PONDER THIS

Does your mind wander during Mass? Do you ever find Mass hard to follow? Whether you answered “yes” to either of these, by simply asking the question, you’ve shown an interest in understanding your faith! I believe that a lot of men (and women, and kids) disengage in Mass and kind of “go through the motions.” But, I also believe that once you are engaged in Mass and the Catholic faith, you will find a great richness, and when I say “richness”, I mean the really good cheesecake kind of rich that makes you want to take very slow bites of, to thoroughly enjoy! So how do you get engaged in Mass? You prepare.
What follows on these pages is a collection of the Sunday Gospel readings we hear in Mass, with short “questions to ponder” after each of those readings. These were originally written once a week for members of the Men’s Club at St. Simon the Apostle Catholic Church in Indianapolis, and were sent out a couple of days before each Sunday Mass. The intent was for the busy young men, husbands, and dads in the parish to have an opportunity to read the Sunday Gospel passage, then read a question that they could ask themselves and perhaps relate between their lives and the Gospel, then ponder that message until they hear it again on Sunday. It’s like practice for a sport… you practice to improve so you can compete. Practicing for Mass works the same way, and I would argue that you’re relationship with God, and others, will improve!


LITURGICAL YEARS AND HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
You may or may not know (I didn’t!) that the Catholic Church has a repeating cycle of three “liturgical” years, so the same Sunday Gospel readings come up every third year:
“Year A” focuses on the Gospel of Matthew (2020/2023/2026);
“Year B” focuses on the Gospel of Mark (2021/2024/2027);
“Year C” focuses on the Gospel of Luke (2019/2022/2025).
The collection in this book is from the Gospel of Mark, or “Year B” in the Catholic Church.
Each year starts with the season of Advent, around December 1st, followed by Christmas, then a few weeks of “Ordinary Time,” then Lent and Easter, then more “Ordinary Time.”
To use this book, start by finding the liturgical calendar name of the upcoming Sunday. Examples are “Second Sunday of Advent” or “Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.” You can usually find this in your church bulletin, or look up “readings” on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website (www.usccb.org). Then, match the name of the upcoming Sunday with the Sunday in this book, read the Gospel passage and the question to ponder, and think about it. Don’t forget to go Mass on Sunday with your family, and see how God speaks to you!

Year B (Gospel of Mark)
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

MK 1:14-20
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. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.


Question to Ponder… We often use this phrase “fishers of men” during Lent. But what does being a “fisher of men” really mean to you? It’s not just casting a line out there and hoping for a bite. Think about what Jesus did, what the apostles did, what someone you know who is strong in faith does to “fish for men.” What do you use for bait and what do you do when you hook one?