Marvels of Mass

This is the last Sunday in Ordinary Time.  This Wednesday begins Lent on Ash Wednesday. Today will be the last time to sing the Gloria and the Alleluia until the Easter Triduum.

We continue hearing from Luke’s Sermon on the Plain where he delves a little further into the ideas of the Beatitudes that we heard last week.  The overriding themes of love and service to all come out in this Gospel passage, just as last week.  It’s not just enough to love, but you have to show action, too.  

Our song at the preparation of the altar and gifts is “The Servant Song”.  Reflect for a moment on the first verse and how it may apply in your own life:

In today’s Gospel we hear Luke’s version of the Beatitudes in what is called the Sermon on the Plain. Matthew’s longer version is often referred to as the Sermon on the Mount as is the one most often think of when referring to the Beatitudes.  We’ll sing this text during both Communion and the closing song during mass.

The staff at Prince of Peace is currently reading Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation called ‘Gaudete et exsultate – on the Call to Holiness in Today’s World’.  In it, Pope Francis has this to say about the beatitudes:

Today in our first reading we hear from Isaiah.  It begins with the praise of the angels in Chapter 6, Verse 3.

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above; [each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they hovered.]  One cried out to the other:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!”

This weekend in the first two readings we hear of love in all its various forms.  In the first reading, we hear one of my personal favorite passages: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you…” (Jeremiah 1:4) Yes, God truly knows and loves us.  He created us. In the second reading we also hear about love in a reading that is often proclaimed at weddings: “Love is patient, love is kind…It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

We are now settling down into Ordinary Time for a few weeks between the Christmas season and Lent.  We start to hear of Christ’s public ministry which began last week with the first miracle at the wedding at Cana of changing water into wine.  Over the next weeks, we’ll start to hear more about who Jesus is, he’ll gather his apostles, and we’ll hear the Sermon on the Mount.  We’ll learn how we are to live.

This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord.  Some years, such as last year, we do not celebrate this feast on a Sunday due to how the days fall in the liturgical calendar.  The Gospel tells us of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. After the baptism, “a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:22)

Our opening song, “When Jesus Comes to Be Baptized”, speaks of this baptism.  The tune is one we know to the words of an Advent song – “On Jordan’s Bank”.  The tune is called Winchester New.