News & Events
Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
Posted in News
25th January 2026
Gospel Mt 4:12-23
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.
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Homily
There are very few people in life who are successful by themselves. Many very worthwhile initiatives never make it to fruition because of the inability of leaders to galvanize the masses. At the same time many movements which we may not think very much of are successful because of the ability of their leaders to make people see great possibilities. Successful political leaders are like that. They have the ability to communicate the vision in such a way that the masses buy into it and are willing to work for it. We saw that happening in the U.S.A. last year during the elections. The big question now is whether the democrats have a dream capable of galvanizing the millions of Americans and which of them is capable of communicating their vision for the United States most effectively. True leaders communicate and share the vision in such a way that others buy into it.
In the gospel passage given to us for our meditation we see this same dynamic in operation. Jesus has a vision for his society and for the world, a vision which spoke of restored harmony for all. He makes a deliberate choice, and He establishes himself in the border country between the lands of the Israelites and Canaanites, two warring nations. And it was between these two warring peoples, sworn enemies of each other, that Jesus began to proclaim his vision for Israel and for the world, a vision which spoke of harmony. Proclaiming the vision however was not enough, he chose persons with whom he could share the vision and who would become so enthused that they too would spend their lives proclaiming and sharing the vision. So Jesus calls the disciples, he tells them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Jesus shared his vision with his disciples not simply by teaching them but also by the example of his life. So, the gospel tells us that “He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.” That the disciples of Jesus’ time caught the vision and shared it very successfully is evidenced by the millions of people who today call themselves Christian. What is evident today however is that we, the present-day disciples, do not seem to be having much success in spreading the vision. The world no longer accepts the vision. We no longer pass it on. What is evident is that religiously, Islam seems to be sharing its vision far more successfully than we share ours
Pope John Paul II was very aware of this and so called for a new evangelization, with new methods and fresh zeal. This is what the great evangelizing saints did in their time. Saints like Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis, Dominic and Teresa of Avila brought Europe back when in the Middle Ages all seemed lost. Great reforming saints like Robert Bellamine did it in the Counter Reformation, and you and I are called to do it now. No one else will do it for us. If you and I do not do it, it will not be done, and the great vision of Jesus of a world living in harmony with God, a world in which humans live in harmony with each other and with nature will not touch the lives of so many of our time. The important question for us is, are you and I captivated by this vision of the Kingdom so that like the first disciples and many others during the course of history already cited, we are willing to expend time and energy seeking to bring it into being? The problem for us is that we live in an extremely individualistic age which does not value community. Community living is the fruit of true harmony and anything which cuts into the “my” is not valued. The lives of the saints, our heroes in the faith, teach us a different lesson. Here were persons who, having other options, gave their very lives for the sake of the vision. We need only cite Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and her sisters. The challenge for us is to rise above our individualistic tendencies and allow the vision of a world in which people accept God’s law as their way of life and thus usher in the time of universal peace, harmony and well-being for all. This vision, proclaimed already by the prophets in the Deuteronomic Code must overtake us totally. Without giving our hearts and minds to the vision we are not really disciples of Jesus. His call has not captivated us.
We live in a very complex and complicated world. We need to start thinking of ways in which we can use the various inventions of our times to spread the Gospel of Jesus. The old ways no longer work and while we allow the world to dream afresh of new ways of communicating, we do not use the new inventions to help us stir the minds and hearts of the new generations to build communities of harmony and peace. In this regard the life of Saint Carlo Acutis, fifteen years old at the time of his death, one of the new saints of the Church must be studied and his example followed.
We pray then that God’s vision for our world touches our lives, that we become enthused by it and with it, that we be capable of sharing it with others, so that we together build the new society which is so lacking in our time.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, your vision for the world as proclaimed and lived by Jesus once fired the hearts of men and women who then gave their time and energy to making this vision a reality. We, your disciples, need a new conviction in our minds and a new fire in our hearts so that we be able to give time and energy to making this vision known throughout our world. Let your Spirit give this conviction to our minds and put this fire in our hearts so that like the great saints of yesteryear we may make your vision known and lived. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our Mother and your Son Jesus. Amen
