“The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes’”

                                    Mark 4: 38                                                                                                

How should we live this Word 

The Christians’ identity is letting themselves be grasped by the person of Christ.  The Christian is not a receptacle for rules and regulations, but rather the fascination of one whose attraction has the power of authority, an interior power quite different from merely external power.

Whoever has this type of authority is capable of persuading for the good and directing others to what is right and just.  Those who have power, whether civil or ecclesiastical, and use it only for selfish interests, damage others and ultimately, themselves.  To live is to give glory to God and lovingly serve others; otherwise life is a lie, a real disaster!

This is the meaning of today’s Gospel centered on Jesus’ command to the demon, “Quiet!  Come out of him!”  It fully explains the authority of Christ the Lord using only two verbs that free the possessed man from the power of evil.  Christians are also called to exercise true and authentic authority in all they think, say, and do.

Today in my pause for silent contemplation, I will reflect that I have power in whatever I am doing if all is done for the good, serenely and lovingly.

Lord, may I never exercise any power I may have with egoism or tyranny, neither over children, the elderly, my husband or my wife, my sisters or brothers or any animal.  Give me the power that comes from the joy of loving. 

The voice of St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church 

Two loves made two cities.  There is the earthly city of self love to the point of despising God and the heavenly city of love of God to the point of despising self.

“They woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’”

                                                 Mark 4: 38                                                                                                

How should we live this Word

Due to its location, the Lake of Galilee is subject to many unexpected and dangerous storms.  In the Bible, the sea often symbolizes evil, danger, hostility, the devil; all the negative things that may overcome persons of faith.  The episode in today’s Gospel helps us to see that friendship with Jesus does not defend us from the circumstances of life.  On the contrary, it often happens that precisely while we are facing difficulties, the Lord seems to be ‘sleeping’.  All of us have the experience of tragic events, natural calamities, realities that seem to paralyze us and render us incapable of acting or managing on our own.

These are the moments of true faith when we must entrust ourselves to Jesus, abandon ourselves totally to Him and to His love.  We must place ourselves in His heart, His hands, ready to accept the consequences, whatever thy may be, aware that even in the storm God does not abandon us to ourselves.  We cannot let our faith depend on success or well being.

In this episode, Jesus calms the wind and the waters but then He asks a decisive question in order to deepen the faith journey of His disciples of all times.  “Do you not yet have faith?”

Today in my pause for silent contemplation, I will ask this question of myself.

Jesus, You are the Lord of all creation!  Help me to walk with You always, when life is serene and when it is stormy.  Let Your Word be a light to help me read and live the events of my life with the logic of Your plan of love for me.

The voice of Gianfranco Ravasi, Cardinal and Biblist 

The last word is not that of creatures, powerful though they may be like the wind and sea.  It is of the Creator and Savior.  To Him, it is important that we do not die.

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“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.”

                                             Mark 4: 26-27                                                                                             

How should we live this Word 

Jesus is an amazing teacher.  He uses every means available to teach and deepen the faith of His disciples so that they may accomplish the mission with Him.  Today He tells two parables.  In the first, the sower scatters the seed on the land.  It grows day and night and reaches maturity, not by the sower’s efforts, but by the power of God’s love.

In the second parable, the Kingdom is compared to a mustard seed that is small but once planted in the ground it becomes a huge bush capable of receiving many birds in its shadow.

The missionary work of the disciples follows this pattern.  The disciple proclaims the Word without knowing where and how it will be received.  Only God knows.  Sometimes the disciple’s intervention seems very little, of no account.  Yet, if it is received at the right moment by the right person, the Word, spoken or witnessed to, is pondered inside the person.  It then becomes a power that embraces and involves the entire life of the person and reaches out to others.  This is holiness of life lived totally in God.  This is the marvelous power of the Word in the human heart.

Today in my pause for silent contemplation, I will re-read these two parables seeking to understand the logic of the seed that grows in my life.

Lord Jesus, sow in me the seed of Your Word and let it root deeply in my heart so that I may love You totally and produce fruit abundantly in the community where I live. 

The voice of St. John Bosco, Apostle of Young People

I would like everyone to stop a moment tomorrow to reflect on this.  What have I done for my soul in the past?  How am I in the presence of God?  What do I want to do for the future?

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few…The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.”

                                      Luke 10: 1-9                                                                                               

How should we live this Word 

Today is the feast of Saints Timothy and Titus, Paul’s disciples.  The Liturgy stresses the urgency of faith in its two essential dimensions:  the proclamation of the Kingdom and fraternal charity. Jesus is the model.  He did good everywhere, healing those under Satan’s power and curing the sick, as He announced the newness of full and lasting salvation in God’s Kingdom.  It is a Kingdom of love, harmony, and peace.

We need to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send workers so in love with Him as to dedicate themselves totally to bringing about God’s plan here and now, detached from material goods and comforts.  God wills to depend on us to reach the whole world with the good news of salvation, life now and forever.

Today in my pause for silent contemplation, I will measure myself on the model given byJesus.  How is my love for Him and His Word?  How do I proclaim the Word by the witness of my speech and life?  How do I show my love for others in practical solidarity?

Lord Jesus, I don’t always succeed to live like You even if I greatly desire to do so.  Give me courage and the will to overcome whatever limit in order to remain with You and participate in the realization of Your Kingdom.  May Your kingdom come! 

The voice of Thomas Keating, Contemporary Spiritual Guide

If we consent to God’s will, He works in us through the fruits of the Holy Spirit, compassion unlimited, joy, peace, and the other gifts listed by Paul in Galatians 5: 22-23.

“Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

                                   Mark 16: 15                                                                                               

How should we live this Word 

Today we celebrate the conversion of St. Paul.  Using Jesus’ words, the Church invites us to proclaim our faith.  The passage of Mark’s Gospel opens to us the mission of the apostles, a universal mission for the whole world and for every creature.  The response to that proclamation will always be either adhesion to the faith, baptism, and salvation or incredulity, rejection, and condemnation.

From being a persecutor of the Christians, at the voice of the Christ seen in a vision, he becomes the Lord’s ardent apostle. Jesus assures that the preaching of the apostles will be supported by special signs that manifest Jesus as the Lord of creation.  The typical miracles listed are indications of the overcoming of all the evils that afflict humanity.

Today, the Church continues to realize Christ’s promise, not only through proclaiming the Gospel, but also by bringing about an immense multiplicity of works networked throughout the world like schools, orphanages, hospitals, homes for the terminally ill, homes for the aged, movements working for justice everywhere, for freeing slaves, for peace, etc.  Bishops, Priests, Sisters, Christian lay people can be found everywhere, continuing Christ’s mission in the Church.

Today in my pause for silent contemplation, I will thank God for the gift of my faith.  I will thank the Church for giving me so many possibilities for spiritual growth and so many helps through fraternal solidarity for all dimensions of life.

Lord Jesus, I want to participate always in Your mission in the world so that it may be ever more efficacious and reach every person with words and gestures of salvation and love.  I believe in Your name, Jesus, Son of the living God.

The voice of St. Paul

Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, even though many are one body, thus it is with Christ.  If one member suffers, all the members suffer.  If one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

“Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

                                       Mark 3: 34-35                                                                                              

How should we live this Word 

Not only were the Scribes against Jesus, but His relatives as well.  They did not accept what He was doing and wanted Him to return home. Jesus takes this occasion to make His relatives and the crowds understand that what He is offering goes beyond any other reality, even blood ties.  It regards doing God’s will and bringing forth His Kingdom.  In fact, it deals with the heritage of all those who freely listen to and receive the God who created them, sustains them in life, saves them from sin, and wants their eternal happiness.

Whoever listens to Jesus and believes in Him and in the Father who sent Him, becomes a disciple, an intimate collaborator to develop God’s Kingdom on this earth.   This is what Mary, Jesus’ Mother, did.  Her total ‘yes’ to the Father gave the Savior to the world, He who had been the promised of generations.  From that moment, Mary is intimately united to Her Son in His mission, offering herself with Him for the full realization of the Father’s plan.  We are an integral part of this story and, like Mary, faithful and dedicated disciples.  Thus we become mother, brother, sister to many other persons along the roads of life.

Today in my pause for silent contemplation, I will seek to deepen my understanding of belonging to Jesus and to the Kingdom.  This is my heritage to accept freely and to guard.  It is a treasure to appreciate and to share.

Lord Jesus, I entrust myself to You and to Your Mother!  Help me to change from a superficial knowledge to true love, full of trust.

The voice of St. Francis of Sales 

We do not begin to love God through knowledge but because His goodness gives us faith.  Then we delightfully savor this goodness with love.  Love increases savor and savor refines love.  In this way, savor for good raises love and love raises savor.

“Amen I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.  But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”

                                     Mark 3: 28-29                                                                                              

How should we live this Word 

Jesus proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom, “Be converted, and believe in the Gospel.”  But there are Scribes who not only refuse this invitation but interpret the evidence badly, calling good evil.  For them, Jesus is possessed and His works are accomplished through Satan.  This is the sin against the Holy Spirit. Jesus first attempts to reason with them, seeking to make them see the absurdity of their position that lacks all logic. Satan cannot cast out Satan!

Jesus is the strong man of the parable, come to free the world from the powers of evil and save those who convert and believe in Him as the One sent by the Father.  Only after His effort to open their eyes fails, Jesus strongly denounces the unforgiveable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  Their obstinacy closes itself in guilty blindness before the prophetic preaching and the merciful, compassionate activity of Jesus.

Today in my pause for silent contemplation, I will seek to understand the gravity of reaching the point of hating and rejecting God.  It is an obstinate attitude that exchanges light for darkness and love for hatred.

Lord Jesus, my freedom is played out here!  You are Holy and you know me in my depths.  Free me from every attitude of opposition to You and Your salvific will for me.  In Your love, help me to understand better and embrace Your plan for me.  May Your Kingdom come!

The voice of Gianfranco Ravasi, Contemporary Spiritual Guide 

When you see the good Jesus works, the freedom from evil He offers, the Spirit of salvation He effuses in the hearts and flesh of humans, and for egotistical motives, self-interest, power, or jealousy, you call all this evil and the fruit of diabolical operation, you ‘blaspheme against the Spirit.’

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“This is the time of fulfillment.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

                                                Mark 1: 15                                                                                                

How should we live this Word 

Today’s Liturgy is related to Christmas, still so fresh in our minds, by proclaiming the ‘why’ of the Incarnation. Jesus was recognized at His birth by some simple and wise persons open to the breath of the Spirit: Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, the Magi.  Now, after the arrest of John the Baptist comes the moment to announce publically His mission for the world.  “This is the time of fulfillment,” the time long awaited is over.  The reign of God is present. Jesus realizes the New Covenant between God and humanity, the Covenant that will be ratified in His own blood and through which all are saved and become heirs of the Kingdom.  In order to gain possession of the inheritance, we must be converted and believe, not in something, but in Jesus, the Son of God.  He is the Gospel, the Good News for everyone.  The present time is the one established by God for the salvation of this generation, of my salvation.  Today I am invited to become a new person!

Today in my pause for silent contemplation, I will be consoled by the fact that the Kingdom is not a hoped for future but is a reality today!  The reign of God, a reign of truth, love, trust, justice, peace, fraternity, eternal life is already here now. Jesus overcame evil once and for all.  It is up to us Christians to live what the Incarnation has revealed.

Lord Jesus, Son of the living God, I entrust myself to you who speak to me and call me to love You more and more, living my life with You and in You.  Help me to accept Your Gospel as a personal message for me.  Amen!

The voice of St. Gregory Nazianzen, Doctor of the Church

Purify yourselves entirely and proceed in this purity.  There is nothing more that God rejoices over than the conversion and salvation of humanity.  For us, all the divine words have been pronounced and all the mysteries of revelation have been fulfilled.

“David seized his garments and rent them, and all the men who were with him did likewise.”

                                                      2 Samuel 1: 11                                                                                             

How should we live this Word

David mourns the death of Saul and of his son, as for two dearest friends.  Beyond the problems Saul caused, he is able to see the greatness of this man.  He never stopped recognizing the mark of the divine

anointing that made him the chosen one of the Lord.  Saul always remained the anointed of the Lord for David.

So too, the Church of Christ, so human and at the same time so divine, carries in itself the scandal of its divisions along with the imprint of the Spirit that shapes it and illumines it.  It is this Spirit that urges us and moves us toward unity.  It is this Spirit that asks us to purify our memory and to look at all the good present in the various Christian confessions.  The knots still present in relations among the Christian Churches may be seen as the differences in beauty of a bouquet of field flowers.  However, we need pure eyes and a compassionate heart to recognize this beauty, like the eyes of David.

Today in my pause for silent contemplation, I will visualize myself beside God who looks with benevolence on each of His children.  They are all different, each is unique, but they are all beautiful!

Lord, illumine us with Your Holy Spirit so that we may never be an obstacle, with our severe judgments, to your full justice.  Help us to recognize Your wisdom and Your love in all things. 

The voice of the Ecumenical Movement

The unity for which we pray is not merely a comfortable idea of friendship and collaboration.  It demands the will to avoid all competition among ourselves.  We must open ourselves to each other, offer and receive each other’s gifts in order to truly enter into new life in Christ, which is the only true victory.

“He appointed Twelve, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach.”

                                                  Mark 3: 14-15                                                                                             

How should we live this Word

Today’s reading speaks of the call of the Twelve.  Names and faces follow each other: Peter, Matthew the tax collector, Thomas….    There was so much diversity in the new born Church!  Yet Jesus puts them all together!  Conflicts are not lacking. Those who leave increase and personalities emerge, just think of Paul.  There are heated discussions, taking of positions, but there are never divisions in the apostolic community!

Diversity received and shared gave that community a dynamic face, a capacity to adapt itself, incarnating itself in the various cultures with which it came into contact.  It is a richness that we are called upon today to guard and increase.  The human-divine face of Christ cannot exhaust itself in only one expression.  The reflection of His beauty can be traced everywhere.  Thus it is with profound respect that we are called to guard our sister Churches recognizing in them the Seeds of the Word, of the one Beauty that was pleased to reveal Himself to all peoples.

Today in my pause for silent contemplation, I will examine my gaze on the Church and on the sister Churches.  Do I look at them with indifference?  Do I nourish prejudices?  Do I fear an openness that may disturb my faith which is perhaps a bit rigid?

Lord God, teach us to accept with humility that unity is a gift of Your Spirit.  Through this gift, change and transform us more and more into the image of Your Son Jesus Christ. 

The voice of the Ecumenical Movement 

Prayer for Christian unity is not an optional accessory of Christian life, but on the contrary, it is the heart.  The last commandment the Lord left us before completing His redemptive offering on the Cross, is that of communion among His disciples, of their unity as He and the Father are one, that the world might believe.