Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Mark 4: 1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him 
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables, 
and in the course of his instruction he said to them, 
“Hear this!  A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, 
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed 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 
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

And when he was alone, 
those present along with the Twelve 
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them, 
“The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that

    they may look and see but not perceive,
        and hear and listen but not understand,
    in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once 
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, 
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, 
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word, 
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, 
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, 
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There are different ways of receiving the Word of God. The fruit it bears depends upon a person’s heart.

Some hear it without understanding. Others receive the Word with joy, but their faith lacks any root. Once a trial comes their way, belief is the first thing to go.

Still others receive the Word, but when left to choose, they prefer the things of this world to the things that are eternal.

Finally, there are those whose hearts are like rich, fertile soil. They hear the Word of God and are permanently changed by it.

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But consider the effort it takes to make soil fertile – and by extension, to make a human heart deeply receptive to the Word of God.

In order to make soil fertile, you must dig into it; break it; and repeatedly separate it. That period of chaos is what opens up the ground, allowing it to receive seeds, and ultimately, to give life.

Any sturdy plant was once a tiny seed placed inside broken, fertile soil.

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So, what does that mean for us?

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Our hearts are most fertile after being broken. 

Think of any stressful, frustrating, or traumatic experience in life. In those moments, it feels like we’ve been tossed about – broken inside – much like rich, fertile soil.

They are blessed, Jesus says, who turn to him in that hour. That’s when the Word of God has the greatest chance of taking root, changing us, strengthening us, and enabling us to bear good fruit.

As Saint Paul says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” These gifts come from within; they are often the fruit of a heart that’s been broken and healed by the Lord.

May Jesus take any fertility within us, bless it with his Word, and allow it to bear good fruit – thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold. 

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Image credits: (1) How Stuff Works (2) iStock (3) RISE Church

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Gospel: Mark 3:31-35

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Perhaps the two most influential thinkers in the history of the Catholic Church are Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas, who lived 800 years apart.

Saint Augustine lived in northern Africa in the 4^th century and is most famous for his memoir, Confessions, in which he documents his storied past, his dramatic conversion, and ultimately his conclusion that:

“Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O Lord.”

The Church has preserved these, and over five million other words either written or preached by Augustine, for nearly two-thousand years.

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Similarly, Saint Thomas Aquinas, whose feast day we celebrate today, was a prolific writer who built upon the writings of Augustine. Incredibly, Thomas wrote more than 100,000 pages of philosophy and theology. His depth and clarity of thought remain unmatched.

Yet, one day while celebrating Mass, Thomas received a vision of heaven that affected him so deeply he never wrote another word.

“The end of my labors has come,” he said. “All that I have written appears to be as so much straw after the things that have been revealed to me.”

Three months later, Thomas died peacefully.

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So, what can the life and example of these towering Saints say to us today?

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First, make every effort to be counted as a brother or sister of Jesus Christ, as the Lord calls for in today’s Gospel. You will remain restless – unsatisfied in life – until you do.

Secondly, remember that there is no sacrifice we can make that outweighs the reward to come. Even the compendium of Thomas Aquinas – 100,000 pages of the best writing the Church has ever known – is, in his words, straw compared to the beauty of God.

So, how might I grow with the Lord today?

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Image credits: (1) Pantocrator, Sinai (2) Augustine versus Aquinas, The Gospel Coalition (3) Sunday Social

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Gospel: Mark 3:22-30

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.  
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There’s very good news and very bad news in today’s Gospel passage.

Jesus tells us plainly, “All sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.” That’s the good news.

There’s nothing that can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ or from eventually entering into his kingdom.

With one exception.

“Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness,” he says, “but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”

It’s imperative that we’re clear on what this sin is.

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One of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is to forgive sins; to purify or sanctify our souls. We receive our first dose of that divine forgiveness in baptism when the stain of Original Sin is washed away.

We then seek that same divine forgiveness later in life, particularly in confession.

But if a person deadens their conscience to the point that they no longer know the difference between right and wrong, then they cannot be sorry – and therefore, they cannot repent. 

That would be the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit, believing that you are, in fact, not in need of forgiveness.

Jesus is not declaring that the scribes have committed this everlasting sin. However, he is warning them of the grave peril they are in, unless they open their hearts to the Holy Spirit and repent.

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Consider it another way.

If you live in darkness long enough, then you lose the ability to see.

If you remain in bed long enough, then you lose the ability to walk.

If you stop using a particular language, then you lose the ability to converse.

And if you stop recognizing the difference between right and wrong, then you lose the ability to recognize your own sins, and therefore you cannot repent.

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“Whoever has ears ought to hear,” Jesus says. “All sins will be forgiven,” so long as we remain humble enough to recognize that He is Lord and we are not. 

For all the times we’ve fallen short, we should repent and rejoice knowing God loves us and forgives us, if only we ask.

And while we are at it, we should forgive others as Christ has forgiven us. 

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Image credits: (1) David Jeremiah Blog (2) The Kingdom @ Glandore Underdale (3) Catholic to the Max