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Daily Reflection

Green Shadow
Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time 1 Samuel 1:1-8 Psalm 116:12-13, 14-17, 18-19 Mark 1:14-20 In today’s gospel, with the loss of the freedom of John the Baptist, the time for preparation, the build-up and promises of the Old Testament have ended, the time of salvation has begun. Jesus moves from overlapping ministry with John in Judea, to Galilee, where he inaugurates his mission with the proclamation that ‘The Kingdom of God is at Hand.’ In his commentaries on this passage, St. Jerome reminds us that: “This expression of ‘The Kingdom of God’ is not found in the law, or the prophets, or the psalter, it appears only in the Gospel.” This was new language, expressing the time of fulfilment, everything that the Jews had hoped, prayed, and waited for has come to completion in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus walks by the Sea of Galilee, and calls the fishermen, Simon, Andrew, James, and John, and declares that he will make them fishers of men. They follow him immediately, even though it is unlikely that they understand what he means by that, however, they must recognize something in this calling, to leave their boats, their way of life, their way of making a living, and even their families. They glimpse the divinity within the humanity of the person of Christ. The apostles were open to the message and willing to sacrifice everything they knew, for the unknown. This was something new, authoritative, and compelling. Imagine if they had let Jesus pass by! As we pray the third Luminous Mystery of the Rosary: The Proclamation of the Kingdom, we focus on this very gospel passage, and the mission of Jesus, which he passed on to his disciples and to us. As Jesus proclaimed to us, inner conversion is necessary for anyone wishing to participate in the Kingdom of God, we must repent and believe. We must be prepared to make sacrifices for the sake of the Kingdom. The invitation of Jesus requires a response. It is of paramount importance that we take up the mission, and, like the apostles, become fishers of men. So today, let’s ask ourselves: If Jesus walked by me today, calling my name, would I follow him, immediately, or would I miss the invitation because I am too attached to my schedule, my possessions, my way of doing things? Am I willing to spread the good news myself, as the apostles did? How should I prepare myself to do this? Am I excited by the invitation to participate in the mission of making disciples? Jesus is inviting us today!

January 12

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Green Shadow
In today’s first reading from the first book of Samuel, we meet Hannah, a faith-filled woman who loved God. Her prayer would set in motion key parts of salvation history, beginning with the birth of her son, Samuel, who would become a great prophet and leader. But none of that was known to Hannah at that time. She is simply a woman who believes in God and is not afraid to speak candidly from her heart to her God. Hannah was broken, desperate, bitter. However, she did not let that brokenness, that bitterness, turn her away from God. Instead, she was turned even more toward God, an example we can learn from. It is easy to shut God out when we are depressed or bitter, to blame God, to give up. But Hannah didn’t give up. She sought out the source of grace and turned toward the Giver. And how did she pray? “…she remained long at prayer before the LORD, … Hannah was praying silently; though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard.” She poured out her heart to God. I believe this is the kind of prayer God wants from us. God doesn’t want us to carry our burdens and be sullen and resigned. God wants to give us comfort, compassion, relationship. Sometimes our desires and prayers will be answered as they are part of God’s will for us. Other times our prayers will not be answered in the way we asked. However, God wants us to turn to Him first with our pain and disappointments and then to surrender to His perfect plan. Like Hannah, I prayed with intense emotions and heartache for a child for five years. Finally, I surrendered to God’s will and asked the Blessed Mother for her intercession, “if it be God’s will that we do not have children, please fill this giant hole in our hearts and lead us to the good things God has planned for us.” This was a powerful prayer. Immediately my outlook and mood lifted. I felt a sense of peace knowing that God had good plans for us, and I trusted that we would be happy with His plans. Through this difficult trial my faith increased exponentially. My relationship with God became personal, dependent and peace filled. Also, like Hannah, God’s plan was to bless us with a child. Several months later, on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we found out we were expecting and gave birth to a son on the Feast of the Coronation of Mary. Mary’s powerful intercession moved on the heart of God and our surrender to His will was rewarded. God also blessed me with a daughter, eight godchildren and called me into ministry with children. I could never have imagined such JOY. God wants us to know that the Giver of all gifts is real, and filled with endless compassion, understanding and great love. I believe that even if God had a different plan for Hannah and me, our faith would have continued to be vibrant and trustworthy. Through our suffering and surrender we felt closer to God, and more ready to face the trials of our lives. I pray this journey for each of us, every day.

January 13

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Green Shadow
In Today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us a glimpse of his ministerial actions that we are called to continue today. The image of Jesus entering the house of Peter and Andrew is a powerful one. The same Jesus enters the “house” of our soul and transforms us through his grace. Just as Peter’s mother-in-law was healed and elevated, the grace we receive from Christ has a healing dimension and an elevating dimension to it. We are also told that Jesus entered the house after leaving the synagogue. This “ministerial action” is an example for us. When we attend mass on Sunday we shouldn’t leave Jesus or our faith behind at the church. Rather, we should bring Jesus into our homes and the homes of our friends. Nurtured by the Eucharist, we can bring joy, peace and healing into the lives of others. The Gospel today ends with a phrase that summarizes the deepest longing of every human being: “Everyone is looking for you!” We are all looking for Jesus. We want to encounter him in the Holy Spirit to come to know the Father. The Catechism teaches, “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for” (CCC, 27). Like the disciples, we long for Jesus as our source of comfort, peace, and love. Like those searching for healing, we long for his healing presence when we find ourselves in times of trouble. Our longing for Jesus must come from every part of our being. As the Catechism again teaches, “Although man can forget God or reject him, He never ceases to call every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness. But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a sound will, ‘an upright heart,’ as well as the witness of others who teach him to seek God” (CCC, 30). Like Peter’s mother-in-law, when we are healed by Jesus, we must respond in gratitude, returning His love with our loving service. Even in our everyday life, we play a part in the ministry of Jesus by serving others with love and humility. Today’s Questions for Prayer and Reflection As I contemplate the hidden, quiet ministry of Peter’s mother-in-law, what does this contemplation inspire? How can I serve and minister to others like her? Source for today’s reflection: https://epriest.com/reflections/view/3310

January 14

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Green Shadow
1 Samuel 4: 1-11 Psalm 44 Mark 1: 40-45 Interesting that we have this same gospel story about one week apart. Today’s version comes from Mark, and we heard this same story last week but that was from Luke. Two gospel writers are telling the same story about the leper who goes to Jesus for healing and is then told to go show himself to the temple priest. Jesus performed numerous miracles, so it leads us to ponder why this same miracle story is repeated by two different writers. Yes, they were both led by the Holy Spirit in writing their gospel accounts, but why this miracle in particular. Leprosy was a scary thing. Anyone who had it was declared unclean – meaning they were not only removed from interacting with society in general but they could go nowhere near the Temple, essentially eliminating the ability for these folks to nurture their relationship with God through the practice of their faith. Jesus breaks down both of those barriers by allowing the leper to get near Him, and then ensuring the leper can again participate in worship at the Temple. In our lives we tend to build walls that prevent us from recognizing that Jesus wants us to continually cry out to him as our Redeemer. Those walls are generally built with sin at the cornerstone and all too often we either do not recognize the sin or we come to believe that God can never forgive some rotten thing we may have done. Take heart! Have courage just as the leper did! Go to Jesus! Get to the beautiful sacrament of Reconciliation and experience the incredible love of Jesus as He makes all things new! It is a beautiful day! Go smile at God today!

January 15

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Green Shadow
In our readings today, there is a contrast between what kind of king is offered to the people as their ruler. These readings lead us to reflect on what type of “king” do we want to “rule” over our life? In our first reading, the elders of Israel demand that Samuel, due to his old age, appoint a new ruler over them. Prompted by God to give them what they desire, Samuel sets up the conditions by which the new ruler will have power. Samuel describes a tyrant, who will take everything they have, turn them into slaves, and make their lives miserable to the point that they will complain against this king. Strangely, they accept all the harsh conditions, hoping for a leader to help in their battles and warfare against other nations. God advises Samuel to “Grant their request and appoint a king to rule them.” (1Sam. 8:22a) In today’s Gospel, Jesus shows the people, and especially the Jewish scribes, that He is the “Son of Man” (cf. Mk. 2:10), the Messiah in his full humanity, by forgiving the paralytic’s sins and eventually healing him. The scribes take offense to Jesus’ words, rightly believing that only God has the power to forgive sins, and not wanting to believe that Jesus was God made man. Like their ancestors, they were seeking a ruler to restore all earthly power to Israel, not someone who would show mercy to the poor and sinners. The elders in Samuel’s time were wanting a ruler to restore Israel’s power as a nation and were willing to be slaves to accomplish this purpose. The scribes, while also seeking a Messiah to return Israel to power, saw Jesus as a threat to their and their elders’ personal power over the people. Jesus, the Son of Man, was offering a kingdom of spiritual power and prosperity, that defeated the power of sin and death and resulting in eternal glory. While the paralytic was afflicted with physical paralysis, the elders and the scribes displayed spiritual paralysis. We are at times like both the elders and the scribes. We are willing to be slaves to the world around us to enjoy temporary power and pleasure. At other times, we reject the offer of following Jesus’ way of love and mercy toward others because it threatens our personal independence and control of daily life. We ignore the fact that our lives are about more than our earthly power, possessions, and pleasures. We are created by a loving God with a body and soul, that will live forever. Like the elders of the first reading, and the scribes in the Gospel, God gives us the freedom to choose the life we have here on earth. Let us not forget that our choices have eternal consequences. Where do you want to spend eternity? Today’s Questions for Prayer and Reflection What is my spiritual paralysis? What keeps me from walking with Jesus along the path to eternal life? Source for today’s reflection: https://epriest.com/reflections/view/3312

January 16

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Green Shadow
Tax collectors and sinners! Today is Saturday, January 17th. It is the Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time, yet Jesus says something extraordinary – He came to eat with, and call, tax collectors and sinners. Tax collectors and sinners! Christ comes by our “customs post” daily. Christ comes where we may live a life focused on things of this world not the next, where we may live a life of immorality instead of morality, where we may live a life of sinfulness instead of holiness and extends to us the same invitation he extended to Levi - “Follow me”. Like Saul who met Samuel in the gateway, as described in our reading from the Book of Samuel, Christ desires to meet us at the gateway of our hearts. Christ seeks to anoint us in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, to heal us with sacred balm in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In a worship space filled with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus beckons us through Sacred Scripture – “Follow me”. In the Eucharist, the real presence of Jesus, Christ proclaims that he offers Himself to us so we can follow him. Like Saul and Samuel, Jesus kisses us at every mass with His words and His flesh. When we open ourselves to His grace we are transformed into “commanders of his heritage.” Tax collectors and sinners transformed into disciples and stewards of the Church founded by Christ! .....That, friends, is the Good News of the Gospel. Will we leave our post like Levi did?

January 17

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