January 10
Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – Maureen McManus / Maio Family
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 Samuel 1:1-8
There was a certain man from Ramathaim, Elkanah by name, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless. This man regularly went on pilgrimage from his city to worship the LORD of hosts and to sacrifice to him at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were ministering as priests of the LORD. When the day came for Elkanah to offer sacrifice, he used to give a portion each to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters, but a double portion to Hannah because he loved her, though the LORD had made her barren. Her rival, to upset her, turned it into a constant reproach to her that the LORD had left her barren. This went on year after year; each time they made their pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the LORD, Peninnah would approach her, and Hannah would weep and refuse to eat. Her husband Elkanah used to ask her: “Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you refuse to eat? Why do you grieve? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 116:12-13, 14-17, 18-19
R. (17a) To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones
.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
Gospel Acclamation
Mark 1:15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mark 1:14-20
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they left their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.
“To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.”
Reflection
Such a rich passage from our gospel today to insert yourself into…can you imagine yourself along the shore where Jesus is walking and proclaiming his message for the first time? Or maybe could you imagine seeing the men hard at work in their boats as Jesus approached? Even having fished a few times in my life (more for enjoyment than for real labor), I would think there wouldn’t be much appealing about these fishermen or their appearance or even their smell! Although, to be honest, I’m not always sure why Jesus approaches me to invite me where he is going either for that matter. How did Jesus get their attention? He must have shouted or maybe these fishers picked up their heads or stopped to catch their breath just at the right moment while they were busy about their mundane tasks. In an instant, though, their lives changed forever.
St. Jerome's reflects on the passage:
“There must have been something divinely compelling in the face of the Savior. Otherwise they would not have acted so irrationally as to follow a man whom they had never seen before. Does one leave a father to follow a man in whom he sees nothing more than he sees in his father? They left their father of the flesh to follow the Father of the spirit. They did not leave a father; they found a Father. What is the point of this digression? To show that there was something divine in the Savior’s very countenance that men, seeing, could not resist.”
Are we too distracted to be able to receive Jesus’ invitation? The moment we are called by Jesus, the potential is there to have life as we know it never be the same again. But as Jerome notices, Jesus’ invitation to relationship is not one that leaves us wanting or afraid, nor in reality is it as irrational as it appears—of course there is something divinely compelling when we truly encounter Jesus, and of course when we hear his voice there really is only one rational response: we get up and follow. The path that Jesus invites us to is always the one that will lead most to our flourishing. Hannah (in our first reading) will soon discover that this same invitation from the Lord is on his terms and for his designs, but it always comes with an overwhelming amount of grace in store for the one who is really prepared to receive it.
Peace,
Fr. Foley
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