OXYGEN

21 Jan – Wednesday in the Second Week in Ordinary Time; St Agnes, Virgin & Martyr

At the age of 12 or 13, Agnes was ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods and lose her virginity by rape. She was taken to a Roman temple to Minerva (Athena), and when led to the altar, she made the Sign of the Cross. She was threatened, then tortured when she refused to turn against God. Several young men presented themselves, offering to marry her, whether from lust or pity is not known.

She said that to do so would be an insult to her heavenly Spouse, that she would keep her consecrated virginity intact, accept death, and see Christ. She was martyred for her faith.

St. Agnes is mentioned in the first Eucharistic prayer. On her feast day two lambs are blessed at her church in Rome, and then their wool is woven into the palliumns (bands of white wool) which the pope confers on archbishops as symbol of their jurisdiction.

- Patron Saint Index

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Hebrews 7:1-3.15-17

You remember that Melchizedek, king of Salem, a priest of God Most High, went to meet Abraham who was on his way back after defeating the kings, and blessed him; and also that it was to him that Abraham gave a tenth of all that he had. By the interpretation of his name, he is, first, ‘king of righteousness’ and also king of Salem, that is, ‘king of peace’; he has no father, mother or ancestry, and his life has no beginning or ending; he is like the Son of God. He remains a priest for ever.

This becomes even more clearly evident when there appears a second Melchizedek, who is a priest not by virtue of a law about physical descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it was about him that the prophecy was made: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever.

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Mark 3:1-6

Jesus went again into a synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand. And they were watching him to see if he would cure him on the sabbath day, hoping for something to use against him. He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand up out in the middle!’ Then he said to them, ‘Is it against the law on the sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?’ But they said nothing. Then, grieved to find them so obstinate, he looked angrily round at them, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out and his hand was better. The Pharisees went out and at once began to plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him.
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Then grieved to find them so obstinate, he looked angrily round at them

The study of the history of any empire that once ruled parts of the world will always be filled with attempts by the founding monarch to ensure that their legacy is for time immemorial. Unfortunately, they have not been very successful as history has always been littered with empires that have failed. One of the reasons is because the heir has not been able to sustain the legacy that their predecessors have established. God can never let such a thing happen to his Church and hence he decided to send His only Son to establish a kingdom that can never fade away.

Unfortunately, we often take this kingdom for granted and neglect to maintain a relationship with the King. This often results in a hardening of hearts as we can see in the Gospel today where the people refuse to comment on the need to help others. I guess very often we have to wait for something massive to jolt us into action. Even when such an event comes into our lives, we tend to dismiss it as something trivial.

For us, circumstances must happen in our time and in the manner that we want it to happen. This can never be the case because things can only happen in His time. Continuing to believe that this is the case will only grieve God and make Him angry. In addition, it will make us frustrated.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
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Prayer: Lord, we pray for those who love us despite our weaknesses.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the many times that you have been lenient to us.

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Upcoming Readings:
Thu 22 Jan – Hebrews 7:25-8:6, Mark 3:7-12; St Vincent, Deacon & Martyr
Fri 23 Jan – Hebrews 8:6-13, Mark 3:13-19
Sat 24 Jan – Hebrews 9:2-3. 11-14, Mark 3:20-21; St Francis De Sales, Bishop & Doctor
Sun, 25 Jan - Jonah 3:1-5.10, Psalm 24, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20; Third Sunday in Ordinary Time; Conversion of St Paul