January 26
Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – John Fennessey / Ann Weeks
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
2 Timothy 1:1-8
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God for the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear child: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day. I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also in you.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
R. (3) Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all you lands.
Sing to the Lord; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Give to the Lord, you families of nations,
give to the Lord glory and praise;
give to the Lord the glory due his name!
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Say among the nations: The Lord is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Gospel Acclamation
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mark 4:1-20
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables,
and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
“Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”
Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
“Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.”
Reflection
Today’s readings are focused on one thing, the idea that God’s message is the most important thing we could ever think of in our lives. Many philosophers and theologians think and write about why we exist. God’s message today through the scriptures tells us that, at least in His mind, (and perhaps His mind is the only thing we should try to comprehend) we exist to learn the ways of eternal life.
We see in Paul’s second letter to Timothy that, since he has taught Timothy in the ways of the faith, he wants him to turn around and to teach others. He tells him; “do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord… to bear the hardship of the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.” Paul is telling Timothy that many people will not want to hear what he has to say, but he must not let their negativity hinder his efforts to spread the Gospel.
Today’s Psalm response is also attuned to how people learn about God and the role that his faithful play in spreading the message of love and mercy that God wants us to know. The Psalmist’s words: “Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations” are a clarion call for us to be fearless in telling others about our faith.
Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus describes many of the people who hear the message of God and reject it. He says of them; “they may look and see, but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand.” What Jesus is telling us is that the devil is at work in the world, and one of his main techniques is to work in people’s minds and hearts to obscure the truth of God–that His mercy is never ending, and His love is inexpressibly great. Let us recognize that our work in this world is to share the love of the Gospel with our neighbor, and in so doing, show him or her our love of God.
Peace,
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.