Year C
Discover the deeper meaning and connections found in this week's readings, through these great commentaries written by our priests.
Explore this week's readings and hear what God is saying to us through His Word.
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Luke1;1-4; 4:14-21. ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in our hearing’.
“I feel like I live with one foot in the past and one foot in the future,” he said.
That’s how a friend of mine once described his life.
He went on to tell me about events of the past, lost opportunities, wounds, and regrets. There was an emptiness about him. He was scared. There were a lot of unknowns in his life.
With one foot in the past and one in the future, we straddle and completely miss the present. We become captive to what was, oppressed by what might be, and blind to what is. Our life is impoverished, small, and empty.
We are absent to God, others, and even ourselves. That is no way to live.
Jesus neither reminisces about the past nor forecasts the future. He comes to his people in the very circumstances of their lives. That’s what he did that day in Nazareth and it’s what he does for each one of us.
“Filled with the power of the spirit” and “anointed to bring good news to the poor,” he comes “to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favour” .
This is about my friend, about you, and about me. We are the poor, the captive, the blind, the oppressed, and the ones seeking the Lord’s favour.
How we understand that about ourselves depends on our own lives and experiences.
In the midst of these circumstances, when life gets really difficult, it is easy and tempting to run away, to get stuck in the past, or fixate on the future. Yet, Jesus comes to us today, here, now.
He is not lost in our past or hidden in an unknown future.
The only place we can meet Jesus is today, in this present moment, in whatever the circumstances of our life might be.
“Today” is the first word of Jesus’ public teaching. It’s not about what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow. It is about today. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”.
We too often miss today fretting over yesterday and worrying about tomorrow and yet the presence of Christ today somehow heals our past and prepares us for the future.
Good news, release, sight, freedom, the Lord’s favour.
All these are made real and present today, in the current context and circumstances of our lives.
Those are not just things Jesus does, they are the manifestation of God’s presence, life, and love with and in God’s people. They are manifestations of the freedom Christ brings. They are fulfilled, brought to fullness, in our hearing. To the extent we are unable to hear Jesus’ words we are either stuck in the past or living in a future we do not yet have.
Hearing is about more than sound. It is about our presence, openness, and receptivity.
We must be willing to take into ourselves the reality and truth of what is spoken.
We must also be willing to take into ourselves the life and presence of the one who is speaking.
Jesus is not just speaking words. He is speaking new life.
In his speaking and our hearing his life and our life become one life and it is happening today.
“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 51-64: God’s plan of Revelation
CCC 1427-1433: inner, ongoing conversion
CCC 1886-1889: conversion and society
Today is the Sunday of the Word of God. The scriptures today, with the exception of the 2nd reading, illuminate different facets of this.
As well as celebrating the Word, we could take a fresh look at how we celebrate it. Are our readers audible and comprehensible? How is their posture? How and when do they move to and from the ambo? The same questions could be asked of deacons and priests.
United as the Body of Christ (cf. 2nd reading), we remember that our proclamation of the Word must bring good news to the poor (cf. Gospel reading).
Penitential Rite II (p. 1528) would be appropriate for today.
Eucharistic Prayer II (p. 679) could be an appropriate choice for today, with Common Preface VI (p. 654).
Solemn Blessing 14 (p. 717) is suggested for use today..
Sample intercessions:
Let us pray for those who live close to God’s Word, that they may remain faithful to it.
Lord, in your mercy — hear our prayer.
For charity within the community. May we always be ready to recognise each other’s gifts.
Lord, in your mercy — hear our prayer.
That we may always be aware of those in our midst and those we meet outside who have far fewer advantages than we do — the poor, the sick, the lonely.
Lord, in your mercy — hear our prayer.
Note: These hymns have been chosen from different sources.
Thou whose almighty Word (CFE738, L887, LHON689, TCH269)
Here in this place (CFE253, L475, LHON327)
One bread, one body (CFE578, L832, LHON538)
The Spirit of the Lord (CFE716, L308, LHON673)
Key
CFE - Celebration Hymnal for Everyone
L – Laudate
LHON – Liturgical Hymns Old and New (Mayhew, 1999)
TCH – The Catholic Hymnbook (Gracewing)
Do you have questions about the liturgy and how we are called to participate in it? Explore how the Church councils, saints, and popes have answered this key question and many more.
Every movement of the Mass is rich in meaning but we can become over-familiar with it. Rediscover the Mass and explore how it relates to the Exodus story, where many of its rituals come from, and how it makes Jesus present to us today.
