Today, 22nd of February, we celebrate
The Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle
God said,
“Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures,
and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.”
And so it happened:
God created the great sea monsters
and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems,
and all kinds of winged birds.
God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying,
“Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas;
and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
Evening came, and morning followed–the fifth day.
Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures:
cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds.”
And so it happened:
God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle,
and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.
God saw how good it was.
Then God said:
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.”
God created man in his image;
in the divine image he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying:
“Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth.”
God also said:
“See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food.”
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.
Evening came, and morning followed–the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing,
he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.
Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation.
R./ O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!When I
behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place—
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R./ O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
R./ O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R./ O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.”
It Must Be a Matter of Perspective. Or Maybe Even Sharpness of Vision.
Some people have an incredible ability to confuse what is essential with what is secondary. Let me give an extreme example. I once met someone who would go from parish to parish attending Mass—and, in the process, would report the bishop of his diocese every time the celebrating priest mispronounced a word or omitted the slightest part of the Eucharistic prayer or the preface.
It never even crossed this person’s mind to consider whether there was a living Christian community in the parish, whether the people attending Mass were truly participating or just standing there like statues of salt. Apparently, none of that mattered compared to these tiny omissions, or whether there were two or three candles on the altar, or… This might be an extreme case, but I have met people for whom receiving Communion in the hand or on the tongue is the difference between being a true Christian or a blasphemer.
We must focus on what truly matters—beyond just following the rules. Because rules can be followed, but sometimes, with no life behind them. And it all becomes nothing more than “I fulfill and I lie.” A purely external compliance that means nothing and involves nothing of the person.
Following Jesus, being a Christian, is much more than obeying the rules of canon law, liturgy, or the commandments of the Church. It is about a personal relationship with Jesus, about living out brotherly love—because that is what defines the Kingdom, that is what truly brings us closer to God, and that is what makes us more like Him.
To those who only focus on rules, Jesus clearly calls them hypocrites. He reminds them of what the prophet Isaiah said: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13). May we not fall into hypocrisy, deceiving ourselves into thinking that simply following the rules is enough. Only in love will we truly encounter God.
Fernando Torres, CMFOn February 11, 1858, our Lady appeared at Lourdes to a simple girl, Bernadette Soubirous. Since then, millions of pilgrims have flocked to this town and have experienced there a renewal of their faith and for sorne of thern, their health. Pilgrimages are a sacred tradition for God’s pilgrirn people; many of these pilgrim journeys are to Manan sanctuaries, where pilgrims seek the restora tion of their health and their faith. The greatest miracle of Lourdes lies perhaps, not so rnuch in its spectacular cures, but in the atmosphere of the trusting prayer of the pilgrims and in the unity of faith of the poor and the rich, the healthy and the sick.
Lord our God,
the Mother of Jesus was one with her Son
in the mystery of pain,
when he saved people by his suffering,
his death and resurrection.
Through her prayers, help those
who journey to her sanctuaries
because their bodies are racked with pain
and their hearts are pierced with a sword.
Give them the courage of faith
to keep hoping in you,
our God, for ever and ever.
For those who restlessly seek to encounter God more deeply, that they may experience God’s nearness in prayer and in good people, we pray:
— For our Christian families, that husbands and wives may take Christ as their companion through life and show their children the way to the Lord, we pray:
— For the sick and ah those who suffer, that in their suffering they may be aware that God knows and that iesus is near to them, we pray:
— For al! of us, that we may remain al! throughout life, pilgrims on the way to God and one another, we pray:
Our compassionate God,
with these gifts of bread and wine,
we come to the table of your Son
to express our faith and trust in you
through the prayers of Mary.
May those who flock to her
find faith and health of mmd and body,
strength in their weakness
and joy in your love.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
God our Father
in your kindness, you hear the prayers
of ah who entrust to you with faith
their cares and their needs.
We unite ourselves in prayer with her
whom you chose to be
the mother of your Son.
Let her prayers lead us nearer to him
who carne to bring us home
in the kingdom ofyourjustice,
now and for ever and ever.
When we go on life’s pilgrimage to our permanent land and home,
we are sure to arrive safely if we journey with the faith and spirit of
service of Mary, and we may count on the blessing of Almighty God:
the Fathe and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
