One Walk

Dear Lord God, today’s readings are filled words of wisdom for those seeking to be in Your presence; but the words of Jesus to St Margaret convict me. For I was and am capable of such ingratitude and now like St Paul am only able to be what I am now by the grace of You my Lord God. I must be on constant guard or I stumble backwards. Only You my Lord God can put my feet on firm ground. Only through Jesus will I find what I desire and need to be what I know You meant and want me to be. So as I have said many times ‘I die to myself, my selfishness, my pride, my ambitiousness’; I ask Your forgiveness and I seek Your image through the fruit of the Spirit, for I know that it is only through and within the blessed Trinity of You the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit that I can discipline my body and control my spirit, eliminating anger and harshness from my being while under the sun. So this is my request this day Lord God, help me! I know I am as close and as I am far away, but You can through the Spirit and the teachings of Jesus can purify and purge me of what holds me back. This I ask and pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this Sacrament of love… I come into the heart I have given you in order that through your fervor you may atone for the offenses which I have received from lukewarm and slothful hearts that dishonor me in the Blessed Sacrament.

— Third apparition of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Tobit 12:1, 5-15, 20

1 Tobit then called his son Tobias and said to him, "My son, see to the wages of the man who went with you; and he must also be given more." 5 So he called the angel and said to him, "Take half of all that you two have brought back." 6 Then the angel called the two of them privately and said to them: "Praise God and give thanks to him; exalt him and give thanks to him in the presence of all the living for what he has done for you. It is good to praise God and to exalt his name, worthily declaring the works of God. Do not be slow to give him thanks. 7 It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God. Do good, and evil will not overtake you. 8 Prayer is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold. 9 For almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin. Those who perform deeds of charity and of righteousness will have fulness of life; 10 but those who commit sin are the enemies of their own lives. 11 "I will not conceal anything from you. I have said, `It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God.’ 12 And so, when you and your daughter-in-law Sarah prayed, I brought a reminder of your prayer before the Holy One; and when you buried the dead, I was likewise present with you. 13 When you did not hesitate to rise and leave your dinner in order to go and lay out the dead, your good deed was not hidden from me, but I was with you. 14 So now God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One." 20 And now give thanks to God, for I am ascending to him who sent me. Write in a book everything that has happened."

Bible Study: [1] (1-5) Tobit and his son generously agree to give Azariah far more than the wages agreed upon in Tobit 5:15-16. [6] (6-10) In the fashion of a wisdom teacher, Raphael gives the two men a short exhortation similar to the one Tobit gave his son in Tobit 4:3-19. [6] (6-7) The Jews considered the duty of praising God their most esteemed privilege. Without praise of God, life was meaningless. Cf Isaiah 38:16-20. [8] Prayer . . . fasting . . . almsgiving . . . righteousness: these, together with the proper attitude toward wealth, are treated in great detail by Christ our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6). 9 for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life; [12] (12,15) Raphael is one of the seven specially designated intercessors who present man’s prayers to God. Angelology was developing in this period. The names of two other angels are given in the Bible: Gabriel (Daniel 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26) and Michael (Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 1:9; Rev 12:7). [14] I was sent . . . test: God often sends trials to purify his faithful servants further. Cf Job 1-2.

Tobit 13:2, 6-8

2 For he afflicts, and he shows mercy; he leads down to Hades, and brings up again, and there is no one who can escape his hand. 6 If you turn to him with all your heart and with all your soul, to do what is true before him, then he will turn to you and will not hide his face from you. But see what he will do with you; give thanks to him with your full voice. Praise the Lord of righteousness, and exalt the King of the ages. I give him thanks in the land of my captivity, and I show his power and majesty to a nation of sinners. Turn back, you sinners, and do right before him; who knows if he will accept you and have mercy on you? 7 I exalt my God; my soul exalts the King of heaven, and will rejoice in his majesty. 8 Let all men speak, and give him thanks in Jerusalem.

Bible Study: [1] (1-18) Tobit’s hymn of praise (cf Exodus 15:1-18; Judith 16:1-17) is divided into two parts. The first part (Tobit 13:1-8) is a song of praise that echoes themes from the hymns and psalms of the kingdom; the second (Tobit 13:9-18) is addressed to Jerusalem in the style of the prophets who spoke of a new and ideal Jerusalem (Isaiah 60); cf Rev 21.

Mark 12:38-44

38 And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places 39 and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." 41 And he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living."

Bible Study: [38-40] See the notes on Mark 7:1-23 and Matthew 23:1-39.

[1-23] See the note on Matthew 15:1-20. Against the Pharisees’ narrow, legalistic, and external practices of piety in matters of purification (Mark 7:2-5), external worship (Mark 7:6-7), and observance of commandments, Jesus sets in opposition the true moral intent of the divine law (Mark 7:8-13). But he goes beyond contrasting the law and Pharisaic interpretation of it. The parable of Mark 7:14-15 in effect sets aside the law itself in respect to clean and unclean food. He thereby opens the way for unity between Jew and Gentile in the kingdom of God, intimated by Jesus’ departure for pagan territory beyond Galilee. For similar contrast see Mark 2:1-3:6; 3:20-35; 6:1-6.

[1-39] The final section of the narrative part of the fifth book of the gospel is a denunciation by Jesus of the scribes and the Pharisees (see the note on Matthew 3:7). It depends in part on Mark and Q (cf Mark 12:38-39; Luke 11:37-52; 13:34-35), but in the main it is peculiar to Matthew. (For the reasons against considering this extensive body of sayings- material either as one of the structural discourses of this gospel or as part of the one that follows in Matthew 24-25, see the note on Matthew 19:1-23:39.) While the tradition of a deep opposition between Jesus and the Pharisees is well founded, this speech reflects an opposition that goes beyond that of Jesus’ ministry and must be seen as expressing the bitter conflict between Pharisaic Judaism and the church of Matthew at the time when the gospel was composed. The complaint often made that the speech ignores the positive qualities of Pharisaism and of its better representatives is true, but the complaint overlooks the circumstances that gave rise to the invective. Nor is the speech purely anti-Pharisaic. The evangelist discerns in his church many of the same faults that he finds in its opponents and warns his fellow Christians to look to their own conduct and attitudes.

                  [41-44] See the note on Luke 21:1-4.

[1-4] The widow is another example of the poor ones in this gospel whose detachment from material possessions and dependence on God leads to their blessedness (Luke 6:20). Her simple offering provides a striking contrast to the pride and pretentiousness of the scribes denounced in the preceding section (Luke 20:45-47). The story is taken from Mark 12:41-44.

/      raangulo

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Dear Lord God, I listen to the book The Hidden Gospels over and over these days; I think and meditate on the authors interpretation of Jesus’ Beatitudes in Aramaic. I listen with the attentiveness of a little child hoping to be closer to my Lord Jesus through the words that He spoke, just as He spoke them. I contemplate on all the secrets within all Your creations, and I think that Your Kingdom really is in each of us, waiting for us to choose; to we keep looking out, or do we start to look within. As we begin that journey within, how do we exist under the sun, how to we practice being in constant Your presence. O Lord I know You have the answers and believe Jesus is the way, that through the Spirit within and around me You will help me find what I seek, and You will give me what I ask; not in the ways under the sun, but within the ways of Your Kingdom that lies within. In the name of Jesus I ask You to take my hand and guide me out of these turbulent waters, Amen.

That hope is deceitful which hopes to be saved amid the occasions of sin.

— St. Augustine

Tobit 11:5-17

5 Now Anna sat looking intently down the road for her son. 6 And she caught sight of him coming, and said to his father, "Behold, your son is coming, and so is the man who went with him!" 7 Raphael said, "I know, Tobias, that your father will open his eyes. 8 You therefore must anoint his eyes with the gall; and when they smart he will rub them, and will cause the white films to fall away, and he will see you." 9 Then Anna ran to meet them, and embraced her son, and said to him, "I have seen you, my child; now I am ready to die." And they both wept. 10 Tobit started toward the door, and stumbled. But his son ran to him 11 and took hold of his father, and he sprinkled the gall upon his father’s eyes, saying, "Be of good cheer, father." 12 And when his eyes began to smart he rubbed them, 13 and the white films scaled off from the corners of his eyes. 14 Then he saw his son and embraced him, and he wept and said, "Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever, and blessed are all thy holy angels. 15 For thou hast afflicted me, but thou hast had mercy upon me; here I see my son Tobias!" And his son went in rejoicing, and he reported to his father the great things that had happened to him in Media. 16 Then Tobit went out to meet his daughter-in-law at the gate of Nineveh, rejoicing and praising God. Those who saw him as he went were amazed because he could see. 17 And Tobit gave thanks before them that God had been merciful to him. When Tobit came near to Sarah his daughter-in-law, he blessed her, saying, "Welcome, daughter! Blessed is God who has brought you to us, and blessed are your father and your mother." So there was rejoicing among all his brethren in Nineveh.

Psalm 146:1-2, 6-10

1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! 2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have being. 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith for ever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; 8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. 9 The LORD watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10 The LORD will reign for ever, thy God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

Bible Study: [Psalm 146] A hymn of someone who has learned there is no other source of strength except the merciful God. Only God, not mortal humans (Psalm 146:3-4), can help vulnerable and oppressed people (Psalm 146:5-9). The first of the five hymns that conclude the Psalter.

Mark 12:35-37

35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared, `The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I put thy enemies under thy feet.’ 37 David himself calls him Lord; so how is he his son?" And the great throng heard him gladly.

Bible Study: [35-37] Jesus questions the claim of the scribes about the Davidic descent of the Messiah, not to deny it (Matthew 1:1; Acts 2:20, 34; Romans 1:3; 2 Tim 2:8) but to imply that he is more than this. His superiority derives from his transcendent origin, to which David himself attested when he spoke of the Messiah with the name "Lord" (Ps 110, 1). See also the note on Matthew 22:41-46.[[41] The Pharisees . . . questioned them: Mark is not specific about who are questioned (Mark 12:35). [42-44] David’s: this view of the Pharisees was based on such Old Testament texts as Isaiah 11:1-9; Jeremiah 23:5; and Ezekiel 34:23; see also the extrabiblical Psalms of Solomon Psalm 17:21. How, then . . . saying: Jesus cites Psalm 110:1 accepting the Davidic authorship of the psalm, a common view of his time. The psalm was probably composed for the enthronement of a Davidic king of Judah. Matthew assumes that the Pharisees interpret it as referring to the Messiah, although there is no clear evidence that it was so interpreted in the Judaism of Jesus’ time. It was widely used in the early church as referring to the exaltation of the risen Jesus. My lord: understood as the Messiah. [45] Since Matthew presents Jesus both as Messiah (Matthew 16:16) and as Son of David (Matthew 1:1; see also the note on Matthew 9:27), the question is not meant to imply Jesus’ denial of Davidic sonship. It probably means that although he is the Son of David, he is someone greater, Son of Man and Son of God, and recognized as greater by David who calls him my "lord.’}

/      raangulo

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Dear Lord God, today is for me a day of reflection and thanksgiving. For in the midst of tribulation and rising flood waters You placed me on dry land in Tampa with my baby girls Kelly and Haley to help Shaun and to be able to rest with them in love surrounded with the reality of all the blessings You have given me. O Lord thank you for this time, the opportunity to help them, to be with them and love them. For continuing Your work in me; for it is as St. Augustine states, ‘Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet’, O Lord that You would continue to help me learn how to conquer myself with discipline of the body and control of the spirit. And may you bless my Kelly, Haley and Shaun, their home and their marriage always drawing them closer to You. This I ask in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior, Amen.

Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet.

— St. Augustine

Tobit 6:10-11; 7:1, 9-17; 8:4-9

10 the angel said to the young man, "Brother, today we shall stay with Raguel. He is your relative, and he has an only daughter named Sarah. I will suggest that she be given to you in marriage, 11 because you are entitled to her and to her inheritance, for you are her only eligible kinsman.

1 When they reached Ecbatana and arrived at the house of Raguel, Sarah met them and greeted them. They returned her greeting, and she brought them into the house. 9 So he communicated the proposal to Raguel. And Raguel said to Tobias, "Eat, drink, and be merry; 10 for it is your right to take my child. But let me explain the true situation to you. 11 I have given my daughter to seven husbands, and when each came to her he died in the night. But for the present be merry." And Tobias said, "I will eat nothing here until you make a binding agreement with me." 12 So Raguel said, "Take her right now, in accordance with the law. You are her relative, and she is yours. The merciful God will guide you both for the best." 13 Then he called his daughter Sarah, and taking her by the hand he gave her to Tobias to be his wife, saying, "Here she is; take her according to the law of Moses, and take her with you to your father." And he blessed them. 14 Next he called his wife Edna, and took a scroll and wrote out the contract; and they set their seals to it. 15 Then they began to eat. 16 And Raguel called his wife Edna and said to her, "Sister, make up the other room, and take her into it." 17 so she did as he said, and took her there; and the girl began to weep. But the mother comforted her daughter in her tears, and said to her,

4 When the door was shut and the two were alone, Tobias got up from the bed and said, "Sister, get up, and let us pray that the Lord may have mercy upon us." 5 And Tobias began to pray, "Blessed art thou, O God of our fathers, and blessed be thy holy and glorious name for ever. Let the heavens and all thy creatures bless thee. 6 Thou madest Adam and gavest him Eve his wife as a helper and support. From them the race of mankind has sprung. Thou didst say, `It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.’ 7 And now, O Lord, I am not taking this sister of mine because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that I may find mercy and may grow old together with her." 8 And she said with him, "Amen." 9 Then they both went to sleep for the night. But Raguel arose and went and dug a grave,

Psalm 128:1-5

1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways! 2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. 4 Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD. 5 The LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!

Bible Study: [Psalm 128] A statement that the ever-reliable God will bless the reverent (Psalm 128:1). God’s blessing is concrete: satisfaction and prosperity, a fertile spouse and abundant children (Psalm 128:2-4). The perspective is that of the adult male, ordinarily the ruler and representative of the household to the community. The last verses extend the blessing to all the people for generations to come (Psalm 128:5-6).

Mark 12:28-34

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" 29 Jesus answered, "The first is, `Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." 32 And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he; 33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any question.

Bible Study: [28-34] See the note on Matthew 22:34-40. [[34-40] The Marcan parallel (Mark 12:28-34) is an exchange between Jesus and a scribe who is impressed by the way in which Jesus has conducted himself in the previous controversy (Mark 12:28), who compliments him for the answer he gives him (Mark 12:32), and who is said by Jesus to be "not far from the kingdom of God" (Mark 12:34).

/      raangulo

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