god

It is lawful to do good rather than evil, to save life rather than destroy it.

In today’s Gospel scene, Jesus enters the synagogue and sees a man with a withered hand. The eyes of the Pharisees are on him to see if, yet again, Jesus will heal on the Sabbath. Jesus is clear in his mind what he is going to do. Before doing so, he calls the man up and asks the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it” (Mk 3:4)?

Jesus here is giving them a no-brainer of a question. Of course, one is to do good rather than evil on the Sabbath, to save life rather than destroy it! Yet, the Pharisees remain silent!!! Jesus expresses anger and grief. Jesus is meeting the Pharisees on the ground of Scripture that they are using against him and giving them an opportunity to soften their hearts. 1 Maccabees 2:41 records the account of the Maccabeans deciding to take up arms on the Sabbath to defend themselves against attack. With this in mind, Jesus may be appealing to those Pharisees that were challenging him to choose to see the healing of this man as a greater good. Unfortunately, “their hardness of heart” shows they were not appreciative of the scriptural assistance.

At the peak of this fifth conflict in Mark, before we continue, may we stop and imagine ourselves present in the synagogue. Witness Jesus looking at the Pharisees and the Pharisees looking back at him. Have you ever been present when tensions were very high and there was dead silence? Imagine what was going through the mind of the guy standing in between them with the withered hand?!!!

The anger rising in Jesus may have had to do with the unwillingness of the Pharisees to show any compassion at all for this man. That they would hold so tightly to their self-righteous stance and refuse to even have a discussion about the matter. Not even to say in effect, “Yes, Jesus of course, it is lawful to do good, to save a life but what you are doing is unorthodox.” No. They refuse to dialogue. Their faces are set like flint, they dig in their heels. Even though Jesus is inviting them to take just a step to consider another alternative, they instead harden their hearts. In their silence, they are choosing evil over good, choosing to destroy life rather than save it. Pride has reared its grotesque head.

Jesus breaks the silence as he says to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”

The man is healed, but instead of rejoicing, and sharing the good news as Andrew did with his brother Simon, the Pharisees leave immediately to find the Herodians and begin to plot to not only undo Jesus but “to put him to death.” Think about the massive irony! They who would refuse to see a man healed on the Sabbath, did not hesitate to plan someone’s death on the Sabbath.

We have witnessed in today’s Gospel the poison of pride. We have witnessed the mercy of God presented and rejected. As is stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit” (1864). That is what Jesus is angry about. Not only do the Pharisees resist any move in the slightest direction toward compassion, or their own repentance, they further separate themselves from the love of God. They start with a principle of defending the law, and walk out seething with a premeditated intent to kill Jesus, and on the Sabbath!

With each choice of putting self over another, pride grows. Its appetite is insatiable. Pride is known as the mother of all sins because of its disordered focus on self at the expense of all others and all else. The deadliest component of which is in direct opposition to God and separation from the very life force of our existence. Choosing to be prideful, we foster attitudes of vanity, arrogance, and a disordered self-reliance. We can think the center of universe revolves around us, and that is not only untrue, it is unhealthy.

If there are places where we see any tendrils of pride, amen! Slash them, repent, and ask Jesus to give us the antidotes to pride, humility and obedience to God. Choosing these virtues frees us from the isolating grip of pride so we may experience the healing communion of Jesus. May we reject evil and choose the good, reject pride and choose love, reject death and choose life, resist the temptation to withdraw or scowl and instead offer a smile, a hand of welcome, and/or a listening ear.

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Photo: Jesus, thank you for your light and love that reveals our sin, so we can repent, confess, heal, and be forgiven and free and who you created us to be.

Catholic Church. “Article 8: Sin,” in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2012.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, January 21, 2025

Let us be instruments of light and love to dispel hate.

“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath” (Mk 2:27-28).

In making the above statement, Jesus was not discrediting or devaluing the observance of the Sabbath. He was weighing in on one of the common debates that Jewish people engaged in about what was considered work, and thus what could and could not be done on the Sabbath. Jesus went deeper to address the origin of the Sabbath observance in that it, “commemorates God’s creative and saving action for humanity, and alleviating hunger might be an example” (Donahue and Harrington, 112).

Although, the Pharisees who confront Jesus are most likely looking at a strict interpretation of Exodus 34:21 in which even during the time of harvest, one “must rest” on the Sabbath. The rubbing off of the husks in their hands to access the kernels of wheat within constituted such work. Jesus offers David and his followers doing the same thing in their time of hunger when they were fleeing from the soldiers of King Saul. In claiming this account, Jesus is aligning himself and his disciples with King David and his men. The Pharisees in this comparison would then be aligned with the followers of King Saul.

“The whole purpose of the sabbath was to raise human beings above the routine of earthly labors each week, to fulfill their unique privilege of living in covenant relationship with God” (Healy, 65). God created us, formed us, and breathed life into us. God seeks intimacy and closeness between himself and us his created beings, his children. God is our source and we are interconnected in our relationship with him and with one another. God continues to deal with us in a personal way. The Torah, the Law or the Teachings, is meant to enhance the intimacy and closeness of that relationship with God and one another, to provide boundaries and definition so that we can resist going astray.

Jesus came not to abolish but to fulfill the Law, to restore it from distortion, while at the same time bring it to a higher level. When asked what commandment is the greatest, Jesus announced that we are to Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (cf. Mk:12:30-31). To live out this commandment then, we need to foster our relationship with God if we are to experience his love, mercy, and forgiveness, to fill up to overflowing, so to share with others what we have received, otherwise, we have nothing to give.

With or without a relationship with God we can experience emptiness, anxiety, fear, and loneliness. Without a relationship with God, and the community of the Church, we are more vulnerable to the temptations to satiate our hunger with the material, finite, and false goods, that are readily available, hungering more, and falling deeper into the lures of power, pride, prestige, ego, and addiction. We then seek to protect that false sense of self at all costs, and react defensively, as we feed our fear and pride. We buffer ourselves off from the very one we have been created for. In following this path, we isolate ourselves from God and one another and this provides fertile ground in which fear, prejudice, sexism, and racism can grow along with the manifestation of the dehumanization and objectifying of human beings.

As a part of the Body of Christ, we are constantly reminded that we are not alone and that all of us and creation are interconnected. As Pope Francis shared in his homily in 2018: “Having doubts and fears is not a sin. The sin is to allow these fears to determine our responses, to limit our choices, to compromise respect and generosity, to feed hostility and rejection. The sin is to refuse to encounter the other, the different, the neighbor when this is, in fact, a privileged opportunity to encounter the Lord.”

The Pharisees felt threatened by Jesus and rejected him. They refused to see who he was. We know there were other Pharisees that came to trust in and follow Jesus, Nicodemus and most famously, Saul, who became Paul. They were able to resist curving in upon themselves, were willing to encounter Jesus, expand, and come to believe that Jesus is the Son of Man, the Son of God. We are offered a choice to see Jesus either as a legend, liar, lunatic, and/or blasphemer, or as our Lord.

We are at our best when we align ourselves with the Lord of the Sabbath, who walked with his disciples among a field of wheat one day, and who is now our Bread of Life this day. Empowered by the Eucharist we are filled with the healing power and love of Jesus and we will then better be able to let no evil talk to pass our lips and to say only the good things that people need to hear (cf. Ephesians 4:29). Receiving God’s love, we are transformed to love others, even those who profess hate. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who we remembered yesterday, invites us to be instruments of the light to dispel the darkness and conduits of love to transform hate. Let us do just that with each thought, word, and deed.

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Photo: Receiving the warmth of the sun during my morning walk to celebrate Mass, to receive and share the light and love of Christ.

Donahue, S.J., John R., and Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. The Gospel of Mark in Sacra in Sacra Pagina Series, vol. 2. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2002.

Healy, Mary. The Gospel of Mark. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008.

Pope Francis full text of homily at Mass on World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Sunday, January 14, 2018: http://saltandlighttv.org/blogfeed/getpost.php?id=79091

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, January 20, 2025

Let us take care of the body and soul well in the new year.

“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day” (Mk 2:19-20).

The conflict, the third one in this gospel, that Jesus is responding to was that he is witnessed eating and drinking, practicing table fellowship with his disciples, as well as tax collectors and sinners. There is no evidence that he and his disciples practice fasting. Jesus’ response utilizes the image of a wedding banquet, which for the people of his time would often last at least a week.

Devout Jews, following the pharisaic tradition, would often fast one to two days per week, many Jews, once a year during Yom Kippur, but during a wedding feast, there was an exemption from fasting. Now that Jesus has begun his public ministry, it is a time of celebration, because Jesus has been proclaiming the good news that the kingdom of God is at hand, the bridegroom has come to renew his covenant with his unfaithful bride. “People are summoned to hear the good news of the victory of God over evil, illness, and sin. Even those thought to be habitually outside the pale of God’s forgiveness are welcomed to the banquet” (Donahue 2002, 108). This is indeed a time to rejoice for heaven and earth have been wedded in Jesus, fully human and fully divine. Even more, his promise is that humanity can participate in this divine union!

People are being healed of chronic conditions, having demons exorcised from them, are able to see, to hear, and be restored to the community that they had been separated from. These are causes of celebration, why wouldn’t those receiving the gift of new life not celebrate? We have and will continue to see Jesus preaching, healing, and inviting those in his midst to participate in God’s kingdom played out in our daily readings. That is one of the gifts of reading the Gospels daily.

Jesus also references his death, when he will be taken away, and then on that day people will fast. We, like the community of Mark, live in between the time after Jesus walked the earth and proclaimed his message of the good news, after his Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension, until the time when he will return. We are living in a time of both/and. If we look at the course of a week as a model, we may contemplate the opportunity to fast on Fridays in remembrance of the day he gave his life for us, and to feast on Sundays, the Lord’s Day, when we celebrate his Resurrection.

The course of our lives follow an ebb and flow of sorrow and joy, sickness and healing, conflict and resolution, sin and reconciliation. In the midst of our everyday experiences, Jesus, the one who is fully human and fully divine, invites us to yoke our lives to his. Let us resist the temptations of overindulgence and gluttony while at the same time resist the polar opposite of a hyper asceticism. We are a unity of soul and body, so we need to attend to and take care of both our spiritual and physical needs.

Make a list of three things this week to take care of yourself spiritually and physically. This can be to go to Mass or gather in the community of your faith practice, spend five to ten minutes a day in quiet prayer, read from the Gospel of Mark, or a spiritual book, meditate in silence, and/or listen to some music. Three things to take care of the physical, such as plan your meals so they are a little healthier, fast with smaller meals on Fridays as well as even an occasional Tuesday or Wednesday, invite family and friends to gather this Sunday for a meal and fellowship together, get enough sleep, hydrate, add some exercises that include a combination of stretching, cardio, and weight-bearing, take a walk outside, and/or breath in some fresh clean air.

Life goes too fast, let us not take the gift of our life for granted, and commit this week to take better care of ourselves and each other, spiritually and physically, to celebrate the victory we have received in Christ, the wedding of heaven and earth, the human and divine.

Photo: Reciting and meditating with the Rosary while walking is a good way to take care of both our bodies and souls in one activity.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, January 19, 2025

” A sacrifice of love for the salvation of the world.”

On a significant day in the history of the world, those who gathered around John the Baptist to be baptized in the Jordan heard John speak, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). The phrase would have brought back the imagery of the blood of the lamb that was placed on the doorposts to save their ancestors from death and also remember the beginning of the Exodus and freedom from slavery. We who attend Mass hear the priest invoke this same phrase as he holds up the consecrated host. Jesus, of whom John said, “Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God” (Jn 1:24), was present to testify that the Son of God was in their midst and at Mass the priest does the same, now to free each of us from our slavery to sin.

Jesus is truly present to us in the Eucharist. This is no mere remembrance nor just a symbol. Jesus came to us, to become one with us in our humanity. He continues to do so in the Eucharist so that we can be nourished by his very Body and Blood and so become one with him in his divinity. This gives new meaning to the words we are what we eat!  In receiving Jesus in this way, we are transformed and conformed to him so that when we return to our everyday experiences we can see Jesus present in each other. This intimate encounter with Jesus is a gift that we are invited to receive and partake of often, even daily if at all possible.

Many times we struggle in our lives because we may not feel heard or misunderstood, we may not feel accepted for who we are, and/or we feel alone, we may not experience being seen or we make allowances, self ourselves short to attempt to fit in. Jesus comes to us in our places of doubt and confusion, disfunction and disorder, to remind us who we are: beloved daughters and sons of his Father. Through his physical manifestation and presence in the Eucharist, we are reminded that God loved us so much that he sent his Son, not just at one historical point in history, but again and again at each Mass.

Jesus understands our trials and tribulations because he experienced them first hand. He was rejected by the people of his own hometown, many walked away from him when he was offering the bread of life discourse, and even his closest friends betrayed him in his most dire hour. Yet, he experienced joy even in these moments because he followed his Father’s will. He teaches us how to experience that same trust and love in the Father as he experienced then and continues to experience.

As we gather around the table of fellowship to experience the sacrifice of Jesus that is re-presented in his real presence, we experience again that Jesus has died for us and rose again conquering death, that we might have life; not just mere existence but instead a life of consolation and fulfillment. He died for us so he could be present to us in the very simple elements of bread and wine anywhere and everywhere in the world, to remind us that we are never alone and that our lives, as well as those we care for, can be better.

When we come to Mass we do not come for ourselves alone. We come to participate in the heavenly banquet feast that happens on earth as it is in heaven. We come to pray for the salvation of the world. We come to be transformed by the Son of God and as we consume him in such an intimate way, we become more and more conformed to his Body. “The Lord receives, sanctifies, and blesses the bread and wine that we place on the Altar, together with the offering of our lives, and transforms them into the Body and Blood of Christ, a sacrifice of love for the salvation of the world” (Pope Leo XIV, Angelus June 22, 2025).

Come to the feast and invite others to join you so that together we may, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). Together, we may be saved, healed, and know that we are not alone but loved more than we can ever imagine and given the mission to go forth to heal and love others as we have been.

Photo: Pope Leo XIV celebrating Mass at the Shrine of Santa Maria della Rotonda in Albano Laziale, Italy, Aug. 17, 2025 (CNS photo/Lola Gomez).

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, January 18, 2025

Jesus invites us to follow him, to repent, and to be healed.

Jesus gives face to the living word of God come down from heaven to transform his people as he continues to teach with authority and offer healing. In today’s account of Mark, Jesus calls his fifth disciple, Levi. The key difference with this call of Levi and the four fisherman is Levi’s occupational hazard.

Tax collectors were disliked, even despised by many in ancient Palestine because they were considered unclean, and categorized along with lepers and sinners. They were cast in this net because the tax collector had a responsibility to pay a fixed amount to the occupying power of Rome. This in itself was bad enough because their own countrymen were colluding with the enemy. What made matters worse was that too many kept as a commission anything collected over and above that fixed amount. The majority of the population, barely getting by, paying a temple tax, and the Roman tax, then finding out their local tax collector was taking more than their fair share, did not make for feelings of endearment.

Jesus surprises all who had come to hear him teach when he not only invites Levi, also known as Matthew, to follow him but then they have dinner together. We are witnessing yet again another healing miracle. Jesus provides an opportunity of bridging divides by inviting someone to his inner circle, to turn away from one way of life to begin anew, to: “Repent and believe in the gospel” (cf. Mk 1:15). The Pharisees question his choice of table fellowship, not to Jesus directly but by seeking an answer from his disciples. The location of both the Pharisees and disciples is not clear. Are they a part of this gathering of the meal or both at a distance, observing?

They could not have been at too great a distance though because Jesus could hear their concerns and responded to them: “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Mk 2:17). The Pharisees, and possibly some of his disciples, were not a part of the intimacy of this communion because of their own unwillingness to accept those that Jesus invited to share a meal, to accept that they too were sinners also in need of healing.

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus forgives and offers mercy to all who are willing to be aware of his invitation to fellowship. In our humility to recognize our sins and repent, we receive healing and transformation, and are like Levi and his friends offered the opportunity to grow in relationship and participate in communion with the one who is ushering in the kingdom of God. This is a foreshadowing of the last supper and the celebration of the Mass.

We too are invited as sinners to join the banquet, to be in fellowship with Jesus. As Levi was called, we are given an opportunity to begin again, to leave behind anything that separates us from God and one another and follow Jesus, who came that we might be forgiven and healed.

As with many Gospel passages, today’s offers a wonderful opportunity to place ourselves in the scene. Mark presents Jesus teaching the people though he again does not tell us anything about what he shared. Knowing what follows, we might think about and ask ourselves, “What might Jesus have taught before going to Levi at the custom’s post?” Could he have been talking, as in his parallel account of Matthew (Levi), about how Amos preached that God desires mercy and not sacrifice (Mt 9:12)?

Let us read this passage slowly a few times (Mark 2:13-17) and meditate upon these words of God that are “living and effective.” Then as Jesus moves to the custom post, follow him, and the others in our imagination. What is our honest reaction to Jesus calling the tax collector, Levi? Are there sins that others commit that we find easy to forgive, others that we find hard to forgive? As the scene shifts to the breaking of the bread at this dinner, do we dive in with this motley crew, stay at a distance, or walk away?

God’s words are living. May we not only read them, but also meditate upon and pray with them so that we may be transformed by them. May we also encounter Jesus in this passage, be willing to listen to him speak to us in the silence of our hearts, and become one of or deepen our commitment as his disciples. This is a wonderful spiritual practice that can bring us much joy, forgiveness, healing, and deeper communion with the Divine Physician and healer of our souls. No RSVP needed, just come, open up your Bible, and join the feast!

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Painting: Jesus’ “mission is not to vindicate those who keep the law, and condemn the rest; rather, it is to offer the healing of which all people are in need” (Healy, 61).

Healy, Mary. The Gospel of Mark. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, January 16, 2025

When we believe and trust in Jesus we will be free.

In a time when word of mouth is the way to get news out, the momentum still moved quickly. Jesus has preached with authority and moved people with his words, he has healed people and exorcised unclean spirits. So when it was known that Jesus was in the vicinity, in his present home of Caparnaum, people came. Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. That meant that he did not water down the message of God, but raised the standards even higher than they had been under the leadership and legacy of Moses. Unlike some of the Pharisees though, Jesus did not just add heavy burdens to leave the people to carry on their own, Jesus accompanied those he challenged, he carried the weight of their sin, all the way to Calvary.

If Jesus had a business card to hand out as people gathered around him, it may have had written on it his first words recorded by Mark in his Gospel: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). The time of fulfillment is indeed at hand in the presence of the Son of God made flesh. The entrance to that kingdom is measured by a willingness to turn away from sin and turn back to God. Those who are open to the love of God, willing to be shaped and transformed by his love, who are in touch with their hunger and yearning to be one with the Father, recognizing that there is more to life than the false promises, apparent goods, and even the finite goods of this world, are drawn to Jesus.

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 (Mk 2:1-2).

It is clear that there is a movement afoot in just these first two chapters of Mark. Another key verse from Mark is the very first line of his Gospel: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ [the Son of God]” (Mk 1:1). This is an amazing line, unless we read the words only, missing its proper contextual background. Those reading or hearing these words in the first and early second century would have grasped Mark’s intent immediately. There are two words in that verse that would have leapt off the pages or the lips of the reader; gospel and Christ.

The geopolitical powerhouse lording over Israel at the time of the life of Jesus was Rome. The house of Caesar was its head. Augustus Caesar was emperor at the time of the birth of Jesus. Tiberius Caesar reigned during most of the adolescence and adult life of Jesus. The term gospel, euangelion in Greek, meant good news. This gospel was spread throughout the Roman empire by messengers especially on two occasions, at the behest of the emperor; on his birthday and after great military victories. Christ, or Christos in Greek, meant the anointed one. The only ones who were anointed were emperors, kings, and priests.

Mark was making a vivid point with this opening verse, the proclamation of the good news: Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one, not Caesar. It is not Kaiser Kyrios, Caesar is Lord, but Iēsous Kyrios, Jesus is Lord! This verse is treasonous in the face of Caesar and a subversive rallying cry for the followers of Jesus then and today. Yet Mark was not calling for a military coup, or a power play, but inner transformation.

Mark revealed that the first opposition against Jesus was not by the Roman occupiers. The push back arose from the scribes of his own people. Instead of being amazed that Jesus had forgiven the man’s sins and was about to heal him of his paralysis, they seek to label him as a blasphemer.

Imagine what the paralyzed man felt. His friends were not swayed by the unyielding crowd that was unwilling to let them in, they tore through Peter’s roof to let him down, all eyes had been on him until Jesus began to speak, and in this moment when he was so close, would he be denied by the scribes, could they sway Jesus? Before these doubts could take hold, Jesus spoke: “I say to you rise, pick up your mat and go home” (Mark 2:11).

Jesus freed this man from his sin and paralysis. Not all suffering is caused by our sins, but in this case it was and the man was freed because of the faith of his friends. Unfortunately, the scribes remained paralyzed. How about us? Do we believe that Jesus is a blasphemer or Iēsous Kyrios? The Son of Man is the Christ, the Son of the living God, our healer, and Lord. He will free us and heal us when we are willing to surrender our ego, our self sufficiency, our imposed limitations, and sins. There is no obstacle that can prevent us from getting to Jesus as long as we believe and trust in him. Let us have the courage to encounter Jesus and invite others to join us.

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Photo: Jesus the High Priest, Iēsous Kyrios.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, January 16, 2025

“I do will it. Be made clean.”

The man in today’s Gospel scene takes a tremendous risk by approaching Jesus. He is a leper and so considered unclean. The appropriate response when someone was coming into his general vicinity was to give as wide a berth as possible, if not remove themselves from view, or to make themselves known to be unclean to any passerby.

This state of uncleanness was not a mere sense of hygiene. This was considered ritual impurity. So anyone touching or being touched by a leper would be considered unclean. For this reason, lepers were ostracized from family, friends, and the larger community socially as well as being forbidden to worship. This is a horrific state to find oneself in, for as human beings we are social beings who want to belong, to be a part of, and to be loved.

The leper cast aside all social norms and fell prostrate before Jesus and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean” (Mark 1:40)). Jesus knew full well the social norms, and it is very telling that not only did Jesus heal the man, but he did so by placing his hand on the man. He could have easily said, “I do will it. Be made clean” (Mark 1:41), without touching him and the man would have been healed. There are Gospel accounts of Jesus doing just that.

Jesus says more in his willingness to touch the leper than he does even with words of healing. He does not keep him at a distance but instead places himself on the same level as the man. Neither does Jesus become unclean, but the man becomes clean and the tremendous stigma of him having to be separated from the human touch is removed. With that simple touch, Jesus comes close and in doing so, the man will no longer be kept at arm’s length but be restored to his community and the opportunity for community again. “Jesus is not dismayed, scandalized, or contaminated by any human defilement. He willingly removes it by the power of his holiness, restoring our communion with others, making us fully qualified to enter God’s presence” (Healy, 54).

Jesus continues to come close to all of us. He has become human so that we can see the face of God, feel the tenderness of his touch, and be understood when no one else can or is willing to do so. Jesus has come close so that we know that we are not alone, that we are loved more than we can ever imagine, more than we can ever mess up, more than our worst mistake, or sin. Jesus has come close so we can experience his love and care. Having received this wonderful gift, may we too be moved with compassion to help others in need.

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Photo: God comes close in many ways.

Healy, Mary. The Gospel of Mark. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, January 15, 2025

Giving ourselves the time to pray, to breathe, and be still, helps us to be loved so to love.

There is a danger when we read a comment from Scripture such as when Jesus, “cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons” (Mk 1:34). The danger is that we may not believe we are capable of healing as Jesus did, so we don’t do anything active with our faith. We also might think that Jesus is divine, so of course, there is no way we can measure up to what he has done. An even less helpful line of thought would be to disbelieve that the healings of Jesus happened at all, they were all made up, and that they never really happened.

Another challenge can be pride. We may want to heal like Jesus, for the purpose of our own aggrandizement, so people look at us, not God. That was the sin of Simon the magician, who saw the Apostles healing, just as Jesus had, and offered payment for the power to accomplish the same (cf. Acts 8:9-25). Along the same line is wanting to do something grandiose, something beyond our own unique gift and charism, again so the focus is placed on us.

A more helpful perspective is ponder about the truth that Jesus had a specific mission to accomplish, and yes he is divine, but, as I have shared often and the Church maintains, Jesus is also fully human. He had a specific mission from his Father, he gave a specific mission to his Apostles, and his Father has a specific mission for each and every one of us as well. Jesus himself proclaimed: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father” (Jn 14:12). Not only works as Jesus did, but even greater ones! Jesus knows the plan God has for our life, the part we are to play, and he will share it with us and empower us with that which we need to accomplish it.

We all have the capacity to provide God’s healing presence to others. God works through us when we embrace the love of the Holy Spirit and are conformed by it such that we come to know how God wants us to love and be present. There is some way for all of us to contribute. Throughout the Bible there are accounts of how God invites others to service, each in very small and humble ways – Jesus himself began his days on this earth wrapped in swaddling clothes, in a feeding trough, as vulnerable and humble a beginning as there can be. He then lived the next thirty years in obscurity until his public ministry began.

We need to resist the temptation to limit and define Jesus, but instead embrace the gift of a “sitting theology” in which we allow ourselves to look at Jesus, take him in, for he is “infinite Love incarnate” (Barron). Then to place ourselves before Jesus and allow him to expand us so that we can receive his revelation and guidance and come to know the mission God has planned for us. We also need to be willing to allow his Spirit to work through us.

Then as we go about our lives each day, we become contemplatives in action. We take time away to pray as Jesus did, listen for his guidance, and be open to the experiences that arise. Facing opportunities and interruptions in which we can be present to another with a smile, an active listening ear, and a helping hand, leads to more joy. In each small act, we say yes to God’s invitation, are present and accompany others by our willingness to love as he has loved us. Small acts of presence and willing each other’s good, leads to healing.

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Photo: Jesus often went off to a deserted place to pray, who better to teach us how to do the same. Some quiet time with Jesus to end the day back at USML.

The thought of a sitting theology comes from Bishop Robert Barron Lesson 5 lecture that he gave on Hans Urs von Balthasar from his Word on Fire Institute. To learn more about the WOFI and what it offers, type the following link into your web browser: https://wordonfire.institute

Link to the Mass readings for Wednesday, January 14, 2025

Jesus, with his love and light exposes “evil so that it can be expelled.”

Jesus quoted no one. He spoke from his own authority. Nor did he shy away from the attacks of demons.

The Gospel of John picks up the source of Jesus’ authority from the beginning line of his Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). Jesus is the Word, the Logos in Greek. Who would have more authority to speak about the word of God, than the Logos, the Word, himself?

The authority of Jesus was not only limited to teaching but restoration. Jesus is the light who shines in the darkness. His Father sent him to invite us to receive the restoration of the likeness we have lost because of the Fall. He wants to restore the glory that God has intended for all of us. We see this happening in the exorcisms Jesus performed. As he was teaching in the synagogue he expelled the unclean spirit of a man when he said, “Quiet! Come out of him” (Mk 1:25)! The unclean spirit would not go easy, but could not remain in the presence of Jesus and his command.

Jesus came to teach in the synagogue and the authority of his teaching identified the evil in the midst of the congregation. “Jesus’ teaching has the intrinsic effect of exposing evil so that it can be expelled” (Healy 2008, 42). The first act to follow his address that the kingdom of God was at hand was to begin to undo the disfigurement of the good that God his Father had created. The time of fulfillment was indeed at hand in the coming of Jesus and he began his work by proclaiming and teaching with authority and exorcising his authority over demons.

If you haven’t read the Bible ever, have not for a long time, have been away for a while, or could benefit from a deeper dive, I invite you to read the Gospel of Mark. Do so with the intention not of reading a history book or novel, but to read, study, and above all pray with Mark’s account. In this way, we come to not just know about Jesus, but know Jesus and experience his authority in our own lives. We will come to experience the same awe and wonder of those who experienced Jesus in person.

A great way to do so is to read along with the Church as we are reading the Gospel daily right now in the lectionary or at your own pace, say five to ten minutes a day. What may be even better is to read a short section at a time, read it over two to three times, and meditate on the passage. Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels, it is quick moving, and action-packed; the James Patterson of the Gospels. The accounts lend themselves particularly well to visualizing, and placing yourself in the reading as if you were watching a movie. Open your heart and mind to what Jesus wants to reveal or communicate to you in the silence of your heart.

We can also receive a word or phrase and carry it with us through the day, such as from today’s account. Jesus can be the light that shines in our own darkness and bring us healing. We may not be dealing with being possessed, but for those times that we experience negativity, temptation, stress, feeling indecisive, or divided we can call on Jesus’ words and speak in his name, “Quiet!”, “Silence!”, or “Peace be still!” and receive through the authority of his word his healing presence.

We do not walk this journey alone. We have the gift of prayer, of turning our hearts and minds to God, and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit to help to bring the words of Scripture alive. Jesus is present with us, ready to help us and others. The kingdom of God is at hand, let us receive the hand of our Savior and be on our way!

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Photo: Evening walk, USMl, Mundelein, IL.

Healy, Mary. The Gospel of Mark. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, January 13, 2025

Jesus is close, and when we repent, we will experience how close he is!

“This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15).

With these words as recorded by Mark, Jesus begins his public ministry in time and space and we in 2026 begin the first week of Ordinary Time together. Whether we are in the season of Christmas, Easter, or Ordinary Time, each day is an opportunity to be thankful and celebrate our lives for this continues to be “the time of fulfillment”. The Kingdom of God is still at hand because Jesus is still present with us.

We are not alone on our journey. The Son of God became human, as we just celebrated this Christmas season, and as we will celebrate in Easter, he died and rose again. This was no mere resuscitation like with Lazarus who rose and died again. Jesus conquered death and became the firstborn of the new creation. Ordinary Time is the season in which we not only study the life and teachings of Jesus but hopefully continue to be willing to be more conformed to his Body and the will of his Father and experience the love of the Holy Spirit.

One of the things that may hold us back from embracing the gift of the Kingdom of God in our midst is that we have often chosen to place our focus on other distractions or diversions or placed ourselves others first before God. Jesus calls us to reorient our lives in urging us to repent. This is an invitation to see what our lives are like apart from him and how they are with him. With a clearer choice, we can then choose to turn away from the false reality that we are the center and author of our own lives. When we do so, we come to realize the truth that God is our true author and director. To repent also means to open ourselves to his love, to place our trust in him, and to be assured that God accepts us as we are, right now at this very moment.

We do not repent so that God will love us. We do not have to do anything or act perfectly or say the right prayer for God to love us. We just need to “move the Lord out of the category of ‘polite company’ and into that of intimate friend to whom one can tell everything” (Barry 1987, 55). To repent means to turn back to the God whose arms are wide open ready to embrace us. We are given the opportunity to see where we have turned away from God. Let us run into his waiting embrace and receive the forgiveness, mercy, and love that he offers us. Experiencing the love of God we can then begin again and walk in communion with God.

The call to repent that Jesus accentuates is a continuation of the preaching of the prophets and John. What he adds to repentance is to believe. To believe is to “trustingly accept and yield to what God is doing in him. The kingdom is near enough that anyone who so chooses can reach out and lay hold of it through faith” (Healy 2008, 42). As we turn back to God, reorient our minds to his guidance and direction, reflect on how much he has blessed us, we will better make an ascent to believe.

To “repent and believe” is a good way to begin our journey into Ordinary Time together. May we resist the temptation to hold anything back and share more with our Father and grow closer to God as a person, each day. Let us trust in Jesus who encourages us to resist limiting God and the possibilities he places before us. Instead of attempting to bend his will toward ours, may we allow the love of the Holy Spirit to expand our hearts and minds such that we will believe in and trust God more so to be like a pencil in his hand.

Photo: A good way to reorient our minds and hearts to the will of God and to believe is to slow down, examine our interior life, and pray. Doing so in the chapel at the community center of USML last week.

Barry, S.J, William A. God and You: Prayer as a Personal Relationship. NY: Paulist Press, 1987.

Healy, Mary. The Gospel of Mark. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, January, 12, 2026