Churches of the Day

Wednesday of  Week Five in Ordinary Time, Year 2

Feast/ Saint of the day: 1. Our Lady of Lourdes and  2. St Gobnait, virgin
C/f A short life of be this Feast and saint can found below todays' Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING     

A reading from the second book of Kings          10: 1-10
The queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon.

The fame of Solomon having reached the queen of Sheba, she came to test him with difficult questions. She brought immense riches to Jerusalem with her, camels laden with spices, great quantities of gold, and precious stones. On coming to Solomon, she opened her mind freely to him; and Solomon had an answer for all her questions, not one of them was too obscure for the king to expound.

When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, the food at his table, the accommodation for his officials, the organisation of his staff and the way they were dressed, his cup-bearers, and the holocausts he offered in the Temple of the Lord, it left her breathless, and she said to the king,
'What I heard in my own country about you and your wisdom was true, then! Until I came and saw it with my own eyes I could not believe what they told me, but clearly they told me less than half: for wisdom and prosperity you surpass the report I heard. How happy your wives are! How happy are these servants of yours who wait on you always and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God who has granted you his favour, setting you on the throne of Israel
Because of the Lord's everlasting love for Israel, he has made you king to deal out law and justice.'

And she presented the king with a hundred and twenty talents of gold and great quantities of spices and precious stones; no such wealth of spices ever came again as those given to King Solomon by the queen of Sheba.

The Word of the Lord.             Thanks be to God.


Responsorial Psalm           Ps 36 : 5-6, 30-31, 39-40
Response                                The just man's mouth utters wisdom.

1. Commit your life to the Lord, trust in him and he will act,
so that your justice breaks forth like the light, your cause like the noon-day sun.       Response

2. The just man's mouth utters wisdom and his lips speak what is right;
the law of his God is in his heart, his steps shall be saved from stumbling.                   Response

3. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord, their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them and saves them: for their refuge is in him.    Response

Gospel  Acclamation      2 Tim 1: 10
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our saviour Christ Jesus abolished death,
and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News.
Alleluia!

Or                                            Jn 17: 17 
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord, consecrate us in the truth .
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.                          And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark      7: 14-23       Glory to you , O Lord
It is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean.

Jesus called the people to him again and said,
'Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.'

When he had gone back into the house, away from the crowd, his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them,
'Do you not understand either? Can you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot make him unclean, because it does not go into his heart but through his stomach and passes out into the sewer?' (Thus he pronounced all foods clean.)

And he went on,
'It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean. For it is from within, from men's hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.'

The Gospel of the Lord.         Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.


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Gospel Reflection           Wednesday,              Fifth Week in Ordinary Time          Mark 7:14-23

In today’s first reading, the Queen of Sheba praises King Solomon to the hilt. She was deeply impressed by his wisdom, but also by his palaces, the food at his table, the accommodation for his officials, the organisation of his staff, his cup-bearers, his sacrifices in the Temple, his wives, his servants and much else. As a monarch herself, she was impressed by these extraordinary trappings of monarchy and saw it all as a sign of God’s everlasting love for Israel. The lavish scale of the visible expressions of monarchy took the Queen’s breath away.

In the gospel reading, in contrast, Jesus places the focus not on externals but on what is in a person’s heart. He recognized that what lies within a person is of much greater importance because it is the source of either evil intentions or good intentions. Jesus came to transform the human heart, to create a community of disciples whose hearts were transformed by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God’s love. He said on one occasion that he had come to cast fire upon the earth, the fire of the Holy Spirit that can burn away what is not of God in our hearts and kindle in our hearts the fire of God’s love. It is only a community of people of transformed hearts who can created an opening for the coming of God’s kingdom, which bears little resemblance to the kingdoms of the various Solomons of this world. We are all called to belong to such a community.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/


The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings: The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications  c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Feast/ Saint of the Day:  1. Our Lady of Lourdes and  2. St Gobnait, virgin

1. Our Lady of Lourdes.

On 11th February 1858 Our Lady first appeared to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous. Later Bernadette, under pressure from her parish priest, asked her, "Who are you?" and heard from Our Lady's own lips,
"I am the Immaculate Conception".
(The image (right) is of the shrine at Lourdes as it was in 1858.)

Patrick Duffy retells the story of the apparitions.

Family
Marie-Bernard Soubirous was born in 1844, the first child of poor parents, Francois and Louise, and from childhood she was called Bernadette. She had a younger sister, Toinette Marie, and three younger brothers. Bernadette tended animals for a family friend at nearby Bartres but returned to Lourdes in January 1858, worried that she had not yet received her First Communion. Only then did she begin to attend the free school run by the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction.

First Apparition
On 11th February Bernadette, now aged fourteen, was with her nine-year old sister Toinette Marie, and a twelve-year-old neighbour’s child Marie Abadie collecting firewood at a stream near Massabielle outside Lourdes. The two younger ones had taken off their shoes to wade across a stream and Bernadette got left behind. Suddenly she heard the noise of a rush of wind and saw a beautiful young woman in a niche in the rock, dressed in a white robe, with a blue girdle and a white veil on her head. She smiled silently and beckoned to Bernadette, who went down on her knees, took out her Rosary from her pocket and began to say her beads. The Lady also had a Rosary, but she allowed Bernadette to recite the decade and joined in only at the Glory be. When the Rosary ended, the Lady disappeared. When the other girls came back, they saw Bernadette still kneeling  but on the way home she could not hold her secret. She asked them not to tell her mother, but they did, and her mother would not allow her to go back the next day.

Other Apparitions
On the following Sunday Bernadette asked if she might go to the grotto again. Her father told her to take a bottle of holy water with her. She went with several little friends and knelt at the grotto. She saw the vision again, but the others saw nothing. News spread in the town. Her teacher and the mother superior at the convent forbade her to talk or even think about it.

The following Thursday, 18th February, she went with two women who thought the lady might be the spirit of a young friend of theirs who had died some months previously. This time the Lady smiled to Bernadette and spoke. She asked her to come every day for fifteen days. Bernadette promised she would, if she was allowed. Bernadette's parents did not object. The following day her mother and aunt went with her, and on later visits great crowds of people gathered at Massabielle, hoping to see or hear something miraculous. The excitement increased. Bernadette was brought to the police-station for questioning but she didn't change her story.

A Miraculous Stream
The following Sunday, a number of people gathered with Bernadette. This time the Lady told her: "You will pray to God for sinners". On 26th February, while she was caught up in the vision, Our Lady told Bernadette to dig with her hands on the ground inside the grotto, to drink the water and wash her face. Bernadette did as she was told. A trickle of water appeared and when the lady told her, she drank it and bathed her face. Next day a steady stream was flowing from where there never had been a well or a river before. It has remained to this day and is the source of the water of all the baths at Lourdes. Those present regarded this as a miracle.

Build a chapel
On 2nd March Bernadette saw the Lady for the thirteenth time. This time the lady asked Bernadette to tell the priests to build a chapel and have a procession at the place. Bernadette went to the parish priest, Fr Dominique Peyramale. He reprimanded her and did not want to hear what she was saying.

"I am the Immaculate Conception"
Fr Dominique insisted that Bernadette ask the Lady to identify herself. On 25th March, the feast of the Annunciation, Bernadette went to the grotto at dawn and when the lady appeared she asked: "Would you kindly tell me who you are?" She repeated the question twice more and the Lady replied:
"I am the Immaculate Conception. I want a chapel here."

When Bernadette reported this reply, it caused a fever of excitement. Four years previously Pope Pius IX had solemnly proclaimed in Rome that Our Lady was preserved free from all stain of original sin, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Bernadette could not easily have known or heard such words as at that time it was something that would only have been discussed by priests.

There were only two subsequent visions - on 7th April and 16th July. Many times afterwards, Bernadette was asked to repeat the story of the visions, but the accounts never varied in any significant detail.

Recognition
By now the local people, after seeing the miraculous new stream, frequently gathered at the place wanting to turn it into a sanctuary. The local authorities closed off the area. But news of the apparitions and miracles spread and soon the Church authorities were won over to believing Bernadette. It is said that the Empress Eugenie heard what was happening and may have influenced her husband Napoleon III to intervene with the local authorities. At any rate on 5th October the grotto was reopened.

Pilgrims throng to Lourdes
The following year thousands of pilgrims thronged to Lourdes. A statue of Our Lady was erected at the grotto in 1864. Fr Peyremale now became Bernadette's advocate with the bishop of Pau and helped raise money for a basilica that was built nearby and consecrated in 1876. A second church at the base of the basilica was erected and consecrated in 1901. Landscaping and architecture turned the whole area into an impressive sanctuary against a background of great natural beauty.

Bernadette
Bernadette first stayed at the local convent of the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction. When she was twenty, she joined the order at the mother house at Nevers. Here, despite illness, she made her final vows in 1878. She died on 16th April 1879. She was canonised by Pope Pius in 1933. Her feast is on 16th April.

Papal Visits and World Day of the Sick
Lourdes has since become an impressive place of pilgrimage and is visited by millions of Catholics every year. Many cures have been reported and 67 have been officially recognised. Pope John Paul II undertook three pilgrimages to Lourdes, the last one in 2004 shortly before his death to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the definition of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

In 1992 Pope John Paul II instituted World Day of the Sick to be celebrated each year on 11th February, the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady to Bernadette and the first was celebrated the following year in Lourdes itself. Pope Benedict XVI visited Lourdes commemorating the 150th anniversary of the apparitions in September 2008.

Evening procession at Lourdes tri-Basilicas

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Memorable thought for today

If one of our dreams should fall and break into a thousand pieces,
never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again.
                                                                                           
~ St Bernadette of Lourdes ~

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Feast/ Saint of the day:  2. St Gobnait, virgin

St Gobnait, well loved saint. Gobnait is one of Co. West Cork's best loved saints  but only traditions surrounding her life survive today.



Patrick Duffy summarises what the traditions tell us about her.

(<This image shows a detail of the St Gobnait window by Harry Clarke in the Honan University Chapel at University College, Cork.)

Local traditions connect Gobnait with bees, Ballyvourney, Co Cork and with her care for the sick. It is a happy coincidence that her feast is on World Day of the Sick, 11th February, the day Our Lady appeared to St Bernadette at Lourdes.

Early Life
Gobnait is said to have been born in Co Clare. In her youth she went to the Aran Islands to study monastic life with St Enda. There is a church dedicated to her, Kilgobnet, on Inisheer. An angel told her that this was not to be the place of "her resurrection" (death) and that she should tour Ireland until she found a place where she found 'nine white deer grazing'. On her travels she is said to have founded churches at Dunquin in Co Kerry and Dungarvan in Co Waterford.

Ballyvourney and Bees
But it was at Ballyvourney, Co Cork, that she eventually 'found' the 'nine white deer grazing'. Here she founded a monastery with the help of St Abban. Famous among the miracles of Gobnait's prayer was the stopping of a pestilence by marking off the parish as consecrated ground.

She is also famed for her cultivation of bees and a story relates how she routed an enemy by loosing her bees upon them. Tradition indicates that Gobnait could comunicate with the bees

Patron of Ironworkers
"That Gobnait herself was originally a patron of ironworkers is indicated by the implications of her name, which is based on the hypocoristic (=pet-name) Gobba, from 'gabha' or 'smith'. Excavation at her church in Ballyvourney yielded considerable evidence of ironworking on the site" (Pádraig Ó Riain, A Dictionary of Irish Saints (2011).

Care of the Sick Gobnait is remembered for her care of the sick. In the church yard at Ballyvourney many discarded crutches show that people believed they were cured by Gobnait answering their prayers. Her well is still at Ballyvourney and is an attraction for pilgrims.

Associations
There is a tradition that in 1602, when after the defeat at Kinsale and the destruction of his castle at Dunboy, Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beara was retreating with his soldiers - along with their women, children and servants - to the territory of O'Rourke of Breifne, they stopped at Ballyvourney to pay homage to the memory of Gobnait.

Until 1843 a 13th century wooden statue of the saint was in the hereditary keeping of the O'Herlihy family there. The tradition is that it was the O'Herlihy family who gave her the land to build her convent. After 1600 years blessed ribbons of St Gobnait are still distributed on her feastday.

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Memorable Proverbs for today

'Bees are more honoured than other animals,
not because they labour so hard, but because they labour for others.

~ Patricia Banker ~

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-15-2-2026-

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

We have been give the freedom to obey God's will.
Christ calls to choose love as our way of fulfilling God's will and fullness of life but....

FIRST READING

A reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus ( Ben Sirach)       15:15-20
He never commanded anyone to be godless.

If you wish, you can keep the commandments, to behave faithfully is within your power. He has set fire and water before you; put out your hand to whichever you prefer.
Man has life and death before him; whichever a man likes better will be given him.
For vast is the wisdom of the Lord; he is almighty and all-seeing.
His eyes are on those who fear him, he notes every action of man.
He never commanded anyone to be godless, he has given no one permission to sin.

The Word of the Lord             Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm         Ps 118: 1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
Response                              They are happy who follow God's law!

1. They are happy whose life is blameless, who follow God's law!
They are happy those who do his will, seeking him with all their hearts.       Response

2. You have laid down your precepts to be obeyed with care.
May my footsteps be firm to obey your statutes.                                                  Response

3. Bless your servant and I shall live and obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may consider the wonders of your law.                             Response

4. Teach me the demands of your statutes and I will keep them to the end.
Train me to observe your law, to keep it with my heart.                                     Response

SECOND READING

A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians        2:6-10
God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began.

We have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity: not a philosophy of our age, it is true, still less of the masters of our age, which are coming to their end. The hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: The things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him.

These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.

The Word of the Lord            Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation         1 Sam 3:9
Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening: you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!

or                                              Mt 11:25
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.                        And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew     5:17-37        Glory to you, O Lord
You have learnt how it was said to your ancestors; but I say this to you.

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved.

Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.

‘For I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors:
You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court.
But I say this to you: Anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell fire.

So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.

‘You have learnt how it was said:
You must not commit adultery.
But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.

‘It has also been said:
Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal.
But I say this to you: Everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

‘Again, you have learnt how it was said to our ancestors:
You must not break your oath, but must fulfil your oaths to the Lord.
But I say this to you: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, since that is God’s throne; or by the earth, since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great king. Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black.
All you need say is “Yes” if you mean yes, “No” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.’

The Gospel of the Lord       Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/

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Shorter Gospel form

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew        5:20-22. 
Theme: You have learnt how it was said to your ancestors; but I say this to you....

Jesus said to his disciples:
'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to complete them.
I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.

'For I tell you,if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will never get into the kingdom of heaven

The Gospel of the Lord            Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/



The scripture readings are taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with permission of the publishers.