Bible Diary for January 1st – 7th

January 1
Sunday

Mary Mother of God

Reading 1 Nm 6:22-27:
The LORD said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites.

Say to them: The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace! So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Reading 2 Gal 4:4-7:
Brothers and sisters: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. As proof that you are sons,

God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God.

Gospel Lk 2:16-21:
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.

When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.

All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Reflection:
Mary and Joseph were simple, law-abiding people. They were poor, as were the shepherds who came to share their company. In those times and in that place, they did not command much respect or even much notice. The present-day struggle to achieve status is misconceived. God is not impressed by human prestige. How wasteful in our society is all the energy invested in climbing the social ladder. There are better things to which we could devote our time and effort. God, grant me the clarity of vision to see that all the exertion expended in achieving a high standing among my peers is, in the end, wasted effort. There are better, more worthwhile goals available to me. Scrutinize your list of friends to see if it includes any people who are “just ordinary” in the eyes of the world.

January 2
Monday

St. Basil the Great

St. Gregory Nazianzen

Reading 1 1 Jn 2:22-28:
Beloved: Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.

Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well. Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.

And this is the promise that he made us: eternal life. I write you these things about those who would deceive you.

As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him.

And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming.

Gospel Jn 1:19-28:
This is the testimony of John.

When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you?”

He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”

So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?”

He said: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”

John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Reflection:
At the beginning of a drama you need to get to know the characters. “Who are you?” the Pharisees asked John. John answered by saying who he was (which is just as important as saying who you are). Then he said, “I am a voice…..” It was enough. He was a voice speaking of God, a finger pointing to the new thing that God was doing in the world. That was his deepest identity. His, and also ours!

January 3
Tuesday

St. Genevieve

Reading 1 1 Jn 2:29-3:6:
If you consider that God is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him. See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.

Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.

We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.

Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him.

Gospel Jn 1:29-34:
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.’ I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.”

John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,

‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

Reflection:
In today’s reading, we see the Spirit resting on Jesus. Others were touched for a moment by God’s Spirit, but the Spirit comes and stays with Jesus. He has become the place where the mysterious Sprit of God can be touched. Images of the Spirit are “wind,” fire,” both of which have very unclear outlines, or rather none. But in Jesus, the Spirit is given a human face, hands, eyes, mouth… a human mind and heart.

January 4
Wednesday

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Reading 1 1 Jn 3:7-10:
Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Whoever sins belongs to the Devil, because the Devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the Devil. 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.

In this way, the children of God and the children of the Devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother.

Gospel 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. It was about four in the afternoon.

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah,” which is translated Christ.

Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas,” which is translated Peter.

Reflection:
The question “What are you looking for?” is one of the most difficult that can be asked. When you are asked, “What are you really searching for in your life?” what do you answer? The disciples knew this vague hunger for deeper life, as you and I do too. We Christians talk about “the Christian message,” as if it could be written on a piece of paper. But more profoundly it is an attraction. Many have it who have no words, no ready answers. And many who have ready answers feel nothing of the attraction.

January 5
Thursday

St. John Neumann

Reading 1 1 Jn 3:11-21:
Beloved: This is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, unlike Cain who belonged to the Evil One and slaughtered his brother.

Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous. Do not be amazed, then, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.

The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him?

Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. 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.

Gospel Jn 1:43-51:
Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael said to him, “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.”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”

And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Reflection:
The first reading tells us to find ways to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. We should not close our hearts to those in need, but let our love be real and active. Jesus promised Nathanael a few surprises, for the Spirit’s power at work in us is able to do far more than we ask for or ever imagine. There are always surprises and graces waiting for us as we commit ourselves to a journey of faith, prayer, and service.

January 6
Friday

Epiphany

Blessed Andre Bessette

Reading 1 1 Jn 5:5-13:
Beloved: Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and Blood.

The Spirit is the one who testifies, and the Spirit is truth. So there are three that testify, the Spirit, the water, and the Blood, and the three are of one accord.

If we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is surely greater. Now the testimony of God is this, that he has testified on behalf of his Son.

Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.

And this is the testimony: 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.

Gospel 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.”

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.”

Reflection:
John the Baptist announces the coming of the One sent by God, this Jesus about whom the gospel will speak, prepared by all the great witnesses of the Old Testament. In him and by him God’s salvation will be accomplished. Jesus comes to reveal the mystery of God, the mystery of the love of God —Father, Son, and Spirit.

January 7
Saturday

St. Raymond of Penafort

Reading 1 1 Jn 5:14-21:
Beloved: We have this confidence in God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours.

If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.

There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

We know that no one begotten by God sins; but the one begotten by God he protects, and the Evil One cannot touch him. We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.

We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.

And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Children, be on your guard against idols.

Gospel Jn 2:1-11:
There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.

When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her,

“Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.

Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “raw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.”

So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.”

Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.

Reflection:
“My hour has not yet come.” Jesus answered his mother with a phrase which, directed to a stranger could be interpreted as a reproach, but said in a different tone to his mother demonstrated a familiarity and a mutual understanding that went beyond words. Apparently Jesus had not thought of beginning his mission in that manner or at that moment, but his spirit recognized the Spirit speaking through his mother, and he did his first miraculous sign.