Readings & Reflections: Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter & St. Margaret of Cortona, May 16,2020
“Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.” This was due in large part to Paul and Timothy’s attentive docility and obedience to the Holy Spirit. They had been “chosen out of the world” by Jesus. When we act out of that belonging, conscious that we do not “belong to the world,” we change the world.
AMDG+
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, We find that it was the religious leaders and teachers of the law who persecuted You. Lord, bless those who are being “persecuted” by church/community leaders amidst differences in the way church affairs should be conducted. Give them your grace to be always faithful to what is right in your eyes. Hold their hands as they walk the path of righteousness and never let them fail in their faith amidst the onslaught of the enemy. I trust in You, O Lord that You will not forsake those who love You and abide by You. Deliver them from the hand of modern day persecutors and let Your face shine upon all!. In Your Mighty Name, we pray. Amen.
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Reading 1
Acts 16:1-10
Paul reached also Derbe and Lystra
where there was a disciple named Timothy,
the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,
but his father was a Greek.
The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,
and Paul wanted him to come along with him.
On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,
for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
As they traveled from city to city,
they handed on to the people for observance the decisions
reached by the Apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.
Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith
and increased in number.
They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory
because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit
from preaching the message in the province of Asia.
When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them,
so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.
During the night Paul had a vision.
A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words,
“Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
When he had seen the vision,
we sought passage to Macedonia at once,
concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 5
R. (2a) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
John 15:18-21
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you,
‘No slave is greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection 1 – With Jesus in our hearts aall will be possible.
The whole of human society without God is what we normally call the world. This is the world that was hostile to Jesus and which we presume will also be hostile to all who shall decide to believe and follow Him.
The world’s hostility is founded on its failure to know God and the cold indifference and anger by which they received Jesus. Those who are of the world love those who live as they do. They hate those who profess allegiance to Christ as the lives of Christians condemn them with their very own-vile language, over indulgent, lustful and self-focused lives.
How then do we respond to this hostility from the world around us?
With Jesus in our hearts all will be possible. We should not expect any better treatment from the world more than what Jesus received. With the empowerment of the Spirit every believer is asked to testify to the world and not to be troubled by those who hate us. When we open ourselves to the Spirit and proclaim the Good News to the world, we return goodness and love for hatred. We enable God’s reign to reach the ends of the earth and the hardest of hearts, that eventually man is able to cry out to God with joy!
If we choose to be good and give love even to those who are hostile to us, our model will be contagious and countless others will follow us. Just as the words of our Lord Jesus were respected and honored, our words proclaimed in His Name will not only be respected and honored but will be set in the throne of the hearts of everyone who shall believe!
Let us not condemn those who shall remain hostile to us because we have pledged our allegiance to Jesus. We must persevere with our faith. We ought to treat them with love and pray for them.
Direction
Continue in our role as witness for the Lord.
Serve the LORD with gladness.
Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, give us the strength to persevere and testify in your Name. In Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Reflection 2 – You are not of the world
What does Jesus mean when he says “you are not of this world”? The world in Scripture refers to that society of people who are hostile towards God and opposed to his will. The world rejected the Lord Jesus and treated him with contempt, and his disciples can expect the same treatment. The Lord Jesus leaves no middle ground for his followers. We are either for him or against him, for his kingdom of light and truth or for the kingdom of darkness and deception. The prophet Isaiah warned that people who separate themselves from God because of their rebellious pride and spiritual blindness would end up calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).
“Those who kept my word” (John 15:20)
If we want to live in the light of God’s truth, how can we rightly distinguish good from evil and truth from deception? True love of God and his ways draw us to all that is lovely, truthful and good. If we truly love God then we will submit to his truth and obey his word. A friend of God cannot expect to be a friend of the world because the world is opposed to God’s truth and way of righteousness.
“I chose you out of the world” (John 15:18)
Jesus’ demand is unequivocal and without compromise. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15). We must make a choice either for or against God. Do you seek to please God in all your intentions, actions, and relationships? Let the Holy Spirit fill your heart and mind with the love and truth of God (Romans 5:5).
“Lord Jesus, may the fire of your love fill my heart with an eagerness to please you in all things. May there be no rivals to my love and devotion to you who are my all.” – Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2020/may16.htm
Reflection 3 – If the world hates you….
“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.”
“If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hated.” These words, coming from Servant of God Fulton Sheen, echo the message of today’s Gospel.
The followers of Jesus Christ are in the world. But they do not belong to the world, for their true home is in heaven. In this world, they are mere travelers journeying towards their heavenly destination. Jesus said about this in His prayer to the Heavenly Father in Gethsemane: “They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world” (Jn 17:16). It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the world hates them. That is why He prayed for them: “Father, I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one” (Jn 17:15).
And the reason they will be hated is because they will refuse to conform with the values and priorities of the secular world. They will reject materialism, greed and pride. They will spurn the obsession for power and prestige, and choose love and forgiveness as the way to peace instead of hatred, violence and revenge. In a word, their values run counter to those of the world.
Such, in fact, is the admonition of St. Paul to the Romans: “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rom 12:2).
In the Gospel today, Jesus is not trying to discourage or frighten the disciples. Rather, He simply wants to give them an honest reality check so as to erase any kind of false expectations on their part. In fact, He reminded them that “if the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.” After all, ‘no slave is greater than his master.’ If the Lord is persecuted by the world, the disciples must expect nothing less.
But the more important reason why the world hates the Lord and all His followers is ignorance: “And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.” The world does not know! This is what the Lord Himself said on the cross: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they doing.” If only they knew who Jesus really is, that He and the Father are one, they would not have harmed Him. The Apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians about this: “We speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden … which none of the rulers of this age knew; for, if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1Cor 2:7-8). Such was the regretful profession of faith by the centurion when Jesus died. He declared, ʺTruly this man was the Son of God!ʺ (Mk 15:39; Mt 27:54). At last, he knew the truth about Jesus – but it was too late.
The Gospel today should make us aware of the pernicious evil of ignorance. The truth is, we are so blessed, especially with the gift of faith. Unfortunately, however, many of us do not cherish and nurture this gift. We spend so much time and money to learn the sciences and technology of the secular world. But we let the years go by without making serious effort to study the basic elements of our Christian faith. This negligence leads to culpable ignorance, which is a grave sin against faith.
This lack of knowledge, then, explains why many people do not have firm conviction of the faith, and are easily swayed by erroneous ideas and teachings that give them many bad ideas and wrong perceptions about Christ and the Church. Again, the Servant of God Fulton Sheen rightly observed: “There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church; but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.”
And oftentimes what is taken for granted and mostly misunderstood about the Church – among so many others – is the sacrament of the Eucharist. How many of us really and fully appreciate the Mass? For if we only have sufficient understanding of its meaning and the infinite graces it bestows, we will always make serious effort to go to Mass every day. The patron saint of priests, St. John Marie Vianney said: “If we really understood the Mass, we would die with joy.”
May this Gospel passage today give us the strength and courage to face trials and tribulations for the sake of Christ. And may it also enkindle in our hearts the desire to know more our faith, so that we may truly cherish the infinite blessing of belonging to the True Church, and nurture the gift of faith, especially the gift of the Eucharist.
The words from St. Gemma Galgani provide us with the apt conclusion: “There is a school in Heaven, and there one has only to learn how to love. The school is in the Cenacle; the Teacher is Jesus; the matter taught is His Flesh and His Blood.” (Source: Fr. Mike Lagrimas, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Amsterdam St., Capitol Park Homes, Matandang Balara, Quezon City 1119).
Reflection 4 – I have chosen you
“Don’t allow yourself to become disheartened or discouraged if it appears that you are making no progress, if you are fainthearted and lukewarm, if you should see that you are still subject to natural affections, thoughts of pride and sad feelings. Simply strive to forget all these things and turn your mind toward God, standing before him in the quiet and continuous desire that he make of you and in you his holy pleasure. Aim only at forgetting yourself and at walking before him in the midst of your poverty, without ever looking at yourself….
“As long as you are concerned with the capriciousness of nature, you will be busy with yourself and, as long as you are busy with yourself, you will not make much progress on the way to perfection. These capricious movements will stop only when you hold them in contempt and forget them. Besides, I assure you that they are of no importance nor of any consequence; don’t pay any attention to them, only look at God and this with a pure and simple faith” (Venerable Father Francois-Marie-Jacob Libermann (+1852, a convert from Judaism and founder of the Fathers of the Holy Spirit).
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Reflection 5 – St. Margaret of Cortona (1247-1297 A.D.)
Margaret was born of farming parents in Laviano, Tuscany. Her mother died when Margaret was seven; life with her stepmother was so difficult that Margaret moved out. For nine years she lived with Arsenio, though they were not married, and she bore him a son. In those years, she had doubts about her situation. Somewhat like St. Augustine she prayed for purity—but not just yet.
One day she was waiting for Arsenio and was instead met by his dog. The animal led Margaret into the forest where she found Arsenio murdered. This crime shocked Margaret into a life of penance. She and her son returned to Laviano, where she was not well received by her stepmother. They then went to Cortona, where her son eventually became a friar.
In 1277, three years after her conversion, Margaret became a Franciscan tertiary. Under the direction of her confessor, who sometimes had to order her to moderate her self-denial, she pursued a life of prayer and penance at Cortona. There she established a hospital and founded a congregation of tertiary sisters. The poor and humble Margaret was, like Francis, devoted to the Eucharist and to the passion of Jesus. These devotions fueled her great charity and drew sinners to her for advice and inspiration. She was canonized in 1728.
Comment:
Seeking forgiveness is sometimes difficult work. It is made easier by meeting people who, without trivializing our sins, assure us that God rejoices over our repentance. Being forgiven lifts a weight and prompts us to acts of charity.
Quote:
“Let us raise ourselves from our fall and not give up hope as long as we free ourselves from sin. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. ‘O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!’ (Psalm 95:6). The Word calls us to repentance, crying out: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). There is, then, a way to salvation if we are willing to follow it” (Letter of Saint Basil the Great).
Read the source: http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1385
SAINT OF THE DAY
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God’s invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint. Click here to receive Saint of the Day in your email.
| SAINT MARGARET OF CORTONA | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| TENDER OF SICK | |
| BORN | 1247 Tuscany, Italy |
| DIED | 22 February 1297 Cortona, Italy |
| VENERATED IN | Third Order of St. Francis,Roman Catholic Church |
| CANONIZED | 16 May 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII |
| FEAST | 22 February, 16 May |
| PATRONAGE | against temptations; falsely accused people; homeless people; insanity; loss of parents; mental illness; mentally ill people; midwives; penitent women; single mothers; people ridiculed for their piety; reformed prostitutes; sexual temptation; single laywomen; third children |
Saint Margaret of Cortona, T.O.S.F., (1247 – 22 February 1297) was an Italian penitent of the Third Order of St. Francis (“T.O.S.F.”). She was born in Laviano, near Perugia, and died in Cortona. She was canonized in 1728.
She is the patron saint of the falsely accused, hoboes, homeless, insane, orphaned, mentally ill, midwives, penitents, single mothers, reformed prostitutes, stepchildren, and tramps.
Contents
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Life[edit]
Margaret was born of farming parents, in Laviano, a little town in the diocese of Chiusi.[1] At the age of seven, Margaret’s mother died and her father remarried. Little love was shared between stepmother and stepdaughter.[2] As she grew older, Margaret became more willful and reckless, and her reputation in the town was one not to be envied.[1]At the age of 17 she met a young man, according to some accounts, the son of Gugliemo di Pecora, lord of Valiano, and she ran away with him. Soon Margaret found herself installed in the castle, not as her master’s wife, for convention would never allow that, but as his mistress, which was more easily condoned.[1] For ten years, she lived with him nearMontepulciano and bore him a son. Some day, he had promised her, they would be married, but the day never came.
When her lover failed to return home from a journey one day, Margaret became concerned. The unaccompanied return of his favorite hound alarmed Margaret, and the hound led her into the forest to his murdered body. That crime shocked Margaret into a life of prayer and penance.[3] Margaret returned to his family all the gifts he had given her and left his home. With her child, she returned to her father’s house, but her stepmother would not have her. Margaret and her son then went to the Franciscan friars at Cortona, where her son eventually became a friar. She fasted, avoided meat, and subsisted on bread and vegetables.
In 1277, after three years of probation, Saint Margaret joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and chose to live in poverty. Following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, she begged for sustenance and bread. She pursued a life of prayer and penance at Cortona, and there established a hospital for the sick, homeless and impoverished. To secure nurses for the hospital, she instituted a congregation of Tertiary Sisters, known as “le poverelle” (Italian for “the little poor ones”).
While in prayer, Margaret heard the words, “What is your wish, poverella (“little poor one?”), and she replied, “I neither seek nor wish for anything but You, my Lord Jesus.” She also established an order devoted to Our Lady of Mercy and the members bound themselves to support the hospital and to help the needy.
On several occasions, St. Margaret participated in public affairs. Twice, following Divine command, she challenged the Bishop of Arezzo, Guglielmo Ubertini Pazzi, in whose diocese Cortona lay, because he lived and warred like a prince. She moved to the ruined Church of St Basil, now Santa Margherita, and spent her remaining years there; she died on 22 February 1297.[4]
Veneration[edit]
After her death, the Church of Santa Margherita in Cortona was rebuilt in her honor. Her body is preserved in a silver casket at this church at Cortona.[5] St. Margaret was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on 16 May 1728.
In art[edit]
An oil on canvas painting of “Saint Margaret of Cortona” (circa 1758) by Garpare Traversi, hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.[6]
In 1938, the Italian composer Licinio Refice wrote his second opera, Margherita da Cortona based on the life of the saint, with libretto by Emidio Mucci.
A 1950 biographical film Margaret of Cortona by Mario Bonnard featured Maria Frau as Margaret.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Goodier S.J., Alban, “St.Margaret of Cortona – A Second Magdalene”, Saints For Sinners, Sheed & Ward, Inc.
- Jump up^ Hess, Lawrence. “St. Margaret of Cortona.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 1 Mar. 2013
- Jump up^ Foley OFM, Leonard, “St. Margaret of Cortona, Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons, and Feast, revised by Pat Mccloskey OFM, Franciscan Media, ISBN 978-0-86716-887-7
- Jump up^ Butler, Alban, The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints, Vol.II, D. & J. Sadlier, & Company, 1864
- Jump up^ Habig OFM ed#, Marion, The Franciscan Book of Saints, Franciscan Herald Press, 1959