Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 68
Reading 1
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying:
"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD'S bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,
"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, "
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (4a) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Reading 2
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.
Alleluia
Mark 1:15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mark 1:14-20
After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
"This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel."
As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;
they were fishermen.
Jesus said to them,
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.
He walked along a little farther
and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They too were in a boat mending their nets.
Then he called them.
So they left their father Zebedee in the boat
along with the hired men and followed him.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
True Fulfillment
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14–15
Jesus begins His public ministry immediately after being tempted by the devil while in the desert for forty days. As He begins His ministry, He declares: “This is the time of fulfillment.” First, the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry was, historically speaking, the “time of fulfillment,” in that the new era of the Gospel and grace had just begun. But the “time of fulfillment” of which Jesus speaks also refers to each and every time that we hear the Gospel and respond. We do this by sincerely repenting of our sins and by becoming a fuller member of God’s Kingdom. But ponder for a moment the specific word “fulfillment.” What does this mean?
The word “fulfilled” can be contrasted with its opposite “unfulfilled.” To be unfulfilled is always undesirable. In this world, many people find themselves unfulfilled and try to fill this void with many things. Interestingly, the three temptations that Jesus had just experienced in the desert are among the temptations that so many people give into during their search for fulfillment in life.
First, Jesus was hungry, and the devil tempted Him to turn stones into bread to satiate that hunger. This is a temptation to fleshly fulfillment. Second, the devil tempted Jesus to throw Himself off the pinnacle of the Temple to prove He was the Son of God. This is a temptation to fulfillment by pride—pride to convince another of one’s importance and identity. Third, the devil showed Jesus all the nations of the world and promised them to our Lord if Jesus worshiped him. This is a temptation to fulfillment by obtaining earthly wealth and power. Of course, Jesus rejected all three temptations as a way of showing that none of these truly fulfill us. And He did this just prior to the beginning of His public ministry so as to then go forth preaching the true message of fulfillment. “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
True fulfillment is only found in the Gospel, the message of Truth that Jesus shared during His three years of public ministry and then brought to completion by His sacrificial death and resurrection. Only those who heed His words and open themselves to the grace poured forth from the Cross are able to find the fulfillment that they seek.
Reflect, today, upon your own interior desire for fulfillment in life. How do you try to satiate this desire? Do you allow the evil one to trick you into thinking that fleshly desires, pride or wealth are the answer? Reject those temptations with our Lord and then immerse yourself in His Gospel message, which is the only source of fulfillment in life.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER
“They immediately abandoned their nets and became His followers.” —Mark 1:18
When a fish is caught and taken out of the water, it will die. Its former watery way of life “is passing away” (1 Cor 7:31). Similarly, everything changes when we enter into the kingdom of God. Living in God’s kingdom is as different from our pre-Christian life as is life for that fish trying to live on land. Lifestyles that worked underwater no longer work in fresh air. In order for the fish to live on land, that fish would need to receive a new nature.
So it is with us human beings. To live in the kingdom of God, we die to our old nature in Baptism; we then become “sharers of the divine nature” (2 Pt 1:4) when we rise from the waters of Baptism. Now our old lifestyle won’t work. Once we begin living the new, baptized life in Christ, we can no longer live the lifestyle we had before Christ. We must discard those things we used to do before we gave ourselves to Jesus (see Eph 4:22-24). We can no longer live as do the nonbelievers (1 Pt 4:2-3). We die to ourselves, pick up our cross each day, follow Jesus (Lk 9:23), and live the new lifestyle that befits a member of the household of God (1 Tm 3:15).
Are you struggling to live a godly life? Are you having a hard time breathing the risen air? Maybe you’re not dead yet. Beg Jesus to crucify your old nature (Gal 5:24) and raise you up to life to the full (Jn 10:10).
Prayer: Father, I want everything You have for me. I want it all. Take everything that keeps me from You. Give me Your risen life.
Promise: “Reform your lives and believe in the gospel!” —Mk 1:15
Praise: Praise You, Jesus, “the Resurrection and the Life”! (Jn 11:25) I rejoice in You forever!
Reflection 3
By Fr. Lluís ROQUÉ i Roqué
(Manresa, Barcelona, Spain)
“Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Today the Church invites us to convert and, with Jesus, is telling us: "Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). Therefore, we must heed Jesus Christ, while correcting and improving what is necessary.
Every human action connects with God's eternal plan for us and the calling to listen to Jesus, to follow Him in everything and for everything, and to proclaim Him as the first disciples did, as millions have done and we strive to do.
Now is the opportunity to find God in Jesus Christ; now is the moment in our lives that connects with either a blissful or a miserable eternity; now is the time God gives us to encounter Him, to live as His children, and to ensure that daily events carry the divine transcendence that Jesus Christ —with His life through time— has imprinted on them.
We cannot miss this opportunity! Our life may be more or less lengthy in time, but will always be too short, for "the world in its present form is passing away" (1 Corinthians 7:31). Afterward, it will be an eternity with God and His faithful in full life and happiness, or away from God —with the unfaithful— in a life of total darkness.
Thus, the hours, days, months, and years are not for wasting, nor for settling down and passing them unnoticed with a futile “just getting by”. They are for living what Jesus has proclaimed in the saving Gospel, here and now: to live in God, loving everything and everyone. And so, those who have loved —Mary, Mother of God and our Mother; the saints; those who have been faithful until the end of earthly life— have been able to hear: "Well done, my good and faithful servant… Come, share your master’s joy" (Matthew 25:23).
Let us convert! It is worth it. We will love and be happy from now on.
Prayers
Lord of true fulfillment, You and You alone are the source of the fullness of life. I believe that with all my heart. Please give me the grace I need to reject all temptations in life and to cling only to Your holy Word and the grace given to all who follow You. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, you have called me personally by name, just as you called your first disciples, Simon, Andrew, James, and John. Help me to believe your word and follow you faithfully. Fill me with the joy of the gospel that your light may shine through me to many others.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 21: You Are Loved. Believe it.
Being accepted by Christ and living within His merciful Heart will lead you to discover how much He loves you. He does love you more than you can imagine. Let yourself begin to discover that love. Savor it, believe it, understand it and seek it all the more (See Diary #16).
Spend time today pondering one simple fact. You are loved. You are loved by our Divine Lord Jesus with a greater intensity than you could ever imagine. Sometimes we fail to recognize this fact and, as a result, fail to let His love enter in. Ponder His love for you today and let it begin to sink in more deeply.
Lord, I know that You love me but I also know that I do not understand the full extent of Your perfect love. Lord, help me to see Your love more clearly and to allow that love to sink into the depth of my soul. Jesus, I love You. Jesus, I trust in You.
No comments:
Post a Comment