Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 338

Reading I

Jas 2:1-9

My brothers and sisters, show no partiality
as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes  
comes into your assembly,
and a poor person with shabby clothes also comes in,  
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes
and say, “Sit here, please,”
while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,” 
have you not made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil designs?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?
But you dishonored the poor.
Are not the rich oppressing you?
And do they themselves not haul you off to court?
Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you?
However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.
But if you show partiality, you commit sin,
and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 

Responsorial Psalm

34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R.        (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
            his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
            the lowly will hear me and be glad. 
R.        The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Glorify the LORD with me,
            let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
            and delivered me from all my fears. 
R.        The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
            and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
            and from all his distress he saved him.
R.        The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

Alleluia

See John 6:63c, 68c

R.        Alleluia, alleluia.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
R.        Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 8:27-33

Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” 

Remaining Hopeful – More than a Desire

Sometimes, it isn’t easy to remain hopeful. When others around us provide support and help us see the way forward, it is easier to see where God is operating in our lives. However, this is not always the case. There are moments in our journey when all around us seem opposed to what feels like the right direction; the truth of what is happening; and a desire to have us remain in the “status quo”.

The Irish poet, John O’ Donahue, describes this as a time of stocktaking. Where we write down seven things, people, and characteristics that define our current life. As if we were looking back on it from our deathbed. Now, while this may seem a little morbid, John sees this as looking forward to look back on ourselves, to see what defines us today, and our current situation. When we complete this list, we often can see all those factors, people, and characteristics as the “furniture” of our present lives. Moving on from here, changing jobs, relocating, even changes of relationship, we can see sometimes nothing changes, but we morph ourselves back to the same place, the same pieces of furniture still surround us. And hence, we may find ourselves in this dark location, where they appear to be little hope around us.

The answer lies in two places, both built around gifts given to us from God. The first of which is God’s gift of hope. If we embrace the truth, we will see the path ahead, which sometimes we may need to find new ways to embrace because those around us may not see it or may not want us to take it.

The second is our freewill and willingness to change the “furniture” around us. Be willing to start a new piece of paper with seven factors we want to look back on in the future, not the ones on our current list, but ones that represent the change we desire in ourselves.

So, as Joan of Arc described in her trial, “God helps those who are willing to help ourselves”. A relationship is a complex, moving morass of love and other feelings, with us continually oscillating between them. Even for those we love the most.

This week, let our love for God help us transform ourselves into a willing servant to follow Him into the divine darkness, where we know He resides, along with our future. Otherwise, we may find ourselves back at the beginning, on the edge of decisions, but unwilling to change the “furniture” around us. Only, upon our return, to find ourselves again unmoved, unchanged, and unhappy.  

Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 337

Reading I

Jas 1:19-27

Know this, my dear brothers and sisters:
everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
for anger does not accomplish
the righteousness of God.
Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess
and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, 
he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.
He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets
what he looked like.
But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres,
and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts;
such a one shall be blessed in what he does.

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue
but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Responsorial Psalm

15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5

R.        (1b)  Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
He who walks blamelessly and does justice;
            who thinks the truth in his heart
            and slanders not with his tongue. 
R.        Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
Who harms not his fellow man,
            nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
By whom the reprobate is despised,
            while he honors those who fear the Lord. 
R.        Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
Who lends not his money at usury
            and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
            shall never be disturbed. 
R.        Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?

Alleluia

See Ephesians 1:17-18

R.        Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to his call.
R.        Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel

Mk 8:22-26

When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
“Do you see anything?”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”
Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”