Tag: David

“He is out of his mind.” | Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 3:20-21)

Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

In today’s short Gospel, Mark depicts the relentlessness of the crowds who came to Jesus for his word and for his healing. The ones who know and love him, who watched him grow and mature, plan to take control of the situation. They believe he has gone mad and fear for his well-being, reject his ministry, and hope to extract him from the people and restore his sanity. David’s reaction to Saul’s and Jonathan’s death, which we hear in the first reading, sheds light on Jesus’ response to the crowds surrounding him. “I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother! Most dear have you been to me; more precious have I held love for you than love for women.” This grief over Jonathan, Saul’s son, foreshadows and expresses Jesus’ extravagant love for his people, despite his ultimate suffering and death for their sake. Jesus, God made man, pities the people he was sent to save and rejects no one who comes to him. He feeds them with the bread of compassion and saves them as they look upon his face.

“Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.” God, help me dwell on these words today from the responsorial psalm. Let them remind me to seek you out during the day, to crowd around the doorway of your house, eager to see you and know your unconditional love. In turn, give me the grace to open the door for others who desire to see where you dwell and look upon your face. Deliver me from evil, Lord; let me receive your mercy and be merciful to others.

From the Gospel acclamation: “Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Good news of great joy.” | The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 2:15-20)

When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.

After the shepherds find Mary and Joseph, seeing near them Jesus lying in the manger, they go out and proclaim the message the angel had shared with them before they began their journey: “Do not be afraid;” the angel said, “for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And then the shepherds witnessed a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to those on who his favor rests.” Mary must have been the first among those to hear the shepherd’s story, keeping all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Father in heaven, thank you for sending Jesus and placing him in the care of Mary and Joseph. “Good news of great joy that will be for all people . . . a savior has been born for you.” These unknown, humble shepherds were the first to hear of the birth of Jesus. After seeing Jesus, they immediately go out and tell others what they had witnessed: “When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.” Lord, help me see the birth of Jesus as a way to get back to basics, unafraid to share with others what I have witnessed: Jesus is Messiah and Lord, a savior born for me and for all the people. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.

From the second reading: “He saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“May it be done to me according to your word.” | Fourth Sunday of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 1:26-38)

And the angel said to [Mary] in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

When the angel appears to Mary, he tells her that it is through the power of the Most High that Mary is to conceive the child Jesus. Through his birth, with Mary as his mother, Jesus is both the Son of David and the Son of Mary. In the Annunciation, we hear an echo of the words from the first reading, where God, speaking through Nathan the prophet, says: “I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.” In Mary’s obedience, God’s will is fulfilled in bringing forth the Savior who redeems humanity from sin, offering the gift of eternal life with the Father in the kingdom of heaven.

God, help me understand that what takes place in the Annunciation also takes place within me as I approach you in faith. Mary’s fiat is a confirmation of trust in you, that you deliver on every promise you make. As you say through the psalmist, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant: Forever will I confirm your posterity and establish your throne for all generations.” In the fulfillment of your promises through Jesus Christ your Son, you are with me wherever I go. Nothing is impossible for you. Help me say yes to you, to let it be done to me according to your word.

From the first reading: “And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, Priest

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 6:1-5)

Jesus said to the Pharisees in reply, “Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry? How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

Jesus responds to the Pharisees who criticize the disciples as they walk through a field, picking the heads of grain and eating them. It’s not difficult to imagine this scene. The Pharisees are on their way somewhere, and they stop in their tracks when they notice the disciples doing something unlawful. In response to the criticism of his disciples’ conduct, Jesus argues that human needs, including satisfying hunger and performing works of mercy, take precedence over the sabbath. In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus says: “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus identifies the Pharisees’ confining legalistic understanding of the sabbath and offers a deeper understanding rooted in mercy, compassion, and fulfillment of the Father’s will.

Father in heaven, you look first to the care of your people over manmade rules, rules that become distorted through fallen human nature. When I am overzealous to go to the defense of a house rule or certain habit, help me slow down and think through what I am about to say or do. Is there instead an opportunity for me to be like your Son and offer mercy? When I am keen to point out someone’s wrongdoing, give me the grace to recognize that everything I have is from you. In the sabbath, as with all your good gifts, help me be merciful as you are merciful. Saint Peter Claver, pray for us!

From the Gospel acclamation: “I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

“Live as children of light,” Saint Paul says, “for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

In today’s Gospel, Joseph hears the angel of the Lord and does as he commands. Joseph is the first to take Mary into his home; since then, innumerable Christians throughout history have taken Mary into their homes. Mary’s yes ushered in God’s new creation through Christ; Joseph’s yes brought Mary into the heart of his home and into the center of salvation and redemption for all people. To hear and believe what the angel of the Lord said, Joseph had to put aside fear and, like Mary, begin to ponder the name above all names: Jesus. How can I not respond in kind as Joseph did?

God, give me the grace to comprehend what it means to ask Mary into my home. In doing that, I know there is no guarantee of consolation or receiving whatever I pray for. Instead, the more I ask Mary to intercede for me, the more things will be shaken up as she redirects me to her son. At the Wedding at Cana, Mary said of Jesus to the servers: “Do whatever he says.” And so Jesus began his public ministry, which led to his Passion, death, and resurrection. Hear me, God, and help me recall: when the day’s challenges are in full force and multiple imperatives become entangled with one another, let me be unafraid and do as Joseph did by inviting Mary into the heart of the conflict.

Stay with me, Lord; let me be obedient to you, as Joseph was in his faithful care of Mary and Jesus.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

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