The month of January is dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus.

The role of faith may be compared to that of the root which fixes the tree to the ground, and by its imperceptible but unceasing work maintains its strength. All the growth of the tree, its whole development, depends on this secret nourishment. Cut the roots and the tree, however splendid and full of life it may be, will perish miserably.”
+Blessed Columba Marmion, O.S.B.

The First Week in Ordinary Time

Monday, January 8 | Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Holy Gospel: Mark 1:7-11 

Prayer: Almighty ever-living God, who, when Christ had been baptized in the River Jordan and as the Holy Spirit descended upon him, solemnly declared him your beloved Son, grant that your children by adoption, reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, may always be well pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

Contemplation: Without question, the greatest obstacle to following Christ has been, and continues to be, people’s own preconception and self-will.  As Blessed Columba Marmion wrote in Christ, the Life of the Soul, such persons “make holiness consist in such or such a conception formed by their own intelligence; attached to those purely human ideas they have formed, they go astray; if they make great strides, it is outside the true way marked out by God; they are victims of those illusions against which St. Paul warned the first Christians. In so grave a matter, in so vital a question, we must look at and weigh things as God looks and weighs them. God judges all things in the light, and his judgment is the test of all truth. ‘We must not judge according to our own liking,’ says St. Francis de Sales, ‘but according to God’s will.’ Divine Wisdom is infinitely above human wisdom; God’s thoughts contain possibilities of fruitfulness such as no created thought possesses.  That is why God’s plan is so wise that it cannot fail to reach its end because of any intrinsic insufficiency, but only through our own fault.  If we leave the Divine idea full freedom to operate in us, if we adapt ourselves to it with Love and fidelity, it becomes extremely fruitful and may lead us to the most sublime sanctity.”  As a new year gets underway, let’s contemplate the meaning of our own Baptism into the mystical body of Christ, and ponder the words of Blessed Columba Marmion on lovingly following Christ, embracing his wisdom, and in doing so enjoy the fruits of a life rooted in Christ.

Tuesday, January 9

Holy Gospel: Mark 1:21-28 

Prayer: Almighty ever-living God, who was pleased to shine forth with new light through the coming of your Only Begotten Son, grant, we pray, that, just as he was pleased to share our bodily form through the childbearing of the Virgin Mary, so we, too, may one day merit to become companions in his kingdom of grace. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: Saint Augustine once remarked that the “devils confessed Christ, but lacking charity it availed nothing...They confessed a sort of faith, but without love. Hence they were devils.” We must always remember that faith is mighty, but without love faith profits nothing (ref. 1 Corinthians 13). True faith works through love (ref. Galalatians 5:6) and abounds in hope (ref. Romans 15:13).  That is why faith is both a free gift of God and the free assent of our will to the whole truth that God has revealed. To live, grow, and persevere in the faith to the end, we must nourish it with the word of God. The Lord gives us his Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds that we may grow in his truth and in the knowledge of his great love for each of us.  If we approach God’s word submissively, with an eagerness to do everything the Lord desires, we are in a much better position to learn what God wants to teach us through his word. Are you eager to be taught by the Lord and, once taught by Christ, to conform your life according to the Word of the Lord?

Wednesday, January 10 

Holy Gospel: Mark 1:29-39 

Prayer: Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: Do you allow Jesus to be first in your life?  Do you make the Lord and healer number one in your personal life, family, and community, especially in times of trial, challenge, fears and anxiety? Learn to approach Christ with expectant faith. God’s healing power restores us not only to health but to active service and care of others. There is no trouble he does not want to help us with and there is no bondage he can’t set us free from.

Thursday, January 11 

Holy Gospel: Mark 1:40-45 

Prayer: Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: Jewish law forbade anyone from touching or approaching a leper; ritual defilement occurred when contact was made. This leper did something quite remarkable. He approached Jesus confidently and humbly, expecting that Jesus could and would heal him. Normally a leper would be stoned or at least warded off if he tried to come near a rabbi. Jesus not only grants the man his request, but he demonstrates the personal love, compassion, and tenderness of God in his physical touch. The medical knowledge of his day would have regarded such contact as grave risk for incurring infection.  Jesus met the man’s misery with compassion and tender kindness. He communicated the love and mercy of God in a sign that spoke more eloquently than words.  St. Francis of Assisi once said: “Preach the Gospel at all times – if necessary, use words.”  In other words, our Christ-directed actions speak louder than words in helping others at all times.  Talk can be cheap. Do your actions speak louder than your words about how you live your life as a proclaimed disciple of Christ?

Friday, January 12

Holy Gospel: Mark 2:1-12 

Prayer: Almighty ever-living God, who through your Only Begotten Son have made us a new creation for yourself, grant, we pray, that by your grace we may be found in the likeness of him in whom our nature is united to you. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: Have you ever experienced the great healing power associated with forgiveness?  Remember what we pray for each time we pray the “Lord’s Prayer” – “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Before we can fully experience God’s love and mercy in forgiving us, we must first extend that same level of love and mercy to those who seek our forgiveness.  If we don’t we risk placing walls between us and the love and mercy of Christ. The Lord is ever ready to bring us healing of body, mind and soul.  Do you allow anything to keep you from experiencing the love and mercy and forgiveness of Jesus Christ?

Saturday, January 13 | Saint Hilary of Poitiers

Holy Gospel: Mark 2:13-17 

Prayer: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may rightly understand and truthfully profess the divinity of your Son, which the Bishop Saint Hilary taught with such constancy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: When the Pharisees challenged his unorthodox behavior in eating with public sinners, Jesus’ defense was quite simple. A doctor doesn’t need to visit healthy people; instead he goes to those who are sick.  Jesus likewise sought out those in the greatest need. A true physician seeks healing of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came as the divine physician and good shepherd to care for his people and to restore them to wholeness of life. The orthodox were so preoccupied with their own practice of religion that they neglected to help the very people who needed care. Their religion was selfish because they didn’t want to have anything to do with people not like themselves. Jesus stated his mission in unequivocal terms: “I came not to call the righteous, but to call sinners. Ironically the orthodox were as needy as those they despised.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (ref. Romans 3:23) The Lord fills us with his grace and mercy. And he wants us, in turn, to seek the good of our neighbors, including the unlikeable and the trouble-maker by showing them the same kindness and mercy which we have received. Do you thank the Lord for the great kindness and mercy he has shown to you?

Scripture passages (NAB translation) courtesy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; prayers are from The Roman Missal, Catholic Book Publishing, 2011; information about saints, solemnities, feasts and memorials courtesy of the Catholic Culture website. frlumpe:2024