“… you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say” (Mt 10:18-19).

Can you feel the anxiety building within his followers? I can! Presented with the possibility of being dragged before family, peers, and local governance can be daunting. The stomach acid begins to swirl and butterflies take flight often before I preach before fellow believers!

When speaking about and/or defending our faith, anxiety arises because we are risking that the message, and more so, we, will not be received. This is because we are focusing more on our self. When Jesus invites us to speak of our faith he is asking us to express and not to impress. Jesus brings us into the Love of his Trinitarian communion. The Holy Spirit, the Love shared between the Father and the Son, who casts out all fear, is present to us to provide what we need to accomplish the task before us, to give us the words to speak, even in the midst of anxiety or fear. We need to learn to trust in him. As Mark Twain wrote: “Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it.”

One of the most powerful prayers during the Mass is during the Communion Rite at the end of the Lord’s Prayer: “Deliver us, Lord, we pray from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and SAFE FROM ALL DISTRESS, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ” (Bold letters mine).

Our anxieties and fears often present the temptation to be indifferent, indecisive, or to look the other way when the dignity of others are infringed upon. The feeling can be suffocating and choking, yet Archbishop Oscar A. Romero (1917-1980), of San Salvador, who was assassinated for publicly confronting the oppressive military in his diocese reminds us in his book, The Violence of Love, that, “There is no dichotomy between man and God’s image. Whoever tortures a human being, whoever abuses a human being, whoever outrages a human being abuses God’s image, and the church takes as its own that cross, that martyrdom.”

When the dignity of any person or people is infringed upon, in any way, may we speak up and act on behalf of those that are belittled, demeaned, or dehumanized. At the first moment that the smallest anxiety, worry or fear sends out its tendrils to grasp at and choke us, may we seek the strength of the Holy Spirit, trust that he will give us the words and the courage to speak what he would have us to say. In this way, may we “be God’s microphone” so as to shine a light in the darkness of oppression and fear.

Photo: Blessed Archbishop Oscar A. Romero with the people of San Salvador. Blessed Romero will be canonized a saint with Blessed Pope Paul VI this October 14, 2018.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, July 13, 2018:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071318.cfm

“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” (Mt 10:8).

We cannot buy the grace of God, we do not earn our way into the kingdom of heaven. God’s grace and presence is freely given, without cost. As with any gift, the joy and fulfillment comes from the willingness to receive and open the gift.

God has given us the gift of his Son. We have the choice to say yes or no to receiving him in our life, each and every moment, each and every day. When we say yes to receiving Jesus into our life, he does not come to dwell with us for our sake alone, we are invited to freely share him with others. The Second Vatican Council renewed this call for evangelization. We are to, as did the Apostles, his disciples, and each following generation, say what he said, do what he did, and live how he lived.

We say what Jesus said when we use our words to empower, affirm, heal, and to convict but not condemn. We do what Jesus did: when we build relationships and foster an encounter with one another, when through our acts of hospitality, mercy, forgiveness, healing, and being present, we attend to the needs of others, especially the most vulnerable in our midst.

We are to live as Jesus did. We are to be holy ourselves in every aspect of our conduct, as St. Peter wrote, “for it is written, ‘Be holy because I [am] holy’” (cf. 1 Peter 1:15-16). We begin to grow in holiness when we recognize, repent, choose no longer to be governed by, and seek healing from our own fears, pride, selfish and ego centered ways of living. We grow in holiness when we say yes to receiving the gift of the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit to come into our life to purge us from our indifference and fear so to be aflame with love. In this way, we will shift our posture from the stiff arm of keeping others at arm’s length and instead open our arms wide to embrace each other, to love one another by giving of ourselves without cost.

Sr. Norma Pimentel, M.J., executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, provides an example for us today of how we can live a life dedicated to “giving without cost”. She has allowed Jesus to minister through her as an advocate for the voiceless along the Texas/Mexico border. Sister Norma has been working with asylum seekers, immigrants, and refugees since the 1970’s, providing welcome, hospitality, and shelter, showing those seeking aid, that hope is still possible and that Jesus does care for their plight. Sr. Norma reflected recently on the beginning of her vocation by stating that, “During those first years of my religious formation, I quickly learned the importance of living out our faith by how we welcome and protect those that need us, especially the vulnerable stranger in our midst.”

Jesus may or may not be calling us to the border, but what he is inviting all of us to do, is to be open to receive the gift of the touch of his embrace, to be loved by him. In receiving the gift of his love, we will begin to see each other with his eyes, to see each other as human beings, created in the image and likeness of his Father. Jesus is calling us to love each other, to be willing to touch and accompany one another in our need. May we reach out and touch someone today.

We pray in thanksgiving for the boys who were rescued in Thailand. May we also pray for the rescue, the speedy, safe unification and healing from the trauma for those children and parents still separated from each other along our border.

Photo: Sr. Norma Pimentel, and Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich greet asylum seekers at the Humanitarian Respite Center at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, Texas, Aug. 15. (CNS/Courtesy of Catholic Extension)

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, July 12, 2018:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071218.cfm

“As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 10:7).

Empowered by Jesus, the Apostles were sent to proclaim that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand, that the God of all creation is present in our midst and seeks to restore a relationship with his fallen creatures. The Apostles are to continue Jesus’ saving act of restoring and healing humanity’s relationship with God, through word but more so through deed.

Salvation was to be experienced through encounter and interaction with individuals. The Apostles, followed Jesus who devoted himself to people, “accepting them, receiving them into fellowship with him and granting them forgiveness of sins. The power of his affirmation is to be found in his attention to the concrete individual, in particular to the despised, the abused, the sinner, but also involving himself with people in a very personal way… in giving himself away to them” (Gnilka 1997, 111).

We are called to do the same. Empowered by Jesus, we are sent to enter into the chaos of the concrete individuals in our midst and on the margins in a very personal way. Let us spend some time in prayer today asking Jesus to help us to identify our fear, prejudices, pride, and biases, so we may come to a place of contrition, sorrow for the hurt we have caused others from our actions and omissions of reaching out to love. May we ask Jesus to help us to be more present, accepting, understanding, kind and forgiving and ask him to whom does he wish to send us to bring his light, love, mercy, and fellowship, so to spread his proclamation: “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Photo: Lifting one another up!

Gnilka, Joachim. Jesus of Nazareth: Message and History. Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997.

Link for the Mass reading for Wednesday, July 11, 2018:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071118.cfm

“At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36).

There is much that pulls at us for our time and attention. Jesus witnessed the anxieties, struggles, pain, and lost nature of those in his midst. Are we so different today? Jesus knows the Father, he knows the joy and fulfillment of what being in a full relationship with him entails. Jesus saw then and sees in us now how lost we are, how easily distracted we are, how much we put before our relationship with God, and he “is moved with pity.”

Jesus’ heart goes out to us, he yearns to be one with us, he loves us, but in that very act of love, he risks. He loves us so much, that he is willing to let us choose ourselves, others, or a myriad of pursuits over him. Jesus invites us to enjoy developing a relationship with his Father, while at the same time he does not impose himself on us. We are given the whole world to choose from or we can choose him. Who do we put first? Is God a priority in our life? If we find that God is at best an after-thought, or at worst a no thought, what is it that we may be choosing over him? Instead of our getting to know God better, what are we putting before him?

Jesus invites us, but too often, we choose other pleasures, distractions, temptations, and apparent goods. With time and experience we may come to see the emptiness of the lure of these worldly promises, as well as see that our attachments to these often lead to many of our troubles, struggles, trials, and annoyances. We may also get in touch with our feeling unfulfilled, abandoned, and alone, because there is only one answer to our innermost longing, God himself.

Fr. Thomas Dubay writes that the “one who seeks delight in God alone finds peace and joy no matter what happens” (Dubay 1989, 154). Jesus offers to lead us, just as Jesus has led his disciples through the ages. He sees our potential, our promise, the fullness of who we can become. What made the difference for them, was that they said yes to the call of the Shepherd. How will we answer the Shepherd’s invitation today?

Photo: by Kat Jayne from Pexels

Dubay, S.M., Thomas. Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the Gospel on Prayer. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1989.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, July 10, 2018:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071018.cfm

“If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured (Mt 9:21-22).

Just to touch his cloak may seem a small and insignificant act, but by doing so, this woman showed tremendous courage. Suffering from hemorrhaging for twelve years, broke from spending all her resources to be healed, she risked. She could have been severely punished, beaten or stoned for this small act. Under the Levitical code her condition deemed her unclean, in the same category as a leper, a pariah. Touching someone else in that condition would then make them unclean. Yet, in that small touch, that great act of courage, “power had gone forth from him” (Mk 5:30), and she was completely healed. Not only did the woman have courage to touch Jesus, but to admit she had done so when Jesus questioned who had touched him.

In calling the woman who touched him out, Jesus was not condemning her, Jesus was acknowledging her faith and restoring her to the community from which she had been ostracized. Jesus restored her dignity. How many women today still feel and experience the pain of exclusion, not having access to the full and equal benefits of society and the Church? How many people are still considered outcasts and pariahs in our communities?

Pope Francis in his general audience from August 31, 2016 stated: “Once again Jesus, with his merciful behavior, shows the church the path it must take to reach out to every person so that each one can be healed in body and spirit and recover his or her dignity as a child of God”. May we treat each person we encounter, in person and online, with dignity, mercy, and respect. May we respect the dignity of the women in our realm of influence. May we have the courage and persistence of this woman, to risk and reach out to Jesus even when it may cost us to do so: Jesus who is present in the marginalized, those on the peripheries among us, those we may consider unclean. In so doing, in risking to reach out and touch one another, we will be healed and our lives transformed!

Icon of woman touching the cloak of Jesus

I invite you to read and meditate today on the story in full from each of the synoptic records: Mark 5:21-43, Matthew 9:18-26 and Luke 8:40-56. These are powerful accounts!

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, July 9, 2018:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071017.cfm

“Is he not the carpenter” (Mk 6:3)?

This is a fascinating phrase because it addresses a common question that many have. What was Jesus doing from the last time we read about him in the Gospel of Luke, when Mary and Jesus find him in the Temple, to the beginning of his public ministry? The years from twelve to thirty are often called the hidden years of Jesus because there is no written record describing Jesus or what he was doing during this time. There have been many speculations, but I believe that Mark encapsulates concisely what Jesus was doing in this verse: nothing unusual or out of the ordinary.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a small town of about two to four hundred residents. Most of the people lived a simple, agrarian lifestyle. Joseph was a tektōn, carpenter, as translated above, meaning he was most likely a common woodworker, and day laborer. He would have belonged to the artisan class. For us today, not so bad, but during this time period, it would have meant that Joseph and his family would have been considered on the lower rungs of the social ladder, lower than even the peasants “because they did not have the benefit of a stable plot of land” (Martin 2014, 78). The only people that would have been considered any lower in society would have been those considered outcasts and unclean.

What was Jesus doing during his life during these hidden years? Most likely, he started as an apprentice of Joseph. Together they lived a hard life on the margins, relied on God and each another. Jesus grew up as a faithful and devout Jewish man, and all else was pretty much uneventful. In today’s Gospel from Mark we see that Jesus has returned home after his ministry and outreach had already begun. Word of Jesus had gotten back to his hometown crowd that he had been casting out demons, healing the blind, the lame and the sick, and as witnessed in his home synagogue, taught with authority, his own. Jesus did not preface his teaching by sharing which Rabbi or scribe he was citing.

Other than learning his faith from Mary, Joseph, and his extended family and local synagogue, most likely, nothing even theologically eventful happened while he grew up, because as is evidenced in today’s reading the crowd questioned, “Where did this man get all this?  What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter” (Mk 6:2-3)? How could this simpleton woodworker, who we have known all his life do or speak as he does?

The derogatory way in which tektōn was viewed may also be indirectly present in the four Gospel accounts as well. Mark is the only one who cites that Jesus is a tektōn directly. Matthew uses the phrase “carpenter’s son” (Mt 13:55), Luke and John do not even mention tektōn at all, writing, “Joseph’s son” (Lk 4:22) and “the son of Joseph” (Jn 6:42). The further away in time, the record cleans up Jesus a bit more.

What is the relevance of Mark’s simple phrase, “Is he not the carpenter?” (Mk 6:3), mean for us today? It means that the Son of God became human, lived a mundane and harsh life on the margins like many in our world today. It means that God began in small measured ways, even with his Son, regarding his plan of salvation that unfolds over time, in his time. We can be assured that God is continuing his work in us and through us as well today and that we can participate in that very plan.

Even if we believe in God, we may not feel that God is working in or through us. We may feel ineffectual, out of touch, overwhelmed, with little or no sense of direction. We may or those close to us, may have just been dealt with something unexpected and dire, or have been struggling chronically for a long time with health conditions. We may also feel life is going pretty well, that we are on top of the world, yet something is still missing, still alluding our grasp.

We need to slow down, if we want to catch up to God’s plan and follow his blueprint. No matter where we find ourselves in our present condition in life, Jesus has not left us to deal with our situation alone. Jesus understands what we are going through from his own experiences of humanity and because of his divinity, Jesus is in our midst, present and accompanying us today. We need to trust, be patient with him, and invite the carpenter into our situation. May we surrender our control to Jesus the tektōn, and work along side of him to build a firmer foundation for our life and for others. Knowing full well that as we align our faith more and more visibly to the teachings of Jesus, let us be prepared to receive some of the same rejection that Jesus did.

Photo: Summer projects, working with the Carpenter, physically and spiritually!

Martin, S.J., James. Jesus: A Pilgrimage. New York: Harper Collins, 2014.

Link for the Mass reading for Sunday, July 8, 2018:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070818.cfm

“Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved” (Mt 9:17).

Mark, Matthew and Luke all record the reference of pouring new wine into fresh wineskins. What Matthew adds is, “and both are preserved.” Luke adds: “[And] no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

The Gospel authors are reflecting the tensions of those who would follow Jesus and his new way and those who would not. To accept the Gospel, the Good News of the kingdom of God in their midst, one needs to change their mind and heart. “The tension, and often incompatibility, between the old and the new is part of every religious tradition and attends every change within that tradition. Matthew and Luke wrestled with it and adapted it to their community situation. Contemporary Christians have no less a challenge” (The Gospel of Mark, Donahue, SJ, p. 109). Matthew shared with his community that Jesus is the new Temple, the old has been destroyed. Following him in fact meant that both the old and new covenants would be preserved. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and prophets, he is the natural progression of what went before him.

We are invited to wrestle as well. The Church is called to change, to be transformed by the Living God. Many say the Church needs to change this and that, not realizing that we are the Church, the People of God, the Body of Christ. If the Church is to mature and grow each of us are to embrace transformation, being made anew through the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit. This invitation is a call to let go of those habits, lifestyles, behaviors, mindsets, attachments, and addictions that are weighing us down or worse holding us in bondage and slavery to our sin, keeping us separated from God. Much of the material and finite things we hold onto prevents us from receiving the new life God wants to pour into us.

Jesus has come to set us free from our enslavement to sin, he invites us to try some new wine, the message of his actions and teachings as recorded in the Gospels. We do not have to be afraid of the change and transformation Jesus is calling us to. As St Irenaeus, the second century bishop of Lyons is attributed to have written: “The Glory of God is Man fully alive!” Jesus is inviting us to live our life and live it to the full! To become new wineskins then, may we begin to identify and let go of those selfish and sinful inclinations that keep us from being filled by the new wine Jesus wants to pour in us. Each day may we create a place of stillness for God alone, for it is in the stillness of our hearts that we can hear God speak to us.

Let us spend some time in prayer today, to contemplate, and ask Jesus to reveal one attachment that is keeping us from actualizing our potential and who he calls us to be, one way in which we have been turning within ourselves instead of willing the good of another. Each time we come to God in stillness he will reveal to us that which distracts us from going deeper. You may be thinking the old wine is good, but I have had some of the new. The new wine is much better! As we are more and more conformed to Jesus, who we are remains intact, in fact, what falls away is the false self as we become more of our authentic and true self.

Photo: With Fr. Bill Burton, ofm. 2013 graduation from St Vincent de Paul Seminary. Fr. Bill definitely helped me to shed my old wine skin and put on the new so to better receive the new wine of the Gospel!

Donahue, John R. S.J., and Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. The Gospel of Mark. Vol. 2 of Sacra Pagina, edited by Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2002.

Parallel Scriptural accounts:

See Mark 2:22, Matthew 9:16-17 and Luke 5:37-39

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, July 7, 2018:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070718.cfm

“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Mt 9:12-13).

How could Jesus have called Matthew, named Levi in Mark and Luke, to be part of his inner circle and then how he could eat with sinners? Matthew is a tax collector. Tax collectors were, at the least, believed to be collecting money over and above, skimming off the top, the allotted prescribed taxes. Think of how much IRS agents are thought of in our country. At worst though, they were considered to be in collusion with the occupying power of Rome. Not only were they unethical and unclean, tax collectors were in league with the enemy! And Jesus is sitting down and eating with THEM!!!

In quoting Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” Jesus was drawing reference to the growing Pharisaic influence to aspire to and take on the ritual purity status of the priests sacrificing at the Temple. To be in favor with the religious leadership, to be accepted as part of the religious community, one had to follow certain prescriptions and practices, otherwise be recognized as unclean and while in that state, one did not belong to the community. Sharing table fellowship was a measure of that social construct, so if one was unclean, they were to eat alone.

Jesus would have none of that. Jesus sought to enter into relationship with anyone who was willing, even those who were considered on the outside, the peripheries, even unclean. He modeled for the people of his day, and says to us today, that we are loved for who we are and as we are, a beloved child of God. There is no THEM for Jesus! He bestowed and bestows his Mercy, Love, and Healing first, as the starting point. He accepted and accepts people first, builds relationships first, then continues to walk with us, to empower us to be perfect as his heavenly father is perfect (cf. Mt 5:48).

The bar of perfection is indeed high, higher than that of the Pharisees; the difference is that Jesus’ mercy is higher. Jesus meets us in our sin, but he does not want us to stay there. Jesus’ teachings are hard, but when we fall, he does not kick us in the teeth and cast us out of the community, he lays down with us, right in the dirt with us, face to face, wipes the tears from our eyes, offers his hand, and helps us to continue our journey.

No matter what you may be dealing with today, I invite you to accept the Love and Mercy Jesus extends to us at this moment, in this reading. I type as, Peter said, to you the reader, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, [rise and] walk” (Acts 3:6). Let us rise up, as did Matthew, and walk together with Jesus today. As we do so, may we also be willing to extend God’s Love and Mercy with those we will meet today.

Painting: The Calling of St Matthew – Caravagio, 1600

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, July 6 2018:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070618.cfm

Parallel readings: Mt 9:9-13, Mk 2:13-17, Lk 5:27-32

And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven” (Mt 9:2).

Matthew’s account of this scene is much simpler than Mark and Luke’s, but the point is the same. The person paralyzed received healing because some people were willing to bear his weight and creatively bring him to Jesus. In neither of the three accounts do we know who the people are that bring this man to Jesus for healing. Were they family, friends, or neighbor? It does not matter. They were aware of someone in need, they believed Jesus could heal, and they put forth the effort to bring this man to Jesus.

Are we like those men; are we aware? St. Mother Teresa often said that people are “not only hungry for bread – but hungry for love, naked not only for clothing – but naked for human dignity and respect, homeless not only for want of home and bricks, – but homeless because of rejection.” Let us resist the temptation to be indifferent to the needs of others, to rationalize why we ought not to care, or worse give in to our fears and prejudices so to dehumanize and reject others in need.

There are so many in need, so many who are hurting that we can feel overwhelmed about how or where to begin. We can start by being aware. How is God speaking to us in our conscience toward those who are in need. If we feel called to support the unborn – good, the refugee or immigrant – good, the disabled – good. There are so many more different needs that I can list. Let us not get trapped into criticizing others for reaching out to help in a different way than we feel called to do. We just need to be honest about where God is leading us and act as the four in our Gospel reading today did; be aware of someone in need, meet that need with the resources available, access our personal gifts of creativity and bring them to Jesus as we are able. By collaborating with Jesus in this way miracles can and do still happen.

Today, let us reject the temptation to turn away from another person in need, and instead rise up and live our faith as disciples of Jesus to love, to give of our self to respect the human dignity of those in our midst, and do as the writer of Hebrews shares, “Encourage each other while it is still today” (Hebrews 3:13).

The Lord hears the cry of the poor do we?

Painting: Healing of the Paralytic – James Tissot

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, July 5, 2018:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070518.cfm

See Mark 2:1-12, Matthew 9:1-8 and Luke 5:17-26

Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district (Mt 8-34).

After hearing of the healing of the demoniacs and the herd of swine rushing into the water, the townsfolk came out and begged Jesus to leave. This is also attested to in the Gospel of Mark 5:17. Luke adds that the people asked Jesus to leave because: “they were seized with great fear” (Lk 8:37). Jesus healed two demoniacs in Matthew’s account, one in the Mark and Luke accounts, and the people asked him to leave. Hearing of Jesus’ healing power to expel demons, hearing about his act of mercy and grace, would we too ask Jesus to leave?

Before answering, “No, of course not!” too quickly, how many times have our own judgements, prejudices, and self-centeredness, our own lack of understanding for the bigger picture, our own fear, been chosen over living the Gospel in our own lives? Is our life shaped by the Gospel message of Jesus? (One reason I started this series of daily reflections on the Gospels was to go a little deeper into the Gospels and invite others to do the same.) Do we wrestle with the challenge of how we are to love our enemies, to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, to turn the other cheek, and to answer in practical, concrete ways, “What you do to the least of these: you do it to me?” Or, if we read or listen to the Gospels at all, do we seek to adjust Jesus’ message, to conform God to our will, to fit the message to our lifestyle, what works for us? Is the radiance of Jesus’ mercy, love and grace too bright for us such that we wince in pain, that we feel it is too much to bear, and we too say, “Go away!”?

In these slower summer days, may we make some time to read, slowly and prayerfully, each of the accounts of the healing of the Gadarene demoniacs in Matthew’s Gospel and the one demoniac in the Mark and Luke accounts. We will also notice in the Mark and Luke accounts, after the demoniac who was possessed with demons was healed, the townsfolk asked Jesus to depart from them, the man followed Jesus and asked to follow him. Jesus said to the man: “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19). The one who was so bound up by possession that he was out of his mind, still had some glimmer of hope that he could be healed and ran up to and prostrated himself before Jesus, was healed and freed. He then proclaimed the Gospel to the whole city.

In our reading and prayer, may we enter into this powerful account and also encounter Jesus. What still enslaves and binds us such that we continue to be separated from God and others? Will we give in to our fear and beg Jesus to leave us, or open our mind, heart, and soul to his healing word and touch? May we, as the man possessed did, prostrate ourselves before Jesus, surrender to him, so to experience the healing mercy, love, and forgiveness of Jesus that we too may be free. Free to experience a freedom for excellence, free to embrace who we truly are and who the Holy Spirit guides us to be.

Let us pray for each other this Independence Day that Jesus may forgive and free us from our fear, prejudices, tendencies to gossip, belittle, and dehumanize one another, and thus healed, align ourselves with Jesus, so to be willing to encounter, embrace, accompany, encourage, and love one another! We can share the Good News with others of how much the Lord has done for us, and how he has had mercy on us, by loving and bestowing mercy on others!

Painting: James Tissot, The Swine Driven into the Sea

To read the parallel accounts of today’s Gospel see: Mark 5:1-20, Matthew 8:28-34, Luke 8:26-39

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, July 3, 2018:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070418.cfm