Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you invite us, disciples of your Son today,
to be wholly converted to the gospel
and to help extend your kingdom.
Give us hearts open to the good news
and the generosity to share it
with people of our day.
We ask you this through Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction:

A word about the books of Samuel. After the confused times of the settlement in Palestine comes a more stable era with the kings. This period is important because the very vague "salvation" described earlier, - a land of their own for the Hebrews, their growth as a people - turns now into messianism on the basis of the kingship of David: an ideal king will come in whom the promises will be fulfilled. Jesus, descendant of David, will found the eternal kingdom promised to David. In today's reading in Year II, Samuel appears as the prophet who reluctantly prepares the foundation of a Hebrew kingdom. Only a king can unify and defend the people.

First Reading: 1 Sm 1:1–8

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, Elkanah by name,
a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of
Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

He had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah;
Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless. This man
regularly went on pilgrimage from his city to worship the LORD of hosts and to sacrifice to him at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were ministering as priests of the LORD.

When the day came for Elkanah to offer sacrifice, he used to give a portion each to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters, but a double portion to Hannah because he loved her, though the LORD had made her barren. Her rival,
to upset her, turned it into a constant reproach to her that the
LORD had left her barren. This went on year after year; each
time they made their pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the LORD,
Peninnah would approach her, and Hannah would weep and
refuse to eat. Her husband Elkanah used to ask her: “Hannah,
why do you weep, and why do you refuse to eat? Why do you
grieve? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 116:12–13, 14 –17, 18 –19

R/  To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.

How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R/  To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.

My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R/  To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.

My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R/  To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.

Gospel Introduction:

In the gospel, Jesus begins to preach the coming of the kingdom of God among people. He calls for penance and conversion and chooses his first disciples. These same words are addressed to us today: "Repent, be converted, be fishers of people for the kingdom."

Gospel Reading: Mk 1:14 –20

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming
the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The
Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his
brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were
fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make
you fishers of men.” Then they left their nets and followed
him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of
Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending
their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee
in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.