MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Wednesday - January 26, 2022

Wednesday - January 26, 2022

"We must not serve God for the sake of His consolations, but because He is worthy of being served."

--St. Paul of the Cross

January 26, 2022

MEMORIAL OF SAINTS TIMOTHY AND TITUS, BISHOPS
Lectionary: 520/319

Reading 1                                                     2 Tm 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.

 

OR:

 

Ti 1:1-5

 

Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ

for the sake of the faith of God’s chosen ones

and the recognition of religious truth,

in the hope of eternal life

that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,

who indeed at the proper time revealed his word

in the proclamation with which I was entrusted

by the command of God our savior,

to Titus, my true child in our common faith:

grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.

 

For this reason I left you in Crete

so that you might set right what remains to be done

and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              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.

 

Alleluia                                                                                             

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                                                                       Mk 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.”

 

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

HOW TO BE FEARLESS EVANGELIZERS

The alternate Gospel reading specifically recommended for the Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus is Luke 10:1-9. After Jesus says, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few," he adds, "Behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves." It takes courage to lead others to salvation. We live in a world where non-Christians (and sometimes even unchristian "Christians") want to subdue us with their unholy, immoral beliefs and ways.

 

Saint Paul said to Timothy and now says to us (today's reading from 2nd Timothy, chapter 1) that God did not give us a spirit of cowardice. The fear of speaking up about Jesus is not from God. The Holy Spirit gives us power and love and self-control. "So do not be ashamed of your testimony about our Lord," Paul says.

 

When we let the Holy Spirit stir up into flame our calling to share the Good News, we are given supernatural power to back up our words. Sadly, we don't see this happening today as much of the first Christians experienced. We've been influenced by a secular culture that disbelieves in the miracle power that belongs to the followers of Christ. What should be normal for us is what was normal for Christians in Paul's time. The Good News is: The Holy Spirit hasn't changed! When we let the fire of the Holy Spirit renew us and overtake us, miracles do happen.

 

The Holy Spirit also gives us love -- love so passionate for the people around us that we become highly motivated to make Jesus visible to them. And with the self-control that the Spirit gives us, we can choose to overcome the spirit of cowardice.

 

Opportunities occur every day in our ordinary circumstances. Everything we do should reveal the light of Christ. Who around you is suffering through a tragedy or difficulty? They're instinctively seeking a light that will lead them to hope, to love, to healing, and to the restoration of goodness. Who around you has insufficient faith? They want to be assured that God cares; they're ready to grow.

 

If you feel unprepared to use current opportunities to let Christ shine from you, avail yourself of the extra grace that's available in the Sacrament of Reconciliation to become the light that you are meant to be. Let your concern for others be the fuel for your light.

 

Today's Prayer

 

My Lord, May my love for You move me to search and announce the Good News boldly and with perseverance. Thank you Lord, because Your work in me goes beyond my own existence in this world. Amen.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

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