Monday after Epiphany
Gospel: Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25
Imitate the Good Christ and Proclaim the Gospel Publicly to the World

When we preach the gospel of the kingdom of heaven to the world, we often do so in what we consider a relatively safe environment. Consequently, we lack experience in spreading the gospel to our brothers and sisters outside our hometowns. Thus, when we leave our hometowns and find ourselves in foreign lands, and our brothers and sisters there invite us to share the gospel of Christ with them, we may become flustered and at a loss. This is because we lack the courage to follow Christ’s example and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to all of creation.

This passage follows the incident where John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod for condemning Herod’s act of taking his brother’s wife, Herodias, as his own. After John was imprisoned, Jesus began His ministry. At the very beginning of His ministry, Christ chose to leave the place where He had grown up from childhood and went to Capernaum. He made Capernaum the center of His preaching and began to proclaim the gospel to all of creation, thereby setting an example for us. Since we have been called to be Christians, we should follow the example of John the Baptist and, even more so, that of Jesus Christ. We should live out the spirit of the gospel in our daily lives, imitate the virtues of Christ, care for and love our neighbors, especially those who are sick and those with weak faith. Through our constant prayers to the Heavenly Father on their behalf, we hope that they may, through our intercessions, turn to Christ and believe in the gospel along with us.

John the Baptist, please intercede for us before the throne of God, so that we may increasingly resemble Christ, live out the spirit of the gospel in our lives, and have the courage to bear witness to Christ. Amen.

©Totus Tuus 2025
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica 2025