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  Abraham's  Journey from Ur to Canaan József Molnár [ Wikipedia ;   source ] A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous  (Deuteronomy 16:5; First Reading).   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Luke 4:1-13  ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India)    Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were over, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and

Christ the Good Shepherd , Murillo  [ WikiArt ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  John 10:11-18 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition) Jesus said: ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father

Man Praying , Van Gogh, April 1883, The Hague Gospel Luke 11:1-13 NRSV, Catholic  Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up

St Casimir, Vilnius Cathedral, Lithuania  [ Wikipedia ] St Casimir  (3 October 1458 - 4 March 1484), whose feast day is today, 4 March, is patron saint of Poland, of Lithuania and of the young. He was noted for his great love for the poor and for his chastity. The biographical note in The CTS New Daily Missal  says:  His devotion to Our Lady was great; he was so fond of the twelfth-century hymn 'Daily, daily sing to Mary' that it is often attributed to him . The hymn - its Latin title is  Omni die, dic Mariae  - was written by St Bernard. You can find both the Latin and English lyrics on  CatholicCulture.org . A note there says  A  copy of this hymn by Bernard of Cluny was found beneath the right temple of St Casimir's incorrupt body when his grave was opened . The biographical note in the  CTS New Daily Missal  describes St Casimir as  A shining example of faith, piety, humility, and chastity . A priest I met in Scotland last year kindly gave me a copy of t

Open Air Rock Cross also called Nasrani Sthambams in front of the 2nd Century built Marth Mariam Catholic Church at Kuravilangadu, Kerala, India. This church belongs to the  Syro-Malabar Catholic Church , in full communion with Rome. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  Luke 13:22-30  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Jesus went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us.' He will a

I'd forgotten all about the movie "The Pianist," which was released in 2002 and won the Palme D'Or until several of my freshman students began talking to me about it. They had seen the parts of this movie in eighth grade, during a quarter-long study of the Holocaust and were deeply moved by it. I'd never seen the movie and wanted to be able to talk with them about it. This is a brutal, magnificent movie. It speaks of the human spirit and its struggle to survive. Based largely on the true story of classical pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman, it gives witness to the life of  gifted Polish pianist, a Jew, who managed to survive in Warsaw during World War II while hundreds of thousands of Jews were exterminated in death camps. Szpilman is portrayed by actor Adrien Brody, then 29, who won an Academy Award for his work. Read more »