Wednesday - January 05, 2022
“God loves each of us
as if there were only one of us.”
- St. Augustine
TODAY'S READINGS
January 5, 2022
MEMORIAL OF SAINT JOHN NEUMANN, BISHOP
Lectionary: 214
Reading 1 1 Jn 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 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.
Alleluia 1 Tm 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 Mk 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.
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WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
In the first reading today and in the Gospel reading, one very clear message is: Fear not!
We all have fears, and they divide us from God. They prevent us from entering fully into his love. They hold us back from doing everything that God asks of us. They trap us in unhealthy patterns of living that keep us feeling miserable and cause us to make others feel miserable. They paralyze our emotional healing and our spiritual growth.
Why do we put up with them?
Think of the word "fear" as F.E.A.R., which stands for False Evidence Appearing Real.
Fears have power over us because they are lying to us and we believe their lies. Imagine how silly it would be for a bird to say: "I am not going to learn to fly, because I can't see how the air can hold me up! Even when I see other birds flying, I know that the air won't hold ME up."
Trusting God is like that. We cannot see how God, who is no more visible than air, could enable us to fly with the wings of faith. If it doesn't look possible, then we assume it is impossible.
When a fledgling bird clings to the security of its nest, the mother bird pushes it out. She forces it to experience the open expanse of air. Many of our scariest experiences have simply been caused by God's concern for us. Think back to a time when you felt pushed into a set of circumstances that seemed impossible for you to handle. Did you learn something good from it? Of course you did!
The birdling is so sure that he has reason to be afraid, he flaps and panics and flails and falls, thus proving that his fear was right. But his mother swoops down and covers him with her wings. Eventually, her confidence helps him to overcome his fear.
When we allow fear to make us panic, we flail and fall, and this seems like proof that the F.E.A.R. was right. If we stay there, we never learn to soar to the heights that God created us to discover.
Why do we choose to live like this? Yes, it IS a choice. Think about just one fear you have. Are you afraid, even a little, that God doesn't love you enough to help you in all of your needs? What false evidence seems to prove this? When you identify it, force your attention away from it. Keep your eyes on Jesus. How is God covering you with his wings? Focus in on his confidence and let this give you the courage to fly!
Today's Prayer
Beloved Jesus, I want to ask You the grace of recognizing in time Your path through my life and of being able to receive the message You want to give me in the most difficult times. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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