Sunday Mass for the 4th Sunday Ordinary Time 2021 - Year B

00:13 - We really appreciate it. We are here – and do what we do – for you and hopefully with you.

00:21 - 2021 has begun with a bang. We hoped and prayed that COVID-19 would start to loosen its grip.

00:30 - Tragically, in the last month, we have seen a massive upsurge of infections.

00:36 - We know that many people have lost loved ones, and friends, and colleagues.

00:39 - The church too has lost some of our well-loved pastors – most notably the coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Durban, Abel Gabuza.

00:51 - We offer you condolences for your loss. Please be assured of our prayers for you and those whose lives have been claimed in this pandemic which rages amongst us.

01:04 - Just after Christmas, as infection rates spiraled out of control, churches were closed again.

01:11 - This is sad and deeply troubling. The church is, for many, a place of solace.

01:17 - Yet, in these circumstances, this was the right thing to do to preserve life.

01:23 - We cannot recreate online what we have when we gather in person in our parishes.

01:28 - Yet, over the past almost a year, we have tried to offer you some spiritual input by using the gift of technology God has given us.

01:38 - Email retreats and talks, as well as reflections, and our weekly masses have been attempts to reach out spiritually.

01:46 - The current level 3 adjusted lockdown means that our places of worship are closed.

01:53 - This might persist beyond the 15th of February.

01:57 - And we know that Ash Wednesday is on the 17th of February. And so we are already preparing ourselves for Ash Wednesday to see what we will be able to do.

02:06 - If they are, all indications will be that it will be for limited numbers.

02:09 - Ash Wednesday is a very important day for many of us and we would not want anyone to feel that this day has been diminished in any way.

02:19 - And so here at the Jesuit Institute, we are planning to mark Ash Wednesday by doing two things: First of all, we are going to offer a morning of reflection online, and secondly, we will offer an online mass in which we will invite you as well to join in the imposition of ashes.

02:39 - During Holy Week, we will also offer a Holy Week retreat online from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday.

02:48 - We believe, as St Paul says: “We can do any thing in Christ who strengthens us”.

02:55 - In the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic, we need to draw nearer and nearer to Christ for the strength that we need so that we can live through this pandemic and we hoping that we can help you strengthen your relationship with the Lord and live with greater faith, hope and love.

03:15 - If you would like to know more please feel free to contact the Jesuit Institute. You can email us at admin@jesuitinstitute. org. za or sign Or you can log on to our website and sign up to our database for newsletter and regular updates on what we are doing.

03:38 - Lastly, friends may God bless you and your loved ones.

03:43 - And we beg you wear a mask, wash your hands, keep your distance and stay safe.

03:51 - so that together, with Christ’s strength we can overcome this pandemic which is a plague amongst us.

04:03 - Welcome to St. Ignatius Chapel. Today we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time.

04:09 - Our celebrant today is Jesuit Fr. Bruce Botha SJ.

04:47 - In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

04:50 - [Amen. ] The Lord be with you. [And with your spirit. ] As we gather celebrating the love of the Lord for us, we call to mind our loved ones, people who have been affected by this pandemic, especially those who have lost their lives, and so many have lost them so recently.

05:13 - We dedicate this mass for them, for the repose of their souls.

05:24 - You came to heal the contrite of heart. Lord, have mercy.

05:30 - [Lord, have mercy. ] You came to bind up our wounds and to forgive our sins.

05:36 - Christ, have mercy. [Christ, have mercy. ] You came that we might have a new and abundant life.

05:45 - Lord, have mercy. [Lord, have mercy. ] And may almighty God have mercy on us, may he forgive us our sins, and bring us to a new and everlasting life.

05:57 - [Amen. ] Let us now give God glory. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to people of good will.

06:06 - We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.

06:20 - Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.

06:42 - For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.

06:55 - Amen. Let us pray: Grant us, Lord our God, that we may honour you with all our mind, love everyone in truth of heart, we ask this 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.

07:24 - [Amen. ] A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy.

07:39 - Moses spoke to the people saying, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren—him you shall heed— just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, or see this great fire any more, lest I die. ’ And the Lord said to me, ‘They have rightly said all that they have spoken.

08:12 - I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

08:24 - And whoever will not give heed to my words which he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

08:33 - But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. ’ The word of the Lord.

08:48 - [Thanks be to God. ] The response: Oh that today you would listen to his voice.

08:54 - Harden not your hearts. [Oh that today you would listen to his voice.

09:00 - Harden not your hearts. ] Come let us ring out our joy to the Lord.

09:06 - Hail the rock who saves us! Let us come into his presence giving thanks.

09:12 - Let us hail him with a song of praise. [Oh that today you would listen to his voice.

09:20 - Harden not your hearts. ] Oh come let us bow and bend low, let us kneel before the God who made us.

09:29 - For he is our God, and we the people who belong to his pasture, the flock that is led by his hand.

09:38 - [Oh that today you would listen to his voice.

09:42 - Harden not your hearts. ] Oh that today you would listen to his voice.

09:48 - Harden not your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the desert, when your forebears put me to the test, when they tried me, though they saw my work.

10:00 - [Oh that today you would listen to his voice.

10:04 - Harden not your hearts. ] A reading from the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians.

10:19 - Brothers and sisters, I want you to be free from anxieties.

10:24 - The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided.

10:38 - And the unmarried woman or virgin is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband.

10:53 - I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

11:06 - The word of the Lord. [Thanks be to God. ] Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned.

11:34 - Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! The Lord be with you.

11:49 - [And with your spirit] A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark.

11:55 - [Glory to you, O Lord. ] In the city of Capernaum; the Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.

12:06 - And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, not as the scribes.

12:14 - And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. ” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” The unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.

12:45 - They were all amazed, so that they questioned amongst themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. ” And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

13:10 - This is the Gospel of the Lord. [Praise to you, Lord, Jesus Christ. ] What is crucial to our understanding of today’s gospel is the use of personal pronouns, and who is using them.

13:35 - The evil spirit, when addressing Jesus, uses the plural pronoun “us” to refer to itself.

13:45 - “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” But a verse later, he uses the singular, “I”, as in “I know who you are, the Holy One of God. ” For a moment, let’s unpack what this might mean.

14:06 - This confusion of personal pronouns by the evil spirit indicates that while there is one body, there are two spirits, two minds, vying for control of this man.

14:21 - In other encounters with people possessed by evil spirits, we are told how these spirits try to harm the person by throwing them into the fire, making them collapse and so on.

14:37 - This two-mindedness, these opposing forces fighting for control of the man, and yes, of ourselves too, are always, in some way, leading to hurt or destruction.

14:55 - This experience of being controlled by other desires, by the deeper and maybe darker sides of ourselves, is not a new insight.

15:08 - If you have ever felt deeply divided in yourself about who you are, who you want to be, and the actual behaviours that you exhibit, you are not alone.

15:23 - We need look no further than St Paul writing to the Romans, in Chapter 7, where he confesses that he does the bad that he does not want to do and that he cannot do the good that he so deeply desires to.

15:42 - It’s true that sometimes good people do bad things, and also true that sometimes bad people do good things.

15:53 - It is exceptionally rare that someone good is consistently good, that everything which they say and do is of a piece, when no part of their life is in contradiction to any other part.

16:11 - Jesus is one such person, and I believe that’s what so impressed his audience.

16:20 - We are told that he “taught them with authority, not like the scribes. ” Remember that Jesus, condemned the scribes and Pharisees for being hypocrites, for making laws which oppressed people rather than liberated them.

16:41 - His authority was his authenticity, and his integrity.

16:50 - People believed him and respected him because his values, his words and his actions were all in alignment.

17:00 - Jesus did not have a private set of values which were different to the values that he proclaimed publicly.

17:09 - Or put it differently, neither his heart nor his mind was divided.

17:19 - He was single-minded, let’s rather say focused on God his father.

17:27 - And in this, he was following the command that God had given to the Israelites in Deuteronomy, which was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your spirit, with all your strength.

17:44 - This command to love wholeheartedly can seem a little daunting, and we can wonder where the space is to love others or even ourselves.

17:59 - This command seems more suited for the angels and the saints, rather than us ordinary mortals.

18:08 - In the gospel of Luke, we are told the story of Jesus being asked which commandment was the greatest.

18:19 - Jesus repeats this command from Deuteronomy that loving God wholeheartedly, and then, without prompting, he goes on to say there is a second commandment like it, that is to love your neighbour.

18:40 - In other words, we love God best when we are loving our brothers and sisters, when we are working to make the world a better place, a more just, a more loving place.

18:58 - God does not ask us to choose between loving partners or children but to love God through our love for them.

19:09 - There is no divided hearts or minds in this kind of love.

19:21 - When we are able to love in this way, when we are loving as Jesus did, then I believe we are more able to live lives of integrity and authenticity, lives in which our values, our words, our choices and our actions are all in alignment.

20:01 - We pray now our creed. We use the Apostles Creed.

20:08 - I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

20:44 - I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

20:58 - [Amen. ] With faith in the love of God for us, his children, we bring him our prayers.

21:10 - Let us pray for all those men and women called to be prophets: that they may be strengthened by God and given insight to announce new ways of addressing the issues of poverty, crime, discrimination, addiction and abuse so that we may live in peace as Children of God.

21:34 - We pray to the Lord. [Lord, hear us. ] Let us pray for a renewal and deepening of love: that the Spirit of God will help us to love one another as God has loved us.

21:50 - We pray to the Lord. [Lord, hear our prayer. ] Let us pray for all those suffering due to the COVID 19 pandemic: that the Lord will comfort the bereaved, bring healing to the sick, and hope to those who are unemployed.

22:10 - We pray to the Lord. [Lord, hear our prayer. ] Let us pray for ourselves and for all leaders of our community: that we may live lives of service and integrity.

22:28 - We pray to the Lord. [Lord, hear our prayer. ] Lord God, we surrender to you our divided hearts and minds, the competing forces of life and death, love and selfishness.

22:47 - In the prayers we lift up to you, hear the voice of your people and give us what we need, for we ask them all through Christ our Lord.

22:57 - Amen. Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have this bread to offer: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life.

23:45 - [Blessed be God for ever. ] Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have this wine to offer: fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become for us our spiritual drink.

24:08 - [Blessed be God for ever. ] Pray, now, brothers and sisters, that these gifts that we bring, may be acceptable to God our almighty Father.

24:25 - [May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of God’s name, for our good and the good of all God’s holy Church. ] Lord God, we bring to your altar these offerings of our service.

24:43 - Be pleased to receive them we pray, and transform them into the sacrament of our redemption.

24:50 - We ask this through Christ, our Lord. [Amen] The Lord be with you.

24:58 - [And with your spirit. ] Lift up your hearts.

25:01 - [We lift them up to the Lord. ] Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

25:06 - [It is right and just. ] It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, father of mercies and faithful God.

25:18 - For you have given us Jesus Christ, your Son, as our Lord and redeemer.

25:24 - You always show compassion to children, the poor, for the sick, and for sinners.

25:31 - You became a neighbour to the oppressed and the afflicted.

25:35 - By word and deed, you announced to the world that you are our father, that you care for all your sons and daughters.

25:44 - And so with all the angels and saints, we exalt and bless your name, sing the hymn of your glory, as without end we acclaim: Holy, Holy, Holy [Lord God of hosts.

25:58 - Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.

26:04 - Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

26:08 - Hosanna in the highest. ] You are indeed Holy and to be glorified, O God, who loves the human race, who always walks with us on the journey of life.

26:21 - Blessed indeed is your Son, present in our midst we are gathered in his love.

26:27 - As he once did for the disciples, so he now does for us.

26:31 - He opens the Scriptures, he breaks the bread.

26:35 - Therefore, Father most merciful, we ask that you send forth your Holy Spirit to sanctify these gifts of bread and wine, that they may become for us the Body and the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

26:52 - The day before he was to suffer, the night of the last supper, he took bread, he said the blessing, he broke the bread and he gave it to his disciples, saying: TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, EAT OF IT, THIS IS MY BODY, WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.

27:22 - When supper was ended, he took the cup filled with wine, and again giving you thanks and praise, he gave the cup to his disciples, saying: TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, DRINK FROM IT, THIS IS THE CUP OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT, IT WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR ALL SO THAT SINS MAY BE FORGIVEN.

27:54 - DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME. Let us now proclaim the mystery of our faith.

28:10 - We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your resurrection until you come again.

28:18 - Therefore, holy Father, as we celebrate the memorial of Christ, your Son, our Saviour, whom you led through his Passion and death on the cross to the glory of the resurrection, and who you have seated at your right hand, we proclaim the work of your love until he comes again.

28:38 - We offer you the bread of life, the cup of blessing.

28:45 - Look with favour on the offering of your Church, which we show forth the Paschal sacrifice of Christ that has been handed on to us.

28:55 - Grant that by the power of the spirit of your love we may be counted now until the day of eternity among the members of your Son, in whose body and blood we have communion.

29:09 - Bring your Church, O Lord, in perfect faith and love, together with Francis our Pope, with Buti and Duncan our bishops, with all bishops, priests and deacons, and the entire people you have made your own.

29:31 - Open our eyes to the needs of our brothers and sisters, inspire in us words and actions, to comfort those who labour and are burdened, make us serve them truly, just as Christ did and as he commands us to do.

29:51 - May your Church stand as a living witness to truth and freedom, to peace and justice, that all people may be raised up to a new hope.

30:04 - Remember our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the peace of Christ, and all the dead whose faith you alone have known, admit them to rejoice in the light of your presence, and in the resurrection, give them the fullness of life.

30:25 - Grant also to us, when our earthly pilgrimage is done, that we may come to an eternal dwelling place, and live with you forever.

30:35 - There, in communion with the blessed virgin Mary, mother of God, with Saint Joseph her husband, the apostles and the martyrs, and with all the saints, we shall praise and exalt you through Christ, our Lord.

30:53 - Through him, with him, and in him, O God almighty Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours almighty Father, forever and ever.

31:09 - [Amen. ] At the Saviour’s command and formed by divine teaching we dare to pray: Our Father, [who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

31:33 - Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. ] Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day.

31:54 - By the help of your mercy, keep us free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await in joyful hope and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

32:07 - [For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever. ] Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your Apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you, look not on our sin, but on the faith of your Church, and grant her peace and the unity of your kingdom, where you live and reign for ever and ever.

32:33 - [Amen. ] The peace of the Lord be with you always.

32:37 - [And with your spirit. ] Lamb of God, [you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

32:49 - Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

32:54 - Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace. ] So my brothers and sisters, behold the Lamb of God, behold the one who takes away the sins of the world.

33:12 - How happy are we who are those called to the supper of the Lamb.

33:17 - [Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. ] Although you cannot receive physical communion with us now, we invite you into a moment of spiritual communion.

33:41 - The great medieval theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas, defined spiritual communion as: “an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament”, and “a loving embrace as though we had already received him. ” His words are echoed by the great mystic, and fellow doctor of the church, St. Teresa of Avila, who wrote: “When you do not receive Communion, and do not attend Mass, you can make a spiritual communion which is a most beneficial practice.

34:13 - By it, the love of God will be greatly impressed on you. ” At this moment we invite you to focus on Christ, and your longing for union with him.

34:26 - Express your desire to feel his grace coursing through you, giving you strength and courage, particularly in these difficult times.

34:36 - In your desiring union you are united with us, and to Christ.

34:42 - In this moment we experience the reality that is already here.

36:18 - Let us pray. Almighty God, nourished by these redeeming gifts, we pray that through this help to eternal salvation, true faith may ever increase.

36:37 - We ask this through Christ, our Lord. [Amen. ] The peace of the Lord be with you always.

36:44 - [And with your spirit. ] Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.

36:51 - [Amen. ] Go now in peace, giving God glory with your lives.

36:56 - [Thanks be to God. ].