“A man is called a saint not because he does no longer sin but because he recognizes his weakness and seeks for forgiveness every time he falls”…… “A man is called a sinner not because he sins more than others but because he defends he sins and glories in them and is unwilling to seek forgiveness”

“There are many new sinners today, but there aren’t any new sins, just the old ones clothed in different rags.” ― Billy Graham: (born November 7, 1918: is an American evangelical Christian evangelist)

Gospel Text: (MK 6:53-56)

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,

Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret

and tied up there.

As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.

They scurried about the surrounding country

and began to bring in the sick on mats

to wherever they heard he was.

Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,

they laid the sick in the marketplaces

and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;

and as many as touched it were healed.

Everyone needs healing. That’s right…everyone. Some of us might have a need for physical healing, but all of us, every single one of us, has a need for spiritual healing. We’re not all physically ill, but we are all sinners.

Jesus did a lot of things during His public ministry. He preached, He taught, He listened, He warned, He prophesied…but the one thing He did everywhere He went was heal…and He told us not to fear.

You see, physical healing by God is never an end in itself. It always aims at something else, something much greater: the soul’s spiritual healing – to remove our fears, to continue the lifelong conversion that our faith demands of us.

“The Sun will rise and set regardless. What we choose to do with the light while it's here is up to us.”

“Pointing to another world will never stop vice among us; shedding light over this world can alone help us.”  - Walt Whitman: (1819 –1892: was an American poet, essayist, and journalist.)

Gospel Text: (MT 5:13-16)

Jesus said to his disciples:

"You are the salt of the earth.

But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?

It is no longer good for anything

but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world.

A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.

Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;

it is set on a lampstand,

where it gives light to all in the house.

Just so, your light must shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds

and glorify your heavenly Father."

Let me share with you key features and purposes of salt and light:

SALT OF THE EARTH

Preservative – A key feature of salt is to serve as an antiseptic, preventing the degeneration of food. Antiseptic can work only if only the salt is rubbed into the meat. As Christians, we must be in the world, facing what the world offers but not be of the world embracing its worldly values and ethics.  As a moral antiseptic, Christians will benefit the secular society by preventing the corruption of society in the moral decay.

Flavor – Without salt, the food becomes rather boring, tasteless, and insipid. Likewise, without the Good News and Christian behaviors, there is no true flavor in the world. No true joy can be accomplished without perfect flavor that Christians provide.

White – The white color of salt symbolizes its purity. Christians are to live holy, pure, different lives. Christians should glory in our difference. An intentional choice needs to be made in our daily decisions in our life pursuing the truth and virtues of Jesus Christ. Paul proclaims in Romans 12, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world

Fertilizer – As salt enables the growth of plants, Christians likewise need to foster the growth of that which is good in the world. Christians may engage in their calling whichever realm it may belong, and they must champion good and godly causes that promote the good of humanity

Thirst – As you consume salt, you become more thirsty. By exemplifying the very attributes of Lord Jesus Christ, people will start noticing our different behaviors and ask, “Why are you different? Why are you filled with so much patience, peace, and joy?”

LIGHT OF THE WORLD

In Greek, the verse reads, “You and you alone are the light of the world.” Shining is not optional for light. It is a key feature of light. Likewise, we as Christians must understand the function of light.

Expose Reality of Evil – light will make all the wickedness and rottenness visible. The Bible will help you expose the wretchedness of this world. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your words is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Enlightens us to God – the light of the world will open the eyes of the blind. We think being blind is bound by physicality. God clearly points out that humanity is spiritually blind without him. 

Shows the Way Out – light points to the way out of the darkness. The tunnel of hopelessness, meaninglessness, death, and hell is illuminated with the light of the world. Christians must provide an unobstructed view of the cross to those in whom we come in contact with. The exit is toward Jesus Christ, our salvation.

“If your day is hemmed in with prayer, it is less likely to come unraveled.”

“Contemplative prayer in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.” - St. Teresa of Avila: (1515 – 1582: was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun and author during the Counter Reformation)

Gospel Text: (MK 6:30-34)

The Apostles gathered together with Jesus

and reported all they had done and taught.

He said to them,

"Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."

People were coming and going in great numbers,

and they had no opportunity even to eat.

So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.

People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.

They hastened there on foot from all the towns

and arrived at the place before them.

When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd,

his heart was moved with pity for them,

for they were like sheep without a shepherd;

and he began to teach them many things.

In our often busy lives, though, we need to make time for ourselves and that can be perfect time for prayer. It can be as simple as a deep breath where we take a moment to be grateful for what we have. Where we ask for help with what we are struggling with. Where we ask for help in understanding and being present for others. I need to remember to try to schedule these breaks into my days – just a few minutes to breathe deeply and to pray, to open myself up to God and to remember to find God in all things, even in that to-do list that seems to march endlessly on.

The first part of the 23rd Psalm offers a good starting place for those breaks. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose. Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. 

''Come to the edge,'' He said. They said, ''We are afraid.'' ''Come to the edge,'' He said. They came. He pushed them... and they flew.”

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” ― Plato: (427– 348 BC: was a philosopher in Classical Greece)

Gospel Text: (HEB13:1-8)

Let brotherly love continue.

Do not neglect hospitality,

for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.

Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment,

and of the ill-treated as of yourselves,

for you also are in the body.

Let marriage be honored among all

and the marriage bed be kept undefiled,

for God will judge the immoral and adulterers.

Let your life be free from love of money

but be content with what you have,

for he has said, I will never forsake you or abandon you.

Thus we may say with confidence:

The Lord is my helper,

and I will not be afraid.

What can anyone do to me?

Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you.

Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

What causes us to be afraid? Basically, the root of every fear is the assumption that we are not loved, not really-really loved. We're afraid of being open and honest with others because they might take advantage of it to hurt us. We're afraid our prayers won't be answered because God doesn't care.

Today's first reading from Mass describes the various ways that we act in love, and then it points out that by relying on the help of God who is love, we have nothing to fear. Elsewhere in scripture, we're told that "there is no fear in love, because perfect love drives out fear...." (1 John 4:18).

If you think of this world as a place intended simply for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable: think of it as a place of training and correction and it’s not so bad.

For a stalk to grow or a flower to open there must be time that cannot be forced; nine months must go by for the birth of a human child; to write a book or compose music often years must be dedicated to patient research ...To find the mystery there must be patience, interior purification, silence, waiting.... - Pope John Paul II: (born Karol Józef Wojtyła was Pope from 1978 to 2005. He is widely known to Catholics as Saint John Paul the Great,)

Scripture Text: (MAL 3:1-4)

Thus says the Lord God:

Lo, I am sending my messenger

to prepare the way before me;

And suddenly there will come to the temple

the LORD whom you seek,

And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.

Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

But who will endure the day of his coming?

And who can stand when he appears?

For he is like the refiner's fire,

or like the fuller's lye.

He will sit refining and purifying silver,

and he will purify the sons of Levi,

Refining them like gold or like silver

that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.

Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem

will please the LORD,

as in the days of old, as in years gone by.

First, let’s ask the question “What does ‘refining’ mean”? The Old Testament prophets often use words of judgement against God’s people. When we hear them, it sometimes sounds as if God’s aim is not to help his people but to smash and destroy them! That’s why this image of refining that Malachi uses here is so helpful. A refiner is attempting to purify molten metal from all its dross in order to create an object of beauty and strength – perhaps a silver cup. In Malachi’s time this would be accomplished by putting the unrefined metal into a pot or furnace and heating it up until all the dirt and impurities were burnt out of it. And there’s another lovely little detail here. A number of Bible scholars say that the refiner would know that the process was complete when the molten metal was so clear that he could see his own face reflected in it.

This illustration of refining provides a very helpful picture for us of the ongoing process of purification in our lives as Christians. The General Confession in the old Book of Common Prayer says, “We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done”. In other words, God’s work of change in us will have both negative and positive aspects. Negatively, the refiner will be trying to remove our impurities – the ‘things we ought not to have done’. Positively, God will be trying to form the image of Jesus in us – Jesus who shows us by his way of life ‘the things we ought to have done’.

“Why is discipline important? Discipline teaches us to operate by principle rather than desire. Saying no to our impulses puts us in control of our appetites rather than vice versa.”

“No person is free who is not master of himself.” ― Epictetus: (AD 50 – 135) was a Greek-speaking Stoic philosopher)

Scripture Text: (HEB 12:4-7, 11-15)

Brothers and sisters:

In your struggle against sin

you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:

My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord

or lose heart when reproved by him;

for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;

he scourges every son he acknowledges.

Endure your trials as "discipline";

God treats you as his sons.

For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline?

At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,

yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness

to those who are trained by it.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.

Make straight paths for your feet,

that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.

Strive for peace with everyone,

and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God,

that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble,

through which many may become defiled.

Who among us like discipline? This is not the discipline of our earthly father, but that of our heavenly Father. When we know we need to change, there's an internal stress within our hearts, the old person trying to let the new person come out. The change doesn't feel natural, so it's easy to go back to our old ways of doing things. It requires a different way of thinking, development of willpower and faith that we can accomplish this new goal. The best way I know how to do this is to invite God into my being and let him take control. I ask Him to change me, and somehow He accomplishes just what he wants to happen.