Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
feast of st. blaise-super bowl
Deuteronomy, Chapter 4, Verse 9-10
9
However, be on your guard and be very careful not to forget the
things your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart as long as
you live, but make them known to your children and to your children’s children, 10 that day you stood before
the LORD, your God, at Horeb, when the LORD said to me: Assemble the people for
me, that I may let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me as long as they live in the land and may so teach their
children.
Moses use of the word fear here not in the sense of “be
terrified,” but rather “manifest reverence or awe.” Christ’s mission of love
was to move our hearts from reverence or awe of pure love: A love in which the
heart of the beloved longs to do good works secretly in emulation of the God
that is good to saint and sinner alike. Our church often instructs us to
increase ourselves in Faith, Hope and Charity.
Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to
give and not to count the cost…to labor and not to ask for reward, except to
know that I am doing your will. (Saint Ignatius, Prayer for Generosity)
Lord, let me not fear death
with an empty fear, but with a wise
and holy fear. An empty fear does not make men any better, but a
wise and holy fear urges them to
improve their lives. I will prepare for death by trying today to please you
more and more in my thoughts, desires, words and actions. If I live this day as
You desire, I shall be ready at any moment, and death will be nothing worse
than Your loving call. Amen[1]
From a ship (typifying the Church), Christ
commands the winds and the sea
GOSPEL. Matt. viii. 23-27.
At that time, when Jesus entered into the boat, His disciples followed Him:
and behold a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with
waves, but He was asleep. And His disciples came to Him, and awakened Him, saying:
Lord, save us, we perish. And Jesus saith to them, why are you fearful, O ye of
little faith? Then rising up He com manded the winds, and the sea; and there
came a great calm. But the men wondered, saying, What manner of man is this,
for the winds and the sea obey Him?
Why did Jesus
sleep while a great tempest arose in the sea?
1. He thereby tested the faith of His disciples and
confirmed it by the miracle of their escape.
2. He, by this occasion, taught the just and pious
not to be scandalized or dis couraged if God should visit them with affliction,
such as sickness, poverty, or other miseries.
3. He teaches us also to seek refuge in Him and
encourages us to hope for help. Why did Our Saviour reprove His disciples?
Because they showed a want of faith and confidence. Ever had they been then drowned;
such a death would have been to them the entrance to eternal life. Cursed be
the man that trusteth in man, . . . but blessed be the man that trusteth in the
Lord” (Jer. xvii. 5, 7). Let us, therefore, in any adversity or danger be firm
in our belief that God cares for us and have confidence in Him and He will hear
our prayers, if it be for our good, as He quieted the wind and the sea with His
almighty word.
What can we
further learn from this gospel?
1. How willingly Jesus assists us.
2. That He will protect His Church in all storms
and persecutions, since He, the Almighty, is always with her.
3. How willingly we should follow Jesus, since even
the winds and waves obey Him.
4. That we should not look with indifference at the
wonders of God’s omnipotence and benevolence, but from them learn to raise our
thoughts in love to Him. For if those men wondered, saying, “Who is this? for
even the winds and the sea obey Him,” how much rather should we know and love
God from the innumerable miracles of His love and power.
Aspiration. Grant
us, O most benign Jesus, great confidence in Thy divine assistance whenever we
are in need and allow us not to be of little faith. Be our Saviour in the many
dangers that surround us ; make use of Thy omnipotence against our enemies;
command the impetuous winds and sea of persecution that they may be calm; and
give peace and quiet to Thy Church, which Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious
blood, that we may serve Thee in sanctity and justice, and come safely to the
wished-for haven of eternal happiness. Amen.
While he was in prison, the Armenian Bishop
Blaise (who suffered martyrdom in the fourth century) miraculously cured a
little boy choking on a fishbone lodged in his throat. Ever since then, St.
Blaise has been the patron saint of throats. Saint Blaise Sticks
(pan bendito) are distributed on his feast and kept in the home to
be eaten for a sore throat. The most popular custom, however, is the Blessing
of Throats.
Blessing of throats[4]
The rite of the blessing of throats may
take place before or after Mass. The priest or deacon places the candles around
the throat of whoever seeks the blessing, using the formula: "Through the
intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you free from
every disease of the throat, and from every other disease. In the name of the
Father and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. R. Amen."
Things
to Do
·
Take
your children to Mass to receive the blessing of throats today.
·
Establish
a home altar with the blessed candles (symbols of Saint Blaise) from the feast
of the Presentation, February 2.
Political Football[5]
WASHINGTON—Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of
Kansas City, KS and Chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life
Activities has issued the following statement in response to several states
moving forward with legislation that would permit a baby to be aborted at nine
months.
Archbishop Naumann’s full statement
follows:
“Abortion has always been built on a lie.
Today, the lie is switching from 'abortion is a choice' to 'abortion is
healthcare.' A law recently passed in New York not only legalizes abortion
essentially for any reason through all nine months of pregnancy but removes any
protection for children born alive after abortion. A similar bill was proposed
in Virginia along with several other states, all in the name of women’s
health.
This legislation is evil, pure and simple.
And it shocks the conscience to see such evil legislation greeted with raucous
cheers and standing ovations. Most grieving to our Lord of Life is that those
who advocate for abortion put their eternal souls in jeopardy.
It is sickeningly dishonest to claim that
women’s lives or health depend on intentionally killing their children. This is
especially true for late-term abortion, which always involves the purposeful
destruction of a child which could have been born alive, with much less risk to
the mother, had they both received real healthcare.
Now is the time for all Catholics—bishops,
priests, and laity—to fight for the unborn with renewed vigor. We must educate
family, friends, legislators, and fellow citizens about how it is never
necessary to intentionally kill unborn children in order to save their mothers.
Local action is especially important. Though ending Roe v. Wade is a central
goal of the pro-life movement, if the decision were overturned, only eleven
states would immediately ban abortion; the other thirty-nine states would still
allow it.
I urge Catholics, and thoughtful Americans
of all religions or none at all to advocate for local change. Sign up for your
State Catholic Conference or diocesan pro-life advocacy network, which can help
you communicate to elected officials. Or seek out state and local pro-life
groups, including parish respect life groups, that are making a difference at
the state level.
Though we live in very dark days, we know
that the Lord has already triumphed over death. But we must use this time on
earth to be His hands and feet. This means each of us rededicating ourselves to
prayer, and fighting for the most vulnerable among us, especially unborn
children and their mothers.”
The Super Bowl is the season final
championship game of National Football League (NFL) in the United States of
America. The matchup for this game is the winning teams of the National
Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).
Super Bowl 1 was held in February of 1967. The 2016 game was Super Bowl
50. The Super Bowl is one of the most watched television events in the United
States. Nielsen Media Research, in had over 114.4 million viewers in 2015.
It is held on the first Sunday in February.
Super Bowl Facts
·
Super
Bowl Sunday is the second biggest eating day of the year - after Thanksgiving.
According to the National Chicken Council, in 2015 a total of 1.25
million chicken wings were eaten during the game.
·
The
winner receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Vince Lombardi was the coach
for the Green Bay Packers who won the first two Super Bowls back-to-back.
·
The
record for the most points scored by a single team during a Super Bowl, is held
by San Francisco. San Francisco scored a total of 55 points against
Denver in Super Bowl XXIV.
Super Bowl Top Events and
Things to Do
·
Attend
the Super Bowl. You can purchase second-hand tickets through various
online marketplaces. According to Seat Geek, the average price for a ticket in
2015 was $2,670.
·
Have
a Super Bowl party with friends and family.
·
Organize
or purchase boxes in a football pool. A football pool is a table that
contains all of the score combinations based on the last digit of each team’s
score. The score numbers are drawn at random after all boxes are
assigned. Because of this, the odds of winning are the same regardless of
each participant’s knowledge of the game.
·
Watch
the Super Bowl commercials. Commercials for the big game are the most
expensive on TV and for many, more entertaining than the game.
·
Make
guacamole. This is the quintessential (and healthy!) super bowl dip.
The
Way[7]
Penance
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
Say to your body: I would
rather keep you in slavery than be myself a slave of yours.
Daily Devotions
[1]
Paone, Anthony J., S.J. My Daily Bread, Confraternity of the Precious Blood.
[2]Goffine’s
Devout Instructions, 1896
[5]http://www.usccb.org/news/2019/19-026.cfm
[6]http://www.wincalendar.com/Super-Bowl
[7]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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