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- Jan 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 15
January 20 - January 25, 2025
St Fabian, bishop of Rome, martyr; St Sebastian, martyr
Hebrews 5:1-10 There is an important echo of Gethsemane in this reading. In the original, a double meaning emerges: he prayed to the one who was able to save him from / out of death. Jesus was saved not from death, because he did indeed die, but he was saved out of death in his resurrection.
Mark 2:18-22 Why did Jesus feel so free to break with tradition and received practices? Partly because of what he said but really because of who he was. This radically new reality called for correspondingly new practices. There is a lesson for today’s church!
St Agnes, virgin and martyr
Hebrews 6:10-20 Does God keep his promises? Here the writer gives a resounding yes, based on the story of Abraham.
Mark 2:23-28 There are really two parts to our story today. The rst part is an argument from Scripture: David did what was forbidden and, Jesus, the son of David, may do likewise. There is more. As a common sense observation, Jesus notes that Sabbath regulation was for the sake of believer and not the other way around. Finally, the claim to be able to alter the Sabbath is really a claim to being equal to God.
St Vincent, deacon and martyr
Hebrews 7:1-3,15-17 The writer of Hebrews knew that Jesus was not a levitical priest. As a result, he had to seek out an alternative model, which he found in Melchizedek. Apart from his name etc. this gure suited because Jesus was without origin or issue, without beginning (he comes from heaven) and without end (in the resurrection).
Mark 3:1-6 Our conict story is again about the Sabbath but it is more intense because they were watching him. The Sabbath was meant to mark creation and liberation: what better gesture than to heal a man? And yet, tradition gets in the way.
Hebrews 7:25-8:6 The writer compares two kinds of the priesthood, that of the OT and that of Jesus. He strikes a note of continuity and discontinuity. The OT priesthood was a foreshadowing of the one to come, and consequently, lost its signicance once he had brought the perfect priesthood.
Mark 3:7-12 Jesus the healer comes to tremendous prole in this Gospel passage and there is an impression of widespread popularity and immense demand and intense pressure. It makes for a very dynamic portrait. Does it speak us to today? We too can bring our need of healing before the same Lord, present among us.
St Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor
Hebrews 8:6-13 The substance of this reading is a chain of quotations from the Hebrew Bible. The writer wants to show that the earlier covenant was always imperfect and that another better covenant was always to come. The Christian reader see the fullment of this in Jesus himself.
Mark 3:13-19 What was the meaning of the appointment of the Twelve? The historical Jesus was called only to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Accordingly, the twelve symbolised the twelve son of Jacobs, the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. The appointment of the twelve, there, is part of the restoration of Israel and, as such, a mark of God’s delity of Israel down the centuries, climaxing in the person and ministry of Jesus. Of course, it was more than a symbol: the apostles were to be bearers of Jesus message.
Conversion of St Paul, apostle
Acts 22:3-16 The conversion of St Paul had huge consequences for early Christianity. He was a man of terric energy and physical courage, inspired by a deep desire to do God’s will. His encounter with Jesus placed his great gifts of intellect and spirit at the service of the Christian movement, to its lasting enrichment up to today. He himself tells of his conversion in his own words in Galatians 1.
Mark 16:15-18 Our reading today is chosen for the very rst words which capture something of the ministry of Paul, who went out to the whole known world of his time, especially in the eastern Mediterranean.
References
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025e, January 19). Second Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011925.cfm
-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/
