Readings for Thursday 5th Week in Ordinary Time

Year 1

First Reading
Gn 2:18-25

The LORD God brought her to Adam, and the two of them became one flesh.

A reading from the Book of Genesis

The LORD God said:
“It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a suitable partner for him.”
So the LORD God formed out of the ground
   various wild animals and various birds of the air,
   and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
   whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
The man gave names to all the cattle,
   all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals;
   but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man,
   and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs
   and closed up its place with flesh.
The LORD God then built up into a woman
   the rib that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man, the man said:

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
   and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called ‘woman,’
   for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.”

That is why a man leaves his father and mother
   and clings to his wife,
   and the two of them become one flesh.

The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

R. :

R. (see 1a) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
   who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
   blessed shall you be, and favored.

R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
   in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
   around your table.

R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Behold, thus is the man blessed
   who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
   may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
   all the days of your life.

R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Year 2

First Reading
1 Kgs 11:4-13

Since you have not kept my covenant, I will deprive you of the kingdom, but I will leave your son one tribe for the sake of my servant David.

A reading from the first Book of Kings

When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to strange gods,
   and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his God,
   as the heart of his father David had been.
By adoring Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians,
   and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites,
   Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD;
   he did not follow him unreservedly as his father David had done.
Solomon then built a high place to Chemosh, the idol of Moab,
   and to Molech, the idol of the Ammonites,
   on the hill opposite Jerusalem.
He did the same for all his foreign wives
   who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
The LORD, therefore, became angry with Solomon,
   because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel,
   who had appeared to him twice
   (for though the LORD had forbidden him
   this very act of following strange gods,
   Solomon had not obeyed him).

So the LORD said to Solomon: “Since this is what you want,
   and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes
   which I enjoined on you,
   I will deprive you of the kingdom and give it to your servant.
I will not do this during your lifetime, however,
   for the sake of your father David;
   it is your son whom I will deprive.
Nor will I take away the whole kingdom.
I will leave your son one tribe for the sake of my servant David
   and of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 106:3-4, 35-36, 37 and 40

R. :

R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

Blessed are they who observe what is right,
   who do always what is just.
Remember us, O LORD, as you favor your people;
   visit us with your saving help.

R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

But they mingled with the nations
   and learned their works.
They served their idols,
   which became a snare for them.

R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

They sacrificed their sons
   and their daughters to demons.
And the LORD grew angry with his people,
   and abhorred his inheritance.

R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.


Gospel Acclamation
Jas 1:21bc

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel
Mk 7:24-30

The dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus went to the district of Tyre.
He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it,
   but he could not escape notice.
Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.
She came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,
   and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
   and throw it to the dogs.”
She replied and said to him,
   “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”
Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter.”
When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed
   and the demon gone.

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Then he kisses the book, saying quietly:

Through the words of the Gospel
may our sins be wiped away.


Homilies / Gospel Reflections





3 comments

Leave a Reply