Reading 1
Heb 3:7-14
The Holy Spirit says: Oh, that today you would hear his voice,“Harden not your hearts as at the rebellion in the day of testing in the desert, where your ancestors tested and tried me and saw my works for forty years. Because of this I was provoked with that generation and I said, ‘They have always been of erring heart,and they do not know my ways.’ As I swore in my wrath,‘They shall not enter into my rest.’” Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart,so as to forsake the living God. Encourage yourselves daily while it is still “today,”so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin. We have become partners of Christ if only we hold the beginning of the reality firm until the end.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 95:6-7c, 8-9, 10-11
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;let us kneel before the LORD who made us. For he is our God,and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice: “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, Where your fathers tempted me;they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Forty years I was wearied of that generation; I said: “This people’s heart goes astray,they do not know my ways.” Therefore I swore in my anger: “They shall never enter my rest.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Gospel
Mk 1:40-45
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean. ”The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priestand offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroadso that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places,and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
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Reflection
THE DEMON OF UNFAITHFULNESS
"We have become partners of Christ only if we maintain to the end that confidence with which we began." –Hebrews 3:14
Some people, priests, and ministers we thought were the pillars of the Church have fallen away "from the living God" (Heb 3:12).
If we take an honest look at our own weakness, we will "take care" lest any of us "have an evil and unfaithful spirit" (Heb 3:12).
We open the door to the spirit of unfaithfulness through sin, as we harden our hearts against the voice of God (Heb 3:7-8; Ps 95:8).
At this point, we desperately need encouragement to repent "so that" we won't grow "hardened by the deceit of sin" (Heb 3:13).
This is why all believers have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18).
If we remain in sin, we get harder and harder until the evil spirit of unfaithfulness dominates our whole lives. At this point, we are beyond encouragement. However, encouragement could have prevented us from reaching this point. When did you last invite someone to go with you to the Sacrament of Reconciliation? If you don't invite them to Confession now, you may have to take them to deliverance later. We must strongly encourage one another to repent and close the door of sin before demons come in and take over.
Pause for a moment......
Is the Lord calling you to encourage someone to repent? Go now, speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15).
PRAYER: Father, I repent and remove the plank from my own eye, so I can take the specks out of the eyes of others (Mt 7:5).
PROMISE: "Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out His hand, touched him, and said: 'I do will it. Be cured.' " –Mk 1:41
PRAISE: Carol encouraged her son to go to Eucharistic adoration. By doing so, he was able to hear and heed the Lord's call to the seminary.
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Saint of the Day
Bl. William Carter (William was a married layman. An apprentice to Catholic printers, he was imprisoned and tortured for 18 months for printing Catholic pamphlets, possessing books upholding Catholicism, and hiding vestments in his home. He was condemned to death for these actions.)
St. James tells us that this virtue comes from Heaven and that we shall never have it unless we ask it of God. We should therefore, frequently ask God to give us purity in our eyes, in our speech, and in all our actions.
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Scripture Verse of the Day
1 Corinthians 13:4-6
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
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One Minute Meditation
Naturalness
To be effective you must be natural. What can one expect of a brush – even in the hands of a great painter – if it is wrapped in a silk cover? – St. Josemaria Escriva
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Word of the Day scrupulous (adjective) acting with extreme care
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Life in Christ: Catechism
Faith in God's love encompasses the call and the obligation to respond with sincere love to divine charity. The first commandment enjoins us to love God above everything and all creatures for him and because of him.
