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In our General Intention this month, Pope Benedict asks us to join him in praying that all people may have access to water and other resources necessary for daily life. On the occasion of the 2007 World Water Day, the Holy Father stated quite clearly that access to water is a human right. Let us pray for the millions of people in our world who do not have access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation as we reflect on his words which Cardinal Bertone presented on his behalf.
Water, a common good of the human family, constitutes an essential element for life; the management of this precious resource must enable all to have access to it, especially those who live in conditions of poverty, and must guarantee the liveability of the planet for both the present and future generations.
Access to water is in fact one of the inalienable rights of every human being, because it is a prerequisite for the realization of the majority of the other human rights, such as the rights to life, to food and to health.
For this reason, water "cannot be treated as just another commodity among many, and it must be used rationally and in solidarity with others.... The right to water... finds its basis in human dignity and not in any kind of merely quantitative assessment that considers water as a merely economic good. Without water, life is threatened. Therefore, the right to safe drinking water is a universal and inalienable right"(Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church #485).
In 1997 Blessed John Paul II designated this feast day on which we remember how Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the temple and consecrated him to the Father as the World Day of Consecrated Life. Many religious priests, sisters, and brothers work in mission areas as health workers. As we pray this month for health workers, let us remember them in a special way as we reflect on part of Pope John Paul’s message instituting this day.
The World Day for Consecrated Life will be celebrated on the feast which commemorates the presentation which Mary and Joseph made of Jesus in the temple "to present him to the Lord" (Lk 2:22). This Gospel scene reveals the mystery of Jesus, the One consecrated by the Father, come into the world to carry out his will faithfully (cf. Heb 10:5-7). Simeon points to Jesus as "a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Lk 2:32) and by a prophetic word foretells the supreme offering of Jesus to the Father and his final victory (Lk 2:32-35).
In this way the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is an eloquent icon of the total offering of one's life for all those who are called to show forth in the Church and in the world, by means of the evangelical counsels "the characteristic features of Jesus -- the chaste, poor and obedient one" (Vita Consecrata #1). …
Dear brothers and sisters, as I entrust to the maternal protection of Mary the institution of this World Day, I deeply hope that it bear abundant fruits for the holiness and the mission of the Church. May it help, in a special way, to heighten in the Christian community an esteem for vocations of special consecration, to stimulate ever more intense prayer for obtaining them from the Lord, in this way helping to mature in young people and families a generous willingness to receive them as gift. The life of the Church as a whole will draw benefit from this and so will the new evangelization. I trust that this World Day of prayer and reflection will help the particular Churches to treasure ever more the gift of consecrated life and to be measured by its message, to find the proper and fruitful balance between action and contemplation, between prayer and charity, and between commitment in the present time and eschatological hope.
St. Blaise was born in Armenia and became bishop of his home town of Sebaste. During the persecution of Christians the governor had Blaise arrested, tortured by having his flesh torn with iron combs, and finally beheaded. There is a tradition that this holy bishop healed a young boy who almost choked to death on a fish bone that was lodged in his throat. From this arises the custom of blessing the throats of the faithful on his feast day.
Jesus himself showed concern for the sick and suffering. He cured so many of them that crowds flocked to him. Today the Church, the Body of Christ, shares his concern and care for the sick by caring for them both physically and spiritually. In a week we will celebrate the annual World Day of the Sick, a day on which we lift up in a special way the sick and all those health care workers who serve them. Pope Benedict has asked us to pray this month for health workers, especially in the world’s poorest countries where they are challenged in so many ways. We are also praying in our General Intention for something that can lead to the prevention of many of the world’s sicknesses and diseases—access to clean water. The Church shows the love of Jesus to those in need not only by caring for them but also by trying to change the situations that are the cause of their suffering. Let us ask St. Blaise to join us today in praying for these two intentions of the Holy Father by praying an adaptation of the traditional St. Blaise Blessing Prayer.
Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver me, my family and loved ones, and people from ailments of the throat and from every other evil. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today the Society of Jesus honors the memory of 45 of its missionaries who were martyred from 1583 to 1900 in India, Japan, Madagascar, and China. With a deep desire that everyone come to know Jesus Christ and be saved, they left their homelands in order not only to preach the gospel but to give their lives for the salvation of those they served. In this they were perfect imitations of Jesus who gave His life for the salvation of the world. As we renew our daily offering for the salvation of all people and in particular for the Holy Father’s intentions this month, let us reflect on part of Blessed John Paul II’s encyclical “Redemptoris Missio” #45 and #78. May health workers help the people they serve understand the powerful role that their sufferings can play in the salvation of souls.
The supreme test is the giving of one's life, to the point of accepting death in order to bear witness to one's faith in Jesus Christ. Throughout Christian history, martyrs, that is, "witnesses," have always been numerous and indispensable to the spread of the Gospel. In our own age, there are many: bishops, priests, men and women religious, lay people-often unknown heroes who give their lives to bear witness to the faith. They are par excellence the heralds and witnesses of the faith. …
The sacrifice of missionaries should be shared and accompanied by the sacrifices of all the faithful. I therefore urge those engaged in the pastoral care of the sick to teach them about the efficacy of suffering, and to encourage them to offer their sufferings to God for missionaries. By making such an offering, the sick themselves become missionaries.
Since 1976 the month of February in the United States has been celebrated as Black or African-American History Month, and in 1989 Franciscan priest, Fr. James Goode, started a National Day of Prayer for the African-American and African Family which is celebrated today, the first Sunday of February. Fr. Goode is the Pastoral Director of Solid Ground Franciscan Ministry, an evangelization ministry with African American Families and he’s also the founder and president of the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life. He is an active member of the Apostleship of Prayer. Let’s join Fr. Goode today and pray for African American and African families everywhere as we reflect on a meditation by Therese Wilson Favors, the director of the Office of African American Catholic Ministries for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, that appears on the Solid Ground Website:
Here’s a thought… Some of us may not have much in the bank or we feel that our 401 account seems insufficient. Many of us don’t own homes on Candyland Lane or have the opportunity to follow the Yellowbrick Road. We recognize that in this life there are many strong uninvited challenges that come to us, sweeping us into a flood of unspeakable situations. But, here’s another thought…
We’ve got Jesus and Jesus will never forsake us or leave us empty handed. With Jesus as the center of our lives and our families we have the possibility of becoming divinely defined because Jesus stands ready to throw out the lifeline, call in the troops of angels, visit you and yours at the midnight hour and transform you and the situation at hand. Every time we pitch our tents to live with Jesus or follow our Jesus up the mountain, we have the possibility of becoming transformed like Peter, James and John became in the story of the Transfiguration. With Jesus and each other we are never empty handed. Our hands can become full. We live in times of great consequences, therefore with Jesus we live in a time of great opportunity as well. …Thank God we are not empty handed. We’ve got the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Surely, surely, surely His goodness will follow us all the days of our lives. To God be the glory!
The great Jesuit missionary St. Francis Xavier planted the faith in Japan in the 1540’s. It grew so well that within forty years there were over 200,000 Christians in Japan. This displeased the emperor who in 1596 ordered the Christians to either renounce the faith or be killed. On this day in 1597, St. Paul Miki, a Jesuit seminarian, along with two other Jesuits, six Franciscan missionaries, and seventeen Japanese lay people, were tied to crosses and then stabbed with a lance. As we pray that the Lord may sustain the efforts of health workers who are sacrificing themselves as they assist the sick and elderly in the world’s poorest regions, let us ask these holy martyrs to intercede with us. Our reflection is from an eyewitness account of the martyrdom.
The crosses were set in place. Our brother, Paul Miki, saw himself standing now in the noblest pulpit he had ever filled. To his “congregation” he began by proclaiming himself a Japanese and a Jesuit. He was dying for the Gospel he preached. He gave thanks to God for this wonderful blessing and he ended his “sermon” with these words:
“Having arrived at this moment of my existence, I believe that no one of you thinks I want to hide the truth. That is why I declare to you that there is no other salvation than the one followed by Christians. Since this way teaches me to forgive my enemies and all who have offended me, I willingly forgive the emperor and all those who have desired my death. And I pray that they will obtain the desire of Christian baptism.”
At this point, he turned his eyes toward his companions and began to encourage them in their final struggle. The faces of them all shone with great gladness. Another Christian shouted to him that he would soon be in paradise. “Like my Master,” murmured Paul, “I shall die upon the cross. Like him, a lance will pierce my heart so that my blood and my love can flow out upon the land and sanctify it to his name.”