"If you are what you were meant to be, you will set the world on fire."

“Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation does not come from a voice out there calling me to be something I am not. It comes from a voice in here calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original selfhood given me at birth by God.” Father Thomas Merton

(Scripture Text: 1 COR 12:12-30)

Brothers and sisters:

As a body is one though it has many parts,

and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,

so also Christ.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,

whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,

and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Now the body is not a single part, but many.

If a foot should say,

“Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,

“it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.

Or if an ear should say,

“Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body, “

it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.

If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?

If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

But as it is, God placed the parts,

each one of them, in the body as he intended.

If they were all one part, where would the body be?

But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you, “

nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.”

Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker

are all the more necessary,

and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable

we surround with greater honor,

and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety,

whereas our more presentable parts do not need this.

But God has so constructed the body

as to give greater honor to a part that is without it,

so that there may be no division in the body,

but that the parts may have the same concern for one another.

If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it;

if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.

Some people God has designated in the church

to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers;

then, mighty deeds;

then gifts of healing, assistance, administration,

and varieties of tongues.

Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?

Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing?

Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

Upon hearing today’s second scripture reading at Mass, a few questions came to my mind.

What body part am I in the body of Christ?  What is my role with regards to other body parts and other members?  How do I serve the entire body with my actions?  Do I have a specific role or part that I contribute to the body?

I think what we all need to understand from this passage is, all of us have something to do for God and if we fail to live a life filled with Christ, the entire body of Christ suffers and in turn, so do we. 

Thus, we need to discern our role in the Body of Christ and trust in God’s grace to help us fulfill it. 


Indecision becomes decision with time

“I won't tell you that the world matters nothing, or the world's voice, or the voice of society. They matter a good deal. They matter far too much. But there are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely—or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading existence that the world in its hypocrisy demands. You have that moment now. Choose!” – Oscar Wilde

(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.

Jesus attracted crowds wherever he went. They came from near and far to see him, to witness the amazing things he was doing, to hear his words about love for God and other people.

But in any crowd – then and now – you get two kinds of people – the believers and the doubters. Jesus not only inspired wonder but also anger. Some for – some against. The cheerers - and the jeerers.

Which one are you?

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But the good Samaritan reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?” – Martin Luther King Jr.

(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.

The Sabbath is a day of rest. But, how can we rest when our neighbor cannot?

This man, standing before Jesus in today’s gospel passage needed help that Jesus was able to provide. How could Jesus have rested well if he had ignored this man’s request because it was the Sabbath?

If our neighbor is in need and we can serve him / her, I believe we have a duty to do so, and I believe that is what Jesus is saying here.

To rest well, is to know that we are serving our Lord well. If we ignore those in need, we are not serving him well.

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.” Therefore, according to the Gospel, any citizen can be a good Catholic – that is, side with Jesus Christ and the Pope, and do good to his fellow men – and at the same time side with Caesar, namely, observe the laws of the land, except when the rulers persecute religion or tyrannize the consciences and minds of citizens." – St John Bosco

(Scripture text: HEB 6: 10-20)

Brothers and sisters:

God is not unjust so as to overlook your work

and the love you have demonstrated for his name

by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones.

We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness

for the fulfillment of hope until the end,

so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who,

through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises.

When God made the promise to Abraham,

since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,

and said, I will indeed bless you and multiply you.

And so, after patient waiting, Abraham obtained the promise.

Now, men swear by someone greater than themselves;

for them an oath serves as a guarantee

and puts an end to all argument.

So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise

an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose,

he intervened with an oath,

so that by two immutable things,

in which it was impossible for God to lie,

we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged

to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.

This we have as an anchor of the soul,

sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,

where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner,

becoming high priest forever

according to the order of Melchizedek.

On this anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that opened the doors to legalized abortion, the Church asks us to pray for legal protection of the unborn.

If you’ve ever seen a fence around a pasture, you can understand the need to pray for a change in our laws. We all know that a pasture fence helps keep the animals together and provides protection from outside dangers. Could the sheep stay together without a fence? It’s possible, but not likely. Sheep aren’t very good at regulating themselves, after all.

Laws function in a similar way. They set limits for human behavior. While God created us to gravitate toward the good, sin has altered our attractions, and we now have trouble making the right choices. Where our natural impulses may take us down the wrong path, a good law can correct our trajectory. It holds us to a higher standard and helps us to live peacefully with each other.

So on this day of grim remembrance, let us take up the call to pray for just laws that protect the innocent. Such laws certainly would help stop the slaughter of unborn children. But even more important, laws protecting them could create some breathing room, an environment of safety until people’s hearts could come to a deeper and more lasting change. But let’s also pray for a transformation of minds and hearts, so that the protection of the unborn becomes a no-brainer.

May we all work for both results: just laws and softened hearts!