“BLESSED THE MAN WHO HAS PLACED HIS TRUST IN THE LORD” (Ps 40:5)

⏰Thursday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time 1 (23 Feb 2017)

????Sir 5:1-8; Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 (R. Ps 40:5ab); Mark 9:41-50

????”BLESSED THE MAN WHO HAS PLACED HIS TRUST IN THE LORD” (Ps 40:5)

Do you know anyone who brags with his wealth or position of authority or intelligence? He indeed needs some pity. This is because whatever we have is given to us by God for the service of others. When we allow those ephemerals to blow us up to the extent that we look down on others and see ourselves as demigods, we are surely missing the mark.

The book of Sirach warns us today that what we have and are can bring us doom. But that depends on how we use them. Do we use them to scandalise others?

The Greek term ‘skandalon’ is used to describe an obstacle that hinders progress. Our action or inaction can become an obstacle to others. If I do anything, it doesn’t matter if it is right or wrong, and people get affected by it, maybe to the extent that they stopped coming to Church, I have become a stumbling block for them.

This is a time for introspection. Is there anything I do that scandalizes people? Is it my relationship with women, money, or authority? Am I fond of being seen in wrong places, probably at wrong times too? No matter how much I might try to justify myself, I must try not to be an obstacle to the faith of others. The penalty is hell (cf. Mark 9:44).

God is not interested in the death of the wicked but that the wicked might repent and live (cf. Ezek 33:11). But if the wicked choose not to repent, he shall die (cf. Ezek 33:9).

Lord, we are in your hands, help us to overcome all temptation and bear true witness for you among our brethren. Amen.

Have a fulfilling day ahead. It is well with you.