GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY - Saturday, February 11, 2017

 Thursday - February 11, 2017

One must not think that a person who is suffering is not praying. He is offering up his sufferings to God, and many a time he is praying much more truly than one who goes away by himself and meditates his head off, and, if he has squeezed out a few tears, thinks that is prayer.

--St. Teresa of Avila

TODAY'S READINGS

 

February 11, 2017

 

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Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 334

Reading 1GN 3:9-24

The LORD God called to Adam and asked him, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden;
but 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 meB 
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.

Responsorial PsalmPS 90:2, 3-4ABC, 5-6, 12-13

R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Before the mountains were begotten
and the earth and the world were brought forth,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, "Return, O children of men."
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night. 
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades. 
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants! 
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

AlleluiaMT 4:4B

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMK 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 days
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.

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Be Reconciled With Your Brother

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I can be so cold to your salvific presence as I hurry about living the moment and becoming so sufficient unto myself. There is little wonder that I find it hard to bring myself to prayer—to use faith to know you, divine love to live in you, and theological hope to trust in you. I approach you now, wanting only to be a more faithful disciple of your Kingdom.

Petition: Christ, help me to be reconciled with others.

1. It Was Said to Your Ancestors That You Shall Not Kill … But I Say to You: In the Old Testament God gave the command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This seems difficult enough to do, but in the New Testament, Our Lord requires much more. The night before he died, Jesus said to his disciples—and he says now to us—, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). How did Jesus love us? We have only to look at the crucifix. He laid down his life for us so that, purified by his Precious Blood, we might be united with the Most Blessed Trinity in the eternal happiness of heaven.

2. “Be Reconciled with Your Brother” - Jesus does not say “neighbor,” but “brother.” In taking upon himself our human nature, Jesus Christ became our brother and the head of the whole human race. He has raised us all, through him, to the dignity of the divine adoption, in such a manner that all Christians compose only one family of which God is the Father and Jesus the first-born Son. Each person we meet is—or is potentially—our brother or sister in Christ. Each is—or is potentially—a member of the family. Therefore, Jesus teaches us that, “whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do to me.”

3. “Go First and Be Reconciled With Your Brother, and Then Come and Offer Your Gift.” - The great St. Thomas More was about to offer God the gift of his martyrdom. It was the month of July 1535. As soon as the unjust court pronounced the sentence of death, Sir Thomas asked to say a few words. He reminded these noblemen that St. Paul and St. Stephen were once on opposite sides and yet, as saints now in heaven, they remain friends forever. He continued: “I shall therefore rightly pray, that though your lordships have now here on earth been judges to my condemnation, we may yet hereafter in heaven all meet together, to our everlasting salvation.” What heroic charity! How was it possible? It was possible because St. Thomas saw his judges with the eyes of Christ. He sees them as human beings who are beloved of God and destined for heaven. So he prays that they will repent of their injustice and receive God’s mercy.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me to see my brother as you see him: a person so valuable that you laid down your life for him. Help me to love my brother as you have loved us, with humility and generosity, without counting the cost. I pray especially for those who have injured me or those whom I have injured.

Resolution: I will offer this day for the eternal salvation of all those whom God has, in some way, entrusted to my care. 

-- 

God Bless You.....

KONKANI PRAYER GROUP - Abu Dhabi

"Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone"  Mark 16:15