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February 13
[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, February 13 MARK 7:31-37 The Sick Prayerthoughts a. Jesus visited many areas with his message of the Kingdom of God. In the different places of my life, do I show the virtues of the Kingdom to others? b. There are handicapped people among the people that I know. Do I show them the Lord’s love without being condescending to them? c. The Lord took the man away from the crowd. Am I controlled by the “crowd,” that is, people that I want to like me? d. Jesus prays for the man to be cured. Am I praying enough for the people who are sick and are close to me? e. In general, Jesus did not want his actions to be praised. Do I seek too much the admiration of others? f. One of the descriptions of me should be that I have tried to do all things well. Am I accomplishing this in my life? g. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will read 1 Kings 11:29-32,12:19 and write an important thought from it.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE DESIRE TO BE GODS + The history of the Israelite people is a complicated one - here in the first book of Kings, it takes up the story of the fall of Solomon who had succeeded his father David - as we read the complicated history and the ins and outs of that history, it becomes clear that the primary sin of the people involved in the problems with the kings - was nothing more than pure selfishnes - simply put, we want what we want + And looking at Jesus’ healing story in the Gospel in a teaching way - Jesus healed the man’s hearing and speaking in order to allow him to function in life - it is our hearing and speaking, and what brings them about, our thinking, that must be healed in order to be obedient to God + The sin of the first people was not only a one-time affair - it is the essence of every sin - we human beings want to be like gods, and therefore we go our own way, ignoring God and what God wants - and therefore it is significant that people in religious life take the vow of obedience - not only being obedient to God, but being obedient to a legitimate superior here on earth + As we think of the first sin of disobedience, together with Jesus’ healing power, we have to pray for the grace to be healed in such a way that we can be obedient men and women - working for the ideal of obedience of the will, that is, internally accepting the desires of our God and living our lives accordingly + I have always maintained that obedience is by far the most difficult of the vows that we take - and therefore being obedient to God is the same way - because we want what we want - we are basically selfish people - in terms of the book of Genesis, we want to be like gods unto ourselves - today’s liturgy gives us the chance to do some serious thinking about how we obey God, following God’s directives and how our selfishness tends to get in the way.

MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: "F9: The Fast Saga" -- beginning session THE EFFECT OF A GOOD FAMILY

The Gospel

MARK 3:13-19

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed twelve [whom he named apostles] that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons: he appointed the twelve: Simon, whom he named Peter; James, son of Zebedee and John the brother of James whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

Gospelthink: I called my disciples, giving them the power to teach. In many ways, I teach others by my example. What kind of a teacher am I?

"F9: The Fast Saga" is the name of the ninth installment of the "Fast and Furious" movies. The theme of "family" runs throughout the movie since the principal characters, Dom Toretto and Jakob Toretto are brothers. They are racers of the Toretto family whose father is Jack. Dom is a symbol of the good who tries to bring about peace while Jakob is a symbol of the evil in society who is only interested in power. As the movie begins, after Jack's death in an auto accident, Dom and his friends are trying to find Mr. Nobody's crashed plane that contains the remains of Project Aries, a machine that can make the owner literally omnipotent. Jakob was instrumental in bringing the plane down. Throughout the movie, Dom and Jakob interact with each other and their sister Mia in a way symbolized by the cross which Dom and Jakob wear. There are tough moments, but the family ties are strong, even bringing about good for all involved. As young Dom and Jakob said to one another early on: "We're gonna be okay 'cause we're family."

The original "sons of thunder," James and John, the sons of Zebedee whom Jesus called were probably given their nickname because of a rebellious attitude. In many ways, Dom and Jakob Toretto were "sons of thunder." The Toretto family was involved in the race car circuit, and Dom and Jakob, as can be seen throughout the movie "F9: The Fast Saga," were people who would not run from a fight.

It is interesting that Jesus called members of different families to make up the one family that he set up, the Twelve or the apostles as he called them. The thought of family had to be uppermost in Jesus's mind. He wanted his apostles to consider one another to be as close as brothers in order to preach Jesus's message of love and unity to the world.

Every agency who works with the improvement of a nation, a city, a community, a small group of people and the like will speak of the importance of family. If we are interested in improving some situation, it is almost a "given" that we must work with the families involved to make them loving entities. Somehow it becomes a fact that if people can make their families become loving relationships, then their world outside will be loving. It seems that Jesus knew that as he formed a family of the Twelve.

The problem, of course, comes with human nature. For whatever reason, usually selfishness, members of families sometimes do not get along, and upset everything in their path. It is almost an unfortunate fact that just as loving families help the world, so families with difficulties "mess up" the world. The secret is in discovery, that is, being aware of what each individual family member is doing. In the movie "F9: The Fast Saga" Jakob finally understood what he had done, bringing together a loving Toretto family, and eventually a living of true happiness around their family.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, it is obvious that we are all members of families. Some of them are healthy bringing about a truly good life. Unfortunately, some of our families are not so healthy. Give each of us the grace to understand how we can be better family members. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Being part of a strong family is of immense importance if we want to enjoy a peaceful existence in our world.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 66 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. Why are some people "naturally" combative, that is always ready for a fight, whether physical or mental?
3. Why is "family" a good description of Jesus and his apostles?
4. In general, why do families become "messed up" in our society?
5. What can be done to help the families around us who are "messed up"?
6. How does "selfishness" disturb family unity, and what can be done about it?
7. In the movie, Jakob finally understood some things. In your opinion, do most people who "mess up" a family come to an understanding of what they are doing?