Catholic Daily Reflections

Read Online Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. Mark 7:31–32 Throughout Jesus’ public ministry, His actions, while purely charitable, were often deliberate and provocative. His words and deeds testified to the true m...

Read Online Jesus went to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. Mark 7:24–25 The context of today’s Gospel is significant. Jesus traveled to Tyre, in modern-day Lebanon, a Gentile city on the west coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Ty...

Read Online When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, “Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” Mark 7:17–19 We experience varying levels of intimacy in our relationship...

Read Online “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘ This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. ’” Mark 7:5–8 Isaiah’s prophecy rings as true for us today as...

Read Online After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. Mark 6:53–54 As soon as Jesus stepped out of the boat, the people “immediately recognized him.” Jesus and the Twelve had spent the previous day on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in...

Read Online Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5:13 Sodium chloride, also known as salt, is one of the most commonly used substances in the world, used for seasoning, preserving, and purifying. Sodium chloride is a very stable...

Read Online The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” Mark 6:30–31 When a person does something profound and meaningful for the first time, it’s a memorable moment. When a child walks for the first time, parents are elated. When we graduate from high school or college, a natu...

Read Online King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; That is why mighty powers are at work in him.” Others were saying, “He is Elijah”; still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.” But when Herod learned of it, he said, “It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.” Mark 6:14–16 Whe...

Read Online “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. Mark 6:10–13 During the first half of Jesus’ public min...

Read Online Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. Mark 6:4–6 It’s an old expression that “familiarity breeds contempt.” It is often easier to harbor contempt...

Read Online There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up. Mark 5:25–29...

Read Online When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of...

Read Online When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:1–3 The Beatitudes call us to the heights of morality and holiness. Those who live according to these divine precepts are blessed beyond measure. The promises to those w...

Read Online “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. Mark 4:35–38 Our Lord’s words were prophetic, but so were His actions. Today’s Gospel begins after a long...

Read Online With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private. Mark 4:33–34 Today’s Gospel begins with two parables about the Kingdom of God, using the familiar image of seeds. Both of these parables point to the Kingdom of God as something that grows mysteriou...

Read Online Jesus said to his disciples, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” Mark 4:21–23 What guides your life? What influences your decisions? Many are motivated by worldly desires,...

Read Online “And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. Mark 4:8–10 The Parable of the Sower is one of Jesus’ foundational teachings. When preaching from a boat to a large crowd,...

Read Online The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house. Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.” Mark 3:31–32 In Jesus’ time, family bloodlines were of great importance. They determined one’s identity as part of the chosen people of Israel, the descendant...

Read Online “Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” Mark 3:28–30 Consider the sobering reality of suffering the guilt of everlasting sin. Though alarming and unpleasant, understanding this...

Read Online When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee… From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:12, 17 When John the Baptist was arrested, his followers were likely overcome with fear and grief. The man they revered as a prophet, who fearlessly proclaimed the coming of the Messiah and called for repentanc...

Read Online Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:20–21 Today’s Gospel is among the shortest passages read at Mass throughout the Liturgical Year, yet it conveys a profound message. The scene opens with Jesus and His...

Read Online He appointed the Twelve: Simon, whom he named Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. Mark 3:16–19 Though Jesus called many disciples, He chose Twelve, representing the Twelve...

Read Online Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. Mark 3:7–8 Jesus was amassing quite a following, with people flocking to Him from territories that include m...

Read Online Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. Mark 3:4–5 How would you answer this question? “Is it law...

Read Online “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath” Mark 2:27–28 Today’s Gospel should console those who struggle with a legalistic and scrupulous mindset. This is an easy trap to fall into for those who desire to keep God’s commandments and remain faithful to His holy will. Despite the best intentions, it’s easy for those who...