Candlelight Relationship

First of all, light is the hardest thing in the world to hide. It peaks out from underneath closet doors, one tiny blue TV light can illuminate a room, nightlights help you make it to the bathroom unscathed, screen lights can light up an entire movie theatre, even the glossy in our eyes can catch the light and give us away. Light is one of those things that cannot be hidden. I used to think this gospel was meant for me as a personal encouragement to let my light or my gifts shine in the world. In my current spiritual season, however, this gospel unveils something new for me. My relationship with Jesus, as it grows deeper, wider, and more intimate is the light shining on the things in my life with which I personally need to deal. These things are not meant to be exposed to everyone, but to me personally so that I can address them in the gentle light of his unconditional love where there is no shame, no gossip, no false judgment, no jealousy, no hate, no ugliness. His light is not the harsh light of interrogation meant to flush out all your darkness, but a lovely gentle flicker meant to wash over those hidden places of sin and shame that keep me in the dark. He is the light and keeping him under the bed or hiding him away will never allow us to bask in the peaceful glow of the love that wants us free from that darkness. When we spend time in the light we want to spend more time in the light. This light is for us to work out and let him work out the things that have stolen our own light. 

Sometimes our eyes need to adjust to the light especially when the darkness has been prolonged, so revelation happens gradually as we are ready for it. To turn all the lights on at once would be even more blinding, confusing, and traumatic, however, our Good Good Father sent the soft glow of his son Jesus to pierce our darkness ever so tenderly if we come to him with open hearts and ears. The Passion Translation of today’s gospel says, “Be diligent to understand the meaning behind everything you hear, for as you do, more understanding will be given to you. And according to the depth of your longing to understand, much more will be added to you. For those who listen with open hearts will receive more revelation.” Today’s gospel is about letting the light of Christ illuminate our own hiddenness and in that complete exposure to his love all will be revealed according to the longing of our heart. A personal, tender, illuminated, and open relationship with Jesus will uncover all that we are to see so that we can in turn be all that we are meant to be. 

I pray that we let him gently flicker a path to wholeness for each of us through a daily commitment to time spent basking in his light. When we open our hiddenness to him, he shines nothing but love and mercy there to heal and cover those parts that call us into deeper hiding. He so wants to be in a candlelight relationship with each and every one of us, where the soft glow of unconditional love and mercy transform our hearts and open our ears to be able to receive MORE. It is well with my soul. 

P.S. Thank you for your love and encouragement at the loss of my sweet dog, Tinkerbell. I knew the day was coming, but I was quite unprepared for the size of the pain of saying goodbye to my little shadow, best friend, prayer partner, and companion for 16 years. Even as I write, I keep hearing her footprints on the wood floors and her snoring like a man. My heart has a huge hole in it today, but a hole only allows more of Jesus’ light in and that is today’s gospel message. Let him into your darkness. 

Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest
Lectionary: 320

Reading 1HEB 10:19-25

Brothers and sisters:
Since through the Blood of Jesus
we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary
by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil,
that is, his flesh,
and since we have "a great priest over the house of God,"
let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust,
with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience
and our bodies washed in pure water.
Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope,
for he who made the promise is trustworthy.
We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works.
We should not stay away from our assembly,
as is the custom of some, but encourage one another,
and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Responsorial Psalm PS 24:1-2, 3-4AB, 5-6

R. (see 6)  Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

AlleluiaPS 119:105

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A lamp to my feet is your word,
a light to my path.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MK 4:21-25

Jesus said to his disciples,
"Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lampstand?
For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light.
Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear."
He also told them, "Take care what you hear.
The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you,
and still more will be given to you.
To the one who has, more will be given;
from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

It Is Well With My Soil

Today’s gospel is one that we all know well. We might even have this one memorized because of Vacation Bible School, or Veggie Tales, or The Whispy Chix number one hit song Seeds of Faith, complete with kazoo solo! (If you have no idea who the Whispy Chix are, it’s okay and does not impact the understanding of this reflection!) The story makes seed sowing seem like a one time event, which is how I used to view it, until I realized that conversion is an ongoing journey. Seeds are planted in every season of our lives and it is our great responsibility and joy to manage the soil of our souls. We have a hand in the fertility of the soil, not that we really have to “do” anything per se, but rather “be” the fertile soil that God created us to be. What makes our souls rocky, thorny, shallow, dry, exposed, or fertile depends on how we identify ourselves. Yesterday’s gospel showed us that we ARE sons and daughters of God. We ARE the fertile soil just by our inheritance. So how do the rocks and thorns and weeds and dryness take hold? We forget who we are. The sower let the seed go everywhere and continues to let the grace fall over all. The condition of our souls is our faith journey and it continues in every season of our lives. The good news is that our Good Good Father and His Good Good Son and their Good Good Spirit never stop sowing the grace, or the Word, or the love, or the mercy, or the relationship, or the goodness, or the joy, or the hope, or the faith, or the abundance, they simply wait for us to remember that we ARE the good soil. 

I find great hope in today’s gospel because I have the beautiful blessing of tilling my soul so that the seeds sown there will take root. The tilling of my soul requires but one thing, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) I don’t have to strive for anything and I just need to let the seed rest on me. In that being who I already am, the soil becomes fertile and rich with promise, purpose, passion, and peace. I pray that we can each be the good ground that He created us to be so that the seeds poured over us will feed others, bring beauty to the world, and will flourish as a sign the sower’s love. It is well with my soil (wink wink, do you see what I did there?). 

Reading 1 HEB 10:11-18

Every priest stands daily at his ministry, 
offering frequently those same sacrifices 
that can never take away sins.
But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, 
and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; 
now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool.
For by one offering he has made perfect forever 
those who are being consecrated.
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying:

This is the covenant I will establish with them
after those days, says the Lord:
"I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them upon their minds,"

he also says:

Their sins and their evildoing
I will remember no more.

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.

Responsorial Psalm PS 110:1, 2, 3, 4

R.  (4b)  You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
"Rule in the midst of your enemies."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
"Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
"You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MK 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him 
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables, 
and in the course of his instruction he said to them, 
"Hear this!  A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, 
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.  
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it 
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."

And when he was alone, 
those present along with the Twelve 
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them, 
"The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that

they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven."

Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once 
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, 

when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, 
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word, 
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, 
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, 
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

Family Resemblance

Today Jesus calls us family. At first this gospel always makes me cringe a bit when the crowd tells him that his mom and siblings were outside waiting for him and he says, “Who are my mother and brothers?” Uh oh, I hope Mary didn’t hear that! Jesus often used questions and challenges to teach the deeper wider message and this is one of those lessons. It was time to reveal that he belongs to all. He invited the crowd gathered around him that day and every single human that reads this gospel into his family tree. He is the new covenant and by his blood we become blood related to him. His name, his DNA, his character traits, his eyes, his mannerisms, his sense of humor, his power, his authority, his mercy, his grace, his forgiveness, his inheritance, and his love all become ours when we choose to align ourselves with God’s will through faith. This choice is a daily renewal and a daily becoming. We are already chosen, “Here are my mother and brothers.” He looks around the circle and catches each one of our eyes. This is the gaze that I long to see every day. It captures my heart and pulls me in with such conviction that I only want what God wants so that I never lose sight of who I am. Our family tree is filled with every kind of person and like any other family there are lots and lots of dynamics, but our Good Good Father only sees our heart and that is where His Son dwells steeped in a love that covers all. It is our call to simply respond to that love dwelling within us and to claim our family name, “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” 

Today, Jesus calls me his sister and all I want is for the family resemblance to be undeniable. How can you resemble Jesus today? What family trait will you portray? Let’s remember who we are and whose we are, and it is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 HEB 10:1-10

Brothers and sisters:
Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, 
and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect 
those who come to worship by the same sacrifices 
that they offer continually each year.
Otherwise, would not the sacrifices have ceased to be offered, 
since the worshipers, once cleansed, would no longer 
have had any consciousness of sins?
But in those sacrifices there is only a yearly remembrance of sins, 
for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats 
take away sins.
For this reason, when he came into the world, he said:

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, As is written of me in the scroll,
Behold, I come to do your will, O God.

First he says, Sacrifices and offerings, 
burnt offerings and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, Behold, I come to do your will.
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this "will," we have been consecrated 
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Responsorial Psalm PS 40:2 AND 4AB, 7-8A, 10, 11

R. (8a and 9a)  Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come." 
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.

Alleluia SEE MT 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MK 3:31-35

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."

Communion With Love

A life in Christ is a life in communion: communion with love, truth, peace, kindness, faithfulness, mercy, forgiveness, and with one another. Jesus was sent to bring us all into the Father’s heart and to unite us in His love. He showed this over and over again by healing the sick who were often outcasts, restoring lepers seen as unclean, driving out demons that separated people from the community, reaching out to the sinners to give them back their dignity, and always bringing the little ones into the fold. These were all demonstrations of wanting us to live in harmony and peace with one another. Those cast aside, forgotten, ridiculed, judged, humiliated, regarded as less than, misunderstood, lowly, weak, etc. were Jesus’ main focus. He was constantly moving toward the sinner, the leper, the blind, the lame, the judged, and the sick, because he knew they were on outside and his mission was and is to bring them in. How does he still bring them in? Through us, his hands and feet here on earth. He tells us, “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him.” Even though I never watch the news anymore, I’m pretty sure that our kingdom is currently divided. How can we restore unity? We cannot, but God can and so we need to release God into the world. How? We take our cues from Jesus constantly moving toward the marginalized and blessing them rather than cursing them. We cooperate with the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to love everybody always. We invite God into every single interaction we have with others and allow Him to do the loving, the saving, the delivering, the healing, the mercy, the forgiving, and the blessing. 

A life in Christ is a life in communion; a life not in Christ is divided. Jealousy, envy, pride, prejudice, and arrogance are all ways the enemy uses to separate us from one another. Let’s be extra diligent in guarding our souls against these things. The same Spirit that came upon the Apostles at Pentecost lives and dwells within each of us, and that is the Spirit that longs for us to be united in God’s love. We get to work with that Spirit or against that Spirit. And based on the warning given at the end of today’s gospel, I only want to work with the Holy Spirit. As we go about our day, perhaps we can imagine living in the center of the perfect unity of the Holy Trinity, where the love between the Father and the Son releases the Spirit of unconditional love and mercy to everyone. It is well with my soul. 

Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 317

Reading 1 HEB 9:15, 24-28

Christ is mediator of a new covenant:
since a death has taken place 
for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, 
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.

For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, 
a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, 
that he might now appear before God on our behalf.
Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, 
as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary 
with blood that is not his own; 
if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly 
from the foundation of the world.
But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages 
to take away sin by his sacrifice.
Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, 
and after this the judgment, so also Christ,
offered once to take away the sins of many, 
will appear a second time, not to take away sin 
but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

Responsorial Psalm PS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4, 5-6

R. (1a)  Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

Reading 2 SEE 2 TM 1:10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MK 3:22-30

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, 
"He is possessed by Beelzebul," and
"By the prince of demons he drives out demons."

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, 
"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself, 
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, 
he cannot stand; 
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property 
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.  
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies 
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit 
will never have forgiveness, 
but is guilty of an everlasting sin."

For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."   

The Twelfth

Today is the feast of the conversion of St. Paul. Raise your hand if you have ever had an experience with God that knocked you down and when you got back up you were never quite the same again. Raise your hand if you have ever had a come to Jesus moment that changed you. Raise your hand if you have ever seen the light and where you were once blind, you now can see. I’ve realized that conversion is an ongoing process and a journey that continues to unfold before us. It can begin with a one-time powerful experience for sure, but mostly the softening of our hearts and the transforming of our minds and the bending of our wills is a lifetime adventure. We all have scales on our eyes that need to be removed. We all have sin from our past that needs to be forgiven. We all have thorns in our side that need to be embraced as a grace to draw closer to God. We all have a purpose to live out that will release the presence of God into our world. Paul’s conversion is really a telling of our conversions. Life before Jesus was ugly and dark and life with Jesus is beautiful and light. 

The gospel reminds us that we are an Apostolic people and our mission is to “go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” How beautiful to be called to proclaim love to EVERY creature, not just humans, not just our friends, not just the people we like, not just the people that agree with us, not just the people who voted for the same person we did, but EVERY creature. The gospel opens with, “Jesus appeared to the Eleven.” This hit me today. We are the Twelfth. I know eventually they added Matthias as the official Twelfth, however, today let’s commission ourselves as the Twelfth so that we can live what the gospel promises. We have all authority to drive out demons and heal the sick and not to mention love love love love love in the Name of Jesus! I’m not sure about that whole picking up serpents with your hands or drinking poison business, but I’m quite sure it means that we have nothing to fear when we are bearers of Christ’s presence in the world. If you’re feeling extraordinary, I dare you to test the picking up a serpent thing!!!! 

I invite us to ponder our own conversion today. What was life like before we knew Jesus intimately? What has life been like since? Was their one particular event, experience, retreat, trial, etc. that shined His light on your life? How is our conversion still unfolding? Perhaps we can name the thorn in our side and consider how it has been a source of dependence of God. Lastly, let’s take up the commission of the Twelfth and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. I’ll start with the snoring dog that snuggles next to me for prayer every morning!! It is well with my soul. 

Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle
Lectionary: 519

Reading 1 ACTS 22:3-16

Paul addressed the people in these words:
"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia,
but brought up in this city.
At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law
and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.
I persecuted this Way to death,
binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.
Even the high priest and the whole council of elders
can testify on my behalf.
For from them I even received letters to the brothers
and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem
in chains for punishment those there as well.

"On that journey as I drew near to Damascus,
about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me.
I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me,
'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'
I replied, 'Who are you, sir?'
And he said to me,
'I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.'
My companions saw the light
but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me.
I asked, 'What shall I do, sir?'
The Lord answered me, 'Get up and go into Damascus,
and there you will be told about everything
appointed for you to do.' 
Since I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light,
I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus.

"A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law,
and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,
came to me and stood there and said,
'Saul, my brother, regain your sight.'
And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him.
Then he said,
'The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will,
to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice;
for you will be his witness before all
to what you have seen and heard.
Now, why delay?
Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away,
calling upon his name.'

Responsorial Psalm PS 117:1BC, 2

R. (Mark 16:15)  Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R.  Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Alleluia SEE JN 15:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MK 16:15-18

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
"Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." 

The Bus In Italy

The first time I went to Italy I remember being on an extremely crowded bus en route to the Vatican. Forget all about substantial American personal space, Italians do not mind being all up in your business, and all over you physically. It was such an awkward experience to literally be pressed in upon on all sides of my body. I had no room to move, I could feel people’s breath, smell people’s smells, and with every bump in the road came new ways to experience all these space violations over and over again. It was a little slice of hell on earth. No one was willing to compromise and everyone needed what he or she needed at that particular time. At one point I was literally cheek to cheek with a scruffy-faced Italian man which might sound like some sort of romantic comedy dream if the man were not 80 years old and smoking a cigar in my face! My mind was on overload and I just wanted out. I don’t know what compelled me at some point to look down, but I did, and I saw a woman’s hand reaching into my pants to steal my money and passport!! I had no idea and as I removed her hand and looked up, this woman was looking me in the eye with no remorse or shame and pure threat in her expression. I managed to turn away from this frightening gaze and shortly thereafter the bus reached the Vatican and the pressing, smelly, determined, rude, personal space invading crowd was birthed forth in one massive wave. This is the scene that came to mind this morning as I was reading the gospel. 

Word was spreading about Jesus’ ministry, particularly his healing the sick and casting out demons. Crowds of people (super crowds in the thousands) started coming in from miles and miles around to encounter Jesus and hopefully to be healed. I know that when people are in pain or have been suffering for some time, it can evoke a sense of urgency that is desperate and can sometimes be aggressive. Pain brings out the worst in us a lot of times. It was getting a little intense because Jesus “told his disciples to have a boat ready because of the crowd, so they would not crush him.” Flashback to the bus in Italy!!! How many times have I been in pain and can only focus on myself? How many times have I been desperate and in that desperation I am aggressive or impatient or inconsiderate with those around me? How many times have I come to Jesus with a list of things for him to magically cure rather than just wanting to be in his presence? How many times do I lose sight of other’s needs because I am so focused on my own stuff? How many times have I let the people around me influence my attitude? How many times have I ignored the subtle hand of the enemy trying to steal my peace? 

Today’s gospel gave me some food for thought as to how I approach Jesus when I need healing and forgiveness. I never want Jesus to feel like he has to “get away” because my desperation is so stifling (by the way, he NEVER would try to get away, but my afflicted mind made that up). Speaking of afflicted minds, this gospel ends with, “and whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God.’ He warned them sternly not to make him known.” Jesus did not need the demons to be the first ones to proclaim him as Messiah! That would be the worst P.R. campaign ever!! And guess what? We can also sternly command unclean spirits, bad thoughts, negative feelings, lies in our mind, and affliction to be quiet in the Name of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t want these things to define us or him and so we need to actively and sternly silence these things from our lives. When we find a hand reaching in to steal our identity, we need to look it in the eye and then turn away and back toward Jesus. It is well with my soul. 

Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 314

Reading 1 HEB 7:25—8:6

Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through him,
since he lives forever to make intercession for them.

It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: 
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, 
higher than the heavens.
He has no need, as did the high priests, 
to offer sacrifice day after day,
first for his own sins and then for those of the people; 
he did that once for all when he offered himself.
For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests, 
but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, 
appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.

The main point of what has been said is this: 
we have such a high priest, 
who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne
of the Majesty in heaven, a minister of the sanctuary 
and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up.
Now every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; 
thus the necessity for this one also to have something to offer.
If then he were on earth, he would not be a priest, 
since there are those who offer gifts according to the law.
They worship in a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary,
as Moses was warned when he was about to erect the tabernacle.
For God says, "See that you make everything 
according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."
Now he has obtained so much more excellent a ministry 
as he is mediator of a better covenant, 
enacted on better promises.

Responsorial Psalm PS 40:7-8A, 8B-9, 10, 17

R. (8a and 9a)  Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know. 
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
May all who seek you
exult and be glad in you,
And may those who love your salvation
say ever, "The LORD be glorified."
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

Alleluia SEE 2 TM 1:10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MK 3:7-12

Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.
A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing, 
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, 
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, 
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, 
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him 
and shout, "You are the Son of God."
He warned them sternly not to make him known.