Sunday Sermon - 1.14.24
LATIN MASS: SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
EPISTLE: Romans 12:6 And having different gifts, according to the grace that is given us, either prophecy, to be used according to the rule of faith; 7 Or ministry, in ministering; or he that teacheth, in doctrine; 8 He that exhorteth, in exhorting; he that giveth, with simplicity; he that ruleth, with carefulness; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without dissimulation. Hating that which is evil, cleaving to that which is good. 10 Loving one another with the charity of brotherhood, with honour preventing one another. 11 In carefulness not slothful. In spirit fervent. Serving the Lord. 12 Rejoicing in hope. Patient in tribulation. Instant in prayer. 13 Communicating to the necessities of the saints. Pursuing hospitality. 14 Bless them that persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep. 16 Being of one mind one towards another. Not minding high things, but consenting to the humble. Be not wise in your own conceits.
The Christian faith is simple yet hard. It is not a faith that only the wise and learned can know. We should always strive to understand the faith better in every way. But living out the faith is far more important. The humble and lowly who actually put the Christian faith into practice will be saved while they proud and haughty who do not live the faith will be damned.
These commands from Paul are not hard to understand, they are hard to do. Actually doing the good works of God, and loving your neighbor is a hard thing to implement in your own life. It takes work and His grace. The perfect time to start doing so is right now.
GOSPEL: John 2:1 And the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 And Jesus also was invited, and His disciples, to the marriage. 3 And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to Him: They have no wine. 4 And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to Me and to thee? My hour is not yet come. 5 His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye. 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece. 7 Jesus saith to them: Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And Jesus saith to them: Draw out now, and carry to the chief steward of the feast. And they carried it. 9 And when the chief steward had tasted the water made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the waiters knew who had drawn the water; the chief steward calleth the bridegroom, 10 And saith to him: Every man at first setteth forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse. But thou hast kept the good wine until now. 11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee; and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
Many do not understand this interaction between Jesus and His mother. Our Lady is asking for Him to perform a miracle, and His response is very telling. First, He calls her by the title of “Woman” from Genesis 3:15, the one who will crush the head of the serpent. He then says “What is that to Me and thee?”. This idiom means that the two of them are united in perfect harmony and the concern of one is the concern of the other. There is no separation between them. His next response is the capstone. He says that His hour has not come. What He means by this is that if He performs this public miracle, it will begin His public ministry which will culminate with the Crucifixion. There is no going back after this miracle
What Jesus is saying here to Our Lady is reminding her that if He does this, their private lives together are over and He begins His journey to the Cross. He’s also reminder her that she is also going to experience horrific agony as well. Remember the prophecy of Simeon in the Temple at the Presentation of the Lord. He said a sword would pierce Our Lady’s heart, and this would expose the hearts of many. That wasn’t hyperbole. A spiritual sword would pierce her heart during His Passion. She was without sin and united perfectly to Our Lord, so His suffering also became her suffering.
This exchange shows Our Lord checking with Our Lady one last time, to give her the opportunity to cooperate with the Father’s will and be willing to begin their journey to Calvary. Our Lady responds with an immediate agreement to do the will of the Father by telling the servants to do whatever Christ commands. She embraces this offering from the Father and the Son to participate in the plan of salvation even though she will suffer for it. She bookends her agreement with the Incarnation with this agreement at the Wedding at Cana to do the Father’s will.
NOVUS ORDER: SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
OLD TESTAMENT: 1 Samuel 3:3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the Temple of the Lord, where the Ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if He calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
The theme of the readings for the Novus Ordo mass this week is God calling us. In this first reading, God is calling Samuel, but does so only when Samuel is quiet and listening. How often do you spend time in simple silence and patiently wait for God to speak? It is good to read Scripture and to pray, but how often do we silently listen? Make sure you take time to be silent and listen for God. A good opportunity is to arrive an hour early for Mass or stay after Mass for a while. Spend some time in front of the Tabernacle in quiet, contemplative silence and wait for God to speak in His time.
NEW TESTAMENT: 1 Corinthians 6:13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by His power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall be one flesh.” 17 But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. 18 Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
In this reading, God is calling us out of our sins, especially our sexual sins. He calls us to leave our wicked ways, to leave our lives of sin behind and join Him. We must make our souls pure, clean and holy temples for the Holy Spirit to come into our souls. If you have not gone to Confession in the last month, now is the time to go again. You should go at least once a month. Keep your soul clean and holy for God so that He has a place in yourself. Stay far away from all sin, because you cannot have sin and have God at the same time. You must choose one or the other. Choose wisely.
GOSPEL: John 1:35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, He said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and they remained with Him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
Several of the Apostles were disciples of John the Baptist. They had submitted to his baptism of repentance and were listening to this prophet of God. They were preparing themselves and making themselves holy and ready for God. They were ready to follow God when He came calling. And in His perfect time, He arrived and called them. They were ready to immediately leave their old lives behind and follow Him because they had prepared for Him.
Prepare yourselves for God. Go to Confession. Pray your Rosary. Receive the Eucharist in holy contemplation. Read your Bible. Do the spiritual and corporal works of God. Be ready for what He wishes for you and be ready for when He calls you.
Thank you 🙏 Food for the soul.