"The only purpose for which God created you
was to be loved and served by you in this life."
--St. John Bosco
"The only purpose for which God created you
was to be loved and served by you in this life."
--St. John Bosco
January 24, 2021
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday of the Word
of God
Lectionary: 68
The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying:
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’S bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,
“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, “
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.
Responsorial Psalm - Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (4a) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Reading 2 - 1 Cor 7:29-31
I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.
Alleluia - Mk 1:15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The kingdom of God
is at hand.
Repent and believe
in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel - Mk 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 abandoned 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.
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No Better Time Than Now
This Sunday's Gospel reading is a call to surrender ourselves fully to God. "NOW is the time of fulfillment" - not just 2000 years ago, not at the Second Coming of Christ, but right now in your life when and where you need Jesus the most.
"The kingdom of God is at hand" - what you need from the Lord is right here, at hand, ready for you.
"Repent, and believe in the gospel" means "Come follow Me and learn from Me to become like Me." For the first disciples, it meant dropping whatever they were doing to spend so much time with Jesus that their whole lives were forever affected. And this is what it means for you and for me: We have to put aside our own agendas and busy schedules to spend more time following Jesus wherever he leads us.
In the modern world, we have become more dependent on our technological devices than on Jesus. Many of us cannot even go on vacation without remaining accessible to their employers via the cell phone. Somehow, we need to find a way to take a stand against this. It's one of the social justice teachings of the Church: We are actually called by God to rebel against working on Sundays and other days of rest. Why? Because we need to spend that time with Jesus getting renewed, restored and re-energized.
Unfortunately, Jesus doesn't walk through the door and circle dates on our calendar and write "Rest with Jesus" so that we can plan ahead. We have to follow his lead at a moment's notice - every moment. To experience the kingdom of God on the earthly side of heaven, we have to be willing to drop everything to follow Jesus into unfamiliar places at unexpected times. We have to learn to follow his lead even in situations where his way is the surprising way.
Today's Prayer
Beloved Lord Jesus: You know that many times my agenda and my passions take control of my life. I surrender to You my mind and my senses so that, placed in You and free from my limitations, they may follow our Father's perfect paths. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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