INTENTIONS OF THE HOLY FATHER FOR
January 2012
INTENTIONS OF THE HOLY FATHER FOR
January 2012
1) General Intention:
1) That the nations of the earth, through knowledge and mutual respect, may grow in harmony and peace; and
2) Mission Intention:
2) That children and young people may be messengers of the Gospel and that their dignity may always be respected and preserved from all violence.
THIRD SUNDAY
IN ORDINARY TIME
January 22, 2012
The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent,
and believe in the Gospel.
—Mark 1:15 —
READINGS:
Daily
Bible Readings
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New
American Bible
It is one of the glories of the Bible that it can embrace many meanings in
a single passage.
— St. Thomas Aquinas —
“I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible.
Take all that you can of this book upon reason and the balance by faith,
and you will live and die a better person...
the Bible is the best book which God has given to man."
— Abraham Lincoln —
. A Few Minutes of Prayer in the Home
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SUNDAY READINGS:
First Reading — Speak, for your servant is listening (1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19).
Psalm — Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will (Psalm 40).
Second Reading — Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you? (1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20).
Gospel — Andrew found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus (John 1:35-42).
SCRIPTURE MEDITATION:
THE RAW MATERIAL
Someone has suggested that if Jesus were to send
his twelve disciples for psychological testing today he
might receive this reply: “Thank you for submitting the
résumés of the twelve men you have picked for managerial
positions in your new organization. All of them have
taken our complete battery of tests. In addition, we arranged
personality interviews for each
of your candidates with our psychologists
and vocational aptitude consultants.
It is the opinion of our staff that
most of your nominees are lacking in
the background, education, and skills
necessary for the success of your enterprise.
None of them shows an understanding
of the team concept. Simon
Peter is impulsive and would benefit
from anger-management counseling.
Andrew has no measureable leadership
qualities. The two brothers, James and
John, place personal ambition above company loyalty.
Thomas shows a skeptical attitude that would tend to undermine
morale. In his previous business, Matthew was
blacklisted by the Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have
radical political leanings, and appear to have unstable
temperaments. One of the candidates, however, shows
real potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness,
possesses excellent social skills, and has contacts in high
places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible.
We recommend Judas Iscariot as your comptroller
and right-hand man.” Today Jesus calls us. Like Peter, we
lack faith. Like Andrew, we have much to learn. Like
James and John, we are selfish. Like Matthew, we have a
past. Like Thomas, we sometimes doubt. If Jesus could
use them, he can certainly use us. With God’s help, we
too can grow from strength to strength and accomplish
great things for God and the Kingdom. The call to follow
Jesus is urgent. Answer now.
A NEW DAY DAWNS
Today we hear how Jonah, sent by God to warn the
people, storms through the streets of Nineveh, scaring the citizens
out of their wits. And it works! God has a change of heart,
seeing “by their actions” how the people turn from evil (Jonah
3:10). A new day dawns.
Next we hear Paul telling the Corinthians, “The world
in its present form is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31). He
calls for a change of heart. Stopping short of telling them to
stop carrying out their everyday activities, he urges them—
rather mysteriously—to live “as though” they aren’t doing the
things they are doing. A new day has dawned.
Finally, Jesus stands on the shore and cries, “The kingdom
of God is at hand!” (Mark 1:14). Simon and Andrew abandon
their nets—and even their father—and follow him. A new
day had dawned.
Everyone has to change when a new day dawns: the
Ninevites, the Corinthians, the apostles, even Jesus! Didn’t a
new day dawn today for us as well?
FEAST OF FAITH
WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE PRAYERS AT MASS?
At Masses today, Catholic parishes in the United States are for the first time in about forty years using a new English translation of all the prayers. These prayers are found in The Roman Missal, the large book that we are accustomed to seeing the priest use at our Eucharistic liturgies. In the early part of this century, the late Blessed Pope John Paul II called for the original Latin Missal (the official prayer book for Mass for the entire Catholic Church worldwide) to be re-translated into the various languages prayed throughout the world. In particular, he and other Church leaders felt that the English translation could be improved. He called for new translations that would be much more like the Latin texts upon which they are based, so that all Catholics throughout the world would become more closely united by praying translations that were closer to the original. The words that we pray at Mass express our beliefs; it is important that the translations capture and express these beliefs clearly. The translation process has come to a culmination now, and today we begin using this new translation at Mass.
TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION
“Ordinary” is not always a desirable adjective.
Who would not be insulted to receive a thank-you note for
your “ordinary birthday gift,” or “the ordinary hospitality at
the dinner party”? No restaurant advertises its
“ordinariness,” no car dealer seats a customer at the steering
wheel and whispers, “Look how ordinary it is!” Yet here we
are in “Ordinary Time.” The word carries a different meaning
here: it does not mean these days are dull, boring, pedestrian,
uninteresting. It means “ordinal,” or “numbered” Sundays,
a season of the year when we follow the story of Jesus’
life and ministry in an ordered way, with each Sunday
assigned an ordinal number.
You can amaze your friends with this example of
Catholic arithmetic: the “Ordinary Sundays” begin with the
last Sunday of Christmas, the Baptism of the Lord, continue
until the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and resume after a
cluster of feasts following Pentecost Sunday. The numbers
are calculated by counting backwards from the Solemnity of
Christ the King, the Thirty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Now you know there is nothing “ordinary” about “Ordinary
Time!”
READINGS FOR THE WEEKMonday: 1 Sm 15:16-23; Mk 2:18-22
Tuesday: 1 Sm 16:1-13; Mk 2:23-28
Wednesday: 1 Sm 17:32-33, 37, 40-51; Mk 3:1-6
Thursday: 1 Sm 18:6-9; 19:1-7; Mk 3:7-12
Friday: 1 Sm 24:3-21; Mk 3:13-19
Saturday: 2 Sm 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27; Mk 3:20-21
Sunday: Jon 3:1-5, 10; Ps 25; 1 Cor 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20
For SAINT OF THE DAY, Go to:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintofDay/default.asp
Saint Index => http://www.catholic.org/saints/stindex.php
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