Thursday, January 12, 2006
FRIDAY 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
JANUARY 13, 2006
FRIDAY 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR II
1 SAMUEL 8:4-7, 10-22A
All the elders of Israel came in a body to Samuel at Ramah and said
to him, "Now that you are old, and your sons do not follow your
example, appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge
us." Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge
them. He prayed to the LORD, however, who said in answer: "Grant the
people's every request. It is not you they reject, they are
rejecting me as their king." Samuel delivered the message of the
LORD in full to those who were asking him for a king. He told
them: "The rights of the king who will rule you will be as follows:
He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses,
and they will run before his chariot. He will also appoint from
among them his commanders of groups of a thousand and of a hundred
soldiers. He will set them to do his plowing and his harvesting, and
to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He
will use your daughters as ointment makers, as cooks, and as bakers.
He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves,
and give them to his officials. He will tithe your crops and your
vineyards, and give the revenue to his eunuchs and his slaves. He
will take your male and female servants, as well as your best oxen
and your asses, and use them to do his work. He will tithe your
flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves. When this takes
place, you will complain against the king whom you have chosen, but
on that day the LORD will not answer you." The people, however,
refused to listen to Samuel's warning and said, "Not so! There must
be a king over us. We too must be like other nations, with a king to
rule us and to lead us in warfare and fight our battles." When
Samuel had listened to all the people had to say, he repeated it to
the LORD, who then said to him, "Grant their request and appoint a
king to rule them."
MARK 2:1-12
When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known
that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no
longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the
word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four
men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up
the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the
mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he
said to him, "Child, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the
scribes were sitting there asking themselves, "Why does this man
speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive
sins?" Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to
themselves, so he said, "Why are you thinking such things in your
hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, `Your sins are
forgiven,' or to say, `Rise, pick up your mat and walk'? But that
you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on
earth" -he said to the paralytic, "I say to you, rise, pick up your
mat, and go home." He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went
away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified
God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."
REFLECTION
It seems inherent in our human nature to look for the bad in any
situation. We can see that in the negative news stories we read in
the papers or watch on TV. We also observe it in the gossip that
circulates among social groups. By talking about the bad side of
others, we perhaps try to bring down people to make ourselves feel
good.
The scribes at Capernaum in today's Gospel were doing just that.
They belittled the faith of several men and brushed off their effort
to bring a paralytic close to Jesus. They attempted to make Jesus
look like a law-breaker or religious violator instead of the
preacher of Good News, which he was doing.
Jesus was obviously annoyed by the hypocrisy and sky-high pride of
the scribes that He asserted His authority and power by healing the
paralytic in front of the astonished eyes of the crowd.
Jesus gives notice that being members of His Church does not give us
the license to challenge His authority and the many good things God
provides everyday. We may have the freedom to criticize the many
wrongs we see happening around us in our daily lives but we should
not place ourselves on pedestals and believe ourselves superior to
others because we call ourselves Christians.
Let us avoid the pitfalls of pride and instead work to be humble
servants of God. Let us ask Jesus to remove the temptation of
negative thinking and embrace the joy of His Good News.
PRAYER
"Lord Jesus, through your merciful love and forgiveness you bring
healing and restoration to body, soul, and mind. May your healing
power and love touch every area of my life -- my innermost thoughts,
feelings, attitudes, and memories. Pardon my offences and transform
me in the power of your Holy Spirit that I may walk confidently in
your truth and righteousness."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray -
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- In Thanksgiving: Lydia
- for Daddy Rudy who will be undergoing cataract surgery this coming
Friday
- for the personal intentions of Leo
- for blessings, protection and good health of the Pe Family
- for the personal intentions of Mary Wong.
- for the continued recovery of Mike Torres.
- Birthday : Malou G. Marasigan
- Thanksgiving and personal intentions of Baby Jane Figuerres.
- for the eternal repose of the souls of Teresita Bautista, Remegio
Sariola Jr., Florentina Sariola and Remegio Sariola Sr.
- for the eternal repose of the souls of Christopher Marrero and
Crispin Sanchez Sr.
- for our 17 yr old granddaughter, Jami, who will be undergoing the 1st
of 2 ear surgeries this coming Thursday.
- for the eternal repose of the soul of Rosario Bautista.
- for the personal intentions of James.
- for the eternal repose of the soul of Victoria Serrato. Eternal
rest grant unto her and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she
all the dearly departed rest in peace.
- for the eternal repose of the soul of Leticia Gonzales. Eternal
rest grant unto her and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she
rest in peace.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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