One  must be looking inward and be concerned with what’s inside the heart.

We battle with ourselves, it is easier to be angry with others than with ourselves.

In the Gospel, Jesus said “Nothing that enters one from the outside can defile that person;

but the things that come from the things that come out from within are what defile.” Purity is from within.

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

1st Reading: 1 Kings 10:1-10

The queen of Sheba

 According to the law of Moses,

“Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout.

when Jesus' parents brought in the child. He came into the temple; the Holy Spirit was upon him.

He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”  

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Malachi 3:1-4

Ps 24:7, 8, 9, 10 Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!

They could only find fault with everything Jesus and his disciples were doing. instead of softening their heart with love!

The real battle ground for good and evil is not in our external acts but inside our heart that decides.

For when their heart is pure, all actions emanating from it is good.

St. Paul Miki & Companions, martyrs

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30

Then Solomon stood

 Jesus sends his disciples on a Journey, they will learn how to travel light and with others,

carrying only what is most essential; how to enter the lives of others and exit.

Nothing else counts ultimately in the journey, reall, the most essential thing to succeed in this life is fidelity to God. 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12

When David was about to die,

Compare the majesty, grandeur, and the awe-inspiring presence of God in the Ark that Solomon brought to Jerusalem,

with the simplicity, ordinariness, familiarity, down-to-earthiness Jesus displays in rubbing shoulders with the people around him!

If the Ark evoked fear and trembling, and no one dared to touch the Ark because touching the Ark could get them killed,

“God-with-Us”, the Ark becoming Flesh, to dwell amidst us.

St. Agatha, virgin & martyr

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13

Then Solomon assembled

Lord, there are depths in each of us, even those we think we know well, that only you can glimpse.

Jesus wisdom of Jesus came from heaven and earth.

Opposition never stopped Jesus, he went ahead.

The audience’s “astonishment” at Jesus’ “wisdom” the amazement immediately turned negative.

a prophet is not honoured by the people who have known him from birth.

St. John Bosco, priest

 1st Reading: 2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17

The king said to Joab and

 Lord, we need your healing but even more, we need a relationship with you.

We want to know you as Lord with deeper faith so that we can make you known to others also.

Pope Francis, in his Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, reminds us of the reality that no one is saved alone.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Job 7:1-4, 6-7

Man's life on earth

『Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move mountains.』

The concept of faith is central to this passage, the link between faith and miracles is important for Mark.

“Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake.”

” Only empathy can cross over to “the other side”

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30-19:3

 Ps 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 Listen, Lord, and answer me.

 Jesus decides to a secluded place.

They need to renew themselves by resting.

Mission is not just about works and activities. Rest is part of doing mission.

Jesus knows the rejuvenating power of rest.

Blessed Virgin Mary St. Blaise, bishop & martyr

St. Ansgar, bishop

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

1 Kings 3:4-13

The king used to sacrifice at Gibeon,

 He was ‘Pharmakos,’

Jesus liberating him upset the carefully calibrated societal balance: who would now bear for them their inner demons?

Called "Legion" A man from the tombs. For Jews, tombs were an unclean place.

We cannot hope to win the spiritual warfare against Satan and his demons by our own power.

He is stronger than we are and smarter than we are. If we rely on ourselves, we will lose.

We have to rely on the Lord who is stronger than He is.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13

Ps 3:2-3, 4-5, 6-7   Lord, rise up and save me.