MONDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK IN ORDINAY TIME (YEAR II, Green)
Reading 1 (1 SAMUEL 1:1-8)
A reading from the 1st Book of Samuel
There was a certain man from Ramathaim, Elkanah by name,
a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim.
He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu,
son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
He had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah;
Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless.
This man regularly went on pilgrimage from his city
to worship the LORD of hosts and to sacrifice to him at Shiloh,
where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas,
were ministering as priests of the LORD.
When the day came for Elkanah to offer sacrifice,
he used to give a portion each to his wife Peninnah
and to all her sons and daughters,
but a double portion to Hannah because he loved her,
though the LORD had made her barren.
Her rival, to upset her, turned it into a constant reproach to her
that the LORD had left her barren.
This went on year after year;
each time they made their pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the LORD,
Peninnah would approach her,
and Hannah would weep and refuse to eat.
Her husband Elkanah used to ask her:
“Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you refuse to eat?
Why do you grieve?
Am I not more to you than ten sons?”
– The word of the Lord.
Responsorial (PSALM 116:12-13, 14-17, 18-19)
R. (17a) To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia (MARK 1:15)
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel (MARK 1:14-20)
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark
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 left 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.
– The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection: After celebrating the Christmas Season, we now return to the longest liturgical season, which is Ordinary Time, and we honor Christ’s Public Ministry. Even as the festivities of the Incarnation have already ended, the spirit of the yuletide period reminds us to always carry with us the values of Christmas everyday even in our ordinary lives. The First Reading narrates the story of Hannah, the 2nd wife of Elkannah who was made barren. It was she who was loved by Elkannah the most, despite the fact that the 1st wife, Penninah, bore 2 children. Yet even though Hannah experienced this disgrace, time would come when she would experience God’s grace esecially with the prayers of her husband. Eventually later on, she would give birth to a child, who will be known as the Prophet Samuel. The Gospel Reading signals the start of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee after St. John the Baptist has been arrested. Recall that before John ended his ministry, he said that his cousin, the Christ, should increase, while he should decrease. And so Jesus returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, thus proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom at hand. This means that the Kingdom of God is among us through the words of the Good News, and the challenge is repentance and faith. God’s Kingdom is among us, and is yet to come. The Good News serve as a reminder that the reign of our Lord is with us when we manifest the values of love, justice, and peace among one another. And so this is a call that we should follow the Lord Jesus and become his disciples by being “fishers of men”. The Church interprets this in her liturgical and pastoral ministry to nurture the faith of the people in their life as Catholic Christians by bearing the Good News and reaching out to the concerns of different individuals/groups. In the same way, we the Laity are called also to partake in the mission of Evangelization not only by proclamation, but also by our witness in the everyday lifestyle we undergo. By this, we manifest the values of love, joy, and peace that continue to make God’s Kingdom grow.
Bearers of the Cross 