The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

Saint André Bessette, Religious (Optional Memorial)

[Jesus] left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum. (Matthew 4:13)

Finally, Jesus’ hidden life has come to an end. Through his baptism and his time of fasting in the desert, his mission has come into clearer focus. So now what?

We might expect Jesus to journey south to the capital city of Jerusalem. The educated, the pious, the highborn, the political leaders—most of them were in Jerusalem. Surely they would be the most likely to welcome his message. But Jesus headed north instead, into Zebulun and Naphtali, “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Matthew 4:15).

As usual, Jesus does the opposite of what we might expect. Zebulun and Naphtali were the first of the Israeli territories to succumb to invasion by Assyria eight centuries before the birth of Jesus. By Jesus’ time, the Jews there had blended in with the various pagan peoples in their midst. In this hodgepodge of humanity, there were few religious experts. Just fishermen and craftsmen keeping the faith as best they could in the midst of challenge and hardship. It was these folks who had the privilege of first hearing Jesus’ proclamation that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. It was the ones who had suffered the most, those who most needed to hear good news—and who least expected it.

Isn’t that the way God often reaches out to us? Yes, he faithfully meets us in “Jerusalem,” in our religious moments and practices. But he also delights in entering into our “Galilee of the Gentiles,” the places where we have been defeated or disappointed, the places of our loss and resentment, all the wounded places that can so easily become breeding grounds for sin and division.

This means we shouldn’t just expect to see Jesus while we are at church or doing a service project. He comes to us as we weep over the loss of a friend. He comes to us when we are fuming over a perceived insult or gloating over a hard-fought victory against a competitor. He shares everyday life with us—the traffic frustrations, the joys of family, all the misunderstandings and successes. Yes, Jesus’ kingdom is at hand. It’s right here, right where we are.

“Jesus, help me see your kingdom at hand, not just in sacred moments, but throughout my day.”

1 John 3:22–4:6
Psalm 2:7-8, 10-12