January 10, 2004 - Monday
1st Week in Ordinary Time

Readings:
Heb:1:1-6; Ps 97:1-2, 6-7, 9; Mk 1:14-20

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.

Scripture Readings

First Reading Introduction:

Today we begin to read from Hebrews. God speaks to us in nature, in the people around us, in the events of life. Yet we are often deaf to his words and his silence. Few listened to his messengers, the prophets. Finally he spoke through his Son Jesus. The Letter to the Hebrews stresses this point: in the Gospel we hear Jesus speak and proclaim his Good News. But is it good news to us today? Do we accept it as words and the language of his actions addressed to us personally?

First Reading: Heb:1:1-6

God has spoken in the past to our ancestors through the prophets, in many different ways, although never completely; but in our times he has spoken definitively to us through his Son.
He is the one God appointed heir of all things, since through him he unfolded the stages of the world.

He is the radiance of God's Glory and bears the stamp of God's hidden being, so that his powerful word upholds the universe. And after taking away sin, he took his place at the right hand of the divine Majesty in heaven.

So he is now far superior to angels just as the name he received sets him apart from them. To what angel did God say: You are my son, I have begotten you today? and to what angel did he promise: I shall be a father to him and he will be a son to me? On sending his Firstborn to the world, God says: Let all the angels adore him.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 97:1-2, 6-7, 9

Let all his angels worship him.

The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice; let the many isles be glad. Justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.

The heavens proclaim his justice, and all people see his glory. Let all his angels worship him.

Because you, O Lord, are the Most High over all the earth, exalted far above all gods.

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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 was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee and began preaching the Good News of God. He said, "The time has come; the kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe the Good News."

As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." At once, they left their nets and followed him. Jesus went a little farther on and saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee; they were in their boat mending their nets. Immediately, Jesus called them and they followed him, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men.

Gospel Commentary

THIS is the Gospel: "The time has come; the kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe in the Good News of God." Jesus begins his work by calling two sets of brothers from their jobs as fishermen to come after him and learn the art of catching people for the kingdom of justice with peace. They are called in the tradition of prophets to convert, to confront injustice and to challenge. At this time in history, there was only one version of good news: the good news of Rome. Now there is a choice laid before them, and us-do we choose to walk in the footsteps of a national leader or the footsteps of the Son of God whose word confounds all the nations. They answer immediately and leave what they were doing. NOW-we must respond and leave something of our old ways behind. It is time to grasp a line, a piece of the net of God cast over the world.

General Intercessions

–          For the Church dear to us, that the Lord may help it to keep renewing itself, so that it may stay on the road of the gospel and that people can live the gospel as good news, we pray:

–          For those who leave their nets to follow Jesus the Lord, that they may so live the gospel as to make it visible and tangible, we pray:

–          For all of us in our communities, that the Lord may help us to take the gospel seriously and to live it in close union with the Lord, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
in these gifts of bread and wine
we place our goodwill
to follow your Son
wherever he calls us.
Let our encounter here
with your Son and with each other
mark a new beginning for us
of unity and loyal love,
that the seed of your kingdom
may grow among us
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer After Communion

Lord our God,
we know what you can do
with weak, fallible people.
In the strength of your Son,
help us to do what surpasses our forces:
to be your people
and to be to the world
the sign that you love everyone
and that friendship and justice
are no empty words for you and for us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Blessing

The time is now. Repent and believe the good news. Come and follow me. Be my disciples. Jesus spoke these words long ago. He addresses them here and now to us. May you heed these words, with the Blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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