Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: John 20: 11-18

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?”
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
“Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he had told her.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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I admire Mary Magdalene so much in this Gospel passage. She represents a soul possessed entirely with love for God.

When she reaches the empty tomb, she’s overwhelmed with anxiety: “They have taken away my Lord! Where did they lay him? Where could he be? Give him to me!” she says frantically. 

She tells everyone she sees that Jesus is gone. She tells Peter and John; she tells the angels in the tomb; she even tells Jesus himself, whom she mistakes for a gardener.

“Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”

Mary is so preoccupied with finding Jesus that she doesn’t even mention his name. She presumes that everyone is in the same state of mind that she is; that everyone is looking for “him”; that everyone cares about “him” as much as she does.

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Mary shows us that when love of God takes possession of a soul, there is no longer room in one’s heart for contrary desires. Everything is about doing God’s will, for God’s glory.

Nothing else – and no one else – will do. 

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Like Mary Magdalene, are we consumed with love for God? 

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May Mary, who was the first person to see the Risen Lord, intercede on our behalf, that one day everyone will be like a soul on fire; consumed with love for Christ… starting with us.

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Image credits: (1) Christ Risen from the Tomb, Bergonone(2) Christ the Gardener, Eduoart Manet (3) Pinterest

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Gospel: Mt. 13: 1-9

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Whenever a person begins telling a joke, the audience gets ready to laugh. Leaning forward, they focus on every word of the joke teller, waiting for the punch line.

And when delivered, they laugh!

They were prepared to do so.

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This is the type of listener whom Jesus blesses in today’s Gospel – the one who is prepared to respond to his Word. 

It’s the type of person who leans forward when the Gospel is proclaimed, who focuses on every word Jesus says, and waits for their daily instruction.

Once the Gospel is proclaimed, they act on it.

They were prepared to do so.

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How responsive am I to the Word of God? 

Many of us hear it daily. Does it change us? Does it sink into us? Or is it blown away by the stress and busyness of life?

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“Some seed fell on rich soil,” Jesus says, “and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Much like a person waiting for a punchline, may we lean in when the Gospel is proclaimed, preparing our hearts to receive our daily instruction, ready to act on it.

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Image credits: (1) Pinterest (2) BusyBlessedWomen.com, WordPress (3) CentreNDL

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Gospel: Mt. 12: 46-50

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds,
his mother and his brothers appeared outside,
wishing to speak with him.
Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside,
asking to speak with you.”
But he said in reply to the one who told him,
“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father
is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There’s an old Chinese proverb that says, “Not one family can put a sign outside their home with the words: No Problems Here.”

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Even the Holy Family had their share of drama.

In the Gospel, Jesus is preaching inside someone’s home, when all of a sudden Mary and other family members appear wanting to speak with him.

They’re not there to ask Jesus if he’s coming home for dinner; they’re looking to silence him. As it’s written a few verses before, some think Jesus is, “out of his mind” (Mark 3:21).

I’m sure some of his family’s concern was driven by the desire to protect him from being harmed. But the truth is, even some of those closest to Jesus struggled to accept him for who he said he was: the Son of God.

Being doubted or misunderstood must’ve been quite painful for Jesus.

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Not one family – not even the Holy Family – can say, “No problems here.”

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What problems or concerns do I face in my own family? 

And how might I work to resolve them? 

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Often, the first step is listening with an open and humble heart.

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Image credits: (1) Jordan B. Richards (2) Duccio (3) The Peanut Gallery, WordPress