My reflections for Feb. 24, 2006 - Friday

February 24, 2006

Reading I
James 5:9-12

Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered.
You have heard of the perseverance of Job,
and you have seen the purpose of the Lord,
because the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath,
but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,”
that you may not incur condemnation.

(Each of us has been given the gift of a voice. How do we use it? This is not a facetious question. We are accountable for all that comes out of our mouths and thus we should be vigilant in our conversations. It is not just cursing and lies we have to guard against, but gossip and slander, language and jokes that are not befitting a child of God and we should also try to keep reign on the endless chatter about nothing in particular that so often wastes a lot of our time.)

Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 11-12

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Gospel
Mark 10:1-12

Jesus came into the district of Judea and across the Jordan.
Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom,
he again taught them.
The Pharisees approached him and asked,
“Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?”
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?”
They replied,
“Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her.”
But Jesus told them,
“Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate.”
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery.”

(What a terrible thing it is to be unteachable. Think about it for a minute. If I am unteachable, I am basically saying that I know everything and that I do not need help to be saved! This is patently wrong. It is so arrogant that it is almost beyond description. Let us pray that we will always have teachable hearts - hearts that are open to correction and new ideas, hearts that are in the hands of Jesus and not reliant upon our own resources alone.)

God's special verse/thought for me today.

my reflections
think: How teachable am I?

thank You Lord for: