Mass Readings
Catholic Ireland
Liturgical Readings for : Wednesday, 22nd January, 2025Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday's Readings
Wednesday of the Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year 1
Sunday worship fulfils the command of the Old Covenant using the rhythm of the week
as a guide to our thanksgiving for God’s gifts to us of life and redemption
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Optional Memorial of St Vincent , deacon, martyred in Valentia in 304 after prolonged torture.
FIRST READING
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews 7:1-3 15-17
You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever.
You remember that Melchizedek, king of Salem, a priest of God Most High, went to meet Abraham who was on his way back after defeating the kings, and blessed him; and also that it was to him that Abraham gave a tenth of all that he had. By the interpretation of his name, he is, first, ‘king of righteousness‘ and also king of Salem, that is, ‘king of peace‘; he has no father, mother or ancestry, and his life has no beginning or ending; he is like the Son of God. He remains a priest for ever.
This becomes even more clearly evident when there appears a second Melchizedek, who is a priest not by virtue of a law about physical descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it was about him that the prophecy was made: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 109
Response You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
1. The Lord’s revelation to my Master: ‘Sit on my right:
I will put your foes beneath your feet.’ Response
2. The Lord will send from Zion your sceptre of power;
rule in the midst of all your foes. Response
3. A prince from the day of your birth on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the daybreak I begot you. Response
4. The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change
‘You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.’ Response
Gospel Acclamation Heb 4: 12
Alleluia, Alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Or Mt 4: 23
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the people.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 3:1-6 Glory to you, O Lord
Is it against the law on the sabbath day to save life.
Jesus went again into a synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand. And they were watching him to see if he would cure him on the sabbath day, hoping for something to use against him. He said to the man with the withered hand,
‘Stand up out in the middle!’
Then he said to them,
‘Is it against the law on the sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?’
But they said nothing. Then, grieved to find them so obstinate, he looked angrily round at them, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand’.
He stretched it out and his hand was better.
The Pharisees went out and at once began to plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
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Gospel Reflection Wed, 18th Jan. Second Week in Ordinary Time Mark 3:1–6
Both of today’s readings raise the question of how we relate to others. Do we relate to them in a way that blesses them or in a way that damages them? It is said of Melchizedek in the first reading that on meeting Abraham he blessed him, giving him a tenth of all his possessions. The way some people relate to the man with the withered hand stands at the opposite end of the spectrum. They are compounding his misfortune by using him as a kind of bait to trap Jesus. They were watching Jesus, ‘to see if he would cure him on the Sabbath day, hoping for something to use against him’. Jesus’ way of relating to the man was a source of great blessing for him.
Jesus healed his withered hand, even though in doing so he was giving his opponents something to use against him. He was prepared to put himself at risk so that this man could have a fuller life. Jesus’ only concern was to ‘save life’. Those who related to the man with the withered hand so disrespectfully now relate to Jesus with deadly hostility, ‘the Pharisees went out at once and began to plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him’.
What about the man with the withered hand? How did he relate to Jesus? It is evident that he responded to the call of Jesus to ‘stand up out in the middle’, even though he must have suspected that to do so was to enrage those who planted him in the synagogue to trap Jesus. As Melchizedek was a source of blessing to Abraham and as Jesus was a source of blessing for the man with the withered hand, we are all called to be a source of blessing for others. We will be a source of blessing for others if we listen to the Lord’s word and if, like the man with the withered hand, we have the courage to act on it, to stand up before others.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings : Your word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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