Catholic Good News

Receiving the Gospel, Serving God and Neighbor
 
Catholic Schools Week

".they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions." Luke 2:46
 ​

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
 
     This week nearly 2 million children celebrate Catholic Schools Week in some form.  Many of us may have attended a Catholic school in our time.  Many remember the dear nuns, or a wonderful lay teacher who had big shoes to fill, yet brought his or her uniqueness to the classroom. 
 
"Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."  Matthew 13:52 
 
        Regardless of who taught us and how we were educated, Catholic Schools have a value that is not found elsewhere because what they teach concerns God and heaven, our true home.  
 
"Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit." 1 Thessalonians 4:8
 
     Solid Catholic Schools and the education and formation they provide are needed now more than ever.  To bring one into a real, personal encounter with Jesus Christ and His beloved bride, the Church, on a daily basis is what Catholic Schools seek to do.  Yet these blessed institutions do not happen by accident.  They occur when the Father's blessing touches the honest, hard work of men and women of faith who love the Faith and children.
 
"do not be too hard on your children so they will become angry.  Instruct them in their growing years with Christian teaching." -Ephesians 6:4  
 
      As millions of children continue to experience the blessings of Catholic Schools and celebrate it, let us give thanks to God for these schools, pray for them to bear fruit, and do all we can to support (as those who have went before us have supported them) that which has brought so many blessings to this earth, and so that this blessing will not disappear from the earth.
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,

Father Robert
 

P.S.  This coming Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time.  The readings can be found at: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB
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​262. Is it possible to be saved without Baptism? (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 1258-1261, 1281-1283) 
a) Baptism is necessary for salvation 
b) there is a Baptism of blood 
c) there is a Baptism of desire 
d) all of the above 


263. What are the effects of Baptism? (CCC 1262-1274, 1279-1280) 
a) keeps one from sinning 
b) makes baptized person a participant in the divine life of the Trinity 
c) gives them a desire to be perfect 
d) makes one equal to Jesus 


264. What is the meaning of the Christian name received at Baptism? (CCC 2156-2159, 2167) 
a) offers the baptized a model of holiness 
b) all Christian names ultimately mean, ‘Jesus’ 
c) an assurance of intercession before God 
d) none of the above 
 (Answers on back)

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He was currently assigned to a parish in Coventry, in central England. In search of respite, he went to visit his sister in Dereham, in the county of Norfolk. But his stay proved to be anything but relaxing. 
He arrived at his sister’s with a persistent cough. The next thing he knew, he was in a hospital bed. 
“The nursing staff told me that when I arrived at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, I had apparently died in the ambulance and been resuscitated by the two paramedics,” he told CNA in an interview. 
“Apparently I got into critical care there and decided to give up again. I died in critical care, so they resuscitated me.”
Stack, a cheerful and self-deprecating 70-year-old, was speaking days before the U.K. passed 100,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest figure in Europe. 
The English Cardinal Vincent Nichols described the bleak milestone as “a day of great sadness all over the land.” 
“So many people, families, communities, remembering those who have died in these terrible months of the pandemic. Each one is mourned. Each one is to be prayed for,” he said.
Stack told CNA that he could easily have been among those 100,000 people.
“I think that statistically, I should have just been a number. I would have been one of those that would have had a funeral and that would be it,” he said.
Looking back at the day he almost left this world, he said that he had no recollection of being taken to hospital, let alone of “dying” twice. 
He didn’t know either that he had contracted COVID-19. For a while, he didn’t even know where he was. 
“If you go into critical care, there’s no clock anywhere. They don’t do clocks because you’re not supposed to know what time it is and the lights are on all the time. If you’re unconscious and you’re in a controlled medical state, you don’t ask questions,” he said.
“I kept saying the Lord’s Prayer. And I kept thinking about my parents. And I kept seeing lots of green lights and blue lights. I didn’t see the Beatific Vision or Peter standing at a gate saying: ‘What the hell do you want? It’s not your time. Go back. Clear off.’ There was nothing like that.”
Five days after he was admitted to critical care, doctors gave Stack a trial drug. The day after, medics were standing at his bedside when they noticed that he raised his left eyelid as they were discussing him.
As he lay stricken in bed, he didn’t know that a pandemic had overrun the country and the population was now confined to home.
“At first I didn’t realize the seriousness of what was going on, mainly because there were no televisions. There was no press. Being so ill, one didn’t want to read anything. I had no stamina. My energy levels were almost nil,” he said.
“And the next thing was, you’ve got these people dressed in white spacesuits, saying: ‘We’re the COVID team.’ I said: ‘What the hell’s that? Is it the Olympics or something?’” 
It took some time for hospital staff to establish that Stack was a Catholic priest. But once they did, a Catholic chaplain visited and gave him the Eucharist and the Sacrament of the Sick. He also received consoling visits from a Baptist chaplain.
A turning point came thanks to an unexpected act of kindness.
“I was slumped in a chair in critical care,” he said, noting with a chuckle that the phrase rhymed. “I was kind of like a zombie. One of the doctors came up to me. She sat in front of me and said: ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’”
“I couldn’t speak because I had a tracheostomy in my neck with the oxygen going in. So I just shrugged my shoulders. She said: ‘Would you like a shave, Michael?’ I nodded my head. So she spent about an hour giving me a shave. I had a beard and my hair was terrible.”
“Then she opened the curtain, took the bowl of water away, and met her other colleagues. She said: ‘I get an extra 10 bonus points: I just shaved a Catholic priest.’”
Stack was on a ventilator for 21 days and in critical care for 36 days. When he was moved to a new ward at the end of April, he began the arduous process of starting to walk again.
“Three jolly physio people turned up dressed in their masks and hoods. They said: ‘Hello, Michael, we’re going to get you to walk.’ I said: ‘How?’” 
“With the first push and shove, they got me to put my feet on the ground. They lifted me forward and moved me two steps. That was the beginning of the process of learning to walk again.”
Stack was, of course, used to hospitals, but as a chaplain rather than a patient. He estimates that he has ministered to around 5,000 people who have died on wards. As well as serving at some of the U.K.’s busiest hospitals, he was also national chaplain to the Association of Catholic Nurses in England and Wales. 
A few years ago, he published a book about the Church’s healing ministry. “Lord, When Did We See You Sick?” tells 12 stories of grace amid illness drawn from Stack’s ministry. In a foreword, Cardinal Nichols described it as “a moving testimony to the healing power of our prayerful companionship with the sick and dying.” 
Stack noted that the title is from a passage in St. Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus says that we will be judged according to how we treated “these least brothers of mine.”
“That’s probably how we’ll get into eternal life: you’ll get the calculator out and see how many times you actually helped somebody,” he mused. “Or you’ll say: ‘I didn’t see any of that. I didn’t see anybody sick.’ Because we’re too busy, too busy working or enjoying ourselves here.”
Stack plans to add another six chapters to the book. And yes, one of them will be about his own unexpected recovery.
After eventually testing negative for the coronavirus, he was allowed to leave the hospital. He returned to his sister’s house, where he continued his rehabilitation program. He progressed from a walking frame to two sticks, then to one stick, and finally was able to walk on his own. 
By August 2020, he was well enough to accept an invitation to return to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He was able to thank the medical staff who saved his life and visit the critical care unit where he went to the brink of death and back again.
“My sister said, ‘Oh, you’re a bit of a Lazarus, aren’t you?’ I said, ‘No, well, he was dead for four days,’” he recalled.
“It’s thanks to the prayers that so many people have offered for me.”
At the end of that month, Stack went back to Christ the King parish in Coventry, where he had been assisting before his illness. His health was still delicate, but he wanted to thank parishioners for their unceasing prayers. 
In a short address, captured on video, he said: “Thank you for your prayers, all of you, which have made a tremendous change to my state of life. I was close to being called twice and, for some reason, the Lord has decided it’s not time yet.”
He told CNA: “I found that very emotional and very, very exhausting because I wasn’t really up to it. I don’t think I was really fit enough to do that. But I thought I’ve got to get up and do something and thank people.”
Standing at the pulpit and with a growing weariness in his voice, he thanked all those who had sent him cards. He said he was especially touched by a portrait a young Mass-goer drew of him looking sprightly under a smiling sun.
“Thank you very much indeed for your message, for your prayer, and for the prayers of everybody. I’m full of gratitude. Thank you,” he said. 
And with that, he stepped away to resounding applause to continue his recovery. 
Photograph of Fr. Michael Stack used with the kind permission of Con McHugh.

​

SOUTH BEND, Indiana - As the worldwide Catholic Church prepares to celebrate the first Sunday of the Word of God this weekend, Bible scholars in the U.S. hope the commemoration strengthens Scriptural devotion in American households.
Since Catholicism is imbued with sacramental celebrations, scholars note that Scripture can take a backseat to other aspects of church life. Statistics support this conjecture, with over 50 percent of Catholics saying they seldom or never read the Bible, according to a 2014 Pew survey. That compares to just 18 percent of Evangelical Protestants who rarely crack open the Good Book.
However, the reticence to read Scripture is understandable from the perspective of Bible scholars. Catholics were not widely encouraged to read Scripture until the 20th century, when Pope Pius XII extolled the practice in his encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu in 1943. Over two decades later, the Second Vatican Council produced Dei Verbum, which amplified Pius’s message to a wider audience.
Dr. Gina Hens-Piazza, President of the Catholic Biblical Association of America, told Crux she feels some Catholics are afraid to read the Bible, worrying they might err in their interpretation.
Despite this, “the Catholic believer has an opportunity, and perhaps even a responsibility, to become a student of Scripture,” she said.
Hens-Piazza, who is a professor of Old Testament studies at Jesuit School of Theology, said the Church should “empower” people and inform them that “they have the capacity to study Scripture.”
Hens-Piazza noted that while many “bright” people attend American parishes, “their understanding of Scripture - if they ever get occasion to study it - probably ended at a very early age.”

Scripture, she said, often requires more reflective thinking than young children can muster.
Holy Cross Father Adam Booth, a doctoral student studying the New Testament at Duke University, said the desire for more Catholics to read Scripture likely influenced the institution of Sunday of the Word of God.
Booth compared the decision by Pope Francis to establish this Sunday’s event to Pope John Paul II’s institution of the Luminous Mysteries in 2002.
“Sometimes we look at the range of things we commemorate liturgically, and we see what’s missing,” he said.
Booth said the “gaps” that form in how we devote our prayer - such as the earthly life of Jesus in the case of the Luminous Mysteries - are aspects of faith dealt with so often, they are sometimes not celebrated.
While the Bible is present in both the readings and many of the prayers at Mass, Booth said there’s no clear time to reflect on “the gift that God has given us words.”
Sunday of the Word of God falls on the third Sunday in Ordinary Time and will become an annual occasion for the Church. None of the readings or propers of the Mass will change, but Francis hopes congregations throughout the world will celebrate “with a certain solemnity.”
While churches decide how to create that “certain solemnity” on an individual level, Booth and Hens-Piazza both had suggestions on how to celebrate the occasion.
Hens-Piazza said the creation of something called lexical groups could be a resource for parishes to further explore Scripture.
She explained the concept: “Whoever is responsible for homilies the following Sunday would invite a sample of members of the community” to a session during the week, where the readings would be discussed. From there, the homilist could “let the homily grow out of that discussion.”
With lexical groups, what parishioners reflect on in the readings “actually becomes a part of what is the preaching message,” Hens-Piazza said.
She also said parishes could take a moment during this weekend’s Mass to bless and recognize ministers of the Word in the congregation.
Booth told Crux on Tuesday that he had not yet prepared his homily for the weekend, but planned to preach on the idea of how the New Testament fulfills the Old Testament, a concept found in Sunday’s readings.
Noting that Catholics do not read the whole Bible through readings at Mass, Booth suggested reading beyond the selected passage for a given Sunday to gain more context of the Scriptures.
“If we’re reading six verses from Matthew 3 this week, why don’t you sit down and read the whole of Mathew 3?” he offered.
Both Booth and Hens-Piazza said that reviewing the Sunday readings ahead of time is a great tactic for families with young children.
“It can give the kids a sense of something to listen for,” said Booth. “They can pick out in advance something that might be meaningful for their family.”
While Sunday of the Word of God might shine a light on a soft spot for American Catholics, Hens-Piazza said she hopes the annual event will spread new ways to encounter the Bible.
“There’s so many things we can do that Catholics have a 15- or 20-minute introduction to three texts,” she said.

(http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=28833)

VATICAN CITY, January 21 (CNA/EWTN News) .- In his daily Mass, Pope Francis noted how God seeks to have a personal relationship with each of us, emphasizing that he favors those who are humble and small because he is able to dialogue with them.

"There is a relationship between God and us little ones: God, when he must choose people, even his own people, he always chooses the little ones," the Pope said during his Jan. 21 homily.

Addressing those who were present in the Vatican's Saint Martha guesthouse, Pope Francis centered his homily on the day's first reading, taken from the First Book of Samuel in which the prophet anoints David as king upon the Lord's rejection of his older brothers.

Turning his thoughts to our own personal relationship with God, the Pope highlighted how we are God's people, and that "in a people, everyone has his post."

However, the pontiff said that although we belong to the People of God, "the Lord never speaks to the people like this, to the mass, never."

"He always speaks personally, with names. And he personally chooses," the Pope explained, adding that the story of creation shows us this because "it is the same Lord that with his hands made man and gave him a name: 'You are called Adam.'"

"And so begins that story between God and the person. And another thing, there is a relationship between God and us little ones: God, when he must choose people, even his own people, he always chooses the little ones."

Emphasizing how there is always a "dialogue between God and human littleness," the Pope recalled the words of Mary in her Gospel canticle when she said that "the Lord has looked upon my humility."

Returning to the first reading, the pontiff observed that we can see this attitude of the Lord "clearly" when Samuel first thinks that Jesse's eldest son is to be the anointed one because he is "tall" and "big," but instead the Lord tells him "at his appearance or his height," because "I have rejected him because it does not matter what man sees."

Instead, the Lord chooses David, the youngest, who "did not count for his father," the Pope continued, highlighting how the Lord chooses according to his own criteria, and not that of the world.

He chooses "the weak and the meek, to confound the mighty of the earth," the Pope said, recalling that although Jesse said that he was not home, David "was elected."

"All of us with Baptism have been elected by the Lord. We all are elected. He has chosen us one by one," he observed, adding that God "has given us a name and he watches over us" and that "there is a dialogue, because the Lord loves in this way."

"Even David became king, and then he made a mistake...he has made many perhaps, but the Bible tells us of two big ones, two heavy mistakes."

However, after committing these sins, "What did David do?" the pontiff asked, recalling that "He humbled himself. And returned to his littleness and said: 'I am a sinner.' And asked pardon and did penance."

David "kept his smallness, with repentance, with prayer, with tears," the Pope explained, adding that in thinking about this dialogue between "the Lord and our smallness," we can wonder where lays "Christian faithfulness?"

"Christian fidelity, our fidelity, is simply to preserve our littleness, so that it can dialogue with the Lord," he reflected, "preserve our littleness."

"For this reason, humility, gentleness, meekness, are so important in the life of the Christian because it is a custody of smallness that the Lord likes to look at. And it will always be a dialogue between our littleness and the greatness of the Lord."

Bringing his homily to a close, Pope Francis prayed through the intercession of Saint David, and "also through the intercession of the Virgin Mary who sang joyfully to God, because she had guarded her humility," that "the Lord gives us the grace to guard our littleness in front of Him." 

As those first responsible for the education of their children, parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions. This right is fundamental. As far as possible parents have the duty of choosing schools that will best help them in their task as Christian educators. Public authorities have the duty of guaranteeing this parental right and of ensuring the concrete conditions for its exercise. 
​
-Catechism of the Catholic Church 2229
 ​

​+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sunday, January 31, 2021

The First Reading - Deuteronomy 8:15-20
Moses spoke to all the people, saying: “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin; to him you shall listen. This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God, nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.’ And the LORD said to me, ‘This was well said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him. Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.’”  
Reflection 
Deuteronomy is structured in the form of three discourses, the second of which contains the laws proper. The first discourse (1:1-4:43) is an introduction to the book. It stresses what the book, and the entire Bible, is all about. It tells us that God in His providence and mercy is constantly watching over His people, over every single man and woman, as can be seen from the wonders He worked during the 40 years the Jews spent in the wilderness. The second discourse, from which our reading for today comes, encompasses 4:44 through chapter 28. This discourse stresses the Decalogue and that God’s choice of Israel is a pure act of love on His part and that this grace must permeate the lifestyle of His Chosen People; consequently a whole series of liturgical, civil and criminal laws are given to ensure that His promises are carried out.  
Adults - How do the teachings of the Church help us from hurting God, ourselves, and each other?
Teens - How can the liturgy guide your personal prayer life?
Kids - How do God’s laws show His care and love for us?  

Responsorial- Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9 
R.If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
    let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
    let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
    and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
    “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
    as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
    they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Reflection 
We are called to be open to the Lord, and to acknowledge His gifts and blessings.  What are you thankful for this week? Consider starting a gratitude journal.

The Second Reading- 1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.  I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.
Reflection -  Marriage involves spouses in many worldly duties and cares that can make it challenging for them to concentrate themselves perfectly and completely to the Lord’s service. The married are tied by flesh and blood in many relationships (which are good!) that require their attention and can limit a complete and total dedication to God. The husband must try to please the wife, and the wife the husband. Consequently, they are “divided;” impeded from devoting their attention solely to the Lord. The celebate, being freed from the cares and duties of family life, can devote themselves with undivided attention and heart to the Lord. They can be dedicated to God, consecrated, sacred, reserved for God and His service.
 -In what ways can you bring the Lord into the cares of your daily life?

The Holy Gospel according to Mark 1:21-28
Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet!  Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
Reflection Jesus has just started His public ministry. For the past two weeks we have heard of Him going out and recruiting disciples. New He begins to teach. Jesus’ first miracle in Mark’s gospel is, significantly, an exorcism. In antiquity sickness was ascribed to evil spirits. The exorcism is a sign that in His presence the power of evil is reduced to impotency. God’s rule is at hand. Jesus is, in effect, recognized as the Messiah, anointed with God’s Spirit and possessing power over evil spirits. 
Adults - The demon knew who Christ was, but his cry of identification was not one of worship - it was simply of recognition. Peter’s later confession of Jesus’s identity is one of love and worship. How can we make sure our confession of Christ follows Peter’s example?
Teens - Jesus’ divinity is implied here. How?
Kids - Remember to always ask for God’s help in times of trouble.

LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!  - We are creatures with nothing of our own to boast of. We were created by God, and every talent or power we possess was given us by God. God's benevolence could have stopped there and we would have no right to complain. But when we recall the special gifts he gave man, which raise him above all other created things, we see that he could not, because of his own infinitely benevolent nature, leave us to an earthly fate. What thinking man could be content with a short span of life on earth? What real purpose in life could an intelligent being have who knew that nothing awaited him but eternal oblivion in the grave? What fulfillment would man's intellectual faculties find in a few years of what is for the majority of people perpetual struggle for earthly survival? No, God created us to elevate us, after our earthly sojourn, to an eternal existence where all our desires and potentialities would have their true fulfillment. Hence the incarnation, hence the life, death and resurrection of Christ, who was God's Son, as the central turning point of man's history. — Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.
Let us live this amazing life in constructive thoughts, words, and deeds, such that it leads to that incredible life that awaits us!

262. Is it possible to be saved without Baptism?d) all of the above 
Since Christ died for the salvation of all, those can be saved without Baptism who die for the faith (Baptism of blood). Catechumens and all those who, even without knowing Christ and the Church, still (under the impulse of grace) sincerely seek God and strive to do his will can also be saved without Baptism (Baptism of desire). The Church in her liturgy entrusts children who die without Baptism to the mercy of God. 
 
263. What are the effects of Baptism? b) makes the baptized person a participant in the divine life of the Trinity 
 
Baptism takes away original sin, all personal sins and all punishment due to sin. It makes the baptized person a participant in the divine life of the Trinity through sanctifying grace, the grace of justification which incorporates one into Christ and into his Church. It gives one a share in the priesthood of Christ and provides the basis for communion with all Christians. It bestows the theological virtues and the gifts of the HolySpirit. A baptized person belongs forever to Christ. He is marked with the indelible seal of Christ (character). 
264. What is the meaning of the Christian name received at Baptism?a) offers the baptized a model of holiness 
The name is important because God knows each of us by name, that is, in our uniqueness as persons. In Baptism a Christian receives his or her own name in the Church. It should preferably be the name of a saint who might offer the baptized a model of sanctity and an assurance of his or her intercession before God.

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,


            Most of you probably know how to pray the Holy Rosary.  (If not, please check under the website section.)  But maybe you do not know of its great power and its great aid to people and to the world.  From the great naval victory at Lepanto in 1571 to the peace of heart and peace in the world, the holy Rosary is a gift beyond imagination.
 
       St. Dominic and the Dominicans are and have been great preachers of the Rosary for around 800 years.  Popes have endorsed it with Pope Leo XIII writing 12 Rosary encyclicals and 5 apostolic letters from 1883 to 1898, the most of any pope. The blessed Mother herself telling the children at Fatima, “You must recite the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace for the world…”


       The Rosary is the Prayer of the Gospel, and it unites us and our lives to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph the ordinary and extraordinary events of their lives helping us to understand our own.  The Rosary gives us and others grace and help at every moment of our lives.  It prepares one for heaven, and helps one to truly love.  (Be sure to read the promises of Our Lady below.)


       The Rosary is not meant to be only vocal prayers recited, but MENTAL PRAYER, an engaging of the mind and heart to the events that save us.  On the 10 Hail Marys ask WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY about each Mystery you meditate upon.  Then the true gift and benefit of the Holy Rosary will be made known to you and the world.


 Now that is Catholic GOOD NEWS!


Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert
 
P.S.  In 2004, Pope John Paul II in the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (The Rosary of the Virgin Mary) added five more mysteries to the Holy Rosary referring to the life of Jesus and Mary, check them out under Helpful Hints for Life.
 
P.S.S.  This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time-Word of God Sunday.  The readings can be found at: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB
​

*******************SPECIAL FEATURE**********************
 
Recording on the Holy Rosary explaining origin, all the mysteries, and more
 
Click with your mouse pointer on the blue lines below (30 minutes):
http://www.freewebs.com/godislove333/Holy%20Rosary%2DOctober%2021%202007.wav
 
*******************SPECIAL FEATURE**********************
 
 
 
Do you pray the Holy Rosary with you family?
The family that prays together, stays together!

​259. What is required of one who is to be baptized? (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 1253-1255) 
a) a profession of faith 
b) a good life 
c) an encounter with God 
d) all of the above 


260. Who can baptize? (CCC 1256, 1284) 
a) Bishop 
b) an atheist with intention of the Church 
c) any Catholic with the intention of the Church 
d) all of the above 


261. Is Baptism necessary for salvation? (CCC 1257) 
a) Yes, for all those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed 
b) Yes, for all who have the possibility of asking for the sacrament 
c) No, not if they know not of it 
d) all of the above 



 (Answers at end)

  term review
Holy Rosary (from Latin rosarium, “rose garden.”)
- a popular prayer, usually prayed on beads, composed of the twenty Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries which reflect on the events in the life of Jesus, and how Mary was called to cooperate in His saving work along with Joseph, the spouse of the Virgin Mary and foster father of Jesus

 “Helpful Hints of Life”
MYSTERIES OF LIGHT - LUMINOUS MYSTERIES

1.      The Baptism of Our Lord by John the Baptist 


2.      The First Miracle of Jesus at the Wedding of Cana


3.      The Proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven (and Call to Repentance)


4.      The Transfiguration


5.      The Institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist

​

The promises of Mary from God to those who pray the Holy Rosary:
1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all who shall recite the Rosary.
3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.
6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful in reciting the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
9. I shall deliver from purgatory, those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.
11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
12. All those who propagate the holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13. I have obtained from My Divine Son, that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors, the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
14. All who recite the Rosary are my sons, and brothers of My only son Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion to My Rosary is a great sign of pre-destination.
 
Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (The Rosary of the Virgin Mary)
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae_en.html
 
 
"All generations will call me blessed": "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship." The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of 'Mother of God,' to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs. . . . This very special devotion . . . differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration." The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel," express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.  


-Catechism of the Catholic Church #971

Vatican’s Website on the Holy Rosary
http://www.vatican.va/special/rosary/documents/misteri_en.html

Has all 20 mysteries of the holy rosary with meditations and documents referring to the Rosary.  Click on the pictures.
 
How to Pray the Rosary Step by Step
http://www.newadvent.org/images/rosary.pdf

This gives detailed directions on how to pray the holy Rosary.
 
Printout of How to Pray the Rosary with Images of Mysteries printable on back
http://www.newadvent.org/images/rosary.pdf

Print out of above website combined with images and Sacred Scripture verses of 20 Mysteries



​

START A HOSPITALITY GROUP FOR YOUR RCIA PROGRAM (if appropriate during pandemic)


[RCIA-Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is the process by which non-Catholics join the Church, which usually begins in the Fall]  Get to know people wanting to get to know the Church before they officially join and witness to them with your kindness and your faith story by being a part of group that brings food and drink to the RCIA class and then shares how you became Catholic or grew up Catholic.


BENEFITS:
People joining RCIA may not be sure about joining the Church or even know much about the Church, but everyone wants and needs to be received and treated kindly ("love is patient, love is kind" -St. Paul).  So being part of a group that brings refreshments or food and drink to RCIA class can touch them by 'breaking bread' with them and affirming that you are glad they are there and want them to be a part of your parish.  And if some of your committee, one by one, can share their faith journey, that can confirm the RCIA candidates in theirs, and they get to know members of the Church with whom they will worship and serve one day if they ultimately join the Church.


HOW?
Consult and ask if it is okay with your Parish Priest and the person in charge of RCIA.  Look for another person or group of people who would be willing on occasion to make or purchase food and drink and bring them to the RCIA meeting (perhaps once a month or every two weeks).  And then hopefully one of your group, or perhaps the head of different ministries of your parish, can share a brief version of their faith journey as a cradle Catholic or as a convert themselves.  The sharing does not have to be spectacular or stunning, it just has to be real and heart-felt.  This can go a long way to helping RCIA candidates into the Church, and making them a part of your parish family for years to come.

​

Early Life
Deacon Girard slowed down long enough in an interview before Mass to explain that he began life in Windsor, Canada. He earned a teaching degree, joined the religious congregation of Christian Brothers in 1932, and taught at their schools in Toronto and Montreal. “When I felt called to the married life, I left the Christian Brotherhood and moved to Detroit in 1947, where my parents lived then,” he explained.
He initially continued teaching at Catholic schools and then went back to school for a degree in social work from Wayne State University in Detroit and then a master’s degree at the University of Detroit.
For 25 years, Deacon Girard worked as a social worker for Wayne County, where he met his wife, Jean, a public-school teacher, at Holy Redeemer Church in Detroit. They married in 1951 and were together for 60 years, until she died at the age of 93 in 2012. They had five children who today range in age from 58 to 65. Deacon Girard now lives with his daughter Clare. Three of his other children live in southeast Michigan, and one lives in Ottawa.
 
Permanent Diaconate
When the permanent diaconate was re-established in the United States by Pope St. Paul VI in 1968, the Archdiocese of Detroit opened up a diaconate program in 1971. Deacon Girard entered in 1972 and was ordained on April 25, 1976.
“I never thought I was called to be a priest, but I thought I could use some of my talents to help the Church,” Deacon Girard said. He used to visit the sick and bring them Communion at Oakwood Hospital — and even made house calls, often visiting as many as 20 people a day in their homes.
“They would tell me their stories about their families and problems,” he said. “I would talk with them about God and pray with them. Sometimes I had to advise them to go to confession. Then I would ask a priest to come, and he could also give them the Last Rites if the person wanted.”
 
 
His Secrets for a Long Life
What is Deacon Girard’s secret to a healthy, happy life? “My dear wife helped me live long,” he said. “And we have good genes in the family, too. Our ancestors were from France and had escaped the French Revolution. They foresaw the revolution coming and came to Canada for the freedom of religion.”
Deacon Girard’s father was only 65 when he died from a heart attack attributed to a damaged heart from rheumatic fever. His mother lived to be 83.
The century-old deacon said he tries to eat healthy, has a little wine every day and rarely needs to go to the doctor. “I think I would have been healthier, though, if I had never smoked,” he admitted. “I smoked for around 40 years. I tried quitting twice, but it only lasted a few weeks. I gave it up when I retired at 62.” What was his secret to quitting?  “I finally stopped buying cigarettes,” he said.
 
Hopes for the Future
Deacon Girard said he does not worry about the future, content simply doing what he is doing. “I hope to die in good standing with the Church and the family,” he said. “Standing up at the altar serving Mass helps me to pray. I think I help the priest by reading and giving Communion.” His own relationship with God is strengthened by reading Scripture and going to confession, he explained. “It draws you closer to God,” he said.
At age 100 does Deacon Girard think about meeting God soon? “I don’t spend time worrying about death,” he said. “I am not afraid. I don’t think much about how I am going to die, but I don’t think it will be in an automobile accident, since I stopped driving two years ago. The car broke down, and it’s nice to have kids that drive me here and there.”
While changing out of his vestments after Mass, Deacon Girard explained that after more than 40 years as a deacon, he still looks forward to serving on the altar. “As long as I am going to Mass, I want to serve,” Deacon Girard said. “I’m a little bit slower, but I like to help the priest at Mass. I’m the most happy when I’m able to help.”
Patti Armstrong writes from
North Dakota

​

In Lincoln, Nebraska, you can tell the seasons by the habits of the School Sisters of Christ the King. 

It’s not really summer until you spot a “CK Sister”, as they are affectionately known, walking around in her lighter blue summer habit. 

But when a CK sister is donning her dark blue habit, that means the months are turning colder. And when the dark blue habits come out, you can find almost every CK sister in a classroom, teaching in one of the 27 Catholic elementary schools in the diocese. 

Religious school sisters are a fairly common sight in the Diocese of Lincoln, which has two diocesan orders of women religious - the Christ the King Sisters as well as the grey-habited Marian sisters, many of whom can also be found teaching in the local Catholic schools. 

In much of the rest of the country, however, religious sisters are something of a rare novelty - thought they used to be a much more common sight in the United States. 

In 1965, there were nearly 180,000 women religious in the United States, many of them school teachers, according to data from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate out of Georgetown University. 

By 2014, there were less than 50,000 religious sisters, the numbers having steadily declined over the past half-century in the post-Vatican II upheaval that was felt in many parts of the Church around the world. 

It was in the midst of this upheaval and decline that Bishop Glennon Patrick Flavin, then of Lincoln, decided to found the Christ the King Sisters as a religious order dedicated specifically to teaching children. 

“He noticed that there were a good number of sisters in our schools in the 50’s and 60’s, but by the 70’s the sisters were starting to pull out of our classrooms,” Sr. Mary Cecilia, a Christ the King Sister, told CNA. 

Bishop Flavin had difficulty finding already-established religious orders that were able to come to the Diocese of Lincoln, and eventually felt called to found a diocesan order dedicated specifically to teaching, Sr. Mary Cecilia said. 

“He knew that our seminaries were growing and increasing in number, and he thought if the Lord was calling this many young men to serve as priest then he was probably calling young women to serve as sisters also,” she said. 

Sr. Mary Cecilia, who now serves as principal of St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Lincoln, said that Bishop Flavin founded the order with the idea that a good religious education would strengthen the faith of much of the laity in the diocese. 

“He wanted to extend Christ’s reign in whatever place possible...and he realized what was so important to make that happen was Catholic education. Because if we can reach the young people in the diocese, we not only reach the young people but we also reach their parents and families,” she said. 

“He realized that one of the best ways to really nurture their faith in the lives of these children is through the consecrated life, through having sisters present in the schools, the value of the witness of a religious - their life totally dedicated to God, their gift of self-sacrifice, being a spiritual mother to every single student in the school,” she added. 

For herself, Sr. Mary Cecilia said she knew from a young age she wanted to teach.

“I have a brother who’s a priest - he often talks about how I used to play school so everything he knows about teaching came from me when he was little,” she joked. 

In college in the early 1990s, she studied high school math education and dreamed of teaching calculus and algebra to older students. But that’s also when she met the Christ the King Sisters, who only teach at the elementary level. 

“I realized oh they’re joyful, they’re young, vibrant, I like that,” Sr. Mary Cecilia said. 

Even though she was drawn to religious life as a CK Sister, she was still hesitant about teaching at the younger level - “that was something that I had to take to the Lord,” she said. 

Ultimately, though, the spirit of the CK Sisters, their depth of prayer, their warmth, and their dedication to education were what drew Sr. Mary Cecilia to them. 

“We are extending the kingdom of God in Catholic schools, and Catholic schools are so important to me primarily because of my own education in Catholic schools,” she said. 

Sr. Mary Agnes belongs to another religious order, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Wichita, Kansas, that is also primarily dedicated to the education and formation of young people. 

A veteran teacher of 10 years, Sr. Mary Agnes said she believes that religious sisters bring something unique to the classroom that other teachers cannot, even though at a basic level, they perform the same functions. 

“Our vocation is to be a more radical, vivid sign of the presence of Christ in the world, and then hopefully through that witness draw people to an encounter with Christ,” she told CNA. 

“We do really similar things that other people do who are not sisters,” she said. “So (the value of) religious life is not about doing, it’s about witness and the being of the person. Our vocation is to be a more radical, vivid sign of the presence of Christ in the world, and then hopefully through that witness draw people to an encounter with Christ.” 

Perhaps some of the most well-recognized teaching sisters in the Catholic Church in the U.S. today are the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia based in Nashville, Tennessee and the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

Both orders, primarily dedicated to education, have sisters teaching on Catholic campuses throughout the country. 

“We belong to the Dominican Order and our charism is preaching and teaching. 
Women religious have been an integral part of the history of Catholic education in the United States,” Sr. John Dominic with the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist told CNA.

“As Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, we seek to continue the tradition of educating generations of young people in their faith and most of all, to bring youth into deeper relationship with Christ,” she said. 

Despite the general decline in religious life that has been happening over the past few decades, both Dominican orders have seen a boom in young vocations in recent years. The Dominican Sisters of Mary recently opened a new priory in Texas in order to accommodate all of the young women discerning religious life in their order. 

When asked what is drawing so many young women to their order, Sr. John Dominic responded: “The young people are responding to God’s invitation to ‘come and follow Him’.” 

Sr. John Dominic said the depth of the prayer life of the sisters and the close relationship with the Lord that their way of life allows lets them bring the fruits of their spiritual life to their students. 

“Pope Saint John Paul II once described women religious as being a ‘sign of tenderness’ in the world. From my experience in working with Sisters in schools, this is precisely what many of them bring - tenderness and an intuitive heart,” she said. 

Sr. Mary Agnes said she is always humbled when parents and students recognize the unique gifts and witness that religious sisters bring to the classroom. 

“...that to me is the most striking, when the students come back after they graduate and they’re so excited to express: ‘Thank you what you’ve done for me.’ Many times they don’t recognize it at the time but then they do say thank you I’m glad that you taught me, I’m glad you were there for me, and it’s so humbling,” she said. 

Sr. Mary Cecilia said that she would encourage young women considering religious life not to be afraid, and to encounter sisters up-close before believing some of the misconceptions about religious sisters that exist.  

“When I was younger I thought that all sisters instantly became like 70 once they put that habit on, and that’s not true!” she said. “None of our sisters are 70 yet.” 

On a more serious note, she added, “I think one of the misconceptions out there is that you have to give up everything that you hold dear, that you have dreams of, in order to do this. And in reality you do but its not the giving up that you focus on,” she said. 

“It’s what takes its place - your relationship with the Lord, and being able to be filled with an intense and immense love for him, and therefore an immense love for the people you’re asked to serve.” 
​

Picture Unavailable:
San Miguel School in Northwest Washington, D.C. Credit: John MacArthur.

During Catholic Schools Week, the president of a small school in Washington, D.C. explained its humble origins, extraordinary mission, and its hopes for the future. 

“We intentionally seek out kids who can’t afford to go here and who are at risk,” Don Mullikin told EWTN News. He chairs the board of San Miguel School in Northwest Washington, D.C., a middle school catering exclusively to low-income immigrant families.

“When it comes to Pope Francis, his message is simple and clear, and it’s what we do: helping others who are more needy than you.”

The school is sponsored, but not owned, by the De La Salle Brothers. Its mission is in the La Sallian tradition of the “preferential option for the poor.” 

That ministry dates back to the 1600s when St. Jean Baptiste de La Salle served the poor in France through Christian education, hoping to break their “cycle of poverty.”

And in the same way, San Miguel exists to break the “cycle of poverty.” The formula is not easy, because the students enter the middle school a year or two behind the sixth grade level. In three years, they must be ready to excel at a private Catholic high school. 

In short, the school crams five years of education into three calendar years. Students attend school year-round for nine hours a day.

The enrollment is small – only 65 students – and is only male and middle school-age. 

This is an extremely formative and important age, Mullikin explained, providing the best opportunity to prepare kids for high school, something many of their parents never got to accomplish.

With the small enrollment the principal knows every student, so “you cannot slip through the cracks.”

The students are all from immigrant families, half of them Salvadoran and the rest from other parts of Latin America. And every family starts out at or below the poverty line. Admission is made on a financial basis “in reverse.”

Thus, tuition is almost completely free, which separates San Miguel from other parochial schools. “We are reliant upon the good will and contributions of the community to survive,” Mullikin stated.  “Most parochial schools don’t want to take our kids who can’t pay.”

Many families just pay the minimum of $50 a month. Those who can afford to pay more may do so. But the school doesn’t just cover education; it also provides counseling, breakfast, lunch, and extracurricular activities. It is almost completely dependent upon donors and foundations for its income. 

Yet these low-income students leave with a ticket to a Catholic high school. The acceptance rate at Catholic high schools in the area is 100 percent, and 97 percent of alumni either have a high school diploma or are pursuing one. In comparison, that rate is 50 percent for all Latino males in the D.C. area. 

The immigrant parents of students are extremely hard-working but do not know the “foreign” American school system, Mullikin explained. Thus they may not know of options like San Miguel.

“What’s really important is allowing these families to fulfill their dream of making it better for the next generation,” he said. 

The parents are “working their fingers to the bone day and night,” he added. They don’t have time to research the U.S. school system. “We have to really reach out to them and teach them about the school.”

Cramming five years of education into three calendar years is an apt metaphor for the school. It seems a daunting task but not only does it work, it succeeds marvelously.

The end product, he said, is “well-educated boys who are young men who are prepared to succeed in high school.” 

The school does not stop helping a student once he graduates, either. A counselor has a full-time job of checking in on each alumnus in high school, ensuring that any needs of theirs are met and that they are succeeding in school. This establishes a “safety net” that goes beyond the San Miguel years.

One example Mullikin gave was of a graduate who wasn’t eating lunch at his high school because he didn’t have the money. Once San Miguel discovered this they alerted his high school. The administration quickly took care of the problem and gave him a cafeteria card. 

“If that safety net wasn’t there, he wouldn’t be eating,” Mullikin said. 
​

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Pope: Confirmation Gives Us The Strength To Defend The Faith(http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=28898)

VATICAN CITY, January 29 (CNA/EWTN News) .- In his Wednesday audience, Pope Francis reflected on the sacrament of confirmation, explaining that it is intrinsically linked to our baptism, and that through it our relationship with the Church is fortified.

"It unites us more firmly to Christ," the Pope said in his Jan. 29 general audience, referring to the Sacrament of Confirmation, "it strengthens our relationship with the Church and it gives us a special strength from the Holy Spirit to defend the faith and confess the name of Christ."

The Pope began his weekly audience by addressing the thousands of pilgrims present in St. Peter's Square, stating that "dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis on the seven sacraments, we now reflect on confirmation."

Confirmation, he explained "together with baptism and the Eucharist, is one of the sacraments of Christian initiation."

These three Sacraments, he noted, form part "of the unique process of Christian initiation, through which we are gradually inserted in Christ, dead and risen, and we receive a new life, making us members of the Church."

Reflecting on the term confirmation, the Pope highlighted that the word "indicates that this sacrament ratifies baptismal grace."

He then explained that during our confirmation, "through the sacramental sign of anointing with sacred chrism, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in order to be more closely conformed to Christ, God's 'anointed one.'"

"We are also strengthened - 'confirmed' - in the grace of our Baptism and in our mission of bearing daily witness to Christ and his love," the pontiff continued, adding that "Confirmation is God's work," as is every sacrament.

And this particular sacrament, observed the Pope, "ensures that our life be embodied in the image of his son, for us to love like him, infusing his Holy Spirit."

"This Spirit acts with strength within us, within all people and during one's whole life," he emphasized, highlighting that "when we receive him in our hearts, Christ makes himself present and takes shape in our lives."

"It is He who prays, forgives, infuses hope, serves the brothers most in need, creates communion and seeds peace in our lives. It is He who does that!"

Turning to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which are received when one is confirmed, Pope Francis noted that the direct works of the Holy Spirit are "reflected" in these "spiritual gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord."

Encouraging all present to "thank the Lord for the grace of our confirmation," the Pope urged them to ask "that, filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, we may always mirror Christ's presence in our relations with others, our openness to those in need, and our living witness to the Gospel message of joy and peace."

He concluded his audience by extending personal greetings to pilgrims present from various countries around the world, including those from Spain, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Scotland, Ireland and the United States.

Giving a special greeting to a group of pilgrims who traveled from the diocese of Rapid City, SD accompanied by their bishop, Robert Gruss, the pontiff then invoked "God's blessings of joy and peace!"

A bit of humor… Some Thoughts  
-I hate people who use big words just to make themselves look perspicacious. 
-Smoking will kill you... Bacon will kill you... But, smoking bacon will cure it. 
- With a calendar, your days are numbered.  -If good things come in small packages, then more good things can come in large packages. – We are all time travelers moving at the speed of exactly 60 minutes per hour.  -Thanks for explaining the word "many" to me, it means a lot.  -I ran three miles today. Finally I said, “Lady take your purse.”
Some Thoughts:
- I woke up this morning and forgot which side the sun rises from, then it dawned on me.-
-I recently decided to sell my vacuum cleaner as all it was doing was gathering dust.
-Don't you hate it when someone answers their own questions? I do.
-I don’t like nesting Russian dolls, they’re so full of themselves.




Rare Phone CallMy mother, a master of guilt trips, showed me a photo of herself waiting by a phone that never rings. 
"Mom, I call all the time," I said. "If you had voicemail, you’d know." Soon after, my brother installed it for her. 
When I called the next time, I got her message: "If you are a salesperson, press one. If you’re a friend, press two. If you’re my daughter who never calls, press 911 because the shock will probably give me a heart attack." 


Hot Horseradish 
A minister who was very fond of pure, hot horseradish always kept a bottle of it on his dining room table. Once, at dinner, he offered some to a guest, who took a big spoonful. The guest let out a huge gasp. When he was finally able to speak, he choked out, "I've heard many ministers preach hellfire, but you are the first one I've met who passes out a sample of it."

_________________________
HIGHER POWER
  A Sunday school teacher said to her children, 'We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a Higher Power. Can anybody tell me what it is?' One child blurted out, 'Aces!'

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray:
'Take only ONE . God is watching.'
Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.
A child had written a note, 'Take all you want. God is watching the apples.'

 ________________________________
BEING THANKFUL
 
A Rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, 'So your mother says your prayers for you each night? That's very commendable.  What does she say?'
 
The little boy replied, 'Thank God he's in bed!'

Hail Holy Queen


Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our Life, our Sweetness, and our Hope.
To Thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To Thee do we send up our sighs mourning
and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious Advocate,
Thine Eyes of Mercy toward us,
and after this our exile show unto us the
Blessed Fruit of thy Womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us O Holy Mother of God
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

​

​+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sunday, January 24th, 2021

The First Reading - Jonah 3:1-5, 10
The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying: “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD’S bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, “when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.  
Reflection 
Nineveh is the capital city of Assyria. The Assyrians destroyed Israel in 721 B.C. It was to Nineveh that God had directed Jonah to go when he had refused and tried instead to flee to Tarshish, the farthest boundary of the world. God keeps telling Jonah to minister to the people who are enemies of Israel. God has a plan for the Assyrians which Jonah recognizes but doesn’t want to cooperate with – the Assyrians are to punish Israel for its unfaithfulness, and Jonah is asked to help. Jonah has recognized the futility of flight after his experience with the storm and the fish; all Jonah can hope for now is that the Ninevites will reject his message and receive their just reward from God’s wrath. That the Lord will repent of the punishment He threatens if the nation repents of her evil ways is the explicit teaching of Jeremiah 26:3. Nineveh has repented and God has spared them – Israel did not repent and God later used Assyria to punish them.
Adults - Has God ever called you to a job you really didn’t want to do?
Teens - How do you share your faith with others without getting discouraged? What can help when you do get discouraged?
Kids - How can God help you when you are going through something difficult?

Responsorial- Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 
R.Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
    and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
    a hymn to our God. 
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
    but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
    then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
    and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
    I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.  
Reflection 
The contrite Psalmist is reaching out to the Lord, telling Him thier intent to conform with His will.  Are you open to hearing the will of the Lord?

The Second Reading- 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away.
Reflection -  Saint Paul expresses his conviction that the last period in salvation history is running its course. The parousia of the Lord may come at any time. The Christian must live as the Lord has commanded: in prayer and watchfulness awaiting the return of his Lord. He must keep himself detached from this world which is passing away.
 -What does it mean to be detached from the world?

The Holy Gospel according to Mark 1:14-20
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will  make you fishers of men.” Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.
Reflection Jesus has been baptized at the Jordan river in the Judean wilderness. Now He returns to the place of His ministry – Galilee, which is generally more favorable to Jesus than Judea will be (although Jesus is rejected by the people of Nazareth and John is ordered killed by Herod 4 Antiapas of Galilee). “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” This is the same type of call we heard in our first reading. The people have strayed from their covenant relationship with God. They have followed their own ways and their own gods and as a result have suffered. If they return to God and His ways they will know His presence and love again. Notice how discipleship and repentance are tied together in Jesus’ message. As Saint Jerome said: “One who desires the kernel breaks the nut. So one who desires the joy of a holy conscience swallows down the bitterness of penance.” (Commentary on the Gospels).
Adults - Start planning to attend the Sacrament of Confession sometime during Lent. Find a good examination of conscience and prepare well to receive the graces of the Sacrament.
Teens - Why is repentance important for a disciple?
Kids - Why do you think God wants us to live by certain teachings?

LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!  - We Christians can indeed be the happiest people on earth, if we live according to the divine good news revealed to us through Christ. "Repent and believe in the gospel," Christ told the people of Galilee. The same call goes out from our loving Savior to each of us today: repent—change your outlook on life— and see it as God sees it to be for us, a short journey toward heaven. If we really believe in the gospel of Christ, the revelation of God's plan for our eternal happiness, our earthly troubles will look small, our trials and temptations will appear to us as they really are—a means of cooperating toward the eternal victory.  Christ, the innocent victim for our salvation, has gone before us, carrying his heavy cross; can we refuse to carry the relatively lighter cross which he places on our shoulders as our means of making atonement for our own failings and for those of our fellowmen? God forbid that we should! If we have failed in the past, let us repent today and show our belief in the truth of the Christian gospel, by living as true Christians who are on their way to heaven.  — Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.



259. What is required of one who is to be baptized? a) a profession of faith 
Everyone who is to be baptized is required to make a profession of faith. This is done personally in the case of an adult or by the parents and by the Church in the case of infants. Also the godfather or the godmother and the whole ecclesial community share the responsibility for baptismal preparation (catechumenate) as well as for the development and safeguarding of the faith and grace given at baptism. 


260. Who can baptize? d) all of the above 
The ordinary ministers of Baptism are the bishop and the priest. In the Latin Church the deacon also can baptize. In case of necessity any person can baptize provided he has the intention of doing what the Church does. This is done by pouring water on the head of the candidate while saying the Trinitarian formula for Baptism: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. 


261. Is Baptism necessary for salvation? d) all of the above 
Baptism is necessary for salvation for all those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament.  Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” -John 3:5 

Dear friends in Christ Jesus, 
 
     While this is no one's favorite topic, it is a reality in which we live.  And when we look for good news, we do not look here.
 
      On January 22, 1973, seven Supreme Court Justices declared that it was legal to be able to kill children in the womb during all nine months of pregnancy.  When no previous institution or group ever acted when the presence of a human being was in question, the Supreme Court also said, we do not know when human life begins, but whatever is in the womb, it can be killed.
 
      Even science states that human life begins at conception as there is not other discernable moment before and after which one can point to and say there was not human life before, and now there is human life.  Even pro-abortion advocates do not deny this.  They focus on a woman's 'right to choose' abortion.  Some people say, 'I am against abortion, but I can't keep a woman from choosing abortion.'
 
     However, a woman does not have the right to choose to end the life a child.  In this, there is a conflict of rights: a child's right to life and the woman's right to choose things for herself.  Life is always the prior, or first right.  All other choices are dependent upon it.  A child's right to life is above a woman's right to choose for herself only after a child is present.  So do not be confused by this 'right to choose.'


    Over 60 million human lives slaughtered in the womb in the last 48 years LEGALLY!  Where are the others of my generation?  Let us pray for the healing and converting of our land.  Let us work and vote for an end to our modern day slaughter of the human innocents.  And let us give true help and assistance to women and children in need, giving life options instead of enshrining in law that which kills the baby and wounds the mother. 
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert
 
P.S.  This Sunday is the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time .  The readings can be found at:  Second Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB

​256. In what does the essential rite of Baptism consist? (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 1229-1245, 1278) 
a) water 
b) invoking the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit 
c) anointing with oil 
d) only (a) and (b) 
 
257. Who can receive Baptism? (CCC 1246-1252) 
a) only the perfect 
b) only babies 
c) every person who does something big for God 
d) every person not yet baptized 
 
258. Why does the Church baptize infants? (CCC 1250) 
a) it is what they did in the Old Testament 
b) because Jesus said to do so 
c) because they are born with original sin 
d) because parents in the early Church begged them to do so 
 
259. What is required of one who is to be baptized? (CCC 1253-1255) 
a) to make a profession of faith 
b) that one be clothed in white 
c) that one pass a faith test 
d) to make up for past sins first 
 (Answers at end) 

Catholic Term
 
personhood
- the distinctive qualities of each human being as a unique individual
[The human individual, made in the image of God; not some thing but some one, a unity of spirit and matter, soul and body, capable of knowledge, self-possession, and freedom, who can enter into communion with other persons and with God.  The human person needs to live in society, which is a group of persons bound together organically by a principle of unity that goes beyond each one of them.] 
 ​

"Helpful Hints of Life"
​

 Vote Pro-Life
 
Some will claim that a persons should not be a single issue voter as if voting for someone who protect human life in law is just one issue among many.   Some things are so critical and essential simply by their nature that they set themselves apart or become the non-negotiable that must be present in a decision.
 
For example suppose someone running for a political office said, I believe and will promote a terrorist's right to crash planes into buildings.  Not too many voters, if any, are going to say, 'well I disagree with that politician on terrorists, but I really like his economic plan and ideas on other matters and will vote for him based on that.  Some truths must always be present.
 
The next time we are called to vote and act, let us make sure we are focused on the critical and the essential.
 
 
"Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion.  This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:
You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish. (Didache 2,2:SCh 248,148; cf. Ep. Barnabae 19,5:PG 2 777; Ad Diognetum 5,6:PG 2,1173; Tertullian, Apol. 9:PL 1,319-320.)

God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes." 
  -Catechism of the Catholic Church #2271

​

ENN‘s host Tracy Sabol opened the interview, on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Jan. 15, highlighting that “honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. still give us as a nation an opportunity to pay tribute to his enduring legacy,” before asking King, director of Civil Rights for the Unborn for Priests for Life, about the civil rights icon’s place in history.

“When I remember my uncle during the Martin Luther King holiday week, I think about his messages of faith, hope and love,” she said, adding that in ”all of his life, he exemplified solutions that were nonviolent and Bible-based.”

King remembered that her uncle used to say that faith is “like climbing a staircase; you take one step at a time and the faith builds. And so he was very sure that if he continued to trust in the Lord and to have faith and hope and love, then he could carry a message that God had given him to carry.”

"My uncle was a nonviolent man. He believed that we were one human race … God made all people to live together on the face of the earth. And as one human race, we really could learn to live together as brothers and sisters and not perish together as fools. All of his sermons and his messages led us to understand that our answers would come from God and that we must unite and learn to get along,” King also said.

She also recalled that Martin Luther King Jr. “decided to stick with love.” 
"Hate is too difficult a burden to bear. And then we bear each other's burdens and concerns, seeing each other as human beings, regardless of skin color. We could see skin color, of course, we really are not colorblind. We could see, but we should see ethnicity as something to be celebrated, not to be fought over,” she said.

“Martin Luther King Jr. lived a life of service and love,” said his niece in closing. 
“If he were here today, he would be praying for us and with us and encouraging us to set aside strife and to come together in love. And as we do that, we can surely be blessed, and 2021 will be a very different year than 2020 turned out to be.”
​
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed on the third Monday of January each year. The holiday was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 but was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.

  
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Vatican City, Jan 19 (EWTN News/CNA) - Pope Francis spoke Thursday about the struggles inherent to the Christian life, and how temptation, while a normal part of trying to live virtuously, must be fought adamantly.

“That’s why St. Paul speaks of Christian life as a struggle: a daily struggle. A fight!” he said Jan. 19. “That’s why Jesus came: ‘to destroy Satan's empire, the empire of evil.’”

In his homily at Santa Marta, Pope Francis reflected on how the day's Gospel from St. Mark talks about crowds of people following Jesus.

“Why were the crowds attracted?” the Pope asked.

In the Gospels it tells us that some are sick and want to be healed, he said. There were also some who liked to listen to Jesus’ preaching. But another answer is that they followed the Lord because the Father always leads us to his Son.

Jesus was moved by these people he saw as sheep without a shepherd, Francis said, these people who are being led to him by the Holy Spirit.

“May the Lord give us the grace to know how to discern what is going on in our hearts and to choose the right path upon which the Father draws us to Jesus.”

Commenting on the end of the Gospel, the Pope quoted the passage that says, “Whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, 'you are the Son of God.’” 

Frequently, when we try to approach God, “unclean spirits” try to stop us, he said, and “wage a war against us” through the temptation to sin.

But this temptation is an ordinary part of living a Christian life, he said. “A Christian life without temptations is not Christian. It is ideological, it is Gnostic, but it is not Christian.”


 
How to join the US bishops in 9 Days for Life
Washington D.C., Jan 16 / 01:49 pm (EWTN News/CNA) - The U.S. bishops hope a new pro-life prayer campaign will unite Catholics against not only abortion, but other threats to human fulfilment and life as well. 

“Pope Francis reminds us constantly of the loving concern Christians have for all people at any stage of life who’ve been cast aside or forgotten by society,” stated Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, the chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. 

“The 9 Days for Life novena offers a chance to join in prayer and solidarity with the unborn, victims of violence, those suffering from addiction, and those whose hearts ache to be part of a family.”

The novena bookends the 41st annual March for Life, and runs from Saturday, Jan. 21 through Sunday, Jan. 29. Through “prayer, penance, and pilgrimage,” Catholics can join in solidarity with all victims of abortion, domestic abuse, addiction, and other evils. 

The message is about being pro-life for all ages, including the unborn.

There are multiple ways Catholics can take part in the novena. Daily prayers and meditations can be sent through e-mail and text message updates, a downloadable app, or distributed print materials. In addition, parishes and local groups can meet to pray for reparation for abortion and for all those affected by it. 

The novena is sorely needed with the prevalence of violence in the U.S., said Anne McGuire, the assistant director for education and outreach for the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, in an interview with EWTN News.

“An increasing number of states are considering doctor-assisted suicide,” McGuire noted. “75 percent of Americans are reported to know a victim of domestic violence. There have been over 56 million abortions since Roe v. Wade, and massive numbers of mothers and fathers suffer the aftermath of those abortions, along with siblings, grandparents, those who work in the abortion industry and others.”

McGuire hopes that the novena will ignite year-round prayer and awareness for these problems. 

“We do hope that this novena increases the awareness of each person to be recognized as someone made in the image and likeness of God,” she said, pointing to the theme “each person is a masterpiece of God’s creation.”

“We know that God hears our prayers and we hope that many graces are given in response to our petitions,” she continued. 

The website 9daysforlife.com presents a myriad of resources to participants, as does the program’s app. Leaders of prayer groups can access pro-life prayer intentions and print promotional material for their parish. Daily meditations can be shared through social media. Pro-life articles can be printed for distribution. 

The whole novena is a “digital pilgrimage,” the Bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities insists. Even though “we can't trek 30 miles per day, we can still undertake a pilgrimage,” stated a message from the secretariat, “a prayerful and sacrificial journey for a special intention.” 

“One important aspect of pilgrimages is that the participant grows spiritually and perhaps even develops some resolutions by the pilgrimage's completion,” the message added.  


"9 Days for Life" will take place January 17-25 (the nine days surrounding the anniversary of Roe v. Wade). To participate, visit www.9daysforlife.com and sign up for daily alerts (accessible via email, text message, or an app) or download and print the novena.  

 

"From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a "criminal" practice (GS27 § 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life."  -Catechism of the Catholic Church #2274
 
 
 ​

​​Always Questioning
My mother is always trying to understand what motivates people, especially those in her family. One day she and my sister were talking about one relative’s bad luck. "Why do you suppose she changed jobs?" Mother asked my sister. "Maybe she has a subconscious desire not to succeed." 
"Or maybe it just happened," said my sister, exasperated. "Do you know you analyze everything to death?" 
Mother was silent for a moment. "That’s true," she said. "Why do you think I do that?"

Prayer to End Abortion


 Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, 
And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.
 
I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, 
Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death 
by the Resurrection of Your Son.
 
I am ready to do my part in ending abortion. 
Today I commit myself 
Never to be silent, 
Never to be passive, 
Never to be forgetful of the unborn.
 
I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, 
And never to stop defending life 
Until all my brothers and sisters are protected, 
And our nation once again becomes 
A nation with liberty and justice 
Not just for some, but for all.
 
Through Christ our Lord. Amen!



...

Sunday Mass Readings and Questions 
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion 
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sunday, January 17, 2020 


The First Reading - 1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19 

Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.” Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am.  You called me.” “I did not call you, “  Eli said.  “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to sleep. Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am, “ he said.  “You called  me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son.  Go back to sleep.” At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet. The 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. So 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, the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”  Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.   
Reflection  
In this Reading, Samuel provides us an example of growth in faith.  Many of us are “cradle Catholics” or at least “cradle Christians”—we grew up raised in Christian homes, learning to pray and worship from childhood. Yet for each of us, there comes a time when we have to embrace a personal relationship with God, a direct relationship no longer mediated by our parents or others who may have raised us.  We have to come to an awareness that God has a unique call and purpose for our lives, and we have to embrace that vocation.  If we never make this transition, we end up losing the faith or simply “going through the motions” for the rest of our lives. At the beginning of this Reading, Samuel’s relationship to God is mediated through his adopted father, the priest Eli.  But by the end of the narrative, Samuel has learned to hear God for himself and submit to God’s will for his life. 
Adults - Do you make time in prayer to listen for God’s voice? 
Teens - Do you ever feel like you’re just going through the motions of the faith? How can you go deeper with your faith? 
Kids - How do you make your faith in Jesus first in your life? 

Responsorial- Psalm 40:2,4, 7-8, 8-9, 10 

R.Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will. 
I have waited, waited for the LORD, 
    and he stooped toward me and heard my cry. 
And he put a new song into my mouth, 
    a hymn to our God.  
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will. 
Sacrifice or offering you wished not, 
    but ears open to obedience you gave me. 
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not; 
    then said I, “Behold I come.” 
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. 
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, 
to do your will, O my God, is my delight, 
    and your law is within my heart!” 
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will. 
I announced your justice in the vast assembly; 
    I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know. 
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will. 
Reflection  
David was remembered in Israel’s history for the intensity of his relationship with the LORD, an intensity captured in the deeply personal and emotional language of so many of the psalms.  David uses strong language to emphasize that merely going through the formalities of worship does not satisfy God’s will for us. The words are not to be taken strictly literally—both Samuel and David worshipped God in the public liturgy and offered sacrifices as prescribed by Moses.  But this is typical Hebrew hyperbole to express the idea that external worship is not pleasing without the interior and personal consent of our will.  Obedience to God’s will, the embrace of his purpose for our life—these are fundamental.  How do you listen for God’s will for you? 
 
 
The Second Reading- 1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20 
Brothers and sisters: The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body; God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him. Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.   
​
Reflection -  In this Second Reading, St. Paul calls us away from all immorality, and encourages us to examine our lives in light of the Lord.  
 -Do you think of yourself as a Temple of the Holy Spirit? How can you be more aware of this? 

The Holy Gospel according to John 1:35-42 
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” — which translated means Teacher —, “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” — which is translated Christ —. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas” — which is translated Peter.   

Reflection  he idea of a “new name” given by Christ expresses the intimacy of our relationship with him.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus does not call some random person to be the foundational “Rock” of his Church. He calls Simon, son of John, a fisherman in first century Galilee with a strong personality and impulsive temperament.  He accepts him with all the virtues, foibles, and peculiarities that make him unique, that make him “Peter.” God is no impersonal “Force.”  He is the person, Jesus Christ.  He comes to us in this Mass and gives his body for and to each one of us.  He calls us by name and commissions us for a path of service unique to each one.  May we each respond, “Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will.” 
Adults - Do you feel that you know God personally? If not, how can you grow closer to Him in this way? 
Teens - Spend some time meditating on the ways God shows you that He loves you. 
Kids - What does it mean to do God’s will? 

LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!  - We can see clearly the divine wisdom governing Christ's choice of Apostles! Had his message of salvation been spread and promulgated by men of learning and social standing, the cry would soon go up on all sides: "This religion is the invention of philosophers; it is a clever plan of the upper classes to keep the poor and humble workers in subjection." But it was the poor and working classes who spread Christ's message, and who suffered imprisonment and death itself at the hands of the educated and upper classes for so doing.   
 
Today, let us thank our blessed Lord who provided so humanly—and yet so divinely for our eternal welfare. In the Church, which he founded on the lowly but solid foundation of simple fishermen of Galilee, he erected an institution against which the gates of hell, the power of all the enemies of our salvation, cannot prevail, for his divine guidance and help will be with it forever. It has had enemies and opposition from the beginning; they may be more numerous and more destructive than ever today. But the promise of Christ still holds good, his word cannot fail. Therefore, neither the opposition of materialistic enemies from without, nor the even more insidious attacks from faint-hearted and worldly-minded members from within, can affect the safety and permanence of the building which Christ built on the Rock. "If God is with us," it matters not "who is against us."  — Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M. 


256. In what does the essential rite of Baptism consist? d) only (a) and (b) 
The essential rite of this sacrament consists in immersing the candidate in water or pouring water over his or her head while invoking the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 
 
257. Who can receive Baptism?d) every person not yet baptized 
Every person not yet baptized is able to receive Baptism. 
 
258. Why does the Church baptize infants?c) because they are born with original sin 
The Church baptizes infants because they are born with original sin. They need to be freed from the power of the Evil One and brought into that realm of freedom which belongs to the children of God. 
 
259. What is required of one who is to be baptized?a) to make a profession of faith 
Everyone who is to be baptized is required to make a profession of faith. This is done personally in the case of an adult or by the parents and by the Church in the case of infants. Also the godfather or the godmother and the whole ecclesial community share the responsibility for baptismal preparation (catechumenate) as well as for the development and safeguarding of the faith and grace given at baptism. 

John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan river

​

Dear friends in Christ Jesus, 
      After the Epiphany, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.  This festive day liturgically concludes the season of Christmas.  The Church recalls this, our Lord's second manifestation or 'epiphany,' which occurred on the occasion of His baptism in theJordan.  Jesus descended into the River to sanctify its waters and to give them the power to beget sons and daughters of God in all time and places.  The event takes on the importance of a second creation in which the entire Trinity intervenes.
 
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."  -Matthew 3:16-17 
 
          Many of the incidents which accompanied Christ's baptism are symbolical of what happened at our Baptism.  At Christ's baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon Him; at our Baptism the Holy Trinity took its abode in our soul.  At His baptism Christ was proclaimed the "Beloved Son" of the Father; at our Baptism we become the loved, adopted sons and daughters of God.  At Christ's baptism the heavens were opened; at our Baptism heaven was opened to us.  At His baptism Jesus prayed; after our Baptism we must pray to avoid actual sin. 

      Christ has sanctified the waters that set us free from sin and makes us children of the Father.   He does this because He loves us.  Will you and I now sanctify the world through our Mother, the Church, so that we will be the one family of humanity?
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert

P.S.  This Sunday is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  The readings can be found at:  The Baptism of the Lord | USCCB

​

​252. What names are given to the first sacrament of initiation? (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 1213-1216, 1276-1277) 
a) Baptism 
b) Confirmation 
c) Holy Eucharist 
d) none of the above 
 
253. How is Baptism prefigured (foreshadowed, pointed to) in the Old Covenant? (CCC 1217-1222) 
a) anointing of King David 
b) coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost 
c) in the passing of Israel through the Red Sea 
d) when Joseph fed the world with grain from Egypt 
 
254. Who brought to fulfillment those prefigurations (foreshadowings)? (CCC 1223-1224) 
a) John the Baptist 
b) Jesus Christ 
c) the Holy Spirit 
d) Blessed Virgin Mary 
 
255. Starting when and to whom has the Church administered Baptism? (CCC 1226-1228) 
a) Pentecost, to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ 
b) river Jordan, to anyone who came 
c) First Council of Jerusalem, whoever attended 
d) after the Crucifixion, to whoever did not deny Jesus Christ     (Answers below at end)

"Helpful Hints of Life"
 
Blessed Are The Sorrowing, They Shall Be Consoled 
 
It has long been the custom in many places that the neighbors and friends of a family that has lost a loved one would bring food over for the grieving family.   In the shock of grief one does not feel like doing much of anything let alone cooking, yet food is needed for strength during such a trying time, so friends and neighbors do this charity for the sorrowing.   Food, plastic utensils, paper plates, napkins, paper towels, bottled water, etc. are just a few of the things that one can bring to a family at time of loss to assist them as they will likely have family and friends who they would also like to see to the needs of.  It is one more thing along with praying that you and I can do for those experiencing loss.

Also, if they seem to have plenty of the above.  A grieving basket might be in order.  It can be filled with comforting and soothing things: a prayer book, a scented candle, homeopathic calming drops, a journal for memories of the loved one, lip balm, quality tissues, massage oil, herbal tea bags, a crystal 'hope' ornament, and a cuddly teddy bear, etc.  You can invite them to keep it nearby and use it whenever they need it.
 
 
'All the Old Covenant prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. He begins his public life after having himself baptized by Saint John the Baptist in the Jordan. After His resurrection Christ gives this mission to His apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." ' 
-Catechism of the Catholic Church 1223

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Catholic Website of the Week
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Pope Francis' Vatican Webpage
 
Website
The Vatican's website on Pope Francis includes pictures, upcoming events, and all his writings.  

 
Our Lord voluntarily submitted Himself to the baptism of Saint John, intended for sinners, in order to "fulfill all righteousness". Jesus' gesture is a manifestation of His self-emptying. The Spirit who had hovered over the waters of the first creation descended then on the Christ as a prelude of the new creation, and the Father revealed Jesus as His "beloved Son." 
​-Catechism of the Catholic Church 1224

According to a report from the police office of San Miguel de Tucumán, capital of the northwestern province of Tucumán, "the event took place around 10:00 pm on December 31 2020: a 9-year-old boy named Tiziano, from the neighborhood of Las Talitas, checked in with his father into the ER of the Baby Jesus Hospital in the southern part of the capital city with a superficial wound in the thorax, produced by a firearm."
“After being checked thoroughly by several doctors on staff for 48 minutes, the boy was released," the report says.
Tiziano's family contacted José Romero Silva, a journalist from Telefé, Jan. 1 to explain how the boy's life was saved: the bullet hit in the middle of the small metal crucifix that the boy received as a gift from his father. Tiziano's aunt sent Silva a picture of how the bullet damaged the crucifix, which prevented the bullet from causing any real damage, except for a minor superficial wound.
https://twitter.com/Josecitors/status/1345172600113262593/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1345172600113262593%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicnewsagency.com%2Fnews%2Fargentine-boy-saved-from-stray-bullet-by-crucifix-28882


Silva shared the picture in his Twitter account, writing: “New Year's Miracle: yesterday, minutes before 00 hours a stray bullet hit the chest of a boy from Las Talitas. But it hit in a crucifix the minor was wearing."

​

At Mass in the Sistine Chapel Sunday, Pope Francis baptized 27 babies, reminding their parents that the first space in which children learn and witness the faith is at home.
“Yes, when they go to catechism class, they will study the faith well, they will learn catechesis,” he said Jan. 13. “But before being studied, faith must be transmitted, and this is a job that is up to you.”
Preparing to baptize the 27 babies – 15 girls and 12 boys – Francis urged their parents “to transmit the faith by example, by words, by teaching [them] to make the sign of the Cross. This is important.”
“The important thing is to transmit the faith with your life of faith: that they see the love of the spouses, that they see the peace of the house, that they see that Jesus is there,” he said.
Francis gave the brief, impromptu homily during Mass for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, when there is a tradition of baptizing a group of babies in the Sistine Chapel, a custom started by St. Pope John Paul II.
In his homily, he said that it is the parents’ task to pass the faith along to their children, beginning at home, “because faith must always be transmitted ‘in dialect:’ the dialect of the family, the dialect of the house, in the atmosphere of the home.”
Asking if he could give a little advice, he went on to urge the couples not to fight in front of their children. He noted that it is perfectly normal for a husband and wife to quarrel but recommended trying to keep arguments out of the view and hearing of their kids.
“This, I dare, is a piece of advice that will help you pass on the faith,” he said.
The pope also commented on the “chorus of tears,” that could be heard coming from the over two dozen babies in the chapel and said mothers should not be ashamed to breastfeed if their child is hungry.
“And so, we go forward in this ceremony, in peace, with the awareness that the transmission of the faith is your responsibility,” he said.
Following Mass, the pope reflected on the Baptism of Christ before leading the Angelus, noting that before Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan river took place, he was “in the midst of the people.”
This element of the story “is not only a background of the scene, but is an essential component of the event,” he said. “Before plunging into the water, Jesus ‘plunges’ into the crowd, joins it and fully assumes the human condition, sharing everything except sin.”
“In his divine holiness, full of grace and mercy, the Son of God became flesh to take upon himself and take away the sin of the world,” he continued.
Explaining that Jesus’ baptism marks the start of his public life and mission, Francis noted that the mission of the Church and each person to be “faithful and fruitful,” calls for a “grafting” onto the mission of Jesus.
“It is a matter of continuously regenerating evangelization and apostolate in prayer, to make a clear Christian witness. Not according to human projects, but according to God’s plan and style,” he said.
“The feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a favorable opportunity to renew with gratitude and conviction the promises of our Baptism, committing ourselves to live daily in harmony with it.”
​

Pope Francis said Wednesday that moments of silence in the Mass should be intentional times of prayer, recollection and communion with God, rather than being viewed as times to just be quiet or not speak.
“Silence is not reduced to the absence of words, but (is) the availability to listen to other voices: that of our heart and, above all, the voice of the Holy Spirit,” the Pope said Jan. 10.

In silence, then, we discover “the importance of listening to our soul and then opening it to the Lord.”

Continuing his general audience catechesis on the topic of the Mass, Pope Francis reflected on the nature of the different moments of silence found within the celebration, especially in the recitation of the collect.

The collect, which is prayed after the Gloria, or if the Gloria is omitted, following the Penitential Act, is a short prayer which goes from praise to supplication, and is generally inspired from the day’s Scripture passages, the Pope said.

This prayer, which varies according to the day and time in which the Mass is being said, begins with the priest saying to the people, “Let us pray,” followed by a brief silence.

“I strongly recommend priests observe this moment of silence, which without wanting to, we risk neglecting,” Francis noted.

In this moment the congregation is exhorted to come together in silence, to become aware of the presence of God, and to bring out, “each one in his own heart, the personal intentions with which he participates in Mass.”

“Perhaps we come from days of toil, of joy, of sorrow, and we want to tell the Lord, to invoke his help, to ask that he be near us; we have family members and friends who are ill or who are going through difficult trials; we wish to entrust to God the fate of the Church and the world.”

“For this we need the brief silence beforehand, that the priest, gathering the intentions of each one, expresses in a loud voice to God, in the name of all, the common prayer that concludes the rites of introduction, making, indeed, a ‘collection’ of individual intentions.”

These silences are written right into the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, the Pope pointed out. There it says that in the Penitential Act and again after the invitation to pray, everyone is supposed to spend a moment in recollection.

And in the silences following a reading or the homily, everyone is called to meditate briefly on what they have heard. After Communion they should praise and pray to God in their hearts.

The Gloria, another kind of prayer, is either recited or sung before the collect on Sundays - except during Lent and Advent - and on feasts and solemnities.

Here, “the feelings of praise that run through the hymn are intertwined with the confident pleading of divine benevolence, to end with the Trinitarian doxology, which characterizes the whole liturgical celebration,” he said.

The recitation or singing of the Gloria, the Pope emphasized, “constitutes an opening of the earth to heaven.”

By meditating on the prayers of the Mass, the liturgy can become for us, the Pope concluded, a “true school of prayer.”

​

“Considering that so many 'church-going folks' were supporting segregation and Jim Crow laws during the civil rights movement, it is wonderful that King dedicated his life to employing Christ's teachings to resist and counter the very social sins of prejudice, racial discrimination and segregation,” Supreme Knight F. DeKarlos Blackmon told EWTN News.


He said Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. a Baptist minister, was “a man of faith and deep conviction” who studied Catholic theology and was “particularly impressed” with St. Augustine.


King’s famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” cited St. Augustine's saying “An unjust law is no law at all.”


From 2010-2016 Blackmon headed the Knights of Peter Claver, a New Orleans-based Catholic fraternal order present in about 39 states and in South America. It takes as its model the Spanish Jesuit priest St. Peter Claver, who ministered to slaves in Colombia in the 1600s. Its membership is significantly African-American but the order is open to all practicing Catholics without regard to race or ethnicity.


The organization was founded in Mobile, Ala. in 1909 by four priests of the Josephite Fathers and three Catholic laymen to serve African-Americans and other racial minorities. Its founders were concerned the Catholic Church would lose black individuals to fraternal and secular organizations, at a time when local racism kept many out of the Knights of Columbus.


The order has six divisions: the Ladies of Peter Claver, two separate junior divisions for young men and young women, the Fourth Degree Knights and the Fourth Degree Ladies of Grace.


The Knights of Peter Claver and the Ladies Auxiliary opposed segregation and worked to transform how communities and cities thought about race, equality and justice, Blackmon said. They worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League.
 
The order's leadership and members were “intimately involved” in the civil rights movement. Civil rights attorney A.P. Tureaud, a national secretary and national advocate of the order, worked with future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to help overturn legal segregation.


The now demolished Claver Building in New Orleans, which was the Knights’ headquarters from 1951 to 1974, hosted early meetings “that ultimately launched the civil rights movement,” Blackmon added.


Today, members of the order organize Martin Luther King Day activities like Masses of Unity, prayer services, days of unity, and programs commemorating King's vision in addition to their other charitable works.


Blackmon said King challenged America “to live out its creed that all men are created equal.” He said the observance is an opportunity for American Catholics to remember King's life and work and to realize the challenge to work towards Jesus’ prayer that the Catholic Church “may all be as one.”


He said African-American Catholics should use the day to remember those who have accomplished “something for the larger community and the greater good.” He mentioned African-American Catholic bishops like the late New Orleans auxiliary Bishop Harold Perry and Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, former president of the U.S. bishops’ conference.


Blackmon praised the rise of African-Americans in professions like law, medicine, higher education and politics.


“We have realized numerous African-American and Hispanic cabinet officials, legislators, and federal judges. We have realized a black president in the White House,” he said.


However, he added, “there is still yet more to be effected.”


“By the grace of almighty God, by the arduous work of our hands, by the standing up to be a witness to the saving power of God, we will overcome prejudice, racism, intolerance, bias, narrow-mindedness, and chauvinism,” he said.


He said Christians must be “ever mindful of our role in not only welcoming, but also embracing and helping ‘the stranger’ among us.”


The Knights of Peter Claver aim to serve God and the Catholic Church. They assist the needy, the sick, and disabled, while developing their members through fellowship, recreational activities, scholarships, and charitable work.


 
 
POPE FRANCIS HAILS MOTHERHOOD AS THE 'ANTIDOTE TO INVIDIVIDUALISM'Vatican City, Jan 7 (EWTN News/CNA) - During his general audience Pope Francis lamented how mothers are often under-appreciated in their family role, and said they are key players in fighting against an individualistic, self-centered society.

“To be a mother is a great treasure. Mothers, in their unconditional and sacrificial love for their children, are the antidote to individualism; they are the greatest enemies against war,” the pontiff told pilgrims during his Jan. 7 general audience address.

Mothers, he said, “are often exploited because of their availability. Not even the Christian community values them properly, despite the eminent example of the Mother of Jesus.”

The Roman Pontiff offered his words to those gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall for his first general audience after the Christmas holiday vacation.

He continued his catechesis on the family, which he initiated in December, by turning his gaze to the image of the Mother of Jesus at Christmas, who presents her son to the world.

Mary’s example provides an opportunity for the Church to reflect on the role of all mothers in society and the Church, the Pope explained, noting how despite all of the “symbolic glorification” we give to motherhood, it is still under-valued.

“All of us give credit to our mothers for life and many other things, but not always are they listened to or helped in everyday life…Their important contribution to the life of society, their daily sacrifices and their aspirations are not always properly appreciated,” he observed.

To be a mother is a gift, the Pope said, and explained that through their sacrifices, mothers assist in helping society to overcome its self-centered tendencies, as well as its lack of openness, generosity and concern for others.

“In this sense motherhood is more than childbearing; it is a life choice entailing sacrifice, respect for life, and commitment to passing on those human and religious values which are essential for a healthy society,” he said.

Pope Francis then drew attention to the phrase “martyrdom of mothers” coined by Archbishop Oscar Romero, who served as the archbishop of El Salvador and was shot and killed while saying Mass in 1980 for speaking out against social injustices committed by the government. 

This maternal martyrdom, the pontiff noted, consists of a mother’s ability to offer herself in silence, prayer and total surrender, “without any fanfare,” to her motherly duties. 

A mother’s sensitivity “to all that threatens human life and welfare is a source of enrichment for society and the Church,” he said, observing how it is common in moments of difficulty to encounter the tenderness, dedication and moral strength of our mothers.

“It is they, mothers, who often give the first roots of the faith, the ones that permeate deepest; without them not only would the faithful be lost, but also a good part of the deepest fire of our faith,” he explained.

Pope Francis then greeted pilgrims present from various countries around the world, including Ireland, Finland, Indonesia, Australia, the United States, Spain, Mexico and Argentina.

He concluded by asking those present to join him in thanking all mothers “for what they are and for all that they give to the Church and to our world,” and gave his blessing.
​

A bit of humor…

Some Thoughts:
- Failure is not falling down, it is not getting up again.
-Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed.
-I have to exercise early in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing.
-The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a flat tire.
-You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.

Family Matters
“Why doesn’t your mother like me?” a woman asks her boyfriend.
“Don’t take it personally,” he assures her. “She’s never liked anyone I’ve dated. I once dated someone exactly like her, and that didn’t work out at all.”
“What happened?”
“My father couldn’t stand her.”
 
Mom's Call
I was sound asleep when the telephone jarred me awake. 
"Hi!" It was my peppy mother-in-law. She proceeded to rattle on about the busy day she had ahead and all the things that awaited her the rest of the week. 
"Mom," I interrupted. "It’s five in the morning." 
"Really? What are you doing up so early?" 


63 and pregnant..................
A woman went to the emergency room, where she was seen by a young new doctor. After about 3 minutes in the examination room, the doctor told her she was pregnant.  
 
She burst out of the room and ran down the corridor screaming.  An older doctor stopped her and asked what the problem was; after listening to her story, he calmed her down and sat her in another room.  
 
Then the doctor marched down the hallway to the first doctor's room. 'What on earth is wrong with you?' he demanded. 'This woman is 63 years old, she has two grown children and several grandchildren, and you told her she was pregnant?!!  
 
The new doctor continued to write on his clipboard and without looking up said: 
'Does she still have the hiccups?'
 
 
FROM THE MOUTHS OF CHILDREN:
Ms. Terri asked her Sunday School class to draw pictures of their favorite Bible stories. 
She was puzzled by Kyle's picture, which showed four people on an airplane, so she asked him which story it was meant to represent.
"The Flight to Egypt ," was his reply.
Pointing at each figure, Ms. Terri said,
"That must be Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. But who's the fourth person?"
"Oh, that's Pontius - the pilot!" 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A boy was watching his father, a pastor, write a sermon.
"How do you know what to say?" he asked.
"Why, God tells me."
"Oh, then why do you keep crossing things out?" 

+JMJ+

SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord – Sunday, January 10th, 2021

The First Reading - Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the  street, a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Reflection 
The section of Isaiah from which our reading for today comes is the beginning of the conclusion to what has been called the Book of Consolation. The Bible often uses the symbol of a banquet to describe God’s love. The Passover out of Egypt is celebrated with a family banquet (Exodus 12) as well as the Sinai covenant (Exodus 24:5, 11). The abundance of heaven in the end times is often described as a heavenly banquet (Isaiah 25:6; 65:11-15; Psalm 22:5). All are invited to this eschatological banquet described here, all that is needed is a thirst for God and obedience to His call (Heed me and you shall eat well).
Adults - How do you envision the heavenly banquet?
Teens - What feelings/thoughts does the imagery of a banquet evoke in you?
Kids - Why do you think heaven is sometimes described as a heavenly banquet?

Responsorial- Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
    give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
    adore the LORD in holy attire.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
    the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
    the voice of the LORD is majestic. 
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The God of glory thunders,
    and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
    the LORD is enthroned as king forever.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Reflection 
The Lord gives us all peace - not the peace of the world, but His own peace which is rooted in faith and hope.  Ask God to bless you with his peace this week.

The Second Reading- Acts 10:34-38
Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius, saying: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
Reflection -  The essence of the 1st letter of John is that of the love of God and the love of the brethren which is the hallmark of the Christian. For “If anyone says ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that he who loves 3 God should love his brother also” (1 John 4:20-21). As we see in many places, the commandment of fraternal love is an old commandment: God always wanted us to love others and he made this a basic commandment for the people of the Old Covenant (Leviticus 19:18). It is also a “new” commandment because it finds its fullest meaning in Christ’s life and teaching. Saint Jerome tells us that when John was a very old man his only message was “little children, love one another.” When his disciples asked him why he was always saying the same thing he always replied, “My children, this is what the Lord commands; if we do this, nothing else is necessary.” Our reading for today is a reaffirmation of love in action.
 -Practice seeing the image of Christ in everyone you encounter this week, and see how it changes your interactions.

The Holy Gospel according to Mark 1:7-11
This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me.I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”   
Reflection  The fact of Jesus’ baptism has been a christological and theological issue to be reckoned with almost since it happened. After all, why would Jesus, who was sinless, participate in a rite for sinners? Also, why would Jesus, the Messiah and clearly superior to John the Baptist, submit to the authority of John? Jesus identifies Himself with sinful humanity by undergoing John’s purificatory rite. He cleanses the waters so that they will be fit to baptize all of His followers throughout history. The heavens open and the heavenly voice is speaks. It is as though Jesus is being called to fulfill His vocation as Son by being the well-beloved Son after the pattern of Isaac who was prepared to sacrifice his life to ensure the blessings of God for mankind (Genesis 22:2, 12,16).  
Adults - How does the Baptism of Jesus speak to His humility?
Teens - Why is Baptism the doorway to all other Sacraments?
Kids - What do you know about your own Baptism?

LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!  - Each one of us is the beloved child of God by being brothers and sisters of Jesus.  Though and in what Jesus did for each of us on the Cross, he made us a new creation.  This week let us be washed clean in our relationships, and live as new adam and new eve in the new life Christ has given to us as disciples.  Let us repeat to ourselves, “Understand and forgive, understand and forgive,” when we think of each person we are in relationship with, and be ready for God to work!



 


252. What names are given to the first sacrament of initiation? a) Baptism 
This sacrament is primarily called Baptism because of the central rite with which it is celebrated. To baptize means to “immerse” in water. The one who is baptized is immersed into the death of Christ and rises with him as a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This sacrament is also called the “bath of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5); and it is called “enlightenment” because the baptized becomes “a son of light” (Ephesians 5:8). 
 
253. How is Baptism prefigured in the Old Covenant?c) in the passing of Israel through the Red Sea 
In the Old Covenant Baptism was pre-figured in various ways: water, seen as source of life and of death; in the Ark of Noah, which saved by means of water; in the passing through the Red Sea, which liberated Israel from Egyptian slavery; in the crossing of the Jordan River, that brought Israel into the promised land which is the image of eternal life. 
 
254. Who brought to fulfillment those prefigurations? b) Jesus Christ 
All the Old Covenant prefigurations find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. At the beginning of his public life Jesus had himself baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan. On the cross, blood and water, signs of Baptism and the Eucharist, flowed from his pierced side. After his Resurrection he gave to his apostles this mission: “Go forth and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). 
 
255. Starting when and to whom has the Church administered Baptism? a) Pentecost, to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ 
From the day of Pentecost, the Church has administered Baptism to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ.