R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;
they were fishermen.
Jesus said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.
He walked along a little farther
and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They too were in a boat mending their nets.
Then he called them.
So they left their father Zebedee in the boat
along with the hired men and followed him.

Jesus is beginning his public ministry and so he commences to call people to follow him. Jesus always made it a point to meet and call people wherever he found them. He met and called Matthew the tax collector when he was counting his money. He met and called the Samaritan woman when she came to the well for water.

In the Gospel today Jesus meets men while they are doing their ordinary daily work of fishing and mending their nets on the seashore. They were not on their knees praying in the temple or the synagogue and Jesus called these men by their own names, so he must have seen them before or known them. Today in the same way, Jesus continues to call us by our name. In the Old Testament, there are two beautiful pieces of scripture through which God says, I have called you by your name, you are mine and that I have written your name on the palms of my hands. This is how personally and intimately God knows and loves each one of us.

Jesus calls us where ever we are regardless of who we are, we are called by Jesus. He desires to break into our world through our ordinary daily lives and activities. Jesus has never stopped calling people to follow him. Today we are the ones he looks at, He calls us by name saying, ‘Come follow me.’  Those in the Gospel dropped everything they were doing and followed Jesus when He called them. This was all very sudden and dramatic. Our response may not be as quick and decisive. But it does not need to be. We can all follow Jesus at our own pace, in our time and in our own way.

The important thing to remember and realize is that Jesus will never stop calling us by our name. He is constantly inviting us to follow Him through these words, if you want to be a disciple, come, take up your cross and follow me.

After Jesus called men and women to follow Him, he sent them out in His name to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God. He sent them out in HIS name, not their own. Today we are the ones who are not only called, we are sent out to proclaim the Gospel through how we live; through what we say and what we do.

Soon Lent will begin, repent and believe in the Gospel as our Lord had told the people of Galilee.  The same call comes from our Loving Savior to each one of us today.  Respond  to the invitation.  Pope Francis instituted today as the Sunday of the Word of God.  Celebrate, study and announce the Gospel.   We as members of the Catholic Church are to hold up the world of God in our lives.  A time to increase your gratitude and grasp the beauty of God’s word, while using it in our daily lives.   The world in its present form is passing away.  The Kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent and believe in the Gospel.  His Word will never pass away.

This very day Jesus is calling you by your name, what is your response?

Deacon Antonio Falasca, Jr., Permanent Deacon, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica – Saint Anthony Parish

When was the last time God spoke to you? Did you audibly hear His voice or did you feel His presence in your mind or heart? If you’ve never experienced an audible communication, perhaps you knew God’s abiding love and presence by either listening to or reading the Bible.

Today, the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, is also called Word of God Sunday. This Sunday is a time when the community is called to give greater attention to the Word of God and also urged to reflect on how we honor that Word in our lives.

Catholics read and hear the Bible proclaimed each day at the celebration of Holy Mass and especially on Sundays and Holy Days when three readings – one from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament – are read.

Each celebration of Mass , whether a daily Mass, a Mass of Christian Burial, or a Wedding Mass also contains a Responsorial Psalm and Gospel Acclamation which are taken directly from the Bible.

In addition, those who pray the Liturgy of the Hours read multiple Scripture passages each day.

We honor the Word of God by carrying the Book of the Gospels in procession. Since the Gospels contain the Words of Christ Himself,  the Book of the Gospels is placed on the altar to signify that the Word and Sacrament are One.

The Book of the Gospels is reverenced using incense and, at the conclusion of proclaiming the Gospel passage with a kiss of veneration as the priest or deacon quietly says these words, “Through the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away.” The words of the Gospel are to be revered because they contain the “words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68c).

Our prayers and many of our hymns are rooted in Sacred Scripture. Many Catholics may not realize it but, in addition to Sacred Tradition, our Faith is rooted in the Bible.

The Church encourages the faithful to make reading the Bible part of their daily prayer lives. By reading these inspired words of God, people grow deeper in their relationship with God and come to understand their place in the community God has called to Himself.

How is the Lord revealing Himself to us through Sacred Scripture? I suggest that in addition to reading the words with our eyes, we read with our heart; with our soul; with the depth of our being and listen to the message God is giving to each of us.

But, reading isn’t enough. If Scripture remains just words on a page, our work is not done. We need to meditate on the message and put it into action in our lives. Only then can the word be “living and effective.”(Heb 4:12).

Prayer should always be at the beginning and the end of our encounter with Scripture. Reading the Bible is not like reading a novel or a history book.

Whether reading or listening, we should begin with a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds to the Word of God. Scripture reading should end with a prayer that this Word will bear fruit in our lives, helping us to become holier and more faithful people.

The Bible is the story of God’s relationship with the people he has called to himself. It is not intended to be read as history text, a science book, or a political manifesto. In the Bible, God teaches us the truths that we need for the sake of our salvation.

The Old Testament and the New Testament shed light on each other. While we read the Old Testament in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus, it has its own value as well. Together, these testaments help us to understand God’s love for humanity.

We read the Bible within the tradition of the Church to benefit from the holiness and wisdom of all the faithful. What is God saying to us individually and collectively?

The Bible is not addressed only to long-dead people in a faraway land. It is addressed to each of us in our own unique situations. When we read, we need to understand what the text says and how the faithful have understood its meaning in the past. In light of this understanding, we then ask:

What is God saying to me? What is God saying to us?

The Prophet Jeremiah proclaims, “When I found Your words I devoured them; Your words were my joy, the happiness of my heart” (15:16).

In the Gospel account we just heard, Jesus calls to Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him. They immediately abandoned their nets, and even their boats, and followed Him.

How do we in the year 2024 hear God calling us?

What prompts us to contemplate our relationship with Christ?

God calls.

Will we listen  to the Word of God, follow, and “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15c).

Deacon Mark Izzo, Permanent Deacon, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica – Saint Anthony Parish

The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying:
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’S bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,
“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, ”
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.

R. (4a) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.

I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,

Come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there

And unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.