February 3, 2019 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) Jer 1:4–5, 17–19 1 Cor 12:31—13:13 or 1 Cor 13:4–13 Lk 4:21–30 Developing the Strength of a Prophet he consoling words from the prophet Jeremiah give comfort to all of us. God told him that he, like each Tof us, was known even in his mother’s womb. It was this knowledge of being known and loved that gave Jeremiah the strength to stand before his people and prophesy some very strong and harsh words. He was set as a strong pillar, a wall of brass, a fortified city. He was rooted in love, because he needed to be so as not to be crushed by the anger and resentment stirred up by his prophetic words. Piece: Jeremiah, 1510-1512 Jesus faces the same ire when visiting Artist: Michelangelo his hometown. At first the Nazarenes Location: Sistine Chapel ceiling praise him, but soon, as if they had some entitlement, they presumptuously demand that he perform miracles to satisfy their vanity—not to change their hearts. When Jesus challenges them, their response is to want to throw him off a cliff! As Christians, we all have a prophetic mission. We’re called to preach the truths of the gospel, and at times this isn’t popular. In the public square, the Church and Christians are often praised for their charitable work but asked to silence their religious voice when morality is discussed. We need the strength and conviction of prophets as well as the love that drives them. PHOTO © GOVERNATORATO S.C.V - DIRECTORATE OF MUSEUMS —Fr. Mark Haydu, LC For Reflection Do I have the serenity and moral courage to share the gospel truth in love? Do I always show my faith in charitable thoughts and actions, and then in words when appropriate? Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you. Jere miah 1:5 © 2019 Liguori Publications • Liguori, MO 63057-9999 Calendar Monday FEBRUARY 4 Weekday Heb 11:32–40 My son and his wife attend a Christian church because they Mk 5:1–20 like the minister and the upbeat service. My son was raised Tuesday FEBRUARY 5 Catholic and still claims he is Catholic, even though he St. Agatha, doesn’t go to a Catholic church. I feel frustrated by the whole Virgin and Martyr affair! Heb 12:1–4 Mk 5:21–43 our frustration is certainly shared by many parents and grandparents Wednesday today. They raised their children Catholic, even sent them to Catholic FEBRUARY 6 Y St. Paul Miki and schools, but their adult children are less disciplined about their faith practices. Companions, Martyrs Recent surveys on religion showed Heb 12:4–7, 11–15 that 80 percent of Americans say they Mk 6:1–6 believe in God, and 75 percent consider Thursday spirituality important in their lives. FEBRUARY 7 But this doesn’t mean they commit to Weekday religious practices. About 60 percent of Heb 12:18–19, 21–24 SHUTTERSTOCK Mk 6:7–13 Catholics questioned attend religious Friday services only once or twice a month, or FEBRUARY 8 never. Many are interested in exploring Weekday different teachings and attending different churches. The loyalty to the Heb 13:1–8 Church and its disciplines that was evident in our own lives, or in our parents’ Mk 6:14–29 and grandparents’ lives, is often lacking in today’s under-fifty-five crowd. Saturday What can one do about this? The traditional method is to pray for your FEBRUARY 9 children while continuing to set an example through your own loyalty to the Weekday Heb 13:15–17, 20–21 Catholic Church—including attendance at Sunday Mass and observance of Mk 6:30–34 other Church disciplines. It would be good to invite your son and his wife to Sunday attend church with you when they are visiting. As we age, we often become FEBRUARY 10 more religious and traditional. We may become more interested in our family’s Fifth Sunday in history, photos, and traditions. The religion of our childhood may begin Ordinary Time to appear very attractive again. Be patient and continue to pray that your Is 6:1–2a, 3–8 1 Cor 15:1–11 or children will return to the Church of their roots. 1 Cor 15:3–8, 11 [email protected] Lk 5:1–11 Updated from Dear Padre: Questions Catholics Ask, © 2003 Liguori Publications Know Someone A Word from Pope Francis Overly Anxious No matter how many Sunday Masses, if your heart does not About Sin? reach out to others, if you do not know what is happening to your For more people, your faith is weak, unhealthy, or dead. It is a faith without than fifty Christ; faith without solidarity is faith without Christ, it is faith without God, faith years, without brothers and sisters. Redemptorists have ministered compassionately with those —Visit to Paraguay, July 12, 2015 struggling with scrupulosity. © 2019 Liguori Publications, Liguori, MO 63057-9999. Printed in USA. Imprimatur: “In accordance with CIC 827, permission to publish has been granted on August 29, 2018, by Most Reverend Mark S. Rivituso, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of St. Louis. For more information and to Permission to publish is an indication that nothing contrary to Church teaching is contained in this work. It does not imply any sign up for our free monthly endorsement of the opinions expressed in the publication; nor is any liability assumed by this permission.” No part of this work newsletter, visit: may be used in any form without the prior written permission of Liguori Publications. Scripture texts in this work are taken from New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All Rights Reserved. To order ScrupulousAnonymous.org Liguori Sunday Bulletins, call 800-325-9521, or visit Liguori.org. February 10, 2019 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) Is 6:1–2a, 3–8 1 Cor 15:1–11 or 1 Cor 15:3–8, 11 Lk 5:1–11 Casting Our Net for Jesus it seems our results aren’t up to par. If we listen to Je- sus, we never come up empty. Sometimes we fish where ina Bellotti was an artist active for many years we’re not called, led by our own passions and stubborn- Din her studio just off the Via della Conciliazione, ness. There we reap what we sow. Other times, we sim- in front of the Vatican. As a family friend of St. Paul ply go along without heart. We can feel caged by fate VI, she came to Rome when he became pope. Her works or a hopeless situation. But then we wake up to the fact are simple, yet evocative. With a few brush that even there we can love. Even then we strokes, she brings a scene to life and places For Reflection can hear his voice, feel his love, and focus us there. Do I invest in on responding to his call. Then miracles can Peter is tired, overworked, and frustrated my work, home, happen! with the lack of results. A stranger on the and social Jesus loves everyone, not because they shore, Jesus of Nazareth, asks him to cast the responsibilities as are saints, but because he wants them to be. net again. Although the logic of fishing dic- a response to the So rather than look at why we shouldn’t be tates otherwise, Peter follows his hunch and call of Jesus? blessed by him, turn to him, then receive trusts this voice for one more cast. his gratuitous love. Then without fear, share We’ve all been there. We work hard to do the right that experience with others as fishers of men. thing. We try to extend God’s kingdom, and sometimes —Fr. Mark Haydu, LC Piece: Miraculous Haul of Fishes, 1972 PHOTO © GOVERNATORATO S.C.V - DIRECTORATE OF MUSEUMS Artist: Dina Bellotti Location: Vatican Museums [Simon said,] “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” Luke 5:5 © 2019 Liguori Publications • Liguori, MO 63057-9999 Calendar Monday FEBRUARY 11 Weekday Gn 1–19 What is transubstantiation? Mk 6:53–56 t the beginning of the Christian community, preachers and poets Tuesday Acreated magnificent descriptions of the Eucharist using images FEBRUARY 12 from the Jewish Scriptures as well as from the surrounding folklores. As Weekday Christianity spread throughout the centuries, especially in the developing Gn 1:20—2:4a European monasteries and universities, Mk 7:1–13 theologians became more concerned Wednesday both with defining the Eucharist more FEBRUARY 13 precisely and describing more exactly Weekday the changes that occur when the words Gn 2:4b–9, 15–17 of the priest are spoken over the bread Mk 7:14–23 and wine. Thursday In the mid-sixteenth century, the FEBRUARY 14 Council of Trent, under the pressure Sts. Cyril, Monk, of various misunderstandings and and Methodius, disagreements, articulated the doctrine Bishop LONG ISLAND CATHOLIC ISLAND LONG we now know as transubstantiation. Gn 2:18–25 Mk 7:24–30 This doctrine, founded in the philosophy of Aristotle and clarified by St. Thomas Friday Aquinas, seeks to explain without FEBRUARY 15 ambiguity that the Eucharist is a Weekday substantial change of bread and wine. Gn 3:1–8 CNS PHOTO/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ, The very substance—the “breadness” Mk 7:31–37 and the “wineness” of the gifts—is transformed.