Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Thursday, 29 January 2015

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Thursday, 29 January 2015
Meditation - Mark 4: Light
21 Jesus also said:
You don’t light a lamp and put it under a clay pot or under a bed. Don’t you put a lamp on a lampstand? 22 There is nothing hidden that will not be made public. There is no secret that will not be well known. 23 If you have ears, pay attention!
24 Listen carefully to what you hear! The way you treat others will be the way you will be treated—and even worse. 25 Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don’t have anything will lose what little they have.
3rd Week in Ordinary Time
Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear. (Mark 4:23)
Pay attention! Maybe that would be a good way to understand Jesus when he tells his disciples, “Take care what you hear” (Mark 4:24). It’s simply in human nature to lose focus from time to time. Even the Twelve needed to be reminded to tune in to what’s going on when Jesus speaks. After all, this isn’t the only time they have failed to process his words properly! At one moment they will misinterpret wildly; at another they hear only what they want to hear; at another they are just too distracted by fears and temptations to grasp the revolutionary, life-giving words he is speaking.
If you ever identify with the first disciples’ struggles, it may be helpful to examine how you are hearing the Lord. Remember that you don’t have to feel like a failure if you aren’t audibly hearing Jesus’ voice every minute of every day! His voice rings out as strong as ever, but it’s on a different frequency than the voices of the people around us. That means it requires a special “receiver” to pick it up and understand it. Once you are tuned in to the right frequency, however, you’ll find that God is far from silent. He’s always got something to say!
The best way to tune in to this spiritual frequency, of course, is through prayer. Like any relationship, spending time together is key. This is why we are always urging our readers to set time aside each day to listen to the Lord.
Even if you are in a period now where your prayer feels sluggish or coldly mechanical, keep at it! You may discover that there is some “static” blocking God’s voice: unrepented sin, fear or anxiety, wounds from an old relationship, or preoccupation with worldly issues. If you stay faithful, God will help clear away the static and break through
Don’t ever get discouraged if you’re having a hard time hearing the Lord. Remember that everyone “has ears to hear” (Mark 4:23). It’s how God designed us. Give him time. Give yourself time, and you’ll find the right frequency!
“Lord, help me to listen closely to you, seeing and hearing you in the various ways you are revealing yourself today.” Amen!
Hebrews 10: Encouragement and Warning
19 My friends, the blood of Jesus gives us courage to enter the most holy place 20 by a new way that leads to life! And this way takes us through the curtain that is Christ himself.
21 We have a great high priest who is in charge of God’s house. 22 So let’s come near God with pure hearts and a confidence that comes from having faith. Let’s keep our hearts pure, our consciences free from evil, and our bodies washed with clean water. 23 We must hold tightly to the hope that we say is ours. After all, we can trust the one who made the agreement with us. 24 We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. 25 Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.

Psalm 24: (A psalm by David.)
Who Can Enter the Lord’s Temple?
1 The earth and everything on it
    belong to the Lord.
    The world and its people
    belong to him.
2 The Lord placed it all
    on the oceans and rivers.
3 Who may climb the Lord’s hill[a]
    or stand in his holy temple?
4 Only those who do right
    for the right reasons,
    and don’t worship idols
    or tell lies under oath.
5 The Lord God, who saves them,
    will bless and reward them,
6     because they worship and serve
    the God of Jacob.[b][Footnotes:
24.3 the Lord’s hill: The hill in Jerusalem where the temple was built.
24.6 worship. . . Jacob: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “worship God and serve the descendants of Jacob.”]
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