9TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green/White)
Memorial Blessed Virgin Mary
Tb 13:2, 6efgh, 7, 8
Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
1st Reading: Tb 12:1, 5-15, 20
When the wedding feast was over, Tobit called Tobias, his son, and said to him, “Be sure you give the wages to the man who accompanied you, and we should add something extra.”
Then Tobias called the angel and said to him, “Please take half of all that you have brought.” The angel took Tobit and Tobias to one side and said to them,
“Bless God, return thanks to him, proclaim his glory and render him thanks before all the living for all he has done for you. It is good to praise God and to exalt his name, by making known in a worthy manner the story of God’s deeds. Do not be slow in giving him thanks. It is good to hide the secrets of kings but to make known publicly the works of God. Do the works of God. Do good, and evil will not harm you. It is a good thing to accompany prayer with fasting, almsgiving and justice. It is better to do a little with honor than much with injustice. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold. Almsgiving preserves from death; it purifies from all sin. Those people who give alms and act justly will have a long life, but sinners only harm themselves.
I will hide nothing from you. Yes, I have said that it is good to keep the secrets of kings but to make known publicly the glorious works of God. Tobit, when you and your daughter-in-law Sara prayed, I kept the remembrance of your prayer before the Holy One; when you, Tobit, buried the dead, I was with you in the same way; and when you did not hesitate to rise up and leave your meal in order to hide the dead man, your good deed did not go unnoticed because I was with you.
Well, God sent me to cure you and also to cure Sara, your daughter-in-law. I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of holy people and who stand before the glory of God.” Now bless and give thanks to God, because I am returning to the One who sent me. Write down in a book all that has happened.”
Gospel: Mk 12:38-44
As Jesus was teaching, he also said to them, “Beware of those teachers of the law, who enjoy walking around in long robes and being greeted in the marketplace; and who like to occupy reserved seats in the synagogues; and the first places at feasts. They even devour the widow’s and the orphan’s goods, while making a show of long prayers. How severe a sentence they will receive!”
Jesus sat down opposite the temple treasury, and watched the people dropping money into the treasury box; and many rich people put in large offerings. But a poor widow also came and dropped in two small coins.
Then, Jesus called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who gave offerings. For all of them gave from their plenty; but she gave from her poverty, and put in everything she had, her very living.”
REFLECTION:
The battle lines are slowly being drawn. There is Jesus and His followers on the one side, and the Pharisees and the teachers of the law on the other. It is bound to happen. Tension after tension escalated between them whenever Jesus does His public ministry. And so swipes are made of each other. Jesus criticized the favorite past time of the teachers of the law, that is, to play pious all holy. Jesus seeks to tear down their pretensions. For there is no greater spiritual danger than that coming from someone convinced of his or her contrived holiness. And so Jesus directs the gaze of His listeners to the nobility and greatness of small things done with a sincere heart. The offering of the poor widow that is small in worth but big in generosity trumped all the big offerings of the rich who gave from surplus in contrast to her generosity amidst want. This is where true greatness lie. It is unpretentious and not conscious of itself.
Daily Reflection
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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
Readings and Reflections
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