Saturday, 1 February 2025

Third Week In Ordinary Time

 184 BLESSED CLARETIAN MARTYRS 

Why Are You Afraid? 

Introduction

Faith is a trust and commitment that expresses oneself in a mentality, an attitude of one’s whole life that sees beyond the appearance of things and lives accordingly, with total trust in God’s future. This kind of faith moved Abraham, the pagan, to follow an unknown God to a destiny of human insecurity. It is a faith that helps us to hold on without fear when the Church is rocked by the waves of our times. Is this our kind of faith?

Many people are afraid today. Our times are very insecure in many aspects, with wars, violence, and economic and moral crises. Life seems to move too fast for many. And the Church in its leaders and members is often upset and afraid. God seems far away, like a God who sleeps, a God who seems indifferent to our fears and incertitude. Where are our faith and hope? Let us turn to him who journeys with us and wake him up, Jesus, our Lord and brother here among us.

We commemorate the memory of 184 Blessed Claretian Martyrs. The Holy See approved on 31 January 2019 the inclusion of the memory of Blessed Felipe de Jesús Munárriz Azcona and his fellow religious martyrs in the calendar of the Congregation of Claretian Missionaries for February 1. From 2019, every 1st February – the day on which the attack against Fr. Antony Mary Claret in Holguín (Cuba in 1856) is commemorated- will be dedicated to jointly honour the memory of the 184 members of the Congregation of the Missionaries Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who died during the persecution against the Church in Mexico (1927) and in Spain (1936-1939).

St. John Paul II recalled at the beatification of the 51 of Barbastro, “Since most of them were young and students of theology, their life is like a call to recognise the permanent validity of an adequate formation and intense preparation, based on a solid piety, fidelity to vocation and joyful belonging to the Church, serving her through the Congregation of the Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; in a self-sacrificing life of community; in perseverance and the witness of one’s religious identity. Without all these presuppositions, the Blessed would not have been able to attain the grace of martyrdom“.

All of them remained faithful to their missionary vocation and gave clear witness of forgiveness of their executioners, love for the Heart of Mary and the Church, concern for the most needy and fervent missionary zeal. We pray for them and ask for their intercession to be faithful to our missionary vocation and to let ourselves be inflamed by the fire of God’s love until the end.

Opening Prayer

God of power and might,
when we cry our to you in the tempests of life,
reassure us that you care and that you are with us,
even when you seem absent and silent.
Let our faith remain calm and peaceful
and deepen it in every trial.
Keep us believing that the waves obey you
and that at your command the powers of evil cannot harm us.
Stay with us through your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever.

Opening Prayer

Lord God, merciful Father and source of all hope, 

in this Jubilee Year, we, pilgrims on the way of hope, 

want to thank you for the example of fidelity, 

courage and the gift of martyrdom of our brothers. 

Enkindle in us, O Lord, the fire of your Spirit, so that, 

inspired by their witness, we too may be heralds 

of your Kingdom with joy and boldness. 

Make us instruments of your peace, 

capable of facing the challenges of our time 

with the strength that comes from faith 

and the light that illuminates every darkness. 

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Reading 1: Heb 11:1-2, 8-19

Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance;
he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
even though he was past the normal age
Band Sarah herself was sterileB
for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
himself as good as dead,
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

All these died in faith.
They did not receive what had been promised
but saw it and greeted it from afar
and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,
for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come,
they would have had opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac,
and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,
of whom it was said,
Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.
He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,
and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

Responsorial Psalm: Luke 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75

(see 68)Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old.
that he would save us from our sins
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the bonds of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
R. Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel; he has come to his people.

Alleluia: Jn 3:16

Alleluia, alleluia.

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
R.Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Mk 4:35-41

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?”

Intercessions

–   For the Church of Jesus Christ, that its faith and love may not waver in the difficulties and storms of our time, we pray:

–   For those who doubt their faith and are afraid of facing the future, that God may give them courage and that we may refresh their hope, we pray:

–   For sailors and fishers, that the sea may be peaceful and generous to them; for all who travel, that they may safely reach their destination, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Keep alive in us, Lord our God,
our faith and trust in you
through the bread of love and justice
of your son Jesus Christ.
Even when we do not know
what the future will bring,
keep us going to the city with foundations
of which you are the designer and builder,
the city of justice, peace and lasting love
proclaimed to us by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
by the stirring word of your Son
you have called us, people of little faith,
away from our safe security.
By his bread of life you have restored our strength.
When the waves and winds of fear
threaten to engulf us and to blow us off-course,
keep us here and all your people
firm with the assurance that your Son is with us
and that he will never desert us,
for he is our Lord for ever and ever.

Blessing

This has been a celebration of encouragement and trust. Jesus has assured us: I am with you. Do not fear. Face life and its problems, as a Church and as persons. Trust me. May almighty God give you this trusting faith and bless you, the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Commentary 

1 February 2025

184 Blessed Claretian Martyrs

Mark 4: 35-41

Why are you afraid?  

On February 1, we honour the 184 Blessed Claretian Martyrs who gave their lives during persecutions in Mexico and Spain. This date also marks the anniversary of the attack against St. Anthony Mary Claret in Holguín, Cuba. The martyrs’ unwavering faith, missionary zeal, and forgiveness of their executioners inspire us to live our vocation with fidelity and love for the Church.

In today’s Gospel (Mk 4:35-41), Jesus calms the storm that threatens to overwhelm the disciples' boat. Despite his presence, they are consumed by fear and cry out: “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” (v. 38). Like them, we too experience storms in life—moments of loss, anxiety, or unexpected challenges—that make us feel as though we are sinking. We may question why God seems silent in our struggles, yet the Gospel reminds us of an essential truth: Jesus is always with us.

Even when Jesus appears to be “asleep,” he is present, sharing in our trials and waiting for us to turn to him. His stillness tests and strengthens our faith, calling us to cry out to him in prayer. True discipleship demands more than acknowledging God’s presence—it requires us to actively trust him, to share our fears and struggles with him, and to rely on his guidance. 

Faith begins with recognising our dependence on God and acknowledging that we cannot navigate life’s storms alone. Jesus, when approached by the disciples, calms the wind and waves, showing that he is our refuge and strength. His question, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (v. 40), challenges us to shift our focus from fear to trust.  

In this Jubilee Year, let us renew our commitment to seek the Lord daily, casting our concerns into his loving care. May Mary, who trusted unreservedly in God, inspire us to place our lives in his hands with confidence. As we reflect on the sacrifice of the Blessed Claretian Martyrs, may their intercession strengthen us to persevere in faith, serve with generosity, and be inflamed by the fire of God’s love. Blessed Claretian Martyrs, pray for us!

A God who sleeps!

"Let's go to the other shore," Jesus tells his followers in the Gospel today. Imagine him saying it to us, Christians of today, in the midst of this health, economic, social, global crisis ... The Church, also facing its own crisis, must listen to the Lord who invites us to move on, to change our perspectives, our ways of understanding faith and living it. Let's go!

We are faced with a piece of theology which contains numerous biblical references. In the Gospel, purpose of the evangelist is to gradually reveal the identity of Jesus and answer the question people have been asking since the beginning of his public life: “Who is this person?”

In ancient literature, the image of the boat indicates a community or an association. In our story it is the Christian community together with different Christian communities already existing at the time when Mark was writing the Gospel. The boat is to bring Christ to the land of the pagans. Jesus falls asleep at the stern! Stern is the place for helmsman or the captain. How can a captain sleep totally unaware of the storm and impeding danger.

Sleep in the Bible, is often used to indicate death (Job 14:12; Sir 46:19). Even Jesus uses the word sleep figuratively, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep” (Jn 11:11); “The child is not dead but asleep” (Mk 5:39-40). Therefore the sleep of Jesus is referring to his death. Now the disciples are tossed by the waves—which are the tragedies of life, persecution, tensions and disagreements within the Church community. But, Jesus although present in the boat, is asleep and does not intervene directly in human history.

Christians can, at times, feel alone in the face of problems, adversities, failures and ask, “Where is God? Where is Christ? Why does he not manifest his power?” Sometimes we feel him distant or absent; his silence baffles us and instils fear. We would shout to him, with the Psalmist: “Awake, O Lord, why are you asleep?

Jesus reveals to us a God who “sleeps”, who leaves things as they are, who has nothing to fear in front of the outbreak of violence of evil, who is not afraid of losing control of the situation. He is a God who lets go, allows that envy, rivalries, lies, injustices break out. Then, when evil seems to have the last word, he turns the cards.
Yet the impression that he is asleep remains. With our cry, which is prayer, we would like to wake him up and force him to intervene. But he is already awake, he just has a different vision of the danger and how to deal with it. He asks for our unconditional trust. Yes we are tossed about by the waves of the sea, but even if we do not realize it, we are accompanied by him.

On the first reading: 

Today we begin to read from chapter 11 of Hebrews, which is a magnificent hymn on the meaning of faith. The author of Hebrews gives the most extensive description of faith provided in the New Testament, though his interest does not lie in a technical, theological definition. In view of the needs of his audience, he describes what is the meaning of authentic faith.

“Faith is the assurance of what we hope for and being certain of what we cannot see.”
Faith is less about ideology than it is about how we actually live and act. Belief is the source of our behaviour; and conversely, our behaviours tell us what we really believe! Abraham's faith, according to the passage offered to us today, is his obedience, his movement out of security into a long journey to a place he did not know. His faith is the offering of his son unto death because he believed that God asked that of him.

Abraham had fallen in love with God, to the extent of doing everything what his beloved God asked of him. It was this experience of a loving God that made it possible for him to say "this will work, I am not being led falsely." We often talk about being in a love relationship with God and to place our trust in him. But, the hitch in all this, is the same experience that happened to the Apostles in the boat on the lake in the storm.

It's all well and good to be confidant that Jesus can save us from every storm, but what if we experience him to be asleep and that we can't sense or feel his care? The storm rages and looks like life-threatening and then we start thinking, that maybe the thoughts of the love of God was perhaps nothing more than our imagination! We imagined his love (or his power) and so we take matters into our own hands and begin to panic: this is often my personal experience.

God will raise up, even from the dead, if we believe. That is the deepest and most profound conviction of Christianity.

================

1 February 2025

184 Blessed Claretian Martyrs

Mark 4: 35-41

  Why are you afraid?

On February 1, we honour the 184 Blessed Claretian Martyrs who gave their lives during persecutions in Mexico and Spain. This date also marks the anniversary of the attack against St. Anthony Mary Claret in Holguín, Cuba. The martyrs’ unwavering faith, missionary zeal, and forgiveness of their executioners inspire us to live our vocation with fidelity and love for the Church.  

In today’s Gospel (Mk 4:35-41), Jesus calms the storm that threatens to overwhelm the disciples' boat. Despite his presence, they are consumed by fear and cry out: “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” (v. 38). Like them, we too experience storms in life—moments of loss, anxiety, or unexpected challenges—that make us feel as though we are sinking. We may question why God seems silent in our struggles, yet the Gospel reminds us of an essential truth: Jesus is always with us.

Even when Jesus appears to be “asleep,” he is present, sharing in our trials and waiting for us to turn to him. His stillness tests and strengthens our faith, calling us to cry out to him in prayer. True discipleship demands more than acknowledging God’s presence—it requires us to actively trust him, to share our fears and struggles with him, and to rely on his guidance.  

Faith begins with recognising our dependence on God and acknowledging that we cannot navigate life’s storms alone. Jesus, when approached by the disciples, calms the wind and waves, showing that he is our refuge and strength. His question, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (v. 40), challenges us to shift our focus from fear to trust.  

In this Jubilee Year, let us renew our commitment to seek the Lord daily, casting our concerns into his loving care. May Mary, who trusted unreservedly in God, inspire us to place our lives in his hands with confidence. As we reflect on the sacrifice of the Blessed Claretian Martyrs, may their intercession strengthen us to persevere in faith, serve with generosity, and be inflamed by the fire of God’s love. Blessed Claretian Martyrs, pray for us!

 Why are you afraid? - Youtube