DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
FEBRUARY 11, 2024
SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
FIRST READING
LEVITICUS 13:1-2, 44-46
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 "When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, 44 he is a leprous man, he is unclean; the priest must pronounce him unclean; his disease is on his head. 45 "The leper who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry, `Unclean, unclean.' 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean; he shall dwell alone in a habitation outside the camp.
The Word of the Lord
_
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 32:1-2, 5, 11
Response: I turn to thee, Lord, in time of trouble, and thou fill me with the joy of salvation.
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
R. I turn to thee, Lord, in time of trouble, and thou fill me with the joy of salvation.
I acknowledged my sin to thee,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my trangressions to the LORD”;
then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.
R. I turn to thee, Lord, in time of trouble, and thou fill me with the joy of salvation.
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
R. I turn to thee, Lord, in time of trouble, and thou fill me with the joy of salvation.
_
SECOND READING
1 CORINTHIANS 10:31--11:1
10 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please all men in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. 11 1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
The Word of the Lord
_
GOSPEL
The Lord Jesus can make me clean
MARK 1:40-45
40 And a leper came to him begging him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.
The Gospel of the Lord
_
REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Why did Jesus touch the leper, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)
"And why did [Jesus] touch him, since the law forbade the touching of a leper? He touched him to show that 'all things are clean to the clean' (Titus 1:15). Because the filth that is in one person does not adhere to others, nor does external uncleanness defile the clean of heart. So he touches him in his untouchability, that he might instruct us in humility; that he might teach us that we should despise no one, or abhor them, or regard them as pitiable, because of some wound of their body or some blemish for which they might be called to render an account... So, stretching forth his hand to touch, the leprosy immediately departs. The hand of the Lord is found to have touched not a leper, but a body made clean! Let us consider here, beloved, if there be anyone here that has the taint of leprosy in his soul, or the contamination of guilt in his heart? If he has, instantly adoring God, let him say: 'Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.'"
(excerpt from FRAGMENTS ON MATTHEW 2.2-3)
_
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.