Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary
Time
Lectionary: 334
Lectionary: 334
The LORD God called to Adam and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with meB
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”
The LORD God then asked the woman,
“Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
On your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
He will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.”
To the woman he said:
“I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing;
in pain shall you bring forth children.
Yet your urge shall be for your husband,
and he shall be your master.”
To the man he said: “Because you listened to your wife
and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat,
“Cursed be the ground because of you!
In toil shall you eat its yield
all the days of your life.
Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you,
as you eat of the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
shall you get bread to eat,
Until you return to the ground,
from which you were taken;
For you are dirt,
and to dirt you shall return.”
The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.
For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments,
with which he clothed them.
Then the LORD God said: “See! The man has become like one of us,
knowing what is good and what is evil!
Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand
to take fruit from the tree of life also,
and thus eat of it and live forever.”
The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden,
to till the ground from which he had been taken.
When he expelled the man,
he settled him east of the garden of Eden;
and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword,
to guard the way to the tree of life.
He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with meB
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”
The LORD God then asked the woman,
“Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
On your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
He will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.”
To the woman he said:
“I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing;
in pain shall you bring forth children.
Yet your urge shall be for your husband,
and he shall be your master.”
To the man he said: “Because you listened to your wife
and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat,
“Cursed be the ground because of you!
In toil shall you eat its yield
all the days of your life.
Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you,
as you eat of the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
shall you get bread to eat,
Until you return to the ground,
from which you were taken;
For you are dirt,
and to dirt you shall return.”
The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.
For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments,
with which he clothed them.
Then the LORD God said: “See! The man has become like one of us,
knowing what is good and what is evil!
Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand
to take fruit from the tree of life also,
and thus eat of it and live forever.”
The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden,
to till the ground from which he had been taken.
When he expelled the man,
he settled him east of the garden of Eden;
and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword,
to guard the way to the tree of life.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 90:2, 3-4ABC, 5-6,
12-13
R. (1) In
every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Before the mountains were begotten
and the earth and the world were brought forth,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Before the mountains were begotten
and the earth and the world were brought forth,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
AlleluiaMT 4:4B
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 8:1-10
In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat,
Jesus summoned the disciples and said,
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
If I send them away hungry to their homes,
they will collapse on the way,
and some of them have come a great distance.”
His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread
to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”
Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
They replied, “Seven.”
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,
and gave them to his disciples to distribute,
and they distributed them to the crowd.
They also had a few fish.
He said the blessing over them
and ordered them distributed also.
They ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.
There were about four thousand people.
He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples
and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
Jesus summoned the disciples and said,
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
If I send them away hungry to their homes,
they will collapse on the way,
and some of them have come a great distance.”
His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread
to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”
Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
They replied, “Seven.”
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,
and gave them to his disciples to distribute,
and they distributed them to the crowd.
They also had a few fish.
He said the blessing over them
and ordered them distributed also.
They ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.
There were about four thousand people.
He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples
and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
Meditation: Jesus alone can
satisfy our hunger for God
Can
anything on earth truly satisfy the hunger we experience for God? The enormous
crowd that pressed upon Jesus for three days were hungry for something more
than physical food. They hung upon Jesus' words because they were hungry for
God. When the disciples were confronted by Jesus with the task of feeding four
thousand people many miles away from any source of food, they exclaimed: Where
in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them? The
Israelites were confronted with the same dilemma when they fled Egypt and found
themselves in a barren wilderness.
Like
the miraculous provision of manna in the wilderness, Jesus, himself provides
bread in abundance for the hungry crowd who came out into the desert to seek
him. The Gospel records that all were satisfied and they took up what was
leftover. When God gives he gives abundantly - more than we deserve and more
than we need so that we may have something to share with others as well. The
Lord Jesus nourishes and sustains us with his life-giving word and with his
heavenly bread.
Jesus
nourishes us with the true bread of heaven
The sign of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes through his disciples, prefigures the superabundance of the unique bread of his Eucharist or Lord's Supper. When we receive from the Lord's table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.) calls it the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ" (Ad Eph. 20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward.
The sign of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes through his disciples, prefigures the superabundance of the unique bread of his Eucharist or Lord's Supper. When we receive from the Lord's table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.) calls it the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ" (Ad Eph. 20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward.
When
you approach the Table of the Lord, what do you expect to receive? Healing,
pardon, comfort, and refreshment for your soul? The Lord has much more for us,
more than we can ask or imagine. The principal fruit of receiving from the
Lord's Table is an intimate union with Christ himself. As bodily nourishment
restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens us in charity and enables
us to break with disordered attachments to creatures and to be more firmly
rooted in the love of Christ. Do you hunger for Jesus, the true "bread of
life"?
"Lord
Jesus, you alone can satisfy the hunger in our lives. Fill me with grateful joy
and eager longing for the true heavenly bread which gives health, strength, and
wholeness to body and soul alike.”
Daily
Quote from the early church fathers: Breaking the bread of God's Word, by
Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"In
expounding to you the Holy Scriptures, I as it were break bread for you. If you
hunger to receive it, your heart will sing out with the fullness of praise
(Psalm 138:1). If you are thus made rich in your banquet, be not meager in good
works and deeds. What I am distributing to you is not my own. What you eat, I
eat; what you live upon, I live upon. We have in heaven a common store-house -
from it comes the Word of God." (excerpt from SERMONS ON NEW
TESTAMENT LESSONS 45.1)
Saturday 16 February 2019
Genesis 3:9-24. Psalm 89(90):2-6, 12-13. Mark 8:1-10.
In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge – Psalm
89(90):2-6, 12-13.
‘He fills the hungry with good things.’
Whether it is at Cana or in ‘a deserted place’, Jesus provides
sustenance for the hungry or the thirsty in abundance. The Marcan feeding of
the 4000, coming immediately after Jesus’ ministry in the Decapolis, likely
included Gentiles among the crowd. In this it differs from the gospel accounts
of the feeding of the 5000. However, as in those narratives, Jesus’ words and
actions have a liturgical flavour. In the words of the psalmist, ‘He satisfies
the thirsty, and fills the hungry with good things’ (Ps 107:9).
Providing food and drink for those in need constitutes part of
the criteria invoked in Matthew’s account of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:35,42).
As such, they are a key part of our Christian vocation.
Saint Gilbert of Sempringham
Saint of the Day for February 16
(c. 1083 – February 4, 1189)
 |
| Sculpture of Saint Gilbert of Sempringham at Essen, Belgium | photo by Bocachete |
Saint Gilbert of Sempringham’s Story
Gilbert was born in Sempringham, England, into a wealthy family,
but he followed a path quite different from that expected of him as the son of
a Norman knight. Sent to France for his higher education, he decided to pursue
seminary studies.
He returned to England not yet ordained a priest, and inherited
several estates from his father. But Gilbert avoided the easy life he could
have led under the circumstances. Instead he lived a simple life at a parish,
sharing as much as possible with the poor. Following his ordination to the
priesthood he served as parish priest at Sempringham.
Among the congregation were seven young women who had expressed
to him their desire to live in religious life. In response, Gilbert had a house
built for them adjacent to the Church. There they lived an austere life, but
one which attracted ever more numbers; eventually lay sisters and lay brothers
were added to work the land. The religious order formed eventually became known
as the Gilbertines, though Gilbert had hoped the Cistercians or some other
existing order would take on the responsibility of establishing a rule of life
for the new order. The Gilbertines, the only religious order of English origin
founded during the Middle Ages, continued to thrive. But the order came to an
end when King Henry VIII suppressed all Catholic monasteries.
Over the years a special custom grew up in the houses of the
order called “the plate of the Lord Jesus.” The best portions of the dinner
were put on a special plate and shared with the poor, reflecting Gilbert’s
lifelong concern for less fortunate people.
Throughout his life, Gilbert lived simply, consumed little food,
and spent a good portion of many nights in prayer. Despite the rigors of such a
life he died at well over age 100.
Reflection
When he came into his father’s wealth, Gilbert could have lived
a life of luxury, as many of his fellow priests did at the time. Instead, he
chose to share his wealth with the poor. The charming habit of filling “the
plate of the Lord Jesus” in the monasteries he established reflected his
concern. Today’s Operation Rice Bowl echoes that habit: eating a simpler meal
and letting the difference in the grocery bill help feed the hungry.
LECTIO DIVINA: MARK 8:1-10
Lectio Divina:
Saturday, February 16, 2019
1) OPENING PRAYER
Father,
watch over Your family
and keep us safe in Your care,
for all our hope is in You.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever. Amen.
2) GOSPEL READING - MARK 8:1-10
In those days when there again was a great crowd without
anything to eat, Jesus summoned the disciples and said, “My heart is moved with
pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have
nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse
on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.” His disciples
answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this
deserted place?” Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They
replied, “Seven.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking
the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to
distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. They also had a few fish.
He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. They ate and
were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets. There
were about four thousand people. He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat
with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
3) REFLECTION
The Gospel today speaks about the second multiplication of the
loaves. The unitive thread of several episodes in this part of the Gospel of
Mark is the food, the bread. After the banquet of death (Mk 6:17-29), comes the
banquet of life (Mk 6:30-44). During the crossing of the Lake the disciples are
afraid, because they have understood nothing of the bread multiplied in the
desert (Mk 6: 51-52). Then Jesus declares that all food is pure (Mk 7: 1-23).
In Jesus’ conversation with the Canaanite woman, the gentiles ate the crumbs
which fell from the table of the children (Mk 7:24-30). And here, in today s
Gospel, Mark speaks about the second multiplication of the loaves (Mk 8:1-10).
Mark 8: 1-3: The situation of the people and the reaction of
Jesus. The crowds who gathered around Jesus in the desert had no food to eat.
Jesus calls the disciples and presents the problem to them: I feel pity for
this people, because for three days they have been following Me and have not
eaten. If I send them away to their homes without eating, they will faint on
the way; and some came from very far! In Jesus’ concern there are two important
things: a) People forget home and food and follow Jesus to the desert! This is
a sign that Jesus aroused great sympathy, up to the point that people followed
Him into the desert and remained with Him three days! b) Jesus does not ask
them to solve the problem. He only expresses His concern to the disciples. It
seems to be a problem without a solution.
Mark 8: 4: The reaction of the disciples: the first
misunderstanding. The disciples then think of a solution, according to which
someone had to bring bread for the people. It does not even occur to them that
the solution could come from the people themselves. They say: And how could we
feed all these people in the desert? In other words, they think of a
traditional solution. Someone has to find the money, buy bread and distribute
it to the people. They themselves perceive that, in that desert, to buy bread,
this solution is not possible, but they see no other possibility to solve the
problem. That is, if Jesus insists in not sending the people back to their
homes, there will be no way to feed them!
Mark 8:5-7: The solution found by Jesus. First of all, He asks
how much bread they have: seven loaves! Then He orders the people to sit down.
Then, He takes those seven loaves of bread, gives thanks, breaks them and gives
them to the disciples to distribute; and they distribute them to the crowds.
And He does the same thing with the fish. As in the first multiplication (Mk 6:
41), the way in which Mark describes Jesus’ attitude, recalls the Eucharist.
The message is this: participation in the Eucharist should lead to the gift and
to the sharing of bread with those who have no bread.
Mark 8: 8-10: The result: Everyone ate, they were satisfied and
bread was left over! This was an unexpected solution, which began within the
people, with the few loaves of bread that they had brought! In the first
multiplication, twelve baskets of bread were left over; here, seven. In the
first one, they served five thousand people. Here four thousand. In the first
one there were five loaves of bread and two fish. Here, seven loaves of bread
and a few fish.
The time of the dominant ideology. The disciples thought one
way, Jesus thinks in another way. In the way of thinking of the disciples there
is the dominant ideology, the common way of thinking of people. Jesus thinks in
a different way. It is not by going with Jesus and living in a community that a
person is already a saint and renewed. Among the disciples, the old mentality
always emerges again, because the leaven of Herod and of the Pharisees (Mk
8:15), that is, the dominant ideology, had profound roots in the life of those
people. The conversion requested by Jesus is a deep conversion. He wants to
uproot the various types of leaven.
* The leaven of the community closed up in itself, without any
openness. Jesus responds: The one who is not against is in favor! (Mk 9:39-40).
For Jesus, what is important is not if the person forms part of the community
or not, but if he/she is generous, available or not to do the good which the
community has to do.
* The leaven of the group which considers itself superior to
others. Jesus responds: You do not know what spirit animates you (Lk 9:55).
* The leaven of the mentality of class and of competition, which
characterized the society of the Roman Empire and which permeated the small
community which was just beginning. Jesus responds: Let the first one be the
last one (Mk 9:35). This is the point on which He insists the most; it is
the strongest point of His witness: “I have not come to be served, but to
serve” (Mk 10:45; Mt 20: 28; Jn 13:1-16).
* The leaven of the mentality of the culture of the time. Jesus
responds: Allow the little ones to come to me!. Jesus indicates that the little
ones are the models of discipleship for adults: anyone who does not accept the
kingdom of God as a child will not enter it (Lk 18:17).
The reading of the Gospel, done in community, can help us to
change life and the vision and can help us to continue to convert ourselves and
to be faithful to the words of Jesus.
4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS
We can always encounter misunderstandings with friends and
enemies. What is the misunderstanding between Jesus and the disciples on the
occasion of the multiplication of the loaves? How does Jesus face this
misunderstanding?
In your house, with your neighbors or in the community, have
there been misunderstandings? How have you reacted?
Has your community had misunderstandings or conflicts with the
civil or ecclesiastical authority? How did this happen?
What is the leaven which today prevents the realization of the
Gospel and should be eliminated?
5) CONCLUDING PRAYER
Lord, You have been our refuge from age to age.
Before the mountains were born,
before the earth and the world came to birth,
from eternity to eternity You are God. (Ps 90:1-2)
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