5 Jan
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Saturday before Epiphany
1 Jn. 3:11-21
Ps. 99:2, 3, 4, 5
Jn. 1:43-51
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"We have found the one Moses spoke of in the Law - the prophets, too - Jesus, Son of Joseph, from Nazareth." These words of Philip to Nathanael are a precise summary of the faith of the earliest disciples. The appearance of Jesus in their midst did not mean they had to abandon their Jewish faith, their Old Testament faith. Finding Jesus meant finding the fulfilment of all their religious expectations. Finding Jesus meant discovering the fidelity of God. In Jesus, God let these faithful Jews see that all the promises of the Old Testament - the Law and the Prophets - were true promises and were now fulfilled. God had not abandoned Israel. Even though heaven had been closed for four hundred years and no prophet had appeared in Israel since Malachi, God had not forgotten. God had not forgotten either Israel or the promise of the Messiah.

Not all the Jews were as open or as willing as Philip to accept that, in Jesus of Nazareth, their searching hearts could find rest. Nathanael was not so open at the beginning but he yielded to grace. He yielded, not to discussion, explanation, or logic, but to the gracious invitation of Philip.



Father, grant us the grace to be like Philip: to invite others to come and see, to discover the truth in Jesus.

DAILY OFFERING
Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen.

PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH
INTENTION
That Christians may intensify their efforts to announce together Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of the world.
Elaboration

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P R A Y I N G    W I T H    T H E    C H U R C H    

INTENTION : That Christians may intensify their efforts to announce together Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of the world.

In the Apostolic Letter At the Beginning of the New Millennium Pope John Paul II looks towards the future and exhorts the members of the Church not to be afraid to leave the coastal waters "where there is nothing to fish" and move into deep waters. If we are prepared to do this, our catch will be abundant. The Pope particularly exhorts Christ's disciples to intensify their efforts to bring greater unity in the Christian Community.

The invocation "Launch out into the deep" is a binding imperative, the strength that sustains us, and a salutary rebuke for our slowness and closed-heartedness. It is on Jesus' prayer and not on our own strength that we base the hope that even within history we shall be able to reach full and visible communion with all Christians.

Our trust that we may succeed in attaining the full and visible communion of all Christians, "rests on Jesus' prayer, not on our own capacity". The Lord calls us to unity and will not fail to pour forth His grace on us. But in this context also, as in all our relations with God's salvific grace, we too must do our share. God does not save us against our will; God does not save us if we do not collaborate towards our salvation.




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