Vol. 37 No. 11                                          (Cycle C) 2nd SUNDAY OF THE YEAR Do whatever He tells you ENTRANCE ANTIPHON May all the earth give you worship and praise, and break into song to your name, O God, Most High. PENITENTIAL RITE The theme of today’s readings is “the goodness and kindness of God” which is clearly shown in Jesus’ first miracle of changing water into wine at Cana. Let us reflect on our need of his power in order to change the things that need to be changed in our lives. To celebrate this Eucharist worthily, let us humbly admit our faults and weaknesses and ask pardon from the Lord. I confess… Glory to God… OPENING PRAYER Let us pray: Father of heaven and earth, hear our prayers, and show us the way to peace in the world. We ask this… FIRST READING (Prophet Isaiah encourages the returned exiles with words of consolation to take up the work of re-construction and promises them God’s continued assistance.) A reading from the Book of Isaiah (62:1-5) For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My delight is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. This is the Word of the Lord PSALM (95) Response: Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples. O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth. O sing to the Lord, bless his name. R./ Proclaim his help day by day, tell among the nations his glory and his wonders among all the peoples. R./ Give the Lord, you families of peoples, give the Lord glory and power, give the Lord the glory of his name. R./ Worship the Lord in his temple. O earth, tremble before him. Proclaim to the nations: “God is King.” He will judge the peoples in fairness. R./ SECOND READING (St Paul shows in this passage that in the Church God gives different spiritual gifts to different people, but they all come from the same Spirit and are intended for the good of all.) A reading from the First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (12:4-11) There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, and to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION (Lk 19:38) Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Alleluia! GOSPEL (Christ works his first miracle at a marriage feast to save the newly-married groom from embarrassment. This miracle is a revelation of Jesus’ glory and his power over nature.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (2:1-12) There was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast.” So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brethren and his disciples; and there they stayed for a few days. This is the Gospel of the Lord I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, God our Father is concerned about the welfare of His children and provides for all our needs. Let us acknowledge with gratitude His gifts to us and pray with confidence, saying: Response: Father, create in us a genuine love for our brothers and sisters. 1. We pray for our Pope and all the pastors and leaders of the Church: help them to be channels of your love and compassion to all people. R./ 2. We pray for all the married people: grant them your love and wisdom to solve all their problems of family life. R./ 3. We pray for all the parents, both young and old: that they may be faithful to each other and in their duties towards the welfare of their children. R./ 4. We pray for the unemployed youth and those who have no sufficient food and proper shelter: may they experience in their daily struggle your protection and Fatherly love. R./ 5. We pray for all women: may they learn from the example of Mary their role and power to change the family and the society. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Almighty God, in your loving plan you entrusted your Son Jesus to the maternal care of Mary. Let all, both men and women, imbibe in them the virtues of Mary, and trust in Mary’s maternal care and concern for them. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus the Lord. PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Father, may we celebrate the Eucharist with reverence and love, for when we proclaim the death of the Lord you continue the work of his redemption, who is Lord for ever and ever. PREFACE (P 29) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Through his cross and resurrection he freed us from sin and death and called us to the glory that has made us a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart. Everywhere we proclaim your mighty works for you have called us out of darkness into your own wonderful light. And so with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise: All: Holy, holy, holy... COMMUNION ANTIPHON The Lord has prepared a feast for me; given wine in plenty for me to drink. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, you have nourished us with bread from heaven. Fill us with your Spirit, and make us one in peace and love. We ask this… The wedding feast at Cana in Galilee touches us so much because we can identify with and feel for the young couple just married. In spite of their best calculations, during the wedding feast, the wine ran short. The bridegroom is exposed to a lot of embarrassment on the very day of his wedding. With a mother’s intuition, Mary sensed and discovered what the problem was. She immediately approached her Son, Jesus, and appealed to him to do something about it, saying: “They have no wine.” Jesus revealed his glory through his first great sign by changing water into wine. The miracle of Cana is the transformation of water into ‘the best wine’. What was colourless and bland becomes colourful and sparkling, a source of joy and energy. Though we are free to apply the story to any experience of transformation, it is highly significant that the stone jars ‘meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews’; this is a transformation of the Jewish religion—it had become bland, self-centred, focused on personal purity. Now it is renewed and brings joy to others. It is a common theme of the gospels that Jesus’ mission was to transform the religion of his time and make it more humane—‘the Sabbath is for human beings, not human beings for the Sabbath’. In Jesus’ parables the kingdom is often compared to a wedding feast. When the Pharisees complained that Jesus’ disciples did not fast, he answered that ‘the bridegroom was with them’. In contrast with John the Baptist, Jesus ‘comes eating and drinking’. We are doing things as we always have done, relating with family, friends and fellow-workers as before. When we hear that the people around us have ‘no wine’, we see no reason why they should turn to us. Like Jesus, we say: ‘My hour has not yet come’. We are afraid to get involved; we like to remain in our comfort zone, untouched by the pain of others. So often we act as if this is not our concern. Mary’s words to Jesus at the wedding feast of Cana are echoing in many countries today. Men and women have ‘no wine’ to share with their families, since the wine which nature provided for the festivals has all gone, plundered by the modern economy, industrial estates and misdirected projects. Today, let us earnestly pray that we may receive God’s grace to enter into a new level of commitment, taking charge of the situation and answering the need, ‘transforming water into wine’, and become agents of social change. —Fr Sebastian Kattackal, ssp   January 2010 READINGS OF THE WEEK Psalter Week 2 18 Mon (G) 1 Sam 15:16-23; Ps 49:8-9,16bc-17,21.23; Mk 2:18-22 19 Tue (G) 1 Sam 16:1-13a; Ps 88:20,21-22,27-28; Mk 2:23-28 20 Wed (R) Sts Sebastian & Fabian, 1 Sam 17:32-33,37,40-51; Ps 143; Mk 3:1-6 21 Thu (R) St Agnes, 1 Sam 18:6-9,19:1-7; Ps 55:2-3,9-10ab,10c-11,12-13; Mk 3:7-12 22 Fri (R) St Vincent, Dn & M, 1 Sam 24:2-20; Ps 56:2,3-4,6.11; Mk 3:13-19 23 Sat (G) 2 Sam 1:1-4,11-12,17,19,23-27; Ps 79:2-3,5-7; Mk 3:20-21