Readings & Reflections: Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time & Blessed Luke Belludi, February 24,2020

“Everything is possible to one who has faith,” for faith endows us with the wisdom from above that is “pure, peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy.” Prayer exorcises the jealousy and the selfish ambition that wreak disorder. It gives “wisdom to the simple.”

AMDG+

Opening Prayer

“Lord Jesus, help my unbelief!  Increase my faith and trust in your saving power.  Give me confidence and perseverance, especially in prayer.  And help me to bring your healing love and truth to those I meet”. In your Name, I pray. Amen

Reading I
Jas 3:13-18

Beloved:
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life
in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits,
without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace
for those who cultivate peace.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15
R. (9a) The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

Gospel
Mk 9:14-29

As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John
and approached the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.
Immediately on seeing him,
the whole crowd was utterly amazed.
They ran up to him and greeted him.
He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
Someone from the crowd answered him,
“Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit.
Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down;
he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid.
I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.”
He said to them in reply,
“O faithless generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.”
They brought the boy to him.
And when he saw him,
the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions.
As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around
and foam at the mouth.
Then he questioned his father,
“How long has this been happening to him?”
He replied, “Since childhood.
It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him.
But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”
Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering,
rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it,
“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you:
come out of him and never enter him again!”
Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out.
He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!”
But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.
When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private,
“Why could we not drive the spirit out?”
He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection 1 – Everything is possible to one who has faith

But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”

Our gospel for today focuses on a man’s need to have complete FAITH in Jesus. Our belief and conviction should be that Jesus could do anything and that He has the power to make things happen. Jesus cannot be shaken neither can He be intimidated.  However, most often our faith is often weakened by our human mind. Doubt and hesitancy somehow bring us down.

One may assume that Jesus was not quite happy with His first disciples especially about their lack of faith.  Yet despite this, one can see how patient Jesus was with them. This brings to light the kind of patience Jesus has with all of us especially with our sluggish faith. As a way of reminder Jesus is making us aware that we cannot take for granted the authority and the anointing He has given us to pursue our renewed life and the work that He wants us to pursue for Him. We must do everything in prayer and in total reliance upon our God. Our lives should be guided by “God’s wisdom as there is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring Lord Who is seated upon His throne, has poured forth wisdom upon all His works and has lavished her upon his friends, upon every living thing according to his bounty.” Sirach 1:6-8

Jesus comes to us today and reveals that to strengthen our faith we should not look into the power and strength by which He does things. Instead we should be able to confidently proclaim the truth that we cannot do anything without Jesus. We should be able to affirm that, “I can’t but Jesus can.” We should always be guided by the truth that “Everything is possible to one who has faith” and we just need to place our TRUST in Jesus!

Today I place my total faith in our Lord and trust that His grace and blessings will lift me up from my concerns and burdens… that in His own perfect time, He will calm the storms of my life and bring me His peace and make me fruitful in my works not only for myself and those close to my heart but for others and all those whom He may bring into my life!

A man of faith is able to show “his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom that is from above which is first of all pure, peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity and cultivated in peace.”

Having a life of Faith can only bring us to a life of Prayer, which ultimately brings us His blessings and enables us to live according to the Spirit and do His work among His people! His disciples asked him in private, “why could we not drive the spirit out?” He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”

Faith and prayer mutually build each other up deep within everyone’ s being.

Direction
Our lives and our work for the Lord should be founded on faith and prayer, duly guided by the wisdom we derive from the Holy Scriptures.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, perfect my faith and give me the grace to pursue my life and my ministry with total reliance on You.  In prayer, I seek your anointing. Empower me as your vessel of love and healing. In Jesus I pray. Amen.

Reflection 2 – All things are possible to him who believes

What kind of faith does the Lord Jesus expect of us, especially when we meet challenges and difficulties? Inevitably there will be times when each of us cause disappointment to others. In this gospel incident the disciples of Jesus brought disappointment to a pleading father because they failed to heal his epileptic son. Jesus’ response seemed stern; but it was really tempered with love and compassion. We see at once both Jesus’ dismay with the disciples’ lack of faith and his concern to meet the need of this troubled boy and his anguished father. Jesus recognized the weakness of the father’s faith and at the same time challenged him to pray boldly with expectant faith: “All things are possible to him who believes!”

Prayer and faith go together
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), in his commentary on this passage, reminds us that prayer and faith go together: “Where faith fails, prayer perishes. For who prays for that in which he does not believe? ..So then in order that we may pray, let us believe, and let us pray that this same faith by which we pray may not falter.” The Lord gives us his Holy Spirit that we may have the confidence and boldness we need to ask our heavenly Father for his help and grace. Do you trust in God’s love and care for you and pray with expectant faith that he will give you what you need?

When Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, the boy at first seemed to get worse rather than better as he went into a fit of convulsion. Peter Chrysologus (400-450 AD), a renowned preacher and bishop of Ravena, reflects on this incident:

“Though it was the boy who fell on the ground, it was the devil in him who was in anguish. The possessed boy was merely convulsed, while the usurping spirit was being convicted by the awesome judge. The captive was detained, but the captor was punished. Through the wrenching of the human body, the punishment of the devil was made manifest.”

God promises each one of us freedom from oppression, especially from the oppression of sin and the evil one who tries to rob us of faith, hope, and peace with God. The Lord Jesus invites us, as he did this boy’s father, to pray with expectant faith. Do you trust in God’s unfailing love and mercy?

Faith and trust in God’s unfailing love and mercy
The mighty works and signs which Jesus did demonstrate that the kingdom of God is present in him. These signs attest that the Father has sent him as the promised Messiah. They invite belief in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the world. The coming of God’s kingdom means defeat of Satan’s kingdom. Jesus’ exorcisms anticipate his great victory over “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31). While Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom in Christ Jesus, and may cause grave injuries of a spiritual nature, and indirectly even of a physical nature, his power is nonetheless limited and permitted by divine providence (Romans 8:28). Jesus offers freedom from bondage to sin and Satan. There is no affliction he cannot deliver us from. Do you make full use of the protection and help he offers to those who seek him with faith and trust in his mercy?

“Lord Jesus, help my unbelief! Increase my faith and trust in your saving power. Give me confidence and perseverance, especially in prayer. And help me to bring your healing love and truth to those I meet”. – Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2020/feb24.htm

Reflection 3 – The power of a prayerful life

In today’s Gospel reading, the disciples have failed in ministry, and the father of the possessed boy is wondering if Jesus can grant his request. Both situations are good examples of why our own faith wavers.

Like the disciples, we see failures as reason to doubt our ability to do the works of God. Like the father, we wonder if God really has enough power or enough compassion or even enough time to notice us and answer our prayers.

In the father’s response to Jesus, why did he say “if”? How often do we pray with an “if” attitude? Can Jesus help us whenever we ask him to? Of course he can – if what we seek is within God’s will. Ahh, but there’s another “if”! So let’s turn the “if” onto ourselves. IF we know God, we know his will (it’s clearly explained in the scriptures and Church teachings) and we only want what he wants. Right?

Do we doubt Christ’s compassion? Do we think he’s not kind and caring enough to answer our prayers? Of course he is: God is Love, and no matter how undeserving we are, he is good to us. It’s impossible for him to be uncaring. Even his discipline is good for us, although we might not think so at the time. Therefore, whenever we pray, we should say to him: “Thank you for being so good to me. I do believe; help me to overcome any unbelief that’s still within me.”

Whenever the “IF” word shows up in our prayers, we should ask ourselves why. Are we focused on the evidence of potential disaster or on the goodness of God? If our eyes are not on Jesus and all the good that he’s already done for us, our prayers will be answered in unexpected ways and we won’t realize what he’s done. We’ll miss his solutions to our problems! Or at least we’ll be miserable waiting for it to happen.

Understand what Jesus meant by: “This kind of spirit you can only drive out by prayer.” Surely the disciples had prayed as they tried to cast out the demon. Even a simple “Get out!” with the authority given to us by Jesus is a genuine prayer. What did the disciples do wrong?

Our prayers are merely noise if we’re disbelieving that God truly cares. To prevent wavering between belief and unbelief, our prayers must be more than words. Our prayers need to be a way of life.

We cannot spend a few minutes a day talking to God and then expect to feel his presence when a crisis hits. We have to remain consciously aware, moment by moment, of his constant love, his constant nearness, his constant guidance.

True prayer is a life lived connected to Jesus, imitating Jesus, and being the presence of Jesus for others. In a lifestyle of prayer, our hearts are constantly turning to God, even while our thoughts are busy with the tasks of the day.

To develop this lifestyle, pray each day: “Jesus, I do believe that you care about me; help me to keep my eyes on you.” – Read the source: http://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2019-02-25

Reflection 4 – The final bequest of Jesus

Reflection 5 – Jealousy versus prayer

The hermit St. Anthony while he lived deep in the Libyan Desert was tempted by Satan. So Satan decked himself out as a monk, with cowl and all. He approached Anthony with deep bow and with his arms across his heart like standard archangel, he whispered into Anthony’s ear, “Rejoice my brother, I bring good news. Your brother, whom you have left behind in the big bad city, a simple monk like you, has just been named Patriarch of Alexandria.”

On hearing that, immediately a dark frown crept over the usually sunny face of the hermit. For a split second, envy and jealousy almost curled his lips. And it was then that the master tempter gave this parting advice to his astounded charges, “Jealousy can lead the holiest people into temptation. It is your trump card.”

The Apostle James pointed out, “Where there are jealousy and strife, there also are all kinds of vile behavior. Wisdom from above is first of all innocent. It is also peaceable, lenient, docile, rich in sympathy and the kindly deeds that are its fruits, impartial and sincere. The harvest of justice is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace” (James 3:16-18). How do we drive out jealousy and envy?

Let us see what Jesus did. Jesus cured the possessed boy and the disciples asked him, “Why is it that we could not expel it?” He told them, “This kind you can drive out only by prayer” (Mk 9:28-29).

Prayer is a vital necessity against the temptation of jealousy and envy as used by Satan.. St. John Chrysostom said, “Nothing is equal to prayer; for what is impossible it makes possible, what is difficult, easy… For, it is impossible, utterly impossible, for the man who prays eagerly and invokes God ceaselessly ever to sin.” And St. Alfonsus Liguori said, “Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray are certainly damned.” Origin said, “He who prays without ceasing unites prayer to good works and good works to prayer”.

Jesus assured us, “The Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name. This, then, is what I command you: love one another” (Jn 15:16-17).

Reflection 6 – Everything is possible in faith

Jesus said, “Everything is possible to one who has faith.” And the father of the boy replied, “I do believe. Help my unbelief.” He believes in Jesus, but he knew his faith is not enough. So he prayed: “Help my unbelief.”That was enough for Jesus to do another miracle of casting out the evil spirit from the boy.

It is not necessary that we have great faith. Jesus said that if we have a faith the size of a mustard seed, we can command a mountain to move. But that has to be accompanied by a great deal of prayer. It is only by asking God to help us that our faith will be much stronger. This is what happened to the father of the boy.

In contrast, let us look at the disciples. They were trying to cast out the evil spirit from the boy, but they could not. Why? Jesus told them, “This kind could only come out through prayer.” In other words, they were not praying. They were trying to cast out the devil through their own power, without asking for God’s help.

It is only through prayer that our faith can grow stronger, and then everything becomes possible. I always like this quotation: “When man works, it is just man who works. But when man prays, God works.” Another quotation says: “The most powerful man on earth is the one who bends his knees and prays.”

Reflection 7 – Blessed Luke Belludi (1200-c. 1285 A.D.)

In 1220, St. Anthony was preaching conversion to the inhabitants of Padua when a young nobleman, Luke Belludi, came up to him and humbly asked to receive the habit of the followers of St. Francis. Anthony liked the talented, well-educated Luke and personally recommended him to St. Francis, who then received him into the Franciscan Order.

Luke, then only 20, was to be Anthony’s companion in his travels and in his preaching, tending to him in his last days and taking Anthony’s place upon his death. He was appointed guardian of the Friars Minor in the city of Padua. In 1239 the city fell into the hands of its enemies. Nobles were put to death, the mayor and council were banished, the great university of Padua gradually closed and the church dedicated to St. Anthony was left unfinished. Luke himself was expelled from the city but secretly returned. At night he and the new guardian would visit the tomb of St. Anthony in the unfinished shrine to pray for his help. One night a voice came from the tomb assuring them that the city would soon be delivered from its evil tyrant.

After the fulfillment of the prophetic message, Luke was elected provincial minister and furthered the completion of the great basilica in honor of Anthony, his teacher. He founded many convents of the order and had, as Anthony, the gift of miracles. Upon his death he was laid to rest in the basilica that he had helped finish and has had a continual veneration up to the present time.

Comment:

The epistles refer several times to a man named Luke as Paul’s trusted companion on his missionary journeys. Perhaps every great preacher needs a Luke; Anthony surely did. Luke Belludi not only accompanied Anthony on his travels, he also cared for the great saint in his final illness and carried on Anthony’s mission after the saint’s death. Yes, every preacher needs a Luke, someone to offer support and reassurance—including those who minister to us. We don’t even have to change our names!

Read the source:   http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1301

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