Psalm 36

Sin directs the heart of the wicked man;

his eyes are closed to the fear of God.

For he lives with the delusion:

his guilt will not be known and hated.

Empty and false are the words of his mouth;

he has ceased to be wise and do good.

On his bed he hatches plots;

he sets out on a wicked way;

he does not reject evil.

Psalm 36:2-5


 UPDATE
Part II

LORD, your mercy reaches to heaven;

your fidelity, to the clouds.

Your justice is like the highest mountains;

your judgments, like the mighty deep;

human being and beast you sustain, LORD.

How precious is your mercy, O God!

The children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the rich food of your house;

from your delightful stream you give them drink.

For with you is the fountain of life,

and in your light we see light.

Psalm 36:6-10

 

Who Said This?

“...The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”

A) Ronald Reagan

B) John F. Kennedy

C) George Washington

D) Barack Obama 

UPDATE: Answer is B, in his inaugural address.

 

Prayer for Lent

Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting
this campaign of Christian service,
so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,
we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.

St. Valentine

St. Valentine’s Day remains a popular celebration even though it is not celebrated as a liturgical holy day in the Church.  When it was celebrated in the martyrology, there were three Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, mentioned on February 14th. Two were from later in the 200s.  They were buried on the Flaminian Way.  In fact, the Flaminian Gate was once called the Gate of St. Valentine.  The third St. Valentine was martyred with several companions in North Africa.  

During the Middle Ages, in England and France, it was commonly held that the birds chose mates around February 14.  This is mentioned in a poem by Chaucer which says,

For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.

It is likely that customs of writing love letters and exchanging gifts on Saint Valentine's Day came of this understanding.   French and English literature of the time relate accounts of these traditions.  (www.newadvent.com)

Unclean!

The spotless lamb takes the place of the unclean.

We hear in the first reading today of the Lord's instructions to Moses and Aaron regarding those afflicted with leprosy.  The Lord says, 

The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare,

and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, 'Unclean, unclean!' As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.

Thus, those individuals were to visibly identify themselves by keeping their garments rent, head bare and beard muffled.  They also had to audibly identify themselves as well with the unwelcome identifier "Unclean."  Finally, the leper was to separate himself, physically from the rest of the group by living outside the camp.  

In the gospel reading we hear of Jesus' healing of the leper.  The leper, in his act of faith, comes to Jesus and confidently asserts, 

If you wish, you can make me clean.

Jesus touches the unclean man and makes him clean.  Jesus then gives the man two instructions.  First, Jesus tells the man to not tell anyone of this.  I'll come back to this point later.  Jesus also tells the man that he should show himself to the priest and fulfill the proper offering which Moses prescribed for those made clean.  It is interesting to note that the purification offering is quite elaborate as described in Leviticus 14.  The offering includes the following prescription...

Taking one of the male lambs, the priest shall present it as a reparation offering, along with the log of oil, raising them as an elevated offering before the Lord.

Getting back to Jesus' first instruction to the man made clean.  Jesus, as he does after many of his miraculous cures, told the man not to tell anyone anything.  However, the man could not contain himself and publicized the whole matter.  Word traveled and as a result Jesus was mobbed when he tried to enter any town.  As such, Jesus ended up staying outside of the towns.  It is as if Jesus traded places with the man who would have had to remain outside of town himself.   The spotless lamb takes the place of the unclean.   

  

Presentation in the Temple

Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.

Luke 2:29-32

Simeon in the Temple - Rembrandt - 1669

 

First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...
 
In August 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services issued an interim final rule that will require most health insurance plans to cover preventive services for women including recommended contraceptive services without charging a co-pay, co-insurance or a deductible.
[...]
After evaluating comments, we have decided to add an additional element to the final rule. Nonprofit employers who, based on religious beliefs, do not currently provide contraceptive coverage in their insurance plan, will be provided an additional year, until August 1, 2013, to comply with the new law. Employers wishing to take advantage of the additional year must certify that they qualify for the delayed implementation. This additional year will allow these organizations more time and flexibility to adapt to this new rule.

What can you do?