Lectionary: 376/573
Reading 1
Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19
The Lord has consumed without pity
all the dwellings of Jacob;
He has torn down in his anger
the fortresses of daughter Judah;
He has brought to the ground in dishonor
her king and her princes.
On the ground in silence sit
the old men of daughter Zion;
They strew dust on their heads
and gird themselves with sackcloth;
The maidens of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground.
Worn out from weeping are my eyes,
within me all is in ferment;
My gall is poured out on the ground
because of the downfall of the daughter of my people,
As child and infant faint away
in the open spaces of the town.
In vain they ask their mothers,
“Where is the grain?”
As they faint away like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
And breathe their last
in their mothers’ arms.
To what can I liken or compare you,
O daughter Jerusalem?
What example can I show you for your comfort,
virgin daughter Zion?
For great as the sea is your downfall;
who can heal you?
Your prophets had for you
false and specious visions;
They did not lay bare your guilt,
to avert your fate;
They beheld for you in vision
false and misleading portents.
Cry out to the Lord;
moan, O daughter Zion!
Let your tears flow like a torrent
day and night;
Let there be no respite for you,
no repose for your eyes.
Rise up, shrill in the night,
at the beginning of every watch;
Pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your little ones
Who faint from hunger
at the corner of every street.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 74:1b-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21
R. (19b) Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Why, O God, have you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your flock which you built up of old,
the tribe you redeemed as your inheritance,
Mount Zion, where you took up your abode.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Turn your steps toward the utter ruins;
toward all the damage the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
Your foes roar triumphantly in your shrine;
they have set up their tokens of victory.
They are like men coming up with axes to a clump of trees.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
With chisel and hammer they hack at all the paneling of the sanctuary.
They set your sanctuary on fire;
the place where your name abides they have razed and profaned.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Look to your covenant,
for the hiding places in the land and the plains are full of violence.
May the humble not retire in confusion;
may the afflicted and the poor praise your name.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Gospel
Luke 2:41-51
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: OBEDIENCE SCHOOL
"Just give an order." –Matthew 8:8
Jesus learned obedience from what He suffered (Heb 5:8). Even to His dying day, Jesus grew in wisdom (Lk 2:52) regarding obedience. Therefore, we also will always have a lot to learn regarding obedience.
The centurion whose servant was healed by Jesus can teach us the following things about obedience:
We should ask the Lord to give us commands (Mt 8:8).Obedience is often the way to bring healing to ourselves and to others (Mt 8:9).Obedience is an expression of faith (Mt 8:10).Certain works of God happen at the moment we obey (Mt 8:13; see also Jn 4:52-53).
"Just as through one man's disobedience all became sinners, so through one Man's obedience all shall become just" (Rm 5:19). Jesus "humbled Himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross!" (Phil 2:8) Learn obedience as Jesus did. Be obedient as Jesus was. Through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, by obedience to the truth purify yourself for a genuine love (1 Pt 1:22). Realize that each time you receive Jesus in Holy Communion you ask Him to give you orders (Mt 8:8). Live a life of obedience (see 1 Pt 1:2).
PRAYER: Father, teach me obedience in any way necessary.
PROMISE: "Rise up, shrill in the night, at the beginning of every watch; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord; lift up your hands to Him." –Lam 2:19
PRAISE: Walter was not able to have victory over sexual temptations until he dedicated himself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
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