February 7
Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – Antoinette Newhoff / Amy & Paul Sansone
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.
Readings
First Reading
1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13
The elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes, the princes in the ancestral houses of the children of Israel, came to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant from the City of David, which is Zion. All the people of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh month). When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark; they carried the ark of the LORD and the meeting tent with all the sacred vessels that were in the tent. (The priests and Levites carried them.)
King Solomon and the entire community of Israel present for the occasion sacrificed before the ark sheep and oxen too many to number or count. The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple. The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark, sheltering the ark and its poles from above. There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel at their departure from the land of Egypt.
When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the LORD’s glory had filled the temple of the LORD. Then Solomon said, “The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud; I have truly built you a princely house, a dwelling where you may abide forever.”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 132:6-7, 8-10
R. (8a) Lord, go up to the place of your rest!
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
Let us enter into his dwelling,
let us worship at his footstool.
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest!
Advance, O LORD, to your resting place,
you and the ark of your majesty.
May your priests be clothed with justice;
let your faithful ones shout merrily for joy.
For the sake of David your servant,
reject not the plea of your anointed.
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest!
Gospel Acclamation
See Matthew 4:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mark 6:53-56
After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.
“Lord, go up to the place of your rest!”
Reflection
Mark allows us to envision a place where all are welcome to experience healing. Just as importantly, Mark gives us a vision where faithful people bring to Jesus those they know who need healing. Do we have that same depth of faith? Think about the risk of disappointment that exists if the potential healing fails to take place.
We face this same issue, although, perhaps not in the same way. Every time we express faith outwardly or just quietly to ourselves, we risk the chance that our prayers may not be answered in the way that we hope for. No matter if we are the person bringing the other to Jesus, or we are the one requiring healing, expectations exist. May our faith be strong enough to allow us to have courage to bring our needs to Christ knowing that He will answer our prayers in His own way and time. Let us reach out to those who need healing and walk with them, helping them to carry their “mat” all the way to the feet of Christ!
God Bless,
Fr. John
Would you like to receive Readings & Reflections, and a link to join us for Mass? Subscribe to The Daily Bread newsletter.
Permission to reprint, podcast, and / or stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-739865. All rights reserved.