"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."[John 6:68]
Friday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time
Saints of the day: St. Agatha, Virgin & Martyr (+ 251) - Memorial
SAINT AGATHA
Virgin and Martyr
(+ 251)
St. Agatha was born in Sicily, of rich and noble parents-a child of benediction from the first, for she was promised to her parents before her birth, and consecrated from her earliest infancy to God. In the midst of dangers and temptations she served Christ in purity of body and soul, and she died for the love of chastity. Quintanus, who governed Sicily under the Emperor Decius, had heard the rumor of her beauty and wealth, and he made the laws against the Christians a pretext for summoning her from Palermo to Catania, where he was at the time. "O Jesus Christ!" she cried, as she set out on this dreaded journey, "all that I am is Thine; preserve me against the tyrant."Virgin and Martyr
(+ 251)
And Our Lord did indeed preserve one who had given herself so utterly to Him. He kept her pure and undefiled while she was imprisoned for a whole month under charge of an evil woman. He gave her strength to reply to the offer of her life and safety, if she would but consent to sin, "Christ alone is my life and my salvation." When Quintanus turned from passion to cruelty, and cut off her breasts, Our Lord sent the Prince of His apostles to heal her. And when, after she had been rolled naked upon potsherds, she asked that her torments might be ended, her Spouse heard her prayer and took her to Himself.
St. Agatha gave herself without reserve to Jesus Christ; she followed Him in virginal purity, and then looked to Him for protection. And down to this day Christ has shown His tender regard for the very body of St. Agatha. Again and again, during the eruptions of Mount Etna, the people of Catania have exposed her veil for public veneration, and found safety by this means; and in modern times, on opening the tomb in which her body lies waiting for the resurrection, they beheld the skin still entire, and felt the sweet fragrance which issued from this temple of the Holy Spirit.[Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]]
Friday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time
Book of Sirach 47: David
2 Just as the fat is separated
from the offering of well-being,
so David was set apart
from the Israelites.
3 He played with lions
as if they were young goats,
and with bears
as if they were lambs from the flock.
4 Didn’t he kill a giant in his youth
and take away disgrace from the people,
when he raised his hand with a stone shot from a sling
and struck down
the arrogant Goliath?
5 David called upon the Lord Most High,
and the Lord gave strength
to his strong arm
to do away with a mighty warrior,
to assert the power[Sirach 47:5 LXX horn] of his people.
6 For this, they glorified him
in throngs of thousands.
They praised him,
calling down the Lord’s blessings,
when they brought him
a glorious crown.
7 David destroyed his enemies
on every side,
and he despised the Philistines,
his adversaries;
he shattered their power,
which has never recovered.[Sirach 47:7 LXX shattered their horn to this very day]
8 In everything he did, he gave thanks
to the holy one, the Most High,
with glorious words.
He sang hymns with all his heart,
and he loved his maker.
9 He appointed singers with harps
before the altar
to make sweet melody with their sounds.[Sirach 47:9 LXXb adds and every day they offer praise with their songs.]
10 He brought dignity to the festivals,
and he adorned the whole cycle
of sacred seasons,[Sirach 47:10 Gk he adorned the times until their completion]
as they were praising God’s holy name,
and from early morning
the sanctuary resounded.
11 The Lord took away David’s sins,
and he exalted his power[Sirach 47:11 LXX horn] forever.
He established his kingdom by agreement;
and a glorious throne in Israel.
Psalms 18:31 (30) “As for God, his way is perfect,
the word of Adonai has been tested by fire;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
47 (46) “Adonai is alive! Blessed is my Rock!
Exalted be the God of my salvation,
50 (49) “So I give thanks to you, Adonai, among the nations;
I sing praises to your name.
51 (50) Great salvation he gives to his king;
he displays grace to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.”
The Holy Gospel of Yeshua the Messiah according to Saint Mark 6:14 Meanwhile, King Herod heard about this, for Yeshua’s reputation had spread. Some were saying, “Yochanan the Immerser has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 Others said, “It is Eliyahu!” and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the old prophets.” 16 But when Herod heard about it, he said, “Yochanan, whom I had beheaded, has been raised.”
17 For Herod had sent and had Yochanan arrested and chained in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her, 18 but Yochanan had told him, “It violates the Torah for you to marry your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted him put to death. But this she could not accomplish, 20 because Herod stood in awe of Yochanan and protected him, for he knew that he was a tzaddik, a holy man. Whenever he heard him, he became deeply disturbed; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally, the opportunity came. Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his nobles and officers and the leading men of the Galil. 22 The daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want; I will give it to you”; 23 and he made a vow to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 24 So she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She said, “The head of Yochanan the Immerser.” 25 At once the daughter hurried back to the king and announced her request: “I want you to give me right now on a platter the head of Yochanan the Immerser.” 26 Herod was appalled; but out of regard for the oaths he had sworn before his dinner guests, he did not want to break his word to her. 27 So the king immediately sent a soldier from his personal guard with orders to bring Yochanan’s head. The soldier went and beheaded Yochanan in the prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When Yochanan’s talmidim heard of it, they came and took the body and laid it in a grave.
Friday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day:
Origen (c.185-253), priest and theologian
Homily 27 on St. Luke, 2-4
Since John couldn’t go to Jesus himself, he sent his disciples to get information: “Are you ‘He who is to come’ or are we to expect someone else?” (Luke 7:19) Note that even in prison, John taught. Even in that place, he had disciples. Even in prison, John fulfilled his task as master and taught his disciples through conversations about God. Under these circumstances, the question concerning Jesus came up, and so John sent him some disciples…
The disciples came back and told their master what the Savior had told them to proclaim. For John, this answer was a weapon in facing the combat. He died with assurance and let himself be beheaded with a big heart, assured by the word of the Lord himself that he in whom he believed really was the Son of God. John the Baptist’s freedom was so great, Herod’s madness was so great that to his many crimes he first added that of imprisoning John the Baptist and then he murdered him.
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The disciples came back and told their master what the Savior had told them to proclaim. For John, this answer was a weapon in facing the combat. He died with assurance and let himself be beheaded with a big heart, assured by the word of the Lord himself that he in whom he believed really was the Son of God. John the Baptist’s freedom was so great, Herod’s madness was so great that to his many crimes he first added that of imprisoning John the Baptist and then he murdered him.
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