January 11th 2015 The Baptism of the Lord Vol.19 No.2

First Reading A reading from the prophet Isaiah Ref: Is 42:1-4.6-7
The description Isaiah gives of the Suffering Servant is one that is fulfilled in the person and the mission of Jesus; one who brings justice or knowledge of the true God; with the qualities of meekness, patience and mercy; the one who brings salvation and establishes a new covenant between god and his people.

Thus says the Lord: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have endowed him with my spirit that he may bring true justice to the nations. He does not cry out or shout aloud, or make his voice heard in the streets. He does not break the crushed reed, nor quench the wavering flame. Faithfully he brings true justice; he will neither waver nor be crushed until true justice is established on earth, for the islands are awaiting his law. I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right; I have taken you by the hand and formed you; I have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, top free captives from prison, and those who live in darkness from dungeon.
The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
This psalm, which may originally have been adapted from a pagan hymn, "The voice of the Lord upon the waters" suggest a voice from heaven at the baptism of Jesus.

(R) The Lord will bless his people with peace.

O give the Lord you sons of God,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Adore the Lord in his holy court. (R)
The Lord's voice resounding on the waters,
the Lord on the immensity of waters;
the voice of the Lord, full of power,
the voice of the Lord, full of splendour. (R)

The God of glory and thunders.
In his temple they all cry: "Glory!"
The Lord sat enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits as king forever. (R)

Second Reading A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Ref: Ac 10:34-38
Here Peter is preaching to a non-Jewish audience and wants to make clear that god has extended salvation to all peoples. He point to the presence of god in Jesus, in his teaching and in his good works. This presence was make clear at His baptism

Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: 'The truth I have now come to realise' he said 'is that God does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.
'It is true, God sent his word to the people of Israel, and it was to them that the good news of peace was brought by Jesus Christ - but Jesus Christ is lord of all men. You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.' The word of the Lord.

Gospel A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark Ref: Mk 1:7-11

In this account of Jesus' baptism, Mark's main concern is with Jesus' identity. Using language borrowed from the psalm and the first reading, he reveals Jesus as royal Messiah and Suffering Servant.

In the course of his preaching John the Baptist said, 'Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.'
It was at this that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John. No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.'
The Gospel of the Lord.
Second Collection
A second collection will be held at all Masses next weekend, January 18/19th. This is one of the four annual collections for Diocesan Funds.

Kilmurry GAA. Mass for deceased members of club on Fri 16th Jan at 8pm in clubhouse. All welcome.

Anniversary Dan Harte, Crookstown

Mass this week in Kilmurry
Masses next weekend Jan. 17/18th
Vigil
Canovee 6.30 p.m. Kilmurry 8.00 p.m.
Sunday
Kilmurry 10.00 a.m.
Cloughduv 11.30 a.m.

God's House
"Enter God's house reverently, pray trustingly, sing joyfully, listen silently, worship expectantly."
William Arthur Ward

Post-Christmas
Long after the angels disappear into the heavens, the shepherds return to their flocks, the magi journey home and the great star sets, Jesus remains. The Child in whom we rediscover God's great love for humanity becomes the adult Redeemer who challenges us to imitate his selflessness and compassion in order that we might transform our world in love. . . May we allow the miracle of Christmas to continue long after the holiday trappings have been packed away; may we welcome the adult Messiah and his challenging Gospel to recreate our lives, making the peace, justice and hope of this holy season a reality in every season of the new year."

THE DEEP END o Water of Life
Water, water everywhere! For a natural resource, water can be very controversial, even a political issue, as we have discovered in Ireland in recent years. After all, we need water to stay alive. And as we know, sadly there are people in many parts of the world for whom clean drinking water is a struggle. Water is a powerful symbol throughout the Old and New Testament, from the story of creation and the crossing of the Red Sea, to the wedding feast at Cana and Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well. It is a symbol of life, an opportunity for God to teach us something, as well as a means of cleansing or purification. Today, we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, when Jesus was baptised by John in the Jordan. This immersion in water marks the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. Water is a powerful symbol in Baptism; when the priest pours water over the child or adult being baptised, it is a sign that our sins are being washed away and that we are entering a new spiritual life. This gift is freely available to us throughout our lives. In today's First Reading we are invited: 'Come to the water all you who are thirsty'. Intercom Magazine

Being baptised is never a solitary act of "me", but is always necessarily a being united with all the others, a being in unity and solidarity with the whole body of Christ, with the whole community of his brothers and sisters. This fact that baptism inserts me into community breaks my isolation. We must remain aware of this in our being Christian.' (Lectio Divina of Pope Benedict XVI on Baptism, Basilica of St John Lateran, 11 June 2012)
Intercom Magazine

Builder or Wrecker?
I watched them tearing a building down,
A gang of men in a busy town.
With a ho-heave-ho and lusty yell,
They swung a beam and a side wall fell.
I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled,
As the men you'd hire if you had to build?"
He gave me a laugh and said, "No indeed!
Just common labour is all I need."
"I can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken a year to do."
And I thought to myself as I went my way,
Which of these two roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deeds by a well-made plan,
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
Content with the labour of tearing down

"Here we are in a month named after the Roman god Janus, an appropriate personification of the start of the new year. This particular Roman god had two faces so that he could look ahead toward the future and back at the past at the same time. As we get rid of an old year and look forward to a new one, we all try to be a little like Janus. We know through experience what we did wrong and what we did right, and hope to do better this year. Some people make ambitious new year's resolutions; others just take a deep breath and hope for the best.…"

Kickstart your Operation Transformation: Book your free kettlebell or XFIT taster class now.
Kettlebell cardio Mon 9.40am and Tues 8.20pm.
Pilates Tues 7.15pm.
New XFIT Thurs 7.45pm. Cloughduv GAA Hall. Contact Gillian at 087 809 6652 to book

WEIGHT LOSS
Nutrition based classes in Kilmurry. Also one-to-one consultations. For more information contact
Bernie 087 9642690.

15 Exercises We'd be Better Off Without in 2015
1. Jumping on the bandwagon
2. Wading through paperwork
3. Running around in circles
4. Pushing your luck
5. Spinning your wheels
6. Adding fuel to the fire
7. Beating your head against the wall
8. Climbing the walls
9. Beating your own drum
10. Dragging your heels
11. Jumping to conclusions
12. Grasping at straws
13. Fishing for compliments
14. Throwing your weight around
15. Passing the buck