My Saturday Daily Blessings, January 26, 2013

My Saturday Daily Blessings Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here loving you, talking to you...............................................    Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops (Catholic Observance)  Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar) First Reading: 2 Tim 1:1-8   Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God for the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear child: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day. I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy,  as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also in you. For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.   Responsorial Psalm: Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10   "Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations."     Gospel: Mk 3:20-21   Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.   ** Reflection: Is the Lord Jesus honored in your home? Why would Jesus' relatives be so upset with him when he began his public ministry? On one occasion Jesus remarked that a man's enemies will be the members of his own household(Matthew 10:36). The Gospel of Mark records the reaction of Jesus' relatives when he went home: they came to seize him. They, no doubt, thought that Jesus must have gone mad or become a religious fanatic. How could a good home-body from Nazareth leave his carpentry trade and go off to become an itinerant preacher? Jesus had thrown away the security and safety of a quiet and respectable life close to his family and relatives. He probably expected some opposition or reaction from the highest religious authorities in Jerusalem. The hardest opposition, however, may come from someone close to us, even your own kin. Jesus met opposition with grace and with determination to fulfill his Father's will. Are you ready to obey and follow the Lord even if others oppose your doing so? ** Prayer: "Lord Jesus, help me to put you first in all my thoughts and concerns. And may I always find joy in doing your will, even in times of difficulty or opposition." Amen. Sources:    Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. **Don Schwager Author and Writer, Sword of the Spirit Editor of Living Bulwark and member of Servants of the Word, UK