GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Monday - January 13, 2020

Monday - January 13, 2020

"I will never complain, but resign myself to God's will, for He arranges everything for my good."

--St. Anthony Mary Claret

TODAY'S READINGS

 

January 13 2020

 

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Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 305

Reading 11 SM 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?”

ResponsorialPSALM 116:12-13, 14-17, 18-19

R.    (17a)  To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R.    Alleluia.
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.
or:
R.    Alleluia.
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.
or:
R.    Alleluia.
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.
or:
R.    Alleluia.

AlleluiaMK 1:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMK 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.

*****************************************************************************

Weeping with Jesus

Imagine yourself wearing Hannah's sandals as you read or hear today's first scripture. Peninnah is anyone in your life who claims to be a Christian but who behaves sinfully against you and has no remorse and suffers no punishment, month after month, year after year. Meanwhile, you have been a good and faithful worshipper of the Lord, yet your prayers for an end to this trial have been barren. Your Peninnah mocks your purity of faith, arrogantly treats you as inferior, and cares nothing about your sufferings.

Jesus is your Elkanah, your loving spouse. He says to you, "Why do you weep and mourn? Am I not more to you than everything else you wish for?"

He is, but his loving embrace cannot be felt physically, and his compassionate understanding does not end your sorrows. The injustices continue. You wonder why God hasn't intervened to fulfill his promise of raising the lowly and humbling the arrogant.
In tomorrow's verses, we'll see how God finally answers Hannah's prayers, but today Hannah doesn't know that her trial will ever end. After so many years of enduring Peninnah's abuses and watching her receive great blessings despite her sinfulness, Hannah has good reason to grieve. Her tears are our tears when we need our own life to improve and it doesn't.

At times like this, we have nothing but the Lord himself to give us comfort and satisfaction and peace. Relief doesn't come from our prayers getting answered, but from the Answerer of our prayers. For now, his answer might only be, "I am here, my beloved. You are not alone. I am weeping with you."

In this intimacy is the salvation we await. In this intimacy is the victory we know we should expect, the fulfillment of God's promises in which we trust. In this intimacy is the justice and the deliverance that is due for us. But we can only experience this victory in him. It's not in our trials -- not yet. Jesus asks, "Am I not more to you than everything else?"
The darkest hour is the moment we feel like giving up, but the Light of Christ is always here, waiting to be rediscovered. We are battling powers of darkness that make us feel discouraged and dejected. We need to remember that God never ignores the cries of his people. Jesus has already conquered the darkness. Don't let anyone or anything steal this truth from you. Every trial will end. Every injustice will be vindicated by your Beloved Lord.
But in the meantime, find your relief in Jesus.

Today's Prayer
Your calling, Jesus, is irresistible. When You show Yourself and come to meet me, Your love exceeds everything else and I cannot resist You. Thank You for calling me by name!

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God Bless You.....

Rosary Family
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”