Jan 15 Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

 Jan 15 Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Gospel in Art: A leper came to Jesus, imploring him https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/54135

Reading of the day

A reading from the Book of Samuel

4:1-11

The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel.

Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,

while the Philistines camped at Aphek.

The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.

After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,

who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.

When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said

“Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today

by the Philistines?

Let us fetch the ark of the Lord from Shiloh

that it may go into battle among us

and save us from the grasp of our enemies.”

So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there

the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim.

The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.

When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,

all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.

The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked,

“What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?”

On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,

the Philistines were frightened.

They said, “Gods have come to their camp.”

They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us!

Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?

These are the gods that struck the Egyptians

with various plagues and with pestilence.

Take courage and be manly, Philistines;

otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews,

as they were your slaves.

So fight manfully!”

The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;

every man fled to his own tent.

It was a disastrous defeat,

.in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.

The ark of God was captured,

and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.

Gospel of the day

From the Gospel according to Mark

1:40-45

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,

“If you wish, you can make me clean.”

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,

touched the leper, 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.

Then 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.

The words of the Popes

Thus, from the very beginning, Jesus shows his predilection for people suffering in body and in spirit: it is a predilection of Jesus to draw near to people who suffer both in body and in spirit. It is the Father’s predilection, which he incarnates and manifests with deeds and words. His disciples were eyewitnesses to this; they saw this and then witnessed to it. But Jesus did not want them to be mere spectators of his mission: he involved them; he sent them; he also gave them the power to heal the sick and cast out demons (cf. Mt 10:1; Mk 6:7). And this has continued without interruption in the life of the Church, until today. And this is important. Taking care of the sick of every kind is not an “optional activity” for the Church, no! It is not something extra, no. Taking care of the sick of every kind is an integral part of the Church’s mission, as it was for Jesus. And this mission is to bring God’s tenderness to a suffering humanity.  (Pope Francis - Angelus,  14 February 2021)