JESUS TAUGHT WITH GREAT AUTHORITY.

A New Teaching With Authority. 

"Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.

"The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.

"In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

"Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.

"All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”

"His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee." (Mark 1: 21 - 28).

The people of Nazareth noticed something exceptional about Jesus the first time He walked into the synagogue as a public figure, a Rabbi.  Their eyes were transfixed on Him as He applied Isaiah's prophecy about the Messiah to Himself.

On another Sabbath, Jesus "entered the synagogue and taught.  The people were astonished at his teaching, "for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes."  (Mark 1: 21 - 22).  On this occasion, Jesus cast out the demon from a man possessed by an unclean spirit which made the people exclaim: “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”

Jesus taught with the authority of Moses and all the prophets combined plus something different: "A new teaching with authority."  (Mark 1: 27). The people did not fail to notice His authority. "It is said [in the law] but I (Jesus) teach this..."

Jesus taught with authority during His public ministry.  He is still teaching  with authority today through the Church.  

It is ridiculous  to imagine that Jesus founded a Church without giving the Church real authority to teach.  "Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”  (Luke 10: 16).

The name of this authority  is the Magisterium.  It comes from the Latin word magister, which means "teacher."  

The divine teaching role of the Church stands on 3-legged stool:

#1  Sacred Scriptures

#2  Sacred Tradition

#3  Magisterium

Like the 3-legged stool, each of the legs need each other to support the superstructure.  The teachings of the Magisterium cannot contradict Sacred Scriptures or Sacred Tradition and vice-versa.

Thank You Jesus for making Your Church "the pillar and foundation of truth." (1 Timothy 3: 15).

“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name is the greatest spiritual force in the world today.... " (Blessed Henry Suso - 1290 to 1365).

For the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and prayer intentions click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/12/litany-of-most-holy-name-of-jesus.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

FEAST OF ST ANGELA MERICI, VIRGIN, RELIGIOUS AND FOUNDRESS.

St Angela Merici, Virgin and Foundress. 

"On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.”

"Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him.

"A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. 

"Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. 

"They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

"He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm.

"Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”

"They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” (Mark 4: 34 - 41).

Saturday 27th January 2024 in the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Angela Merici, (1474 - 1540), Virgin.  Italian.

St Angela Merici founded the Ursuline Order, the first women teaching order in the Church. 

St Angela believed that the formation and education of Christian women is society's greatest investment.

Convinced of this truth, St. Angela Merici founded the Company of St. Ursula,  [Ursulines] a secular institute devoted to educating young women to be Christian wives, mothers, teachers, and catechists. The Ursulines are flourishing today in their teaching ministry.

In the Gospel of today, Mark 4: 34 - 41, we reflect on the storms of life. Storms are part and parcel of life. 

You are in a storm at the moment. 

You are at the moment leaving a storm. 

You are entering a storm. 

Wherever you find yourself, our Gospel today is very comforting. Jesus has power over every storm:

“Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm."

If you do not believe in Jesus or know His power, you will be helpless in any storm.

Our Lord Jesus asks us:

“Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”

Lord Jesus I believe. Please help my little faith.

“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name is the greatest spiritual force in the world today.... " (Blessed Henry Suso - 1290 to 1365).

For the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and prayer intentions click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/12/litany-of-most-holy-name-of-jesus.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

The Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops and Evangelis.

Feast of Saints  Timothy & Titus, Bishops and Evangelists. 

"Jesus said to the crowds:

“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”

He said, “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”

"With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private." (Mark 4: 26 - 34).

Timothy (+ 97). Jewish mother and a Greek father. He was ordained by St Paul as Bishop of Ephesus. He was a disciple of Paul and traveled with Paul in some of his missionary journeys.

Titus (+ 96 or 107). A native of the island of Crete. Ordained Bishop of Crete by St Paul. Both Timothy and Titus had very difficult churches to oversee in Ephesus and Crete respectively.

Why does Jesus compare the Kingdom of God with a mustard seed? To teach future generations of Christians never to despise small beginnings. Everything is created small. 

The mustard seed is a very tiny seed and therefore liable to be lost without regret, thrown away without remorse. Jesus gives us the best analogy of the the humble beginning of the Church in the Parable of the Mustard Seed.

The Kingdom of God is a mystery. The life inside the tiny mustard seed is a mystery. The tiny spermatozoon is packed with a DNA that is a mystery.

Do not despise the small beginning. Do not thrash the Church and its mysteries because you do not understand them.

The mystery of faith calls for only one response: Belief. When you believe, you stand the chance that you can understand. Believe always comes first.

"Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing the mysteries of the Kingdom to mere children." (Matthew 11: 25).

Accept the Kingdom of God like a little child.

“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name is the greatest spiritual force in the world today.... " (Blessed Henry Suso - 1290 to 1365).

For the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and prayer intentions click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/12/litany-of-most-holy-name-of-jesus.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

THE FEAST OF THE CONVERSION OF ST PAUL THE APOSTLE.

Feast of the Conversion of the Apostle, St Paul. 

"Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:

“Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.

"These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.

"They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16: 15 - 18).

Why is the feast of the Conversion of the Apostle Paul a very important feast in the Church?

#1. Christ Jesus undertook the conversion of St Paul Himself. No delegation of duty. No intermediary. Like all the other Apostles, it was a personal choice, call and anointing.

#2. Paul is the greatest missionary and evangelist in the Church.

#3. Paul wrote most of the New Testament.

What do we learn from the Conversion of St Paul?

#1. We share a vocation with the great Apostle: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16: 15).

#2. People are converted through hearing the testimonies of converted people. Testimony also means witnessing.  This is why autobiographies and biographies are powerful genre of literature. They leverage the power of example and testimony.

It is not an accident that the Conversion of St Paul is repeated three times in the Acts of the Apostles in considerable length. The Holy Spirit is teaching the Church the best practice in Evangelization. Do not hide the blessings of God. Shout them.

"They [converts] only kept hearing that “the one who once was persecuting us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” So they glorified God because of me." (Galatians 1: 23 - 24).

This powerful example of Paul encouraged the faith of all.

The Church exists for only One Thing: Evangelization. Jesus is appealing to us:

"Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16: 15).

How do you start?

"You will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses..." (Acts 1: 8).

No Holy Spirit, No power. Ask the Lord Jesus with confident boldness for the Gift of the Holy Spirit for Evangelization.

And you can start evangelizing right away with your smart phone. Do you have a phone with Internet connection? Do you  have an address book on your phone? Start sharing Scriptures and the blogs you like with friends and family.  

"If there are so few priests in certain places, it is above all because those that are there have forsaken Me in the Sacrament of My love and no longer live in My friendship. Let every priest present himself as a friend of Jesus, and his ministry will soon take on the efficacy and fruitfulness that characterized that of Saint John, of Saint Paul, and of My first apostles. The friend speaks with the authority that only experience can confer." (IN SINU JESU, March 30, 2008 Sunday of Divine Mercy).

“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name is the greatest spiritual force in the world today.... " (Blessed Henry Suso - 1290 to 1365).

For the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and prayer intentions click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/12/litany-of-most-holy-name-of-jesus.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

The Feast of St Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

St Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. 

"On another occasion, Jesus­­­ ­­­be­gan to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.

"And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

"Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once ­because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.

"Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain.

"And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

"And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that

"they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”

"Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?

"The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them.

"And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

"Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit.

"But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4: 1 - 20).

Wednesday 24th January 2024 in the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Francis de Sales (1567 - 1622), Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

Born in France, he was the Bishop of Geneva where he combatted Calvinism. He founded with St Jane Frances de Chantal the Order of the Visitation Nuns. St Francis de Sales is an accomplished author and the patron saint of authors and journalists. 

The Parable of the Sower today from Mark 4: 1 - 20 started with a command: LISTEN! It concluded with a command: LISTEN! 

Listen to the message of the Lord to you. Do not harden your heart. 

“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name is the greatest spiritual force in the world today.... " (Blessed Henry Suso - 1290 to 1365).

For the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and prayer intentions click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/12/litany-of-most-holy-name-of-jesus.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

The Feast of St Marianne Cope, Religious and Foundress.

St Marianne Cope, Religious and Foundress. 

"The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house. Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.

"A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.”

"But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

"And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3: 31 - 35).

Tuesday January 23rd is the feast of St Marianne Cope, of German descent.

 Her family settled in New York. Marianne founded the first public hospital in Syracuse, St Joseph Hospital. Years later, she traveled to Hawaii and worked in the Leper Colony where she brought sunshine to the lepers till her death in 1918.

What is the central message in the Gospel of today? Knowing and doing the WILL OF GOD is far more important than anything else. 

In the first Reading, 2 Samuel 6: 12 - 19, David is God's darling boy because he tries to know and do the will of God.

But the holy Virgin Mary is ultimately the bright Morning Star when it comes to knowing and doing the Will of God. This is why she has many feast days in the liturgical calendar of the Church. This is so that we may take note and imitate her in seeking and doing the Will of God.

“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name is the greatest spiritual force in the world today.... " (Blessed Henry Suso - 1290 to 1365).

For the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and prayer intentions click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/12/litany-of-most-holy-name-of-jesus.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

THE SCRIBES ACCUSED JESUS OF BEING POSSESSED.

This Jesus is possessed by Beelzebul. 

"The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”

"Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 

"And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

"And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. 

"But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

"Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”

For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” (Mark 3: 22 - 30).

In our Gospel of today, Mark 3: 22 - 30, we see a frightening escalation in the confrontation between Jesus and the Scribes. When your enemy calls you possessed by evil spirit, it is time to ask: what next will she do? For many people, there are two existential choices: FLEE or FIGHT.

Jesus chose to fight and left an example for us.

"And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand." 

"But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house." 

FIGHT YOUR SPIRITUAL BATTLES WITH THE WORD OF GOD AND YOU WILL WIN. 

In His Temptations in the Desert, Jesus destroyed the attacks of the Devil three times by the word of God. 

Do likewise and you shall be an overcomer. Invest twenty minutes a day in reading the word of God. And this will soon become your most important 20 minutes of your day. 

“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name is the greatest spiritual force in the world today.... " (Blessed Henry Suso - 1290 to 1365).

For the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and prayer intentions click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/12/litany-of-most-holy-name-of-jesus.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com