Saints and the Liturgical Year

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In today’s Gospel Reading we find yet another example of what I have come to understand is the “messianic secret”
After raising the little girl from death, Jesus
“gave strict orders that no one should know this.”
Can someone help me understand the need for secrecy please?
 
odhiambo said:
Hi grateful_child.
I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate this thread which is now my daily reading. When I get up early I read from the Missal before coming to work but it does not always work out that way. Now I am getting used to using the thread whenever I have a little time at work.
Thanks and God bless!
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You’re very welcome, odhiambo! Great to have you back with your posts! 🙂
 
odhiambo said:
In today’s Gospel Reading we find yet another example of what I have come to understand is the “messianic secret”
After raising the little girl from death, Jesus
“gave strict orders that no one should know this.”
Can someone help me understand the need for secrecy please?
Click to expand...
I don/t have much background on Scripture, odhiambo. But I think, it was because the Jews at this time did not yet have the right expectations of what their Messiah would be. It was not yet the time for Jesus to be revealed as Messiah. Maybe Amiciel, or any of our viewers, can explain more…
 
February 8, 2014 - Saturday, 4th Week in Ordinary Time:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Grant us, Lord, our God,
that we may honor you with all our mind,
and love everyone in truth of heart.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

February 8 - St. Jerome Emiliani (Optional Memorial):

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, Father of mercies,
who sent Saint Jerome Emiliani as a helper and father to orphans,
grant, through his intercession,
that we may preserve faithfully the spirit of adoption,
by which we are called, and truly are, your children.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

“St. Jerome (1481 - 1537) was born in Venice and, after a dissolute youth, he dedicated himself to the service of the poor, the sick, and abandoned children. He founded a congregation (the Somaschi) that looked after the education of children, especially orphans. He died of the plague while serving the afflicted.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

February 8 - St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Optional Memorial):

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who led Saint Josephine Bakhita from abject slavery
to the dignity of being your daughter and a bride of Christ,
grant, we pray, that by her example
we may show constant love for the Lord Jesus crucified,
remaining steadfast in charity
and prompt to show compassion.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

“St. Josephine (1868 - 1947) was a young Sudanese girl sold into slavery and brought to Italy where, while serving as a nanny, she was sent to live with the Canossian Sisters of the Institute of the Catechumens in Venice. There she was baptized and eventually granted her freedom. In 1896 she joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity where she served for twenty five years. She died after a long and painful illness, during which she would cry out to the Lord: ‘Please loosen the chains … they are so heavy!’ Her dying words were, ‘Our Lady! Our Lady!’” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

For more on St. Jerone Emiliani, St. Josephine Bakhita, and St. John of Matha, see links:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/J/stjeromeemiliani.asp
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-02-08
 
grateful_child said:
I don/t have much background on Scripture, odhiambo. But I think, it was because the Jews at this time did not yet have the right expectations of what their Messiah would be. It was not yet the time for Jesus to be revealed as Messiah. Maybe Amiciel, or any of our viewers, can explain more…
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Thanks!
 
Food for thought in today’s first reading.

1:David orders a census of both Israel and Judah.
God is angry, why? What is wrong with a census.
2: Secondly why did God punish the all instead of just David who himself says to God:
“It is I who have sinned;
it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong.
But these are sheep; what have they done?
Punish me and my kindred.”
 
Food for thought in today’s first reading.

1: David orders a census of both Israel and Judah.
God is angry, why? What is wrong with a census?

2: Secondly why did God punish all instead of just David who admits :
“It is I who have sinned;
It is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong.
But these are sheep; what have they done?
Punish me and my kindred.”
 
odhiambo said:
In today’s Gospel Reading we find yet another example of what I have come to understand is the “messianic secret”
After raising the little girl from death, Jesus
“gave strict orders that no one should know this.”
Can someone help me understand the need for secrecy please?
Click to expand...
grateful_child said:
I don/t have much background on Scripture, odhiambo. But I think, it was because the Jews at this time did not yet have the right expectations of what their Messiah would be. It was not yet the time for Jesus to be revealed as Messiah. Maybe Amiciel, or any of our viewers, can explain more…
Click to expand...
You are right, grateful_child. Most Jews at this time expected a Messiah who would be a powerful, political leader who would liberate them from Roman rule and restore their pride as a people… someone powerful like King David.

Fr. Herman Hendrickx, cicm, writes in his commentary: " [Jesus] seems to be alarmed about a fundamental misunderstanding of who he is and what he is doing…The Messiah or Christ title, as its history suggests, was in a sense elitist… It conveyed the idea of a king who was seated at the top of the socio-economic pyramid over which he ruled. To ‘make his reign last for ever’ he maintained an army, collected taxes … But the structures of the society he governed were vertical and, therefore, … dehumanizing. The rule of God which Jesus was establishing as the new human being was a new moral order, horizontal in structure …in which human destiny will be realized both individually and corporately." (A Key to the Gospel of Mark, p. 30.)

The ‘messianic secret’ is more noticeable in Mark’s Gospel than in Mt and Lk, since Mark develops it such as to support his theological purpose of presenting Jesus as the Lord’s Suffering Servant. At this point in time, the Jews would have found it quite difficult to accept that the awaited Messiah was a Suffering Servant.

I hope this helps somewhat …
 
February 9, 2014 - 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care,
that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace,
they may be defended always by your protection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-02-09
 
February 10 - Saint Scholastica, Virgin (Memorial):

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“As we celebrate anew the Memorial of the Virgin Saint Scholastica,
we pray, O Lord,
that, following her example,
we may serve you with pure love
and happily receive what comes from loving you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

“St. Scholastica (480-547) was the twin sister of St. Benedict. Following the rule of her brother, she founded the Order of the Benedictine nuns.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

For today’s Scripture readings and reflection:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

For more on St. Scholastica, see links:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/S/stscholastica.asp
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-02-10
 
February 11, 2014 - Tuesday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care,
that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace,
they may be defended always by your protection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

February 11 - Our Lady of Lourdes (Optional Memorial):
Today is also “World Day of the Sick”.

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Grant us, O merciful God, protection in our weakness,
that we, who keep the Memorial of the Immaculate Mother of God,
may, with the help of her intercession,
rise up from our iniquities.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

“This day marks the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858 to fourteen-year-old St. Bernadette Soubirous. There were eighteen in all, the last of which was on July 16, 1858. The message of Lourdes is a call to conversion, prayer, and charity.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

"According to St. Bernadette, the visionary at Lourdes in 1858, the Virgin Mary proclaimed herself ‘The Immaculate Conception’.

PN. Blessed John Paul II designated 11 February as World Day of the Sick, ‘a special time of prayer and sharing, of offering one’s suffering for the good of the Church, and of reminding us to see in our sick brother and sister the face of Christ who, by suffering, dying and rising, achieved the salvation of humankind.’ (Letter Instituting the World Day of the Sick, 13 May 1992, 3)." (Ordo).

For more on Our Lady of Lourdes, see links:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/O/ourladyoflourdes.asp
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-02-11
 
February 12, 2014 - Wednesday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care,
that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace,
they may be defended always by your protection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

For information on St. Eulalia, see link:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-02-12
 
February 13, 2014 - Thursday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care,
that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace,
they may be defended always by your protection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

February 13 - St. Catherine de Ricci
St. Catherine de Ricci was born in 1522 in Florence, Italy. She belonged to a distingsuidhed Florentine family. She became prioress of St. Vincent’s Convent at Prato and was given the stigmata by Our Lord. She was outstanding among mystics for the intensity of her ecstasies. St. Catherine died in 1590 at Prato, Italy.

For more on St. Catherine de Ricci, see links:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/C/stcatherinedericci.asp
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-02-13
 
February 14 - Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop (Memorial):

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who enlightened the Slavic peoples
through the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius,
grant that our hearts may grasp the words of your teaching,
and perfect us as a people of one accord
in true faith and right confession.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflection:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

“Sts. Cyril (d.869) and Methodius (d.885) were brothers who evangelized Moravia, Bohemia, and Bulgaria. Methodius was consecrated bishop by Pope Adrian II. Pope John Paul II proclaimed the brothers Patrons of Europe along with St. Benedict.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF).

Saint Valentine:
At least three saints with the name of Valentine are identified, all of them martyrs. The romantic association of St. Valentine’s Day are traced to England and France in the Middle Ages. (Catholic Encyclopedia).

For more on Saints Cyril and Methodius, and Saint Valentine, see links:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/C/stcyrilandmethodius.asp
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-02-14
www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/VALENTIN.HTM
 
February 15, 2014 - Saturday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care,
that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace,
they may be defended always by your protection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

For information on St. Faustinus & St. Jovita, see link:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-02-15
 
February 16, 2014 - Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who teach us that you abide
in hearts that are just and true,
grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace
as to become a dwelling pleasing to you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-02-16
 
February 17, 2014 - Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who teach us that you abide
in hearts that are just and true,
grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace
as to become a dwelling pleasing to you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

February 17 - The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Optional Memorial):

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Impart to us, O Lord, in kindness
the filial devotion with which the holy brothers
venerated so devoutly the Mother of God
and led your people to yourself.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one god, for ever and ever.”

“Seven members of a Florentine confraternity founded the order of Servites of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the thirteenth century. The Servites lead a life of prayer and mortification, meditating on the Passion of the Lord and venerating the Blessed Virgin as Our Lady of Sorrows.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF).

For more on the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, see links:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/F/foundersoftheordersofservites.asp
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-02-17
 
February 18, 2014 - Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who teach us that you abide
in hearts that are just and true,
grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace
as to become a dwelling pleasing to you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

Read about St. Simeon and St. Flavian from:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-02-18
 
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