Tag: evangelio del dia

“Follow me.” | Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

“The Call of St Matthew” flickr photo by Lawrence OP https://flickr.com/photos/paullew/29832494395 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 2:13-17)

Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

About the people who follow Jesus, Mark tells us: “many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples.” On seeing Levi, a tax collector commonly identified as the evangelist Matthew, Jesus invites him to come dine with him with the other disciples. Teaching those who accept his invitation—”Follow me.”—Jesus teaches and heals. Whether they respond, Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees is a quiet, insistent invitation for all people to receive forgiveness and healing from the Divine Physician.

God, just as Samuel anointed Saul to lead and free the Israelites, you sent Jesus Christ your Son to liberate your people from the bondage of sin. “Follow me,” Jesus says. Let that invitation to conversion remain in my heart and mind when I know I need his help but especially when I fail to come to that realization. With a contrite heart, give me the grace to receive healing from the Divine Physician, whose mercy and forgiveness frees me to live in the light of his salvation. Grasp me by the hand, Lord; let me hear your call and know how to respond when I hear you say, “Follow me.”

From the responsorial psalm: “The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.” Saint Hilary of Poitiers, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“We have never seen anything like this.” | Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 2:1-12)

Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”–he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.” He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

In Mark’s account of the paralytic being lowered through the roof, faith is central in understanding the actions of the friends who brought the paralytic to Jesus. Whether by the paralytic’s prompting or by the insistence of his friends, the man is brought before Jesus because of their faith. As Jesus heals the man, the necessity of faith is evident to all onlookers who come to see Jesus, including the scribes who accuse Jesus of blasphemy in saying to the man, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” As the man picks up his mat and goes home, the people are astounded and glorify God. In his words and actions, Jesus gives glory to his Father; in picking up his mat and walking home, the paralytic is living proof of Jesus’ authority, both to heal and to forgive sins. The people who witness this are amazed, and themselves begin to recognize that in returning home, Jesus demonstrates that he is not only the ordinary son of Joseph and Mary but one whose extraordinary power is from God alone.

God, help me witness you at work in the world today and give me an opportunity to be a witness to those whose lives I touch. I can see it play out so that neither of these happens. For this reason, I ask in faith for your divine assistance; where belief is lacking, help my unbelief. If only it were easy to draw comparisons between the paralytic and the rigidity of my own brokenness and hold that thought. But, Lord, I tend to forget you during the day, so I ask for your aid when even easy comparisons fail to come to mind. In Capernaum, so many came to hear Jesus your Son that there was no room for them. “And he preached the word to them,” Mark says. Help me to hear your word today, take it in, and give glory to you in witnessing to my faith.

From the responsorial psalm: “A great prophet has arisen in our midst and God has visited his people.” Lord, visit me today; heal me and make me whole.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“I do will it. Be made clean.” | Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 1:40-45)

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

Showing deep compassion for the leper, Jesus reaches out to touch him. By going where no one else goes, Jesus hears the plea of the leper, spoken in humility and absolute trust: “If you wish, you can make me clean.” By divine authority, Jesus cures the leper immediately, a miracle he warns the leper not to share with anyone. Instead, Jesus tells him to be obedient to Jewish law by showing himself to the priest and offering appropriate sacrifices. Not ready to reveal his messianic identity, Jesus goes off to deserted places. But “people kept coming to him from everywhere.”

God, help me follow the example of faith and humility the leper demonstrates. He trusted completely in your mercy and recognized your divine power to restore his physical well-being. In the first line of today’s Gospel, Mark tells us that the leper came to Jesus, kneeling down and begging him. To no person or power on earth should anyone beg as the leper begged. Only before you, Lord, as the magi did at your birth, should all people fall to their knees. This is why the leper is a superb witness to our faith. From Psalm 86: “All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.” When I veer today toward ungodly self-reliance, give me the grace to call to mind the scene of the leper approaching your Son Jesus Christ. Be merciful and draw me back, close to you, every moment of this day.

From the responsorial psalm: “Why do you hide your face, forgetting our woe and our oppression? For our souls are bowed down to the dust, our bodies are pressed to the earth. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“For this purpose have I come.”| Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 1:29-39)

The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Jesus never stops healing and preaching to fulfill his mission, moving in an ever-widening circle. Starting with Peter’s mother-in-law, Jesus heals her of her fever. As the whole town gathers at the door in the evening, he then goes on to drive out demons and cure the sick. Rising well before dawn the next day, Jesus goes off to a deserted place to pray until Peter finds him, saying, “Everyone is looking for you.” Jesus responds by picking up and going “throughout the whole of Galilee.” The servant of servants, he tells Peter, the rock on which he builds his Church: “For this purpose have I come.” Love starts at home and spirals ever outward through God’s grace. As Saint Teresa of Calcutta said: “Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the action that we do. It is to God Almighty—how much we do it does not matter, because He is infinite, but how much love we put in that action. How much we do to Him in the person that we are serving.”

God, just as Jesus grasped Peter’s mother-in-law by the hand and moments later she waited on her family, grasp me by the hand today to make clear your will. Samuel learns to respond to your repeated calls, finally saying, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” In hearing and responding to you, I move from contemplation to action. In describing the infinite love you give to your people, Saint Teresa repeats twice the phrase “how much love we put in the action.” It’s in that willingness to show extravagant love to those you put in our way that we grasp the love of the Almighty and to serve your Son in serving others. “For this purpose have I come,” Jesus tells Peter. Lord, as you did for Peter’s mother-in-law, do for me today: approach me, grasp my hand, help me up.

From the responsorial psalm: “Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me. Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not; then said I, ‘Behold I come.’ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” | Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 1:21-28)

In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.

Jesus demonstrates his divine authority in two ways in today’s Gospel passage: in word and action, or in preaching and in healing. In the synagogue as he preaches, a man with an unclean spirit cries out to him, recognizing his identity as true God and true man, the Holy One of God and Jesus of Nazareth. With a word, Jesus commands the unclean spirit to be quiet and come out of the man. The witnesses of the exorcism recognize, amazed, that Jesus, unlike the scribes, is “a new teaching with authority.” In preaching, he expresses the word of God as the Word incarnate; in healing, he liberates all from the oppression of sin and evil.

God, help me understand the scene from today’s Gospel as it relates to my life today. The source of all truth, Jesus teaches with authority and wisdom unlike any human teaching. The unclean spirit recognizes the divinity of your Son immediately unlike many people in Jesus’ time and even today. What the unclean spirit hated to cry out, aware of its imminent destruction, I say with wonder and faith that is easily shaken: “I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” My Lord and my God, strengthen my faith!

From the Gospel acclamation: “Receive the word of God, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Baptism of the Lord

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 1:7-11)

This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In Mark’s account of the baptism of Jesus, we see from John’s point of view the revelation of his identity as the Son of God. John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins to prepare the way for the Savior, who is anointed by the Holy Spirit as he emerges from the water. With this, the three persons of the Trinity are revealed as the Father’s voice from heaven is heard, saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” The Father confirms Jesus’ identity as the Son of God, Emmanuel. In the mystery of the Incarnation, God brings heaven to earth; in the resurrection and institution of the Eucharist, Jesus remains with us on earth.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.” Father in heaven, help me recall your words as I begin a new week. Give me the grace to trust in your power, something I am incapable of understanding. In seeking to do your will, give me the peace of trusting in your strength and mercy. Let me take in the responsorial psalm for its depth and breadth in the result of giving glory to your name: “The voice of the LORD is over the waters, the LORD, over vast waters. The voice of the LORD is mighty; the voice of the LORD is majestic. The Lord will bless his people with peace.”

From the Gospel acclamation: “John saw Jesus approaching him, and said: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“We saw his star at its rising.” | The Epiphany of the Lord

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 2:1-12)

After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

Except for the star at its rising, it is not clear how the Magi became aware of the birth of the newborn king of Israel. “We saw his star at is rising,” they tell King Herod. Trusting in their insight, yet disturbed by what they say, Herod consults with the Jewish religious leaders to gather more information. They determine through the prophecies of Micah and Samuel that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, and Herod sends the Magi there. Herod lies to the Magi, telling them that he wishes for them to find the infant so that he too may go and do him homage. Although darkness covers the earth, the source of light at its rising is the same light that Isaiah refers to in the first reading: “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. . . . But upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory.” To see this happening, Isaiah says, “Raise your eyes and look about.” As the Magi came to recognize as they fall on their knees before the infant Christ, that’s where their journey of faith began.

Loving Father, help me set out today and every day to find you in the midst of darkness. Give me the grace, as Saint Paul says, to become a copartner in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. The solemn blessing from today’s Mass makes clear that the aim of this earthly journey is “to behold the beauty of your sublime glory.” From the blessing, let me recall these words: “And so when your pilgrimage is ended, may you come to him whom the Magi sought as they followed the star and whom they found with great joy, the Light from Light, who is Christ the Lord.”

From the Gospel acclamation: “We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“You are my beloved Son.” | Christmas Weekday | Saturday, January 6

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 1:7-11)

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

John declares that someone greater than him is coming. “I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals,” he says. He emphasizes that while he baptizes with water, the one who is to come will baptize with the Holy Spirit. After the baptism of Jesus, as he comes up out of the water, the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove. As a voice from the heavens, God affirms the divine identity of his Son. In the baptism of Jesus, we see his humility and connection to humanity. The Son of God is like us in every way but sin. In the voice of his Father, we hear how we are to respond to Jesus: “Listen to him.”

Father in heaven, you testified on behalf of your Son so that we might believe him. And the testimony you have given, John says, is this: “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.” Help me today to listen to your Son, to imitate him in my words and actions, in what I say and do and what I stop myself from saying and doing. Give me the grace to realize that I am your adopted son through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son so that you may say to me at the end of this day and at the threshold of eternal life: “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.”

From the first reading: “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God.” Saint Joseph and Saint André Bessette, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“You will see greater things than this.” | Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 1:43-51)

Nathanael said to [Jesus], “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Phillip invites his fellow townsman Nathanael to meet Jesus, but Nathanael initially voices skepticism, questioning Jesus’ divine identity. He is “son of Joseph, from Nazareth,” Philip tells Nathanael. Jesus responds to Nathanael’s skepticism with a display of divine knowledge, revealing that he was aware of Nathanael’s presence under a fig tree, to which Nathanael confesses Jesus as the Son of God and the King of Israel. “You will see greater things than this,” Jesus tells Nathanael. “You will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Aware of the innermost intentions of his disciples, and of all people, Jesus calls each of us by name to follow him and remain with him.

God, I look to you with hope in your mercy that you judge me not by external appearances—as I tend to judge others—but by who I am. You know me more intimately than I know myself. Help me recognize in Nathanael’s first encounter with Jesus that you also know me by name, you call me to follow you, and that faith is necessary to know you and move beyond appearances. What are the tasks you hand to me today? Whatever they are, make clear to me your will; give me the grace to me be a means of your justice and mercy. As Saint John says in the first reading: “Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.”

From the first reading: “Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God.” Saint John Neumann, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 1:35-42)

John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day.

John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God, and the two disciples immediately follow him. There is no question in the minds of the disciples who Jesus is. They call him teacher. Jesus asks them what they are looking for, and they ask him where he is staying. Speaking in such a way might seem vague or tangential, but the questions they ask relate to the identification of Jesus as the Messiah. In the first reading, John tells us “No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God.” By following Jesus, the disciples go with him to see where he is staying. By staying with Jesus, they remain in God and God’s seed remains in them. Andrew, one of the two disciples, tells his brother Simon Peter they have found the Messiah. Jesus knows him by name and calls him Cephas, the rock on which the Church will be built.

God, in following the example of the first disciples, I find a way for you to remain in me. “Where are you staying?” the disciples ask Jesus. In asking where he was staying, Jesus hears their yearning and persistence in seeking him. “Come, and you will see.” That invitation leads them to see where your Son lives, that his dwelling place is with you and that he invites all of us to remain with you, on earth in the mystical body of Christ and eternally in our heavenly home. Help me today to hear the same call and be able to respond, saying, “We have found the Messiah.” As Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton said, “Live always in me and let me live perpetually in you and for you, as I live only by you.”

From the responsorial psalm: “Let the sea and what fills it resound, the world and those who dwell in it; Let the rivers clap their hands, the mountains shout with them for joy before the LORD. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.” Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.