So let's talk about today's readings 2/16/10

[cheeto1]

February 16, 2010
http://www.usccb.org/images/solidline.gif
Reading I
Jas 1:12-18
Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation,
for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life
that he promised to those who love him.
No one experiencing temptation should say,
“I am being tempted by God”;
for God is not subject to temptation to evil,
and he himself tempts no one.
Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire.
Then desire conceives and brings forth sin,
and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters:
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.

Responsorial Psalm
94:12-13a, 14-15, 18-19
R. (12a) Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
Blessed the man whom you instruct, O LORD,
whom by your law you teach,
Giving him rest from evil days.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
For the LORD will not cast off his people,
nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
and all the upright of heart shall follow it.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your mercy, O LORD, sustains me;
When cares abound within me,
your comfort gladdens my soul.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.

Gospel
Mk 8:14-21
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.”
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When 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?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?”
They answered him, “Twelve.”
“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?”
They answered him, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

 

[Ignatius]

February 16, 2010
http://www.usccb.org/images/solidline.gif
Reading I
Jas 1:12-18
Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation,
for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life
that he promised to those who love him.
No one experiencing temptation should say,
“I am being tempted by God”;
for God is not subject to temptation to evil,
and he himself tempts no one.
Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire.
Then desire conceives and brings forth sin,
and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters:
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.

Responsorial Psalm
94:12-13a, 14-15, 18-19
R. (12a) Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
Blessed the man whom you instruct, O LORD,
whom by your law you teach,
Giving him rest from evil days.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
For the LORD will not cast off his people,
nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
and all the upright of heart shall follow it.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your mercy, O LORD, sustains me;
When cares abound within me,
your comfort gladdens my soul.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.

Gospel
Mk 8:14-21
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.”
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When 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?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?”
They answered him, “Twelve.”
“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?”
They answered him, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

I’m not sure how these three Scripture verse sections tie in together. Any help?

 

[cheeto1]

“each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire.
Then desire conceives and brings forth sin,
and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death”
– so then, I guess lent is a time to practice denying yourself what you desire.
then if you desire something wrong, you will have practiced denying yourself,
so it may be easier to fight temptation.

“Blessed the man whom you instruct, O LORD”
– in order for the Lord to instruct us, we have to get quiet in our hearts. It
is something that can be practiced, and lent is a good time to do it. What is
making our hearts noisy so we can’t pay attention to God?

"Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.” "
– Jesus said that to understand what He was saying, they would have to
understand the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. How does that miracle
relate to the “leaven of the Pharisees”? I do not know. First of all, I would
say the leaven refers to a little wrong thinking that can spread and spread and
spread. Maybe it could spread as large as the miracle of the loaves and
fishes, if not guarded against?

How do the readings go together? Well, they’re all about lent of course, since
that is what is on my mind. How is the gospel about lent? Well, after we check
our desires, and get quiet to listen to God, we better not listen to any wrong
thinking instead. Who is Herod and the Pharisees in our life?

So what struck you about today’s readings? :bible1::twocents:

I am giving up CAF for lent, so prayers go out for you all to have a blessed
and holy lent…:tissues:

 

[catholicmom2010]

I didn’t understand what Jesus meant by pointing out the 12 and the 7 in what food was left over?

 

[spauline]

Loaves and Fishes: The Sacraments and Christian Division?

Could it be that the miraculous feeding stories are metaphors for the Sacraments and how they are affected by Christian disunity?

On Tuesday’s Gospel reading, the account of the miraculous feedings with loaves and fishes was given. It is commonly seen to be a prefigurement of the Eucharist. However, I see much more than just the Eucharist in the stories of the multiplications of loaves and fishes. I see the whole of the Sacraments. After all, ANY time God gives us sanctifying grace (of which ALL the Sacraments are a great source of, and not merely the Eucharist), is He not “feeding us” spiritually? For what is sanctifying grace except a participation in the very life and love of God Himself, in the Trinity? Sanctifying grace is indeed spiritual life, that nourishes our souls.

Toward that end, I see the loaves and/or fish as sacraments.

Now, amongst all four Gospels, there are two different primary feeding stories. One is seven loaves and a few fish [occuring in two of the Gospels], the other is five loaves and two fish [occurring in all four Gospels]. I see the stories as revealing the mystery of the sacraments in relation to Christian disunity, one for each form, that is, the seven loaves and few fish symbolizes how **schism **affects the sacraments, and the five loaves and two fish how **heresy **affects the sacraments.

I see the sea, from which fish come, as doctrinal instability (“do not be tossed to and fro by every wave of doctrine”, …, “and the dragon spewed a flood after the woman, in order that she might be carried away by it…” [Apocalypse 12]).

I see the earth, from which the barley is grown to make loaves, as doctrinal stability (the Church is the “pillar and ground of the truth” [1 Tim. 3:15], … “but the earth helped the woman, and swallowed the flood that the dragon had spewed after her” [Apocalypse 12]).

Therefore the loaves symbolize sacraments that come from the stability of the priesthood, the Bishops, or Oral Tradition, with which one has the fullness of sacraments and stability of doctrine.

The meaning is then this:

**Seven loaves and a few fish: SCHISM **: the Orthodox have Apostolic Succession, and so a basic foundation of doctrinal stability, and valid Bishops and Priests, which gives them all seven sacraments (seven loaves). But they have a little doctrinal instability without Peter, or the Pope, hence, they have a “few fish”. (they debate Catholic doctrine formed after the first Millennium [after the Schism of 1054]).

**Five loaves and two fish: HERESY **: when heretics depart from the Church, they no longer have Apostolic Succession, that is, legitimate Bishops and Priests (this is the general lot of Protestants). Therefore they have no doctrinal stability (Protestants are all over the map doctrinally, tens of thousands of competing factions) and can only fish from the sea. They lose the five sacraments that require the Apostolic Succession [the earth], or priests (five loaves: Confession, Confirmation, Eucharist, Holy Orders, Annointing of the Sick) and retain only two sacraments, Baptism and Marriage (two fish).

For more detail, one might read these:

The Sacraments and Christian Division in the Mystery of Salvation History
4marks.com/blogs/details.html?blog_entry_id=2334

5 Loaves, 2 Fish, 200 days wages, and the Apocalypse’s Three Great Woes
4marks.com/articles/details.html?article_id=3790

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