Pope’s Intention for January

Evangelization - Promotion of World Peace

Peace We pray that Christians, followers of other religions, and all people of goodwill may promote peace and justice in the world.

Our greatest gain is to lose the wealth that is of such brief duration and, by comparison with eternal things, of such little worth; yet we get upset about it and our gain turns to loss.

St. Teresa of Avila

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).

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: January 26th

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

MASS READINGS

January 26, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Almighty ever-living God, direct our actions according to your good pleasure, that in the name of your beloved Son we may abound in good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Old Calendar: Third Sunday after Epiphany

As He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And He said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zeb'edee and John his brother, in the boat with Zeb'edee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Pope Francis on 30 September 2019 has directed that the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time should be observed as the Sunday of the Word of God. In a motu proprio entitled Aperuit Illis, the Holy Father said that the annual date should be “devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the Word of God.”

Today is the feast of Sts. Timothy & Titus which is superseded by the Sunday Liturgy.

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 9:1-4. This reading is another prophecy, concerning the messianic days, given by Isaiah in the eighth century B.C. It describes the new era of liberty and joy, which the future Messiah will usher in.

The second reading is from the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 1:10-13, 17. St. Paul corrects the Corinthians for the pride that was causing them to form factions and divisions.

The Gospel is from St. Matthew 4:12-23. The prophet Isaiah announced a future of liberation and great joy for all of Galilee, through the image of light that dispels the darkness in which the people walk. The Gospel, quoting verbatim the same passage of the prophet Isaiah, presents Jesus as the Light thus fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy. He is the light that was promised to dispel the darkness of sin and to free man from the obscurity in which he is enclosed.

The light becomes an efficacious means to express God’s involvement in human history. God manifests Himself as ‘The Light’ that disperses the darkness. The light illuminates, encircles, defines things, emphasises the colours and gives depth to space. The light heartens and comforts: to be in an enlightened place helps us to accept reality for what it is and makes one feel happier, more certain and protected.

God’s initiative with regard to men permits them to have a renewed relationship with reality. In God’s light everything assumes a new significance, its authentic and definitive meaning. A light which illuminates gives strength and permits the disclosure of the universe and man. This is why, after saying, ‘on those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone’ (Is 9:1), the text adds, ‘you have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing’ (Is 9:2).

A joy and happiness that became real in Jesus’ presence. He is the promised light that has come into our midst, His physical presence that expresses the definitive arrival of the Light. The light that shines brightly marks God’s initiative performing His first merciful and free step towards a wounded humanity.

This dynamic is expressed through Jesus call of the first Apostles. He chooses them with an unequivocal call, ‘Follow Me’. Faced with God’s sudden interruption in their lives He invited them to abandon the nets and trust themselves totally to the Lord for a new ‘catch’, a new definitive horizon. At the Last Supper, the end of His earthly life, Jesus reminds His disciples ‘you did not choose me, no, I chose you’ (Jn 15:16).

This Sunday’s Gospel invites us to remember that our personal vocation is founded on God’s original and absolutely free choice. His invitation towards us, therefore, is an invitation to make a final decision to let Him conquer or re-conquer us to mark a turning point in our lives.

Let us ask the Lord, for us and the whole Church, for the gift of a true conversion of our hearts enabling us to receive Christ as the only Light to follow. Christ is the only one that really dispels the darkness within and around us.

From the Congregation for the Clergy

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Day 5: Everything has become new (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Paul encountered Christ, the risen Lord, and became a renewed person—just as everyone does who believes in Christ. This new creation is not visible to the naked eye. Instead it is a reality of faith. God lives in us by the power of the Holy Spirit and lets us share in the life of the Trinity.

Vatican Resources

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Isaiah 8:23–9:3

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. (Isaiah 9:1)

On September 30 of last year, Pope Francis issued a letter declaring that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time was to be set aside every year as the “Sunday of the Word of God.” The Holy Father urged pastors to celebrate this day with special homilies, added reverence to the Scriptures in Mass, and by encouraging us to take up the Scriptures anew and find in them the treasures of God’s word for our lives.

In his letter, Pope Francis spoke about how we cannot read the Bible in the same way we read any other book. “Since faith comes from hearing,” he wrote, “and what is heard is based on the word of Christ, believers are bound to listen attentively to the word of the Lord, both in the celebration of the liturgy and in their personal prayer and reflection” (Aperuit Illis, 7).

This “attentive listening” means asking the Holy Spirit, who has inspired the Scriptures, to breathe life into the words we read. It means trying to silence the other voices in our minds and quiet our anxious hearts so that we can hear God’s voice speaking to us. As Pope Francis wrote, “Without the work of the Spirit, there would always be a risk of remaining limited to the written text alone.” But as we take in God’s word prayerfully, it becomes for us “the living word of God, experienced and handed down in the faith of his holy people” (9).

God has a message just for you today, and that message may well be embedded in the readings you will hear at Mass. It will be something personal and inspiring. No one else will hear these readings in exactly the same way that you will. No one else will receive exactly the same message that you will. So practice the attentive listening that Pope Francis described. What is he saying to you? How will the “great light” of God’s word shine in your heart today (Isaiah 9:1)?

“Come, Holy Spirit! Open my ears and my heart to your word today.”

Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
Matthew 4:12-23

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for January 26, 2020:

“I urge you, brothers and sisters…that there be no divisions among you.” (1 Cor 1:10) Husbands and wives united in love are a great gift to the world! Consider those things that divide you and your spouse: old grudges or disagreements. Ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of unity.

Pastor’s Column

3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 26, 2020

We are haunted by these first gospels of the new liturgical year. Jesus has emerged from the obscurity of his home in Nazareth to proclaim Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand! (Matthew 4:12-23). How in the world could Jesus state that the Kingdom was imminent--at hand--when in fact we have been waiting now for 2000 years!?

The people who lived at the time of Christ were receiving an opportunity that no human being before or since has ever quite experienced …. God Almighty, in the person of Jesus Christ, literally walked among them. He was only to live three more years; so, if Jesus called, they had better not miss their chance. Each day of our lives contains hidden opportunities to grow in character and faith. Peter, James, John and Andrew had to say yes when Jesus passed by. They recognized in that critical moment an opportunity that would never come again.

The Kingdom of God is at hand for us as well. The Kingdom of God, at present, is within us but none of us knows how long we have to prepare. When we die, we are immediately confronted with the absolute truth about ourselves and God’s constant love for us. Now is the time to prepare to enter the Kingdom, to be ready! Each day is a dress rehearsal for eternity and God makes use of every event, whether pleasant, unpleasant or even tragic, to prepare us.

The Lord serves up a daily banquet to us, a table literally filled with all kinds of rich foods, a feast which is called the Will of God. At times we are required to suffer intensely. Other moments are filled with great joy; still others, opportunities to serve. We are challenged to step out in faith. We are caught in traffic and must practice patience. We have relatives, co-workers, classmates or friends that bug us. These are all precious opportunities to allow the Holy Spirit to prepare us for eternity.

Can you imagine Simon and Andrew not listening to the call of Jesus as he passed by? There they were, fishing, and Jesus spoke “words” that changed their lives—Come, follow me. So, we too, must be ready to hear the Lord when he calls. This is why we pray every day, attend Mass on Sunday, and pay attention to how we treat the people around us. God is likely to call at a time we are not expecting, and we must be ready, or we will miss the opportunity that God has given us. Such a prospect is haunting indeed.

Father Gary

History Redeemed: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflections from Scott Hahn

Download Audio File

The Calling of the Apostles, Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1481-1482Readings:
Isaiah 8:23–9:3
Psalm 27:1, 4, 13–14
1 Corinthians 1:10–13, 17
Matthew 4:12–23

Today’s Liturgy gives us a lesson in ancient Israelite geography and history.

Isaiah’s prophecy in today’s First Reading is quoted by Matthew in today’s Gospel. Both intend to recall the apparent fall of the everlasting kingdom promised to David (see 2 Samuel 7:12–13; Psalm 89; 132:11–12).

Eight centuries before Christ, that part of the kingdom where the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali lived was attacked by the Assyrians, and the tribes were hauled off into captivity (see 2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chronicles 5:26).

It marked the beginning of the kingdom’s end. It finally crumbled in the sixth century BC, when Jerusalem was seized by Babylon and the remaining tribes were driven into exile (see 2 Kings 24:14).

Isaiah prophesied that Zebulun and Naphtali, the lands first to be degraded, would be the first to see the light of God’s salvation. Jesus today fulfills that prophecy—announcing the restoration of David’s kingdom at precisely the spot where the kingdom began to fall.

His Gospel of the Kingdom includes not only the twelve tribes of Israel but all the nations—symbolized by the “Galilee of the Nations.” Calling His first disciples, two fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, He appoints them to be “fishers of men”—gathering people from the ends of the earth.

They are to preach the Gospel, Paul says in today’s Epistle, to unite all peoples in the same mind and in the same purpose—in a worldwide kingdom of God.

By their preaching, Isaiah’s promise has been delivered. A world in darkness has seen the light. Th e yoke of slavery and sin, borne by humanity since time began, has been smashed.

And we are able now, as we sing in today’s Psalm, to dwell in the house of the Lord, to worship Him in the land of the living.

Regnum Christi

January 26, 2020 – Immediate Responses to His Call

26 Jan 2020

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 4:12-23

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen”. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there, and saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and curing every disease and illness among the people.

Introductory Prayer: Jesus, what a beautiful day in the life of your disciples: you walked along the shore and called them! I wish to respond to your gentle call in the same way they did. I know that you will never lead me astray; rather, you will protect me and lead me home to heaven. Here I am Lord, at your service.

Petition: My dear Lord Jesus, help me follow you faithfully without weighing the cost.

Just Walking along the Shore: It might appear that Christ’s meeting his first disciples was a chance encounter: He was out walking and saw them. The overall context tells us much more. John was in prison, and Jesus knew his time had come. A significant part of his mission for the next three years would be to teach and form his apostles. These apostles had been selected by Divine Providence since the beginning of time, and now the call to them was made. These were not chance encounters. Jesus knew who he wanted and what he would ask of them. He also knows each of us and what he wants from each of us. His love and attention are entirely personal and very important to him.
A Simple Call: When Jesus engages the rich young man later in his life (cf. Matthew 19:16-22), the conversation is much more involved than the brief meetings in today’s Gospel. Here, Jesus approaches and asks the four men to follow him. It is simple, and it is brief. Many other steps in their mission will be made known later. For now: “Follow me!” We cannot spend our lives waiting for God’s call to do something great. In the process we might miss the many simple calls of everyday life: calls to be more charitable with our friends and family, calls to be more patient with our children, calls to be more generous in helping a neighbor in need. Be generous in the small things, and then we will be generous in the greater things.
They Left Everything: The disciples’ response was heroic. They followed immediately, totally and joyfully. What is my attitude to God’s will in my life? His will is made known to me through the norms and laws of his Church and through the indications of my superiors or parents. Do I respond selflessly? Or do I count the cost and negotiate a deal before I follow him? “What can I get out of this?” I will get an eternity of bliss only if I generously follow him.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, I need to understand better that you desire a personal and intimate relationship with me like. What can I do to show better my gratitude for your call? For your graces? Help me see that it makes a difference to you how I respond. To you I am not a number or a statistic. I am a soul for which you died.

Resolution: Today I will deal with others in a way consistent with my condition as an adopted child of God. I will avoid any pettiness or selfishness in responding to the requests of others.

Do We Promptly Respond to Christ’s Call?

Gayle Somers

“When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew to Galilee.” Danger drove Jesus into a land that historically had known great danger and grave sorrow. Why?

Gospel (Read Mt 4:12-23)

St. Matthew tells us that when John the Baptist fell into Herod’s hands, Jesus decided to leave Jerusalem. Surely He read the signs of the official hostility that would eventually be aimed at Him, too. As He began His public ministry, He had much work to do. It was not the time for Him to be arrested, so He left for the northern region of Galilee, away from Herod’s grasp.

Jesus’ decision to head north was not the result of figuring out on a map how many miles He could put between Himself and danger. St. Matthew says that He went to live in Capernaum with purposeful intention, “that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled.” The region of Galilee, the “land of Zebulun and Napthtali,” had significance in the history of Israel. Those two tribes were part of the group of ten tribes that had rebelled against the rule of King Solomon’s son, against the house of David. They set up their own kingdom in the north, called “Israel,” with their own temple and worship in Samaria. The two southern tribes of Benjamin and Judah remained under Davidic rule and were known as the southern kingdom of Judah.

This division led to great apostasy in the north. Their rejection of the covenant was so radical that it ended with God’s great judgment against them, accomplished through conquest by their enemies, the Assyrians, in the 8^th century B.C. The region of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali was the very first to feel the ravages of the Assyrian attack, where many were killed or sent into exile. In addition, foreign people from other conquered lands were brought in by the Assyrians to intermarry with the remaining Israelites. A thorough corruption of the northern kingdom meant that the ten northern tribes were effectively lost.

St. Matthew wants us to remember this dark history as he recounts a prophecy from Isaiah for God’s future restoration of all that was lost to Him when His people rebelled and had to be punished: “the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.” Someday, God would visit His people with salvation—with forgiveness, healing, and renewal. Isaiah says this great visitation would begin in the very place that was first lost, which was “the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.” Galilee was the northernmost area of Israel; thus, it was neighbor to Gentile lands. It was the place where the light had first gone out in Israel. This is the exact spot where Jesus wanted to begin His preaching ministry: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The Light of restoration, the Voice that would call all Israel—north and south—back to God had arrived.

We see the effect of Jesus’ preaching right away. Simple fishermen—Peter, Andrew, James, John—doing their ordinary daily work heard the Voice and left everything to follow Him. This is a beautiful reversal of the rebellious spirit that had created the northern kingdom in the first place. Then, Jesus “went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.”

He was the living fulfillment of God’s promise: “On those overshadowed by death, light has arisen.”

Possible response: Lord Jesus, the fishermen responded promptly to You when they heard You preach. Please help me to be willing to stop everything and do the same when I hear You today.

First Reading (Read Isa 8:23-9:3)

Here is the passage in Isaiah from which St. Matthew quotes in the Gospel to explain why Jesus headed for Galilee when the danger to Him in Jerusalem was too great. Reading it, we can begin to understand the historical importance of this move. With the arrival of Jesus and in His public ministry, “Anguish has taken wing, dispelled its darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress.” If we think of Jesus’ appearance as Israel’s Messiah in the geographic location of God’s covenant people as a prefiguring of the work He left heaven to do on behalf of the whole word, we can see how beautifully it is summed up in these words from Isaiah: “For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster You have smashed.” Mankind’s “taskmaster” is not the Assyrians but God’s primordial enemy, Satan. When Jesus appeared within human history calling all to repentance and thus transforming lives diseased by sin, He showed Himself to be Isaiah’s promised Victor.

“You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing.”

Possible response: Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to break our taskmaster’s hold on us. Help me resist the enemy’s temptation to succumb to it again.

Psalm (Read Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14)

This psalm is a song full of the expectation of deliverance. It could have been sung by those to whom God, through Isaiah, promised a future joy. It can now be sung by us as we also must wait for God’s full deliverance from sin, death, and the devil. The first “installment” on this promised deliverance began with Jesus’ preaching in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. It will be completed when He returns to this earth as King and Victor: “I believe that I will see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.” In the meantime, we sing: “The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other readings. Read it again prayerfully to make it your own.

Second Reading (Read 1 Cor 1:10-13, 17)

St. Paul, in writing to the Christians in Corinth, urges them to live in unity: “I urge you, brothers and sisters … that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.” He had heard about divisions in the community there. People were dividing into rival groups behind the names of Paul, Apollos, or Cephas. St. Paul is deeply troubled by this, because he knows that the hallmark of what Jesus came to do was to make one the people of God. It was for that reason that He had begun His public ministry in Galilee. He didn’t want Israel to live as a divided kingdom, north and south, again. All the covenant people would now follow one Light, the true heir to David’s throne and only Son of God. St. Paul understood how foolish and dangerous divisions are in the Body of Christ. He was appalled to think any would congregate in his name: “Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”

Jesus lived, died, and rose again to restore unity to the family of man through reconciliation with God. Personal division and rivalry among His followers unravels His marvelous work. In contrast to “human eloquence,” which is often very effective in creating “followings” that lead to division, St. Paul reminds us of the stark reality of the Cross of Christ. None but Jesus has died for our sin. When we cleave to this dramatic truth, we will not empty the Cross of its meaning by personal rivalries and divisions.

Possible response: St. Paul, pray for the Church to preserve the unity Jesus won for us. We know our calling is to follow a Person, not personalities.

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 36, Issue 1

<< Sunday, January 26, 2020 >>

3rd Sunday Ordinary Time

Isaiah 8:23�9:3
1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
View Readings

Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
Matthew 4:12-23
Similar Reflections

THERE'S NOBODY LIKE JESUS

"Reform your lives! The kingdom of heaven is at hand." �Matthew 4:17

Jesus was walking along a part of the shore of the Sea of Galilee used by commercial fishing businesses. He commanded two brothers to follow Him and leave behind their business, livelihood, families, and the only way of life they had ever known. They obeyed Jesus' command immediately (Mt 4:20). That this was not a fluke is attested by the fact that Jesus did the same thing at another commercial fishing business and two other brothers also left everything to follow Jesus (Mt 4:22).

There is something special about Jesus. His words are "spirit and life" (Jn 6:63), and His actions are the most powerful. For example, He didn't simply cure some diseases, He "cured the people of every disease and illness" (Mt 4:23). Jesus spoke, did, and was the Good News, that is, the Gospel. Jesus inaugurated a whole, new way of governing life. He called it the kingdom of God (see Mt 4:23).

When Jesus was crucified and murdered, "the gospel of the kingdom" seemed to have been defeated. Yet Jesus rose on the third day and showed that His Good News was stronger than death and that His kingdom would last forever (1 Cor 15:4; Lk 1:33). What are you waiting for? Follow Jesus and leave all else behind now.

Prayer: Father, may I be madly in love with Jesus.

Promise: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone." —Is 9:1

Praise: "He said to them: 'Thus it is written that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead on the third day' " (Lk 24:46). Praise the risen Jesus!