Saturday, September 11, 2010 Lk 6:43-49  Mass Intro (Fr. S … ): Today’s Gospel Reading is a series of separate sayings of Jesus which were spoken on different occasion and Luke is giving us a kind of compendium of rules for life and living verses 43 and 44 remind is that man can be judged by his deeds just as by its fruits. The good man draws what is good from the store of goodness is his heart. It is his inner nature that determines what fruit has life will yield, so as also with the evil man. His inner evil can produce only evil. If we fill our hearts and minds with the things of the Spirit we shall draw from the storehouse of the Spirit and if we fill our hearts and minds with the impulses of the corrupt nature we shall draw from that also. All evil in the world comes from the impulses of our corrupt nature: concupiscence’s of flesh, concupiscence’s of mind and pride of life. Let us be a Spirit-filled person and experience the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. ==================================== KEY VERSE: Luke 6:46 Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not [practice] what I tell you? (AMP). 46. Jesus asks us to act in a way consistent with being Christians and not to make any separation between the faith we profess and the way we live: "What matters is not whether or not we wear a religious habit; it is whether we try to practice the virtues and surrender our will to God and order our lives as His Majesty ordains, and not want to do our will but his" (St Teresa of Avila, "Interior Castle", II, 6). John Henry Newman God created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission - I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next ... Therefore, I will trust him ... If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve him ... He does nothing in vain; he may prolong my life, he may shorten it, he knows what he is about. |
Saturday, 11 September 2010
Tree bear good fruit
Friday, 10 September 2010
Malchus - John 18:10, Luke 22:50
Learning of Malchus, next there awaits to learn about the Christological significance on the LAST MIRACLE, the healing of the servant of the high priest.
Harmony of the Gospels (e-Sword)
(AMP). Jesus is betrayed, arrested, and forsaken
Mat 26:47-56 | Mar 14:43-52 | Luk 22:47-53 | Joh 18:2-12 |
50 Jesus said to him, Friend, for what are you here? Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him. 51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword and, striking the body servant of the high priest, cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. [Gen. 9:6.] 53 Do you suppose that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will immediately provide Me with more than twelve legions [more than 80,000] of angels? | 46 And they threw their hands on Him and arrested Him. 47 But one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck the bond servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus said to them, Have you come out with swords and clubs as [you would] against a robber to capture Me? 49 I was with you daily in the temple [porches and courts] teaching, and you did not seize Me; but [this has happened] that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. | 49 And when those who were around Him saw what was about to happen, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? 50 And one of them struck the bond servant of the high priest and cut off his ear, the right one. 51 But Jesus said, Permit them to go so far [as to seize Me]. And He touched the little (insignificant) ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus said to those who had come out against Him--the chief priests and captains of the temple and elders [of the Sanhedrin]--Have you come out with swords and clubs as [you would] against a robber? | 8 Jesus answered, I told you that I am He. So, if you want Me [if it is only I for Whom you are looking], let these men go their way. 9 Thus what He had said was fulfilled and verified, Of those whom You have given Me, I have not lost even one. [John 6:39; 17:12.] 10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.* 11 Therefore, Jesus said to Peter, Put the sword [back] into the sheath! The cup which My Father has given Me, shall I not drink it? |
*
Malchus.
Servant of the High Priest, whose ear Peter wounded at the arrest of Jesus. The incident is mentioned in all the Gospels, but only John gives the name, and only Luke mentions the healing (Matt. 26, 51; Mark 14, 47; Luke 22,50; John 18, 10).
John however names both Peter and the servant, Malchus. John was a relative of Caiaphas and Annas so he was probably in the know as to the names, but there is something about the deliberate way John says “The servant’s name was Malchus” that struck me yesterday when the Gospel was being read.
I wonder what happened to Malchus.
APRIL 11, 2009
All four Gospels tell of how the High Priest’s servant got his ear cut off when Jesus was arrested. The synoptics don’t mention names and it is sensibly surmised that this is because Peter would have been in even more trouble if they had openly named him.
John however names both Peter and the servant, Malchus. John was a relative of Caiaphas and Annas so he was probably in the know as to the names, but there is something about the deliberate way John says “The servant’s name was Malchus” that struck me yesterday when the Gospel was being read.John understood the Jewish view of the power of names-of course. Malchus means counsellor or king. Oh the irony. While John is the only one of the writers to call Malchus by name (and name Peter as the sword swinger) so Luke the Greek physician is the only one to record that Jesus healed the sliced ear.
Outside of the Gospels though I don’t think we hear of Malchus again. There doesn’t appear to be a St Malchus and yet he seems like someone who would have become Christian in the end. He has heard both sides of the story. On the one side is the High Priest and the Temple who having waiting all this time for a Messiah don’t want the one on offer, and on the other side if the Gospel message Jesus brings. Malchus gets to choose his High Priest.
Jesus seems to make it remarkably easy for him.
The men arrive with Judas and Jesus asks them who they are looking for. “Jesus the Nazerene,” they say and He says “I AMHe.” At this John tells us they stepped back and fell to the ground. The implication is the power of the Word the “I AM” caused this. So Malchus ends up on the ground because of the Name of God.
After this Malchus gets his ear cut off and Jesus heals it back.
None of this makes any difference and Jesus is arrested and hauled off to the High Priest.
Caiaphas is in an interesting position. He is High Priest sitting on the seat of Moses and therefore God speaks through him in a way. I suspect-but I haven’t read anything on this, that just as the Pope is infallible (through Peter’s seat)-that is protected from teaching error in faith and morals, so was the High Priest. He has said “One man must die for the people”
Jesus is crucified and then there is the Sabbath when all is silent.
The apostles went back to the Upper room to hide out and feel sorry. NOT ONE of them went off with the women on Sunday morning to see if He had risen. They didn’t seem to believe He would.
Interestingly though Caiaphas had been listening and understood Jesus promise to rise all too well and wanted to make sure it didn’t happen. He sent guards to the tomb to make sure no one stole the body.
So what happens to Malchus? Who does he listen to once that ear is healed? We are not told and the silence on it bothers me. There are no legends from long ago, that I can find, that tell us Malchus was baptised.
Was he at the foot of the cross making sure the deed was done? Did he see the darkened sky, and feel the earthquake. Surely he saw the huge lintel above the Holy of Holys broken in two, ripping the great curtain from top to bottom.
But none of this appears to have moved him.
It seems that despite hearing what Jesus had to say, despite seeing up close and personal the spite and fear of Caiaphas; despite the miracles he witnessed and even received, Malchus never believed.
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Father is merciful
Thursday 9th September
Commentary of the day :
Saint Isaac the Syrian (7th Century), monk near Mosul
Ascetical discourses, 1st series, no. 81 (DDB 1981, p. 395)
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful"
Make no attempt to draw distinctions between the worthy and the unworthy. In your eyes let all be equal, to love and serve. In this way you can lead all to what is good. Didn't our Lord sit at table with publicans and prostitutes without rejecting those who were unworthy? Even so should you grant the same blessings and honours to unbelievers and murderers in that they, too, are your brothers since they share in the one, human nature. Here, my son, is the commandment I give you: that mercy should always weigh down your scales until you come to feel within yourself the mercy that God feels towards the world.
How can we tell when our heart has attained purity? When we regard all others as good without anyone seeming to us to be impure and defiled. Then, in truth, are we pure of heart (Mt 5,8)...
What is this purity? In brief, it is to have a heart of mercy towards the whole world.
And what is mercifulness of heart?
It is the fire that enflames it for all creation, men, birds, beasts, demons, for all created things.
Whenever he thinks about them or considers them, a man feels his eyes fill with tears out of a deep, an intense pity constricting his heart and making him unable to bear, hear or see the least harm or affliction endured by any creature.
That is why prayer accompanied by tears reaches out at all times just as much over beings without speech as over enemies of the truth or those who harm him, to keep them and purify them.
An immense and limitless compassion is born in the heart after the image of God.
Biblos Com
LUKE 6:27-38
(1 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13; Psalm 139)
KEY VERSE: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (v 36).
(1 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13; Psalm 139)
KEY VERSE: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (v 36).
A Jotting from ‘A Harmony of the Gospels’,
§ A disciple in the Garden of Gethsemane
§ But only John tells us the servant's name,
§ and that it was Peter who wielded the sword.
§ And only Luke tells us that Jesus healed the wound.
The Harmony, parallel columns, allows us to see all of this at a glance.
Commentary of the day :
Saint Isaac the Syrian (7th Century), monk near Mosul
Ascetical discourses, 1st series, no. 81 (DDB 1981, p. 395)
Make no attempt to draw distinctions between the worthy and the unworthy. In your eyes let all be equal, to love and serve. In this way you can lead all to what is good. Didn't our Lord sit at table with publicans and prostitutes without rejecting those who were unworthy? Even so should you grant the same blessings and honours to unbelievers and murderers in that they, too, are your brothers since they share in the one, human nature. Here, my son, is the commandment I give you: that mercy should always weigh down your scales until you come to feel within yourself the mercy that God feels towards the world.
How can we tell when our heart has attained purity? When we regard all others as good without anyone seeming to us to be impure and defiled. Then, in truth, are we pure of heart (Mt 5,8)...
What is this purity? In brief, it is to have a heart of mercy towards the whole world.
And what is mercifulness of heart?
It is the fire that enflames it for all creation, men, birds, beasts, demons, for all created things.
Whenever he thinks about them or considers them, a man feels his eyes fill with tears out of a deep, an intense pity constricting his heart and making him unable to bear, hear or see the least harm or affliction endured by any creature.
That is why prayer accompanied by tears reaches out at all times just as much over beings without speech as over enemies of the truth or those who harm him, to keep them and purify them.
An immense and limitless compassion is born in the heart after the image of God.
Biblos Com
| << Luke 6:36 >> |
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Text AnalysisWednesday, 8 September 2010
Thomas Merton Entering the Silence
"Seeing your own thought objectified in the mirror of another makes you return with greater profit to your own mirror" [Merton p352]. Dear, William, You have just opened to me a window to the seven volumes of the Thomas Merton Journals. Sparking and sizzling wires come alive at a touch in Mertons writing. I am ashamed like the bus man on holiday, or the monk in solitude, the seven volumes of the Journals of Merton are opened for this first time – and thrilled at the discovered, or rather thanks to your uncovering the rich seem of gold. The secret of Merton is to open the associations and links to everything. As expressed in the quote above. As in the discussion about Luke 6:5 we feel the unwinding power of some simple word of Scripture. “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” words unfold to “Son of Man” / “Lord” / “Sabbath” into open our thought “objectified in the mirror of another in great profit in our own mirror. Seeing the Christological powerful light reflecting in our darkness. For the moment the magic of Merton oils the grinding wheels. Below, the content from the boot dust jacked of “Entering the Silence” of Merton, serves to prime me into the amazing Mertonia. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: William J ….> To: Donald ….> Sent: Mon, 6 September, 2010 9:44:57 Subject: Sabbath - "the interior life of God" Dear Father Donald, I was struck by an amazing perspective in Thomas Merton's 2nd journal, "Entering the Silence", p 354, written by him as he contemplated "What is implied by the expression "in the name of my Father?" Jesus came to us having nothing of His own. Not merely did He have nowhere to rest His head, not only was He poor on earth, but He explains that the very fact of His divine generation means that He has absolutely nothing of Himself and yet He is everything. In this same chapter Jesus defended Himself against the charge of violating the Sabbath by explaining that He lived in the very heart of the Sabbath, which is the interior life of God, where "The Father works and I work [5:17]" and that "the Son cannot do anything of Himself, but what He seeth the Father doing [5:19]."" ___________________________________________________ PS. There is a marvellous entry in the journal on the meaning of Scripture [p 349]: "Merely to set down some of the communicable meanings that can be found in a passage of Scripture is not to exhaust the true meaning or value of that passage. Every word that comes from the mouth of God is nourishment that feeds the soul with eternal life. Everywhere there are doors and windows opened into the same eternity, and the most powerful communication of Scripture is the engrafted word, the secret and inexpressible seed of contemplation planted in the depths of our soul and awakening it with an immediate and inexpressible contact with the Living Word, that we may adore Him in Spirit and in Truth." ___________________________________________________ PPS. One comment from the journal tells me why TM's intimate writings are so attractive.... "Seeing your own thought objectified in the mirror of another makes you return with greater profit to your own mirror" [p352]. One Sabbath day's journey, …. in Our Lord, William - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Journals of Thomas Merton / Volume 2: 1941-1952 / Patrick Hart O.C.S.O. General Editor. Entering the Silence. Becoming a Monk and Writer. Edited by Jonathan Montaldo. “Let me keep silence in this world, except in so far as God wills and in the way He wills it. Let me at least disappears into the writing I do. It should mean nothing special to me, not harm my recollection. The work could be a prayer; its results should not concern me.” (December 14, 1946). During his arduous days and nights in the silence of the monastery, the young Thomas Merton simultaneously advanced to priesthood and emerged as a surprising bestselling author when his spiritual autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, was published in 1948. Spanning the journal entries in an eleven year period from December 12, 1941, to July 5, 1952, Entering the Silence unfolds Merton's budding literary career and the development of his spiritual ideas in a uniquely personal literary style that would propel his writings into the mainstream. As the demands of his literary success rose, so did the tensions between remaining an observant monk and a talented, prolific writer. Faithful to both of these passions, Merton struggled with the requirements of daily monastic life while he continued to grace the world with his fresh observations and profound insights. This second volume in the Merton journals includes passionate descriptions of monastic life silence, chanting, farm work, the community of monks-and touchingly exhibits the young priest's edication to writing. "At work—writing--I am doing a little better. I mean, I am less tied up in it, more peaceful and detached. Taking one thing at a time and going over it slowly and patiently and forgetting the other jobs that have to take their turn." As Merton's talent as a writer blossomed, he eloquently reconciled his spiritual life with his writing life, drawing deep connections between the two. Long-awaited and endlessly fascinating, Merton's journals offer, as Henri Nouwen has noted, "a unique insight into the mind and heart of the most important spiritual writer of the twentieth century." THOMAS MERTON (1915-1968) was a Trappist monk, spiritual master, writer, and peace activist. His spiritual classics include New Seeds of Contemplation, The Sign of Jonas, Mystics and Zen Masters, and The JONATHAN MONTALDO writes and lectures extensively on Thomas Merton and is an adviser to the Merton Seasonal Review. Religion / Spirituality "The trick is always to find the spiritual deeply embedded in this world, and to discover our own eternal dimensions in the midst of our foibles, failures, and sometimes neurotic idiosyncrasies. We have no better guide in these things than Merton, and you couldn't ask for a more lively writer.” Thomas Moore June 19, 1947 I think God does not want me to write any more the way I have written before--taking an idea and working it out in cold blood .... If God gives me something directly and spontaneously about Himself, I will write it. Otherwise I will keep quiet. That means no more volumes of poetry for a long time perhaps, and it may mean little or no variety, and it might mean complete silence. However, I see nothing for me to write that is not simply a song about His Love and about contemplation. Everything else bores and fatigues me and dries me up. I’ll write what God gives me, not as a writer, but as a lover of God and for Him alone. Then, if He wants it printed, He can take it and print it. --from Entering the Silence Book Cover. Harper Collins 1995 |
Mount Saint Bernard Visit
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Nivard ....>
To: donald ....>
Sent: Tue, 7 September, 2010 20:06:27
Subject: Nativity of Our Lady
,,, From: Nivard ....>
To: donald ....>
Sent: Tue, 7 September, 2010 20:06:27
Subject: Nativity of Our Lady
Mass.
The Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady marks the beginning of the New Covenant, the Kingdom of God
Since we are sons of Our Lady, on this day, we can ask of her for special graces. Many mystics, who had visions of Our Lady, said that, on her feast days, she visits Purgatory. There she releases a great number of souls, whom she takes back with her to Heaven. What happens with the Church Suffering, gives us an idea of what takes place with the Church Militant. On a feast, like today, her grace envelops us, and gains innumerable favours for us.
Since we are sons of Our Lady, on this day, we can ask of her for special graces. Many mystics, who had visions of Our Lady, said that, on her feast days, she visits Purgatory. There she releases a great number of souls, whom she takes back with her to Heaven. What happens with the Church Suffering, gives us an idea of what takes place with the Church Militant. On a feast, like today, her grace envelops us, and gains innumerable favours for us.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After community Mass, Fr. Nivard set off for the National Express and travel to Mount Saint Bernard. It will be a time to meet up with the other Bamenda (Cameroon) monks at present at MSB for much needed medical care.
Nivard was, as it were, bearing gifts in the form of a large guitar. No doubt it will contribute therapy to the patients.
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