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| “Let the children come to me” by Vogel Von Vogelstein c. 1815 |
On
Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional
memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed[1].
Mass texts may be taken from the Common
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from a Votive
Mass, or from the special collection of Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Readings and Commentary:[4]
Reading 1:
James 5:13-20
Beloved:
Is anyone among you suffering?
He should pray.
Is anyone in good spirits?
He should sing a song of praise.
Is anyone among you sick?
He should summon the presbyters
of the Church,
and they should pray over him
and anoint him with oil in the
name of the Lord.
The prayer of faith will save the
sick person,
and the Lord will raise him up.
If he has committed any sins, he
will be forgiven.
Therefore, confess your sins to
one another
and pray for one another, that
you may be
healed. The fervent prayer of a
righteous person is very powerful.
Elijah was a man like us;
yet he prayed earnestly that it
might not rain,
and for three years and six
months it did not rain upon the land.
Then Elijah prayed again, and the
sky gave rain
and the earth produced its fruit.
My brothers and sisters,
if anyone among you should stray
from the truth
and someone bring him back,
he should know that whoever
brings back a sinner
from the error of his way will
save his soul from death
and will cover a multitude of
sins.
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Commentary on Jas 5:13-20
St. James offers a treatise on
the power and need for prayer in the Christian Community. In the first instance
he addresses the power of healing, giving strong scriptural support for the
Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick (“…He should summon the presbyters of the
Church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of
the Lord.”). This practice was also mentioned in Mark (see Mark 6:13) as the Twelve anoint
the sick on their missionary journey.
Next the author promotes the
confession of sins as part of this process (“If he has committed any sins,
he will be forgiven”) and as a practice in general as part of the process
of coming before God in prayer. The concluding verses (19-20) speak of
reconciliation of those who have sinned and come back to the way of truth and
the grace given to those who lead them back.
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Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 141:1-2, 3
and 8
R. (2a) Let my prayer come
like incense before you.
O Lord, to you I call; hasten to
me;
hearken to my voice when I call
upon you.
Let my prayer come like incense
before you;
the lifting up of my hands, like
the evening sacrifice.
R. Let my prayer come like incense before you.
O Lord, set a watch before my
mouth,
a guard at the door of my lips.
For toward you, O God, my Lord,
my eyes are turned;
in you I take refuge; strip me
not of life.
R. Let my prayer come like incense before you.
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Commentary on Ps 141:1-2, 3 and 8
Psalm 141 is an individual
lament. This part of the hymn supports the power of prayer and the need for
God’s grace provided in answer to these pleas. The faith of the just will not
be rejected and the salvation of God will be given to those who ask. See also
the remarks on Psalm 142 .
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Gospel:
Mark 10:13-16
People were bringing children to
Jesus that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became
indignant and said to them,
“Let the children come to me; do
not prevent them,
for the Kingdom of God belongs to
such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the
Kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it.”
Then he embraced the children and
blessed them,
placing his hands on them.
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Commentary on Mk 10:13-16
This picture of Jesus
demonstrates that those who had seen his works and heard his words saw in him
greatness. They brought their children to him instinctively that they might
receive the grace empowered by his touch. This activity made his disciples
indignant that their master should be pestered by these little ones. The Lord,
however, used this as a teaching moment and told the crowd that only complete
dependence upon God’s support would allow them salvation (“…for the kingdom of
God belongs to such as these.”).
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Reflection:
We
must, given the direction offered by Sacred Scripture, contemplate the need and
power for prayer in our lives. If we
think about the relationship we hope to establish with God our Father and His
Son Jesus, we can use as a worldly model the relationships we build on earth.
When
we wish to get to know someone well, we speak with them. We ask them questions we hope that by
speaking with them we can uncover who they are, where they were from, how and where
did they grow up, what do they like and dislike. The more intensely we want this relationship,
the deeper and more intensely we talk to them, spending hours conversing about
all manner of things.
With
members of our own families, much of this discussion is not necessary since we
share a common history and life. Much of what we need to know we have learned
through long association. The love we
have for these family members is stimulated by our common desires, our common
experiences, and the deep understanding we build with them over time. A child knows the mind of their loving parent
so well that the worst thing they could contemplate is disappointing that
parent through actions they know would be against their wishes. Likewise the child knows without question
that if they are in trouble, their loving parent will do everything in their
power to rescue them from that situation.
And if that child falls ill, the loving parent does whatever they can to
see the child of their love is returned to health.
The
analogy comes so easily. If we wish to
know God, to build that relationship with Him, prayer is one of our best
approaches. Much of who God is and what
he likes and does not like, we discover in the Sacred Texts of the Bible. The deeper we delve into that treasure chest
of past experiences of God, the better we understand how to know Him in our
lives. But God is not just a “Historical
Figure”, he is a living God who loves and cares for us. It is this present and living Trinity that we
want to know. So we talk to Him. We tell him we love him, we honor him because
he deserves honor, and when we are in need, we ask for his help. We ask, confident as the child with a loving
parent, that he will do all he can to save us from our difficulty. He may show us the way, he may open a door,
and if all that is not enough and he wishes to demonstrate his love more
visibly, he may offer up a miracle. They
are more common than we know.
Today
we pray to know our Loving Father better.
We thank him for all he has done for us and in a special way, we pray
for all those who are sick that through the Sacrament of Anointing, they might
be restored to health and oneness with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Pax
[2]
ALTRE
[3]
The picture today “Let the children come to me” by Vogel Von Vogelstein c. 1815
[4]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
