Category: Daily Reflections

“The man went off and began to proclaim the whole matter freely, making the story public. As a result of this, it was no longer possible for Jesus to enter a town openly.” –Mark 1:45 Mass Readings: January 11 First: 1 Samuel 4:1-11; Resp: Psalm 44:10-11,14-15,24-25; Gospel: Mark 1:40-45 Listen to the Mass Readings The leper was an outcast because of his contagious disease. By the law of Moses, the leper was required to live outside the town, keep his distance from others, and cry out “Unclean, unclean” if anyone approached (Lv 13:45). It is likely that people of the...

“[Samuel] ran to Eli.” –1 Samuel 3:5 Mass Readings: January 10 First: 1 Samuel 3:1-10,19-20; Resp: Psalm 40:2,5,7-10; Gospel: Mark 1:29-39 Listen to the Mass Readings Though Eli the priest left a lot to be desired, he still had some godly wisdom and did provide Samuel the right direction to discern for his life’s vocation as a prophet. Samuel ran to Eli (1 Sm 3:5) to seek God’s guidance and he was led safely to the Lord. Nowadays, when young people need guidance, a common response might be to talk to peers or use various forms of social media for...

“Eli, thinking her drunk, said to her, ‘How long will you make a drunken show of yourself? Sober up from your wine!’ ” –1 Samuel 1:13-14 Mass Readings: January 9 First: 1 Samuel 1:9-20; Resp: 1 Samuel 2:1,4-8; Gospel: Mark 1:21-28 Listen to the Mass Readings In addition to accepting correction (see Prv 12:1), we as disciples of Christ must be open to giving correction (Lk 17:3; Gal 6:1). After first removing the plank of sin from our eyes (Mt 7:5), we must correct others in love and call them to repent. How we give correction is one of the...

“Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.” –Mark 1:9 Mass Readings: January 8 First: Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7;Resp: Psalm 29:1-4,3,9-10; Second: Acts 10:34-38; Gospel: Mark 1:7-11 Listen to the Mass Readings At the Jordan River, St. John the Baptist baptized thousands of people with a baptism of repentance. Repentance, or metanoia, was an 180-degree turn from sin. So what happened to those sins that those people left behind? Symbolically, the repented sins remained there, in the waters of the Jordan, after the people rose out of the water. Along comes Jesus, Who had no need...

The wise men “from the east arrived one day in Jerusalem inquiring, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We observed His star at its rising and have come to pay Him homage.’ At this news King Herod became greatly disturbed, and with him all Jerusalem.” –Matthew 2:1-3 Mass Readings: January 7 First: Isaiah 60:1-6; Resp: Psalm 72:1-2,7-8,10-13; Second: Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6; Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 Listen to the Mass Readings Herod understood the significance of Jesus’ birth. He knew that he had to join the wise men and “go and offer [Jesus] homage too” (Mt 2:8). Jesus’ birth means we...