Sunday

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

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In today’s Gospel we see two acts of desperation mixed with faith that need a little encouragement. Jairus, despite his position in the synagogue, is not afraid to throw himself at Our Lord’s feet to beg the healing of his daughter. The hemorrhagic woman has tried everything and decides to take a risk on Our Lord being able to help her, but without exposing herself. Our Lord permits circumstances that help them close the gap between what they want–healing–and what they need to get it: faith and an a real relationship with God.

The hemorrhagic woman wants something good, and she received it, but she didn’t entirely go about it the right way. Touching a rabbi in her state was considered under Mosaic Law a ritual defilement of Jesus. She sought healing from Jesus, but wanted it on the sly: she didn’t want to be his disciple. Imagine her fear and shock when Jesus knew that someone had touched him and received healing from him. She couldn’t remain anonymous; God is not an ATM, and we shouldn’t treat him like one. All he wants in return for his help is our love and friendship. In this case, being open about her need and the miracle had another purpose: Jairus’ hopes had been dashed by the news that his daughter had died. Seeing what the hemorrhagic woman had received with little effort and, after a little coaxing, great courage, helped Jairus to have the faith and courage he needed for Jesus to work the miracle for his daughter as well in the face of an impossible situation.

If you need something and turn to God today because you feel you are out of options, that’s okay; Our Lord can work with that. But you also need to let him into your life, before, during, and after your need, and ask him to help you believe against all odds. All he asks in return is your love and friendship.

Readings: Wisdom of Solomon 1:13–15, 2:23–24; Psalm 30:2, 4–6, 11–13; 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13–15; Mark 5:21–43.

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

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In today’s Gospel we hear a prayer that has become a part of the Christian arsenal: the prayer of the scared. It is the prayer that tells Our Lord that we’re going under and we don’t understand why he is not doing anything about it when his reputation is going under too, at least in our eyes. In those prayers of the scared we must not forget what happened in today’s Gospel: the danger evaporated and Our Lord showed once again that he is not just our “teacher,” but God, master over all of Creation. He also reminds us of his mastery in today’s First Reading, which is an excerpt from his reply to Job’s chapters of angst and questioning over the trial he was undergoing. Sometimes we expect God’s response and attitude to be just as hysterical as our own, but Jesus responds forthrightly and simply today: the storm is quelled with a few words and the disciples are told that they’re overreacting and lack faith in him.

The disciples, amazed by what happened, ask themselves whether they really knew who Jesus was at all after witnessing a display of such power. We know people by what they do and what they can do, and even though the disciples didn’t have enough faith, Jesus helped them. Faith helps us to more profoundly understand who God is, and that also helps us in those moments where it seems the only faith we muster is squeezed out of us by circumstances that call for the prayer of the scared as an act of desperation. If we strive to live an attitude of faith and a prayer life beyond the occasional prayer of the scared when things get tough, we’ll find we weather our personal storms better in the future and also grow in trusting Our Lord.

Let’s ask Our Lord today to help us grow in faith and a deeper and richer prayer life.

Readings: Job 38:1, 8–11; Psalm 107:23–26, 28–31; 2 Corinthians 5:14–17; Mark 4:35–41.

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

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Salvadora persica

When Our Lord begins his public ministry the core of his message is that the Kingdom of God is at hand, and conversion and faith in the Gospel are needed. In today’s Gospel he gives us two parables to understand what the Kingdom of God is: the sowing and reaping of grain and the growth of a mustard seed. By teaching in parables he is trying to explain deeper spiritual realities using the every day realities that his listeners understand. The Gospel reminds us that he also gave more explanations in private to the disciples: deeper spiritual realities are understood more fully through parables and explanations, but since they ultimately refer back to the deepest mystery–God–they’re never completely fathomable.

The Kingdom of God reflects this profundity: it is reflected in the Church and her work, but it also the whole work of salvation, of God conquering hearts, one by one, throughout the centuries, until his reign of love endures forever in the hearts of those who welcomed it. The example of the grain shows us that this requires cultivation, waiting for the right time to reap the spiritual harvest of our labors, but also that God does the heavy lifting: the growth that is quiet, slow, and unseen, at times even when we’re not doing anything, comes from him and from his grace working in our souls and in the souls of others. The example of the mustard see shows that it starts small: in Jesus’ earthly ministry it went from him, to twelve disciples, then to thousands by the time narrated in the Acts of the Apostles, and to the whole world and throughout history. The Kingdom doesn’t just represent something small that has an incredible capacity for growth and expansion; like the cool shade of the mustard plant it makes room for everyone to find rest and consolation, because God wants everyone to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Let’s pray today for the grace to cultivate the Kingdom of God in our hearts and for the insight to find our place in it. It’s not just something in the future: it is growing here and now.

Readings: Ezekiel 17:22–24; Psalm 92:2–3, 13–16; 2 Corinthians 5:6–10; Mark 4:26–34.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

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We always start our prayers by making the Sign of the Cross to remind us of the greatest mystery of our faith: the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. It is not a mystery as seen on TV where CSI checks a crime scene, fingerprints and DNA evidence, witnesses: it’s something so big that it doesn’t fit into our head. We couldn’t have ever figured out on our own that God was Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God revealed Himself to us as the Holy Trinity. Jesus came and said he was God’s Son, and that meant God was his Father. And Jesus promised to send his Spirit after he ascended into Heaven, so the Holy Spirit was God as well. This is something so mysterious that we believe it because Our Lord taught it to us and we believe in him.

Toward the end of today’s Gospel Our Lord tells the disciples to go out and baptize everyone in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. On the day of our baptism a priest or deacon poured water on our head three times, and each time he poured it he said I baptize you in the name of the Father … and of the Son … and of the Holy Spirit. And in that moment what St. Paul describes in the Second Reading today happened: we received the Holy Spirit who made us into adopted sons and daughters of God. And so whenever we start our prayers, we remember this day of our baptism by making the Sign of the Cross and remembering the Holy Trinity and how God came into our hearts through our baptism.

So when we pray this week, as we make the Sign of the Cross, let’s thank each Person of the Most Holy Trinity for wanting to come and be in our hearts and show us God as He truly is. Thank God the Father for creating us and revealing himself to Israel as the One True God. Thank God the Son for obeying his Heavenly Father and coming down and becoming man to show us that God was Our Father and to enable us to become his adopted children. Thank the Holy Spirit for transforming us into God’s adopted children and for bringing the Holy Trinity into our hearts and helping us to understand and live this great mystery of our faith.

Readings: Deuteronomy 4:32–34, 39–40; Psalm 33:4–6, 9, 18–20, 22; Romans 8:14–17; Matthew 28:16–20.

Pentecost Sunday

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Today is a day to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the whole Church. In the Gospel today Our Lord gives the Apostles the gift of the Holy Spirit to help them free people from sin and from error, just as today’s bishops and priests do by teaching the Gospel and celebrating the sacrament of Reconciliation. In the First Reading we see the divisions and discord caused by sin, as the Old Testament story of the tower of Babel teaches us, start to be reversed by the Holy Spirit who enables believes to understand each other again and to welcome the Gospel into their hearts.

The work of salvation has been powered by the Holy Spirit from the beginning: it was in the power of the Holy Spirit that the Word became flesh in Mary’s womb, and raised Jesus from the dead. After Our Lord’s Ascension the Holy Spirit gives that vital impulse to help the Church to grow and reach unheard of places, even today. The Spirit continues to make Our Lord present through the sacraments, and pours grace into our hearts. The Spirit helps the Church’s shepherds to remain faithful to the Gospel message handed down from the Apostles and also gives spiritual gifts to believers in every walk of life to help build up the Church.

Let’s ask the Holy Spirit today to kindle in us the fire of God’s love so that we may help to renew the face of the earth through our holiness and through proclaiming the Gospel in a way that everyone can understand.

Readings: Acts 2:1–11; Psalm 104:1, 24, 29–31, 34; 1 Corinthians 12:3b–7, 12–13; John 20:19–23.