Category: Uncategorized

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2 Timothy 1:1-8

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,
so that I may be filled with joy, 
as I recall your sincere faith
that first lived in your grandmother Lois
and in your mother Eunice
and that I am confident lives also in you.

For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.

The Word of the Lord.

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On paper, Saint Paul’s accolades are impossible to repeat: 

The Risen Christ appeared to him; Paul helped to write half of the New Testament; the greatest missionary of his age; and a man of exceptional spiritual and physical endurance.

But there’s one thing that I find endearing about him. Although he had no children of his own, Paul had the tender heart of a father. 

He ordained a number of men to the priesthood, including Timothy, whom he refers to as his, “spiritual son.”

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In our first reading, we hear part a letter, which Paul writes to Timothy, revealing several important truths about their relationship.

First, Paul writes to encourage Timothy, who seems to be struggling in his faith. “I remind you,” he says, “to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.”

We don’t know exactly why Timothy was struggling – it could have been the effect of Paul’s absence, who’s writing to him from prison; the weight of persecution; or something as simple as dryness in prayer or burn out.

But, “I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day,” Paul says.

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He continues with tender-hearted affirmation, reminding Timothy that he follows in the footsteps of other faithful Christians, including his own grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice, who came to faith before him. Their faith, “dwells in you.”

Then he concludes by challenging Timothy – as I suppose as any father would – to, “bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.”

Such is the nature of a healthy father-son relationship: there is tenderness and affirmation, but also high standards.

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I’d imagine Paul has the same fatherly love for each of us. While he assures us of his prayers, he also reminds us that our work is not complete. “Bear your share of hardship for the Gospel.” 

What might that look like for us today?

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Image credits: (1 Saint Paul Writing his Letters, Museum of Fine Art Houston, Public Domain ) (2) Agape Bible Study (3) Catholic Campus Ministry

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Gospel: Matthew 4: 12-23

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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It’s been said, “We make decisions. Slowly, those decisions define our lives.”

Looking back, I can think of several decisions that have defined my life – choosing where to go to college, responding to the call to priesthood, moving to Rome, and ultimately accepting the Cardinal’s invitation to be the shepherd of our beloved faith community. 

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In today’s Gospel, both Jesus and his disciples make decisions that will define the rest of their lives.

The arrest of John the Baptist signals to the Lord that his time has come. As John cried out prophetically before his imprisonment, “He must increase and I must decrease.” As John fades away, Jesus takes center stage, emerging publicly as the Messiah.

It would’ve been understandable for the Lord to shy away from Herod’s paranoid reign. But Jesus does the opposite. Moving to Capernaum, towards the very center of Herod’s power, Jesus begins his public ministry of preaching and healing. 

He will not be intimidated by evil; rather, Jesus confronts it head on in a non-violent and non-retaliatory way.

This is, perhaps, a lesson we all need to be reminded of at times – darkness cannot drive out darkness, nor can evil drive out evil. Just as light is the antidote for darkness, so love is the antidote for hate.

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Before starting his ministry, Jesus returns to the small, hilltop town of Nazareth where he grew up to say his goodbyes. 

Imagine him embracing the ordinary people he loved – family members, friends, and good neighbors – knowing in his heart that he would never see them again.

Shutting his front door and throwing whatever he owns over his shoulder, Jesus heads down to the populous lakeside village of Capernaum as he faces his future. 

I imagine John the Baptist weighed heavily on his heart. It was John who plunged him into the Jordan River while proclaiming repentance. Now John is chained to a wall deep inside Herod’s darkened prison.

John reminds us that it’s never safe to rebuke a tyrant. 

If John could be jailed for something as mild as denouncing Herod’s unlawful marriage, then what will happen to Jesus as he proclaims the arrival of an entirely new kingdom, where the first shall be last and the greatest shall be the servant of all?

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Much of Christ’s public ministry will unfold in Capernaum, right underneath Herod’s nose. There, Jesus calls his first disciples, performs miraculous healings, casts out demons, cleanses lepers, and offers new beginnings, forgiving people caught in sin.

Yet after all he does, Jesus will leave that town, condemning the locals for their spiritual lethargy.

As Matthew recounts, “He began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented…Woe to you, Capernaum!” Jesus laments. 

It’s a sobering truth – God can walk among us and act directly in our lives, still we can be uninspired to change.

So, Jesus will shake the dust from his feet and continue his march towards Jerusalem, wondering, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?”

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Unlike the residents of Capernaum, there were people whose lives were forever changed by the Lord, a few of them being his disciples, whom he calls in today’s Gospel. Two sets of brothers: Peter and Andrew, James and John.

When the Lord calls them, they immediately drop their nets and follow him.

Sometimes we imagine their sacrifice to be easier than ours. We might say they lived in a simpler time; they weren’t bound by as many obligations as we are; or they had less to lose.

But that isn’t true.

Peter was married. He and his brother, Andrew, were successful fishermen. James and John left their father on the spot. These were not young, idealistic boys; they were real men with deeply connected lives.

So, why would they leave everything to follow the Lord?

In Judaism, ceasing to work and breaking family ties was only permissible in order to study the Word of God; there was no higher calling. 

In calling his disciples to himself, and making the brazen command, “I will make you fishers of men,” Jesus claims to be the Word of God incarnate. By studying him, his disciples will learn directly from God himself.

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Sometimes we also need to take risks. When have I made a difficult decision in order to follow the Lord? Or where might Jesus be calling me now?

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We all make decisions. Slowly, those decisions define our lives.

The Lord reminds us today that there is no higher calling – or greater decision to make – than to leave everything behind and follow him.

What might that look like for us today?

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Image credits: (1) Wharton Executive Education, UPenn (2) Patrick Oben (3) The Wall Street Journal

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Gospel: Mark 3:13-19

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted 
and they came to him.
He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles,
that they might be with him
and he might send them forth to preach 
and to have authority to drive out demons:
He appointed the Twelve:
Simon, whom he named Peter; 
James, son of Zebedee, 
and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, 
that is, sons of thunder;
Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; 
Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean,
and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Whenever the names of the Twelve Apostles are read, it’s easy for us to focus on their shortcomings because we know how this story ends. 

Peter, the leader of the pack, will sink into the stormy Sea of Galilee after daring Jesus to call him out of their boat. He will later be rebuked by Jesus, who calls him, “Satan.” 

James and John’s mother will approach the Lord just outside of Jerusalem, asking for her sons to have a special place in his kingdom, an ask that comes immediately after Jesus predicts his crucifixion and death.

Judas will betray the Lord for thirty lousy pieces of silver. All of them, with the exception of John, will abandon the Lord as he dies for them on a cross.

Yes, the Apostles were imperfect people – as are we.

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But consider the other side of the story. With the exception of Judas and John, all of the Apostles are martyred for their faith. James being the first just three years after Christ’s resurrection.

All of them boldly preached the Gospel – not just in word, but by their very lives. The Acts of the Apostles tells stories of Peter performing miraculous deeds, of mass conversions and baptisms, of the Church slowly moving into more organized form.

In spite of great trial and their own personal limitations, the Apostles rose to the occasion, continuing Christ’s ministry here on earth, which continues to this day.

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Now there are more than 200,000 Catholic parishes around the world; 1.4 billion Catholics; 650,000 religious; 5,000 bishops; 400,000 priests; 50,000 deacons; and 1 pope.

The Church has founded more hospitals, schools, orphanages, and soup kitchens than any other institution in human history, well aware of Christ’s teaching: “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.”

No one would’ve ever foreseen this the day Jesus died. And maybe that’s the point. God can do the impossible. Starting with twelve imperfect followers, Jesus forever changed the course of human history, impacting even us today.

As members of Christ’s body on earth, how might we expand his reach? 

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Image credits: (1) Nigel Walsh, YouTube (2) Nicolas Poussin, public domain (3) X.com