Roman Catholic Reflections and Homilies

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Second Sunday Ordinary Time, year B - Sunday, January 17, 2021 (EPISODE: 273)

Second Sunday Ordinary Time year B - Sunday, January 17, 2021
(EPISODE: 273)

(EPISODE: 273)

Readings for 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
FIRST READING: 1 Sam 3: 3b-10, 19
Ps 40: 2+4, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10. "Here am I Lord; I come to do your will. "
SECOND READING: 1 Cor 6: 13c-15a, 17-20
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 1: 41+17b). Alleluia, alleluia! We have found the Messiah. Jesus Christ, who brings us truth and grace.
GOSPEL: John 1: 35-42

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image: ID:167252546. Sacrifice. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Illustration in Byzantian style. By Julia Raketic
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Second Sunday Ordinary Time year B - Sunday, January 17, 2021, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-second-sunday-of-ordinary-time-year-b-episode-273/s-GmHdGOEtz7c (EPISODE: 273)
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*prologue (Fr Paul): The gospel this weekend is really fascinating. John the Baptist is speaking with two of his own disciples and says: LOOK, THERE is the Lamb of God! (Which, we now know is short-hand for… Look!... There is the one who is to come; and who will be the perfect, unblemished sacrifice to take away the sins of the world and restore our right relationship with God as not only God's people but as sons and daughters of God).

The two disciples immediately take off and follow Jesus and he invites them to stay with him. To really become disciples and followers of Jesus, we have to be close to him, and live with him, and learn from him; how he thinks, what he values, what he does not approve of, and so on. We need to "walk his walk and not just talk his talk." It took years of walking and living in Jesus' community, for the disciples to even begin to understand who he was and what his message was about. They often got it wrong or half-right, and thank goodness they had Jesus there, as the teacher, to set them straight and deepen their learning.

It would seem hard to comprehend to us that someone might see what Jesus has to offer and not accept it, but there were many people in Jesus' time who were affronted by Jesus and rejected him because his message was too challenging and too radical and at other times, not what they expected the messiah and the chosen one to be LIKE. So, it's a reminder, Many are invited but not all accept. Jesus understood this difficulty because he witnessed people stopping following him. He warned his followers to count the cost of their discipleship and not be wishy-washy because there is no time to "umm and ahh" when the work of the Kingdom is urgent!!

Jesus calls us all to the primary vocation of being servants and disciples of Christ in our daily lives and work. We achieve this by staying very close to Jesus in prayer, in scripture reflection, in reading about the teachings of Christ, in worshipping regularly in union with the Christian community and learning from the teachings of our church. Christ must live in and with us, as we with him! It is a deep and wonderful connection that we are invited into.

Each one of us today is still called by Jesus. And our response, like Samuel, is 'Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will!"

Just as Jesus received opposition, misunderstanding and rejection, so too, can we expect this for Christ's Church. But we keep persisting in this life-giving message.

Inspired by today’s second reading, - we recognise that Christ and his church, have a rather powerful and different view of the human person and the human body than do some sectors of the world. St Paul sums up this gospel-focused understanding: "You know, surely, that your bodies are members making up the body of Christ; anyone who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. ……. Your body, you know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you since you received him from God. You are not your own property; you have been bought and paid for (by Christ's life, death and resurrection). That is why you should use your body for the glory of God."

At its essence, this is extremely positive and encouraging teaching. To put ourselves: mind, body and spirit, at the service of God and God’s vision. Our lives are to be lived with attention to not so much “rights,” but “responsibilities.”

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this world sometimes makes too much of different aspects of the mystery of humanity, to the point where people and actions are turned into commodities, valued for what another can get out of them, or be used as a “thing” to be traded. This leads, at its worst to “commodification” and also extreme utilitarianism- people and actions valued by what practical use, or what benefit can be obtained from them. Staying close to the message of Christ, though, is simply being honest to God’s vision, and lovingly open to the profound reality that we are each, truly unique, loved and sacred temples of the Holy Spirit, and individually members of the Body of Christ and, with God’s grace, we aim to abide in these living temples, according to everything that builds up, (not the “kingdom of me,” or the kingdom of consumerism or commodification), but rather promotes the true and life-giving Kingdom of God. … …
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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
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Homily – Fr Peter Dillon:
During the course of everyone's life, we encounter many people. Most of them turn out to have little or no significance in our lives and are soon forgotten. It is possible to live in the same community with others and still never get to know them or talk about the deeper things in life with them.

But there are some other encounters that turn out to be of great significance: they enrich our lives and sometimes change then utterly. You may just have one meeting with this person, and an immediate bond is formed. You feel comfortable to reveal yourself in a true and clear light.

Those of us fortunate to have many friends should sometime ask ourselves: what do my friends see in me? What aspects of our nature have attracted us in the first place? What is our common denominator? We may also notice that not all our friends are friends of each other, nor did we plan to become friends, so what connects us?

It's actually something that has been researched and has been called, 'Spiritual Affinity' and it's something that enlarges and enriches our life. It's not usually founded on a physical appearance, but has more to do with the confidence and clarity that they bring to our life.

When a friendship is born there is no tangible change to one's life – just an awareness that one's life is different and that our capacity to show and receive love and care has been miraculously been enlarged without any great effort on our own part. While it does not always involve a spoken commitment, it does require honesty, trust and commitment in order to grow. Once we come to love someone we remember almost every detail of that first encounter.

All this helps to understand the importance of this first meeting between Jesus and Peter, Andrew and John. It was clearly a wonderful encounter, so much so that John, who later came to write about the encounter in his Gospel, even remembers the hour of the day when the meeting took place. One meeting with Jesus and they were captivated by him. He gave them as much time as they wanted. They found him warm, friendly and welcoming. They knew they had met a remarkable person and a rare friendship was born. However, it was a friendship that came to be shared with a large number of those in the immediate community.

In this Gospel Andrew is much more than "the brother of Peter". He had a special function of introducing other people to Jesus so that they too could share in this life-giving friendship. Like Eli, the high priest of the first reading and John the Baptist, he has the role of bringing others into the presence of the Lord. He was the 'introducer', one who invited others into the relationship that was so nourishing for him. In some way, we all come to Jesus by way of generations of Christians who have shared their experience of Jesus, people who were introduced to Jesus by others.

The story of Christianity is a story of a chain of witnesses linked through the apostles to Jesus himself. While their words would have painted a strong picture of who Jesus was, the best introduction to Him from the apostles was the way that they lived after having met him. The way they surrendered their careers, their families and their own dreams to take on the dream that he had for them. The things they did in his name were much more effective than the things they said about him. By their lives they showed others who he was.

This of course invites us to ask ourselves; who have we introduced to Jesus? Do we think that the relationship with Christ is worth sharing? Do we know enough about your connection with Jesus to confidently let others know about him? Is our relationship so private that we don't want to share it with anyone else? Do we think that in knowing Jesus others may come to know more about their possibilities and abilities?

We all have to play our part in introducing Jesus to others but we don't have to be great missionaries to do this: if we believe that Jesus is worth knowing, we will bring others into his loving presence by our quiet witness. And this is how the Christian faith grows and this is how we may be the means to create this connection.
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References:
Fr Peter Dillon

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image: ID:167252546. Sacrifice. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Illustration in Byzantian style. By Julia Raketic

Second Sunday Ordinary Time year B (Sunday, January 17, 2021) (EPISODE: 273)
The Lord be with you.
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{{hello everyone}} welcome everyone, we gather - To Pray, listen and reflect upon God and God's Kingdom.

As we begin the Holy Eucharist, let us acknowledge our sinfulness, so as to worthily celebrate the sacred mysteries.
sung (or Lord Jesus, you have revealed yourself as the way to the Father: Lord, have mercy//You have poured out on your people the Spirit of truth: Christ, have mercy//You are the Good Shepherd, leading us to eternal life: Lord have mercy)
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord until you come again.
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PREFACE: Sundays I
EP II
Communion side. pwk: RH
(theme variation: 4 )
(pre+post variation: 3)
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{Bless you all and May God's grace guide you each and every day of this week.}

Go in peace.(glorifying the Lord by your life)

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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John Kelly - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time." Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly. Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

[ Production - KER - 2021]

May God bless and keep you.
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Thursday, January 07, 2021

The Baptism of the Lord. Year B. - Sunday, January 10, 2021- (EPISODE: 272)

The Baptism of the Lord. Year B. - Sunday, January 10, 2021
(EPISODE: 272)

Readings for The Baptism of the Lord. Year B.
FIRST READING: Isa 55:1-11
opt: Isa 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6. "You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation. "
SECOND READING: 1 John 5:1-9
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. John 1:29). Alleluia, alleluia! John saw Jesus approaching him and said: This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
GOSPEL: Mark 1:7-11

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image: ID:1503704669. Vranov, Slovakia. 2019/8/22. Icon of the Baptism of Christ — Theophany, also called Epiphany. Chapel of the Convent of the Holy Trinity in Lomnica. By Adam Jan Figel.
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for The Baptism of the Lord. Year B. - Sunday, January 10, 2021 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-the-baptism-of-the-lord-year-b-episode-272 (EPISODE: 272)
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* Prologue (Fr Paul). WATER is the main symbol of baptism. Water represents washing clean, rebirth and renewal.

Water is a perfect symbol, as it contains so many rich and significant meanings: First and foremost, water is an absolutely essential element for life.

Water contains so many meanings within itself……… Health and life, danger and threat, renewal and Destruction. When we think of water, we can imagine the sheer force and danger of flood waters, and the power and unexpected force of frozen glaciers. ALl over the world we have seen the effects of the power of water. Water represents both enormous power and also soothing, renewing, gentleness, as well as cleansign, washing and restoring.

Water and baptism. Baptism is a word that literally means "Plunge," and we believe that Baptism is not just a sign of following Jesus, but that Baptism unites us to Jesus, (grafts us onto him), and makes us one with his life and with the life of all other believers in Jesus. Being baptised, (water poured over us, or plunged into water), is a powerful and wonderful way of showing that by following Jesus we want to 'immerse" or "plunge" ourselves into Jesus' and his way of life.

In baptism, we become a beloved and cherished daughter or son of God. We become adopted and loved children of the same Heavenly Father as Jesus. God the Father is so generous, so lavish in love and praise, that the gospel today tells us the Father tears the heavens apart and pours down the most wonderful praise and encouragement and confidence and blessing upon his beloved son, Jesus.

As one commentator says…. "We are told that God rends the heavens to lavish praise on his son— a son who, up to that point, had yet to accomplish much of anything. It must have been indescribably affirming and motivating for Jesus as he was about to begin his most challenging and self-emptying ministry. Although Jesus is God made human, he was also fully human…. and in need of encouragement and affirmation and strength from his beloved father… who was in heaven… and who happened to be the father of all things…..   Jesus was now absolutely assured and commissioned in the love and confidence of his heavenly father….that God the father was completely pleased with him." (Patrice J. Tuohy)

It is a timely reminder, that it is so important, so human and so affirming to praise one another……. we live in a culture where it seems easier to voice criticisms…. and it seems that for some, if they are not unhappy with anything it is not so much praise that follows…. but silence……. so we live in a world where there is either criticism or begrudging silence……. or else… then we get the other extreme where people compliment others with empty and insincere words…….. that don't connect with the reality of what is happening… and so do very little good…..       others feel that they shouldn't praise others for fear that it might give the other a 'big head' ……. or that the praise may be taken as mere flattery………. having said that….. there is no substitute for sincere, heartfelt, and constructive affirmation, encouragement and praise…… which is a form of gratefulness to God for the blessings experienced through others….…. naming that which we are grateful for,…..,,,

Praise is so important…….. Good managers know this as do teachers, coaches, counsellors, volunteer coordinators, and fundraisers—anyone who is trying to get someone to take the next step, stretch themselves, and constantly strive to reach a higher level of commitment or performance.

For people who live without affirmation and who live with constant criticism…. they get the crippling message that nothing they do is never "good enough"….. nothing will really satisfy or meet with approval……   on the other side of the coin, a person who gets false praise…. may either feel that words are empty….. or else they might rely on compliments that don't really give them a good indicator of how they are doing and how it is affecting others. A

And then there are those who get good, positive feedback and affirmation….. even when setbacks and the occasional mistakes or failure come their way, they are not defeated, because they know their value and the strength of their own worth; and persevere through the struggles and beyond….

I just want to mention the curious second reading from the first letter of St John. He mentions the rather obscure reference to Jesus being shown to be the Messiah not only by the water but also by the blood. This is a little strange… but what it seems to mean is…. St John was writing this letter at the time when heresy was taking hold in the church communities… some were saying that Jesus was really just an ordinary human and at his baptism, he was adopted by the Father and the Spirit fell upon him… he lived as God's son and then on the cross… the divine spirit left and the mere human remained…. so God did not really suffer or die…. it was just the human who carried the divine spirit in him for a time…. but no… this is not the fullness of our Christian faith…St John reminds us that Jesus suffered and died… and shed real blood upon the cross… so that the true sign that Jesus was the real messiah and the beloved son of God…. Jesus was both truly God and truly human was that he gave his last drop of blood for us… and truly suffered and even gave his life for us… so not only his baptism in the waters of the river Jordan… shows us his identity… but also his suffering and death…. Baptism and the cross are essential and undivided elements of the perfect messiah… the two cannot be separated….. and there is, in baptism, always an element of dying and rising – united always with Christ.

(Fr Paul)

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Fr Peter Dillon – Homily:

During this year our principle guide to the story of Jesus will be the evangelist, Mark. He was one of the first Christians to put into writing his version of the story of Jesus. While the earliest communities still had the apostles with them, they didn't feel the need to record the memory of Jesus in writing, because they believed he was going to return to them very soon. Preserving the memory of Jesus would be a waste of time as there would be nobody around to read it. This all changed some thirty years after the death of Jesus when it became rather important to assemble the traditional stories of Jesus. Mark is the first to do this. In a way, he was the one who invented the Gospels.

There seems to be a great antipathy to formal religion today. People describe themselves as spiritual but not religious. We have all witnessed the alternative religion explosion: meditation groups, new age literature, relaxation techniques, atmospherics, aromatherapy, crystals, eastern spirituality and chants, even Gregorian chant has been cut loose from its liturgical setting and used to produce a mind-altering state.

There is a general consensus that life is about more than just satisfying the need of body and mind. We need to pay attention to our spiritual selves. Some experts see this awareness as an authentic desire for God's spirit. Others read it merely as a post-Christian regression to pagan superstitions.

The gospel today gives us an example of a genuine experience of the Spirit.
Jesus is baptized not as an individual but as part of a group. People who experience a lack in their lives. He places himself firmly beside those seeking for an experience of God. A desire to know God – to taste his spirit.

This leads those people to seek baptism for the forgiveness of their sins.
Any authentic experience of the Spirit leads us back to God and into the community. It is neither exclusively individualistic nor completely other-worldly. Of course, it can be intensely personal and religious at the same time. The Spirit of God leads us into unity and solidarity with the rest of humanity.

The Spirit descends on Jesus. God proclaims him his beloved Son. Through the Spirit we can dare to call God our Father and we are gathered into God's family.

Mark begins his Gospel in the desert, where John baptizes and where Jesus will be tested by Satan. The desert is a place at the fringes of social order, neither town nor country. But when John comes preaching repentance the normal order is turned inside out: Mark tells us that all the country of Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem go out to him confessing their sins. So the far away deserted place becomes a centre of life, full of the bustle and noise of human beings clamouring for attention.

The desire to see one man express something true inverts the usual order of things: empty places suddenly become full, and the full empty.

So all of Judaea empties itself into the wilderness to come to John for baptism. Those who come are ready to accept a new life, are open to the gift of repentance and the conversion it requires. In this crowd, pushing and surging forward as the Baptist draws sinners into the water, in this mob of those hungry for forgiveness and healing we find the Saviour, the sinless one, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

This is where we first encounter Jesus in Mark's Gospel. Not as a child wrapped in swaddling clothes or as a refugee fleeing the wrath of Herod, but as a man in a crowd. Jesus lines up with all the sinners on the bank of the Jordan River, waiting his turn to wade into the cooling waters and stand before John.

So the ministry of Jesus begins with the inversion of the social order: the desert becomes a city. It also begins with the complete transformation of the order between God and his people: the holiness of God that provokes awe and terror is to be found among the mass of sinful men and women. The holy of holies, the centre of the Temple where is darkness and silence, which can only be entered once a year was all along pointing forward to our brother Jesus who brings the holiness of God out into the streets.

It is at this moment when Jesus most identifies himself with sinful hungry humanity that the heavens are torn open and the Spirit descends in the form of a dove. The Spirit will fill Jesus throughout his ministry, as he comes to bring health to those who are sick, as he touches the leper bringing him back into the community of Israel, and as he eats with prostitutes and tax collectors.

That which makes Jesus seem so different from us, his being without sin, is really that which makes him identify with us so deeply as to stand in the midst of us. Sin can never be solidarity. It is the fragmenting of the human race, which makes us stand apart from each other in loneliness and suspicion. To have no sin means to love sinners, to want to be with sinners and set them free, to eat and drink and die for sinners through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

This same Spirit will break like flames upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost, sending them from the upper room out into the bustle of the morning street, to turn the desert of the world into the city of God. In his baptism we see Jesus identify with us completely and totally.

It can be hard to be loved like this, so completely and without reservation. Faced with this love we can seek to withdraw into the desert of hearts closed off from God and each other. But today's feast is our hope. Jesus the Saviour stands among us. He is not afraid to be labelled 'just another sinful face in the crowd.' As St Paul says 'God made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.'
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References:
HOMILY – FR PETER DILLON

PROLOGUE - Fr Paul W. Kelly

2009 – A BOOK OF GRACE-FILLED DAYS. BY Alice Camille;

THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF MARK. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY;

PATRICE J. TUOHY, PrepareTheWord.com, 2008, TrueQuest Communications, LLC.

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image: ID:1503704669. Vranov, Slovakia. 2019/8/22. Icon of the Baptism of Christ — Theophany, also called Epiphany. Chapel of the Convent of the Holy Trinity in Lomnica. By Adam Jan Figel.

The Baptism of the Lord. Year B.   (Sunday, January 10, 2021) (EPISODE: 272)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{How are you today}} welcome everyone, we gather - To take time to reflect upon the meaning of God's word for our everyday lives

As we prepare to celebrate the great Sacramental feast of Gods love, let us pause, recall our sins, and trust in Gods infinite mercy.
Lord Jesus, you healed the sick: Lord, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you forgave sinners: Christ, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us and bring us strength: Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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PREFACE: Baptism of the Lord
EP I

(theme variation: 3 )
(pre+post variation: 2)
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{thank you so much for taking this time to listen to, and reflect upon God's word and praising God's goodness and care. }

Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.

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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John Kelly - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time." Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly. Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

[ Production - KER - 2021]

May God bless and keep you.
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Saturday, January 02, 2021

Epiphany of the Lord. Year B - Sunday, January 3, 2021 - (EPISODE: 271)

Epiphany of the Lord. Year B - Sunday, January 3, 2021

(EPISODE: 271)

Readings for Epiphany of the Lord. Year B
FIRST READING: Isa 60:1-6
Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13. "Lord, every nation on earth will adore you."
SECOND READING: Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Matt 2:2). Alleluia, alleluia! We have seen his star in the East; and have come to adore the Lord.
GOSPEL: Matt 2:1-12

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image: ID: 121108219. PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC - OCTOBER 17, 2018: The fresco of Adoration of Magi the in church Kostel Svatého Cyrila Metodeje by Petr Maixner (1872). By Renata Sedmakov
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Epiphany of the Lord. Year B - Sunday, January 3, 2021, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-the-epiphany-year-b-episode-271/s-CjHDcpPIZ2I (EPISODE: 271)
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* PROLOGUE - This feast of the Epiphany, and the accompanying readings for this weekend, reveal Jesus Christ to be the King of all heaven and earth, and the "light" to all nations and cultures.

"Epiphany is a Greek word meaning "manifestation." In ancient times, the term referred to an official visit by a King or Queen. This is a public presentation or showing to the people of a sovereign.

According to our first reading, the qualities of the Diving King are justice, right-judgement, care for the poor, "a person who establishes peace", a person with great concern for the needy, and who has compassion for the weak. The Divine King is the saver of the lives of the poor.

When we look at the gospel, (Not every King got a "present" in today's story… not every king got what they wanted…. But they all got what they deserved…..). For, there are two kings featured in the gospel this weekend - Christ and Herod.

The wise men met both Kings. To Herod, they gave a respectful ear, but they did not worship him, and rightly so, and did not return to inform him of what they found. They 'listened to what the King had to say, but (through inspiration), they did not give King Herod what he wanted but rather, they returned to their own country by a 'different way'.
We are all called to listen and reflect and ponder and then, with God's inspiration discern what is the right thing to do. Sometimes the right thing to do is to NOT give someone what they ask or demand.

In what ways can we let the light of Christ shine out to all those we meet?

(Fr. Paul Kelly)
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Homily - Fr Peter Dillon:
Christmas, like a diamond, has many facets. It is a bloom which unfolds over the twelve days that we call Christmastide. There is a song about the twelve days of Christmas. The twelfth night is the feast of Epiphany – meaning manifestation. Literally, the super-showing which reveals all the facets of this diamond of Jesus' presence amongst us.

With faith-polarised glasses, you can read the signs of God's love throughout the whole human story. For Christians, Jesus is the sign par excellence. Jesus, in turn, uses signs to point to his part in God's plan. Take John's story of the marriage feast of Cana. Jesus turns the Jewish Water of Purification into the wine of the new banquet God has planned for us. And in case we think this just a good party trick the narrator tells us that "Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory". Look behind the story and you will see God's glory – shared by Jesus. God is revealing his plan for us. This story dramatizes that plan. Jesus is the medium. A classic example of the medium being the message. It is an epiphany.

The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is another facet of epiphany. Mark's gospel tells us that "when Jesus came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son; with you, I am well pleased'." Mark makes this an epiphany for Jesus. Matthew and Luke extend that epiphany to us. That is why we used to celebrate Jesus' baptism on the feast of the Epiphany.

Matthew's gospel is the most dramatic presentation of an epiphany. Wise men come from the East searching for the child who is born King of the Jews. By the time Matthew wrote his gospel the Jesus Movement had spread to the four corners. The East was Syria, Iraq (Mesopotamia) where the action was. The whole world was starting to believe and follow. These wise men are astrologers. They study the heavens. Spotting a new star, they conclude that something portentous is at work. They bring gifts: gold for a king, frankincense for God and myrrh to embalm a body. With faith-tinted glasses they have spotted the epiphany that King Herod has missed. They even know that jeopardy is part of the story.

What does the story mean? The storyteller uses the details of the story to get his reader to understand his main point.
Matthew believes that it is fantastic that the whole world is getting the message that God is looking out for them.

Luke has the same objective when he tells his story of the first Pentecost. The point of the story is true –The storyteller's wish is that you might come to see it as clearly as he does.

Two men looked out through the prison bars; one saw mud, the other saw stars. It is how we look on our experience that makes the difference. Herod saw mud. The Eastern Sages saw stars.
No faith - nothing to see. But a questing look reveals facets of this diamond which is life flood-lit by love. You only get to know what was bubbling under the surface when the supernova erupts. That's a real epiphany worth waiting for.

Matthew is the only gospel which gives us the story of the 'Three Wise Men'. He is using it to stress the importance of Christ's good news for non-Jewish people, the gentiles or pagans as Paul refers to them in today's second reading. Matthew's community was strongly Jewish and still loyal to the synagogue. They still regarded Jesus as their possession. They had not understood what St Paul said in his letter to the Ephesians:
'This mystery... was unknown to any men and women in past generations; it means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Christ Jesus, through the gospel.

In the seventh century, Persians invade Holy Land and destroyed all the churches including the Holy Sepulchre. The only one spared was the Basilica of the Nativity at Bethlehem - the Persians found there a representation of the visit of the Magi and they recognised their dress as similar to the Persian mode. At least posthumously the Magi forwarded the cause of Christ.

Our gospel tells us nothing of these wise people except that they return to their own country by a different route to avoid Herod. Scholars who remained silent. It was the humble Apostles who had the startling success in spreading the good news about Jesus. They had to face up to the sophistication of the Greek world and the practical logicality of the Romans. Yet the power of Christ worked through them. We too in faithfully following Christ's values can overcome the indifference of our sophisticated world.

Has our celebration of Christmas made a difference to our way of living? Has it made us keen to manifest Christ as we resume our lifestyle after the Christmas break? Did our Christmas include a good Confession and are our resolutions from that encounter with Christ bearing fruit in our life now? Particularly in our manifesting Christ to others through our part in the community of the Church.

May all of us experience and hear these words as we journey
to find Christ.

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References:

HOMILY – FR PETER DILLON
PROLOGUE - Fr Paul W. Kelly

[ii] Celebrating the Gospels. By Gaynell Cronin, 2.
[iii] Vision – Praying Scripture in a Contemporary Way. Year A. Mark Link S.J., 55
[iv] Abbot Philip: Monastery of Christ in the Desert. http://christdesert.org

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image: ID: 121108219. PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC - OCTOBER 17, 2018: The fresco of Adoration of Magi the in church Kostel Svatého Cyrila Metodeje by Petr Maixner (1872). By Renata Sedmakov

Epiphany of the Lord. Year B (Sunday, January 3, 2021) (EPISODE: 271 )

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Happy New Year! {{Shalom (peace)} to you all….} Welcome as we gather – On this Feast of the Epiphany,…. (The revealing of Christ as the light to the World)…. To offer our praise, worship and intercessions to our loving God.

Our God's love and mercy knows no bounds, and so let us recall our sins so as to worthily celebrate this Holy Sacrifice.

Lord Jesus, the nations of the world are drawn to your light. Lord have mercy.

You are the radiant star of justice. Christ have mercy. You are
the first fruits of the nations. Lord have mercy

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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PREFACE: Epiphany
EP II
Communion side. pwk: RH
(theme variation: 2 )
(pre+post variation: 1)
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{Thanks everyone. I hope you have had a wonderful start to the new year. May god's guidance, peace and compassion be with us along the journey of 2021}.

The Lord Be with you
(let us bow our heads and pray for God's blessing)

May God, who has called you
out of darkness into his wonderful light,
pour out in kindness his blessing upon you
and make your hearts firm
in faith, hope and charity.
Amen.

And since in all confidence you follow Christ,
who today appeared in the world, as a light shining in darkness,
may God make you, too, a light for your brothers and sisters. Amen.

And so when your pilgrimage is ended,
may you come to him
whom the Magi sought as they followed the star
and whom they found with great joy, the Light from Light,
who is Christ the Lord.
Amen.

And may the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit,
come down on you and remain with you for ever.
Amen.

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
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Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

Christmas Hymn - "Word Made Flesh" by Paul W. Kelly. Based upon: John's Gospel 1:14, 1 John 4:9 , & Isaiah 9:2, 6, 7.
(Written on 8/5/20; 10/9/20). Arranged and sung by Stefan Kelk, with adjusted lyrics. 2020. https://www.airgigs.com/user/stefankelk

Traditional hymn:
"We Three Kings," performed by the Bobby Cole Chamber Choir, licensed via Shockwave-Sound.com
( https://www.shockwave-sound.com )

[ Production - KER - 2021]

May God bless and keep you.
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