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Gospel: Mark 8:14-21

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.” 
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When he became aware of this he said to them,
“Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?”
They answered him, “Twelve.”
“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?”
They answered him, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Tomorrow, we will celebrate Ash Wednesday, the beginning of our 40-day Lenten journeys aimed at spiritual renewal. Both our first reading and today’s Gospel provide timely advice before we begin.

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“Watch out,” Jesus says, “guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 

Leaven, also known as yeast, is used to make dough rise. Just a pinch of it permeates an entire loaf. 

Jews often used the same word – leaven – to describe sin. Just a pinch of it– a single temptation, a single lie, a single gesture – can change a person’s heart until, slowly, the leaven takes over.

In terms of the disciples, Jesus is warning them to not let the doubt and skepticism of the Pharisees creep into their hearts. Such negativity will harden them to the point that they’ll be unable to believe, understand, or perform any mighty deed in his name.

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What about our own hearts? What’s the leaven that can sabotage our own spiritual lives?

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It might be the “leaven” of impatience; selfishness; or pride. Such things are meant to be rooted out during Lent, often through prayer, fasting, and charity.

As Saint James reminds us in our first reading, “Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proven, he will receive the crown of life.”

May God bless these 40 days, honoring all of our effort, so that our hearts will remain soft and open to doing the Lord’s will.

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Image credits: (1) Brother James (2) Christ Church Memphis (3) A Heart for God, WordPress

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Gospel: Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Then he left them, got into the boat again,
and went off to the other shore.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Have you ever asked yourself the question, “What if?”

What if I waited? What if I said, “Yes”? What if I went to a different college? What if I had deeper faith? 

In today’s Gospel, we’re left asking a different version of the same question, “What if?” 

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In three short verses, Jesus arrives on the shores of Galilee… then, immediately, he departs.

Mark gives the impression that the Lord has barely gotten out of his boat before being confronted by the Pharisees, who are seeking another sign from him.

Jesus has already raised a girl from the dead, cast out an unclean spirit, and fed thousands after multiplying a few loaves of bread.

Dismayed by their unbelief, Jesus sighs from the “depths of his spirit,” gets back into his boat, and heads to a different shore.

It leaves me wondering, “What if?”

What if the Lord never turned around? What were his plans that day? Would he have taught in their synagogues? Performed another miracle? Raised someone from the dead?

We’ll never know. The Pharisees’ unbelief sapped the Lord’s desire to enter their towns and do any good, leaving a pile of, “What ifs?”

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What would my own life look like if I welcomed the Lord daily – not only in the easy moments, but also when life is difficult?

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I imagine the Lord arrives each morning along the shores of ours hearts, our parish, and our world, waiting to see how we’ll respond.

What if we say, “Yes” this Lent? How might it deepen our faith?

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Image credits: (1) DeviantArt (2) Free AI Art Image (3) NightCafe Creator

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Gospel: Mark 1: 40-45

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, 
touched him, 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. 

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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Perhaps the most feared disease in the ancient world was leprosy. 

Slowly, it crept into your body, disfiguring your limbs, covering them in scabs, boils, and pus, making your skin look like ice cream melting on a hot summer day.

Leprosy was considered a public health risk, because no one knew how it was contracted or how it could be cured. It was a miserable death sentence for anyone who, mysteriously, contracted it.

Such was the case for the man in today’s Gospel.

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Once diagnosed, lepers were cast out from society. They were forced to tear their clothing and wear a bell around their neck warning anyone nearby: stay away. Upon entering a village, they’d even have to shout, “Unclean! Unclean!”

Anyone who made contact with them became ritually impure.

Put yourself in that leper’s shoes.

Imagine walking around in public shouting, “Unclean! Unclean!” Or replace that word with a deep-seeded insecurity or sin – “Anxious!” … “Addicted!” … “Alone!” … “Selfish!” … “Jealous!” 

As if your weaknesses or sins define you.

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The deepest pain associated with leprosy wasn’t physical; it was the sense of isolation that set in – not only from your family and friends, but also from God.

Lepers were banned from the temple area, meaning from a Jewish perspective, they had no way of making contact with their Creator. They were utterly alone.

It’s easy to understand why the leper in today’s Gospel was stirred with such hope when he heard that Jesus was nearing. 

Imagine the courage welling up within his poor soul as he barreled through the crowds like a bowling ball racing through pins, the bell around his neck clanging loudly from side to side.

His chance had come. Eagerly, he throws himself at the feet of Jesus, a sign of reverence and pure desperation. “If you will it,” he says, “you can make me clean.” 

You can not only heal my body; even more, you can also bring me back to God.

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The Gospel tells us that Jesus was moved with deep compassion; literally, his innards were stirred. So, he not only heals the leper – it’s his voice that initiates the healing; he also kneels down and touches him. 

Jesus touches the scabbed face of the man and says, “I do will it. Be made clean.” 

Stunned, this leper stands up and shouts not, “Unclean! Unclean!” But, “Redeemed!”

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Ironically, by touching this man, Jesus becomes ritually impure, in a sense making him the leper. Now he is the one who can neither enter the surrounding villages nor the temple. He is the one seemingly separated from God.

What he does for this man foreshadows what Jesus will also do at the Cross, where he takes all of our impurities upon himself, dying on our behalf. 

By touching this leper, Jesus also reveals there is nothing we can place before him – no wound, no mistake, no regret – that he will not touch, bless, forgive, and heal. Whenever we approach him seeking his mercy, his innards are moved with compassion.

This is the reason why he came to live among us: to defeat sin, restoring our access to God.

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Like leprosy, sin has deceptive beginnings, mysteriously taking root within us. Its slow progress and destructive power deform God’s sacred image in which we were made.

On Wednesday, we will celebrate Ash Wednesday, a reminder that – like this leper – at times we all need to be purified. Although it may not be something physical, we can all carry within ourselves things which sour our relationship with the Lord.

In his first public sermon – the Beatitudes – Jesus reminds us, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” … “Blessed are those who know their need for God.”

What do we need to place before the Lord this Lent?

It may be a particular burden. Or a simply the holy desire to draw closer to him. 

And what changes will we make in order to allow such growth to happen?

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“Whatever you do,” Paul reminds us today, “do for the glory of God.”

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Image credits: (1) St. Ignatius Church (2) Osprey Observer (3) St. James Catholic Church