Liturgical Readings for : Friday, 24th May, 2024
Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Day of prayer for the Church in China
(Prayer below the readings)
FIRST READING
A reading from the letter of St James 5:9-12
The Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates.
Do not make complaints against one another, brothers, so as not to be brought to judgement yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates. For your example, brothers, in submitting with patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord; I remember it is those who had endurance that we say are the blessed ones. You have heard of the patience of Job, and understood the Lord’s purpose, realising that the Lord is kind and compassionate.
Above all, my brothers, do not swear by heaven or by the earth, or use any oaths at all.
If you mean ‘yes’, you must say ‘yes‘; if you mean ‘no‘, say ‘no’. Otherwise you make yourselves liable to judgement.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 102
Response The Lord is compassion and love.
1. My soul, give thanks to the Lord, all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord And never forget all his blessings. Response
2. It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with love and compassion. Response
3. The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His wrath will come to an end; he will not be angry for ever. Response
4. For as the heavens are high above the earth so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west so far does he remove our sins. Response
Gospel Acclamation Ps 110:7
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure; they stand firm for ever and ever.
Alleluia!
or Jn 17: 17
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 10:1-12 Glory to you, O Lord
What God has united, man must not divide.
Jesus came to the district of Judaea and the far side of the Jordan. And again crowds gathered round him, and again he taught them, as his custom was. Some Pharisees approached him and asked,
‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?‘ They were testing him.
He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?‘
‘Moses allowed us’ they said ‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’
Then Jesus said to them,
‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’
Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them,
‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her.
And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Friday, Seventh week in Ordinary Time Mark 10:1-12
In today’s first reading, Saint James refers to ‘the patience of Job’. It is one of those biblical phrases that has made its way into day to day conversation. We often speak about someone having the patience of Job. Certainly, Job started off being very patient. Everything was taken from him, property, children and home. His wife wanted him to curse God. He refused and instead blessed God, ‘The Lord gave; the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord’. However, as you read on in the Book of Job, it is clear that Job soon loses his patience. He rails in anger against God for all that has happened to him and is angrily dismissive of his friends who are trying to support him. Perhaps the biblical author wants us to recognize that admirable patience and explosive anger often reside within the one person, including the person of faith. We know that from our own experience. Patience is a virtue, whereas anger is an emotion. The more we cultivate the virtue of patience, the more we can channel our anger in ways that are creative and life-giving for others. Anger directed by the virtue of patience can be a positive energy that helps to build communion between ourselves and others.
In the gospel reading, Jesus speaks about the communion between a husband and wife, a very unique form of communion whereby, as he says, two become ‘one body’. Yet, we are all called to build communion with others, to help form communities that reflect the community that is God. If we are to do that, we will need to cultivate the virtue of patience so that the potentially divisive emotions, like anger, can be harnessed for a creative purpose. If patience is a virtue, Saint Paul reminds us that it is also the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Becoming a patient person is not primarily down to will-power on our part. It has more to do with a greater openness to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
