"A Community of Faith, Working through Love. (Gal 5:6)

This week I wanted to bring to your attention that we are now in Year B. I know most of you probably noticed especially those of us who use a Daily Roman Missal (which is one of the best things I’ve ever bought myself... you should get one if you don’t own one.) So I wanted to learn a bit more about Year B and what we had in store….. The start of a new liturgical year, beginning with the first Sunday of Advent, also marks the transition from one lectionary cycle (A, B, or C) to the next. In Year B, we read the Gospel of Mark and chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. These cycles are a result of the Second Vatican Council, which ordered a change in the Sunday readings at Mass so that Catholics would become more familiar with the text of the Bible. As a result we now have a three-year cycle of readings built around readings from the three synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Synoptic Gospels means those which describe events from a similar point of view, as contrasted with that of John. Mark’s Gospel is regarded as the earliest Gospel. It presents a stark and challenging portrait of Jesus’ public ministry, which leads into a dramatic account of his passion and death. It has often been described as a passion narrative with a long introduction. Mark presents Jesus as a wise teacher and a powerful and compassionate healer. But he also insists that this Jesus can be properly understood only when we confront the mystery of the cross and Jesus’ identity as a suffering Messiah. So last year as we went through Year A with Matthew we saw Jesus more as a teacher with the use of parables. In Year B we will see Jesus as more of a miracle worker through Mark. Mark is the second and the shortest of the four gospel accounts of the life of Jesus. Mark was a companion of Peter in Peter's later years. It was written with the Gentiles in mind. Marks full name is John Mark. His mother, Mary, was a Christian. The church met in her house to pray for Peter when Herod put him in prison. His full name was John Mark and he was a relative of Barnabas. Mark emphasizes what Jesus did. The book does not record the family line of Jesus or mention His birth and childhood as that would be meaningless to Gentile readers. The book begins with the ministry of John the Baptist. Mark does not record the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' rebuke of the scribes and the Pharisees, or the parable of the second coming found in Matthew 25. He gives more detains of Jesus' miracles that either Matthew or Luke. Mark presents Jesus more as a servant than as a king. J. Geeting

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Getting Ready for the Weekend First Reading Jonah 3:1-5,10 God spared the people of Nineveh because they heeded the message God sent through Jonah. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 25:4-5,6-7,8-9 The Lord teaches us his ways. Second Reading 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Paul warns the Corinthians that they must act differently because the world in its present form is passing away. Gospel Reading Mark 1:14-20 Jesus calls the fishermen, Simon and Andrew, James and John, to be his disciples. Background on the Gospel Reading Today we begin a continuous reading of Mark’s Gospel that will carry us through this segment of the liturgical season of Ordinary Time. Remember that in Cycle B of the Lectionary, most of the Gospel readings are taken from the Gospel according to Mark. The Gospel of Mark does not begin with a narrative about Jesus’ birth. Instead Mark begins by reporting on the preaching of John the Baptist. John is described as the voice in the wilderness sent to prepare the way of the Lord. Immediately after describing the work of John the Baptist, Mark reports on Jesus’ baptism and his temptation in the desert. Jesus’ public ministry begins after the arrest of John the Baptist. Mark wants his readers to understand the important connection between the end of the ministry of John the Baptist and the beginning of Jesus’ own ministry. As we learn at the beginning of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus preaches the Kingdom of God in continuity with the preaching of John the Baptist. Like John the Baptist, Jesus’ pronouncement of the kingdom is a call to repentance. Yet Jesus’ preaching is greater than John’s. Jesus begins the time of fulfillment; the Kingdom of God is already here. This will be demonstrated again and again, both in Jesus’ words and in the actions that follow. Jesus’ healings and forgiveness of sins are signs of the Kingdom of God that he announces in his teaching. In contrast to last week’s Gospel, in Mark’s Gospel Jesus takes the initiative in calling his first disciples. As mentioned last week, it was more typical of first-century rabbinical schools for students to seek out rabbis, asking to be their disciples. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus breaks with this tradition and invites his disciples to learn from him. Jesus is said to have first called four fishermen—Simon, Andrew, James, and John. Simon and Andrew are brothers. Jesus promises that he will make them “fishers of men.” James and John are also brothers. Mark does not report Jesus' words of invitation to them, but he does report that they left their fishing immediately; their father, Zebedee, was left behind in the boat. Mark’s Gospel is told with a great sense of urgency and immediacy. Jesus is a person of action, and events occur in rapid succession. We see this in today’s Gospel. Time is of the essence; the fishermen immediately put aside their livelihood to become Jesus’ disciples. The Kingdom of God is here and now. The time of fulfillment is at hand. How might our lives be different if we more fully shared this sense of the immediacy of God’s kingdom

"Getting to Know" Tom & Rosanne Cali Tom and Rosanne Cali hail from Douglas Manor, NY and have been married for 36 years. We enjoy and share our lovely Highland Beach home with our two friendly felines, Connor and Chance. Tom is a graduate of St. John's University and NYU Graduate School. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corp., as a pilot, worked for Bell Labs and A T & T. He holds several technically based patents. After graduating from Katherine Gibbs College Rosanne worked for several import firms in New York City and as a pass time participated in fun musical comedy workshops at the Herbert Berghof Studio. As parishioners at St. Lucy Catholic Church Rosanne enjoys participation in lectoring, cantoring and prayer groups with other warriors.  Quoting St. Jerome:  "Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of Christ." The Cali's enjoy travelling, physical fitness, gardening, reading good books while relaxing on the beach, music and cooking great meals for each other and friends, too. Favorite saint:  Rosanne:  St. Therese of Lisieux because of her simplistic approach to the spiritual life. Of course, my true devotion to Mary.    Tom:  St. Michael the Archangel: relying on his help to conquer evil. Favorite prayer:  The Our Father because it provides a wonderful pattern for prayer.  THY WILL BE DONE is the challenge. Favorite bible verse:  Rosanne:  John 15:4 Abide in Me. A reminder to invoke Christ in all circumstances because we, represented by the branch, cannot bear good fruit on our own.    Tom:   Matthew 22, 37-39 Because it sums up the basis of our faith. Favorite holiday:   Christmas eve Italian family traditions will always be close to our hearts. The Cali homemade egg nog containing four spirits was enjoyed by all! Life event: Rosanne: Visiting my father's birthplace, the Island of Ischia, Italy and getting to know relatives was a wonderful experience. One word that describes St. Lucy.  COMFORTING.  Thank you both for all you do at St. Lucy Parish! You always share your time, talents and treasure so generously. Thank you!

We would love to feature YOU & YOUR FAMILY in the "Getting to Know You" feature! Please email Jeanette @ JCFSCHMITZ@aol.com to get the simple questionnaire. In this time of Social Distancing getting to know each other this way makes our friendships and community grow. I hope you will share a little about YOU!

Sunday, January 24, 2021 St. Vincent de Paul Seminary, Boynton Beach. Celebrant is Reverend Alfredo I. Hernández, Ph. D., S.T.L., Rector and President, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. Lector, Seminarian Joshua Martin. Visit our website Diocese of Palm Beach

Saints by our Sides

The Conversion of Paul Feast Day - January 25 Click for more info on St. Paul Conversion St. Thomas Aquinas Feast Day - January 28 We can look to Thomas Aquinas as a towering example of Catholicism in the sense of broadness, universality, and inclusiveness. We should be determined anew to exercise the divine gift of reason in us, our power to know, learn, and understand. At the same time we should thank God for the gift of his revelation, especially in Jesus Christ.

Saints Timothy and Titus Feast Day - January 26 St. Angela Merici Feast Day - January 27

St. John Bosco Feast Day - January 31 John Bosco educated the whole person—body and soul united. He believed that Christ’s love and our faith in that love should pervade everything we do—work, study, play. For John Bosco, being a Christian was a full-time effort, not a once-a-week, Mass-on-Sunday experience. It is searching and finding God and Jesus in everything we do, letting their love lead us. Yet, because John realized the importance of job-training and the self-worth and pride that come with talent and ability, he trained his students in the trade crafts, too.

We are starting a new feature called Saint Stories. We all have Saints that we hold dear in our hearts. Sometime great devotion to a particular Saint has helped us along our path in life. I am always amazed how many Saints I learn about when speaking to my friends. I thought this would be another great way to learn about our friends, the Saints, and get to know them and their stories better. My favorite thing about the saints is that they were ordinary people like you and I, who did extraordinary things! True disciples of Christ! Email me your stories to JCFSCHMITZ@aol.com

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We enjoy this time together. We hope you will join us again next week as we come together to pray for each other, our community and world. Please share our email with your friends and family who also may enjoy it. We are called to be fishers of men. Yours in Christ, Father Horgan