Thursday - January 18, 2018
Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart?
-Saint Gerard Majella
TODAY'S READINGS
January 18, 2018
Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 314
Reading 11 SM 18:6-9; 19:1-7
When David and Saul approached
(on David's return after slaying the Philistine),
women came out from each of the cities of Israel to meet King Saul,
singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and sistrums.
The women played and sang:
"Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands."
Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought:
"They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me.
All that remains for him is the kingship."
And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David.
Saul discussed his intention of killing David
with his son Jonathan and with all his servants.
But Saul's son Jonathan, who was very fond of David, told him:
"My father Saul is trying to kill you.
Therefore, please be on your guard tomorrow morning;
get out of sight and remain in hiding.
I, however, will go out and stand beside my father
in the countryside where you are, and will speak to him about you.
If I learn anything, I will let you know."
Jonathan then spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him:
"Let not your majesty sin against his servant David,
for he has committed no offense against you,
but has helped you very much by his deeds.
When he took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine,
and the LORD brought about a great victory
for all Israel through him,
you were glad to see it.
Why, then, should you become guilty of shedding innocent blood
by killing David without cause?"
Saul heeded Jonathan's plea and swore,
"As the LORD lives, he shall not be killed."
So Jonathan summoned David and repeated the whole conversation to him.
Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and David served him as before.
(on David's return after slaying the Philistine),
women came out from each of the cities of Israel to meet King Saul,
singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and sistrums.
The women played and sang:
"Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands."
Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought:
"They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me.
All that remains for him is the kingship."
And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David.
Saul discussed his intention of killing David
with his son Jonathan and with all his servants.
But Saul's son Jonathan, who was very fond of David, told him:
"My father Saul is trying to kill you.
Therefore, please be on your guard tomorrow morning;
get out of sight and remain in hiding.
I, however, will go out and stand beside my father
in the countryside where you are, and will speak to him about you.
If I learn anything, I will let you know."
Jonathan then spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him:
"Let not your majesty sin against his servant David,
for he has committed no offense against you,
but has helped you very much by his deeds.
When he took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine,
and the LORD brought about a great victory
for all Israel through him,
you were glad to see it.
Why, then, should you become guilty of shedding innocent blood
by killing David without cause?"
Saul heeded Jonathan's plea and swore,
"As the LORD lives, he shall not be killed."
So Jonathan summoned David and repeated the whole conversation to him.
Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and David served him as before.
Responsorial PsalmPS 56:2-3, 9-10A, 10B-11, 12-13
R. (5b) In God I trust; I shall not fear.
Have mercy on me, O God, for men trample upon me;
all the day they press their attack against me.
My adversaries trample upon me all the day;
yes, many fight against me.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
My wanderings you have counted;
my tears are stored in your flask;
are they not recorded in your book?
Then do my enemies turn back,
when I call upon you.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
Now I know that God is with me.
In God, in whose promise I glory,
in God I trust without fear;
what can flesh do against me?
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
I am bound, O God, by vows to you;
your thank offerings I will fulfill.
For you have rescued me from death,
my feet, too, from stumbling;
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing,
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan,
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd,
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, "You are the Son of God."
He warned them sternly not to make him known.
Have mercy on me, O God, for men trample upon me;
all the day they press their attack against me.
My adversaries trample upon me all the day;
yes, many fight against me.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
My wanderings you have counted;
my tears are stored in your flask;
are they not recorded in your book?
Then do my enemies turn back,
when I call upon you.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
Now I know that God is with me.
In God, in whose promise I glory,
in God I trust without fear;
what can flesh do against me?
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
I am bound, O God, by vows to you;
your thank offerings I will fulfill.
For you have rescued me from death,
my feet, too, from stumbling;
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
AlleluiaSEE 2 TM 1:10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MK 3:7-12
Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing,
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan,
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd,
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, "You are the Son of God."
He warned them sternly not to make him known.
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LOOKING FOR A QUICK FIX?
When you make a prayer request, how quick of a response do you expect from God? Our natural desire is to want it NOW! But in humility we pray, "All right God, if now is not the best time to answer this prayer, then how about two seconds from now?"
Our modern technology teaches us impatience. Microwave ovens seemed miraculous when I was a newly married young adult; today, not even that is fast enough for us. What are we doing with the few seconds it takes to download a webpage off the internet? We talk to the screen -- "Come on! What's taking so long?" We could have used that time to talk to God.
In today's first reading, David was beginning to experience a major conflict with the man whom he loved like his own father. Saul was unreasonably jealous of him. David's friend, Jonathan, tried to intervene, but this conflict would last several years, endangering David's life and developing into a civil war that would destroy countless lives and divide a great kingdom.
How do you feel when you try to rescue a friend from his/her problems and you fail to make a difference? Do you think that maybe you didn't try hard enough? Well, perhaps God doesn't want the problem solved so fast or in the way you tried to fix it.
How do you feel when someone causes you problems, as Saul did when he ruined the good relationship that he and David used to have? If you're like me, your prayer is, "God, you can see this horrid situation, so please take care of it. Either (1) change that person now, or (2) change that person two seconds from now, or (3) get that person out of my life!"
But the best answers to our prayers do not come quickly. Quick fixes are the easy way, the lazy way, the flesh-nature's way. Short-cuts in the path to heaven do more harm than good.
When a God-given relationship turns sour (I am not speaking of relationships that God never wanted for us), God allows the suffering to continue for a while -- not for the sake of pain (he surely isn't a sadist, and he suffers when we suffer, far more than we do) -- but for the sake of the other person's journey and for the sake of our own purification. He wants to stretch us and expand our ability to love others in all circumstances.
When loving is easy, what merit is there in that? But when a person becomes difficult to love, that is when we become more like Jesus, who suffered out of love for you and me with great passion. How serious are you in your commitment to become more like Jesus? Thank God for his wisdom in protecting you from quick fixes!
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God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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