Saint Blaise is the patron saint of those suffering from throat ailments.
He is believed to have died around 316. He is said to have been
Bishop of the Armenian city of Sebaste.
Invitation
May I draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation is intended to share with you the joy
of the Gospel. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their heart
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day
Consideration
Today, we hear two miracle stories in the Gospel: a woman is healed, a girl is brought back to life. These are not reports of historical facts; they are, first and foremost, stories of faith. They call us to faith in God, who wants to be our life and our future. Countless witnesses of faith have gone before us. They are close to us when we want to free ourselves from everything that holds us captive. Today, they encourage us to distance ourselves from evil and brokenness, from sin and addictions. They teach us to fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus: of all of them, He is the greatest witness of faith.
FIRST READING 2 Sam 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30-19, 3
Oh, that I had died in your place,
Absalom, my son!
From the Second Book of Samuel
In those days, Absalom
was found by David’s servants.
For as Absalom rode upon his mule, it passed under an oak tree, and Absalom’s head was caught between the branches, and the mule went on. So he was left hanging between heaven and earth. A soldier saw this and reported it to Joab, saying, “I have found Absalom, and he is hanging in an oak tree.”
Joab took three javelins and thrust them into Absalom’s side, and the soldiers came and fell upon him and slew him, though he was still alive among the living.
David sat between the two gates. Joab took three javelins and thrust them into Absalom’s side, and the soldiers came and fell upon him and slew him, though he was still alive among the living.
David sat between the two gatehouses. Joab took three javelins and thrust them into Absalom’s side, and the soldiers came and fell upon him and slew him, though he was still alive among the living.
Joab took three sticks and struck Absalom,
who was still alive, hanging in the middle of the oak tree,
on his chest.
David was sitting between the two gatehouses.
A guard climbed onto the roof of the gatehouse,
on top of the wall,
and when he looked around,
he saw someone running alone.
The watchman reported this to the king, who said, ”
Wait here for a moment.”
The messenger Achimaas did so.
Now a second messenger, a Cushite, arrived. He said,
“I have good news for my lord the king.
The Lord has vindicated you
against all who rebelled against you.”
But the king asked the Cushite:
“Is everything all right with the boy, with Absalom?”
Then the Cushite said:
“It is to be hoped
that all the enemies of my lord the king,
all who plot evil against you,
will fare in the same way
as that young man has fared.”
Deeply shocked, the king withdrew
to the upper room of the gatehouse;
weeping, he paced back and forth,
crying out:
“My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom!
“Oh, if only I had died in your place,
Absalom, my son, my son!”
Joab was told:
“The king weeps and mourns for Absalom.”
And when everyone heard
that the king was grieving for his son,
the euphoria of victory instantly turned to mourning.
INTERLUDIUM Ps . 86(85), 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Hear my prayer, Lord, and answer me.
Hear my prayer, Lord, and answer me,
I am unhappy and poor.
Protect me, for I am devoted to You,
take care of Your servant, he counts on You.
You are my God, have mercy on me,
I call upon You continually.
Rejoice the heart of Your servant, Lord,
I turn to You with confidence.
For You are good and gracious, Lord,
merciful to all who call upon You.
Hear then, Lord, my prayer,
heed my pleading voice.
ALLELUIA John 6:64b, 69b
Alleluia.
Your words, Lord, are spirit and life;
your words are words of eternal life.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mark 5, 21-43
Girl, I say to you, get up.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christaccordingto
Mark
At that time, when Jesus had crossed over again by boat,
a large crowd gathered around him.
While he was on the shore of the lake,
a certain Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, came.
When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet
and begged him earnestly,
“My little daughter is dying.
Please come and lay your hands on her
so that she may be healed and live.”
Jesus went with him.
A large crowd accompanied him and pressed in on him from all sides.
Among them was a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years.
She had endured much from a whole series of doctors
and spent all her money,
but without any benefit;
on the contrary, she had become even worse.
Having heard about Jesus,
she pushed her way through the crowd
and touched his cloak.
For she said to herself,
“If I can just touch his clothes,
I will be healed.”
Immediately her bleeding stopped,
and she felt in her body
that she was healed of her affliction.
At that moment, Jesus was aware
that power had gone out from him;
he turned around in the crowd and asked,
“Who touched my clothes?”
His disciples said to him,
“You see the crowd pressing in on you from all sides, and you ask,
‘Who touched me?'”
But He looked around to see who had done it.
Knowing what had happened to her,
the woman came and fell down before Him, trembling with fear,
and told Him the whole truth.
Then Jesus said to her,
“Daughter, your faith has healed you.
Go in peace and be freed from your affliction.”
He had not yet finished speaking when some people came
from the house of the synagogue leader with the message:
“Your daughter has died.
“Why bother the Master any longer?”
Jesus understood what was being said
and said to the synagogue leader:
“Do not be afraid, but continue to believe.”
He did not allow anyone to accompany him
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they came to the house of the ruler,
he saw the mourning
of people weeping and wailing loudly.
He went in and said to them,
“Why all this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep.”
But they laughed at him.
But Jesus sent them all out and went in
with his companions and the child’s father and mother
to the room where the child was lying.
He took the child’s hand and said to her,
“Talitha koum”;
which means,
Girl, get up.
Immediately the girl got up and walked around,
for she was twelve years old.
And they were speechless with amazement.
He insisted that
no one should know about it, and added
that she should be given something to eat.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On Care for Our Common Home
What is happening to our home
17. Theological or philosophical reflections on the situation ofhumanity and the world may sound like a repetitiveand futile message if they are not presented anew from an exposition of the current context with a view to what is new forthe history of humanity.
Therefore, before recognising how faith provides new motivations and demands in relation to the world of which we are a part,
I propose to briefly reflect on the history of humanity.
The history of humanity is a history of the relationship between God and humanity.
Therefore, before recognising how faith provides new motivations and demands in relationto the world of which we are a part,
I propose that we briefly reflect on what is happening to our common home.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The biblical text in this edition is taken fromThe New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Reflections from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation