MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Monday - January 23, 2023

 

Monday - January 23, 2023

 You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy - the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good. For God resists the proud.

 

-- St. Vincent de Paul

January 23, 2023

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

Lectionary: 317

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Heb 9:15, 24-28

 

Christ is mediator of a new covenant:

since a death has taken place

for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant,

those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.

 

For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands,

a copy of the true one, but heaven itself,

that he might now appear before God on our behalf.

Not that he might offer himself repeatedly,

as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary

with blood that is not his own;

if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly

from the foundation of the world.

But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages

to take away sin by his sacrifice.

Just as it is appointed that human beings die once,

and after this the judgment, so also Christ,

offered once to take away the sins of many,

will appear a second time, not to take away sin

but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

 

R. (1a)  Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

 

Sing to the LORD a new song,

for he has done wondrous deeds;

His right hand has won victory for him,

his holy arm.

R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

The LORD has made his salvation known:

in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.

He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness

toward the house of Israel.

R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

All the ends of the earth have seen

the salvation by our God.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;

break into song; sing praise.

R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,

with the harp and melodious song.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn

sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.

R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

 

Alleluia         

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death

and brought life to light through the Gospel.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Mk 3:22-30

 

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,

"He is possessed by Beelzebul," and

"By the prince of demons he drives out demons."

 

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,

"How can Satan drive out Satan?

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

And if a house is divided against itself,

that house will not be able to stand.

And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,

he cannot stand;

that is the end of him.

But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property

unless he first ties up the strong man.

Then he can plunder his house. 

Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies

that people utter will be forgiven them.

But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit

will never have forgiveness,

but is guilty of an everlasting sin."

For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

 

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

Seeing the glory of Jesus the Savior

Praise the Lord, for he has done marvelous deeds — for YOU! Sing with the psalmist of today’s responsorial Psalm; sing to the Lord a new song. The Lord has made known his salvation to you!

 

That’s right, he’s made it plainly clear that he cares about you. How? By offering up his own life for you (as we hear in today’s first reading) to heal you from the destructiveness of your sins, and the next time he appears, he will bring eternal salvation — heaven — to you.

 

Although this scripture is first of all speaking about Christ’s Second Coming, it’s also referring to your life here and now, and mine, as all scripture does, because Jesus is always with us.

 

We don’t have to be visionaries to see Jesus. He comes to us in the humble form of bread and wine, with all his humanity and divinity mysteriously packaged in the gift of the Eucharist. The next time you go to Mass, as the priest speaks the prayers of consecration, ask Jesus to “appear” to you. Prayerfully entrust your imagination to the Holy Spirit and see what happens.

 

Sometimes when I do this, if he’s calling me to a new task or a busy day, I imagine him beckoning me as if to say, “Come on! Let’s get going! We have work to do for the Kingdom!” Other times, he’s holding out his arms to welcome and embrace me. Sometimes I can sense him smiling at me or praying for me or reminding me that he is already victorious in the trials that are causing me anguish.

 

We can also see his True Presence in people. Because each baptized person is an earthly “tabernacle” where Christ dwells, we can encounter him in others, including those whom we do not like, if we remember to look beneath the surface. He also comes to us in beautiful sunsets, in our private meditations, in the Word that’s read at Mass, and ___ (fill in the blank; how does he reveal himself to you?).

 

Always, Jesus is interceding for you. He’s working behind the scenes and on the front lines to help you. He’s more concerned than you are about the evils you suffer.

 

Whenever we turn to him for help, he readily enters the “strong man’s house” and trashes the place, tossing out all the weapons that have been used against us, restraining every evil spirit that works for the “strong man” (as in today’s Gospel reading). And the more we purify our hearts and work on our spiritual growth, the more this will make a lasting difference.

 

Jesus has not yet come to bring us the fullness of salvation. He’ll do that when we die (unless his Second Coming happens first). But in the meantime, we can be sure that he is busy mediating for us in our current situations. Things might look disastrous, or it might seem that life is not going as it should, but if we take our eyes off of the evil and look instead at Jesus, we will see and feel the victorious love of our Savior.

 

Remember my motto: Keep your eyes on Jesus!

 

Today's Prayer

 

Lord: Give us a clear awareness of the need to remain united in community and that You are victorious in our unity. 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!”