Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
383

FIRST READING

HOS 2:14-16, 29-20

Thus says the LORD:
I will allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak to her heart.
She shall respond there as in the days of her youth,
when she came up from the land of Egypt.

On that day, says the LORD,
She shall call me “My husband,”
and never again “My baal.”

I will espouse you to me forever:
I will espouse you in right and in justice,
in love and in mercy;
I will espouse you in fidelity,
and you shall know the LORD.

PSALM

PS 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Response: The Lord is gracious and merciful.

Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.

Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works.

They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds
and declare your greatness.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.

The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.

GOSPEL

MT 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,
knelt down before him, and said,
“My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
“Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.”
And from that hour the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”
And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.

Daily Reflection

Analogies from everyday life illustrate and strengthen a message, making the impact even greater when abstract concepts like ‘love’ are involved. This is why the prophet Hosea uses the imagery of a husband-wife relationship to explain the strained covenantal relationship between God and the chosen people, Israel. Despite his loving providence, God found his beloved bride - Israel - repeatedly unfaithful (worshiping alien gods)! Hosea named two of his children LoRuhama (no love) and Lo-ammi (not my people) to remind the sinful people of their lack of love and their infidelity to their covenant with God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ acts of restoring people to the fullness of life are proof of God’s outpouring love.

Both readings tell us that God is a fountain of love. And unlike what some may be led to falsely believe, God never stops loving us; rather it is the shame of our sin that causes us to move away from this fountain of love.