10 January 2013 Alarm, hypocrisy and disappointment of King Herod At the Magi’s question as to where the King of the Jews, whose star they had seen, was born, “Herod was troubled and all Jerusalem with him” (Mt 2:3). Why is King Herod terrified? Was it selfishness, ambition or jealousy? He feared losing his kingdom! We also become troubled, sad or discouraged. Is it because God is offended? Or because we have been humbled, reprimanded, contradicted? The bottom line is pride, vanity, jealousy, or loss of comfort! Herod privately learned from the wise men the time the star appeared. Sending the Magi to Bethlehem, he said, “Go and diligently inquire after the Child; when you have found Him, bring me word, that I also may come and adore Him” (Mt 2:8). What was Herod’s real plan in this seemingly respectful and pious counsel? To find out the age and home of the Divine Child, that he might put Him to death. And to ensure success of his evil plan, he orders a massacre of all children of the same age born in the vicinity of Bethlehem. What hypocrisy! Hypocrisy offends God and men. To make a pretext of virtue, unmindful of its reality, is hypocrisy. Some examples of hypocrisy are: To obey orders, or conform to rule, only because we are observed. To pretend that we approve of our director and of his orders in his presence, but condemn him at his back. To speak out just to obtain what we desire. To speak ill of one’s self, so as to attract praise. The angel of the Lord ordered the Magi to return by another way. Then he told Joseph to flee with the Child into Egypt. Thus, the wicked plans of King Herod were rebuffed. The massacre of the children peopled heaven with new saints. Herod earned the hatred of men and of posterity. Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp21-3 On our charity, prayers and sacrifices The Creator of all things does not need our gifts; but he wants us to be generous so that we may receive more graces and gifts from him. We present him ‘the gold’ of our charity -- our desire to love him more, to treat others with more love. We offer ‘the frankincense’ of our prayers and good works. We give ‘the myrrh’ of our sacrifices united to the Sacrifice of the Cross as renewed in the Holy Mass. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:13 Offer Our Gifts to the Divine Child with the Magi Modern man, too ... meets with God when he opens up to Him with the interior gift of his human “ego”, to accept and exchange the immense gifts which He presented to him first: the gift of existence, the gift of the Redemption, the gift of faith. And that Child, who accepted the gift of the Wise Men, is still always He before whom people and entire people “open their coffers”, that is, their treasures. The gifts of the human spirit take on a particular value in the act of this opening to the incarnate God; they become the treasures of the various cultures, the spiritual wealth of the peoples, and of the nations, the common patrimony of all mankind. The center of this exchange is Christ: the same who accepted the gifts of the Magi. Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p51 Jesus is our only Teacher On beginning his public life, people “were amazed at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not like the scribes” (Mk 1:22). When they were listening to him the crowds forgot their hunger, their cold. He told his disciples, “You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for that is what I am” (Jn 13:13). Jesus continuously taught -- in the Synagogues (Mt 4:23), by the lakeside (Mk 3:9), in the Temple (Mt 21:22-3), along the roads (Jn 4:5), in houses, etc. “There is much else besides that Jesus did. If all of it were put in writing, I do not think the world itself would contain the books which would have to be written.” (Jn 21:25) Jesus always tells each one of us what we need to hear. When we read with a faithful heart the Gospel for a few minutes each day, meditating on it slowly, we feel urged to say with St Peter: “Lord, you alone have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68). We must learn to hear Christ in our life, in our soul, in the different ways and circumstances in which he speaks to us. He always has something to tell us, personally. Our heart must know how to listen, attentive to the things of God: Our Teacher always; today and will be, tomorrow. Ask above all for a heart capable of listening, and of understanding those interior motions of the Paraclete in our soul -- this language of God who speaks to us through the Magisterium of the Church; this doctrine, which comes to us so clearly through the Pope and the Bishops in union with him and which demands a practical response. We ask Our Lady that we may be attentive to the voice of God, who speaks to us today as he did twenty centuries ago, although at times he uses intermediaries. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:353-5, 358-9 Fruitfulness -- “Let us go to Jesus in the Tabernacle where we can get to know him and assimilate his teaching, and then be able to hand out this food to souls.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Forge”, 938) • Our Lady of the Guides, at Constantinople. One of the distaffs of the Blessed Virgin was shown, with some of the clothes of the Infant Jesus, which St. Pulcheria bestowed on this church. (Bethlehem Observer Historical Calendar) • Our Lady of the Guides. Constantinople. ["one of the distaffs of the Blessed Virgin was shown, with some of the clothes of the infant Jesus, which St. Pulcheria bestowed on this church. (Nicephorus Tractatus 3, chapter 7)."] (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of the Guides, Constantinople (1570). (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Guides (Constantinople). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of Tears (Italy, 1546) (http://mariedenazareth.com.)