Category: Uncategorized

***

Gospel: Mark 7: 1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” 
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:

This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”‘
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

When I think about Nagasaki, Japan, the first thing that comes to mind is the atomic bomb dropped on it during World War Two, incinerating 37,000 people in a matter of seconds.

***

But 350 years earlier, the people of Nagasaki faced another tragedy. The Japanese government was trying to systematically wipe out our faith; Christians were being martyred by the thousands.

The first known group of martyrs included Saint Paul Miki and 25 of his companions, all of whom were crucified on a hill outside of Nagasaki, Japan.

Among them were not only priests…but also the elderly, women, even children.

***

Like Jesus, Saint Paul Miki used the cross as his pulpit to preach his final sermon.

These were his parting words: “After Christ’s example, I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as fruitful rain.”

***

The Japanese continued stomping out the Catholic faith until all traces of it were lost.

In fact, missionaries would not return to Japan for another 200 years…But when they did, they discovered that Paul Miki’s prayer had mysteriously come true.

Somehow, thousands of Christians were living quietly in Nagasaki and beyond, reminding us all of a very important truth:

The Church never dies.

In spite of scandal, persecution, or any threat to its mission, the Gospel message never stops converting and saving souls.

It spreads through the daily words and actions of ordinary people like us.

***

In answer to Paul’s prayer, how might we continue to share our faith with others today?

***

***

Image credits: (1) RISE Youth, Facebook (2) America Magazine (3) WordsForTheHeart, WordPress

***

Gospel: Mark 6: 53-56

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country 
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Today’s Gospel takes place immediately after the disciples spend the entire night in a harrowing storm, crossing the Sea of Galilee without Jesus. 

Frazzled and relieved, they are now safely ashore. I’m sure all Peter and the others wanted to do was pause and take a nice, long nap.

Before they can blink an eye, however, crowds filled with sick and possessed people are pressing in on them, hoping just to touch the tassel of Jesus’ cloak. 

How do you think these drowsy disciples responded to the sight of the crowds? How might you have responded?

Do you think Peter and the others brought people to Jesus? Or, worn out from the last several hours, did they try to whisk Jesus away in order to rest?

***

The Gospel doesn’t tell us how the disciples responded, only that Jesus healed every person he touched.

***

What a difference it would make if we followed the Lord’s example of patience, compassion, and generosity, in spite of how we might be feeling at any given moment.

For example, imagine the difference it’d make if we were patient with other drivers on the road, even while in a hurry ourselves.

Or the difference it’d make in our hearts if we readily forgave people who offend us.

If we took the time to listen to our neighbor, even while preoccupied with our own thoughts; if we did the chores; made dinner; or responded to other people’s needs without complaint.

Or, in the disciples’ case, the difference it might’ve made if they brought someone to Jesus, in spite of their own exhaustion.

***

As Mother Teresa once said, “Christians are called to love until it hurts.” 

What might make us feel that pinch of love today?

***

***

Image credits: (1) AZ Quotes (2) Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt (3) LinkedGo Vinyl

***

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.

***

***

What does a normal day look like for you?

Perhaps you spend time in traffic, at the office, responding to emails, at your children’s sporting events, or by day’s end, sharing a meal with family.

Today’s Gospel provides us with something similar: a full day in the life of Jesus. 

***

After calling his first disciples, Jesus begins his day teaching in the synagogue, where he drives out an unclean spirit. Then he heads to Simon Peter’s home, where he heals Simon’s mother-in-law.

By sunset, word has spread about this miracle worker, so neighbors bring loved ones who are sick and lame, placing them at the feet of Jesus, who heals them. Early the next morning, he goes off by himself to pray.

Although our schedule may sound quite different from the Lord’s, there are a few things we can learn from him – and apply to our daily lives.

***

First, Jesus blesses our domestic lives; to him, homes – and by extension, families – are sacred. John Paul II later labeled our homes, “a domestic church.” What happens within it is holy.

In fact, more than 90% of Christ’s life on earth is spent with families inside people’s homes, where he heals, prays, dines, and teaches.

His first 30 years were spent quietly at home with Mary. Then, when initiating his public ministry, the Lord turned water into wine at a newlywed’s home in Cana.

Afterwards, Jesus brings a twelve-year-old girl back to life at her home; he cures a paralytic inside a neighbor’s home; he heals Simon Peter’s mother-in-law at his home.

Then he concludes his public ministry the way it all began – inside a person’s home, breaking bread with his Apostles at the Last Supper.

Home is where the heart is. It’s where we laugh, cry, rest, dream, eat, sleep – and often enough, encounter the Lord in the face of our loved ones. 

The home is sacred ground. 

***

In this full day with Jesus, we also find one of his top priorities: healing people. In fact, 13 out of 18 miracles that Jesus performs in Mark’s Gospel are miracles of healing. 

Fortunately, the Church has retained this divine power.

In my own priestly ministry, I’ve seen blindness removed; cancer, brain damage, and double pneumonia disappear. 

It can be hard to hear about – even to witness these miracles firsthand – without also wanting a miracle of our own. How many of us hear about stories like this and wonder, “Why not me?”

Perhaps it’s better for us to ask, “Did the Lord perform any other type of miracle? Anything less dramatic?”

Did Jesus ever sit at the bedside of a feverish person and simply hold their hand? Did he approach a blind beggar, stop, sit, and listen to their story? Did he weep with families who lost a loved one without bringing that person back to life?

Did the Lord do such “ordinary” things? 

I imagine so. And so should we.

We can all hold the hand of a loved one who’s sick at home; listen to one another’s stories; weep with those who weep; pray over a person who’s suffering. 

Such face-to-face encounters, when motivated by love, are in themselves a type of healing. As Mother Teresa once said, “If you want to change the world, then go home and love your family.” 

Pray. Listen. Encounter. Embrace. Heal.

***

Before the sun rises the next morning, the Lord goes off to pray, which he does frequently in the Gospels.

For example, after his baptism, Jesus prays. Before choosing his Apostles, he prays. After healing people, he prays. Before walking on water, he prays. Before – and even during – his crucifixion, he prays.

The Lord sets an example for all of us – if we want God to guide and bless our journeys, then we should set aside a few moments each day to pray. As the prophet Samuel once said, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”

***

So, what does a full day in the life of Jesus reveal?

That our homes and families are sacred, a “domestic church.”

That each of us can be an agent of healing, even if in ordinary ways.

And that every disciple is called to pray.

As the Lord says, “As I have done, you also should do.”

***

***

Image credits: (1) The Raising Supaman Project, Hourglass.jpg (2) (3) CL Murphy Creative, Etsy