WEDNESDAY AFTER EPIPHANY - Gospel (Mark 6:45 – 52) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” (Mk 6:50)

FIRST READING - 1 Jn 4:11-18

"If we love one another, God remains in us."

A reading from the letter of John

¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

^13 [a]This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. ¹⁶ We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. ¹⁷ In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mk 6:45-52

Các ông thấy Đức Giê-su đi trên mặt biển.

✠Tin Mừng Chúa Giê-su Ki-tô theo thánh Mác-cô.

⁴⁵ Sau khi cho năm ngàn người được ăn no nê, lập tức, Đức Giê-su bắt các môn đệ xuống thuyền qua bờ bên kia trước, về phía thành Bết-xai-đa, trong lúc Người giải tán đám đông. ⁴⁶ Sau khi cho họ đi, Người lên núi cầu nguyện. ⁴⁷ Chiều đến, chiếc thuyền đang ở giữa biển hồ, chỉ còn một mình Người ở trên đất. ⁴⁸ Người thấy các ông phải vất vả chèo chống vì gió ngược, nên vào khoảng canh tư đêm ấy, Người đi trên mặt biển mà đến với các ông, và Người định vượt các ông. ⁴⁹ Nhưng khi các ông thấy Người đi trên mặt biển, lại tưởng là ma, thì la lên. ⁵⁰ Quả thế, tất cả các ông đều nhìn thấy Người và đều hoảng hốt. Lập tức, Người bảo các ông : “Cứ yên tâm, chính Thầy đây, đừng sợ !” ⁵¹ Người lên thuyền với các ông, và gió lặng. Các ông cảm thấy bàng hoàng sửng sốt, ⁵² vì các ông đã không hiểu phép lạ bánh hoá nhiều : lòng các ông còn chai đá !

WEDNESDAY AFTER EPIPHANY - Gospel (Mark 6:45 – 52)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Today's Word of God, God the Father, teaches humanity how to live according to His Word in today’s day and age.

That is to look upon the example of Jesus Christ, who, after instructing His faithful disciples, also had to unite intimately with God the Father through prayer and abiding with Him.

Through the life and the shining example of Jesus Christ, who lived a life directed toward God the Father, He also desires that all His children, when following and working for God the Father, leave unnecessary things behind, to spend time with God the Father, so that He may accompany us and strengthen us to fight against the temptation of Satan.

Today's Word of God also teaches His disciples to understand that, when following God the Father from the beginning to the present, they should reflect on how His love and grace have been a providence for their souls and bodies.

From that point forward, we must daily increase our faith with an absolute firm belief in God the Father’s plan and power as it is manifest upon our very souls and bodies. Through this, we may gain God the Father’s strength dwelling within us to resist the temptations and threats of the world and of Satan.

Like the image of the trusted apostles of Jesus Christ in the past, take it as a Word from God the Father instructing us to unite more intimately with God the Father, to live more closely with Him, and to have absolute faith in His power and grace, which He manifested upon our very souls and bodies, enabling us to fight against the temptations brought forth by Satan through strong faith, through hope, and trust in His power in the face of the great storms, the trials, and the darkness of faith that Satan brings.

Today's Word of God instructs His disciples to know to rely on His absolute power in all places and at all times; do not stray from Him; do not doubt His power manifested upon our very souls and bodies. Entrust and rely on God's grace, and believe that He can do all things, and that even Satan must submit and bow down to His power.

These are the things that God the Father warns His disciples about when following His plan: they must be vigilant against Satan's temptations, and they must submit to God the Father’s holy will in all places and at all times.

Having absolute faith in His power manifested upon our very souls and bodies, upon the Real Presence Word of God, and upon the graces bestowed by God, the One who has power over Satan, and can force Satan to submit.

To achieve these things, and to receive these graces, He desires that the disciples in His plan and all His children must unite more intimately with God the Father through prayer, just as the image of Jesus Christ shows, after completing His work of the day, at night He was with God the Father, so that He could be accompany and grant Him strength to fight against the legions of Satan.

Thanks be to God. Amen