What you need to know from this weekend’s bulletin:
A Sunday Reflection
January 21, 2024
Pope Francis declared this Sunday to be devoted to the Word of God. None of the readings mention the Word of God directly. So, I thought I would look at a hard-to-understand verse from the first reading and then reflect more broadly on how we should approach scripture.
The verse is Jonah 3:10. It says God changed His mind and did not bring about the calamity on the people of Nineveh. People sometimes ask, how can that be? How can God change His mind?
The answer is that it is only to be understood as an analogy. That God does not really change. It just appeared like he was changing. When the people of Nineveh changed from being sinful and rebellious to being contrite and begging for mercy, then God seemed to change. Yet it was them that changed. God’s mercy was available all along.
Still the question remains. How do we know this verse should be interpreted in this way? Maybe the verses that say God never changes should be interpreted as analogy and this one could be telling us the actual nature of God.
The answer is tradition. We look at what previous generations of Christians thought, and we can be led by that. In this example, we can see that the fact that God does not change is something the tradition has been firm on.
Now we need to switch gears for a moment and talk about the gospel. We have the calling of the disciples. It is important because God is still calling each and every one of us.
There is a strong connection between who we are and what we are called to be. St. Joan of Arc famously said, I am not afraid. God is with me. I was born for this. So, your calling does not cause you to lose your identity. It causes you to understand your identity.
It does not matter how big or how strange your calling is. God has made you with that calling in mind. He will be with you. So, you can succeed. In fact, if you are faithful to your calling, you will succeed.
Yet you need to be clear about what success is. St. Joan was amazingly successful in driving the English out of many strongholds. Then there was the time she was captured and later burned at the stake. Both those things were successes. Just because something looks like a failure does not mean it is not what you are called to do.
We are talking about giving the gift of yourself. We give ourselves away in response to love. The apostles had had a few encounters with Jesus by this point. We can imagine that our Lord would radiate love. In Luke’s account of this Peter says Jesus should depart from him because of his sin. Maybe some of us are there. We do not feel worthy of God’s love. Jesus’ response to Peter was, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will be a fisher of men.” He wants to tell us that today. I know who you are. I know what you can become. “Do not be afraid. I have always loved you. I will always love you. Follow me.”
Healing Lines
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) As we are invited by Jesus to spread the Good News, so we are asked to look after those that we encounter in our daily lives. Those effected by bullying and abuse are especially in need of our help and love. Remember a time when you felt alone and helpless. Wouldn’t you have felt relieved to be given a kind word or some direction from those in your Church community? There may be someone sitting next to you right now who could use your reaching out to them.
Mass Schedule for this Weekend
Saturday, January 20 at 5pm: Fr. Jose Bustalino with Dc. Randy Gritter
Sunday, January 21 at 9am: Fr. Edmund Vargas with Dc. Randy Gritter
Sunday, January 21 at 11am: Fr. Edmund Vargas with Dc. Randy Gritter
Sunday, January 21 at 5pm: Fr. Jose Bustalino with Dc. Randy Gritter
Announcements:
Please see this weekend’s bulletins for all announcements:
Download St. Michael bulletin
Download Diocesan bulletin (Condensed)
Download Diocesan bulletin (Full Length)
St. Michael Event Schedule
January – Regular Events:
Sundays | Coffee Sundays | Narthex | After 9:00am & 11:00am Masses
Mondays | Bible Study: Lectio Eucharist | 7:00-9:00pm
Tuesdays | Rosary Group | Day Chapel | 6:30-7:00pm
Tuesdays | Grief Share | Rooms 143 & 144 | 7:00-9:00pm
Tuesdays | RCIA | St. Nicholas Room| 7:00-9:00pm
Wednesdays | Bible Study: Wild Goose | 10:00am-12:00pm | St. Nicolas Room | or Zoom 7:00-9:00pm
Thursdays | Coffee Thursdays | Narthex | After 9:00am Mass
Thursdays | Moms & Tots | St. Nicholas Room | 9:30-11:30am
Thursdays | Knitting Ministry | Library | 10:00am-12:00pm
January 2024 Special Events:
January 23 | Grief Share First Session | Rooms 143 & 144 | 7:00-9:00pm
January 23 | PPC Meeting | St. Michael’s Room 136 | 7:00-9:00pm
January 23 | SSVP Monthly Meeting | St. Gabriel Room 145 | 7:00-9:00pm
January 24 | Sacrament for Teens Session 1 | Library |7:00-8:30pm
January 26 | Daily Mass moved to Day Chapel | 9:00am
January 26 | Youth Rally Impact Night Featuring Tony Melendez | Sanctuary | 7:00-9:00pm
January 27 | Tony Melendez Live Concert | Sanctuary | 7:00-9:00pm
January 27 | Baptism Preparation | St. Nicholas Room | 9:00am-12:00pm
January 27 | Tony Melendez Concert | Sanctuary | 7:00pm-9:00pm
January 28 | Altar Server Training | Sanctuary | After 11:00am Mass
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3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 21/01/2024, 843.36 KB