I Am Baptizing You With Water (BAPTISM OF THE LORD - C)

JANUARY 09, 2022, SUNDAY
FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD (White)
FEAST OF THE BLACK NAZARENE
CYCLE C - YEAR II
Lectionary: 21

Reading I
Is 42:1-4, 6-7

Thus says the LORD:

Here is my servant whom I uphold,

     my chosen one with whom I am pleased,

upon whom I have put my spirit;

     he shall bring forth justice to the nations,

not crying out, not shouting,

     not making his voice heard in the street.

a bruised reed he shall not break,

     and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,

until he establishes justice on the earth;

     the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,

     I have grasped you by the hand;

I formed you, and set you

     as a covenant of the people,

     a light for the nations,

to open the eyes of the blind,

     to bring out prisoners from confinement,

     and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

OR:

Is  40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,

            says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her

            that her service is at an end,

            her guilt is expiated;

indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD

            double for all her sins.

            A voice cries out:

In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!

            Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!

Every valley shall be filled in,

            every mountain and hill shall be made low;

the rugged land shall be made a plain,

            the rough country, a broad valley. 

Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,

            and all people shall see it together;

            for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Go up on to a high mountain,

            Zion, herald of glad tidings;

cry out at the top of your voice,

            Jerusalem, herald of good news!

Fear not to cry out

            and say to the cities of Judah:

            Here is your God!

Here comes with power

            the Lord GOD,

            who rules by a strong arm;

here is his reward with him,

            his recompense before him.

Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;

            in his arms he gathers the lambs,

carrying them in his bosom,

            and leading the ewes with care.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10

R. (11b)  The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Give to the LORD, you sons of God,

            give to the LORD glory and praise,

Give to the LORD the glory due his name;

            adore the LORD in holy attire.

R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

The voice of the LORD is over the waters,

            the LORD, over vast waters.

The voice of the LORD is mighty;

            the voice of the LORD is majestic. 

R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

The God of glory thunders,

            and in his temple all say, “Glory!”

The LORD is enthroned above the flood;

            the LORD is enthroned as king forever.

R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

OR:

Ps 104:1b-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30 

 

R. (1)  O bless the Lord, my soul.

O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!

     you are clothed with majesty and glory,

robed in light as with a cloak.

     You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth;

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

You have constructed your palace upon the waters.

     You make the clouds your chariot;

you travel on the wings of the wind.

     You make the winds your messengers,

and flaming fire your ministers.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

How manifold are your works, O LORD!

     In wisdom you have wrought them all

the earth is full of your creatures;

     the sea also, great and wide,

in which are schools without number

     of living things both small and great.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

They look to you to give them food in due time.

     When you give it to them, they gather it;

when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.

     When you send forth your spirit, they are created,

and you renew the face of the earth.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

Reading II
Acts 10:34-38

Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered

in the house of Cornelius, saying: 

“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.

Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly

is acceptable to him.

You know the word that he sent to the Israelites 

as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, 

what has happened all over Judea, 

beginning in Galilee after the baptism

that John preached, 

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth

with the Holy Spirit and power.

He went about doing good 

and healing all those oppressed by the devil, 

for God was with him.”

OR: 

Ti 2:11-14; 3:4-7

Beloved:

The grace of God has appeared, saving all

and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires

and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,

as we await the blessed hope,

the appearance of the glory of our great God

and savior Jesus Christ,

who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness

and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,

eager to do what is good.

            When the kindness and generous love

                        of God our savior appeared,

            not because of any righteous deeds we had done

                        but because of his mercy,

            He saved us through the bath of rebirth

                        and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

            whom he richly poured out on us

                        through Jesus Christ our savior,

            so that we might be justified by his grace

                        and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

Alleluia
Cf. Mk 9:7

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered:

This is my beloved Son, listen to him.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

OR:

Cf. Lk 3:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

John said: One mightier than I is coming;

he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Lk 3:15-16, 21-22

The people were filled with expectation,

and all were asking in their hearts

whether John might be the Christ.

John answered them all, saying, 

“I am baptizing you with water,

but one mightier than I is coming.

I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

After all the people had been baptized 

and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, 

heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him

in bodily form like a dove. 

And a voice came from heaven, 

“You are my beloved Son;

with you I am well pleased.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

God always speaks to Jesus in an intimate and joyful fashion. He says: ‘You are my beloved son, I am pleased with you. I love you deeply. Your whole being springs from me. I am your Father.’ Jesus answers, ‘Abba’, ‘beloved Father’. His whole life reveals trust. He hands himself over unconditionally to his Father.

To be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire is to be baptized with the purifying fire of Divine Love.

PRAYER:

God, I ponder on this love that you have lavished also upon me, calling me your child. You are the tender and compassionate Mother of my life. You are the faithful Father, the Rock on which I stand. Your love is everlasting. Your faithfulness is eternal. 

He Must Increase; I Must Decrease

JANUARY 08, 2022, SATURDAY
SATURDAY AFTER EPIPHANY (White)
CYCLE C - YEAR II
Lectionary: 217

Reading I
1 Jn 5:14-21

Beloved:

We have this confidence in him

that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 

And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,

we know that what we have asked him for is ours. 

If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,

he should pray to God and he will give him life. 

This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. 

There is such a thing as deadly sin,

about which I do not say that you should pray. 

All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

We know that anyone begotten by God does not sin;

but the one begotten by God he protects,

and the Evil One cannot touch him. 

We know that we belong to God,

and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One. 

We also know that the Son of God has come

and has given us discernment to know the one who is true. 

And we are in the one who is true,

in his Son Jesus Christ. 

He is the true God and eternal life. 

Children, be on your guard against idols.

Responsorial Psalm
149:1-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

R.        (see 4a)  The Lord takes delight in his people.

or:

R.        Alleluia.

Sing to the LORD a new song

            of praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Let Israel be glad in their maker,

            let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.

R.        The Lord takes delight in his people.

or:

R.        Alleluia.

Let them praise his name in the festive dance,

            let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.

For the LORD loves his people,

            and he adorns the lowly with victory.

R.        The Lord takes delight in his people.

or:

R.        Alleluia.

Let the faithful exult in glory;

            let them sing for joy upon their couches;

Let the high praises of God be in their throats.

            This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.

R.        The Lord takes delight in his people.

or:

R.        Alleluia.

Alleluia
Mt 4:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,

on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death

light has arisen.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Jn 3:22-30

Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea,

where he spent some time with them baptizing. 

John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,

because there was an abundance of water there,

and people came to be baptized,

for John had not yet been imprisoned. 

Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew

about ceremonial washings. 

So they came to John and said to him,

“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,

to whom you testified,

here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”

John answered and said,

“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 

You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,

but that I was sent before him. 

The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;

the best man, who stands and listens for him,

rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. 

So this joy of mine has been made complete. 

He must increase; I must decrease.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

John the Baptist knew who he was in the sight of God. He knew his strengths and his weaknesses, and knew that his life was to be centered on the one to come. This was not a drudge or burden for him: he rejoiced in the coming of Jesus and in his place in the mission and life of Jesus. He knew he was the announcer of good news, but not the good news itself. Something in him faded into insignificance when Jesus arrived; but this sense that he was second to another has made him first among many. In being humble we are big in the sight of God. Prayer can be an offering of self totally to God, giving and receiving life and love.

PRAYER:

Loving Father, you wake me from sleep today and call me into life and service. You want something of your goodness to shine through my frailty and brokenness. Bless this day!

Touching The Untouchables

JANUARY 07, 2022, FRIDAY
FRIDAY AFTER EPIPHANY (White)
Optional Memorial of Saint Raymond of Peñafort, priest (White)
CYCLE C- YEAR II
Lectionary: 216

Reading I
1 Jn 5:5-13

Beloved:

Who indeed is the victor over the world

but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,

not by water alone, but by water and Blood. 

The Spirit is the one who testifies,

and the Spirit is truth. 

So there are three who testify,

the Spirit, the water, and the Blood, 

and the three are of one accord. 

If we accept human testimony,

the testimony of God is surely greater. 

Now the testimony of God is this,

that he has testified on behalf of his Son. 

Whoever believes in the Son of God

has this testimony within himself.

Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar

by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son. 

And this is the testimony:

God gave us eternal life,

and this life is in his Son. 

Whoever possesses the Son has life;

whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you so that you may know

that you have eternal life,

you who believe in the name of the Son of God.

Responsorial Psalm
147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

R.        (12a)  Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

or:

R.        Alleluia.

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;

            praise your God, O Zion.

For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;

            he has blessed your children within you.

R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

or:

R.        Alleluia.

He has granted peace in your borders;

            with the best of wheat he fills you.

He sends forth his command to the earth;

            swiftly runs his word!

R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

or:

R.        Alleluia.

He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,

            his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.

He has not done thus for any other nation;

            his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.

R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

or:

R.        Alleluia.

Alleluia
See Mt 4:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom

and cured every disease among the people.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Lk 5:12-16

It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was;

and when he saw Jesus,

he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,

“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” 

Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,

“I do will it.  Be made clean.” 

And the leprosy left him immediately. 

Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but

“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing

what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” 

The report about him spread all the more,

and great crowds assembled to listen to him

and to be cured of their ailments,

but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

A young man called Francis met a leper on the road as he journeyed towards Assisi. The story goes that though the leper caused him no small disgust and horror, he got off his horse and prepared to kiss him. But when the leper put out his hand as though to receive something, he received money along with a kiss. May I reach out with compassionate care, with love, with a touch, to those who have been rejected and mistreated.

An energy-point for Jesus was his prayer, and we find that at key times of his life, he prayed: before calling the twelve, at the time of temptation and the struggle at his Passion and death; and very often as part of his life he went to quiet places to pray. His ministry needed the support and life-giving energy of his relationship with his Father. With us our life of love needs the energy of prayer. Prayer enhances family life, friendship and work or ministry for others. When we bring the love and commitments of our lives to prayer, something happens to being us deeper into the source of our convictions and commitments to God and others.

PRAYER:

Lord, you did things your own way. You were concerned with more than bodily healing. You were bothered most by the helplessness and humiliation of those rejected by society. You did not give them a hand-out but much more: a new relationship with their God, which helped them live with new dignity.