Introit
“The Lord, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew, and he called out to them: ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ V. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.” (Mt 4: 18-19; Ps 19: 1) Processional Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You We open with a hymn of thanksgiving. The message of today focuses on the importance of repentance and of following God now rather than waiting. Tomorrow may look like an attractive time to change your life, but tomorrow will never be today. For as long as you live, there is only now - tomorrow is never guaranteed. ~ James McCarthy, baritone, and Margaret-Mary Owens, organ Psalm 25 R. Teach me your ways, O Lord Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. Remember that your compassion, O Lord, and your love are from of old. In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice and teaches the humble his way. ~James and Margaret Gospel Acclamation ~ Matt Alexander “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mk 1: 15) Offertory Antiphon: “The Lord’s right hand has shown strength, the Lord’s right hand has exalted me. I shall not die, but live; and I shall declare the works of the Lord.” (Ps 118: 16-17) This is also the Offertory Antiphon at the Easter Vigil. The inclusion of such a glorious passage on what we might call an “ordinary” Sunday in the doldrums of winter reminds us that each day with Christ is miraculous. (Surely it seemed like an ordinary day to Andrew and Simon in the fishing boat, until they received the call from Jesus!) Each day we are being resurrected anew with our Lord, given new life in order to declare His works. César Franck’s setting of our Offertory Antiphon conveys the wonder of Christ’s victory over sin and death. Lord When You Came to the Seashore The Gospel tells of Simon and Andrew following Jesus after He called to them as they were pulling in fish from the Sea of Galilee. Jesus asked them to follow Him, and they dropped everything and came. Are we ready to do the same? ~ James and Margaret Communion Antiphon: “‘Follow me; I will make you fishers of men.’ Whereupon they, leaving their nets and their boat, followed the Lord.” (Mt 4: 19-20) Are we, like the fishermen in today’s Gospel reading, willing to leave all of our possessions and attachments to follow the Lord? Let us pray for the courage and conversion of heart that we need in order to share the Gospel with the world. Then we will become messengers of Christ, as celebrated in "How Lovely Are the Messengers" from Mendelssohn’s St. Paul oratorio. One Communion of Love “Jesus, in this great sacrament, you nourish and strengthen our holiness, that we might walk in the light of one faith, and in one communion of love.” ~ James and Margaret Recessional Sent Forth by God’s Blessing If you want good grades, you study. If you want a good job, you train. If you want good friends, you go out and meet people. Why then, do we think Heaven and holiness (which we should most desire above all things), will just fall into our laps? The greatest things to attain also take the most work. Stop waiting until the right moment to start tackling your faults (we all have them): make a resolution, come up with a plan, and begin. Sent forth by God’s blessing and armed with His sacraments, with the Church, with our SERCC community, we have everything we could possibly need to succeed. ~ James and Margaret
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