As we enter into the Season of Lent, the Church calls us to a participatory imitation of Christ’s 40 day experience in the desert. As Tony explains, God desires for these 40 days in the desert to be a period of training for us, so that we might arrive at the empty tomb on Easter Sunday filled with new life, and reinvigorated for mission.
Reading 1: Genesis 9:8-15
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Reading 2: 1 Peter 3:18-22
Gospel: Mark 1:12-15
On this Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Church teaches us more about what it means to live out our created missional identities. In our first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses tells the People of Israel that God will raise up a prophet like him in the future. As Tony explains, these words simultaneously speak of the Prophetic Tradition of Israel, foretell of the coming Messiah, and also of those to Whom He gives a share in His life through the Sacrament of Baptism. Accordingly, we are called to live prophetic lives. To do so requires a great deal of courage in our own time and place, but also provides the opportunity to make God’s merciful love known and present in our world.
Reading 1: Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9
Reading 2: 1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Gospel: Mark 1:21-28