Collect for 3rd Sunday Ordinary Time Year B

 

COLLECT SERIES.

The Mass: Collect series icon.

COLLECT 

The Collect for the Third Sunday of Year B reads as follows:

 

Almighty ever-living God,

direct our actions according to Your good pleasure,

That in the name of Your beloved Son,

we may abound in good works.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

 

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

 

In making this prayer tangible, the following reflection questions emerged:

1. What do I understand to be God’s good pleasure?
2. What actions am I asking God to direct to His good pleasure this coming week?
3. What good works will I be able abound in through the name of Jesus?
4. Why is important to direct my actions to the good pleasure of God?
5. What happens when my actions are done in my name or for my own honour and glory even if we are not aware of this motive?

 

 

GOSPEL REFLECTION

 

Today’s Gospel is from Mk 1:14-20.  It is important to note that the first words of the public ministry of Jesus was ‘Repent and believe the Gospel’.  How do I hear that as Jesus says it to me when I hear this Gospel at Mass?  We might ask ourselves what does it mean to repent and what does it mean to believe the Gospel.  If we are to believe the Gospel, we first need to know what is in the Gospel- in other words we need to educate ourselves on what Jesus teaches and why.  We also need to examine our lives and see whether our lives are reflected in the message of the Gospel? Is it like looking in the mirror as we see the reflection or is my life nothing like the Gospel?

A good litmus test can also be whether other people would pick us out to be practising Catholics by the lives we lead or would they not see anything that resembles it.  For example, are we identifying ourselves as practising Catholics but living lives and professing and/or supporting policies that are opposed to the real teachings of the Catholic Church?  If that Is the case, we are providing scandal and we can make the decision to repent. We need to make the decision to change our ways and understand the teachings of the church and support and support them.   For example we cannot call ourselves a practising catholic and support a political party that promotes in any way abortion.

 

The other aspect to this Gospel is the calling of the disciples.  They heard the call of Jesus and answered it without hesitation. They walked away from their present life as fishermen to become disciples of Jesus who made them into fishers of people.  In other words, our former lives/skills are not lost completely when we make a radical decision to follow Jesus.  Rather, Jesus uses the skills, abilities and our personalities to build up the kingdom.

What do we need to do to put down our nets and follow Jesus? What nets do we want to hold on to or cant let go?  Which nets entangle us?  How do we respond when He calls us to Repent and believe the Good News and follow Him every day?

May we have the courage to repent and believe the Good News and to follow Him through the Gospel this coming week.