20210112 Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time - the priesthood of the baptized -

 

20210112 Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time - the priesthood of the baptized -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I read an interesting and joyful article on Vatican news website. With the Motu proprio Spiritus Domini, Pope Francis institutionalized that the ministries of Lector and Acolyte are to be open to women.

 

I think introducing this article is good enough for the homily of today's Gospel. Because today's Gospel is talking about the authority of Jesus.

 

Jesus taught with authority and he commanded the unclean spirits with authority and they obeyed him. From today's Gospel, we can see how the authority of Jesus comes to us. It comes to us by his teaching and his wondrous work. I want to talk about "teaching" today. This teaching is well described by the communion antiphon of today. 

 

" For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light."

 

 

We sometimes, actually most of the times, can not understand what he says to us. It is quite disappointing and it is frustrating when we see the horrible things happening in the world.

 

However, let us think about the communion antiphon of today. As it says, to know what Jesus teaches us, we need his light. Here, we see a very interesting and important thing from the life of Jesus. Jesus was hidden for 30 years before he begins his work. For doing 3 years of work, he was hidden for 30 years. That is how his teaching is revealed to us. It takes time and it comes on time.

 

 

Yesterday we got Jesus' new teaching with his authority by Pope Francis. It took time and came to us on time. I think it is definitely time for the role of the women and lay people escalated in a variety of ways in the church. So I was so happy to read this article and welcomed the changes in the church. And I see how God works within us now and here.

 

Let me introduce the article, and you may read the article on the internet. 

 

Here is the beginning of the article. 

 

 

" With a Motu proprio released on Monday, Pope Francis established that from now on the ministries of Lector and Acolyte are to be open to women, in a stable and institutionalized form through a specific mandate.

 

There is nothing new about women proclaiming the Word of God during liturgical celebrations or carrying out a service at the altar as altar servers or as Eucharistic ministers. In many communities throughout the world, these practices are already authorized by local bishops.

 

However, up to this point, this has occurred without a true and proper institutional mandate, as an exception to what Pope St Paul VI had established when, in 1972, even while abolishing the so-called “minor orders”, he decided to maintain that access to these ministries be granted only to men because both were considered to be preparatory to the eventual admission to holy orders.

 

 

Now, in the wake of the discernment which has emerged from the last Synods of Bishops, Pope Francis wanted to formalize and institutionalize the presence of women at the altar."