The Catholic Calendar for Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
1 Samuel 1:1-20
Responsorial: 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd
Mark 1:21-28

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

"They worshipped before the Lord" (1 Samuel 1:19)

Today's heart-moving Old Testament story about Samuel's parents, puts before us once again, the providence of God as He listens to the plaintive pleas of the humble of heart. So often we see this scenario throughout Scripture.

Today's First Lesson from Samuel and our Gospel from St. Mark both contain a common thread perhaps unnoticed at first glance. In Samuel, we learn that Hannah prayed and pleaded to God for a child. The next morning she and her husband went and worshipped before the Lord in the synagogue. In today's Gospel story, Jesus went into the synagogue where He was approached by a man with unclean spirits. Jesus rebuked the unclean spirits and promptly called them out of the man -- much to the wonderment of all who witnessed.

Are these not solemn reminders for each of us to return to the Lord frequently to be cleansed of our sins, our own personal unclean spirits? Are we not called to the holy presence of God in the tabernacle of our own Catholic church, to sorrowfully pour out our sins to the Lord? Should we not avail ourselves of the cleansing grace of the sacrament of Reconciliation, confessing our sins before God's witness? The message today is to return to the church, to go before the Lord with repentant spirit, believing in faith and with contrite heart that the Lord will forgive and bless us with His love and grace.

- Journimann

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