Friday, February 10, 2017

10 February 2017 - Friday of the 5th week of Ordinary Time- Genesis 3:1-8, Mark 7:31-37

      We hear about senses being opened in different ways in our readings today.  When the serpent seduces Eve, resulting in both Adam and Eve eating of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, their eyes and their minds are opened to shame and embarrassment.  In the Gospel, there was another kind of opening, the opening of the ears of the deaf man by Jesus’ command.  The man was filled with joy when speech and hearing were restored. The people were filled with wonder, saying "(Jesus) has done all things well; he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.” Adam and Eve were punished for their disobedience.  They were driven from the garden. God’s justice and mercy are the themes of our readings today.  
      Today’s saint is St Scholastica, the twin sister of St Benedict, who lived in the 5th and 6th centuries.  She established a monastery of nuns only five miles from the monastery of Monte Casino that her brother founded.  Benedict became the spiritual director for his sister and her group of nuns.  Today, St Scholastica is honored as the foundress of Benedictine monasticism for religious sisters. Both Scholastica and her brother Benedict had a huge influence in the development of monasticism and the Church for many centuries.  With there being very few monasteries here in the United States, it is perhaps hard for us to comprehend the influence the monasteries had on society and culture and learning in the era of the Middle Ages.  Today, as we celebrate St Scholastica as the patron saint of nuns and religious sisters, we honor all of those women who serve in religious life and contribute so greatly to our society today.  They are certainly symbols of God’s mercy and justice in the world. 

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