“When you pray, retire to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is unseen.” Mt. 6:1-6,16-18) Lent invites us to take a general look at our way of life, to reorganize ourselves in relation to God (prayer), to our brothers and sisters (almsgiving), to ourselves (fasting).“Little storage space; Some system features …
“They have eyes and do not see, ears and do not hear.” (Mk..8,14,21) This is about a warning against the attitude of the Pharisees and Herod who, although there were signs, did not understand, did not want to understand, had their hearts set elsewhere. How many times do we look with a gaze that is …
“Why is this generation asking for a miracle?” (Mk. 8:11-13) Today’s Gospel features a discussion of the Pharisees with Jesus. The Pharisees, certainly conservative, tending to immobility, ask for a sign from heaven; perhaps bewildered by the great novelty of Jesus. What kind of signals were they looking for? Spectacular action? What do these Pharisees …
“They presented to him a deaf-mute and asked him to lay his hands on him”. (Mk. 7:31-37) Mark is the only Gospel that presents the healing of this man. There is something important in this story that cannot be overlooked. Jesus begins his journey in the region of Sidon and arrives at the Decapolis, on …
“Even the dogs eat the crumbs that the children drop under the table”. (Mk. 7:24-30) The faith of this Syro-Phoenician (Canaanite) woman is simple. She has a problem, and she comes to Jesus. That’s all. She had nothing to offer Jesus or to claim; she was totally dependent on the mercy of Jesus. Her prayer …
“Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” (Mk. 7:14-23) Today’s Gospel leads us to take a look within. Many of the evils that we suffer from and that cause us to be in conflict with ourselves and with others …
“Everywhere he entered, towns, cities, and villages, they brought the sick to the marketplaces …” (Mk. 6:53-56) People immediately recognize Jesus. And they move to get close to him. People prefer a God who visits their cities, their squares, their roads. A God who is “close”, without borders, without conditions. A God who draws closer …
“My eyes have seen your salvation that You have prepared…” (Lk. 2:22-40) On the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the temple, the figures of Simeon and Anna stand out, charged with symbolic value. They have the task of recognition, which comes both from the illumination and movement of the Spirit, as well …
Friday, February 2, 2024: Presentation of the Lord Read More »
“Jesus called the Twelve and sent them out two by two… And He commanded them to take nothing but a staff with them on the way” (Mk. 6:7-13) The Gospel of Mark shows us how Jesus chooses the twelve and sends them out to preach two by two. It is the minutest expression of a …
Ordinary Time ST. JOHN BOSCO, priest. “The crowd that heard him wondered in amazement, ‘Where does he get all that? What wisdom is this which is given to him?” Mark 6:1-6 The exercise of listening is liberating, because both the speaker and the listener are liberated. The crowd that listened to Jesus asked many questions, …
