“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.

 

“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.

 

“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.

 

“What I know for sure is that speaking the TRUTH and more importantly living the TRUTH are the most powerful tools we have…..While in no sense can our government be called "totalitarian" let us not miss the advance of "the dictatorship of relativism" that ultimately will not respect or honor religious teachings and conscience demands that run counter to the prevailing culture…… People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it’s served up…. Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the TRUTH. Do the right thing because it is right….. Every mind must make its choice between TRUTH and repose. It cannot have both.”

Gospel Text: (Mk 1:40-45)

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him, 
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

 

The “popular Jesus” is not always the “real Jesus.”  In other words, the authentic Gospel message is not normally that which our popular culture will hold up as exciting.  Jesus and His authentic Gospel message will not always make headlines in the national news.  Rather, if we want to find Him, we must diligently seek Him in the hidden and quiet places where He waits for us.