#jesus sirach

[deus77vult]

Das Buch Jesus Sirach (Sir) 39, 18

Was er will, geschieht ohne Verzug, kein Hindernis gibt es für seine Hilfe.

[justana0kguy]

2023 MAY 30 Tuesday

"To keep the law is a great oblation,

and He who observes the commandments sacrifices a peace offering.

In works of charity one offers fine flour,

and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.

To refrain from evil pleases the LORD, and to avoid injustice is an atonement.

Appear not before the LORD empty-handed, for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.

The just man's offering enriches the altar and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High.

The just man's sacrifice is most pleasing, nor will it ever be forgotten.

In generous spirit pay homage to the LORD, be not sparing of freewill gifts.

With each contribution show a cheerful countenance, and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.

Give to the Most High as he has given to you, generously, according to your means.

For the LORD is one who always repays, and he will give back to you sevenfold.

But offer no bribes, these he does not accept! Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion,

For he is a God of justice, who knows no favorites."

~ Sirach 35:1-12

[lord-here-i-am]

Sirach 34: 19-20

The eyes of the Lord are upon those who love him; he is their mighty shield and strong support, A shelter from the heat, a shade from the noonday sun, a guard against stumbling, a help against falling. He lifts up spirits, brings a sparkle to the eyes, gives health and life and blessing.

[grandsouldream]

Readings for 30 December

30/12/2022

[holystormfire]

The List of 75 Books Lost or Excluded from the Bible

Joshua 10:13 KJV

And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

2 Samuel 1:18 KJV

(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)

1 Kings 11:41 KJV

And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠...

The Protevangelion

The Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas

The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus King of Edessa

The Gospel of Nicodemus (Acts of Pilate)

The Apostles’ Creed (throughout history)

The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Laodiceans

The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Seneca, with Seneca’s to Paul

The Acts of Paul and Thecla

The Epistle of Clement

The Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

The Epistle of Barnabas

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrneans

The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp

The Shepherd of Hermas (Visions, Commands, and Similitudes)

Letter of Herod To Pilate the Governor

Letter of Pilate to Herod

The Lost Gospel of Peter

The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians

Book of Enoch 1

Book of Enoch 2 (known as The Secrets of Enoch)

Enoch 3

Book of Esdras 1

Book of Esdras 2

Book of Maccabees 1

Book of Maccabees 2

Book of Maccabees 3

Book of Maccabees 4

Book of Maccabees 5

Book of Tobit

Book of Jasher

Book of Judith

Book of Esther

Book of Ecclesiasticus / Sirach

Book of Jubilees

Book of Baruch 1

Book of Baruch 2

Book of Baruch 3

Book of The Shepherd of Hermas

Book of Wisdom / Wisdom of Solomon

Book of The Psalms of Solomon

Book of The Odes of Solomon

Book of Giants

Book of Adam and Eve 1

The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan

The Gospel of James / The Protevangelion

The Gospel of Peter

The Gospel of Thomas

The Gospel of Nicodemus / Acts of Pilate

The Syriac Infancy Gospel / Infancy of Jesus Christ

The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus, King of Edessa

The Epistle of Aristeas

The Epistle of Jeremiah

The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Laodiceans

The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Seneca

The Epistle of Pilate to Herod

Assumption of Moses

Apocalypse of Moses

Testament of Abraham

Apocalypse of Abraham

Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

The Acts of Paul

The Acts of Paul and Thecla

The Apostles Creed

Psalm 151

Story of Susanna

Story of Bel and The Dragon

Story of Ahikar

The Prayer of Azariah and the Songs of the Three Holy Children

Prayer of Manasseh

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

5th May >> Fr. Martin’s Homilies / Reflections on Today’s Mass Readings (inc. John 15:9-17) for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (B): ‘I call you friends’.

Sixth Sunday of Easter (B)

Gospel (Except USA)

John 15:9-17

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘As the Father has loved me,

so I have loved you.

Remain in my love.

If you keep my commandments

you will remain in my love,

just as I have kept my Father’s commandments

and remain in his love.

I have told you this

so that my own joy may be in you

and your joy be complete.

This is my commandment:

love one another, as I have loved you.

A man can have no greater love

than to lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends,

if you do what I command you.

I shall not call you servants any more,

because a servant does not know

his master’s business;

I call you friends,

because I have made known to you

everything I have learnt from my Father.

You did not choose me:

no, I chose you;

and I commissioned you

to go out and to bear fruit,

fruit that will last;

and then the Father will give you

anything you ask him in my name.

What I command you

is to love one another.’

Gospel (USA)

John 15:9–17

No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.”

Homilies (5)

(i) Sixth Sunday of Easter

One of the greatest gifts in life is friendship. The Book of Sirach in the Old Testament declares, ‘A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter: whoever has found one has found a treasure. There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend’. The image of a faithful friend as a sturdy shelter, as a treasure, rings true to all our experience. For many married people, their best friend is their spouse. All of us, hopefully, whether married or single, have a faithful friend, someone who loves us as we are, who listens to us when we need a listening ear, who stands by us in good times and in dark times. Each of us is probably such a friend to someone. It is difficult to get through life without the love of a friend.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says to his disciples, ‘I call you friends’. The disciples represent us all. What Jesus says to them, he says to each one of us. We probably have many images of Jesus. The image of Jesus in today’s gospel reading is that of a friend. He offers himself to us as a faithful friend. He says that he reveals his friendship for us in two ways. Friends trust one another enough to share what is deepest in their hearts. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says he has done just this with us all, ‘I have made know to you, everything I have learnt from my Father’. What was deepest in Jesus’ heart was his relationship with God, his Father, and he has shared that relationship with us. In the words of the second reading, he has revealed God to be Love. He hasn’t simply spoken to us about God’s love but has given expression to God’s love in his whole way of life and, especially, in his death. Like a trusting friend, Jesus has opened up his heart, God’s heart, to us. There is a second way in which Jesus says he reveals his friendship for us. A faithful friend will go the extra mile for us. They will make sacrifices for us, not because of some sense of duty, but just out of the love they have for us. They will stand by us to the end because it is what they want to do in their heart of hearts. Jesus has made the ultimate sacrifice for us. In the gospel reading he says, ‘A man can have no great love than to lay down his life for his friends’. Jesus revealed the depth of his friendship for us by laying down his life for us. His great mission in life was to reveal God’s love for us, and he was faithful to that mission even though he knew that it would cost him his life. In laying down his life for us, he showed the extent and depth of his friendship for us. This Sunday, we are invited to hear those words of Jesus as addressed to each of us personally, ‘I call you friends’. His friendship is his incredible gift to us, and it is a gift he will never take back. He is the ultimate and supreme ‘faithful friend’.

Jesus also says in the gospel reading that he has befriended us in this complete way, ‘so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete’. The gift of true friendship is a blessing which always brings us joy. A faithful friend is one of the great joys of life. Jesus himself knew the joy of God his Father’s friendship. By befriending us, he wants us to share in his joy. By loving us as God loves him, he wants us to know a joy that nothing in this world can give us, a joy that is complete. We can seek happiness in all kinds of places, but true joy, a joy that is deeply rooted and lasting, is found when we open ourselves up to the gift of the Lord’s faithful friendship. We will only fully experience the joy Jesus speaks about in eternal life when we will be fully opened up to his love, but here and now Jesus wants us to begin to experience this joy by receiving the gift of his friendship. We can sometimes struggle to receive this gift of the Lord’s faithful love, just as at the Last Supper Peter struggled to allow Jesus to wash his feet. ‘Never’, he said, ‘you shall never wash my feet’. Yet, the Lord keeps offering us this gift in the hope we will receive it or, in the words of the gospel reading, that we will remain in his love, his friendship.

The Lord’s friendship is faithful, it remains, but in today’s gospel reading he calls on us to remain in his friendship, to remain in his love. The primary way we remain in his loving friendship, Jesus says, is by allowing his faithful love to flow through us and to touch the lives of others. We are to love one another as he has loved us, to befriend one another as he has befriended us. Jesus poured out on us the love he received from God his Father, and he calls on us to pour out on others the love we receive from him. When this happens, then we will know something of Jesus’ own joy, the joy of eternal live.

And/Or

(ii) Sixth Sunday of Easter

We all make choices in the course of our lives, some of which are more fundamental than others. There are simple choices we make every day as we go about our lives that do not fundamentally influence who we are or how we live. Then there are the more significant choices that shape us for life. We chose someone as a friend and if the choice is mutual it can have a powerful influence for good on the rest of our lives. A man and a woman chose each other as husband and wife and their lives are profoundly transformed as a result of that mutual choice. Those really significant choices in life are not made in an instant. We have to grow into such choices. We build up to making them and, once made, we have to work at being faithful to them. They are not so much choices that we make as choices that we live.

In the gospel reading this morning Jesus declares to his disciples, ‘You did not choose me, no I chose you’. Jesus was saying to his disciples and to us that his choice of them, his choice of us, came first. The Lord has chosen each one of us, in love. He has chosen to befriend us, as Jesus says in that gospel reading, ‘I call you friends’. We don’t have to go looking for the Lord’s friendship; it is a given. Some of us may have had the experience of looking for someone’s friendship but not finding it. We would like to befriend someone, but he or she doesn’t seem as keen to befriend us. It is a friendship we seek but always allude us. We will have had the experience of someone simply choosing us as a friend. They offer us the gift of friendship unconditionally; we don’t have to go searching for it. It is a given; the only issue is whether we wish to reciprocate and choose the one who has chosen us. That second situation corresponds to how the Lord relates to us, ‘I call you friends… I have chosen you’, he says.

The Lord’s choice of us is not in doubt. The only issue is whether we choose him who has chosen us. This is what Jesus calls for in today’s gospel reading. Having said to his disciples, ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you’, he immediately says, ‘Remain in my love’. This is the first thing we have to do. As one writer I came across recently put it, ‘it is not just to live in a religion, but to live in the love with which Jesus loves us, the love that he has received from the Father’. That is the core of everything, to remain in the Lord’s love, as he remains in the Father’s love. Throughout the centuries disciples of Jesus encounter uncertainties, conflicts and difficulties of every kind. Yet, in the midst of it all, the important thing is to remain in that relationship of love that the Lord has initiated with us.

To remain in the love of Jesus is not something theoretical. Jesus tells us what it means in that gospel reading. It means to ‘keep my commandments’ which he immediately sums up in one commandment, ‘This is my commandment. Love one another as I have loved you’. Christians will find in their religion many commandments. Over time they increase in number. Only about the commandment to love does Jesus say, ‘this is my commandment’. It is as if Jesus is saying, this is what all the commandments boil down to. As we remain in the love of Jesus for us, we are to allow that love to take hold of us and to flow through us to embrace others. A little earlier in John’s gospel Jesus refers to this commandment as ‘new’. It is new with reference to all the other commandments that are in the Jewish Scriptures. Its newness consists in that little word ‘as’. We are to love one another as Jesus has loved as, as the Father has loved Jesus. This is a love which has no trace of self-interest or possessiveness or manipulation. It is the love that Jesus showed on the cross. It seems an extraordinary command; we are tempted to think it is beyond us. Yet, Jesus does not ask us to do the impossible. Before he asks us to do anything, he firstly calls on us to remain in his love, to receive his love into our hearts. Only then can we begin to love one another as he has loved us. Jesus does not give us this commandment as a law to regulate our lives, but as a source of joy. He declares in the gospel reading, ‘I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete’. Without love it is not possible to move towards a more joyful, simple and delightful Christian faith. To the extent that love is at the heart of our faith, it will be a joyful faith, a sharing in the risen Lord’s own joy.

And/Or

(iii) Sixth Sunday of Easter

We get a lot of wind here in Clontarf, especially along the sea front. It has been said that one of the windiest places in Clontarf is just outside the front door of the church. Speaking of front doors, this is the only place I have lived where I have had to put my shoulder to the front door of the house from time to time to close it against the opposing force of the wind. Jesus was a keen observer of nature. Nature, including the wind, often spoke to him of his own ministry. On one occasion he said, ‘When you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”, and so it happens… You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?’ On another occasion, Jesus compares the wind to the Holy Spirit, implying that both are mysterious and beyond human control, ‘The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit’. The Spirit, like the wind, blows where it chooses. We cannot make the wind blow in a direction of our choosing and we cannot make the Holy Spirit move at our command. It is not under our control.

In today’s first reading, Peter was reminded in a very striking way that the Spirit blows where it chooses. Peter had been led by the Lord to the house of a Roman centurion, Cornelius, a pagan household. While Peter was proclaiming the gospel to them, the Holy Spirit came down upon all the members of the household, much to the amazement of Peter and the other Jewish believers in Jesus who had accompanied him. At the first Pentecost, all those on whom the Holy Spirit came down were Jews, even though they were from various parts of the Roman Empire and spoke a variety of languages. Now this little pagan household was having its own Pentecost. The reading says that Peter and his companions ‘were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should be poured out on the pagans too’. This had never happened before. Peter and his companions were coming to realize that the horizon of the risen Lord was much broader than they had expected. The Lord wanted to pour out his Spirit on everyone. Before all this happened, according to that reading, Peter had said to Cornelius, ‘I truth I have now come to realize is that God does not have favourites’. When the Holy Spirit came down upon the household of Cornelius, Peter began to understand the implications of that new insight.

It was only after the Holy Spirit came down upon the household of Cornelius that Peter said, ‘We better baptize these people’. Often in the Acts of the Apostles, the coming of the Holy Spirit is not directly linked to baptism. Like the wind, the Spirit blows where and when it pleases. Peter was amazed that the Spirit could be at work in the lives of the members of this pagan household, prior to their being baptized. The Spirit can be at work in people’s lives in ways we might never suspect and will often leave us astonished. What is the Holy Spirit only the Spirit of God’s love, and God is always pouring out his love upon all humankind? As Saint John says in today’s second reading, ‘God is love. God’s love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son’, or in the wording of the gospel of John, ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son’. God’s love embraces the world, including the non-human world. There is no one and nothing beyond the embrace of God’s love. The language of friendship is very strong in today’s gospel reading. God sent his Son into the world to befriend the world. In that gospel reading, Jesus says to his disciples, ‘I call you friends’. The disciples there represent all of us, indeed, all of humanity, and all of God’s world.

Jesus came to draw all people to himself in loving friendship, without distinction or discrimination. ‘When I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself’, he said. The Lord is drawing us all into his loving friendship. What he asks is that we allow ourselves to be drawn, or in the language of the gospel reading, that we remain in his love, that we remain in this gravitational pull towards the Lord who is love. In the gospel reading, Jesus declares that remaining in his love requires that we share with others something of the love that the Lord is always pouring out on us. ‘Love one another, as I have loved you’. This doesn’t always come easy to us, especially when the ‘other’ we are asked to love is very different from us. Peter struggled to love Cornelius and his household, but he did so with the Spirit’s help. The Holy Spirit is offered to us all every day to help us to love others in the non-discriminatory way the Lord loves.

And/Or

(iv) Sixth Sunday of Easter

One of the greatest gifts in life is friendship. The Book of Sirach in the Old Testament declares, ‘A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter: whoever has found one has found a treasure. There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend’. The image of a faithful friend as a sturdy shelter, as a treasure, rings true to all our experience. For many married people, their best friend is their spouse. All of us, hopefully, whether married or not, have a faithful friend, someone who loves us as we are, who listens to us when we need someone to share with, who stands by us in good times and in dark times. Each of us is probably such a friend to someone. It is difficult to get through life without the love of a friend.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says to his disciples, ‘I call you friends’. The disciples represent us all. What Jesus says to them, he says to each one of us. We probably have many images of Jesus. The image of Jesus in today’s gospel reading is that of a friend. He offers himself to us as a faithful friend. He says that he reveals his friendship for us in two ways. Friends trust one another enough to share what is deepest in their hearts. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says he has done just this with us all, ‘I have made know to you, everything I have learnt from my Father’. What was deepest in Jesus’ heart was his relationship with God, his Father, and he has shared that relationship with us. In the words of the second reading, he has revealed God to be Love. He hasn’t simply spoken to us about God’s love but has given expression to God’s love in his whole way of life and, especially, in his death. Like a trusting friend, Jesus has opened up his heart, God’s heart, to us. There is a second way in which Jesus says he reveals his friendship for us. A faithful friend will go the extra mile for us. They will make sacrifices for us, not because of some sense of duty, but just out of the love they have for us. They will stand by us to the end because it is what they want to do in their heart of hearts. Jesus has made the ultimate sacrifice for us. In the gospel reading he says, ‘A man can have no great love than to lay down his life for his friends’. Jesus revealed the depth of his friendship for us by laying down his life for us. His great mission in life was to reveal God’s love to us, and he was faithful to that mission even though he paid for that faithfulness with his life. In laying down his life for us, he showed the extent and depth of his friendship for us. This Sunday, we are invited to hear those words of Jesus as addressed to each of us personally, ‘I call you friends’. His friendship is his incredible gift to us, and it is a gift he will never take back. He is the ultimate and supreme ‘faithful friend’.

Jesus also says in the gospel reading that he has befriended us in this complete way, ‘so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete’. The gift of true friendship is a blessing which always brings us joy. A faithful friend is one of the great joys of life. Jesus himself knew the joy of God his Father’s friendship. By befriending us, he wants us to share in his joy. By loving us as God loves him, he wants us to know a joy that nothing in this world can give us, a joy that is complete. We can seek happiness in all kinds of places, but true joy, a joy that is deeply rooted and lasting, is found when we open ourselves up to the gift of the Lord’s faithful friendship. We will only fully experience the joy Jesus speaks about in eternal life when we will be fully opened up to God’s love, but here and now Jesus wants us to begin to experience this joy by receiving the gift of his friendship. We can sometimes struggle to receive this gift of the Lord’s faithful love, just as at the Last Supper Peter struggled to allow Jesus to wash his feet. ‘Never’, he said, ‘you shall never wash my feet’. Yet, the Lord keeps offering us this gift in the hope we will receive it or, in the words of the gospel reading, that we will remain in his love, his friendship.

The Lord’s friendship is faithful, it remains, but he needs us to remain in his friendship, to remain in his love, if his friendship is to be fully alive in us. The primary way we remain in his loving friendship, Jesus says, is by allowing his faithful love to flow through us and embrace the lives of others. We are to love one another as he loves us, to find ways of befriending one another as he has befriended us. Jesus poured out on us the love he received from God his Father, and we are to pour out on others the love we receive from Jesus. When this happens, then our joy will be complete.

And/Or

(v) Sixth Sunday of Easter

The experience of being chosen by someone can be a very affirming one. At the heart of every true friendship between people is the choice that two people make to befriend each other. The choice has to be mutual if friendship is to happen. When the choice is one-sided rather than mutual, there can be heartbreak for the one who chooses but is not chosen in return. One of the really difficult experiences of life is that of choosing someone who does not reciprocate our choice, for whatever reason.

In the gospel reading today we find Jesus using this language of choice and friendship. He says to his disciples, ‘I chose you’; ‘I call you friends’. We can each hear those words as addressed to us personally. The disciples in John’s gospel represent us all, each one of us. When Jesus speaks of the greater love that leads him to lay down his life for his friends, we are all included among those friends. He has laid down his life for us all. Like St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians, we can each speak about ‘the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me’. In laying down his life for us on the cross, Jesus chose each of us; he called each of us his friend. His death loudly proclaimed the message, ‘You are my friends’. The Lord continues to make that same proclamation at every celebration of the Eucharist, because the Mass makes present the self-giving death of Jesus to every community that gathers. At this Mass, the Lord continues to address to us those same words that he addressed to his disciples at the last supper, ‘You are my friends’, ‘I chose you’. In our own lives to choose one person or several people means not choosing others. This is not the case with the Lord. He chooses each of us equally. As Peter says in the first reading, ‘God does not have favourites’.

If I choose someone as a friend, I long for that person to make a similar choice of me. In a similar way, the Lord’s choice of us seeks and desires our choice of him. He has chosen us first. As he said to his disciples in the gospel reading, ‘You did not choose me, no, I chose you’. But having chosen us, he waits for us to reciprocate that choice. A few chapters earlier in John’s gospel, at a time when many people were turning back from following Jesus because of his teaching, he turned to his disciples and said, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ This was the moment when Jesus was putting it up to them to reciprocate the choice he had made of them. At that highly charged moment, Peter came forward on behalf of them all and said, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the message of eternal life’. Peter, as spokesperson for the others, publicly declared his choice of Jesus.

There are moments in all our lives when we too are given an opportunity to declare our choice of the one who has chosen us. We can find ourselves at a variety of crossroads in life when we have some important decisions to make. Such crossroads are one opportunity to choose the Lord, to make the kind of decision that in is keeping with his values, his desire for our lives. Even the making of small decisions is an invitation to choose the Lord. The gospel reading this morning strongly suggests that our choice of the Lord is lived out in the way we relate to each other, in the way we love each other. Jesus calls on us to love one another as he has loved us. He asks us to befriend one another as he has befriended us. It is striking that he says love one another as I have loved you, and not love me as I have loved you. Our choice of the Lord becomes flesh in the way we relate to one another. We choose the Lord’s friendship by trying to befriend one other as he has befriended us.

Yet, before we can really make our choice of the Lord, we need to genuinely receive the Lord’s choice of us, and to rejoice in that choice. We need to let ourselves hear those words of the Lord, ‘I call you friends, I chose you’, as addressed to us, to me. Hearing those words and somehow experiencing the love they express is foundational on our life’s journey. It is the only foundation on which our choice of the Lord can rest. We believe that the Lord’s choice of us endures, even when we fail him. Peter made this discovery. When he reneged on his choice of the Lord and denied him three times, the risen Lord met him by the shore of the sea of Galilee and asked him one question, ‘Do you love me?’ This question was an opportunity for Peter to renew his choice. That same opportunity is repeatedly given to us throughout our lives. The Eucharist is one moment when that opportunity is given. At Mass we celebrate the Lord’s choice of us and we renew our choice of him as our way, our truth and our life.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[fr-martin-gospel-reflections]

5th May - ‘I call you friends’, Reflection on the readings for Sixth Sunday of Easter (John 15:9-17)

Sixth Sunday of Easter

One of the greatest gifts in life is friendship. The Book of Sirach in the Old Testament declares, ‘A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter: whoever has found one has found a treasure. There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend’. The image of a faithful friend as a sturdy shelter, as a treasure, rings true to all our experience. For many married people, their best friend is their spouse. All of us, hopefully, whether married or single, have a faithful friend, someone who loves us as we are, who listens to us when we need a listening ear, who stands by us in good times and in dark times. Each of us is probably such a friend to someone. It is difficult to get through life without the love of a friend.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says to his disciples, ‘I call you friends’. The disciples represent us all. What Jesus says to them, he says to each one of us. We probably have many images of Jesus. The image of Jesus in today’s gospel reading is that of a friend. He offers himself to us as a faithful friend. He says that he reveals his friendship for us in two ways. Friends trust one another enough to share what is deepest in their hearts. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says he has done just this with us all, ‘I have made know to you, everything I have learnt from my Father’. What was deepest in Jesus’ heart was his relationship with God, his Father, and he has shared that relationship with us. In the words of the second reading, he has revealed God to be Love. He hasn’t simply spoken to us about God’s love but has given expression to God’s love in his whole way of life and, especially, in his death. Like a trusting friend, Jesus has opened up his heart, God’s heart, to us. There is a second way in which Jesus says he reveals his friendship for us. A faithful friend will go the extra mile for us. They will make sacrifices for us, not because of some sense of duty, but just out of the love they have for us. They will stand by us to the end because it is what they want to do in their heart of hearts. Jesus has made the ultimate sacrifice for us. In the gospel reading he says, ‘A man can have no great love than to lay down his life for his friends’. Jesus revealed the depth of his friendship for us by laying down his life for us. His great mission in life was to reveal God’s love for us, and he was faithful to that mission even though he knew that it would cost him his life. In laying down his life for us, he showed the extent and depth of his friendship for us. This Sunday, we are invited to hear those words of Jesus as addressed to each of us personally, ‘I call you friends’. His friendship is his incredible gift to us, and it is a gift he will never take back. He is the ultimate and supreme ‘faithful friend’.

Jesus also says in the gospel reading that he has befriended us in this complete way, ‘so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete’. The gift of true friendship is a blessing which always brings us joy. A faithful friend is one of the great joys of life. Jesus himself knew the joy of God his Father’s friendship. By befriending us, he wants us to share in his joy. By loving us as God loves him, he wants us to know a joy that nothing in this world can give us, a joy that is complete. We can seek happiness in all kinds of places, but true joy, a joy that is deeply rooted and lasting, is found when we open ourselves up to the gift of the Lord’s faithful friendship. We will only fully experience the joy Jesus speaks about in eternal life when we will be fully opened up to his love, but here and now Jesus wants us to begin to experience this joy by receiving the gift of his friendship. We can sometimes struggle to receive this gift of the Lord’s faithful love, just as at the Last Supper Peter struggled to allow Jesus to wash his feet. ‘Never’, he said, ‘you shall never wash my feet’. Yet, the Lord keeps offering us this gift in the hope we will receive it or, in the words of the gospel reading, that we will remain in his love, his friendship.

The Lord’s friendship is faithful, it remains, but in today’s gospel reading he calls on us to remain in his friendship, to remain in his love. The primary way we remain in his loving friendship, Jesus says, is by allowing his faithful love to flow through us and to touch the lives of others. We are to love one another as he has loved us, to befriend one another as he has befriended us. Jesus poured out on us the love he received from God his Father, and he calls on us to pour out on others the love we receive from him. When this happens, then we will know something of Jesus’ own joy, the joy of eternal live.

[anastpaul]

One Minute Reflection – 8 February – Let your … lamps burn in your hands.”

One Minute Reflection – 8 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – St John of Matha (1160-1213) – Confessor, Priest, Founder – Sirach 31:8-11; Luke 12:35-40 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/ “Jesus said to His disciples: Let your … lamps burn in your hands.” – Luke 12:35 REFLECTION – “Prayer offered during the hours of night possess great power, even more than…

[superiorcatholicinspiration]

Study, Pray, Serve: The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Photo by Burkay Canatar on Pexels.com Here are some of the themes that we find in the Mass readings for the feast of the Holy Family. 1st Reading – Sirach 3:2-7,12-14 God sets a mother and father in authority over their children. God exhorts children to honor their parents, when they are frail and elderly. Psalm 128:1-5 “Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.” Those who…

[guiltywisdom]

Do you happen to know any short prayers similar to the Jesus prayer, to give thanks to God? I feel kinda awkward saying "Thank you Lord" or "Praise be to your name" over and over again

A form of the Jesus Prayer exists in the Bible as the prayer of the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14 so whenever I need certain prayers, after searching for Orthodox prayers, I usually turn there. Orthodox prayers are generally longer so I'm going to give you verses, the saints recommended such a thing!

I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth (Matthew 11:25 NRSV)

O God; I will render thank offerings to you. (Psalms 56:12 NRSV)

We thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:3 NRSV)

(Alternative version might be "We thank God, our Lord Jesus Christ")

I give you thanks, O Lord and King, and praise you, O God my Savior. I give thanks to your name (Sirach 51:1)

Shortening any of these will also work. Still though there's nothing wrong with "Praise the Lord" it's an old one but a good one.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

17th September >> Mass Readings (USA)

Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A 

(Liturgical Colour: Green: A (1))

First Reading Sirach 27:30—28:7 Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.

Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD? Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself, can he seek pardon for his own sins? If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins? Remember your last days, set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin! Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor; remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 103:1–2, 3–4, 9–10, 11–12

R/ The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

R/ The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

He pardons all your iniquities, heals all your ills, redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion.

R/ The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

He will not always chide, nor does he keep his wrath forever. Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes.

R/ The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us.

R/ The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

Second Reading Romans 14:7–9 Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

Brothers and sisters: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation John 13:34

Alleluia, alleluia. I give you a new commandment, says the Lord; love one another as I have loved you. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Matthew 18:21–35 I say to you, forgive not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[justana0kguy]

2022 AUGUST 28 Sunday

"My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.

Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.

What is too sublime for you, seek not, into things beyond your strength search not."

~ Sirach 3:17-18,20

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Tuesday, June 27, 2023

june 27_june14

THE HOLY PROPHET ELISHA/ELISEI ( 9 th.c. BC)

The Holy Prophet Elisha lived in the ninth century before the Birth of Christ and was a native of the village of Abelmaum, near Jordan. By the command of the Lord, he was called to prophetic service by the Holy Prophet Elias (July 20).

When it became time for the Prophet Elias to be taken up to Heaven, he said to Elisha, “Ask what shall I do for you before I am taken from you.” Elisha boldly asked for a double portion of the grace of God: “Let there be a double portion of your spirit upon me.” The Prophet Elias said, “You have asked a hard thing; if you see me when I am taken from you, then so shall it be for you; but if you do not see me, it will not be so” (4 [2] Kings 2: 10). As they went along the way talking, there appeared a fiery chariot and horses and separated them both. Elisha cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” (4 Kings 2: 12). Picking up the mantle of his teacher, which fell from the sky, Elisha received the power and prophetic gift of Elias. He spent over 65 years in predictive service under six Israelite kings (from Ahab to Joash). While Elisha lived, he did not tremble before any prince, and no word could overcome him (Sirach 48: 13 [“Sirach” is called “Ecclesiasticus” in Catholic Bibles ]).

The holy prophet worked numerous miracles. He divided the waters of the Jordan, having struck it with the mantle of the Prophet Elias; he made the waters of a Jericho spring fit for drinking; he saved the armies of the kings of Israel and Judah that stood in an arid wilderness by bringing forth abundant water by his prayer; he delivered a poor widow from death by starvation through a miraculous increase of oil in a vessel. This Shunamite woman showing hospitality to the prophet was gladdened by the birth of a son through his prayer, and when the child died, he was raised back to life by the prophet. The Syrian military-commander Namaan was healed from leprosy, but the prophet’s servant Gehazi was afflicted since he disobeyed the prophet and took money from Namaan.

Elisha predicted to the Israelite king Joash the victory over his enemies, and by the power of his prayer, he worked many other miracles (4 Kings 3-13). The holy Prophet Elisha died in old age at Samaria. “In his life, he worked miracles, and at death his works were marvellous” (Sir. 48: 15). A year after his death, a corpse was thrown into the prophet’s grave. As soon as the dead man touched Elisha’s bones, he came to life and stood up (4 Kings 13: 20-21). The Prophet Elisha and his teacher, the Prophet Elias, left no books behind them since their prophetic preaching was oral. Jesus, son of Sirach, praised both great prophets (Sir. 48:1-15).

John of Damascus composed a canon in honor of the Prophet Elisha, and at Constantinople, a church was built in his honor.

Julian the Apostate (361-363) gave orders to burn the relics of the Prophet Elisha, Abdia (Obadiah), and John the Forerunner. Still, the holy relics were preserved by believers, and part of them was transferred to Alexandria.

In the twentieth century, the humble priest Nicholas Planas had a great veneration for the Prophet Elisha and was worthy of seeing him in visions.

SAINT METHODIUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE (847)

Saint Methodius, Patriarch of Constantinople, was born in Sicily into a rich family. Having a vocation to serve God, he went to a monastery on the island of Chios while still in his youth and renovated it with his means. During the reign of the iconoclast Leo the Armenian (813-820), Methodius held the high position of “apokrisiaros” (“advocate for Church matters”) under the holy Patriarch Nikēphóros (June 2). He was dispatched by the patriarch to Rome on a mission to the papacy, and he remained there. During this period, Leo the Armenian removed Nikēphóros from the patriarchal throne and put on it the iconoclast Theodotus of Melissinea, given the nickname “Kassiter” (“Tinman”) (815-822). After the death of Leo the Armenian, Saint Methodius returned, and in the dignity of a presbyter, he struggled incessantly against the Iconoclast heresy.

The emperor Michael the Stammerer (820-829) was first noted for his benevolence, and he set free many imprisoned by his predecessor for their veneration of icons, but after a while, he renewed the persecution against Orthodoxy. Saint Methodius was locked up in prison in Akrita. After the death of Michael the Stammerer, the ruler was Theophilus (829-842), also an iconoclast. More refined a man than his father, he set free Saint Methodius, who likewise was a man of learning, superbly skilled in matters not only ecclesial but also civil. Having received his freedom, Saint Methodius renewed the struggle with the heretics, and for a while, the emperor tolerated this.

But after defeat in a war with the Arabs, Theophilus vented his anger against Methodius, saying that God had punished him because he had let an “icon-worshipper” come close to him. Methodius objected, saying that the Lord was angry with him for the insults upon His holy icons. They gave the saint over to torture, and struck him much about the face, from which his jaw was broken. Ugly scars remained on his face. Methodius was sent off to the island of Antigonos and locked up with two robbers in a deep cave. In this dark prison where the light of day did not penetrate, Methodius languished for 7 years until the death of the emperor Theophilus.

During this time, the holy Confessors Theodore and Theophanes the Branded (December 27), who had also been sent to prison, sent Methodius greetings in verse, and the prisoner replied with greetings in verse.

After the death of Theophilus, his son Michael III (842-867) began to rule, but not being of mature age, the Byzantine Empire was actually ruled by his mother, Empress Theodora, a venerater of icons.

The empress tried to extirpate the Iconoclast heresy and gave orders to free the confessors imprisoned for icon veneration. The heretic Annios occupying the patriarchal throne was banished, and Saint Methodius was chosen. At Constantinople was convened a local Council with Saint Methodius presiding (842). The Council restored icon veneration and established an annual celebration of the triumph of Orthodoxy. The “Synodikon of Orthodoxy” compiled by Saint Methodius is read on the First Sunday of Great Lent.

Attempting to undermine the authority of Saint Methodius and his flock's love and esteem for him, the heretics slandered him as having transgressed chastity. The slander was exposed as such, and the saint's enemies were put to shame. The final years of the saint passed peacefully; he toiled much, wisely guided the Church and his flock, renovated temples ruined by the heretics, gathered up the relics of saints scattered about by the heretics, and transferred the relics of Patriarch Nikēphóros from the place of his imprisonment back to Constantinople. Saint Methodius died in the year 846. He was spiritually close to Ioannikos (4 November), who foretold that he would become patriarch at the time of his death. Besides the “Synodikon of Orthodoxy,” the holy hierarch also compiled a rule for those converted to the Faith, three rites of marriage, and several pastoral sermons and church hymns.

Source: Orthodox Church in America_OCA

ROMANS 10:11-11:2

11 The Scripture says, "Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." 14 How shall they call on Him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "LORD, who has believed our report?" 17 So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 18, But I say, have they yet to hear? Yes indeed:"Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world." 19 But I say, did Israel not know? First, Moses says: "I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation." 20 But Isaiah boldly says:"I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me." 21 But to Israel, he says: "All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people."

1 I say, then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying,

[grandsouldream]

Readings for 28 August

28/08/2022

[angeltreasure]

Hi I have a couple genuine catholic questions that if you don't mind could you answer?

What bible do catholics use?

How do you know that the bible you use is the right one?

And why is the Latin mass in Latin?

Hi! No worries, I love questions. 😊 I am no scholar but I’ll try my best to answer.

What Bible do Catholics use?

The Bible Catholics use is called the canon. The Catholic canon contains a total of 73 books and letters vs the Protestant Bible which only has 66.

The canon Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, Sirach, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

If that’s a lot to process here is a photo to organize that:

The canon New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation.

How do you know that the Bible you use is the right one?

As Catholics, we know any Bible which contains any of the canon books is good to use but also be mindful of translations! For example, I personally stay away from ones that are harder to understand like King James and that one that Joyce Meyer sometimes uses called the Amplified Bible where it adds words that weren’t there before.

How did the canon come about? “In about 367 AD, St. Athanasius came up with a list of 73 books for the Bible that he believed to be divinely inspired. This list was finally approved by Pope Damasus I in 382 AD, and was formally approved by the Church Council of Rome in that same year. Later Councils at Hippo (393 AD) and Carthage (397 AD) ratified this list of 73 books. In 405 AD, Pope Innocent I wrote a letter to the Bishop of Toulouse reaffirming this canon of 73 books. In 419 AD, the Council of Carthage reaffirmed this list, to which Pope Boniface agreed. The Council of Trent, in 1546, reaffirmed St. Athanasius’s original list of 73 books.” In the 16th century, around the year 1517, Martin Luther established the Protestant reformation. Disliking some of the books found in the canon when creating his new concept of theology and Sola scriptura (meaning by scripture alone), Martin Luther took out Sirach, Wisdom, Tobit, 1 Maccabees, Judith, additions to Daniel, and Esther.

Sooo why do we have the canon as Catholics? Our Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

“105 God is the author of Sacred Scripture. “The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.” “For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself.” - #105, page 36. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition.

Catholicism is the original church established by Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost. I love the canon and tradition.

Why is the Latin Mass in Latin?

The Latin Mass is in the language of Latin for a few reason. Once widely spoken long ago, it is now a dead language. To this day it is still the official language of the Church. Using Latin preserves the Latin Rite’s words from being changed in error that we can find in changes to vernacular languages especially English. Here is a neat article if you want to read more about it.