9 JANUARY 2021 SATURDAY AFTER EPIPHANY SOD: ST. ADRIAN OF CANTERBURY (ABBOT)

 

 9 JANUARY 2021

 

SATURDAY AFTER EPIPHANY

SOD: ST. ADRIAN OF CANTERBURY (ABBOT)

 

INTRODUCTION:

Today the mother Church remembers St. Adrian of Canterbury. He was born in 635 in North Africa. He was a famous scholar and the abbot of St. Augustine’s Abbey in Canterbury in the English county of Kent. When St. Deusdedit, the archbishop of Canterbury died, Pope Vitalian was impressed with Adrian’s knowledge of the faith and his virtue, so he named him as the next archbishop of Canterbury. Adrian was well versed in all the branches of ecclesiastical and profane learning. He established numerous schools in various parts of England.

 

SCRIPTURE LESSONS SUMMARIZED

 

THE FIRST READING 1 John 5:14-21

 

In today’s first reading St. John is telling us that if we ask anything according to God's will he will hears us. This is the confidence he has in the son of God. St. John says that there are sins not leading to death and there are sins which lead to death. St. John says that all wrongdoing is sin. Everyone who has been born of God does not sin because God protects him and the evil one does not touch him. He says that Jesus is the true God and eternal life. He is asking his listeners to avoid worshiping idols.

 

THE GOSPEL READING: Jn 3:22-30

 

In the Gospel reading of today St. John says that Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim. John’s disciples and some Jews came to ask John the Baptist why Jesus is baptizing and all others are going to him. To this John answers saying that a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. John the Baptist says he must increase and I must decrees.

 

MESSAGES FOR OUR DAILY LIVING FROM THE FIRST READING:

 

- We are to do God’s will in our life. Doing God’s will is the greatest thing one can do in his/her life. And if we ask anything according to his will he will hears us. We need to pray that God’s will may be done by people on this earth as it is in heaven.

- Sin takes away grace from our life – venial sin or mortal sin small sins or big sins. Sin will slowly lead us to death. We need to frequent the sacrament of confession, ask pardon from the Lord daily, and put our effort to avoid every occasion of sin. We need to ask God every day to protect us from the evil one.

- Jesus is the true God and eternal life is in him. We are meant for eternal life. But the evil one can lure us to sin and we can lose our eternal life in heaven.

- We are asked not to worship idols. Anything that takes the place of God becomes idol. Idols can be in any form – money, possessions, power, and attachment etc.

 

MESSAGES FOR OUR DAILY LIVING FROM THE GOSPEL READING:

- John says that a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. We have received everything from God. Nothing is our own. We need to be grateful to God and share our gifts and talents with others.

- John the Baptist says that he must decrease and Jesus must increase. We need to practice the humility and truthfulness of John the Baptist. Many a times, we don’t want to decrease, we don’t want to play the second fiddle; we don’t want to be humble like John the Baptist. Often we want to retaliate, bring the other person by hook or crook, spoil the name of the other and so on and so forth.