Wednesday, January 26, 2022

“If you want change then make changes, if you want to be treated well then treat others well, if you want to be loved than love others. Don’t expect to get something when you aren’t doing it yourself………. “Good seeds” bear “good fruit”..It’s that simple!”


Gospel Text: (Mk 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.”

Reflect, today, upon the mission you have been given by Christ to spread His Word.  Say “Yes” to that mission and then look for ways, each and every day, to sow His Word.  Expect much of the effort you give to unfortunately bear little fruit in a manifest way.  However, have deep hope and confidence in the fact that some of that seed will reach the soil that our Lord desires it to reach.  Commit yourself to the sowing; God will worry about the rest.


Thursday, January 20, 2022

Archbishop Fulton Sheen rightfully stated: There are not a hundred people in America who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions of people who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church — which is, of course, quite a different thing……..The Church doesn’t have a mission; the mission has a Church…… About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they’re just one thing, and we shouldn’t complicate the matter…… When we ask, “Can I disagree with the teachings of the Church and still be Catholic?” what we’re really asking is, “Can I not be Catholic and still be Catholic?”


Gospel text: (Mk 3:7-12)

Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.
A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing, 
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, 
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, 
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, 
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him 
and shout, “You are the Son of God.”
He warned them sternly not to make him known.

 

So the first thing we should take from this passage is that we must always listen carefully to what is preached and try to discern whether or not what is said is fully in union with what Jesus has revealed.  This is the main reason we should always rely upon the preaching of Jesus as it is revealed through our Church.  Jesus guarantees that His truth is spoken through His Church.  Therefore, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the lives of the saints, and the wisdom of the teaching authority of the Magisterium must always be used as a basis for all we listen to and preach to others.

 

Reflect, today, upon how completely you trust our Church.  Sure, our Church is filled with sinners; we are all sinners.  But our Church is also filled with the fullness of the truth and you must enter into a deep trust of all that Jesus has and continues to reveal to you through His Church.  Offer a prayer of gratitude this day for the teaching authority of the Church and recommit yourself to a full acceptance of that authority.

 

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

“Ten percent of any population is cruel, no matter what, and ten percent is merciful, no matter what, and the remaining 80 percent can be moved in either direction……..You cannot conceive, nor can I, the mercy of God……Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends……The current belief in our culture is this: We don’t believe that there is a chance for redemption for some; for a hand to reach out and raise them up; for an embrace to save them, forgive them, pick them up, flood them with infinite, patient, indulgent love; to put them back on their feet…….For that to happen there needs to be mercy.”


Gospel Text: (Mk 3:1-6)

Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up here before us.”
Then he said to the Pharisees,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

 

Jesus is put in a situation where He chooses to heal someone on the Sabbath.  This is an act of mercy.  It is done out of love for this man to relieve him of his suffering.  Though this is an incredible miracle, the disturbed minds of the Pharisees look only for a way to twist this act of mercy into something sinful.  What an appalling scene.

 

Reflect, today, upon this most unfortunate scene.  But reflect upon it with the hope that the poor example of the Pharisees will help you to identify any of the same tendencies in your own heart.  Seeing these tendencies they struggle with should help free you from falling into the irrational thinking that comes as a result of sin.

 

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

“The World Needs the Mass…… How can we respond to those who say that it is of no use going to Mass, even on Sunday, because the important thing is to live well, to love our neighbor? It is true that the quality of Christian life is measured by the capacity to love … but how can we practice the Gospel without drawing the energy necessary to do so, one Sunday after another, from the inexhaustible source of the Eucharist?....... We do not go to Mass in order to give something to God, but to receive what we truly need from him……So, why do we go to Mass on Sundays?.... It is not enough to respond that it is a precept of the Church; this helps to preserve its value, but alone does not suffice. We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with Jesus’ grace, with his living presence within us and among us, can we put his commandment into practice, and thus be his credible witnesses.”


Gospel Text: (Mk 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.”

 

Reflect, today, upon the way you celebrate the Lord’s Day.  Do you see the call to worship and rest as an invitation from God to be renewed and refreshed by His grace?  Or do you see it only as a duty that has to be fulfilled.  Try to take on the right attitude, this day, and the Lord’s Day will take on a whole new meaning for you.

 

Friday, January 14, 2022

“Don’t waste your time praying…God’s not listening…God’s forgotten about you and your situation…God isn’t working…He’s left you on your own…………If God seems distant to you right now, please know that no matter how you feel, you’re not alone or forgotten………The Lord is standing with you and He will strengthen you if you give Him a chance!......One of the greatest prayers one can make is to sit before the Eucharist exposed on the altar in a monstrance and say these words……”Lord I do not believe in you but I want to, help my unbelief”…….If this is done with a sincere heart and regularity…Your request will undoubtedly be answered…Take that to the bank!”


Gospel Text: (Mk 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.”

 

Reflect, today, upon what may be termed “the silence of God.”  There may be times in your life when God seems to be distant and is nowhere to be found.  When this happens, you should realize that this is a way for God to call you even closer to Himself.  It’s a way for God to whisper so as to gain your full attention.  If this is a “struggle” that you experience at times, turn your attention to our Lord all the more intensely and allow the desire for Him to grow.  It is this desire to be near Jesus that may actually produce much greater fruit in your life than if you were to hear Him loud and clear.