Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Reading I Heb 7:1-3, 15-17
Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High,
met Abraham as he returned from his defeat of the kings
and blessed him.
And Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything.
His name first means righteous king,
and he was also “king of Salem,” that is, king of peace.
Without father, mother, or ancestry,
without beginning of days or end of life,
thus made to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
It is even more obvious if another priest is raised up
after the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become so,
not by a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent
but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.
For it is testified:
You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Responsorial Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4
R. (4b) You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
Alleluia See Mt 4:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mk 3:1-6
Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up here before us.”
Then he said to the Pharisees,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
- Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Sebastian, martyr
- Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Fabian, pope and martyr
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
“These signs will accompany those who believe . . . ” (Mark 16:17).
In today’s Gospel, Our Lord tells the eleven Apostles to go out and tell the whole world the Good News. He also gives them the indications that someone is a believer with a series of signs—things they’ll do and be able to do.
My daughter sat kicking her legs in my direction under the dining room table. “She’s never going to be my friend again,” she proclaimed as only a seven year old can. Kind of a grunt, hiss, shriek. There had been a misunderstanding (the nice adult term for it) about whether or not a friend had called her artwork bad.
“I heard someone say it and it couldn’t have been the boy sitting at our table. It must have been heeerrrrrrrrrr,” the crying started now.
I sipped the end of my now-flat carbonated water drink and glanced into the kitchen where two kids had dumped out the legos everywhere and a third was dawdling over his homework. “Let’s look at this in the totality of the circumstances. That means, let’s see if she’s ever done anything like this before.”
We parsed through this little girl’s actions. Had she ever been unkind before? Is it possible it slipped out of her mouth but she didn’t mean to insult you? How can we look at this in the greater context of who she is? She cooled off, we prayed, she wrote a note to her friend, the mom reached out, everything ended up fine.
But I kept coming back to this idea of how we evaluate people’s actions.
You’ve also probably struggled to place someone in context. Would they mean that? Are they going off the deep end? Can I follow their Instagram still? Is that book recommendation solid? I try to examine them and their sharing online and off-line in the “totality of their circumstances.” So not quick to judge but careful to observe.
Let’s give one another the benefit of the doubt but also be ready to gently provide sisterly feedback as needed, friends.
I kept coming back to this idea of how we evaluate people's actions. // @WholeParenting Click To TweetLord, we humbly ask You to call all our hearts and mind closer to You. Help us evaluate our own actions and thoughts so that they can stay rooted in our Faith.
Nell O’Leary is a recovering lawyer turned blogger, speaker, and sewer of baby goods while tending to her husband and four kiddos in the great city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. She serves as Managing Editor for Blessed is She and can down a hot cocoa in no time flat. Find out more about her here. She is the editor of our Blessed Conversations Series and guide for the Gift of You course.
Love this❣️
Thanks, sister!
You’re a captivating writer and a wise mom. Thanks for letting us glimpse into your life and heart.
You’re so kind. Thanks, friend! It’s such an honor to share.