1st Week in Ordinary Time 2025 - Wednesday - Healing for the body, light for the mind, deliverance from evil

 After the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord this last Sunday, our weekday readings this week all through Lent, take us through a sequential reading through the beginning chapters of St. Mark’s Gospel. Monday, we read of Jesus beginning his public ministry preaching “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” He then called the fishermen, peter, james, Andrew, and john, to be his first followers.

Yesterday, we read of Jesus coming to Capernaum and commanding and casting out the unclean spirit.

Today, continuing still through chapter 1 of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus brings physical healing to Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, and then many people, and drove out many demons, and then goes on to preach throughout Galilee. 

Throughout Mark's Gospel, Jesus is portrayed as the Messiah who brings about the Kingdom of God through his words and deeds. He is a man-of-action who backs up his teachings with miraculous work.

He brings life to the body, light to the mind, deliverance from the powers of evil. Those of us who follow him now, recognize that he continues to do these things in our lives and in our world.  

He brings life to our bodies. Even though we continue to experience physical illness, the ailments of age, we are not discouraged by these things. United to Christ, our physical struggles bring about an increase in trust in God, and reminder that this passing earthly life is an anticipation of the resurrection.

He gives light to our minds through the truth of his teachings which guide us, they help us to know our purpose, they help us discern between right and wrong, they help us to recognize the futility of living only for the things of the world, they help us to cooperate with God’s grace which enables us to become the people God made us to be.

And, he delivers us from the powers of evil. He helps us to be free from the bondage of sin, he helps us to be faithful to God in times of temptation, he helps us destroy the works of the devil in our society. 

And doing all these things for us personally, he transforms us to be instruments in his hands, to encourage the afflicted, to instruct the ignorant, to preach his Gospel, to help other break the bonds of sin in their own lives.

What we see Jesus doing in the Scriptures, we see him doing in our own lives, and he sends us out to be his instruments in the world. “Very truly I tell you,” he says in John’s Gospel, “whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these.”

As we read through the Scriptures during Ordinary Time, may we come not only to a deeper understanding of who Jesus is, and appreciation for what he has done for us, but come to a deeper cooperation with Him, in who we are called to be, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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With confidence in Jesus Christ, who proclaims the Kingdom of God and brings healing, light, and deliverance, let us offer our prayers to the Father:

For the Church, that she may faithfully proclaim the nearness of the Kingdom of God in both word and deed, and that through her ministry many may come to repentance, healing, and new life in Christ, let us pray to the Lord.

For those who suffer in body, especially the sick, the elderly, and those burdened by chronic illness, that united to Christ they may find strength, hope, and trust in God’s promise of resurrection and eternal life, let us pray to the Lord.

For those struggling against sin and temptation, that Christ, who drives out the powers of evil, may grant them freedom, perseverance, and the grace to live as faithful disciples, let us pray to the Lord.

For our society, that the works of the devil—violence, deception, injustice, and division—may be overcome by the transforming power of the Gospel, and that we may be instruments of peace, truth, and mercy, let us pray to the Lord.

For the faithful departed, that having shared in Christ’s sufferings in this life, they may now share fully in His resurrection and glory, let us pray to the Lord.

For the prayers we voice in our hearts, and for X, for whom this mass is offered.

Heavenly Father, you sent your Son to proclaim the Kingdom and to heal your people. Hear the prayers we offer in faith, and make us willing instruments of your saving love, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

3rd Week of Easter 2019 - Monday - The Pattern of Jesus' Life

Today’s first reading sees the arrest of St Stephen for proclaiming the message of Christ and the Gospel.  In fact, St. Luke reports many similarities between Stephen’s arrest, trial, and martyrdom, and Jesus’ own arrest, trial, and crucifixion.

First we heard how Stephen was filled with grace and power and working great wonders and signs.  St. Luke records this point to emphasize that the pattern of Jesus’ life is reproduced in his disciples. Just as Jesus performed miracles, so we read in the book of Acts how many disciples, especially the Apostles perform miracles for the building up of the Church. The Apostles fulfill the Lord’s words: “Whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these”

Secondly, just as Jesus’ teachings could not be refuted, Stephen, when debating members of the synagogue, could not be refuted: “they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.”  Though the Gospel is not always what the world wants to hear, doesn’t mean it’s false. In fact, we can be confident that the moral and doctrinal truths of Christianity are true, because they come from God.

Thirdly, when the Jews of the Synagogue become frustrated in arguing with Stephen, they resort to false witnesses, just as occurred in Jesus’ trial.

The powerful witness of the newly ordained deacon Stephen reminds us that successes in Christian ministry, especially in defending the faith against outsider’s attacks, can lead to persecution.  Yet, the Spirit fills us, like Stephen, with grace and power and wisdom and courage, to witness to the truth of the Gospel.

Stephen closely imitated our Lord in proclaiming the Gospel and being rejected and suffering for the prophetic ministry.  Jesus lives with, in, and through those who are united to him in faith. May such faith increase in us, that the pattern of Jesus’ life may be recreated in us for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

Through the intercession of St. Stephen, that the deacons of the Church, especially those newly ordained for our diocese this weekend, may be true heralds of the Gospel in their ministry and service.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ, especially for all victims of religious violence.

For our parish, that we may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.
For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

5th Week of Lent 2019 - Friday - A pattern emerges

Just one week from Good Friday, our daily readings have grown more ominous. Particularly today, though, we detect striking similarities between Jesus and the prophet Jeremiah. Both Jeremiah and Jesus are denounced, criticized, abandoned by friends, and persecuted.

Jeremiah was sent by God to the Jews of Jerusalem who had allowed much corruption to enter into their religious life. Jesus was quoting Jeremiah when he cleansed the temple, condemning the religious leaders for making the temple into a “den of thieves”. For speaking against the corrupt religious authorities, Jeremiah was scourged. Like Jesus, Israel’s leaders similarly schemed against Jeremiah.  “Come they said, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah…let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully watch his every word.”

Like Jesus in the Gospel today, Jeremiah is often found appealing to his divine mission and to the works he is performing: that in hardening your heart against his call to conversion, you are hardening your heart toward God.

In the reading today Jeremiah said, not only his enemies, but his friends were watching him intensely just looking for an opportunity to denounce him. This reminds us of the apostle Judas, who Jesus had called “his friend”, who next week goes looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus. And also how the scribes and Pharisees, his fellow Jews plotted and conspired to bring Jesus to death. In today’s Gospel, things have reached such a fervor that they have rocks in their hands, ready to stone him to death.

These similarities between Jeremiah and Jesus show us that there is a pattern to how God works. He calls sinners to repentance. And our readings should increase our conviction that, like Jeremiah, Jesus is the one sent by God for our redemption. But today’s readings also show us that there is a pattern to how evil works as well. Evil hardens our hearts against the call to conversion, it criticizes what is good, what is from God, it leads people to conspire against God’s prophets, it ignores and even encourages corruption in God’s temple in the Church.

Let us ensure that as we enter into Holy Week, we’ve acknowledged and repented of the times when we have silenced the word of God speaking to us, calling us to conversion, perhaps even times when we have called evil “good” and good “evil”. By pondering the word of God may we grow attuned to those holy inspirations from God’s Spirit. And through our final Lenten penances, may we console Jesus as he prepares to endure tremendous suffering for our redemption, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Church will experience the graces of profound renewal during this season of Lent.  That we may grow in our eagerness in spreading the Gospel of Christ.

That all Christian families will recommit themselves to putting Christ at the center of their family life, so as to grow in faith, hope, and love.  We pray to the Lord.

For an end to abortion and for the reverence and protection of human life.  We pray to the Lord.
For the young people of our Church. May they be strengthened to be witnesses to the Gospel of mercy and work for a future that embodies a genuine culture of life.

For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter: that they will be profoundly blessed in their preparation for full initiation into the Body of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

For the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, imprisoned, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  We pray to the Lord.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.