A Prophet Without Honor

February 03, 2021, Wednesday

Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)

Saint Blaise, Bishop & Martyr (Red) - Opt. Mem.

Saint Angsar, Bishop (White) - Opt. Mem.

CYCLE B - YEAR I

RDGS: HEB 12:4-7. 11-15/ PS 103:1-2. 13-14. 17-18

GOSPEL: MK 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. 

When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,

and many who heard him were astonished. 

They said, "Where did this man get all this? 

What kind of wisdom has been given him? 

What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! 

Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,

and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? 

And are not his sisters here with us?" 

And they took offense at him. 

Jesus said to them,

"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place

and among his own kin and in his own house." 

So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,

apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.

He was amazed at their lack of faith.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:.

Perhaps today’s Gospel invites us to be with Jesus in the profound suffering this must have caused Him. You might then let Jesus be with you in the ways you suffer when people are not sensitive to, or show respect for your dignity as a human being or as a Christian.

Even after all the miracles of healing which Jesus worked, he still was not accepted even in his own town. As he taught in the synagogue there his hearers were amazed that this ordinary man whom they knew as the carpenter could attain such wisdom, and they rejected him.

PRAYER: 

Lord, I pray that I may recognise your presence in the ordinary encounters of my day and notice the ways through which you desire to nourish me and give me life, because you are present in all things.

The Child Was Filled with Wisdom

February 02, 2021, Tuesday

FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD (White)

WORLD DAY FOR CONSECRATED AND RELIGIOUS LIFE

CYCLE B - YEAR I

RDGS: MAL 3:1-4/ PS 24:7.8.9.10/ HEB 2:14-18

GOSPEL: LK 2:22-40 or LK 2:22-32

When the days were completed for their purification

according to the law of Moses,

Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem

to present him to the Lord,

just as it is written in the law of the Lord,

Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,

and to offer the sacrifice of

a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,

in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.

This man was righteous and devout,

awaiting the consolation of Israel,

and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit

that he should not see death

before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. 

He came in the Spirit into the temple;

and when the parents brought in the child Jesus

to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,

he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

   “Now, Master, you may let your servant go 

       in peace, according to your word,

   for my eyes have seen your salvation,

       which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:

   a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

       and glory for your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;

and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,

“Behold, this child is destined

for the fall and rise of many in Israel,

and to be a sign that will be contradicted

-and you yourself a sword will pierce-

so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

There was also a prophetess, Anna,

the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.

She was advanced in years,

having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,

and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.

She never left the temple,

but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.

And coming forward at that very time,

she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child

to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions

of the law of the Lord,

they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;

and the favor of God was upon him.

OR:

When the days were completed for their purification

according to the law of Moses,

Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem

to present him to the Lord,

just as it is written in the law of the Lord,

Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,

and to offer the sacrifice of

a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,

in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.

This man was righteous and devout,

awaiting the consolation of Israel,

and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit

that he should not see death

before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. 

He came in the Spirit into the temple;

and when the parents brought in the child Jesus

to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,

he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

   “Now, Master, you may let your servant go 

       in peace, according to your word,

   for my eyes have seen your salvation,

       which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:

   a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

       and glory for your people Israel.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Today is the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. In the past, it was also known as the Purification of Our Lady. It was further referred to as Candlemas Day because Simeon saw in Jesus a great Light. Let us unite ourselves in spirit with Jesus, Mary and Joseph and like them, prepare ourselves for whatever the Lord plans for us.

In the past, the prophets were the carriers of the message of God’s glory. Chosen ones from the beginning of their lives, God’s special favour continued with them. And now the same will happen with Mary’s child: God’s favour resting on him as he grows in strength and wisdom. Jesus is to be the new dwelling place of God among his people: in himself, a whole new epoch both for Israel and for the pagan nations. He will even function as a sword of judgment, described as destroying some and sparing others - with not even his mother exempt from the pain of that crisis.

PRAYER:

Like Simeon, I can take the child in my arms. Perhaps the child wakes up and smiles at me. What goes on in my heart when this happens? Simeon praised God. I give thanks that God is presented to me in such a tangible and vulnerable form.

Healing of the Gerasene Demoniac

February 01, 2021, Monday

Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)

CYCLE B - YEAR I

RDGS: HEB 11:32-40/ PS 31:20. 21. 22. 23. 24

GOSPEL: MK 5:1-20

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea,

to the territory of the Gerasenes.

When he got out of the boat,

at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him.

The man had been dwelling among the tombs,

and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain.

In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains,

but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed,

and no one was strong enough to subdue him.

Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides

he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.

Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,

he ran up and prostrated himself before him,

crying out in a loud voice,

"What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?

I adjure you by God, do not torment me!"

(He had been saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come out of the man!")

He asked him, "What is your name?"

He  replied, "Legion is my name.  There are many of us."

And he pleaded earnestly with him

not to drive them away from that territory.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside.

And they pleaded with him,

"Send us into the swine.  Let us enter them."

And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine.

The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea,

where they were drowned.

The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town

and throughout the countryside.

And people came out to see what had happened.

As they approached Jesus,

they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion,

sitting there clothed and in his right mind.

And they were seized with fear.

Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened

to the possessed man and to the swine.

Then they began to beg him to leave their district.

As he was getting into the boat,

the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him.

But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead,

"Go home to your family and announce to them 

all that the Lord in his pity has done for you."

Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis

what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Do you ever experience yourself being tormented by guilt from the past, by inability to do what you wish to do, or by fear of the future? Do you feel sometimes that you are living in a tomb, in a lifeless situation? If so, you can identify with the unfortunate demoniac. You may feel Jesus is at a distance, but run to him and beg him to liberate you. He wants you to be free and will heal you. Then you too can ‘go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you’.

PRAYER:

Lord, when I fear the forces of evil, in others or in myself, I remember that you took on the demons and defeated them. In you I have a Saviour against whom the devil is powerless.