Over the next two Sundays, as we move toward the beginning of Lent, we see how central the healing ministry was in Jesus’ life and mission. Every February 11, on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Pope writes a special message to all those who are sick or suffering in any way, and to those who care for them. Here is part 1 of Pope Francis 2015 message – part 2 will follow next week!
Every year, on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2nd), the Church celebrates a day of prayer for consecrated life. As St. John Paul II stressed when he introduced this event in 1997, its purpose is threefold: “In the first place, it answers our need to praise the Lord and to thank him for the great gift of consecrated life, which enriches and gladdens the Christian community by its many charisms and by the fruits of so many lives totally given to the cause of the Kingdom.
In the Gospel today, we see Jesus calling the fishermen Simon, Andrew, James and John: “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people!” We are at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, and we meet these new followers of Jesus in the early enthusiasm of discipleship, accepting his invitation to a life-changing journey of relationship and formation. But do they really understand what they are getting themselves into? Will their faith be strong enough to withstand the dangers, challenges, and disappointments that life – even life with Jesus – inevitably brings?
Every year, Christians are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that “they may be one so that the world may believe.” Hearts are touched and Christians come together to pray for their unity. Congregations and parishes exchange preachers or arrange special ecumenical celebrations and prayer services. The event that touches this off is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Traditionally the week of prayer is celebrated between 18-25 January, concluding on the feast of the conversion of St. Paul.
“You are my Son, my Beloved: in you I am well pleased.” In these words, spoken to Jesus at the time of his baptism in the Jordan, we find the key to understanding today’s feast. Just as Jesus’ baptism marks the initiation of his public ministry, his passage from the hidden life to the public life, so too does this feast mark the liturgical transition from the Christmas season to “Ordinary” Time – the time of the Spirit.
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