Monday 11
February 2013
First reading
Genesis
1:1-19
In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the
deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water.
God
said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. God saw that light was good,
and God divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he
called ‘night.’ Evening came and morning came: the first day.
God
said, ‘Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so
it was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the
waters under the vault. God called the vault ‘heaven.’ Evening came and morning
came: the second day.
God
said, ‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let
dry land appear.’ And so it was. God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the mass
of waters ‘seas’, and God saw that it was good.
God
said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees
bearing fruit with their seed inside, on the earth.’ And so it was. The earth
produced vegetation: plants bearing seed in their several kinds, and trees
bearing fruit with their seed inside in their several kinds. God saw that it
was good. Evening came and morning came: the third day.
God
said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and
let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of
heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was. God made the two great lights:
the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and
the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern
the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was
good. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.
We who have been brought up in a
scientific age want to know what happened and how it happened. The Bible is
inspired but it is not teaching any branch of science but truths we need to
know for our salvation. We should not look in the Bible for scientific truths
but for truths about God and his relationship with the human race. So in today’s
reading we are to learn that everything has come into existence through the
power of God’s Word. Everything is good
and God was happy with his creation.
Psalm
Psalm
103:1-2,5-6,10,12,24,35
May the Lord rejoice in his works!
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are,
clothed in majesty and glory,
wrapped in light as in a robe!
May the Lord rejoice in his works!
You founded the earth on its base,
to stand firm from age to age.
You wrapped it with the ocean like a
cloak:
the waters stood higher than the
mountains.
May the Lord rejoice in his works!
You make springs gush forth in the
valleys;
they flow in between the hills.
On their banks dwell the birds of
heaven;
from the branches they sing their song.
May the Lord rejoice in his works!
How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your riches.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
May the Lord rejoice in his works!
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Jn8:12
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the
Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the
light of life.
Alleluia!
Or
cf.Mt4:23
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the
kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among
the people.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Mark
6:53-56
Having made the crossing, Jesus and his
disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up. No sooner had they stepped
out of the boat than people recognised him, and started hurrying all through
the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he
was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they laid down the
sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his
cloak. And all those who touched him were cured.
Why did the people run
around and bring their sick to Jesus? They wanted physical healing. Wherever he
went there were great crowds of the sick and those bringing them. They wanted
to be healed and Jesus healed them. However, was their hunger for the Word of
God also, for deeper and spiritual healing that would bring them eternal life?
It would seem not. How often we too come to Jesus for our material needs alone.
Yet man lives not by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth
of God. Has physical healing any value if our spirits are still in sin? We need
first a new heart, a new way of thinking, healing from our pride, envy,
avarice, anger, lust, gluttony, and sloth. This will give us eternal life.
Jesus offers us this too. Do you come to be healed in your soul also?
Tuesday 12
February 2013
First reading
Genesis
1:20-2:4
God said, ‘Let the waters teem with
living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth within the vault of heaven.’
And so it was. God created great sea-serpents and every kind of living creature
with which the waters teem, and every kind of winged creature. God saw that it
was good. God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters
of the seas; and let the birds multiply upon the earth.’ Evening came and
morning came: the fifth day.
God
said, ‘Let the earth produce every kind of living creature: cattle, reptiles,
and every kind of wild beast.’ And so it was. God made every kind of wild
beast, every kind of cattle, and every kind of land reptile. God saw that it
was good.
God
said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let
them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all
the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.’
God created man in the image of himself,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying to them, ‘Be
fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters of the fish of
the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on the earth.’ God said, ‘See,
I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are upon the whole earth, and all
the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this shall be your food. To all wild beasts,
all birds of heaven and all living reptiles on the earth I give all the foliage
of plants for food.’ And so it was. God saw all he had made, and indeed it was
very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day.
Thus
heaven and earth were completed with all their array. On the seventh day God
completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all
the work he had been doing. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on that day he had rested after all his work of creating.
Such
were the origins of heaven and earth when they were created.
In today’s reading we see how God
has made creation and placed the human race there as stewards of creation. He has
made them in his own image and likeness and they are his stewards. In the plan
of God the human race is one. There are no different races, castes or other
kinds of divisions. We are one family and we have come from God.
Psalm
Psalm
8:4-9
How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth!
When I see the heavens, the work of your
hands,
the moon and the stars which you
arranged,
what is man that you should keep him in
mind,
mortal man that you care for him?
How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth!
Yet you have made him little less than a
god;
with glory and honour you crowned him,
gave him power over the works of your
hand,
put all things under his feet.
How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth!
All of them, sheep and cattle,
yes, even the savage beasts,
birds of the air, and fish
that make their way through the waters.
How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth!
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Ps118:24
Alleluia, alleluia!
Train me, Lord, to observe your law,
to keep it with my heart.
Alleluia!
Or
Ps118:36,29
Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Mark
7:1-13
The Pharisees and some of the scribes
who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of
his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them.
For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders
and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning
from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There
are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning
the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes
asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but
eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that
Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:
This people honours me only with
lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human
regulations.
You put aside the commandment of God to
cling to human traditions.’ And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round
the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said:
Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or
mother must be put to death. But you say, “If a man says to his father or
mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (that is,
dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his
father or mother.” In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake
of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like
this.’
Religion
is relationship
We too have many traditions in our
Church. We must always remember that Jesus and our relationship to him is our focus.
Our religion is to know, love and serve Jesus. Sincere and humble prayer is at
the heart and not simply the recitation of prayers. Our keeping of his
commandments shows our love for Jesus. His commandments are contained in ‘our love
for one another as he has loved us’. It is so easy to fall into ritualism – a
superficial and routine celebration of the Holy Eucharist and the other
Sacraments. Jesus demands a religion of the heart and worship in spirit and
truth. When we live in a relationship of self-sacrificing love for Jesus then
we experience freedom. Are you bound by rules and live by rules or do you
search for an intimate relationship with Jesus with a desire to do his will in
all things?
No comments:
Post a Comment