Today, 24th of January, we celebrate
Saint Francis de Sales
First Reading: Acts 4:13-21
They were astonished at the boldness of Peter and John, considering that they were uneducated and untrained men. They recognized, also, that they had been with Jesus, but, as the man who had been cured stood beside them, they could make no reply.
So they ordered them to leave the council room while they consulted with one another. They asked, "What shall we do with these men? Everyone who lives in Jerusalem knows that a remarkable sign has been given through them, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them never again to speak to anyone in the name of Jesus." So they called them back and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered them, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's eyes for us to obey you rather than God. We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard." Then the council threatened them once more and let them go. They could find no way of punishing them because of the people who glorified God for what had happened.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 118:1 and 14-15ab, 16-18, 19-21
R./ I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
or Alleluia.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
My strength and my courage is the Lord,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just.
R./ I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
or Alleluia.
"The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord has struck with power."
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the Lord.
Though the Lord has indeed chastised me,
yet he has not delivered me to death.
R./ I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
or Alleluia.
Open to me the gates of justice;
I will enter them and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
the just shall enter it.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
R./ I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
or Alleluia.
Gospel Reading: Mk 16:9-15
After Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary of Magdala from whom he had driven out seven demons. She went and reported the news to his followers, who were now mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he lived and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
After this he showed himself in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. These men too went back and told the others, but they did not believe them.
Later Jesus showed himself to the Eleven while they were at table. He reproached them for their unbelief and stubbornness in refusing to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
Then he told them, "Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation."
When the Lord calls you, do not doubt
People did not easily recognise Jesus when he appeared to them after his resurrection. Mary Magdalene mistook him for the gardener (John 20:15). Many of the disciples were scared that they saw a ghost (Luke 24:37); he showed himself “in another form” to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Mark 16:12). But they did not recognise him.
“Seeing is believing” is an old saying. Seeing is accepted as “our principal source of knowledge,” according to Aristotle. But this kind of sight was not adequate to recognising the Risen Christ. It requires seeing with the heart and the spirit, not with the eyes. People who claim to have seen apparitions give us the impression that they have exceptional faith. But that is a wrong assumption. Remember what Jesus told Thomas and other disciples: “Blessed are those who believe without seeing!”
“We cannot grasp what God is,” said St Thomas Aquinas. It is the other way around: we are grasped by God; God possesses us. We cannot comprehend him – either with our eyesight or with our minds. We can only join St Paul, who prays for the Ephesians that they may by “knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge… be filled with the utter fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).
Today’s Gospel introduces three witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. The first, Mary Magdalene, reported that Jesus was risen and was alive, but “They would not believe her.” The second is the testimony of the disciples to Emmaus, but “They did not believe them.” But in the third, Jesus entrusts his epic project of preaching the Gospel to this still an unbelieving or doubting group of disciples. “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News.”
You don’t need perfect faith to join the Mission of Jesus. It is given to you as you go. Faith in Jesus is for their use on the road. It is not a certificate to be kept in the files. If we feel that we are called to work for the Lord, do it, and grace will be given to us as we go. Grace is not given for tomorrow; it is always for now.
Pope Francis writes in Joy of the Gospel: “every Christian, in any place and situation in which he is…there is no reason for anyone to think that this invitation is not for him, because “no one is excluded from the joy reported by the Lord.” Those who take risks, the Lord does not disappoint, and when someone takes a small step towards Jesus, they discover that He already awaits their arrival with open arms” (EG 3).
Bible Claret
Introduction
If we have really encountered the risen Lord in faith, nothing can stop us from proclaiming him and his good news. But stronger and more convincing than whatever we say will be the language of our attitudes and actions. As this was the experience of the apostles, it should also be ours. We live the same life as other people, do the same things, but should do them in a different way if we have really met Christ.
Opening Prayer
Our God and Father,
your Son Jesus lived among us,
flesh of our flesh, blood of our blood.
He died for our sake
and you raised him back to life.
May we experience his love and his presence
to such an extent
that we can never stop proclaiming
what we have seen and heard,
and that people may give glory to you, our God.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
General Intercessions
- That the Church may never hesitate to proclaim to the world truths and lifestyles that are not pleasant for the world to hear, we pray:
- That missionaries and, in fact, all Christians by their lifestyle keep proclaiming that Christ is alive and relevant, we pray:
- That we may never get tired of living the risen life of the Lord and keep the enthusiasm of a deep faith and attachment to Jesus, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
accept this bread and this wine
and let your Son be alive among us
in these signs.
May he give us a bit of his own strength
to keep us on our feet in the storms of life,
to live in the joy of people who are redeemed,
for the Lord is alive
and we are alive on account of him,
now and for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son has chosen us
to be his companions.
May people recognize him in us
and may they accept him
when what we do convinces them
that he is with us and that you are our God
in the unity of the Holy Spirit
now and for ever.
Blessing
This whole week after Easter has steeped us in faith in the risen Lord. May this faith indeed be the core of our belief and of our life. The Lord is risen. We rise with him even now, little by little, to a new and more beautiful life in Christ. Stay in that certainty and joy, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
