Sunday, January 19, 2020
Second Sunday After Epiphany
Sirach, Chapter 1, Verse 27-30
For the fear of the Lord is wisdom
and discipline; faithfulness and humility are his delight. 28 Do not disobey the fear
of the Lord, do not approach it with duplicity of heart. 29 Do not be a hypocrite before
others; over your lips keep watch. 30 Do not exalt yourself lest
you fall and bring dishonor upon yourself; for then the Lord will reveal your
secrets and cast you down in the midst of the assembly. Because you did not
approach the fear of the Lord, and your heart was full of deceit.
Ben Sira uses
the expression “fear of the Lord” twelve times and the noun “wisdom” seven
times to emphasize the connection between the two ideas. He describes the
blessings that come to those who fear the Lord, i.e., those who practice true
religion by loving and serving God and keeping the Law. Attempting to serve the
Lord with duplicity of heart is hypocrisy and self-exaltation, deserving of
public disgrace.[1]
Christ manifests His
divinity and His mystical union with the Church with His first miracle at the
Wedding of Cana.
THE Introit the Church invites us to thank God for the incarnation of
His only begotten Son: “Let all the earth adore Thee, and sing to Thee, O God;
let it sing a psalm to Thy name, shout with joy to God, all the earth, sing ye
a psalm to His name, give glory to His praise”.
Prayer.
Almighty and everlasting God, “Who dost govern all things in heaven and
on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Thy people, and grant us Thy peace in
our days.”. Amen.
EPISTLE.
Rom. xii. 6-16.
Brethren:
We have different gifts, according to the grace that is given us :
either prophecy, to be used according to the rule of faith, or ministry in
ministering, or he that teacheth in doctrine, he that exhorteth in exhorting,
he that giveth with simplicity, he that ruleth with carefulness, he that
showeth mercy with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Hating that
which is evil, cleaving to that which is good: loving one another with the
charity of brotherhood: with honor preventing one another: in carefulness not
slothful: in spirit fervent: serving the Lord: rejoicing in hope: patient in
tribulation: instant in prayer; communicating to the necessities of the saints:
pursuing hospitality. Bless them that persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Rejoice with them that rejoice, weep with them that weep: being of one mind one
towards another: not minding high things, but consenting to the humble. Be not
wise in your own conceits.
What lesson does the Apostle give us in this epistle?
That we should hate that which is evil, and love that which is good;
that we should love one another, and practice works of mercy; that we should be
solicitous and fervent, as in the service of God. We should cooperate with the
grace of God, and pray instantly.
PRACTICAL
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUPERIORS.
They must expect a severe judgment who seek office only for the sake of
emolument, caring little for their duty, and regarding bribes and presents
rather than justice.
Aspiration.
O God, give us Thy grace to follow faithfully what St. Paul teaches us
of humility and charity, that we may have compassion on all who are in need,
and not exalt ourselves above our neighbors, but, humbling ourselves with the
humble, may merit, with them, to be exalted. Amen.
GOSPEL.
John ii. 1-11
At that time there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee,
and the Mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and His
disciples, to the marriage. And the wine failing, the Mother of Jesus saith to
Him: They have no wine. And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is to Me and to
thee? My hour is not yet come. His Mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever He
shall say to you, do ye. Now there were set there six water-pots of stone,
according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures
apiece. Jesus saith to them: Fill the water-pots with water. And they filled
them up to the brim. And Jesus saith to them: Draw out now and carry to the
chief steward of the feast. And they carried it. And when the chief steward had
tasted the water made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the waiters knew
who had drawn the water: the chief steward calleth the bridegroom, and saith to
him: Every man at first setteth forth good wine, and when men have well drank,
then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This
beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory,
and His disciples believed in Him.
Why was Jesus present
at the wedding with His Mother and disciples?
1. In order there to reveal His majesty, and by that
means to establish and confirm the belief in His divinity.
2. To show that marriage is pleasing to God.
3. To let us understand how pious the bridegroom and
bride were. 4. To teach us that those pleasures are permitted which are in accordance
with reason and Christianity, and neither sinful nor leading to sin.
Why did Mary
intercede for the bride and bridegroom when the wine was failing? She was sorry for them, for she is
the tender-hearted mediatrix of the afflicted and destitute. Besides, the
number of the guests had been considerably increased by the presence of Jesus
and His disciples, so that the wine was not sufficient for all.
What is the meaning of the words, “Woman,
what is that to Me and to thee?” According to the idiom of the Hebrew
language, they mean as much as, Mother, be not anxious; I will provide the wine
as soon as the hour appointed by My Father is come. Jesus did not mean to rebuke
His Mother, but He thus gave her and all who were present, to understand that
He had not received the power of working miracles as the son of woman, but that
He possessed it as the Son of God and should use it according to the will of
His Father.
History-Pope St. Pius V
formed the original Holy League in response to the dire situation in which
Christian Europe found itself in 1571. Small bands of Catholic men and remnant
armies from various nations came together under the spiritual leadership of the
saintly pontiff and the military leadership of Don John of Austria. By prayer
and fasting, they implored the help of God’s grace, through the intercession of
the Mother of God, and, by the grace of Almighty God, on October 7, 1571, at
the Battle of Lepanto, the Christian fleet won a crushing victory over the
Ottoman Turks, saving Christendom and western civilization.
The Battle Today
At
this particular moment in time, the Church finds itself in a similar situation
to that of the Church in the late Sixteenth Century. However, instead of a
physical enemy on the horizon, the Church and the family (the domestic Church)
are threatened daily by relativism, secularism, impurity, and confusion
regarding Church teaching. The battle today “is not against human forces but
against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness,
the evil spirits in the heavens” (Ephesians 6: 10-12). To combat the forces of
evil in today’s society, the Holy League strives to call men back to the state
of grace and to transforming the culture through prayer.” The Holy League, in
fidelity to its mission as a Roman Catholic solidarity movement:
·
Provides a Holy Hour format which incorporates
Eucharistic adoration, prayer, short spiritual reflections, the availability of
the Sacrament of Confession, Benediction and fraternity;
·
Encourages consecration to the Most Sacred Heart of
Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Purest Heart of Joseph;
·
Promotes the Precepts and Sacraments of the
Church; especially through devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament and the
praying of the Most Holy Rosary;
·
Creates a unified front, made up of members of
the Church Militant, for spiritual combat;
·
Strives to have a regular monthly Holy League
Holy Hour available to men in every Roman Catholic parish.
Holy League Vision
The
Vision of the Holy League is to develop a network of parish based regular
monthly Holy Hours with confession and fraternity for men.
Our Mission
The
Holy League, in a Spirit of Marian Chivalry, under the patronage of Our Lady of
Guadalupe and Saint Joseph, seeks to provide opportunities for the faithful to
unite in prayer, especially monthly Eucharistic Holy Hours, for purification
from sin and predisposition to Supernatural Grace for the fuller exercise of
the threefold offices of Priest, Prophet, and King received at Baptism. The
particular prayer of the Holy League is the monthly Eucharistic Holy Hour.
Daily
Devotions
·
Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving
your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after SUNSET ON SATURDAY till Monday.
Don’t forget the internet.
Comments
Post a Comment