Monday of
the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 329
Lectionary: 329
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| Mk 6:53-56 |
In the beginning, when God
created the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
Then God said,
“Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw how good the light was.
God then separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
Thus evening came, and morning followed–the first day.
Then God said,
“Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters,
to separate one body of water from the other.”
And so it happened:
God made the dome,
and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
God called the dome “the sky.”
Evening came, and morning followed–the second day.
Then God said,
“Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin,
so that the dry land may appear.”
And so it happened:
the water under the sky was gathered into its basin,
and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land “the earth,”
and the basin of the water he called “the sea.”
God saw how good it was.
Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth vegetation:
every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth
that bears fruit with its seed in it.”
And so it happened:
the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth that
bears fruit with its seed in it.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed–the third day.
Then God said:
“Let there be lights in the dome of the sky,
to separate day from night.
Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,
and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth.”
And so it happened:
God made the two great lights,
the greater one to govern the day,
and the lesser one to govern the night;
and he made the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth,
to govern the day and the night,
and to separate the light from the darkness.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed–the fourth day.
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
Then God said,
“Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw how good the light was.
God then separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
Thus evening came, and morning followed–the first day.
Then God said,
“Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters,
to separate one body of water from the other.”
And so it happened:
God made the dome,
and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
God called the dome “the sky.”
Evening came, and morning followed–the second day.
Then God said,
“Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin,
so that the dry land may appear.”
And so it happened:
the water under the sky was gathered into its basin,
and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land “the earth,”
and the basin of the water he called “the sea.”
God saw how good it was.
Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth vegetation:
every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth
that bears fruit with its seed in it.”
And so it happened:
the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth that
bears fruit with its seed in it.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed–the third day.
Then God said:
“Let there be lights in the dome of the sky,
to separate day from night.
Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,
and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth.”
And so it happened:
God made the two great lights,
the greater one to govern the day,
and the lesser one to govern the night;
and he made the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth,
to govern the day and the night,
and to separate the light from the darkness.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed–the fourth day.
Responsorial
Psalm Ps 104:1-2a, 5-6, 10
and 12, 24 and 35c
R. (31b) May the Lord be
glad in his works.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
You fixed the earth upon its foundation,
not to be moved forever;
With the ocean, as with a garment, you covered it;
above the mountains the waters stood.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
You send forth springs into the watercourses
that wind among the mountains.
Beside them the birds of heaven dwell;
from among the branches they send forth their song.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all—
the earth is full of your creatures;
Bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
You fixed the earth upon its foundation,
not to be moved forever;
With the ocean, as with a garment, you covered it;
above the mountains the waters stood.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
You send forth springs into the watercourses
that wind among the mountains.
Beside them the birds of heaven dwell;
from among the branches they send forth their song.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all—
the earth is full of your creatures;
Bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
Gospel Mk 6:53-56
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.
They scurried about the surrounding country
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.
www.usccb.org
Meditation:"Many were made
well"
Do you recognize the Lord's presence in your life? The gospel records that
when Jesus disembarked from the boat the people immediately recognized him.
What did they recognize in Jesus? A prophet, a healer, the Messiah, the Son of
God? For sure they recognized that Jesus had power from God to heal and to make
whole bodies, limbs, minds, and hearts that were beset with disease,
affliction, and sin. What happened when they pressed upon him and touched the
fringe of his garment? They were made well. The Lord Jesus is ever ready
to meet our needs as well. Do you approach him with expectant faith? Faith is an entirely free gift which God makes to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Believing and trusting in God to act in our lives is only possible by the grace and help of the Holy Spirit who moves the heart and converts it to God. The Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the mind and helps us to understand, accept, and believe God's word. How do we grow in faith? By listening to God's word with trust and submission. Faith also grows through testing and perseverance. The Lord wants to teach us how to pray in faith for his will for our lives and for the things he wishes to give us to enable us to follow him faithfully and serve him generously. Jesus gave his disciples the perfect prayer which acknowledges God as our Father who provides generously for his children. The Lord's prayer teaches us to seek first the kingdom of God and to pray that God's will be accomplished in our lives. The Lord in turn, gives us what we need to live each day for his glory. The Lord is never too distant nor too busy to meet us and to give his blessing. Do you pray to the Father with confidence that he will show you his will and give you what you need to follow him? Ask the Lord to increase your faith and gratitude for his merciful love and provision for your life.
"Lord Jesus, let my heart sing for joy in your presence. Give me eyes of faith to recognize your presence and fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may walk in your way of love and peace."
www.dailyscripture.net
 Faith and Christ’s Healing Power |
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Monday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time
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Mark 6:53-56
After making the
crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were
leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the
surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they
heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid
the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the
tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.
Introductory Prayer: I believe in your
power of healing grace, in your capacity to heal both physically and
spiritually. I come to you in spiritual illness and weakness, confident in
your desire to heal and strengthen me. I humbly offer you my soul, wounded
and aching from the spiritual cancer of self-love, pride and
self-sufficiency. I abandon myself to your loving mercy. Thank you, Lord, for
watching over me and loving me unconditionally.
Petition: Lord, heal my heart and soul, and help me to do what I
must do to maintain my spiritual health.
1. “People recognized him, and started hurrying all through
the countryside.” For the most part, the people in this Gospel were not
“hurrying throughout the countryside” to invite others to come and seek
forgiveness and spiritual healing from Jesus. They were in haste, yes, but in
haste to bring the sick so that the Lord would heal them from their
physically infirmities. How blind is the human heart that often fears physical
illness more than spiritual infirmities and falling out of God’s grace! The
gravest ills we can suffer are those that come from within us: “For from the
heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness,
blasphemy. These are what defile a person” (Matthew 15:19-20).
2. “They laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to
let them touch even the fringe of his cloak.” Holy men and women
throughout the centuries have firmly believed that “touching” Christ through
receiving the sacraments brings about spiritual healing and redemption. “My
heart has been wounded by many sins,” St. Ambrose used to pray before he
celebrated Mass, “my mind and tongue carelessly left unguarded. Lord of
kindness and power, in my lowliness and need I am turning to you, the
fountain of mercy; I am hurrying to you to be healed; I am taking refuge
under your protection. I am longing to meet you, not as my Judge but as my
Savior. Lord, I am not ashamed to show you my wounds. Only you know how many
and how serious my sins are, and though they could make me fear for my
salvation, I am putting my hope in your mercies, which are beyond count. Look
on me with mercy, then, Lord Jesus Christ, eternal King, God and man,
crucified for our sake. I am putting my trust in you, the fountain that will
never stop flowing with merciful love: hear me and forgive my sins and
weaknesses.”
3. “All those who touched him were cured.” All those who touched
Jesus Christ with the touch of faith were cured: the Canaanite woman, the
blind man, the ten lepers, the man with a withered hand, the paralytic,
Jairus’ daughter, the woman with the hemorrhage, the boy with a demon, the
Gerasene demoniac, the deaf man. All these people in the Gospel had something
in common: it was their faith that allowed the Lord to heal them. The phrase
used in the case of the woman with the hemorrhage is telling: “power had gone
out from him” (Mark 5:30). Faith is one of the most powerful acts of the
human person, since God himself chooses to be moved by it. How strong is my
faith in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ? Do I reach out and touch him in
faith every day? Do I allow him to act in my life through faith? What am I
waiting for?
Conversation with Christ: Lord, you are all
powerful and the source of my salvation and spiritual healing. In this prayer
I am reaching out to touch you in faith, even though I am unworthy and my
faith is weak. Heal me, Lord. Give me the strength to resist the power of
evil in my life and to adhere to your grace and goodness. Lord, I believe;
increase my faith.
Resolution: I will offer up short acts of faith in the
Lord throughout the
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www.regnumchristi.com
Monday, February 11
MARK 6:53-56
(Genesis 1:1-19; Psalm 104)
KEY VERSE: "They laid their sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak" (v 56).
READING: Jesus' fame had spread throughout the land, so that wherever he went people flocked to him for healing. Picture the excitement when Jesus entered a town or village. Whether at the crossroads or in the marketplace, they scurried about bringing their sick to him. When Jesus and his disciples arrived by boat at Gennesaret (located on the right bank of the Lake of Galilee between the cities of Magdala and Capernaum), the crowds gathered again, bringing their sick from far and wide. Their faith was so great that they were healed just by touching the tassel on his cloak (the tassels represent the 613 Laws of the Jewish Torah). Though the disciples had seen Jesus' mighty deeds in the wilderness (vs 34-44), at sea (vs 45-51), and in the villages, they still did not understand the full meaning of these events.
REFLECTING: Do I have more interest in seeing miracles than in knowing Jesus?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to have faith in your healing presence in my life.
Optional Memorial to Our Lady of Lourdes
In in 1858, Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a poor, young sick girl in the grotto of Masabielle, close to Lourdes in France. Our Lady asked for a chapel to be built on the site of the apparitions and when Bernadette asked who she was, she replied: "I am the Immaculate Conception." Our Lady asked Bernadette to wash her face at the fountain but there was no fountain there, so Bernadette dug a hole in the ground, and washed her face with muddy water. People ridiculed her, but there sprung the famous fountain of water that has healing attributes. Many sick people have bathed themselves in that water and there have been at least 64 reported miraculous healings. Millions of people from all over the world go to Lourdes yearly in the hope of obtaining help from the generous Mother of God. Bernadette became a nun. She died when she was 35 and her body is still incorrupt.
www.daily-word-of-life.com
May
the Lord be glad in his works
And all
those who touched him were cured.All of us are in need of healing. No one is excluded. We are not yet whole or entire. We are in the process of becoming. Our creation is not complete. Today, more than ever, we need to turn to Jesus, and allow him to touch us in our everyday experiences.
Lord Jesus, you call us to yourself, to your wounded heart. There you want us to know true joy and peace. You invite us to enter into your compassionate heart, with our whole heart, and come to know there the healing love of God. Bring true healing to our entire body, mind and heart. May you be glad in us, Lord.
www.churchresources.info
February 11
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes
On
December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the ogma of the Immaculate Conception in the apostolic
constitution Ineffabilis Deus. A little more than three years later, on
February 11, 1858, a young lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. This began a
series of visions. During the apparition on March 25, the lady identified
herself with the words: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Bernadette was a sickly child of poor parents. Their
practice of the Catholic faith was scarcely more than lukewarm. Bernadette
could pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Creed. She also knew the
prayer of the Miraculous Medal: “O Mary conceived without sin.”
During interrogations Bernadette gave an account of
what she saw. It was “something white in the shape of a girl.” She used the
word aquero, a dialect term meaning “this thing.” It was “a pretty young
girl with a rosary over her arm.” Her white robe was encircled by a blue
girdle. She wore a white veil. There was a yellow rose on each foot. A rosary
was in her hand. Bernadette was also impressed by the fact that the lady did
not use the informal form of address (tu), but the polite form (vous).
The humble virgin appeared to a humble girl and treated her with dignity.
Through that humble girl, Mary revitalized and
continues to revitalize the faith of millions of people. People began to flock
to Lourdes from other parts of France and from all over the world. In 1862
Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions and authorized
the cult of Our Lady of Lourdes for the diocese. The Feast of Our Lady of
Lourdes became worldwide in 1907.
Comment:
Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and healing, but even more of faith. Church authorities have recognized over 60 miraculous cures, although there have probably been many more. To people of faith this is not surprising. It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles—now performed at the intercession of his mother. Some would say that the greater miracles are hidden. Many who visit Lourdes return home with renewed faith and a readiness to serve God in their needy brothers and sisters. There still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said to them are the words that introduce the film The Song of Bernadette: “For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”
Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and healing, but even more of faith. Church authorities have recognized over 60 miraculous cures, although there have probably been many more. To people of faith this is not surprising. It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles—now performed at the intercession of his mother. Some would say that the greater miracles are hidden. Many who visit Lourdes return home with renewed faith and a readiness to serve God in their needy brothers and sisters. There still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said to them are the words that introduce the film The Song of Bernadette: “For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”
Quote:
“Lo! Mary is exempt from stain of sin, Proclaims the Pontiff high; And earth applauding celebrates with joy Her triumph, far and high. Unto a lowly timid maid she shows Her form in beauty fair, And the Immaculate Conception truth Her sacred lips declare.” (Unattributed hymn from the Roman Breviary)
“Lo! Mary is exempt from stain of sin, Proclaims the Pontiff high; And earth applauding celebrates with joy Her triumph, far and high. Unto a lowly timid maid she shows Her form in beauty fair, And the Immaculate Conception truth Her sacred lips declare.” (Unattributed hymn from the Roman Breviary)
Patron Saint of:
Bodily ills
Bodily ills
www.americancatholic.org
St. Paschal
Paschal was the son of Bonosus, a Roman. He studied at the
Lateran, was named head of St. Stephen's monastery, which housed pilgrims to
Rome, and was elected Pope to succeed Pope Stephen IV (V) on the day Stephen
died, January 25, 817. Emperor Louis the Pious agreed to respect papal
jurisdiction, but when Louis' son Lothair I came to Rome in 823 to be
consecrated king, he broke the pact by presiding at a trial involving a group
of nobles opposing the Pope. When the two papal officials who had testified for
the nobles were found blinded and murdered, Paschal was accused of the crime.
He denied any complicity but refused to surrender the murderers, who were
members of his household, declaring that the two dead officials were traitors
and the secular authorities had no jurisdiction in the case. The result was the
Constitution of Lothair, severely restricting papal judicial and police powers
in Italy. Paschal was unsuccessful in attempts to end the iconoclast heresy of
Emperor Leo V, encouraged SS. Nicephorous and Theodore Studites in
Constantinople to resist iconoclasm, and gave refuge to the many Greek monks
who fled to Rome to escape persecution from the iconoclasts. Paschal built and
redecorated many churches in Rome and transferred many relics from the
catacombs to churches in the city. Although listed in the Roman Martyrology, he
has never been formally canonized. His feast day is February 11.
www.catholic.org
Lectio: Mark 6,53-56
Lectio:
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Monday,
February 11, 2013
1) Opening prayer
Father,
watch over your family
and keep us safe in your care,
for all our hope is in you.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Father,
watch over your family
and keep us safe in your care,
for all our hope is in you.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel reading - Mark 6,53-56
Having made the crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and moored there.
When they disembarked people at once recognised him, and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was.
And wherever he went, to village or town or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were saved.
Having made the crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and moored there.
When they disembarked people at once recognised him, and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was.
And wherever he went, to village or town or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were saved.
3) Reflection
• The text of today’s Gospel is the final part of the whole passage of Mark 6,45-56 which presents three different themes: a) Jesus goes to the mountain alone to pray (Mk 6, 45-46). b) Immediately after, he walks on the water, goes toward the disciples who are struggling against the waves of the sea (Mk 6, 47-52). 3) Now, in today’s Gospel, when they were already on the shore, the people look for Jesus so that he can cure their sick (Mk 6, 53-56).
• Mark 6, 53-56. The search of the people. “At that time, Jesus and his disciples having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When they disembarked, the people at once recognized him”. The people were numerous looking for Jesus. They came from all parts, bringing their sick. The enthusiasm of the people who look for Jesus and recognizing him follow him is surprising. What impels people to search for Jesus is not only the desire to encounter him, to be with him, but rather the desire to be cured of the sicknesses. “And hurrying all through the countryside they brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he went.
And wherever he went to village or town or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak, and all those who touched him were saved”. The Gospel of Matthew comments and enlightens this fact quoting the figure of the Servant of Yahweh, of whom Isaiah says: “Yet ours were the sufferings he was bearing, ours the sorrows he was carrying”. (Is 53, 4 and Mt 8, 16-17)
• To teach and to cure, to cure and to teach. Right from the beginning of his apostolic activity, Jesus goes through all the villages of Galilee, to speak to the people about the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God (Mk 1, 14-15). There, wherever he finds people to listen to him, he speaks and transmits the Good News of God, he accepts the sick, in all places: in the Synagogues during the celebration of the Word, on Saturday (Mk 1, 21; 3, 1; 6, 2); in the informal meetings in the house of friends (Mk 2, 1.15; 7, 17; 9, 28; 10, 10); walking on the street with the disciples (Mk 2, 23); along the beach, sitting in a boat (Mk 4, 1); in the desert where he took refuge and where people looked for him (Mk 1, 45; 6, 32-34); on the mountain from where he proclaimed the Beatitudes (Mt 5, 1); in the squares of the villages and of the cities, where the people took their sick (Mk 6, 55-56); in the Temple of Jerusalem, on the occasion of pilgrimages, every day without fear (Mk 14, 49)! To cure and to teach, to teach and to cure that is what Jesus did the most (Mk 2, 13; 4, 1-2; 6, 34). This is what he used to do (Mk 10, 1). The people were amazed (Mk 12, 37; 1, 22.27; 11, 18) and they looked for him, as a crowd.
• In the origin of this great enthusiasm of the people was, on the one hand, the person of Jesus who called and attracted and, on the other side, the abandonment in which people lived, they were like sheep without a shepherd (cf. Mk 6,34). In Jesus, everything was revelation of what impelled him from within! He not only spoke of God, but he also revealed him. He communicated something of what he himself lived and experienced. He not only announced the Good News. He himself was a proof, a living witness of the Kingdom. In him was manifested what happens when a human being allows God to reign in his life. What has value, what is important, is not only the words, but also and above all the witness, the concrete gesture. This is the Good News which attracts!
• The text of today’s Gospel is the final part of the whole passage of Mark 6,45-56 which presents three different themes: a) Jesus goes to the mountain alone to pray (Mk 6, 45-46). b) Immediately after, he walks on the water, goes toward the disciples who are struggling against the waves of the sea (Mk 6, 47-52). 3) Now, in today’s Gospel, when they were already on the shore, the people look for Jesus so that he can cure their sick (Mk 6, 53-56).
• Mark 6, 53-56. The search of the people. “At that time, Jesus and his disciples having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When they disembarked, the people at once recognized him”. The people were numerous looking for Jesus. They came from all parts, bringing their sick. The enthusiasm of the people who look for Jesus and recognizing him follow him is surprising. What impels people to search for Jesus is not only the desire to encounter him, to be with him, but rather the desire to be cured of the sicknesses. “And hurrying all through the countryside they brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he went.
And wherever he went to village or town or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak, and all those who touched him were saved”. The Gospel of Matthew comments and enlightens this fact quoting the figure of the Servant of Yahweh, of whom Isaiah says: “Yet ours were the sufferings he was bearing, ours the sorrows he was carrying”. (Is 53, 4 and Mt 8, 16-17)
• To teach and to cure, to cure and to teach. Right from the beginning of his apostolic activity, Jesus goes through all the villages of Galilee, to speak to the people about the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God (Mk 1, 14-15). There, wherever he finds people to listen to him, he speaks and transmits the Good News of God, he accepts the sick, in all places: in the Synagogues during the celebration of the Word, on Saturday (Mk 1, 21; 3, 1; 6, 2); in the informal meetings in the house of friends (Mk 2, 1.15; 7, 17; 9, 28; 10, 10); walking on the street with the disciples (Mk 2, 23); along the beach, sitting in a boat (Mk 4, 1); in the desert where he took refuge and where people looked for him (Mk 1, 45; 6, 32-34); on the mountain from where he proclaimed the Beatitudes (Mt 5, 1); in the squares of the villages and of the cities, where the people took their sick (Mk 6, 55-56); in the Temple of Jerusalem, on the occasion of pilgrimages, every day without fear (Mk 14, 49)! To cure and to teach, to teach and to cure that is what Jesus did the most (Mk 2, 13; 4, 1-2; 6, 34). This is what he used to do (Mk 10, 1). The people were amazed (Mk 12, 37; 1, 22.27; 11, 18) and they looked for him, as a crowd.
• In the origin of this great enthusiasm of the people was, on the one hand, the person of Jesus who called and attracted and, on the other side, the abandonment in which people lived, they were like sheep without a shepherd (cf. Mk 6,34). In Jesus, everything was revelation of what impelled him from within! He not only spoke of God, but he also revealed him. He communicated something of what he himself lived and experienced. He not only announced the Good News. He himself was a proof, a living witness of the Kingdom. In him was manifested what happens when a human being allows God to reign in his life. What has value, what is important, is not only the words, but also and above all the witness, the concrete gesture. This is the Good News which attracts!
4) Personal questions
• The enthusiasm of the people of Jesus, looking for the sense of life and a solution for their ills. Where does this exist today? Does in exist in you, does it exist in others?
• What attracts is the loving attitude of Jesus toward the poor and the abandoned. And I, how do I deal with the persons excluded by society?
• The enthusiasm of the people of Jesus, looking for the sense of life and a solution for their ills. Where does this exist today? Does in exist in you, does it exist in others?
• What attracts is the loving attitude of Jesus toward the poor and the abandoned. And I, how do I deal with the persons excluded by society?
5) Concluding prayer
How countless are your works, Yahweh,
all of them made so wisely!
The earth is full of your creatures.
Bless Yahweh, my soul. (Ps 104,24.35)
How countless are your works, Yahweh,
all of them made so wisely!
The earth is full of your creatures.
Bless Yahweh, my soul. (Ps 104,24.35)
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