Readings for Sunday, February 14, 2021
Lectionary: 77
Is-Sitt Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
Reading I LEVITICUS 13:1-2, 44-46
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch which appears to be the sore of leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests among his descendants. If the man is leprous and unclean, the priest shall declare him unclean by reason of the sore on his head. “The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.”
QARI I LEVITIKU 13, 1-2.45-46
Il-Mulej kellem lil Mosè u lil Aron u qalilhom: “Meta xi ħadd ikollu fil-ġilda xi qxur jew xi bużżieqa, jew xi tebgħa bajda, qisha ġerħa tal-ġdiem, jeħduh għand Aron il-qassis, jew għand xi ħadd minn uliedu l-qassisin. Il-marid bil-ġdiem għandu jilbes ħwejjeġ imqattgħa u jħalli rasu mikxufa, u jitgħatta sa geddumu, u jgħajjat: ‘Imniġġes! Imniġġes!’. Kemm idum marid ikun miżmum b’imniġġes li hu, u jgħix waħdu f’postu barra mill-kamp”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm PSALM 32:1-2, 5, 11
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
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. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you just;
exult, all you upright of heart.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
SALM RESPONSORJALI Salm 31 (32), 1-2.5.11
R/. (7): Int kenn għalija, iddawwarni u tferraħni bil-ħelsien tiegħek
Hieni l-bniedem li ħtijietu maħfura,
li għandu d-dnub tiegħu mistur!
Hieni l-bniedem li ebda ħażen ma jgħoddlu l-Mulej,
u ma għandu ebda qerq f’qalbu! R/.
Id-dnub tiegħi jien stqarrejtlek,
u l-ħażen tiegħi ma ħbejtulekx.
Jien għedt: “Quddiem il-Mulej nistqarr ħtijieti”.
U int ħfirtli l-ħażen tad-dnub tiegħi. R/.
Ifirħu, twajbin, u thennew fil-Mulej;
għajtu bil-ferħ, intom ilkoll ta’ qalbkom safja. R/.
Reading II 1 CORINTHIANS 10:31—11:1
Brothers and sisters, Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
QARI II mill-Ewwel Ittra lill-Korintin 10, 3-11,1
Ħuti, sew jekk tieklu, sew jekk tixorbu, tagħmlu x’tagħmlu, agħmlu kollox għall-glorja ta’ Alla. Tkunux ta’ tfixkil, la għal-Lhud, la għall-Griegi, u lanqas għall-Knisja ta’ Alla. Hekk jiena nogħġob lil kulħadd f’kollox, bla ma nfittex l-interessi tiegħi, imma tal-ħafna biex isalvaw. Ixbhu lili, bħalma jien nixbah lil Kristu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel MARK 1:40-45
A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
EVANĠELJU Qari San Mark 1, 40-45
F’dak iż-żmien, resaq fuq Ġesù wieħed lebbruż jitolbu bil-ħerqa, inxteħet għarkupptejh quddiemu u qallu: “Jekk trid, tista’ tfejjaqni!”. Imqanqal mill-ħniena, Ġesù medd idu fuqu, messu u qallu: “Irrid, kun imnaddaf!”. U minnufih il-lebbra marritlu u ġismu ndaf. U widdbu bis-sħiħ, bagħtu malajr u qallu: “Qis li ma tgħid xejn lil ħadd; iżda mur uri ruħek lill-qassis, u agħmel offerta għall-fejqan tiegħek kif ordna Mosè, biex tkunilhom ta’ xhieda”. Iżda dak, meta telaq, beda jxandar ma’ kullimkien u jxerred l-aħbar, hekk li Ġesù f’ebda belt ma sata’ iżjed jidħol bid-dieher, imma kien jibqa’ barra fil-kampanja u kienu jmorru ħdejh nies minn kullimkien. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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Eight-minute Gospel reflection by Fr Antony Kadavil
Introduction:
All three readings today teach us that we are called to become pure and holy. But we don’t become holy by some ritual observances. We become holy by confessing our sins to God and offering our lives for God’s glory and by sharing God’s love with everyone around us without discriminating against anyone based on color, race, culture, religion, lifestyle, wealth, or social status.
Scripture lessons summarized:
The word Vayikra (the Hebrew name of the Book of Leviticus) means that God called Moses and His chosen people to holiness and purity. That is why the first reading teaches the theme of freedom from bodily and ritual impurity as a sign of internal holiness. This freedom is symbolized by the precautions against contracting leprosy given in the first reading and by the healing of the leper described in the Gospel.
The first reading shows the ancient Jewish attitude toward leprosy and gives the rules for the segregation of lepers. This provides a background for Jesus’ healing of a leper. In Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 32), the psalmist says: “I confessed my faults to the LORD, and You took away my guilt.” He teaches us that we become holy by confessing our sins and being reconciled with God every day. The psalm serves as a mini treatise on reconciliation, covering the meaning of the spiritual leprosy of sin and showing how we are forgiven by a Sacramental encounter with God: “I turn to You, Lord, in times of trouble, and You fill me with the joy of salvation.”
In today’s second reading, St. Paul exhorts us to become holy by doing “everything for the glory of God” and by showing sensitivity toward others who are different from us, rather than passing judgment on them. In today’s Gospel we find a description of how Jesus heals a leper, liberating him both from the disease of leprosy and from the unjust, inhuman social, ritual, and religious isolation and ostracism to which lepers were subjected.
Life messages:
1) We need to trust in the mercy of a forgiving God who assures us that our sins are forgiven and that we are clean. We are forgiven and made spiritually clean from the spiritual leprosy of sins when we repent of our sins, because God is a God of love Who waits patiently for us. The only condition required of us is that we ask for forgiveness with a repentant heart. We are sure to hear His words of absolution, “Very well — your sins are forgiven, and you are clean,” echoed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
2) We need to tear down the walls that separate us from others and build bridges of loving relationship. Jesus calls every one of us to demolish the walls that separate us from each other and to welcome the outcasts and the untouchables of society. These include homosexuals, the imprisoned, AIDS victims, alcoholics, drug addicts and marginalized groups – the divorced, the unmarried-single mothers, migrant workers, and the mentally ill. God’s loving hand must reach out to them through us. Jesus wants us to touch their lives.
Let us re-examine the barriers we have created and approach God with a heart that is ready to welcome the outcasts in our society.
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