Mk 1:21-28
They went as far as Capernaum, and at once on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority. And at once in their synagogue there was a man with an unclean spirit, and he shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? Read More
Today we return to the meditation of 7 January on the discernment of spirits. Therefore, although this is not the reading of the day, we will listen again to a passage from the Letter of St. John:
1 Jn 4:1-6
My dear friends, not every spirit is to be trusted, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets are at large in the world. This is the proof of the spirit of God: any spirit which acknowledges Jesus Christ, come in human nature, is from God, and no spirit which fails to acknowledge Jesus is from God; it is the spirit of Antichrist, whose coming you have heard of; he is already at large in the world. Read More
Mt 3:13-17
Then Jesus appeared: he came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade him, with the words, ‘It is I who need baptism from you, and yet you come to me!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that uprightness demands.’ Read More
1 Jn 3:22 – 4:6
Whatever we ask we shall receive from God, because we keep his commandments and do what is acceptable to him. His commandment is this, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and that we should love one another as he commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments remains in God, and God in him. Read More
Mt 2:1-12
After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, suddenly some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east asking, ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.’ When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. Read More
1 Jn 3:11-21
This is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we must love one another, not to be like Cain, who was from the Evil One and murdered his brother. And why did he murder his brother? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s upright. Do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. Read More
1 Jn 3:7-10
Children, do not let anyone lead you astray. Whoever acts uprightly is upright, just as he is upright. Whoever lives sinfully belongs to the devil, since the devil has been a sinner from the beginning. This was the purpose of the appearing of the Son of God, to undo the work of the devil. Read More
1 Jn 2:29-3:1-6
If you know that he is upright you must recognise that everyone whose life is upright is a child of his. You must see what great love the Father has lavished on us by letting us be called God’s children – which is what we are! The reason why the world does not acknowledge us is that it did not acknowledge him. Read More
1 Jn 2:22-28
Who is the liar, if not one who claims that Jesus is not the Christ? This is the Antichrist, who denies both the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son cannot have the Father either; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father too. Let what you heard in the beginning remain in you; as long as what you heard in the beginning remains in you, you will remain in the Son and in the Father. Read More
If, at the beginning of the year, we set our gaze on the Mother of the Lord, as the Church urges us to do, then everything becomes enlightened, despite the dark clouds that currently hang over the world.
Everything becomes enlightened, because you, O Mary, were chosen as the daughter of the human race. You not only gave birth to the Son of God, but you also followed Him as a disciple. Thus the Lord included you in a special way in the plan of salvation. This gives us hope, because our Father, who entrusted you with his only begotten Son, also made you the Mother of redeemed humanity. Read More
