My reflections for Feb. 25, 2006 - Saturday

February 25, 2006

Reading I
James 5:13-20

Beloved:
Is anyone among you suffering?
He should pray.
Is anyone in good spirits?
He should sing a song of praise.
Is anyone among you sick?
He should summon the presbyters of the Church,
and they should pray over him
and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
The prayer of faith will save the sick person,
and the Lord will raise him up.
If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another
and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.
Elijah was a man like us;
yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land.
Then Elijah prayed again, and the sky gave rain
and the earth produced its fruit.

My brothers and sisters,
if anyone among you should stray from the truth
and someone bring him back,
he should know that whoever brings back a sinner
from the error of his way will save his soul from death
and will cover a multitude of sins.

(James reminds us that we have a duty of care for one another. He tells us that we should always be ready to guide a brother or sister who has strayed from the right path back to the Lord. This, he promises, will be of great benefit to them and also great benefit to us. If we are vigilant in our care for others it is almost a certainty we will have the same vigilance in our own lives or else we may be labeled as hypocrites.)

Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 141:1-2, 3 and 8

R. Let my prayer come like incense before you.
O LORD, to you I call; hasten to me;
hearken to my voice when I call upon you.
Let my prayer come like incense before you;
the lifting up of my hands, like the evening sacrifice.
R. Let my prayer come like incense before you.
O LORD, set a watch before my mouth,
a guard at the door of my lips.
For toward you, O God, my LORD, my eyes are turned;
in you I take refuge; strip me not of life.
R. Let my prayer come like incense before you.

Gospel
Mark 10:13-16

People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
“Let the children come to me; do not prevent them,
for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it.”
Then he embraced the children and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.

(Why is it that Jesus uses children as an image of those who will inherit the Kingdom of God? I think that it has something to do with their innocence and willingness to trust. These are essential aspects of Kingdom living. If we want to live in God's Kingdom we will have to learn to entrust ourselves to Him. We will also have to learn how to return to the place of innocence and purity through repentance and conversion. Jesus, show me the way to this place.)

God's special verse/thought for me today.

my reflections
think: Is my heart like that of a child's?

thank You Lord for: