DAILY MASS READING

Saturday, January 14, 2012
Saturday Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary     

FIRST READING 

1 Samuel 9: 1 - 4, 17 – 19

1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abi'el, son of Zeror, son of Beco'rath, son of Aphi'ah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth; 2 and he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; from his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. 3 Now the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, "Take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the asses." 4 And they passed through the hill country of E'phraim and passed through the land of Shal'ishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Sha'alim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

17 When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, "Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall rule over my people." 18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate, and said, "Tell me where is the house of the seer?" 19 Samuel answered Saul, "I am the seer; go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind.  

PSALM RESPONSE

Psalms 21: 2 – 7

2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withheld the request of his lips. [Selah] 3 For thou dost meet him with goodly blessings; thou dost set a crown of fine gold upon his head. 4 He asked life of thee; thou gavest it to him, length of days for ever and ever. 5 His glory is great through thy help; splendor and majesty thou dost bestow upon him. 6 Yea, thou dost make him most blessed for ever; thou dost make him glad with the joy of thy presence. 7 For the king trusts in the LORD; and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved. 

GOSPEL

Mark 2: 13 – 17 

13 He went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about him, and he taught them. 14 And as he passed on, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. 15 And as he sat at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

 

Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and a door round about my lips: That my heart may not incline to evil words, and seek excuses in sins. -- Psalm cxl. 3,4 

http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/inspiration_01jan2012.asp#ixzz1iEQGK4Ae 

Mark 2: 17…"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

Pray that the Lord will help us become more like Him. To reach out to those who are lost and bring the light of salvation , Jesus the word, who will heal the brokenness of their hearts of men. 

Paul – 1 Cor. 9:20-22

The Lord knows also where your lost loved ones are and what it will take to reach them.   Keep praying, keep witnessing and keep believing! God will make a way where there seems to be no way . In His time, and in His Own way, He will touch them for His glory!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zo3fJYtS-o

DAILY MASS READING

from: servicioskoinonia.org

Friday, January 13, 2012
Weekday    

FIRST READING

1 Samuel 8: 4 - 7, 10 – 22 

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint for us a king to govern us like all the nations." 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to govern us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, "Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 

10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking a king from him. 11 He said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12 and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your menservants and maidservants, and the best of your cattle and your asses, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No! but we will have a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles." 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. 22 And the LORD said to Samuel, "Hearken to their voice, and make them a king." Samuel then said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city." 

PSALM RESPONSE

Psalms 89: 16 – 19 

16 who exult in thy name all the day, and extol thy righteousness. 17 For thou art the glory of their strength; by thy favor our horn is exalted. 18 For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel. 19 Of old thou didst speak in a vision to thy faithful one, and say: "I have set the crown upon one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people 

GOSPEL

Mark 2: 1 – 12 

1 And when he returned to Caper'na-um after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 "Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Rise, take up your pallet and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" -- he said to the paralytic -- 11 "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." 12 And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

Regarding Baptism, baptize as follows: after first explaining all these points, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of hte Holy Spirit, in running water.

                                                         -- The Didache 7:1  

  http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/inspiration.asp#ixzz1iwSQrqSO

Isaiah 43:25, "I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins."

Mark 2:10 But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"

Why Catholics confess to a priest?

Only God can forgive sins. Christ who came from God and who is God Himself has this authority which he exercised while he was here in this world.(Mat.9:5-8, Mk2:8 -11) Apostles can forgive sins as Jesus  conferred this authority to forgive sins, to his apostles . Jn 20: 22ff “ He breathed  on them and said ‘Receive the Holy Spirit , if you forgive  sins of any, they are forgiven , if  you retain the  sins of any , they are retained”

The church upon Peter has the power  to forgive sins as it is given to her by the Master Jesus. “ And I say to you, you are Peter  and upon this rock I will build  my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it . I will give you the key of the Kingdom of heaven . Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever  you loose on earth shall be loosed  in heaven     ( Mt 16:17 – 19 ). So we can ask pardon to the Church  as it has the authority to forgive sins.

This authority to forgive sins , which is given to the Church , in the confessional  or in the Sacrament of  Reconciliation was exercised by the apostles  and was transferred to their  legitimate successors through the imposition  of hands. Bible clarifies it: “ And all this  is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and given  us the ministry  of reconciliation  . God was reconciling  the world to himself in Christ…So we are the ambassadors for Christ, as If God is appealing through us” (11Cor5:18f)

‘Confess directly to God only ', is an anti- Christ teaching, just to destroy the salvific  plan of Jesus  and which is  written nowhere in the Bible. When the  prodigal son repented, he confessed to God and at the same time  he confessed to his father: ”Father I have sinned against heaven and against you”(Lk15: 18 ) Bible questions ‘Confess directly to God theory’ in St. James letter: Therefore ,confess your sins to one another”(James 5: 14-16)

When we commit sin, we sinned against God  and against society, as we are the members of same body, the Church. So it becomes the proper  way to get forgiveness ,to ask pardon to God and to the Church. Priest in the confession is the representative of the Church, the body of Jesus ( the ambassador of Christ(II Cor 5: 18 ) who is validly   Ordained by the successors of the apostles, and who  has the authority to forgive sins

No Catholic can  make a valid confession, the sacrament  of reconciliation, without directly  confessing to God first. It is only after  asking pardon to God, and repenting about his sins, the catholic goes to a priest .

Cited from:Fr.Paul Kaiparambadan                             

KNOW THE  TRUTH

A publication to defend the Catholic faith.

DAILY MASS READING

from:catholicnotebook.blogspot.com 

Thursday, January 12, 2012
St. Bernard of Corleone, Religious (Memorial)
 

FIRST READING

1 Samuel 4: 1 - 11

1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines; they encamped at Ebene'zer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who slew about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3 And when the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, that he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies." 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phin'ehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 When the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, "What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" And when they learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid; for they said, "A god has come into the camp." And they said, "Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9 Take courage, and acquit yourselves like men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; acquit yourselves like men and fight." 10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home; and there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 And the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phin'ehas, were slain

PSALM RESPONSE

Psalms 44: 10 - 11, 14 - 15, 24 - 25

10 Thou hast made us turn back from the foe; and our enemies have gotten spoil. 11 Thou hast made us like sheep for slaughter, and hast scattered us among the nations. 

14 Thou hast made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. 15 All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face, 

24 Why dost thou hide thy face? Why dost thou forget our affliction and oppression? 25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our body cleaves to the ground.

GOSPEL

Mark 1: 40 - 45

40 And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Attempts to be virtuous that are joined to disobedience to the will of God, no matter how good they may appear, will actually work for our damnation.-- St. Thomas More

Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/inspiration.asp#ixzz1iwReslos

 When you realize that you are nothing in yourself, but a helpless person, who desperately needs a Savior, you belong to the Kingdom of God.

DAILY MASS READING

Bible Reading

Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Weekday

FIRST READING

 
1 Samuel 3: 1 - 10, 19 - 20 

1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down within the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" 5 and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down. 6 And the LORD called again, "Samuel!" And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, `Speak, LORD, for thy servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the LORD came and stood forth, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for thy servant hears." 

 
19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD. 

PSALM RESPONSE

Psalms 40: 2, 5, 7 - 10 

2 He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 

5 Thou hast multiplied, O LORD my God, thy wondrous deeds and thy thoughts toward us; none can compare with thee! Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be numbered. 

7 Then I said, "Lo, I come; in the roll of the book it is written of me; 8 I delight to do thy will, O my God; thy law is within my heart." 9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; lo, I have not restrained my lips, as thou knowest, O LORD. 10 I have not hid thy saving help within my heart, I have spoken of thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness from the great congregation. 

GOSPEL  

Mark 1: 29 – 39 

29 And immediately he left the synagogue, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30Now Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told him of her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she served them. 32 That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together about the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. 35 And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him pursued him, 37 and they found him and said to him, "Every one is searching for you." 38 And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out." 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

We must show charity towards the sick, who are in greater need of help. Let us take them some small gift if they are poor, or, at least let us go and wait on them and comfort them.

 -- St. Alphonsus Liguori

Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/inspiration.asp#ixzz1iwPyiQFN

            1Co 7:1-2,9            

Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: [It is] 

good for a man not to touch a woman. 

Nevertheless, [to avoid] fornication, let every man have 

his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better 

to marry than to burn.

1Co 6:9-11,18-20 

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the 

kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor 

idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of 

themselves with mankind,19 Do you not know that your bodies 

are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you,whom you 

have received from God? You are not your own;20 you were 

bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 

1Co 7:32-35 

32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried 

man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please

 the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the 

affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and 

his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is 

concerned about the Lord’s affairs:Her aim is to be 

devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a 

married woman is concerned about the affairs of this 

world—how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying 

this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you 

may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

Mk 10:29-30 

 29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has 

left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or 

children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to 

receive a hundred times as much in this present age: 

homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and 

fields—along with persecutions—andin the age to come 

eternal life.

 "Peter was married.That Peter had a mother-in-law "  
                                                                                                                                  

 Why Priests Don’t  marry?

Clerical celibacy of a Catholic priest is considered by non Catholic as , “Rules of Satan.” As sexual issues are getting more media attraction, even a simple human failure, is much exaggerated and propagated by anti-church elements to prove it as ‘impractical’. Admitting the fact that this life style may seem to be impractical in a sexually liberated world, the church never made as amendment in it, as it is a biblical way of following Jesus. Priests are called to follow not only what Jesus said, but how he lived. Jesus himself was celibate. He even asked his disciples to accept it as for the sake of Kingdome of heaven:

Mtt19:12 “Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so… some because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.” Jesus calls this heroic virtue as ‘gift’ from God (Mt19:11).     

Mt 10:37 “Whoever loves father, mother … son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.’ This is explained by St. Paul as “an unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, but a married man is anxious about the things of this world, how to please his wife and he is divided” 
(1cor7:32-34)                                                                                                                                    
 So Paul led a life of celibacy and advised: “I say this by way of concession not as a command. Indeed I wish everyone to be as I am, but each has a particular gift from God, one of one kind and one of another” (1Cor7:6-7). If celibacy is the ‘rule of Satan’ why Jesus, Mary and apostles followed it? Are they advising us to follows Satan?

In the Catholic Church law of celibacy is a disciplinary law, not an infallible dogma.So some pastors who are converted from Episcopalian Churches and some protestant groups are allowed to lead a marital life in America. Greek Byzantine church, Syro-Malankara Church in India, which are all under the Catholic Church, have married priests.

CITED FROM: Fr.Paul Kaiparambadan                                

KNOW THE  TRUTH
A publication to defend the Catholic faith.