OUR MOTHER OF MERCY THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

The Gospel is from Mark 1:14-20. Jesus came to announce to all men the good news of God's eternal plan for them. He spent his public life convincing the Jews of Palestine of the truth of this message, and he died on the cross because he claimed to be that he was God's divine Son, who had come in human nature to raise all men to the standing and status of adopted sons of God. That very death, cruel and unjust though it was, was part of the divine plan. He conquered death and was raised from the grave to prove that we too, if we accept his divine gospel and live by it, will be raised from the dead and reign with Christ in the kingdom of his Father forever. Christ preached this doctrine in Palestine. It is the doctrine for which he gave his human life and which he gave to his Apostles to hand down to all future generations. This is the self-same doctrine preached by Christ's Church to all men today. It is the good news of God's mercy and love toward us weak, mortal creatures. To some it seems too good to be true; it would indeed be so if God were a limited, finite being like us, but he is Being itself. He is without limit, his goodness and love are limitless as is his nature. What God can see in creatures has ever been a puzzle to thinking man. One of the psalm-writers said centuries ago: "What is man that you should spare a thought for him, the son of man that you should care for him" (Ps. 8 :4)? Many a saint too, has repeated this remark ever since.

We cannot hope to fathom the mind of God, nor do we need to. He has gone to such a length as the humiliation of his divine Son in the incarnation in order to give us a new standing in relation to himself and a new mode of eternal living after death. We are still God's creatures, "the work of his hands," but through accepting Christ and his gospel—his message of divine truth—we are no longer mere mortals. We shall die, but

death is the beginning of the true life which God has arranged for us. It is no wonder that St. Paul could cry out: "O death where is your victory, O death, where is your sting?"

We Christians should be the happiest people on earth. We know why we are here, we know where we are going and we know how to get there. There are trials and troubles which beset us on our journey; there are rough parts of the road and weaknesses in our human nature which often lead us off the right road, but we are not left to our own hu-man resources. We have help from above to strengthen and comfort us on our journey. We have divine aids in the Church which Christ set us and we have the guarantee of our Good Shepherd that he will keep us in his fold or bring us back should we foolishly wander from it (Jn. 10: 14; Lk. 1.5:4-7).

We Christians can indeed be the happiest people on earth, if we live according to the divine good news revealed to us through Christ. "Repent and believe in the gospel," Christ told the people of Galilee. The same call goes out from our loving Savior to each of us today: repent—change your outlook on life— and see it as God sees it to be for us, a short journey toward heaven. If we really believe in the gospel of Christ, the revelation of God's plan for our eternal happiness, our earthly troubles will look small, our trials and temptations will appear to us as they really are—a means of earning the eternal victory. Christ, the innocent victim for our salvation, has gone before us, carrying his heavy cross; can we refuse to carry the relatively lighter cross which he places on our shoulders as our means of making atonement for our own failings and for those of our fellowmen? God forbid that we should! If we have failed in the past, let us repent today and show our belief in the truth of the Christian gospel, by living as true Christians who are on their way to heaven.

— Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

Our Mother of Mercy Page 4

Mass Schedule:

Monday-Friday — 7 a.m.

Saturday — 8 a.m.

Saturday — 5 p.m.

Sunday — 10 a.m.

Holy Day -- see bulletin

Reconciliation (Confession):

Friday & Saturday Confessions

9:00 a.m. — noon

Office Hours:

Mon, Wed, & Fri

10 a.m. — 3 p.m.

Bulletin printed in-house at: Our Mother of Mercy

Catholic Church

1001 E Terrell Avenue Fort Worth, TX 76104

817-335-1695 ommftworth1@gmail.com

Pastor: Fr. Bartlomiej “Bart” Jasilek, SVD

Parish Secretary: Lydia Salas

Bookkeeper: Jennifer Rattliff

Musician: Zenobia Collins

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Help Line: 817-768-1950/svdpomm@gmail.com

Sick/Shut-In Outreach Ministry:

Beverly Carter

817-551-1449/bacarter913@gmail.com

Lector Coordinator:

Lanette Martinez Vidaurri

817-228-3338/lanettemartinez@ymail.com

Eucharistic Coordinator:

Lana Wilborn

817-980-0138/lolan42@yahoo.com

Pastoral Council:

Mrs. Linda Zamora

Mr. Fred Bob

Ms. Angelita Martinez

Financial Council:

Mr. Arthur Vidaurri

Ms. Romel Clayton

Mr. Juan Ibarra

Maintenance/Custodial: Michael Ussin

THE CLAVER FAMILY

Knights of Peter Claver—Our Mother of Mercy Council #89

Ladies Auxiliary—St. Veronica Count #89

Junior Daughters: Our Lady of Snow Court #89

Junior Knights: Our Mother of Mercy Branch #89

BON VOYAGE TRAVELS

Mary Pichon Battle

Travel Agent/Owner

985-774-3141 battlemary@hotmail.com

January 17th Collection

Regular:

Parish Maintenance:

Social Outreach:

St. Vincent de Paul:

Mass Intentions:

St. Anne’s—Candles:

Choir Donation:

Bulletin Ad:

Initial Offering:

Solemnity of Mary:

Priest Care:

Church of Latin America:

Online 1/19—1/22:

Thank you so much for your generosity and support

of our Parish.

$2,882.50

$130.00

$500.00

$275.00

$20.00

$83.50

$100.00

$120.00

$15.00

$10.00

$35.00

$20.00

$50.00

Jack Pais

Sales Consultant

Mobile 817-988-6344

Interactive Security and Video Surveillance Free Doorbell Camera

Military Cash ACR-1751000 & FAL-8070; TX Burg#B17968; ACR-1874519

Zenobia H Collins Pianist

zenobiacollins@sbcglobal.net 682.365.4156 PO Box 200162, Arlington, Texas 76006

In Loving Memory of Larry & Olga Martinez, One Day at a Time.

Bulletin Sponsors—Thank You for Supporting our Parish Family!

Your advertise-ment can go here

YOUR MESSAGE COULD BE HERE!

Contact the OMM office at 817-335-1695 or ommftworth1@gmail.com

Historically African-American Catholic Church—all are welcome! January 24, 2021

PRAYER CORNER

Almighty God, as we ask your help

for our brothers and sisters who are ill,

we ask you to help us to be healing people in our time and place.

May your love touch others through us,

and may I help all people to live in peace.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

St. Frances of Assisi

JESUS SPEAKS TO US

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:

“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen.

Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.

Mark 1:14-18

Rev. Jerome Gaston LeDoux

February 26, 1930—January 7, 2019

FATHER BART’S CORNER My sisters and brothers: St. Joseph Freinademetz, the missionary

He was born April 15, 1852 in Pedraces in Val Gadena, the Tyrolean Alps, Italy into a pious farm family, the fourth of twelve children. Joseph was a polymath who knew seven languages. Ordained in Bressanone, Italian Tyrol on July 25, 1875. Joined the Divine Word Missionaries when the congregation was only three years old. Missionary to China in 1879; he spent the rest of his life there, and did all he could to be Chinese in order to convert the Chinese.

He worked initially with Franciscan missionaries so he and his group could get acclimated. The bishop of Hong Kong planned to put Father Joseph in charge of the group, and later to ordain him as bishop; Joseph refused to leave the bishop's office until his superior had changed his mind and given the honor to some one else.

It was a time of persecution of Christians in China; many in authority resented foreigners of any sort, and others were openly anti-Christian no matter if the faithful were native or foreign. Father Joseph, his co-workers and his flock were chased from place to place, arrested, routinely beaten. Joseph is reported to have preached to his attackers while they were beating him; they were so moved and impressed, they left.

The abuse of the missionaries led to some foreign governments to dispatch armed forces to China to protect them. The Chinese government reacted by expelling all foreigners. Father Joseph stayed to minister covertly to the converts, finally resuming his work openly after the deportation orders were lifted. On the roads and from the mission, he worked to teach and convert up to the very end of his life.

“Love is the only language everyone understands.” - Saint Joseph

Canonization date: October 5, 2003 by Pope John Paul II.

With prayers and love,

Fr. Bart, S..V.D

Our Mother of Mercy Page 3 Our Mother of Mercy Page 2

Weekly Readings

1/25— ACTS 22:3-16 or

ACTS 9:1-22; MK 16:15-18

1/26—2 TM 1:1-8 or TI 1:15-5;

MK 3:31-35

1/27—HEB 10:11-18; MK 4:1-20

1/28—HEB 10:19-25; MK 4:21-25

1/29—HEB 10:32-39; MK 4:26-34

1/30—HEB 11:1-2, 8-19;

MK 4:35-41

1/31—DT 18:15-20;1 COR 7:32-35;

MK 1:21-28

PARISH CORNER

St. Paul was born at Tarsus, Cilicia, of Jewish parents who were descended from the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Roman citizen from birth. As he was "a young man" at the stoning of Stephen and "an old man" when writing to Philemon, about the year 63, he was probably born around the beginning of the Christian era. To complete his schooling, St. Paul was sent to Jerusalem, where he sat at the feet of the learned Gamaliel and was educated in the strict observance of the ancestral Law. Here he also acquired a good knowledge of exegesis and was trained in the practice of disputation. As a convinced and zealous Pharisee, he returned to Tarsus before the public life of Christ opened in Palestine.

Some time after the death of Our Lord, St. Paul returned to Palestine. His profound conviction made his zeal develop to a religious fanaticism against the infant Church. He took part in the stoning of the first martyr, St. Stephen, and in the fierce persecution of the Christians that followed.

Entrusted with a formal mission from the high priest, he departed for Damascus to arrest the Christians there and bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was nearing Damascus, about noon, a light from heaven suddenly blazed round him. Jesus with His glorified body appeared to him and addressed him, turning him away from his apparently

successful career.

An immediate transformation was wrought in the soul of St. Paul. He was suddenly converted to the Christian Faith. He was baptized, changed his name from Saul to Paul. He was martyred as an Apostle in Rome around 65 AD..

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Society of St. Vincent de P a u l O u r M o t h e r o f Mercy Conference would like to thank all of the members of our Church Family for the success of the Angel Tree and Food Baskets during the Holiday Season! If you gave food, money, gift(s) for an Angel, or said a prayer on our behalf we are forever grateful.

New Door on Sacristy

Thank you to our benefactors for the new door on the Sacristy.

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

PRAYER IN THE

CHRISTIAN LIFE

Jesus hears our prayer

2616 Prayer to Jesus is answered by him already during his ministry, through signs that anticipate the power of his death

and Resurrection: Jesus hears the prayer of faith, expressed in words (the leper, Jairus, the Canaanite woman, the good thief)84 or in silence (the bearers of the paralytic, the woman with a hemorrhage who touches his clothes, the tears and ointment of the sinful woman).85 The urgent request of the blind men, "Have mercy on us, Son of David" or "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" has-been renewed in the traditional prayer to Jesus known as the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!"86 Healing infirmities or forgiving sins, Jesus always responds to a prayer offered in faith: "Your faith has made you well; go in peace."

St. Augustine wonderfully summarizes the three dimensions of Jesus' prayer: "He prays for us as our priest, prays in us as our Head, and is prayed to by us as our God. Therefore let us acknowledge our voice in him and his in us."

84 Cf. Mk 1:40-41; 5:36; 7:29; Cf. Lk 23:39-43. 85 Cf. Mk 25; 5:28; Lk 7:37-38.

86 Mt 9:27, Mk 10:48

That we may hear Jesus’ personal invitation to “Follow Him” and respond by generously sharing all our gifts.

Monday, January 25

Live Stream on

our Church Website

Mass: 7 a.m.

Tuesday, January 26

Live Stream on

our Church Website

Mass: 7 a.m.

Wednesday, January 27

Live Stream on

our Church Website

Mass: 7 a.m.

Thursday, January 28

Live Stream on

our Church Website

Mass: 7 a.m.

Friday, January 29

Live Stream on

our Church Website

Mass: 7 a.m.

Adoration: 8:00 a.m.—noon

Saturday, January 30

Live Stream on

our Church Website

Mass: 8 a.m.

Mass: 5 p.m.

Sunday, January 31

Live Stream on

our Church Website

Mass: 10 a.m.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Vocation View The reign of God is now. Be

willing to drop what you are

doing to follow Jesus’ call.

Believe that God will give you

what you need.

Divine Word Vocation Office 1

-800-553-3321

www.svdvocations.org