May 25, 2013

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Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 346

Reading 1SIR 17:1-15

God from the earth created man,

We are made out of the dust of the earth.

and in his own image he made him.

Just as children bear the image of their parents, God made us to bear His image.

He makes man return to earth again,

I think this has to do with the fact that we are buried when we die.  And also that our bodies decay and turn back to dust.

and endows him with a strength of his own.

But while we are alive, we bear the power of God within us which is the Spirit of life which animates us.

Limited days of life he gives him,

Because of the wickedness of our hearts, God limited our time on this earth to 100 years.  Few, if any people now live beyond that time:

Genesis 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.  3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.  4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 

with power over all things else on earth.

He puts the fear of him in all flesh,

and gives him rule over beasts and birds.

And yet God made man sovereign over all the earth.  

He created for them counsel, and a tongue and eyes and ears,

and an inventive heart,

and filled them with the discipline of understanding.

He created in them knowledge of the spirit;

With wisdom he fills their heart;

good and evil he shows them.

He put the fear of himself upon their hearts,

and showed them his mighty works,

That they might glory in the wonder of his deeds

and praise his holy name.

Even those people who have never heard of the Gospel nor of Jehovah have the Law of God written in their hearts.  Even they know good from evil, if they follow their conscience.  And the beauty of creation bespeaks the existence of God.  No one has an excuse for not believing in God and doing good in the world.

He has set before them knowledge,

a law of life as their inheritance;

An everlasting covenant he has made with them,

his justice and his judgments he has revealed to them.

To His chosen, God has revealed His Law and His Will.  

His majestic glory their eyes beheld,

his glorious voice their ears heard.

And He has revealed Himself to them by mighty signs and deeds.

He says to them, “Avoid all evil”;

each of them he gives precepts about his fellow men.

Their ways are ever known to him,

they cannot be hidden from his eyes.

Over every nation he places a ruler,

but God’s own portion is Israel.

All their actions are clear as the sun to him,

his eyes are ever upon their ways.

God is everywhere and everywhere He rules.  He knows all and sees all.  There is no where to go where we can be away from God:

Psalm 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

 Therefore, be docile and obedient and you will have peace with God.

Responsorial PsalmPS 103:13-14, 15-16, 17-18

R. (see 17) The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him,
For he knows how we are formed;
he remembers that we are dust.
R. The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
Man’s days are like those of grass;
like a flower of the field he blooms;
The wind sweeps over him and he is gone,
and his place knows him no more.
R. The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
But the kindness of the LORD is from eternity
to eternity toward those who fear him,
And his justice toward children’s children
among those who keep his covenant.
R. The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

God has revealed to whom He will pour out His grace and mercy.  To those who do good and persevere in doing good to the end.  It is to these that God will pour out His grace and reward with eternal life.

GospelMK 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.

Children are innocent and pure.  It is such as these who will go to heaven.  Those who seek only goodness and righteousness and do good for their fellow man.  These are they who will be in heaven by the mercy of God.