Readings & Reflections: Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time & St. Marianne Cope, January 23,2020

Marianne Cope was one of ten children in a German immigrant family that settled in upstate New York. She joined the Sisters of Saint Francis in Syracuse. At the age of forty-six she went to Hawaii, where leprosy was ravaging the native islanders. Marianne sought not only to relieve their physical sufferings, but also to surround them with touches of beauty. “My heart bled for the children,” she said, “and I was anxious and hungry to help put a little more sunshine into their dreary lives.” After visiting the leper colony, man of letters Robert Louis Stevenson lauded her in verse. Marianne died in 1918 after serving the lepers for over thirty years.

The “angry and resentful” Saul gets aggrieved when the women sing David’s praises: the unclean spirits shout out before Jesus, “You are the Son of God.” Fallenness considers virtue a threat. The antidote for such rancor is to remember that God, who rescues us from death, “is with me.”

AMDG+

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, In today’s Gospel, crowds followed You wherever You went. Lord, open our hearts and enable us to surrender our lives to You and follow You and to delight only in You, to exult and be glad that You are the High Priest, our Mediator and Salvation. May all who seek You exult and be glad in You, and may those who love your salvation say ever, THE LORD BE GLORIFIED! In your Name, we pray. Amen.

Reading 1
1 Sm 18:6-9; 19:1-7

When David and Saul approached
(on David’s return after slaying the Philistine),
women came out from each of the cities of Israel to meet King Saul,
singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and sistrums.
The women played and sang:

“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.”

Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought:
“They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me.
All that remains for him is the kingship.”
And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David.

Saul discussed his intention of killing David
with his son Jonathan and with all his servants.
But Saul’s son Jonathan, who was very fond of David, told him:
“My father Saul is trying to kill you.
Therefore, please be on your guard tomorrow morning;
get out of sight and remain in hiding.
I, however, will go out and stand beside my father
in the countryside where you are, and will speak to him about you.
If I learn anything, I will let you know.”

Jonathan then spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him:
“Let not your majesty sin against his servant David,
for he has committed no offense against you,
but has helped you very much by his deeds.
When he took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine,
and the LORD brought about a great victory
for all Israel through him,
you were glad to see it.
Why, then, should you become guilty of shedding innocent blood
by killing David without cause?”
Saul heeded Jonathan’s plea and swore,
“As the LORD lives, he shall not be killed.”
So Jonathan summoned David and repeated the whole conversation to him.
Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and David served him as before.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
56:2-3, 9-10a, 10b-11, 12-13
R. (5b) In God I trust; I shall not fear.
Have mercy on me, O God, for men trample upon me;
all the day they press their attack against me.
My adversaries trample upon me all the day;
yes, many fight against me.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
My wanderings you have counted;
my tears are stored in your flask;
are they not recorded in your book?
Then do my enemies turn back,
when I call upon you.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
Now I know that God is with me.
In God, in whose promise I glory,
in God I trust without fear;
what can flesh do against me?
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
I am bound, O God, by vows to you;
your thank offerings I will fulfill.
For you have rescued me from death,
my feet, too, from stumbling;
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.

Gospel
Mk 3:7-12

Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,  from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.” He warned them sternly not to make him known.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection 1 – Jesus Christ “Superstar”

Going back through my memory bank, I can still remember how the great masses of people within Metro Manila patronized a young movie star-singer. She came from very humble beginnings and became a big success in show business. Day in and day out people flocked into the plush home where she resided. On weekends when she will come out and meet her countless fans, one can hear loud screams from people and even their shrill voices. Stella and I were witnesses to this as our home was about one minute walk to her abode.

Today, I often wondered what the big crowds were really looking for. What did they have in mind? Did they see themselves in the person of the overnight success story? Was she an escape from their ordinary life? Or was it excitement they were after? Whatever it was they had in their hearts and minds, what one saw was a seething mass of humanity that was beyond control.

In today’s Gospel scenario, we have Jesus Christ “Superstar” as the focus of the mad hysteria. What were they looking for as they followed Jesus? Miracles and deliverance? Were they there for curiosity? Or did they find Jesus entertaining? These very questions still apply to us today as we all follow Jesus through the scripture.

Following Jesus through the gospels and the epistles, what do we really hope to hear and receive? Is it curiosity that drew us to Jesus? Or is it our deep love for our God and Savior that brought us to follow Him patiently everyday of our lives? Was it the heavy burden of life or was it our brokenness and sinfulness that caused us to search for Him? Have we followed Jesus in modern times or have we set Him aside for the world?

Jonathan was able to save David’s life as in today’s first reading.” Saul heeded Jonathan’s plea and swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be killed.” Jonathan, interceded on David’s behalf and convinced his father not to give in to his jealousy as David, his successor was receiving so much attention from everyone. Jonathan’s affection for David, and his sense of justice, saved David’s life and allowed the plan of God to move forward.

In the same light, Jesus, as our Intercessor with the Father, is beyond comparison and can always do better than anyone. He is our Lord and Savior.

Let us then follow Jesus as we walk back to our true home with the Father. Let us diligently appropriate our total selves solely for His purpose and present to Him all our cares and concerns allowing Him to direct our lives as “Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through Him, since He lives forever to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25

Direction

Follow Jesus wherever He may lead us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I always endeavor to do your will. Give me the grace to seek you and your plan so that I may glorify You in my words and in my deeds. In Jesus I pray, Amen.

Reflection 2 – Looking for a quick fix?

Reflection 3 – Making good copies

The Book of Hebrew (7:25-8:6) explains that Jesus raised the priesthood to a new level — a higher, holier level — when he fulfilled the old covenant and ushered in the new. Although the ancient Jewish priesthood is the foundation for the Christian priesthood, we no longer have high priests, because Jesus is the High Priest. And we all become priests.

Reflection 5 – Fighting evil

How do you fight the evil spirits? A group of social activists came to get a blessing for their plan of action and the guru told them, “What you people need is light and not action.” He explained, “Fighting evil by action is like fighting darkness with your bear hands. What you all need is light and not force.” Jesus is our light in the midst of the darkness of evil. The fullness of evil, that is, the rejection and death of God was assumed by Jesus with the utmost love possible on earth. For God sent His Son, clothed in our flesh, in order that through His Son He might snatch men from the power of darkness and Satan and that in this Son He might reconcile the world to Himself.

In the Gospel, Jesus withdraws with his disciples to the sea. And the unclean spirit cried out, “You are the Son of God.” And he strictly ordered them not make him known. In this situation, Jesus saw his liberating mission as a kind of power struggle with Satan, a warfare against the powers of evil in all its possible shapes and forms, and he proved that goodness is ultimately more powerful than evil.

The disastrous effect of original sin in us; the innate tendency to dominate, to lord it over, to oppress will turn into willingness to serve if we allow Jesus to conquer our hearts and offer us his new freedom from sinful brokenness, if we allow him to be the Lord of our lives. Is there anything holding you back from giving yourself unreservedly to Jesus? Ask the Lord to increase your faith in his saving power and grace.

Reflection 6 – The Gospel of Life

“The Christian is someone who thinks and acts in everyday life according to God’s will, someone who allows his or her life to be guided and nourished by the Holy Spirit, to be a full life, a life worthy of true sons and daughters. And this entails realism and fruitfulness. Those who let themselves be led by the Holy Spirit are realists; they know how to survey and assess reality. They are also fruitful; their lives bring new life to birth all around them.

“God is the Living One, the Merciful One; Jesus brings us the life of God; the Holy Spirit gives and keeps us in our new life as true sons and daughters of God. But all too often, as we know from experience, people do not choose life, they do not accept the “Gospel of Life” but let themselves be led by ideologies and ways of thinking that block life, that do not respect life, because they are dictated by selfishness, self-interest, profit, power, and pleasure, and not by love, by concern for the good of others. It is the eternal dream of wanting to build the city of man without God, without God’s life and love – a new Tower of Babel. It is the idea that rejecting God, the message of Christ, the Gospel of Life, will somehow lead to freedom, to complete human fulfillment. As a result, the Living God is replaced by fleeting human idols which offer the intoxication of a flash of freedom, but in the end bring new forms of slavery and death. The wisdom of the Psalmist says: The precept of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes (Ps 19:9). Let us always remember: the Lord is the Living One, he is merciful. The Lord is the Living One, he is merciful.

“Dear brothers and sisters, let us look to the Gospel as the God of life, let us look to his law, to the Gospel message, as the way to freedom and life. The Living God sets us free! Let us say “Yes” to love and not selfishness. Let us say “Yes” to life and not death. Let us say “Yes” to freedom and not enslavement to the many idols of our time. In a word, let us say “Yes” to the God who is love, life and freedom, and who never disappoints; let us say “Yes” to the God who is the Living One and the Merciful One” (Source: Pope Benedict XVI, Magnificat, Vol. 16, No. 11, January 2015, pp. 311-312).

Reflection 7 – Unclean Spirits

“The demons envy our well-being so much that they try all sorts of ways to keep us from enjoying what they have lost. When, in a battle, they are overcome by us, or to put it better, by God in us, they stir up other battles to see if at some time they can find someone careless to devour. The change their weapons and strategies, thinking that those they cannot overcome in one way, they will overcome in another.

“Christian doctrine teaches us to place ourselves within the most just will of the Lord and to suffer patiently what he sends us, interior or exterior. When they have seen that, because of this, they have been unable to ruin us by cunning, they try more open war, in which the one that was before a hidden dragon becomes a ferocious lion (cf. 1 Pt 5:8). No longer does he tempt in one thing in order to end up in another, but rather, he clearly wants to make himself feared and plans to achieve by fear what he could not achieve by cunning. Here he will not be seen as a fox but as a fierce lion that wants to inspire fear by his roaring….

“When a soul, by the love of God that is the life of faith, despises the prosperity and adversity of the world, and believes and trusts in God, whom it does not see, there is no way by which the demon may enter. Also, the light of faith teaches us to trust in God’s mercy when there are dangers. If the one under attack wants to take advantage of this mercy, he may gain a lot of courage to struggle against the demon, a thing that is very necessary for this war.” (St. John of Avila, +1569 A.D., Magnificat, Vol. 19, No. 11, January 2018, pp. 281-282).

Reflection 8 – Uniting Our Infirmities to the Son of God

“How blessed are they who have stripped their own heart, for our Lord will clothe them with grace, and give them his blessing and his special protection. Poor and frail creatures that we are, we can hardly do anything good in this mortal life without suffering some ill….

“I have such absolute confidence in the heavenly care divine Providence has for your soul; and this soul of yours would be happy indeed if you could cast all your fears upon its infinite love.

“Come now… keep your eyes lifted up on high God; increase your courage by holy humility, fortify it with meekness, confirm it by a steady effort; always make your mind rule over your inclinations and moods, do not allow fears to take hold of your heart: the effort you make one day will teach you what to do the next day. You have before now conquered many a difficulty, and you did it by God’s grace; the same grace will be with you on future occasions and will deliver you from difficulties and rough roads as you come upon them, for God will send an angel to carry you over the most dangerous places.

“Do not turn to look at your infirmities and insufficiency except to humble yourself, and never so as to give way to discouragement. Look often at God who is at your right hand…. Do not look at the many and various imperfections in yourself… unless to keep alive in you the fear of offending God; but never let imperfections dismay you.” (Source: St. Francis de Sales, +1622 A.D., Magnificat, Vol. 20, No. 11, January 2019, pp. 345-346).

Reflection 9 – St. Marianne Cope (1838-1918 A.D.)

Though leprosy scared off most people in 19th-century Hawaii, that disease sparked great generosity in the woman who came to be known as Mother Marianne of Molokai. Her courage helped tremendously to improve the lives of its victims in Hawaii, a territory annexed to the United States during her lifetime (1898).

Mother Marianne’s generosity and courage were celebrated at her May 14, 2005, beatification in Rome. She was a woman who spoke “the language of truth and love” to the world, said Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. Cardinal Martins, who presided at the beatification Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, called her life “a wonderful work of divine grace.” Speaking of her special love for persons suffering from leprosy, he said, “She saw in them the suffering face of Jesus. Like the Good Samaritan, she became their mother.”

On January 23, 1838, a daughter was born to Peter and Barbara Cope of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany. The girl was named after her mother. Two years later the Cope family emigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York. Young Barbara worked in a factory until August 1862, when she went to the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After profession in November of the next year, she began teaching at Assumption parish school.

Marianne held the post of superior in several places and was twice the novice mistress of her congregation. A natural leader, three different times she was superior of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, where she learned much that would be useful during her years in Hawaii.

Elected provincial in 1877, Mother Marianne was unanimously re-elected in 1881. Two years later the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having leprosy. More than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the request was put to the Syracuse sisters, 35 of them volunteered immediately. On October 22, 1883, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu; on the island of Maui they also opened a hospital and a school for girls.

In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for “unprotected women and girls” there. The Hawaiian government was quite hesitant to send women for this difficult assignment; they need not have worried about Mother Marianne! On Molokai she took charge of the home that St. Damien de Veuster [May 10, d. 1889] had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride and fun to the colony. Bright scarves and pretty dresses for the women were part of her approach.

Awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, Mother Marianne continued her work faithfully. Her sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on Molokai.

Mother Marianne died on August 9, 1918 and was beatified in 2005 and canonized seven years later.

Comment:

The government authorities were reluctant to allow Mother Marianne to be a mother on Molokai. Thirty years of dedication proved their fears unfounded. God grants gifts regardless of human short-sightedness and allows those gifts to flower for the sake of the kingdom.

Quote:

Soon after Mother Marianne died, Mrs. John F. Bowler wrote in the Honolulu Advertiser, “Seldom has the opportunity come to a woman to devote every hour of 30 years to the mothering of people isolated by law from the rest of the world. She risked her own life in all that time, faced everything with unflinching courage and smiled sweetly through it all.”

Related St. Anthony Messenger article(s) 

Mother Marianne Cope: A Blessed Among Lepers, by Lisa Benoit

Marianne Cope: America’s Other New Saint, by James Breig

Read the source:   http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1123

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