Liturgical Readings for : Wednesday, 29th May, 2024
Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Optional memorial of St Paul VI, pope
FIRST READING
A reading from the first letter of St Peter 1:18-25
You were ransomed in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ.
Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ; who, though known since before the world was made, has been revealed only in our time, the end of the ages, for your sake. Through him you now have faith in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for that very reason – so that you would have faith and hope in God.
You have been obedient to the truth and purified your souls until you can love like brothers, in sincerity; let your love for each other be real and from the heart – your new birth was not from any mortal seed but from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God.
All flesh is grass and its glory like the wild flower’s. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains for ever. What is this word? It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 147
Response O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Or Alleluia!
1. O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates, he has blessed the children within you. Response
2. He established peace on your borders, he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command. Response
3. He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations, he has not taught them his decrees. Response
Gospel Acclamation 1 Jn 2: 5
Alleluia, alleluia!
When anyone obeys what Christ has said
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
or Mk 10: 45
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Son of Man came to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Mark 10:32-45 Glory to you, O Lord
Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over.
The disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem; Jesus was walking on ahead of them; they were in a daze, and those who followed were apprehensive. Once more taking the Twelve aside he began to tell them what was going to happen to him:
‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans, who will mock him and spit at him and scourge him and put him to death; and after three days he will rise again.’
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him.
‘Master,’ they said to him ‘we want you to do us a favour. ‘
He said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you? ‘
They said to him, ‘Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.’
‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’
They replied, ‘We can.’
Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.’
When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all.
For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Wednesday Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Mark 10:32-45
Sometimes when someone speaks to us about a matter we find difficult to deal with, we can be tempted to move the conversation onto an easier topic. Today’s gospel reading seems to reflect that situation. Jesus was letting his disciples know that in the city of Jerusalem towards which they were journeying he would be condemned and put to death. It had already been said by the evangelist that the disciples were apprehensive as they travelled with Jesus to Jerusalem. What Jesus said could only have made them more apprehensive. Two of the disciples, James and John, immediately strike a very different note to the one Jesus had just struck. They ask him for places of honour when Jesus enters his glory.
Jesus had spoken of the cross and shame, and they immediately speak of glory and greatness. He has to bring them back to the painful reality of what lies ahead with the question, ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I must be baptized?’ Jesus will drink the cup of suffering, not because he is in love with suffering, but because suffering will be the inevitable outcome of his life of loving service God and humanity. As he says of himself at the end of the gospel reading, he is the Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for all. His loving service of us all was a service unto death. Jesus goes on to teach his disciples that within the circle of his followers glory and greatness consist in self-emptying service of others. The Lord wants to continue his mission of loving service of others through each one of us. Whenever we give of ourselves in some way in the service of others, we are making present in the world the Lord’s self-emptying love and we will be considered great in the eyes of the Lord.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
