The Catholic Calendar for Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
St. Angela Merici, virgin

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word
2 Samuel 6:12b-15,17-19
Psalm 24:7,8,9,10
Mark 3:31-35

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

Sometimes we humans try to make things very complicated in our lives. Jesus knew that. Today’s gospel is evidence of His attempt to help us to simplify things and get to the basics. As we struggle to grow spiritually and become more Christlike we sometimes burden ourselves with a multitude of books, tapes, pictures, pamphlets, etc. We can almost become spiritual “junkies” in the grand search for “how to become” what Christ wants us to be.

Christ is being told by His disciples that His mother and brothers are outside waiting to join Him. Christ uses the message to share with us throughout all the centuries that WE, if we do the will of the Father, are His brother and sister and mother. What more could we want...and how much more direct could Christ be?

Just how would we do that... follow the will of the Father? The first part is sometimes the hardest, getting to know what that will is. This requires quiet time with the Lord. It asks of us a sense of openness and humility. It requires that we keep our priorities fixed on God, that our minds and efforts not be consumed with worldly matters, even though yes, we must care for our families, pay our bills, do our respective jobs. Christ demonstrated how to do this for us. Many times in the gospels we hear of Christ going apart from the others spending time praying quietly. What a prayer that must have been, Christ’s prayer with His Father! We cannot even imagine! But even Christ showed that it is a struggle. In the garden before His horrendous crucifixion He struggled with what was ahead, and through bloody sweat proclaimed, “Not my will, but thine be done.”

It is not an easy struggle, looking for the will of God and following it, but what a reward. We become the brother, sister and mother of Christ!

- Joan of Jesus, ocds
(jmurphy at utica dot edu)

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posted by joachim at 4:59 AM