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Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
22The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them, 24The Lord bless you and keep you; 25the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 26the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. 27So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.
1st Reading: Nm 6:22-27
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 67 – May God bless us in his mercy.
2nd Reading: Gal 4:4-7
Brothers and sisters: 4When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
Gospel: Lk 2:16-21
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16The shepherds went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 21After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
M ary is the only character from the infancy stories of Jesus who will live to see the ministry of her Son unfold, reach its climax on Calvary, and eventually generate the Church at Pentecost. Today’s Gospel lets us into the secret that will enable Mary to persevere in faith through the highs and lows of following and lovingly supporting a Son who is a sign of contradiction in Israel (cf. Lk 2:34). Mary always sought to be fully present to what was going on in her life, so that she could treasure the memories and ponder in her heart the mysterious ways of God. On this first day of the civil year, let us learn from Mary this Spirit-inspired way of discovering, from the perspective of faith, the meaning of life’s events, so that like her, we too, may live our lives trustfully and fruitfully.
Lord Jesus, just as you began your earthly journey with Mary, the woman-of-faith, may we too seek her guidance as we begin the year 2023. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 98 – All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
19This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” 21And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said. 24Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
Monday before Epiphany monday Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and doctors of the Church
25They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” 28This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. B ecoming an authentic witness entails ego-stripping, rather than ego-tripping! One’s testimony should not call attention to oneself but to the person one witnesses to. In other words, a witness must speak the plain truth without seeking any personal advantage. This is the lesson John the Baptist teaches us on this second day of the new year. The Gospel is presented like a courtroom scene, and John is the witness being interrogated. His interrogators were associating him with the great figures the Jews expected to appear and herald the end time. This could have been an opportunity for John to shine out. But he knew he was not the light and thus plainly denied all misconceptions about his identity. Only by being straightforward could he “make straight the way of the Lord.” Lord Jesus, help us to begin this year right by being uncompromisinglycommitted to the truth, like John. Amen.
1st Reading: 1 Jn 2:22-28
Gospel: Jn 1:19-28
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Lord Jesus, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. Amen. white Most Holy Name of Jesus
Gospel: Jn 1:29-34
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W hen John finally announces the fulfillment of Messianic hopes, he radically redefines the people’s expectation of the Messiah. He is not the longed-for political liberator and restorer of Israel’s national grandeur as the chosen race. He is beyond all such expectations, for God cannot be confined within the constructions of the human mind, no matter how grand and fantastic they may be. The Messiah’s agenda is not aligned with any worldly concern but solely with God’s agenda of claiming back his creatures by healing the alienation caused by human sin. God so loved the world that he sent his Son to be the Passover sacrifice — the unblemished lamb whose death will deliver people from the clutches of sin and spare them from eternal damnation. In John’s Gospel, the death of Jesus will take place at the precise time that paschal lambs are slaughtered in the temple on the Day of Preparation for Passover. The beginning of the Gospel already anticipates its climax.
32And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
1st Reading: 1 Jn 2:29–3:6
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 98 – All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
tuesday3 Tuesday before Epiphany
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Lord Jesus, we too desire to be part of that enduring intimacy with the Father, that made John’s disciples leave everything to abide with you. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 98 – All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
35The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’’ 37The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed).
42He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
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Gospel: Jn 1:35-42
W hat the two disciples of John the Baptist saw must have made a profound impact on them, for they could even recall the exact time of the experience — “four in the afternoon.” It started with an initial curiosity to know where Jesus was lodging. But what they saw made them stay, not only for a few hours but the whole day. It was not a physical space that Jesus brought them to, for his permanent abode was a person. The Gospel of John opens with a declaration that Jesus is in the bosom of the Father (Jn 1:18). It was in this enduring intimacy that Jesus dwelt. This was what he invited John’s disciples to “Come and see.” Then that “four in the afternoon” turned into a lifetime of discipleship.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious
Wednesday before Epiphany
1st Reading: 1 Jn 3:7-10
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 100 – Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Gospel: Jn 1:43-51
1st Reading: 1 Jn 3:11-21
january white Saint John Neumann, bishop thursday5 Thursday before Epiphany
43The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?”
I t is humanly unthinkable for divine omnipotence to subject itself to the limitations of earthly reality. But God’s thoughts and ways are not our thoughts and ways (cf. Is 55:8). The Incarnation of God’s Son may be imagined as a divine strategy for reversing human expectations. Choosing to grow up in the belittled town of Nazareth is part of this divine reversal. The human mindset must be turned upside-down, so that looking from the bottom, we may grasp something of the divine intention to transform the world, not through impressive acts of power, but through littleness, humble beginnings, service, and self-sacrifice. Like Nathanael, we must grapple, too, with inherited and personal prejudices as we make our faith-journey. The greatest reversal is yet to happen on Calvary. Only then will the confession — “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel” — truly be an act of mature faith.
Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Lord Jesus, may we learn “to walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7) and welcome the acts of divine reversal in our lives. Amen.
january white 6Friday 1st Reading: 1 Jn 5:5-13
I n today’s Gospel, even John the Baptist experiences the workings of the divine logic of reversal, as it turns upsidedown his great Messianic expectations. The One whom he has just proclaimed to be “mightier than I” suddenly shows up unrecognized, with no air of self-importance. This ordinary looking man humbly joins the crowd of sinners to submit to John’s baptism of repentance. While the way of the world is characterized by climbing to the top, downward mobility characterizes the way of God. At the incarnation, the Omnipotent identified himself with his powerless creatures. Going further down, now the sinless One identifies himself with sinful humanity. This voluntary act of reversal by the human Jesus receives divine affirmation. Truly, he is the beloved Son, because his will is perfectly aligned with God’s. Because he has chosen poverty and powerlessness, the Spirit-of-power descends and rests on him.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 147 – Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. Gospel: Mk 1:7-11 (or Lk 3:23-38)
7John the Baptist proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Lord Jesus, you set the pattern that follows the divine logic of reversal. Embolden us to embrace this countercultural pattern. Amen.
Saint André Bessette, religious Friday before Epiphany
january white Saint Raymond of Penyafort, priest saturday7 Saturday before Epiphany
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 149 – The Lord takes delight in his people.
Lord Jesus, transform us, just as you transformed water into wine at your mother’s bidding. Amen.
1st Reading: 1 Jn 5:14-21
6Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. 9When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
1On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Beginning and ending are crucial moments. In John’s Gospel, both are significantly marked by the presence of the mother of Jesus. The hour of Jesus begins at the wedding feast of Cana and reaches its culmination at his crucifixion. Mary is actively involved in the unfolding of both events. Today’s Gospel shows how Mary hastens the coming of Jesus’ hour by prompting him to perform his first sign. Despite Jesus’ protest that his hour has not yet come, Mary serenely tells the servers to obey Jesus in everything. This gentle call to obedience, though directed to the servers and not to him, becomes, for Jesus, a strong signal and indicator of his Father’s will. He too has come to obey and serve others by obedience. The Gospel gives us a glimpse of Mary’s sensitivity to human needs and her powerful intercessory role in our lives.
Gospel: Jn 2:1-11
1Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. 5Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
2Surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, 3and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation. . . . 5In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 72 – Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
1st Reading: Is 60:1-6
1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;
2nd Reading: Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6
Gospel: Mt 2:1-12
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Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord
7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
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t is ironic that the guardians of the Scriptures that contain the Messianic prophecies are disturbed and threatened by the fulfillment of what has been written. Instead, the wise foreigners who have no knowledge of the prophecies but guided only by nature’s sign — the rising star of the newborn King — take great pains to find the infant and honor him. With this story, the evangelist Matthew gives his readers a preview of how people would react differently to God’s universal offer of salvation through his Son Jesus. The secular king and the Jewish experts in the Scriptures would set themselves up against Jesus and orchestrate his death. And the Easter proclamation would be welcomed more by the Gentiles who are represented in the Christmas story by the Magi from the east Lord Jesus, Scriptures and nature unite to reveal you as God’s universal offer of salvation. Deliver us from the peril of keeping our hearts shut to the revelation. Amen.
4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
Lord Jesus, you voluntarily stepped into the waters that signified your own death, so that these same waters may become life-giving for us. Amen. monday
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
I saiah’s prophesied servant who will establish justice IS the beloved Son in Matthew’s Gospel who will fulfill all righteousness. Justice and righteousness are translations of the same reality, which is God’s covenant-faithfulness. In Jesus and through Jesus, God, who created everything good, will bring about the renewal of the face of the earth. To be the agent of this renewal, Jesus who shares God’s nature as his Son, becomes one with his Father’s creation through a progressive descent. The first step of this descent is to become human. Then, in his baptism, he identifies completely with sinners. Since death is the wage of sin, Jesus’ final act of solidarity with sinful humanity is to lay down his life. In that very act, he establishes justice and fulfills all righteousness, thus demonstrating the faithfulness of God his Father.
1st Reading: Is 42:1-4, 6-7
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 29 – The Lord will bless his people with peace.
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2nd Reading: Acts 10:34-38 Gospel: Mt 3:13-17
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Baptism of the Lord (1st Week in Ordinary Time)
1st Reading: Heb 2:5-12
I t is interesting to find the man with an unclean spirit inside the synagogue and apparently part of the congregation attending the Sabbath service. But this is no ordinary Saturday when a scribe proclaims and comments on the Scripture, and no one gets impressed, hearts are left unmoved, and even an unclean spirit can continue to oppress the person it inhabits. Today, it is Jesus who addresses the congregation and holds everyone spellbound by his authoritative words. The unclean spirit is unmasked by the very holiness of Jesus, and it cries out, terrified by the prospect of being exterminated. But Jesus is a liberator, not a destroyer, so he simply commands the unclean spirit to go away and sets the man free to worship genuinely with the congregation.
Gospel: Mk 1:21-28
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ord Jesus, we often come to worship distracted by many things. Though we do not call those distractions unclean spirits, we beseech you to dispel them and liberate us for true worship. Amen. in
Ordinary Time
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 8 – You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.
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21They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and 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.”
26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching — with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”
1st Reading: Acts 16:22-34
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L ord Jesus, you are ever present in our midst through your Holy Spirit who dwells in the Church and in our hearts. Amen.
Easter
Jesus said to his disciples, 5“But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”
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Responsorial Psalm: Ps 138 – Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
Gospel: Jn 16:5-11
T he simple truth that Jesus speaks about is the law of nature — that life evolves. One form must die to make way for another form, just as he said earlier, “… unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (Jn 12:24). Jesus is God incarnate, bound by space and time and all the limitations of human existence. His presence on earth cannot be perpetuated, for that would violate the law that the Creator has established. The Advocate, who is SpiritGod, is unbound by space, time, or any other earthly limitations. Though unseen, the Spirit’s power is all-pervasive. It has guided the Church and all believers from generation to generation, across lands and seas, and races, and genders, ensuring that the sacrifice of Jesus continues to produce much fruit that renews the face of the earth.
16The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? 17Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
1st Reading: Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 147 – Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
2nd Reading: 1 Cor 10:16-17
Gospel: Jn 6:51-58 Jesus said, 51“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
14then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, 16and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know.
52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his
june sunday11 Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christwhite
2Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. 3He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
I n the symbolic language of John’s Gospel, “flesh” and “blood” represent two central mysteries in Christ’s life — his incarnation (the Word became flesh), and his shedding of blood to the last drop at the crucifixion. These two central mysteries are summed up into one in St. Paul’s expression KENOSIS: “he emptied himself… coming in human likeness, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.”(cf. Phil 2:6-8). Our gestures of “eating the flesh” and “drinking the blood” of Christ represent our acceptance-in-faith of this mystery of Christ’s kenotic self-offering for us. This faith-filled acceptance is not just mental agreement but commitment of one’s life to the mystery. Mysteries reveal their meaning, not as much when they are explained to us in words, as when we personally live them. Thus, when we eat and drink the body and blood of Christ, we signify that we embrace kenosis (self-emptying) as our way of Christian discipleship. L ord Jesus, help us to understand that to live a Eucharistic life, we too must become bread broken and wine poured out so that others may live. Amen.
blood, you have no life in you. 54Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
