January 5
Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM - Bill Sovik / Leonard Smith
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
1 John 4:11-18
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.
This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 72:1-2, 10, 12-13
R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Gospel Acclamation
See 1 Timothy 3:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to you, O Christ, proclaimed to the Gentiles.
Glory to you, O Christ, believed in throughout the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mark 6:45-52
After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied,
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them,
he went off to the mountain to pray.
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing,
for the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves.
On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.
“Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”
Reflection
Today’s readings continue St. John the Evangelist’s treatise on the love of God. The concept of love is a very important part of God’s message to us. We know about love in many ways. The love of a husband and wife, of a child for his or her parents, the love of brothers and sisters are all things we have some experience with. But God’s love is something we might want to call a perfect love. While the love we share with our families and friends might be very satisfying, the love of God is something else altogether.
As St. John tells us, the love we share with each other is brought to perfection if it is powered by faith in God. He goes on to tell us about how the Holy Spirit is involved in this perfect love. This type of Spirit-filled, perfect love is the kind of love that makes someone give their whole life for another. This love is embodied by the sacrificial love that Jesus displayed when he went to the cross.
Our gospel reading shows the difference between the human love we share for each other and the perfect love that Jesus has for his people. The apostles are struggling with not only the sea that has been stirred up by strong winds, but when they see a figure walking on the water, they automatically assume that it is a ghost. Jesus’ first inclination was to just walk by them, but seeing their panic, he stops and helps them. As we are told by Mark, the author of this gospel, “...their hearts were hardened.” This hardness of heart is the thing that can separate us from the love of God, just as the Apostles are, at this time, separated from Jesus and what he wants to do with them. We need to turn to the Spirit to keep our hearts from being hardened.
Keep love alive,
Deacon Dare
Would you like to receive Readings & Reflections, and a link to join us for Mass? Subscribe to The Daily Bread newsletter.
Permission to reprint, podcast, and / or stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-739865. All rights reserved.