Sunday 30 JUNE

by | Jun 29, 2024 | Evangelium

13th Sunday in Ordinary

Time

Psalter: Week 1

Saint Prosper

Green

Entrance Antiphon: Ps 46: 2           

All peoples, clap your hands. Cry to God with shouts of joy!

Collect      

O God, who through the grace of adoption chose us to be children of light, grant, we pray, that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error but always be seen to stand in the bright light of truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First reading: Wisdom 1:13-15,2:23-24

Death was not God’s doing, he takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living. To be – for this he created all; the world’s created things have health in them, in them no fatal poison can be found, and Hades holds no power on earth; for virtue is undying. Yet God did make man imperishable, he made him in the image of his own nature; it was the devil’s envy that brought death into the world, as those who are his partners will discover.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 29(30):2,4-6,11-13

R/ I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me and have not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead,  restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.

Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him, give thanks to his holy name. His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life. At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.

The Lord listened and had pity. The Lord came to my help. For me you have changed my mourning into dancing:  O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.

Second reading: 2 Corinthians 8:7,9,13-15

You always have the most of everything – of faith, of eloquence, of understanding, of keenness for any cause, and the biggest share of our affection – so we expect you to put the most into this work of mercy too. Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was: he was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty. This does not mean that to give relief to others you ought to make things difficult for yourselves: it is a question of balancing what happens to be your surplus now against their present need, and one day they may have something to spare that will supply your own need. That is how we strike a balance: as scripture says: The man who gathered much had none too much, the man who gathered little did not go short.

Gospel Acclamation: cf.Jn6:63,68  

Alleluia, alleluia! Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life. Alleluia!

Gospel: Mark 5:21-43  

When Jesus had crossed in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered round him and he stayed by the lakeside. Then one of the synagogue officials came up, Jairus by name, and seeing him, fell at his feet and pleaded with him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter is desperately sick. Do come and lay your hands on her to make her better and save her life.’ Jesus went with him and a large crowd followed him; they were pressing all round him. Now there was a woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years; after long and painful treatment under various doctors, she spent all she had without being any the better for it, in fact, she was getting worse. She had heard about Jesus, and she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his cloak. ‘If I can touch even his clothes,’ she had told herself ‘I shall be well again.’ And the source of the bleeding dried up instantly, and she felt in herself that she was cured of her complaint. Immediately aware that power had gone out from him, Jesus turned round in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ His disciples said to him, ‘You see how the crowd is pressing round you and yet you say, “Who touched me?”’ But he continued to look all round to see who had done it. Then the woman came forward, frightened and trembling because she knew what had happened to her, and she fell at his feet and told him the whole truth. ‘My daughter,’ he said ‘your faith has restored you to health; go in peace and be free from your complaint.’ While he was still speaking some people arrived from the house of the synagogue official to say, ‘Your daughter is dead: why put the Master to any further trouble?’ But Jesus had overheard this remark of theirs and he said to the official, ‘Do not be afraid; only have faith.’ And he allowed no one to go with him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. So they came to the official’s house and Jesus noticed all the commotion, with people weeping and wailing unrestrainedly. He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and crying? The child is not dead, but asleep.’ But they laughed at him. So he turned them all out and, taking with him the child’s father and mother and his own companions, he went into the place where the child lay. And taking the child by the hand he said to her, ‘Talitha, kum!’ which means, ‘Little girl, I tell you to get up.’ The little girl got up at once and began to walk about, for she was twelve years old. At this they were overcome with astonishment, and he ordered them strictly not to let anyone know about it, and told them to give her something to eat.

Prayer over the Offerings              

O God, who graciously accomplish the effects of your mysteries, grant, we pray, that the deeds by which we serve you may be worthy of these sacred gifts. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 102: 1

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all within me, his holy name.

Prayer after Communion              

May this divine sacrifice we have offered and received fill us with life, O Lord, we pray, so that, bound to you in lasting charity, we may bear fruit that lasts for ever. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

The readings of today speak to us about death. It is good to think and talk about death. Many people hate to think about it. But one thing is certain; every human has to go that way. Death is inescapable. Nothing is more certain than death. Though we all know we will die, none of us likes to die. We want to live. Yes, we are born to live and not to die. Still, we know we have to die one day, sooner or later. Our faith teaches that death is not a tragedy. The risen Lord tells us that death is not the end of all but is the door to life, to eternal life. Death is life-giving. Only through death can new life emerge. That convinced the famous psychologist Victor Frankl who said: «If there is meaning in life, there must also be meaning in death.»  For us Christians, death means life. To die with Christ means to live with him forever. That was the conviction of the martyrs who willingly sacrificed themselves for the sake of Christ. Death, therefore, should not frighten us; instead, it should encourage us to live well to make the best of the present.