Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 74
7 FEB 2021 A.D.



Reading I
Jb 7:1-4, 6-7

Job spoke, saying:
Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?
   Are not his days those of hirelings?
He is a slave who longs for the shade,
   a hireling who waits for his wages.
So I have been assigned months of misery,
   and troubled nights have been allotted to me.
If in bed I say, “When shall I arise?”
   then the night drags on;
   I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.
My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle;
   they come to an end without hope.
Remember that my life is like the wind;
   I shall not see happiness again.



Responsorial Psalm
Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.

Praise the LORD, for he is good;
   sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
   it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
   the dispersed of Israel he gathers.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.

He heals the brokenhearted
   and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
   he calls each by name.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
   to his wisdom there is no limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
   the wicked he casts to the ground.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.



Reading II
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23

Brothers and sisters:
If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense?
That, when I preach,
I offer the gospel free of charge
so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.



Alleluia
Mt 8:17
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.



Gospel
Mk 1:29-39

On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, he left
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come.”
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

Overview of the Gospel:

• This Sunday’s Gospel picks up where last week’s Gospel reading left off—Jesus leaving the
synagogue where he taught with authority and healed a demoniac (Mark 1:21-28).

• Upon arriving at the Capernaum home of Simon Peter and Andrew (which would also become
the home and base of Jesus’ ministry), Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever by coming
near to her, grasping her hand, and helping her up (verse 31. The RSVCE has “lifted”). The
Greek word used here—egari—is the same word used elsewhere in Mark when alluding to
Jesus’ Resurrection (Mark 14:28; 16:6) and perhaps, by implication, to ours at the end of time.

• Because of the remarkable events at the synagogue earlier in the day, “the whole town”
comes to him to be healed of their illnesses and be freed of demons. As he did elsewhere, he
forbade these last to broadcast his identity (Mark 3:12).

• After spending the entire evening healing and casting out demons, Jesus rises “very early”
Sunday morning to pray. The gospels all show Jesus praying at critical moments of his
ministry (Matthew 26:39; Mark 6:46; Luke 3:1, 6:12, 9:29). Jesus practices what he preaches
about the value of solitary prayer (Matthew 6:5-6; CCC 2602).

• After being told by the disciples that the crowds are clamoring for him, Jesus, instead of
basking in his popularity, decides to move on to elsewhere in the area to preach (verse 38).

• Preaching is also the mission he will give to his Apostles (Mark 3:14, 16:15) as it is the method
selected by God to effect salvation (1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; Romans 10:14-17).
[courtesy: Vince Contreras - "Sunday Scripture Study for Catholics"]


‘To pray is talk with God. But about what?’ About what? About him, about yourself: about joys, sorrows, successes and failures, noble ambitions, daily worries, weaknesses! And acts of thanksgiving and petitions; and love and reparation. In a word: to get to know Him and to get to know yourself: ‘to get acquainted!’ ~St. Josemaria Escriva

Thanks!

Our pleasure, bigsapper!

Me and my two other Catholic Partners who put it together each week.

It's a OH-TX-AL combo!