Liturgical Readings for : Saturday, 25th May, 2024
Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Optional Memorial of St Bede the Venerable, priest and doctor of the Church.
Optional Memorial of St Gregory VII, pope
Optional Memorial of St Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, virgin
FIRST READING
A reading from the letter of St James 5:13-20
The heartfelt prayer of a good man works very powerfully.
If any one of you is in trouble, he should pray; if anyone is feeling happy, he should sing a psalm. If one of you is ill, he should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him. The prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up again; and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. So confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and this will cure you; the heartfelt prayer of a good man works very powerfully.
Elijah was a human being like ourselves – he prayed hard for it not to rain, and no rain fell for three-and-a-half years; then he prayed again and the sky gave rain and the earth gave crops.
My brothers, if one of you strays away from the truth, and another brings him back to it, he may be sure that anyone who can bring back a sinner from the wrong way that he has taken will be saving a soul from death and covering up a great number of sins.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 140
Response Let my prayer come before you like incense, O Lord.
1. I have called to you, Lord; hasten to help me! Hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer come before you like incense, the raising of my hands like an evening oblation. Response
2. Lord, set a guard over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips!
To you, Lord God, my eyes are turned; in you I take refuge; spare my soul! Response
Gospel Acclamation Mt 11. 25
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children.
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 10:13-16 Glory to you, O Lord
Anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
People were bringing little children to Jesus, for him to touch them.
The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them,
‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them;
for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.
I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’
Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Saturday Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Mark 10:13-16
Why would Jesus’ disciples have tried to stop parents from bringing their children to Jesus for him to bless them? They seem to have been acting as Jesus’ minders. However, Jesus did not appreciate their efforts to protect him. They have forgotten that a short time ago Jesus had put his arms around a child and declared to his disciples, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me and whoever welcome me welcome not me but the one who sent me’. In turning the children away from Jesus, they were turning Jesus away, and turning away God whom Jesus represented. Instead, the disciples must always allow children to come to Jesus, because Jesus wants children to experience the gift of the Kingdom of God here and now. Jesus’ words are a reminder to us that, as people of faith, we need to do all we can to introduce children to Jesus. They have a right to hear the good news and to experience God’s unconditional love for them through Jesus.
Just as Jesus goes on to put his arms round the children, to hug them, and to lay his hands on them in blessing, so the risen Lord today wants to show his love for today’s children, in and through each one of us. Jesus also declares to his disciples, and to us all, that children have something vitally important to teach us. If they are introduced to God’s love for them through Jesus, they instinctively welcome Jesus into their lives and all that Jesus brings. We all need to have something of that welcoming attitude of the child towards Jesus. In the words of the gospel reading, we need to welcome the kingdom of God like a little child if we are to enter it. That means receiving it as a pure, unmerited, gift from God who is so generous as to give the kingdom and all the blessings it entails freely and without measure to all who are open to receive it.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
