Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Foreword: During Ordinary Time, the entrance and communion antiphons of the Sunday liturgy are repeated throughout the week. In this way, the themes developed at the Sunday mass are enriched and expanded as they interact with the different readings found on each day of the following week in much the same way that a kaleidoscope presents a constantly changing view of colors, forms, and designs.
The opening words of today’s liturgy: “All the earth shall bow down before you, O God, and shall sing to you, shall sing to your name, O Most High! (Ps 66 (65): 4) are a fitting acclamation in response to the scene described in the St. Mark’s Gospel (Mk 3:7-12). Crowds as coming from “Galilee and from Judea” and “a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.” There were so many people that his disciples feared that Jesus would be crushed! Even the evil spirits fall down before him, proclaiming “You are the Son of God.” They fall down before God’s anointed who manifests his Father’s love for his people.
The first reading from 1 Sm 18:6-9; 19:1-7 reveals God’s love for David by protecting him from the jealous King Saul and his murderous threats through the intervention of Saul’s son, Jonathan. The responsorial psalm (Ps 56) further expounds on God’s benevolent care for his chosen one: “Now I know that God is with me…in God, I trust without fear.” And in the Gospel we see Jesus exhibiting his love for the multitudes, curing those with diseases and freeing them of unclean spirits. Mk 3:7-12. In this context, the communion refrain is an affirmation of the caring hand of God at work in our own lives: “We have come to know and to believe in the love that God has for us” 1 Jn 4:16.
Prayer for Today: O Gracious and Loving God, I fall down before you in gratitude for the love you have shown for me in your fatherly care, your abundant forgiveness, and your gentle healing of wounds of soul and body. I trust you, O God, without fear.
Reflection by Br. Michael Marcotte, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections