Home Bible CATHOLIC MASS: Thursday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time – 1.29.15

CATHOLIC MASS: Thursday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time – 1.29.15

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“Bible-200… We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

Mass Readings 1.29.15 – FIRST READING: Hebrews 10:19-25 – PSALM 24:1-2, 3-4AB, 5-6 – GOSPEL: Mark 4:21-25 – FIND A MASS: MassTimes.org – FIND A MASS: TheCatholicDirectory.com – Readings excerpts and brief annotations follow below.

 

FIRST READING

FIRST READING: Hebrews 10:19-25

The unknown author of the Letter to the Hebrews exhorts us to pursue purity and persevere in embracing the Gospel.

… let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope,  for He who made the promise is trustworthy.

We also should rouse one another to love and good works:

We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.

The reference to the day drawing near perhaps refers to the return of Christ. At the same time, recall that for each of us, there also is the day that we meet God face-to-face individually.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALM 24:1-2, 3-4AB, 5-6

Lord, this is the people that longs to see Your Face.

 

GOSPEL

GOSPEL: Mark 4:21-25

Jesus cautions that all that is hidden and secret will be made visible.

He also cautions that the measure with which we measure will be measured out to us, such that those who have will receive more.

Jesus said to His Disciples, ‘Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?’ For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.’ He also told them, ‘Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’

Perhaps one way to accept Jesus’ exhortation is that we are to Bear Fruit for the Kingdom of God, applying the opportunities and capacities with which God Blesses.

To strengthen our ability to do this, one foundation is to reject sin and embrace a live of Holiness.

Another is to seek out God’s Will, with our striving for holiness helping to prepare our capacity for discernment.

With foundations in Holiness, we are to take action in obedience to God’s Will to help Proclaim the Gospel by word and deed and carry out the Divine Will in our particular lives with our plans and deeds.

Our relationship with Holy Mother Church also is important. For example, the Church can help us pursue a life of Holiness through the Sacraments, Preaching and Instruction in the Faith. It can assist us with our discernment of God’s Will and, in some cases, can provide organized frameworks for action, such as charitable endeavors or even careers in service to the Gospel.

LINKS & RESOURCES

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