Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Thursday, 22 January 2015

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Thursday, 22 January 2015
Meditation - Psalms 40:7 And so, I said, “I am here
    to do what is written
    about me in the book,
    where it says,
8 ’I enjoy pleasing you.
    Your Law is in my heart.’”
9 When your people worshiped,
you know I told them,
    “Our Lord always helps!”
10 When all your people met,
    I did not keep silent.
I said, “Our Lord is kind.
    He is faithful and caring,
    and he saves us.”
17 I am poor and needy,
but, Lord God,
    you care about me,
and you come to my rescue.
    Please hurry and help.
2nd Week in Ordinary Time
I announced your justice in the vast assembly; I did not restrain my lips. (Psalm 40:10)
Do you know how a geyser comes to be? Surface water seeps below the earth’s crust in some volcanic area and is heated by the molten rock below. As the water temperature rises, so does the pressure, pushing the water against the underside of the crust. Eventually, the pressure becomes so great that water and steam power through mineral deposits, find a crevice in the earth, and shoot high into the air in a spectacular display.
Today’s psalm suggests this kind of release, as the psalmist says he could not restrain himself from announcing the justice of the Lord. He had to stand up in the “vast assembly” and proclaim the truth of God’s redemption and his offer of restoration.
Today is a day when many of our readers in the United States feel like this as well. For it was on this day in 1973 that the US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision paved the way for legalized abortion in the country. Many Americans today are commemorating that dreadful decision by holding prayer vigils and staging peaceful demonstrations both in Washington and in their hometowns. Through these actions, they are releasing some of the pressure of sadness and frustration that has built up over the sin of abortion.
Whether we live in Canada or Nigeria or Poland or Japan, we are all aware of the way human life has been disregarded. And it’s not just through abortion. Euthanasia lets people dispose of those considered a burden on society. Legalized torture reduces an enemy to an object to be beaten and tormented in the name of justice. Human trafficking turns people into pawns to be used for enjoyment or profit. Around the world and in our own backyards, innocent people are being used or discarded, denied their dignity as children of God.
Let’s make a difference today. Let’s cry out to God in intercession. Let’s make our homes havens of peace and mercy. Let’s work together to make the world a place where the innocent and the vulnerable are welcomed, protected, and honored.
“Lord, come and save your people! Bring your justice to this earth so that no one is ever abandoned again.” Amen!
Hebrews 7:25 He is forever able to save[a] the people he leads to God, because he always lives to speak to God for them.
26 Jesus is the high priest we need. He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners. Jesus is honored above all beings in heaven, 27 and he is better than any other high priest. Jesus doesn’t need to offer sacrifices each day for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He offered a sacrifice once for all, when he gave himself. 28 The Law appoints priests who have weaknesses. But God’s promise, which came later than the Law, appoints his Son. And he is the perfect high priest forever.[Footnotes:
7.25 forever able to save: Or “able to save forever.”]
Hebrews 8: A Better Promise
8 What I mean is that we have a high priest who sits at the right side[a] of God’s great throne in heaven. 2 He also serves as the priest in the most holy place[b] inside the real tent there in heaven. This tent of worship was set up by the Lord, not by humans.
3 Since all priests must offer gifts and sacrifices, Christ also needed to have something to offer. 4 If he were here on earth, he would not be a priest at all, because here the Law appoints other priests to offer sacrifices. 5 But the tent where they serve is just a copy and a shadow of the real one in heaven. Before Moses made the tent, he was told, “Be sure to make it exactly like the pattern you were shown on the mountain!” 6 Now Christ has been appointed to serve as a priest in a much better way, and he has given us much assurance of a better agreement.[Footnotes:
8.1 right side: See the note at 1.3.
8.2 most holy place: See the note at 6.19.]
Mark 3: Large Crowds Come to Jesus
7 Jesus led his disciples down to the shore of the lake. Large crowds followed him from Galilee, Judea, 8 and Jerusalem. People came from Idumea, as well as other places east of the Jordan River. They also came from the region around the cities of Tyre and Sidon. All of these crowds came because they had heard what Jesus was doing. 9 He even had to tell his disciples to get a boat ready to keep him from being crushed by the crowds.
10 After Jesus had healed many people, the other sick people begged him to let them touch him. 11 And whenever any evil spirits saw Jesus, they would fall to the ground and shout, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But Jesus warned the spirits not to tell who he was.
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