Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
2ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green/Red/White)
Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Fabian, pope & martyr
St. Sebastian, martyr
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 80: 2-3, 5-7: Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
1st Reading: 2 Samuel 1: 1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27
After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, he stayed at Ziklag for two days.
On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he approached David, the man threw himself to the ground in homage.
David asked him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”
David then said, “Tell me what happened.” And the man told him, “The soldiers fled from the battle but many of them fell and died. Saul and his son Jonathan—they too are dead.”
At this, David took hold of his clothes and tore them and his men did the same. And they mourned, weeping and fasting until evening, for the death of Saul and his son Jonathan, for all the people of Judah and for the nation of Israel.
“Your glory, O Israel, is slain upon your mountains! How the mighty ones have fallen! Saul and Jonathan, beloved and cherished, neither in life nor in death were they parted; swifter than eagles they were and stronger than lions. Women of Israel, weep over Saul who clothed you in precious scarlet. How the valiant have fallen! In the midst of the battle Jonathan lies slain on your mountains. I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan; how dear have you been to me! Your love for me was wonderful, even more than the love of women. How the valiant have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!”
Gospel: Mk 3:20-21
They went home. The crowd began to gather again and they couldn’t even have a meal. Knowing what was happening, his relatives came to take charge of him. “He is out of his mind,” they said.
REFLECTION:
“The grace of God.”
Jesus is committed to his mission. He is always like a seeded cloud ready to pour out rain upon the earth. This is so because Jesus does things in the name of relationship. He is always relating to his Father by spending time in prayers and he relates to people in his ministry. People who are disconnected from any of these two relations will never understand Jesus’ self-giving attitude.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus did not even have time to eat because of the people whose needs he was trying to attend. He gave his all in his ministry to serve the people. Jesus was even accused of being out of his mind. In our journey of faith, there are times when we experience the grace of God. With such grace-filled moments, we simply want to give our all in the service of others.
However, the problem is how to sustain the inspiration we have received in moments of grace. When the inspiration begins to wane and the trials and confusions start to creep in, we begin going back to our small and self-secured world. Let us not relapse by allowing God’s words to keep our inspiration alive.
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