Liturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 9th January, 2024
Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
FIRST READING
A reading from the first book of Samuel. 1: 9-20
The Lord was mindful of Hannah and she gave birth to Samuel.
After they had eaten in the hall, Hannah rose and took her stand before the Lord, while Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. In the bitterness of her soul she prayed to the Lord with many tears and made a vow, saying,
‘Lord Sabaoth! If you will take notice of the distress of your servant, and bear me in mind and not forget your servant and give her a man child, I will give him to you for the whole of his life and no razor shall ever touch his head’.
While she prayed before the Lord which she did for some time, Eli was watching her mouth, for she was speaking under her breath; her lips were moving but her voice could not be heard. He therefore supposed that she was drunk and said to her,
‘How long are you going to be in this drunken state? Rid yourself of your wine.’
‘No, my lord,’ Hannah replied
‘I am a woman in great trouble; I have taken neither wine nor strong drink – I was pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not take your maidservant for a worthless woman; all this time I have been speaking from the depth of my grief and my resentment.’
Then Eli answered her:
‘Go in peace,’ he said ‘and may the God of Israel grant what you have asked of him’.
And she said, ‘May your maidservant find favour in your sight’;
and with that the woman went away; she returned to the hall and ate and was dejected no longer. They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord and then set out and returned to their home in Ramah. Elkanah had intercourse with Hannah his wife and the Lord was mindful of her.
She conceived and gave birth to a son, and called him Samuel ‘since’ she said ‘I asked the Lord for him.’
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm 1 Sam 2:1
Response My heart exults in the Lord.
1. My heart exults in the Lord. I find my strength in my God;
my mouth laughs at my enemies as I rejoice in your saving help. Response
2. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the weak are clothed with strength.
Those with plenty must labour for bread, but the hungry need work no more.
The childless wife has children now but the fruitful wife bears no more. Response
3. It is the Lord who gives life and death, he brings men to the grave and back;
it is the Lord who gives poverty and riches. He brings men low and raises them on high. Response
4. He lifts up the lowly from the dust, from the dung heap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes, to give him a glorious throne. Response
Gospel Acclamation Mt 4: 23
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word, which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Alleluia!
or 1 Thess 2: 13
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message it for what it really is,
God’s message and not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
Gospel
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Mark 1:21-28 Glory to you, O Lord
He taught them with authority.
Jesus and his disciples went as far as Capernaum, and as soon as the sabbath came he went to the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.
In their synagogue just then there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit and it shouted,
‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’
But Jesus said sharply,
‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’
And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him.
The people were so astonished that they started asking each other what it all meant.
‘Here is a teaching that is new’ they said ‘and with authority behind it:
he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.’
And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Tuesday, First Week in Ordinary Time Mark 1:21-28
Prayer doesn’t always have to be measured and controlled. It can be spontaneous and blunt at times. We have a good example of that kind of prayer in today’s first reading. It is said that Hannah spoke to God out of the depth of her grief and resentment. Her prayer was silent; the priest Eli heard nothing and only saw her lips move. Yet, it was full of emotion. As she said to Eli, she was pouring out her soul before the Lord. She was being herself before the Lord, opening up to the Lord the resentment and sadness that was in her heart and soul, because she had been childless for so long. Hannah’s prayer shows us that our own prayer can be completely honest. We do not have to censure our prayer in the Lord’s presence. There is nothing in our lives that is out of bounds in our prayer. The Lord can deal with whatever we throw at him in prayer. There is no such thing as uncivil prayer.
The possessed man in the gospel reading addresses Jesus in the same direct way that Hannah addresses God in the first reading. He shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?’ We can almost sense the anger in the questions that the man hurls at Jesus. Yet, as God was comfortable with Hannah’s resentment and grief, Jesus seems comfortable with this man’s deep, demonic, anger. Jesus responds with a word that becalms the man and releases him of his demon, just as in the first reading it is said of Hannah that she was dejected no longer after her prayer. Whenever we open our hearts to the Lord, revealing to him what is there, including our darkest emotions, we too will experience the Lord’s healing and calming presence.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
