April 30, 2010

February 15, 2010 - Feast of St. Claude de la Columbiere

Happy Birthday

Jerry

                Jeroboam was jealous —
                    to keep control over the people
                    he built altars to false gods —
                    He will be punished for leading
                        the people into idolatry

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

Jeroboam thought to himself, 'As things are, the kingdom will revert to the House of David. If this people continues to go up to the Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, the people's heart will turn back again to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will put me to death.' So the king thought this over and then made two golden calves; he said to the people, 'You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here is your God, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt!' He set one up at Bethel, and the people went in procession in front of the other one all the way to Dan. In Israel this gave rise to sin, for the people went to Bethel to worship the one, and all the way to Dan to worship the other. He set up shrines on the high places and appointed priests from ordinary families, who were not of levitical descent. Jeroboam also instituted a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth of the month, like the feast kept in Judah, when he offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did at Bethel, offering sacrifices to the calves which he had made and, at Bethel, installing the priests of the high places which he had set up.

Jeroboam did not give up his wicked ways after this incident, but went on appointing priests for the high places from the common people. He consecrated as priests of the high places any who wished to be. Such conduct made the House of Jeroboam a sinful House, and caused its ruin and extinction from the face of the earth.

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

Like our ancestors, we have sinned,
we have acted wickedly, guiltily;
our ancestors in Egypt never grasped
the meaning of your wonders.

They did not bear in mind your countless acts of love,
at the Sea of Reeds they defied the Most High;

At Horeb they made a calf,
bowed low before cast metal;
they exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bull. 

They forgot the God who was saving them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
such wonders in the land of Ham,
such awesome deeds at the Sea of Reeds.

He thought of putting an end to them,
had not Moses, his chosen one,
taken a stand in the breach and confronted him,
to turn his anger away from destroying them.

                Solomon dies we see from
                    the readings at daily Mass

                The Kingdom splits into Israel
                    (north) and Judah
                    with its capital at Jerusalem

                    975 - 958 Jeroboam king of Israel
                    975 - 958 Rehoboam king of Judah.

                    This split remained until
                        722 when the Syrians
                        came and took the
                        Northern Kingdom —

                King Solomon built temples for
                    his pagan wives —

                So Israel was weak from
                    all this —

                Now today's readings
                    St. James

                The reading has a tone as the
                    beatitudes

                Trials bring us joy —

                We are to grow spiritually —

                We learn to sustain trails —

                Trying to be more perfected —

                God gives us counsel
                God gives us wisdom to do this —

James 1: 1-11

From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion. My brothers, consider it a great joy when trials of many kinds come upon you, for you well know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and perseverance must complete its work so that you will become fully developed, complete, not deficient in any way. Any of you who lacks wisdom must ask God, who gives to all generously and without scolding; it will be given. But the prayer must be made with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea by the buffeting of the wind. That sort of person, in two minds, inconsistent in every activity, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. It is right that the brother in humble circumstances should glory in being lifted up, and the rich in being brought low. For the rich will last no longer than the wild flower; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, its flower falls, its beauty is lost. It is the same with the rich: in the middle of a busy life, the rich will wither.

 

                St. James is telling us our
                    faith is to be strong —
                    not wavering
                    like the ocean waves —
                        in and out

                Things that are worldly are not
                    important to the Kingdom
                    of God —

                Gospel today —

Mark 8: 11-13

The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with him; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to put him to the test. And with a profound sigh he said, 'Why does this generation demand a sign? In truth I tell you, no sign shall be given to this generation.' And, leaving them again, he re-embarked and went away to the other side.

                They wanted more and more
                        proof

                Please dear God help us to be
                    strong in our faith —

                Let us pray for strong faith —
                Pray with deep trust in God —

                God is here to teach us to love

                God gives us Himself in the Eucharist —
                    He feeds us with Himself

                Jesus: And so I give you the Bread of Life
                    And I give you a free will —
                    To choose life or death —

                We are all in need of God's help —

                Our psalm reminds us of this today

Psalm 1: 1-2, 3, 4, 6

                God called people constantly to their
                    Jewish faith —

                But they constantly turned their back on
                    God —

                Jeremiah was hated, persecuted and
                    almost put to death, but
                    he had to keep telling them
                    God's word.

1 Corinthians 15: 12, 16-20

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead?

For, if the dead are not raised, neither is Christ; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is pointless and you have not, after all, been released from your sins. In addition, those who have fallen asleep in Christ are utterly lost. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are of all people the most pitiable.

                Empty your hearts for God wants a
                    clean heart and happiness is found
                    in this —

Luke 6: 17, 20-26  

He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples, with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said: 

    How blessed are you who are poor: 
        the kingdom of God is yours. 
    Blessed are you who are hungry now: 
        you shall have your fill. 
    Blessed are you who are weeping now: 
        you shall laugh. 

    ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, look!—your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.

    But alas for you who are rich: 
        you are having your consolation now. 
    Alas for you who have plenty to eat now: 
        you shall go hungry. 
    Alas for you who are laughing now: 
        you shall mourn and weep. 

    ‘Alas for you when everyone speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.

                Valentine

                Fr. Joe said —

                    A woman's van was stuck in the drive way —
                    Her husband dug her out —
                    She left and heard a big noise going down the road —
                        under her van
                    She got out her cell phone and called
                        her husband
                    She said "Thank goodness you answered —
                    I thought maybe I was dragging you down
                        the street —
                    I heard a horrible sound under my car" —

                Jeremiah tells us — there are only 2 ways of living
                    our life —
                    one way to live as God wants — the
                    other doing it our own way —

                Jeremiah tells us how to find true
                    happiness in our lives

                This Jeremiah reading prepares us
                    for the Gospel — the beatitudes

                'Woe' tells us pain hardship, distress —
                Matthew has no Woe's

                Luke has Jesus speaking to an audience
                    who were some downcast, poor —
                    the oppressors of these people were
                        the rich

                Matthew says blessed are the poor in
                    spirit

                Neither is saying being poor is a blessing —
                Jesus had rich friends —

                The Gospel writers tells of a blessedness
                    to come for those who follow
                    Christ —

                St. Paul in the 2nd Reading is telling us
                    our whole faith is centered
                    around the resurrection of Jesus —

                Jesus is the first - fruits —

                Those who love and serve Jesus will
                    raise to greater life —

                The Mass commemorates His death and
                    resurrection

                Every man is led astray by
                    his own desires —

                    No one can blame God
                        for why he gives into
                        temptation —

                    We die to the ways that lead
                        us away from God —
                        this is spiritual maturity —

                    Everything that comes from
                        God is good

James 1: 12-18

Psalm 94: 12-13, 14-15, 18-19

  How blessed are those you instruct, Yahweh,
whom you teach by means of your law,
to give them respite in evil times,
till a pit is dug for the wicked.

Yahweh will not abandon his people,
he will not desert his heritage;
for judgement will again become saving justice,
and in its wake all upright hearts will follow.

I need only say, 'I am slipping,'
for your faithful love, Yahweh, to support me;
however great the anxiety of my heart,
your consolations soothe me.

John 14: 23

                Evil lurks in a man's heart —
                    it grows like yeast
                    when we give into unloving
                        ways we become more and
                        more hateful and dark

                When we live a virtuous
                    life — praying for the
                    increase of faith —
                    hoping in God —
                    and loving God and others —
                    we grow to be more
                    perfected like our heavenly
                        Father is perfect —

Mark 8: 14-21

The disciples had forgotten to take any bread and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them this warning, 'Keep your eyes open; look out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.' And they said to one another, 'It is because we have no bread.' And Jesus knew it, and he said to them, 'Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not understand, still not realise? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes and do not see, ears and do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?' They answered, 'Twelve.' 'And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?' And they answered, 'Seven.' Then he said to them, 'Do you still not realise?'

                Remember what you sow —
                    so shall you reap —

                ASH WEDNESDAY

Joel 2: 13

Psalm 51: 3

Baruch 3: 5

Do not call to mind the misdeeds of our ancestors, but remember instead your power and your name.

Psalm 79: 9

help us, God our Saviour,
for the glory of your name;
Yahweh, wipe away our sins,
rescue us for the sake of your name.

                Sing song: Ashes

                God has called us to be His
                    instruments

                God calls us to be apostles
                    of His love —

                God calls us to reconciliation
                    to be reconciled to Him —

                When we serve and love God and
                    do His will we can
                    possess our eternal reward

                God outpours His grace to us
                    if we ask Him — we can
                    act in vain and reject it —

Psalm 51: 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17

                God wants heartfelt repentance

Jesus sweat blood in the
Garden of Olives

Remember man that thou are dust
and to dust you shall return.

We are to do penance for our
sins

Wisdom 11: 24-26

Yes, you love everything that exists, and nothing that you have made disgusts you, since, if you had hated something, you would not have made it.  And how could a thing subsist, had you not willed it? Or how be preserved, if not called forth by you? No, you spare all, since all is yours, Lord, lover of life!

                The Israelites had to choose
                    between good and evil —

                We must choose between
                    what God wants and
                    what is evil and
                    from the devil —

                We beg to know the truth
                We beg to be good

                God rewards virtue

Psalm 55: 17-20, 23

evening, morning, noon, I complain and I groan. He hears my cry, he ransoms me and gives me peace from the feud against me, for they are taking me to law. But God will listen and will humble them, he who has been enthroned from the beginning; no change of heart for them, for they do not fear God. They attack those at peace with them, going back on their oaths;

You, God, will thrust them down to the abyss of destruction, men bloodthirsty and deceptive, before half their days are spent. For my part, I put my trust in you.

Deuteronomy 30: 15-20

The two ways

‘Look, today I am offering you life and prosperity, death and disaster. If you obey the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I am laying down for you today, if you love Yahweh your God and follow his ways, if you keep his commandments, his laws and his customs, you will live and grow numerous, and Yahweh your God will bless you in the country which you are about to enter and make your own. But if your heart turns away, if you refuse to listen, if you let yourself be drawn into worshipping other gods and serving them, I tell you today, you will most certainly perish; you will not live for long in the country which you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. Today, I call heaven and earth to witness against you: I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live, in the love of Yahweh your God, obeying his voice, holding fast to him; for in this your life consists, and on this depends the length of time that you stay in the country which Yahweh swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that he would give them.’

                I have set before you life
                    or death —

Psalm 1: 1-2, 3, 4, 6

Luke 9: 22-25

                We are to have true sorrow
                    for our past sins —

                We are to be loving —
                    have charity to our
                    brothers

                We are to imitate Christ —

Isaiah 58: 9-14

Then you will cry for help and Yahweh will answer; you will call and he will say, 'I am here.' If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist and malicious words, if you deprive yourself for the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light will rise in the darkness, and your darkest hour will be like noon. Yahweh will always guide you, will satisfy your needs in the scorched land; he will give strength to your bones and you will be like a watered garden, like a flowing spring whose waters never run dry. Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt; you will build on age -- old foundations. You will be called 'Breach-mender', 'Restorer of streets to be lived in'. If you refrain from breaking the Sabbath, from taking your own pleasure on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath 'Delightful', and the day sacred to Yahweh 'Honourable', if you honour it by abstaining from travel, from seeking your own pleasure and from too much talk,  then you will find true happiness in Yahweh, and I shall lead you in triumph over the heights of the land. I shall feed you on the heritage of your father Jacob, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.

 

Ezekiel 33: 11

Say to them, "As I live -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- I do not take pleasure in the death of the wicked but in the conversion of the wicked who changes his ways and saves his life. Repent, turn back from your evil ways. Why die, House of Israel?"

 

Hosea 14: 1-7

Samaria will pay the penalty
for having rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword,
their little children
    will be dashed to pieces
and their pregnant women
    disembowelled.

III: THE REPENTANCE AND RECONCILIATION OF ISRAEL
The sincere conversion of Israel to Yahweh

Israel, come back to Yahweh your God
your guilt was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words
and come back to Yahweh.
Say to him, ‘Take all guilt away
and give us what is good,
instead of bulls we will dedicate to you
    our lips.
Assyria cannot save us,
we will not ride horses any more,
or say, “Our God!”
    to our own handiwork,
for you are the one
    in whom orphans find compassion.’

I shall cure them of their disloyalty,
I shall love them with all my heart,
for my anger has turned away from them.
I shall fall like dew on Israel,
he will bloom like the lily
and thrust out roots
    like the cedar of Lebanon;
he will put out new shoots,
he will have the beauty of the olive tree
and the fragrance of Lebanon.

 

                Jeremiah was rescued from
                    the cistern

                Jeremiah's unwanted prophecies
                    were burned by the king —

                Nebuchadnezzar orders
                    worship of the golden
                    image —

Daniel 3: 91-95

King Nebuchadnezzar sprang to his feet in amazement. He said to his advisers, 'Did we not have these three men thrown bound into the fire?' They answered the king, 'Certainly, Your Majesty'. 'But', he went on, 'I can see four men walking free in the heart of the fire and quite unharmed! And the fourth looks like a child of the gods!' Nebuchadnezzar approached the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and said, 'Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, servants of God Most High, come out, come here!' And from the heart of the fire out came Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. The satraps, magistrates, governors, and advisers of the king crowded round the three men to examine them: the fire had had no effect on their bodies: not a hair of their heads had been singed, their cloaks were not scorched, no smell of burning hung about them. Nebuchadnezzar said, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego: he has sent his angel to rescue his servants who, putting their trust in him, defied the order of the king, and preferred to forfeit their bodies rather than serve or worship any god but their God.

                John the Baptist was born
                    6 months before Jesus

                The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary

                Joseph takes Mary with child
                    to Bethlehem —

                Wise men came to worship Jesus
                Jesus taken to the Temple
                The Flight into Egypt
                Jesus at 12 was lost in
                    the Temple —

                John the Baptist begins to preach —
                Jesus Christ baptized by
                    John

                The Wedding at Cana —
                Jesus changes water into wine —
                Jesus performs miracles

                Jesus called the apostles to be
                    fishers of men

                Jesus taught —
                Jesus healed —
                Jesus called the Apostles —
                Jesus cured the cripple —
                    cast out demons —
                Jesus preached the
                    Sermon on the Mount

                The Golden Rule

Matthew 7: 12

'So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the Law and the Prophets.

 

                Jesus calms the storm
                Jesus feeds 5,000 people
                    with 5 loaves and 2 fish

                Jesus walkes on the water —
                The Transfiguration
                Lazarus is raised from the dead —

                Palm Sunday

                The Last Supper

                The Agony in the Garden
                Jesus is arrested

                The Scourging at the Pillar
                The Crowning of Thorns
                Jesus carries the Cross
                Jesus is crucified —

                Mary stands beneath the cross

John 19: 34

one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water.

                Jesus rose from the dead
                Jesus goes to Emmaus
                Jesus appeared to many
                    disciples etc. —

                The Descent of the Holy Spirit
                    on the Apostles and Mary

                God created the seen and
                    the unseen out of nothing —

                "Let there be light"

                Make Jesus and Mary the
                    King and Queen of
                    your hearts —

                The Hearts of perfect
                    love

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