Tag: daily Gospel 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

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus leaves Nazareth and goes to live in Capernaum by the sea. He did this, Matthew says, to fulfill what had been said through Isaiah: 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. Once there, while walking along the sea, he called Peter and Andrew to be “fishers of men.” They left their nets and immediately followed Jesus. He also called James and John. From there, Matthew tells us that 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.”

God, help me through your grace to make certain that I understand the truth of today’s readings. In doing the will of the Father, your Son’s purpose in proclaiming the Gospel and curing every disease relate to each other. Bound through love of you, Jesus’ preaching was a way of curing people of illnesses, and his miraculous healings were a way of proclaiming the Gospel. Through this, and ultimately through laying down his life to save us from sin and death, people were restored to you: As Isaiah says in the first reading: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.”

Help me remember, Lord, the truth of the Gospel today. Don’t let it be in vain that I hear but fail to take in your Word. As I receive you in the Eucharist, Lord Jesus, give me the strength not to be brought down in this present land overshadowed by death but to dwell in the kingdom of your light and salvation.

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.

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Readings

Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Jesus’ ministry as Mark describes it in today’s Gospel begins to draw such crowds that it became impossible for Jesus and his disciples to eat. Jesus’ family, hearing of this, must have questioned Jesus’ sanity, which appeared to limit his ability to take care of his basic needs and of the disciples; namely, the need for food. Mark goes on to say in his Gospel that the scribes believed Jesus was possessed by Beelzebul. When Jesus’ mother and brothers arrive, waiting outside for him, he says to those around him: “Who are my mother and my brothers? . . . For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” For Jesus, in a way that his family would come to understand through his life, doing the will of God was food for Jesus. As Jesus says in the Gospel according to John: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” 

God, help me understand that Christ your Son is the first to enter into eternal life through his resurrection. He sits at your right hand through his sacrifice as high priest on Calvary. Saint Paul says of this in the first reading: “But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary.” From within the place where Jesus has entered, the heavenly tabernacle, there is no need for food. In the Gospel according to John, Jesus himself says: “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” Lord, this is a lot to take in. Help me understand what it means to accept your invitation and do your will.

Thank you, God, for the extravagant love of your Son. Your blessings are double: in this life, I have the true food and true drink of the Eucharist; in the next, the hope of the resurrection in unending praise at the heavenly banquet. Be with me today, Lord!

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

Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons: He appointed the Twelve.

In today’s Gospel reading, Mark describes a mountaintop moment: as Jesus appoints the Twelve, he sends them to preach the Gospel and gives them authority to drive out demons. Later in each of the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus again goes up the mountain, this time taking Peter, James, and John with him as witnesses of the Transfiguration. As Mark describes Jesus’ ascent to the mountain, the words “summoned those whom he wanted” brings to my mind being picked—or not picked—to be a teammate. If Jesus summoned me, would I do as the other Apostles did and go to him? Every day God presents a fresh opportunity to be summoned by God, to open my hands to what he entrusts me with. It might not be to high places like a mountaintop; nonetheless, God appoints me and sends me forth with his authority to do his will in word and deed.

Help me understand, Lord, the core of today’s Gospel presented in the Gospel acclamation: “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” Here you are, Jesus, inviting me to be with you as you invited the Twelve to accompany you. Humbled by this, I ask for the grace to understand the gift I have in freely choosing to accept your invitation.

Lord, guide me today from on high to animate the mission and authority you give me. Too often I subject myself to my own limits and situational constraints; instead, let your presence transfigure me so that I can accomplish the tasks you appoint to me. Be with me, Lord!

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

Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him.

In his earthly ministry, Jesus came to serve and heal all who came to him from among many regions. In heaven, Jesus serves as high priest, as Paul says in the first reading, “holy innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens.” Just as the crowds pressed upon Jesus from all sides to touch him, so he intercedes for countless more souls in heaven. Paul goes on to say in the first reading: “Now he has obtained so much more excellent a ministry as he is mediator of a better covenant, enacted on better promises.”

God, help me understand that you came to do the will of your Father and that you still do that at his right hand in heaven. Help me by your example also pray that I know the will of the Father and accomplish it. With today’s Responsorial Psalm, we pray: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will. “In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, ‘To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!’” Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will. The unclean spirits who saw you knew who you were—the Son of God. Give me the grace of confidence, Lord, in approaching your Son to receive his mercy.

Lord, you are the source of all healing. Just as those who had diseases pressed upon you to touch you, I also seek to be healed through your intercession and through the beauty and goodness of the sacraments of the Church. Be with me today and look after me as intercessor to the Father. “Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through him,” Saint Paul says, “since he lives forever to make intercession for them.”

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

Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored.

The Pharisees lay a trap for Jesus to see if he would cure a man’s withered hand on the sabbath. After Jesus restores the man’s hand, Mark tells us, “The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.” The Gospel passage for today shows Jesus’ grief and anger at their hardness of heart, an anger that is justifiable. As God made man, Jesus wants to bring salvation to the Pharisees, but the love he shows for the man with the withered hand becomes an obstacle. How often today will I place an obstacle between God and myself? Perhaps unintentionally, I will forget to allow God to act, following my own rigid agenda instead.

God, you are near. Your Son came to save the life of all who believed in him and to do good on the sabbath and on every day of his life. How do I remain supple and open to your will? Jesus read the hearts of the Pharisees and knew they wanted to kill him, asking them, “Is it lawful . . . to save life rather than to destroy it?” If the Pharisees had known that the author of life stood before them, would their hearts have remained hardened? Guide me today, Lord, with your presence; in every word and action, give me the grace to stretch out my hand to you.

God, give me faith today and every day through an openness of heart. As Saint John Paul II wrote, “Faith, in its deepest essence, is the openness of the human heart to the gift: to God’s self-communication in the Holy Spirit.”

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

Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbott

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus said to the Pharisees: “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

In today’s Gospel passage from Mark, Jesus passes through a field of grain on the sabbath, and his disciples picked the heads of grain as they walked with him. The Pharisees see this and tell Jesus that what they are doing is unlawful on the sabbath. Jesus answers them: “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?” By saying this to the Pharisees, Jesus reaffirms to them the purpose of the sabbath—since his resurrection, the Lord’s Day—and at the same time reveals his divinity as “Lord of the sabbath.” Like the Pharisees, am I bound to certain rituals that prevent me from knowing God’s love and recognizing his grace even as he offers it to me?

God, you made the sabbath for your people as an invitation to return to you, to return to holiness. Help me understand the divine purpose for which you created the sabbath. In the coming of your Son, a new order comes in keeping the meaning of the sabbath holy by transferring its observance to the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we hold the belief that “Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath, but the Lord’s Day.” Lord of the sabbath, Lord of all, help me during the week to long to see you in the celebration of the Eucharist each Sunday.

What is left but to thank you, God, for all of your graces of this day and every day. As the Responsorial Psalm says: “He has won renown for his wondrous deeds; gracious and merciful is the LORD.”

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

Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus responds to people who ask him why his disciples fast. The disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, they say, so why shouldn’t your disciples do the same? Jesus then goes on to tell them the analogy of a new piece of cloth sown on an old cloak and of new wine poured into new wineskins. Both attempts would fail. Like the new cloth and the new wine, Jesus is the Good News, the last Word of God, that simply can’t be grafted onto what came before him. As Saint Paul says of Jesus in the first reading: “And when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

Help me understand this, Lord. Your Son is the bridegroom and each soul who belongs to the Church, the bride of Christ. Through Jesus Christ, I participate in the ancient beauty of the Church that is always new through him, with him, and in him. As Saint Augustine says in his Confessions: “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new.” There is great hope in this, that the same Christ who died has risen to eternal life for you and for me; there is hope in the expectation of the return of the bridegroom in his Second Coming. Dying with him through baptism, we are brought into the Church and what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls “the sacrament of regeneration” to become a son or daughter of light and “a new creature.” Lord, this is a lot to take in. Help me understand the love you have for your people and deepen my faith and trust in you.

Thank you, Lord, for your presence in the Eucharist! You are beyond my comprehension, yet let me rest in your presence as a bride rests in the love of her bridegroom. Be with me today, Lord, and help me come to know the beauty I hope one day to see face to face.

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

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’”

In today’s Gospel reading, John the Baptist sees Jesus after he had baptized him. At the moment he baptized him, John recognized Jesus’ divinity in what God had revealed to him: “On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” John gives testimony to Jesus’ divinity by saying of him: “A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.” John’s recognition that Jesus existed before him must have come at the moment the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus during his baptism. John continues to point to Jesus today as one of many voices of the communion of saints who direct our gaze to Jesus, the Son of God. For John to say that Jesus existed before him is to be aware of God’s eternal existence that permeates every moment of this life until the next, where we give glory to God in unending praise.

God, help me understand what John the Baptist recognized in your Son. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the child born of the Virgin Mary, the suffering servant who died and rose to new life, the Lamb of God present in the Eucharist—He is the one who brings us to eternal life through baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, help me see today that you are eternally present in its succession of moments. Give me the grace to receive your presence and the knowledge to make within myself a temple of the Holy Spirit. As Servant of God, Archbishop Martínez said: “As divine love is eternal and its action constant, it is our part to have our heart always open to love, ready to receive the unspeakable gift.” Keep my heart open, Lord!

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

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

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.”

As Jesus walks along the sea, he passes by Levi, a tax collector sitting at his customs post. Jesus says to him, “Follow me.” Levi got up and followed Jesus. At his house, Jesus and the disciples sat with tax collectors and sinners, and the Pharisees accuse him by saying, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners.” Jesus, the Divine Physician, responds by saying that those who are well don’t need a physician, but the sick do. Jesus, God made man, could have chosen anyone to follow him—kings, political leaders, the rich and powerful. Instead, he chose sinners. Even Peter, on being called by Jesus, fell at his knees and says to him: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Just as Peter recognized his sinfulness, anyone with an illness must first acknowledge it before seeking treatment. In my own acknowledgment of particular sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus seeks to heal me in a way that corresponds to each of these. How do I respond to that call?

God, help me understand that you sent your Son to set us free; “to proclaim,” as the Gospel acclamation says, “liberty to the captives.” Through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son, you understand every human need and what each one of us in particular lacks. Help me identify any sins and illnesses in me so that, as Paul says in the first reading, “I can confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”

The demands of the day clamor in my ears. Help me be still. Lord, just as you taught the crowds as you went out along the sea, give me the grace today to walk with you and hear your words. Divine Physician, heal me and quiet my soul!

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