Welcome to my blog.
You will find the daily readings from the Bible which the Catholic Church under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has chosen and provides for our spiritual
nourishment. If we use them seriously each day, we will grow in our relationship
with God – ‘in whom we live, move and have our being’ – and come to know Jesus
who loved us and gave his life for us on the Cross. He gives us life and gives
it in abundance.
How to pray with the
Bible. 1. Set aside a time each day when alone or in a group, you can in
silence listen to God speaking to you. He speaks gently as with Elijah (1 Kings
19:12), Jesus, (Rev 3:20). 2.Sit comfortably where you will not be distracted
or disturbed. You are to enter into the presence of God who loves and cares for
you. 3.Pray for the Holy Spirit who teaches us how to pray (Rom 8:26-27). Ask
Mary to intercede with her Son to send the Spirit upon you. (Luke 11:13). 4.
Read slowly in the Spirit who inspired the reading, asking him to speak to you
too. Phrases will strike you. “Speak Lord your servant is listening” (1 Sam
3:11). “All Scripture is inspired and profitable for teaching… and instruction
in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16”. 5. Pray to Jesus with gratitude for the
inspiration he has given you. 6. Go back in the Spirit of Jesus to your
ordinary life.
Saturday 6
June 2020
Ps 24: 16, 18
Turn to me
and have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I am
alone and poor.
See my
lowliness and suffering
and take away
all my sins, my God.
Prayer
Father
in heaven, who care for us at all times,
keep
us free from all harm,
and
grant that whatever happens
will be
for our good.
We
make our prayer
through
your Son, Christ our Lord.
____________________
First reading
2 Timothy 4:1-8 ·
I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; it is time
for me to be gone
Before God
and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I put
this duty to you, in the name of his Appearing and of his kingdom: proclaim the
message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct
error, call to obedience – but do all with patience and with the
intention of teaching. The time is sure to come when, far from being content
with sound teaching, people will be avid for the latest novelty and collect
themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes; and then,
instead of listening to the truth, they will turn to myths. Be careful always
to choose the right course; be brave under trials; make the preaching of the
Good News your life’s work, in thoroughgoing service.
As for me, my life is already being poured away
as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good
fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all
there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the
Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but
to all those who have longed for his Appearing.
Prayerful reflection
Paul has come to the end of his life and is handing on his apostolate
to Timothy. ‘Proclaim the message and insist on it, but do it with patience.’
The message is that Jesus, Risen from the dead is constituted Lord and Saviour.
Timothy is to proclaim this and teach people to observe all the things that
Jesus has commanded. He is to do this whether the message is welcome or not. He
is to make this his life’s work.
Paul has poured out his life as a libation for God. In other words, he
has served God with all his heart and soul. In this he is our model. Not that
we must do the same kind of things that he did. There are many different tasks
in the vineyard of the Lord. We must do the task Jesus has given us and like
Paul we must do with all our heart and soul. That is the gift, only two small
coins maybe, that we are to offer with a heart full of love.
What task has the Lord given you? and how do you fulfil it?
Psalm (Let the psalm be your response to God's Word)
Psalm 70(71):8-9,14-17,22
My lips will tell of
your justice, O Lord.
My lips are filled with your praise,
with your glory all the day long.
Do not reject me now that I am old;
when my strength fails do not forsake me.
My lips will tell of
your justice, O Lord.
But as for me, I will always hope
and praise you more and more.
My lips will tell of your justice
and day by day of your help
(though I can never tell it all).
My lips will tell of
your justice, O Lord.
I will declare the Lord’s mighty deeds
proclaiming your justice, yours alone.
O God, you have taught me from my youth
and I proclaim your wonders still.
My lips will tell of
your justice, O Lord.
So I will give you thanks on the lyre
for your faithful love, my God.
To you will I sing with the harp,
to you, the Holy One of Israel.
My lips will tell of
your justice, O Lord.
____________________
Lk8:15
Alleluia!
Blessed are
those who,
with a noble
and generous heart,
take the word
of God to themselves
and yield a
harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Mark 12:38-44
This poor widow has put in more than all
In his
teaching Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long
robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front
seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men
who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The
more severe will be the sentence they receive.’
He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the
people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great
deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny.
Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, this poor
widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they
have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in
everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’
Prayerful reflection
If the whole universe, in God’s eyes, is no more than a speck of dust
on the scales, (Isaiah 40:15), then what is the value of any gift that human
beings can offer him, be it all the gold and silver in the world? God doesn’t
need our gifts, nor does he need our praise. What then makes a gift valuable to
him? It is the love in our hearts which the gift signifies. The more love we
have the more we will give, even to the point of giving everything we have, as
the widow in today’s Gospel. How much am I willing to give to God? Whatever I
give, be it my time, energy, talents, prayer, praise etc it is, in reality, no
more than ‘two small coins’. How much I give will be in proportion to how much
I love. If God has captured my heart, then my whole life will be spent for him.
Linked with this, today’s Gospel also teaches us that as there is one
thing that really touches the heart of God, there is, also, one thing that he
cannot stand. He cannot stand double dealing. Appearing as one thing, and being
another. We are not to pretend to be the kind of person we are not. In other
words, the one thing God cannot stand is hypocrisy. We should come before God
with the sincerity of opening our heart to him as it is.
What class of person are you before God? Do you belong to the class of
the widow, who loves God with all her heart and gives her everything? Do you
belong to the scribes who love themselves but put on a show, for the sake of
other’s praise, of loving God?
Ps 16: 6
To you I
call, for you will surely heed me, O God;
turn your ear
to me; hear my words.
Prayer
Father
in heaven look on me in your mercy,
for I
struggle in this life.
I am
nothing and helpless
in
face of life’s difficulties
and I am
a sinner too.
Take
away my sins
and
give me strength.
I make my prayer through your Son,
Christ Jesus our Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment