Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, February 23, 2017
1st Reading: First Letter of Peter 5:1-4.
Beloved: I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst, (overseeing) not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm: 1:1-2.3.4.6.
R/. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Holy Gospel: Mark 9:41-50.
Jesus said to his disciples: «Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe (in me) to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'” Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.” The gospel of the Lord.
THURSDAY REFLECTIONS:
Adding salt to food brings forth the flavor. It doesn’t so much change the food into something else; rather, it enhances what is there, adding more to the taste. Salt also has the effect of purifying. It’s used as a preservative and helps to rid food of bacteria. Both of these images of flavoring and preserving are worth looking at. Being “salted with fire” means that we are purified by God. Fire purifies and refines. Heat is used to sanitize utensils, fire is used to purify gold, and it is also used to mold precious metals into images or jewelry. So it is with us. We must be purified by the fire of God in every way. Sin must be purged and we must become malleable by the fire of God so that we can be molded into His divine image.
But how does this happen? One way is when we are purged of all fleshly desires and appetites that are selfish and opposed to the will of God. This can be painful and, hence, the image of fire. Another way is when we are purified on the deeper level of the spirit. This may happen when we are given some heavy cross to carry and we do so with patience and acceptance. When our will is challenged and tested, we have an opportunity to turn our own will over to God and to choose His will. But His will often times includes a full embrace of any suffering we endure. In that case, suffering can have the effect of purifying us on the deepest level of our will and, thus, suffering becomes redemptive for us.
Pray with me: Lord, I pray that You purify my soul of all sin. Help me, first, to be freed of all fleshly attachments that interfere with my love of You. Help me, also, to be free of my own will. May the sufferings and cross in my life become a true grace through which You free me and help me to grow strong in patience and all virtue. I give myself to You, dear Lord. 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.
Sourced by Wiezman Eleanya