Catholic Church Readings for Saturday, February 13, 2021: Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Catholic Church Readings for Saturday, February 13, 2021: Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 334

Reading I

Gn 3:9-24

The LORD God called to Adam and asked him, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden;

but I was afraid, because I was naked,

so I hid myself.”

Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?

You have eaten, then,

from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”

The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me 

she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”

The LORD God then asked the woman,

“Why did you do such a thing?”

The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”

Then the LORD God said to the serpent:

    “Because you have done this, you shall be banned

        from all the animals

        and from all the wild creatures;

    On your belly shall you crawl,

        and dirt shall you eat

        all the days of your life.

    I will put enmity between you and the woman,

        and between your offspring and hers;

    He will strike at your head,

        while you strike at his heel.” 

To the woman he said:

    “I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing;

        in pain shall you bring forth children.

    Yet your urge shall be for your husband,

        and he shall be your master.”

To the man he said: “Because you listened to your wife

and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat,

    “Cursed be the ground because of you!

        In toil shall you eat its yield

        all the days of your life.

    Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you,

        as you eat of the plants of the field.

    By the sweat of your face

        shall you get bread to eat,

    Until you return to the ground,

        from which you were taken;

    For you are dirt,

        and to dirt you shall return.”

The man called his wife Eve,

because she became the mother of all the living.

For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments,

with which he clothed them.

Then the LORD God said: “See!  The man has become like one of us,

knowing what is good and what is evil!

Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand

to take fruit from the tree of life also,

and thus eat of it and live forever.”

The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden,

to till the ground from which he had been taken.

When he expelled the man,

he settled him east of the garden of Eden;

and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword,

to guard the way to the tree of life.

Responsorial Psalm

90:2, 3-4abc, 5-6, 12-13

R.    (1)  In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

Before the mountains were begotten

    and the earth and the world were brought forth,

    from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 

R.    In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

You turn man back to dust,

    saying, “Return, O children of men.”

For a thousand years in your sight

    are as yesterday, now that it is past,

    or as a watch of the night. 

R.    In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

You make an end of them in their sleep;

    the next morning they are like the changing grass,

Which at dawn springs up anew,

    but by evening wilts and fades. 

R.    In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

Teach us to number our days aright,

    that we may gain wisdom of heart.

Return, O LORD! How long?

    Have pity on your servants! 

R.    In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

Alleluia

Mt 4:4b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

One does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel

Mk 8:1-10

In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat,

Jesus summoned the disciples and said,

“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,

because they have been with me now for three days

and have nothing to eat.

If I send them away hungry to their homes,

they will collapse on the way,

and some of them have come a great distance.”

His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread

to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”

Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”

They replied, “Seven.”

He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.

Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,

and gave them to his disciples to distribute,

and they distributed them to the crowd.

They also had a few fish.

He said the blessing over them

and ordered them distributed also.

They ate and were satisfied.

They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.

There were about four thousand people.

He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples

and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

Catholic Church Readings for Friday, February 12, 2021: Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Catholic Church Readings for Friday, February 12, 2021: Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 333

Reading I

Gn 3:1-8

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals

that the LORD God had made.

The serpent asked the woman,

“Did God really tell you not to eat

from any of the trees in the garden?”

The woman answered the serpent:

“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;

it is only about the fruit of the tree

in the middle of the garden that God said,

‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”

But the serpent said to the woman:

“You certainly will not die!

No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it

your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods

who know what is good and what is evil.”

The woman saw that the tree was good for food,

pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.

So she took some of its fruit and ate it;

and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,

and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened,

and they realized that they were naked;

so they sewed fig leaves together

and made loincloths for themselves.

When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden

at the breezy time of the day,

the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God

among the trees of the garden.

Responsorial Psalm

32:1-2, 5, 6, 7

R.    (1a) Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.

Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,

    whose sin is covered.

Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,

    in whose spirit there is no guile. 

R.    Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,

    my guilt I covered not.

I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,”

    and you took away the guilt of my sin. 

R.    Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven. 

For this shall every faithful man pray to you 

    in time of stress.

Though deep waters overflow,

    they shall not reach him. 

R.    Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.

You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;

    with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round. 

R.    Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.

 

Alleluia

See Acts 16:14b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Open our hearts, O Lord,

to listen to the words of your Son.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 7:31-37

Jesus left the district of Tyre

and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,

into the district of the Decapolis. 

And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment

and begged him to lay his hand on him.

He took him off by himself away from the crowd. 

He put his finger into the man’s ears

and, spitting, touched his tongue;

then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,

“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)

And immediately the man’s ears were opened,

his speech impediment was removed,

and he spoke plainly. 

He ordered them not to tell anyone. 

But the more he ordered them not to,

the more they proclaimed it. 

They were exceedingly astonished and they said,

“He has done all things well. 

He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” 

What is the difference between Christians and Catholics?

As a Catholic, I really dislike this question. Unfortunately it's a very common one. I am assuming that 99% of people who ask this question are not doing so maliciously or with any ill-will whatsoever. It actually makes sense. When someone says they are "Christian" generally it means a non-Catholic / non-Orthodox Christian, especially if said by someone in the United States or Canada.

I remember one time when I and my now wife were in Europe doing a tour and someone asked me this very question. I have heard it in other instances in various different ways. But this isn't just a blog about why I dislike this question, I will also attempt to the best of my ability to actually answer it!

But first, why do I dislike it? As you can probably tell, I primarily dislike this question because of the question implied within it. If you ask the "difference" between two things, it automatically implies they are, in fact, different. If I said what is the difference between an apple and an orange, it would imply those are two separate entities. If, however, one entity subsumed the other within its definition, the question would seem odd at best.

Imagine for example asking "What is the difference between a Canadian and a person?" or "What is the difference between a cell phone and technology?"

Those would seem like strange, almost unanswerable questions. It reminds me of the court room question of "Do you still beat your wife?" If answered with either "yes" or "no", it would imply the person being questioned was at some point guilty. So, the question's baseline premise must be rejected. That's exactly what I am saying with the above question. I reject the initial premise upon which it is based.

A properly phrased question in this case would be "What is the difference between non-Catholic Christians and Catholic Christians?" I know that's a bit bulky, but it maintains an important point: that Catholics are Christians. This is something which must be emphasized. Catholics are 100% Christians. In fact, we would say we are the truest and most complete form of Christianity. It would make more sense to ask "What is the difference between a Christian and a Protestant?" Even though it would make more sense, I'm not saying it does make sense. Most Protestants, in my estimation, would meet the criteria for being called Christian.

So, having said that enormous pre-amble, let's get into what actually sets Catholics apart from others who call themselves Christians?

I cannot really offer a complete and exhaustive list of differences between the two, but I can offer some observations and some of my own personal knowledge on the subject. To list every single difference would take volumes. These are just some that I thought of. If there are others you think are important, please feel free to list them in the comments. Again, this isn't meant to be an exhaustive list. Also, I may not explain everything perfectly in precise theological language.

One thing I find great about the Catholic Church is that it is very open and transparent on its teachings. If you want to know what the Church believes, you just have to look it up. One of the best sources it the Catechism. There are different versions, and not everything has the same level of authority in its teaching, but it gives you a great idea. Many people accuse Catholics of believing certain things even when they don't. There doesn't need to be any confusion. What we teach is available and knowable by anyone.

Not everything I mention here will differentiate the Catholic Church from all other Christian communities in every way. With thousands of denominations, it would be hard to find a particular doctrine not shared by one or more of them.

Sacraments
The Catholic Church has seven sacraments.

The sacraments are “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC 1131). In other words, a sacrament is a sacred and visible sign that is instituted by Jesus to give us grace, an undeserved gift from God. (See also CCC 1084).

These seven sacraments are the following:

Sacraments of initiation

• Baptism
• Confirmation
• Eucharist

Sacraments of healing

• Penance
• Anointing of the Sick

Sacraments of service

• Holy Orders
• Matrimony 

In Catholic theology, these sacraments impart grace, which is a free gift from God. The efficacy of the sacraments do not depend on the disposition of the person receiving them. Some of the sacraments are necessary for salvation, such as baptism, and in the case of committing a mortal sin, penance. All of the sacraments bring us closer to God. These are not merely symbolic gesture or symbols, but truly bring God's grace to us.

In some Christian denominations, there are only 2 sacraments instead of 7, and they are not considered necessary for salvation. In some cases, they are seen as merely symbolic.

Priesthood
In order to have the sacraments, the Catholic Church must have a priesthood. Although all Christians, in a certain sense, are priests, prophets, and kings, there is also a special clergy designated by God to perform various sacraments, primarily the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Priests are seen as the spiritual helpers of bishops who are spiritual successors of the Apostles. In theory, each bishop can trace his lineage all the way back to one of the original 12 apostles.

Priests take a vow of celibacy which is a matter of discipline rather than doctrine. On top of this, they make a vow of obedience and in some cases (particularly with religious priests) a vow of poverty. By "religious" priest, I mean a priest belonging to a particular religious order, as opposed to a diocesan priest.

Other Christians do not have the priesthood, especially not a ministerial one. This is a huge difference. Although, for example, both Catholics and Protestants celebrate a form of service or liturgy, Protestants view what is happening in a completely different way. The primary purpose of the Mass is to consecrate the Eucharist, which is an unbloody re-presentation of the eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. It makes present his perfect atonement and allows us to do as he commanded when he said "do this in memory of me".

Most Protestant Christians do not believe in the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament (the Eucharist) and therefore they may infrequently or never have a communion service which they see as symbolic. The primary purpose of a Protestant service is to pray and hear a sermon.

This is an important distinction. As mentioned, even though many families, both Protestant and Catholic, go to their respective churches on Sunday for a service, the intention and idea behind both is dramatically different. There are, however, commonalities, such as Bible readings and a sermon, although Protestant sermons, being the central aspect of a Sunday service, can be much longer than a Catholic homily which generally lasts between 5 to 15 minutes.

Scripture and Tradition
Another big differentiator between non-Catholic and Catholic Christians is their views on Scripture and Tradition. Within Catholicism, both are seen as equal sources of belief and doctrine. However, there is some misunderstanding which must be clarified.

When the Church speaks of "Tradition", it does not simply mean things that are traditional.

The catechism really says it best, so I will quote it here:

The Tradition here in question comes from the apostles and hands on what they received from Jesus' teaching and example and what they learned from the Holy Spirit. The first generation of Christians did not yet have a written New Testament, and the New Testament itself demonstrates the process of living Tradition.

Tradition is to be distinguished from the various theological, disciplinary, liturgical or devotional traditions, born in the local churches over time. These are the particular forms, adapted to different places and times, in which the great Tradition is expressed. In the light of Tradition, these traditions can be retained, modified or even abandoned under the guidance of the Church's Magisterium.

Of note, Tradition is not something that is just simply "made up", it comes from the apostles and is transmitted through time. As the catechism explains, the apostles didn't yet have the Bible as we know it today. That didn't come about until the mid-300s or so. There was much debate about which books were in the Bible and so on. Therefore, one could say the Bible came from the Church and not the other way around.

Of course, this is not the view of non-Catholic Christians. Most of them would describe themselves as Bible-alone Christians or Sola Scriptura. This belief, in my opinion, seems to stem from the idea that the Church is not a visible structure with a hierarchy, but rather more a collection of believers. Because of this, it would be impossible to identify the true "Tradition" or the handing down of doctrine and belief from a particular source. It is also a Protestant belief that each individual Christian has the ability to interpret Scripture on his or her own, there is no Magisterium, which is the teaching authority of the Church in Catholicism. The "Tradition" of Catholic teaching simply could not exist in Protestantism. 

Saints
Of course, all Christians believe in saints. Saints are quite simply those who are in heaven. The difference in belief comes from our approach to them. Catholics believe we can ask Saints in heaven to intercede for us, which means we ask them to pray for us. It's important to note, we always ask them to pray to God on our behalf. We are not praying to them as a substitution for God, as if we are deciding: Should I pray to God or to a saint today?

That's important to know. Many people ask why Catholics don't just "go straight to God"? Why have all these middlemen? First, I would say we often DO go straight to God and this is not discouraged in any way. Secondly, asking others to pray for us is something everyone does. We may ask a relative or friend to keep us in their prayers. This goes for Catholics and non-Catholics. The difference is Catholics will ask not only relatives and friends but also saints in heaven.

There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, we believe in the communion of saints, meaning we are all kind of in this together. Saints are close to God and are virtuous, holy and filled with grace. They are currently experiencing the beatific vision. Their intercessory prayer is powerful. As Catholics, we believe that saints can hear our prayers and bring them to God.

Purgatory and Indulgences

Purgatory in Catholic theology is a place of purification which those who are saved must spend time in order to purge or cleanse vice or attachment to sin before entering Heaven. We are told that nothing impure can enter heaven. Purgatory are for those who die in a state of grace, meaning in friendship with God, but must first be purified before entering into the beatific vision.

To me, purgatory is congruent with God's mercy. Instead of saying a person must have absolutely no attachment to sin or any disordered desires, God says a person must be in friendship with him at the time of death and that he will cleanse them of any leftover vices before they can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Protestants do not explicitly believe in any form of purgatory for the most part. I did, however, discover that many Protestants believe in a sort of cleansing prior to entering Heaven, the difference is that it takes place instantaneously unlike in Catholic theology.

Because of our beliefs surrounding purgatory, we have other beliefs which correspond as well, such as indulgences. An indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to sin. This is best explained with an example. If you steal $1000 from someone and then God forgives you for doing so, you must still, to the best of your ability, repay the amount to that person. You must make restitution. It would not be sufficient to say "well God has forgiven me, no further action necessary." This type of "repayment" cannot always take place. How could one repay gluttony, lust, sloth, etc. It's not always clear the exact "value" of these things. That's where indulgences come in. Indulgences can be granted for various actions such as prayers and fasting. Special indulgences are granted by the Church for various specific tasks such as praying at a cemetery during All Souls Day or participating in a Novena. These actions purify us and detach us from sin.

Indulgences get a little more complicated. There are some which are partial and others which are complete or plenary, meaning they either remit some or all of the temporal punishment due to sin (temporal indicating the effects of sin other than eternal consequences). One of the conditions to receive a plenary indulgence is detachment from sin, meaning we are not drawn to a particular sin. That's a big ask. If these cannot be achieved, and a person dies in God's favor, he may have to spend time in Purgatory.

🙏

There are dozens of other differences between Catholicism and non-Catholic Christianity. We could go on and on, but the above at least gives an idea. I did not provide proof, either Biblical or other, for the above, but they are certainly there. I just wanted to provide the differences, not necessarily prove them.

Hope this helps answer the question many people have asked over the years. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to put them in the comments section.

Have a great day and God Bless You.

Catholic Church Readings for Thursday, February 11, 2021: Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Catholic Church Readings for Thursday, February 11, 2021: Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 332

Reading I

Gn 2:18-25

The LORD God said:  

“It is not good for the man to be alone.

I will make a suitable partner for him.”

So the LORD God formed out of the ground

various wild animals and various birds of the air,

and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;

whatever the man called each of them would be its name.

The man gave names to all the cattle,

all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals;

but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man,

and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs

and closed up its place with flesh.

The LORD God then built up into a woman

the rib that he had taken from the man.

When he brought her to the man, the man said:

    “This one, at last, is bone of my bones

        and flesh of my flesh;

    this one shall be called ‘woman,’

        for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.”

That is why a man leaves his father and mother

and clings to his wife,

and the two of them become one flesh.

The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.

Responsorial Psalm

128:1-2, 3, 4-5

R.    (see 1a) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Blessed are you who fear the LORD,

    who walk in his ways!

For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;

    blessed shall you be, and favored. 

R.    Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine

    in the recesses of your home;

Your children like olive plants

    around your table. 

R.    Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Behold, thus is the man blessed

    who fears the LORD.

The LORD bless you from Zion:

    may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem

    all the days of your life.

R.    Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Alleluia

Jas 1:21bc

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you

and is able to save your souls.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 7:24-30

Jesus went to the district of Tyre.

He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it,

but he could not escape notice.

Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.

She came and fell at his feet.

The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,

and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.

He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.

For it is not right to take the food of the children

and throw it to the dogs.”

She replied and said to him,

“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”

Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go.

The demon has gone out of your daughter.”

When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed

and the demon gone.

Youtube SHUTS DOWN Lifesitenews Channel!

It's getting worse by the day. Every time I see any kind of Catholic and/or conservative social media page including Twitter, Facebook, or Youtube, I'm a little surprised. I wonder how they are still online and how long they can last.

Well, another one has been taken down. This time it's Lifesitenew's Youtube channel - see their article. What their exact infraction was is unknown. All their videos are gone! Sometimes Youtube will demonitize videos, but this is different. The videos are actually missing. Hopefully they had backups!

Check out this article where they tell you where you can find their videos now.

This is really getting out of hand!

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-youtube-shuts-down-lifesites-channel-every-video-completely-gone?utm_source=featured&utm_campaign=standard

Catholic Church Readings for Wednesday, February 10, 2021: Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

Catholic Church Readings for Wednesday, February 10, 2021: Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

Lectionary: 331

Reading I

Gn 2:4b-9, 15-17

At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens 

while as yet there was no field shrub on earth

and no grass of the field had sprouted,

for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth

and there was no man to till the soil, 

but a stream was welling up out of the earth

and was watering all the surface of the ground

the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground

and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,

and so man became a living being.

Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,

and he placed there the man whom he had formed.

Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow

that were delightful to look at and good for food,

with the tree of life in the middle of the garden

and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The LORD God then took the man

and settled him in the garden of Eden,

to cultivate and care for it.

The LORD God gave man this order:

“You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden

except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 

From that tree you shall not eat;

the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.”

Responsorial Psalm

104:1-2a, 27-28, 29bc-30

R.    (1a)  O bless the Lord, my soul!

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

    O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!

You are clothed with majesty and glory,

    robed in light as with a cloak.

R.    O bless the Lord, my soul!

All creatures look to you

    to give them food in due time.

When you give it to them, they gather it;

    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

R.    O bless the Lord, my soul!

If you take away their breath, they perish

    and return to their dust.

When you send forth your spirit, they are created,

    and you renew the face of the earth. 

R.    O bless the Lord, my soul!

Alleluia

See Jn 17:17b, 17a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Your word, O Lord, is truth:

consecrate us in the truth.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 7:14-23

Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,

“Hear me, all of you, and understand.

Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;

but the things that come out from within are what defile.” 

When he got home away from the crowd

his disciples questioned him about the parable.

He said to them,

“Are even you likewise without understanding?

Do you not realize that everything

that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,

since it enters not the heart but the stomach

and passes out into the latrine?”

(Thus he declared all foods clean.)

“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.

From within the man, from his heart,

come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,

adultery, greed, malice, deceit,

licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.

All these evils come from within and they defile.”

Catholic Church Readings for Tuesday, February 9, 2021: Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Catholic Church Readings for Tuesday, February 9, 2021: Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 330

Reading I

Gn 1:20—2:4a

God said,

“Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures,

and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.”

And so it happened:

God created the great sea monsters

and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems,

and all kinds of winged birds.

God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying,

“Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas;

and let the birds multiply on the earth.”

Evening came, and morning followed–the fifth day.

Then God said,

“Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures:

cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds.”

And so it happened:

God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle,

and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.

God saw how good it was.

Then God said:

“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,

the birds of the air, and the cattle,

and over all the wild animals

and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.”

    God created man in his image;

        in the divine image he created him;

        male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying:

“Be fertile and multiply;

fill the earth and subdue it.

Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,

and all the living things that move on the earth.”

God also said:

“See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth

and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;

and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,

and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,

I give all the green plants for food.”

And so it happened.

God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.

Evening came, and morning followed–the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.

Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing,

he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.

So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,

because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.

Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation.

 

Responsorial Psalm

8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R.    (2ab)  O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,

    the moon and the stars which you set in place—

What is man that you should be mindful of him,

    or the son of man that you should care for him?

R.    O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

You have made him little less than the angels,

    and crowned him with glory and honor.

You have given him rule over the works of your hands,

    putting all things under his feet.

R.    O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

All sheep and oxen,

    yes, and the beasts of the field,

The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,

    and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

R.    O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

Alleluia

Ps 119:36, 29b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;

And favor me with your law.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 7:1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem

gathered around Jesus,

they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals

with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.

(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,

do not eat without carefully washing their hands,

keeping the tradition of the elders.

And on coming from the marketplace

they do not eat without purifying themselves.

And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,

the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)

So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,

“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders

but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”  

He responded,

“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,

as it is written:

    This people honors me with their lips,

        but their hearts are far from me;

    in vain do they worship me,

        teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

He went on to say,

“How well you have set aside the commandment of God

in order to uphold your tradition!

For Moses said,

    Honor your father and your mother,

    and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.

Yet you say,

‘If someone says to father or mother,

“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’

(meaning, dedicated to God),

you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.

You nullify the word of God

in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.

And you do many such things.” 

Virtue-Signaller-in-Chief Pope Francis Appoints Non-Ordained Woman as Undersecretary of Synod of Bishops

Pope Francis once again attempts to outdo himself on his "wokeness" by appointing a female to be undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops along with voting rights. This is the first time a woman or even an non-ordained person will have voting rights in this institution. Her name is Nathalie Becquart and she is a French Sister.

It seems to me this pope asks two questions when considering making a decision:

1) Is it technically possible?

2) Will it cause controversy for true Catholics and win brownie points from the secular media and those who hate the Church?

If the answer to both of these questions is yes, he will do it. The pope is really doing little if anything to protect and defend orthodox Catholicism. Instead, he is trying to appear hip and relevant - probably the last things we need from a pope in this time of confusion.

Isn't the pope supposed to be someone we can rally around rather than being the primary source of confusion and division for the Church, even when including those outside the Church? It's really sad.

So why am I so upset about all of this? Well, many will assume I am anti-woman, that's the standard go-to for those who don't understand Catholic teaching.

That simply is not the case. The truth is there is a basic Catholic understanding called Apostolic Succession, which was instituted by Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior. He chose 12 apostles who were men to lead the Church. He could have chosen women as well, but he did not. Then for all the centuries of the Church since then, there has been male-only apostolic succession. All bishops are men because of this.

What Pope Francis is doing is weakening and causing confusion regarding apostolic succession and the male-only priesthood. Is he in direct violation and attempting to ordain women? No, he's not. But he's confusing the teachings of the Church. He is causing scandal. All for what? To score brownie points with his buddies in the secular media? Those people will never be happy. They understand nothing of the structure and history of the Church. They are just "woke" SJWs. Even if there were a female pope, they wouldn't be satisfied. They would want a female "person of color" pope, then someone with a disordered sexuality, and so on. They would never be satisfied.

The pope has said that women need a bigger role in the Church. I don't necessarily disagree with this. They can be researchers and professors and even Doctors of the Church. But I think it becomes a problem when they start taking over roles that were dedicated to bishops. The synods make major decisions regarding the Church and implementation and specification of Church teaching. This is a role proper to bishops.

The pope is either unaware of this or purposely looking to subvert this. He can go on and on writing lovely-sounding speaking points that sound like they were written by Hallmark, but that's not what we need right now. He's all about show. He's all about being in the headlines. He is terrified of being unpopular. These are not the qualities we need from a pope, especially not now in this time of confusion!

Why can't the pope just sit home and take a far more low-key approach. Why is he so thirsty for attention all the time? These are not the characteristics of someone who is qualified to be Supreme Pontiff. My advice to the Holy Father is to stop playing politics, stop trying to be popular, and start bringing together faithful Catholics and teaching the true beauty of the Faith given to us by Jesus Christ.

A Shocking Bible Verse about Demonic Possession (Mark 5: 1-20)

Mosaic of the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, dating to the sixth century AD (Source: Wikipedia)

I was at Mass a few days ago, and heard what I found to be a rather shocking Bible passage. I had heard it before but perhaps I had not paid attention to all the details contained within it. It was about a man who was possessed by demons, more specifically "Legion". It is recounted in Mark 5. When I heard the details I was somewhat shocked. I knew there was a possessed man whom Jesus exorcised and the demons ran into some swine and into the ocean. That much I knew, but I wasn't aware of the entire back story. Let's break it down.

I will post the entire passage from the Bible down below. But I just want to summarize in my own words. First of all, there is a demon-possessed man from Gerasene.

Where is Gerasene?

I looked up the location of "Gerasene", i.e. where is someone from is they are a Gerasene. Wikipedia says the following:

[The] "country of the Gergesenes/Gadarenes/Gerasenes" in the New Testament Gospels refers to some location on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The name is derived from either a lakeside village, Gergesa, the next larger city, Gadara, or the best-known city in the region, Gerasa.

It shows the following picture. Of note, it is in the region of the Decapolis (a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in the southeastern Levant in the first centuries BC and AD.) 

So this is where the man was from.

"Lived among the tombs."
Wait, what? He "lived among the tombs."? What does this even mean? He just lived in a graveyard among tombs. Such a strange way to live. Just imagine for a moment a man living in a graveyard all day long. Where does he get food? Where does he sleep? It's so mysterious. Why was he there? I feel he is there because the demons liked to be there around all the death.

"No one could bind him any more, even with a chain."
Wow. "No one" could bind him? That's rather incredible. It seems they had put much effort into constraining this man. His demon-possession seems to have given him extra-human strength. It's another sign of possession. To have this kind of unhuman strength, to be able to break free of fetters and chains? Think about that, it would take physical power many times greater than even the strongest man possesses. Truly incredible strength. Again, this came from the demon possession, which goes to show the power of this type of Satanic interference. This was not mere mental illness. No mentally ill person just suddenly has the strength of 10 or 20 men. This definitely fits the criteria for possession. If you look into some indicators sought out by exorcists, one of them is super-human ability such as impossible strength or ability to know things that are essentially unknowable.

"Bruising himself with stones"

Without all the other factors, this part would seem to indicate some form of self-harm mental illness. However, given the totality of the situation, it is another indicator of Satan's power over this man and his actions. The devil caused him to injure himself. What could this mean? Well, we know evil does damage to us in general, and this is just a more direct and obvious example of it. It is also a sign of possession. God wants to restore and heal us, the Devil wants to harm us and especially wants us to harm ourselves.

"He ran and worshiped him"

Despite his possession, the man immediately recognized Jesus Christ and ran towards him. This was the action and will of the man, who was hidden by his possession, the interior person. Deep down this man sought liberation from this oppression, and upon recognizing Jesus Christ, could do nothing else but run to him like a trusting child. Never doubt or question the power of Our Lord, no matter how strong it seems evil influences are around you.

"My name is Legion"

What does this name indicate? Fr. Hardon, a renowned Catholic scholar, wrote "Some of the possessed were controlled by several demons (Mark 12:43). In one case so many devils possessed a man that their name was Legion."

In Rome, a "legion" was the largest army division. It numbered approximately 5000 men. A legion was further broken down as follows (thanks to http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/romans/legion.html):

Contubernium: consisted of 8 men.

Centuria: (century) was made up of 10 contubernium with a total of 80 men commanded by a centurion.

Cohorts: (cohort) included 6 centurie, a total of 480 men.

Legio: (Legion) consisted of 10 cohorts, about 5,000 men.

    Eques Legionis: Each legio had a cavarly unit of 120 attached to them.

That was just a little side note there. But it shows the gravity of the situation. It's like saying he was possessed by 5,000 demons. But more important than showing the power of the demons, it shows the power of Christ to overcome evil. No amount is even a tiny blip to Christ. As some saint once put it, God's mercy is like a raging furnace into which a tiny drop of water is thrown. The tiny drop of water represents even the most serious sins.

"And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country."

I honestly do not know what is meant by this, I could not find anything on it. Who is begging him? Why is this being asked? If anyone knows, please comment below!

“Send us to the swine, let us enter them.”

The evil spirits are begging Jesus to send them into the swine. So, Jesus orders them to do so and 2,000 swine run into the sea and are drown. I believe the reason for this is that the demons cannot stand being in the presence of Jesus Christ. They would rather be anywhere else. This is why exorcisms are carried out in the name of Our Lord. The "legion" of demons is begging to be gone from the presence of Our Lord. See, although demons chose to oppose Christ, they are still subject to him, as the Bible says at the name of Jesus EVERY knee shall bend, including those on Earth, in Purgatory, in Heaven and in Hell. They may not want to, but they have no choice.

After this, the herdsmen who were there, ran to tell people from the city what had happened. They all came to see Jesus after this. It indicates they were "afraid". This is a common reaction in the Bible. Usually it's because the power of God is so great that people are overcome with righteous fear of the Lord. It's not a small thing which has occurred and people are enthralled.

However, the passage goes on to say the people demanded Jesus Christ leave their village. What a strange reaction. The only thing I can think of is that people seemed suspicious even when apparently good things happened, such as the casting out of demons. In one part of the Gospel, Jesus even addresses this by asking if God can act against himself, and whether a person who brings healing and miracles can be coming from a bad place? Later, he says those who are not against him are for him. He reminds us also that we will know a person by their fruit. Yet, people in this case are suspicious, with one exception.

The one exception to the suspicion is the man who was healed. He is now clothed and "in his right mind". He asks Jesus to be his follower. Jesus refuses and instead tells the man to go into the Decapolis (see above), and preach what Christ had done for him. They say "all men marveled".

This is a very interesting passage in the Bible. So many contrasts. It's interesting that people are suspicious and tell Christ to leave, but when the man goes into the major cities "all men marveled". What a difference in reaction. Perhaps the people were not willing to believe this man, whom they had known for so many years, was healed by this humble carpenter. It's kind of like when Jesus says a prophet is not accepted by those closest to him. Although the people closest to the possessed man were reluctant and suspicious, those outside the town were much more open to hearing about the miracle which had happened.

Overall, this is an interesting and very powerful part of the Gospel!

Here is the full verse in the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE):

Mark 5: 1-20

Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac

5 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Ger′asenes.[a] 2 And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who lived among the tombs; and no one could bind him any more, even with a chain; 4 for he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out, and bruising himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped him; 7 and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus[b] asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; 12 and they begged him, “Send us to the swine, let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.

14 The herdsmen fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it told what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine. 17 And they began to beg Jesus[c] to depart from their neighborhood. 18 And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 But he refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decap′olis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.