Presider: Fr. Justin Lopina
Parish: Sacred Heart and Saint Matthew
TEXT FROM THE GOSPEL AND HOMILY
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy gospel according to Mark. Glory to you o Lord.
Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue and many who heard him were astonished. They said, "Where did this man get all of this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house." So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ
Let's unpack the second reading today. It's timely for us right now and is one of the more famous phrases that we have from Saint Paul. "I will boast most gladly of my weaknesses in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and constraints for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” There are two ways for us to apply this to our lives today for starters, we all probably feel fairly weak and powerless these days. We're still at the mercy of the pandemic with all the baggage that comes with that. And that makes this chapter of our lives all the more pressing. With respect to putting our trust in Christ, we need to continue to endure a little bit longer and our faith, hope and love will make this time easier and more constructive than it would be otherwise. So hold fast to faith in your weakness, for when we are weak we are strong in Christ. The other way we can apply this now is to remember that there is a great deal of insults, persecutions and constraints going on in the world today. It is a war zone out there. It is brutal. But the power of Christ dwells with us during moments such as those we are called to endure that hurtful behavior as part of our mission as disciples of Christ. But take note when Christ and Paul state that this kind of hardship will be a part of our future. They are not condoning us to treat others the way they treat us. We are not called to lash out and attack others. We are called to bear witness to the good news of Christ. No more and no less you are strong in your weakness when you are mistreated, mislabeled, and underestimated by others if you continue to display the loving and merciful power of Christ that most certainly dwells within you.
Entrance: Holy, Holy, Holy
Contributors: Nolan Williams, Jr.
Tune: arr. Nolan Williams, Jr., © 2000, GIA Publications, Inc.
Psalm 123: Our Eyes Are Fixed on the Lord
© 2009 William Monaghan (ASCAP) Published by Monaghan Music LLC, All rights reserved.
Preparation: Open My Eyes
Instrumental arrangement by Tom Ajack
Communion: Taste and See
Contributors: James Moore
Tune: James E. Moore, Jr., © 1983, GIA Publications, Inc. Text: Psalm 34; James E. Moore Jr., © 1983, GIA Publications, Inc.
Sending Forth: Thanks Be To God
Music: CHARIS; Text and music © 1994, Stephen Dean. Published by OCP. All rights reserved.
Contributors: Stephen Dean, CHARIS
Mass Setting: Mass of Saint Ann
Text from the English translation of The Roman Missal, © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved. Music © 2011, World Library Publications.
Contributors: Ed Bolduc
Tune: Music © 2011, World Library Publications.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this liturgy obtained from ONE LICENSE, License No. A-718591.
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