Saturday, March 01, 2014. 

Today's Liturgical Reading by Immaculate Conception Church, Borivali, Mumbai.

First Reading : James 5:13-20; Second Reading : Psalm 140:1-3, 8; Gospel : Mark 10:13-16. [Please share today's Gospel.]

First Reading : James 5:13-20

The Prayer of Faith

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. 

Second Reading : Psalm 140:1-3, 8

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;

protect me from those who are violent,

who plan evil things in their minds

and stir up wars continually.

They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,

and under their lips is the venom of vipers.

Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

do not further their evil plot.

Gospel : Mark 10:13-16

Jesus Blesses Little Children

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 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. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Friday, February 28, 2014. 

Today's Liturgical Reading by Daily Flash, Goa.

First Reading : James 5:9-12; Second Reading : Psalms 102[103]:1-4, 8-9, 11-12; Gospel : Mark 10:1-12. [Please share today's Gospel.] 

First Reading : James 5:9-12

Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Second Reading : Psalms 103:1-4, 8-9, 11-12

Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness

Of David.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and do not forget all his benefits—

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the Pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

The Lord is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always accuse,

nor will he keep his anger forever.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far he removes our transgressions from us.

Gospel : Mark 10:1-12

Teaching about Divorce

He left that place and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. And crowds again gathered around him; and, as was his custom, he again taught them.

Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Focus: '…..the purpose of the Lord' (James 5:11). 

Fruit: Let us place any difficult situation before the Lord, asking Him for endurance and strength and the grace to trust Him. He 'is compassionate and merciful' (Jamesh 5:11).

Thursday, February 27, 2014. 

Today's Liturgical Reading by Daily Flash, Goa.

First Reading : James 5:1-6; Second Reading : Psalms 48[49]:14-20; Gospel : Mark 9:41-50. [Please share today's Gospel.] 

First Reading : James 5:1-6

Warning to Rich Oppressors

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

Second Reading : Psalms 49:14-20

Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

Death shall be their shepherd;

straight to the grave they descend,

and their form shall waste away;

Sheol shall be their home.

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will receive me.

Do not be afraid when some become rich,

when the wealth of their houses increases.

For when they die they will carry nothing away;

their wealth will not go down after them.

Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy

—for you are praised when you do well for yourself—

they will go to the company of their ancestors,

who will never again see the light.

Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;

they are like the animals that perish. 

Gospel : Mark 9:41-50

For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

Temptations to Sin

“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Focus: "Everyone will be salted with fire" (Mark 9:49). 

Fruit: If I have been indifferent to the sufferings of those around me, it is time I took time to relieve them. Let nothing stop me from doing good. [What do you feel about Daily Flash? Please let us know at: goalaity@gmail.com]

Wednesday, February 26, 2014. 

Today's Liturgical Reading by Daily Flash, Goa.

First Reading : James 4:13-17; Second Reading : Psalms 48[49]:2-3, 6-11; Gospel : Mark 9:38-40. [Please share today's Gospel.] 

First Reading : James 4:13-17

Boasting about Tomorrow

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.

Second Reading : Psalms 49:2-3, 6-11

both low and high,

rich and poor together.

My mouth shall speak wisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

those who trust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches?

Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,

there is no price one can give to God for it.

For the ransom of life is costly,

and can never suffice,

that one should live on forever

and never see the grave.

When we look at the wise, they die;

fool and dolt perish together

and leave their wealth to others.

Their graves are their homes forever,

their dwelling places to all generations,

though they named lands their own.

Gospel : Mark 9:38-40

Another Exorcist

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.Whoever is not against us is for us.

Focus: "A deed of power….." (Mark 9:39). 

Fruit: Is jealousy the first thing which divides Christian groups? Let us beware.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014. 

Today's Liturgical Reading by Daily Flash, Goa.

  

First Reading : James 4:1-10; Second Reading : Psalms 54[55]:7-11, 23; Gospel : Mark 9:30-37. [Please share today's Gospel.] 

First Reading : James 4:1-10

Friendship with the World

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, “God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,

“God opposes the proud,

    but gives grace to the humble.”

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 

Second Reading : Psalms 55:7-11, 23 

truly, I would flee far away;

I would lodge in the wilderness;

I would hurry to find a shelter for myself

from the raging wind and tempest.”

Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech;

for I see violence and strife in the city.

Day and night they go around it

on its walls,

and iniquity and trouble are within it;

ruin is in its midst;

oppression and fraud

do not depart from its marketplace.

But you, O God, will cast them down

into the lowest pit;

the bloodthirsty and treacherous

shall not live out half their days.

But I will trust in you.

Gospel : Mark 9:30-37

Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Who Is the Greatest?

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Focus: 'Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from?' (James 4:1). 

Fruit: Let me thank God for his many blessings and ask Him to take away my pointless cravings.

Monday, February 24, 2014. 

Today's Liturgical Reading by Daily Flash, Goa.

  

First Reading : James 3:13-18; Second Reading : Psalms 18[19]:8-10, 15; Gospel : Mark 9:14-29. [Please share today's Gospel.] 

First Reading : James 3:13-18

Two Kinds of Wisdom

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. 

Second Reading : Psalms 19:8-10, 15

the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is clear,

enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the Lord are true

and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey,

and drippings of the honeycomb.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to you,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Gospel : Mark 9:14-29

The Healing of a Boy with a Spirit

When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so.” He answered them, “You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!” After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “This kind can come out only through prayer.”

Focus: "All things can be done for the one who believes" (Mark 9:23). 

Fruit: If we are struggling with a difficult situation let us ask the Lord to increase our faith. But first we must humbly accept that we lack faith.

Sunday, February 23, 2014. 

Today's Liturgical Reading by Daily Flash, Goa. 

Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time.

First Reading : Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18; Second Reading : Psalms 102[103]:1-4, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Gospel : Matthew 5:38-48. [Please share today's Gospel.] 

First Reading : Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18

Ritual and Moral Holiness

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Second Reading : 

Psalms 103:1-4, 8, 10, 12-13

Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness

Of David.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and do not forget all his benefits—

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the Pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

The Lord is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

as far as the east is from the west,

so far he removes our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion for his children,

so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. 

1 Corinthians 3:16-23

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,

“He catches the wise in their craftiness,”

and again,

“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,

    that they are futile.”

So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Gospel : Matthew 5:38-48

Concerning Retaliation

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Focus: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). 

Fruit: Today and every day, I will seek the Lord's strength that I may be able to love and pray for the persecutors and the persecuted.