4th Week in Ordinary Time
30th January 2023 (Monday) Readings and Reflection
{getToc} $title={Contents}
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Hebrews 11:32-40
Brethren: What more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated-of whom the world was not worthy-wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
Psalm 31:20, 21, 22, 23, 24 (R. 25)
Response: Be strong, let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord.
Gospel : Mark 5:1-20
At that time: Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." For he was saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many." And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, "Send us to the pigs; let us enter them." So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and drowned in the sea. The herdsmen fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marvelled.
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: Faith changes all!
Indicative: Faith is most urgent today. Faith is not just believing and following some doctrines and traditions. Faith is to be deeply spiritual and faithful{alertSuccess}
1. Once again the theme of faith continues strong in the first reading. Many names are cited, of those who were men of faith. In these men, we see what is true faith, what faith does to them, what faith enables them to do, and how faith transforms them as well as rewards them.
2. In the light of the first reading, true faith is essentially trusting and obeying God and enduring everything for His sake. They believed in God’s promises and the resurrection. No torture or mockery or stoning or scourging or imprisonment or deprivation or affliction or abandonment or hunger would deter them from their faithfulness. They always submitted to God. They remained faithful to Him. They always did what was righteous.
3. The gospel further elucidates what is true faith in the light of the healing of a possessed man. True faith is to be free from the unclean spirit. There are some striking marks of this unclean spirit.
4. It is to dwell among the tombs, and that means to live a life that is estranged from others, a life that is lifeless. It is to be uncontrolled, indisciplined with unsubdued passions. It is to be perpetually crying out, and that means to be lamenting and melancholic. To be with an unclean spirit also means to harm oneself and others through unruly behavior.
5. Therefore, if one has faith, it means that he totally confides in God and receives healing and lives a changed life of sanity and clean spirit. Today, we must make our faith more integral. Faith is not just a matter of a few prayers or spiritual activities or events. Faith is also not some miracles and impressive healings.
Imperative: Faith is a matter of surrender to God’s will. It is endurance. It is being healed. It is to be liberated from an unclean spirit. Faith is to live a clean life with a clean spirit{alertSuccess}