REFLECTIONS ON THE WORD – 01/19/22 (Wednesday)

Mark 3:4-6

4 And He said to them, "Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. 5 And He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out, and immediately held counsel with the Hero'di-ans against Him, how to destroy Him.

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Blessed Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time! A man with a humble heart listens to the voice of Christ and trusts Him. In our gospel reading today, Jesus came to the temple where He saw a man with a withered hand. Unfortunately, the Pharisees still retained their very rigid understanding of the Sabbath where they felt that even the work of curing someone was wrong. Jesus was grieving because their hardness of hearts due to pride was an obstacle for them to be cured from their own spiritual illnesses. This was unlike the man with withered man who trusted Jesus and was healed. The Pharisees were silenced when they were asked by Christ, a sign that they knew they were guilty, but rather than change, they deepened their anger with Him. 

God speaks to us although our conscience can be darkened by our sins. When we commit sins in our lives, we can feel guilty of them especially when a priest makes a homily, when a devout Catholic corrects us or when Jesus reminds us of our own faults. But, what do we do when we know that we have wrong doings and we feel guilty? We can be like the Pharisees if we justify our sins and be angry with people who are concerned with us. But, we can also be like the withered man if we acknowledge our sinfulness and strive to depend fully on His grace. Jesus went to the temple because He knew that a man was in need of His Mercy. This is why He is always speaking within the temple of our hearts. He knows how sinful we are and how only He can cure the wounds of our hearts. Just like the withered man who could not move His hand unless healed by Christ, we cannot turn away from sins and live a holy life unless we are healed by His Mercy. 

May we always repent of our sins and trust in Him as we acknowledge our brokenness. If we have confidence in His mercy, His grace will always remain in us. He will enable us to practice good works and virtues. His light will guide us and direct us to always follow His will. When we follow Christ despite our past sins, we can be the light to many people because of our examples. May we never lose hope because even when our hearts are hardened by pride, He is still waiting for us to listen to His voice within our hearts. 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic