Have Faith and Fear Not, the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time–Year B

My Sisters and Brothers:

     Most likely all of us can think of events or issues in our lives that might have tempted us to lose our faith or that may have caused us to live with some kind of fear.  With this in mind, I believe if we listen closely to the message of our Gospel today, we can find great encouragement! The message is this: “Have faith and fear not, for Jesus will be with us; have faith and fear not, for Jesus will strengthen us; have faith and fear not for Jesus will help us in our need!” (see Mark 5:21-43).

     In one of the events recorded in today’s Gospel, a man named Jairus, identified as a “synagogue official” asked Jesus to save his dying daughter.  Jairus was most likely a leader of the synagogue at Capernaum, the small seaside fishing village where for some time Jesus had been staying in the home of Simon Peter.  Because it was such a small town, and because Jesus had spent a good amount of time there, and had used it as a base for his ministry, I believe Jesus likely knew Jairus well.  There can be no doubt that as with so many others, Jairus had been amazed at all of the good works and miracles that had been done by Jesus!  He had great faith in him!

     According to the Gospel, Jairus went to Jesus, prostrated himself in front of him, and begged him to go and cure his daughter who was “near death.”  As Jesus heard of the condition of Jairus’ daughter, he responded immediately to his plea for help!  And then, just as they set out to go to the girl, they were informed that she had already died.  They were told: “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” (see Mark 5:35b).

     We can only imagine how immediately grief stricken Jairus must have become upon hearing this report.  As Jesus stood next to him, and as he watched his hope turn into despair in an instant, it is not difficult to understand how much great compassion Jesus must have had for him!  We can be sure that Jesus certainly wanted to offer him consolation and a renewed sense of hope–even in spite of such terrible news.  And at that very moment, Jesus said to him: “Do not be afraid; just have faith” (see Mark 5:36b).  According to the story, Jairus did respond in faith; he put aside his fear and he trusted that Jesus would do what he had promised to do . . . and the child was restored to life!

     As we contemplate the message of today’s Gospel, we might think about those situations in our own lives that may have caused us to question our faith; we might recall some moment or some event that gave rise to a sense of fear and/or despair within our hearts.  We might have dealt with grief over the loss of a loved one, had problems with personal health or that of family members, had difficulties at work or in school, had broken relationships, had troubles with finances, had temptations with sins and weaknesses, and/or other issues.  Perhaps even today we might find ourselves facing one or more of these kinds of struggles!  In any event, and at all times, even if we doubt or have fear, Jesus has great compassion and love for us too!  He also proclaims to us, as he did to Jairus: “Do not be afraid and just have faith!”

     Let us stand firm on the message of hope found in today’s Gospel!  May we always “have faith and fear not, for Jesus will be with us; have faith and fear not, for Jesus will strengthen us; have faith and fear not for Jesus will help us in our need!”  My sisters and brothers, let us encourage one another with this message!

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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Jesus Always Calms the Storms, the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time–Year B

My Sisters and Brothers:

    I believe today’s Gospel may give us a glimpse into a dynamic we might all experience when events of our lives might cause us to have struggles of faith.  Let’s be honest and admit that there can be moments when each of us may experience such difficulties.

     On occasion, we may struggle greatly with the ordinary demands of our lives, and we may also then have doubts about God’s power, or we may have conflicts about being obedient to something to which our faith has called us to do or to believe.  At times we might have found ourselves experiencing discomfort when challenged to be faithful to the Christian way of life–with all of its demands and requirements.

     The events recorded in today’s Gospel occurred immediately after the disciples had experienced the great exuberance of being called by Jesus, after seeing him perform many miracles and cures, and after hearing his dynamic preaching about the “Kingdom of God” (see Mark 1:16–4:34).  At that juncture in their journey, it might seem to us that the disciples would have had no reason to doubt who Jesus was, and that they would have had no question about his power to work wonders in their lives; we might think that by then the disciples should have had complete confidence that Jesus would never have disappointed them in any way.

     Yet, today’s Gospel paints a very different picture of those disciples and their faith in the Lord (and/or their lack thereof).  Jesus had invited them to take some prayerful rest and to set themselves apart from the vast crowds who had been following them.  He said: “Let us take the boat and cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, away from the vast crowds” (cf., Mark 4:35).  However when they ran into a frightening storm while in their boats, they became terrified; they cried out to Jesus with an apparent lack of confidence and faith that he would have been able to do anything to save them at that moment.  It seems almost ironic to me that at the same time they had doubts, the disciples begged him to do something about the predicament in which they had found themselves.  They said: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (see Mark 4:38).

     We might actually find some parallels between the disciples reaction, and their lack of faith at that moment, to that of our own occasional and similar struggles (e.g., with the demands of our Christian lives, with our jobs, our relationships, our life choices, our financial responsibilities, our health, etc.).  Whatever are the challenges that face us, our own faith stories might at times be narrated as follows:  Jesus says to us “lets do this” and so we follow, and then we enthusiastically have confidence in Jesus and we follow him with trust, but as soon as it gets difficult we become terrified and like those disciples in the boat we call out in anguish and in doubt.  Acknowledging the reality of this type of dynamic in our own lives and in our faith, we are challenged once again to admit our own doubts and weaknesses, and in spite of them to renew our faith and confidence in the Lord Jesus!

     Today, we see that although the disciples did not have “perfect faith,” Jesus saved them even so.  The Gospel says that he “rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Be quiet!  Be still!’  and the wind ceased, and there was great calm” (see Mark 4:39).  I believe that, even in spite of our own difficulties in life, and the possibility that we might even have very real doubts of faith, Jesus will always come to our aid in our moments of need.  All we need to do, as did those disciples, is to cry out to him when the difficulties arise!

     My friends, let us encourage one another with the message of our faith, and let us have confidence that even if we struggle and doubt him at times, Jesus will always “calm the storms” that come our way.  Our God will never disappoint us!

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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This “Process” We Call the Journey, the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time–Year B

My Sisters and Brothers:

     We might say that all of us, as we walk the journey of life, are engaged in some kind of wonderful and mysterious “process.”  We all agree that as human beings we are obliged in this process to become the best possible people we can be, each according to his or her gifts and abilities.  When we understand this process from a Christian perspective, we might come to realize that there are times when the faith journey metaphorically takes us into deep valleys, or along paths that are stable and prosperous, and we might perhaps at times find ourselves on lofty, magnificent and exuberant mountain tops.  In any event, (and/or at whatever elevation), we are constantly called and challenged to be faithful to our God, and to the faith we have embraced as Christian people.

     With this in mind, we might want to ponder a bit on the warning given to us in our second reading today; it says “the lives of all of us are to be revealed before the tribunal of Christ so that each one may receive recompense, good or bad, according to his or her life in the body” (see 2 Corinthians 5:10).  This may give us a reason to reflect on the quality of our lives and it may prompt us to examine our consciences.

     We might ask ourselves: “As people of God, are we really and truly faithful to our profession of faith and to our baptismal promises?  And in this sense, do we actually live lives that are worthy of the Christian calling that we have each received?”  I believe that if we cannot answer both of these questions positively, then perhaps now it is the time for us to renew our faith commitments!

     There can be no doubt that our God always calls us (even again and again) to be true to our Christian calling and to be genuine disciples of the Lord Jesus!  Our Gospel today gives us something like a “recipe” for processing our lives well; it calls us to “sow” lives that are faith-filled and spiritually productive.  In it Jesus speaks of the “Kingdom of God” and he teaches us that if we are faithful to it all along the way, then we will be blessed and we will produce great fruits.

     Jesus says “The Kingdom of God is like someone who . . . scatters seed on the ground . . . through it all, the seed sprouts and grows without him or her knowing how it happens . . . of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear” (see Mark 4:26-27).  Acknowledging that no one is “perfect,” we are called nonetheless, as members of the “Kingdom of God,” to be fully engaged in the “process” of being the best possible Christian men and women that we can be.  Along the way, during this “process” we call the journey, we can be sure that our God will be very loving, kind, patient, merciful, forgiving, caring and just, but we must also treat ourselves and others with these same qualities and virtues!  Then, when the harvest day comes, each one of us will be prepared for it!  On that day, may we rejoice because the “recompense” to be received will mirror the manner in which we have been faithful to the Gospel during the journey of our lives.

     Let us always be faithful, and may we rejoice as brothers and sisters that we truly are members of God’s Kingdom!

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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The Solemnity of Corpus Christi

My Sisters and Brothers:

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as the Feast of Corpus Christi.  On this occasion, and as I reflect on the significance of the great gift of the Eucharist, I can’t help but to recall the words of the revered prayer “O Sacrum Convivium,” composed nearly eight hundred years ago by the renowned Dominican friar and theologian, Saint Thomas Aquinas.  In part, the prayer reads: “O Holy Banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of his passion is recalled, the soul is filled with grace, and the promise of future glory is given to us . . . he has given us bread from heaven, containing in itself all delight.”

These words give us a wonderfully concise perspective into what we believe and celebrate on this Feast of Corpus Christi.  As I study and reflect on Aquinas’ prayer, I am compelled to think about all of the events that our community of faith recalls during the annual observance of the Easter Triduum:  On Holy Thursday, Good Friday and concluding with the beginning of the Great Easter Vigil, we remember the “Last Supper,” the passion, the sacrifice, the death, the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus!  During our Masses and prayers during those days, we remember that Jesus offered his very life for us, that he gave us the gift of the Eucharist, that by his death on the Holy Cross he became for us a “perfect sin offering” (one that never needs to be repeated, unlike those offered by the priests of the Old Testament days), that he was completely victorious over sin and death, and that he rose to new life and now and forever shares the fullness of God’s life with each one of us.

These themes, so vividly presented to us during the Easter Triduum, and summarized so precisely by St. Thomas Aquinas, are realities at the very heart of our understanding of the great gift of the Holy Eucharist.  We recall these ideas of our faith each time we gather around Table of the Lord (the altar) in order to celebrate the Mass and to share and receive the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ!

In today’s Gospel we hear the following narrative: “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’  Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many’” (see Mark 14:22-24).  Today, and each time we gather as a people of faith for the Lord’s Supper, the celebration of the Mass, we rejoice when we hear these same words of Jesus again.  He says to us: “Take my body and blood . . . poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins . . . do this in memory of me” (cf. Luke 22:19 and 1st Corinthians 11:24-25).

Today, and each time we rejoice in the great gift of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, may we never forget what we believe and what we truly receive: Our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who suffered and died for us in order to give us the fullness of grace and the promise of a future and glorious life forever with the Father in heaven; a God who loves us more than we can ever possibly imagine!

Today therefore, may we also recall the concluding words of the O Sacrum Convivium of St. Thomas Aquinas, and let us pray:  “Lord, Jesus Christ, you gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering and death. May our worship of this sacrament of your body and blood help us to experience the salvation you won for us and the peace of the Kingdom where you live and reign forever and ever.  Amen”

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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