January 15
Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
First Reading
Hebrews 4:1-5, 11
Let us be on our guard while the promise of entering into his rest remains, that none of you seem to have failed. For in fact we have received the Good News just as our ancestors did. But the word that they heard did not profit them, for they were not united in faith with those who listened. For we who believed enter into that rest, just as he has said:
As I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter into my rest,”
and yet his works were accomplished
at the foundation of the world.
For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this manner,
And God rested on the seventh day from all his works;
and again, in the previously mentioned place,
They shall not enter into my rest.
Therefore, let us strive to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall after the same example of disobedience.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 78:3 and 4bc, 6c-7, 8
R. (see 7b) Do not forget the works of the Lord!
What we have heard and know,
and what our fathers have declared to us,
we will declare to the generation to come
The glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
That they too may rise and declare to their sons
that they should put their hope in God,
And not forget the deeds of God
but keep his commands.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
And not be like their fathers,
a generation wayward and rebellious,
A generation that kept not its heart steadfast
nor its spirit faithful toward God.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
Alleluia
Luke 7:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst
and God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mark 2:1-12
When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth” –he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.” He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
Give a Mass Offering
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
“Do not forget the works of the Lord!”
Readings & Reflection
“Do not forget the works of the Lord!” This is the psalm response today that we speak at Mass. This goes hand in hand with our gospel reading of the healing of the paralytic. The healing of the paralytic is a story of faith, not necessarily of the one who is sick, but the people who brought him to Jesus. By his healing, he gains faith and allows others to see what Christ did for him. The parallel between the psalm response and the gospel should ring true for all of us, “Do not forget the works of the Lord!” This response is something that the paralytic should remember as he walks away from the place where he begged for many years. He now has been healed both physically and spiritually and should remember this day for the rest of his life. How often do we remember the miracles that the Lord has done for us? Maybe we have not been healed in the same way as the paralytic, but God does these same healings for all of us when we come to Him and abandon all we have to Him. Maybe it is not you who needs healing; maybe it is a friend. Take some time today and be the friends of the paralytic and bring those who need healing to Christ.
Fr Matt Rawson
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