Your Sunday Sermon Notes: 2nd Sunday after Epiphany (Novus Ordo: 2nd Ordinary)

We are in green vestments again.  My thanks to the reader who donated the fantastic set I used today.  I pray for you every time I use it.

Too many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff.

Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at the Masses for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany (Novus Ordo: 2nd Ordinary Sunday).

Tell about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass.  I hear that it is growing.  Of COURSE.

Any local changes or news?

Those of you who regularly viewed my live-streamed daily Masses – with their fervorini – for over a year, you might drop me a line.

I have some written remarks about the TLM Mass for Christmas – HERE

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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13 Comments

  1. misanthrope says:

    Attended, as usual, the 8:00 am low Mass at our exclusively TLM parish in the archdiocese of Indianapolis, staffed by the FSSP. Father channeled St. Alphonsus De Liguori in his sermon: all graces flow through the BVM. Remarked that Mary did not specifically ask for ‘something’ of her Divine Son at the wedding feast, she merely mentioned the wine having run out, and that was enough. Father noted that Mary is constantly praying for souls on earth and in Purgatory. Christ’s response to His Mother was neither a rebuke nor a chastisement. Interesting side note during the sermon that no prayers are wasted. Specifically mentioned that if Masses were offered for a departed soul which had been condemned to hell, that the graces of those Masses were transferred to some soul or souls who could benefit from them (which a soul in hell could clearly not, as their case is hopeless). Mary ensures that no prayers are wasted.

    Typically wonderful sermon; Mass well attended though the last two weeks have been less crowded than usual (I suspect some sicknesses in the parish, and perhaps larger attendance at the High Mass at 10:00 am).

  2. Ame E. says:

    11:00 a.m. FSSP parish in New Hampshire. I have never been to this Mass where it is not very well attended. A lot of young families.
    Father gave a great sermon today. I took notes and the following is a rehash of them. This is Jesus’ first public miracle. Father made a parallel between the 6 water jugs and the 6 days of creation. On the 6th day of creation God created man (and woman), who are to fill the earth and be fruiful and multiply which is specifically having to do with the sacrament of marriage. By his presence at the wedding feast, Jesus raised marriage itself to a sacrament. He said that the 6 water pots represent us. They have no wine. We have no sanctifying grace. When we turn to Our Lady, Our Lord intervenes, and enables us to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity. He also said that there’s a parallel in our Lady’s response at the Annunciation to Our Lady’s response at the wedding feast of Cana. “Let it be done to me according to thy word” and “Do whatever he tells you. Perfect receptivity to the will of God. He also said that when he says to Mary, my hour is not yet come, he’s not saying it to reprimand her. He’s saying basically are you ready for the start of my passion?

  3. Suburbanbanshee says:

    Good solid sermon about the parallels between Cana, and Jesus on the cross giving Mary into John’s care. Lots of stuff about “what is this between me and thee” in parallel situations in the Old Testament, and about how Mary had to accept the call to not just care about her own Son, but also about all of us as her children. It went on and on, really good stuff.

    I think it made a good impression on my dad, who’s normally very uncomfortable when priests preach about Mary. (Long-time commenters may remember that he’s United Methodist. Which of course is not fun in current year, so keep praying for him to cross the Tiber, along with other conservative UMs being slowly driven out.)

  4. moon1234 says:

    We had a wonderful diocesan TLM High Mass in your old stomping grounds just to the north in the water park capital of the world. Our Priest was visiting the parish from the southern area of the diocese as Father is on vacation. Luckily our visiting priest is one of the YOUNGEST priests in the diocese and a native of the diocese.

    We feel so blessed that our Bishop has been so generous with all of the TLMs available to us in this diocese. We welcome anyone from just south of the border to relocate just a wee bit north!

    Whatever our previous Bishop, God rest his soul, did to form these me has been fantastic. I pray God that our existing Bishop continues to be generous and has a long life with many years as our Shepherd.

    Mass was fairly well attended for being past noon. Close to or over 100 people in attendance. This for a parish that has four Masses on Sunday.

  5. lfandrew says:

    Diocesan TLM in southern UK. Our parish priest (one of the youngest in the diocese) took two points as his theme – firstly the words of Our Lady that “they” have no wine (not “we” have no wine, even though she was a guest at the wedding), and compared wine with grace. Secondly, the fact that there were six jars for the ablutions, whereas there should have been seven. The seventh jar being Our Lord on the cross when he is pierced, and out flowed blood & water.

  6. hwriggles4 says:

    I substituted CCD yesterday morning where we taught second graders a little about the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary and how and why she is venerated. On the way home I went to Mass at a parish that I occasionally attend. (BTW – this is the parish my lady friend prefers to attend when she is visiting family in town).

    The homily was a good one about the gospel on the wedding feast where Jesus turned six large buckets of water (20 to 30 gallons) into wine. The priest tied in the joy of a celebration and why our attitude should be to show joy year round, since the Christmas season has wrapped up. He (yes, He) does not change. Mass is not about we, it’s about Jesus.

  7. hwriggles4 says:

    Suburbanbanshee:

    Thanks for discussing the state of the UMC. My father was a lifelong Methodist and personally I think he is turning over in his grave with the turmoil that is happening in the Methodist church today.

  8. JonPatrick says:

    NO Mass for 2nd Sunday of Ordinary time. One thing the wedding at Cana shows is when God gives us what we ask for he does it in abundance. 6 jars of 60 gallons that is 360 gallons of the finest wine. God is generous with his graces. As the epistle from St. Paul points out we receive different graces which we are obliged to use for others around us. We were all put on this earth by God for some purpose and we need to discern from him what he wants from us.

  9. TonyO says:

    Went to a NO mass said in Latin, an excellent place. The priest gave a sermon filled with meat. He pulled out a bunch of fine points about parallels and differences of what happened compared with, especially, the Old Covenant. Christ was laying foundations for the New Covenant.

    The first was that while water is a necessity for life, Christ gave wine, which gives joy to life. So, Christ’s intent is that we have life, and have it abundantly. The second was that the stone of the stone jars harkens back to the stone of the tablets of the Law: Christ came not to do away with the Law but to re-invigorate it. Then he noted the number of the jars: there were 6, which is one short of the perfect number of 7. The Old Law, by itself, was insufficient for the perfect life, it needed the grace of the (seven) sacraments to enliven the soul to eternal life.

    In further meditating on this, I realized that this was the first in a series of events in which Christ was both preparing and foretelling his sacrificial death and the sacrament of the Eucharist. First he brings joy by giving wine to a large number. Next he sets the ground of his future death, by cleansing the Temple: it is said of him that “zeal for his Father’s house consumed him.” This “consuming” would take final form in the crucifixion, in which the Jewish leaders (upset at his cleansing the Temple), finally get him killed. But not before the Last Supper, at which he confects the sacrament of love, the Eucharist, which he foretold in John 6, in which he admonishes his apostles that they must eat his body and drink his blood. So, connecting the dots, he was foretelling at the wedding feast that the FORM of the body and blood he would give us to eat was in the form of wine, while in the very next passage after Cana he was telling us that he would shed that blood in replacement of the animal sacrifices of the Temple.

  10. acardnal says:

    NB: the miracle at the wedding feast in Cana was the Gospel reading in both the N.O. and the TLM/EF Mass on Sunday. Not always the same reading.

  11. Bob says:

    A bit off topic Father but I love the image that precedes this post. Is there anyway you can tell us what artists are responsible for each image? I love 99% of them but sometimes I don’t know who painted it. Thanks :)

  12. Bob: I like to leave treasure hunts for people. The artist’s name might have something to do with the word for “priests” in a certain Romance language where wine might be highly appreciated.

  13. acardnal says:

    Bob: use Google Images and do a search.

    https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&ogbl Click on the Camera icon and follow the instructions.

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