Lectionary: 432
Reading 1
1 cor 2:10b-16
Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.
Among men, who knows what pertains to the man
except his spirit that is within?
Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God.
We have not received the spirit of the world
but the Spirit who is from God,
so that we may understand the things freely given us by God.
And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom,
but with words taught by the Spirit,
describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.
Now the natural man does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God,
for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it,
because it is judged spiritually.
The one who is spiritual, however, can judge everything
but is not subject to judgment by anyone.
For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
Responsorial Psalm
ps 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13ab, 13cd-14
R. (17) The Lord is just in all his ways.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The Lord is just in all his ways.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. The Lord is just in all his ways.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. The Lord is just in all his ways.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. The Lord is just in all his ways.
Gospel
lk 4:31-37
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them
and came out of him without doing him any harm.
They were all amazed and said to one another,
“What is there about his word?
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits,
and they come out.”
And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE
"We have the mind of Christ." –1 Corinthians 2:16
"The root of all conduct is the mind" (Sir 37:17). Therefore, a great battle rages between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness for control of our minds. Whoever wins the war for our mind will also gain control of our actions, whether for good or for evil (see Sir 37:18). This is why Scripture has so much to say about our mind. We must "be transformed by the renewal of [our] mind," but this can't happen until we break away from the influence of the worldly culture around us (Rm 12:2).
The kingdom of darkness cannot coexist with the kingdom of God, as Jesus makes clear in today's Gospel reading. One kingdom or the other must be driven out (see Lk 4:35). So it is with our minds. We must drive out our sinful and empty thoughts "and acquire a fresh, spiritual way of thinking" (Eph 4:23).
In Baptism, we became children of God and were immersed in the Holy Spirit. When we renewed our Baptism at Easter, we rejected Satan's empty works and promises, and by implication, empty and sinful thoughts. Immersed in the Holy Spirit, we take control of our thoughts, bringing "every thought into captivity to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor 10:5). We empty our minds of bad thoughts and continually replace them with good thoughts.
"Your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, pure, admirable, decent, virtuous, or worthy of praise" (Phil 4:8). Love God "with all your mind" (Lk 10:27).
PRAYER: Jesus, erase from my mind all thoughts that are not from You and bring to my mind Your thoughts.
PROMISE: "He commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they leave." –Lk 4:36
PRAISE: Daily Scripture reading and quiet prayer time help Dorothy keep her focus on Jesus (see Heb 3:1).
Be an inspiration, kindly Share.
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