DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
FEBRUARY 3, 2024
SATURDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT BLAISE, BISHOP AND MARTYR / SAINT ANSGAR, BISHOP)
FIRST READING
1 KINGS 3:4-13 OR (ROMANS 5:1-5 / ISAIAH 52:7-10)
4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings upon that altar. 5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I shall give you." 6 And Solomon said, "Thou hast shown great and steadfast love to thy servant David my father, because he walked before thee in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward thee; and thou hast kept for him this great and steadfast love, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people whom thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give thy servant therefore an understanding mind to govern thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to govern this thy great people?" 10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 119:9-14 OR (PSALMS 117:1-2 / PSALMS 96:1-3, 7-8, 10)
Response: Lord, teach me thy statutes.
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to thy word.
R. Lord, teach me thy statutes.
With my whole heart I seek thee;
let me not wander from thy commandments!
R. Lord, teach me thy statutes.
I have laid up thy word in my heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
R. Lord, teach me thy statutes.
Blessed be thou, O LORD;
teach me thy statutes!
R. Lord, teach me thy statutes.
With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of thy mouth.
R. Lord, teach me thy statutes.
In the way of thy testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
R. Lord, teach me thy statutes.
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GOSPEL
Come away and rest a while
MARK 6:30-34 OR (MARK 16:15-20 / MARK 1:14-20)
30 The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. 34 As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
The good shepherd feeds us with the words of God, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The pastures that this good shepherd has prepared for you, in which he has settled you for you to take your fill, are not various kinds of grasses and green things, among which some are sweet to the taste, some extremely bitter, which as the seasons succeed one another are sometimes there and sometimes not. Your pastures are the words of God and his commandments, and they have all been sown as sweet grasses. These pastures had been tasted by that man who said to God, 'How sweet are your words to my palate, more so than honey and the honeycomb in my mouth!' (Psalm 119:103)."
(excerpt from Sermon 366.3)
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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.