-30

12. John 4:10-15

⁷A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” ⁸His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. ^9 [e]The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) ^10 [f]Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹[The woman] said to him, “Sir,^[g] you do not even have a bucket and the well is deep; where then can you get this living water? ¹²Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” ¹³Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; ¹⁴but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” ¹⁵The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

13. John 7:37-39

³⁷On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as scripture says:

‘Rivers of living water^[n] will flow from within him.’”

³⁹He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet,^[o] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

14. John 14:25-31

15. John 15:1-17

16. John 16:33

³³I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.

17. Romans 5:15-21

18. Romans 6:23

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

19. Romans 8:28-30

20. Romans 12:1-2

21. 1 Corinthians 4:6-8

22. 1 Corinthians 6:6-10

⁶But rather brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers?

⁷Now indeed [then] it is, in any case, a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated? ⁸Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers. ^9 [c]Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes^[d] nor sodomites ¹⁰nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.

23. 1 Corinthians 10:6-13

^6 [c]These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did. ⁷And do not become idolaters, as some of them did, as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.” ⁸Let us not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell within a single day. ⁹Let us not test Christ^[d] as some of them did, and suffered death by serpents. ¹⁰Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer. ¹¹These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come.^[e] ¹²Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.^[f] ¹³No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.

24. Ephesians 6:5-9

25. Philippians 1:3-11

³I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, ⁴praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, ⁵because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.^[e] ⁷It is right that I should think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, you who are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, ¹⁰to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

26. Philippians 2:12-18

27. Colossians 3:22-25

28. Hebrews 4:14-16

29. Hebrews 5:11-14

30. James 1:16-18

31. 1 Peter 3:8-12

⁸Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. ⁹Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing. ¹⁰For:

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep the tongue from evil
    and the lips from speaking deceit,
¹¹must turn from evil and do good,
    seek peace and follow after it.
¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears turned to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against evildoers.”

32. 1 John 2:1-6

¹My children,^[a] I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. ²He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world. ³The way we may be sure^[b] that we know him is to keep his commandments. ⁴Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: ⁶whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived.

33. 1 John 3:4-10

⁴Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness.^[c] ⁵You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. ⁷Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God.^[d] ¹⁰In this way, the children of God and the children of the devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother.

34. 1 John 4:7-21

35. Revelation 22:17

¹⁷The Spirit and the bride^[k] say, “Come.” Let the hearer say, “Come.” Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.

Monday 2/13/23

Readings: Gn 4:1-15, 25; Ps 50:1, 8, 16bc-17, 20-21; Mk 8:11-13

Title: “Hold Up Your Head”

As we read this passage from Genesis 4 (Gen 4:1-15, 25), we find this line: “So the LORD said to Cain: ‘Why are you so resentful and crestfallen. If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master’” (Gen 4:6). This is a very elucidating passage regarding the human experience of original sin. In fact, this line calls to mind the temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden in Genesis 3. The LORD describes sin as “a demon lurking at the door” (Gen 4:6). This is to be the experience of all human beings as a result of original sin, for we have the experience of concupiscence, which is a tendency towards sin. The fact of this inclination as “lurking at the door” (Gen 4:6) is what is unavoidable. However, just because this entails a certain tension, and a struggle, does not mean that it entails our submission to it (cf. James 4:6-10). What this means for us is that by the sin of Adam this proclivity to do that which is wrong came into the world (cf. Rom 5:12-21), as concupiscence, and so now, we must persist in a state of tension and an inner battle (cf. Gen 3:24; cf. Rom 13:11-14; cf. 1 Cor 10:13; cf. 2 Cor 10:3-6; cf. Eph 6:10-18; cf. 1 Thess 5:4-11; cf. Heb 4:12-13) to resist the temptation to sin, and to keep our eyes fixed on Christ (cf. Phil 3:12-14; cf. Heb 12:2) in our fight for virtue.

By our own powers alone, we cannot ward off sin. This persisting of that demon at our door is something we must live with and fight against, as a part of the human condition, as original sin. But we can only enter into this battle and fight effectively through Christ, for the victory is Christ’s (cf. Rom 8:31-39; cf. 1 Cor 15:56-58; cf. 1 John 5:4-5), and what we can do is merely to share in it. And it should cause us great worry and discontent if we do not feel that tension against sin (cf. Room 7:13-25; cf. Gal 5:16-26), and feel drawn into that inner battle for virtue through grace and the divine aid of the Holy Spirit and Christ. For if we are not being pulled at and tempted by sin, what this means is not that we are in the clear. To the contrary, there will be no perfect peace free from the temptation of sin until we enter into the next life. But if we feel no tug of sin and an inner battle against vice, it is because sin has already conquered over us, it has already won us over to its side, and we have already submitted, consented, and given into it, in a fall from grace (cf. Heb 10:26-39).

Therefore, it is a great evil not to feel that inner tension of a spiritual battle against sin, aside from temporary reprieves of divine union, and the very fact that we feel this, strive in this way, and implore Christ’s assistance to contend in this battle and resist, should be a great comfort to us, for it means that evil still perceives us a being on the side of good, which is why it tempts us and fights against us, as we in turn fight against it (cf. Gen 3:15). And so, when things feel especially rough for us in our interior spiritual lives, we may do well to remind ourselves of this: evil is only out for us because, and so long as, we are good—that is, not that we are good, but that we align ourselves with that which is good, who is God alone (cf. Matt 19:17), by striving to do God’s will. Indeed, the greatest prize for the devil is the greatest saint, while winning over a habitual sinner is hardly any gain at all—in fact, the devil and that one may already be on the same side. And so, we shall receive the peace that Christ gives—“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27); “I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33; cf. Ps 34:20)—as we struggle against sin and fight the good fight (cf. 1 Tim 4:7-10; cf. 1 Tim 6:11-12; cf. 2 Tim 4:6-8), and in due time, we shall find that it does indeed get easier over time. Much time, and faith the size of a mustard seed (cf. Matt 13:31-32; cf. Matt 17:21), through grace. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 3

¹⁴Then the Lord God said to the snake:

¹⁶To the woman he said:

I will intensify your toil in childbearing;
in pain^[f] you shall bring forth children.
Yet your urge shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.

¹⁷To the man he said: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You shall not eat from it,

²⁰The man gave his wife the name “Eve,” because she was the mother of all the living.

2. Genesis 4:1-15

⁸Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out in the field.”^[e] When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹Then the Lord asked Cain, Where is your brother Abel? He answered, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰God then said: What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! ¹¹Now you are banned from the ground^[f] that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹²If you till the ground, it shall no longer give you its produce. You shall become a constant wanderer on the earth. ¹³Cain said to the Lord: “My punishment is too great to bear. ¹⁴Look, you have now banished me from the ground. I must avoid you and be a constant wanderer on the earth. Anyone may kill me at sight.” ¹⁵Not so! the Lord said to him. If anyone kills Cain, Cain shall be avenged seven times. So the Lord put a mark^[g] on Cain, so that no one would kill him at sight.

3. Psalm 50:1, 8, 16-17, 20-21

¹A psalm of Asaph.

The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.

⁸Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
your burnt offerings are always before me.

¹⁶But to the wicked God says:
    “Why do you recite my commandments
    and profess my covenant with your mouth?
¹⁷You hate discipline;
    you cast my words behind you!
²⁰You sit and speak against your brother,
    slandering your mother’s son.
²¹When you do these things should I be silent?
    Do you think that I am like you?
    I accuse you, I lay out the matter before your eyes.

4. Matthew 13:31-32

³¹He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. ^32 [m]It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”

5. Matthew 17:14-21

¹⁴When they came to the crowd a man approached, knelt down before him, ¹⁵and said, “Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic^[n] and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. ¹⁶I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” ¹⁷Jesus said in reply, “O faithless and perverse^[o] generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,^[p] and from that hour the boy was cured. ¹⁹Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” ^20 [q]He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [²¹]

6. Matthew 19:16-17

7. Mark 8:11-13

^11 [c]The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. ¹²He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.

8. John 14:25-31

9. John 16:33

³³I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.

10. Romans 5:12-21

11. Romans 7:13-25

12. Romans 8:31-39

^31 [h]What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him? ³³Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who acquits us. ³⁴Who will condemn? It is Christ [Jesus] who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. ³⁵What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? ³⁶As it is written:

“For your sake we are being slain all the day;
we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things,^[i] nor future things, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth,^[j] nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

13. Romans 13:11-14

14. 1 Corinthians 10:13

¹³No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.

15. 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
⁵⁵Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin,^[aa] and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

16. 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

17. Galatians 5:16-26

18. Ephesians 6:10-20

19. Philippians 3:12-16

20. 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11

21. 1 Timothy 4:6-10

^6 [c]If you will give these instructions to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching you have followed. ⁷Avoid profane and silly myths. Train yourself for devotion, ⁸for, while physical training is of limited value, devotion is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present and for the future. ⁹This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. ¹⁰For this we toil and struggle,^[d] because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the savior of all, especially of those who believe.

22. 1 Timothy 6:11-16

¹¹But you, man of God,^[f] avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. ¹²Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³I charge [you] before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession, ¹⁴to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ ¹⁵that the blessed and only ruler will make manifest at the proper time, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.

23. 2 Timothy 4:6-9

^6 [c]For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. ^7 [d]I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. ^8 [e]From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.

24. Hebrews 4:12-13

25. Hebrews 10:26-39

^26 [n]If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins ²⁷but a fearful prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries. ²⁸Anyone who rejects the law of Moses^[o] is put to death without pity on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹Do you not think that a much worse punishment is due the one who has contempt for the Son of God, considers unclean the covenant-blood by which he was consecrated, and insults the spirit of grace? ³⁰We know the one who said:

“Vengeance is mine; I will repay,”

and again:

“The Lord will judge his people.”

³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³²Remember the days past when, after you had been enlightened,^[p] you endured a great contest of suffering. ³³At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and affliction; at other times you associated yourselves with those so treated. ³⁴You even joined in the sufferings of those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you had a better and lasting possession. ³⁵Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense. ³⁶You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.

³⁷“For, after just a brief moment,^[q]
    he who is to come shall come;
    he shall not delay.
³⁸But my just one shall live by faith,
    and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him.”

³⁹We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and will possess life.

26. Hebrews 12:1-4

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us^[b] and persevere in running the race that lies before us ²while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. ³Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

27. James 4:6-10

⁶But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:

“God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”

⁷So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds. ⁹Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

28. 1 John 5:1-5

Tuesday 2/14/23

Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop

Readings: Gn 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10; Ps 29:1a, 2, 3ac-4, 3b, 9c-10; Mk 8:14-21

Title: “Forty Days and Forty Nights”

In today’s first reading from Genesis 6-7 (Gen 6:5-8; 7:1-5), we hear the beginning of the flood narrative. The flood narrative is one of the most important and far-reaching events in the Old Testament, and it is worth mentioning that most ancient cultures held a tradition of some version of a flood story. As we read the flood narrative in Genesis, what stands out first is how it says of the LORD, “his heart was grieved” (Gen 6:6). For we have previously heard stories of Adam and Cain, and we hear of “how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil” (Gen 6:5). It sounds as if the stage is being set for a calamity, and yet we then hear, “But Noah found favor with the LORD” (Gen 6:8).

This story places the event of a natural disaster within the context of a moral judgment, and sees this specific flood as a direct result of divine intervention, due to the wickedness of humankind. To be sure, ancient Israel generally regarded all of life’s occurrences as directly caused by God and not by nature, with little regard for the concept of secondary causality. It has also been noted, that it is a wonder that God has not struck His creation down yet, as a result of all the horrendous evils that humankind has perpetrated; and so this story does well to remind us, that indeed, He has. And this story also explains, under the bond of a covenant, why He shall not do so again. As we take the flood narrative within the context of modern history, it helps to place certain things in perspective, as to why God does not intercede negatively today, as well as reassures us that we should expect no such destruction as a direct result of His will (Gen 9:8-17) until the final judgment of humankind.

And now, as we look at the flood narrative in the context of the New Testament, we can find a couple of important passages referencing Noah. In Matthew 24, we read: “For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In [those] days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be [also] at the coming of the Son of Man…. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (Matt 24:37-44).

This establishes the flood in the context of repentance and penance, as the forty days and forty nights do call to mind Lent, in addition to Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness (Matt 4:1-11), the delivery of the law to Moses upon the mount (Exo 34:27-28), and the forty years of wandering in the wilderness in Exodus (Exo 16:35; Josh 5:6). This passage likens the flood to the coming of the Son of Man at the end of the age, such that we must prepare ourselves and be ready (Matt 24:36-41), exercising good stewardship over our souls, communities, and creation. In this way, Jesus’ Second Coming in the Parousia may be seen as a form of the flood, after which coming new life and land appear. And that land too, hidden beneath the waters but revealed according to God’s promise and covenant, is a form of Jesus, the Son of God, as well. For the Person of God is our awaited heaven, and the Lord and the Lamb is our temple and our light (Rev 21:22-27).

This flood is also a type of baptism, as we also know of the gift of the Holy Spirit, given by baptism with God’s grace, that it is a fountain of living waters within the soul (cf. John 4:10-15; cf. John 7:37-39; cf. Rev 22:17). We also hear a reference to Noah in 1 Peter 3: “For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him” (1 Pet 3:18-22).

This reaffirms the saving powers of the water as baptism, and reminds us to be patient during the building of the ark. This ark can be seen as a prefiguration of the Church, as the wood represents the cross, and the Church was born of Christ’s side from the cross, as both blood and water flowed from Christ’s side (John 19:34), as the Holy Eucharist and baptism, the sacraments of grace around which we form God’s Church. May we make proper use of these blessed gifts, the sacraments, and build up the body of God’s people, the Church (cf. Eph 4:7-16), fulfilling the promise of salvation through Christ, to the glory of God. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5

^5 [d]When the Lord saw how great the wickedness of human beings was on earth, and how every desire that their heart conceived was always nothing but evil, ⁶the Lord regretted making human beings on the earth, and his heart was grieved.

⁷So the Lord said: I will wipe out from the earth the human beings I have created, and not only the human beings, but also the animals and the crawling things and the birds of the air, for I regret that I made them.^[f] ⁸But Noah found favor with the Lord.

¹Then the Lord said to Noah: Go into the ark, you and all your household, for you alone in this generation have I found to be righteous before me. ²Of every clean animal, take with you seven pairs, a male and its mate; and of the unclean animals, one pair, a male and its mate; ³likewise, of every bird of the air, seven pairs, a male and a female, to keep their progeny alive over all the earth. ⁴For seven days from now I will bring rain down on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and so I will wipe out from the face of the earth every being that I have made. ⁵Noah complied, just as the Lord had commanded.

2. Genesis 9:8-17

^8 [e]God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ⁹See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you ¹⁰and with every living creature that was with you: the birds, the tame animals, and all the wild animals that were with you—all that came out of the ark. ¹¹I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth. ¹²God said: This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come: ¹³I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember my covenant between me and you and every living creature—every mortal being—so that the waters will never again become a flood to destroy every mortal being. ¹⁶When the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature—every mortal being that is on earth. ¹⁷God told Noah: This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and every mortal being that is on earth.

3. Exodus 16:35

³⁵The Israelites ate the manna for forty years, until they came to settled land; they ate the manna until they came to the borders of Canaan. ³⁶(An omer is one tenth of an ephah.)

4. Exodus 34:27-28

²⁷Then the Lord said to Moses: Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. ²⁸So Moses was there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, without eating any food or drinking any water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words.

5. Joshua 5:6

⁶Now the Israelites wandered forty years in the wilderness, until all the warriors among the people that came forth from Egypt died off because they had not listened to the voice of the Lord. For the Lord swore that he would not let them see the land he had sworn to their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

6. Psalm 29:1-4, 9-10

¹A psalm of David.

Give to the Lord, you sons of God,^[b]
give to the Lord glory and might;
²Give to the Lord the glory due his name.
Bow down before the Lord’s holy splendor!

³The voice of the Lord^[c] is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the Lord, over the mighty waters.
⁴The voice of the Lord is power;
    the voice of the Lord is splendor.

^9 [e]The voice of the Lord makes the deer dance
and strips the forests bare.
All in his Temple say, “Glory!”

¹⁰The Lord sits enthroned above the flood!^[f]
The Lord reigns as king forever!
¹¹May the Lord give might to his people;^[g]
may the Lord bless his people with peace!

7. Matthew 4:1-11

^1 [a]Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. ²He fasted for forty days and forty nights,^[b] and afterwards he was hungry. ³The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” ^4 [c]He said in reply, “It is written:

‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’”

^5 [d]Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, ⁶and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

‘He will command his angels concerning you’
and ‘with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

⁷Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” ⁸Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, ⁹and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”^[e] ¹⁰At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written:

‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.’”

¹¹Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

8. Matthew 24:36-51

9. Mark 8:14-21

¹⁴They had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ^15 [d]He enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” ¹⁶They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. ¹⁷When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? ¹⁸Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, ¹⁹when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” ²⁰“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered [him], “Seven.” ²¹He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

10. John 4:10-15

11. John 7:37-39

³⁷On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as scripture says:

‘Rivers of living water^[n] will flow from within him.’”

³⁹He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet,^[o] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

12. John 19:31-35

³¹Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. ³²So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. ³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, ^34 [o]but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. ³⁵An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows^[p] that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may [come to] believe.

13. Ephesians 4:7-16

⁷But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸Therefore, it says:

“He ascended^[c] on high and took prisoners captive;
he gave gifts to men.”

14. 1 Peter 3:18-22

¹⁸For Christ also suffered^[e] for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit. ¹⁹In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,^[f] ²⁰who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. ²¹This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God^[g] for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

15. Revelation 21:22-27

16. Revelation 22:17

¹⁷The Spirit and the bride^[k] say, “Come.” Let the hearer say, “Come.” Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.

Wednesday 2/15/23

Readings: Gn 8:6-13, 20-22; Ps 116:12-13, 14-15, 18-19; Mk 8:22-26

Title: “Sent Out a Raven, Sent Out a Dove”

As we read this passage from Genesis 8 (Gen 8:6-13, 20-22), we hear about the end of the forty days of rain. As Noah tries to discover if the waters had dried up yet, he releases a raven, and then a dove. The meaning of this pairing of symbolic birds is not immediately clear, but there are several associations we can explore between these birds and their symbolic meanings. It is worth noting, that the raven Noah releases only once, while the dove he releases three times in succession, as it returns to him until it at last settles upon land. It is also worth noting that a dove is a ground feeder, taking its food from the earth, in preference to the branches of trees. What we know about ravens is that they are scavengers, and so are unclean animals by Jewish standards (Lev 11:13-19; Deut 14:11-20), for their contact with dead carcasses. And so, this raven is an unclean creature, of which Noah was to have only one pair (Gen 7:2-3). If one of the single pairs of unclean creatures were lost, that would be the end of its species. Perhaps we can see here a reflection of Adam and Eve, or of unredeemed humankind.

The dark color of the raven also calls to mind the bride in the Song of Songs, who is the Church: “I am black and beautiful, Daughters of Jerusalem—Like the tents of Qedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not stare at me because I am so black, because the sun has burned me. The sons of my mother were angry with me; they charged me with the care of the vineyards: my own vineyard I did not take care of” (Song 1:5-6; cf. Song 5:10). This is perhaps humankind before the gift of grace, which can do nothing but fly “back and forth until the waters dried off from the earth” (Gen 8:7). Without God’s grace, humankind in this state can arrive nowhere and do nothing.

We also hear mention of ravens in several other places (1 Kings 17:1-5; Job 38:41; Ps 147:9; Prov 30:17; Song 5:11; Isa 34:11; Luke 12:24), most notably Luke 12, Job 38, and 1 Kings 17. As we read in Luke 12, “Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds!” (Luke 12:24; cf. Job 38:40; cf. Ps 147:9). And in Job 38, we hear: “Who provides nourishment for the raven when its young cry out to God, wandering about without food?” (Job 38:41). And in 1 Kings 17, we read: “Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word.’ The word of the Lord came to Elijah: Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. You shall drink of the wadi, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there. So he left and did as the Lord had commanded. He left and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the wadi” (1 Kings 17:1-5). It may be for this association with Elijah the prophet that the raven is also sometimes associated with prophecy.

It is significant that the LORD sends the ravens out to feed Elijah, just as Noah sent out the raven, and this may show that the LORD can make use even of animals declared unclean, for God makes all things clean. A similar sentiment is expressed by St. Peter regarding both Jewish food laws and the Gentiles, in Acts 10 and 11: “I also heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.’ But I said, ‘Certainly not, sir, because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time a voice from heaven answered, ‘What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.’ ….When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, ‘God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too’” (Acts 11:7-18; cf. Acts 10:9-16).

Regarding the dove, the symbolism is more transparent. As we hear of Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3: “After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” (Matt 3:16-17). This indicates that Jesus is the land upon which Noah’s dove alights, the promised land of our salvation, delivered through baptism. We also hear from John the Baptist in John 1: “John testified further, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.” Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God’” (John 1:32-34).

We also know doves to be associated with gentleness, as we hear the bride and the bridegroom described in the Song of Songs as having dove’s eyes (Song 1:15; Song 4:1; Song 5:12), and Jesus tells His disciples: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves” (Matt 10:16). Ultimately, we regard the dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, especially associated with its delivery to us in baptism. And so, through establishing what the dove symbolizes, we can perhaps more easily deduce the symbolism of the raven, as humankind before the gift of the Holy Spirit, without yet a promised land upon which to alight.

And yet, we do not see the raven outside the context of the dove, but only alongside the dove who comes second. In a similar way, we do not consider the story of Adam and Eve alone, but only regard Adam’s story as an enlightening tale in the context of Christ. We never regard Adam without Christ, but only within the context of Jesus’ redeeming grace (cf. Rom 5:12-21; cf. 1 Cor 15:45-49). And so, likewise, we can see the raven and the dove as the providential pairing of humankind on its own alongside Jesus, and the gift of God’s Holy Spirit and grace. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 7:1-5

2. Genesis 8:6-13

⁶At the end of forty days Noah opened the hatch of the ark that he had made, ^7 [b]and he released a raven. It flew back and forth until the waters dried off from the earth. ⁸Then he released a dove, to see if the waters had lessened on the earth. ⁹But the dove could find no place to perch, and it returned to him in the ark, for there was water over all the earth. Putting out his hand, he caught the dove and drew it back to him inside the ark. ¹⁰He waited yet seven days more and again released the dove from the ark. ¹¹In the evening the dove came back to him, and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf! So Noah knew that the waters had diminished on the earth. ¹²He waited yet another seven days and then released the dove; but this time it did not come back.

^13 [c]In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water began to dry up on the earth. Noah then removed the covering of the ark and saw that the surface of the ground had dried.

3. Leviticus 11:13-19

¹³Of the birds,^[d] these you shall loathe; they shall not be eaten, they are loathsome: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, ¹⁴the kite, the various species of falcons, ¹⁵the various species of crows, ¹⁶the eagle owl, the kestrel, the long-eared owl, the various species of hawks, ¹⁷the little owl, the cormorant, the screech owl, ¹⁸the barn owl, the horned owl, the osprey, ¹⁹the stork, the various species of herons, the hoopoe, and the bat.

4. Deuteronomy 14:11-20

¹¹You may eat all clean birds. ^12 [a]But you shall not eat any of the following: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, ¹³the various kites and falcons, ¹⁴all kinds of crows, ¹⁵the eagle owl, the kestrel, the long-eared owl, all species of hawks, ¹⁶the little owl, the screech owl, the barn owl, ¹⁷the horned owl, the osprey, the cormorant, ¹⁸the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. ^19 [b]All winged insects are also unclean for you and shall not be eaten. ²⁰Any clean winged creatures you may eat.

5. 1 Kings 17:1-6

¹Elijah the Tishbite,^[c] from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word.” ²The word of the Lord came to Elijah: ³Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁴You shall drink of the wadi, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there. ⁵So he left and did as the Lord had commanded. He left and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁶Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the wadi.

6. Job 38:41

⁴¹Who provides nourishment for the raven
when its young cry out to God,
wandering about without food?

7. Psalm 116:12-15, 18-19

¹²How can I repay the Lord
    for all the great good done for me?
¹³I will raise the cup of salvation^[e]
    and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁴I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.
^15 [f]Dear in the eyes of the Lord
    is the death of his devoted.
¹⁸I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹In the courts of the house of the Lord,
    in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!

8. Psalm 147:9

⁷Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
    with the lyre make music to our God,
^8 [b]Who covers the heavens with clouds,
    provides rain for the earth,
    makes grass sprout on the mountains,
⁹Who gives animals their food
    and young ravens what they cry for.
^10 [c]He takes no delight in the strength of horses,
    no pleasure in the runner’s stride.
¹¹Rather the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
    those who put their hope in his mercy.

9. Proverbs 30:17

¹⁷The eye that mocks a father,
or scorns the homage due a mother,
Will be plucked out by brook ravens;
devoured by a brood of vultures.

10. Song of Songs 1:5-6, 15

⁵W I am black and beautiful,
    Daughters of Jerusalem^[f]—
Like the tents of Qedar,
    like the curtains of Solomon.
⁶Do not stare at me because I am so black,^[g]
    because the sun has burned me.
The sons of my mother were angry with me;
    they charged me with the care of the vineyards:
    my own vineyard I did not take care of.

¹⁵M How beautiful you are, my friend,
how beautiful! your eyes are doves!

11. Song of Songs 4:1

¹M^,How beautiful you are, my friend,
    how beautiful you are!
Your eyes are doves
    behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
    streaming down Mount Gilead.^[a]

^12.Song of Songs 5:10-12

¹⁰W My lover is radiant and ruddy;^[g]
outstanding among thousands.

¹¹His head is gold, pure gold,
    his hair like palm fronds,
    as black as a raven.
¹²His eyes are like doves
    beside streams of water,
Bathing in milk,
    sitting^[h] by brimming pools.

13. Isaiah 34:11

¹¹But the desert owl and hoot owl shall possess it,
the screech owl and raven shall dwell in it.
The Lord will stretch over it the measuring line of chaos,
the plumb line of confusion.^[c]

14. Matthew 3:13-17

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ^14 [k]John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” ¹⁵Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. ^16 [l]After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him. ¹⁷And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son,^[m] with whom I am well pleased.”

15. Matthew 10:16

¹⁶“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.

16. Mark 8:22-26

²²When they arrived at Bethsaida, they brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴Looking up he replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.” ²⁵Then he laid hands on his eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly. ²⁶Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”

17. Luke 12:22-34

²²He said to [his] disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. ²³For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. ²⁴Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds! ²⁵Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span? ²⁶If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. ²⁸If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? ²⁹As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. ³⁰All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. ³²Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

18. John 1:29-34

²⁹The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God,^[u] who takes away the sin of the world. ^30 [v]He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ ³¹I did not know him,^[w] but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” ³²John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove^[x] from the sky and remain upon him. ³³I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ ^34 [y]Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

19. Acts 10:8-16

^9 [f]The next day, while they were on their way and nearing the city, Peter went up to the roof terrace to pray at about noontime.^[g] ¹⁰He was hungry and wished to eat, and while they were making preparations he fell into a trance. ¹¹He saw heaven opened and something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered to the ground by its four corners. ¹²In it were all the earth’s four-legged animals and reptiles and the birds of the sky. ¹³A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.” ¹⁴But Peter said, “Certainly not, sir. For never have I eaten anything profane and unclean.” ¹⁵The voice spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.” ¹⁶This happened three times, and then the object was taken up into the sky.

20. Acts 11:1-18

¹Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. ²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem the circumcised believers confronted him, ³saying, “You entered^[b] the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.” ⁴Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying, ⁵“I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when in a trance I had a vision, something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me. ⁶Looking intently into it, I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. ⁷I also heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.’ ⁸But I said, ‘Certainly not, sir, because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹But a second time a voice from heaven answered, ‘What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.’ ¹⁰This happened three times, and then everything was drawn up again into the sky. ¹¹Just then three men appeared at the house where we were, who had been sent to me from Caesarea. ¹²The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating. These six brothers^[c] also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³He related to us how he had seen [the] angel standing in his house, saying, ‘Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, ¹⁴who will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’ ¹⁵As I began to speak, the holy Spirit fell upon them as it had upon us at the beginning, ¹⁶and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” ¹⁸When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, “God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”

21. Romans 5:12-21

22. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49

Thursday 2/16/23

Readings: Gn 9:1-13; Ps 102:16-18, 19-21, 22-23; Mk 8:27-33

Title: “As God Does”

In this passage from Mark 8 (Mark 8:27-33), we hear one of the harshest rebukes delivered by Jesus, and it is directed at St. Peter. To place this saying in context, in the Gospel of Matthew, it comes directly after Peter’s confession of Christ, at which time Jesus entrusts him with the keys to the Kingdom: “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt 16:18-19).

And so, this rebuke may not be as harsh as it sounds, for we know from Proverbs: “Whoever spares the rod hates the child, but whoever loves will apply discipline” (Prov 13:24; cf. Prov 3:1-12). And as it is reiterated in Hebrews 12: “‘My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.’ Endure your trials as ‘discipline’; God treats you as sons. For what ‘son’ is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards” (Heb 12:5-8; cf. Prov 3:11-12; cf. Rev 3:19). It is to receive no rebuke or correction at all that is the truly bad sign, but to receive a correction means to be led aright and have an erroneous idea set straight. This is actually a good sign, and not merely a scathing insult, especially in the context of the Jewish culture of instruction and correction in Jesus’ day.

Now, as we now look a bit deeper into what transpires in this scene, we see Jesus describing His cross: “He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly” (Mark 8:31-32). And so, what is It exactly for which Peter receives such a scathing rebuke? It is for trying to separate Christ from His cross. Of all the things from which Christ cannot be parted (cf. Rom 8:35-39), this may top the list, as this suffering is a necessary component of His role of the Messiah, and Isaiah’s Suffering Servant (Isa 53). To take the suffering out of the servant, means to change the role of God’s calling for Him, and abandon God’s will for Him. This shall not be, for Jesus will only ever conform His will to God’s will perfectly (cf. Matt 26:39-44; cf. Heb 4:15; cf. Heb 10:5-10).

It is for this reason that after Peter contradicts Jesus regarding His suffering (Mark 8:32; cf. Matt 16:22), Jesus says to Peter, “‘Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do’” (Mark 8:33; cf. Matt 16:23). We may know of the conditions of discipleship from Matthew 16 (Matt 16:24-28; cf. Matt 10:37-39), and Luke 14 (Luke 14:25-35), but this is also the place where they next appear in Mark’s Gospel (Mark 8:34-38). Jesus describes how the cross is truly necessary and inseparable from His calling. And not His calling only, but that of each and every one of His disciples, as well. In fact, the taking up of this cross is explicitly laid out in writing in the Bible as the primary and fundamental condition of discipleship: “He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels’” (Mark 8:34-38; cf. Matt 10:37-39; cf. Matt 16:24-28; cf. Luke 14:25-35).

And so, any time we hear of an evasion from the cross, a denial of hardship, a refusal of suffering, or, in short, an unwillingness to take up one’s cross, this is what Jesus would say to us in that moment—and it may encourage us towards improvement and good deeds to remember that He said this to St. Peter, as well—“‘Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do’” (Mark 8:33; cf. Matt 16:23). We may align ourselves to God’s will and conform ourselves to Jesus (cf. Rom 12:1-2; cf. Phil 3:17-21), as we accept the cross and even embrace it, for where the cross is, there too is our God. We shall find Christ in the midst of our crosses, as it is God who shall help us carry them, turning even all evil things into good (cf. Gen 50:20; cf. Rom 8:28). Where Christ is, there God’s love is, and Christ Himself is inseparable from His cross. So, let it be ours, as well. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 9:1-13

^6 [d]Anyone who sheds the blood of a human being,
by a human being shall that one’s blood be shed;
For in the image of God
have human beings been made.

⁷Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it.

2. Genesis 50:19-21

3. Psalm 102:16-23

¹⁶The nations shall fear your name, Lord,
    all the kings of the earth, your glory,
¹⁷Once the Lord has rebuilt Zion
    and appeared in glory,
¹⁸Heeding the plea of the lowly,
    not scorning their prayer.
¹⁹Let this be written for the next generation,
    for a people not yet born,
    that they may praise the Lord:
^20 [c]“The Lord looked down from the holy heights,
    viewed the earth from heaven,
²¹To attend to the groaning of the prisoners,
    to release those doomed to die.”
²²Then the Lord’s name will be declared on Zion,
    his praise in Jerusalem,
²³When peoples and kingdoms gather
    to serve the Lord.

4. Proverbs 3:1-12

5. Proverbs 13:24

²⁴Whoever spares the rod hates the child,
but whoever loves will apply discipline.

6. Isaiah 53

¹Who would believe what we have heard?^[a]
    To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
²He grew up like a sapling before him,
    like a shoot from the parched earth;
He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye,
    no beauty to draw us to him.
³He was spurned and avoided by men,
    a man of suffering, knowing pain,
Like one from whom you turn your face,
    spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

⁴Yet it was our pain that he bore,
    our sufferings he endured.
We thought of him as stricken,
    struck down by God^[b] and afflicted,
⁵But he was pierced for our sins,
    crushed for our iniquity.
He bore the punishment that makes us whole,
    by his wounds we were healed.
⁶We had all gone astray like sheep,
    all following our own way;
But the Lord laid upon him^[c]
    the guilt of us all.

⁷Though harshly treated, he submitted
    and did not open his mouth;
Like a lamb led to slaughter
    or a sheep silent before shearers,
    he did not open his mouth.
⁸Seized and condemned, he was taken away.
    Who would have thought any more of his destiny?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
    struck for the sins of his people.
⁹He was given a grave among the wicked,
    a burial place with evildoers,
Though he had done no wrong,
    nor was deceit found in his mouth.
¹⁰But it was the Lord’s will to crush him with pain.
By making his life as a reparation offering,^[d]
    he shall see his offspring, shall lengthen his days,
    and the Lord’s will shall be accomplished through him.
¹¹Because of his anguish he shall see the light;
    because of his knowledge he shall be content;
My servant, the just one, shall justify the many,
    their iniquity he shall bear.
¹²Therefore I will give him his portion among the many,
    and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
Because he surrendered himself to death,
    was counted among the transgressors,
Bore the sins of many,
    and interceded for the transgressors.

7. Matthew 10:37-39

8. Matthew 16:13-28

¹³When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi^[i] he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist,^[j] others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ^16 [k]Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood^[l] has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. ¹⁸And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,^[m] and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.^[n] Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” ^20 [o]Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

²¹From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he^[q] must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. ^22 [r]Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” ²³He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

9. Matthew 26:36-46

10. Mark 8:27-38

²⁷Now Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” ²⁹And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Messiah.” ³⁰Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

³⁴He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said^[h] to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel^[i] will save it. ³⁶What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? ³⁷What could one give in exchange for his life? ³⁸Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

11. Luke 14:25-35

²⁵Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, ²⁶“If any one comes to me without hating his father^[g] and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. ²⁸Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? ²⁹Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him ³⁰and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ ³¹Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? ³²But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. ³³In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

³⁴“Salt is good, but if salt itself loses its taste, with what can its flavor be restored? ³⁵It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

12. Romans 8:28-39

“For your sake we are being slain all the day;
we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.”

13. Romans 12:1-2

14. Philippians 3:17-21

15. Hebrews 4:14-16

16. Hebrews 10:5-10

17. Hebrews 12:1-13

“My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
⁶for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges.”

¹²So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. ¹³Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.

18. Revelation 3:14-19

¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea,^[j] write this:

Friday 2/17/23

Readings: Gn 11:1-9; Ps 33:10-11, 12-13, 14-15; Mk 8:34-9:1

Title: “Take Up His Cross, and Follow Me”

In today’s Gospel reading from Mark (Mark 8:34-9:1), we hear the conditions of discipleship. As this passage begins: “Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life?” (Mark 8:34-37; cf. Luke 9:23-27; cf. Matt 10:37-39; cf. Matt 16:24-28). This is one of the most important passages from the Gospels. Here, we receive a radical injunction from Jesus, and a veritable commandment that would forever alter one’s entire way of life. If we wish to compare and contrast worldly living with what it means to live like a true Christian—not in name only, but in one’s whole manner of thinking and living, and one’s entire approach to and understanding of life—this one short passage sums up the difference between Christian life and worldly life.

In a world and society driven by the enjoyment of pleasure, self-seeking, and types of personal gain, this statement about giving everything up and embodying the cross, an instrument of both salvation and execution, is quite revolutionary. This exemplifies a spiritual way and a selfless way of living that goes completely against the grain of the way earthly life is typically directed. As we read in Galatians 5: “I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want” (Gal 5:16-17).

And as we also read in Romans 8: “For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit. The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace. For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you…. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:5-13; cf. Heb 11:6; cf. James 4:4).

To live spiritually is to die to self, and to carry with us Christ’s cross, as a crucifixion of the flesh (cf. 2 Cor 4:7-11; cf. Gal 2:19-21; cf. Gal 5:24; cf. Gal 6:14) in order to better aerate and vivify the Spirit within. As we read in 2 Corinthians 4: “Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor 4:16-18).

And as this sounds like a drastic sacrifice, a thankless renunciation, and a senseless waste, it does in fact bring its own unique rewards, gained by the soul in the Kingdom of heaven. As St. Paul states in Philippians 3: “[But] whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him” (Phil 3:7-9). And as Jesus reminds us in Matthew 11: “‘Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light’” (Matt 11:28-30).

The reward we receive by relinquishing all (cf. 1 Cor 7:29-31; cf. 2 Cor 6:3-10), severing worldly attachments through mortification of the will—in embracing hardship, suffering, and struggle—and purgative spiritual cleansing (cf. Matt 23:25-26)… what we gain through ridding our soul of lusts, attachments, sinful desires, or paltry distractions—is God. There is no contest, no comparison, no tradeoff, no match. God is all (cf. Rom 11:36; cf. 1 Cor 15:28; cf. Eph 1:22-23; cf. Eph 3:19; cf. Eph 4:1-10; cf. Col 1:15-20; cf. Col 2:9-10), God is everything (cf. Rom 9:15-18; cf. 1 Cor 3:5-9; cf. Phil 2:13), and everything else pales in comparison as nothing and mere rubbish (cf. Phil 3:7-8) when held next to God.

What we sacrifice by taking up the cross is not merely a self-emptying (cf. Phil 2:7-8) form of living martyrdom (cf. Rom 12:1-2). Far from it. We actually gain everything, and lose nothing, in our new understanding of life and the world (cf. Mark 8:35-36). We give up the temporal and gain the eternal, we give up the material to gain the spiritual (cf. Matt 6:19-34), we give up treachery and gain wisdom, we give up sin and gain virtue, we give up death and gain life (cf. Deut 11:26-32; cf. Deut 30:11-20; cf. Sir 15:14-17; cf. Sir 33:7-15), we give up evil and gain goodness, we give up the world and gain God. As we read in Colossians 3: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory” (Col 3:1-4). This is not a sacrifice, this is hitting the jackpot of the unspeakable riches (cf. Eph 1:17-23; cf. Eph 3:14-21), wisdom, and goodness of the inscrutable (cf. Rom 11:33) and ineffable God. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 11:1-9

⁵The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built. ⁶Then the Lord said: If now, while they are one people and all have the same language, they have started to do this, nothing they presume to do will be out of their reach. ⁷Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that no one will understand the speech of another. ⁸So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹That is why it was called Babel,^[d] because there the Lord confused the speech of all the world. From there the Lord scattered them over all the earth.

2. Deuteronomy 11:26-32

3. Deuteronomy 30:11-20

4. Psalm 33:10-15

¹⁰The Lord foils the plan of nations,
    frustrates the designs of peoples.
¹¹But the plan of the Lord stands forever,
    the designs of his heart through all generations.
¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people chosen as his inheritance.

¹³From heaven the Lord looks down
    and observes the children of Adam,
¹⁴From his dwelling place he surveys
    all who dwell on earth.
¹⁵The One who fashioned together their hearts
    is the One who knows all their works.

5. Sirach 15:14-17

6. Sirach 33:7-15

^7 [b]Why is one day more important than another,
    when the same sun lights up every day of the year?
⁸By the Lord’s knowledge they are kept distinct;
    and he designates the seasons and feasts.
⁹Some he exalts and sanctifies,
    and others he lists as ordinary days.
¹⁰Likewise, all people are of clay,
    and from earth humankind was formed;
¹¹In the fullness of his knowledge the Lord distinguished them,
    and he designated their different ways.
¹²Some he blessed and exalted,
    and some he sanctified and drew to himself.
Others he cursed and brought low,
    and expelled them from their place.
¹³Like clay in the hands of a potter,
    to be molded according to his pleasure,
So are people in the hands of their Maker,
    to be dealt with as he decides.
¹⁴As evil contrasts with good, and death with life,
    so are sinners in contrast with the godly.
¹⁵See now all the works of the Most High:
    they come in pairs, one the opposite of the other.

7. Matthew 6:19-34

^24 [o]“No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? ²⁷Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?^[q] ²⁸Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. ²⁹But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. ^30 [r]If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ ³²All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness,^[s] and all these things will be given you besides. ³⁴Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.

8. Matthew 10:37-39

9. Matthew 11:28-29

^28 [o]“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,^[p] and I will give you rest. ^29 [q]Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

10. Matthew 16:24-28

^25 [n]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. ²⁶Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.

12. Luke 9:23-27

²³Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily^[k] and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ²⁵What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself? ²⁶Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

13. Mark 8:34-9:1

^1 [a]He also said to them, “Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come in power.”

14. Romans 8:1-13

15. Romans 9:15-18

¹⁵For he says to Moses:

“I will show mercy to whom I will,
I will take pity on whom I will.”

¹⁶So it depends not upon a person’s will or exertion, but upon God, who shows mercy. ¹⁷For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “This is why I have raised you up, to show my power through you that my name may be proclaimed throughout the earth.” ¹⁸Consequently, he has mercy upon whom he wills, and he hardens whom he wills.

16. Romans 11:33-36

^33 [f]Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

³⁴“For who has known the mind of the Lord^[g]
or who has been his counselor?”
^35 [h]“Or who has given him anything
that he may be repaid?”

³⁶For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

17. Romans 12:1-2

18. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

19. 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

^29 [l]I tell you, brothers, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, ³⁰those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, ³¹those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away.

20. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

²⁰But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits^[h] of those who have fallen asleep. ^21 [i]For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. ²²For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, ²³but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; ²⁴then comes the end,^[j] when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ^26 [k]The last enemy to be destroyed is death, ^27 [l]for “he subjected everything under his feet.” But when it says that everything has been subjected, it is clear that it excludes the one who subjected everything to him. ²⁸When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will [also] be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

21. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, 16-18

^7 [e]But we hold this treasure^[f] in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. ^8 [g]We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; ^10 [h]always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. ¹¹For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

^16 [k]Therefore, we are not discouraged;^[l] rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.

22. 2 Corinthians 6:3-10

³We cause no one to stumble^[d] in anything, in order that no fault may be found with our ministry; ^4 [e]on the contrary, in everything we commend ourselves as ministers of God, through much endurance,^[f] in afflictions, hardships, constraints, ⁵beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts; ^6 [g]by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in a holy spirit, in unfeigned love, ⁷in truthful speech, in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left; ⁸through glory and dishonor, insult and praise. We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful;^[h] ⁹as unrecognized and yet acknowledged; as dying and behold we live; as chastised and yet not put to death; ¹⁰as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

23. Galatians 2:19-21

¹⁹For through the law I died to the law,^[s] that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; ²⁰yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me. ²¹I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

24. Galatians 5:16-26

25. Galatians 6:11-16

¹¹See with what large letters^[g] I am writing to you in my own hand! ^12 [h]It is those who want to make a good appearance in the flesh who are trying to compel you to have yourselves circumcised, only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. ¹³Not even those having themselves circumcised^[i] observe the law themselves; they only want you to be circumcised so that they may boast of your flesh. ¹⁴But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which^[j] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ¹⁵For neither does circumcision mean anything, nor does uncircumcision, but only a new creation.^[k] ¹⁶Peace and mercy be to all who follow this rule^[l] and to the Israel of God.

26. Ephesians 1:15-23

27. Ephesians 3:14-21

¹⁴For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family^[h] in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, ¹⁷and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

28. Ephesians 4:1-10

^1 [a]I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, ³striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: ^4 [b]one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸Therefore, it says:

“He ascended^[c] on high and took prisoners captive;
he gave gifts to men.”

29. Philippians 2:6-18

30. Philippians 3:7-11

30. Colossians 1:15-20

^15 [f]He is the image^[g] of the invisible God,
    the firstborn of all creation.
¹⁶For in him^[h] were created all things in heaven and on earth,
    the visible and the invisible,
    whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
    all things were created through him and for him.
¹⁷He is before all things,
    and in him all things hold together.
¹⁸He is the head of the body, the church.^[i]
    He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
    that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
¹⁹For in him all the fullness^[j] was pleased to dwell,
²⁰and through him to reconcile all things for him,
    making peace by the blood of his cross^[k]
    [through him], whether those on earth or those in heaven.

32. Colossians 2:9-15

33. Colossians 3:1-4

¹If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ²Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. ³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

34. Hebrews 11:1-7

¹Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence^[b] of things not seen. ²Because of it the ancients were well attested. ³By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God,^[c] so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. ^4 [d]By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain’s. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks. ⁵By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and “he was found no more because God had taken him.” Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God. ^6 [e]But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith.

35. James 4:1-4

Saturday 2/18/23

Readings: Heb 11:1-7; Ps 145:2-3, 4-5, 10-11; Mk 9:2-13

Title: “Comes Through Faith”

This opening passage from Hebrews 11 (Heb 11:1-7) says much about faith. As this passage begins: “Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible” (Heb 11:1-3). Faith is our entryway (cf. Matt 7:13-14) into the world of the divine, and the supernatural power of God through His gift of grace. Without the gift of the theological virtues—faith, hope, and charity—poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:5), the divine life of grace would be unattainable to us. We know of these virtues from 1 Corinthians 13: “At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:12-13). And we know that faith works through love from Galatians 5: “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love” (Gal 5:6).

Our supernatural knowledge of God is revealed to us through the Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 2: 10-16), and this type of knowledge is not knowing in the traditional sense of knowing (cf. Eph 15-23; cf. Eph 3:14-21). It is a much deeper and wholly different type of knowing, more analogous to unknowing. For knowing is done with the intellect, but knowledge of God operates outside the range of the human intellect, and is attained by faith, which works through love (Gal 5:6). Knowledge of God is more akin to loving God than intellectually knowing God, and the ways in which we can work upon the perfection of this deep spiritual knowledge of loving faith can be described in part by the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit (cf. Isa 11:1-4), which help to perfect the virtues in our journey to God. Within the soul lies our pathway to God, by the gift of the Holy Spirit bestowed by baptism through Christ. For as Jesus says in John 14: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him’” (John 14:6-7; cf. Matt 5:8; cf. 1 John 3:1-3).

At the very peak of the soul, in the highest part of our being, is the spirit, and this spirit is the way in which we may know and love and glorify God. This is not done through natural human powers, but by God’s gift to us of supernatural grace, which is given to us specifically so that we may know Him, and love and glorify the Lord, and so that His laws may be written in our hearts, and we may be His people, and He may be our God (Jer 31:31-34; Jer 32:38; Ezek 36:25-28; cf. Isa 30:18-21; cf. Isa 54:13; cf. John 6:45-51; cf. John 14:25-31; cf. John 16:13-15; cf. 1 Cor 2).

As this passage from Hebrews 11 goes on, we hear how Abel, Enoch, and Noah all pleased God (Heb 11:4-7). And as Hebrews 11 states: “But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this, he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith” (Heb 11:6-7). We must have faith both to know God and to please God, for without faith in Him leading to knowledge of Him, how shall we glorify God, live in loving communion with God, and walk in God’s ways? Our life of faith is a living relationship with God, through which we understand the meaning of life, take confidence in our purpose, and enjoy the blessedness that leads to eternal life (cf. Matt 5:3-12)—which is our union with God (cf. John 17:3; cf. John 17:20-26). Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 145:2-5, 10-11

²Every day I will bless you;
    I will praise your name forever and ever.
³Great is the Lord and worthy of much praise,
    whose grandeur is beyond understanding.
⁴One generation praises your deeds to the next
    and proclaims your mighty works.
⁵They speak of the splendor of your majestic glory,
    tell of your wonderful deeds.

¹⁰All your works give you thanks, Lord
and your faithful bless you.
¹¹They speak of the glory of your reign
and tell of your mighty works,

2. Isaiah 11:1-4

¹But a shoot shall sprout from the stump^[c] of Jesse,
    and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
^2 [d]The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him:
    a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A spirit of counsel and of strength,
    a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord,
³    and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
    nor by hearsay shall he decide,
⁴But he shall judge the poor with justice,
    and decide fairly for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
    and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

3. Isaiah 30:18-21

¹⁸Truly, the Lord is waiting to be gracious to you,
    truly, he shall rise to show you mercy;
For the Lord is a God of justice:
    happy are all who wait for him!
¹⁹Yes, people of Zion, dwelling in Jerusalem,
    you shall no longer weep;
He will be most gracious to you when you cry out;
    as soon as he hears he will answer you.
²⁰The Lord will give you bread in adversity
    and water in affliction.
No longer will your Teacher^[^h^] hide himself,
    but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
²¹And your ears shall hear a word behind you:
    “This is the way; walk in it,”
    when you would turn to the right or the left.

4. Isaiah 54:13

¹³All your children shall be taught by the Lord;
great shall be the peace of your children.

5. Jeremiah 31:31-34

6. Jeremiah 32:36-41

³⁶Now, therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city, which you say is being handed over to the king of Babylon by means of the sword, starvation, and disease: ³⁷See, I am gathering them from all the lands to which I drove them in my rising fury and great anger; I will bring them back to this place and settle them here in safety. ³⁸They shall be my people, and I will be their God. ³⁹I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me always, for their own good and the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰With them I will make an everlasting covenant, never to cease doing good to them; I will put fear of me in their hearts so that they never turn away from me. ⁴¹I will take delight in doing good to them: I will plant them firmly in this land, with all my heart and soul.

7. Ezekiel 36:25-28

8. Matthew 5:3-12

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit,^[d]
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
^4 [e]Blessed are they who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
^5 [f]Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the land.
⁶Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,^[g]
    for they will be satisfied.
⁷Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
^8 [h]Blessed are the clean of heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,^[i]
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. ^12 [j]Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

9. Matthew 7:13-14

^13 [g]“Enter through the narrow gate;^[h] for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. ¹⁴How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

10. Mark 9:2-13

²After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. ⁴Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. ^5 [c]Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. ⁷Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;^[d] then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” ⁸Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.

⁹As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. ¹¹Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹²He told them, “Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt? ¹³But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

11. John 6:45-51

⁴⁵It is written in the prophets:

‘They shall all be taught by God.’

12. John 14:6-7, 25-31

²⁵“I have told you this while I am with you. ²⁶The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you. ²⁷Peace^[^l^] I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. ^28 [^m^]You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. ³⁰I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world^[ⁿ^] is coming. He has no power over me, ³¹but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go.

13. John 16:12-15

14. John 17:1-5, 20-26

¹When Jesus had said this, he raised his eyes to heaven^[b] and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, ^2 [c]just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him. ^3 [d]Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. ⁴I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. ⁵Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

15. Romans 5:1-11

16. 1 Corinthians 2

“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,”

¹⁰this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

17. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

^8 [d]Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. ⁹For we know partially and we prophesy partially, ¹⁰but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. ¹²At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. ^13 [e]So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

18. Galatians 5:2-6

²It is I, Paul, who am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. ³Once again I declare to every man who has himself circumcised that he is bound to observe the entire law.^[c] ⁴You are separated from Christ, you who are trying to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. ⁵For through the Spirit, by faith, we await the hope of righteousness. ⁶For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

19. Ephesians 1:15-23

20. Ephesians 3:14-21

21. Hebrews 11:1-7

22. 1 John 3:1-3

Sunday 2/19/23

Readings: Lv 19:1-2, 17-18; Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48

Title: “The Spirit of God Dwells in You”

1 Corinthians 3 gives us a wonderful description of how we are “God’s field, God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9), and how we therefore work to live holy lives in order to honor and glorify the Lord (cf. 1 Cor 6:19-20). What St. Paul stresses in this chapter is how we ought not to pledge belonging or a particular loyalty to a particular person in any way that detracts from our belonging and loyalty to Christ and to God, or in such a way that that bond replaces our relationship with the Lord (1Cor 3:1-7, 21-23). To trust in particular people can be helpful, but when they are placed ahead of God or are used to replace God, instead of to help us draw closer to God, then this can become a problem. We must derive our unity from God in Christ (cf. Eph 4:1-6; cf. Col 3:11-17), and not cater to particular relationships or associations in such a way that causes divisions of Christ’s body instead of unity within it (cf. 1 Cor 6:15-20), between us as His members (cf. 1 Cor 12:12-31).

We are the temple of God, and because God’s Spirit dwells within us (1 Cor 3:16-17; cf. 1 Cor 6:19-20), we must live in holiness to foster the divine life of grace that we share in by virtue of this free gift of God’s Spirit through Christ. Living in holiness means recognizing our dependence upon God and not upon ourselves, for all holiness comes from God and not from humankind (cf. Eph 2:8-10). We can share in God’s holiness, by the free gift of His mercy, love, salvation, and righteousness (cf. 2 Cor 5:21), but we cannot produce it on our own. Having the humility to recognize whose gift this is (cf. Wis 8:21; cf. 1 Cor 4:6-7), is part of true wisdom, which seeks not to exalt oneself—which is the sin of pride—but seeks rather to use God’s gifts to glorify God.

For this is the purpose of right living: to showcase the Lord’s saving grace, power, and glory, by what we do, what we say, the way we think and act, and how we treat each other (cf. Lev 19:1-2, 17-18; cf. Matt 5:38-48) and our environments. For as it says in 1 Corinthians 3: “For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9), and as St. Paul reminds us: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth” (1 Cor 3:6-7). And as we also gather from 1 Corinthians (cf. 1 Cor 1:18-31), any of our gifts—be it wisdom, strength, or riches—are not from us and are not our own (cf. 1 Cor 4:7), any more than we are our own (1 Cor 6:19-20; cf. 1 Cor 3:16-17), but we have received all things but sin—by free choice of the will—from the Lord our God.

And as St. Paul concludes this passage: “So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God” (1 Cor 3:21-23). We are to be God’s glory and God’s handiwork (cf. Eph 2:8-10), as jewels in His diadem (cf. Isa 62:3), and so we must recognize God as the true goal of any true glory, so that our hearts may be pure, our humility may be sincere, and our lives may be just. For nothing is ours (cf. John 3:27-30; cf. 1 Cor 4:6-7; cf. James 1:16-18; cf. 1 John 4:10, 19), but all is God’s, and we are His, and understanding this is how we make and share in the true peace (cf. Matt 5:9; cf. John 14:27; cf. John 16:33) of God. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18

The Lord said to Moses: ²Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.

2. Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10, 12-13

¹Of David.

Bless the Lord, my soul;
    all my being, bless his holy name!
²Bless the Lord, my soul;
    and do not forget all his gifts,
³Who pardons all your sins,
    and heals all your ills,
⁴Who redeems your life from the pit,
    and crowns you with mercy and compassion,

⁸Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
¹⁰He has not dealt with us as our sins merit,
nor requited us as our wrongs deserve.

¹²As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.
¹³As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.

3. Wisdom 8:17-21

¹⁷Reflecting on these things,
    and considering in my heart
That immortality lies in kinship with Wisdom,
¹⁸    great delight in love of her,
    and unfailing riches in the works of her hands;
And that in associating with her there is prudence,
    and fair renown in sharing her discourses,
    I went about seeking to take her for my own.
^19 [d]Now, I was a well-favored child,
    and I came by a noble nature;
²⁰    or rather, being noble, I attained an unblemished body.
²¹And knowing that I could not otherwise possess her unless God gave it—
    and this, too, was prudence, to know whose gift she is—
I went to the Lord and besought him,
    and said with all my heart:

4. Isaiah 62:1-7

5. Matthew 5:3-10, 38-48

^38 [y]“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. ⁴⁰If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. ⁴¹Should anyone press you into service for one mile,^[z] go with him for two miles. ⁴²Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors^[ab] do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same?^[ac] ⁴⁸So be perfect,^[ad] just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

6. John 3:27-30

7. John 14:25-31

8. John 16:33

³³I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

9. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

¹⁸The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the learning of the learned I will set aside.”

10. 1 Corinthians 3

^10 [f]According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, ¹¹for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. ¹²If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, ¹³the work of each will come to light, for the Day^[g] will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each one’s work. ¹⁴If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. ¹⁵But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved,^[h] but only as through fire. ¹⁶Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

¹⁸Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written:

“He catches the wise in their own ruses,”

²⁰and again:

“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”

^21 [j]So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, ²²Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, ²³and you to Christ, and Christ to God.

11. 1 Corinthians 4:6-8

12. 1 Corinthians 6:15-20

13. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

14. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

15. Ephesians 2:1-10

¹You were dead in your transgressions and sins^[c] ²in which you once lived following the age of this world,^[d] following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient. ³All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest. ⁴But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, ⁵even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ^[e] (by grace you have been saved), ⁶raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, ⁷that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; ⁹it is not from works, so no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.

16. Ephesians 4:1-6

17. Colossians 3:5-17

⁵Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.^[c] ⁶Because of these the wrath of God^[d] is coming [upon the disobedient]. ⁷By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. ⁸But now you must put them all away:^[e] anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. ⁹Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices ^10 [f]and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. ¹¹Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian,^[g] slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.

¹²Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, ¹³bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. ¹⁴And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

18. James 1:16-18

19. 1 John 4:7-21

Monday 2/20/23

Readings: Sir 1:1-10; Ps 93:1ab,1cd-2, 5; Mk 9:14-29

Title: “Fountain of Wisdom”

We read in this passage from Sirach 1 (Sir 1:1-10) about the glorious wisdom of the Lord GOD. We can go through this passage section by section. As it begins: “All wisdom comes from the LORD and with him it remains forever, and is before all time The sand of the seashore, the drops of rain, the days of eternity: who can number these? Heaven’s height, earth’s breadth, the depths of the abyss: who can explore these? Before all things else wisdom was created; and prudent understanding, from eternity. The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom and her ways are everlasting” (Sir 1:1-4).

We hear a description of wisdom as eternal and before all time. Wisdom is likened to knowledge of things unknowable, and as innumerable as sands of the seashore, drops of rain, or years of eternity (Sir 1:2). We may find this passage similar to Proverbs 8: “The Lord begot me, the beginning of his works, the forerunner of his deeds of long ago; From of old I was formed, at the first, before the earth…. When he fixed the foundations of earth, then was I beside him as artisan; ….Listen to instruction and grow wise, do not reject it! Happy the one who listens to me… For whoever finds me finds life, and wins favor from the Lord;” (Prov 8:22-35). And the prologue to John’s Gospel too, describes the Word of God, or Logos, in a similar way to wisdom (John 1:1-5).

And yet, we also hear a complementary passage in Ephesians 3: “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:14-19). God gives us the gift of His Spirit in these last days, of the new covenant (cf. Jer 31:31-34; cf. Jer 32:38-41; cf. Ezek 36:25-28; cf. Joel 3; cf. John 14:25-31; cf. John 16:13-15; cf. Acts 2:1-21; cf. 1 Cor 2), so that by God’s Spirit, and not humankind’s own (cf. 1 Cor 2:10-16), we may ponder the great mysteries of God through the grace of faith.

As this passage proceeds: “To whom has wisdom’s root been revealed? Who knows her subtleties? To whom has the discipline of wisdom been revealed? And who has understood the multiplicity of her ways? There is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring, seated upon his throne: There is but one, Most High all-powerful creator-king and truly awe-inspiring one, seated upon his throne and he is the God of dominion” (Sir 1:6-8; cf. Rev 22:16).

This may call to mind this verse from Isaiah 53: “Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?…. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, knowing pain, Like one from whom you turn your face, spurned, and we held him in no esteem” (Isa 53:1-3, emphasis added). We know that Jesus, as God, holds all these mysteries in the nature of His being, as He reveals to us the Father. As we read in John 1: “No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him” (John 1:18; cf. Matt 5:8; cf. John 14:6-7; cf. 1 John 3:1-3). All these great depths of wisdom are known to God, and belong to God, in the treasure houses of His Kingdom, for all is God’s, and we can only even ponder them by His gift to us of grace.

We must recognize the singular sovereignty of the Lord, and recognize too the unity of the Holy Trinity, as three Persons in one God, to contemplate rightly the depth of the mystery of God to know that all things, knowledge, wisdom, power, love, grace, mercy, and glory—are His. This ought to fill us with profound humility and holy reverence for God’s perfection of being, and pious wonder over the mysteries of our lives and His creation. We can read about how this passage from Sirach 1 (Sir 1:6-8) refers to Jesus as Lord in Daniel 7: “As the visions during the night continued, I saw coming with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man. When he reached the Ancient of Days and was presented before him, He received dominion, splendor, and kingship; all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed” (Dan 7:13-14).

And as this passage concludes: “It is the LORD; he created her through the Holy Spirit, has seen her and taken note of her. He has poured her forth upon all his works, upon every living thing according to his bounty; he has lavished her upon his friends” (Sir 1:9-10). God’s wisdom, and grace, and love, and the divine light of His very life, He has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, given to us through Christ’s gift from His sacrifice on the cross. For as we read in Romans 5:5: “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom 5:5).

All belongs to God and all is knowable within the mystery of God to God alone. He shows His goodness to us with the free gift of His mercy, as through sheer benevolence and magnanimity, He shares all that is His with us, revealing it to us through Christ. As we read in 1 Corinthians 2: “But as it is written: ‘What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him,’ this God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. Among human beings, who knows what pertains to a person except the spirit of the person that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms” (1 Cor 3:9-13; cf. Isa 64:2-3).

God, through His goodness as God, gives of Himself and His very Spirit to us (cf. 1 John 3:24; cf. 1 John 4:13-16), so that we may know Him through divine grace (cf. Isa 30:18-21; cf. Isa 54:13; cf. Jer 31:31-34; cf. Jer 32:38-41; cf. Ezek 36:25-28; cf. Joel 3; cf. John 6:45-51; cf. John 14:25-31; cf. John 16:13-15; cf. Acts 2:1-21; cf. 1 Cor 2). Just as Christ gave His life and His all (cf. Mark 12:41-44) on the cross (cf. Phil 2:6-11), this is how God gives. He showers upon us the whole of His love, so that we may be rightly and wholly His. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 93:1-2, 5

¹The Lord is king,^[b] robed with majesty;
    the Lord is robed, girded with might.
The world will surely stand in place,
    never to be moved.
²Your throne stands firm from of old;
    you are from everlasting.
⁵Your decrees are firmly established;
    holiness befits your house, Lord,
    for all the length of days.

2. Proverbs 8:22-36

^22 [e]“The Lord begot me, the beginning of his works,
    the forerunner of his deeds of long ago;
²³From of old I was formed,^[f]
    at the first, before the earth.
^24 [g]When there were no deeps I was brought forth,
    when there were no fountains or springs of water;
²⁵Before the mountains were settled into place,
    before the hills, I was brought forth;
²⁶When the earth and the fields were not yet made,
    nor the first clods of the world.
²⁷When he established the heavens, there was I,
    when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
²⁸When he made firm the skies above,
    when he fixed fast the springs of the deep;
²⁹When he set for the sea its limit,
    so that the waters should not transgress his command;
When he fixed the foundations of earth,
³⁰    then was I beside him as artisan;^[h]
I was his delight day by day,
    playing before him all the while,
³¹Playing over the whole of his earth,
    having my delight with human beings.
^32 [i]Now, children, listen to me;
    happy are they who keep my ways.
³³Listen to instruction and grow wise,
    do not reject it!
³⁴Happy the one who listens to me,
    attending daily at my gates,
    keeping watch at my doorposts;
³⁵For whoever finds me finds life,
    and wins favor from the Lord;
³⁶But those who pass me by do violence to themselves;
    all who hate me love death.”

3. Sirach 1:1-10

¹All wisdom^[c] is from the Lord
    and remains with him forever.
²The sands of the sea, the drops of rain,
    the days of eternity—who can count them?
³Heaven’s height, earth’s extent,
    the abyss and wisdom—who can explore them?
⁴Before all other things wisdom was created;
    and prudent understanding, from eternity.

⁶The root of wisdom—to whom has it been revealed?
    Her subtleties—who knows them?^[e]
^8 [f]There is but one, wise and truly awesome,
    seated upon his throne—the Lord.
⁹It is he who created her,
    saw her and measured her,
Poured her forth upon all his works,
¹⁰    upon every living thing according to his bounty,
    lavished her upon those who love him.

4. Isaiah 30:18-21

5. Isaiah 54:13

¹³All your children shall be taught by the Lord;
great shall be the peace of your children.

6. Isaiah 53:1-3

7. Isaiah 64:1-6

¹As when brushwood is set ablaze,
    or fire makes the water boil!
Then your name would be made known to your enemies
    and the nations would tremble before you,
²While you worked awesome deeds we could not hope for,^[a]
³    such as had not been heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen,
    any God but you
    working such deeds for those who wait for him.
⁴Would that you might meet us doing right,
    that we might be mindful of you in our ways!
Indeed, you are angry; we have sinned,
    we have acted wickedly.
⁵We have all become like something unclean,
    all our just deeds are like polluted rags;
We have all withered like leaves,
    and our crimes carry us away like the wind.
⁶There are none who call upon your name,
    none who rouse themselves to take hold of you;
For you have hidden your face from us
    and have delivered us up to our crimes.

8. Jeremiah 31:31-34

9. Jeremiah 32:36-41

10. Ezekiel 36:25-28

11. Daniel 7:13-14

¹³As the visions during the night continued, I saw coming with the clouds of heaven

One like a son of man.^[h]
When he reached the Ancient of Days
    and was presented before him,
¹⁴He received dominion, splendor, and kingship;
    all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
    that shall not pass away,
    his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed.

12. Joel 3

13. Matthew 5:3-10

14. Mark 9:14-29

¹⁴When they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵Immediately on seeing him, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. They ran up to him and greeted him. ¹⁶He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” ¹⁷Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit. ¹⁸Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.” ¹⁹He said to them in reply, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.” ²⁰They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth. ²¹Then he questioned his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “Since childhood. ²²It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” ²³Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” ²⁴Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” ²⁵Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!” ²⁶Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!” ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. ²⁸When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive it out?” ^29 [g]He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”

15. Mark 12:41-44

⁴¹He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴²A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. ⁴³Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. ⁴⁴For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

16. John 1:1-5, 15-18

17. John 6:45-51

⁴⁵It is written in the prophets:

‘They shall all be taught by God.’

18. John 14:6-7, 25-31

²⁵“I have told you this while I am with you. ²⁶The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you. ²⁷Peace^[^l^] I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. ^28 [^m^]You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. ³⁰I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world^[ⁿ^] is coming. He has no power over me, ³¹but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go.

19. John 16:12-15

20. Acts 2:1-21

21. Romans 5:1-11

22. 1 Corinthians 2

“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,”

¹⁰this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

23. Ephesians 3:14-21

24. Philippians 2:6-11

25. 1 John 3:1-3, 19-24

26. 1 John 4:13-21

27. Revelation 22:16

¹⁶“I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and offspring of David,^[j] the bright morning star.”

Tuesday 2/21/23

Readings: Sir 2:1-11; Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40; Mk 9:30-37

Title: “The One Who Sent Me”

As we read this passage from Mark 9 (Mark 9:30-37), we hear Jesus edify what true greatness is. As this passage reads: “They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, ‘If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.’ Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me’” (Mark 9:33-37; cf. Matt 18:1-5; cf. Matt 20:20-28; cf. Matt 23:1-12).

This is one of the most fundamental Gospel teachings of Christian thought. The main focus of this passage, though it is not directly stated as such, is on humility. Humility is one of the most basic, important, and fundamental qualities leading to true greatness, and a life well lived, cohesive unity, and genuine love for both God and neighbor. The pivotal importance of humility cannot be underscored enough, and it is a red thread woven all through Sacred Scripture. It is a running theme in the Gospels, that “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt 12:11-12; cf. John 13:14-17). We can find a basis of this in the Old Testament in Proverbs 3, which is also quoted in James 4 and 1 Peter 5: “‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ ….Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you” (James 4:6-10; cf. Prov 3:34; cf. 1 Pet 5:5-7).

And as we read the Magnificat of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Luke 1 (Luke 1:46-55), we find a similar sentiment expressed, which also echoes the canticle of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2 (1 Sam 2:1-10). But the way in which Jesus teaches this message of humility by comparing the greatest to the least, and imploring that we become as humble as children, is rather novel and quite new. As Jesus says in Matthew 18: “‘Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me” (Matt 18:3-5).

And just to quash any debates over who is greatest, we also hear Jesus say in Matthew 11: “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt 11:11). However, the main point Jesus is expressing in this passage from Mark 9 (Mark 9:33-37), is that true greatness, spiritual greatness, leading to knowledge of God and union with the Holy Trinity, consists not in self-exaltation or what the world considers “greatness,” but in holy humility. The act of bickering over greatness itself is in line with boasting, and evidences that one’s heart is not yet right before the Lord. As we read about such behavior in James 3: “But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin” (James 4:16-17). This is not a rebuke to be taken lightly, and neither is Jesus’ warning, that “unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:3, emphasis added).

This arrogance of self-aggrandizement and striving to prove one’s greatness is abhorrent to God (cf. Luke 16:15). And we can also experience ourselves how being confronted with such behavior in others may leave a bad taste in our mouths. It is offensive and off-putting, and it alienates our fellow humankind when we subject each other to it. And so, we must strive for equality and humility, or, even as it says in Philippians 2: “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others. Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:3-8). We place God above all and ourselves as the least of all (cf. Matt 25:40, 45), and therein we find humility, holy unity through the Spirit (cf. Eph 4:1-6; cf. Col 3:12-17), and peace with all (cf. Matt 5:9; cf. John 14:26-27; cf. John 16:33). Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. 1 Samuel 2:1-11

¹And Hannah prayed:

“My heart exults in the Lord,
    my horn is exalted by my God.
I have swallowed up my enemies;
    I rejoice in your victory.
²There is no Holy One like the Lord;
    there is no Rock like our God.
³Speak boastfully no longer,
    Do not let arrogance issue from your mouths.^[b]
For an all-knowing God is the Lord,
    a God who weighs actions.

⁴“The bows of the mighty are broken,
    while the tottering gird on strength.
⁵The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
    while the hungry no longer have to toil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
    while the mother of many languishes.

⁶“The Lord puts to death and gives life,
    casts down to Sheol and brings up again.
⁷The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
    humbles, and also exalts.
⁸He raises the needy from the dust;
    from the ash heap lifts up the poor,
To seat them with nobles
    and make a glorious throne their heritage.

“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
    and he has set the world upon them.
⁹He guards the footsteps of his faithful ones,
    but the wicked shall perish in the darkness;
    for not by strength does one prevail.
¹⁰The Lord’s foes shall be shattered;
    the Most High in heaven thunders;
    the Lord judges the ends of the earth.
May he give strength to his king,
    and exalt the horn of his anointed!.

¹¹When Elkanah returned home to Ramah, the child remained in the service of the Lord under the priest El.

2. Psalm 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40

³Trust in the Lord and do good
that you may dwell in the land^[b] and live secure.
⁴Find your delight in the Lord
who will give you your heart’s desire.

¹⁸The Lord knows the days of the blameless;
their heritage lasts forever.
¹⁹They will not be ashamed when times are bad;
in days of famine they will be satisfied.

²⁷Turn from evil and do good,
that you may be settled forever.
²⁸For the Lord loves justice
and does not abandon the faithful.

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,
    their refuge in a time of distress.
⁴⁰The Lord helps and rescues them,
    rescues and saves them from the wicked,
    because they take refuge in him.

3. Proverbs 3:34-35

³⁴Those who scoff, he scoffs at,
but the lowly he favors.
³⁵The wise will possess glory,
but fools will bear shame.

4. Sirach 2:1-11

¹My child, when you come to serve the Lord,^[a]
    prepare yourself for trials.
²Be sincere of heart and steadfast,
    and do not be impetuous in time of adversity.
³Cling to him, do not leave him,
    that you may prosper in your last days.

⁴Accept whatever happens to you;
    in periods of humiliation be patient.
⁵For in fire gold is tested,
    and the chosen, in the crucible of humiliation.
⁶Trust in God, and he will help you;
    make your ways straight and hope in him.

⁷You that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy,
    do not stray lest you fall.
⁸You that fear the Lord, trust in him,
    and your reward will not be lost.
⁹You that fear the Lord, hope for good things,
    for lasting joy and mercy.

¹⁰Consider the generations long past and see:
    has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed?
Has anyone persevered in his fear and been forsaken?
    has anyone called upon him and been ignored?
¹¹For the Lord is compassionate and merciful;
    forgives sins and saves in time of trouble.

5. Matthew 5:3-10

6. Matthew 11:11-15

¹¹Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.^[h] ¹²From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,^[i] and the violent are taking it by force. ¹³All the prophets and the law^[j] prophesied up to the time of John. ¹⁴And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. ¹⁵Whoever has ears ought to hear.

7. Matthew 18:1-5

¹At that time the disciples^[b] approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²He called a child over, placed it in their midst, ³and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,^[c] you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ^5 [d]And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

8. Matthew 20:20-28

²⁰Then the mother^[i] of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. ²¹He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” ²²Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking.^[j] Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” ²³He replied, “My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left [, this] is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” ²⁴When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. ²⁵But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. ²⁶But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; ²⁷whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. ²⁸Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom^[k] for many.”

9. Matthew 23:1-12

¹Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, ^2 [b]saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. ³Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. ⁴They tie up heavy burdens^[c] [hard to carry] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. ^5 [d]All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. ^6 [e]They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, ⁷greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ ^8 [f]As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. ¹⁰Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah. ¹¹The greatest among you must be your servant. ¹²Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

10. Matthew 25:31-46

³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, ³²and all the nations^[o] will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ³⁴Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ ³⁷Then the righteous^[p] will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ ⁴⁰And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ ^41 [q]Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ ^44 [r]Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ ⁴⁵He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ ⁴⁶And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

11. Luke 1:46-55

⁴⁶And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
⁴⁷    my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
⁴⁸For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
    behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
⁴⁹The Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
⁵⁰His mercy is from age to age
    to those who fear him.
⁵¹He has shown might with his arm,
    dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
⁵²He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
    but lifted up the lowly.
⁵³The hungry he has filled with good things;
    the rich he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴He has helped Israel his servant,
    remembering his mercy,
⁵⁵according to his promise to our fathers,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

12. Luke 16:14-15

^14 [i]The Pharisees, who loved money,^[j] heard all these things and sneered at him. ¹⁵And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.

13. Mark 9:30-37

³⁰They left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. ³¹He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise.” ³²But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.

³³They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” ³⁴But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. ³⁵Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” ³⁶Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, ³⁷“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

14. John 13:12-20

15. John 14:26-27

²⁶The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you. ²⁷Peace^[l] I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

16. John 16:33

³³I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

17. Ephesians 4:1-6

18. Philippians 2:1-11

⁵Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,

19. Colossians 3:12-17

20. James 4:6-10, 13-17

⁶But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:

“God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”

¹³Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”— ¹⁴you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.^[h] You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. ¹⁵Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it,^[i] we shall live to do this or that.” ¹⁶But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.

21. 1 Peter 5:5-7

⁵Likewise, you younger members,^[e] be subject to the presbyters. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for:

“God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the humble.”

⁶So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. ⁷Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.

Wednesday 2/22/23

Readings: Jl 2:12-18; Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14, 17; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

Title: “With Your Whole Heart”

As we participate in Ash Wednesday, we can dive right in to the true spirit of Lent. Today’s readings (Jl 2:12-18; Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14, 17; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18) all coalesce to impress upon us the full import of penitence, along with God’s salvation and grace. As we hear described in today’s first reading from Joel 2, we are urged by the LORD to “return to me with your whole heart,” (Joel 2:12), and told that, “Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind a blessing,” (Joel 2:14). This may call to mind our model of repentance par excellence from the Old Testament, King David.

As we read of David in 2 Samuel 16: “But the king replied: ‘What business is it of mine or of yours, sons of Zeruiah, that he curses? Suppose the Lord has told him to curse David; who then will dare to say, “Why are you doing this?”’ Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants: ‘If my own son, who came forth from my loins, is seeking my life, how much more might this Benjaminite do so! Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. Perhaps the Lord will look upon my affliction and repay me with good for the curses he is uttering this day.’ David and his men continued on the road, while Shimei kept up with them on the hillside, all the while cursing and throwing stones and dirt as he went” (2 Sam 16:10-13).

David accepted rough treatment as due punishment for his sins, and turned in his heart to the LORD for God’s free gift of benevolent mercy. David sinned greatly, and acknowledged his sin, and the LORD restored him to the Father’s bosom by the free gift of His grace. And we now have from David a beautiful expression of his penitence under God’s grace and his hope in the LORD from Psalm 51. If God so restored David for his fault, he will no less do so for us, too.

And as we look to today’s second reading (2 Cor 5:20-6:2), we hear, “For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor 5:21). Jesus took our sin upon His sinless shoulders in order to atone and restore us to grace. God’s gift of mercy through Jesus’ sacrifice demonstrates God’s righteousness and brings us to salvation, so that we might “become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor 5:21). As we read in 1 Corinthians 3: “For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9); and as it says in Ephesians 2: “For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them” (Eph 2:10); and as we read in Isaiah 62: “You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord, a royal diadem in the hand of your God” (Isa 62:3). We are to glorify God by our lives, through availing ourselves of His free gift of salvation, and not receiving the grace of God in vain (2 Cor 6:1).

We approach God in penitence and turn our hearts to Him, and He will not turn us away, for as we hear from Jesus in John 6: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it [on] the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him [on] the last day’” (John 6:37-40).

And as we learn from today’s third reading from Matthew 6 (Matt 6:1-6, 16-18), it is God and God alone to whom we must direct our hearts and upon whom we must fix our sights (cf. Phil 3:12-16; cf. Heb 12:1-4), looking not to the esteem that comes from humankind (cf. Eph 6:5-9; cf. Phil 2:12-15; cf. Col 3:22-25) when we pray, give alms, or fast, but looking to God for the glory that is His redemptive love, bestowed freely upon our sins so that we may be brought, through Christ, to salvation. As Jesus says, “But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (Matt 6:6). It is God to whom we must look, at all times in our lives, and the more deeply ingrained in this habit we become, the deeper our union with God will be, and little by little, the holier and more pleasing to God we may become.

Let us offer our hearts in sacrifice to God this Lent, by giving Him our whole heart (cf. Joel 2:12) and undivided attention, so that we may be fully His, and He may be fully ours. For our heart is the altar upon which we offer to the Lord, and no less than a living sacrifice of wholehearted love (cf. Rom 12:1-12) is the Lord’s due. Let us be like King David in penitence and like King David in love, as the LORD said of him, “Then he removed him and raised up David as their king; of him he testified, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish’” (Acts 13:22; cf. 1 Sam 13:14). Let us seek God above all (cf. Deut 6:4-9; cf. Matt 6:33; cf. Matt 22:36-40), and follow after the Lord through the desire of our hearts, as we seek to do God’s will, and not our own (cf. Matt 6:9-13). Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

2. 1 Samuel 13:13-14

¹³Samuel replied to Saul: “You have acted foolishly! Had you kept the command the Lord your God gave you, the Lord would now establish your kingship in Israel forever; ¹⁴but now your kingship shall not endure. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart^[e] to appoint as ruler over his people because you did not observe what the Lord commanded you.”

3. 2 Samuel 16:5-14

⁵As King David was approaching Bahurim, there was a man coming out; he was of the same clan as the house of Saul, and his name was Shimei, son of Gera. He kept cursing as he came out, ⁶and throwing stones at David and at all King David’s officers, even though all the soldiers, including the royal guard, were on David’s right and on his left. ⁷Shimei was saying as he cursed: “Get out! Get out! You man of blood, you scoundrel! ⁸The Lord has paid you back for all the blood shed from the family of Saul,^[a] whom you replaced as king, and the Lord has handed over the kingdom to your son Absalom. And now look at you: you suffer ruin because you are a man of blood.” ⁹Abishai, son of Zeruiah, said to the king: “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” ¹⁰But the king replied: “What business is it of mine or of yours, sons of Zeruiah, that he curses? Suppose the Lord has told him to curse David; who then will dare to say, ‘Why are you doing this?’” ¹¹Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants: “If my own son, who came forth from my loins, is seeking my life, how much more might this Benjaminite do so! Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. ¹²Perhaps the Lord will look upon my affliction and repay me with good for the curses he is uttering this day.” ¹³David and his men continued on the road, while Shimei kept up with them on the hillside, all the while cursing and throwing stones and dirt as he went. ¹⁴The king and all the soldiers with him arrived at the Jordan tired out, and stopped there to rest.

4. Psalm 51

¹For the leader. A psalm of David, ²when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

³Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
    in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.
⁴Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
    and from my sin cleanse me.
⁵For I know my transgressions;
    my sin is always before me.
⁶Against you, you alone have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
    and without reproach in your judgment.
⁷Behold, I was born in guilt,
    in sin my mother conceived me.^[b]
⁸Behold, you desire true sincerity;
    and secretly you teach me wisdom.
⁹Cleanse me with hyssop,^[c] that I may be pure;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
¹⁰You will let me hear gladness and joy;
    the bones you have crushed will rejoice.

¹¹Turn away your face from my sins;
    blot out all my iniquities.
¹²A clean heart create for me, God;
    renew within me a steadfast spirit.
¹³Do not drive me from before your face,
    nor take from me your holy spirit.
¹⁴Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
    uphold me with a willing spirit.
¹⁵I will teach the wicked your ways,
    that sinners may return to you.
¹⁶Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,
    and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.
¹⁷Lord, you will open my lips;
    and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
¹⁸For you do not desire sacrifice^[d] or I would give it;
    a burnt offering you would not accept.
¹⁹My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
    a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.

^20 [e]Treat Zion kindly according to your good will;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem.
²¹Then you will desire the sacrifices of the just,
    burnt offering and whole offerings;
    then they will offer up young bulls on your altar.

5. Isaiah 62:1-7

6. Joel 2:12-18

¹²Yet even now—oracle of the Lord—
    return to me with your whole heart,
    with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
¹³Rend your hearts, not your garments,
    and return to the Lord, your God,
For he is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,
    and relenting in punishment.
¹⁴Perhaps he will again relent
    and leave behind a blessing,^[d]
Grain offering and libation
    for the Lord, your God.
¹⁵Blow the horn in Zion!
    Proclaim a fast,
    call an assembly!
¹⁶Gather the people,
    sanctify the congregation;
Assemble the elderly;
    gather the children,
    even infants nursing at the breast;
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
    and the bride^[e] her bridal tent.
¹⁷Between the porch and the altar^[f]
    let the priests weep,
    let the ministers of the Lord weep and say:
“Spare your people, Lord!
    do not let your heritage become a disgrace,
    a byword among the nations!
Why should they say among the peoples,
    ‘Where is their God?’”

¹⁸Then the Lord grew jealous^[g] for his land and took pity on his people.

7. Matthew 6:1-6, 9-13, 16-18, 25-33

¹“[But] take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. ²When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites^[b] do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. ³But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, ⁴so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

^9 [e]“This is how you are to pray:

¹⁶“When you fast,^[l] do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.

8. Matthew 22:34-40

9. John 6:34-40

³⁴So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” ^35 [q]Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. ³⁶But I told you that although you have seen [me], you do not believe. ³⁷Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, ³⁸because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. ³⁹And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it [on] the last day. ⁴⁰For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him [on] the last day.”

10. Acts 13:22-25

11. Romans 12:1-2

12. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

13. 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

²⁰So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ^21 [m]For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

^1 [a]Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.^[b] ²For he says:

“In an acceptable time^[c] I heard you,
and on the day of salvation I helped you.”

Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

14. Ephesians 2:1-10

15. Ephesians 6:5-9

16. Philippians 2:12-18

17. Philippians 3:12-16

18. Colossians 3:22-25

19. Hebrews 12:1-4

Thursday 2/23/23

Readings: Dt 30:15-20; Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6; Lk 9:22-25

Title: “Hearts Listen”

As we read in today’s first reading from Deuteronomy 30 (Deut 30:15-20; cf. Deut 30:26-32), we are given by God a choice. The LORD sets before us “life and prosperity, death and doom” (Deut 30:15). And as we also read in Sirach 15: “God in the beginning created human beings and made them subject to their own free choice. If you choose, you can keep the commandments; loyalty is doing the will of God. Set before you are fire and water; to whatever you choose, stretch out your hand. Before everyone are life and death, whichever they choose will be given them” (Sir 15:14-17). As the LORD reiterates again in Deuteronomy 30, “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse” (Deut 30:19). And how is it that we may arrive upon life and avoid death? How shall we gain the blessing and reject the curse? As we are told in this passage, it is by obeying the commandments, loving God, and walking in His ways (Deut 30:16). We are told that if we “turn away your hearts and will not listen,” (Deut 30:17), that “you will certainly perish;” (Deut 30:18).

This is a very clear-cut and straightforward path laid before us, and yet, historically, it has proven very difficult. In fact, even today, with the aid of God’s grace through Christ’s gift of the Holy Spirit from the cross, this path still proves very difficult (cf. Matt 7:13-14). As G.K. Chesterton has said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” And yet, though difficult, it is not undoable. Though tough, it is not unconquerable. Though challenging, it is not unattainable. This life does offer us a choice, which can ultimately be summed up each step of the way as “God,” or “not God,” or, closer to God or further away from God, or even, fairly good and slightly better, as more nuanced than merely good or evil.

But the fact of the choice still remains. We do, however, have the divine aid of God’s free gift of grace available to us, so that we shall actually be able to do the good that we choose, and desire, and will to do (cf. Rom 7:13-25). As we seek God, we shall find Him (cf. Matt 7:7-11; cf. Luke 11:9-13), He shall not withhold His salvation from those who seek Him (cf. John 6:37-40), and He will bestow the Holy Spirit to all who desire Him (cf. Luke 11:13), so that they shall come to know Him not through themselves, but through His own grace (cf. 1 Cor 2). God swore He would give this promised land to us (cf. Deut 30:20), and this is exactly what He has done, in Jesus (cf. John 5:39-40; cf. Rev 21:22-27). As St. Paul says in Philippians 4: “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me” (Phil 4:13).

And as we read in Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 15, and 1 John 5: “As it is written: ‘For your sake we are being slain all the day; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:36-39); and, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:56-57); and, “For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:3-5).

It is not we who conquer, but Christ, and we are invited to share in His victory as we become adoptive brothers and sisters and coheirs (cf. Gal 4:1-7; cf. Rom 8:14-17) with Christ. He is meant to be the firstfruits of which we are of the same batch (cf. 1 Cor 15:20-28), and so as we avail ourselves of God’s grace through the reception of the Holy Spirit and the desire for God, through faith we shall succeed and unite ourselves to God through Christ (cf. John 17:20-26). As we turn our hearts to God, they naturally start to listen to God, too (cf. 1 Sam 3; cf. 1 Kings 3:7-12), and very slowly we may find ourselves availing ourselves of His grace through the Spirit that He gave us (cf. 1 John 4:13-16), and sharing in the victory, over sin, won through Christ. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Deuteronomy 11:26-32

2. Deuteronomy 30:15-20

3. 1 Samuel 3

¹During the time young Samuel was minister to the Lord under Eli, the word of the Lord was scarce and vision infrequent. ^2 [a]One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see. ³The lamp of God was not yet extinguished,^[b] and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. ⁴The Lord called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.” ⁵He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I did not call you,” Eli answered. “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to sleep. ⁶Again the Lord called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.” But he answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.”

⁷Samuel did not yet recognize the Lord, since the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸The Lord called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the youth. ⁹So he said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” When Samuel went to sleep in his place, ¹⁰the Lord came and stood there, calling out as before: Samuel, Samuel! Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” ¹¹The Lord said to Samuel: I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it ring. ¹²On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have said about his house, beginning to end. ¹³I announce to him that I am condemning his house once and for all, because of this crime: though he knew his sons were blaspheming God, he did not reprove them. ¹⁴Therefore, I swear to Eli’s house: No sacrifice or offering will ever expiate its crime.^[c] ¹⁵Samuel then slept until morning, when he got up early and opened the doors of the temple of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, ¹⁶but Eli called to him, “Samuel, my son!” He replied, “Here I am.” ¹⁷Then Eli asked, “What did he say to you? Hide nothing from me! May God do thus to you, and more,^[d] if you hide from me a single thing he told you.” ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything, and held nothing back. Eli answered, “It is the Lord. What is pleasing in the Lord’s sight, the Lord will do.”

¹⁹Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to go unfulfilled. ²⁰Thus all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba came to know that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. ²¹The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, manifesting himself to Samuel at Shiloh through his word. Samuel’s word spread throughout Israel.

4. 1 Kings 3:4-15

⁴The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, because that was the great high place. Upon its altar Solomon sacrificed a thousand burnt offerings. ⁵In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said: Whatever you ask I shall give you. ⁶Solomon answered: “You have shown great kindness to your servant, David my father, because he walked before you with fidelity, justice, and an upright heart; and you have continued this great kindness toward him today, giving him a son to sit upon his throne. ⁷Now, Lord, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed David my father; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act— ⁸I, your servant, among the people you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted. ⁹Give your servant, therefore, a listening heart to judge your people and to distinguish between good and evil. For who is able to give judgment for this vast people of yours?”

¹⁰The Lord was pleased by Solomon’s request. ¹¹So God said to him: Because you asked for this—you did not ask for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies—but you asked for discernment to know what is right— ¹²I now do as you request. I give you a heart so wise and discerning that there has never been anyone like you until now, nor after you will there be anyone to equal you. ¹³In addition, I give you what you have not asked for: I give you such riches and glory that among kings there will be no one like you all your days. ¹⁴And if you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and commandments, as David your father did, I will give you a long life. ¹⁵Solomon awoke; it was a dream! He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, sacrificed burnt offerings and communion offerings, and gave a feast for all his servants.

5. Psalm 1:1-4, 6

¹Blessed is the man who does not walk
    in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the way^[b] of sinners,
    nor sit in company with scoffers.
²Rather, the law of the Lord^[c] is his joy;
    and on his law he meditates day and night.
³He is like a tree
    planted near streams of water,
    that yields its fruit in season;
Its leaves never wither;
    whatever he does prospers.

⁴But not so are the wicked,^[d] not so!
They are like chaff driven by the wind.
⁶Because the Lord knows the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

6. Sirach 15:14-17

7. Matthew 7:7-11, 13-14

8. Luke 9:22-25

²²He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

9. Luke 11:9-13

10. John 5:39-40

³⁹You search^[n] the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. ⁴⁰But you do not want to come to me to have life.

11. John 6:34-40

12. John 17:20-26

13. Romans 7:13-25

14. Romans 8:14-17, 31-39

“For your sake we are being slain all the day;
we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.”

15. 1 Corinthians 2

“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,”

¹⁰this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

16. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, 56-57

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin,^[aa] and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

17. Galatians 4:1-7

18. Philippians 4:10-14

19. 1 John 4:13-2`1

20. 1 John 5:1-5

^1 [a]Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the father loves [also] the one begotten by him. ²In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. ³For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, ⁴for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. ⁵Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

21. Revelation 21:22-27

Friday 2/24/23

Readings: Is 58:1-9a; Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19; Mt 9:14-15

Title: “Full-Throated and Unsparingly”

In this emotive and evocative passage from Isaiah (Isa 58:1-9a), we hear from the LORD of His observation of His people. As the LORD states to Isaiah, “Tell my people their wickedness,” (Isa 58:1), and He notes that they seek God as if they were just, but then in their actions they “carry out your own pursuits,” (Isa 58:3), thus turning away from God. This is a predicament much like the one many people find themselves in today, in that many seek God, acknowledge His goodness, and desire Him. However, running contrary to this desire for God are many actions and habits which forsake God’s will, in turning instead to unrighteousness or selfish pleasures. As Isaiah notes, “Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw” (Isa 58:3-4).

This is a people who honors God with a visage of penance, but with no actual change in behavior (cf. Matt 6:1-8, 16-18; cf. Matt 23:1-12), turning away from wicked ways, or reform of conscience to actually do God’s will instead of their own, to embrace what is right. As Isaiah goes on, “This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!” (Isa 58:6-9).

God does not want endless sacrifices of animals (cf. Ps 40:7-9; cf. Ps 51:18-19) to help us justify a lack of charity for our neighbors or acts of brotherly love. God does not want us to sit in ashes and rend our garments so that we will deceive ourselves into believing that a shortcoming in our hearts will be overlooked. It is quite the other way around. As we read in Joel 2: “Yet even now—oracle of the Lord—return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God, For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment” (Joel 2:12-13). And as we read in 1 Peter 4: “Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8). And as we read also in James 1: “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:26-27).

God wishes of us an actual, real conversion, as we seek Him with our whole heart (Joel 2:12), and prove this by our actions (cf. James 2:14-26; cf. 1 John 2:1-6; cf. 1 John 3:16-18; cf. 1 John 5:1-5). As Jesus quoted Isaiah in Matthew 15: “Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts’” (Matt 15:7-9; cf. Isa 29:13). And as we read in 1 John 5: “In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:2-5; cf. 1 John 2:1-6). We must love God in our hearts—“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment” (Matt 22:37-38; cf. Deut 6:5)—and then act like it, thus bringing our interior conversion to life. It is not enough merely to put on a front or pay lip service.

We must create as a reality, through our lives, behavior, and actions, this love of God which we profess to know. And as we seek Him, He will find us (cf. Matt 7:7-10; cf. Luke 11:9-13; cf. Luke 15:1-7), showering His love upon us so that we can make our desires for God and His righteousness real. For this is grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit: His free gift to us through Christ, so that we should know Him and walk in His ways (cf. Ezek 36:24-28). And as we embrace Him through the Spirit He gave us (cf. 1 John 3:19-24; cf. 1 John 4:13-16), we shall find these words from Jeremiah have come true, just as He has said: “I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer 31:33); and, “They shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Jer 32:38). Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

2. Psalm 51:3-6, 18-19

¹⁸For you do not desire sacrifice^[d] or I would give it;
a burnt offering you would not accept.
¹⁹My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.

3. Isaiah 29:13-14

4. Psalm 40:7-12

^7 [c]Sacrifice and offering you do not want;
    you opened my ears.
Holocaust and sin-offering you do not request;
⁸    so I said, “See; I come
    with an inscribed scroll written upon me.
⁹I delight to do your will, my God;
    your law is in my inner being!”
¹⁰When I sing of your righteousness
    in a great assembly,
See, I do not restrain my lips;
    as you, Lord, know.
¹¹I do not conceal your righteousness
    within my heart;
I speak of your loyalty and your salvation.
    I do not hide your mercy or faithfulness from a great assembly.
¹²Lord, may you not withhold
    your compassion from me;
May your mercy and your faithfulness
    continually protect me.

5. Isaiah 58:1-9

¹Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
    lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Proclaim to my people their transgression,
    to the house of Jacob their sins.
²They seek me day after day,
    and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
    and not abandoned the judgment of their God;
They ask of me just judgments,
    they desire to draw near to God.
³“Why do we fast, but you do not see it?
    afflict ourselves, but you take no note?”
See, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
    and drive all your laborers.
⁴See, you fast only to quarrel and fight
    and to strike with a wicked fist!
Do not fast as you do today
    to make your voice heard on high!
⁵Is this the manner of fasting I would choose,
    a day to afflict oneself?
To bow one’s head like a reed,
    and lie upon sackcloth and ashes?
Is this what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose:
    releasing those bound unjustly,
    untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
    breaking off every yoke?
⁷Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry,
    bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
    and not turning your back on your own flesh?
⁸Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
    and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,
    you shall cry for help, and he will say: “Here I am!”
If you remove the yoke from among you,
    the accusing finger, and malicious speech;

6. Jeremiah 31:31-34

7. Jeremiah 32:36-41

8. Ezekiel 36:23-32

²³But I will show the holiness of my great name, desecrated among the nations, in whose midst you desecrated it. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord—oracle of the Lord God—when through you I show my holiness before their very eyes. ²⁴I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you back to your own soil. ^25 [c]I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them. ²⁸You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹I will deliver you from all your impurities. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful; I will not send famine against you. ³⁰I will increase the fruit on your trees and the crops in your fields so that you no longer endure reproach from the nations because of famine. ³¹Then you will remember your evil behavior and your deeds that were not good; you will loathe yourselves for your sins and your abominations. ³²Not for your sake do I act—oracle of the Lord God. Let this be known to you! Be ashamed and humbled because of your behavior, house of Israel.

9. Joel 2:12-15

10. Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18

⁵“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. ^7 [c]In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.^[d] ⁸Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

11. Matthew 7:7-10

12. Matthew 9:14-15

¹⁴Then the disciples of John approached him and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast [much], but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.^[k]

13. Matthew 15:1-9

¹Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ²“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?^[b] They do not wash [their] hands when they eat a meal.” ³He said to them in reply, “And why do you break the commandment of God^[c] for the sake of your tradition? ⁴For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ ^5 [d]But you say, ‘Whoever says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is dedicated to God,” ⁶need not honor his father.’ You have nullified the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said:

⁸‘This people honors me with their lips,^[e]
but their hearts are far from me;
⁹in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.’”

14. Matthew 22:24-40

15. Matthew 23:1-12

16. Luke 11:9-13

17. Luke 15:1-7

^1 [a]The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, ²but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” ³So to them he addressed this parable. ⁴“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? ⁵And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy ⁶and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

18. James 1:26-27

^26 [m]If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue^[n] but deceives his heart, his religion is vain. ²⁷Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows^[o] in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

19. James 2:14-26

20. 1 Peter 4:7-11

⁷The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and sober for prayers. ⁸Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins.^[d] ⁹Be hospitable to one another without complaining. ¹⁰As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. ¹¹Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

21. 1 John 2:1-6

22. 1 John 3:11-24

23. 1 John 4:13-21

24. 1 John 5:1-5

Saturday 2/25/23

Readings: Is 58:9b-14; Ps 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; Lk 5:27-32

Title: “Delight in the LORD”

As we read this passage from Isaiah 58 (Isa 58:9b-14), we hear a set of stipulations enjoined with promises. As God’s people agree to remove “oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;” (Isa 58:9), and to give to the needy, “Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, Then the LORD will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land. He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails. The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up; ‘Repairer of the breach,’ they shall call you, ‘Restorer of ruined homesteads’” (Isa 58:10-12).

The LORD is describing the action of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 3:3-8; cf. John 4:10-15; cf. John 7:37-39; cf. John 19:34) within the soul of one clothed with grace. For in baptism, we put on Christ (Gal 3:27; cf. 2 Cor 5:1-5; cf. Titus 3:5), and this is what enables us to do what is right, and to always find plenty even in times of want. For as we nourish our consciences and feed our souls with God’s divine life of grace, then the deprivation, affliction, or hardship shall not affect us, for it is the LORD who sustains us, with that fountain of waters that shall never dry up, the “spring whose water never fails” (Isa 58:11).

As we become accustomed to feeding upon spiritual sustenance and not only material things or earthly bread, then we shall develop an aptitude for this kind of interior growth and development, and a taste for this kind of spiritual food, of trials, strengthening afflictions, hardships, and, in short, the cross (cf. Matt 10:37-39; cf. Matt 16:24-28), which is accompanied by the consolation of the Lord. For as we read in Matthew 5: “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Matt 5:6). And as we also read in Luke 1: “The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty” (Luke 1:53). And as it also says in 1 Samuel 2: “The bows of the mighty are broken, while the tottering gird on strength. The well-fed hire themselves out for bread, while the hungry no longer have to toil” (1 Sam 2:4-5). And as we also hear Jesus reiterate from Deuteronomy 8 in Matthew 4: “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God’” (Matt 4:4; cf. Deut 8:3).

Jesus also reminds us of another sort of spiritual sustenance in John 6, as He informs us: “Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever’” (John 3:53-58).

And as He elaborates: “It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63). We have Sacred Scripture and Holy Communion to help us along in our journey inward, along with the rest of the sacraments, to a deeper state of union and connectedness with God (cf. John 14:15-24; cf. John 17:20-26; cf. Rev 3:20-21). And as we are reminded by Isaiah (Isa 58:13-14), this pathway is not according to our will or what we want (cf. Isa 30:20-21; cf. Matt 7:13-14), but consists in mortifying the will, and the abnegation of the self, so that we may seek and do God’s will and not our own. This self-renunciation and mortification of the will is epitomized by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, as He prayed the same thing hree times, emphasizing its importance: “He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.’ ….Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, ‘My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!’ ….He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again” (Matt 26:39-44; cf. Ps 40:7-9; cf. Matt 6:9-13; cf. Heb 10:1-10).

And as Isaiah ends this passage, “Then you shall delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isa 58:14). The words from the mouth of God are true nourishment of life (cf. Deut 8:3; cf. Matt 4:4; cf. John 6:63), just as Christ’s Body is “true food” (John 6:55), and both of these divine aids together will sustain us in this life, as one long extended journey home, with God, to God, and in God, by grace, every step of the way. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Deuteronomy 8:1-6

¹Be careful to observe this whole commandment that I enjoin on you today, that you may live and increase, and may enter in and possess the land which the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. ²Remember how for these forty years the Lord, your God, has directed all your journeying in the wilderness, so as to test you by affliction, to know what was in your heart: to keep his commandments, or not. ³He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your ancestors, so you might know that it is not by bread alone^[a] that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴The clothing did not fall from you in tatters, nor did your feet swell these forty years. ⁵So you must know in your heart that, even as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord, your God, disciplines you. ⁶Therefore, keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, by walking in his ways and fearing him.

2. 1 Samuel 2:4-5

3. Psalm 40:7-12

4. Psalm 86:1-6

¹A prayer of David.

Incline your ear, Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and oppressed.
²Preserve my life, for I am devoted;
    save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; ³be gracious to me, Lord;
    to you I call all the day.
⁴Gladden the soul of your servant;
    to you, Lord, I lift up my soul.
⁵Lord, you are good and forgiving,
    most merciful to all who call on you.
⁶Lord, hear my prayer;
    listen to my cry for help.

5. Isaiah 30:18-21

6. Isaiah 58:9-14

⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,
    you shall cry for help, and he will say: “Here I am!”
If you remove the yoke from among you,
    the accusing finger, and malicious speech;
¹⁰If you lavish your food on the hungry
    and satisfy the afflicted;
Then your light shall rise in the darkness,
    and your gloom shall become like midday;
¹¹Then the Lord will guide you always
    and satisfy your thirst in parched places,
    will give strength to your bones
And you shall be like a watered garden,
    like a flowing spring whose waters never fail.
¹²Your people shall rebuild the ancient ruins;
    the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,
    “Restorer of ruined dwellings.”

¹³If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
    from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the sabbath a delight,
    the Lord’s holy day glorious;
If you glorify it by not following your ways,
    seeking your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs—
¹⁴Then you shall delight in the Lord,
    and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

7. Matthew 4:1-11

‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’”

^5 [d]Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, ⁶and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

‘He will command his angels concerning you’
and ‘with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.’”

¹¹Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

8. Matthew 5:3-10

9. Matthew 6:9-13

^9 [e]“This is how you are to pray:

10. Matthew 7:13-14

11. Matthew 10:37-39

12. Matthew 16:24-28

13. Matthew 26:36-46

14. Luke 1:46-55

⁴⁶And Mary said:

15. Luke 5:27-32

²⁷After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” ²⁸And leaving everything behind,^[k] he got up and followed him. ²⁹Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. ³⁰The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” ³¹Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. ³²I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

16. John 3:3-8

³Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born^[c] from above.” ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸The wind^[d] blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

17. John 4:7-15

18. John 6:52-65

19. John 7:37-39

³⁷On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as scripture says:

‘Rivers of living water^[n] will flow from within him.’”

³⁹He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet,^[o] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

20. John 14:15-24

21. John 17:20-26

22. John 19:34-35

^34 [o]but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. ³⁵An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows^[p] that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may [come to] believe.

23. 2 Corinthians 5:1-5

¹For we know that if our earthly dwelling,^[a] a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven. ^2 [b]For in this tent we groan, longing to be further clothed with our heavenly habitation ³if indeed, when we have taken it off,^[c] we shall not be found naked. ⁴For while we are in this tent we groan and are weighed down, because we do not wish to be unclothed^[d] but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now the one who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a first installment.

24. Galatians 3:23-29

²³Before faith came, we were held in custody under law, confined for the faith that was to be revealed. ²⁴Consequently, the law was our disciplinarian^[p] for Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian. ²⁶For through faith you are all children of God^[q] in Christ Jesus. ^27 [r]For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.^[s] ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise.

25. Titus 3:4-7

26. Hebrews 10:1-10

27. Revelation 3:20-21

²⁰“‘“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.^[o] ²¹I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne.

Sunday 2/26/23

Readings: Gn 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Ps 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17; Rom 5:12-19; Mt 4:1-11

Title: “The Gift”

There is something to be said for a sense of contrast or comparison. This is because, very often, we may gain a greater sense of something through the knowledge of what it is not. As an example, we can better understand the light through a knowledge of darkness, and we can better understand what something is through the absence of it. In a certain way, these dynamics are at play in the story of the pardon of the sinful woman in Luke 7 (Luke 7:36-50), as it is through her knowledge of her great need for God’s forgiveness that she has a better sense of the supreme value of God’s love. As Jesus explains, “So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little” (Luke 7:47-48).

And so, as we read this passage from Romans 5 (Rom 5:12-19), we can perhaps see how these dynamics come into play as St. Paul contrasts Adam with Christ (cf. 1 Cor 15:45-49), and the sin of Adam with Christ’s gift. It would almost be futile to understand what something is without any knowledge of what its absence would entail. In a world of only light, where darkness did not exist at all, it would be almost impossible for us to understand just what exactly the light is, because we would have no sense of comparison with what it is not. And as we have learned from Luke 7 (Luke 7:36-50), when we can thoroughly understand the depths of our need for God’s mercy as a result of sin, we overflow all the more with intense love and gratitude for His gift.

It is this great depth of knowledge, love, and appreciation for God that we can derive from a thorough experience of the sin of Adam. And related to this reality are the words of St. Paul, “The law entered in so that transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 5:20-21).

In pondering the reality of original sin, which is directly indicated by this passage from Romans 5 (Rom 5:12-19), we can perhaps perceive how it can be used for the good (cf. Gen 50:20; cf. Rom 8:28) to lead us to a greater sense of ourselves, in human shortcoming, and to a better appreciation of the gift and grace of God. As this passage states: “For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous” (Rom 5:19). This describes our fallen state of original sin, thus conveying our dire need for God’s love and grace. As we know of the law, it led to the knowledge of sin, but not the power to overcome it (cf. Rom 7:7-25), and as we know of grace, it gives us the power to do all things, “through him who empowers me” (Phil 4:13; cf. 2 Cor 12:8-10).

Thus, as we read in 2 Corinthians 3: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:17-18). And as we know from John 1: “From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16-17). And so, let us all receive, and appreciate our reception of the gift, of the salvific grace freely given through Jesus Christ. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7

⁷then the Lord God formed the man^[e] out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

2. Genesis 50:19-21

3. Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17

¹²A clean heart create for me, God;
    renew within me a steadfast spirit.
¹³Do not drive me from before your face,
    nor take from me your holy spirit.
¹⁴Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
    uphold me with a willing spirit.
¹⁷Lord, you will open my lips;
    and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

4. Matthew 4:1-11

‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’”

^5 [d]Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, ⁶and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

‘He will command his angels concerning you’
and ‘with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.’”

¹¹Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

5. Luke 7:36-50

³⁶A Pharisee invited him to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.^[k] ³⁷Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. ⁴¹“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days’ wages^[l] and the other owed fifty. ⁴²Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?” ⁴³Simon said in reply, “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.” He said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. ⁴⁶You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.^[m] But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” ⁴⁸He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

6. John 1:15-18

7. Romans 5:12-21

8. Romans 7:7-25

9. Romans 8:28-30

10. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49

11. 2 Corinthians 3:7-18

^7 [f]Now if the ministry of death,^[g] carved in letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not look intently at the face of Moses because of its glory that was going to fade, ⁸how much more^[h] will the ministry of the Spirit be glorious? ⁹For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, the ministry of righteousness will abound much more in glory. ¹⁰Indeed, what was endowed with glory has come to have no glory in this respect because of the glory that surpasses it. ¹¹For if what was going to fade was glorious, how much more will what endures be glorious.

¹²Therefore, since we have such hope,^[i] we act very boldly ¹³and not like Moses,^[j] who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites could not look intently at the cessation of what was fading. ¹⁴Rather, their thoughts were rendered dull, for to this present day^[k] the same veil remains unlifted when they read the old covenant, because through Christ it is taken away. ¹⁵To this day, in fact, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, ¹⁶but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed. ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit,^[l] and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ^18 [m]All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.

12. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

⁷because of the abundance of the revelations. Therefore, that I might not become too elated,^[c] a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. ⁸Three times^[d] I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, ^9 [e]but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,^[f] in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. ¹⁰Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

^13.Philippians 4:10-14

Monday 2/27/23

Readings: Lv 19:1-2, 11-18; Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15; Mt 25:31-46

Title: “These Least Ones”

Today’s two readings (Lev 19:1-2, 11-18; Matt 25:31-46) tell us about the love of God and neighbor. As we read in Leviticus 19: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18). And as we read at the end of the parable of the judgment of the nations in Matthew 25: “He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matt 25:45-46). We know that God must be loved above all for His own sake, and everyone else should be loved for the sake of God. As Jesus describes in Matthew 22: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments” (Matt 22:37-40; cf. Lev 19:18; cf. Deut 6:4-5). And these two commandments coincide beautifully in a fruitful (cf. John 15:1-17) and wholehearted experience of the Christian life.

For as we hear in 1 John 3: “The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:16-18). And this echoes what Jesus Himself said in John 15: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13; cf. John 13:34-35; cf. 1 John 2:7-11).

The love of God is the whole point and meaning of life, as epitomized by the self-gift and sacrifice of Christ on the cross. And as glorious as it is for us to receive of this self-offering of God and oblation of grace, it is even more intense and gratifying an experience to participate in God’s love by loving like this ourselves. For as Jesus says in John 13: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (John 13:15). That this act of self-emptying (cf. Phil 2:7-8) and personal hardship or sacrifice for the sake of the other should be so rewarding is indeed counter-intuitive, but that is the reality of the situation, nevertheless. It is by giving like God, and loving like God, and suffering for God that we can experience the most exquisite and direct sense of the beautiful, divine love that God Is (cf. Exo 3:14-15; cf. 1 John 4:8, 16).

Now, God Himself exists in all heavenly completeness of perfection (cf. Lev 19:2; cf. Matt 5:48), and needs no sacrifice from us. But giving of ourselves, our gifts, and our own reception of God’s love (cf. 1 John 4:10) to our neighbor and fellow humankind—this is how we can love like Jesus (cf. John 13:34-35; cf. John 15:12-13; cf. 1 John 3:16; cf. 1 John 4:11), and find an experience of God’s paschal, self-sacrificial agapē love, in our gift of self to our fellow humankind. As we love our neighbors as ourselves (Lev 19:18; cf. Matt 5:43-48; cf. Matt 7:12; cf. Matt 22:39; cf. Rom 5:6-11; cf. Rom 13:8-10), and love the way that Jesus loves (cf. John 15:12-13)—giving our all in self-emptying love (cf. Phil 2:7-8) and holding nothing back (cf. Luke 21:1-4)—we gain the most blissful experience of God within our souls, and conformed to the cross (cf. Rom 12:1-2; cf. Phil 3:17-21), we ourselves feel God’s love such as is possible in no other way. Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Exodus 3:14-15

¹⁴God replied to Moses: I am who I am.^[h] Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.

¹⁵God spoke further to Moses: This is what you will say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.

This is my name forever;
this is my title for all generations.

2. Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18

¹The Lord said to Moses: ²Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.^[a]

^11 [d]You shall not steal. You shall not deceive or speak falsely to one another. ¹²You shall not swear falsely by my name, thus profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord.

¹³You shall not exploit your neighbor. You shall not commit robbery. You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your laborer. ^14 [e]You shall not insult the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.

¹⁵You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your neighbor justly. ¹⁶You shall not go about spreading slander among your people; nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the Lord.

3. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

4. Psalm 19:8-10, 15

⁸The law of the Lord is perfect,
    refreshing the soul.
The decree of the Lord is trustworthy,
    giving wisdom to the simple.
⁹The precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
    enlightening the eye.
¹⁰The fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever.
The statutes of the Lord are true,
    all of them just;

¹⁵Let the words of my mouth be acceptable,
the thoughts of my heart before you,
Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

5. Matthew 5:43-48

6. Matthew 7:12

^12 [f]“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.

7. Matthew 22:34-40

8. Matthew 25:31-46

9. Luke 21:1-4

¹When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury ²and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. ³He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; ⁴for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”

10. John 13:12-20, 31-35

^31 [j]When he had left, Jesus said,^[k] “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. ³²[If God is glorified in him,] God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. ³³My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you. ³⁴I give you a new commandment:^[l] love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. ³⁵This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

11. John 15:1-17

12. Romans 5:1-11

13. Romans 12:1-2

14. Romans 13:8-10

15. Philippians 2:5-11

⁵Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,

16. Philippians 3:17-21

17. 1 John 2:7-11

⁷Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. ⁸And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you,^[d] for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. ⁹Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. ¹⁰Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. ¹¹Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

18. 1 John 3:16-18

19. 1 John 4:7-21

Tuesday 2/28/23

Readings: Is 55:10-11; Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19; Mt 6:7-15

Title: “Shall Do My Will”

Today’s two readings from Isaiah 55 and Matthew 6 (Isa 55:10-11; Matt 6:7-15) are complementary and important. In this passage from Isaiah (Isa 55:10-11), we hear about the action of God, in a beautiful analogy: “Yet just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it” (Isa 55:10-11). The word of the LORD is compared to rain and snow, which shall return to the heavens from which it came only after achieving its purpose, which is to provide for humankind to both work and to eat, thus allowing humankind, in turn, a fruitful, productive life, just as God’s actions are fruitful and productive.

This is a faith-inspiring passage, both because it describes how the word of God cares and provides for humankind in our need (cf. 1 Pet 5:6-7), and it shows how the LORD Himself is true and faithful (cf. Num 23:19-20; cf. Ps 118:5-9; cf. Ps 146:3-4; cf. Jer 17:5-10), with His word not returning void, but doing God’s will and “achieving the end for which I sent it” (Isa 55:11). As we ourselves conform our souls to Christ (cf. Rom 12:1-2; cf. Phil 3:17-21), through desiring God’s will above all and seeking God’s purpose for us in all things, this passage from Isaiah (Isa 55:10-11) should be very reassuring, encouraging us that God’s will will be accomplished, and that we should never give up hope. For as we read in Romans 5: “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom 5:5).

And Jesus Himself marks out for us how our prayers should be, as He bestows upon us the crown and prototype of all prayers, the Our Father, in Matthew 6 (Matt 6:9-13). There is nothing we may need that is not contained within the Lord’s own prayer, and there is nothing contained therein that we could afford to leave out. It is the perfection of prayer, coming to us in Jesus’ own words. As Jesus states: “This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt 6:9-13).

We are told to hallow God’s name, to pray that His will be done, to pray for life’s nourishment and necessities of sustenance, and to pray for forgiveness and protection from temptation both, under the umbrella of deliverance from evil. We hear a similar exhortation about prayer too at the end of Matthew 6 (Matt 6:25-34), which may be helpful to keep in mind as we understand the Lord’s Prayer: “So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil” (Matt 6:31-34).

And as we also read in Romans 8: “In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will” (Rom 8:26-27). We would do well to remember that the Holy Spirit is the one who prays within us, making intercession in holiness according to God’s will. This passage from Matthew 10 may also help us understand the intercession of the Holy Spirit: “When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matt 10:19-20; cf. Luke 12:10-12; cf. Luke 21:14-15).

We can understand this statement from Jesus (Matt 10:19-20) in conjunction with this passage from Romans 8 (Rom 8:26-27) to gain a fuller perspective and understanding of how the Holy Spirit works for us, through us, and with us in our lives, as we in turn use our lives to serve God (cf. Rom 12:1-2). And all of these revealed truths about prayer, given to us in Sacred Scripture, are here to aid us in our prayer lives, so that we shall know God (cf. Jer 31:31-34; cf. Jer 32:37-41; cf. Ezek 36:25-29), love God, grow in divine union with God, and accomplish His will—and never falter in faith. For we can place our unfailing hope in Him, just as a light that shall never go out (cf. Matt 5:13-16; cf. Matt 25:1-13; cf. John 1:1-9; cf. John 5:34-35; cf. John 8:12; cf. John 9:4-5; cf. 1 John 1:5-7; cf. Rev 21:23-27). Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Numbers 23:19-20

¹⁹God is not a human being who speaks falsely,
    nor a mortal, who feels regret.
Is God one to speak and not act,
    to decree and not bring it to pass?
²⁰I was summoned to bless;
    I will bless; I cannot revoke it!

2. Psalm 34:4-7, 16-19

⁴Magnify the Lord with me;
and let us exalt his name together.

⁵I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
    delivered me from all my fears.
⁶Look to him and be radiant,
    and your faces may not blush for shame.
⁷This poor one cried out and the Lord heard,
    and from all his distress he saved him.

¹⁶The eyes of the Lord are directed toward the righteous
    and his ears toward their cry.
¹⁷The Lord’s face is against evildoers
    to wipe out their memory from the earth.
¹⁸The righteous cry out, the Lord hears
    and he rescues them from all their afflictions.
¹⁹The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
    saves those whose spirit is crushed.

3. Psalm 118:5-9

4. Psalm 146:3-4

³Put no trust in princes,
    in children of Adam powerless to save.
⁴    Who breathing his last, returns to the earth;
    that day all his planning comes to nothing.

5. Isaiah 55:10-11

^10 [d]Yet just as from the heavens
    the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
    till they have watered the earth,
    making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
    and bread to the one who eats,
¹¹So shall my word be
    that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me empty,
    but shall do what pleases me,
    achieving the end for which I sent it.

6. Jeremiah 17:5-11

⁵    Thus says the Lord:
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
    who makes flesh his strength,
    whose heart turns away from the Lord.
⁶He is like a barren bush in the wasteland
    that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in lava beds in the wilderness,
    a land, salty and uninhabited.
⁷Blessed are those who trust in the Lord;
    the Lord will be their trust.
⁸They are like a tree planted beside the waters
    that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It does not fear heat when it comes,
    its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
    but still produces fruit.
⁹More tortuous than anything is the human heart,
    beyond remedy; who can understand it?
¹⁰I, the Lord, explore the mind
    and test the heart,
Giving to all according to their ways,
    according to the fruit of their deeds.
¹¹A partridge that broods but does not hatch
    are those who acquire wealth unjustly:
In midlife it will desert them;
    in the end they are only fools.

7. Jeremiah 31:31-34

8. Jeremiah 32:36-41

9. Ezekiel 36:24-32

²⁴I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you back to your own soil. ^25 [c]I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them. ²⁸You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹I will deliver you from all your impurities. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful; I will not send famine against you. ³⁰I will increase the fruit on your trees and the crops in your fields so that you no longer endure reproach from the nations because of famine. ³¹Then you will remember your evil behavior and your deeds that were not good; you will loathe yourselves for your sins and your abominations. ³²Not for your sake do I act—oracle of the Lord God. Let this be known to you! Be ashamed and humbled because of your behavior, house of Israel.

10. Matthew 5:13-16

11. Matthew 6:7-15, 25-34

^7 [c]In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.^[d] ⁸Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

^9 [e]“This is how you are to pray:

^14 [k]If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

12. Matthew 10:16-21

13. Matthew 25:1-13

¹“Then^[b] the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ^2 [c]Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, ⁴but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. ⁶At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ ⁷Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. ^11 [d]Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ ¹²But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³Therefore, stay awake,^[e] for you know neither the day nor the hour.

14. Luke 12:10-12

¹⁰“Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ¹¹When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. ¹²For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

15. Luke 21:12-19

¹²“Before all this happens,^[d] however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. ¹³It will lead to your giving testimony. ¹⁴Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, ¹⁵for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking^[e] that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. ¹⁶You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷You will be hated by all because of my name, ¹⁸but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. ¹⁹By your perseverance you will secure your lives.

16. John 1:1-9

17. John 5:31-40

18. John 8:12

¹²Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

19. John 9:4-5

⁴We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. ⁵While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

20. Romans 5:1-11

21. Romans 8:26-27

22. Romans 12:1-2

23. Philippians 3:17-21

24. 1 Peter 5:5-7

⁵Likewise, you younger members,^[e] be subject to the presbyters. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for:

“God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the humble.”

⁶So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. ⁷Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.

25. 1 John 1:5-10

26. Revelation 21:22-27