Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Sunday, 25 January 2015

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Sunday, 25 January 2015
Meditation - Mark 1: Jesus Begins His Work
14 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee and told the good news that comes from God.[a] 15 He said, “The time has come! God’s kingdom will soon be here.[b] Turn back to God and believe the good news!”
Jesus Chooses Four Fishermen
16 As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen and were casting their nets into the lake. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.” 18 Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him.
19 Jesus walked on and soon saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat, mending their nets. 20 At once Jesus asked them to come with him. They left their father in the boat with the hired workers and went with him.[Footnotes:
1.14 that comes from God: Or “that is about God.”
1.15 will soon be here: Or “is already here.”]01111

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Mark 1:17)
Fishing seems relatively easy, doesn’t it? You throw a line into the water and hope a fish will bite the hook. But that simple notion undermines the skill necessary to be a true fisherman. When people pay thousands of dollars to enter national fishing contests, they aren’t depending on simple luck. They’re counting on the skills they have learned over a long period of time.
Similarly, when Jesus told Simon and Andrew and the others, “I will make you fishers of men,” he meant that he wanted to teach them the art of evangelization (Mark 1:17). And that’s what he wants to do with us as well. He wants to teach us how to reach people with the good news.
If you want to be a fisherman for Christ, you first have to know your “fish.” You have to know that many of them have a hard time seeing the beauty of the gospel because they are distracted by so many other things. You have to know that sin may have hardened the hearts of some. But you also have to know that God’s grace can penetrate the veil over any person’s heart—as long as you, the fisherman, remain humble and open to his grace.
So here are three suggestions that will help make you into a vessel of grace: First, ask God to give you a desire to share his good news. Second, find the courage to ask people, even strangers, “Can I pray with you about anything?” You’d be surprised at how many people are open to a quiet, nonthreatening invitation. Third, invite people to join you at Mass. Offer to come and get them if they can’t make it on their own. Take them out to breakfast afterward. Become a friend, and your love for Christ will rub off on them.
Three simple steps. Three simple ways to let the grace of the Holy Spirit work through you. So it isn’t too hard to be a fisherman after all!
“Lord Jesus, make me a vessel of your grace.” Amen!
Jonah 3: Jonah Goes to Nineveh
3 Once again the Lord told Jonah 2 to go to that great city of Nineveh and preach his message of doom.
3 Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh. The city was so big that it took three days just to walk through it. 4 After walking for a day, Jonah warned the people, “Forty days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed!”
5 They believed God’s message and set a time when they would go without eating to show their sorrow. Then everyone in the city, no matter who they were, dressed in sackcloth.
10 When God saw that the people had stopped doing evil things, he had pity and did not destroy them as he had planned.
Psalm 25:4 Show me your paths
    and teach me to follow;
5     guide me by your truth
    and instruct me.
You keep me safe,
    and I always trust you.
6 Please, Lord, remember,
    you have always
    been patient and kind.
7 Forget each wrong I did
    when I was young.
    Show how truly kind you are
    and remember me.
8 You are honest and merciful,
    and you teach sinners
    how to follow your path.
9 You lead humble people
to do what is right
    and to stay on your path.
1 Corinthians 7:29 My friends, what I mean is that the Lord will soon come,[a] and it won’t matter if you are married or not. 30 It will be all the same if you are crying or laughing, or if you are buying or are completely broke. 31 It won’t make any difference how much good you are getting from this world or how much you like it. This world as we know it is now passing away.[Footnotes:
7.29 the Lord will soon come: Or “there’s not much time left” or “the time for decision comes quickly.”]
Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion:
[Jonah 3: Jonah Goes to Nineveh
3 Once again the Lord told Jonah 2 to go to that great city of Nineveh and preach his message of doom.
3 Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh. The city was so big that it took three days just to walk through it. 4 After walking for a day, Jonah warned the people, “Forty days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed!”
5 They believed God’s message and set a time when they would go without eating to show their sorrow. Then everyone in the city, no matter who they were, dressed in sackcloth.
10 When God saw that the people had stopped doing evil things, he had pity and did not destroy them as he had planned.
Psalm 25:4 Show me your paths
    and teach me to follow;
5     guide me by your truth
    and instruct me.
You keep me safe,
    and I always trust you.
6 Please, Lord, remember,
    you have always
    been patient and kind.
7 Forget each wrong I did
    when I was young.
    Show how truly kind you are
    and remember me.
8 You are honest and merciful,
    and you teach sinners
    how to follow your path.
9 You lead humble people
to do what is right
    and to stay on your path.
1 Corinthians 7:29 My friends, what I mean is that the Lord will soon come,[a] and it won’t matter if you are married or not. 30 It will be all the same if you are crying or laughing, or if you are buying or are completely broke. 31 It won’t make any difference how much good you are getting from this world or how much you like it. This world as we know it is now passing away.[Footnotes:
7.29 the Lord will soon come: Or “there’s not much time left” or “the time for decision comes quickly.”]
Mark 1: Jesus Begins His Work
14 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee and told the good news that comes from God.[a] 15 He said, “The time has come! God’s kingdom will soon be here.[b] Turn back to God and believe the good news!”
Jesus Chooses Four Fishermen
16 As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen and were casting their nets into the lake. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.” 18 Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him.
19 Jesus walked on and soon saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat, mending their nets. 20 At once Jesus asked them to come with him. They left their father in the boat with the hired workers and went with him.[Footnotes:
1.14 that comes from God: Or “that is about God.”
1.15 will soon be here: Or “is already here.”]]
1. In the first reading, when the people of Nineveh heard Jonah’s warning of God’s impending judgment on their city, they believed the words and repented of their sins. Why do you think the Ninevites believed Jonah’s message? (Hint: “The word of the Lord came to Jonah” (Jonah 3:1)
2. In the responsorial psalm, the psalmist prays and asks the Lord to guide him, make known to him, and teach him: “your ways,” “your paths,” and “your truth”. One way for this to happen in each of our lives is to have a specific time each day when we pray and try to “listen” to the Lord? How important to you is it to have a daily time of prayer. What are some of the obstacles to this in your life and how can you overcome them?
3. How important to you is it to turn to the Lord during the day and ask him to guide you? What are some of the obstacles to this in your life and how can you overcome them?
4. St. Paul’s words in the second reading (1 Corinthians 7:29-31) may seem harsh and impractical to us today. What message do you believe Paul was trying to convey in these words? In what ways can we apply the principle put forth in his message to our own lives today?
5. In the Gospel reading, Jesus, like Jonah in the first reading, preached a message of repentance. Unlike the people of Nineveh, many people rejected his message. Jesus pointed to this fact as well in Matthew 12:41: “The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.” Why do you think people would reject Jesus’ message of repentance, but not Jonah’s?
6. What did Jesus mean, in the Gospel reading, when he said to his disciples, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). In what ways do you believe that God has also called you to be his witness and be “fishers of men”? What are some obstacles that keep you from answering this call of evangelization?
7. In the meditation, we hear these words, “If you want to be a fisherman for Christ, you first have to know your “fish.” What do these words mean to you?
8. What steps, described in the meditation, are you willing to take now to share the good news with others?
9. Take some time now to pray and ask the Lord to give you a spirit of evangelism, ears to hear his voice, and the courage to say yes to his will and act on it. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.
“Lord Jesus, make me a vessel of your grace.” Amen!
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