Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Friday, 9 January 2015

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Friday, 9 January 2015
Meditation - Luke 5: Jesus Heals a Man
12 Jesus came to a town where there was a man who had leprosy.[a] When the man saw Jesus, he knelt down to the ground in front of Jesus and begged, “Lord, you have the power to make me well, if only you wanted to.”
13 Jesus put his hand on him and said, “I want to! Now you are well.” At once the man’s leprosy disappeared. 14 Jesus told him, “Don’t tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest. Offer a gift to the priest, just as Moses commanded, and everyone will know that you have been healed.”[b]
15 News about Jesus kept spreading. Large crowds came to listen to him teach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray.
[Footnotes:
5.12 leprosy: See the note at 4.27.
5.14 everyone will know that you have been healed: People with leprosy had to be examined by a priest and told that they were well (that is, “clean”) before they could once again live a normal life in the Jewish community. The gift that Moses commanded was the sacrifice of some lambs together with flour mixed with olive oil.]
Christmas Weekday
He would withdraw to deserted places to pray. (Luke 5:16)
Whenever the pope visits a foreign land, multitudes throng the site for hours, even days before he arrives. Thousands line the streets and swarm his vehicle to get a glimpse of him. So when we read in Scripture that “great crowds” gathered to hear Jesus preach and to be healed (Luke 5:15), we have some idea of how hard it was for him to move about, let alone continue to hear clearly from his Father in heaven! So how did Jesus remain peaceful, calm, and assured of God’s will among the teeming throng?
The answer is prayer. When word spread that Jesus had healed a man with leprosy, and the crowds swarmed him, he withdrew “to deserted places to pray” (Luke 5:16). Prayer—intimate, refreshing, reassuring prayer—was the foundation to all he did. It enabled him to know when to minister and when to withdraw, when to rebuke and when to comfort. Prayer renewed Jesus’ strength, soothed and refreshed his spirit, and imbued his heart with confidence. Above all, it kept him in touch with his Father’s unshakable love.
Here is what is so encouraging about Christianity: the close, personal, life-giving prayer that Jesus experienced is possible for all of us! What’s more, God is eager for it. He loves it when we go to him with our needs. He delights in speaking to us personally, whether he is giving us guidance, teaching us about himself, or moving us into new ways of serving him. In grief or rejoicing, fear or thanksgiving, guilt or uncertainty, we are always welcome to turn to our Father.
Prayer is meant to be as easy as speaking to our best friend. Whenever we speak to God, he is ready to respond to us. Perhaps a line from Scripture will come to mind, or we will see a recent situation in a new light or feel a sense of peace in the silence of our hearts. As we rest with the Lord in prayer, his grace fills us, energizing us to follow him. Whatever our situation, we can expect to be filled and made new, just as Jesus was, when we withdraw in prayer.
“Holy Spirit, take me deeper into Jesus’ life and love. I want to know the Father’s heart and ways and to experience his life as I pray today.” Amen!
1 John 5:5 No one can defeat the world without having faith in Jesus as the Son of God.
Who Jesus Is
6 Water and blood came out from the side of Jesus Christ. It wasn’t just water, but water and blood.[a] The Spirit tells about this, because the Spirit is truthful. 7 In fact, there are three who tell about it. 8 They are the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and they all agree.
9 We believe what people tell us. But we can trust what God says even more, and God is the one who has spoken about his Son. 10 If we have faith in God’s Son, we have believed what God has said. But if we don’t believe what God has said about his Son, it is the same as calling God a liar. 11 God has also said that he gave us eternal life and that this life comes to us from his Son. 12 And so, if we have God’s Son, we have this life. But if we don’t have the Son, we don’t have this life.
Knowing about Eternal Life
13 All of you have faith in the Son of God, and I have written to let you know that you have eternal life.
[Footnotes:
5.6 Water and blood came out from the side of Jesus Christ. It wasn’t just water, but water and blood: See John 19.34. It is also possible to translate, “Jesus Christ came by the water of baptism and by the blood of his death! He was not only baptized, but he bled and died.” The purpose of the verse is to tell that Jesus was truly human and that he really died.]
Psalms 147:12 Everyone in Jerusalem,
    come and praise
    the Lord your God!
13 He makes your city gates strong
    and blesses your people
    by giving them children.
14 God lets you live in peace,
    and he gives you
    the very best wheat.
15 As soon as God speaks,
    the earth obeys.
19 God gave his laws and teachings
    to the descendants of Jacob,
    the nation of Israel.
20 But he has not given his laws
to any other nation.
    Shout praises to the Lord!
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