Monday, February 09, 2009
Tuesday 5th Week in Ordinary Time
Tuesday 5th Week in Ordinary Time - Year I
GENESIS 1:20–2:4
God said, "Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures,
and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky." And so it
happened: God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming
creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds.
God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying, "Be fertile,
multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply
on the earth." Evening came, and morning followed–the fifth day. Then
God said, "Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures:
cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds." And so it
happened: God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and
all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was.
Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and
the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that
crawl on the ground." God created man in his image; in the divine
image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed
them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all
the living things that move on the earth." God also said: "See, I give
you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that
has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals
of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures
that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food." And
so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and he found it
very good. Evening came, and morning followed–the sixth day. Thus the
heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. Since on the
seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he
rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. So God
blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from
all the work he had done in creation.
MARK 7:1-13
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate
their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. For the Pharisees
and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their
hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the
marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there
are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the
purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. So the Pharisees
and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the
tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" He
responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is
written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are
far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human
precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human
tradition." He went on to say, "How well you have set aside the
commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother
shall die. Yet you say, 'If someone says to father or mother, "Any
support you might have had from me is qorban"' (meaning, dedicated to
God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You
nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have
handed on. And you do many such things."
REFLECTION
This Gospel ends by saying "And you do many such things."" Many times,
we use our "intelligence" or "philosophy or philosopo" to get around
the word of God, seemingly not violating it, but in reality destroying
the spirit of what the Law wants us to do. We can circumvent and
rationalize, but in the end and in good conscience, we realize that we
are doing things for lip-service and without meaning.
The key word here is the "heart." God will judge us with what lies
inside our hearts. People do not know what is inside other people's
hearts. Sometimes we don't even know what is inside our hearts. That
is why we need to pray and reflect to discern what is inside our
hearts. But God sees our hearts and knows our intentions, not just our
deeds. Let us always be on guard against honoring God or others only
with lip service. Let us be wary of being hypocrites which is
detestable in the eyes of God. Let us pray for sincerity and humility
of heart ever y day.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and strength of:
- Sophia Gonzalez
- Aurea Magcamit
- Christy Chin
… for the personal intentions of:
- Lina Magcamit
- Healin
- Honorio J. Marasigan
- Jessy
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Wilfredo Rodriguez. Eternal
rest grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he and
all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for the healing and peace of all families
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Mina & Victor Cotek
- In Memoriam (+): Michael Ong Se Hai
… 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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