Monday 31 January 2022 in the 4th Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St John Bosco (1815 - 1888), Italian Priest. John Bosco is called the "Apostle of Youth." He was a great educator and father to the young. He founded the Salesian School to educate boys and girls.
St John Bosco is the patron saint of apprentices, young people and Catholic publishers and editors.

In the dramatic encounter of Jesus with the Demoniac, we see how the healed and transformed man became an effective evangelist.

“Go home to your family and ­announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”
This is the divine command of Jesus. What is the result?
"Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed."

The former Demoniac did not go to school or seminary before he started evangelizing.  He "began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed."

Testimonies convert people and strengthen the faith of many. Today after the 10 am Mass, I shared the testimony with our Rosary group about how Jesus Christ healed my sick heart in July 2021. On my way home from the Church, I shared the same testimony inside a bus with a good friend I hadn't seen for a long time. It wasn't easy sharing this testimony. When you have an inspiration to share, you dare not disobey.  You act like the Demoniac.

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

God justified David who committed adultery, cover up and murder.

"One evening David rose from his siesta and strolled about on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful. David had inquiries made about the woman and was told, “She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, and wife of Joab’s armor bearer Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he had relations with her. She then returned to her house. But the woman had conceived, and sent the information to David, “I am with child.” (2 Samuel 11:1.......17).

Friday 28th January 2022, in the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of the Angelic Doctor, St Thomas Aquinas. (1225 - 1274). Italian. Dominican Priest. Doctor of the Church. He wrote the Summa Theologica and other great books. Apart from being one of the greatest theologians in the Church, Thomas is noted for his humility and holiness.

Our key Scripture for today is from 2 Samuel Chapter 11. The story of the adultery and repentance of King David is one of the most powerful stories in the Bible. We will reflect on the Sin of COVER UP and MERCY.

The great lessons to learn from the attempt of David to cover up his adultery:

#1. It is both foolish and childish to cover up our sin no matter how grave it may be.
#2. God is rich in mercy and God delights in mercy.
#3. David left us a legacy of the first two points. Psalm 51 is used by the Church both in the Liturgy of the Mass and that of the Hours.

After David committed adultery and murder to cover up the adultery, he prayed desperately with the words of the immortal Psalm 51.  Central to his wrenching prayer is the plea that God does not cast him from His presence and deprive him the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

“Cast me not out from your presence and your Holy Spirit take not from me.”  (Psalm 51: 13)

God’s presence is sufficient for us in every circumstance.  If God is with us, we can endure anything.  We can accomplish any task.  God is the source of all inspiration and power.  His Presence assures us of continuous flow of inspiration and power. David knew from experience  this Presence of God. He would rather die than lose this Presence.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  (2 Corinthians 12: 9).   Rejoice when you consider yourself weak in any area or resource because you can call upon the sufficiency of God’s grace to lift you up through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Consider some of the Cover ups in the Bible:

"Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime.   Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders."  (Genesis 37: 26 - 27 NLT)

"If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 5 : 9 - 10).

We do acknowledge our sins in every Mass. How about other occasions? Remember the ABC of Mercy:

Ask for Mercy.
Be Merciful.
Completely trust Jesus for Mercy.

"Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD." And You forgave the guilt of my sin." (Psalm 32: 5).

Because of the great mercy of God, God gave the Church Baptism as the great Sacrament of Reconciliation and Regeneration. Baptism wipes out our sins and the record of our sins. Does Baptism remove concupiscence, our ingrained tendency to certain sins? It does not. What then happens to sins that are committed after Baptism? Jesus Christ gave the Church the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance.

God said of David after his sin, the cover up and murder of Uriah: "David is the man after my heart." David said of God: "You is my Father."

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com