DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

JUNE 6 - SATURDAY OF THE NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 

FIRST READING

2 Timothy 4:1-8

1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. 5 As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry. 6 For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Psalm 70(71):8-9, 14-15, 16-17, 22

Response: I will sing of thy salvation.

My mouth is filled with thy praise,
and with thy glory all the day.
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent.

R. I will sing of thy salvation.

But I will hope continually,
and will praise thee yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of thy righteous acts,
of thy deeds of salvation all the day,
for their number is past my knowledge.

R. I will sing of thy salvation.

With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come,
I will praise thy righteousness, thine alone.
O God, from my youth thou hast taught me,
and I still proclaim thy wondrous deeds.

R. I will sing of thy salvation.

I will also praise thee with the harp
for thy faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to thee with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.

R. I will sing of thy salvation.

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GOSPEL

"This poor widow has put in more than the rest"

Mark 12:38-44

38 And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places 39 and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." 41 And he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living."

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Mercy and compassion are never worthless, by Leo the Great, 400-461 A.D.

"Although the spite of some people does not grow gentle with any kindness, nevertheless the works of mercy are not fruitless, and kindness never loses what is offered to the ungrateful. May no one, dearly beloved, make themselves strangers to good works. Let no one claim that his poverty scarcely sufficed for himself and could not help another. What is offered from a little is great, and in the scale of divine justice, the quantity of gifts is not measured but the steadfastness of souls. The 'widow' in the Gospel put two coins into the 'treasury,' and this surpassed the gifts of all the rich. No mercy is worthless before God. No compassion is fruitless. He has given different resources to human beings, but he does not ask different affections."

(excerpt from SERMON 20.3.1.6)
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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.