1ST READING
Adam and Eve succumbed to pride and arrogance. They wanted to know
the difference between good and bad and were not willing to leave this to God
alone. There is something of this sentiment in our own hearts and minds. We
think that we are smart enough to have a say in such matters, but we are not.
God has created us and it is His prerogative to decide upon issues of moral
right and wrong.
Genesis 3:1-8
1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the
animals that the Lord God had made. The serpent asked the woman, “Did God
really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the
trees in the garden; 3 it is only about the fruit of the tree in the
middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it,
lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman: “You
certainly will not die! 5 No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and
what is evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its
fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and
he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and
they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made
loincloths for themselves. 8 When they heard the sound of the Lord God moving
about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid
themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
P S A L M
Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
R: Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
1 Blessed is he whose fault is taken away, whose
sin is covered. 2 Blessed the man to whom the Lord imputes not
guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile. (R)
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I
covered not. I said, “I confess my faults to the Lord,” and you took away the
guilt of my sin. (R) 6 For this shall every faithful man pray to you in time of stress.
Though deep waters overflow, they shall not reach him. (R) 7 You are my shelter; from distress you will
preserve me; with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round. (R)
GOSPEL
The deaf man’s healing speaks to us of our need to open our minds
and hearts to the Gospel and receive the gift of salvation. In the words of
Jesus, we need to tell ourselves “ephphatha” — to open our minds and hearts to
His voice, to His truth. But there will beall sorts of other authorities and
sources that will try to influence us as well. We need the Holy Spirit to help
us choose well whom to listen to.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son.
Mark 7:31-37
31 Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way
of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. 32 And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him off by
himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and,
spitting, touched his tongue; 34 then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and
said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) 35 And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment
was removed, and he spoke plainly. 36 He ordered them not to
tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. 37 They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all
things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
think: We need to tell ourselves “ephphatha” — to
open our minds and hearts to the voice of Jesus and His truth.
T O D A Y’S BLESSING
LIST
Thank You Lord for: __________________
____________________________________
God’s special
verse/thought for me today_
_____________________________________
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ephesians 4-6
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