Saturday, March 05, 2011

Prayers & Reflections for March 5

The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

CHAPTER VII
The Eucharist


...We are at the altar under the symbol of bread and wine; we have offered ourselves to our Lord; He has consecrated us.

We must therefore not take ourselves back, but remain there unto the end, praying unceasingly, that when the lease of our life has ended and we look back upon a life lived in intimacy with the Cross, the echo of the Sixth Word may ring out on our lips: "It is finished."

And as the sweet accents of that Ite, missa est reach beyond the corridors of Time and pierce the "hid battlements of eternity," the angel choirs and the white robed army of the Church Triumphant will answer back: "Deo gratias."

[Continued tomorrow]
_____________
From:
The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen
(C) 1943, P.J. Kenedy & Sons

Friday, March 04, 2011

Gospel for Saturday, 8th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 11:27-33

Jesus' Authority
[27] And they (Jesus and his disciples) came to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, [28] and they said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?" [29] Jesus said to them, "I will ask you a question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. [30] Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer me." [31] And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did not you not believe him?' [32] But shall we say, 'From men'?"--they were afraid of the people, for all held that John was a real prophet. [33] So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."
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Commentary:
27-33. Those who put this question to Jesus are the same people as, some days earlier, sought to destroy him (cf. Mk 11:18). They represent the official Judaism of the period (cf. note on Mt 2:4). Jesus had already given proofs and signs of being the Messiah, in his miracles and preaching; and St. John the Baptist had borne witness about who Jesus was. This is why, before replying, our Lord asks them to recognize the truth proclaimed by the Precursor. But they do not want to accept this truth; nor do they want to reject it publicly, out of fear of the people. Since they are not ready to admit their mistake, any further explanation Jesus might offer would serve no purpose.

This episode has many parallels in everyday life: anyone who seeks to call God to account will be confounded.
_________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

Prayers & Reflections for March 4

The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

CHAPTER VII
The Eucharist


The priest must stay at the altar until the Mass is finished. He may not come down. So we must stay with the Cross until our lives are finished. Christ on the Cross is the pattern and model of a finished life.

Our human nature is the raw material; our will is the chisel; God's grace is the energy and the inspiration.

Touching the chisel to our unfinished nature we first cut off huge chunks of selfishness, then by more delicate chiselings we dig away smaller bits of egotism until finally only a brush of the hand is needed to bring out the completed masterpiece - a finished man made to the image and likeness of the pattern on the Cross...

[Continued tomorrow]
_____________
From:
The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen
(C) 1943, P.J. Kenedy & Sons

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Gospel for Friday, 8th Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial: St Casimir

From: Mark 11:11:26

The Messiah Enters Jerusalem (Continuation)

[11] And He (Jesus) entered Jerusalem, and went into the temple; and when He had looked around at everything, as it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The Barren Fig Tree. The Expulsion of the Money-Changers
[12] On the following day, when they came from Bethany, He was hungry. [13] And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He could find anything on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. [14] And He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And His disciples heard it.

[15] And they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons; [16] and He would not allow any one to carry anything through the temple. [17] And He taught, and said to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers." [18] And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and sought a way to destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the multitude was astonished at His teaching. [19] And when evening came they went out of the city.

[20] As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. [21] And Peter remembered and said to Him, "Master, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered." [22] And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. [23] Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. [24] Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will. [25] And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one; so that your Father also who is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses."
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Commentary:
12. Jesus' hunger is another sign of His being truly human. When we contemplate Jesus we should feel Him very close to us; He is true God and true man. His experience of hunger shows that He understands us perfectly: He has shared our needs and limitations. "How generous our Lord is in humbling Himself and fully accepting His human condition! He does not use His divine power to escape from difficulties or effort. Let's pray that He will teach us to be tough, to love work, to appreciate the human and divine nobility of savoring the consequences of selfgiving" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 161).

13-14. Jesus, of course, knew that it was not the right time for figs; therefore, He was not looking for figs to eat. His action must have a deeper meaning. The Fathers of the Church, whose interpretation St. Bede reflects in his commentary on this passage, tells us that the miracle has an allegorical purpose: Jesus had come among His own people, the Jews, hungry to find fruit of holiness and good works, but all He found were external practices--leaves without fruit. Similarly, when He enters the temple, He upbraids those present for turning the temple of God, which is a house of prayer (prayer is the fruit of piety), into a place of commerce (mere leaves). "So you", St. Bede concludes, "if you do not want to be condemned by Christ, should guard against being a barren tree, by offering to Jesus, who made Himself poor, the fruit of piety which He expects of you" ("In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").

God wants both fruit and foliage; when, because the right intention is missing, there are only leaves, only appearances, we must suspect that there is nothing but purely human action, with no supernatural depth--behavior which results from ambition, pride and a desire to attract attention.

"We have to work a lot on this earth and we must do our work well, since it is our daily task that we have to sanctify. But let us never forget to do everything for God's sake. If were to do it ourselves, out of pride, we could produce nothing but leaves, and no matter how luxuriant they were, neither God nor our fellow man would find any good in them" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 202).

15-18. Our Lord does not abide lack of faith or piety in things to do with the worship of God. If He acts so vigorously to defend the temple of the Old Law, it indicates how we should truly conduct ourselves in the Christian temple, where He is really and truly present in the Blessed Eucharist. "Piety has its own good manners. Learn them. It's a shame to see those 'pious' people who don't know how to attend Mass -- even though they go daily -- nor how to bless themselves (they throw their hands about in the weirdest fashion), nor how to bend the knee before the Tabernacle (their ridiculous genuflections seem a mockery), nor how to bow their heads reverently before a picture of our Lady" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 541). Cf. note on Matthew 21:12-13.

20-25. Jesus speaks to us here about the power of prayer. For prayer to be effective, absolute faith and trust are required: "A keen and living faith. Like Peter's. When you have it -- our Lord has said so--you will move mountains, the humanly insuperable obstacles that rise up against your apostolic undertakings" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 489).

For prayer to be effective, we also need to love our neighbor, forgiving him everything: if we do, then God our Father will also forgive us. Since we are all sinners we need to admit the fact before God and ask His pardon (cf. Luke 18:9-14).

When Christ taught us to pray He required that we have these predispositions (cf. Matthew 6:12; also Matthew 5:23 and notes on same). Here is how Theophylact ("Ennaratio in Evangelium Marci, in loc.") puts it: "When you pray, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father who is in Heaven may forgive you [...]. He who believes with great affection raises his whole heart to God and, in David's words, opens his soul to God. If he expands his heart before God in this way, he becomes one with Him, and his burning heart is surer of obtaining what he desires."

Even when he is in the state of sin, man should seek God out in prayer; Jesus places no limitations at all: "Whatever you ask..." Therefore, our personal unworthiness should not be an excuse for not praying confidently to God. Nor should the fact that God already knows our needs be an excuse for not turning to Him. St. Teresa explains this when she prays: "O my God, can it be better to keep silent about my necessities, hoping that Thou wilt relieve them? No, indeed, for Thou, my Lord and my Joy, knowing how many they must be and how it will alleviate them if we speak to Thee of them, dost bid us pray to Thee and say that Thou will not fail to give" (St. Teresa, "Exclamations", 5). Cf. notes on Matthew 6:5-6 and Matthew 7:7-11.

26. As the RSV note points out, many ancient manuscripts add a v. 26: but it is clearly an addition, taken straight from Matthew 6:15. This addition was included by the editors of the Old Vulgate.
_________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

Prayers & Reflections for March 3

The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

CHAPTER VII
The Eucharist


The Mass therefore is no stage drama with the priest on the altar and we the spectators.

We are all co-offerers with Chris~ through the priest. What was done on Calvary avails us nought, unless we repeat it in our lives.

[Continued tomorrow]
_____________
From:
The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen
(C) 1943, P.J. Kenedy & Sons

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Gospel for Thursday, 8th Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial: St Katharine Drexel, Virgin (USA)

From: Mark 10:46-52

The Blind Man of Jericho

[46] And they (Jesus and His disciples) came to Jericho; and as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. [47] And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!: [48] And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all he more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" [49] And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; rise, He is calling you." [50] And throwing off his mantle he sprang up and came to Jesus. [51] And Jesus said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And the blind man said to Him, "Master, let me receive my sight." [52] And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
_________________

Commentary:
46-52. "Hearing the commotion the crowd was making, the blind man asks, `What is happening?' They told him, `It is Jesus of Nazareth.' At this his soul was so fired with faith in Christ that he cried out, `Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!'

"Don't you feel the same urge to cry out? You who are also waiting at the side of the way, of this highway of life that is so very short? You who need more light, you who need more grace to make up your mind to seek holiness? Don't you feel an urgent need to cry out, `Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me'? What a beautiful aspiration for you to repeat again and again!...

"`Many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.' As people have done to you, when you sensed that Jesus was passing your way. Your heart beat faster and you too began to cry out, prompted by an intimate longing. Then your friends, the need to do the done thing, the easy life, your surroundings, all conspired to tell you: `Keep quiet, don't cry out. Who are you to be calling Jesus? Don't bother Him.'

"But poor Bartimaeus would not listen to them. He cried out all the more: `Son of David, have mercy on me.' Our Lord, who had heard him right from the beginning, let him persevere in his prayer. He does the same with you. Jesus hears our cries from the very first, but he waits. He wants us to be convinced that we need Him. He wants us to beseech Him, to persist, like the blind man waiting by the road from Jericho. `Let us imitate him. Even if God does not immediately give us what we ask, even if many people try to put us off our prayers, let us still go on praying' (St. John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St. Matthew", 66).

"`And Jesus stopped, and told them to call Him.' Some of the better people in the crowd turned to the blind man and said, `Take heart; rise, He is calling you.' Here you have the Christian vocation! But God does not call only once. Bear in mind that our Lord is seeking us at every moment: get up, He tells us, put aside your indolence, your easy life, your petty selfishness, your silly little problems. Get up from the ground, where you are lying prostrate and shapeless. Acquire height, weight and volume, and a supernatural outlook.

"And throwing off his mantle the man sprang up and came to Jesus. He threw off his mantle! I don't know if you have ever lived through a war, but many years ago I had occasion to visit a battlefield shortly after an engagement. There strewn all over the ground, were greatcoats, water bottles, haversacks stuffed with family souvenirs, letters, photographs of loved ones...which belonged, moreover, not to the vanquished but to the victors! All these items had become superfluous in the bid to race forward and leap over the enemy defenses. Just as happened to Bartimaeus, as he raced towards Christ.

"Never forget that Christ cannot be reached without sacrifice. We have to get rid of everything that gets in the way--greatcoat, haversack, water bottle. You have to do the same in this battle for the glory of God, in this struggle of love and peace by which we are trying to spread Christ's Kingdom. In order to serve the Church, the Pope and all souls, you must be ready to give up everything superfluous....

"And now begins a dialogue with God, a marvelous dialogue that moves us and sets our hearts on fire, for you and I are now Bartimaeus. Christ, who is God, begins to speak and asks, `Quid tibi vis faciam?' `What do you want Me to do for you?' The blind man answers. `Lord, that I may see.' How utterly logical! How about yourself, can you really see? Haven't you too experienced at times what happened to the blind man of Jericho? I can never forget how, when meditating on this passage many years back, and realizing that Jesus was expecting something of me, though I myself did not know what it was, I made up my own aspirations: `Lord, what is it You want! What are You asking of me'? I had a feeling that He wanted me to take on something new and the cry, `Rabboni, ut videam', `Master, that I may see,' moved me to beseech Christ again and again, `Lord, whatever it is that You wish, let it be done.'

"Pray with me now to our Lord: `doce me facere voluntatem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu" (Psalm 142:10) (`teach me to do Thy will, for You art my God'). In short, our lips should express a true desire on our part to correspond effectively to our Creator's promptings, striving to follow out His plans with unshakeable faith, being fully convinced that He cannot fail us....

"But let us go back to the scene outside Jericho. It is now to you that Christ is speaking. He asks you, `What do you want Me to do for you?' `Master, let me receive my sight.' Then Jesus answers, `Go your way. Your faith has made you well.' And immediately he received his sight and followed Him on His way." Following Jesus on His way. You have understood what our Lord was asking to from you and you have decided to accompany Him on His way. You are trying to walk in His footsteps, to clothe yourself in Christ's clothing, to be Christ Him- self: well, your faith, your faith in the light our Lord is giving you, must be both operative and full of sacrifice. Don't fool yourself. Don't think you are going to find new ways. The faith He demands of us is as I have said. We must keep in step with Him, working generously and at the same time uprooting and getting rid of everything that gets in the way" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 195-198).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

Prayers & Reflections for March 2

The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

CHAPTER VII
The Eucharist


...And now by a beautiful paradox of Divine Love, God makes His Cross the very means of our salvation.

We have slain Him! we nailed Him there! we crucified Him! But Love in His eternal Heart willed not to be defeated.

He willed to give us the very life we slew; to give us the very Food we destroyed; to nourish us with the very Bread we buried, and the very Blood we poured forth.

He made our very crime a happy fault. He turned a Crucifixion into a Redemption; a Consecration into a Communion; a death into life-everlasting.

[Continued tomorrow]
_____________
From:
The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen
(C) 1943, P.J. Kenedy & Sons

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Gospel for Wednesday, 8th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 10:32-45

Third Prophecy of the Passion

[32] And they (the disciples) were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the Twelve again, He began to tell them what was to happen to Him, [33] saying, "Behold, we are goingup to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles; [34] and they will mock Him, and spit upon Him, and scourge Him, and kill Him; and after three days He will rise."

The Sons of Zebedee Make Their Request

[35] And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Him, and said to Him, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You." [36] And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" [37] And they said to Him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." [38] But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" [39] And they said to Him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; [40] but to sit at My right hand or at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." [41] And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. [42] And Jesus called them to Him and said to them, "You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. [43] But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. [45] For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom of many."
________________________

Commentary:

32. Jesus was making His way to Jerusalem with a burning desire to see fulfilled everything that He had foretold about His passion and death. He had already told His disciples that He would suffer there, which is why they cannot understand His eagerness. By His own example He is teaching us to carry the cross gladly, not to try to avoid it.

35-44. We can admire the Apostles' humility: they do not disguise their earlier weakness and shortcomings from the first Christians. God also has wanted the Holy Gospel to record the earlier weaknesses of those who will become the unshakeable pillars of the Church. The grace of God works wonders in people's souls: so we should never be pessimistic in the face of our own wretchedness: "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).

38. When we ask for anything in prayer, we should be ready, always, to accept God's will, even if it does not coincide with our own: "His Majesty knows best what is suitable for us; it is not for us to advise Him what to give us, for He can rightly reply that we know not what we ask" (St. Teresa, "Mansions", II, 8).

43-45. Our Lord's word and example encourage in us a genuine spirit of Christian service. Only the Son of God who came down from Heaven and freely submitted to humiliation (at Bethlehem, Nazareth, Calvary, and in the Sacred Host) can ask a person to make himself last, if he wishes to be first.

The Church, right through history, continues Christ's mission of service to mankind: "Experienced in human affairs, the Church, without attempting to interfere in any way in the politics of States, `seeks but a solitary goal: to carry forward the work of Christ Himself under the lead of the befriending Spirit. And Christ entered this world to give witness to the truth, to rescue and not to sit in judgment, to serve and not to be served' (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 3). Sharing the noblest aspirations of men and suffering when she sees them not satisfied, she wishes to help them attain their full flowering, and that is why she offers men what she possesses as her characteristic attribute: a global vision of man and of the human race" (Paul VI, "Populorum Progressio", 13).

Our attitude should be that of our Lord: we should seek to serve God and men with a truly supernatural outlook, not expecting any return; we should serve even those who do not appreciate the service we do them. This undoubtedly does not make sense, judged by human standards. However, the Christian identified with Christ takes "pride" precisely in serving others; by so doing he shares in Christ's mission and thereby attains his true dignity: "This dignity is expressed in readiness to serve, in keeping with the example of Christ, who `came not to be served but to serve.' If, in the light of this attitude of Christ's, `being a king' is truly possible only by `being a servant', then `being a servant' also demands so much spiritual maturity that it must really be described as `being a king.' In order to be able to serve others worthily and effectively we must be able to master ourselves, possess the virtues that make this mastery possible" (John Paul II, "Redemptor Hominis", 21). Cf. note on Matthew 20:27-28.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

Prayers & Reflections for March 1

The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

CHAPTER VII
The Eucharist


...We give Him our time; He gives us His eternity. We give Him our humanity; He gives us His Divinity. We give Him our nothingness; He gives us His all.

Do we fully realize how much Communion is bound up with Sacrifice, both on the part of our Lord and on the part of us, His poor weak creatures?

The Mass makes the two inseparable: there is no Communion without a Consecration. There is no receiving the bread and wine we offer, until they have been transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ. Communion is the consequence of the Calvary; namely, we live by what we slay.

All nature witnesses this truth; our bodies live by the slaying of the beasts of the fields and the plants of the gardens. We draw life from their crucifixion. We slay them not to destroy, but to fufill; we immolate them for the sake of communion...

[Continued tomorrow]
_____________
From:
The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen
(C) 1943, P.J. Kenedy & Sons

Monday, February 28, 2011

Gospel for Tuesday, 8th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 10:28-31

Poverty and Renunciation (Continuation)
[28] Peter began to say to Him (Jesus), "Lo, we have left everything and followed You." [29] Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the Gospel, [30] who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. [31] But many that are first will be last, and the last first."
_______________________

Commentary:
28-30. Jesus Christ requires every Christian to practise the virtue of poverty: He also requires us to practise real and effective austerity in the possession and use of material things. But of those who have received a specific call to apostolate--as in the case, here, of the Twelve--He requires absolute detachment from property, time, family, etc. so that they can be fully available, imitating Jesus Himself who, despite being Lord of the universe, became so poor that He had nowhere to lay His head (cf. Matthew 8:20). Giving up all these things for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven also relieves us of the burden they involve: like a soldier shedding some encumbrance before going into action, to be able to move with more agility. This gives one a certain lordship over all things: no longer the slave of things, one experiences that feeling St. Paul referred to: "As having nothing, and yet possessing everything" (2 Corinthians 6:10). A Christian who sheds his selfishness in this way has acquired charity and, having charity, he has everything: "All are yours; you are Christ's; and Christ is God's" (1 Corinthians 3:22-23).

The reward for investing completely in Christ will be fully obtained in eternal life: but we will also get it in this life. Jesus says that anyone who generously leaves behind his possessions will be rewarded a hundred times over in this life.

He adds "with persecutions" (v. 30) because opposition is part of the reward for giving things up out of love for Jesus Christ: a Christian's glory lies in becoming like the Son of God, sharing in His cross so as later to share in His glory: "provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8:17); "all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted' (2 Timothy 3:12).

29. These words of our Lord particularly apply to those who by divine vocation embrace celibacy, giving up their right to form a family on earth. By saying "for My sake and for the Gospel" Jesus indicates that His example and the demands of His teaching give full meaning to this way of life: "This, then, is the mystery of the newness of Christ, of all that He is and stands for; it is the sum of the highest ideals of the Gospel and of the Kingdom; it is a particular manifestation of grace, which springs from the paschal mystery of the Savior and renders the choice of celibacy desirable and worthwhile on the part of those called by our Lord Jesus. Thus, they intend not only to participate in Christ's priestly office, but also to share with Him His very condition of living" (Paul VI, "Sacerdotalis Coelibatus", 23).
________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

Prayers & Reflections for February 28

The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

CHAPTER VII
The Eucharist


The Pauline injunction bids us fill up in our body the sufferings wanting to the Passion of Christ.

We must therefore bring a spirit of sacrifice to the Eucharistic table; we must bring the mortification of our lower self, the crosses patiently borne, the crucifixion of our egotisms, the death of our concupiscence, and even the very difficulty of our coming to Communion.

Then does Communion become what it was always intended to be, namely, a commerce between Christ and the soul, in which we not only receive His Life but also announce His Death...

[Continued tomorrow]
_____________
From:
The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen
(C) 1943, P.J. Kenedy & Sons

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Prayers & Reflections for February 27

The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

CHAPTER VII
The Eucharist


...Is all the Life to pass from Christ to us and nothing to go back in return?

Are we to drain the chalice and contribute nothing to its filling?

Are we to receive the bread without giving wheat to be ground, to receive the wine and give no grapes to be crushed?

If all we did during our lives was to go to Communion to receive Divine Life, and taking it away, leave nothing behind, we would be parasites on the Mystical Body of Christ.

[Continued tomorrow]
_____________
From:
The Armor of God
Reflections and Prayers for Wartime

by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen
(C) 1943, P.J. Kenedy & Sons