“You once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds; God has now reconciled you in the fleshly Body of Christ through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him, provided that you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, am a minister.” (COL 1: 21-23)
When we “were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds,” God never forgot about us. Our Lord came and “reconciled us in the fleshly Body of Christ through his death, to present us holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him.” We were loved when we were sinners; we are loved because we are His children, and Our Lord wants us to be “firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope of the Gospel.” Every moment we spend meditating on His words helps us “persevere in the faith.”
“I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (ROM 8: 28-29)
We are God’s children. We are created because we are loved, and each of us is “called according to his purpose.” We are different persons, and we have different missions. Some of our missions are absolutely unique, like the mission of Our Lady, whose birthday we celebrate today; some other missions are important for a smaller group, like the mission of every husband and wife, every father and mother or every priest or consecrated woman. The thing we have in common is “to be conformed to the image of” Our Lord and to fulfill what we are called to.
“Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise; from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“From the day we heard about you, we do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.” (COL 1: 9-12)
With every prayer, with every meditation and with every Mass and Holy Communion, we can grow “in the knowledge of God” because we meet Him in His own environment: in a prayer, in the Bible, and during the Holy Mass. Our Lord wants us as close as possible to Him; He wants us seeing and “walk[ing] in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit.”
“Come after me, says the Lord, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.” (LK 4: 42-43)
Luke’s Gospel is full of precise descriptions of where and when things happen; “at sunset,” “at daybreak,” “after he left the synagogue,” “in the synagogues of Judea,” etc. Every moment is important in Jesus’ life. This time, “at daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.” He is always in connection with His Father; He is always focused on His relationship with Him, which helps Him to do the right things at the right moment: “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God.”
“The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority.” (LK 4: 31-32)
We can only imagine how it was when “He taught them on the sabbath”; how He spoke, what He looked like, how He presented Himself. They were astonished “because he spoke with authority”: He is the Word, and He proclaimed the Good News, the Gospel, as an author!
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst and God has visited his people.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, ‘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.” (LK 4: 20-22)
For Our Lord there is always and only today. The Holy Bible is full of Living Word, of His Presence: “today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” When we open the daily readings and when we meditate on His word, we can expect the same presence of His love like those “in the synagogue who look[ed] at him.”
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.” (Gospel Acclamation)
