Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 308
Lectionary: 308
The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel.
Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,
while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.
After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.
When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said,
“Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today
by the Philistines?
Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies.”
So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there
the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.
When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.
The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked,
“What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?”
On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,
the Philistines were frightened.
They said, “Gods have come to their camp.”
They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us!
Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?
These are the gods that struck the Egyptians
with various plagues and with pestilence.
Take courage and be manly, Philistines;
otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews,
as they were your slaves.
So fight manfully!”
The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.
Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,
while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.
After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.
When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said,
“Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today
by the Philistines?
Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies.”
So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there
the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.
When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.
The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked,
“What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?”
On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,
the Philistines were frightened.
They said, “Gods have come to their camp.”
They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us!
Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?
These are the gods that struck the Egyptians
with various plagues and with pestilence.
Take courage and be manly, Philistines;
otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews,
as they were your slaves.
So fight manfully!”
The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.
Responsorial Psalm PS 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25
R. (27b) Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace,
and you go not forth with our armies.
You have let us be driven back by our foes;
those who hated us plundered us at will.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
You made us the reproach of our neighbors,
the mockery and the scorn of those around us.
You made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Why do you hide your face,
forgetting our woe and our oppression?
For our souls are bowed down to the dust,
our bodies are pressed to the earth.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace,
and you go not forth with our armies.
You have let us be driven back by our foes;
those who hated us plundered us at will.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
You made us the reproach of our neighbors,
the mockery and the scorn of those around us.
You made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Why do you hide your face,
forgetting our woe and our oppression?
For our souls are bowed down to the dust,
our bodies are pressed to the earth.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Gospel MK
1:40-45
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
Meditation: "People came to Jesus from every
quarter"
Do you seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith? No one who
sought Jesus out was refused his help. Even the untouchables and the outcasts
of Jewish society found help in him. Unlike the people of Jesus' time who fled
at the sight of a leper, Jesus touched the leper who approached him and he made
him whole and clean. Why was this so remarkable? Lepers were outcasts of
society. They were driven from their homes and communities and left to fend for
themselves. Their physical condition was terrible as they slowly lost the use
of their limbs and withered away. They were not only shunned but regarded as
"already dead" even by their relatives. The Jewish law forbade anyone
from touching or approaching a leper, lest ritual defilement occur.
This leper did something quite remarkable. He approached Jesus
confidently and humbly, expecting that Jesus could and would heal him. Normally
a leper would be stoned or at least warded off if he tried to come near a
rabbi. Jesus not only grants the man his request, but he demonstrates the
personal love, compassion, and tenderness of God in his physical touch. The
medical knowledge of his day would have regarded such contact as grave risk for
incurring infection. Jesus met the man's misery with compassion and tender
kindness. He communicated the love and mercy of God in a sign that spoke more
eloquently than words. He touched the man and made him clean – not only
physically but spiritually as well.
How do you approach those who are difficult to love, or who are
shunned by others because they are deformed or have some defect? Do you show
them kindness and offer them mercy and help as Jesus did? The Lord is always
ready to show us his mercy and to free us from whatever makes us unclean,
unapproachable, or unloving towards others.
Lord Jesus, inflame my heart with your love and make me clean
and whole in body, mind, and spirit. May I never doubt your love nor cease to
tell others of your mercy and compassion."
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Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
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Father Paul Campbell, LC
Mark 1:40-45
A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him,
"If you choose, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, Jesus
stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose.
Be made clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, "See
that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and
offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so
that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the
country; and people came to him from every quarter.
Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for this
time together. I need you in my life and the life of my family. It is easy to
let activities overwhelm me so that I lose track of you. You fade into the
distance, and sometimes sin grows closer. But I know you are always there for
me with your unconditional love. Thank you. I love you and long to put you
first in my life.
Petition:Lord, wash me from my sins and help me to be
detached from them.
1. If You Choose: A leper approaches and
falls before Jesus. “If you choose, you can make me clean.” This leper
couldn’t free himself from his disease any more than we can free ourselves from
our sin. Leprosy was a fatal disease. It separated a man from his family and
drove him outside his village to lonely places. Leprosy is a symbol for sin.
Sin separates us from God and from others. We need to approach Jesus with
that same humility and trust we see in the leper. This story is for us, to
show us Christ’s heart. It reveals his love and his desire to free us from
sin. Am I convinced of the ugliness of all sin and how it defaces our souls?
2. I Do Choose: Jesus chose to heal the
leper. Not only did he heal him, he touched him. He reached out to the
loneliness of that man, and he touched his life to cure him of the disease.
This reveals Christ’s heart so beautifully. Our sin never drives him away
from us. He is always ready and willing to come to our aid if only we would
cry out for his help. Am I capable of opening all of the inner wounds of my
sins to Our Lord so that he can heal me, wash me clean and make me whole
again?
3. Jesus Wants Us Free: Sin
keeps us from being who we were meant to be. “Everyone who commits sin is a
slave to sin” (John 8:34). Jesus was free from sin and so was free to love
and serve others. He wasn’t compelled by greed or anger. He wasn’t moved by
pride or impeded by laziness. He was free to love, and he loved to the extent
of dying on a cross. Sin closes us in on ourselves. We get absorbed in
ourselves and others take the back seat – or no seat at all. How often do we
say “no” to others and turn a blind eye to their needs? Isn’t it sin that
blinds us and selfishness that impedes us from loving others as Christ loves
us? Christ can free us from sin so that we are empowered to love as he loves.
Conversation with Christ: Jesus, I want to be
free, but I need your help. Without you, I can do nothing. Help me to trust
you and to turn to you. Don’t let me go off on my own as if I could keep
fighting without you. Free me to love you. Free me to love others.
Resolution: I will pray Psalm 51 for
myself and my loved ones.
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, MARK 1:40-45
(1 Samuel 4:1-11; Psalm 44)
(1 Samuel 4:1-11; Psalm 44)
KEY VERSE: "If you choose, you can make me clean" (v 40).
READING: The Hebrew word for "leprosy" used in Leviticus13:47 is tsarath. In the New Testament times the term leprosy included both the deadly incurable form (Hanson's Disease) and the comparatively harmless variety such as psoriasis, ring-worm, mold or fungus on a garment and dry-rot in a house. Any kind of skin disease forced the person afflicted to live apart from the community as an unclean outcast. One such leper humbly begged Jesus to heal him. Jesus was filled with compassion as it was always his will that his people be made whole. Even though contact with a leper rendered a person ritually unclean, Jesus did not hesitate to touch the man and heal him. Then he sent the man to the priest who had the authority to pronounce him cured and return him to society (Lv 14:1-32). Jesus admonished the man not to speak of the healing lest it be misinterpreted as mere wonder working (the "Messianic Secret" is characteristic of Mark's gospel). But the man could not contain his joy and began to publicize his healing to everyone he met. Because so many people kept coming to Jesus, it was impossible for him to enter a town. Now it was Jesus who was forced to live in the deserted places on the outskirts of the town.
REFLECTING: Do I show compassion to those who are afflicted by sickness and disease?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, heal me of all that separates me from God and my community.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Completing His Mission
Lord Jesus, the same power of God which has raised you to new life
raises us also. We believe that you remain with us always, completing your
mission with our help and through the power of your Holy Spirit.
Save us, Lord, in your mercy
Save us, Lord, in your mercyDear Lord, we notice that the readings today are all about our dependence on you. We know that we can always and at any time lean on your great strength. Together with you we can deal with anything that happens to us - even the tragedies. It is one thing to say this and another to know its truth and act on it. Sadly there are times when we whinge and complain and feel that we can’t climb the mountain as it is too hard. Please help us to realise that this is not so. Only our own decision will separate us from you and keep us in the suffering foothills. If we meet you daily in prayer we may not feel it but we will know that you are beside us always.
January 16
St. Berard and Companions
(d. 1220)
St. Berard and Companions
(d. 1220)
Preaching the gospel is often dangerous work. Leaving one’s
homeland and adjusting to new cultures, governments and languages is difficult
enough; but martyrdom caps all the other sacrifices.
In 1219
with the blessing of St. Francis, Berard left Italy with Peter, Adjute, Accurs,
Odo and Vitalis to preach in Morocco. En route in Spain Vitalis became sick and
commanded the other friars to continue their mission without him.
They
tried preaching in Seville, then in Muslim hands, but made no converts. They
went on to Morocco where they preached in the marketplace. The friars were
immediately apprehended and ordered to leave the country; they refused. When
they began preaching again, an exasperated sultan ordered them executed. After
enduring severe beatings and declining various bribes to renounce their faith
in Jesus Christ, the friars were beheaded by the sultan himself on January 16,
1220.
These
were the first Franciscan martyrs. When Francis heard of their deaths, he
exclaimed, "Now I can truly say that I have five Friars Minor!" Their
relics were brought to Portugal where they prompted a young Augustinian canon
to join the Franciscans and set off for Morocco the next year. That young man
was Anthony of Padua. These five martyrs were canonized in 1481.
Comment:
The deaths of Berard and his companions sparked a missionary vocation in Anthony of Padua and others. There have been many, many Franciscans who have responded to Francis’ challenge. Proclaiming the gospel can be fatal, but that has not stopped the Franciscan men and women who even today risk their lives in many countries throughout the world.
The deaths of Berard and his companions sparked a missionary vocation in Anthony of Padua and others. There have been many, many Franciscans who have responded to Francis’ challenge. Proclaiming the gospel can be fatal, but that has not stopped the Franciscan men and women who even today risk their lives in many countries throughout the world.
Quote:
Before St. Francis, the Rules of religious orders made no mention of preaching to the Muslims. In the Rule of 1223, Francis wrote: "Those brothers who, by divine inspiration, desire to go among the Saracens and other nonbelievers should ask permission from their ministers provincial. But the ministers should not grant permission except to those whom they consider fit to be sent" (Chapter 12).
Before St. Francis, the Rules of religious orders made no mention of preaching to the Muslims. In the Rule of 1223, Francis wrote: "Those brothers who, by divine inspiration, desire to go among the Saracens and other nonbelievers should ask permission from their ministers provincial. But the ministers should not grant permission except to those whom they consider fit to be sent" (Chapter 12).
LECTIO DIVINA:
MARK 1,40-45
Lectio:
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Ordinary Time
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1) Opening prayer
Father of love, hear our prayers.
Help us to know your will
and to do it with courage and faith.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Father of love, hear our prayers.
Help us to know your will
and to do it with courage and faith.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 1,40-45
A man suffering from a virulent skin-disease came to him and pleaded on his knees saying, 'If you are willing, you can cleanse me.'
Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said to him, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.' And at once the skin-disease left him and he was cleansed. And at once Jesus sternly sent him away and said to him, 'Mind you tell no one anything, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your cleansing prescribed by Moses as evidence to them.'
The man went away, but then started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but stayed outside in deserted places. Even so, people from all around kept coming to him.
A man suffering from a virulent skin-disease came to him and pleaded on his knees saying, 'If you are willing, you can cleanse me.'
Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said to him, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.' And at once the skin-disease left him and he was cleansed. And at once Jesus sternly sent him away and said to him, 'Mind you tell no one anything, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your cleansing prescribed by Moses as evidence to them.'
The man went away, but then started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but stayed outside in deserted places. Even so, people from all around kept coming to him.
3) Reflection
• Accepting and curing the leper, Jesus reveals a new face of God. A leper came near Jesus. He was an excluded, an impure person. He should be far away. Anybody who touched him, would also become impure! But that leper had great courage. He transgresses the norms of religion in order to be able to get near Jesus. And he calls out: If you want, you can heal me. You need not touch me! It suffices that you want, and I will be healed!. This phrase reveals two evils: a) the evil of leprosy which made him impure; b) the evil of solitude to which he was condemned by society and by religion . It also reveals the great faith of the man in the power of Jesus. And Jesus profoundly moved, cures both evils. In the first place, in order to cure solitude, he touches the leper. It is as if he said: “For me, you are not an excluded one. I accept you as a brother!” And then he cures the leper saying: I want it! Be cured! The leper, in order to enter into contact with Jesus, had transgressed the norms of the Law. Jesus also, in order to be able to help that excluded person and therefore, reveal a new face of God, transgresses the norms of his religion and touches the leper. At that time, whoever touched a leper became impure according to the religious authority and by the law of that time.
• He integrated anew the excluded person in the fraternal living together. Jesus, not only cures, but also wants the cured person to be able to live with the others. He once again inserts the person in society to live with others. At that time for a leper to be accepted again in the community, it was necessary to get a certificate from the priest that he had been cured. It is like today. A sick person leaves the hospital with a document signed by the doctor of the department where he had been hospitalized. Jesus obliges the person to look for that document, in such a way that he will be able to live normally with others. He obliges the authority to recognize that this man has been cured.
• The leper announces the good that Jesus has done to him and Jesus becomes an excluded person. Jesus forbids the leper to speak about the cure. The Gospel of Mark informs that this prohibition does not serve. The leper, walking away, began to diffuse the fact, to the point that Jesus could no longer enter publicly into a city, but remained outside, in a deserted place (Mk 1, 45). Why? Because Jesus had touched the leper. Because of this, according to the opinion of the religion of that time, now he himself was impure and should live far away from all others. He could no longer enter the city. And Mark says that people did not care about these official norms, in fact, people came to him from everywhere (Mk 1, 45). Total subversion!
• Summarizing. In the year 70, when Mark wrote, as well as today, the time in which we live, it was and continues to be important to have before our eyes models of how to live and how to proclaim the Good News of God and of how to evaluate our mission. In verses 16 to 45 of the first chapter of his Gospel, Mark describes the mission of the community and presents eight criteria in order that the communities of his time could evaluate their mission. The following is the outline:
• Accepting and curing the leper, Jesus reveals a new face of God. A leper came near Jesus. He was an excluded, an impure person. He should be far away. Anybody who touched him, would also become impure! But that leper had great courage. He transgresses the norms of religion in order to be able to get near Jesus. And he calls out: If you want, you can heal me. You need not touch me! It suffices that you want, and I will be healed!. This phrase reveals two evils: a) the evil of leprosy which made him impure; b) the evil of solitude to which he was condemned by society and by religion . It also reveals the great faith of the man in the power of Jesus. And Jesus profoundly moved, cures both evils. In the first place, in order to cure solitude, he touches the leper. It is as if he said: “For me, you are not an excluded one. I accept you as a brother!” And then he cures the leper saying: I want it! Be cured! The leper, in order to enter into contact with Jesus, had transgressed the norms of the Law. Jesus also, in order to be able to help that excluded person and therefore, reveal a new face of God, transgresses the norms of his religion and touches the leper. At that time, whoever touched a leper became impure according to the religious authority and by the law of that time.
• He integrated anew the excluded person in the fraternal living together. Jesus, not only cures, but also wants the cured person to be able to live with the others. He once again inserts the person in society to live with others. At that time for a leper to be accepted again in the community, it was necessary to get a certificate from the priest that he had been cured. It is like today. A sick person leaves the hospital with a document signed by the doctor of the department where he had been hospitalized. Jesus obliges the person to look for that document, in such a way that he will be able to live normally with others. He obliges the authority to recognize that this man has been cured.
• The leper announces the good that Jesus has done to him and Jesus becomes an excluded person. Jesus forbids the leper to speak about the cure. The Gospel of Mark informs that this prohibition does not serve. The leper, walking away, began to diffuse the fact, to the point that Jesus could no longer enter publicly into a city, but remained outside, in a deserted place (Mk 1, 45). Why? Because Jesus had touched the leper. Because of this, according to the opinion of the religion of that time, now he himself was impure and should live far away from all others. He could no longer enter the city. And Mark says that people did not care about these official norms, in fact, people came to him from everywhere (Mk 1, 45). Total subversion!
• Summarizing. In the year 70, when Mark wrote, as well as today, the time in which we live, it was and continues to be important to have before our eyes models of how to live and how to proclaim the Good News of God and of how to evaluate our mission. In verses 16 to 45 of the first chapter of his Gospel, Mark describes the mission of the community and presents eight criteria in order that the communities of his time could evaluate their mission. The following is the outline:
Text Activity of
Jesus Objective of the mission
Mark 1,16-20
Jesus calls his first disciples
To form the community
Mark 1,21-22
The people were admired at his teaching
To create a critical conscience
Mark 1,23-28
Jesus expels a devil
To overcome the force of evil
Mark 1,29-31
He cures Peter’s mother-in-law
To give life back so as to serve
Mark 1,32-34
He cures the sick and the possessed
To accept the marginalized
Mark 1,35
Jesus rises early to pray
To remain united with the Father
Mark 1,36-39
Jesus continues the announcement
Not to stop at the results
Mark 1,40-45
He cures a leper
To integrate anew the excluded
Mark 1,16-20
Jesus calls his first disciples
To form the community
Mark 1,21-22
The people were admired at his teaching
To create a critical conscience
Mark 1,23-28
Jesus expels a devil
To overcome the force of evil
Mark 1,29-31
He cures Peter’s mother-in-law
To give life back so as to serve
Mark 1,32-34
He cures the sick and the possessed
To accept the marginalized
Mark 1,35
Jesus rises early to pray
To remain united with the Father
Mark 1,36-39
Jesus continues the announcement
Not to stop at the results
Mark 1,40-45
He cures a leper
To integrate anew the excluded
4) Personal questions
• To proclaim the Good News means to give witness of the
concrete experience of Jesus that one has. What does the leper announce? He
tells others the good that Jesus has done to him. Only this! And this witness
leads others to accept the Good News of God which Jesus brings to us. Which is
the witness that you give?
• To take the Good News to the people, it is not necessary to be afraid to transgress the religious norms which are contrary to God’s project and which make communication, dialogue and the living out of love difficult. Even if this causes difficulty for the people, as it caused difficulty for Jesus. Do I have this courage?
• To take the Good News to the people, it is not necessary to be afraid to transgress the religious norms which are contrary to God’s project and which make communication, dialogue and the living out of love difficult. Even if this causes difficulty for the people, as it caused difficulty for Jesus. Do I have this courage?
5) Concluding prayer
Come, let us bow low and do reverence;
kneel before Yahweh who made us!
For he is our God,
and we the people of his sheepfold,
the flock of his hand. (Ps 95,6-7)
kneel before Yahweh who made us!
For he is our God,
and we the people of his sheepfold,
the flock of his hand. (Ps 95,6-7)
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