Lk 4:24-30 It was to the least that he came

Jesus while teaching in the synagogue in Nazareth mentions that no prophet is welcome in his own native place and proceeds to give examples of prophets who were in exile from their own people and staying with and helping those who were least of the others.  The people were really angry with Jesus because he was kind of calling them on their hypocrisy.  Why did he do this?  He already knew where their hearts lay, but he also wanted to challenge them, shake them up:  were they complacent in their faith like the people of old to whom God sent the prophets whom they ignored?  Those examples usually led to an overthrow by a foreign king.  The Jews listening to Jesus would definitely not have liked that, and thus like his predecessors, he had to leave them.

A young man asked recently about why Jesus had to die at the time he did.  Here within this Gospel reading we are told that it was not his appointed time, and so he slipped through their midst and left.  Although we have free will to choose, there seems to be an a time for all things:

"There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. Time to give birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. " Eccl 3:1-2

Lk 13:1-9 Parable of the Fig Tree

(If your church is holding Scrutinies, the readings will be different.)

Today our catechism classes are learning about the parable of the fig tree that did not produce fruit, but the gardener asked if he could have a year to fertilize it that it may produce fruit.  Our lives are like the fig tree in the story.  As we do good works we grow and blossom.  However, if we remain closed up and refuse to grow, we wither and die.  The children will be working on a reflection where they will think about those things that they have done for others this past week, those things for their own needs, and those things done for others because they knew it was the right things to do, meaning for God's sake.  The other part of the reflection will include notes that other classes have made for them to encourage them in their Lenten journey. 

As we go through our day, in what ways are we helping ourselves to grow and blossom through the love of God's tender nurturing and feeding? 

Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 The Prodigal Son

For today's readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022716.cfm

Children are a parents' joy.  No matter how old parents and children get, there tends to be a joy of being together as they once were.  Holidays tend to be when families get together again.  In America they can be tense times as grown children are thrust back into old roles that they had as young children and sibling jealousies pop-up.  This happens just like it happened in the parable of the prodigal son. 

The one is jealous of his brother who has gone and squandered his money while he stayed with his father.  He did the right thing, yet feels that his brother got the better end of the deal.  The father is trying to welcome his other son though, letting him know that no matter what he has suffered or gone through, he is loved, honored and respected for who he is, not the externalities.  There is hope for each of us in the Father's kingdom.

Mt 21:33-43, 45-46 The Master of the Vinyard

Pharisees and Sadducees surround Jesus to hear him preach.  What does Jesus present to them?  The allegory of the vineyard master to sends his servants and then his son to collect the rent from the wicked tenants.  Jesus' message is clear in Matthew:  The Pharisees and the Sadducees are those tenants. In reality the talk about having Jesus executed has already begun. 

Wait, what did Jesus say?  Those wicked tenants would be killed and the land rented to others?  Isn't God kind and loving?  Did Jesus really say that?  We could imagine the evangelist writing it down or others invented the story or embellished it to make it more dramatic.  Some people tend to do that to make themselves feel safe with the idea that God wouldn't do that, that he truly loves everyone. 

However, maybe it serves as a big red WARNING sign that hey, you should feel uncomfortable.  Be awake and aware of what you are doing.  One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is fear of the Lord (Timor Dei) and this is what Jesus is invoking in us.  Be on guard, think.  Act righteously.  How can Jesus' words help shake us up and help us get back on track? 

Lk 16:19-31 The Rich Man and Lazarus

Just as innocently as a child we can find ourselves in situations where our pride and greed get the better of us.  Once is not a bad thing.  However, we need to be cautious that they do not become bad habits which eventually will turn into great sins. 

In today’s Gospel Luke gives a beautiful contrast between the rich man and Lazarus.  The rich man has a lavish lifestyle and has fallen into bad habits which become a bane to him, prohibiting him from seeing that they are truly sinful.  He exhibits what we would consider the cardinal vices: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth.  Thus for these he is condemned to suffering eternally.  As we hear in Jeremiah, “Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD.”     

Lazarus on the other hand was a poor man who spent his days in the doorway of the rich man.  Seeing Lazarus across the chasm with our father of faith, Abraham, the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus over so the Lazarus could drop some water on his tongue to refresh him.  The rich man even in death hasn’t fully learned.  Abraham must explain to him that Lazarus was a good faithful man.  In fact we can almost imagine him the very opposite of the rich man exhibiting in his difficult life the Cardinal virtues:  prudence, justice, temperance (meaning restriction or restraint), and courage (or fortitude), faith, hope, and charity. 

Why are we given these two men as examples?  Jesus wants us to understand the correct way of living the way that Our Father wants us to live in our covenant with him.  For the rich man he had Abraham to explain and show him the error of his way.  For us, we have Christ.  And he reminds us, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”  Let us not be hard headed like the rich man, but prayerfully ask the Lord his mercy and forgiveness that we may one day be ushered through the door of Heaven, just as poor Lazarus who sat patiently at the door waiting to be asked in. 

(Side note: Cardinal comes from a Latin word meaning hinge.  They are the hinge upon which the door swings good or bad.)

Matthew 20: 17-28 The Request of Salome

All three readings, the first reading, the Psalm, and the Gospel share being plotted against, and trapped.  The Psalm it the universal lament of mankind that occasionally feels the world is against us.  We are not to despair.  The Pslam encourages us,

"You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God."

Jesus himself is being plotted against.  In the Gospel he tells the Apostles that he will be handed over and condemned to death. 

In the reading too we hear Mary Salome, a disciple of Jesus and mother of James and John, begging that Jesus let her sons sit at his left and right when Jesus came into his kingdom.  She does not yet fully understand what she is asking.  Jesus points that out to her.  Then Jesus asks the Apostles if they are able to drink from the chalice from which he is to drink.  This is an intimate ancient gesture that binds people.  Jesus tells them that they will also drink from the same cup.  Jesus reminds them that humility is to be practiced, that they ought not to lord over others: that the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and that it is not for him to decide who is placed at his right and at his left in the Heavenly Kingdom.  That is the Father's role. 

And what of Mary called Salome?  She will come to understand as Christ is fully revealed to her as she stands with the Blessed Mother at the Crucifixion and is one of the women present at the tomb at the Resurrection. 

Matthew 23:1-12 Practice what you preach.

"Do not follow their example for the preach, but do not practice." Jesus says in today's Gospel.  People can be such hypocrites.  The Pharisees and scribes are not exception.  We use the idiom, 'Practice what you preach.' Obviously we as a people in general don't like people who make themselves the exception to the rule. 

Jesus is really calling to be aware of our actions and words.  Perhaps it is good to put on a persona of greatness in some aspects of our lives for business, but you know what, Jesus is reminding to live in reality and remember that we're just human: we all put our pants on the same way, one leg at a time.

Matthew 16: 13-19 The Confession of St. Peter

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter also known as 'cathedra petri'. This has been celebrated since early times as a special commemoration of the primatal authority of St. Peter.

Jesus called Simon Peter to be a fisher of men.  Peter came.  Then later when Jesus asks who people say that he is, Simon Peter reflects upon Jesus' life, his teachings and puts them into context with what he knows of his faith in the sacred scriptures of the prophets and the Law, and he realizes who Jesus is.  He is inspired by the Spirit.  Simon Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah.  God had revealed this to him.  As specially anointed to preach this, Jesus tells him that he is Peter.  He is the rock on which he would build his church.  This is the primal authority of St. Peter. 

As outspoken and at times having little faith, embodying all the faults of someone truly human, Peter is chosen of them all to lead the others in the Way.  God is with him as he tries to grasp what is being revealed to him, and also drives Peter to want to be even more intimately close to him.  It is a great trust and responsibility placed upon Peter's shoulders, but will become even greater as the Passion and Crucifixion grow close.  In our Lenten journey we look toward Peter's successor, Pope Francis, for our cues to that which will bring us closer to our Lord.     

Luke 9:28b-36 The Transfiguration

Luke gives us the impression of the Lord glorified so much so that the Apostles are awed.  Remember that Luke was a doctor writing to Gentile readers about Christ and how to be good disciples.  He is also interested in examining things.  This reading as Jesus and some of the Apostles are on the mountain praying it is hard not to think about the other garden that Jesus would so famously pray in at Gethsemane.  In this is the Transfiguration, a pledge of Jesus Christ’s full glory revealed. In the other garden, he would be taken to suffer through the Passion that led to the Cross. 

           

Jesus is not alone as he prays.  Moses and Elijah are with him.  They were conversing about Jesus’ death and everything that would happen in Jerusalem.  One of our early Church Fathers, Tertullian, wrote that Moses and Elijah represented the Law and the Prophets.  They appear dwelling within the Lord High God.  Peter recognizes them and wants almost to capture them knowing that truly this must mean that Jesus is the Messiah.  Peter in the passage before today’s reading as confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, but like then, he is commanded by God the Father to be silent and to listen to what the Word, that is Jesus the Christ, His only Son, has to say.  Christ is the fulfillment of the Law and as prophet, speaks for God.  At the same time Jesus came to make a new covenant with his people through his love, mercy and grace upon the Cross for the salvation of mankind. 

Matthew 5: 43-48 Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you

Jesus is an amazing person.  He is teaching us to be like him.

How do we do this?  In the first reading today Moses is telling the people that we are God's people.  We are to keep his commands.  God will be with us because he has made this covenant, this agreement with us. 

Jesus however reminds us again that it is not enough to follow the commands.  He tells us that although we were told before "to love our neighbor and hate our enemy.  But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you." 

Jesus came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.  In catechism we are taught that the Laws were to serve as guides that would teach us how to live as holy people.  Jesus is that culmination, he is holy.  He has become God made man.  He invites us to follow him.  We don't have to wait until tomorrow.  "Now is the acceptable time." God is with us in the present moment. 

Matthew 5:20-26 A New Heart

Today's antiphon:
"Cast away from you all the crimes that you have committed, says the Lord, and make for yourselves a new heart and spirit."  (Ez 18:31)

Jesus is calling us not just to follow the Law, but follow the spirit of the Law.  Jesus recognized that people were following the rules set for for them by the Ten Commandments, but that was it, they were missing the Spirit of the Law.  That Spirit is why we have the laws, because they were intended to help us form a good conscious, yes, to know right from wrong.  The Laws were also intended to help us form good relationships with each other as our brothers' keeper because we are all members of the world and as such our relationships are interwoven and complex.  Think about it.  Who helped to make your clothes?  You've never met them, and yet they have impacted your life significantly.  Or what about the food that you eat?  You probably haven't met most of the people responsible for it being on your plate, but they have impacted your life. 

Jesus is reminding us that yes, we can follow the Law and be good people.  However he is calling us to go beyond the letter of the Law and acknowledge that we have a greater responsibility than just what the Law calls for.  We are called into communion with each other and in doing so, with God.  When we can see the face of God in others, then we know that we are close to being who Jesus challenges us to be because our hearts are changed.  He is calling us to a new beginning.  It isn't an easy road and if we struggle today, then we always have tomorrow to try again.

Matthew 7: 7-12 the Golden Rule

Queen Esther is one of those great female heroes of the Old Testament.  The Israelites are in captivity in Babylon.  She, specifically is living in Susa.  As an orphan, her uncle, Mordechai, has raised her in the Jewish faith as his adopted daughter to be a good humble woman who loves and honors God, following the Lord’s commands.    God granted her the gifts of beauty and humility.  When she was allowed into the harem of the king, they helped her to become his queen.  When the people of Israel were persecuted and threatened to be killed by the vizier, Esther made humble supplications to the Lord in prayer for help against the coming tribulations of her people.  The Lord God heard his daughter and saved his people.  Everything about Esther seems to have been preordained to help the Lord's people, but she plays an active role in their continuation, as well as serving as an example of true feminine beauty not only outwardly, but inwardly.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus in speaking about prayer reiterates that God listens to his people.  As a loving Father he will give us what we need, what is best for us.   He also reminds us that we are to “do to others whatever you would have them do to you.  This is the Law and the Prophets.”  Jesus is giving us what some call the Golden Rule.

As we continue our Lenten path, may our humility and virtues let us shine with inward beauty and humility as we grow closer to God. 

Luke 11: 29-32 The Sign of Jonah

How many of us look for a sign of the Lord's intervention in our life.  How easily we could be these in the "evil generation looking for a sign, but none will be given except that of Jonah."  Jonah spent three days in the belly of a fish.  It was a foreshadowing of the three days that Christ would spend in the belly of the earth before his Resurrection.

We are invited like the people of Nineveh to repent because we are warned of the coming of the wrath of God to those who are not humbled, that through the Lords mercy on those who love him, we may be saved.  And how?  Through the saving act of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Resurrection on the third day.  We are called in our Lenten journey to repent, to sacrifice, to be humbled, that we may allow God to resume his rightful place in our hearts; that we allow his will to be done over our own.  In his love and mercy, he will forgive us.  Remember Christ Jesus taught us the prayer that gives us hope in this. 

Reflection 6:7-15 The Our Father

Prayer is such a gift.  Jesus teaches us to pray the Our Father using a sort of ancient formula. He starts with praising God the Almighty, praising his Holy Name, and he asks for God's will to be done.  Next Jesus teaches us to ask for forgiveness of our sins, and the spiritual nourishment that we need to forgive others.  Then we ask for protection from evil.


When God spoke to Abram after the blessing of the high priest Melchizedek (Genesis 14: 18-20)  he assured Abram and told Abram that He was Abram's shield.  He is our protection from evil.  Through out scripture, from the Old Testament to the New, God is very insistant about praise.  In the Our Father that Jesus gives us today, we are acknowledging how great God is and how small and insignificant we are. We want his will to be done and so recognizing his greatness allows us to be humbled so that we can open our hearts to him, and recognize too how silly it is to try to twist God into doing our will.  God is so good that he sent his only son to die for us, that we may live and have a place in his family as his adopted sons and daughters.  We are looking for reconciliation with the Father so that separated from him we may never be.  That is love reciprocated.

Reflection Mt 25: 31-46 The Face of God Is in Our Brother

“You shall not bear hatred in your heart for your brother.” The Lord commands through Moses.  How many times have we each felt someone’s wrath, annoyance toward us, or just that look that left us crushed?  When we acknowledge how we feel, then suddenly we know it is wrong to hate others.  Perhaps our anger will melt into compassion and understanding especially when we recall in today’s Gospel that Jesus reminds us that he is those people that we help, that we give encouragement; he is within the hungry, the thirsty and the poor.  Mother Theresa called this Jesus’ “distressing disguise of the poor” when he appeared to her in the form of those who needed help. 

Christ is in each of us.  Do you recall Jesus told us that he would send us the Paraclete to help us discern what we must do to continue on the Way?  Jesus also told us “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (Jn 14:15) And what was his command?  “Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you should love one another.” (Jn 13:34)  Isn’t that what Jesus is reiterating today when he tells us, “I was hungry and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me,” explaining that whenever the disciples or we ‘do it for the least brothers of mine, you did it for me.” (Mt 25:35-36, 40)  Let us be certain that when we give, we give to Christ and for Christ in whatever form we meet him with charitable hearts that preserves the dignity of our brethren for our love of God.  Amen.

Luke 4:1-13 Temptation in the Desert

"Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days..."

These lines remind us of Jesus' baptism at the Jordan when the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and the Voice of God the Father was heard saying, "This is my son in whom I am well pleased."  The Spirit then brings him to the desert where he is tempted. 

We are all temped every one of us, even once we are baptized.  We are given the fruits of the Spirit to help us in our life's journeys.  What are these gifts from God that we should be aware of and be comfortable employing in face of temptations and life's troubles?  They are wisdom, understanding, fortitude, counsel, knowledge, piety, and fear/awe of the Lord.  These gifts can help us so much.  They helped Jesus in the temptations in the desert.  These gifts of the Holy Spirit helped to lead Jesus our of the desert.  They help us too in our tough times.  When we lose our pride and ask God for help, that is when we can be led by the Spirit the best. 

We are called to conversion and our Lenten journey should help us there.  Let the Spirit guide you in his love and mercy, through acts of kindness and charity toward others. 

Luke 5: 27-32 Calling of Levi

for today's reading: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/021316.cfm

In today's reading Jesus calls Levi and the other tax collectors to follow him.  Jesus is showing us that we can be called, every one of us, to follow him.  It doesn't matter if we are sinners or saints, the door to the Father's banquet is open to each of us.  It is the Father's love that calls us. 

The scribes and Pharisees are adherents to the law, but the laws have become and end to themselves.  Jesus is here to offer us a new covenant made the Father's love and through the Holy Spirit.  Are we ready to accept the Lord's invitation to follow him no matter what others may say or think about us?  Are we ready to have our eyes focused solely on him?  Are we ready to embrace the call to be saints who wear jeans, chew bubble gum, and drink soda and eat fries?  Everyone is called. 

Matthew 9:14-15

for today's reading (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/021216.cfm)

Today Jesus is asked why he and his disciples do not fast.  He answers, "Can the wedding guests mourn when the bridegroom is with them?" 

The contrast is striking: Mourning and joyful.  He reminds us that he is the groom.  We are his love.  How can we be sad?  This Lent are we mindful of his immense love?  What sacrifice can we give him that will bring us closer to him?  Is it a sacrifice of prayer?  A few brief moments before the tabernacles between work and lunch?  How do we make him our first priority?  The answer is different for everyone.  Let the Spirit lead you. 

Luke 9:22-25 Thursday after Ash Wednesday

for today's reading (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/021116.cfm)

Whomever Loses His Life for My Sake Will Save It

Today’s readings seem almost oppressive and foreboding.  Moses tells us that we must follow laws, statutes and decrees to live and grow numerous.  Jesus tells us about suffering, death, and following him with our own crosses. 

It is not always easy to follow rules.  Do we tend to see people slow down at stop lights when the light is yellow, or do people to try make the light?  How many times do we see people cross the road when they are not in a crosswalk?  How many people do we know who have received speeding or parking tickets? Rules within society are designed to help us remain safe and function together peacefully as a whole.  They serve a beneficial purpose though we may not always see it that way.

Currently among the high school/junior high group is a game called, “All Hail! Chairman Mao!” or simply “Mao.”  It is a game where the fixed rules are the ones regarding penalties.  The other rules are added by the first player each round of the card game.   Players must figure them out as they are played, and suffer the consequences for the rule violation.  It can be a frustrating game, but fun to watch each other struggle.  Sometimes players do become angry enough they don’t want to play anymore. 

If our lives were like the game of Mao and we would be ignorant of the right way to live and the wrong way.  We would be penalized for doing wrong in our ignorance.  How would we know that God loved us?  Would we love God the way we do?  Probably not.

In the first reading Moses reminds us that as God’s prophet he has laid out the two paths that our loving God has given to us, the path which if we follow the Lord’s commands, statutes and decrees, will allow us to live and grow numerous.  This is the way that God will bless us for our reciprocated love.  However, Moses says, “you turn your hearts away and will not listen, but are led astray…you shall certainly perish.”  When parents make rules within their homes for their children, it is out of love.  They want to protect, to teach their children to love and serve each other, and parents want to teach their children the path to righteousness.  Thus, when we look at the Laws of God, in this way, do we not want to obey them?  Can we not see that our Father guides us through them?  We are on a journey carrying our crosses whatever they may be, but God is providing us directions for the journey, calling us into communities that help us understand where we are being led, and will meet us at our journey’s end.

Jesus foretells of his suffering, crucifixion and death.  He states that he will be resurrected.  This was his journey, his death, his life so that we may have life.  Jesus revealed to us the fullness of God’s plan of salvation for his people, for us, because He so loves us.  We are called to acknowledge the passing of this life as merely transient, that we should be focused on what is eternal.  We are not to be afraid of death, but embrace it as a friend who will take us to the Kingdom.  Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whomever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whomever loses his life for my sake will save it.”  Our Lenten journey helps us to remember our crosses, the Way that Jesus taught so that we may have eternal life, and how grateful we are that God so loves us. 

Let us pray this Lent the words of St. Benedict:  Merciful God in infinite compassion, whose creating power called us forth from the dust of the earth, in this, the acceptable time, lead us inward to be at peace with you, impel us outward to be reconciled with our neighbor, that we may embrace the sacred discipline of lent with broken, humbled hearts so come to the blessed joy of the paschal feast cleansed and renewed.  We ask this of you.  Amen.

Mt 6: 1-6, 16-18 Ash Wednesday

for today's reading http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/021016.cfm

Today we are summoned to repentance, to reflection, to renew ourselves in God's eyes as his holy people.  Called to fasting we lose ourselves to this world and place ourselves in solidarity with Christ's suffering as we prepare for his Resurrection at Easter.  It is also a time too for us to refocus our loves upon the Lord, to renew ourselves to his laws, to do his will.

I offer you the prayer of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton:

O Father, the first rule of our dear savior's life was to do Your Will.  Let His Will of the present moment be the first rule of our daily life and work with no other desire but for its most full and complete accomplishment.  Help us to follow it faithfully, so that doing what You wish we will be pleasing to you.  Amen.

Mark 6:53-56 Crossing the Waters

Marriage is a reflection of the relationship that we have with God, and the Church's relationship with Christ.  For those reasons it is very sacred. Two of the sets of relationships that we are given in today's Gospel are the intimate relationship between Jesus and the Apostles after they have been called, and that between Christ and the people whom he loves and has great compassion for. 

A Jesuit taught me once that for better understanding of the Gospel sometimes it is helpful to put yourself into the story.  I imagined myself as one of the Apostles.  It was almost overwhelming until I realized that it is how we are called to service even now in our personal lives.  Then I imagined myself as one of the people waiting for the Lord, and recognizing him.  How I realized that this was my true Spouse, the one from the Song of Songs, whom I would recognize as a lover and want to be with always: the one whose gentle touch could free me from everything around me, pulling me out of troubled thoughts, and make me forget everything around me as we joined thoughts and are healed in that communion. It reminded me of the prayer of St. Ignatius: "Lord receive my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my will...give me only your love and grace, and that is enough for me." 

But there is another entity entirely missed within the story: the Sea of Gennesaret.  The beautiful sea created by God himself and animated with the movement of the Spirit.  Upon its surface the light is reflected.  The sea is molded and shaped by the Master continuously. From within it comes forth life.  Yet when others and perhaps even the sea itself seems barren, the Lord commands the nets be lowered into its deepest parts, which brings forth abundant life, like the Lord himself living within the deepest parts of us just waiting for us to need him enough to be seen and heard from those quiet recesses within.  We are more than that too.  We are the sea which becomes that vessel carrying Christ and his teaching to others; we are the living water bringing a quenching drink to the thirsty and food to the hungry through His generosity when we share his Way, his Truth, and his Life.  The people we read about today are healed by the mere touching of the Lord's tassel.  Are we that that vessel of his love too? 

Every day I pray this prayer, and today it finds new meaning. I share it here with you.

 "Lord, temper my heart with the fire of your mercy

so that I may be a worthy vessel for your love. Amen. "

~ H. Hurley

Luke 5: 1-11 Fishers of Men

For today's readings http://usccb.org/bible/readings/020716.cfm

My apologies dear friends for my tardy blog.  I ask prayers for a dear friend who died this morning.  Her name is Grace.  Most of my day was spent making telephone calls to those I was to contact when she died.

In today's Gospel we read about how Simon Peter and the others were called to be fishers of men.  As experienced fishermen they knew their business.  Yet Jesus was calling them to something more.  In my youth I read Siddhartha by Herman Hess.  I cannot forget his use of the water to illustrate spiritual growth.  Being in the deep, that wide unknown, alone with God, what a difficult thing to describe.  This is where Apostles were led by Jesus, our Lord calling to them.  How much spiritual wisdom and teaching is imparted to them, and yet we hear it in simplified terms as they will be fishers of men, and will catch more than their nets will hold.  We are likewise taught by our teachers, in a great line extending to these Apostles to also be fishers of men.  My the children being taught yesterday this could come in many ways: being there for others, celebrating birthdays, blessings family and friends, encouraging each other especially in faith.  Basically we do this through living a Christian life.

(Photo from private collection.  All rights reserved)

Mark 6: 30-34

readings for today (http://usccb.org/bible/readings/020616.cfm)

Jesus tries to impart that after we go out and give forth, then it is time to withdraw, recount for ourselves and to God what we have done.  then we take a step back in order to spend sometimes being nourished by Him who has sent us into the world, by his Word, and his Spirit.  This mimics the spiritual life in each of us. 

Sometimes though, as Jesus shows us, we need to continue to sacrifice of ourselves as he and the Apostles did when they came to the shore of the once deserted place and the crowds waited for them.  Yes, it is good to reflect and take that step back to re-center and focus again on God's mission for us, but we must also be present to others when their needs are greater than our own, whether or not we can help, being present recognized the dignity of the human person and the face of God within them.  Jesus had plans for the disciples, but these people who came to him had been known to God before they were in the womb.  Perhaps he knew they would meet them, or perhaps the call the heard within their hearts was so great, they felt they needed to be close to him, to be in communion with him.  Blessed are those who are meek and humble, theirs is the Kingdom of God. 

Mark 6:14-29 Martrydom of John the Baptist

for today's reading (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/020516.cfm)

“The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity.”  ~Tertullian

What is it that the saints knew that gave them such a peace of mind in the midst of their tribulations?   Today is the feast of St. Agatha, born into a distinguished family, who was tortured and eventually martyred (to be venerated as a virgin martyr since Christian antiquity) for her steadfast faith which contributed to her refusal of the illicit invitation of a suitor. We also learn today about John the Baptist who professed our faith too, and was held captive, probably tortured, and likewise martyred.  What caused them to remain calm amidst the tumult?  St. Ambrose helps us to understand, “The Lord is very near, there is no need to worry: the Lord is always near to anyone who calls on him in truth, with right faith, with firm hope, with perfect love. He himself knows what you need before you ask it of him: he is always ready to give his faithful servants whatever help they need. When bad things happen to us we should not be greatly worried, because we should know that we have God close to us as our defender. The Lord is close to those with contrite hearts; those with a broken spirit he will save. Many are the tribulations of the just; the Lord will free them of all their troubles. If we fight to fulfil and keep his precepts, he will not be slow to give us the aid he has promised.”

Martyrdom was a fulfillment of a life lived in love and service to the Lord. From the moment he leapt in his mother’s womb, to the point of his death, John the Baptist’s whole life pointed to Christ.  It was in Christ that he found perfect happiness. Perhaps we have been persecuted ourselves for our Christian way of life. Sometimes extraordinary witnesses are called to offer a greater witness to this Way of life.    Our communion antiphon today reminds us, “Blessed are they who have kept the Word with a generous heart, and yield a harvest through perseverance.” (Lk 8:15)  Let us join St. Agatha and John the Baptist in shaping our lives to point to Christ. 

Mark 6:7-13 Called to the Journey Through Humility

For today's readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/020416.cfm)

In today’s Gospel Jesus sends the disciples out two by two with instructions to take nothing with them except a walking stick and the authority over unclean spirits.  It was a faith walk.  We have all been on them to some degree.  Where they were welcomed, they could stay.  Where they were not welcomed, they should move on and “shake the dirt from their feet” meaning they should leave everything, even ill sentiments behind.  They went and preached repentance, drove out demons, anointed, and cured the sick.

Jesus is the eternal Word of God that came and lived among us.  He is the fullness of God’s Revelation to us.  Our faith is the free affirmative response to God’s calling to us.   Grace is God’s life in us.  God’s love for us, as through the Son, is limitless.  Living our faith, like the disciples do when he calls them on their journey, is saying “yes” to Jesus’s call to bring the reign of God.  This reign of God is His saving love fully manifest in the world.  We this transmitted to those who have faith, to the disciples, to us. Miracles are only one sign of this love, and we hear about them a little today as the disciples share the reign of God through their call for repentance and to receive God’s love.  It is an affirmation too that although God is everywhere, although temporarily limited in His human form, we are likewise called to share in His work.   By professing God, by sharing the teachings of Christ, the disciples were publicly professing their faith.  We are called to do that too.  This is one of the reasons that we state our creed, our beliefs at mass.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Whoever says ‘I believe’ says, “I pledge myself to what we believe.” (CCC 185) 

In the first reading today we meet David and Solomon.  Solomon receives the kingdom to rule and keep.  They are our examples of men of faith.  Both, like us are sinners.  The difference is that David, as many bad things as he did, repented of his sins and asked God forgiveness.  He received the gift of humility.  We do not see that with Solomon.  So which do we use as our example today when we hear the call to follow the Word of God?  Are we ready to go with as little as the disciples, except for our great faith?

Mark 6:1-6 Forgive Me, Lord

For today's readings:  http://usccb.org/bible/readings/020316.cfm

We have heard variations of this Gospel reading a couple of times in January.  Hearing it so much we are mindful of those times that he inflate ourselves and think ourselves all-powerful, losing sight of the fact that we should be humbled before the presence of our all-might ever-living God the Most High. 

The early Christian church was plagued with heresies in which Jesus was considered totally God, or completely man.  Even the Jewish people, many of them in Jesus' time took him merely as a prophet.  Yet it was revealed to a few, and then to billions of people throughout the last two millennia that this was truly God made manifest.  We are called to reflect on our sins and bow down before him in true contrition to ask forgiveness before he turns his back on us as he did those who rejected him at Nazareth.  The Lord offers us the opportunity to repent just as he did his servant David.  We are given the Sacrament of Reconciliation in which we can be given absolution for our sins and given new life with purity of soul and a clean heart.  Let us embrace this Sacrament while we can. We are the Lord's beloved and he wants nothing more than to be in full communion with us.

"Lord, forgive the wrong that I have done." (Today's responsorial psalm.)

Luke 2:22-40 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

for today's readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/020216.cfm)

Today's readings speak of the messenger(s) that come before the Lord proclaiming him to the people. Who instructs Simeon to act out as the prophet?  Or even Anna to know and announce that here is the Christ child?  It is the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit animates both of them.  Simeon, who is promised that he would behold the virgin with the Christ Child before he dies, utters a prayer, in Latin called the Nunc Dimittis.  (This is the prayer used at the end of compline, or the evening prayer for the Liturgy of the Hours.)

Simeon is like Elizabeth and Zachary, the family of the Virgin Mary.  He is pious, aged, and looking for the fulfillment of God's promises to the people of Israel.  It is through the grace of God that Simeon comes to know and welcome the Lord to the temple and acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, the Comforter of the people, the king chosen by God to reign over his people.  The Holy Spirit is offering hope as well as a light into the divine mystery of God made manifest as our Savior.  Through Simeon gives a more complete picture of the Old Testament predictions of the Messiah.  Anna too through her charisms of the Holy Spirit us the same idea, that here indeed is the Messiah come to fulfill the prophesies of the Old Testament.  She praises God and proclaims the infant to those who longed for the redemption of Jerusalem.  Anna and Simeon are witnesses to the Truth, prophets of God proclaiming, exhorting, and comforting the people awaiting the Messiah.   They represent the link between the Old Covenant and the celebration of the New Covenant made through Christ.

Mark 5:1-20 Legion

(for today's reading) http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/020116.cfm

Have you ever experienced something in life that just felt like Divine intervention, that God was right there with you?  In today's Gospel reading Jesus and his disciples have left the crowded shores of the sea.  Jesus had been so exhausted that he'd slept through the storm, and then stilled the storm and waters showing his Divinity over even nature.  Now they have just landed in tiny Gerasenes where they meet they meet this man possessed.  To read the description of the possessed man it may invoke images of Grendel, that 'monster' in the 2007 production of Beowulf as he claws around the shore seeking for his cave. 

It is still a man Jesus and the others meet.  It is as if Jesus had them come here for some divine work that he had planned for someone that he has loved since the beginning of time; a man for whom he came to bring salvation from the evils that plagued him.  Jesus does this. With this story comes the hope of salvation for each of us as individuals.