Confirmation Year 1 & Year 2 Virtus Class
A Virtus Class for Year 1 & Year 2 has been scheduled for February 1, 2021 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. This is a required class for both years to attend. Virtus is an Archdiocese Program that helps educate, support, train and provide resources for its members to protect & empower “God’s Children” through the Office of Safeguard the Children.
Our Zoom ID for this class is: 760 891 9738 and Password is: Sacramentum7yam
Confirmation Zoom Classes - 2021
Our next Zoom Confirmation Faith Sharing Class is on February 8, 2021 (Monday) from 6pm to 8pm.
All Year 1 & Year 2 Candidates must attend this Class – “The Mass Series” part 2.
Please take note we are using this: Zoom ID-760 891 9738 and Password-Sacramentum7yam
Confirmation Retreat (Fall Schedule)
A Fall Retreat has been scheduled for February 20, 2021 from 9am to 12nn. Though we are still working on the presentation of our Retreat we are certain that we will do this over livestream or Zoom. We are working hard to put this program together so that we can deliver a safer and life-giving retreats while maintaining the integrity and value of it. Please be patient with us, and more information will be given later.
Challenge
4th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Today’s Gospel continues our reading from Mark and describes what some believe was likely to have been a typical day in Jesus’ ministry. Jesus and the disciples that chose to follow him in last week’s Gospel arrive at Capernaum, a small village on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus teaches in the synagogue on the Sabbath.
After Jesus’ preaching, an even more astonishing thing happens. A man possessed with an unclean spirit calls out to Jesus. As we see in this example and throughout Mark’s Gospel, the spirits and demons seem to know Jesus and are often fearful of him. In fact, they seem to understand Jesus’ identity better than his disciples. As we will read again and again in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus orders the spirit to be quiet and drives the unclean spirit out of the man. Jesus’ ability to heal those possessed by demons is an indication of his power over evil.
In the prescientific age of Jesus’ time, all illnesses were understood to be manifestations of evil and sinfulness. Our modern understanding of illness is very different. Possession by unclean spirits may have been a way to describe what we might call mental illness today. It may have even been a way of describing certain kinds of physical conditions. There is evidence that there were many kinds of exorcists and healers in first-century Palestine. Jesus appears to be like these healers, but he heals with unique authority and connects his healing activities with the words of his preaching.
We are missing the point that Mark is trying to make in this Gospel, however, if we try to explain away the healing work of Jesus. The crowds see in Jesus’ cure of the possessed man further affirmation of his authority. Jesus’ power to heal gives greater credence to his teaching. Jesus impresses the crowds through his words, which are manifested with power in his deeds. Mark’s Gospel tells us that because of the authority with which he healed; Jesus’ fame spread throughout all of Galilee.
Mark 1:21-28
If you can attend Mass in person and you are longing for Him in the Eucharist, then He wants to see you. Come to Mass this Sunday and be transformed by His Word and by the Eucharist.
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give,
Not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7