9th Week in Ordinary Time
09th June 2023 (Friday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Tobit 11:5-15
In those days: Anna sat looking intently down the road her son had taken. And she caught sight of him coming and said to his father, “Behold! Your son is coming, and so is the man who went with him!” And Raphael said to Tobias before he drew near to his father, “I know that his eyes will be opened. Smear the fish’s gall into his eyes, and the medicine will cause the white films to contract and peel away from his eyes, and your father will look up and see the light.” The Anna ran up and fell upon her son’s neck and said to him, “I have seen you, child; from now on I am ready to die.” And she wept. And Tobit got up, stumbling over his feet, and emerged from the door of the courtyard. And Tobias went up to him with the fish’s gall in his hand, and he blew into his eyes and took hold of him and said, “Take heart, father”, and he put the medicine on him, and Tobit allowed him. And he peeled away the white films from the corners of his eyes with his two hands. Then he fell on his neck and he wept and said to him, “I see you, child, the light of my eyes!” And he said, “Blessed is God, and blessed is his great name, and blessed are all his holy angels. May your great name be over us, and may all your angels be blessed through all the ages. For he chastised me, and behold! I see my son Tobias!” And Tobias went in rejoicing and blessing God with his full voice, and Tobias reported to is father that his journey had prospered, and that he recovered the silver, and how he took Sarah the daughter of Raguel as his wife.
Psalm 146:1b-2, 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10 (R. 1b)
R/. My soul, give praise to the Lord!
Gospel : Mark 12:35-37
At that time: As Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.’ David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: Joy that abounds!
Indicative: When God intervenes in our lives, our misery changes into glory and anguish turns into joy{alertSuccess}
1. Both readings of the day vibrate with a profound sense of joy. The first reading narrates the reunion of Tobiah with his parents Tobit and Anna, the healing and restoring of sight to Tobit, meeting and welcoming their daughter-in-law Sarah, and a grand celebration of joy. The gospel too mentions that the crowds heard Jesus with delight.
2. Everyone seeks joy and they use different ways and means to obtain that joy. But all the joy and delight is not the same. There are some ways that are not right. And the joy that they bring is also shallow and temporary.
3. The test for true joy, different from false joy, is that it is godly. True joy comes from God. That is why joy is listed as the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And all through the holy Bible, the spirit of joy marks the presence of God working out liberation and salvation.
4. Only a spiritual joy rooted in God and comes from trust and surrender, is profound and lasting. Another test for true joy is that it is constructive and never destructive. Many of the so-called enjoyments and pleasures are often self-ruinous and also ruinous to others.
5. A further feature of true joy is that it is altruistic. True joy consists in doing good to others. When others are made happy, it brings happiness to the doer. But on the other hand, the more one seeks one’s own happiness, the more one will miss it.
Imperative: Seek God and good and for sure we will find true joy. Such a profound joy cannot be taken away by any afflictions{alertSuccess}