DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

WEDNESDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

FIRST READING

Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17

4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up -- for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground -- 7 then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALM 103(104):1-2, 27-28, 29-30

Response: O bless the Lord, my soul!

Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul!

All creatures look to you
to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul!

If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
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GOSPEL

Out of the heart come evil thoughts

MARK 7:14-23

14 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him." 16 Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear. 17 And when he had entered the house, and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, "What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man."

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

The cycle of bitterness broken by forbearance, by Tertullian, 160-225 A.D.

"Let us, then, his servants, follow our Lord and patiently submit to denunciations that we may be blessed! If, with slight forbearance, I hear some bitter or evil remark directed against me, I may return it, and then I shall inevitably become bitter myself. Either that, or I shall be tormented by unexpressed resentment. If I retaliate when cursed, how shall I be found to have followed the teaching of our Lord? For his saying has been handed down that one is defiled not by unclean dishes but by the words which proceed from his mouth ( Mark 7:15)."

(excerpt from ON PATIENCE 8)

[Tertullian (160-225 AD) was an early Christian writer and theologian from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was a noted early Christian apologist who defended Christianity and the practice of Christians against the reproaches of the pagans. He promoted the principle of freedom of religion as an inalienable human right and demanded a fair trial for Christians before they were condemned to death.]
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.