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Thursday, Jan 28, 2021
MEMORIAL OF THOMAS AQUINAS, PRIEST, RELIGIOUS, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
Let your light shine
How apt that the gospel on today’s memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas encourages us to let our light shine. This saint’s light was his powerful intellect, and it still shines brightly today. His theological writings, particularly Summa Theologiae, continue to have tremendous impact on the church. One of his lasting insights is that faith and reason both come from God, and Christian doctrine is not at odds with rational thought. In honor of this doctor of the church with his relentlessly probing mind, take time to sharpen your own understanding of a faith-related issue.
TODAY'S READINGS: Hebrews 10:19-25 Mark 4:21-25
“Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket . . . and not to be placed on a lampstand?”
#takefiveforfaith
221...A false notion of tolerance has to give way to a dialogic realism on the part of men and women who remain faithful to their own principles while recognizing that others also have the right to do likewise. This is the genuine acknowledgment of the other that is made possible by love alone. We have to stand in the place of others, if we are to discover what is genuine, or at least understandable, in their motivations and concerns... RECOVERING KINDNESS
222... We can choose to cultivate kindness. Those who do so become stars shining in the midst of darkness.
Excerpt: FRATELLI TUTTI
Pope Francis Encyclical
On Fraternity and Social Friendship
*Part of a sequential daily series to read and reflect on this new encyclical.
We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works.
Hebrews 10:24
#dailyingodsword
Renewing Hope
2021 Annual Catholic Appeal
Be on the outlook for more information in the coming weeks!
219. When one part of society exploits all that the world has to offer, acting as if the poor did not exist, there will eventually be consequences. Sooner or later, ignoring the existence and rights of others will erupt in some form of violence, often when least expected. Liberty, equality and fraternity can remain lofty ideals unless they apply to everyone. Encounter cannot take place only between the holders of economic, political or academic power. Genuine social encounter calls for a dialogue that engages the culture shared by the majority of the population. A realistic and inclusive social covenant must also be a “cultural covenant”, one that respects and acknowledges the different worldviews, cultures and lifestyles that coexist in society.
Excerpt: FRATELLI TUTTI
Pope Francis Encyclical
On Fraternity and Social Friendship
*Part of a sequential daily series to read and reflect on this new encyclical.
Artist Käthe Kollwitz
Gospel - Mark 4:1-20
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables,
and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
“Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
And when he was alone,
those present along with the Twelve
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them,
“The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”
Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” #dailyingodsword
🎨THE SOWER Vincent VanGogh
“How beautiful it would be if all could admire how much we care for one another, how we encourage and help each other. Giving of ourselves establishes an interpersonal relationship we do not give ‘things’ but our very selves. In any act of giving, we give ourselves. ‘Giving of oneself’ means letting all the power of that love which is God’s Holy Spirit take root in our lives, opening our hearts to his creative power. When we give of ourselves, we discover our true identity as children of God in the image of the Father and, like him, givers of life we discover that we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, to whom we bear witness. This is what it means to evangelize this is the new revolution – for our faith is always revolutionary – this is our deepest and most enduring cry.”
– Pope Francis
#dailypopefrancis
