Mass Readings
Catholic Ireland
Liturgical Readings for : Wednesday, 5th February, 2025Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday's Readings
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time, Cycle 1
Jesus himself will be rejected ,this foreshadows Israel’s greater rejection and the turning to the Gentiles.
Memorial of St Agatha, third century martyr for the faith at Catonia, Sicily, in the 3rd Century, patron of bell-founders.
FIRST READING
A reading from the letter of to the Hebrews 12:4-7. 11-15
The Lord trains the ones that he loves.
In the fight against sin, you have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of death. Have you forgotten that encouraging text in which you are addressed as sons? My son, when the Lord corrects you, do not treat it lightly; but do not get discouraged when he reprimands you. For the Lord trains the ones that he loves and he punishes all those that he acknowledges as his sons. Suffering is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him?
Of course, any punishment is most painful at the time, and far from pleasant; but later, in those on whom it has been used, it bears fruit in peace and goodness. So hold up your limp arms and steady your trembling knees and smooth out the path you tread; then the injured limb will not be wrenched, it will grow strong again.
Always be wanting peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one can ever see the Lord. Be careful that no one is deprived of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness should begin to grow and make trouble; this can poison a whole community.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 102
Response The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear.
1. My soul, give thanks to the Lord, all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord and never forget all his blessings. Response
2. As a father has compassion on his sons, the Lord has pity on those who fear him;
for he knows of what we are made, he remembers that we are dust. Response
3. But the love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear;
his justice reaches out to children’s children when they keep his covenant in truth. Response
Gospel Acclamation Mt 4:4
Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
Or Jn 10: 27
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord.
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 6:1-6 Glory to you, O Lord
A prophet is only despised in his own country.
Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said,
‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’
And they would not accept him.
And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
The Gospel o the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Wednesday Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Mark 6:1–6
In today’s first reading, the preacher of this written homily called ‘the letter to the Hebrews’ says to his listeners, ‘Be careful… that no root of bitterness should begin to grow and make trouble; this can poison a whole community’. The bitterness he warns against seems to have been there among the community present when Jesus was preaching in his home synagogue in Nazareth. According to Mark, when Jesus preached elsewhere in Galilee ‘they were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching – with authority!”’. When he healed the paralytic, ‘they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”’. The reaction of the people of Jesus’ own Galilean village was very different. They recognized the wisdom of his teaching and the powerful deeds that were worked through him.
However, far from glorifying God, recognizing that God was the source of his wisdom and powerful deeds, they would not accept him. Jesus met with a wall of unbelief, with the result, according to Mark, ‘he could work no miracle there’. It was as if the resistance of the people of Nazareth disempowered him. The gospel reading suggests that it was the very familiarity of Jesus, one of their own, that prevented the people of Nazareth from appreciating who was standing among them. Sometimes familiarity does breed contempt. Our familiarity with the gospel message can breed, if not contempt, at least a certain indifference and ennui within us. We need to keep on recovering the freshness of this ever new teaching, so that we continue to stand in amazement at all Jesus says and does in the gospels, and, also, at the enduring power of his words and his presence among us today.
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The scripture readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Gospel reflection comes from Reflections on the Weekday Readings : You have the Words of Eternal life: by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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