MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Tuesday - January 10, 2023

 

Tuesday - January 10, 2023

All our religion is but a false religion, and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not that universal charity for everyone - for the good, and for the bad, for the poor and for the rich, and for all those who do us harm as much as those who do us good.

~~St. John Vianney

January 10, 2023

Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 306

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Heb 2:5-12

 

It was not to angels that God subjected the world to come,

of which we are speaking.

Instead, someone has testified somewhere:

 

    What is man that you are mindful of him,

        or the son of man that you care for him?

    You made him for a little while lower than the angels;

        you crowned him with glory and honor,

        subjecting all things under his feet.

 

In “subjecting” all things to him,

he left nothing not “subject to him.”

Yet at present we do not see “all things subject to him,”

but we do see Jesus “crowned with glory and honor”

because he suffered death,

he who “for a little while” was made “lower than the angels,”

that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

 

For it was fitting that he,

for whom and through whom all things exist,

in bringing many children to glory,

should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering.

He who consecrates

and those who are being consecrated all have one origin.

Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers” saying:

 

    I will proclaim your name to my brethren,

    in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  8:2ab and 5, 6-7, 8-9

 

R.    (see 7) You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.

 

O LORD, our Lord,

    how glorious is your name over all the earth!

What is man that you should be mindful of him,

    or the son of man that you should care for him?

R.    You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.

 

You have made him little less than the angels,

    and crowned him with glory and honor.

You have given him rule over the works of your hands,

    putting all things under his feet.

R.    You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.

 

All sheep and oxen,

    yes, and the beasts of the field,

The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,

    and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

R.    You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.

 

Alleluia                                              

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Receive the word of God, not as the word of men,

but as it truly is, the word of God.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Mk 1:21-28

 

Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers,

and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.

The people were astonished at his teaching,

for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.

In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;

he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

Have you come to destroy us?

I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”

Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet!  Come out of him!”

The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.

All were amazed and asked one another,

“What is this?

A new teaching with authority.

He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”

His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

 

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

The Authority of Christ

Many scriptures speak of the authority of Jesus. Today’s first reading points out that God the Father subjected all things under Jesus. It’s a quote from the responsorial Psalm. And the Gospel story shows us that Christ’s authority is so powerful that the demon had to depart from the man whether it wanted to or not.

 

Do you suppose that the reason why evil remains in this world — and in your life — is because God doesn’t have enough authority on earth to get rid of it all? Maybe Satan is in charge of this world and God only has total authority in heaven? In our daily troubles, as the hardships continue unrelentingly despite our pleas for divine help, it seems like God’s will is being overpowered by the devil or by the free will of the people who are causing the hardships.

 

But Christ’s authority is superior to all! It is the ultimate authority and the final authority. As he told Pilate, no one has any authority except what is allowed by God. Even the worst enemy that our world has gets his authority from God. Granted, it’s misused, but God has the power to withhold the breath of life from him at any moment and thus put an end to it. He could have struck Pilate dead with a lightning bolt — wouldn’t that have knocked the socks off all those who were yelling “Crucify him!” And a hidden, greater plan would have been side-tracked.

 

Christ’s authority is not dependent upon anyone’s conversion. Notice that the people in this Gospel story asked, “What does this mean?” — a sure sign that they did not yet believe he was the Messiah. And the demon certainly did not convert into a good angel; yet he obeyed.

 

There are many examples of Jesus’ authority today. We see it when a baby is baptized: Unable to know God personally, the infant is nonetheless impacted by divine authority as Jesus cleanses the child from Original Sin and the Father adopts the child and the Holy Spirit fills this tiny person with divine gifts.

 

Every request for divine help is acted upon by God — every request! — with that same strength of power and authority. Yet when we pray, we assume that we have to beg Jesus to respond. We get mad at the people who stand in the way of the answers to our prayers. We worry that the Lord won’t overcome the evil that’s harassing us. What a wimpy, faithless way to pray!

 

Instead of telling Jesus what kind of help we need, we accomplish much more if we pray IN his authority. That means we let him decide how and when and through whom our prayers should be answered.

 

Prayer doesn’t change God (thank God for that or we’d surely worsen our messes!). True prayer changes us so that our will becomes aligned with his will and we begin to cooperate with his hidden, much better plan.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Lord Jesus: Take authority over me, my story, my mind and my heart. Purify me of everything that keeps me from You. I want to be Your servant. 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!”