5th WEEK IN Ordinary TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)
Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
1st Reading: Gen 2:18-25
Yahweh God said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will give him a helper who will be like him.“ Then Yahweh God formed from the earth all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air and brought them to man to see what he would call them; and whatever man called every living creature, that was its name.
So man gave names to all the cattle, the birds of the air and to every beast of the field. But he did not find among them a helper like himself. Then Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to come over man and he fell asleep. He took one of his ribs and filled its place with flesh. The rib which Yahweh God had taken from man he formed into a woman and brought her to the man. The man then said, “Now this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken from man.“ That is why man leaves his father and mother and is attached to his wife, and with her becomes one flesh. Both the man and his wife were naked and were not ashamed.
Gospel: Mk 7:24-30
When Jesus left that place, he went to the border of the Tyrian country. There, he entered a house, and did not want anyone to know he was there; but he could not remain hidden. A woman, whose small daughter had an evil spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet. Now this woman was a pagan, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
Jesus told her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the puppies.“ But she replied, “Sir, even the puppies under the table eat the crumbs from the children’s bread.“ Then Jesus said to her, “You may go your way; because of such a response, the demon has gone out of your daughter.“ And when the woman went home, she found her child lying in bed, and the demon gone.
REFLECTION:
“Human sexuality, gift of the Creator“
St. John Paul II at the beginning of his pontificate developed a very beautiful catechesis on human sexuality known as the “Theology of the Body.“ He plumbed the deep significance of the creation of Adam and Eve as recorded in Genesis 2, our reading of today. This particular section he refers to as the “original innocence“ of man.
Being human is either being man or woman. Human sexuality is a given not a choice one makes. Moreover, there exists a natural attraction of the sexes–man is naturally attracted to woman and woman is naturally attracted to man. But though man and woman are sexually different they are, however, equal in dignity! Such is the order of creation from the beginning! And man and woman found joy in their sexual difference and sexual complementarity a sis conveyed by the verse “Both the man and his wife were naked and were not ashamed.“ Human sexual relationship is beautiful; it is part of the good in God’s creation.
It is when man tries to defy this order set by God from the beginning that mars the beauty of human sexuality! There is much evil when one tampers with one’s sexual identity. No good can come out of a same sex union! And surely there is much evil in sexual relationship outside of marriage as decreed by the Creator!
Daily Gospel ® is a product Claretian Publications, a division of Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI) which is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. CCFI aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowerment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of the Church today. CCFI is a member of Claret Publishing Group, a consortium of the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries all over the world: Bangalore, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Madrid, Macao, Manila, Owerry, São Paolo, Varsaw , Yaoundé. Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Daily Reflection
Readings and Reflections
Copyright © 2O16
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman,
1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Tel.: (63-2) 921-3984
Fax: (6352) 921-7429
Email: ccfi@claretianpublicationscom
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.claretianph.com
