January 24
Sunday
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Ne 8:2–4a, 5–6, 8–10
Ezra brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all the children who could understand what was being read. It was the first day of the seventh month. Ezra read the book before all of them from early morning until midday in the square facing the Water Gate; and all who heard were attentive to the Book of the Law.
Ezra, the teacher of the Law, stood on a wooden platform built for that occasion and to his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hasbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.
Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was in a higher place; and when he opened it, all the people stood. Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God; and all the people lifted up their hands and answered, “Amen! Amen!” And they bowed their heads to the ground.
They read from the Book of the Law of God, clarifying and interpreting the meaning, so that everyone might understand what they were hearing.
Then Ezra, the teacher of the Law, said to the people, “This day is dedicated to Yahweh, your God, so do not be sad or weep.” He said this because all wept when they heard the reading of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go and eat rich foods, drink sweet wine and share with him who has nothing prepared.
This day is dedicated to the Lord, so do not be sad. The joy of Yahweh is our strength.”
2nd Reading: 1 Cor 12:12–14, 27 (or 1 Cor 12:12–30)
As the body is one, having many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ. All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptized in one Spirit to form one body and all of us have been given to drink from the one Spirit.
The body has not just one member, but many.
Now, you are the body of Christ and each of you individually is a member of it.
Gospel: Lk 1:1–4, 4:14–21
Several people have set themselves to relate the events that have taken place among us, as they were told by the first witnesses who later became ministers of the Word. After I myself had carefully gone over the whole story from the beginning, it seemed right for me to give you, Theophilus, an orderly account, so that your Excellency may know the truth of all you have been taught.
Jesus acted with the power of the Spirit, and on his return to Galilee the news about him spread throughout all that territory. He began teaching in the synagogues of the Jews and everyone praised him.
When Jesus came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the book of the prophet Isaiah.
Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”
Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down, while the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he said to them, “Today these prophetic words come true even as you listen.”
Commentary
“How shall I know if this is so? I am an old man and my wife is old also.”
We spend so much time explaining why we cannot do what God wants us to do in life. But God’s will for us is God’s will to the end. Like Zachariah, it is a matter of believing that God will enable it in us that makes us living witnesses to the Word of God.
January 25
Monday
Conversion of St. Paul
1st Reading: Acts 22:3–16 (or Acts 9:1–22)
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up here in this city where I was educated in the school of Gamaliel, according to the strict observance of our Law. And I was dedicated to God’s service, as are all of you today. As for this way, I persecuted it to the point of death and arrested its followers, both men and women, throwing them into prison.
The High Priest and the whole Council of elders can bear witness to this. From them I received letters for the Jewish brothers in Damascus and I set out to arrest those who were there and bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment. But as I was traveling along, nearing Damascus, at about noon a great light from the sky suddenly flashed about me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me: ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ I answered: ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me: ‘I am Jesus the Nazarean whom you persecute.’ The men who were with me saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. I asked: ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord replied: ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told all that you are destined to do.’ Yet the brightness of that light had blinded me and so I was led by the hand into Damascus by my companions.
There a certain Ananias came to me. He was a devout observer of the Law and well spoken of by all the Jews who were living there. As he stood by me, he said: ‘Brother Saul, recover your sight.’ At that moment I could see and I looked at him. He then said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Just One and to hear the words from his mouth. From now on you shall be his witness before all the pagan peoples and tell them all that you have seen and heard. And now, why delay? Get up and be baptized and have your sins washed away by calling upon his Name.’
Gospel: Mk 16:15–18
Jesus told his disciples, “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; the one who refuses to believe will be condemned. Signs like these will accompany those who have believed: in my Name they will cast out demons and speak new languages; they will pick up snakes and, if they drink anything poisonous, they will be unharmed. They will lay their hands on the sick and they will be healed.”
Commentary
“Jesus said to them, ‘Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all people.’”
We are all sent to teach others what Jesus has taught us about how to live, how to love, how to leave the world better than what it was when we got here.
January 26
Tuesday
St. Timothy and St. Titus, Bishops
1st Reading: 2 Tim 1:1–8 (or Tit 1:1–5)
From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of his promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus, to my dear son Timothy.
May grace, mercy and peace be with you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I give thanks to God whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly, day and night, in my prayers. I recall your tears and I long to see you that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, so like the faith of your grandmother Lois and of your mother Eunice, which I am sure you have inherited.
For this reason I invite you to fan into a flame the gift of God you received through the laying on of my hands. For God did not confer on us a spirit of bashfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment. Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in laboring for the Gospel with the strength of God.
Gospel: Lk 10:1–9
The Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place, where he himself was to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is rich, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to his harvest. Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know.
“Whatever house you enter, first bless them saying: ‘Peace to this house.’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.
“When they welcome you in any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there and say to them: ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’”
Commentary
“After this the Lord chose another seventy-two and sent them out two by two, to go ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.”
Everywhere we go we are meant to be models of what Jesus teaches. We are meant to be a signs that what Jesus calls the world to be is holy, is happy, is full of love.
January 27
Wednesday
3rd Week in Ordinary Time
St. Angela Merici
1st Reading: 2 S 7:4–17
But that very night, Yahweh’s word came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, this is what Yahweh says: Are you able to build a house for me to live in? I have not dwelt in a house since I brought the Israelites up from Egypt to the present day, but I went about with a tent for shelter. As long as I walked with the Israelites, did I say anything to the chiefs of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel? Did I say: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?
Now you will tell my servant David, this is what Yahweh of hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the sheep, to make you commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, cutting down all your enemies before you. Now I will make your name great as the name of the great ones on earth. I will provide a place for my people Israel and plant them that they may live there in peace. They shall no longer be harassed, nor shall wicked men oppress them as before. From the time when I appointed judges over my people Israel it is only to you that I have given rest from all your enemies. Yahweh also tells you that he will build you a house.
When the time comes for you to rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your son after you, the one born of you and I will make his reign secure. He shall build a house for my name and I will firmly establish his kingship forever. I will be a father to him and he shall be my son. If he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod, as men do. But I will not withdraw my kindness from him as I did from Saul when I removed him out of your way. Your house and your reign shall last forever before me, and your throne shall be forever firm.”
Nathan repeated these words and related this vision to David.
Gospel: Mk 4:1–20
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake, but such a large crowd gathered about him that he got into a boat and sat in it on the lake while the crowd stood on the shore. He taught them many things through stories or parables. In his teaching he said, “Listen! The sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some of the seed fell along a path and the birds came and ate it up. Some of the seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil; it sprang up im¬mediately because it had no depth; but when the sun rose and burned it, it withered because it had no roots. Other seed fell among thorn bushes and the thorns grew and choked it, so it didn’t produce any grain. But some seed fell on good soil, grew and in¬creased and yielded grain; some produced thirty times as much, others sixty and others one hun¬dred times as much.” And Jesus added, “Listen then, if you have ears.”
When the crowd went away, some who were around him with the Twelve asked about the parables.
He answered them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But for those outside, everything comes in parables, so that the more they see, they don’t perceive; the more they hear, they don’t understand; otherwise they would be converted and pardoned.”
Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any of the parables?
What the sower is sowing is the word. Those along the path where the seed fell are people who hear the word, but as soon as they do, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
Other people receive the word like rocky ground. As soon as they hear the word, they accept it with joy, but they have no roots so it lasts only a little while. No sooner does trouble or persecution come be¬cause of the word, than they fall.
Others receive the seed as among thorns. After they hear the word, they are caught up in the worries of this life, false hopes of riches and other desires. All these come in and choke the word so that finally it produces nothing.
“And there are others who receive the word as good soil. They hear the word, take it to heart and produce: some thirty, some sixty and some one hundred times as much.”
Commentary
“The sower went out to sow his seed…”
It’s not enough simply to hear the Word of God. We need to go on tending it and nurturing it within us so that it can, eventually, come to ripen in us whatever the pressures of life.
January 28
Thursday
3rd Week in Ordinary Time
St. Thomas Aquinas
1st Reading: 2 S 7:18–19, 24–29
King David went in, sat before Yahweh and said, “Who am I, O Yahweh God, and who is my family that you have brought me so far? Yet this was not enough for you, O Yahweh God, for you have also spoken of your servant’s house for a long time to come. Is this the way men act, O Yahweh God?
“You have set apart your people Israel to become your people forever; and you, Yahweh, have become their God.
“Now, O Yahweh God, keep forever the promise you made and have now revealed to me regarding myself and my family, that your name may be honored forever and people may say, ‘Yahweh of hosts is God over Israel.’ The house of your servant David will be secure before you because you, O Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, have made it known to your servant and have said to him: ‘Your family will last forever.’ This is why I have dared to address this prayer to you.
“So now, O Yahweh God, since you are the faithful God, and have promised me this good thing, please bless my descendants, that they may continue forever before you. For you, O Yahweh God, have spoken and, with your blessing, my family shall be blessed forever.”
Gospel: Mk 4:21–25
Jesus said to his disciples, “When the light comes, is it to be put under a tub or a bed? Surely it is put on a lampstand. Whatever is hidden will be disclosed, and whatever is kept secret will be brought to light. Listen then, if you have ears!”
And he also said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. In the measure you give, so shall you receive and still more will be given to you. For to the one who produces something, more will be given, and from him who does not produce anything, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
Commentary
“The same rules you use to judge others will be used by God to judge you.”
It is so easy to apply higher standards of life to those around us than we do to ourselves. But understanding the weaknesses of others comes from the awareness of our own. Then God judges us mercifully, too.
January 29
Friday
3rd Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 2 S 11:1–4a, 5–10a, 13–17
In the spring of that year, when kings usually set out to fight, David sent out Joab, his officers and all the Israelite troops. They slaughtered the Ammonites and attacked Rabbah, while David remained in Jerusalem.
One afternoon, David got up from his siesta and took a walk on the roof of the royal house. From the rooftop, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful. David sent to inquire about the woman, and was told, “She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah, the Hittite.” So David sent messengers to have her brought to him; and he had intercourse with her after she had cleansed herself after her monthly period. Then she returned to her house.
As the woman saw she was with child, she sent word to David, “I am with child.”
David then sent a message to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came, David asked him about Joab, how the people were and how the war was proceeding; then he told Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.”
Uriah left the palace and the king had a portion from his table sent to him. Uriah, however, did not go down to his house but slept by the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord. David was told that Uriah did not go down to his house, and he said to him, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”
David invited him to table and he ate and drank until he was drunk. When evening fell, however, he went to lie down on his couch with the guards of his lord instead of going down to his house.
The next morning, David wrote Joab a letter to be taken by hand by Uriah, in which he said, “Place Uriah in the front row where the fighting is very fierce and then withdraw from him so that he may be struck down and die.” When Joab was attacking the city, he assigned Uriah to a place which he knew was being defended by strong warriors. And the defenders attacked the men of Joab. Some of David’s soldiers and officers were killed; Uriah the Hittite also died.
Gospel: Mk 4:26–34
Jesus also said, “In the kingdom of God it is like this. A man scatters seed upon the soil. Whether he is asleep or awake, be it day or night, the seed sprouts and grows, he knows not how. The soil produces of itself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when it is ripe for harvesting they take the sickle for the cutting: the time for harvest has come.”
Jesus also said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what shall we compare it? It is like a mustard seed which, when sown, is the smallest of all the seeds scattered upon the soil. But once sown, it grows up and becomes the largest of the plants in the garden and even grows branches so big that the birds of the air can take shelter in its shade.” Jesus used many such stories or parables, to proclaim the word to them in a way they would be able to understand. He would not teach them without parables; but privately to his disciples he explained everything.
Commentary
“The sower sleeps at night, is up and about during the day, and all the while the seeds are sprouting and growing.”
Life is a partnership with God. First, we must do our part; Then, God does God’s part. There is nothing we do, therefore, that does not affect the future–whether we see it in our lifetime or not.
January 30
Saturday
3rd Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 2 S 12:1–7a, 10-17
So Yahweh sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to the king and said to him, “There were two men in a city: one was rich; the other, poor. The rich man had many sheep and cattle, but the poor man had only one little ewe lamb he had bought. He himself fed it and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and slept on his lap. It was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, but he would not take from his own flock or herd to prepare food for the traveler. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared that for his visitor.”
David was furious because of this man and told Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this deserves death! He must return the lamb fourfold for acting like this and showing no compassion.”
Nathan said to David, “You are this man! It is Yahweh, God of Israel, who speaks: ‘I anointed you king over Israel and saved you from Saul’s hands;
Now the sword will never be far from your family because you have despised me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite for yourself.
Thus says Yahweh: Your misfortune will rise from your own house! I will take your wives from you and give them to your neighbor who shall lie with them in broad daylight. What you did was done secretly, but what I do will be done before Israel in broad daylight.”
David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” Nathan answered him, “Yahweh has forgiven your sin; you shall not die. However, because you have dared to despise Yahweh by doing such a thing, the child that is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan left and went to his house.
Yahweh struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David and it became sick. David entreated God for the child; he kept a strict fast and lay on the ground the whole night. The elders of his house asked him to rise from the ground but he refused. Nor did he join them to eat.
Gospel: Mk 4:35–41
On that same day when evening had come, Jesus said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” So they left the crowd and took him away in the boat he had been sitting in, and other boats set out with him. Then a storm gathered and it began to blow a gale. The waves spilled over into the boat so that it was soon filled with water. And Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.
They woke him up and said, “Master, don’t you care if we sink?” As Jesus awoke, he rebuked the wind and ordered the sea, “Quiet now! Be still!” The wind dropped and there was a great calm. Then Jesus said to them, “Why are you so frightened? Do you still have no faith?” But they were terrified and they said to one another, “Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
Commentary
“Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow.”
There is no storm in life, however rough the winds of it for us, in which Jesus is not with us in it, not there to save us from its power.
