Category: Catholic

Greetings on this the Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Gn 11:1-9; Ps 33:10-11, 12-13, 14-15; Mk 8:34—9:1
Notes: We as a human family constantly fight within ourselves against the sickness of a hardened heart.

The Lord must intercede against these designs lest: nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do. Let us not presume to do whatever we want.

Let’s let the LORD lead and guide us in the right path. [Jesus said] Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

Busy week. In summary form, the following:

1. I am transferring to Saint Mark’s Catholic Church. It is a Coventual Franciscan community.
2. I will be a deacon at that parish and at the same time begin study in the 3rd order Franciscan (SFO).
3. I will suspend writing daily scripture posts until I can afford to replace the laptop owned by SH.
4. My first Mass at Saint Mark’s is the 4:00 PM Saturday.
5. Sunday, February 19th, 2023, Serving the Archdiocese for the Military Services VAMC Riviera Beach.
6. This weekend is a transition weekend.

I will miss my Sacred Heart family!
I look forward to a continued spiritual journey with a new focus.

Do not fear the Lord’s hand that guides us toward good and away from evil.

Related to today’s gospel portion and first reading is this newsletter I received and posted to my blog.

Here: https://gerrypalermo.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/holy-land-thirst-for-peace.pdf

First reading
They said to one another, “Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.” They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.”

Then the LORD said: “If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this, nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do.

Responsorial Psalm
Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

But the plan of the LORD stands forever; the design of his heart, through all generations.

Alleluia Verse
I call you my friends, says the Lord, for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.

Gospel Portion
Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry

Greetings on this the Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Gn 9:1-13; Ps 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23; Mk 8:27-33
Notes: The region of Caesarea Philippi was considered a place of religious observances by Greek and Roman alike. It was so named by Herod Philip (son of Herod the Great). Caesar Philip is its meaning.

Jesus, meek and mild, goes there and sets his example in contrast to the kingdoms and religions of the world.

• Not the deities of the Greek pantheon.
• Not the powerful of the Roman Caesars.
• Not the civil royalty of the Jews (non-davidic).

Jesus, Messiah, meek and mild.

He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly.

God is not at war with us.
He has set his bow in the clouds.
He has come to save us.

A geography of Caesarea Philippi can be found here: https://www.bibleplaces.com/caesarea-philippi-banias/

First reading
I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

Responsorial Psalm
From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.

Alleluia Verse
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life (Jn 6:63c, 68c).

Gospel Portion
Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.

“But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.”

Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry

Greetings on this the Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Gn 8:6-13, 20-22; Ps 116:12-13, 14-15, 18-19; Mk 8:22-26
Notes: I am tired today, long day yesterday. My notes are dense and intercalated but I don’t want to flatten them out as it would take pages to do. Please read the notes as such and let the Lord speak.

Theme words: dialogical, aid, hand out to help, mercy, love, progressive elaboration, grievious.

Progressive Elaboration is a consistent mode of expression in sacred Scripture. The divine will progresses across the biblical stories and is added by summary statements along the way. The climatic expression of love is the Cross. These stories also reveal the dialogical nature of the divine aid.

From the readings this week
The LORD God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you?
Then the LORD said to Cain: Why are you angry? Why are you dejected?
Then the LORD asked Cain, Where is your brother Abel?
The question series from yesterday’s gospel portion https://deacongerrypalermo.blog/2023/02/14/calling-all-saints/

The Noah story is its own progressive elaboration of the mercy of God. How very dear we are to the Lord even in our messed-up ways and behaviors. The gospel portion today is the progressive elaboration of Jesus’ ministry and personal divine revelation.

Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, “Do you see anything?”
Looking up he replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”

From the readings this week
death of God’s faithful is grievous to God
the sigh https://deacongerrypalermo.blog/2023/02/13/sigh-from-the-depth-of-your-spirit/

If the Earth becomes inhabitable for humanity it won’t be from cosmic forces or planetary events beyond our control. It will be our responsibility. Death of God’s faithful is grievous to God.

God is always reaching out to us
[Noah] Putting out his hand, he caught the dove and drew it back to him inside the ark.
[Jesus] He took the blind man by the hand.

Hold God’s hand!

First reading
As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

When the LORD smelled the sweet odor [Noah’s burnt offering of thanks], he said to himself: “Never again will I doom the earth because of man since the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start; nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done.

Responsorial Psalm
To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.

My vows to the LORD I will pay in the presence of all his people. Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.

Precious or Dear in the eyes of the Lord.

Dear in the eyes of the LORD: the meaning is that the death of God’s faithful is grievous to God, not that God is pleased with the death, cf. Ps 72:14. In Wis 3:5–6, God accepts the death of the righteous as a sacrificial burnt offering (NABRE, commentary PS 116:15).

Alleluia Verse
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to his call.

Gospel Portion
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked, “Do you see anything?” Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.” Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.

Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry

Greetings on this the Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop
Readings: Gn 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10; Ps 29:1a and 2, 3ac-4, 3b and 9c-10; Mk 8:14-21
Notes: Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop did the best they could with who they are.

The LORD creates people with a certain type of spark. That spark, different in each of us but common to all of us, is the igniting influence of faith and mercy.

Jesus constantly pushes us forward.

Jesus encourages us to go deeper and deeper into the ethos, pathos and logos of the LORD.

Consider our gospel portion today.
Jesus is asking the disciples to grow by way of reason, intellect and faith. All of them. All of you.

• Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
• Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
• Are your hearts hardened?
• Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
• And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?”
• “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?”
• He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

In the structure of this gospel, it is important to remember that only after Jesus confronts the lethargic thinking of the apostles do we come to this: Peter’s Confession About Jesus.

Now Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Messiah.” Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Reflection

Holiness means reacting to human life with God’s love: human life as it is, crisscrossed with the political and the cultural, the beautiful and the ugly, the selfish and the saintly. For Cyril and Methodius much of their daily cross had to do with the language of the liturgy. They are not saints because they got the liturgy into Slavonic, but because they did so with the courage and humility of Christ.

From: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saints-cyril-and-methodius/

First reading
When the LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, … his heart was grieved.
But Noah found favor with the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm
The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Alleluia Verse
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father will love him and we will come to him.

Gospel Portion
Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry

Greetings on this the Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Gn 4:1-15, 25; Ps 50:1 and 8, 16bc-17, 20-21; Mk 8:11-13
Notes: He sighed from the depth of his spirit.

Any parent can tell you – I know this feeling.

OK, maybe your kids are perfect, so this doesn’t apply.

But for the rest of us…

He sighed from the depth of his spirit.

What is it they are looking for, a sign?
Not a sign but a test:

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.

How many parents TAKE THE BAIT?

You know what I mean.

• Let the children goad you into a response?
• Let them own the narrative?
• Let them present a never-ending series and cascading set of demands that frankly not even God can fulfill.

Just sigh.
Sigh from the depths of your soul.

And know.
Know you are working God’s will in their life.

Perfectly imperfect in love.

Readings today: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021323.cfm

First reading
Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she called Seth. “God has granted me more offspring in place of Abel,” she said, “because Cain slew him.”

Encounter this in this way for today:

Cain, Abel, Seth… are one person.

Keep going!!
your burnt offerings are before me always.

The Lord knows what help you need and what things are helpful.

Keep going!
Keep praying!

Responsorial Psalm
Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.

Alleluia Verse
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.

Gospel Portion
The Demand for a Sign.
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.

He sighed from the depth of his spirit.

Jesus did many signs.
The Gospel of John is orgainized around the Seven Signs (The Book of Signs) and The Hour (The Book of Glory). See: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/0

So we must take Jesus’ response to have a deeper meaning.

Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry

Greetings on this the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Sir 15:15-20; Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34; 1 Cor 2:6-10; Mt 5:17-37
Notes: Seven times Jesus corrects the then current teaching with ‘but I say to you’.

It is urgent the American Catholic Church stop projecting and start listening to Jesus.

Everything he taught is centered on the Beatitudes.

It is a terrible reminder but one that must be given.
This stark warning from Jesus:

in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God (Jn 16:2b).

He is not speaking of the pagan but the religious.

Just like yesterday’s gospel portion – listen to him.

First reading
If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live.
Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.

Responsorial Psalm
Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

Second reading
What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him, this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.

Alleluia Verse
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.

Gospel Portion
But I say to you.
But I say to you.
But I say to you.
But I say to you.
But I say to you.
But I say to you.
But I say to you.

Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry

Greetings on this the Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Gn 3:9-24; Ps 90:2, 3-4abc, 5-6, 12-13; Mk 8:1-10
Notes: The remedy to the necessity to withholding access to the tree of life is to give Jesus, the bread of life.

First reading
Then he [the Lord] asked [Adam], “Who told you that you were naked?
The LORD God then asked the woman [Eve], “Why did you do such a thing?”

The Lord wants to know who we are talking to and what are they saying.
Why do you suppose that is?

Because like Adam and Eve we are capable of deliberately misleading ourselves.

• Perspective.
• Bias.
• Ignorance of will.

How to do understand this? The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden,
to till the ground from which he had been taken.

Without this:

1. Man has condemned himself death due to the disobedience.
2. Man has eaten the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
3. Man will be tempted and likely to eat from the tree of life.
4. If he is allowed to eat from the tree of life where he has already been condemned to death, he will make permanent his situation into a perpetual life-of-death.

The fruit of the Tree of Life would not be the benefit to him as he would (perspective, bias, willful ignorance) want to make for himself. It would be a perpetual hell.

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

Alleluia Verse
One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Gospel Portion
The Feeding of the Four Thousand.
Prefigures the Bread of Life (the Eucharist).
Feeding of the Gentiles (the second feeding 4,000/7. The first was for the Jews 5,000/12).

[Jesus] 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.

Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied.

They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets.

Stop listiening to the evil one.

• God banished from the Garden of Eden to save us from a far worse fate – an eternal, living death.
• God then gives himself as bread to bring us the very life the tree of life contains – an eternal, living life.

Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry

Greetings on this the Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin
Readings: Gn 3:1-8; Ps 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7; Mk 7:31-37
Notes: The first reading is so powerful in its own right.

So many things at play at once and you can be certain scripture is accurate to say the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made.

For our part we must own some parts of the story, yes?

1. False question – Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?”
   R. False answer – The woman answered the serpent: ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'”
2. False statement (half-truth) – “You certainly will not die!
   R. The other half – [this instant, but – “when you eat from it you shall die.”
3. Adam was instructed. Adam transmitted the instruction to Eve (or misled her).
   The LORD God gave the 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; when you eat from it you shall die.
   E. 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.

This is why it is called Adam’s Sin – not Eve’s.

The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.

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.

This is an interesting twist to the story. In fact, they did receive wisdom. They are naked.
They also achieved guilt and shame; thus, they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Hidden within is God’s mercy. The ‘wisdom’ the serpent wanted for them (shame, guilt, self-reliance) was transformed into remedy and mitigation. It is the first echo of the mercy of God. Responsibility. Restoration.

The LORD God made for the man and his wife garments of skin, with which he clothed them (Gen 3:21)

This first opening of the eye is related to the opening of the ear in our gospel portion today.

“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)

And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.

Listen to G-d when he speaks.
Whoever has ears ought to hear (Matt 11:15).
He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear [Listen] and understand (Matt 15:10).
From the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him (Matt 17:5b).

First reading
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked.

Responsorial Psalm
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.

Alleluia Verse
Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son.

Gospel Portion
They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry

Greetings on this the Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Gn 2:18-25; Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5; Mk 7:24-30
Notes: In today’s readings we arrive at the essential of a life’s journey.

We are not meant to be alone.
We are meant to be with God and with one another.
We are meant to be at peace and to have a tranquil life.

Without shame.

Jesus has come to remove shame and heal the broken hearted.

He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it [because he knew she would come to see him, alone].

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.

• The literal meaning ‘first’ is the prior claim to the Messiah by the Jewish people, which is valid and true.
• The spiritual meaning ‘first’ is the prior to the prior claim, you child, shall be fed.

That is to say the primordial promise of creation.
The woman knew this.
Jesus was delighted by it (see the Matthew version of the story).
See: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mt/15?21#48015021

She knew there is no shame in coming to Jesus.
She knew the promise is of antiquity before even the Patriarchs.
She knew the healing promise of Jesus is for her too and her children. All of them.

First reading
The LORD God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone.

Responsorial Psalm
Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Alleluia Verse
Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.

Gospel Portion
When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Without shame – come.
Without shame – healing.
Without shame – the promise of creation.

Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry