Monday, January 29, 2024

30-JAN-'24, Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time


Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 324


Reading 1

2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30–19:3

Absalom unexpectedly came up against David's servants.

He was mounted on a mule,

and, as the mule passed under the branches of a large terebinth,

his hair caught fast in the tree.

He hung between heaven and earth

while the mule he had been riding ran off.

Someone saw this and reported to Joab

that he had seen Absalom hanging from a terebinth.

And taking three pikes in hand,

he thrust for the heart of Absalom,

still hanging from the tree alive.


Now David was sitting between the two gates,

and a lookout went up to the roof of the gate above the city wall,

where he looked about and saw a man running all alone.

The lookout shouted to inform the king, who said,

"If he is alone, he has good news to report."

The king said, "Step aside and remain in attendance here."

So he stepped aside and remained there.

When the Cushite messenger came in, he said,

"Let my lord the king receive the good news

that this day the LORD has taken your part,

freeing you from the grasp of all who rebelled against you."

But the king asked the Cushite, "Is young Absalom safe?"

The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king

and all who rebel against you with evil intent

be as that young man!"


The king was shaken,

and went up to the room over the city gate to weep.

He said as he wept,

"My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom!

If only I had died instead of you,

Absalom, my son, my son!"


Joab was told that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom;

and that day's victory was turned into mourning for the whole army

when they heard that the king was grieving for his son.


Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (1a) Listen, Lord, and answer me.


Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me,

for I am afflicted and poor.

Keep my life, for I am devoted to you;

save your servant who trusts in you.

You are my God.

R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.


Have mercy on me, O Lord,

for to you I call all the day.

Gladden the soul of your servant,

for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.


For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.

Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer

and attend to the sound of my pleading.

R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.


Alleluia

Matthew 8:17

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Christ took away our infirmities

and bore our diseases.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel

Mark 5:21-43

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat

to the other side,

a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.

One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.

Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,

"My daughter is at the point of death.

Please, come lay your hands on her

that she may get well and live."

He went off with him

and a large crowd followed him.


There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.

She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors

and had spent all that she had.

Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.

She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd

and touched his cloak.

She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."

Immediately her flow of blood dried up.

She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,

turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?"

But his disciples said to him,

"You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,

and yet you ask, Who touched me?"

And he looked around to see who had done it.

The woman, realizing what had happened to her,

approached in fear and trembling.

She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.

He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you.

Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."


While he was still speaking,

people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said,

"Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"

Disregarding the message that was reported,

Jesus said to the synagogue official,

"Do not be afraid; just have faith."

He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside

except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,

he caught sight of a commotion,

people weeping and wailing loudly.

So he went in and said to them,

"Why this commotion and weeping?

The child is not dead but asleep."

And they ridiculed him.

Then he put them all out.

He took along the child's father and mother

and those who were with him

and entered the room where the child was.

He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum,"

which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"

The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.

At that they were utterly astounded.

He gave strict orders that no one should know this

and said that she should be given something to eat.


Reflection 1

Catholic Daily Reflections 


Fear Transformed by Faith


While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Mark 5:35–36


This short line is one worth pondering every day. “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” This statement can apply to many situations we experience throughout our lives. It is a command of love from our Lord and is a command that we all need to hear, especially when hardships come our way.


First, it should be noted that this was a grave situation in which extreme emotion and temptations to fear would be understandable. The father in this story had a young daughter at the point of death, and he came to beg Jesus to heal her. Jesus agreed. But while they were on their way, Jesus and the father received the heartbreaking news that the daughter had just died. As any parent would know, this news must have been incredibly difficult to hear. So begin by trying to understand the grief that this father was experiencing. Try to especially understand his grief at that moment as he heard this devastating news.


As you ponder his grief, try to also ponder the heart, thinking, emotions and words of Jesus. Jesus had no fear. He knew that this would end very well. But because He also had deep empathy and love for this grieving father, Jesus turned to him to give him hope. Hope in the midst of a very difficult and painful experience in life is hard to come by. When faced with grief, it is very tempting to give in to despair. Despair is a complete loss of hope. Despair keeps us from God and strips us of faith. But despair is always avoidable if we follow Jesus’ command of love. “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”


What is it that tempts you to fear in life? What is it that tempts you to lose your hope? Perhaps you struggle with the death of a loved one, and you find it very difficult. Perhaps your grief comes from small sources and is only minor right now. The truth is that all of us will experience small temptations to lose hope every day. And most will also experience grave temptations at one time or another. For these reasons, we must all constantly listen to Jesus’ words and work to dispel every fear in life as we invite God to bestow upon us the gift of hope that comes from unwavering faith in His plan for our lives.


Reflect, today, upon any struggles you have with despair, fear or anxiety in life. As you do, know that all things are possible when you turn to God with faith. Faith does not necessarily remove the hardships of life; it does something even better. It transforms hardships so that you can endure them with grace, joy and supernatural hope. When this happens, everything in life has the potential to be used by God for our good. All we need to do is continually reject fear and “just have faith.”


Reflection 2

One Bread, One Body


AGED TO PERFECTION?


"Keep my life, for I am devoted to You; save Your servant who trusts in You.” —Psalm 86:2


David was probably in his forties when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged for her husband to be murdered. You could call this a mid-life crisis of sin. When David was in his fifties or sixties, his son Absalom tried to take over the kingdom and kill his father. When Absalom was killed in battle, David lamented: “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Sm 19:1)


This is the same son with whom David wouldn’t talk for five years (see 2 Sm 13:38 and 14:28). Yet, David truly forgave and kept forgiving Absalom. He loved him unconditionally. David grew from a lustful, murderous middle-age to a loving, forgiving, holy old age. David still needed much more purification and growth in holiness, but he allowed the Lord to change him significantly.


Jesus “progressed steadily in wisdom and age and grace before God and men” (Lk 2:52). How about you? We’re all growing in age, but what about in wisdom and grace? Have you repented and forgiven? Have you left behind the sins of the past? Are you growing to “the full maturity of Christ”? (Eph 4:15) Grow; don’t just grow old.


Prayer:  Father, may my entire attention be on Jesus, as “I give no thought to what lies behind but push on to what is ahead” (Phil 3:13).


Promise:  “Taking her hand, He said to her, ‘Talitha, koum,’ which means, ‘Little girl, get up.’ The girl, a child of twelve, stood up immediately and began to walk around.” —Mk 5:41-42


Praise:  Albert has been a daily communicant for forty years.


Reflection 3

Shared from God's Word


There is a progressive revelation of the breaking in of God’s Kingdom in the teaching and actions of Jesus. Mark the evangelist narrates two other miracles; how Jesus responds to the plea of a father who feared for the life of his twelve-year-old daughter, and a sandwich story of an afflicted woman who had been suffering for exactly the same length of time being cured by Jesus. Jesus is very sensitive to the needs of people and shows his power over illness and death. He tells the woman, “Daughter your faith has made you well” and to Jairus, “do not fear, only believe.” Jesus tells us clearly that this is the key to our prayers being heard! In our situations of helplessness let us turn to Jesus in faith for a compassionate response!


Prayers

My compassionate Lord, You consoled this grieving father and instilled within him the gifts of faith and hope. Please also speak your command of love to me, calling me to trust in You no matter what I struggle with in life. May I always have faith in You and never fall into despair or fear. Jesus, I trust in You.


Lord Jesus, you love each of us individually with a unique and personal love. Touch my life with your saving power, heal and restore me to fullness of life. Help me to give wholly of myself in loving service to others.


Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy


Reflection 30: Obedience to God

One key to holiness is obedience.  Adam and Eve fell from grace by disobedience and we are restored to grace by obedience.  Obedience can be hard and requires a deep interior decision.  Look for opportunities to be obedient to Jesus, especially when you do not feel like doing so.  Those are moments of great grace and conversion (See Diary #28).


Work at being humble today.  Only through humility will we see the pride that leads to disobedience.  Pride leads to an obstinate persistence in our sin and a refusal to be open to God’s abundant Mercy.  Reflect upon your humble admission of sin and your willingness to repent of that sin so that you can imitate our Lord and His Blessed Mother in their act of perfect obedience to the Will of the Father in all things.


Lord, help me to humble myself before Your Divine Mercy.  In that humility, help me to see not only my sin, but also the grace and Mercy You bestow so as to enter into the glorious life of grace You call me to live.  May I obey Your perfect commands of love and so be filled with Your Mercy.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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