Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Mark 2: 23-28

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Throughout the Gospels, there’s only one group of people whom Jesus cannot stomach. Surprisingly, perhaps, it isn’t tax collectors, prostitutes, or sinners.

He loved and forgave them.

The ones whom Jesus cannot tolerate are the hardened religious leaders of his day, who pressed the Jews into following hundreds of man-made laws, including a law which forbade people from eating grain on the Sabbath, as we hear in today’s Gospel.

What good is it to follow a series of rules if doing so does not lead to spiritual growth?

This is why Jesus says elsewhere, the authorities are like “whitewashed tombs,” presentable on the outside, but defiled within.

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Catholics are similar to the extent that we try following a series of rules. We attend Mass on Sundays. We say our prayers. We avoid eating meat on Fridays in Lent.

But if following these rules does not lead to inner growth, then what good are they?

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This is proof of real religion: serving God in our neighbor.

As Saint John tells us, “Whoever does not love a brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

Think of a neighbor. Find a way to love them today.

That, more than going through the motions, will be pleasing to God.

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Image credits: (1) Potomac Baptist Church (2) Wheat Field With Reaper and Sun, Van Gogh (3) Unsplash

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Gospel: Mark 2: 1-12

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days,
it became known that he was at home.
Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them,
not even around the door,
and he preached the word to them.
They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,
they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him,
“Child, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves,
“Why does this man speak that way?  He is blaspheming.
Who but God alone can forgive sins?”
Jesus immediately knew in his mind what 
they were thinking to themselves, 
so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’?
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”
–he said to the paralytic,
“I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”
He rose, picked up his mat at once, 
and went away in the sight of everyone.
They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Americans, it seems, are obsessed with living longer and looking younger. Any doctor will tell you the key to it is diet and exercise.

How many of us, for example, have seen commercials for Peloton? Or Cindy Crawford selling her newest skin care line? 

Then there’s the diet craze: the Atkins, the keto, gluten-free, Weight Watchers, the South Beach, and the age-old spiritual practice of fasting.

Taking care of our bodies is important, but should it be priority number one?

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In the Gospel, Jesus urges us to work for more than a healthy body.

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While he’s preaching inside someone’s home, four friends tear open their neighbor’s roof in order to lower a paralyzed man down to his feet.

So, Jesus looks at him and says, “Your sins are forgiven.” But everybody around him is thinking, “So what? This man is paralyzed!” 

In the mind of Jesus, however, the forgiveness of this man’s sins is more important than the state of his body.

But in order to teach the crowds that he has the power to forgive sins, Jesus tells him to stand up and go home. 

Then off he goes.

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If the state of our soul matters more to Jesus than the state of our physical bodies, then how much time do we spend developing our spiritual lives? 

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Americans, it seems, are obsessed with living longer. Doctors recommend diet and exercise. But if you want to live forever, then pay attention to the state of your soul.

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Image credits: (1) Robert Gachon, Pinterest (2) SamSword, WordPress (3) Got Prayer?, pixy.org

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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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This man healed from leprosy was quite the salesman! 

In fact, the Gospel tells us that he was so effective in telling others about Jesus that Jesus couldn’t even reach the edge of town without being bombarded by the sick, the paralyzed, and the possessed.

Everyone wanted the healing and the joy Jesus offered this man.

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I’m sure we’ve all acted like that leper before. 

Think about how you reacted the day you got engaged; the day you had your first child or grandchild; the day you landed your dream job; or the day you got a puppy.

How many people did you tell? How many pictures did you take or post on social media?

Whenever something good happens to us, we naturally share the news with others. Being healed by Jesus was no different.

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Have we had that same type of experience with faith? Has Jesus changed us so radically that we can’t help but tell others?

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This is how the Good News of the Gospel spreads: one person at a time, sharing the uncontainable, life-altering joy that Jesus Christ brings.

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Image credits: (1) Bible Reasons, Joy in the Lord (2) Osprey Observer (3) Subiaco Church