1st Week of Ordinary Time 2022 - Monday - The time of fulfillment

 

The liturgical calendar revolves around the two major feasts of Christmas and Easter, each with a season of preparation, Advent and Lent, and each with a season to extend the celebration of those most holy of feast days. Yesterday, with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we have concluded the Christmas season and have entered once again into the season of Ordinary Time.

If Christmas and Easter celebrate major events in the life of Christ—his incarnation and birth, his death and resurrection, Ordinary Time unpacks the teaching, preaching, and miraculous workings of his earthly ministry.

On this first day of Ordinary Time, we hear the first words uttered by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, ““This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

“This is time of fulfillment” he announces. For thirty years, Jesus had lived a hidden life in the house of Nazareth with Mary and Joseph, during which he had learned and practiced the carpenters trade of St. Joseph. The sweat and toil of his labors in the carpenter’s shop foreshadowed, only in a hidden way, the blood he would shed for our salvation. So, during the greater part of his life, Jesus shared the condition of the vast majority of human beings: a daily life spent without evident greatness, a life of manual labor. 

And then, following his Baptism, he emerges from those waters, and begins his public ministry with these words, “this is the time of fulfillment.” He was born with a mission, and the time for that mission had come. He had come to fulfill his Heavenly Father’s plan for salvation, a plan begun from the time of the fall of Adam and Eve thousands and thousands of years ago, a plan which had unfolded obscurely in the life of the people of Israel—in the calling of Israel’s patriarchs, through the times of judges, and kings, and prophets, conquest of the holy land and exile, and post-exilic reconstruction.

Through Jesus, God is breaking into history to fulfill his promises and bring his whole plan to completion. It is a decisive moment, a turning point. This moment, fixed and determined long ago by God, marks the beginning of the definitive stage in salvation history.

During Ordinary Time we will hear and ponder the unfolding of this definitive stage 2000 years ago.  But as the Father has sent Him, so he sends us. During Ordinary Time, we are to cooperate with grace, conform to his teachings, deepen in virtue, grow in sanctity, have since recourse to prayer, and share with non-believers the truth that we have received, that God’s plan may be fulfilled in us and in our time, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the preaching and teachings of the Pope, Bishops, and clergy may be a source of strength and guidance for the Holy Church.

That those in civic authority may submit their minds and hearts to the rule of Christ, the Prince of Peace and Hope of the nations.

For those preparing for baptism and to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, that this time of instruction and prayer may be a time of fulfillment of God’s promises in their lives.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

 

15th Week in Ordinary Time 2021 - Tuesday - Reproaches to Unrepentant Towns

 Yesterday, we heard how the Lord sent out the twelve into the surrounding towns to preach. He instructed them and warned them to prepare themselves to be misunderstood, hated, and persecuted.

Today, we hear, that while the twelve are off on their missionary preaching mission, the Lord himself revisits some of the towns where he had preached and performed mighty deeds in the past, namely Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. 

It appears that for the most part, the people of these town have failed to heed the Lord’s message of repentance. They had witnessed many of his mighty deeds, miracles of healing and exorcism, and yet they had failed to repent. They’d missed the whole purpose of his miracles. 

The miracles were signs that God was at work in their midst, God wanted their attention. By them, Jesus was showing them that he is God in the flesh calling them to repentance and new life. And yet it seems, they had just gone back to their same unbelieving ways. They had gone back to sleep.

So, he really lets them have it. This passage contains some of the Lord’s strongest criticism of those who refuse to repent of their sins. 

Jesus says that if Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom, some of the most wicked cities in history, had witnessed his miracles, they would have repented on the spot. In other words, what is wrong with you? How hard your hearts must be.

And he explains that, for this refusal to repentance, for this hardness of hearts, there will be serious consequences on the day of judgment. 

Are we supposed to imitate the Lord’s rhetorical style in our preaching of the Gospel? Are we supposed to go out into the streets and say, “Woe to you West Blvd. Woe to you Cleveland. Repent, for judgment is coming” I don’t know. 

I don’t think we should dismiss the Lord because his style conflicts with modern sensibilities. There certainly is a time for explaining to those who dismiss the Gospel the very real consequences for failing to believe and repent. 

But this passage isn’t just meant to inform how we deal with others. The Lord’s strong message here challenges us individually to ensure that our own priorities are in order, that we are living firstly for God, and that we are taking our personal sinfulness seriously, and that we are making use of the time that we have been given, to confess our sins, to repent, to strive for holiness, and to preach the Gospel as we can, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

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That our bishops and clergy may be zealous and clear in preaching and teaching the truth of the Gospel and for the continued recovery of Holy Father Pope Francis following his recent surgery, may the Lord’s comfort, healing, and peace sustain him.

For the grace to respond generously to God in carrying out the mission of the Gospel. 

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy. Through Christ our Lord.