Meditation on 17 January 2016 readings

Meditation on 17 January 2016 readings

 

Direct Link to Audio File: Meditation on 17 January 2016 readings

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1   IS 62:1-5

For Zion’s sake I will not be silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines forth like the dawn
and her victory like a burning torch.

Nations shall behold your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
you shall be called by a new name
pronounced by the mouth of the LORD.
You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD,
a royal diadem held by your God.
No more shall people call you “Forsaken, “
or your land “Desolate, “
but you shall be called “My Delight, “
and your land “Espoused.”
For the LORD delights in you
and makes your land his spouse.
As a young man marries a virgin,
your Builder shall marry you;
and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so shall your God rejoice in you.

Responsorial Psalm   PS 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10

R. (3) Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
R. Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
R. Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Worship the LORD in holy attire.
Tremble before him, all the earth;
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Reading 2   1 COR 12:4-11

Brothers and sisters:
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.
To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom;
to another, the expression of knowledge according to the
same Spirit;
to another, faith by the same Spirit;
to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit;
to another, mighty deeds;
to another, prophecy;
to another, discernment of spirits;
to another, varieties of tongues;
to another, interpretation of tongues.
But one and the same Spirit produces all of these,
distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.

Alleluia   CF. THES 2:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God has called us through the Gospel
to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel   JN 2:1-11

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short,
the mother of Jesus said to him,
“They have no wine.”
And Jesus said to her,
“Woman, how does your concern affect me?
My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servers,
“Do whatever he tells you.”
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,
each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told them,
“Fill the jars with water.”
So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them,
“Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.”
So they took it.
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine,
without knowing where it came from
— although the servers who had drawn the water knew —,
the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him,
“Everyone serves good wine first,
and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one;
but you have kept the good wine until now.”
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee
and so revealed his glory,
and his disciples began to believe in him.

 

Express Announcements ~ 17 January, 2016

Express Announcements ~ 17 January, 2016

* All are invited to attend our annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity prayer service with Bishop Loverde at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Arlington, Tuesday, January 19 at 7pm. Please join us!

* March For Life: This year’s March will be held on Friday, January 22, to commemorate the 43rd Anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Please see page 13 for transportation details. Please plan to join your parish family in this peaceful protest against abortion.

* It’s time for each and every registered family to consider how they plan to support the work of the Catholic Church in the annual Bishop’s Lenten Appeal: If we reflect on the mission that Jesus has given us, and the words of Pope Francis, the Church is uniquely placed y God to be his agent of mercy and change, to heal our world. Prayerfully think of how you will respond to this call. Commitment Sunday will be February 6-7 at all Masses. Your generosity is what makes our Church’s response possible. “Go forth as heralds of God’s mercy!”

Coming Soon:

Mark your calendars for February 17 and join Saint Mary if you can in Richmond for Catholics in the Capitol as we meet with our legislators and attend the Bishops’ Vespers service at Sacred Heart Cathedral (see p. 9). We need to know if you plan to come by January 25. Thanks.

We’re doing something special for the Year of Mercy: Parish Mercy Penance Service, Wednesday, February 24. Please plan to come, details to follow soon.

 

From Our Pastor ~ 17 January, 2016

From Our Pastor ~ 17 January, 2016

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,Banner Family week

This bulletin is packed with information this week, I hope you have a chance to take it all in. So many great things are coming up soon: please consider joining Saint Mary as we go to Richmond to speak with our legislators on February 17 as well as reserving your chairs right now at the Parish Night Out dinner and orchestra April 29. Last year tickets sold out, it is one of the best nights of the year.

Mostly what I would like to share with you is the results of our annual Family Week in Religious Education. For the past four years we have had special classes/activities the first week back from Christmas vacation, inviting parents to come and participate and focus on a particular theme. Our parish theme this year, “People of Thankfulness, Sowing Seeds of Mercy,” helped us spend the week reflecting on what we are thankful for. Students gathered with parents and talked about what is really important, what we are most thankful for in our life. More on page 5.

But what we celebrate this week and in this short season of Ordinary Time before Lent begins is the results of those classes. We took the totals of the  children’s answers and arranged them on banners on either side of the sanctuary in church. The answers which had the highest totals are represented in large type, the smaller totals, smaller type.

They are going to serve as a reminder why we come to church. Sometimes, maybe, people think they come to church because they have to, or because they will get some special feeling or strength for the coming week. Of course, these things are true, but not the primary reason. We gather because God has given us all these things that now appear before us as we celebrate Mass together. God has given us so much that we can’t not celebrate the liturgy of thanksgiving, the Eucharist. Sometimes we can start thinking of too many other things on our minds. These banners will help us focus, I believe.

The old idea that the priest did everything was an error that grew over the years and Vatican II reminded us that all of us have equally important roles in the Mass. It isn’t just the priest who does all the work. You gather, pray, sing, remember the promise of God and his saving action in Jesus whose prayer we pray, that is, the Mass. And you bring all of your gifts and yourself to offer all of it to God with bread and wine so that he can consecrate the bread, the wine, all of you, all of the world through you. The Mass is yours! And how glad we are that we have a place in it! God doesn’t do all these things by himself! He relies on you to be present to him, just as you believe he is present to you. Let us spend the year celebrating the mercy of God, and our thankfulness.

God bless you.

 Fr. Don

Meditation on 10 January 2016 Readings

Meditation on 10 January 2016 Readings

 

Direct Link to Audio File: Meditation on January 10, 2016 Readings

The Baptism of the Lord

Reading 1   IS 40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by a strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.

Responsorial Psalm   PS 104:1B-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30

R. (1) O bless the Lord, my soul.
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
you are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth;
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
You have constructed your palace upon the waters.
You make the clouds your chariot;
you travel on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers,
and flaming fire your ministers.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all—
the earth is full of your creatures;
the sea also, great and wide,
in which are schools without number
of living things both small and great.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
They look to you to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

Reading 2   TI 2:11-14; 3:4-7

Beloved:
The grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of our great God
and savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.

When the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
He saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

Alleluia   CF. LK 3:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
John said: One mightier than I is coming;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel   LK 3:15-16, 21-22

The people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

After all the people had been baptized
and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven,
“You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased.”