Saturday

4th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

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If you knew the Lord would grant you a wish, what would it be? Every time we pray, as today;s First Reading reminds, we are expressing a wish with the faith and hope that Our Lord will grant it. Our wishes say a lot about ourselves, what we think of others, and what we think of God. Solomon shows a great wisdom in wishing for more wisdom in order to be a good king. For him being a king was not about glory or personal accomplishment; it was about ruling well and ensuring the well being of his subjects. His wish showed selflessness and humility.

The Lord knows very well what kings usually ask for, and to reward Solomon he promises him not only wisdom, but also riches and glory. The kingdom later thrived under Solomon’s rule, and it was one of the most glorious times Israel ever experienced in its history. Solomon also became synonymous with wisdom, so much so that the books of the Old Testament categorized as Wisdom literature were believed at one point in history to have all been written by him personally.

Philosophy literally means a love for wisdom. Wisdom enables us to seek a higher vantage point in life in order to see the big picture and grow in understanding. When Our Lord shares his wisdom with us, as he does in today’s Gospel, he is sharing wisdom from the highest vantage point of all: God’s. Let’s follow Solomon’s sage advice and ask Our Lord for wisdom.

Readings: 1 Kings 3:4–13; Psalm 119:9–14; Mark 6:30–34.  See also 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B and 18th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.

3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

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In today’s First Reading the Lord sends the prophet Nathan to David to see how sound David’s moral reasoning is, only to “hang him” with it. David sizes up perfectly the scenario of the rich man who takes the poor man’s only lamb instead of using one of his own to entertain a guest. In David’s time polygamy was practiced, and he had multiple wives, but Uriah the Hittite only had one. In committing adultery with Uriah’s wife David took what did not belong to him, and he didn’t give a thought to Uriah, except to murder him in order to cover up his sin, as we saw yesterday. David was fully aware of what he was doing, which made his sin even more serious.

Unlike Saul, who made an effort to justify his sin, David knew all his schemes to cover up what he had done were now revealed to be futile, and acknowledged his sin before the Lord. He was repentant for what he had done, but, as the First Reading also reminds us today, the effects of sin remain even when sins are forgiven. In Catholic teaching we call this the temporal effects of sin: Uriah is not coming back from the dead, nor the men that died alongside him in the battle, and now David’s child by Uriah’s wife is struck mortally ill as well.

Sin leaves its mark, even when we’re repentant for it. Even hardened sinners will admit to that. Let’s continue to detest sin in our lives, not just because of what it does to us, but because of what it does to others as well.

Readings: 2 Samuel 12:1–7a, 10–17; Psalm 51:12–17; Mark 4:35–41. See also 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday, and Wednesday after Epiphany.

2nd Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

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Today’s Gospel invites us to imagine what was going through the mind of Our Lord’s family when news began to reach them of everything happening in his ministry: healings, people mobbing him from all over Palestine, non-stop work that didn’t even leave him time to eat, and an escape by boat as the only way to keep the crowds from flocking around him and following him constantly. Today’s Gospel says simply that he came into “the house”; it’s not clear whether he’d come home or not, but the mention of the family’s reaction might infer it, although the Gospel only says they heard of what he was doing.

The reaction of Our Lord’s family serves to underscore the apparent insanity of the situation, so much that they’re wondering whether Jesus himself is insane. Our Lord, however, simply travels, preaches, heals, and casts out unclean spirits. The reaction on the part of the people may seem disproportionate, but it also shows how lost and in need of truth and healing humanity was since the Fall: even the assembly and covenant with Israel in the Old Testament was just a preparation for the work of salvation that would begin in earnest with the Incarnation and ministry of Our Lord.

We continue Our Lord’s mission. The needs of humanity for truth, healing, and protection from evil haven’t diminished a bit. The difference now is that often they don’t know who to turn to. How do we respond to this? Not by avoiding a “mob” situation, but, rather, by not shying away from making Our Lord known. It may mean more work, but it’s the most important work we can do.

Readings: 2 Samuel 1:1–4, 11–12, 19, 23–27; Psalm 80:2–3, 5–7; Mark 3:20–21.

1st Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord shows an approach to sinners that presents either an innovation or an aberration for the Pharisees: instead of roping sinners off as contaminated and contaminating and socially shunning them, not only for fear of contagion, but in judgment over their behavior, Our Lord actually recruits one and then dines with a score of them. He reminds us today that God works toward reconciliation and healing with the help of others: the flip side of an erroneous attitude of thinking that spiritual matters are strictly between you and God is that logically you won’t get involved in the spiritual matters of others either, since God should sort everything out. The Son was sent by the Father for a reason.

Our Lord not only dines with tax collectors and sinners, but he has his disciples dine with them too. We all need help to be holy. Even hardened sinners need some presence in their life of someone kind, compassionate, and concerned for them: it’s like a ray of light showing the way out of a pit so dark that up can’t be told from down. Many stories of redemption and conversion recount that one person who seemed to be a lighthouse amidst life’s shipwreck that was needed for a rescue. This love has to be firm as well: it’s not a question of putting yourself in range of being exploited by someone, but of being the voice of reason and hope in their life, helping them to see that goodness and holiness are still possible.

Let’s not only pray today for the conversion of sinners, but work for it as well, just as Our Lord has taught us.

Readings: 1 Samuel 9:1–4, 17–19, 10:1; Psalm 21:2–7; Mark 2:13–17. See also St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.

Christmas, January 7th

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Note: These readings are used when Epiphany is observed on a Sunday January 7th or 8th.

Today’s Gospel presents the perfect turning point from the Christmas season to Ordinary Time, which begins soon with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. John today knows his mission is almost finished, and it has been successful. He has worked and sacrificed for this moment, the moment when the “Lamb of God,” to use John the Evangelist’s expression, would come and take away the sins of the world. John’s disciples don’t understand; they see Jesus’ gain as John’s loss, as competition, but for John it is a moment of joy, just as the best man is glad to see his friend getting married to a wonderful bride.

In a world that prides itself on self-advancement and self-fulfillment John reminds us that in making others succeed and shine we are fulfilling a greater purpose and will be more blessed as a result. John is content because Jesus is starting to shine. John will still have his moment of darkness in prison, but ultimately the light of Christ will shine when he needs it as well, just before his martyrdom.

At the conclusion of the Christmas season we’re reminded that John and Jesus dedicated themselves to others. Let’s ask the Lord to show us today how we can help others to succeed and to shine as well. It’s the greatest path to fulfillment. Let’s not be afraid about decreasing so that someone we love may increase.

Readings: 1 John 5:14–21; Psalm 149:1–5, 6a, 9b; John 3:22–30.