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Saint Gertrude Parish - Lasne
January 25, 2026
On this page you will find:
The readings for Mass, the Mass leaflet with the choice of hymns
A sample universal prayer available for download, in PDF and editable Word formats.
A meditation on the Sunday Gospel, a spiritual text and commentary by Marie-Noëlle Thabut
3rd Sunday of the TO
Sunday of the Word
“Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 4:17
Readings from the Mass
Mass leaflet
Universal Prayer
Consult the Lectio Divina page, which invites you to read the Gospel in a prayerful atmosphere so that you may be touched in your heart. It is important not to rush to read commentaries or homilies before having this personal experience of encountering Christ in Scripture.
Next, if you wish, you can read the meditations below which will enrich your personal reading and meditation.
HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS
SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD
Jesus leaves the quiet, hidden life of Nazareth and settles in Capernaum, a town on the Sea of Galilee, a place of passage, a crossroads of different peoples and cultures. His driving force is the proclamation of the Word of God, which must be brought to everyone. Indeed, we see in the Gospel that the Lord invites everyone to conversion and calls the first disciples to share the light of the Word with others (cf. Mt 4:12-23). Let us grasp this dynamism, which helps us to live this Sunday of the Word of God: the Word is for everyone, the Word calls for conversion, the Word makes us heralds.
The Word of God is for everyone. The Gospel presents Jesus always on the move, traveling to others. At no point in his public life does he give the impression of being a static teacher, a professor sitting in a pulpit. On the contrary, we see him as an itinerant pilgrim, traveling through towns and villages, encountering faces and stories. His feet are those of a messenger who proclaims the good news of God's love (cf. Isaiah 52:7-8). In Galilee of the Gentiles, on the road to the sea, beyond the Jordan, where Jesus preached, there was—the text notes—a people plunged in darkness: foreigners, pagans, women and men from various regions and cultures (cf. Matthew 4:5-16). Now they too can see the light. And so, Jesus “enlarges the boundaries”: the Word of God, which heals and raises up, is not intended only for the righteous of Israel, but for everyone; He wants to reach those who are far away, he wants to heal the sick, he wants to save sinners, he wants to gather the lost sheep and comfort those whose hearts are weary and burdened. Jesus, in short, “crosses boundaries” to tell us that God’s mercy is for everyone. Let us not forget this: God’s mercy is for all and for each one of us. “God’s mercy is for me,” everyone can say that.
This aspect is fundamental for us as well. It reminds us that the Word is a gift addressed to everyone and that, consequently, we can never restrict its scope, since it springs forth, beyond all our calculations, spontaneously, unexpectedly, and unpredictably (cf. Mk 4:26-28), according to the ways and times known to the Holy Spirit. And if salvation is intended for all, even for those who are most distant and lost, then the proclamation of the Word must become the primary priority of the ecclesial community, as it was for Jesus. May we not profess a God with a broad heart and be a Church with a narrow heart—that would be, I dare say, a curse—or preach salvation for all and make the path to receiving it impassable. May we never know that we are called to proclaim the Kingdom and yet neglect the Word, scattering our energies in secondary activities or discussions. Let us learn from Jesus to place the Word at the center, to broaden our horizons, to open ourselves to people, to create experiences of encounter with the Lord, knowing that the Word of God “is not crystallized into abstract and static formulas, but has a dynamic history made up of people and events, words and actions, developments and tensions.” [1]
Let us now turn to the second aspect: the Word of God, which is addressed to all, calls us to conversion. Indeed, Jesus repeats in his preaching: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Mt 4:17). This means that God’s nearness is not neutral; his presence does not leave things as they are, does not make life peaceful. On the contrary, his Word shakes us, disturbs us, provokes us to change, to conversion: it puts us in crisis because “it is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword… it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb 4:12). And so, like a sword, the Word penetrates life, enabling us to discern the feelings and thoughts of the heart, that is, enabling us to see the light of goodness to which we must give space, and where the darkness of vices and sins to combat deepens. The Word, when it enters us, transforms the heart and mind; it changes us, leads us to orient our lives towards the Lord.
This is Jesus' invitation: God has drawn near to you. So become aware of his presence, make room for his Word, and you will change your perspective on your life. I would also like to put it this way: place your life under the Word of God. This is the path the Church shows us: all of us, even the pastors of the Church, must be under the authority of the Word of God. Not subject to our tastes, our tendencies, or our preferences, but to the one Word of God that shapes us, converts us, and calls us to be united in the one Church of Christ. So, brothers and sisters, we can ask ourselves: where does my life find its direction, where does it draw its orientation from? From the various words I hear, from ideologies, or from the Word of God that guides and purifies me? And what areas within me require change and conversion?
Finally—in this third passage—the Word of God, which addresses everyone and calls them to conversion, makes them heralds. Jesus, in fact, passes by the shores of the Sea of Galilee and calls Simon and Andrew, two brothers who were fishermen. He invites them, through his Word, to follow him, telling them that he will make them “fishers of men” (Mt 4:19): no longer just experts in boats, nets, and fish, but experts in seeking out others. And, just as they had learned to leave the shore and cast their nets far out to sea for navigation and fishing, so too will they become apostles capable of sailing on the open sea of the world, of going out to meet their brothers and sisters, and of proclaiming the joy of the Gospel. This is the dynamism of the Word: it draws us into the “net” of the Father’s love and makes us apostles who feel the irrepressible desire to bring those they meet onto the boat of the Kingdom. And this is not proselytizing, because it is the Word of God that calls, not our own words.
Let us feel today that the invitation to be fishers of men is also addressed to us: let us feel called by Jesus himself to proclaim his Word, to bear witness to it in everyday situations, to live it in justice and charity, called to “give it flesh” by embracing the suffering. This is our mission: to become seekers of those who are lost, oppressed, and discouraged, to bring them not ourselves, but the consolation of the Word, the unsettling proclamation of God that transforms lives, to bring them the joy of knowing that He is Father and that He speaks to each one of us, to bring them the beauty of saying: “Brother, sister, God has drawn near to you, listen to him and you will find a wonderful gift in his Word!”
Brothers and sisters, I would like to conclude by simply inviting everyone to thank those who dedicate themselves to ensuring that the Word of God is placed at the center, shared, and proclaimed. Thank you to those who study it and delve deeper into its richness; thank you to pastoral workers and all those Christians committed to listening to and spreading the Word, especially readers and catechists: today I am conferring the ministry on some of them. Thank you to all who have accepted the many invitations I have extended to carry the Gospel with them everywhere and to read it every day. And finally, a special thank you to the deacons and priests: thank you, dear brothers, for ensuring that the holy People of God do not lack the nourishment of the Word; thank you for your commitment to meditating on it, living it, and proclaiming it; thank you for your service and sacrifices. May the sweet joy of proclaiming the Word of salvation be a consolation and a reward for us all.
[1] The Word of God in the life and mission of the Church. Instrumentum laboris for the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops , 2008, n. 10.
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SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD
HOLY MASS
HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Basilica
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 22, 2023
[ Multimedia ]
Homily
Draw from the source
The biblical texts for this Sunday speak of a complicated world with a bad reputation. This is the case of the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali in northern Galilee. It's important to understand that this is a crossroads close to pagan regions. It's called "Galilee of the Gentiles" because it is influenced and contaminated by the pagan world. But the prophet intervenes. He announces that these territories, too, will benefit from the salvation the Lord is preparing. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; on the lands of those who dwelt in darkness a light has dawned."
Yet it was there, in that place shrouded in shame, that Jesus undertook his first evangelization. It all began far from Jerusalem, in the very heart of this diverse world, a pagan world rife with conflict and division. Jesus himself went to Nazareth, a town from which people wondered what good could possibly come. John the Baptist had designated him as the Lamb of God, the one who takes away the sin of the world. His priority, therefore, was to those furthest from God, these cursed lands, lands of sin and darkness. He came to live in Capernaum; this town still evokes the darkest chaos today.
This is a challenge Jesus throws down to sin and Satan. And at the same time, it is an extraordinary act of faith in humanity. He could have thought that, given their situation, he couldn't rely on them. But the exact opposite happens: he goes so far as to choose his first collaborators, his first leaders, from among the inhabitants of that region. Addressing Peter and Andrew, he says to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” He doesn't call upon champions of the Bible or the liturgy, but perfectly ordinary people, simple fishermen.
It is up to us to draw the consequences for our faith. The first is that we are all called just as we are. The Lord does not call the most capable, but He makes them capable. We have testimonies of ex-convicts and even terrorists who converted to Jesus Christ and who bear witness to their encounter with Him as much as they can. The entire Gospel shows us that He came “to seek and to save those who were lost.” This is what happened to Saul the persecutor and to many others.
The good news of the Gospel is for everyone. No person, no situation escapes God's closeness and love. For us, it is a call to change our perspective on people and the world. Too often, we look at them with suspicion or disillusionment. If we want to be disciples and missionaries, we must turn to Christ and let ourselves be guided by him. He will teach us to welcome each person as they are, to trust them, and to give them every opportunity. We are called to be “the love of Christ.”
When Pope Francis invited the Church to go to the “peripheries,” he was simply bringing to life what Jesus did. To follow him is to go with him to encounter all of humanity, to draw near to everyone, and especially to those who live on the margins. The temptation is great to say, “What’s the point? It’s useless.” That would be to forget that the mission is not primarily our own, but the Lord’s. It is he who sends us his Holy Spirit. He works in the hearts of those he places on our path. Without him, nothing is possible. Jesus the Galilean is still there, living and active in the heart of his Church. He is the Light to enlighten all nations. We can always count on him. Nothing can separate us from his love.
Following Jesus is not about locking ourselves into a religious system and thinking we've always done things this way. When he calls us, we must know that he will lead us down paths we hadn't anticipated. It is by drawing closer to him that we will learn to see others as brothers and sisters. This is the call that the Apostle Saint Paul makes to us during this week of prayer for Christian unity. Addressing the community in Corinth, he reminds them that missionary rivalries are pointless: there is only one Lord who sends Apollos, Paul, and Peter. Divisions among Christians always remain a counter-witness.
On this Sunday, we hear Christ's call. He continues to desire to save those who are headed for destruction. He sends us to those who do not enter our churches, those who do not belong to our spiritual families, those who, seemingly, live in darkness. His gaze upon Galilee of the Gentiles and the fishermen of the lake was full of mercy. He counts on us to have the same gaze he did upon the world today. The quality of our gaze reflects the quality of our faith. We must not doubt Jesus's devotion to every human being. It is with him that we will become fishers of men.
By gathering in church this Sunday, we come to draw from the source of Love that is in God. We nourish ourselves with his Word and his Eucharist. We ask him to give us the strength and courage for the mission he entrusts to us: “You who are the Light of the world, you who are love, place your Spirit of love in our darkness.”
Sources: Feu Nouveau journal, = Homilies of the Liturgical Year (Simon Faivre) – Personal files
Understanding the readings
with Marie-Noëlle THABUT
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