Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Book of Jeremiah

The word of the LORD came to me saying:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
But do you gird your loins; stand up and tell them all that I command you. Be not crushed on their account, as though I would leave you crushed before them;
For I am the one who today makes you a fortified city, a pillar of iron, a wall of bronze, against the whole land: against Judah?s kings and princes, its priests and the people of the land.
They will fight against you, but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.

Psalms

In you, LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother's womb you are my strength.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.

First Letter to the Corinthians

Brothers and sisters: Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

Jesus began speaking in the synagogue saying: "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb, 'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'"
And he said, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

St. Bathildes(Queen (c. 634-680))

SAINT BATHILDES Queen. (c. 634-680) St. Bathildes was an Anglo Saxon slave who became a Christian queen. She was sold at a very young age to Erkenwald, mayor of the palace under King Clovis II. When she grew up, Erkenwald was so taken with her prudence and virtue that he placed her in charge of his household. The renown of St. Bathildes' spirit, fervor and virtues spread through all France; and King Clovis II took her for his royal consort. This unexpected marriage produced no alteration in her heart, which she kept under 7 locks: Chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. It is certain that great, Holy Angels assist in the keeping and growth of each virtue. "You will see the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (Jn 1:51). "The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed ... Once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches" (Mk 4:26-34). In her bravery, truthfulness and unselfishness, King Clovis II gave Queen Bathildes royal authority for the protection of the Church, care of the poor, and furtherance of religious undertakings. King Clovis' death left Queen Bathildes regent of the kingdom: She forbade the enslavement of Christians, did all in her power to promote piety, and filled France with hospitals and religious houses. As soon as her son, Clotaire, was of an age, Queen Bathildes withdrew from the world and entered the convent of Chelles. There, she seemed entirely to forget her worldly dignity, and was distinguished from the rest of the community only by her humility, obedience to spiritual superiors, and her devotion to the sick, whom she comforted and served with wonderful charity. As Queen Bathildes neared her end, God visited her with a severe illness, which she bore with Christian patience until, on the 30th of January 680, she yielded up her soul with prayer.

Bl. Columba Marmion((1858-1923))

Bl. Columba Marmion Third Abbot of Maredsous (1858-1923) Bl. Columba Marmion was born in Dublin, Ireland, on April 1, 1858 to an Irish father (William Marmion) and a French mother (Herminie Cordier). Given the name Joseph Aloysius at birth, he entered the Dublin diocesan seminary in 1874 and completed his theological studies at the College of the Propagation of the Faith in Rome. He was ordained a priest at St. Agatha of the Goths on June 16, 1881. Fr. Columba dreamed of becoming a missionary monk in Australia, but was won over by the liturgical atmosphere of the newly founded Abbey of Maredsous in Belgium, which he visited on his return to Ireland in 1881. His Bishop asked him to wait and appointed him curate in Dundrum, then professor at the major seminary in Clonliffe (1882-86). As the chaplain at a convent of Redemptorist nuns and at a women's prison, he learned to guide souls, to hear confessions, to counsel and to help the dying. In 1886, he received his Bishop's permission to become a monk. He voluntarily renounced a promising ecclesiastical career and was welcomed at Maredsous by Abbot Placidus Wolter. His novitiate, under the iron rule of Dom Benoît D'Hondt and among a group of young novices (when he was almost 30), proved all the more difficult because he had to change habits, culture and language. But saying that he had entered the monastery to learn obedience, he let himself be moulded by monastic discipline, community life and choral prayer until his solemn profession on February 10, 1891. Fr. Columba received his first "obedience" or mission when he was assigned to the small group of monks sent to found the Abbey of Mont César in Louvain. Although it distressed him, he gave his all to it for the sake of obedience. There he was entrusted with the task of Prior beside Abbot de Kerchove, and served as spiritual director and professor to all the young monks studying philosophy or theology in Louvain. He started to devote more time to preaching retreats in Belgium and in the United Kingdom, and gave spiritual direction to many communities, particularly those of Carmelite nuns. He become the confessor of Mons. Joseph Mercier, the future Cardinal, and the two formed a lasting friendship. During this period, Maredsous Abbey was governed by Dom Hildebrand de Hemptinne, its second Abbot, who in 1893 would become, at the request of Leo XIII, the first Prelate of the Benedictine Confederation. Hildebrand's frequent stays in Rome required that he be replaced as Abbot of Maredsous. Thus Fr. Columba was elected the third Abbot of Maredsous on September 28, 1909, receiving the abbatial blessing on October 3. Fr. Columba was placed at the head of a community of more than 100 monks, with a humanities college, a trade school and a farm to run. He also had to maintain a well-established reputation for research on the sources of the faith and to continue editing various publications, including the Revue Bénédictine. Fr. Columba's ongoing care of the community did not stop him from preaching retreats or giving regular spiritual direction. He was asked to help the Anglican monks of Caldey when they wished to convert to Catholicism. His greatest ordeal was the First World War. His decision to send the young monks to Ireland so that they could complete their education in peace led to additional work, dangerous trips and many anxieties. It also caused misunderstandings and conflicts between the two generations within this community shaken by the war. German lay brothers, who had been present since the monastery's foundation by Beuron Abbey, had to be sent home (despite the Benedictine vow of stability) at the outbreak of hostilities. After the war was over, a small group of monks was urgently dispatched to the Monastery of the Dormition in Jerusalem to replace the German monks expelled by the British authorities. Finally, the Belgian monasteries were separated from the Beuron Congregation, and in 1920 the Belgian Congregation of the Annunciation was set up with Maredsous, Mont César and St. André of Zevenkerken. Fr. Columba's sole comfort during this period was preaching and giving spiritual direction. His secretary, Dom Raymond Thibaut, prepared his spiritual conferences for publication: Christ the Life of the Soul (1917), Christ in His Mysteries (1919) and Christ the Ideal of the Monk (1922). He was already considered an outstanding Abbot (Queen Elisabeth of Belgium consulted with him at length) and a great spiritual author. Bl. Columba Marmion died during a flu epidemic on January 30, 1923. He was beatified by John Paul II on the 3rd of September 2000.

St. Hyacinthe Mariscotti()

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2022 / Catholic Missal of january 2022