The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B

February 5, 2006

Gathering

In this week’s readings, we are confronted by one of life’s troubling realities – suffering. No one escapes some type of misfortune whether it is physical illness, mental torment, loss of possessions or broken spirit. This week’s scriptures, and in particular the images of Jesus’ public ministry, invite us to take a fresh look at the meaning of suffering and how to deal with it. Responding to those in need is an essential part of being Christian and human.

Opening Prayer

Response after each summary of newspaper article: The Lord is my strength and my comforter.

Terry: How good to celebrate our God in song;

how sweet to give fitting praise.

The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;

gathers the dispersed of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted,

binds up their wounds.

He numbers all the stars;

calls each of them by name.

Great is our Lord, vast in power,

with wisdom beyond measure.

The Lord sustains the poor;

but casts the wicked to the ground.

Psalm 147: 1-6

Opening Song Heal Me, Yahweh from MusicQuest

Review of Life -

Recall a time when you were downcast because of misfortune or illness that hit close to home.

Gospel: Mark 1:29-39; First Reading Job 7:1-4, 6-7

Commentary: “A Lesson in Suffering”

The reading from Job draws our attention to the problem of human suffering; the one from Mark portrays Jesus in the role of healer of misery and pain. This is a good opportunity to examine our attitudes toward one of life’s most undesirable, but unavoidable, accompaniments. Why do we suffer?

Most of our ancestors had a relatively high tolerance for suffering. Discomfort was a given in everyday life. Inconveniences, as we understand them, were so common that they weren’t noticed as inconveniences. Life was short; suffering was expected in this “vale of tears;” real happiness was promised only in an afterlife. But such is not our experience today. In the last few decades, rapid advances in science and technology have created a different kind of world for us, along with a whole new range of expectations. We’ve developed intolerance for any discomfort, much less suffering. Conveniences such as central air conditioning, automatic ice cube makers, and dial-a-movie are taken for granted. Life expectancy has ripened into grand old age, and happiness in this life is viewed as an inviolable birthright. Suffering is looked upon almost as an affront to human dignity and an insult to human progress. Pain relievers corner a billion dollar market with promised “instant” relief.

In general, this intolerant attitude toward suffering creates some notable repercussions. Finding suffering unacceptable, we’re poorly prepared for the reversals of fortune that life always has in store. We’re “shocked” by accidents and become severely depressed over setbacks and losses. When we look upon suffering as insufferable, ordinary problems and pains appear catastrophic. If we can’t find “instant relief” from a cold or a headache, we remain perfectly miserable. All this, however, is the result of something that sages of all times have noted: suffering that is resisted becomes all the worse. Feeling we don’t “deserve” to suffer sets us up for even more, and more intense, suffering.

Since suffering and pain are so much a part of everyone’s life, is it unreasonable to conclude that that’s the way it’s supposed to be? No matter how we try to avoid it, some suffering is inescapable. It appears that the very nature of life, in terms of its dynamics toward growth and evolution, guarantees suffering. We are divine and animal, immortal and biodegradable, programmed for infinite possibilities yet embodied in a very finite organism. This means that sorrow, loss, setback, and pain are just as natural to us as joy, achievement, success, and pleasure. This isn’t to say that we should look forward to suffering or that we shouldn’t do what is reasonable to alleviate it, but to deny suffering’s right to exist, or constantly demanding “instant” relief is unreasonable and self-defeating.

To live is to suffer.

Jesus healed suffering people, but he never cursed suffering itself. Suffering and pain indicate that something is wrong and needs correction; something needs to be addressed and changed. So rather than complain about our suffering, or vainly protest that “this shouldn’t be happening to me,” we should look toward suffering for the lesson it is trying to offer. Depending on our outlook and expectations, suffering can crush us or make us whole.

Look to relieve your pain, but not without first asking: What am I meant to learn from this? Why am I undergoing this affliction? What has brought this on? What can this agony teach me? Suffering is relieved the more we understand its purpose. With such an attitude on your part, suffering becomes a teacher rather than a curse. Michael R. Kent

What follows in the boxes is from: http://www.oblates.org/spirituality/sundays_salesian/2006_02_05.php

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 5, 2006)
Readings Jb 7: 1-4, 6-7 Ps 147: 1-6 1 Cor 9: 16-19, 22-23 Mk 1: 29-39
Suggested Emphasis
"Is not our life on earth drudgery?"
Salesian Perspective
Let's face it. Try as we might to always look at the bright side of life, each and every one of us have times in our lives when we would answer Job's question with a resounding "yes."
The burdens of life are real. Setbacks in life are painful. Headaches - and heartache - are a part of being human. We need to be honest. We need to name and address those areas of our lives in which we feel weighed down and burdened. However, wallowing in or dwelling upon the negative can be far more dangerous and debilitating to our spiritual, emotional, psychological, social and mental health than the troubles themselves.
Francis de Sales observed that dwelling on the burdens of life "upsets the soul, arouses inordinate fears, creates disgust for prayer, stupefies and oppresses the brain, deprives the mind of prudence, resolution, judgment and courage, and destroys its strength. In a word, such sorrow is like a severe winter that spoils all the beauty of the country and weakens all the animals. It takes away all sweetness from the soul and renders it disabled."
What is the best remedy for melancholy, for the temptation to focus only on what is wrong, what is broken, what is painful? The combination of prayer, good works, and good friends.
Prayer - "Prayer is a sovereign remedy for it lifts up the soul to God who is our joy and consolation."
Good works - "By means of sorrow the evil one tries to make us weary of doing what is good, but if he sees that we won't give up on doing good, then he will stop troubling us."
Good friends - "Humbly and sincerely reveal to another all the feelings, affections and suggestions that proceed from your sadness. Try to talk to spiritual friends frequently and spend time with them as much as you possibly can during this period" of dryness.
St. Francis de Sales claimed "the evil one is pleased with sadness and melancholy because he himself is sad and melancholy and will be so for all eternity. Hence, Satan desires that everyone should be like himself." Hence the expression misery loves company.
In the face of life's burdens and difficulties let's do our level best to deprive the evil one of our company and walk in the company prayerful, positive and proactive people.
Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.

Questions for Reflection

1.  How do you balance the demands of work and family with an outreach to someone who has fallen on hard times?

2.  What are the obstacles to my prayer? What helps me overcome the obstacles? What benefits have I experienced when I have taken time to pray?

3.  What does it do to you to be in the presence of someone who is seriously ill or downtrodden?

4.  Jesus restored himself with prayer to his Father in the desert. How do you restore yourself when you have experienced a particularly stressful time as a caregiver?

5.  When have you discovered God’s presence in your suffering?

6.  Jesus was clear about his mission – why he was here on earth. How would I describe my own personal mission? How can I keep that mission alive and not let it become sidetracked?

The "So What" question

Any insights gleaned from the small group sharing? What difference will this make when I go home to my family, my workplace, the neighborhood, the way I relate to the poor?

Shared Prayer “Morning Prayer” from The Jesus Meditations by Michael Kennedy

Francis de Sales
St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) bishop and doctor. Feast: January 24.
Biographical sketch and quote taken from:
Hoagland, Victor and George Angelini. The Book of Saints: The Lives of the Saints According to the Liturgical Calendar. 1986. The Regina Press, New York.
St. Francis de Sales was born on August 21, 1567, at the Château de Sales in the kingdom of Savoy near Geneva, Switzerland. He came from a noble family and even as a child he desired to serve God completely. Though frail and delicate, he had a quick, intelligent mind and a gentle, kind disposition. His family educated him at the best schools of his day.
In 1580, he entered the University of Paris and was drawn to the study of theology. He then attended the University of Padua, where he received his doctorate in law at the age of twenty-four.
His father wanted him to pursue a career in law and politics and enter into an advantageous marriage. But Francis wanted to be a priest. Against his father’s wishes he was ordained in 1593 by the Bishop of Geneva.
The Catholic Church at that time was losing many of its people to the new churches of the Protestant Reformation. Francis set out to restore Catholicism in the region around Lake Geneva known as Chablais. Tirelessly and patiently preaching the ancient faith, writing leaflets that clearly explained the Catholic view, he gradually re-established a strong Catholicism in that area. In 1602, he was appointed Bishop of Geneva.
From his residence at Annecy, he organized his diocese and with a winning gentleness ministered to his people. His encouragement and wise counsel inspired many people to a better way of life. In 1608, his most famous book, An Introduction to a Devout Life, was published and soon circulated throughout the world. In 1610, he founded the Order of Visitation with St. Jane Francis de Chantal, whom he guided in the spiritual life.
Francis de Sales was convinced that God sees humanity as a great and varied garden, each person beautiful in his or her uniqueness. The various callings of life – soldier, prince, widow, married woman – are like the various flowers of the field; God loves them all. Through his or her own calling, each person can find a way to a deeper friendship with his or her creator. Francis approached people with genuine respect and gently guided them to recognize the unique path they would take in life. He made the journey to God joyful and possible for everyone to make. Above all, he advised against despair and the burden of fear.
He died at Lyons on December 28, 1622.
Go courageously to do whatever
you are called to do.
If you have any fears, say to your soul:
”The Lord will provide for us.”
If your weakness troubles you,
cast yourselves on God, and trust in him.
The apostles were mostly unlearned fishermen,
but God gave them learning enough
for the work they had to do.
Trust in him, depend on his providence;
fear nothing.
St. Francis de Sales

Response In Action

1.  Study Good Shepherd’s mission Statement:

We the disciples of Jesus Christ, who worship at Good Shepherd, accept the privilege and the responsibility of supporting one another in love and service, of giving witness to the Good News of salvation, thus enabling others to experience the loving presence of Our Risen Lord.

Reflect on the ways the community carries out this mission.

2.  Give some time to thinking about the personal mission that is yours alone. Write it down this week and list three ways you carry it out.

3.  Renew your intention for regular prayer by safeguarding a regular time for it.

4.  Approach Cathie Blackman, Good Shepherd’s Pastoral Minister of Parish Social Ministry, for guidance about reaching out to a needy family in Holbrook. Help the family in some way to find its footing.

5.  Provide some respite to a caregiver who needs a break and the opportunity for some Sabbath time.

6.  Remember: http://www.thehungersite.com

7.  Act against the suffering of worldwide human trafficking! Estimates are that some 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year, forced into prostitution, factory work and farming, with several hundred thousand others constrained against their will inside their own countries. Some one-third to one-half are believed to be children. Contact Amnesty International at (212) 807-8400 or online at www.amnestyusa.org to see what you can do.

Business

Our next meeting will be on Valentine’s Day. Would anyone like to prepare it? It will be for The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B. Check out: http://www.oblates.org/spirituality and click on Sundays Salesian

Mardi Gras will be February 28th 7-9:30pm. Each small church has been asked to bring whatever they will need to serve and partake of their country’s goodies. Hot Water in urns will be available in the kitchen. How are your preparations coming along?

Our country is Mexico. Those interested in Mardi Gras are:

Father Tom, Carol, Lee-Anne, Genevieve and Nancy.