God is full of mercy……Be encouraged…..And “hold fast to the hope that lies before us”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark about maintaining a ritual of the law…To honor the Sabbath…This is important…On Sunday we go to Mass with our family…But do we ever ask ourself why we do this?…Sometimes rituals are performed without thinking…We go through the motions, not thinking about why do the things we do as Catholics…Everything we do must lead us to God…Everything is done for that purpose and if we forget the purpose, the ritual becomes empty…..On the other end of the spectrum, Catholics can become so focused on the ritual itself, in turn making the ritual an idol, forgetting again what the ritual is all about…A way to reach and honor God

“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

My wife and I have five children under ten years old….We have always gone to Mass together as a family…With that said, bringing five children to Mass is not easy…..There are times I have spent the enter Mass in the hall with one of my children however it’s important that we go…Why?….Because as a family we must be nourished together by the Sacrament and live out our married life Sacramentally - This is vital - God must be the center of family life because without God, we as human beings so easily “get lost”……As all Catholics know, there are times during the Mass we are required to kneel and sometimes I can not because of one children are on my lap……I have reflected about that and thought to myself, its more important that I bend my will in that moment and take care of a restless child then bend my knee….The bending of my will is more pleasing to the Lord…..The lesson learned here is do your best…Don’t get “caught up” in performing rituals with the idea that they have to always be perfectly executed - You are a human being and humans are not perfect - So get over it….That does not mean rituals are not important because they are…However, when our primary focus is the ritual, we can lose focus on why we do them….God does not “tick” boxes and nor should we….Do what is required of you to the best of your ability….Trust God will take what you do and make use of it for both your benefit and the benefit of the world around you

“Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

St Mark tells us today that we as Catholics need to make Sunday special…Its a day for families to get together - Have a meal together - Have a laugh - And most importantly worship the Lord together at Holy Mass….However, let us never forget we are human and when human beings gather together, no event, not even going to Mass will always run smoothly…And that is ok….Do your best and God will recognize it…..Through our imperfections, God is at work……Be patient with yourself and learn to have patience with and for others…..God uses everything, the good and the bad, the perfect and the imperfect…Everything is used, nothing is wasted…So do your best, God will honor it…Don’t get “caught up” with trying to be perfect because you never will be perfect, while at the same time do everything for the Lord….Remembering always why you are doing it…..God is full of mercy……Be encouraged…..And “hold fast to the hope that lies before us”