>>> The Most Holy Name of Jesus
BORN OF GOD
Introduction
The message of today speaks in two different senses of being God’s sons and daughters. There is first Christ, the Son of God in a deeper way than one said to be beloved by God. John recognizes him as God’s own Son, with a human and divine personality. He is sent among people by the Father as the One who will save us by his sufferings, as the Lamb, as the suffering servant.
On account of him, we are born of God, we are God’s sons and daughters, as John will say in his letter. However banal our existence may look, there is this astonishing truth: we are God’s children. This is not merely a beautiful word; it’s a deep reality. This dignity gives us the responsibility to grow, to give up sin, to mature to the full personhood of Christ, for that is what children are supposed to do.
Opening Prayer
Lord God, Father of Jesus Christ,
in your only Son you have made us
your sons and daughters,
who are born of you and live your life.
Help us to seek your will always
and to grow in your love,
towards that freedom and maturity
to which you have called us
in Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen!
1 Reading – 1 JOHN 2:29–3:6
If you consider that God is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him. See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure. Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him.
Responsorial PSALM 98:1, 3CD-4, 5-6
R. (3cd) All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm. R.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise. R.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD. R.
Alleluia JOHN 1:14A, 12A
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
To those who accepted him
he gave power to become the children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel JOHN 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
Commentary
To break with sin
Saint Paul could claim credit for promoting devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus because he wrote in his letter to the Philippians that God the Father gave Christ Jesus “that name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). This devotion became popular because of 12th-century Cistercian monks and nuns and particularly through the preaching of Saint Bernardine of Siena, a 15th-century Franciscan. He used this devotion to overcome bitter and often bloody class struggles and family rivalries in Italian city-states.
Today’s first reading moves on to the second part of John’s letter: ‘To live as God’s children’. John, the Evangelist, sets three ‘conditions’ to become true children of God. The first condition, part of which we read today, is ‘to break with sin’.
St. John reminds us that we are already children of God and what is in store for us when we see the Father face to face is that “we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is”. When we share the truth and love of Christ, which are poured into our hearts through our words, actions and life, we become God’s children in a very special sense, true reflections of our Father.
The world ridicules those who believe in God because it has not been able to see the presence of God in Jesus and his life. The greatest sign of God’s love for humankind is the gift of Jesus his Son (Jn 3:16), who made us true children of God. Being God’s child is a source of so much happiness and consolation now, and there will be so much more in the future!
The ‘first condition’ to have that face-to-face experience with Jesus, John reminds us to have a total break from everything contrary to God’s way. To enjoy that vision – the only goal of all living – is to remain single-minded and pure in our desire and passion.
It is impossible to be both close to Jesus and live a life of sin. “The one who sins has not seen him or known him.” The secret of being free from sin is to submit totally to the Way of Jesus, who takes away all sin in those who turn to him in a spirit of reconciliation. “The one who remains in him does not sin.” Love and sin are incompatible. Let us then pray that we may remain ever close, intimately close, to Jesus.
Intentions
– That more and more people all over the world may know that they are children of God, of a God who loves them tenderly as a father and a mother, we pray:
– That however different we are in many ways, we may come to accept, appreciate and love one another as brothers and sisters, we pray:
– That God may recreate us anew every day in the image of his Son and let us grow up more and more in the likeness of Jesus, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, our Father,
these gifts of bread and wine,
coming from your hands,
are also the fruit of our toil.
We bring them before you
as the signs of our goodwill
to continue the struggle
against the forces of evil
in us and around us.
In the storms and trials of life,
help us to overcome sin,
that you may reveal to us the glory,
which you have prepared for us
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
Lord God, our Father,
you have visited your sons and daughters
through our brother, Jesus Christ.
Help us to live together
as a community of friendship, sharing and peace,
that we may bear witness
that you are our God and we your people,
through our brother and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen!
Blessing
Children of God, that is indeed what we are. May the thought of this reality fill us with a sense of admiration, gratitude and security. May Almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!