Friday of the First week in Ordinary Time

Letter to the Hebrews

Let us be on our guard while the promise of entering into his rest remains, that none of you seem to have failed.
For in fact we have received the good news just as they did. But the word that they heard did not profit them, for they were not united in faith with those who listened.
For we who believed enter into (that) rest, just as he has said: "As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter into my rest,'" and yet his works were accomplished at the foundation of the world.
For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this manner, "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works";
and again, in the previously mentioned place, "They shall not enter into my rest."
Therefore, let us strive to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall after the same example of disobedience.

Psalms

What we have heard and know,
And what our fathers have declared to us,
we will declare to the generation to come
The glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength.
That they too may rise and declare to their sons
that they should put their hope in God,
And not forget the deeds of God
but keep his commands.
And not be like their fathers,
a generation wayward and rebellious,
A generation that kept not its heart steadfast
nor its spirit faithful toward God.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home.
Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them.
They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven."
Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves,
Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?
Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, "Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, pick up your mat and walk'?
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth"--
he said to the paralytic, "I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home."
He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."

St. Anthony the Abbot((251-356))

SAINT ANTONY Patriarch of Monks (251-356) St. Antony was born in Upper Egypt. When he heard at Mass, "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor," he donated all his wealth. He then besought an aged hermit to teach him the spiritual life. He also visited various solitaries and emulated their virtues. Antony discerned a monastic vocation and entered the desert to give himself completely to God. He lived a ruin, where fallen angels tempted and attacked him. They sometimes appeared as monsters and wounded him, but his courage never flagged, and he overcame them through the Cross. Prayer is most pleasing when done amidst darkness and desolation. One night, after demons attacked Antony, a friend found him half dead and carried him to a house. Antony then came to himself and returned to his solitude. Alban Butler narrates that he said, "I fear you not; you cannot separate me from the love of Christ." Christ then appeared to Antony in glory. Like Bartimaeus whom Christ cured of blindness, we sometimes must cry out more than once in order to be assured of our faith and sincerity: learning to persevere in prayer (St. Josemaria Escriva, Friends of God). Antony fasted daily on bread and water, only eating after sunset. Sometimes, he ate only once in two, three or four days. He wore sackcloth and sheepskin, and often knelt in prayer from sunset to sunrise. Many souls flocked to Antony for advice; and after twenty years of solitude, he consented to guide them in holiness. Hence he founded the first monastery. Antony's numerous miracles attracted such multitudes that he fled again into solitude, where he lived through manual labor. St. Antony passed away in the peace of the Holy Family. St. Athanasius, his biographer, says that knowing how he lived, prayed and mortified his senses (or custody of the eyes and appetites) is a guide to virtue.

misalcatolico.com

Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2025 / Catholic Missal of january 2025