A Pastoral Ministry of the Members of the Society of St Paul

VOL. 52, NO. 11 2ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C) - Green 19 JANUARY 2025

INTRODUCTION
The great festivities that follow the celebration of the Nativity of the Lord Jesus are over and so we
continue our spiritual journey through the Sundays in Ordinary Time. The Second Sunday in Ordinary
Time picks up the theme of marriage. The gospel of today records the first sign which Jesus performs
which is the changing of water into wine at the wedding of Cana. The importance of this event is that
the sign made the disciples believe in him and pushed Jesus to begin his public ministry. The mother of
Jesus plays a pivotal role in this episode for she knows that Jesus has the power to perform a miraculous
sign and bring joy to the bewildered host of the wedding. The happy outcome of the intervention of the
mother of Jesus is that the marriage feast has come alive with the availability of good wine, the disciples
come to faith in Jesus, and Jesus is almost forced to begin his public ministry. In the First Reading Isaiah
praises Zion and depicts her as a woman yearning for her husband and family. In the Second Reading
Paul urges the Corinthians to use the gifts they have received for the common good.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Cel: May almighty God have mercy on us,

All the earth shall bow down before you, O forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting
God, and shall sing to you, shall sing to your life.
name, O Most High! (Ps 65:4) All: Amen.
Cel: In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
Cel: Lord, have mercy. All: Lord, have mercy.
and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen. Cel: Christ, have mercy. All: Christ, have mercy.
Cel: Lord, have mercy. All: Lord, have mercy.
Cel: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the
love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with you all. GLORIA
All: And with your spirit. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace
to people of good will. We praise you, we bless
Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you
acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly
to celebrate the sacred mysteries. (a brief silence) King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus
I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of
and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins
thoughts and in my words, in what I have done of the world, have mercy on us; you take away
and in what I have failed to do, (and, striking their the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you
breast, they say:) through my fault, through my are seated at the right hand of the Father, have
fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One,
ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most
Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the
for me to the Lord our God. glory of God the Father. Amen.

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COLLECT nations, “The LORD is king.” He will judge the
Almighty ever-living God, who govern all things, peoples in fairness. +
both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the
pleading of your people and bestow your peace
SECOND READING
on our times. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, A reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul
your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the to the Corinthians (12:4-11)
unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Brethren, there are varieties of gifts, but the same
All: Amen. Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the
same Lord; and there are varieties of activities,
FIRST READING but it is the same God who empowers them all in
everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the
A reading from the Book of Isaiah (62:1-5)
Spirit for the common good. For to one is given
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to
Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her another the utterance of knowledge according to
righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to
salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another
see your righteousness, and all the kings your the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to
glory, and you shall be called by a new name another the ability to distinguish between spirits,
that the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall to another various kinds of tongues, to another the
be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each
You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your one individually as he wills.
land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you
The Word of the Lord.
shall be called My Delight is in Her, and your
All: Thanks be to God.
land Married; for the LORD delights in you,
and your land shall be married. For as a young
ACCLAMATION
man marries a young woman, so shall your sons
marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over Alleluia. Alleluia. God has called us through
the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. the Gospel, to obtain the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Alleluia. (See 2 Thes 2:14)
The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God. GOSPEL
!A reading from the Holy Gospel according
RESPONSORIAL PSALM (96) to John (2:1-11)
Response: Tell among all the peoples the At that time, on the third day there was a wedding
wonders of the Lord. at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was
O sing a new song to the LORD; sing to the there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with
LORD, all the earth. O sing to the LORD; bless his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother
his name. + of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And
Proclaim his salvation day by day. Tell among Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have
the nations his glory, and his wonders among to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His
all the peoples. +
mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he
tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars
Give the LORD, you families of peoples, give there for the Jewish rites of purification, each
the LORD glory and power; give the LORD holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to
the glory of his name. + the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they
Worship the LORD in holy splendour. O filled them up to the brim. And he said to them,
tremble before him, all the earth. Say to the “Now draw some out and take it to the master

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) 2

of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of 3. For young people who have reached the
the feast tasted the water now become wine, and age of marriage that by becoming familiar
did not know where it came from (though the with the rights and duties of marriage they
servants who had drawn the water knew), the may begin their family life according to
master of the feast called the bridegroom and the customs and practices of the Catholic
said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine Church, we pray … +
first, and when people have drunk freely, then 4. For every child born in this world who has
the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine the right to education, right to employment,
until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at right to marry and raise a family, that these
Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And
basic amenities may become available to
his disciples believed in him.
them as they grow up, we pray … +
Cel: The Gospel of the Lord. 5. For all of us present for this Eucharist that
All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. the Word of God may encourage to do
PROFESSION OF FAITH whatever we can to help a person in need,
just as Mary did at wedding feast of Cana
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of
heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only thereby increasing the joy of all present at
Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy the feast, we pray … +
Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Cel: Heavenly Father, at the behest of his
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was mother Jesus performed a sign although he
buried; he descended into hell; on the third day felt that his time to begin his ministry had not
he rose again from the dead; he ascended into yet come. The miracle he worked helped his
heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God disciples to believe in him. Give us the grace
the Father Almighty; from there he will come to that firmly believing in you we too may come
judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy to your eternal dwelling place and live with you
Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion forever. We make this prayer …
of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection
of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Grant us, O Lord, we pray, that we may
PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL participate worthily in these mysteries, for
Cel: After having listened to the Word of God whenever the memorial of this sacrifice is
let us place our petitions before the Lord. That celebrated the work of our redemption is
our God rejoices over us as a bridegroom accomplished. Through Christ our Lord.
rejoices over his bride is indeed a consoling
PREFACE I (Ordinary)
message. Hence with confidence let us place
our petitions before Him, saying, It is truly right and just, our duty and our
salvation, always and everywhere to give
Response: Lord, bring joy to our lives. you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and
1. For the pope, the bishops, the clergy and the eternal God, through Christ our Lord.
religious that as representatives of Christ on For through his Paschal Mystery, he accomplished
earth they may work towards the welfare of all the marvellous deed, by which he has freed us
by building bridges between peoples thereby from the yoke of sin and death, summoning us
bringing happiness for all, we pray … + to the glory of being now called a chosen race,
2. For all the families in our parish that through the a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for
active participation of all in the parish activities your own possession, to proclaim everywhere
the Synodal themes of communion and mission your mighty works, for you have called us out of
may be encouraged and lived, we pray … + darkness into your own wonderful light.

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 Regd. No. R/N. 26565/74

And so, with Angels and Archangels, with was married (Lk 14:20). In accordance with
Thrones and Dominions, and with all the typical Jewish morality, many of his disciples
hosts and Powers of heaven, we sing the hymn were also married. The marriage at Cana is
of your glory, as without end we acclaim: placed at the very beginning of his Gospel by
the evangelist. The wedding was going on in
All: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts… traditional gaiety when the wine ran short.
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Mother Mary realized the embarrassment it
could cause to the groom and so she requested
You have prepared a table before me, and how
Jesus to intervene. Though reluctantly Jesus
precious is the chalice that quenches my thirst. responded to his mother’s request and
(Ps 22:5) changed the water into wine thereby rescuing
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION the marriage party from embarrassment and
bringing joy into the marriage feast.
Pour on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love,
We have to say that Christian marriages today
and in your kindness make those you have are in crisis. Many marriages end up in divorce,
nourished by this one heavenly Bread one in in many marriages there is no love between
mind and heart. Through Christ our Lord. spouses and there are cases when couples do
not want children to be born and do not want
LITURGY AND LIFE to constitute a family. Added to all this, there
The First Reading from the Book of Isaiah is are living-in relationships, same sex marriages,
a beautiful poem that depicts the glory of the multiple partners, and many other anomalies
people of Israel. The prophet writes that Israel which cause serious threat to the institution of
shall be a crown of beauty and a royal diadem marriage. It is the Church’s responsibility to look
in the hand of the Lord. Many Old Testament into all this and come up with a solution that
passages use the metaphor of marriage to can save the institution of marriage. Rightly so,
describe the relationship of Israel with God. an extraordinary Synod of Bishops on Family
The Book of Hosea is an example. was held in the recent past. This is an indication
Speaking about the spiritual gifts, Paul that the Church takes seriously the problems
emphasizes that they are given for the benefit facing marriage which is a sacramental union.
and the common good of the Corinthian Meanwhile, it is our responsibility to pray
community. The gifts are wisdom, knowledge, that the recommendations of the Synod of
faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, Bishops will bring new light into the family and
ability to distinguish between spirits, gift marriage as it is lived in modern times. – AK
of tongues, and ability to interpret tongues.
Paul’s conclusion is that all these gifts originate JANUARY 2025
from the Spirit, and the Spirit doles them out (2nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year I) (Psalter Week 2)
according to the ability of the individual to 20 Mon (G) Sts Fabian & Sebastian
receive and transmit them. Paul assures the Heb 5:1-10/ Ps 110:1-4/ Mk 2:18-22
Corinthians that there are many ways in which 21 Tue (R) St Agnes
the Spirit is manifested in people’s lives. Heb 6:10-20/ Ps 111:1-2,4-5,9-10/ Mk 2:23-28
The relative rarity of references to marriage in 22 Wed (G) St Vincent of Saragossa
the Canonical Gospels is most probably due Heb 7:1-3,15-17/ Ps 110:1-4/ Mk 3:1-6
to the fact that the historical Jesus accepted 23 Thu (G) St Emerentiana
marriage as a normal institution of his day. Heb 7:25–8:6/ Ps 40:7-10,17/ Mk 3:7-12
In his interactions with his fellow Jews, Jesus 24 Fri (W) St Francis de Sales
regarded marriage as an integral and essential Heb 8:6-13/ Ps 85:8,10-14/ Mk 3:13-19
element in the fabric of Jewish life. Jesus shared 25 Sat (W) THE CONVERSION OF ST PAUL, Ap, Feast
with his contemporary Jews a patriarchal view Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22/Ps 117:1-2/Mk 16:15-18
of marriage: a man married and a woman

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