Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, February 11, 2017.
1st Reading: Genesis 3:9-24
The LORD God called to Adam and asked him, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden;bbut I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!” The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me,,she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.” The LORD God then asked the woman, “Why did you do such a thing?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”Then the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” To the woman he said: “I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master.” To the man he said: “Because you listened to your wife;and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, “Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return.” The man called his wife Eve,because she became the mother of all the living. For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments, with which he clothed them. Then the LORD God said: “See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is evil! Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever.” The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken. When he expelled the man, he settled him east of the garden of Eden; and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword, to guard the way to the tree of life. The word of the Lord
Responsorial Psalm:90:2, 3-4abc, 5-6, 12-13
R/. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Gospel: Mark 8:1-10
In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, Jesus summoned the disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three day and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.” His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven.”;He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets. There were about four thousand people. He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples;and came to the region of Dalmanutha. The gospel of the Lord.
SATURDAY REFLECTIONS:
First, it’s important to note that the crowds were so drawn to Jesus that they were willing to spend three days with Him, listening to Him in a deserted place despite the fact that they were without food. They chose Jesus and His teaching over food and over the comfort of their own homes. This reveals the unwavering interest that the people had in Jesus and in His teaching. It reveals how drawn they were to Him. It’s as if nothing else mattered. They simply wanted to be with Jesus. Secondly, this passage reveals Jesus’ deep concern for the people. His heart was moved with pity for them. He was grateful for their presence but He was more concerned for their physical well-being than they were. Third, it also reveals something quite subtle but profound. Jesus, in identifying the problem of people being without food for so long, invites the Apostles to see the problem. Note that He doesn’t solve the problem right away.
He doesn’t immediately tell them what to do. Instead, He simply explains the problem. Why is that? Perhaps one reason is that Jesus was trying to foster love and concern for the people in the hearts of the Apostles. Perhaps it was a moment in which He was testing them and training them to think about the needs of the people. By simply posing the question at first, the people were set before the Apostles so that they, too, could grow in heartfelt compassion for them. Jesus may have wanted their hearts to be “moved with pity for the crowd” just as His was. Reflect, today, upon three things. First, are we drawn to Jesus with such intensity that He becomes the central focus of our lives? Does a longing for Him flood our heart and consume our souls? Second, are we aware of the deep concern that Jesus has for us? Are we aware that His heart is “moved with pity” for us every day? Third, are we able to allow the love and compassion that Jesus offers to us, in turn be offered to others? Can we see the “dilemma” of the needs of others? And as we see these needs, do we seek to be there for them in their need? Commit ourselves to these three teachings.
Pray with me: Lord, help me to be drawn to You with intensity and longing. Help me to see You as the source of all that I long for and need in life. May I choose You above all else, trusting and knowing that You will satisfy my every desire. As I turn intensely to You, fill my heart with an abundance of mercy for all. Jesus, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen. Have a blessed and fulfilled weekend.
Sourced by Wiezman Eleanya