7TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
St. Bede the Venerable, priest & doctor/
St. Gregory VII, pope / Mary Magdalene of Pazzi, virgin
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green/White)
Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 11-12
The Lord is kind and merciful.
1st Reading: Jas 5:9-12
Beloved, do not fight among yourselves and you will not be judged. See, the judge is already at the door. Take for yourselves, as an example of patience, the suffering of the prophets, who spoke in the Lord’s name. See how those who were patient are called blessed. You have heard of the patience of Job and know how the Lord dealt with him in the end. For the Lord is merciful and shows compassion.
Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth, or make a habit of swearing. Let your yes be yes and your no be no, lest you become liable for judgment.
Gospel: Mk 10:1-12
Jesus then left that place and went to the province of Judea, be yond the Jordan River. Once more, crowds gathered around him and, once more, he taught them, as he always did. Some (Pharisees came and) put him to the test with this question: “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?” He replied, “What law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you, because you have hearts of stone. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female; and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one body. So, they are no longer two, but one body. Therefore, let no one separate what God has joined.”
When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked him about this, and he told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against his wife; and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another, also commits adultery.”
Reflections
For the Lord is merciful and shows compassion
Pope Francis’ papal motto, “miserando atque eligendo” is taken from the homily of Venerable Bede on the call of Matthew. The English monk wrote, “Jesus saw the tax collector, and by having mercy chose him as an Apostle, saying to him, ‘Follow me.’” Pope Francis translates “miserando” as “mercifying”.
For Pope Francis, mercy is not just one attribute of God but the very definition of God. If we are created in the image and likeness of God, then we will only become truly human by becoming merciful as God our source and origin is.
Daily Reflection 2018
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