Author: admin

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Gospel: Mark 1: 40-45

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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A few weeks ago, a parishioner approached me asking to be given the Sacrament of Anointing, which is reserved for those who are either sick, gravely ill, or near the point of death.

First and foremost, the Sacrament offers the forgiveness of sins. Then there’s an optional prayer for physical healing, which is sometimes granted.

In this person’s case, cancer was growing inside her lungs. So, I anointed her, prayed for healing, and awaited the results of her next scan.

Last week, she called me in tears saying that the cancer had disappeared! The doctors had no medical explanation, but we knew it was an act of the Holy Spirit.

She’s shared this miraculous story of healing with many people since.

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The same type of miracle unfolds in today’s Gospel.

A man is slowly dying from leprosy. His skin is covered in boils and sores, leaving him physically and socially isolated from others.

Suddenly, Jesus passes by. So, the man rushes over, kneels down at his feet, and says to Jesus, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”

So, Jesus does what no one else would – he touches him. 

Then he does what no one else can – he heals him.

This man is so elated that he tells everyone! In fact, he tells so many people that Jesus cannot enter another town; he has to remain in deserted places because so many people are coming to him.

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Our mission at St. Pius X is to create opportunities for people to experience that love and healing of Jesus. For example, we will celebrate a Mass of Anointing on February 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes at 11 am.

Come pray with us. Invite a friend. Perhaps the Lord will grant the healing you seek.

Whenever he does, be like person in the Gospel – tell others to “come and see.”

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Image credits: (1) Bruce Gerenscer (2) Ridge Kids Family Connections, WordPress (3) healingourbrokenness.com, Pinterest

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Gospel: Mark 1: 29-39

On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, 
he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come.”
So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons 
throughout the whole of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today’s Gospel describes a full day in the life of Jesus.

We begin mid-morning, where we encounter the Lord casting out an unclean spirit from a man in the synagogue. This is his first public miracle (according to Mark’s Gospel), revealing his definitive power of evil.

“After lunch,” Jesus enters Simon Peter’s home, where he heals Simon’s mother-in-law who is deathly ill. This second miracle reminds us that, like the synagogue or the local parish church, the home is a sacred place. It’s a “domestic church.”

The Lord continues his ministry of healing until after sunset. I’d imagine by the end of the night, Jesus was exhausted.

But the Gospel tells us that he rose, “very early before dawn,” where he went off on his own to a deserted place to pray. Jesus must’ve began each day that way … up early, in prayer.

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Prayer is essential for growth in our spiritual lives. It sustains us.

The Lord reminds us that the best time to do it is “very early before dawn,” before the stress and weight of other commitments compete for our time.

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So, how much time do I spend in prayer each day? Have I tried praying like the Lord, “very early before dawn?”

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If not, then try it tomorrow. Give the Lord the first few minutes of your day and see what happens. It may bear unexpected fruit over time; God is never outdone in generosity.

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Image credits: (1) The Busy Woman (2) Salt Strong (3) The Word for the Day

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Gospel: Mark 1: 21-28

Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, 
and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” 
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet!  Come out of him!”
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
“What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When I think of a sacred space, I think of this church. This altar. This pulpit. The Saints and the Stations of the Cross that line our walls.

Sacred spaces are filled with holy things that point us to God.

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In today’s Gospel, there’s a man with an unclean spirit present in the synagogue. The synagogue is a holy place, so why is he there?

Surely, he doesn’t belong.  

Or does he?

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I imagine him to be a conflicted man, both a sinner and a believer – a man who knew he was under the power of something stronger than himself.

Maybe he showed up in the synagogue that day hoping to be set free.

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This becomes the first public miracle that Jesus performs in Mark’s Gospel, giving this man an added meaning.

Perhaps Mark uses him as an image for all of us. 

While there are good and holy things about us, like that man in the synagogue, we also struggle with some form of sin, weakness, or imperfection. The Lord has come to set us free.

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Think of the person who gives into a particular temptation over and over again; the person who cannot find the grace to forgive; the person who harbors jealous or judgmental thoughts about others.

Occasionally, we need the healing grace of Jesus.

The best place to find it is either where that man was – in the house of God – or in the grace-filled silence of prayer.

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Image credits: (1) Stethoscope.com (2) Palm Beach Lakes Church of Christ (3) Lord Purify Me, For the Love of God