MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Saturday - January 22, 2022

Saturday - January 22, 2022

He who speaks rightly should recognize 

that he receives the words from God.

-- St. Mark the Ascetic

 

January 22, 2022

DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN
Lectionary: 316

 

Reading 1                                                     2 Sm 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27

 

David returned from his defeat of the Amalekites

and spent two days in Ziklag.

On the third day a man came from Saul’s camp,

with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

Going to David, he fell to the ground in homage.

David asked him, “Where do you come from?”

He replied, “I have escaped from the camp of the children of Israel.”

“Tell me what happened,” David bade him.

He answered that many of the soldiers had fled the battle

and that many of them had fallen and were dead,

among them Saul and his son Jonathan.

 

David seized his garments and rent them,

and all the men who were with him did likewise.

They mourned and wept and fasted until evening

for Saul and his son Jonathan,

and for the soldiers of the LORD of the clans of Israel,

because they had fallen by the sword.

 

            “Alas! the glory of Israel, Saul,

            slain upon your heights;

            how can the warriors have fallen!

 

            “Saul and Jonathan, beloved and cherished,

                        separated neither in life nor in death,

                        swifter than eagles, stronger than lions!

            Women of Israel, weep over Saul,

                        who clothed you in scarlet and in finery,

                        who decked your attire with ornaments of gold.

 

            “How can the warriors have fallen–

                        in the thick of the battle,

                        slain upon your heights!

 

            “I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother!

                        most dear have you been to me;

                        more precious have I held love for you than love for women.

 

            “How can the warriors have fallen,

                        the weapons of war have perished!”

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              80:2-3, 5-7

 

R.        (4b)  Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.

 

O shepherd of Israel, hearken,

            O guide of the flock of Joseph!

From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth

            before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.

Rouse your power, 

            and come to save us.

R.        Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.

O LORD of hosts, how long will you burn with anger

            while your people pray?

You have fed them with the bread of tears

            and given them tears to drink in ample measure.

You have left us to be fought over by our neighbors,

            and our enemies mock us.

R.        Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.

 

Alleluia                                                                      Acts 16:14b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,

to listen to the words of your Son.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Mk 3:20-21

Jesus came with his disciples into the house.

Again the crowd gathered,

making it impossible for them even to eat.

When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,

for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

 

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THE SCRIPTURAL CLIFF-HANGER THAT'S TOO FUNNY TO IGNORE

The scriptural cliff-hanger that's too funny to ignore

 

This Saturday's Gospel reading is disturbingly too short. Perhaps one of the humans who set up the lectionary fell asleep on the job.

 

Jesus entered into the house with his disciples. A crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard about this, they set out to seize him. They said, "He is out of his mind."

 

That's the whole Gospel reading! What was the lectionary team thinking? Hello? Did you guys forget something?

 

On second thought, perhaps stopping the story at this very disturbing point is exactly what the Holy Spirit wants. In any good joke, the last words are the punch-line. In a well-crafted article, the last words of a paragraph invite readers to continue. In a mystery story, the cliff-hanger keeps us coming back to see what happens next. This scripture is all three.

 

It's a good joke, and if we listen carefully, we can hear Jesus laughing. He's not insulted by the conclusion they jumped to. He knows Who he is, what his mission is, and how much more "in his right mind" he is than others are. In the confidence of knowing the truth, false conclusions seem downright funny.

 

It's certainly a well-crafted scripture. The Holy Spirit is inviting us to continue reading. We're not supposed to limit ourselves to what is given to us in the current day's readings. We're supposed to be mature enough and interested enough to pick up the Bible on our own and keep reading. (Spoiler alert: The story continues on Monday, and the next thing that happens is Jesus is accused of working for the devil. Well, that's worth a big laugh!)

 

It's a good mystery story, and the cliff-hanger is one that invites us to ponder over the weekend how Jesus handles false accusations. What clues is the Lord giving us about what he wants to teach us about it?

 

Remember when someone thought that you were out of your mind? I can't count how many times people made that assumption about me. I've lost friends, readers, donors, board members, and family because of it. It hurts, and because we want to be humble, we question our own sanity, giving too much credence to false accusations, which leads to confusion, side-tracking us from doing what the Lord is calling us to do.

 

They said about Jesus, "He is out of his mind." What does he want you and me to learn from this? If we can realize how funny every false accusation really is, instead of being crushed by them, we will chuckle and turn them into opportunities, like Jesus did. We will push the focus off of ourselves and onto the bigger picture, the more important issue, and the truth that has been hidden from the eyes of our accusers. And we will seek out those who are willing to hear and learn this truth.

 

When we're falsely accused, we're standing on the precipice of a cliff-hanger. The story of our situation is disturbingly short. To get through it with a chuckle instead of angst, we need to put our focus back on Jesus who is inviting us to move beyond the cliff.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Beloved Jesus, cleanse me of everything that makes noisy distractions inside me, occupies my life in vain things and does not allow me to give You the place You want to have in me. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”