Catholic Daily Liturgical Guide 23.02.2022
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JAMES 4: 13 – 17
Beloved: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain”; whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
The Word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 49: 2 – 3, 6 – 11 (R/.) Matthew 5: 3
R/. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Hear this, all you peoples, give ear,
all who dwell in the world,
people both high and low,
rich and poor alike! R/.
Why should I fear in evil days
the malice of the foes who surround me,
those who trust in their wealth,
and boast of the vastness of their riches? R/.
No man can ransom a brother,
nor pay a price to God for his life.
How high is the price of his soul!
The ransom can never be enough!
No one can buy life unending,
nor avoid coming to the grave. R/.
Anyone sees that the wise will die;
the foolish will perish with the senseless,
and leave their wealth to others. R/.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION.
John 14: 6.
Alleluia.
I am the way, and the truth, and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, but by me.
Alleluia
GOSPEL
MARK 9: 38 – 40
At that time: John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
REFLECTION: Rejoicing in the Good Works of Others
February 23, 2022
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.” (Mark 9:38-39)
This passage offers us a lesson in jealousy or what we may call “exclusivism.” John and the other Apostles witness someone with whom they were not familiar, doing the very good deed of driving out a demon in Jesus’ name. It’s a somewhat strange image to imagine. John sees this good act and tries to interfere by asking the person to stop. Then he goes and tells on this man to Jesus, hoping Jesus will intervene. But Jesus does the opposite.
In some ways, this story is similar to a child who tattles on a sibling. Say that one sibling does something that is permitted by the parent, but another sibling is jealous of it. The result is that the jealous sibling tattles for a silly reason.
“Exclusivism” can be defined as a tendency to think that something is good only when I do it. It’s a form of spiritual greed in which we have a hard time rejoicing in and supporting the good deeds of another. This is a dangerous but all too common struggle for many.
The ideal, in our Christian life, is to look for the works of God everywhere and within everyone. We should so deeply desire that the Kingdom of God be built up that we are overjoyed whenever we witness such activity. If, on the other hand, we find ourselves jealous of another for the good that they do, or if we find ourselves trying to find fault with what they are doing, then we should be aware of this tendency and claim it as our sin, not theirs.
Reflect, today, upon your own reaction toward the goodness of others. Are you able to rejoice in that goodness? Or does it leave you with a certain jealousy or envy? If the latter, then commit yourself to the goal of being freed from these temptations. Our divine Lord desires that you participate in His good works. You should seek to have that same desire.
PRAYER:
My freeing Lord, when I am jealous of others, especially when I am jealous of their good works, help me to see this as my sin. Help me instead to look for the many wonderful ways that You are at work in our world, and help me to rejoice in all that You do through others. Jesus, I trust in You.https://masvingomirror.com