Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 77
14 FEB 2021 A.D.


Reading I
Lv 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.”



Responsorial Psalm
Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11

R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.

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.



Reading II
1 Cor 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.



Alleluia
Lk 7:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst,
God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.



Gospel
Mk 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.



Overview of the Gospel:

~ This week Jesus continues his ministry throughout the Galilee region where we left him at the end of
last Sunday’s Gospel reading (Mark 1:39). In the midst of his ministry of preaching and healing, a man
afflicted with the degenerative skin disease of leprosy approaches him.

~ To be a leper in ancient times was to be a societal outcast. Among the Jews, lepers (and those who
came in contact with them) were considered to be ritually unclean, unable to participate in the religious
life of the community. One lived in degrading living conditions, often banding with other lepers and
depending on the pity of others for survival. To be afflicted with leprosy was considered a direct curse
from God (2 Kings 5:1ff; 2 Chronicles 26:19-20; Numbers 12:1-15).

~ Lepers were required to keep their distance from other people, instead calling out “Unclean! Unclean!”
(Leviticus 13:45-46) in warning. If not, they ran the risk of being driven away or stoned. This leper,
however, approaches Jesus and throws himself at his feet. Instead of being repelled, Jesus is “moved
with pity”—one of the very few times in the Scriptures Jesus is described in this way. Jesus touches the
man and heals him.

~ After the man is made clean, Jesus orders him not to make known what he has done for him. Instead,
the man so enthusiastically spreads the good news, Jesus finds it impossible to remain in towns and
villages, instead (like the leper) being forced to stay in deserted places where people nonetheless
continue to flock to him.


"This man prostrated himself on the ground, as a sign of humility and shame, to teach each of us to be ashamed of the stains of his life. But shame should not prevent us from confessing: the leper showed his wound and begged for healing. “If You will”, he says, “You can make me clean”; that is, he recognized that the Lord had the power to cure him."  ~St. Bede the Venerable

Thanks!

Thanks, Brother, bigsapper!

Stay warm with that daggone cold snap in Texas!

Balmy.    Highs have been subfreezing here for two or three weeks now.  It was 5°F on the way to Mass this morning.  It's actually quite beautiful.

True, true, Brother abnk -- but, you have to remember -- our Brothers in Texas ain't used to cold like we get regular-like!

It would be like you and me in the Midwest having a 120* day in Summer! RARE!

bigsapper --I feel for you, Brother! Padre Island in the 30*s -Yikes!

Here's our weather for tonight: (YAWN!) Get the snow blower dusted off and the 4 WD P/U gassed up.  big whoop....hey, it's Ohio....in the Winter


The weather in Ohio these days -TUT! TUT! No big deal these days.

As a kid, I remember the OH National Guard pulling our old city buses out of blizzards with M47 Patton tanks! No kidding!

It's supposed to be in the high 20s tomorrow morning.

They are (rightfully) freaking out down here. This is going to kill a lot of citrus crops in the Rio Grande Valley.

ETA: A transformer (or 2) just blew a little north of us on the island. We still have power but a good chunk lost power.

I would melt in that.  Will pray that TX agriculture does not suffer long-term or significant damage from this.

It's cold in Lubbock, even by local standards. Moreover, our house in Graham is likewise taking a hit, and I don't even want to think about our ranch land. We lease the feeding rights to a local rancher, and these days are interesting for him.

Now, my folks in the RGV are also feeling the cold like you're feeling it at SPI. God Bless you Sap, and stay warm!

Ay carumba! what a day.

Woke up to no power this morning. Moved to a hotel this afternoon. It'll warm up enough tomorrow that we'll go back to our condo regardless of the power situation.

Daughter lost power a few hours back so is heading to our house (maybe) to stay there. We seem to have rolling blackouts happening at the house with regularity. But there is power and we have a gas powered fireplace.

Brother has been without power all day. Took his wife & FIL to Kroger to try to warm up. FIL fell and broke his hip.


Prayers.