First 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
Psalm 141:1-2, 3 and 8
R. (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.
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.
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
TITLE: "THIS IS THE DAY"
"The fervent petition of a holy man is powerful indeed." –James 5:16
"This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it" (Ps 118:24). It's beyond our power to imagine what the Lord can do with this day (see Eph 3:20). He can make this day as eventful as a thousand years (2 Pt 3:8).
Today we can pray in faith and heal the sick (Jas 5:15). Like Elijah, today we can dramatically change our economy and government by the power of prophecy and prayer (see Jas 5:17-18). Today we can bring back sinners strayed from the truth. This will save them and us "from death and cancel a multitude of sins" (Jas 5:20).
Today "is the day of salvation!" (2 Cor 6:2) Today we can leap forward in our relationship with the Lord and our service to Him. We can go to sleep tonight and say we've never loved the Lord more than we do today. We can repent of every sin, obey every command, and grow more in this one day than we have grown in months. Today can be a day we'll never forget simply because we have decided to love the Lord today and every day with all our hearts, all our souls, all our strength, and all our minds (Lk 10:27).
PRAYER: Father, one day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere (Ps 84:11).
PROMISE: "I assure you that whoever does not accept the reign of God like a little child shall not take part in it." –Mk 10:15
PRAISE: Carol has taught hundreds of children the joys of the Faith in her years of teaching religious education.
...the word of the Lord...
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