The Lord our God sees and hears everything, He knows even what is hidden in our heart. Why do we think we can hide from Him? The blood of those we murder, cries out to Him and justice must be served. Like in the case of Abel, and now in the case of Uriah! Do we think we will escape punishment, if the murders are bloodless? As in gossip, untruths, burning down reputations with our fiery tongues!
Let us bow down before Him in repentance, seek His will for us and do our penance as He sees fit. So that we can be free to live fully in His love.
For Jesus is Lord and God! His mercy endures forever!
Let us sing the first verse and chorus of this wonderful hymn together, as we dwell deeper on today’s Gospel…
I, the Lord of sea and sky
I have heard my people cry
All who dwell in dark and sin
My hand will save
I have made the stars of night
I will make their darkness bright
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night
I will go, Lord
If You lead me
I will hold Your people in my heart
Amen
Saint Angela Merici, pray for us
________
First reading
2 Samuel 12:1-7,10-17
David’s penitence over Uriah
The Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David. He came to him and said:
‘In the same town were two men, one rich, the other poor.
The rich man had flocks and herds in great abundance; the poor man had nothing but a ewe lamb, one only, a small one he had bought.
This he fed, and it grew up with him and his children, eating his bread, drinking from his cup, sleeping on his breast; it was like a daughter to him.
When there came a traveller to stay, the rich man refused to take one of his own flock or herd to provide for the wayfarer who had come to him.
Instead he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.’
David’s anger flared up against the man. ‘As the Lord lives,’ he said to Nathan ‘the man who did this deserves to die! He must make fourfold restitution for the lamb, for doing such a thing and showing no compassion.’
Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man. So now the sword will never be far from your House, since you have shown contempt for me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.”
‘Thus the Lord speaks, “I will stir up evil for you out of your own House. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. You worked in secret, I will work this in the face of all Israel and in the face of the sun.”’
David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Then Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord, for his part, forgives your sin; you are not to die. Yet because you have outraged the Lord by doing this, the child that is born to you is to die.’ Then Nathan went home.
The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David and it fell gravely ill. David pleaded with the Lord for the child; he kept a strict fast and went home and spent the night on the bare ground, covered with sacking. The officials of his household came and stood round him to get him to rise from the ground, but he refused, nor would he take food with them.
________
Gospel
Mark 4:35-41
‘Even the wind and the sea obey him’
With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ They were filled with awe and said to one another, ‘Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’
CatholicJules.net 