4th Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Friday - Jesus gives Courage, Perseverance, and Refreshment

 If you were reading Mark’s Gospel from beginning to end, this long passage of John the Baptist’s martyrdom comes as a sort of unexpected interlude.  

But the interlude is not unrelated or thrown in their randomly. In the previous verses, The Lord sent out the Twelve apostles on a special mission to teach, and perform miracles, and cure the sick and drive out demons.  

And before we hear of their return and find out if they were successful or not, we get this lengthy account of dark powers conspiring against John. 

And by placing this story in the context of the disciples being sent out, to share in the Lord’s preaching of the Gospel, it is like Saint Mark saying, take courage Christians, do not be surprised when this happens to you.  It happened to John, it happened to Jesus, it will happen to the apostles, and every Christian.

Ordinary Time, is a call to make sure that we have the ordinary practices that will sustain our faith in times of persecution. When we face the Herods of the world in the course of our Gospel mission, we will need strong prayer lives, strong moral compasses, strong understanding of the faith. You’ll need to build up that sense of love for God and neighbor that will sustain you when things are the darkest.

For the daily mass reading for tomorrow, the disciples do return from their mission, and immediately the Lord tells them, “come away and rest awhile.” They’ll need to recharge from ministry. They’ll need to reflect on the lessons, the successes and failures. They’ll need to learn from their mistakes and build upon what worked well.

The mission of the Church is not for the faint of heart. We, missionary disciples, are hated even before we begin. But we are also loved by God. We face resistance from the Herod’s of the world, not to mention the fury of the devil and the weaknesses of our flesh. But we are sustained by the spirit. We grow weary in our work, but refreshed in the quiet of the Lord's presence.

May the Lord give us courage in our mission, perseverance and endurance when facing difficulties, and refreshment in those needed times of rest, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the bishops of the Church will act as true prophets through their faithful teaching, their courageous witness, and their self-sacrificing love. Let us pray to the Lord.

That government leaders around the world may carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for freedom and the dignity of human life.  Let us pray to the Lord.

For the grace to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, to love our neighbors and enemies and those who persecute us, and to share the truth of the Gospel with all.  Let us pray to the Lord.

For all those who share in the sufferings of Christ—the sick, the sorrowful, and those who are afflicted or burdened in any way, especially those effected by hurricanes and storms.  Let us pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased clergy and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. Let us pray to the Lord.

O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

February 05 2021 - St. Agatha - Chastity and Martyrdom

 Saint Agatha is one of the great virgin martyrs honored by the early Roman church. She was martyred in the brief but ferocious persecution of the emperor Decius, whose own reign lasted only two years, 249 to 251. Prior to Decius, much of the persecution, was local and sporadic throughout the empire, even with periods of general tolerance toward Christians. 

But, in 250 AD, Decius issued an imperial decree requiring all citizens of the empire to offer a sacrifice to the Roman Gods, renounce the Christian faith in front of a Roman official and obtain a certificate called a libellus proving they had done so. Many Christians publicly rejected their faith by offering the sacrifice; some bribed the public official to obtain the libellus.  

Saint Agatha was a beautiful Sicilian woman who had consecrated herself to Christ—to be His bride—to spend her life in his prayerful service and consecrated virginity.

When she refused the romantic advances of a pagan man, he turned her into the authorities. Since she would not offer the pagan sacrifice, she was imprisoned, tortured, and eventually killed. The popular legend states that her gruesome torture involved the cutting off of her breasts. St. Peter is said to have appeared to her and healed her wounds. She was then put over hot coals and roasted, but an earthquake saved her from the fire. 

For these reasons she is both patron saint of breast diseases and also invoked as a protector from fire, like volcanic eruptions in her native Sicily.

In the Gospel about the beheading of John the Baptist, we see the world’s hatred of the saints is nothing new. For speaking out against the corruption and sexual sins of the royal court of his day, John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. 

Throughout the ages, the Church has been hated for teaching God’s vision for marriage and sexuality and chastity. St. John the Baptist, St. Agnes, St. Anastasia, St. Lucy, St. Charles Lwanga, St. Maria Goretti in our own modern day, were killed for this reason. 

Christians today are surrounded by innumerable pressures to forsake the faith, to make compromises with the world, to embrace errors repugnant to the teachings of Christ. And in this increasingly perverse and degenerate age, it is likely the Church will be increasingly opposed and more ferociously mocked and attacked for teaching the Truth, even from within the ranks of the church, even perhaps by members of the hierarchy. But woe to the faithful if we flee from this task. For the Truth of the Gospel does not change, especially due to the whins of the world. For Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So we do well to increase our devotion to the great martyrs, that we may have the courage to witness clearly and teach clearly and embrace the inevitable sufferings that follow, that the power of Christ and the love of God may shine in our lives for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of February: for women who are victims of violence, that they may be protected by society and have their sufferings considered and heeded. Let us pray to the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Agatha and the holy virgin-martyrs, for an increase of reverence for the virtues of chastity, purity, and modesty and for greater respect for the dignity of the human body and all human life.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord