Mark
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Mark 1
14.	And after that John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,	Postquam autem traditus est Joannes, venit Jesus in Galilæam, prædicans Evangelium regni Dei,	μετα δε το παραδοθηναι τον ιωαννην ηλθεν ο ιησους εις την γαλιλαιαν κηρυσσων το ευαγγελιον της βασιλειας του θεου
15.	And saying: The time is accomplished, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel.	et dicens : Quoniam impletum est tempus, et appropinquavit regnum Dei : pœnitemini, et credite Evangelio.	και λεγων οτι πεπληρωται ο καιρος και ηγγικεν η βασιλεια του θεου μετανοειτε και πιστευετε εν τω ευαγγελιω
16.	And passing by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother, casting nets into the sea (for they were fishermen).	Et præteriens secus mare Galilææ, vidit Simonem, et Andream fratrem ejus, mittentes retia in mare (erant enim piscatores),	περιπατων δε παρα την θαλασσαν της γαλιλαιας ειδεν σιμωνα και ανδρεαν τον αδελφον αυτου του σιμωνος βαλλοντας αμφιβληστρον εν τη θαλασση ησαν γαρ αλιεις
17.	And Jesus said to them: Come after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.	et dixit eis Jesus : Venite post me, et faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum.	και ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους δευτε οπισω μου και ποιησω υμας γενεσθαι αλιεις ανθρωπων
18.	And immediately leaving their nets, they followed him.	Et protinus relictis retibus, secuti sunt eum.	και ευθεως αφεντες τα δικτυα αυτων ηκολουθησαν αυτω
19.	And going on from thence a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were mending their nets in the ship:	Et progressus inde pusillum, vidit Jacobum Zebedæi, et Joannem fratrem ejus, et ipsos componentes retia in navi :	και προβας εκειθεν ολιγον ειδεν ιακωβον τον του ζεβεδαιου και ιωαννην τον αδελφον αυτου και αυτους εν τω πλοιω καταρτιζοντας τα δικτυα
20.	And forthwith he called them. And leaving their father Zebedee in the ship with his hired men, they followed him.	et statim vocavit illos. Et relicto patre suo Zebedæo in navi cum mercenariis, secuti sunt eum.	και ευθεως εκαλεσεν αυτους και αφεντες τον πατερα αυτων ζεβεδαιον εν τω πλοιω μετα των μισθωτων απηλθον οπισω αυτου

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Mark CHAP. 1

1:14–15

14. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God,

15. And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel.

PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. (Vict. Ant. e Cat. 1 Marc.) The Evangelist Mark follows Matthew in his order, and therefore after having said that Angels minister, he subjoins, But after that John was put into prison, Jesus came, &c. After the temptation and the ministry of Angels, He goes back into Galilee, teaching us not to resist the violence of evil men.

THEOPHYLACT. And to shew us that in persecutions we ought to retire, and not to await them; but when we fall into them, we must sustain them.

PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. (Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) He retired also that He might keep Himself for teaching and for healing, before He suffered, and after fulfilling all these things, might become obedient unto death.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) John being put in prison, fitly does the Lord begin to preach: wherefore there follows, Preaching the Gospel, &c. For when the Law ceases, the Gospel arises in its steps.

PSEUDO-JEROME. When the shadow ceases, the truth comes on; first, John in prison, the Law in Judæa; then, Jesus in Galilee, Paul among the Gentiles preaching the Gospel of the kingdom. For to an earthly kingdom succeeds poverty, to the poverty of Christians is given an everlasting kingdom; but earthly honour is like the foam of water, or smoke, or sleep.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) Let no one, however, suppose that the putting of John in prison took place immediately after the forty days’ temptation and the fast of the Lord; for whosoever reads the Gospel of John will find, that the Lord taught many things before the putting of John in prison, and also did many miracles; for you have in his Gospel, This beginning of miracles did Jesus; (John 2:11) and afterwards, for John was not yet cast into prison. (John 3:24) Now it is said, that when John read the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, he approved indeed the text of the history, and affirmed that they had spoken truth, but said that they had composed the history of only one year after John was cast into prison, in which year also he suffered. Passing over then the year of which the transactions had been published by the three others, he related the events of the former period, before John was cast into prison. When therefore Mark had said that Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, he subjoins, saying, Since the time is fulfilled, &c.

PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. (Vict. Ant. Cat. in Marc.) Since then the time was fulfilled, when the fulness of time was come, and God sent his Son, it was fitting that the race of man should obtain the last dispensation of God. And therefore he says, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Orig. in Matt. tom. x. 14. v. Orig. de Orat. 25, 26. in Matt. t. 12 14). But the kingdom of God is essentially the same as the kingdom of heaven, though they differ in idea. For by the kingdom of God is to be understood that in which God reigns; (non occ. v. Chrys, in Matt. Hom. 19. in c. 6:9.). and this in truth is in the region of the living, where, seeing God face to face, they will abide in the good things now promised to them; whether by this region one chooses to understand Love, or some other confirmatione of those who put on the likeness of things above, which are signified by the heavens. () For it is clear enough that the kingdom of God is confined neither by place nor by time.

THEOPHYLACT. Or else, the Lord means that the time of the Law is completed; as if He said, Up to this time the Law was at work; from this time the kingdom of God will work, that is, a conversation according to the Gospel, which is with reason likened to the kingdom of heaven. For when you see a man clothed in flesh living according to the Gospel, do you not say that he has the kingdom of heaven, which is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost? (Rom. 14:17)

The next word is, Repent.

PSEUDO-JEROME. For he must repent, who would keep close to eternal good, that is, to the kingdom of God. For he who would have the kernel, breaks the shell; the sweetness of the apple makes up for the bitterness of its root; the hope of gain makes the dangers of the sea pleasant; the hope of health takes away from the painfulness of medicine. They are able worthily to proclaim the preaching of Christ who have deserved to attain to the reward of forgiveness; and therefore after He has said, Repent, He subjoins, and believe the Gospel. For unless ye have believed, ye shall not understand.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) Repent, therefore, and believe; that is, renounce dead works; for of what use is believing without good works? The merit of good works does not, however, bring to faith, but faith begins, that good works may follow.

1:16–20

16. Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

17. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

18. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

19. And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

20. And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.

GLOSS. (non occ.) The Evangelist, having mentioned the preaching of Christ to the multitude, goes on to the calling of the disciples, whom he made ministers of his preaching, whence it follows, And passing along the sea of Galilee, &c.

THEOPHYLACT. As the Evangelist John relates, Peter and Andrew were disciples of the Forerunner, but seeing that John had borne witness to Jesus, they joined themselves to him; afterwards, grieving that John had been cast into prison, they returned to their trade. Wherefore there follows, casting nets into the sea, for they were fishers. Look then upon them, living on their own labours, not on the fruits of iniquity; for such men were worthy to become the first disciples of Christ; whence it is subjoined, And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me. Now He calls them for the second time; for this is the second calling in respect of that, of which we read in John. But it is shewn to what they were called, when it is added, I will make you become fishers of men.

REMIGIUS. For by the net of holy preaching they drew fish, that is, men, from the depths of the sea, that is, of infidelity, to the light of faith. Wonderful indeed is this fishing! for fishes when they are caught, soon after die; when men are caught by the word of preaching, they rather are made alive.

BEDE. (in Marc. i. 6) Now fishers and unlettered men are sent to preach, that the faith of believers might be thought to lie in the power of God, not in eloquence or in learning. It goes on to say, and immediately they left their nets, and followed him.

THEOPHYLACT. For we must not allow any time to lapse, but at once follow the Lord. After these again, He catches James and John, because they also, though poor, supported the old age of their father. Wherefore there follows, And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, &c. But they left their father, because he would have hindered them in following Christ. Do thou, also, when thou art hindered by thy parents, leave them, and come to God. It is shewn by this that Zebedee was not a believer; but the mother of the Apostles believed, for she followed Christ, when Zebedee was dead.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) It may be asked, how he could call two fishers from each of the boats, (first, Peter and Andrew, then having gone a little further, the two others, sons of Zebedee,) when Luke says that James and John were called to help Peter and Andrew, and that it was to Peter only that Christ said, Fear not, from this time thou shalt catch men; (Luke 5:10) he also says, that at the same time, when they had brought their ships to land, they followed him. We must therefore understand that that transaction which Luke intimates happened first, and afterwards that they, as their custom was, had returned to their fishing. So that what Mark here relates happened afterwards; for in this case they followed the Lord, without drawing their boats ashore, (which they would have done had they meant to return,) and followed Him, as one calling them, and ordering them to follow.

PSEUDO-JEROME. Further, we are mystically carried away to heaven, like Elias, by this chariot, drawn by these fishers, as by four horses. On these four corner-stones the first Church is built; in these, as in the four Hebrew letters, (יהוה) we acknowledge the tetragrammaton, the name of the Lord, we who are commanded, after their example, to hear the voice of the Lord, and to forget (Ps. 45:11) the people of wickedness, and the house of our fathers’ conversation, which is folly before God, and the spider’s net, in the meshes of which we, like gnats, were all but fallen, and were confined by things vain as the air, which hangs on nothing; loathing also the ship of our former walk. For Adam, our forefather according to the flesh, is clothed with the skins of dead beasts; but now, having put off the old man, with his deeds, following the new man we are clothed with those skins of Solomon, with which the bride rejoices that she has been made beautiful. (Cant. 1:4. Vulg.) Again, Simon, means obedient; Andrew, manly; James, supplanter;f John, grace; by which four names, we are knit together into God’s host;g by obedience, that we may listen; by manliness, that we do battle; by overthrowing, that we may persevere; by grace, that we may be preserved. (supplantatione) Which four virtues are called cardinal; for by prudence, we obey; by justice, we bear ourselves manfully; by temperance, we tread the serpent underfoot; by fortitude, we earn the grace of God.

THEOPHYLACT. We must know also, that action is first called, then contemplation; for Peter is the type of the active life, for he was more ardent than the others, just as the active life is the more bustling; but John is the type of the contemplative life, for he speaks more fully of divine things.

Catena Aurea Mark 1

Who Was Saint Agnes?

Saint Agnes is also known as Agnes of Rome, Ines, Ines del Campo, and Ynez. The name “Agnes” is similar to the Latin word agnus, which means “lamb”. For this reason depictions of Saint Agnes often include a lamb. The name actually comes from a Greek word which means “chaste, pure, sacred”.

Agnes is one of the “virgin martyrs” of the church of Rome. She is one of seven women, in addition to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who are mentioned in the Roman Canon of the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer I). Saints Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Cecilia, and Anastasia are the other six. Agnes is a patron saint of chastity, gardeners, girls, Girl Scouts, engaged couples and victims of rape.

here are a diversity of accounts of her martyrdom (by fire, or sword) from very early on, and so it is hard to know much with certainty. The historical record of the specific circumstance/reasons for her martyrdom is also unclear. Most date her martyrdom to the year 304 under the Emperor Diocletion, but the evidence again is not unanimous. All sources seem to agree that she was very young, 12-13 years old, when she was martyred, in the late 3rd or early 4th century. It is the tradition that she was martyred on January 21, and so her feast day is January 21. It was the custom in the early church to commemorate martyrs on the day of their birth into eternal life. However, her regular birthday, January 28 has also been commemorated in our church’s history.

The bones of Saint Agnes are preserved in the Church of Sant’Agnese Fuore le Mura (Saint Agnes Outside the Walls) in Rome. This church was built over the catacombs that were constructed around the tomb of Saint Agnes. Her skull is preserved in a side chapel of the Church Sant’Agnese in Agone (Saint Agnes in Agony) which is in Rome’s Piazza Navona. The Fountain of the Four Rivers is immediately in front of the church.

One of the traditions associated with Saint Agnes is that on the Feast of Saint Agnes, two lambs who have been raised at the local Trappist Monastery of Tre Fontane, are brought to the Basilica of Saint Agnes Outside the Walls and are blessed. The lambs are raised into sheep by the Benedictine Sisters of Cecilia in Trastavere (a section of Rome near the Vatican). The sheep are sheered each year on Holy Thursday. The wool from these lambs is then woven into material that is used to make around 12 pallia.(Latin singular=pallium, plural=pallia). The pallia are placed near the tomb of Saint Peter on June 28, the vigil of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul where they remain overnight. The pallia are then kept for future use in the “niche of the pallia” in a confessional near the tomb of Saint Peter.

A palium is a collar-like vestment that is the symbol of the office of an archbishop. It is ornamented with six crosses and is worn over a chasuable. A palium is presented to an archbishop by the Pope, and is symbolic of his unity with the Pope. Since the Diocese of Rome is an archdiocese, the Pope, who is the Bishop of Rome is also an archbishop. He also wears a pallium .

Saint Agnes is the patroness of our parish. August Knochelman, who donated much of the land (4.9 acres) of our current parish property wanted the parish to be under the patronage of Saint Philomena. Bishop Howard however, decided that it would be under the patronage of Saint Agnes. The reasons for his decision are apparently lost to history. Our parish actually began as a mission attached to the Cathedral Parish in 1930. It was established as an independent parish in 1954.

A medallion with a primary relic of Saint Agnes, along with a certificate of authentication, is framed underneath the statue of Saint Agnes in our church. A second primary relic is displayed in an ostensorium, kept in a display case in our chapel. Also in the same display case are relics of Saint Agatha (like Agnes, a virgin martyr) and Saint Anthony of Padua.

Sources: Catholic Encyclopedia on line, Wikopedia, For a contemporary and very thought-provoking reflection on the tradition of the virgin martyrs, please see, “The Virgin Martyrs: Between ‘Point Verge’ and the ‘Usual Spring’” , in The Cloister Walk, by Kathleen Norris, pages 186-205. Excerpts below:

While the names of many of the young women martyrs of the early church are known to us (Agatha, Agnes, Barbara, Catherine, Cecilia, Dorothy, Lucy, Margaret), the political nature of their martyrdom has been obscured by the passage of time and by church teaching that glorifies only their virginity, which we erroneously conceive of as a passive and merely physical condition. For them, virginity was anything but passive; it was a state of being, of powerful potential, a point vierge from which they could act in radical resistance to authority.

What we resist seeing in late-twentieth century America–where we are conditioned, relentlessly, by images of girls’ and women’s bodies as available–is the depth of that soul, and how fierce a young girl’s sense of bodily and spiritual integrity can be. Prepubescent and adolescent girls often express, as Robert Bolt says of St. Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons, “an adamantine sense of self”. This is not necessarily a sure sense of who they are–in girls, this is still developing–but rather a solid respect for their physical boundaries. In the early Christian martyrs, this expressed itself as an unshakable faith in Jesus Christ, which enabled them to defy worldly authority. And, as Andrea Dworkin states in a chapter on virginity in her book Intercourse, each of the virgin martyrs “viewed the integrity of her physical body as synonymous with the purity of her faith, her purpose, her self-determination, her honor.”

saintagnes.com

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

From: Jonah 3:1-10

Jonah Preaches Repentance in Nineveh
------------------------------------
[1] Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, [2] “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” [3] So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. [4] Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he cried, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

The People of Nineveh Do Penance
--------------------------------
[5] And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

[6] Then tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. [7] And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd or flock, taste anything; let them not feed, or drink water, [8] but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry mightily to God; yea, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence which is in his hands. [9] Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we perish not?"

[10] When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it.

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Commentary:

3:1-4:11 The second part of the book has a similar structure to the first--God and Jonah (3:1-3; cf. 1:1-3); Jonah and Gentiles (3:4-10; cf. 1:4-16); Jonah and God (4:1-11; cf. 1:17-2:10). However, the reader is now psychologically prepared for what will happen: Jonah’s preaching will produce the desired result and the Ninevites will be converted. So, the story is geared to the last chapter which poses and solves the question that chapter 3 provokes. The episode described in this second part is therefore a practical illustration of the scope of God’s mercy. It was used as such in the debate with the Gnostics who argued that there was a difference between the good God (the God revealed in the New Testament) and the God revealed in the Old Testament: “See how the stress is laid on the greatest name and quality of God, his Mercy; that is, God is patient with evildoers, and rich in mercy and compassion for those who recognize their faults and repent them, as the Ninevites did. If such a Being as he is so good, you [...] have to admit that he can do no evil for, as Marcion himself once said, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit (Tertullian, "Adversus Marcionem", 2, 24).

3:1-4. God renews his command to Jonah. And this time Jonah obeys. Maybe the vows he promised to fulfill in 2:9 had to do with this--going to preach in Nineveh. Anyway, the success of his mission is assured, because it depends not on Jonah but on the Lord: it would take three days to cross Nineveh (v. 3), but he has only gone one day in his journey and the people convert (cf. 3:5).

3:5-10. The account of the conversion of the Ninevites looks like a straight copy from other biblical passages, particularly from the prophet Jeremiah: Jeremiah is the “prophet to the nations” (Jer 1:5), and Jonah is sent to the archetypal Gentile city. There are many little things in this passage that are reminiscent of Jeremiah: in the book of Jeremiah, Jerusalem is called the “great city”, which is what Nineveh is called here (1:2; 3:2; cf. Jer 22:8-9), and both books have similar turns of phrase such as “let every one turn from his evil way”, “man and beast”, “from the greatest to the least” (3:5, 8; cf. Jer 6:13; 8:10; 36:3,7), etc. This passage is particularly reminiscent of the call for a fast made by Jeremiah in the time of King Jehoiakim; in Jeremiah 36 we are told how the prophet warned of misfortunes to come and proclaimed a fast for conversion (Jer 36:9), but the king refused to listen. Jonah, too, announces the destruction of Nineveh, but it is the Ninevites themselves who proclaim a general fast, as if God were speaking through them. Their own king establishes what the fast will involve, and he issues a decree that sounds just like something a prophet would have said (vv. 7-9; cf. Joel 2:12-14). Furthermore, the king of the Ninevites seems to be quite familiar with biblical teaching, for he is well aware (cf. Jer 36:3, 9) that displays of penance will not automatically stay God’s hand; the king has a genuine change of heart and is ready to submit to God (v. 9), and when God sees that these people are ready to mend their ways he revokes his decision to punish them (v. 10) The episode bears out Jeremiah's teaching about repentance (cf. Jer 18 7-8).

The difference between the Ninevites and the Israelites can be seen in the use that Jesus makes of this passage when he compares his Jewish contemporaries with their ancestors: “The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold something greater than Jonah is here” (Mt 12:41). It is not surprising, then, that in Christian tradition, the Ninevites are referred to as a model of repentance ‘Let us cast our minds back over the history of men, and see how the Lord, in one generation after another, granted a time of penance to those who desired to be converted to him. Noah preached salvation, and those who listened to him were saved. Jonah told the Ninevites that their city would be destroyed and they repented of their sins and asked God for forgiveness and were saved by the power of their pleading, even though they were not part of the chosen people” (St Clement of Rome, "Ad Corinthios", 7, 5-7).

And another text by a great Father of the Eastern Church says: “Do not dwell on how little time you have, but on the love of the Master. The inhabitants of Nineveh cooled God’s wrath in three days. They did not despair at how little time was left to them; their troubled souls won over the goodness of the Master, and he brought about their salvation” (St John Chrysostom, "De Incomprehensibile Dei Natura", 6).

From: 1 Corinthians 7:32-35

The Excellence of Virginity (Part One)
---------------------------
[32] I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; [33] but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, [34] his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband. [35] I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

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Commentary:

35. There is clearly no question of trying to deceive anyone by encouraging him to dedicate himself to a way of life in which he cannot persevere. All St Paul is doing is pointing out that the unmarried person is more available to the service of the Lord.

From: Mark 1:14-20

Jesus Begins to Preach and Calls His First Disciples
----------------------------------------------------
[14] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the Gospel."

[16] And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. [17] And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." [18] And immediately they left their nets and followed him. [19] And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. [20] And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him.

----------------
Commentary:

14-15. "The gospel of God": this expression is found in St Paul (Rom 1:1; 2 Cor 11:7; etc.) where it means the same as "the gospel of Jesus Christ" (2 Thess 1:8; etc.), thereby implying the divinity of Jesus Christ. The imminence of the Kingdom requires a genuine conversion of man to God (Mt 4:17; Mk 6: 12; etc.). The prophets had already spoken of the need for conversion and for Israel to abandon its evil ways (Jer 3:22; Is 30:15; Hos 14:2; etc.).

Both John the Baptist and Jesus and his Apostles insist on the need for conversion, the need to change one's attitude and conduct as a prerequisite for receiving the Kingdom of God. John Paul II underlines the importance of conversion for entry into the Kingdom of God: "Therefore, the Church professes and proclaims conversion. Conversion to God always consists in discovering his mercy, that is, in discovering that love which is patient and kind (cf. 1 Cor 13:4) as only the Creator and Father can be; the love to which the 'God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ' (2 Cor 1:3) is faithful to the uttermost consequences in the history of his covenant with man: even to the Cross and to the death and resurrection of the Son. Conversion to God is always the fruit of the 'rediscovery' of this Father, who is rich in mercy.

"Authentic knowledge of the God of mercy, the God of tender love, is a constant and inexhaustible source of conversion, not only as a momentary interior act but also as a permanent attitude, as a state of mind. Those who come to know God in this way, who 'see' him in this way, can live only in a state of being continually converted to him. They live, therefore, "in statu conversionis" and it is this state of conversion which marks out the most profound element of the pilgrimage of every man and woman on earth "in statu viatoris" (John Paul II, "Dives In Misericordia", 13).

16-20. In these verses the evangelist describes how Jesus called some of those who would later form part of the Apostolic College (3:16ff). From the start of his public ministry in Galilee the Messiah seeks co-workers to help him in his mission as Savior and Redeemer. He looks for them among people used to hard work, people for whom life is a struggle and whose life-style is plain. In human terms they are obviously at a disadvantage vis-a-vis many of those to whom they will preach; but this in no way prevents their self-surrender from being generous and free. The light lit in their hearts was enough to lead them to give up everything. A simple invitation to follow the Master was enough for them to put themselves completely at his disposal.

It is Jesus who chooses them: he interfered in the lives of the Apostles just as he interferes in ours, without seeking our permission: he is our Lord. Cf. note on Mt 4:18-22.

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Readings at Mass

The people of Nineveh renounce their evil behaviour

The world as we know it is passing away

I will make you into fishers of men

Christian Art

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Mark CHAP. 1

Who Was Saint Agnes?