HIS NAME IS LEGION

1^st READING - 2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13

P S A L M - Psalm 3:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R: Lord, rise up and save me.

GOSPEL 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

A great prophet has arisen in our midst and God has visited his people.

 Mark 5:1-20

SABBATH

Today’s Gospel narrates another instance of Jesus exorcising a man possessed by the devil. Jesus asks the name of the unclean spirit. In response, it said, “Legion is my name,” for they are many. Yes, the Bible affirms the existence of the devil. Several years ago, a random survey of 1,500 respondents conducted by a famous Philippine college revealed a contradiction that 81 percent believed in heaven but only 42 percent believed in hell or the existence of the devil. Why the contradiction? It’s probably because we all want a God who rewards but not a God who “punishes.” We all want a God who gives blessings but not a God who calls us to task and responsibility. The devil deceives by making himself unknown. If you do not believe in him, you will not do anything to put up a fight or any form of defense against him. Satan is then able to act with much more freedom. Here are some facts about the reality of the devil from the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 391. The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: “The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing.” 392. This “fall” consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. 393. It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels’ sin unforgivable. “There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death.” Jesus asks the name of the unclean spirit because knowledge of the enemy is the first step to victory over that enemy. Let us know our enemy and its ways that we may always be on guard and victorious against its cunning. Fr. Joel Jason   REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you aware of the entry points of the devil in your life?   “Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”

Today's Gospel - January 29, 2012 with Reflection

1st READING - Deuteronomy 18:15-20  P S A L M - Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9 R: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 2ND READING - 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 GOSPEL  GOSPEL ACCLAMATION The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light; on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen.   Mark 1:21-28 21 Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. 22 The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23 In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 24 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!” 25 Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” 26 The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. 27 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.” 28 His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee. 1st READING 2nd READING GOSPEL PSALM

SABBATH

SAY IT IN FAITH   In today’s Gospel, we hear a declaration of the true identity of Jesus: “I know who you are — the holy One of God!” Biblical scholars call it an indirect theophany, i.e., a manifestation of the Divinity of Jesus by another other than God Himself. It is just ironic that such declaration came from an unclean spirit that possessed a man in the synagogue. In response to such declaration, Jesus rebuked the evil spirit sharply and commanded, “Be quiet! Come out of the man!” Jesus obviously was not flattered by the declaration. In some other parts of the Gospels, Peter also made an indirect theophany when, in response to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” he declared in behalf of the Apostles, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus commended Peter for such declaration. It is worth noting that Jesus said to Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon…” while to the evil spirit Jesus said, “Be quiet!” Both Peter and the evil spirit made the same declaration. But the same declaration received a different response from Jesus. What accounts for the difference? The evil spirit simply made a declaration of fact. Peter made a declaration of faith. The devil cannot avoid the fact. Jesus is God. But it is simply a dry fact for the devil. Even if he does not want to, the devil has no choice but to acknowledge it. The devil may have even uttered it in fear. For Peter, it was different. It was a declaration borne out of love, out of a personal relationship with Jesus. Every Sunday, we go to church and profess and declare our faith in the living God. But we are not simply there to declare a fact. If we do that, our declaration will be no different from that of the devil. We need more than a declaration of fact. God does not need to be reminded of the fact of His divinity. He does not need a massage to the divine ego. He knows it from eternity. But God does long to hear a declaration of faith and love from His children. So what is it for you — fact or faith?Fr. Joel Jason REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you cultivate a personal relationship with God in your prayer, study, and a life of righteousness?   “Lord, You have no need of our praise, but our desire to thank You is itself Your gift. Our prayer of praise adds nothing to Your greatness but makes us grow in Your grace. Amen!”

The best introduction to Aquinas ever written!

Approaching Aquinas without a guide is daunting. It can easily become a frustrating and disorienting experience.   Do you begin with his Commentary on the Ten Books of Nicomachean Ethics or his Commentary on Aristotle's Politics? How about Against the Errors of the Greeks to Pope Urban IV? Perhaps just play it safe and start with the one you have some familiarity with, the Summa Theologica ... all five volumes. Thomas Aquinas was prolific and his range of thought was astonishingly broad. At times elegant, precise, and easily grasped, just as often his subject required a dense and scholarly style assuming a level of expertise on the reader's part. Like trying to climb Mt. Everest without a Sherpa, simply knowing where to start with Aquinas is vital if your journey is to be successful.      Sophia Institute Press is excited to announce the publication of  Thomas Aquinas: Scholar, Poet, Mystic, Saint by Fr. A. G. Sertillanges. There is no better guide to help you make your ascent of Thomas Aquinas.     One of the most widely recognized experts on Aquinas, Sertillanges knew that the key to understanding Thomas was not a total immersion into his all his works, but to instead begin with the man himself.          Understanding the forces that compelled him to write, the method he used, and most crucially, the unifying spirit animating all his work is how one must begin with Aquinas. It is then that the beauty and lasting power of the Angelic Doctor is revealed. As Sertillanges explains: "The circumstances that gave rise to Thomism are dead, its problems are dead, its method and vocabulary are dead ... but the doctrine is not .... His doctrine contains something whereby it can renew itself from age to age, while his personality, perfect type as he is of scholar, social benefactor, and saint, is a constant example." Thomas' philosophical and theological concepts and arguments will forever have relevance. In clear bold strokes, Thomas Aquinas: Scholar, Poet, Mystic, Saint stands as one of the best introductions for those new to Aquinas and for those already well acquainted.   As to how to compare Aquinas with modern philosophies, Chesterton offers useful insight:     "[T]he philosophy of St. Thomas stands founded on the universal common conviction that eggs are eggs. The Hegelian may say that an egg is really a hen, because it is a part of an endless process of Becoming ... the Pragmatist may believe that we get the best out of scrambled eggs by forgetting that they ever were eggs, and only remembering the scramble. But no pupil of St. Thomas needs to addle his brains in order adequately to addle his eggs; to put his head at any peculiar angle in looking at eggs, or squinting at eggs, or winking the other eye in order to see a new simplification of eggs."      When you order Thomas Aquinas: Scholar, Poet, Mystic, Saint you will also receive a beautiful Italian made St. Aquinas relic prayer card FREE (while supplies last).      Read an excerpt from Thomas Aquinas.    It's almost over! Sophia's store-wide sale ends January 31st: at check out enter discount code newsite25.     Thomas Aquinas by A. G. Sertillanges 160 pgs ppbk $18.95 _____________ At checkout enter code: newsite25 Sale ends 1/31/2012.   Cannot be combined with other discounts.  Shipping not discounted. _____________   Fine Catholic Books  from SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS    1-800-888-9344 We always welcome contributions to our non-profit apostolate. If you would prefer not to use the PayPal button below, you can add a contribution directly to your shopping cart at our on-line store.   Sophia Institute Press is the publishing division of

Today's Gospel - January 25, 2012 with reflection

 Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle

1^st READING - Acts 22:3-16 (or Acts 9:1-22)

P S A L M -Psalm 117:1, 2

R: Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.

Mark 16:15-18

15 Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. 18 They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 

LIST

SABBATH

Creative Passion Once there was a religious skeptic who ridiculed people who take their faith seriously. He had a neighbor who was a very holy and prayerful woman. Every morning, he would hear her pray aloud her petitions to God. One time, he heard the woman pray for bread. So he decided to put bread at her door, knocked, and hid behind a tree. When the woman opened the door and saw the loaf of bread, she prayed aloud and said, “Thank you, Lord, for this answered prayer!” “You fool,” said the man, “don’t you know I was the one who put bread at your door? I answered your prayer, not God.” The woman calmly retorted, “No, God always answers my prayers, even if sometimes He had to use the devil to answer them.” Today’s First Reading from Acts 22 is a first person account of St. Paul’s conversion, which we celebrate today. Paul himself said, “I persecuted this new way to the point of death. I arrested and imprisoned both men and women.” The same Paul who used to destroy Christ’s Church will be the same Paul who will build it up and make it flourish beyond Israel.  More than the personal conversion of Paul, we celebrate today the fact of God’s grace working in and through unworthy instruments. Even after his conversion, Paul would often refer to himself as “the least of all the apostles.” He was a passionate man but his passion was misdirected and destructive. But God redirected his passion. From one who passionately persecuted and killed Christians, he became one who would be persecuted and killed for Christ. That is conversion. When one is converted, what is really changed is the heart of the inner person. Friends, don’t fall into the temptation of thinking that you are not worth anything. You are worth something. On this feast of Paul’s conversion, let us make an inventory of how we have been using the gifts that God has given us. Let us lift them up to God and allow His grace to transform them into positive energies for good. Like Paul, be surprised at what God can do in and through you, to yourself and to others! Fr. Joel Jason REFLECTION QUESTION: How are you using the gifts that God has given you? “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see. ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear. And grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.”

DAVID IS CROWNED KING OF ISRAEL

1^st READING - 2 Samuel 5:1-7, 10

P S A L M - Psalm 89:20, 21-22, 25-26

R: My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.

GOSPEL - Mark 3:22-30

SABBATH

David receives the crown of the nation of Judah and, seven years later, Israel as well. He unites the Jewish people once again. As their king, he expands the borders of the nation and creates a great military power feared in the region, triumphant against all enemies. It is under him that Israel reaches the zenith of its power, and it is to the Kingdom of David that future generations will look to for inspiration in times of hardship. It is easy to live in the past and exult in the glories of days gone by, but this will not secure one’s future. In the same way we can dwell on the failures and defeats of the past, but this, too, will not secure the future. We must live in the present — both for the present and the future. If we do this, our legacy will be secure. The past glory of a nation will not ensure anything for the future. However, foundations of truth and righteousness laid today will make possible a future greatness. Too often we forget that success is built on faithfulness to the fundamentals and, when it comes to our faith, this can be summed up in one idea: obedience to the will of God. Jesus constantly affirms that this is the basis of His ministry – doing what the Father tells Him to do, obeying His will. Let us all seek to imitate Jesus and follow His example of submission and obedience. In this way we will contribute to the building of His Kingdom and thereby live fulfilled and holy lives. David was not perfect — he failed many times, but he always accepted the forgiveness God offered him and got back to work! Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL   REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you lose heart when you sin or when things do not go as you expect them? Do you give in to temptation and disappointment too easily?   Jesus, help me to focus my life on imitating Your obedience and so come to know the only path that will bring me fulfillment in my life.

Today's Gospel - January 22, 2011 with Reflection

1^st READING - Jonah 3:1-5, 10

 P S A L M - Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R: Teach me your ways, O Lord.

2^ND READING - 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

GOSPEL 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.

 

Mark 1:14-20

14 After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: 15 “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” 16 As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. 17Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will   make you fishers of men.” 18 Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. 19 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. 20Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

SABBATH

TIME IS GROWING SHORT   Many people in the past and even now have attempted to predict the day when the world will end. This is a pure and utter waste of time and energy. It is more of a distraction than a help to men and women of faith. The Scriptures are quite clear in their statement that only the Father knows the exact day when the world will end. As for us, we should simply live our lives with an appropriate sense of urgency according to the call God has placed upon us. Each of us has one life to live — approximately 80 years if present life expectancy statistics are correct. This means that we have 80 or so years to make our impact on the world and accomplish the task God has set before us. If we fail to do so in those 80 years, then there are no second chances. A close friend of mine believed she had been given a reprieve when she suffered a heart attack at 70. So, she decided that the rest of her life, however long it may be, would be spent in the service of God and His little ones. She devoted her life and ultimately all her earthly resources to Anawim, a home for the abandoned elderly, living with them for the last decade of her life. A few months before she died with her “boots on,” she was orienting the trainees serving at the center. She had exhausted her life’s savings and was probably aware that she had only a little time left. I remember speaking with her before her death and she was as ready to die as anyone I have met — reconciled to the Lord and herself as regards the way she had lived her life. She lived every day as though it was her last. This is what it means to live with the correct sense of urgency as to when the world will end. For all intents and purposes, our earthly existence and the existence of the world ends with our death. In this sense, we will all witness the end of the world when we die. Let us make our lives worth something to the Kingdom of God by seeking God’s will and living it as best we can in our lives. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL   REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you worried about predictions of the world’s end? I hope not! Our earthly existence is a passing reality — let us make the most of it.   Jesus, open my heart to Your call so that I may live and do what You want me to do. Help me to give my all in the service of Your Kingdom.

The Incredibly Perilous Task of the Catholic Novelist

The Catholic novel is a potentially dangerous thing. Just as good poetry is able to say more and say it more intensely than ordinary language can, a good novel reveals truths about human nature and reality in ways our actual experience with reality can't. Done well, the Catholic novel in particular has the power to inspire the imagination and give us valuable perspectives on how to see our lives as the dramas they actually are: Lives seeking God; God pursuing us. Done poorly though, a Catholic novel can repel, souring the reader to the whole idea of religious fiction as something noble, a source for renewal and deeper understanding.       In Flannery O'Connor's posthumously published book Mystery and Manners, we are given a description of the Catholic novel: "If I had to say what a 'Catholic novel' is, I could only say that it is one that represents reality adequately as we see it manifested in this world of things and human relationships. Only in and by these sense experiences does the fiction writer approach a contemplative knowledge of the mystery they embody." O'Connor continues: "Ever since there have been such things as novels, the world has been flooded with bad fiction for which the religious impulse has been responsible. The sorry religious novel comes about when the writer supposes that because of his belief, he is somehow dispensed from the obligation to penetrate concrete reality. He will think that the eyes of the Church or of the Bible or of his particular theology have already done the seeing for him...We must say whether this or that novel truthfully portrays the aspect of reality that it sets out to portray." For Flannery O'Connor then, the Catholic author has an obligation to present reality as it is and to avoid creating a sanitized world dressed with pious phrases, no amount of which will convince, let alone inspire, a reader. With this tall order in mind, Sophia Press proudly announcesChristopher, a new Catholic novel steeped in a Catholic context but one authentically in tension with the world.    David Athey is a seasoned author who understands well the responsibility of the novelist as described by O'Connor. An associate professor of English at Palm Beach Atlantic University, Athey has published nearly 200 poems, stories, and essays in several prominent literary journals such The Harvard Review, The Iowa Review, and Southern Humanities Review. Christopher is hissecond novel.      Set beneath the grandeur of the vast Minnesota sky, and in its cold lakes and dark forests,  Christopher is a modern love story and a quest for the Holy Grail. But much more as well. Poetic, funny, touching, and often daringly honest, page by page, mystery by mystery, adventure after adventure, and with ever-growing urgency, we travel with young Christopher Lagorio as he grows toward manhood seeking to discover and become worthy of the perfect girl, while resisting a call he fears may literally destroy him. He is haunted by heaven, but tethered to the earth. Christopher is a tribute to a genuine love of our fellow man, the Great Books, and to the source and summit of our Faith.    "David Athey has written another marvel."  -DALE AHLQUIST, President American Chesterton Society Read an excerpt from Christopher. Intended for adults and mature teens. And remember to take advantage of our store-wide 25% discount good through the end of January: at check out enter discount code newsite25.     Christopher by David Athey  384 pgs ppbk $19.95 _____________ At checkout enter code: newsite25 Sale ends 1/31/2012. Cannot be combined with other discounts.  Shipping not discounted. _____________   Fine Catholic Books  from SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS    1-800-888-9344 We always welcome contributions to our non-profit apostolate. If you would prefer not to use the PayPal button below, you can add a contribution directly to your shopping cart at our on-line store.    Sophia Institute Press is the publishing division of