Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary
Time
Lectionary: 346
Lectionary: 346
God from the earth created man,
and in his own image he made him.
He makes man return to earth again,
and endows him with a strength of his own.
Limited days of life he gives him,
with power over all things else on earth.
He puts the fear of him in all flesh,
and gives him rule over beasts and birds.
He created for them counsel, and a tongue and eyes and ears,
and an inventive heart,
and filled them with the discipline of understanding.
He created in them knowledge of the spirit;
With wisdom he fills their heart;
good and evil he shows them.
He put the fear of himself upon their hearts,
and showed them his mighty works,
That they might glory in the wonder of his deeds
and praise his holy name.
He has set before them knowledge,
a law of life as their inheritance;
An everlasting covenant he has made with them,
his justice and his judgments he has revealed to them.
His majestic glory their eyes beheld,
his glorious voice their ears heard.
He says to them, "Avoid all evil";
each of them he gives precepts about his fellow men.
Their ways are ever known to him,
they cannot be hidden from his eyes.
Over every nation he places a ruler,
but God's own portion is Israel.
All their actions are clear as the sun to him,
his eyes are ever upon their ways.
and in his own image he made him.
He makes man return to earth again,
and endows him with a strength of his own.
Limited days of life he gives him,
with power over all things else on earth.
He puts the fear of him in all flesh,
and gives him rule over beasts and birds.
He created for them counsel, and a tongue and eyes and ears,
and an inventive heart,
and filled them with the discipline of understanding.
He created in them knowledge of the spirit;
With wisdom he fills their heart;
good and evil he shows them.
He put the fear of himself upon their hearts,
and showed them his mighty works,
That they might glory in the wonder of his deeds
and praise his holy name.
He has set before them knowledge,
a law of life as their inheritance;
An everlasting covenant he has made with them,
his justice and his judgments he has revealed to them.
His majestic glory their eyes beheld,
his glorious voice their ears heard.
He says to them, "Avoid all evil";
each of them he gives precepts about his fellow men.
Their ways are ever known to him,
they cannot be hidden from his eyes.
Over every nation he places a ruler,
but God's own portion is Israel.
All their actions are clear as the sun to him,
his eyes are ever upon their ways.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 103:13-14, 15-16,
17-18
R. (see 17) The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear
him.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him,
For he knows how we are formed;
he remembers that we are dust.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
Man's days are like those of grass;
like a flower of the field he blooms;
The wind sweeps over him and he is gone,
and his place knows him no more.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
But the kindness of the LORD is from eternity
to eternity toward those who fear him,
And his justice toward children's children
among those who keep his covenant.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him,
For he knows how we are formed;
he remembers that we are dust.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
Man's days are like those of grass;
like a flower of the field he blooms;
The wind sweeps over him and he is gone,
and his place knows him no more.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
But the kindness of the LORD is from eternity
to eternity toward those who fear him,
And his justice toward children's children
among those who keep his covenant.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
AlleluiaSEE MT 11:25
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MK 10:13-16
People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
"Let the children come to me; do not prevent them,
for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."
Then he embraced the children and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
"Let the children come to me; do not prevent them,
for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."
Then he embraced the children and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.
Meditation:
"Receive the kingdom of God like a child"
Do
you seek to help others draw near to the Lord Jesus? The parents who brought
their children to Jesus wanted Jesus to lay his hands upon them. They knew of
the healing power, both physical and spiritual, which came from Jesus' touch.
Jesus, in turn, rebuked his disciples for hindering the children from coming.
No doubt the disciples wanted to shield Jesus from the nuisance of noisy
children. But Jesus delighted in the children and demonstrated that God's love
has ample room for everyone.
Pray
for the young to grow strong in faith
No one is unimportant to God. He comes to each person individually that he might touch them with his healing love and power. Do you show kindness, interest, and care for the youth you encounter in your neighborhood, home, and church? And do you pray for young people that they may come to know the love of Jesus Christ and grow in wisdom and maturity as his disciples?
Why does Jesus say that we must receive the kingdom of God like a child (Mark 10:15)? In the ancient world children were at the bottom of the social ladder. They had no rights or privileges of their own and they had no means or resources to care for themselves. They were totally dependent on their parents for everything they needed. Scripture teaches us that we are totally dependent on God as our eternal Father and Provider. We owe our very existence to him because he is the Creator, Author, and Sustainer of life. We could not find our way to God if he did not first seek us out and draw us to himself. That is why the Father in heaven sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus, to show us the way to the Father.
No one is unimportant to God. He comes to each person individually that he might touch them with his healing love and power. Do you show kindness, interest, and care for the youth you encounter in your neighborhood, home, and church? And do you pray for young people that they may come to know the love of Jesus Christ and grow in wisdom and maturity as his disciples?
Why does Jesus say that we must receive the kingdom of God like a child (Mark 10:15)? In the ancient world children were at the bottom of the social ladder. They had no rights or privileges of their own and they had no means or resources to care for themselves. They were totally dependent on their parents for everything they needed. Scripture teaches us that we are totally dependent on God as our eternal Father and Provider. We owe our very existence to him because he is the Creator, Author, and Sustainer of life. We could not find our way to God if he did not first seek us out and draw us to himself. That is why the Father in heaven sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus, to show us the way to the Father.
The
Lord Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin, Satan, and death, and to
adopt us as children of God - his beloved sons and daughters. Jesus taught his
disciples to not only honor and respect God as our eternal Father, but to trust
in him with great confidence for everything we need - just as children
naturally trust in their parents for all that they need. God gives generously
to those who put their trust in him, who approach him with child-like
simplicity and humility, and with expectant faith that he will treat them as a
loving and merciful Father rather than a cold and stern judge or tyrant. Do you
trust your heavenly Father to give you what you need to live as his son or daughter?
Do
you seek to help others draw near to the Lord?
Our great privilege and responsibility is to live as true and faithful sons and daughters of God and as loyal citizens and ambassadors of his heavenly kingdom. And our chief responsibility is to pass on the faith, wisdom, and gifts which we have received from God to our young people and to those who do not yet know God that they may find true joy and everlasting life in the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you ready and eager to pass on your faith and experience of God's action in your life to others, especially to the young who need guidance, encouragement, and the godly example and witness of those who have discovered the true source of happiness in knowing, loving, and serving God?
Our great privilege and responsibility is to live as true and faithful sons and daughters of God and as loyal citizens and ambassadors of his heavenly kingdom. And our chief responsibility is to pass on the faith, wisdom, and gifts which we have received from God to our young people and to those who do not yet know God that they may find true joy and everlasting life in the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you ready and eager to pass on your faith and experience of God's action in your life to others, especially to the young who need guidance, encouragement, and the godly example and witness of those who have discovered the true source of happiness in knowing, loving, and serving God?
"Lord
Jesus, may we never hinder our youth from coming to you to receive your blessing,
help, and abundant life. Make our youth strong in faith, hope, and love that
they may find true joy and fulfillment in following you as their Lord and
Savior. And as we grow with age, may we never lose that child-like simplicity
and humility which draws us ever deeper into your loving presence."
Daily
Quote from the early church fathers: When the reception of grace begins,
by Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D.
"The
apostle praised one [Timothy] who had known the holy Scripture from infancy (2
Timothy 3:15). He also instructed that children be reared 'in the discipline
and correction of the Lord' (Ephesians 6:4). So we consider every time of life,
even the very earliest, suitable for receiving persons into the community of
faith." (excerpt from THE LONG RULES 15)
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, MARK 10:13-16
Weekday
(Sirach 17:1-15; Psalm 103)
Weekday
(Sirach 17:1-15; Psalm 103)
KEY VERSE: "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these" (v 14).
TO KNOW: Jesus told his disciples that they must serve the simple and lowly ones of the Christian community (Mk 9:36-37). He warned them that grave punishment awaited those who gave scandal to these "little ones" (v 41-50). When some people brought their children to Jesus so that he could bless them, his disciples rebuked the parents for being a nuisance. Jesus was indignant at their insensitive behavior. He told his followers that it was only the childlike who were worthy to enter God's reign. Children knew that they were powerless and must depend on their parents to provide for their needs. Well-trained children were humble, obedient, loving and trusting. Those who humbly obeyed God's Laws and depended upon God with trust and love possessed the attributes necessary for God's reign.
TO LOVE: Who are the hurting children in my life that need my loving embrace?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, embrace me as your little child.
OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Chapter V of the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, issued by the Holy See in December 2001, describes the Church's traditional dedication of Saturday to the Virgin Mary. "Saturdays stand out among those days dedicated to the Virgin Mary. These are designated as memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary" (218). The chapter also describes the importance of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in Catholic devotional life, in the Liturgy, and reflections on popular devotions to Mary, her feast days, and the Rosary.
Saturday 2 March 2019
Ecclesiasticus 17:1-15. Psalm 102(103):13-18. Mark 10:13-16.
The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him. Psalm
102(103):13-18
‘Receive the kingdom of God as a little child.’
Watching young children explore their world can be a marvellous
sight. Through the eyes of children, the adult once again finds the wonders of
creation brought into stark relief. At play with a child, self-consciousness,
ambition and the cares of the world can and must be left at the door. The adult
is greeted with the purist form of openness and trust. These are just some of
the qualities that God asks of us in growing in our relationship with him. They
are the very stuff of which conversion of heart is made of. The foundress of
the Focalare movement, Chiara Lubich recognised this and offered this advice,
‘the child is open to any adventure. So it should be with you. Don’t put any
obstacles in the way of your progressive union with Christ, a progress which
should continue throughout your whole life.’
Saint Agnes of Bohemia
Saint of the Day for March 2
(1205 – March 6, 1282)
 |
Saint Agnes of Bohemia’s Story
Agnes had no children of her own but was certainly life-giving
for all who knew her.
Agnes was the daughter of Queen Constance and King Ottokar I of
Bohemia. She was betrothed to the Duke of Silesia, who died three years later.
As she grew up, she decided she wanted to enter the religious life.
After declining marriages to King Henry VII of Germany and King
Henry III of England, Agnes was faced with a proposal from Frederick II, the
Holy Roman Emperor. She appealed to Pope Gregory IX for help. The pope was
persuasive; Frederick magnanimously said that he could not be offended if Agnes
preferred the King of Heaven to him.
After Agnes built a hospital for the poor and a residence for
the friars, she financed the construction of a Poor Clare monastery in Prague.
In 1236, she and seven other noblewomen entered this monastery.
Saint Clare sent five sisters from San Damiano to join them, and wrote
Agnes four letters advising her on the beauty of her vocation and her duties as
abbess.
Agnes became known for prayer, obedience and mortification.
Papal pressure forced her to accept her election as abbess, nevertheless, the
title she preferred was “senior sister.” Her position did not prevent her from
cooking for the other sisters and mending the clothes of lepers. The sisters
found her kind but very strict regarding the observance of poverty; she
declined her royal brother’s offer to set up an endowment for the monastery.
Devotion to Agnes arose soon after her death on March 6, 1282.
She was canonized in 1989.
Reflection
Agnes spent at least 45 years in a Poor Clare monastery. Such a
life requires a great deal of patience and charity. The temptation to
selfishness certainly didn’t vanish when Agnes walked into the monastery. It is
perhaps easy for us to think that cloistered nuns “have it made” regarding
holiness. Their route is the same as ours: gradual exchange of our
standards—inclinations to selfishness—for God’s standard of generosity.
Lectio Divina: Mark 10:13-16
Lectio Divina
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
keep before us the wisdom and love
You have revealed in Your Son.
Help us to be like Him
in word and deed,
for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
keep before us the wisdom and love
You have revealed in Your Son.
Help us to be like Him
in word and deed,
for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 10:13-16
People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and
said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the
Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not
accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Then he
embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.
3) Reflection
• The Gospel of two days ago indicated the advice of Jesus
concerning the relationship of the adults with little ones and with the
excluded (Mk 9:41-50). Yesterday’s Gospel indicated the advice on the
relationship between man and woman, husband and wife (Mk 10:1-12). Today’s
Gospel indicates the advice on the relationship between parents and sons. Jesus
asked for the greatest acceptance for the little ones and the excluded. In the
relationship man-woman, He asked for the greatest equality. Now, with the sons
and their mother, He asks for the greatest tenderness.
• Mark 10:13-16: Receive the Kingdom like a child. People
brought little children to Him, for Him to touch them. The disciples wanted to
prevent this. Why? The text does not say it. Perhaps because according to the
ritual norms of the time, the small children with their mothers lived almost
constantly the legal impurity. To touch them meant to become impure! If they
touched Jesus, He would become impure! But Jesus does not feel uncomfortable
with this ritual norm of legal purity. He corrects the disciples and welcomes the
mothers with the children. He touches them, embraces them saying: “Let the
little children come to me, do not stop them: for it is to such as these that
the Kingdom of God belongs”. And He comments: “In truth I tell you,
anyone who does not accept the Kingdom of God like a little child will never
enter it”. And then Jesus embraces the children and blesses them, and laid
His hands on them. What does this phrase mean? (a) The children receive
everything from their parents. They cannot merit what they receive, but live
from gratuitous love. (b) The parents receive the children as a gift from God
and take care of them with the greatest possible love. The concern of the
parents is not to dominate the children, but to love them, educate them in a
way in which they can grow and be fulfilled! This is the
relationship we have with our Father in Heaven! We must be just like these
children.
• A sign of the Kingdom: To welcome the little ones and the
excluded. There are many signs of the acting presence of the Kingdom in
the life and the activity of Jesus. One of these is the way of welcoming, of
accepting the little ones and the children:
a) To welcome them and not scandalize them. One of the
hardest words of Jesus was against those who cause scandal to the little ones,
that is, who are the reason so that the little ones no longer believe in God.
For them it is better to have a millstone hung round their neck and be thrown
into the sea (Mk 9:42; Lk 17:2; Mt 18:6).
b) To identify oneself with the little ones. Jesus embraces the
little ones and identifies Himself with them. Anyone who receives a child,
“receives Me” (Mk 9:37). “And as long as you did this to one of the least of
these brothers of mine, you did it to Me”. (Mt 25:40).
c) To become like children. Jesus asks the disciples to
become like children and to accept the Kingdom as they do. Otherwise it is not
possible to enter into the Kingdom (Mk 10:15; Mt 18:3; Lk 9:46-48). He makes
the children teachers of adults! And that is not normal. Generally, we do the
contrary.
d) To defend the right that children have to shout and
yell. When Jesus, entering into the Temple, turned over the tables of the
money changers, the children were those who shouted the most: “Hosanna to the
Son of David!” (Mt 21:15). Criticized by the high priests and by the Scribes,
Jesus defends them and in defending them He recalls the Scriptures (Mt 21:16).
e) To be pleasing for the Kingdom present in little children. Jesus’
joy is great, when He perceives that the children, the little ones, understand
the things of the Kingdom which He announced to the people“. “I bless you,
Father!” (Mt 11:25-26). Jesus recognizes that the little ones understand
the things of the Kingdom better than the doctors!
f) To welcome, accept and take care. Many are the little
children and the young whom Jesus accepts, takes care of and raises from the
death: the daughter of Jairus who was 12 years old (Mk 5:41-42), the daughter
of the Canaanite woman (Mk 7:29-30), the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 7:14-15),
the epileptic boy (Mk 9:25-26), the son of the Centurion (Lk 7:9-10), the son
of the public officer (Jn 4:50), the boy with the five loaves of bread and two
fish (Jn 6:9).
4) Personal questions
• In our society and in our community, who are the little ones
and the excluded? How do we welcome and accept them?
• What have I learned in my life from children concerning the Kingdom of God?
• There are so many ways modern adults are not like children. What can I do to become more child-like for the Father and in relation to my peers; imitative, obedient, humble, grateful, innocent? Do I even want to?
• I place myself as innocent, obedient, humble, and grateful into my world of friends, my business, recreation and my responsibilities. What happens? How am I perceived by the world around me? If I continue to be this way, how would this make a better world?
• What have I learned in my life from children concerning the Kingdom of God?
• There are so many ways modern adults are not like children. What can I do to become more child-like for the Father and in relation to my peers; imitative, obedient, humble, grateful, innocent? Do I even want to?
• I place myself as innocent, obedient, humble, and grateful into my world of friends, my business, recreation and my responsibilities. What happens? How am I perceived by the world around me? If I continue to be this way, how would this make a better world?
5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh, I am calling, hurry to Me,
listen to my voice when I call to You.
May my prayer be like incense in Your presence,
my uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice. (Ps 141:1-2)
listen to my voice when I call to You.
May my prayer be like incense in Your presence,
my uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice. (Ps 141:1-2)
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