REFLECTIONS ON THE WORD – 01/20/22 (Thursday)

Mark 3:11-12

11 And whenever the unclean spirits beheld Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." 12 And He strictly ordered them not to make Him known.

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Blessed Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time! God desires that we serve Him with a pure intention. Jesus was gaining more followers from different places when they discovered that He was performing miracles. Then, whenever the evil spirits saw Him, they were crying out proclaiming that He's the Son of God. It's true that Jesus is the Son of God. But, why did He order them to be silent and not make Him known? Doesn't He want more people to know this truth? In reality, Jesus Christ serves the people out of love for us and because it's the will of the Father. He was not healing people in order to seek fame or recognition.

God calls us to serve Him by also serving our neighbors. We can lead more people to the healing mercy of God by doing acts of mercy as we practice our faith. However, we can be tempted by evil spirits to be attached to praises we hear from people who see our good works. We may be motivated, not out or love for God, but out of the recognition we receive from other people. When this happens, we no longer serve Christ and the people He has given us with humility. We may be more attached with pride. If they no longer praise us or if they see other people besides us, it can lead to our sadness or even anger. Our Lord Jesus Christ is showing us an example of how to do the mission with pure intention. He is inviting us to imitate Him in loving God and our neighbors with the sole intention of following the will of God. In this way, we can have a purer faith, hope and love. Our worth is not based on how people see us. As such, we should only seek the approval of God as we persevere in becoming instruments of His mercy to others. 

Why do we praise, serve and honor our God? Why do we love our neighbors? May we always reflect on our intentions as we practice our Catholic faith. Jesus will grant us wisdom to simply depend on Him for our happiness, not on what other people think of us. Even though many people may even criticize us or mock us as we live our faith, we can bear the hardships we experience because we know that Jesus is with us, and He is pleased by our humble service. Let's always make Him the center of our thoughts because He is love. 

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