The Catholic Calendar for Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Saints Cyril and Methodius

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
James 1:12-18
Psalm 94:12-15, 18-19
Mark 8:14-21

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

The First Reading is from the Epistle of James. The whole epistle is comparably short and we don’t hear it too often which is unfortunate because the writing style and the message it conveys are very instructional and uplifting. Today we're reminded that temptation does not come from God as some may think. In fact as the Responsorial Psalm echoes, the Lord has concern for us in time of trial.

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, a humble Carmelite brother who worked as a cook in a Carmelite monastery, wrote how pleased the Lord is when we remember Him -- either when with sword in hand on the way to battle or "among the pots and pans."

It is in the ordinariness of our lives that God often seems hidden, yet actually is very close. And good it is, because most of our lives are filled with an ordinariness that sometimes wears us down and dissolves our resolve to do good.

Pray then, for perseverance and for the grace not to succumb to the trials and temptations of this life. Just say it: "My foot is slipping!"

"When I say, ‘My foot is slipping,’
your kindness, O Lord, sustains me." (Psalm 94:19)

- Donna Nelson, OCDS
(drn3rd at hotmail dot com)

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