6th Week in OT 2018 - Tuesday - Works in progress

Yesterday’s Gospel concluded with Jesus letting out a deep sigh and lamenting over the Pharisees demands for signs and wonders, and even when he produced them, like when he fed the five thousand, they were still unconvinced of his identity.

Today’s Gospel picks up immediately with the disciples also not quite getting it. They had been with Jesus now for some time, they had seen miraculous healings and feedings, and Jesus still detected some blindness, some doubt in them.

Now notice how Jesus hasn’t given up on the disciples. The mere fact that they were still with him, showed their openness to his teaching. They were “unfinished products” and that’s okay. And the fact that Jesus is still teaching them shows his commitment to helping them become free from their inner resistances.

So, too, with us. None of us are “finished products”, we are all “works in progress”; we come to the altar with some blindness, some lack of trust in God, some selfishness. And that we are here is such a good sign of our willingness to be healed, to be taught, to be led by God. God sees the tremendous potential each one of us has, and he provides the teaching and the spiritual nourishment and the boundless mercy, that we can become the people he made us to be.

Here is also a reminder to be extremely patient with each other. When I humbly acknowledge that I’m not the person I’m meant to be, I’m able to be much more patient with my brother, who also speaks and acts out of ignorance, at times. If a brother needs to be rebuked or corrected, we do so very gently, very patiently, to help them grow.

Many look at the Catholic Church with great criticism. They say, “look at all the corruption, look at all the moral failures of her members, the mediocre preaching.”  But still, millions of people join the Catholic Church despite the faults of individual members who fail to live up to what they profess.
Good, thoughtful people join the Church every year because they acknowledge that it is HERE that we find the truth we need to live in right relationship with God. Good, thoughtful people join the Church because they recognize that the only fair way to judge any institution is according to its principles and the example of those who DO live in accord with them.

Jesus saves through His Church! And His Church does produce Saints. Where else than the Church do we find women like Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, and Elizabeth Ann Seton, or men to compare with Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, St. Ignatius of Loyola, Francis, John of the Cross, Thomas More, John Vianney.  No where but here!

Today, may we be open to the ways the Lord wishes to cure us from our spiritual blindness, teach us in our ignorance, feed us in our hunger, and lead us in the ways of sanctity for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption.

For those preparing for baptism and entrance into full communion with the Catholic Church this Easter, for their continual conversion to Christ and that of the whole Church.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

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

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord