Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time
28th June 2024 (Friday)
Psalter: Week 4
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 2 Kings 25:1-12
In the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siege works all round it. So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon. In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 (R. 6abc)
R/. O let my tongue cleave to my palate if I remember you not!
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Christ took our illnesses and bore our diseases.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Matthew 8:1-4
When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Friday – Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: Everyone stands in need of healing and for this, one should be aware of his unhealthy condition, deeply feel the desire for health and the need for healing, and in faith approach the Lord
1. The regular and serial besiege and exile of the kings of Judah, of the city of Jerusalem and the people, is a hard indication and lesson that infidelity to God and His moral principles will throw our life into shatters. Evil may bring quick gains and temporary pleasures but will have long-lasting disasters and distress
2. It is not a defeat or powerlessness or indifference of God. Rather, it is a pointer to all that merely subscribing to a religion or pronouncing God’s name will not do good. What is needed is a faithful and integral life.
3. In the light of the gospel, it is to be healed of leprosy that corrodes a person and alienates him from society One should get rid of the interior and spiritual leprosy that eats away the sanity and wholeness of the person.
4. All of us need healing and restoration of the lost health. For this, like the leper, we need an earnest desire to approach the Lord, and to get cleaned and healed by God. We must humbly plead the Lord, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean”. And the Lord is always ready to heal us,
5. The Lord is always ready to heal us, saying, “I will; be clean”. Many a time, many continue unhealed and unclean because they lack this deep desire and turn to God.
6. At a time when the church was being threatened by the leprous-like infection of heresies, St Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons stood firm, defended the truth of faith and was martyred
Practice: In a world that becomes more and more health-conscious and beauty-conscious, one should aim at and strive for interior and holistic health and beautification
