Bl. Alvarez of Corova

Bl. Alvarez of Corova

Feastday: February 19
1350 - 1430

Alvarez was born in either Lisbon, Portugal, or Cordova, Spain. He entered the Dominican convent at Cordova in 1368. He became known for his preaching prowess in Spain and Italy, was confessor and adviser of Queen Catherine, John of Gaunt's daughter, and tutor of King John II in his youth. He reformed the court, and then left the court to found a monastery near Cordova. There the Escalaceli (ladder of heaven) that he built became a center of religious devotion. He successfully led the opposition to antipope Benedict XII (Peter de Luna), and by the time of his death was famous all over Spain for his teaching, preaching, asceticism, and holiness. His cult was confirmed in 1741.

Vishawishi vya majaribu huweza kuua, lakini Neno la Yesu huokoa.

(Vatican) Kushinda upotofu wa vishawishi vya majaribu inawezekana tu kwa kusikiliza Neno la Yesu. Papa Francisko alieleza katika homilia yake wakati wa Ibada ya Misa ya Jumanne asubuhi, aliyo iongoza katika Kanisa dogo la Mtakatifu Marta mjini Vatican. Alisema pamoja na udhaifu wetu , daima Kristo hutupatia imani na kufungua upeo wa macho na uwezo, katika kuiona mipaka yetu.

Majaribu huonekana kama kivutio poa ambacho taratibu humwingiza mtu dani ya ngome na kumfanya kuwa mtumwa na kiziwi kwa neno la Mungu. Hotuba ya Papa Francisko ilieleza ukweli huo kufanya rejea mfululizo wa maelezo ya Mtakatifu Yakobo, kama ilivyokuwa katika somo la Liturujia. Papa alieleza Ukweli kwamba Mungu hamtengi binadamu yoyote, ila binadamu hujitenga mwenyewe kwa nia na tamaa zake mbaya . Mtume Yakobo anasema, tamaa huzalisha dhambi. Na dhambi huzalisha mauti.

Papa aliendelea kuuliza majaribu hutoka wapi ?

Baba Mtakatifu Francisko , Jumapili iliyopita majira ya jioni alifanya ziara ya Kichungaji katika Parokia ya Mtakatifu Thomas Mtume iliyoko nje kidogo ya jiji la Roma, kwa nia ya kuvuvia na kuhamasisha uhusiano ukweli, uaminifu, na usafi wa moyo. Pia kutabaruki Kanisa Jipya katika eneo hilo. Kwa ajili hiyo, Papa aliongoza Ibada ya Misa iliyohudhuriwa na maelfu ya wakazi wa eneo hilo la Infernetto, Parokia ya Kusini mwa jiji la Roma ambayo ni sehemu ya Jimbo la Roma.

Papa katika Parokia hiyo alikaribishwa na umati mkubwa wa waaamini wakiongozwa na Kardinali Agostino Vallini , Vika wa Jimbo la Roma, akiwepo pia , Askofu msaidizi wa eneo hilo, Msgr Paolino Schiavon na Paroko Antonio D' Errico.

Akiwa katika Parokia hiyo, Papa alisalimiana na watoto na kuwapatia kile kilichiiotwa tiketi ya kuanza safari ya kutembea katika imani, akiwaambia siri ya kumpenda Yesu ni kumwachia yeye afanye kazi katika maisha yetu. Kwa kuwa Yeye alitupenda kwanza. Watoto hao wadogo wakiwa na nyuso za tabasamu waliinyosha mikono yao kwa Papa , huku wakisema, "Wewe ni rafiki yetu , na baadhi walipiga nae tano, Kisha alikutana na wazazi wa watoto waliobatizwa hivi karibuni wazee, wagonjwa , mapadre, na Chama cha Familia cha watoto wenye ulemavu. Na kabla ya Misa, alipata muda wa kuwaungamisha waaamini kadhaa.

Wakati wa Ibada , Papa aliangalisha homilia yake, katika somo la Injili , ambamo Mtakatifu Matayo anahimiza uhusiano mzuri kati ya mtu na mtu na hasa katika maeneo madogo ambamo watu hufahamiana kirahisi kwamba , ni lazima kuongozwa na misingi ya uaminifu na Ukweli . Ukweli unaotoka ndani ya moyo.

Papa aliwataka wote waliokuwa wamefika katika Ibada hyo, kila mmoja wao kuitafakari hali ya nafsi yake kama ni safi au chafu , ni kufikiri kilichomo ndani ya moyo na kuoana kama "Kuna upendo? Au kuna chuki ? Na iwapo kuna tabia ya msamaha kwa wale wanaotukosea na kutuumiza kimaisha au kuna tabia ya kulipa kisasi . Alikazia ni muhimu kujiuliza kilichomo ndani kwa sababu ndani ya hutoka yote matenda uovu, au wema . Na wema huupata uhuru moyo kuliko uovu.

Papa amekiri, ni kweli, kusamehe na kuwa mtu mwema si rahisi, lakini ni muhimu katika kuyatembea maisha matakatifu hasa katika kumpokea Bwana,na kuomba aingilie kati maisha yetu. Ni daima kuiomba neema hii ya kujua nini kinaendelea ndani ya moyo, na daima kufanya uchaguzi sahihi , uchaguzi wa mzuri. Ni kukumbuka kwamba matendo maovu katika maisha yetu huchafua roho zetu na kutuweka mbali na Bwana. Tuombe Bwana atusaidie daima, kuwa karibu nae, Papa alisisitiza. .

Hii ilikuw ani Parokia ya nne kutembelewa na Papa Francisko tangu kuanza utume wake mwaka jana. Mwishoni mwa Misa, Papa alitoa na shukrani kwa Paroko Padre Antonio d' Errico wa Parokia ya Mtakatifu Thomas Mtume, ambayo iko katika eneo lenye hili maarufu la Infernettalenye wakazi wapatao 25,000.

Andalia Video ya Godwin Ngosso - Siku Ya Kufa

Daily Reading for Tuesday, February 18th, 2014

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Reading 1, James 1:12-18

¹² Blessed is anyone who perseveres when trials come. Such a person is of proven worth and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
¹³ Never, when you are being put to the test, say, 'God is tempting me'; God cannot be tempted by evil, and he does not put anybody to the test .
¹⁴ Everyone is put to the test by being attracted and seduced by that person's own wrong desire.
¹⁵ Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin reaches full growth, it gives birth to death.
¹⁶ Make no mistake about this, my dear brothers:
¹⁷ all that is good, all that is perfect, is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow caused by change.
¹⁸ By his own choice he gave birth to us by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all his creation.

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Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 94:12-13, 14-15, 18-19

¹² How blessed are those you instruct, Yahweh, whom you teach by means of your law,
¹³ to give them respite in evil times, till a pit is dug for the wicked.
¹⁴ Yahweh will not abandon his people, he will not desert his heritage;
¹⁵ for judgement will again become saving justice, and in its wake all upright hearts will follow.
¹⁸ I need only say, 'I am slipping,' for your faithful love, Yahweh, to support me;
¹⁹ however great the anxiety of my heart, your consolations soothe me.

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Gospel, Mark 8:14-21

¹⁴ The disciples had forgotten to take any bread and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
¹⁵ Then he gave them this warning, 'Keep your eyes open; look out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.'
¹⁶ And they said to one another, 'It is because we have no bread.'
¹⁷ And Jesus knew it, and he said to them, 'Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not understand, still not realise? Are your minds closed?
¹⁸ Have you eyes and do not see, ears and do not hear? Or do you not remember?
¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?' They answered, 'Twelve.'
²⁰ 'And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?' And they answered, 'Seven.'
²¹ Then he said to them, 'Do you still not realise?'

St. Simon

Feastday: February 18

In St. Matthew's Gospel, we read of St. Simon or Simeon who is described as one of our Lord's brethren or kinsmen. His father was Cleophas, St. Joseph's brother, and his mother, according to some writers, was our Lady's sister. He would therefore be our Lord's first cousin and is supposed to have been about eight years older than He. No doubt he is one of those brethren of Christ who are  mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as having received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. St. Epiphanius says that when the Jews massacred St. James the Lesser, his brother Simeon upbraided them for their cruelty. The apostles and disciples afterwards met together to appoint a successor to James as bishop of Jerusalem, and they unanimously chose Simeon, who had probably assisted his brother in the government of that church. In the year 66 civil war broke out in Palestine, as a consequence of Jewish opposition to the Romans. The Christians in Jerusalem were warned of the impending destruction of the city and appear to have been divinely ordered to leave it. Accordingly that same year, before Vespasian entered Judaea, they retired with St. Simeon at their head to the other side of the Jordan, occupying a small city called Pella. After the capture and burning of Jerusalem, the Christians returned and settled among the ruins until the Emperor Hadrian afterwards entirely razed it. We are told by St. Epiphanius and by Eusebius that the church here flourished greatly, and that many Jews were converted by the miracles wrought by the saints. When Vespasian and Domitian had ordered the destruction of all who were of the race of David, St. Simeon had escaped their search; but when Trajan gave a similar injunction, he was denounced as being not only one of David's descendants, but also a Christian, and he was brought before Atticus, the Roman governor. He was condemned to death and, after being tortured, was crucified. Although he was extremely old - tradition reports him to have attained the age of 120 - Simeon endured his sufferings with a degree of fortitude which roused the admiration of Atticus himself. His feast day is February 18

A nutrient found in spinach and eggs could help sharpen reflexes and therefore improve road safety.

So says a team of researchers from Leiden University and the University of Amsterdam, who conducted a study on the impact of intake of tyrosine, a nutrient found in foods including spinach, eggs, cheese and soy.
For their research, scientists tested the reaction times of participants on a computer screen. Whenever a green arrow appeared, they were instructed to press the corresponding button as quickly as possible. Buttons had to match direction of the arrow -- either left or right. When a red arrow appeared, participants were instructed to do nothing.
Sessions were divided into two tests: on one occasion, participants were given a tyrosine-enriched orange juice before the task, and on the other, a glass of orange juice that contained a placebo.
Results showed that candidates showed improved reflexes after drinking the orange juice with tyrosine.
Researchers hypothesize that increased intake of tyrosine-rich foods and supplements could have implications on road safety, improving drivers’ reaction times to braking for children or pile-ups.
Low levels of tyrosine are also linked to lower levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which can lead to depression and apathy.