Mk 1:14-20 (Reading from the Novus Ordo)
After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the gospel from God saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.’ As he was walking along by the Lake of Galilee he saw Simon and Simon’s brother Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Come after me and I will make you into fishers of people. ‘ Read More
In the traditional calendar, today is the Feast of the Holy Family. Our meditation today will therefore be based on the reading for this feast. If any of our listeners would like to hear a meditation for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord according to the new liturgical calendar, you can find it at the following link:
Is 60: 1-6
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
According to the traditional calendar, today is the feast of St Telesphorus, who, according to the list of St Irenaeus, was the sixth successor of St Peter and died a martyr’s death. Telesphorus is said to have lived as a hermit on Mount Carmel before his election to the See of Peter. To honour his memory, the following passage from the Letter of St Peter is read:
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. No one who is a child of God sins because God’s seed remains in him. Nor can he sin, because he is a child of God. This is what distinguishes the children of God from the children of the devil: whoever does not live uprightly and does not love his brother is not from God.
1 Jn 2:29 – 3:6 (Reading from the Novus Ordo)
If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that every one who does right is born of him. See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Every one who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.
For several years I have been writing meditations on the readings or Gospel of the day according to the Novus Ordo calendar. This has resulted in a collection of meditations covering almost every day of the liturgical year. Now, in the year that is about to begin, I would like to include also the biblical readings of the traditional calendar. In order not to make the meditations too long, I will often not quote the complete readings, but only extracts, so that everyone can read the passages in their entirety for themselves.
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.
Beloved Child, we have almost reached the end of these Christmas meditations, and also the year is about to end.
Beloved Lord, it has been such a strange and even absurd year for many people… To whom can they turn if not to You, who even in such confusing times are present, and perhaps in a special way when You see people’s need and distress?
Hardly had You come into the world, O Divine Child, when Your parents had to flee with You to Egypt. The obedience of Your adoptive father, St. Joseph, in leaving immediately after having received this order in a dream, is admirable (Mt 2:13-14).
Toil, hardship and adversity, suffering and death characterise this world as a consequence of sin, and we would be lost forever if it were not for the fact that You came to us and brought us the light of hope.
