Friday, February 9, 2024

10-FEB-'24, Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin


Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

Lectionary: 334


Reading 1

1 Kings 12:26-32; 13:33-34

Jeroboam thought to himself:

"The kingdom will return to David's house.

If now this people go up to offer sacrifices

in the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem,

the hearts of this people will return to their master,

Rehoboam, king of Judah,

and they will kill me."

After taking counsel, the king made two calves of gold

and said to the people:

"You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough.

Here is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."

And he put one in Bethel, the other in Dan.

This led to sin, because the people frequented those calves

in Bethel and in Dan.

He also built temples on the high places

and made priests from among the people who were not Levites.

Jeroboam established a feast in the eighth month

on the fifteenth day of the month

to duplicate in Bethel the pilgrimage feast of Judah,

with sacrifices to the calves he had made;

and he stationed in Bethel priests of the high places he had built.


Jeroboam did not give up his evil ways after this,

but again made priests for the high places

from among the common people.

Whoever desired it was consecrated

and became a priest of the high places.

This was a sin on the part of the house of Jeroboam

for which it was to be cut off and destroyed from the earth.


Responsorial Psalm 

Psalm 106:6-7ab, 19-20, 21-22

R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.


We have sinned, we and our fathers;

we have committed crimes; we have done wrong.

Our fathers in Egypt

considered not your wonders.

R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.


They made a calf in Horeb

and adored a molten image;

They exchanged their glory

for the image of a grass-eating bullock.

R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.


They forgot the God who had saved them,

who had done great deeds in Egypt,

Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,

terrible things at the Red Sea.

R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.


Alleluia

Matthew 4:4b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

One does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel

Mark 8:1-10

In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat,

Jesus summoned the disciples and said,

“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,

because they have been with me now for three days

and have nothing to eat.

If I send them away hungry to their homes,

they will collapse on the way,

and some of them have come a great distance.”

His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread

to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”

Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”

They replied, “Seven.”

He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.

Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,

and gave them to his disciples to distribute,

and they distributed them to the crowd.

They also had a few fish.

He said the blessing over them

and ordered them distributed also.

They ate and were satisfied.

They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.

There were about four thousand people.


He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples

and came to the region of Dalmanutha.


Reflection 1

Catholic Daily Reflections


First Things First


“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.  If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.”  Mark 8:2–3


Jesus’ primary mission was a spiritual one. He came to set us free from the effects of sin so that we could enter the glories of Heaven for all eternity. His life, death and resurrection destroyed death itself and opened the way for all who turn to Him to be saved. But Jesus’ love for the people was so complete that He was also attentive to their physical needs.


First of all, ponder the first line of this statement of our Lord above: “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd…” Jesus’ divine love was intertwined with His humanity. He loved the entire person, body and soul. In this Gospel story, the people were with Him for three days and they were hungry, but they were showing no signs of leaving. They had become so amazed by our Lord that they didn’t want to leave. Jesus pointed out that their hunger was serious. If He sent them away, He feared that they would “collapse on the way.” Thus, these facts are the basis for His miracle.


One lesson we can learn from this story is that of our priorities in life. Oftentimes, we may tend to have our priorities reversed. Of course, taking care of the necessities of life is important. We need food, shelter, clothing and the like. We need to care for our families and provide for their basic needs. But too often we elevate these basic necessities in life over our spiritual need to love and serve Christ, as if the two were opposed to each other. But that’s not the case.


In this Gospel, the people who were with Jesus chose to put their faith first. They chose to remain with Jesus despite the fact that they did not have food to eat. Perhaps some people had left a day or two earlier, deciding that the necessity of food took precedence. But those who may have done this missed out on the incredible gift of this miracle in which the entire crowd was fed to the point of being completely satisfied. Of course, our Lord does not want us to be irresponsible, especially if we have a duty to care for others. But this story does tell us that our spiritual need to be fed by the Word of God should always be our greatest concern. When we put Christ first, all other needs are met in accord with His providence.


Reflect, today, upon your own priorities in life. What’s more important to you? Your next good meal? Or your life of faith? Though these do not have to be opposed to each other, it’s important to always put your love of God first in life. Ponder this vast crowd of people who spent three days with Jesus in the wilderness without food and try to see yourself with them. Make their choice to remain with Jesus your choice also, so that your love of God becomes the primary focus of your life.


Reflection 2

One Bread, One Body


JESUS, MY LORD, MY GOD, MY ALL!


“By now they have been with Me three days and have nothing to eat.” —Mark 8:2


Would you spend three days with Jesus even if you didn’t eat the whole time? Jesus is “the Bread of Life” (Jn 6:35). He promised: “No one who believes in Me shall ever thirst” (Jn 6:35). Jesus alone fulfills our every need (see Mt 6:11). Apart from Jesus, there is inevitable and encompassing emptiness. In Jesus, there is “absolute fullness” (Col 1:19).


When we put Jesus first, when we forget about ourselves and concentrate on Him, when we seek first His kingdom, then we find that “all these things will be given” us besides (Mt 6:33). This is not to say that we should be irresponsible, but that we should be responsible to obey Him rather than do our own thing.


How many of us have seen the Lord multiply food, time, energy, or resources? A better question is: “How many of us have focused so much on Jesus for three days that we need Him to do a multiplication miracle?” Give everything to Jesus, and He will give everything necessary to you, even if He has to multiply almost nothing to meet your great needs. Make Jesus your whole life, and He will give you abundant life (see Jn 10:10).


Prayer:  Father, Provider, Your grace is sufficient (see 2 Cor 12:9).


Promise:  “The people in the crowd ate until they had their fill.” —Mk 8:8


Praise:  St. Scholastica and her twin brother, St. Benedict, gave up their close relationship to form religious communities of their own.


Reflection 3

By Fr. Carles ELÍAS i Cao

(Barcelona, Spain)


“They have nothing to eat”


Today, in our times of inclemency and anxiety, Jesus also calls us to tell us He feels “pity for the crowd” (Mk 8:2). Today, with the peace process in crisis, fear, apathy, banality and evasion may abound: “and (they) have nothing to eat.”


To whom is the Lord calling? The text says: “he summoned the disciples” (Mk 8:1), that is, He calls me, not to send them home hungry, to give them something to eat. Jesus sympathizes with them —this time in heathen land— because they are hungry.


But, alas! Sheltered in our little world, we say we can do nothing about it. “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” (Mk 8:4). Where shall we find a true and firm word of hope while knowing the Lord will be with us every day till the end of time? How can we tell the believers and the non-believers that violence and death are no solution?


Today, the Lord simply asks us how many loaves we have. Whatever we have, this is what He needs. The text says “seven”, a symbol for the heathen, just as twelve was a symbol for the Jewish people. The Lord wants to reach us all —this is why the Church, from its Catholicism, wants to recognize itself— and is asking for your help. Give Him your prayer: it is a loaf of bread! Give Him the Eucharist you have celebrated: it is another loaf of bread! Give Him your decision to reconcile with those you love, with those that have offended you: still another loaf of bread! Give Him your sacramental reconciliation with the Church: another loaf! Give Him your little sacrifice, your fasting, your solidarity: and still another loaf! Give Him your love for His Word that soothes and gives you strength: more bread! Anyway, give Him whatever He asks from you, though you may believe it is not worthwhile.


As Saint Gregory of Nyssa says: “He who splits his bread with the poor becomes a part of He who, for us, wanted to be poor. The Lord was poor; do not be afraid of poverty.”


Prayers

My providential Lord, You know my every need and are concerned for every aspect of my life. Help me to trust You so completely that I always put my love of You as my first priority in life. I do believe that if I can keep You and Your will as the most important part of my life, all other necessities in life will fall in place. Jesus, I trust in You.


Lord Jesus, you alone can satisfy the hunger in our lives. Fill me with grateful joy and eager longing for the true heavenly bread which gives health, strength, and wholeness to body and soul alike.


Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy


Reflection 41: Feelings Versus Faith

At times, the truth can seem to be of little consolation to us.  That may seem strange to say.  But if we are honest, there are times when we suffer interiorly despite the fact that we know what we are feeling is not true.  For example, we may KNOW that God is with us and loves us, but we may not feel that or experience that at one time or another.  We may KNOW that God is in control of our lives, but we may feel like in our life He is nowhere to be found.  This apparent contradiction between what we know and what we feel or experience can be hard to reconcile interiorly.  But it is a grace to experience this apparent contradiction.  It’s a grace because when we do not feel the presence of God or, even worse, if we feel like we have been rejected by God, we are given, in that moment, an incredible opportunity for holiness.  Why?  Because faith is not about feeling, it’s about knowing.  It’s about knowing the truth in all things, believing that truth and living in accord with that truth despite what we may feel or experience interiorly.  Though this can be hard to understand, it’s a truth we must believe and embrace if we are to grow in perfection and holiness (See Diary #77).


Reflect upon the truths of our faith that appear to be in contradiction to what you feel.  Which will you rely upon? That which comes through faith?  Or that which directs your feelings?  The best way to transform your misleading feelings is to make a profound act of faith in all that God has spoken and revealed.  Make that act of faith and let God, in His time, redirect all that you interiorly feel and experience. Trust Him!


Lord, I offer You, this day, that which I feel and experience in my life.  Specifically, I offer you (state an intention).  Help me to rely upon You and all that You have spoken as my guide.  Help me to allow Your truth to enter into my life and redeem me.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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