With Us or Against Us?

"Jesus said in reply: 'Do not try to stop him. No man who performs a miracle using My name can at the same time speak ill of Me. Anyone who is not against us is with us.' “Mark 9:39-40

Jesus is telling the disciples that they do not have a monopoly of miracles nor of Him.  Anyone doing good in the Name of Jesus cannot do evil at the same time.

We, who are baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, become adopted children of God.  This means that members of ALL Christian denominations are brothers and sisters, in Christ.

We, Christians, should devote our energy in fighting the evil of the world and not each other.  Actually, I don’t even have to go outside of my Catholic community to see this infighting!  This ministry is jealous of that ministry.  ‘This is my place in the church since I ALWAYS sit here!’  These incidents are so disheartening.  It is especially so when a stranger comes to our church and he is asked to move.  I belong to a parish where the pastor must tend to two churches.  I often hear parishioners say, ‘He is spending too much time at the other church.’  Again, this lack of unity among our sister-church can be very depressing.

The evil one must really be shouting with joy at seeing all of this occurring in Jesus’ Church.

We need to pray for unity among all of God’s children.  We need to pray for the unity that exists among the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

May our Lady intercede for us and pray that we may become one in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Yeast of Herod

In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns the disciples: “Look out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod”.  Mark 8:15.

I have never baked with yeast.  To me, it is such a complicated process.  You start with a little package of yeast, add it and the other ingredients to the flour, cover it, and lo and behold, it starts to rise, and rise, and rise.

In the same way, as the yeast influences the flour, we are being influenced by the culture of the world.  Everywhere we turn, we see evil lurking.  With present day technology, we are present at all the ‘events’ of the world.  We see and hear gory details of murder, rape, sexual encounters, etc. on television, in the newspapers, and on the internet.  What has become so disturbing is that much of this is being broadcasted during prime time news and hours when our children are watching.

In addition, as the yeast ‘grows’, so does the gossip.  You tell one person a ‘short story’ about someone else, and this story starts circulating, until it becomes a novel.  As one blogger puts it:  “Is it true, kind, and necessary?”

The Yeast, that we should be allowing to take over our hearts, minds, and souls, is the Body of Christ.  When we receive communion, His flesh and blood becomes ours!  Have you stopped and thought about that?

So many of us receive the bread and wine on a daily basis, yet we do not fully comprehend the great Mystery that is occurring in our bodies.

"By Holy Communion, we are changed into the flesh of Him became our flesh."

--St. Leo the Great

Come, Holy Spirit, come.  Make us pure in spirit so that the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ will permeate in our beings so that when people see us, they will see Jesus.  Amen

BE OPENED!

In the readings of today, we hear Genesis 3:7 and Mark 7, 31-37 and about two very different situations, where ‘openness’ occurs.

In the first reading, Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden fruit.  “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked….”  This disobedience of Adam and Eve opened the way to original sin.  They opened the way for the tendency of sin, which is inherent in each one of us.  Disobedience in every shape and form was born.

In the Gospel of Mark 7, 31-37, a deaf man with a speech impediment is brought to Jesus.  Jesus takes the man aside.  “He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue;  then He looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to (the man), “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be Opened!”)  And [immediately] the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly…the more he (Jesus) ordered them not to (tell anyone), the more they proclaimed it…He has done all things well.”  The people could not keep more proclaiming the wonders that Jesus was performing.  Jesus, again, is opening the way for non-Jews to accept his Word and follow him.  Remember that our Lord tells his disciples to go and teach to all nations.

Are we opened to the Word of God?  Are we opened to proclaim the Word to our fellow men?  Or, are we to continue to follow in the footsteps of our first parents and give in to the sinful tendency of our souls?

As baptized members of the Body of Christ, we are to evangelize to all the Good News!

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit give me a willing heart to do your will.  Help me to not be embarrassed to speak boldly about you.  Amen.

What is Basic Training for Catholics?

Have you ever stopped to think how long basic training is for our military personnel?  Most branches of service have a nine-week basic training program.  At the end of this period, the young men and women are full-fledged soldiers.  Additional training may be needed for specialized fields.

We, on the other hand, must go through basic training our entire earthly life in order to gain the kingdom of God.  Yet, we have a cheering squad praying for us 24/7.  As members of the Catholic Church, we believe in the “communion of saints.”  These are all our brothers and sisters on earth, in heaven and in purgatory.  “…since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

As we begin this new year, may the Holy Spirit guide us in our pilgrimage as we discover or rediscover, whichever the case may be, of the ‘gems’ of our Catholic faith.