FIRST READING               

A reading from the first book of Samuel.                    9: 1-4, 17-19, 10:1a
The Lord told Samuel, ‘That is the man of whom I told you; Saul shall rule my people.'

Among the men of Benjamin there was a man named Kish son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah; a Benjaminite and a man of rank. He had a son named Saul, a handsome man in the prime of life. Of all the Israelites there was no one more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders taller than the rest of the people. Now some of the she-donkeys of Saul's father Kish had strayed, so Kish said to Saul, 'My son, take one of the servants with you and be off; go and look for the she-donkeys'. They passed through the highlands of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but did not find them; they passed through the land of Shaalim, they were not there; they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, 'That is the man of whom I told you; he shall rule my people'. Saul accosted Samuel in the gateway and said, 'Tell me, please, where the seer's house is?' Samuel replied to Saul, 'I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place. You are to eat with me today. In the morning I shall take leave of you and tell you all that is in your heart.

Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on Saul's head; then he kissed him, saying, 'Has not the Lord anointed you prince over his people Israel? You are the man who must rule the Lord's people, and who must save them from the power of the enemies surrounding them.

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm                Ps 20
Response                                     O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.

O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king;
how your saving help makes him glad!
You have granted him his heart's desire;
you have not refused the prayer of his lips.                             Response

You came to meet him with the blessings of success,
you have set on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked you for life and this you have given,
days that will last from age to age.                                            Response

Your saving help has given him glory.
You have laid upon him majesty and splendour,
you have granted your blessings to him for ever.
You have made him rejoice with the joy of your presence. Response

Gospel  Acclamation                  Ps 118: 29
Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your commands.
Alleluia!

or                                                        Lk 4: 18
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the Good News to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL   

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark       2: 13-17
I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.

Jesus went out again to the shore of the lake; and all the people came to him, and he taught them. As he was walking on he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, 'Follow me'. And he got up and followed him.

When Jesus was at dinner in his house, a number of tax collectors and sinners were also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of them among his followers. When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, 'Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?' When Jesus heard this he said to them,
'It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.'

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Gospel Reflection        Saturday        First Week in Ordinary Time          Mark 2:13-17

Pope Francis wrote a book whose title is ‘The Name of God is Mercy’. It takes the form of an interview with Pope Francis by an Italian journalist. In the course of that lengthy interview, Pope Francis says that God’s logic is a logic of love that scandalizes the doctors of the Law. I was reminded of what the Pope said there by today’s gospel reading. Jesus scandalizes the doctors of the Law, the scribes of the Pharisees, by sharing table with people who were considered sinners by the same doctors of the Law. Pope Francis has spoken of Jesus as the human face of God’s mercy. God’s logic of love is reflected in everything Jesus says and does. Jesus reveals a God who doesn’t wait for us to be perfect or blameless before engaging with us. Jesus engaged with people as they were, in all their frailty and weakness. That is how the Lord engages with each one of us. In the gospel reading we have just heard, Jesus calls Levi, or Matthew, as he is named in one of the other gospels, to become one of his disciples. Levi was a tax collector. The doctors of the Law would have considered such people to be beyond redemption because they kept breaking the Law. However, that was not Jesus’ logic; it is not God’s logic of love. Jesus called Levi out of love, just as he calls each one of us out of love. Jesus went on to share table with Levi’s friends, other tax collectors and sinners. To share table with people in that culture was to enter into real communion with them. In sharing table with tax collectors and sinners Jesus was showing that God wants to be in communion with us just as we are. It is that experience of God’s loving communion with us that will empower us to become the person God wants us to be and to live the life God calls us to live.        
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The scripture readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/The Gospel reflection comes from WEEKDAY REFLECTIONS 2019-20: The Word of God is Living and Active by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications  c/f https://www.messenger.ie/product/the-word-of-god-is-living-and-active-reflections-on-the-weekday-readings-for-the-liturgical-year-2019-2020/c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

 



 

-19-1-2020-

 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

FIRST READING          

A reading from the book of the Prophet  Isaiah       49:3.5-6
I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

The Lord  said to me, 'You are my servant  Israel
in whom I shall be glorified';
I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord,
my God was my strength.
And now the Lord has spoken,
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
to gather Israel to him:

'It is not enough for you to be my servant,
to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel;
I will make you the light of the nations
so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.'

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm          Ps 39
Response                                Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

1.  I waited, I waited for the Lord
and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry.
He put a new song into my mouth,
praise of our God.                                 Response

2. You do not ask for sacrifice
and offerings, but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust
and victim. Instead, here am I.           Response

3. In the scroll of the book it stands
written that I should do your will.
My God, I delight i~ your law
in the depth of my heart.                      Response

4. Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.                              Response

SECOND READING

A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians           1:1-3
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace.

I, Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle, together with brother Sosthenes,
send greetings to the church of God in Corinth, to the holy people of Jesus Christ,
who are called to take their place among all the saints everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ;
for he is their Lord no less than ours. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel  Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessings on the King who comes, in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens!
Alleluia!

or                                          Jn 1: 14. 12
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Word was made flesh and lived among us;
to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God..
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

A reading from the Gospel according to John        1:29-34
Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.' John also declared, 'I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, "The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit."

Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.'

The Gospel of the Lord



The scripture readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/
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Commentaries on the Gospel can be found in the Homily Section on our Home page

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