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Gospel: Luke 11:29-32

 

Gospel

Lk 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

REFLECTION

“At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”  Luke 11:32

What an interesting way for Jesus to call the people to repentance.  Simply put, the people of Nineveh repented when Jonah preached to them.  However, the people in Jesus’ time did not.  The result is that, at the end of time, the people of Nineveh will be given the responsibility of condemning those who failed to listen to Jesus.

The first thing we should take from this is that condemnation for refusing to repent of one’s sins is real and serious.  Jesus is speaking about eternal damnation to the people who fail to listen to His preaching.  As a result of this very strong teaching of Jesus, we should sincerely look at our own willingness to repent, or lack thereof.

Secondly, it’s important to point out that the people Jesus chastised were far more blessed with the prophetic message than the people of Jonah’s time.  Remember that Jonah was a man who, at first, ran from God and from his mission.  He did not want to go to Nineveh and only did so after being brought there in the belly of a whale against his will.  It’s hard to imagine that Jonah would have subsequently preached with a wholehearted zeal.  But, nonetheless, his preaching was effective.

The people of Jesus’ time were blessed with hearing the actual words of the Savior of the World.  But so are we!  We have the Gospels, the teachings of the Church, the witness of the great saints, the shepherding of the Holy Father, the Sacraments and so much more.  We have countless methods of obtaining the Gospel message in our technological age and, yet, we can easily fail to heed Christ’s message.

Reflect, today, upon your own willing response to the words of Jesus.  He speaks to us in powerful ways and yet we so often fail to listen.  Our failure to listen leads to a failure of complete repentance from our sins.  If this is you, reflect also upon the words of severe condemnation that await those who are obstinate.  This realization should fill us with a holy fear and motivate us to listen to the preaching of our Lord.

Prayer

Savior of the World, I know You speak to me in countless ways.  You preach through Your Scriptures, Your Church and in my life of prayer.  Help me to heed Your voice and accept all You say with perfect obedience and submission.  I love You, my dear Lord, and I repent of my sin.  Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Gospel and readings 27.2.2022

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 84

Reading I

Sir 27:4-7

When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear;
so do one’s faults when one speaks.
As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace,
so in tribulation is the test of the just.
The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had;
so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind.
Praise no one before he speaks,
for it is then that people are tested.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

R (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night.
R Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,
like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
R Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
They shall bear fruit even in old age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
Declaring how just is the LORD,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.
R Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

Reading II

1 Cor 15:54-58

Brothers and sisters:
When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility
and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality,
then the word that is written shall come about:
Death is swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters,
be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord,
knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.

Alleluia

Phil 2:15d, 16a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Shine like lights in the world
as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 6:39-45

Jesus told his disciples a parable,
“Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”

REFLECTION

A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.”  Luke 6:43

Conversely, it should be said that a good tree does bear good fruit.  This must be our goal.  By saying that “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,” Jesus is teaching us the supernatural effect of living a holy life.  When we live a life grounded in Christ, the effect will be that good fruit is born from our lives.  This is an important spiritual principle to understand.

Hopefully, we all want to live good lives.  We all want to make a difference in our world and in the lives of others for the good.  But the fundamental question to ask is how do we do this?  The answer is that it’s not so much a matter of choosing the good actions we do; rather, on a more basic and fundamental level, we must choose to live a life grounded in Christ, thus becoming a “good tree.”

If you want to bear good fruit and make a holy and positive difference in the world, then you need to do one primary thing.  Work at becoming holy.  To use the image that Jesus gives, see yourself as a tree that is planted in the ground.  See your roots stretching far and wide.  See yourself being nourished and basked in the Sun.  And see yourself growing and flourishing.

This is the life of grace and the effect is that good fruit automatically comes forth.  The life of grace is accomplished by focusing upon your own health and spiritual well-being.  You become this “good tree” by doing the basics well.  First, pray, pray well and pray hard.  Let your life be centered in prayer.  Second, learn your faith.  Listen to the Gospels, learn all that God has revealed through the Church, read the teachings of the saints, and learn from other holy people.  Third, live a good sacramental life.  Go to Mass, celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, understand the grace of your Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination, etc.  Know that the Sacraments nourish you in powerful ways and embrace that nourishment with your whole heart.

Reflect, today, upon the important mission you have been given to go forth and to bear an abundance of good fruit in our world.  This mission can be accomplished only as a result of a life of holiness.  This holiness is only accomplished when your roots are firmly grounded in the life of grace.  Embrace this life of grace through the many means that God has set before you, and know that the commitment you make to holiness will bring health not only to your own soul, but also to the souls of those whom God will touch through you.

Lord, I love You and I give my life to You.  I pray that I may be planted in the fertile soil of Your abundant love and mercy.  Help me to be nourished by the life of grace You have lavished upon me and, as I grow in holiness, bring forth an abundance of good fruit in my life.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Mark 8:22-26

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Gospel

Mk 8:22-26

When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
“Do you see anything?”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”
Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”

REFLECTION

Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, “Do you see anything?”   Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”  Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.  Mark 8:23-25

This story is very unique for one reason.  It’s unique because the first time Jesus tried to cure the blind man it only worked half way.  He could see after Jesus’ first attempt to heal his blindness, but what he saw were “people looking like trees and walking.”  It took Jesus laying His hands on the man’s eyes a second time for him to be fully cured.  Why is that?

Consistently, throughout the Gospels, when Jesus cures someone it is done as a result of the faith they have and manifest.  It’s not that Jesus couldn’t heal someone without faith; rather, it’s that this is what He chose to do.  He made healing contingent upon complete faith.

In this miracle story, it appears that the blind man has some faith, but not much.  As a result, Jesus does something very telling.  He allows the man to be healed only part way so as to illustrate his lack of faith.  But He also reveals to us that a little faith can lead to more faith.  The man, once he could see a little, clearly began to believe some more.  And once his faith grew, Jesus laid hands on him again, bringing his healing to completion.

What a great illustration for us!  Some people may have complete faith in God in all things.  If that is you, then you are truly blessed.  But this passage is especially for those who have faith, but struggle nonetheless.  To those who fall into this category, Jesus is offering much hope.  The action of healing the man twice in a row tells us that Jesus is patient and merciful and will take the little we have, and the little we offer, and use it the best He can.  He will work to transform our little faith so that we can then take another step closer to God and grow in faith.

The same could be said of sin.  Sometimes we have imperfect sorrow for sin and sometimes we sin and have no sorrow for it, even though we know it’s wrong.  If that is you, then try to take at least one small step forward toward the healing of forgiveness.  Try, at very least, to desire that you will grow in a desire to be sorry.  That may be the bare minimum, but Jesus will work with it.

Reflect, today, upon this blind man.  Ponder this twofold healing and twofold conversion the man undergoes.  Know that this is you and that Jesus wants to take you one step further in your faith and in your repentance of sin.

PRAYER

Lord of mercy, I thank You for the incredible patience You have with me.  I know my faith in You is weak and must increase.  I know my sorrow for my sins must also increase.  Please do take the little faith I have and the little sorrow I have for my sins and use them to draw me one step closer to You and Your merciful heart.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Mark 8:11-13

Gospel

Does someone reject the love you try to bestow up them?

Mk 8:11-13

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Then he left them, got into the boat again,
and went off to the other shore.

Reflection:

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”  Mark 8:11-12

Jesus “sighed from the depth of His spirit.”  It is clear this was no ordinary sigh.  It was a sigh that was more than emotion.  It was from the “depth of His spirit.”  What was going on with Jesus?

This sigh reveals a pain and suffering in Jesus that was spiritual in nature.  It was a pain and suffering that came as a result of being rejected by others.  But it wasn’t just that He was hurt or offended, because He wasn’t.  The suffering He felt was from His love.  It came as a result of Him loving the Pharisees deeply and realizing that they were rejecting the grace He wanted to offer them.  This hurt not because Jesus was sensitive to being hurt; rather, it hurt because of His boundless love for them.

It’s interesting that we rarely think of Jesus’ love for the Pharisees.  Often, we only think of Him being harsh to them and condemning them.  But every strong word He directed toward them was aimed at converting them out of love.  It was an attempt, on His part, to shake them out of their indifference and rejection of grace.  It was an act of love.

Reflect, today, upon the “Pharisees” in your life.  Perhaps you do not encounter those who are proud or haughty, or maybe you do.  The Pharisees in your life are those who reject the free gift of love you try to offer.  They are those who are so hurt, confused or bitter that they find it very hard to let love in.  They throw up every sort of defense there is to avoid letting your love in.  And when you see this rejection, it hurts.  It may then tempt you to have anger or condemnation.

But how should you react?  You should do as Jesus did!  You should sigh, and “sigh deeply.”  You should feel the hurt of their rejection and feel holy sorrow for them.  At times, you may need to confront them as Jesus did.  But never out of your wounded pride.  You should confront only because you judge that it’s the best way to win them over.  You will know that this is an act of love when you feel that deep sigh within your spirit.

Prayer:-

Loving Lord, help me to love with a pure and holy love.  Help me to feel a holy sorrow over my sins and the sins of others when I encounter their sins.  Let that holy sorrow compel me to love more deeply.  Jesus, I trust in You.

From Catholic Daily Reflections.com

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