Reading with Delight
There is no audio/podcast for today’s reading & meditation.
Friday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Mark 12:35-37- As Jesus was teaching in the temple area he said, “How do the scribes claim that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said:
The Lord said to my lord,
‘Sit at my right hand
until I place your enemies under your feet.’
David himself calls him ‘lord’; so how is he his son?” The great crowd heard this with delight.
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“The great crowd heard this with delight.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
There is a large amount of very bad Scripture scholarship today, and some very good Scripture scholarship. So, when Christians go looking for guidance in reading Scripture from educated Protestant and Catholic scholars, they might find truly great help, or they might find false, harmful ideas. When approaching Scripture it is helpful to understand that Sacred Scripture comes from the Catholic Church and is meant to be used by her members. It is one of the two ways the apostles and their successors pass on the life and teachings of Christ. The other way is by Sacred Tradition. If we want truly to understand the Scriptures, we must read them in light of the Church’s Tradition.
To grasp the meaning of Scripture, the Church says three principles are key: 1) we will understand each individual verse or story much better if we understand it as part of the whole of Scripture; 2) we will understand Scripture better if we know that it is inseparable from Sacred Tradition and that together, Scripture and Tradition are two parts of one complete “deposit of faith”; 3) we will understand the parts of Scripture well when we see them as connected to God’s whole plan of revelation—especially the life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. (These principles are found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 109-114.) Jesus demonstrates these three principles perfectly in today’s Gospel. He calls upon the Old Testament events in the life of King David and gives them their full meaning by applying them to Himself. When we read Scripture the way Christ, through the Church, teaches us to read it, we, like the crowd in today’s Gospel, will read “with delight.” Christ makes everything in Scripture (actually everything in our reality) make sense.
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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