Lectionary: 520/317
Reading 1
2 Tm 1:1-8
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,
so that I may be filled with joy,
as I recall your sincere faith
that first lived in your grandmother Lois
and in your mother Eunice
and that I am confident lives also in you.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
Or Ti 1:1-5
Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ
for the sake of the faith of God’s chosen ones
and the recognition of religious truth,
in the hope of eternal life
that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,
who indeed at the proper time revealed his word
in the proclamation with which I was entrusted
by the command of God our savior,
to Titus, my true child in our common faith:
grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.
For this reason I left you in Crete
so that you might set right what remains to be done
and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
R. (3) Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Alleluia
See 2 Tm 1:10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mk 3:22-30
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: BELIEVING IS SEEING
"Promote their knowledge of the truth as our religion embodies it." –Titus 1:1
No matter how well or poorly I teach the Scriptures through this booklet, you can almost immediately at least double the insights you receive from reading the Scriptures for the daily Mass by deciding to share anything you receive. If you put any light you receive on the lampstand (Mk 4:21), you will receive more light. "In the measure you give you shall receive, and more besides" (Mk 4:24). Understanding the Bible is not so much a matter of intelligence, but of sharing.
To share the good news credibly though, we must live the Good News. Understanding the Bible is basically a matter of obeying it. Some people maintain they need to understand something before obeying it. With the Bible, however, we must obey it before we ever truly and deeply understand it. For example, we don't understand how Jesus is present in Holy Communion merely because we have read the Bible. The Bible doesn't explain this in detail. However, when we obey the Bible by doing the Last Supper in memory of Jesus (1 Cor 11:24-25), devoting ourselves "to the breaking of bread" (Acts 2:42), and sharing our faith in Jesus present in the Eucharist, then we receive amazing insights. We see the light and understand what the Bible means. Believing, living, and sharing is seeing.
PRAYER: Father, give me a deep faith in You by which I can understand You much more deeply.
PROMISE: "I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God bestowed when my hands were laid on you. The Spirit God has given us is no cowardly Spirit, but rather One that makes us strong, loving, and wise." –2 Tm 1:6-7
PRAISE: St. Titus was a powerful evangelistic missionary team member. Through Titus' encouragement, God gave St. Paul the strength and reinforcement to evangelize Macedonia (see 2 Cor 7:5-7).
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