Sunday, January 23, 2022 - The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
January24,2022
Dear Parishioners and Friends, Sometimes we might be tempted to think that the Order of the Mass is something entirely made up by Church authority over the centuries. The opposite is true. As every Catholic knows well, what is at the heart of the Mass goes back to 33 A.D. at the Last Supper. All the prayers reflect our rich Christian tradition for almost two thousand years. Today, in the gospel from Luke, we realize that Jesus read and preached the Sacred Scriptures in the synagogues. At Holy Mass we continue to read from the Old Testament with the addition of the New Testament. This weekend we are privileged to read a slice from one of the Lord’s homilies, as it were. He quotes Isaiah and then comments. This moment completes the Scripture in that new and old come together in Jesus Christ Himself. He fulfills what Isaiah prophesized centuries before (Isaiah 61:1-2). He is the Savior. In Mark 1:14-15 Jesus makes clear the content of His preaching and the purpose of His coming: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, and believe in the gospel.’ Jesus tells us not necessarily what we want to hear, but what we need to hear. Since He alone can free us from our sins, we must count on Him to forgive our sins and at the same time to raise us up to become new men and new women in Him. Jesus makes clear that His main purpose for all time is to free us from spiritual poverty, spiritual captivity, spiritual blindness, and spiritual oppression. This kernel gospel truth remains firm throughout the centuries as we await His Second Coming. He continues to boldly proclaim: “(Luke 4:21) Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” He is our first, best, last, and only hope, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus reveals that He will always “(Luke 4:19) proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Let 2022 be another such year as we follow the Way. Yours in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Fr. Mark G. Mazza, Pastor