Mass Readings
Catholic Ireland
Liturgical Readings for : Monday, 10th February, 2025Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday's Readings
Monday of Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1
The water of baptism recall the Spirit of God hovering over the original water of life
and reminding us of our future rebirth
Memorial of St Scholastica, consecrated sister of St Benedict, patron of convulsive children
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FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Genesis 1:1-19
God said, and so it was.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water.
God said,
‘Let there be light’, and there was light.
God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness.
God called light ‘day‘, and darkness he called ‘night‘.
Evening came and morning came: the first day.
God said,
‘Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two’.
And so it was.
God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the waters under the vault.
God called the vault ‘heaven‘.
Evening came and morning came: The second day.
God said,
‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear’. And so it was. God called the dry land ‘earth‘ and the mass of waters ‘seas‘, and God saw that it was good.
God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees bearing fruit with their seed inside, on the earth‘. And so it was.
The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seed in their several kinds, and trees bearing fruit with their seed inside in their several kinds. God saw that it was good.
Evening came and morning came: the third day.
God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night,
and let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was.
God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night and the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness.
God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 103. 1-2, 5-6, 10-12, 24, 35, R:31
Response May the Lord rejoice in his works!
1. Bless the Lord, my soul! Lord God, how great you are,
clothed in majesty and glory, wrapped in light as in a robe! Response
2. You founded the earth on its base, to stand firm from age to age.
You wrapped it with the ocean like a cloak: the waters stood higher than the mountains. Response
3. You make springs gush forth in the valleys: they flow in between the hills.
On their banks dwell the birds of heaven; from the branches they sing their song. Response
4. How many are your works, 0 Lord! In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your riches. Bless the Lord, my soul! Response
Gospel Acclamation Jn 8: 12
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord,
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
Or Mt 4: 23
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the people.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 6:53-56 Glory to you, O Lord
All those who touched him were cured.
Having made the crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up. No sooner had they stepped out of the boat than people recognised him, and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak.
And all those who touched him were cured.
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Mark 6:53–56
It is striking to me that the first book of the Bible, the beginning of the Bible, begins with the words, ‘In the beginning’. Today’s first reading gives us the opening nineteen verses of the Bible. It is a statement of faith, in highly elevated prose, almost poetry. It is not a scientific statement but a religious one. In these verses the people of Israel express their conviction that the created world in all its complexity and diversity is fundamentally good because it came from God who is supremely good. The sky, the earth, the seas, the earth’s vegetation, the two great lights of the heavens, the sun and the moon, reflect something of God’s goodness and beauty. Heaven and earth are full of God’s glory, as we say in one of the responses of the Mass.
In the words of today’s responsorial psalm, ‘The earth is full of your riches’. God comes to us in and through his good creation, which is why we need to treat God’s creation with great reverence and respect. If the created world reveals God’s goodness and glory, the fullest expression of God’s goodness and glory is Jesus, God’s beloved Son. Jesus is the pinnacle of God’s creative work. If people were often drawn to God through God’s good creation, they are drawn to God more powerfully through his Son, Jesus. Today’s gospel reading portrays the extraordinary drawing power of Jesus. No sooner had Jesus stepped out of the boat with his disciples than people started hurrying towards him from all through the countryside. The sick, the broken, the weary, the excluded were especially drawn to him.
According to the gospel reading, they begged him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. God continues to draw us all to himself through his good creation, but even more powerfully through his Son. Jesus once said, ‘when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself’. Our calling is to allow ourselves to be drawn.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings : Your word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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