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Sunday, January 19, 2014: (SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME) Readings for today: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6 / 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 / John 1:29-34:
Readings from: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011914.cfm (Pics from elsewhere on the internet)
Reading 1 - A reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 49:3, 5-6):
The LORD said to me: You are my servant,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial Psalm - (Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10):
From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfDiGZ9BwbM
R/ (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R/ Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Reading 2 - A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:1-3):
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
to the church of God that is in Corinth,
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
their Lord and ours.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel - A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. John (John 1:29-34):
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
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01/19/2014 - St. Paul the Hermit (233-345 A.D.):
From: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1261&calendar=1
St.
Paul the Hermit
It is unclear what we really know of Paul's life, how much
is fable, how much fact.
Paul was reportedly born in Egypt, where he was orphaned by age 15. He was also
a learned and devout young man. During the persecution of Decius in Egypt in the
year 250, Paul was forced to hide in the home of a friend. Fearing a
brother-in-law would betray him, he fled in a cave in the desert. His plan was
to return once the persecution ended, but the sweetness of solitude and heavenly
contemplation convinced him to stay.
He went on to live in that cave for the next 90 years. A nearby spring gave him
drink, a palm tree furnished him clothing and nourishment. After 21 years of
solitude a bird began bringing him half of a loaf of bread each day. Without
knowing what was happening in the world, Paul prayed that the world would become
a better place.
St. Anthony of Egypt [January 17] attests to his holy life and death. Tempted by
the thought that no one had served God in the wilderness longer than he, Anthony
was led by God to find Paul and acknowledge him as a man more perfect than
himself. The raven that day brought a whole loaf of bread instead of the usual
half. As Paul predicted, Anthony would return to bury his new friend.
Thought to have been about 112 when he died, Paul is known as the "First
Hermit." His feast day is celebrated in the East; he is also commemorated in the
Coptic and Armenian rites of the Mass.
Comment:
The will and direction of God are seen in the circumstances of our lives. Led by
the grace of God, we are free to respond with choices that bring us closer to
and make us more dependent upon the God who created us. Those choices might at
times seem to lead us away from our neighbor. But ultimately they lead us back
both in prayer and in fellowship to one another.