7 JANUARY 2021 THURSDAY AFTER EPIPHANY SOD: RAYMOND OF PENYAFORT (PRIEST)

 

 7 JANUARY 2021

 

THURSDAY AFTER EPIPHANY

SOD: RAYMOND OF PENYAFORT (PRIEST)

INTRODUCTION:

 

Today the mother Church remembers St. Raymond of Penyafort. He was born in the year 1175 at Catalonia, Spain. He was well educated. He taught philosophy and received doctoral degrees in both cannon law and civil law. At the age of 41, he joined the Dominicans. He was then summoned to Rome to work for Pope Gregory IX. One of Raymond’s tasks was to collect all of the decrees from popes and councils that had been made in the previous 80 years. He gathered these materials and created five books called the “Decretals.” He was the third superior-General of Dominicans Order. His most outstanding writing was his Summary of Cases. He is the patron saint of Lawyers and canonists.

 

SCRIPTURE LESSONS SUMMARIZED

 

THE FIRST READING 1 John 4:19-5:4

 

In today’s first reading St. John is telling us that it is God who has loved us first.

 

St. John connects two realities – loving God and loving our brothers. He says that we cannot say that ‘we love God’ whom we cannot see and at the same time hate our brother whom we can see. When we live in this way we become liars. Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

 

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.

 

If we love God we keep his commandments. God’s commandments are not burdensome.

 

Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.

 

THE GOSPEL READING: Lk 4:14-22

 

In the Gospel reading of today St. Mark tells us that the power of the Holy Spirit was with Jesus and he returned to Galilee. A report about him went out through all the surrounding country. Jesus taught in their synagogues. He was glorified for his teaching.

He also came to Nazareth where he was brought up. According to his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood up to read from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah. According to what he read from the book of Isaiah we come to know that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him and God has anointed him for the following purposes:

 

-      To proclaim good news to the poor.

-      To proclaim liberty to the captives

-      For the recovering of sight to the blind,

-      To set at liberty those who are oppressed

-      To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

 

MESSAGES FOR OUR DAILY LIVING FROM THE FIRST READING:

 

1.   It is God who has loved us first. It is God who takes the initiatives, the first steps. We need to recognize and respond to his love in our daily life.

2.   Loving God and loving our brothers and sisters are two sides of the same coin.

3.   When we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one, we prove that we have come from God that we are for God, that we belong to God.

4.   When we love God, we will obey his commandments. Obeying his commandments will not be burdensome. When we love God we will obey the Ten Commandments and all the precepts of the Church. Going for Sunday mass, monthly confessions, praying the Rosary daily, reading the Bible, praying the Morning Prayer and evening prayers will not be burdensome. When we miss all these, it shows that we don’t love God as we should.

5.   When we stay with God, obey his commandments, do his will in our life, we will be able to overcome the world and the evil one who is constantly behind us to takes us away from God and from our brothers and sisters.

6.    

MESSAGES FOR OUR DAILY LIVING FROM THE GOSPEL READING:

 

1.   Jesus had the power of the Holy Spirit with him because he always did the will of his father. Do you have the power of the Holy Spirit with you? If not that means that we have turned our body into a market place for many other evil spirits.

2.   Jesus taught in the synagogue of Galilee and he was glorified for his teaching. With our Christian life and good example, are we teaching the right thing or are we becoming a scandal to people?

3.   According to his custom, Jesus went to the synagogue for the service. He took active part in the service of the synagogue by reading the passage and explaining the meaning of the passage to the people. Do we go regularly for the church services on Sundays and Feast days as it is told to us by the Ten Commandments?

4.   God has anointed Jesus for the following purposes:

 

-To proclaim good news to the poor.

-To proclaim liberty to the captives

-For the recovering of sight to the blind,

-To set at liberty those who are oppressed

-To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

As followers of Christ, do we also take part actively in the above activates of Christ?