OXYGEN

05 Feb – Memorial for St Agatha, Virgin, Martyr

We have little reliable information about this martyr who has been honoured since ancient times, and whose name is included in the canon of the Mass. Young, beautiful and rich, Agatha (d.250) lived a life consecrated to God. When Decius announced the edicts against Christians, the magistrate Quinctianus tried to profit by Agatha’s sanctity; he planned to blackmail her into sex in exchange for not charging her. Handed over to a brothel, she refused to accept customers.

After rejecting Quinctianus’ advances, she was beaten, imprisoned, tortured, her breasts were crushed and cut off. She told the judge, “Cruel man, have you forgotten your mother and the breast that nourished you, that you dare to mutilate me this way?” One version has it that St. Peter healed her. She was then imprisoned again, then rolled on live coals; when she was near death, an earthquake struck. In the destruction that followed, a friend of the magistrate was crushed, and the magistrate fled. Agatha thanked God for an end to her pain, and died.

Legend says that carrying her veil, taken from her tomb in Catania, in procession has averted erupts of Mount Etna. Her intercession is reported to have saved Malta from Turkish invasion in 1551.

- Patron Saint Index
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Sirach 47:2-11

As the fat is set apart from the communion sacrifice,
so David was chosen out of all the sons of Israel.
He played with lions as though with kids,
and with bears as though with lambs of the flock.
While still a boy, did he not slay the giant,
and relieve the people of their shame,
by putting out a hand to sling a stone
which brought down the arrogance of Goliath?
For he called on the Lord Most High,
who gave strength to his right arm
to put a mighty warrior to death,
and lift up the horn of his people.
Hence they gave him credit for ten thousand,
and praised him while they blessed the Lord,
by offering him a crown of glory;
for he massacred enemies on every side,
he annihilated his foes the Philistines,
and crushed their horn to this very day.
In all his activities he gave thanks
to the Holy One, the Most High, in words of glory;
he put all his heart into his songs
out of love for his Maker.
He placed harps before the altar
to make the singing sweeter with their music;
he gave the feasts their splendour,
the festivals their solemn pomp,
causing the Lord’s holy name to be praised
and the sanctuary to resound from dawn.
The Lord took away his sins,
and exalted his horn for ever;
he gave him a royal covenant,
and a glorious throne in Israel.
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Mark 6:14-29

King Herod had heard about Jesus, since by now his name was well-known. Some were saying, ‘John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ Others said, ‘He is Elijah’; others again, ‘He is a prophet, like the prophets we used to have.’ But when Herod heard this he said, ‘It is John whose head I cut off; he has risen from the dead.’

Now it was this same Herod who had sent to have John arrested, and had him chained up in prison because Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for  you to have your brother’s wife.’ As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of JOhn, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.

An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures of Galilee. When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ The girl hurried straight back to the king and made her request. ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
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Hence they praised him credit for ten thousand

I remember that when Pope John Paul II was called back by God, there were cries of “Santo Subito” – that he be proclaimed a saint immediately. Many also gave him the honorific “Great”, which only three other popes in history had. Leaders from all nations and faiths spoke warmly about him. I remember best the flag of the United States being flown at half-mast for him. Was the late Pope a perfect man? I cannot comment on any faults he might have had but I know only Jesus is perfect. What he was though was someone who brought the face of Christ to the entire world and he is now, and always will be, celebrated for that.

I also remember the death of a wrestler I had enjoyed watching and those of his family. Though not the best with the microphone, many regarded him as a great technician. His journey to the top of the industry was not easy and could be regarded by some as inspirational. However, investigations into the deaths revealed that he had killed his wife and son before committing suicide. Now whenever his name pops up, people do remember his great career but they also remember, perhaps more the horrifying turn he took.

The differences between how Pope John Paul II the Great and the wrestler are remembered are similar to how differently King David and King Herod are. David, despite his human flaws, was a man of God and for God. His deeds and his legacy are remembered and celebrated for all time. From his line came the Saviour, Jesus Christ. King Herod on the other hand, had all the glory of an earthly king but how is he remembered now? Either as a tyrant, a coward or both.

People know and remember us for our words and deeds and the motivations behind them. If we are driven by the love of God, then we can be sure that we can touch the people in our lives. My sisters and brothers, let us be living legacies rooted of God and for God.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Aloysius Ting)
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Prayer: We pray for the love of God to inspire us in everything we do.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to the Lord for the life of Pope John Paul II.

Upcoming Readings:
Thu, 04 Feb – 1 Kings 2:1-4.10-12; Mark 6:7-13
Fri, 05 Feb – 1 Sirach 47:2-13; Mark 6:14-29; Memorial for St Agatha, Virgin, Martyr
Sat, 06 Feb – 1 Kings 3:4-13; Mark 6:30-34; Memorial for Ss Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs
Sun, 07 Feb – Isaiah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11; Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
03 Feb – Memorial for St Blaise, Bishop, Martyr; Memorial for St Ansgar, Bishop

Blaise (d. 316) was a physician and Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia. He lived in a cave on Mount Argeus. He was a healer of men and animals. According to legend, sick animals would come to him on their own for help, but would never disturb him in prayer.

Agricola, governor of Cappadocia, came to Sebaste to persecute Christians. His huntsmen went into the forests of Argeus to find wild animals for the arena games, and found many waiting outside Blaise’s cave. Discovered in prayer, Blaise was arrested, and Agricola tried to get him to recant his faith. While in prison, Blaise ministered to and healed his fellow prisoners, including saving a child who was choking on a fish bone; this led to the blessing of throats of Blaise’s feast day.

Thrown into a lake to drown, Blaise stood on the surface and invited his persecutors to walk out and prove the power of their gods; they drowned. When he returned to land, he was martyred by being beaten, his flesh torn out with wool combs (which led to his association with and patronage of those involved in the wool trade), and then beheaded.

Blaise has been extremely popular for centuries in both the Eastern and Western Churches. In 1222, the Council of Oxford prohibited servile labour in England on his feast. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

Ansgar (801-865) was born to the French nobility. He was a Benedictine monk at Old Corbie Abbey in Picardy, and New Corbie in Westphalia. He studied under St. Adelard and St. Paschasius Radbert. He accompanied the converted King Harold to Denmark when the exiled king returned home.

He was a missionary to Denmark and Sweden. He founded the first Christian church in Sweden in c.832. He was abbot of New Corbie c.834. He was ordained Archbishop of Hamburg by Pope Gregry IV. He was a papal legate to the Sacndanavian countries. He established the first Christian school in Denmark, but was run out by pagans, and the school was burned to the ground. He campaigned against slavery.

He was Archbishop of Bremen. He converted Erik, King of Jutland. He was a great preacher, a miracle worker, and greatly devoted to the poor and sick. Sadly, after his death most of his gains for the Church were lost to resurgent paganism.

- Patron Saint Index
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2 Samuel 24:2.9-17

King David said to Joab and to the senior army officers who were with him, ‘Now go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beesheba and take a census of the people; I wish to know the size of the population.’

Joab gave the king the figures for the census of the people; Israel numbered eight hundred thousand armed men capable of drawing sword, and Judah five hundred thousand men.

But afterwards David’s heart misgave him for having taken a census of the people. ‘I have commited a grave sin,’ David said to the Lord. ‘But now, Lord, I beg you to forgive your servant for this fault. I have been very foolish.’ But when David got up the next morning, the following message had come from the Lord to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, ‘Go and say to David, “The Lord says this: I offer you three things; choose one of them for me to do to you.”‘

So Gad went to David and told him. ‘Are three years of famineto come on you in your country,’ he said, ‘or will you flee for three months before your pursuing enemy, or would you rather have three days of pestilence in your country? Now think, and decide how I am to answer him who sends me.’ David said to Gad, ‘This is a hard choice. But let us rather fall into the power of the Lord, since his mercy is great, and not into the power of men.’ So David chose pestilence.

It was the time of the wheat harvest. The Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning till the time appointed and plague ravaged the people, and from Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of them died. The angel stretched out his hand towards Jerusalem to destroy it, but the Lord thought better of this evil, and he said to the angel who was destroying the people, ‘Enough! Now withdraw your hand.’ The angel of the Lord was beside the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the angel who was ravagint the people, he spoke to the Lord. ‘It was I who sinned;’ he said, ‘I who did this wicked thing. But these, this flock, what have they done? Let your hand lie heavy on me then, and on my family.’
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Mark 6:1-6

Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? THis is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
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Let us rather fall into the power of God

When I was in primary school we used to have extra classes during the holidays. On one of those days, my father sent me to school before he went to work. As it was still a while before classes I joined a few friends for some street soccer in the school yard. When I went home, my father asked if I was playing soccer. I denied it as I had told him that I would be going to get breakfast. Boy, did that get me into trouble. It turned out that he had stayed back a while and watched me play. All he had wanted to do was to give me some tips. What I got instead was a scolding.

We would have learned early in life that it is better to admit our mistakes. It is a sign of our trust in those to whom we make the admission, one which is more often than not reciprocated. This is the kind of trust David has in God. He knew his fault in taking the census and chose to fall to God against whom he had sinned. It did not take away the punishment but he was right in identifying it as the better choice. This same trust and faith was lacking in Jesus’ home town and so He could work no wonders there.

Many television shows depict how important it is to trust someone if we love them. Events such as Tiger Woods’ scandal have also shown what happens when trust is broken. My father trusted me to tell him the truth and loved me to want to share his knowledge. He was hurt by me breaking that trust. My sisters and brothers, our heavenly Father loves and trusts us more than anyone else could. Let us not hurt Him but fall into His power so as to be enlightened by Him.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Aloysius Ting)
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Prayer: We pray for honesty with our thoughts and feelings.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to the Lord for being patient with us when we falter.

Upcoming Readings:
Sat, 06 Feb – 1 Kings 3:4-13; Mark 6:30-34; Memorial for Ss Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs
Sun, 07 Feb – Isaiah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11; Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time