Mk. 6,7-13 and Saint Blaise

Thursday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time : Mk. 6,7-13

and Saint Blaise

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Nivard - - -
Sent: Wed, 2 February, 2011 20:17:04
Subject: St. Blaise

   Today is an optional memorial of St Blaise. I don't know much about him except that he is the special saint for healing throat diseases, sore throats and colds etc.. But we can also pray to him for better speech, as well as for a sweet singing voice to sing the praises of the Lord. 

                 Sending of the disciples (Mk 6:6)   

   Jesus sent the disciples, two by two, to preach the Gospel with no money in their belts. He tells us to watch and be on our guard against all malice and greed. We must guard ourselves against the worries of this world and the cares of this life. We must follow him in our daily monastic round with a free mind.  

   We recall that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living and all-powerful God... was a poor man and a man of the road and lived on alms, he and the Blessed Virgin, and His disciples. Daily, we need to strip ourselves of all attachment to this world’s goods. We need to set our spirits free. Only then may we dance and sing for joy in the love of the Lord and of one another.

  

Commentary of the day
Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), Founder of the Friars Minor
Earlier Rule, §8-9 (©Classics of Western Spirituality)

"No money in their belts"

The Lord commands us in the Gospel: «Watch, be on your guard against all malice and greed» (cf. Lk 12:15). «Guard yourselves against the preoccupations of this world and the cares of this life» (cf. Mt 6,25; Lk 21:34). Therefore, none of the brothers, wherever he may be or wherever he goes, should in any way carry, receive, or have received either money or coins, whether for clothing or books or payment for any work-indeed, for no reason-unless it is for the evident need of the sick brothers; for we must not suppose that money or coins have any greater value than stones. And the devil would like to blind those who desire it or consider it better than stones. Therefore, let us who have left all things behind take care that we do not lose the kingdom of heaven for so little (cf. Mt 19:27; Mk 10,24.28). And if we were to find coins in any place, let us give them no more thought than the dust which we crush with our feet; for all this is «vanity of vanities, and all is vanity» (Eccl 1:2).

All the brothers should strive to follow the humility and the poverty of our Lord Jesus Christ... And they must rejoice when they live among people who are considered to be of little worth and who are looked down upon, among the poor and the powerless, the sick and the lepers, and the beggars by the wayside. And when it may be necessary, let them go for alms. And they should not be ashamed, but rather recall that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living and all-powerful God... was a poor man and a transient and lived on alms, he and the Blessed Virgin, and His disciples. Daily, we need to strip ourselves of all attachment to this world’s goods. We need to set our spirits free. Only then may we dance and sing for joy in the Lord and in one another.

Presentation Feb 2nd - Nunraw anniversary 1946

Candlemass,  the Solemnity of the Presentation of the Lord.
The Rite of the Blessing of the Candles was celebrated in the early morning Cloister, We carried the lighted candles in the shorter procession.


The processional candles were lit at the beginning of the Alleluia. They illuminate the way of the  Gospel, Creed and Bidding Prayers.
The monks hand the candle to the Celebrant at the Offertory.


The ritual  of LIGHT is dramatic.
The Reading in the Nigh Office was from the Cistercian Father, Bl. Guerric of Igny.
The theme of focussed on LIGT - 12 times.   
LIGHT and WATER
Yesterday the YouTube of the Stream and Well of St. Brigid was a powerfull reminder of my visit to the shrine at Faughart in 2006/7(?).
I can think of the fivefold impression:
1. the first impression of the place and it flowing bubbling, gurgling, audible. stream.
2. the memory remains fresh.
3. the fact of the continued flow of the waters.
4. the continuing the flow in its cyber space in this YouTube.
5. this many laired perception of the living waters is the practical application of living prayer.

Yesterday's reflection on the waters immediately finds Guerric of Igny's recurring of the word of LIGHT.
It invites to the multiplying illuminating of the Holy Spirit - the inspiration of Simeon and Anna in the Presentation of the Lord.

The light to enlighten the nations (Guerric of Igny)

Presentation of the Lord
and Anniversary of Sancta Maria Abbey 1946

Night Office Reading: ‘Light’ 12 recurrences.

From a sermon by Guerric of Igny, Cistercian Fathers, (Sermo 1 in festo purificationis BMY, 2.3.5: PL 185, 64-67)

• As today we hold our burning candles, who could fail immediately to recall that venerable old man who, on this day, took Jesus in his arms, the Word who was latent in a body as light is in wax, and declared him to be the light to enlighten the nations? Indeed, Simeon himself was also a bright and shining lamp, which bore witness to the light. He came to the temple under the influence of the Spirit which filled him precisely in order that, receiving your loving-kindness, 0 God, in the midst of your temple, he might proclaim Jesus as that loving kindness and the light of your people.
• There, then, is the candle alight in Simeon's hands: do you light your own candles by enkindling them at his - those lamps which the Lord commanded you to have in your hands. Come to him and be enlightened so that you do not so much carry lamps as become them, shining within and without for yourselves and for your neighbors. So may there be a lamp in your heart, in your hand and in your mouth: let the lamp in your heart shine for yourself, the lamp in your hand and mouth for your neighbors. The lamp in your heart is faith inspired reverence, the lamp in your hand the example of good works, the lamp in your mouth edifying speech. We have to shine not only before other people by our good works and by what we say, but also before the angels by prayer and before God by our purpose. In the presence of the angels our lamp is reverence without alloy when we sing attentively in their sight or pray fervently; before God our lamp is a single minded resolve to please him alone to whom we have com­mended ourselves.
• In order to light all these lamps for yourselves, approach the source of light and become enlightened - I mean Jesus who shines in Simeon's hands to light up your faith, shine on your works, inspire your speech, make your prayer fervent and refine your intentions. Then when the lamp of this life goes out, there will appear for you who had so many lamps shining within you the light of unquenchable life, and it will shine for you at evening like the brightness of midday. Though you may have thought yourself completely used up, you will rise like the daystar and your darkness will be as bright as noon. No longer will you need the sun to shine for you by day nor will the brightness of the moon give you light; instead the Lord will be an everlasting light for you because the luminary of the new Jerusalem is the Lamb. To him be praise and splendor forever. Amen.

IGNY Abbey

GUERRIC OFIGNY (c.1070/1080-1157), about whose early life little is known, probably received his education at the cathedral school of Tournai (1087-1092), perhaps under the influence of Odo of Cambrai (1087-1092). He seems to have lived a retired life of prayer and study near the cathedral of Tournai.  He paid a visit to Clairvaux to consult Saint Bernard, and is mentioned by him as a novice in a letter to Ogerius in 1125-1126. He became abbot of the Cistercian abbey of lgny. in the diocese of Reims in 1138. A collection of 54 authentic sermons preached in chapter on Sundays and feast days have been edited. Guerric's spirituality was influenced by Origen.

St. Brigid's Shrine, Faughart.

Brigid died at Kildare on February 1 in 525 AD, she was laid to rest in a jeweled casket at Kil Dara. In 835, her remains were moved to protect them from Norse invaders, and interred in the same grave that holds the remains of St Patrick and St Columcille at Downpatrick. She is sometimes known as Bridget, Bride and Mary of the Gael. Her feast day is February 1.

So strong was the respect and reverence for this holy lady that she became the patroness of parishes, towns, and counties, not only in Ireland, but all across Europe and the America’s. She even had a symbol. As the shamrock became associated with St Patrick, a tiny cross made of rushes was linked with St Brigid. Woven by her while she explained the passion of Christ to a dying pagan, he was baptized before he died. Similar crosses are fashioned to this day as a defense against harm, and placed in the rafters of a cottage on the feast day of St. Brigid - February.

Saint Brigid's Shrine, Faughart, Dundalk, Louth, Ireland
	4 min - 2 Feb 2009 - Uploaded by dundalkdemocrat www.dundalkdemocrat.ie The shrine at Faughart, near Dundalk, County Louth, is dedicated to Saint Brigid, Ireland's second saint (after ... www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ikMsmp2ZK4 - Related videos

dundalkdemocrat | 02 February 2009 | 5 likes, 0 dislikes

http://www.dundalkdemocrat.ie/

The shrine at Faughart, near Dundalk, County Louth, is dedicated to Saint Brigid, Ireland's second saint (after Patrick), who was said to have been born at Faughart in the fifth century. She later founded a monastery at Kildare. Her tradition is strongly celebrated in Faughart and Dundalk to this day, with an annual pilgrimage and other events taking place on her feast day, February 1st, every year.

http://www.dundalkdemocrat.ie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ikMsmp2ZK4

St. Brigid's Shrine, Faughart.

St. Brigid's Shrine, Faughart.

Devotion to St Brigid, one of our national patrons, is of ancient origin and would seem to have begun during her lifetime. Brigid's cult grew to a status second only to that of Patrick, and to the Irish she was known as Mary of the Gael.

According to tradition, Brigid was born at Fochard Muirtheimne, a few miles north of Dundalk about 450 AD. Because of the strength of this tradition, the place was later known as Fochard Bríde.

It is believed that Brigid spent her early years in this scenic area of north Co Louth, and the ancient penitential 'stations' linked with St Brigid's Stream have been performed here from ancient times. The original shrine remained largely in a primitive condition until the early 1930s, when the present shrine was erected by local labour and a national pilgrimage organised.

On the first Sunday in July 1934, an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 assembled at Faughart. This great congregation included Eamonn de Valera, several Ministers of State, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, and several members of Dublin Corporation.

In Faughart today St. Brigid's Shrine is visited by hundreds of people from all over Ireland and pilgrims visit Fochard Bríde daily. Public pilgrimages are held during the year, a candlelight procession takes place on the Saint's feast day (1 February), a Mass for the Sick is celebrated in early June and there is a national pilgrimage on the first weekend in July. At public pilgrimages the pilgrims are blessed with a relic of the saint.

There are various large shaped smybolic stones, that people touch and pray around. They firmly believe that St. Brigid’s powers are within those stones and can cure their ailments. People often visit the old church, to pray to St. Brigid and fetch Holy Water from the running stream.

Brigid was one of the most remarkable women of her times, and despite the numerous legendary, extravagant, and even fantastic miracles attributed to her, there is no doubt that her extraordinary spirituality, boundless charity, and compassion for those in distress were real.

Brigid’s wisdom and generosity became legend, and people traveled from all over the country to share her wisdom. Her monastery at Kildare became one of the greatest centers of learning in Europe. She continued her holy and charitable work until her death.

Beatitudes Mt. 5:1-12

Blest are you! - Jesus Sermon Mount

Mass Intro: Fr. Raymond

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Raymond - - -
 Sent: Mon, 31 January, 2011 5:58:30
Subject: Beatitudes

BEATITUDES

The Beatitudes cut right across all the values of our modern society.
If we consider just one of them alone: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” for example, there is a whole multitude of advertising forces that shouts at us from morning to night the exact opposite.
“You can’t do without this, you can’t do without that.
You must have this, you must have that, or life isn’t worth living.” Whether it is the latest kitchen gadget or some new electronic device, or a bigger and better car or a holiday in some exotic location, or a new house or better furniture etc. etc. that is being forced upon us.
The list goes on interminably, blared at us by all the means of the media day and night.

But experience teaches us that, in fact, the more we have, the more we need. Riches and possessions beget their own kind, as it were.  We are drawn by them into a kind of vicious whirlpool of desires and needs that never stops its mad whirling.
Certainly, especially for the young setting out on life, there can be a legitimate amount of ambition to better oneself and make one’s way in life.
But there must come a time when we become basically satisfied with what we have and what we are, otherwise life becomes one long process of frustrations.
 

Especially must we always remember that the best things in life are free:  Love, friendship, family, peace of mind, and of course the wonderful sights and sounds of this so beautiful world we live in.
Above all this too is Jesus promise that the following of his commandments is the way to “ Life, pressed down, shaken together and running over.”
He is our creator, he knows our being and its needs and he it is who has drawn up for us this program of life and given us his promise that it works.