Our Lady Of The Way Primary School

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Address: 19 Green Ave, Kingsbury Vic 3083

Phone: (03) 9460 6684



GOSPEL 01 JUL 2018

First Reading: A reading from the book of Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24

It was the devil's envy that brought death into the world.

Death was not God's doing, he takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living.

To be - for this he created all; the world's created things have health in them, in them no fatal poison can be found, and Hades holds no power on earth; for virtur is undying.

Yet God did make men inperishable, he made him in the image of his own nature; it was the devil's envy that brought death into the world, as those who are his partners will discover.

This is the word of the Lord

Second Reading: A reading from the Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 2Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15

Your abundance should supply their want.

You always have the most of everything - of faith, of eloquence, of understanding, of keenness for any cause and the biggest share of our affection - so we expect you to put the most into this work of mercy too. Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was: he was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty. This does not mean that to give relief to others you ought to make things difficult for yourselves: it is a question of balancing what happens to be your surplus now against their present need, and one day they may have something to spare that will supply your own need. That is how we strike a balance: as scripture says: The man who gathered much had none too much, the man who gathered little did not go short.

This is the word of the Lord.

Gospel Reaing: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark Mk 5:21-43

Young girl, I say to you, arise.

God, who formed us in His imperishable image, did not intend for us to die, we hear in today's First Reading. Death entered the world through the devil's envy and Adam and Eve's sin; as a result, we are all bound to die.

But in the moving story in today's Gospel, we see Jesus liberate a little girl from the possession of death.

On one level, Mark is recounting an event that led the disciples to understand Jesus' authority and power over even the final enemy, death (see 1 Corinthians 15:26). On another level, however, this episode is written to strengthen our hope that we too will be raised from the dead, along with all our loved ones who sleep in Christ (see 1 Corinthians 15:18).

Jesus commands the girl to "Arise!" - using the same Greek word used to describe His own resurrection (see Mark 16:6). And the consoling message of today's Gospel is that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. If we believe in Him, even though we die, we will live (see John 15:25-26).

We are called to have the same faith as the parents in the Gospel today - praying for our loved ones, trusting in Jesus' promise that even death cannot keep us apart. Notice the parents follow Him even though those in their own house tell them there is no hope, and even though others ridicule Jesus' claim that the dead have only fallen asleep (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

Already in baptism, we've been raised to new life in Christ. And the Eucharist, like the food given to the little girl today, is the pledge that He will raise us on the last day.

We should rejoice, as we sing in today's Psalm, that He has brought us up from the netherworld, the pit of death. And, as Paul exhorts in today's Epistle, we should offer our lives in thanksgiving for this gracious act, imitating Christ in our love and generosity for others.

 
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