Tag: Catholic

Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Mark describes Jesus’ appearance to the Eleven after his resurrection. In the last chapter of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus commissions the Apostles to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world. Certain signs will accompany those who believe, including learning new languages, driving out demons, and handling serpents. Taking place immediately after the resurrection, the commissioning by Jesus hints at the coming of the Holy Spirit and some of the supernatural gifts that result from the Third Person of the Trinity.

God, help me see the particular gifts of the Holy Spirit working in me today. I can’t pretend to understand this, but I ask for understanding only insofar as my understanding brings me closer to you. After Paul’s conversion, unable to see, he was led to Damascus by the help of his companions. There, a devout Jew named Ananias restored his eyesight, saying, “Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” As Paul tells the story, his sight was restored as soon as Ananias said, “Saul, my brother, regain your sight.” Help me, Lord, be open to the friendship of others who bring me close to you through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you, God, for the light of your presence! Pray for us, blessed Apostle Paul!

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.” But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

In today’s Gospel, the mother and brothers of Jesus arrive where he his preaching and send word through the crowd to him that they are there. Jesus’ reply seems harsh to his family. Yet, what he says does not exclude them but rather embraces them within the family of those who do the will of God. Saint Paul quotes the psalmist in the first reading: “First he says, Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.” Referring then to Jesus, Paul says: “Behold, I come to do your will. He takes away the first to establish the second. By this ‘will,’ we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

God, help me understand your will and through that understanding, a desire to do it. Grant me the grace today to see you in the faces of people I meet and in all of the day’s decisions. With the Morning Offering, I pray: “O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.” 

From today’s Psalm: “Here am I Lord; I come to do your will. Your justice I kept not hid within my heart; your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of; I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth in the vast assembly.” Stay with me, Lord. Saint Francis de Sales, 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.

Readings

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus began to speak to the scribes in parables: “Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”

In today’s Gospel, the scribes say that Jesus is possessed by Beelzebul and that by the prince of demons, he drives out demons. Jesus then calls the scribes to him and says, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” Kingdom divided against kingdom; house against house: How does this describe our nation today? According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, in all the Dioceses of the United States, January 22 is observed as a particular day of prayer. As it states, this day is “for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion.”

God, help me understand the words of Saint Paul from the first reading: “Christ is mediator of a new covenant . . . now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice.” Through your grace, help me by my prayers, words, and actions affirm that abortion is wrong and that every life is sacred. Restore and unite us, Lord, in the love through which you created us.

From the collect for today’s Mass: “God our Creator, we give thanks to you, who alone have the power to impart the breath of life as you form each of us in our mother’s womb; grant, we pray, that we, whom you have made stewards of creation, may remain faithful to this sacred trust and constant in safeguarding the dignity of every human life.”

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.

Readings