Mk 10:28-31

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Peter points out that the Apostles have left everything and followed Jesus, and Jesus replies:

"There is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more..." God is not saying that we should not help our family members. Rather, he is saying to prefer the glory of God to the things of this world. He wants us to love Him more than we love other things. (Indeed, we can love other things and people because we love God). But what do we prefer to God? What are our idols?

"...receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands..." Here we can understand the joys of communal life. In an authentic community of believers, every house is opened (at least on occasion), every family is shared (with proper respect for boundaries) - we are 'brother and sister in Christ', and the fruits of the land are distributed justly. There is also Communal joy: the joy given to us in the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus at Mass. This joy opens us up further to a full life in community - he is the Source of our unity - and to eternal life in heaven.

"...with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come." But these joys come together with persecution, for following Christ will always bring persecution. He calls us to a different way of life, to doing everything we do in a Christian way, to following Him in the day to day actions of our life. We are to bear the difficulties of this life as "God's soldier." We are, after all, the Church Militant. But it is in these persecutions and trials that we are refined and consumed with love in our relationship with Christ, becoming ever more desirous of eternal life.

Lord, win over our hearts and place Yourself at the center, as the first priority. Draw us into fraternal communion and prepare us for eternal life by the sacred meal we share. Be with us in our sufferings, and let us know your constant Presence.

Mary, gate of heaven, bring us to Your Son and help us to make our choices with Him, through Him, by Him, and for Him - in word, help us to live in God. Pray for us now and at the hour of our death, that we may be warmly welcomed into eternal bliss.

Mk 10:17-27

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A man runs up to Jesus, kneels down and they have a conversation about the law.

Jesus looked at the man, with all his earnest desire, with all his righteousness, with all his thirst for eternal life, and loved him. At moment he was looked on with love by his Creator. And Jesus knew him, and knew what would perfect him. He offers Himself on the condition of detachment from wealth. Jesus tries to place God at the center of his heart - "No one is good but God alone", Jesus included. The way to eternal life was through that personal relationship, but he could not bear that God asked his everything, his false god, his security, his Isaac. "You cannot serve God and mammon" (Mt 6:24).

And Jesus says, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." The fathers write that he was speaking about his passion, in which he will fulfill the law with the ultimate act of love. Jesus is the just man, who opens not his mouth. He is the poor one on the cross, vulnerable in sympathy with the weak of humanity.

And he says, "For men it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." By human resources we do not get salvation, nor even do we get things to work out very well for us on this earth. We are limited and we fall. We can plan all we want, try as hard as we want, yet when it comes to what's really important, its a free gift of God that gets us to heaven. Sure, we have to engage that gift, but it is a gift nonetheless. "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent" (Jn 6:29). We do not achieve salvation on our own merits, but on the merits of the precious blood of Christ.

Lord, look on us with love and place the Trinity at the center of our hearts, so that every choice we make is made for God, in God, through God, with God. Come down to our bleak situations and failing efforts and carry us through all the weaknesses of our humanity. Help us to accept your proposal in our hearts every day.

Mary, virgin gentle in mercy, bring us to Jesus with all of our questions and earnest desires. Teach us how to adore Christ and to place Him at the center of our hearts. When we fail due to human weakness, find a way for us to come back to God through the merits of your Son's passion.

Mt 6:24-34

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In the middle of the sermon of the mount, Jesus gives a beautiful monologue about Divine Providence.

This passage is not suggesting that we forego ordinary measures -- that is, toiling by the sweat of our brow and the work of our hands, or minds, etc -- for obtaining our daily bread, for this much we merit by original sin. As Augustine puts it, we are to take the sufferings of the day as given to us as "God's soldier." Rather than avoiding our duty and testing God, we are instructed not to worry about these necessities so that we might not become their slave and hence a bad soldier.

Jesus uses two types of arguments to communicate the value of a child of God. He first argues from the greater to the less: "Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Then he argues from the less to the greater: "Look at the birds in the sky...are not you more important than they?" In other words, God will take care of man as he values man and man's destiny more than birds and flowers. Indeed, not only is God a provident Father, but he is also a lover to our souls. The Song of Song references to the beloved being found among the lilies, and being "as a lily among the thistles" (Song of Song 2:2). The Church is also the place of lilies. Through the Church, God looks at us with superabundant charity, giving us the tradition, the Son of God, the sacraments, the Christian witnesses who look on us with charity. And through everything (including our toil) God is jumping down at the chance to provide for our every need, because He is our Father and our Lover, and he values us as the pinnacle of his creation. "Strong is his love for us; he is faithful for ever" (Psalm 117: 2). Everything is a gift from Him! Praise Him!

So what should we focus our energies on? "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and these things will be given you besides." What does it mean to seek first the kingdom and his righteousness? It means to seek true life. "Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (Jn 6:27). And later he says, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger" (35). Food for Jesus is also to do the work of the one who sent him. So our food too can be to participate in God's saving plan of righteousness, becoming members of the body of Christ, weaving networks of charity out in the world. At the root of much poverty is an isolation from community. Lets take out that root as God's servants.

Lord, help us to bear the sufferings that must necessarily come to us, especially through our daily work, and to use those sufferings to be God's soldier and prepare our soul for true life. Provide for our needs - from the need for truth to the need for food - sometimes through our God given abilities, always through a gift. Help us to realize that we are in God's hands, with nothing to lose but our slaveries.

Mary, comforter of the troubled, give us Your trust in God's faithfulness, that he will respond to the needs he has created. Help us to live our days in peace, that is, in the presence of God. Help us to become more like God in charity, providing for the needs of our neighbor.

Mk 9:38-40

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John brings another exorcist to the attention of Jesus.

In doing so, John shows his desire for unity. He wishes all the people working wonders in Jesus's name to be of the same company. He could have shared in the desire of St. Paul: "Complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing" (Phil 2:2). It is the desire proper to a bishop like John. It is a good desire.

Jesus meets his desire by expanding his concept of unity. "For whoever is not against us is for us." These words show the divine tolerance.

St. Augustine reconciles this passage with the one where Jesus says, "Whoever is not with me is against me" (Mt 12:30). Augustine writes, "But surely what is implied is, that a man is not with Him in as far as he is against Him, and is not against Him as far as he is with Him." Thus, the other exorcist was not against Him insofar as he was working miracles in Jesus' name, for he held this in common with the disciples. But he was against them insofar as he did not join their society. So, John should have forbidden his being without their society, but not forbidden what he had in common already. Thus the Catholic Church does not blame heretics for their sacraments, which are common, but for their divisive teachings.

Lord, respond to our desire for unity and show us that You are its true object. Broaden our minds to understand the unities that are already at work in our lives and in our relationships, and let us always be one in You, who are greater than we can imagine. Let the Eucharistic Communion be a source of unity for our lives and those relationships which acknowledge that sacrament.

Mary, singular vessel of devotion and Queen of Apostles, help us to understand the unity that Christ brings about. Draw us into greater communion with God and with our neighbor. Unite all our religious experience into a continuous prayer, centered on Christ in the sacraments, the rosary, and in all of reality.

Mk 8:34-9:1

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Having rebuked Peter for wanting to prevent his own passion, Christ speaks to his followers, calling their freedom into engagement to follow Him even in His passion.

"Who ever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." To deny oneself and to take up one's cross are to enter into the suffering that God has permitted to cross one's life's path, grieving not at the casualties, and in all things following the example of Christ: "For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God" (Heb 12:2). It is this bonding with Christ's passion that gives our suffering meaning; it is how we follow Him in the midst of it. And in the midst of it we find Christ, we find redemption.

"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it." What does this mean? Someone who adheres loyally to Christ and his gospel will die an earthly death, but they will win the fullness of life. It is interesting that Mark equates Jesus and his gospel; St. Jerome wrote that we should be as attentive to stray words of the Word of God proclaimed as to crumbs from the Eucharistic species.

"What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life [soul/eternal life]? What could one give in exchange for his life?" One father explains the questions by stating that in losing one's soul, one simply has not another soul to give. It is an irreparable loss. He also writes that Jesus asked this second question to drive to the point of His precious blood, by which our salvation has been purchased by God. Think of that next time you receive the chalice!

Lord, strengthen us in the struggle to be faithful to you, even through suffering. Remind us of Your great love for us and draw us to Yourself, regardless of the cost. Let us join our sufferings to Yours, and inform our consciences with the word of God. Do not allow our souls to be lost, but keep us ever close to You and Your precious blood.

Mother Mary, comforter of the afflicted, give us the strength to joyfully bear the crosses that life sends our way. Lead us always to the redemptive value of the suffering, the union with Christ's pascal mystery. Lead us safely through the cross to the fullness of life in Christ.

Mk 7:31-37

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Jesus comes into a region of 10 cities, where he is brought a deaf man with a speech impediment.

Notice what Jesus does. He uses his physical body. He takes his fingers and sticks them into the ears of the deaf man, and puts his spittle on the man's tongue, and looks up to heaven and groans. Jesus is acting in his perfect humanity, he is loving with his body. And he projects himself onto the afflicted man, much like Elijah stretched himself out upon a child who had stopped breathing: "Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and called out to the Lord: 'O Lord, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child'" (1 Kings 17:21). Jesus takes our afflictions upon himself in compassion, ultimately in his passion, so that we might have life and have it to the full (Jn 10:10).

Pseudo-Jerome writes that Tyre (where Jesus went through on the way to the ten cities) "is interpreted narrowness, and signifies Judea, to which the Lord said, 'For the bed is grown too narrow.'" In contrast, Jesus tells the deaf man to "be opened!" Bede writes that the deaf man signifies the one who has not ears to hear the word of God, nor lips to speak it; he must be opened by those who have heard and do speak, as the priest does for us at mass. But cannot "be opened" also mean to be opened from our ideologies, those little ideas that we hold on to and that separate us from reality in its fullness and from each other? Let us be opened to our neighbor. Let us be opened to reality in the totality of its factors! Let us be opened to the fullness of truth, found in Jesus, a person!

Lastly, the crowds spread the news of Jesus and were "exceedingly astonished", praising him for his miracles. The notes tell us that the reaction of the crowd implied that they got the fact that he was the savior. They may have had an experience similar to John the Baptist, to whom Jesus sent the following message as a response to John's questionings about whether Jesus was the one they were waiting for: "The blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them" (Mt 11:5). How many miracles have we seen God work in our lives and in those of the people around us? Are we open enough to be astonished at what God does in our lives? Do we really get the point of His Merciful Love?

Lord, see our suffering and have compassion on us. When we are too narrow minded, open us up to the fullness of your truth and love. Help us to find in every event an a recognition of the depths of Jesus, in his humanity and divinity, in his saving Mystery. Help us too to reach out to others with bodily support - hugs are good - and compassion.

Mary, Virgin rightly praised, teach us to see the love of God at work in our lives. Renew our consciences with the power of Divine Mercy. Open us to a lively love of God and neighbor.

Mk 7:24-30

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After spending time with the Jews, Jesus goes into Gentile country, the district of Tyre. His interaction with a Gentile woman teaches us about prayer.

Though he comes into a Gentile territory, he has his disciples keep their mouths shut about his coming. Pseudo-Augustine writes that this is so that others might come and seek Him. Our Lord recognizes the value of a search. So we must turn our hearts toward Christ and seek Him in prayer throughout our day. Our needs (for truth, for happiness, for justice, for love) should impel us seek his face. "'Come,' says my heart, "seek God's face"' (Ps 27:8a). To seek God's face is to commune with God.

Sometimes we will meet with adversity, as the woman met with "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." Here we need to take a lesson from her perseverance for the times we meet with spiritual dryness, with situations that seem impossible, or when the words of the Gospel seem to convict us. She did not become discouraged at Jesus' words, but more creative. "Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps."

What humble confidence! She willingly places herself in the position of a dog, so long as she gets to sit beneath the Master's table. And for her great faith her daughter was exorcised. If we wish our lives to be in good order to and to obtain our needs from God, (and our need is for God himself,) we must ask with humble confidence. We must even acknowledge our sinfulness, which increases our need for Him. We might also allow his word to penetrate us and become part of our prayer, as did the woman. One way to do this is through Lectio Divina where one 1. reads a Bible passage, 2. reflects in meditation, 3. responds in prayer, and 4. rests in contemplation.

Lord, we come to you in prayer with all our desire which is itself a prayer when inspired by the Holy Spirit. We come to you, sinners as we are, in many ways, through the Eucharist, through Lectio, through Christian witnesses, etc. Please remember us in our need for You. We simply beg you to provide for us and put our lives and concrete actions in order with your grace.

Mary, refuge of sinners, make us worthy of the loving gaze of God, take away all barriers between our heart and His. We are poor sinners, but we have you for a powerful intercessor. Speak to Christ with your humility and obtain from Him all the necessary graces we need for our lives to be good lives in His sight.

Mk 6:7-13

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After meeting little faith in Nazareth, Mark has Jesus sending out the Twelve two by two, without food, sack, money, or second tunic; although they are allowed sandals and walking stick.

Literally, the apostles were to be detached from earthly concerns, depending on the power of the Lord to provide for them what was needed and what was their due as men working for God. They were to have no anxiety over their clothing and no concern for riches. In another place he instructs, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ... If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and withers tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?" (Mt 6:25, 30).

Figuratively, there is more meaning in Jesus' words. St. Augustine writes that the structure of the sandal mirrors the care of the Gospel: it should not be hid nor rest upon earthly comforts. And in commanding them to refrain from taking two coats, he encourages them to lack duplicity but to be "as simple as doves" (Mt 10:16). Finally, by two by two he signified the double commandment of charity, love of God and love of neighbor; and since two persons are required for charity to play out, he showed that one should not preach unless one also has charity.

At mass, when the priest prepares the chalice, he says "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity." This divination following the incarnation started for the Apostles from the moment of their first call. "Come after me and I will make you fishers of men" (Mk 1:17). Already here they begin sharing in the mission of Jesus. Then later the Twelve are taken apart by God to be with Jesus and to receive authority to preach and expel demons (Mk 3:13-19). And finally in this Gospel we have the Apostles receiving the commission to be representatives of Jesus to the surrounding towns. They are allowed to share in some of Jesus' virtues (eg dependence on God) and some of Jesus' power (eg to heal people). They become the hands of Jesus to the towns. We see how step by step Jesus draws them into his divinity. He shares his life with them. Step by step in our lives in the Church, Jesus continues to do the same with us. We are drawn into his life and the life of the Trinity.

Lord, draw us into the mystery of your life. Spark us to become living flames of your love to the world. Teach us true dependence on God and His providence. Help us to be simple and to not be ashamed of the Gospel.

Mary, mother of Christ, nurture the growth of the life of Christ in our lives. Fan his sparks of love and light within us into flame for the sake of the kingdom. Immerse us in the life of your Son so that we might become authentic witnesses to the ends of the earth!