The Feast of St Scholastica, Virgin and Foundress of a Religious Order. 

"Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God had made.

"The serpent asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” 

"The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’” 

"But the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil.”

"The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

"When they heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden." (Genesis 3: 1 - 8).

Friday 10th February 2023 in the 5th Week of February  is the feast of St Scholastica, Virgin and Religious. (480 - 547). Italian. Religious nun.  She founded the Benedictine Nuns that continue to serve the Church for 1500 years. Scholastica is the twin sister of the great St Benedict. St Scholastica is the patron saint of education, convulsive children and  Benedictine Nuns.

The first Reading from Genesis 3: 1 - 8 is one of the best known Scripture in the Bible. Call it the Story of the tragic Fall. At the root of the Fall of Adam and Eve is their lack of faith in God. Eve chose to trust the words of the Serpent over the words of God. 

Every trial in life is a trial of faith. Who do you believe? God or Satan, the Father of lies. At the heart of Religion is Worship. God created us. We worship Him and show allegiance to Him. The Fall of Adam and Eve introduced a necessary and important element into Religion: Sacrifice. God is not a vengeful God. So God made Thanksgiving the very heart of Sacrifice. 

What a happy fault of Adam and Eve that brought Jesus Christ to come as our Redeemer and Savior. How fortunate we are for the faults of Adam and Eve. 

I was asked recently: What are my obstacles to faith? To trusting God completely? The powerful, merciful and mysterious Providence of God is the greatest obstacle. 

Others have answered: the obstinate evil and suffering in the world. This group may point to the category 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in the past couple of days. 

The Church light of the world urges us to trust in the mighty, merciful and mysterious Providence of God that governs all things. In all changes, our God remains faithful. 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

What is hypocrisy? How can a baptized Christian avoid hypocrisy? 

"When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.) 

"So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” 

"He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.

"You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die. 

"Yet you say, ‘If someone says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’ (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.” (Mark 7: 1 - 13).

Tuesday February 7th 2023 of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time. 

The confrontation of Jesus in today's Gospel is time for frank talk with His adversaries. 

Jesus calls His the Pharisees hypocrites. 

How often do you defend the truth of the Catholic Church when it is savaged by extremists or the media. 

You cannot do this unless the Holy Spirit is in you granting you the gift of fortitude. 

Prepare yourself to live fully your Baptismal commitment and the grace of Confirmation by activating the Holy Spirit in you. 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

"Jesus went to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. 

"Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.

"He said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”

"She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”

"Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone." (Mark 7: 24 - 30).

Thursday February 9th in the 5th Week of Ordinary Time. 

I like the story of the woman in today's Gospel a lot. First, we do not know her name. She is labeled as a Syrophoenician woman. Did you notice what she did when she approached Jesus? "She came and fell at his feet." Her great needs powered faith. She inwardly decided not to be discouraged by Jesus initial refusal of her request, she decided that she was determined to haggle with God. 

We can dialog, argue and haggle with God and persuade God to show His merciful love to our needs. 

Abraham, Moses and David bargained and God yielded to them. 

I come from a country where haggling for prices is a way of commerce. I am happy to haggle with God in my prayers from time to time. 

Do not be afraid to bargain with God in your prayers. Tell God: "I am asking what You promised. Give me this or in accordance with your merciful, mighty and mysterious Providence, give me 10,000 patience. Give me one or the other." Amen! 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

You are the Salt and Light of the World. 

"ANH EM LÀ MUỐI VÀ ÁNH SÁNG CHO ĐỜI" (MAT 5, 13-6)

Sunday 5th February in the 5th Week of Ordinary Time. 

I keep a small bottle of salt and a small electric light without shade on my desktop to remind me of this awesome truth. 

St John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church commenting on this verse alluded to the gruesome corruption in the world. Salt is essential to preserve what can be preserved. Every baptized Christian has this saltiness in him that comes with the gift of the Sacrament of Baptism. Become salt in your home, church and workplace by becoming the salt of truth. Challenge the culture of falsehood and fake news that is corrupting even Catholic Media. 

As the light of the world, become joyful in hope and thankful in everything. The world today is starved of joyful spirit. Joy is infectious. It is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. I prayed for the gift of joy for a long time. When people ask: "Why are you brimming with joy?" I laugh and point to the Holy Spirit.

St Teresa of Kolkata is a saint that brimmed with joy. St Philip Neri refers to Cheerfulness as a great tool for evangelization. Cheerfulness and joyfulness are one and the same thing. Finally Brethren:

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:23?-?25). 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com