St. Vincent
St. Vincent was Deacon of Saragossa, and a martyr under Diocletian in
304. This most renowned martyr of Spain is represented in the dalmatic
of a deacon, and has as emblems a cross, a raven, a grate, or a
fire-pile. He is honored as patron in Valencia, Saragossa and Portugal.
He
was born at Saragossa to Eutricius, his father, and Enola, his mother,
who was a native of Osca. Under the direction of Valerius, Bishop of
Sargossa, Vincent made great progress in his studies. He was ordained a
deacon and commissioned to do the preaching in the diocese since the
bishop at the time had a speech impedement.
By order of
Governor Dacian, Vincent and his bishop were dragged in chains to
Valencia and kept in prison there for a long time. Then Valerius was
banished, but Vincent was subjected to many cruel torments including the
rack, the gridiron, and scourgings. After suffering these, he was again
imprisoned in a cell strewn with potsherds. He was then placed in a
soft and luxurious bed, to shake his constancy, but there he expired.
His
body was thrown to be devoured by vultures, but it was defended by a
raven. Dacian then had the body cast into the sea, but it came to shore
and was buried by a pious widow. After peace was restored to the Church,
a chapel was built over Vincent's remains outside the walls of
Valencia.
1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51
32 And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go
against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and
he has been a man of war from his youth."
37 And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the
paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the
hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be
with you!"
40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five
smooth stones from the brook, and put them in his shepherd's bag or
wallet; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 And the Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.
42 And when the Philistine looked, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, ruddy and comely in appearance.
43 And the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field."
45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me
with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin; but I come to you in
the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you
have defied.
46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand,
and I will strike you down, and cut off your head; and I will give the
dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the
air and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel,
47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD
saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and he will
give you into our hand."
48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to
meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the
Philistine.
49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a
stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the
stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling
and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; there was
no sword in the hand of David.
51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine, and
took his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut
off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was
dead, they fled.
Mark 3:1-6
1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.
2 And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him.
3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come here."
4 And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent.
5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at
their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
6 The Pharisees went out, and immediately held counsel with the Hero'di-ans against him, how to destroy him.
Psalms 144:1-2, 9-10
1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
2 my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my
deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues the
peoples under him.
9 I will sing a new song to thee, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to thee,
10 who givest victory to kings, who rescuest David thy servant.
Lord, thank You for showing me the way
Wed 22nd Jan 2020
2nd Week in Ordinary Time
1 Sam.
17:32-33,37,40-51;
Ps.
144(143):1,2,9-10; Mk. 3:1-6 (Ps Wk II)
In the Gospel passage, Jesus' mercy for
the man with the withered hand is the climax of the section that
began with Jesus’ cure of the paralyzed man in Mark 2:1-12. Its
climactic nature becomes evident in three ways. Firstly, the Gospel
writer, Mark, places this synagogue cure on the Sabbath, immediately
after the statement that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. The
healing of the man with the withered hand is concrete proof of Jesus’
claim to Lordship.
Secondly, unlike the previous passages
where it is the Pharisees who question Jesus and become upset with
him now, it is Jesus who challenges the Pharisees and becomes angry
with them. In the face of Jesus’ questioning, the Pharisees had
nothing to say. Here, Jesus demonstrates his authority as Lord of the
Sabbath.
Thirdly, after Jesus shows his merciful
power by entirely restoring the man’s hand, the Pharisees withdraw
to plot how they might destroy Jesus.
Today’s Gospel narrative of the
healing of the man demonstrates that conflicts and challenges will
come to those who wish to follow him. Nevertheless, no matter the
difficulties we will face while trying to live the Christian life,
Jesus will be with us on our behalf. He assures us that he will
respond generously to our faith in him because he has come for the
needy as a merciful Lord of the Sabbath.
Lord, thank You for showing me the way.
