January 22nd, 2023; Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: The First Reading is taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 9:1-4. This reading is another prophecy, concerning the messianic days, given by Isaiah in the eighth century B.C. It describes the new era of liberty and joy, which the future Messiah will usher in. The Second Reading is from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 1:10-13, 17. St. Paul corrects the Corinthians for the pride that was causing them to form factions and divisions. The Gospel is from St. Matthew 4:12-23. The prophet Isaiah announced a future of liberation and great joy for all of Galilee, through the image of light that dispels the darkness in which the people walk. The Gospel, quoting verbatim the same passage of the prophet Isaiah, presents Jesus as the Light thus fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy. He is the light that was promised to dispel the darkness of sin and to free man from the obscurity in which he is enclosed. —From the Dicastery for the Clergy