Reflections on the Daily Readings

January 29 - February 4, 2012.

The Fourth Week in Ordinary Time. Psalter Week IV.

Sunday Cycle B; Weekday Cycle II.

Sunday 29:          The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 94; 1Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28

In our first reading today from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people that after he has gone the Lord will give them a great prophet who will teach them his ways. The people had grown tired of listening to God and wanted to listen to one of their own so the Lord agrees to appoint one of their own as his prophet. In the gospel we read how Jesus taught the people and that he commanded the unclean spirits with authority which they obeyed. In this we can see Jesus as the great prophet whom Moses spoke about. The Lord is our great teacher and the scriptures contain his teaching if only we had the courage to become familiar with the scriptures and to live out the teachings in our lives.

St Paul tells us that it is easier for the unmarried to devote themselves to the Lord because they do not have to worry about pleasing their spouse or looking after the family. In this, Paul is not being negative about marriage but he is reminding us that no matter what our status in life we must devote some time every day to the Lord.

Monday 30:         Of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30, 16:5-13; Psalm 3; Mark 5:1-20

The setting for today’s first reading is a time during the rule of King David when the people had grown disenchanted with his rule and were looking to rebel. The rebellion is led by his son Absalom who declares himself king in the city of David. We see David fleeing and, as he goes, he is cursed by a relative of his own predecessor – King Saul – because he has committed murder. In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus curing a man who was possessed by many spirits. The people come to see what has happened but they do not rejoice as so many others had done. Instead they ask Jesus to leave their area. Though he had shown his power to them they were afraid to believe – perhaps they realised that his message would require a change in their lifestyle.

Tuesday 31:         Memorial of St John Bosco, Priest*

2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14, 24-25, 30-19:3; Psalm 85; Mark 5:21-43

In our first reading today, we see that David has defeated his son Absalom in thick forests east of the Jordan. We now see that Absalom is fleeing for his life because his gamble of making himself king to answer the people’s needs has not paid off. The young man falls into the hands of his father’s troops who kill him while he could not defend himself. Upon hearing the news David goes into mourning for the loss of his son. The text from St Mark’s Gospel for today is a well-known double miracle – the cure of the woman with a haemorrhage and the cure of Jairus’ daughter. The central point is faith: the woman had faith and she needed only to touch the clothes Christ wore to be cured; Jairus’ daughter died before Jesus could reach the house and when the messengers informed him of this, Jesus told them to have faith and she would live. The faith of the woman is the faith to which we are all called.

Wednesday 1:        Feast of St Brigid, Virgin, Secondary Patron of Ireland*

Romans 12:3-13; Psalm 148; Mark 3:31-35.

St Paul reminds us in the letter to the Romans that each of us has been given a different grace or gift and that we should not boast about them. As the body must work as one, without one part being any better than another, so too the Christian community must work together as one for the good of the kingdom. The gospel text is quite appropriate for the feast we celebrate today for it tells us that those who do the will of God are truly the brothers and sisters of Christ. Brigid left us an example of this in her life in that she always did the will of God and placed Christ and others before her own needs.

Thursday 2:           The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas Day)*

Malachi 3:1-4; Psalm 23; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40.

The reading from Malachi tells us that God will send his messenger to prepare the way and that, suddenly, the Lord himself will appear. This reminds us of John the Baptist’s preaching. In the second reading from the letter to the Hebrews, the author tells us that Christ had to become human in order to fully represent us before God the Father. In our gospel passage from St Luke, we see Mary and Joseph going to the Temple with the infant Jesus to be purified. There, they meet Simeon and also Anna who both speak of the child as being salvation for all the nations. Simeon praises God and says that he can now rest in peace for he has seen the Saviour. Though he was the Son of God and himself God, Jesus was still brought up in the faith and with respect for the Law of Moses.

Friday 3:              Of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time or Memorial of St Blaise, Bishop & Martyr*

Ecclesiasticus 47:2-11; Psalm 17; Mark 6:14-29

The reading from Ecclesiasticus today was written about eight centuries after the death of King David. It recalls his deeds and while we know that David offended God the reading shows that his life was really oriented toward serving God and the Chosen People. It ends by saying that God took away David’s sins and established his dynasty as he had promised. In the Gospel we read of the death of John the Baptist because of a promise foolishly made. John had faith in what he preached and ultimately this faith brought about his death. John has now fulfilled the role which the great prophet Elijah was to fulfil – that of preparing the way for the Messiah.

Saturday 4:          Of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

1 Kings 3:4-13; Psalm 118; Mark 6:30-34

Solomon has now been proclaimed king after his father, David. He goes to the holy site of Gibeon to sacrifice there and while there the Lord tells him that he can have anything he asks for. Solomon doesn’t ask for victories or armies or lands or riches. He asks simply for wisdom. Pleased with this request God also grants him more than he had asked for. In the Gospel we see the disciples returning from their mission, which has been very successful, so much so that people from many villages have followed them to hear more and to be cured. The preaching of the disciples and the faith of the people has brought them to the Lord himself.

Memorials this Week:

January 31:         Memorial of St John Bosco, Priest

Don Bosco was born in 1815 to a peasant family in Piedmont, Italy. After being ordained he established several boys’ clubs and schools in Turin which very quickly flourished. He was also well known for his preaching and fund raising skills and he built several churches. In 1854 he founded what became the Salesian Congregation to educate and look after boys, and with St Mary Mazzarello he founded the Daughters of Our Lady Help of Christians  in 1872 to educate and look after girls. He died in 1888.

February 1:         Feast of St Brigid, Virgin & Secondary Patron of Ireland

Brigid was born near Dundalk about the middle of the fifth century. She became a nun and founded a monastery in Kildare (for both men and women) and became known for her love of justice, for her compassion for the poor, and for the many miracles she worked. She was the spiritual mother of Irish nuns for many centuries and is often referred to as “Mary of the Gael” (Mary of the Irish). She died about the year 525.

February 2:         Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas Day)

On this day we call to mind the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple by his parents in keeping with the Law of Moses. This event is recorded in today’s the gospel. Today is also the formal end of the Christmas festival of light and the memorial of Christ’s birth. Today, candles are blessed and carried in procession as a sign of our welcoming Christ the Light into our lives. It is also a special day in the Church’s calendar when the Church prays for Consecrated Life – a life which is consecrated to God through prayer and service and which enriches and gladdens the Christian community. We also pray to God to help people to hear and answer his call and so consecrate themselves to the Lord.

February 3:         Memorial of St Blaise, Bishop & Martyr (Optional)

Very little about Blaise is known with great certainty though it would appear that he had been a bishop in Armenia and was martyred about the year 316. Throats are blessed because it is told that he saved the life of a boy in whose throat a fishbone had lodged. The blessing of throats today is a reminder to us of the Lord’s desire for us to be well and to remove suffering from our lives.

© P. Breen, O.Carm. 2011

The Reflections above are available in printed form in:

Reflections on the Readings for every day of the Church's year. Patrick J. Breen, O.Carm. Dublin: Columba Press. 2011.

ISBN 978 1 85607 732 3.

Reflections on the Readings for every day of the Church's year.

And from the Columba Press, Dublin.

The Holy Father’s Intentions for this month

General Liturgical Calendar for Ireland (in PDF)

Carmelite Liturgical Calendar

The Seasons of the Church’s Year