2nd SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

The Lord delights in you.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

May all the earth give you worship and praise, and break into song to your name, O God, Most High.

PENITENTIAL RITE

God’s mercy far outweighs his justice. So he forgives readily and easily reinstates the sinner. Instead of keeping the sinner at a distance, the forgiven sinner is compared to a bride who is a source of joy and delight to God, the bridegroom. What is our response to such a gracious God? Let us pause to reflect.

I confess…

Glory to God in the highest,/and peace to his people on earth./Lord God, heavenly King,/almighty God and Father,/we worship you,/we give you thanks,/we praise you for your glory./Lord Jesus Christ,/only Son of the Father,/Lord God, Lamb of God,/you take away the sin of the world:/have mercy on us;/you are seated at the right hand of the Father,/receive our prayer./For you alone are the Holy One,/you alone are the Lord,/you alone are the Most High,/Jesus Christ,/with the Holy Spirit,/ in the glory of God the Father./Amen.

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray. Father of heaven and earth, hear our prayers, and show us the way to peace in the world. We ask this…

FIRST READING

(All past sins forgiven, God takes delight in Israel as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride.)

A reading from the book of Isaiah

(62:1-5)

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My delight is in her, and your land married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

This is the Word of the Lord

PSALM (95)

Response: Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth. O sing to the Lord, bless his name. R.

Proclaim his help day by day, tell among the nations his glory and his wonders among all the peoples. R.

Give the Lord, you families of peoples, give the Lord glory and power, give the Lord the glory of his name. R.

Worship the Lord in his temple. O earth, tremble before him. Proclaim to the nations: "God is king." He will judge the peoples in fairness. R.

SECOND READING

(All gifts given to individual Christians come from God and are meant for the common good.)

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (12:4-11)

There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, and to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

This is the Word of the Lord

ACCLAMATION (Lk 19: 38)

Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Alleluia!

GOSPEL

(At the request of Mary his mother Jesus works his first miracle.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to St John (2: 1-12)

There was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the Mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the Mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come." His Mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast." So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now became wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brethren and his disciples; and there they stayed for a few days.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./Amen.

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, let us praise and thank the Father for his rich love and manifold blessings. Let us beg him to increase our faith in his goodness. Our response: Lord, listen to your people praying.

1. Let us pray for our Pope, bishops, priests and religious that they may have the courage to believe without seeing. R.

2. We pray for all Christians that they may believe like Mother Mary without seeing. R.

3. We bring to you those who do not believe and those who are struggling with their faith. Lord, be merciful to them. R.

4. We recommend to you those who have died in faith: may they soon experience the fullness of joy. R.

(Pause to pray for other intentions.)

Cel: Father, we thank you for lavishing us with your love. Help us to respond to you with generous love. We ask this…

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Father, may we celebrate the eucharist with reverence and love, for when we proclaim the death of the Lord you continue the work of his redemption, who is Lord for ever and ever.

PREFACE (P29 – P36)

Father all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Through his cross and resurrection he freed us from sin and death and called us to the glory that has made us a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart.

Everywhere we proclaim your works for you have called us out of darkness into your own wonderful light.

And so with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON

The Lord has prepared a feast for me;

given wine in plenty for me to drink.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Lord, you have nourished us with bread from heaven. Fill us with your Spirit, and make us one in peace and love. We ask this…

LITURGY AND LIFE

"Jesus did this, the first of his signs." Sign of what? Sign of his glory. Glory as the Messiah, the Son of God. The sign was performed in the context of a wedding. The sign stood for the wedding between God and his people. It is the sign of the intimate relationship God wants to establish with his people.

The insufficiency of wine speaks of the inadequacy of the Old Testament. The superior quality of the wine stands for the superiority of the New Testament. The abundance of wine indicates the superabundance of grace available in Jesus. Where sin abounded, grace super abounded. God is rich in mercy and his merciful gifts are aplenty.

The presence of Jesus at the marriage reveals the joy he brings into our lives. From a forsaken and desolate world we shall be transformed into ‘My delight’, my beloved, as a wife and the Lord shall rejoice over us as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride. Jesus said my joy shall be in you and your joy shall be complete.

As at the annunciation, here too Mary’s role is crucial. At the former she surrendered to God, here she trusts in her Son.

Jesus did the first sign at Cana and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him. A sign should lead to something. Here the first sign leads to faith. It led the very disciples, joined the company of Jesus only a few days ago, to believe in him. St John tells the purpose of his writing the gospel: "In his disciples’ presence Jesus performed many other miracles which are not written down in this book. But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in him you may have life" (20:30-31).

Against the apparent reluctance of Jesus to work a miracle, Mary believed in her Son and told the servants to do what Jesus would say. Here too Mary is a model for faith – faith without seeing. The disciples follow suit but only after seeing. Obviously they were at the beginning of their faith-formation.

Faith is the key that opens to the superabundance of divine blessings. Believing without seeing enables us to experience God’s rich love and great mercy. Insistence on seeing before believing will not take us farther than our rationality. Besides, it is to tempt God and to deny God to be trustworthy. On the other hand, it is through faith that we experience the loving, husband-like embrace of God. It is through faith that we experience the bridegroom-like delight of God in us. Cana event is a perpetual experience of the people of God who live in faith and love.

January 2004 CALENDAR 

Psalter week 2

19/Mon (G) 1 Sam 15:16-23; Ps 49; Mk 2:18-22

20/Tue (G/R) or St Fabian or St Sebastian 1 Sam 16:1-13; Ps 88; Mk 2:23-28

21/Wed (R) St Agnes 1 Sam 17:32-33,37,40-51; Ps 143; Mk 3:1-6

22/Thu (G/R) or St Vincent 1 Sam 18:6-9; 19:1-7; Ps 55; Mk 3:7-12

23/Fri (G) 1 Sam 24:3-21; Ps 56; Mk 3:13-19

24/Sat (W) St Francis de Sales 2 Sam 1:1-4,11-12,19,23-27; Ps 79; Mk 3:20-21

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