2022년 1월 2일
성 대 바실리오와 나지안조의 성 그레고리오 주교 학자 기념일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
요한 1서. 2,22-28
사랑하는 여러분,
22 누가 거짓말쟁이입니까?
예수님께서 그리스도이심을 부인하는 사람이 아닙니까?
아버지와 아드님을 부인하는 자가 곧 ‘그리스도의 적’입니다.
23 아드님을 부인하는 자는
아무도 아버지를 모시고 있지 않습니다.
아드님을 믿는다고 고백하는 사람이라야 아버지도 모십니다.
24 여러분은 처음부터 들은 것을 여러분 안에 간직하십시오.
처음부터 들은 것을 여러분 안에 간직하면,
여러분도 아드님과 아버지 안에 머무르게 될 것입니다.
25 이것이 그분께서 우리에게 하신 약속, 곧 영원한 생명입니다.
26 나는 여러분을 속이는 자들과 관련하여 이 글을 씁니다.
27 그러나 여러분은 그분에게서 기름부음을 받았고
지금도 그 상태를 보존하고 있으므로,
누가 여러분을 가르칠 필요가 없습니다.
그분께서 기름부으심으로 여러분에게 모든 것을 가르치십니다.
기름부음은 진실하고 거짓이 없습니다.
여러분은 그 가르침대로 그분 안에 머무르십시오.
28 그러니 이제 자녀 여러분, 그분 안에 머무르십시오.
그래야 그분께서 나타나실 때에 우리가 확신을 가질 수 있고,
그분의 재림 때에 그분 앞에서 부끄러운 일을 당하지 않을 것입니다.
복음
요한. 1,19-28
19 요한의 증언은 이러하다.
유다인들이 예루살렘에서 사제들과 레위인들을 요한에게 보내어,
“당신은 누구요?” 하고 물었을 때, 20 요한은 서슴지 않고 고백하였다.
“나는 그리스도가 아니다.” 하고 고백한 것이다.
21 그들이 “그러면 누구란 말이오? 엘리야요?” 하고 묻자,
요한은 “아니다.” 하고 대답하였다.
“그러면 그 예언자요?” 하고 물어도 다시 “아니다.” 하고 대답하였다.
22 그래서 그들이 물었다.
“당신은 누구요? 우리를 보낸 이들에게 우리가 대답을 해야 하오.
당신은 자신을 무엇이라고 말하는 것이오?”
23 요한이 말하였다.
“나는 이사야 예언자가 말한 대로 ‘너희는 주님의 길을 곧게 내어라.’ 하고
광야에서 외치는 이의 소리다.”
24 그들은 바리사이들이 보낸 사람들이었다.
25 이들이 요한에게 물었다.
“당신이 그리스도도 아니고 엘리야도 아니고 그 예언자도 아니라면,
세례는 왜 주는 것이오?”
26 그러자 요한이 그들에게 대답하였다. “나는 물로 세례를 준다.
그런데 너희 가운데에는 너희가 모르는 분이 서 계신다.
27 내 뒤에 오시는 분이신데,
나는 그분의 신발 끈을 풀어 드리기에도 합당하지 않다.”
28 이는 요한이 세례를 주던 요르단 강 건너편 베타니아에서 일어난 일이다.
January 2, 2022
Saints Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
: https://www.youtube.com/c/DailyTVMass
Reading 1
1 Jn 2:22-28
Beloved:
Who is the liar?
Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ.
Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.
Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father,
but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you.
If what you heard from the beginning remains in you,
then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.
And this is the promise that he made us: eternal life.
I write you these things about those who would deceive you.
As for you,
the anointing that you received from him remains in you,
so that you do not need anyone to teach you.
But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false;
just as it taught you, remain in him.
And now, children, remain in him,
so that when he appears we may have confidence
and not be put to shame by him at his coming.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
R. (3cd) All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Gospel
Jn 1:19-28
This is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him
to ask him, "Who are you?"
He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted,
"I am not the Christ."
So they asked him,
"What are you then? Are you Elijah?"
And he said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?"
He answered, "No."
So they said to him,
"Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?"
He said:
"I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
'Make straight the way of the Lord,'
as Isaiah the prophet said."
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
"Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?"
John answered them,
"I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie."
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
“There is still time for endurance, time for patience, time for healing, time for change.
Have you slipped? Rise up. Have you sinned? Cease. Do not stand among sinners, but leap aside.”
— St. Basil the Great
This is a new year, and our excitement and anticipation for upcoming events have been re-ignited. We are vowing to be better people, take care of ourselves more, spend time with people we love, and do at least one thing on our list of lifetime goals. We feel relieved, and we feel good, but we also remember that it is only the second day of the new year. This day, and the rest of the year, provides an opportunity for patience, healing, endurance, and internal work for the soul, which will be needed to persevere through life transitions and changes yet to come. Today's readings help us with that internal work we need to do for our soul by prompting us with some uncomfortable questions, such as:
Who am I?
What do I say about myself?
Whose voice carries the most weight in my life?
What do I use my voice for? To bless others? To lift others up? To keep others down? To call others back to their search for meaning, faith, and love?
And who is the liar, and where are the lies being told?
Who we consider ourselves to be plays a role in how we pray, how we express our relationship with Jesus, and how we survive our personal wildernesses of guilt, shame, fear, anxiety, hurt, and resentment. Knowing who we are, the interconnectedness of all aspects of our identity, allows us to authentically point people to Jesus with integrity and conviction, just like John the Baptist did. It took me a while to figure out who I am. All the voices around me told me who I was and who I should be. The voices in my life told me what kind of career would fit me best, whom they thought I should marry, and what I should spend my time and money doing. The voices in my life were also telling me how I should pray and what I should believe, that is, if I wanted to make sure I was on the right path, according to them.
When I paid closer attention to those voices that were the loudest in my life, especially when I occasionally found myself in a spiritual wilderness, I realized the distinct nature of the lies and what the truth was. If I wanted to hear myself and also hear God’s voice clearly, even as the chorus of prominent voices got louder, I would need to ask uncomfortable questions. I would need to remain faithful to God, even when I don't understand my path in life, and also, believe in the promise of God's love for me. By doing this, God's voice became the most prominent voice in everything I did, which is still true today. All other voices got quieter and were stored in a small space in my mind where I could discern which voices pointed me towards that which is good and life-giving and separate them from the voices that led me astray through lies.
We have all gotten caught up in a lie someone else told us. I have certainly found myself believing a lie or two in my internal dialogue and in what society expects of me. The first reading today makes it clear that the liar is the person who denies Jesus is Christ, but when I tell myself that I am a good Christian while I use my voice to deprive someone else of their peace of mind, I am a liar. When I say I believe in God and yet refuse to trust God when I am in the dark spaces of my life, I am a liar. When I say that all of God’s creation is beautiful and should be protected, but I call another human being ugly and unworthy, I am a liar. To begin this year in the right way, I must acknowledge where I tell lies and where the lies are being told. I must face those lies with humility, integrity, and courage. I must be firm in my identity as a child of God and confidently express my relationship with Jesus Christ with conviction. I must remain faithful to my beliefs, God's love for me, and God's voice in all areas of my life, especially in using my talents and gifts for the Glory of God.
If we are looking for some great exemplars of fidelity to the faith and persistence in using their voice for good, all we need to do today is read the life journey of St. Basil and St. Gregory, whose memorial is today. They were defenders of the truth and their faith. They never gave up; they were persistent and had incredible clarity. They were fearless and did not shrink in shame. May this new year be when we tell our stories to let others know who we are and how we contribute to the greater good or would like to. May this new year be the year we stand against anything that leads us away from God's warm and loving arms. May this new year be a year of healing, courage, and opportunities to rise up and return to God when we lose our way.
Merciful and loving God, I ask for the grace of fidelity to the truth, the courage to know who I am and who I am not, the integrity to use my voice wisely, and the strength to survive in the wilderness of my life without shrinking in shame or fear. Grant these graces, Lord, in your mercy. I want to remain in your love. Amen.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
FAITH-SHARING
“I am ‘a voice in the desert, crying out: Make straight the way of the Lord!’ ” —John 1:23
As we begin a new year, the Lord reminds us that people and even demons are lying in an attempt to deceive us (1 Jn 2:22, 26). If we fall for their deception, we will lose everything, that is, eternal life (see 1 Jn 2:25). This deception is focused on getting us to deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Because Jesus is the only Way to the Father (Jn 14:6) and the only One Who baptizes in the Spirit (Jn 1:33; Mk 1:8), we must believe in Jesus as Lord, Savior, and God. Otherwise, we don’t rightly know God the Father (see 1 Jn 2:23) and the Spirit and thereby do not have eternal life (see Jn 17:3).
This means that Jews, Muslims, and people of other religions which do not accept Jesus as the Christ cannot know God the Father very well. These peoples walk in the darkness of a Christ-less life. This is not necessarily their fault. Pope St. Paul VI has taught: “It would be useful if every Christian and every evangelizer were to pray about the following thought: men can gain salvation also in other ways, by God’s mercy, even though we do not preach the Gospel to them; but as for us, can we gain salvation if...we fail to preach it?” (On Evangelization, 80) Christians, especially Catholic Christians, have an awesome responsibility to share their faith in Jesus. If we fail to try to share our faith, billions of people are condemned to the misery of a Christ-less existence and have much less opportunity to receive salvation in Christ. “When much has been given a man, much will be required of him. More will be asked of a man to whom more has been entrusted” (Lk 12:48).
This year, share your faith in Jesus as never before. Ask the Lord to help you. He will send the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit of love and evangelization!
Promise: “His anointing teaches you about all things and is true — free from any lie.” —1 Jn 2:27
Praise: Sts. Basil and Gregory studied together in Athens.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
What's the significance of a name? For the Jewish people the giving of a name had great importance. When a name was given it represented what that person should be in the future. An unknown name meant that someone could not be completely known. To not acknowledge someone's name meant both denial of the person, destruction of their personality, and change in their destiny. A person's name expressed the reality of his or her being at its deepest level. A Jewish male child was named at the time of circumcision, eight days after birth. This rite was instituted by God as an outward sign to single out those who belonged to the chosen people (Genesis 17:10-12). It was a sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham and his posterity.
Jesus - the eternal Son of God who was born of a woman to become our Savior
In fulfilment of this precept, Mary's newborn child is given the name Jesus on the eighth day according to the Jewish custom. Joseph and Mary gave the name Jesus because that is the name given by God's messenger before Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb (Luke 1:31, Matthew 1:21). This name signifies Jesus' identity and his mission. The literal Hebrew means the Lord saves. Since God alone can forgive sins and free us from death, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son became a man to offer up his life as the atoning sacrifice to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The son that Mary bore is both God and man - the "Word who was God" (John 1:1) and who "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). That is why Mary is not only called the mother of the Christ (the Greek word for Messiah in Hebrew) but also the mother of God or Theotokos in Greek which literally means "God bearer."
Jesus - the name above every other name
In the birth and naming of this child we see the wondrous design and plan of God in giving us a Savior who would bring us grace (the gift of God's favor), mercy, and freedom from the power of sin and the fear of death. The name Jesus signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son who became man for our salvation. Peter the Apostle exclaimed that there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved (Acts 2:12). In the name of Jesus demons flee, cripples walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised. His name is exalted far above every other name (Philippians 2:9-11).
The name Jesus is at the heart of all Christian prayer. It is through and in Jesus that we pray to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians have died with one word on their lips, the name of Jesus. Do you exalt the name of Jesus and pray with confidence in his name?
Lord Jesus Christ, I exalt your name above every other name. For in you I have pardon, mercy, grace and victory over sin and death. You humbled yourself for my sake and for the sake of all sinners by sharing in our humanity and by dying on the cross. Help me to always praise your holy name and to live for your greater glory.
Psalm 67
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, [Selah]
2 that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. [Selah]
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
7 God has blessed us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: By Christ's faith, hope, and love we are purified, by Bede the Venerable, 672-735 A.D.
"He therefore received in the flesh the circumcision decreed by the law, although he appeared in the flesh absolutely without any blemish of pollution. He who came in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3) - not in sinful flesh - did not turn away from the remedy by which sinful flesh was ordinarily made clean. Similarly, not because of necessity but for the sake of example, he also submitted to the water of baptism, by which he wanted the people of the new law of grace to be washed from the stain of sins...
"The reason 'the child who was born to us, the son who was given to us ' (Isaiah 9:6), received the name Jesus (that is, 'Savior') does not need explanation in order to be understood by us, but we need eager and vigilant zeal so that we too may be saved by sharing in his name. Indeed, we read how the angel interprets the name of Jesus: 'He will save his people from their sins' (Matthew 1:21). And without a doubt we believe and hope that the one who saves us from sins is not failing to save us also from the corruptions which happen because of sins, and from death itself, as the psalmist testifies when he says, 'Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases' (Psalm 103:3). Indeed, with the pardoning of all of our iniquities, all our diseases will be completely healed when, with the appearance of the glory of the resurrection, our last enemy, death, will be destroyed... We read that circumcision was done with knives made of rock (Joshua 5:2), and the rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). And by Christ's faith, hope and love the hearts of the good are purified not only in baptism but furthermore in every devout action. This daily circumcision of ours (that is, the continual cleansing of our heart) does not cease from always celebrating the sacrament of the eighth day. (excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.11)
