Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Thursday 7TH Week in Ordinary Time
February 27, 2014
Thursday 7TH Week in Ordinary Time
Jas 5: 1-6 / Ps 49: 14-15ab,15cd-16,17-8,19-20 / Mk 9: 41-50
Reading: Jas 5:1-6
So, now for what concerns the rich! Cry and weep for the misfortunes that are coming upon you. Your riches are rotting and your clothes eaten up by the moths. Your silver and gold have rusted and their rust grows into a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire, for having piled up riches in these the last days. You deceived the workers who harvested your fields but now their wages cry out to the heavens. The reapers' complaints have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You lived in luxury and pleasure in this world thus fattening yourselves for the day of slaughter. You have easily condemned and killed the innocent since they offered no resistance.
Gospel: Mk 9: 41-50
If anyone gives you a drink of water because you belong to Christ and bear his name, truly, I say to you, he will not go without reward. If anyone should cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble and sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a great millstone around his neck. If your hand makes you fall into sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a hand, than with two hands to go to hell, to the fire that never goes out. And if your foot makes you fall into sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a foot, than with both feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye makes you fall into sin, tear it out! It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, keeping both eyes, to be thrown into hell, where the worms that eat them never die, and the fire never goes out. The fire itself will preserve them. Salt is a good thing; but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another."
Reflection:
To sin is to fail to live up to be the person we are meant to be by God. If we consider becoming what God wants us to be as the target in a firing range, then not to hit it is to sin. Because of our brokenness, we may think our near misses or venial sins are of little importance. However if the target is as immense as God is infinite goodness, then to miss the target is really unthinkable. In the light of this we would then be able to understand the reason for the seemingly cruel imagery used by our Lord to emphasize the true reality of sin and its effect on us and the world around us. It is only because of God's infinite love and mercy that our sins whether great or small are forgiven. For some of us who are seen to be serving in church, the scandalous effect of even our minor indiscretions may be much greater and will last longer than the sin itself. We may already have repented of the sin and be forgiven but its harmful effects may last a very long time.
With this understanding of what it means each time we fall into sin, let us ask ourselves why we still sin over and over again and reflect more deeply on the immensity of our Father's love and mercy for each one of us.
Prayer Requests:
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
... for families who are in need of healing.
... for world peace and reconciliation.
... for thanksgiving
* Maricar Hernandez, Eric Hernandez (answered prayer)
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!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
-- Thursday 7TH Week in Ordinary Time
Jas 5: 1-6 / Ps 49: 14-15ab,15cd-16,17-8,19-20 / Mk 9: 41-50
Reading: Jas 5:1-6
So, now for what concerns the rich! Cry and weep for the misfortunes that are coming upon you. Your riches are rotting and your clothes eaten up by the moths. Your silver and gold have rusted and their rust grows into a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire, for having piled up riches in these the last days. You deceived the workers who harvested your fields but now their wages cry out to the heavens. The reapers' complaints have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You lived in luxury and pleasure in this world thus fattening yourselves for the day of slaughter. You have easily condemned and killed the innocent since they offered no resistance.
Gospel: Mk 9: 41-50
If anyone gives you a drink of water because you belong to Christ and bear his name, truly, I say to you, he will not go without reward. If anyone should cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble and sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a great millstone around his neck. If your hand makes you fall into sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a hand, than with two hands to go to hell, to the fire that never goes out. And if your foot makes you fall into sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a foot, than with both feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye makes you fall into sin, tear it out! It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, keeping both eyes, to be thrown into hell, where the worms that eat them never die, and the fire never goes out. The fire itself will preserve them. Salt is a good thing; but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another."
Reflection:
To sin is to fail to live up to be the person we are meant to be by God. If we consider becoming what God wants us to be as the target in a firing range, then not to hit it is to sin. Because of our brokenness, we may think our near misses or venial sins are of little importance. However if the target is as immense as God is infinite goodness, then to miss the target is really unthinkable. In the light of this we would then be able to understand the reason for the seemingly cruel imagery used by our Lord to emphasize the true reality of sin and its effect on us and the world around us. It is only because of God's infinite love and mercy that our sins whether great or small are forgiven. For some of us who are seen to be serving in church, the scandalous effect of even our minor indiscretions may be much greater and will last longer than the sin itself. We may already have repented of the sin and be forgiven but its harmful effects may last a very long time.
With this understanding of what it means each time we fall into sin, let us ask ourselves why we still sin over and over again and reflect more deeply on the immensity of our Father's love and mercy for each one of us.
Prayer Requests:
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
... for families who are in need of healing.
... for world peace and reconciliation.
... for thanksgiving
* Maricar Hernandez, Eric Hernandez (answered prayer)
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!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
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