Sunday 31st January 2016
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time 11am. Sung Mass at St. John Fisher Catholic Church Home to the Southend Ordinariate Mission Celebrant: Fr. Jeff Woolnough Dr. Scott Hahn explains the readings for this Sunday... Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-5 , 17-19 Psalm 71: 1-6 , 15-17 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 Luke 4:21-30 God's words in today's First Reading point us beyond Jeremiah to Jesus. Like Jeremiah, Jesus was consecrated in the womb and sent as a "prophet to the nations" (see Luke 1:31-33 ). Like the prophets before Him, Jesus too faces hostility. In today's Gospel, the crowd in His hometown synagogue quickly turns on Him, apparently demanding a sign, some proof of divine origins - that He's more than just "the son of Joseph." The sign He gives them is that of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. From their colorful careers Jesus draws two stories. In each, the prophets bypass "many...in Israel" to bestow God's blessings on non-Is