Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection September 04, 2024

04th September 2024 (Wednesday)

Psalter: Week 2

Reading of the Day

First Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul”, and another, “I follow Apollos”, are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labour. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

Psalm 33:12-13, 14-15, 20-21 (R. 12b)

R/. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen for his heritage.

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Alleluia

R/. Alleluia

V/. The Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives.

R/. Alleluia.

Gospel : Luke 4:38-44

At that time: Jesus arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them. Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Daily Gospel Reflection

Wednesday – Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time

Guidelines: There is always a difference between people of the world and people of God. The former are led by the unspiritual and the latter are led by the spiritual

1. Jesus is on his ministry. It is a ministry that is holistic. It includes prayer, preaching, and healing. He is deeply conscious of the purpose of his coming to the world. He declares it clearly: “I must preach the kingdom of God and I was sent for this purpose”. This ministry is inclusive and expansive. It is not confined only to some particular territories.

2. The spread of the kingdom of God is not limited only to words. It shows itself in concrete actions. And healing is that concrete manifestation. Healing drives away the evil power and establishes God’s reign of liberation, wholeness, strength, and joy. Healing symbolizes the defeat of evil and the ushering in of God’s reign.

3. Such a ministry of preaching and healing requires immense power. That power comes only from God. That is why even amidst all his round-the-clock ministry, Jesus would always steal some moments to be “alone” with His Father in “desolate” places.

4. Our ministries also must be like the ministry of Jesus. And they can be so, only when they too become holistic and expansive. Often our ministries, with all their skill and competence, tend to be partial and confined.

5. There is often a great chasm and incongruence between our prayer life, preaching, and concrete actions. They also often tend to be confined by various boundaries like region, language, caste, tribe, culture, rite, et cetera. The eloquence of preaching and the bundles of activities often do not go with a deep spiritual life.

6. Our ministry should always be kingdom-oriented. It implies that we should lead people to come closer to God. We should foster in them the sense of unity that feels as one family of God. Whenever there is jealousy and strife, it only means that we are still people of the flesh and not people of the Spirit.

Practice: Often our ministries fail not because of a lack of competence or talent or skill. It is only because of the lack of communion with God and with others