Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 64
15 JAN 2017 A.D.



First Reading IS 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 PS 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10

R. 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.



Second Reading 1 COR 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.



Alleluia JN 1:14A, 12A

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
To those who accepted him,
he gave power to become children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.



Gospel JN 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."

Bible Study--2nd Sunday in Ordinary Tine--Cycle A


"The Holy Eucharist is the perfect expression of the love of Jesus Christ for man, since It is the quintessence of all the mysteries of His Life." -St. Peter Julian Eymard

Thank you for sharing

It's 100% my pleasure, str8shuutr45!

I figure it's the absolute LEAST I can do for the God that gave his life for me....and I am nothing but a speck of dust in the cosmos.

WHAT A TRADE!


...humbly in His Majesty's service....

Our Monsignor the other day during mass gave a great explanation of "ordinary time" for everyone there. I had a general understanding that it is the times between lent, advent, etc but I wasn't quite clear about the full meaning. He said to think of the liturgical year like a marathon race. 90% of a race is about putting one foot ahead of the other and keeping a steady pace and not slowing down. The other 10% of a race is sprinting, to try covering as much ground as possible in a short period of time. You can't win the race doing just one or the other, so they're both equally important. He then said to think of advent, lent and other holy times of the year as "sprints" where we as Catholics try to consolidate a lot of events into one period of time. Ordinary time would be the pacesetting period of the race, where we take time of reflect on the accomplishments during the spring but never let ourselves lose ground in the race.

I wanted to share because I thought it was a great explanation, especially for those of us with children learning the faith. Hope you guys can put it to use if the little ones ever ask!!

Have a great weekend guys.

Yo! usmc_delaware! Many thanks for this:



What a GREAT analogy AND perfect for the kids--who need such simplicity that teaches an important message! Thanks for sharing. I will use it in my interaction with the neighborhood "young 'uns." I think we've lost a lot of this simplicity in explaining our faith to young people and others. To me at least, the more complex the world becomes--the more I try and "get down to the basics."

By the way, ever notice how Saint Paul, whose prior career was a tent maker, constantly refers to sports and winning in his epistles? It is no surprise that he draws on sports as a source for his images:



One example:
Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. 1 COR 9:24-27

Wouldn't it be fascinating to find out that St. Paul, prior to his conversion, helped make the tents for the athletes at those Isthmian Games?

Your Monsignor and you are on to something here, usmc_delaware!

Interesting, almost like St Paul encouraged the church of Corinth to give it all their effort, all of the time. I really would like to read/learn more about St Paul and his missionary work. From the little I have read he went to Corinth a few times. The city was primarily pagan and well reknowned for the indiscretions that come along with paganism. Perhaps St Paul, being all too familiar with the temptations of Corinth, wanted to dissuade the members of the early church from partaking. He might have used analogies of Corinthian culture to help the new converts better live a faith driven life. His works do all seem to be tailored specifically for each respective audience.

Thank you again BNF! Have a great week.

. Attached File



I appreciate the art and the discussion!
Have a great week!

YES! usmc_delaware and angelfire!

Each of you have a splendid week!

By the way, our Parochial Vicar (aka: Assoc. Pastor), Fr. Patrick, (a great Irish-American young Priest), just got back in from a two week trip to the Holy Land in time for our 11:00 a.m. Mass yesterday. I must confess, since he's a very new Priest, his Homilies are well..sort of bland.

Not yesterday at Mass! His two week trip was with about a dozen other very young Priests. Jet lag..Noooo...

First thing Fr. Patrick did was whip out this murky little bottle from beneath his vestments and bellow in a loud voice: "Ya know what this is? Water from the Jordan River at the exact spot where our Blessed Lord was baptized by St. John the Baptist!" He then roared: "I was there! There at the exact spot where Christ was baptized! I WAS THERE. IN OUR LORD'S FOOTPRINTS!"

...and then he proceeded to give the most magnificent Homily about the Lord's baptism and what it means to us that I have ever heard! He never stopped for a minute--no notes, no pauses--this young Priest was ON FIRE!

ON FIRE!

Praise be to God alone--from whom all good things come!

What a picture and isn't amazing when the Holy Spirit gets busy!!!