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Monday, 9^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Evil desire causes the world’s corruption; the injustice, theft, and murder in the vineyard.
• The tenants were unfaithful, vicious, ignorant, rash, fickle, disloyal, and cold, for they lacked love.
• Though the prophets and God’s son were slain, they now dwell and abide with the Most High,

Petitions:  Loving Stewardship, Renters, Justice

Tuesday, 9^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Like Jesus’ either/or-defying answer, we’re to “wait for and hasten the coming of the day of God.”
• As gold is perishable even though tested by fire, money will not outlive this creation. (1 Peter 1:7)
• Jesus’ patience gave the Pharisees, the Herodians, and Caesar a chance for salvation.

Petitions:  Active Contempatives, Corrupted Leaders, Generosity

Wednesday, 9^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Timothy had greater knowledge of the Scriptures and of God’s miracles than the Sadducees.
• We are confident that the God of the living is able to guard the life entrusted to us forever.
• Jesus was unashamed to testify to the resurrection, for there was nothing to be ashamed of.

Petitions:  Young Priests, Courageous Testimony, Beloved Dead

Thursday, 9^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Notwithstanding history’s “first” commandment, Jesus was a celibate workman for God.
• Faithfulness to him requires not only external sacrifice, but love for God and neighbor.
• Jesus was not “disputing about words,” but answering questions that mattered.

Petitions:  Catholic Apologists, The Falsely Accused, Civility

Friday, 9^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful,” but the Word Incarnate is richer.
• Remaining “faithful to what you have learned” allows mysteries to be unveiled to us.
• All religious Christians will be persecuted, but all enemies shall be placed under his feet.

Petitions:  Scripture Study, Our Persecutors, Patient Endurance

Monday, 8^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Only through God’s mercy do we have ‘a new birth, an inheritance, and a waiting salvation.’
• Like our faith, water is more precious than gold, for our future life would be lost without it.
• Peter and the rich man saw Jesus, but we today are not deprived of his teaching, trials, or presence.

Petitions:  Vocations, Teachers, The Heavily Burdened

Tuesday, 8^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Israel’s prophets were writing “all the ends of the earth” destined for “salvation by our God.”
• The Spirit of Christ, who inspired the prophets, also foresaw the Gospel’s promises fulfilled.
• A child’s obedience and holiness, brought to maturity,  is one hundred times rewarded.

Petitions:  Reluctant Converts, All Lands, Family Members

Wednesday, 8^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• As “a spotless unblemished Lamb,” Jesus is led to the temple to offer his “precious Blood.”
• Like Pharaoh Ozymandias’ glory, “flesh is like grass,” but what is the Lord’s remains imperishable.
• God reigns as king, blessing with food and teachings,  without lording his authority over us.

Petitions:  Bishops, Builders, True Perspective

Thursday, 8^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• As “aliens and sojourners” in this world, Christians will face rebukes like Bartimaeus.
• But like a mother to a newborn’s cry, Jesus responds to the blind man’s great thirsting desire.
• Unlike others, Jesus has mercy on his neighbor as he walks the Good Samaritan’s road. (Luke 10:30)

Petitions:  Universal Priesthood, Against Scandal, For Infants

Friday, 8^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• “[T]he judgment [begins] with the household of God…” (1 Peter 4:17)
• By setting up shop in the Court of the Gentiles, they made the temple inhospitable for the nations.
• As each Christian has received the gifts of faith and mercy, use them to serve one another.

Petitions:  Effective Preaching, Crop-Friendly Weather, Effortless Prayer

Monday, 7^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Jesus comes down the mountain with mighty wisdom from above.
• The Lord’s ‘perfect, trustworthy, right, clear, pure, and true’ words prevail over evil.
• Prayer will drive out spirits of jealousy and selfish ambition among us.

Petitions:  Faith, Special Needs Families, Prayer

Tuesday, 7^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• His disciples argued who was greatest because they coveted, envied, and did not understand.
• As resisting the Devil causes him to flee, so the Lord’s timely question silenced their feud.
• “Humble yourselves before the Lord,” like a child, in Christ’s likeness, “and he will exalt you.”

Petitions:  Church Unity, World Peace, Openness to Life

Wednesday, 7^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Mighty deeds may be accomplished in the name of the Lord, if he wills it.
• The actions of a Christian arrogantly disregarding God’s will, speak ill of him.
• Instead of complaining, the one who does not follow ought be told the right thing to do.

Petitions:  Separated Brethren, Entrepreneurs, Discernment

Thursday, 7^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Better to hand over what is not yours than to be thrown into fiery Gehenna or the deadly sea.
• “These little ones” are children, but also laborers; the poor, the voiceless, and the vulnerable.
• The millstones of “God grind slowly; yet they grind exceeding small.” (Longfellow’s “Retribution”)

Petitions:  God’s Little Ones, Just Wages, Manual Laborers

Friday, 7^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Wedding vows are solemn promises, so let your “I do” mean “I do.”
• “Do not complain, [husbands and wives,] about one another,” for “the Lord is kind and merciful.”
• The Lord became one flesh with us, “because the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

Petitions:  Eucharistic Devotion, The Seemingly Abandoned, Sanctified Speech

Monday, 6^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Some doubt against their will, but others doubt willfully to reject the Lord.
• God gives “generously and ungrudgingly” to all who are willing to receive.
• Jesus’ boat was not adrift, but harnessed the wind to go where his Father willed.

Petitions:  Greater Gifts, Atheists and Agnostics, This Generation

Tuesday, 6^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Jesus’ veiled language was not to mislead the disciples, for “he himself tempts no one.”
• Like with temptation, one who strives to understand Jesus “will receive the crown of life.”
• Recalling God’s previous mighty works helps us to endure temptation.

Petitions:  Understanding Divine Revelation, The Hungry, Enduring Temptation

Wednesday, 6^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Be “quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,” for we are slow to see things as they truly are.
• Jesus practiced pure religion, working great goods not to be showy, but for goodness’ sake.
• When beholding others, do not forget that Jesus died on a tree for each one of them.

Petitions:  Charitable Apostolates, True Sight, The Disabled

Thursday, 6^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Since Jesus is our Christ, he rightly to makes the distinction: “Get behind me,” i.e., follow me.
• Jesus models how the “poor” in spirit, wealth, and power become “heirs of the Kingdom.”
• If we “look to” Jesus in our lives and neighbor our “faces may not blush with shame.”

Petitions:  Christian Discipleship, Inequality, Fraternal Correction

Friday, 6^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Jesus and Abraham’s sacrifices were works of faith for new covenants in power. (Genesis 22)
• Even the demons believe “Jesus is Lord,” but they do not serve or follow him and are condemned.
• Works without faith end in death: what does it profit to gain the whole world and lose one’s life?

Petitions:  Vocations, Non-Catholic Christians, Refugees and Homeless

Monday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• The ark held God’s words written in stone, while Jesus is the Word of God enfleshed.
• God’s ark was too holy to safely touch, but the Incarnation allows Jesus’ healing touch.
• The temple’s glory was great but passing, as this life’s joys and pains will be surpassed.

Petitions:  Loving Reverence, Hope, The Sick

Tuesday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• It is good to dedicate buildings and possessions to God, but he loves true hearts more.
• The Lord who provides homes for the swallows wishes the elderly to be lovingly cared for.
• Those who hate God attack Christ’s Church and his disciples.

Petitions:  The Parish, Moms and Dads, Right Priorities

Wednesday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Solomon did not reject the Queen of Sheba as unclean in his sight, but dined with her.
• Sheba’s Queen notes seven glories of Solomon, while Jesus notes thirteen evils of man.
• Solomon’s greatest possession, his inner wisdom, was God’s gift. (1 Kings 3)

Petitions:  Wisdom, Strangers and Guests, Pure Hearts

Thursday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• The Lord distained the nations, for “they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.”
• A woman’s love can lead a man’s heart to do good (as with Jesus) or evil (like Solomon.)
• Our Lord always keeps his word and promises, “for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:12-13)

Petitions:  Christian Fidelity, Unconverted Nations, Pro-Life

Friday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Jesus and Ahijah led their charges aside to open their ears with God’s effective word.
• Both used tangible signs (in addition to words) to help others “walk in [God’s] ways.”
• Is seems that Jeroboam did not keep his secret either, for Solomon sought his life. (1 Kings 11:40)

Petitions:  Christian Reunion, Sacraments, Keeping Confidences

Monday, 4^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Absalom, Shimei, and the demoniac harass and seek to cast out God’s servants and holy ones.
• David and Jesus both retreat to the Mount of Olives, but Jesus returns to Jerusalem to do “battle.”
• In their own ways, both David and Jesus saved Jerusalem and her people.

Petitions:  Church & World Leaders, The Jewish People, Our Critics

Tuesday, 4^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Those from the synagogue official’s house lack the Cushite’s messenger’s tact.
• A son’s death turns victory to mourning, a daughter’s resurrection turns mourning into joy.
• Absalom’s pride was his loss, Jairus and the woman’s humility and faith restored them.

Petitions:  Humility, Sons and Daughters, Mourners

Wednesday, 4^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• God prohibited census-taking lest it prompt leaders to arrogantly spurn him.
• Loss of food, loss of power, and loss of health parallel Satan’s three desert temptations.
• Unlike the Nazoraeans, David accepts his prophet’s unwelcome message.

Petitions:  Receptivity, Relatives, The Suffering

Thursday, 4^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Be present to life in this a house we dwell until we leave, going the way of all flesh.
• Are we prepared to depart and to dust of this world from our feet?
• Whether we’re accepted or rejected, Jesus and David stress obedience to God’s will.

Petitions:  Faithfulness, Presence of Mind, The Near Death

Friday, 4^th Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Two Kings of Israel: David the Good King, Herod the Wicked
• Both sinned from adulterously taking other men’s wives.
• David repented and was forgiven, but Herod handed over John and Jesus without apology.

Petitions:  Marriages, Political Leaders, Holy Leisure

Monday, 3^rd Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Jesus and David were powerful, “for the LORD of hosts was with” them.
• Jesus began ministry about 30, lived to 33, now leads to Promised Land.
• “The blind and the lame” welcomed Jesus, and the enemy’s kingdom fell.

Petitions:  Church Unity, Against Demons, Against Rash Judgment

Tuesday, 3^rd Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• David’s procession leads to Jesus’ circle.
• The New and Old Davids provide a rich feast for their people.
• Mary is the New Ark of the Covenant because she did the will of God.

Petitions:  Marian Devotion, The Hungry, Holy Joy

Wednesday, 3^rd Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• God found “rich soil” in David, who eagerly and fruitfully received His word.
• The Lord begins his Kingdom among humble shepherds and sowers.
• We prepare and plant but there is no building or growth without the Lord.

Petitions:  Missionaries, Farmers, Good Counsel

Thursday, 3^rd Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• David served God and received all, had much and merited more. (CCC #2010)
• God enlighten us about worship (David,) work (baskets), and rest (beds.)
• Mother Mary is revealed as New Zion, Jesus’ Davidic dwelling and literal throne.

Petitions:  Christian Generosity, Balance in Life, Fire Safety

Friday, 3^rd Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• A seed out of place is gobbled easily; David was lounging, not on campaign.
• Like a planting a tiny seed, flirting with temptation yields death. (James 1:15)
• This, David’s worst episode, led him to pen Psalm 51 in repentance.

Petitions:  Diligence to Duty, Modesty & Chasity, Conversion

Monday, 2^nd Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Settling amidst Amalekites would be as patching or pouring new into old.
• “Obedience” and being “upright” are “better than sacrifice.”
• There are times to feast and times to fast in God’s will for us.

Petitions:  Faithfulness Amid Temptation, Those Who Hunger, New Marriages

Tuesday, 2^nd Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• King Saul & the Pharisees would wrongly condemn God’s true servants.
• Others see the appearance, but Jesus looks into our hearts.
• Jesus is the “Anointed One” (or, in Greek, the Christ) far greater than David.

Petitions:  Priestly Vocations, Large Families, Against Prejudices

Wednesday, 2^nd Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Both Jesus and the ancient killer beckon, “Come here…”
• Goliath’s might brought infamy, while the withered man’s weakness gave glory.
• Jesus’ wielded the Torah written on smooth stones against his foes.

Petitions:  Apologists, Soldiers, The Disabled

Thursday, 2^nd Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• Jesus, our God, is our faithful friend, like Jonathan to David.
• The crowds’ adulation endanger the old and new David’s.
• While each deliverers, David slew whereas Jesus healed.

Petitions:   Humility, Famous People, Friendship

Friday, 2^nd Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

• High office alone does not make one great in the Kingdom of God.
• Saul coveted his anointing, but Jesus shares it with the Apostles.
• Jesus’ twelve Apostles accomplished more than Saul’s 3,000 soldiers.

Petitions:  Underground Churches, Bishop & Priests, Mercy

These reflections draw connections between the Catholic lectionary’s weekday Mass readings.

They may be used for private prayer, but their main purpose is to help priest celebrants thematically relate their readings, preaching, and petitions at Mass.

Meditations for each week of Ordinary Time will be published here on Sunday mornings (through at least the 9th week of Ordinary Time.)

Monday, 1^st Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

Readings:  1st Samuel 1:1-8, Psalm 116, Mark 1:14-20

• The Lord gave Hannah & the Apostles double portions of suffering & glory because he loved them.
• Though we may lack like Hannah, we can always “offer a sacrifice of praise.”
• Despite their differing backgrounds, Eli & Zebedee both had two sons called to priesthood.

Petitions:  Vocations, Families, Couples Desiring Children

Tuesday, 1^st Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

Readings:  1st Samuel 1:9-20, 1st Samuel 2, Mark 1:21-28

• Eli misjudges Hannah and the demon misjudges Jesus.
• Eli & Pentecost’s scoffers derided Hannah & the Apostles as drunk. (Acts 2:13)
• Eli’s word gave Hannah peace, Jesus’ word gave the possessed man freedom.

Petitions:  Priests, The Addicted, Discernment

Wednesday, 1^st Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

Readings:  1st Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20; Psalm 40, Mark 1:29-39

• Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening,” and the psalmist, “Behold I come.”
• Samuel & (even) Jesus were called to make time for prayer.
• Like Samuel & the Galileans, “everyone is looking for [the Lord],” whether they realize or not.

Petitions:  Prayer Life, Spiritual Seekers, The Sick or Afflicted

Thursday, 1^st Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

Readings:  1st Samuel 4:1-11, Psalm 44, Mark 1:40-45

• The Pharisees & the Leper praise the Lord without obeying him.
• The Pharisees & the Leper frustrated the good, but the Lord prevailed in the end.
• Psalm 44 is a prayer inspired by God for setbacks in battle, ministry, & life.

Petitions:  Holy Obedience, Armed Forces, The Discouraged

Friday, 1^st Week in Ordinary Time—Year II

Readings:  1st Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22a; Psalm 89, Mark 2:1-12

• The Davidic kings subjugated, the King of Kings sets free.
• Saul & David’s procession bearers are forgotten, the paralytic’s are remembered.
• The OT elders & NT scribes grumbled, denying the Lord’s power & authority.

Petitions:  Spiritual Friendship, Political Rulers, The Poor & Weak