“He looked around to see who had done it.” (Mark 5:32)

Sometimes our prayer life can feel a little like a gumball dispenser. We put a quarter in the slot, turn the handle, and expect a gumball to drop out. If we say our prayers, attend church, or do good works, we may think we automatically receive God’s grace. We put in the time, and God dispenses his grace.

But God wants so much more for us! He wants prayer to be a time when we have a personal encounter with hi...

The Ascension of the Lord

Go into the whole world and pro­claim the gospel. (Mark 16:15)

What a simple, but immense, charge Jesus gave to his disciples! He even told them that those who accepted their message would be saved, while those who didn’t would be condemned.

Imagine their reaction: Really, Lord? We’re just fishermen. You can’t expect us to go out and save the whole human race! But Jesus made this a win-win situation. He did send his apostles out to pr...

“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16)

Imagine that you’re Mary Magdalene, and you are just encoun­tering the risen Jesus for the very first time. Your heart is pounding. Your eyes are wide with wonder. Your breath comes in gasps of amazement. In a combination of joy and shock, you fall at his feet and worship him.

In the Gospel readings all this week, we have seen story after story of how disciples like Mary reacted when they discovered that Jesus ha...

Passion Sunday

Crucify him! (Mark 15:13)

St. Francis de Sales once wrote: “I especially commend earnest mental prayer … upon the life and Passion of our Lord. If you contemplate him frequently in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with him, you will grow in his likeness, and your actions will be molded on his.” Francis knew that if we want to see real transformation in our lives, we need to dwell deeply on the cross.

One of the best ways to do this is to imagine your...

JESUS, THE ULTIMATE TRADITIONALIST

"For example, Moses said..." –Mark 7:10

Christianity is based on divine traditions, that is, the handing on of what the Holy Spirit has revealed to God's people. The Bible itself is written to hand on some divine traditions (see 2 Thes 2:15). Therefore, without respect for tradition, the very basis of Christianity is undermined.

One of the main ways the devil tries to ruin our respect for tradition is by tempting us to place human traditions ahead of di...

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HUMAN RIGHTS

"John had told Herod, 'It is not right for you to live with your brother's wife.' " –Mark 6:18

Like John the Baptizer, we need the love and courage to say:

"It is not right to have sexual relations outside of marriage."

"It is not right to abort babies."

"It is not right to have homosexual relations."

"It is not right to use artificial means of contraception."

"It is not right to look lustfully at a person."

"It is not right to masturbate."

"It is not right to tell 'di...

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"I'LL RUN YOU OUT OF TOWN"

Jesus "gave the word, and with it the unclean spirits came out." –Mark 5:13

Absalom ran his father, David, out of Jerusalem (2 Sm 15:14). Later, David's army defeated Absalom's troops and ran them out of Jerusalem.

Jesus ran a legion of demons out of Gerasene territory, but then the inhabitants of that land ran Jesus out of town (Mk 5:17).

The devil used the sin of Adam and Eve to drive them and all their descendants out of Paradise and thus become the princ...

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DEEP KNEE BENDS?

"Who can this be that the wind and the sea obey Him?" –Mark 4:41

The wind and sea obey Jesus. Demons and diseases obey Jesus (see Mk 5:13, 29). Even death obeys Jesus (Mk 5:41ff). Every knee must bend and acknowledge Jesus as Lord (Phil 2:10-11), and a number of knees have already bent – but many human beings have not yet bent their knees to Jesus.

We all realize that many people do not obey Jesus. Before we call these people to repentance, however, we must repent our...

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THINK BIG

The kingdom of God "is like mustard seed which, when planted in the soil, is the smallest of all the earth's seeds, yet once it is sown, springs up to become the largest of shrubs, with branches big enough for the birds of the sky to build nests in its shade." –Mark 4:31-32

For centuries, Christians have talked and heard about the parable of the mustard seed. However, the point of the parable in Mark's Gospel is not only the smallness of the mustard seed, but also the largeness ...

A NEW BEGINNING

"This is the time of fulfillment. The reign of God is at hand! Reform your lives and believe in the gospel!" –Mark 1:15

The Lord doesn't want us to go on with this new year without repenting, that is, reforming our lives. When we hear the Lord's call to repentance, we agree that many people need to hear that call. However, the Lord is saying that each of us needs to repent – to remove the plank from our eyes before trying to remove the splinters from the eyes of others (...

MIND GAMES

"He is out of His mind." –Mark 3:21

When Jesus' family and friends said He was "out of His mind," this was a Jewish way of saying that Jesus was possessed by the devil. Some religious leaders concurred with this judgment when they "asserted, 'He is possessed by Beelzebul' " (Mk 3:22).

Have you ever been accused of being possessed by the devil? If so, you may understand how Jesus felt. Jesus' Passion did not begin on Calvary. Even at the early part of His public ministry, Jesu...

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CATHOLIC RELATIONSHIPS

"Why does He eat with such as these?" –Mark 2:16

We are God's chosen people. This means not only that God has chosen us, but He has also chosen the people with whom we are to spend our time and lives. For instance, God chooses whom we marry and how many children we have. His is the only "planned parenthood" we need. We should not join a parish we like but the one God chooses for us. God may want us to eat "with tax collectors and offenders against the law," rather t...

"JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW"

"A voice came from the heavens: 'You are My beloved Son. On You My favor rests.' " –Mark 1:11

On this last day of the glorious Christmas season, the Lord wants us to do as He did: go about "doing good works and healing all who were in the grip of the devil" (Acts 10:38). The Lord calls us to establish "justice on the earth" (Is 42:4), "to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness" (Is...

ARE YOU COMMITTED TO REPENTANCE?

"John the Baptizer appeared in the desert, proclaiming a baptism of repentance which led to the forgiveness of sins." –Mark 1:4

During Advent, we "prepare the way of the Lord" (Is 40:3) as we await His Christmas coming. Today, the Church proclaims that a major way to prepare is to repent.

John the Baptizer could never be accused of dabbling in repentance. Anyone watching John live day after day in a hot, arid desert, wearing camel-hair shirts and eating ...

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