First Reading 1
1 Kings 3:4-13
Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice there,
because that was the most renowned high place.
Upon its altar Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings.
In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night.
God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”
Solomon answered:
“You have shown great favor to your servant, my father David,
because he behaved faithfully toward you,
with justice and an upright heart;
and you have continued this great favor toward him, even today,
seating a son of his on his throne.
O LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant,
king to succeed my father David;
but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act.
I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen,
a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted.
Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart
to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.
For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?”
The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request.
So God said to him: “Because you have asked for this–
not for a long life for yourself,
nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies,
but for understanding so that you may know what is right–
I do as you requested.
I give you a heart so wise and understanding
that there has never been anyone like you up to now,
and after you there will come no one to equal you.
In addition, I give you what you have not asked for,
such riches and glory that among kings there is not your like.”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 119:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
How shall a young man be faultless in his way?
By keeping to your words.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
With all my heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your commands.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Within my heart I treasure your promise,
that I may not sin against you.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of your mouth.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
In the way of your decrees I rejoice,
as much as in all riches.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Gospel
Mark 6:30-34
The Apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
People were coming and going in great numbers,
and they had no opportunity even to eat.
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.
They hastened there on foot from all the towns
and arrived at the place before them.
When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
REFLECTION
Source: One Bread One Body
Title: DAILY DYINGS
"People were coming and going in great numbers, making it impossible for them to so much as eat." –Mark 6:31
Jesus tried to take a day off, or at least an hour off. He wanted to stop and eat for a change. So He got into the boat with His apostles and went off to a deserted place (Mk 6:32). However, hundreds, even thousands, of people ran around the lake, and what was supposedly a deserted place was packed with a vast crowd (Mk 6:33). So there was no rest and no food for Jesus.
Most people get rather irritable when they don't eat and sleep enough. When our stomachs are growling and our eyelids drooping, we naturally have a tendency to focus on ourselves and our own needs. Yet Jesus reacted to the overwhelming demands from the crowd by dying to Himself and loving the people. Jesus forgot about His needs and "began to teach them at great length" (Mk 6:34).
Jesus hung on the cross and died on Calvary, but this was not His first death. Jesus' three hours on Calvary completed thirty-three years of dying to Himself because of His love for us. In the same way, let us pick up our cross daily, follow Jesus, deny our very self (Lk 9:23), and die to ourselves repeatedly (Jn 12:24).
PRAYER: Jesus, thank You for Calvary, for long days, fastings, hard work, self-denial, and Your love.
PROMISE: "I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you." –1 Kgs 3:12
PRAISE: St. Jerome learned discipline in the Venetian army, and discipleship in God's.
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