MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Saturday - January 21, 2023

 

Saturday - January 21, 2023

Pure love ... knows that only one thing is needed to please God: to do even the smallest things out of great love - love, and always love.

--St. Faustina

January 21, 2023

Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

Lectionary: 316

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Heb 9:2-3, 11-14

 

A tabernacle was constructed, the outer one,

in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of offering;

this is called the Holy Place.

Behind the second veil was the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies.

 

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be,

passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands,

that is, not belonging to this creation,

he entered once for all into the sanctuary,

not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own Blood,

thus obtaining eternal redemption.

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes

can sanctify those who are defiled

so that their flesh is cleansed,

how much more will the Blood of Christ,

who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God,

cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

 

R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

 

All you peoples, clap your hands,

shout to God with cries of gladness,

For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,

is the great king over all the earth.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

 

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;

the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.

Sing praise to God, sing praise;

sing praise to our king, sing praise.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

 

For king of all the earth is God:

sing hymns of praise.

God reigns over the nations,

God sits upon his holy throne.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

 

Alleluia         

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Open our hearts, O Lord,

to listen to the words of your Son.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Mk 3:20-21

 

Jesus came with his disciples into the house.

Again the crowd gathered,

making it impossible for them even to eat.

When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,

for they said, "He is out of his mind."

 

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A Crazy Case of Christian Identity

This Saturday’s Gospel reading is very short. So short that it begs the question: What is the point God wants to make?

Well, Jesus was called “crazy” and now we’re living through crazy times. Has anyone ever said that you are “out of your mind” for saying and doing what is right and just and holy?

Well, rejoice! This has united you to Jesus. It’s disheartening to be disbelieved because of your faith, but Jesus considers you to be a very dear friend.

As you know, over the past several decades, evil has gradually upped its game. “It’s not really a sin if it feels good,” the devil says. “You decide for yourself what’s right and wrong.” It’s the belief that morality is based on a person’s feelings rather than the unchangeable truths in the Bible.

Of course the devil is lying. He really does not want anyone to think for themselves. Beneath it all, he is saying: “Believe my lies and I will tell you what’s right and wrong. Good is evil and evil is good. Hehehehe.”

The devil’s propaganda techniques have worked so well that now anyone who vocalizes the truth is “out of his mind” and is even to be hated, attacked, and silenced. It’s become so “normal” that it’s been given a label: the “cancel culture”.

In the midst of all this, if we want to meaningfully live the sacrament of our baptism, we serve as prophets of the Kingdom of God. (Baptism anoints us to be priests, prophets and kings in imitation of Christ our Savior.) Here’s the best definition of a Christian prophet that I ever heard:

Prophets are gifted by God to see what others cannot see. Once we are aware, we are compelled by the Holy Spirit to help others see it too because we recognize the importance of it.

How well are you responding to this call? It takes passionate love of Christ and concern for others to stand firm in the truth, willing to be rejected and criticized (“he’s out of his mind”).

I’m here to remind you: “No you are not crazy. It’s the world that’s gone crazy. The fact that you can see the dangers of evil means that you have a prophetic calling. Keep doing what you’re doing for the Lord. You are not alone.”

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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!”