“Christ made my soul beautiful with the jewels of grace and virtue. I belong to Him whom the angels serve.”
-St. Agnes of Rome
“Christ made my soul beautiful with the jewels of grace and virtue. I belong to Him whom the angels serve.”
-St. Agnes of Rome
January 14, 2021
Thursday of the First
Week of Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 308
The Holy Spirit says:
Oh, that today you would hear his voice,
“Harden not your hearts as at the rebellion
in the day of testing in the desert,
where your ancestors tested and tried me
and saw my works for forty years.
Because of this I was provoked with that generation
and I said, ‘They have always been of erring heart,
and they do not know my ways.’
As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter into my rest.’”
Take care, brothers and sisters,
that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart,
so as to forsake the living God.
Encourage yourselves daily while it is still “today,”
so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin.
We have become partners of Christ
if only we hold the beginning of the reality firm until the end.
Responsorial Psalm
R.
(8) If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Forty years I was wearied of that generation;
I said: “This people’s heart goes astray,
they do not know my ways.”
Therefore I swore in my anger:
“They shall never enter my rest.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the
Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every
disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
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BE THE ENCOURAGER YOU ARE GIFTED TO BE!
One of the most important gifts that we've received from the Holy Spirit is the ability to encourage others, because it brings heaven to earth. How? Encouragement helps people avoid sin. That's why today's first reading instructs us to: Encourage one another every day, so that no one succumbs to the deceit of sin.
We are encouragers whenever we listen attentively to what others share and then affirm their goodness and remind them that God loves them. Our encouragement helps others go back into difficult situations with renewed courage and energy.
There's a difference between encouraging and admonishing. The first lifts up the spirits of others, the latter depresses them. Our carefully chosen words of encouragement about God's love for them being revealed in their trials can give people the strength to avoid succumbing to the idea that sinful choices are their best options.
An encourager does not try to save others from their problems, because that's the job of THE Savior. We help people get through their problems by pointing them to God's help. We are the vocal chords and the arms of Christ's body as he reaches out to heal those who are hurting. We are his ears as we listen between the words of what each person is saying. We are his hands as he gives them a gentle touch that says, "I care." We are his feet as he walks alongside them when we join them in their battles.
This is one of the greatest values of faith-sharing groups. Perhaps your parish has Small Christian Communities or Bible Sharing Groups. Participation in these makes a big difference in our faith growth and in our understanding of scripture while giving us the opportunity to be encouragers for others and to be encouraged. If you are not yet in such a community, please run -- don't walk -- to the nearest sign-up form!
When Jesus cured the leper in today's Gospel reading, the healed man shared his story freely and widely. His testimony was an encouragement to others, and he simply could not keep it to himself even though Jesus had asked him to. His enthusiasm was not sinful; Jesus was only trying to prevent an onslaught of miracle-seekers. Now that he's got all of us representing him here on earth, such an onslaught should not be a problem.
Your help is needed. I strongly encourage you to spread the Good News of Christ's healing love and comforting embrace to all those around you by being an encourager. You are gifted in this!
Thank you for helping me spread the Good News!
Today's Prayer
Lord, give me the grace to be obedient and faithful, both in difficult times and in good times. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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