Saturday February 26, 2022

 

Saturday of 7th Week in Ordinary Time

 Is Anyone Sick Among You?

 

Introduction          

James gives us today his famous text on anointing the sick. The sick person is the responsibility of the community. “I was sick and you visited me,” says the Lord of the true Christian. In our difficult pastoral setting, the sick are not given all the attention they deserve by the community, particularly the poor and the lonely. Sickness is a very sensitive moment in a person’s life, when a visit in the name of the Lord will do a lot of good.

“Christ’s reception of children cannot be regarded as a recommendation of infantilism or a vain search for primeval innocence. He recommends the adult attitude which acknowledges limitations and accepts dependence upon God with interdependence between people… The child, who acts with all his being, is in the final analysis more human and more integral than the thinker who becomes entangled in arguments and in worry about motives.” Guide to the Christian Assembly II, p. 327.

 

Opening Prayer

God, our Father,
sickness, pain and suffering upset us,
for we are afraid of them.
And yet, you let your Son be
a man of sorrows familiar with infirmity;
his heart reached out especially
to the sick, the poor and all who suffer.
Do not allow us to cover our faces
on seeing them in pain and distress,
but move us by your Spirit of love
to recognize your suffering Son in them
and to serve him with gentle care,
for he is our Lord, now and for ever.

 

1st Reading – 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.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 141:1-2, 3 AND 8

(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.

 

Alleluia – SEE Matthew 11:25

Alleluia, alleluia.

 Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

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.

 

Intentions

–          That our sick people may entrust themselves to Jesus, our Lord, who bore our infirmities and endured our sufferings, we pray:

–          That relatives, friends and neighbors may call the attention of our priests and ministers when someone is sick in the parish, we pray:

–          That in our community, the people may visit the Lord in those who are sick, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

To the table of your Son, we have brought
your own good gifts, Lord our God,
as signs that everything comes from your hands.
Prepare us to accept in life
joys and sorrows, health and sickness,
days of laughter and times of affliction.
Through your Son who suffered for us,
we offer you our crosses and ask of you
for the strength to bear them with him.
For we place all our trust in you
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
we have shared the table of him
who tasted the depths of human ills,
your Son, Jesus Christ.
When sickness and suffering remind us
of the limitations of human life,
help us seek healing and wholeness in him.
Give us the courage to uplift him in the sick,
by a quiet visit, an endearing present,
a word of assurance, a prayer of hope.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.

 

Blessing

Let us never forget the sick and the infirm! In them we visit and care for no less than the Lord Jesus himself. May God bless all the sick and you who visit them; the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary 

Receiving Like Children

Why did the disciples block the children from going to Jesus? Mark does not tell us the reasons. But we can interpolate from our contexts (because human beings behave essentially the same way, despite differences in space and time). Perhaps they thought it was a waste of time for Jesus—he would have more important things to do than spend time with children. Or they thought kids would take undue liberty with Jesus and invade his personal space. In a world where children and women did not count, why trouble the Master with the petty needs of children? Whatever be their reasoning, Jesus was left “very angry” by their behavior. See how playful, joyful, kind, and generous he became with children! And, he leaves us a message as well: “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Perhaps it is a corrective to our materialistic, calculated approach to the Kingdom which many want to buy with their dos and don’ts, and an invitation to receive the Kingdom as pure gift of the playful presence of God.

Reflection taken from Bible Diary 2022;

written by Fr.Paulson Velyannoor, CMF