Drawn by the Father
Believing in Jesus is a gift from the Father. As he puts it, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him…” Those who accepted Jesus’ teaching and followed him did so because they had been given faith directly from God.
A Longing for Fulfillment
It does not take much to do good, to relieve suffering, or to show love. God wants to do great things in our families, parishes, and communities. He wants to feed the hungry, He wants to console the suffering and He wants to change hardened hearts. But He needs us to help Him.
God Multiplies What We Surrender to Him
It does not take much to do good, to relieve suffering, or to show love. God wants to do great things in our families, parishes, and communities. He wants to feed the hungry, He wants to console the suffering and He wants to change hardened hearts. But He needs us to help Him.
Blessed Interruptions
Jesus did not merely feel a fleeting sentimental concern for the vast crowd. He felt strongly compelled into action to meet the needs of the people. But there is one tiny detail worth noting: the apostles and Jesus were trying to get away to rest after ministry!
A Possession on a Journey
The second reading today beautifully describes us as “God’s possession,” which is such a lovely thought, especially for those of us who are almost pathologically self-reliant. A possession cannot care for itself; its entire existence relies on its possessor.
Bringing Glad Tidings with an Open Heart
Witnessing, is not always as easy as sharing what Jesus has done for us or our reason to believe. There can be a great difficulty for us to be an evangelizing disciple to our friends, family, or neighbors — possibly the very people we most wish to know the goodness of our God.
I Say to You, Arise!
Faith lifts us up, by God’s grace, properly positioning ourselves to see all God has made in the fullness of its beauty and meaning. Faith allows us to see the wholeness, healing, and unconditional love that is possible only with God.
Fear Is Not the End of the Story
St. Mark invites us to join the disciples in asking, “Who is this?” For Mark, Jesus is the embodiment of the saving work of God. Each of the miracle stories is an opportunity to come to a deeper understanding of Jesus as the one who brings God’s power and providence to human needs.
The Sure and Silent Growth of God’s Kingdom
Jesus uses the image of the seed to describe God’s Kingdom. Like a seed planted in the ground, God works in hidden ways. We cannot always understand what He is doing or why things are turning out the way they are.
Seeing the Body of Christ
The Church offers us this Solemnity of the source and summit of our faith. It is a treasure far beyond human understanding. And yet it is a reality of Christian faith both intimately personal, and communally binding, not confined to the laws of space and time yet operates there.
Worship and Doubt
Worship is a relationship, not a transaction. When Jesus instructed his followers to make disciples of all nations, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you,” he knew that sometimes they would have to rely on the muscle memory of worship.
The Power of Pentecost
On Pentecost, we celebrate the birthday of the Church, that glorious moment the Holy Spirit “appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.” In the Holy Spirit, God dwells not just among us but within us.