The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
World Day of Prayer for the Sick.
"The LORD God called to Adam and asked him, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself."
"Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"
"The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me—
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it."
"The LORD God then asked the woman,
"Why did you do such a thing?"
"The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."
"Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
"Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
"I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
He will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel."
"To the woman he said:
"I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing;
in pain shall you bring forth children.
Yet your urge shall be for your husband,
and he shall be your master."
"To the man he said: "Because you listened to your wife
and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat,
"Cursed be the ground because of you!
In toil shall you eat its yield
all the days of your life.
Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
shall you get bread to eat,
Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken;
For you are dirt,
and to dirt you shall return."
"The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living.
"For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments, with which he clothed them.
"Then the LORD God said: "See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is evil!
Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand
to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever."
"The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken.
When he expelled the man,
he settled him east of the garden of Eden; and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword,
to guard the way to the tree of life." (Genesis 3: 9 - 24).
Saturday February 11th 2023 in the 5th Week of Ordinary Time is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. This feast marks the apparitions of Our Blessed Mother Mary to St Bernadette Soubirous. It is also the World Day of Prayers for the Sick.
Pope John Paul II instituted February 11 as the World Day of Prayer for the Sick.
In the first Reading, the Lord said to Satan in the Garden:
"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;
He will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel."
God's intention in creation was not that humans will die of poisons and illnesses. Death was the work of the Devil. About the Fall, our Redemption was prophesied in Genesis 3: 15.
We see the Blessed Virgin Mary literally fullfilling this prophecy in Lourdes in the feast of today.
Lourdes in France became a place of healing. People from all nations and faith have experienced physical, spiritual and emotional healing in Lourdes.
The Responsorial Psalm 90 expresses well our faith and gratitude.
"In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge." We are comforted by the truth that in every change in life, God remains faithful.
Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com
