Anoint us

Notes from meeting on 19 February 2016

Tonight we celebrated Mass together with Fr. Michael Whalen and members of the Zion group from Newton Aycliffe.  Many thanks to them for sharing with us.

Reading 1, First Samuel 16:1-13

¹ Yahweh said to Samuel, 'How much longer do you mean to go on mourning over Saul, now that I myself have rejected him as ruler of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have found myself a king from among his sons.'
² Samuel replied, 'How can I go? When Saul hears of it he will kill me.' Yahweh then said, 'Take a heifer with you and say, "I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh."
³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I shall reveal to you what you must do; and you will anoint for me the one I indicate to you.'
⁴ Samuel did what Yahweh ordered and went to Bethlehem. The elders of the town came trembling to meet him and asked, 'Seer, is your coming favourable for us,'
⁵ 'Yes,' he replied. 'I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.' He purified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
⁶ When they arrived, he looked at Eliab and thought, 'This must be Yahweh's anointed now before him,'
⁷ but Yahweh said to Samuel, 'Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him; God does not see as human beings see; they look at appearances but Yahweh looks at the heart.'
⁸ Jesse then called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel, who said, 'Yahweh has not chosen this one either.'
⁹ Jesse then presented Shammah, but Samuel said, 'Yahweh has not chosen this one either.'
¹⁰ Jesse thus presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, 'Yahweh has not chosen these.'
¹¹ He then asked Jesse, 'Are these all the sons you have?' Jesse replied, 'There is still one left, the youngest; he is looking after the sheep.' Samuel then said to Jesse, 'Send for him, for we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives.'
¹² Jesse had him sent for; he had ruddy cheeks, with fine eyes and an attractive appearance. Yahweh said, 'Get up and anoint him: he is the one!'
¹³ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him, surrounded by his brothers; and the spirit of Yahweh seized on David from that day onwards. Samuel, for his part, set off and went to Ramah.

Gospel, Mark 2:23-28

²³ It happened that one Sabbath day he was taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples began to make a path by plucking ears of corn.
²⁴ And the Pharisees said to him, 'Look, why are they doing something on the Sabbath day that is forbidden?'
²⁵ And he replied, 'Have you never read what David did in his time of need when he and his followers were hungry-
²⁶ how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the loaves of the offering which only the priests are allowed to eat, and how he also gave some to the men with him?'
²⁷ And he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath;
²⁸ so the Son of man is master even of the Sabbath.'


God wishes to anoint us with the horn of oil, giving us strength and power to live the life of the Spirit.

Picture of many small lights shining in darkness; pray that they would come together in great beams (searchlights) to spread the light.

I have called you and chosen you. Do not doubt my word. Drink deeply of my life and you will grow strong.

Picture of our Blessed Mother who was comforting her sorrowful Son, Jesus. She produced from within her cloak a pearl of great lustre and beauty that she herself had honed and polished. She placed the pearl onto the circle of thorns surrounding her Son's sorrowful heart. The pearl seemed to gather light and beauty and other jewels in the thorns could be seen.
Jesus smiled and thanked his Mother as this small jewel of our worship and faithfulness gave him great comfort in his distress. The other jewels of beauty (taken to be other groups) also gave comfort to him in his agony, the agony of indifferent mankind.
The peal portrays our group like may other praying for mitigation of lost souls in darkness and that aligning ourselves to his torment and agony and making reparation in our small way we co-operate in the mystery of Jesus' redemption of mankind.
Jesus says: "You are a pearl of great blessing produced by the tears and entreaties of My Blessed Mother. She has caused me to shower you with gifts through the Holy Spirit, may they grow in each one of you causing the fruit of my great Mercy on mankind."