5th Sunday of the Year, Year B

5th Sunday of the Year, Year B

First reading: Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 147
Second reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
Gospel reading: Mark 1:29-39

"That is what I have come to do."

This 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we continue learning about
Jesus and His ministry. The passage of the Gospel clearly speaks
of Him as a Healer: first, healing Simon's (Peter) mother-in-law
from fever; and then as evening drew on, He continued to heal the
ill and those possessed by demons. Rising the next morning, He
went off to the desert to pray. Simon sought Him, and when he
did, he reported that many people were intently looking for Him.
But Jesus replied by saying that they were to move to the
neighboring villages, to proclaim the Gospel there also. He said,
"that is what I have come to do."

The Lord reveals Himself to us as a Healer and Proclaimer of the
Good News. If we read the gospel again, we can learn a part of
what His Christian ministry is all about: healing, proclaiming
the Good News, and praying. Although Jesus was an active
missionary and an itinerant preacher, He never forgets to go off
to a lonely place in the desert to pray and relate with the
Father - from whom He gets His mission to heal and proclaim the
Good News and the coming of the Kingdom.

If this is what the Lord did in His life and ministry, then as
His followers and disciples, we are called to do the same: to
impart healing words and actions; to proclaim the Good News by
our good example in the family and our work environment; and
most important of all, never to forget to set some time for
solitude, silence, prayer, meditation, contemplation and
spiritual reading. It is in our life of prayer (in the manner
of Christ), that we can receive the Lord's Spirit as we follow
what He was called to do in our respective states of life,
professions, and parish communities. Let us not forget where
to receive fully Christ's Spirit for the mission: the
sacraments of the Church, especially Eucharist and the
sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

4th Sunday of the Year, Year B

4th Sunday of the Year, Year B

First reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 95
Second reading: 1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Gospel reading: Mark 1:21-28

"He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him."

In this Sunday's gospel, we continue reading the beginning
passages of Mark's 1st chapter. In this Sunday's gospel passage
we find Peter and Andrew already following Jesus, as Jesus
entered the synagogue and taught the congregation assembled
there. Those in the synagogue were amazed at the words of Jesus
because they were proclaimed with authority, unlike that of the
Scribes. Then, suddenly, amidst all this, there was a man with
an unclean spirit in the synagogue, who challenged Jesus. Jesus
knew the man was possessed, and so He rebuked the man - causing
the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Again, those at the
synagogue were amazed. For Jesus commands even the unclean
spirits and they obey Him. Therefore, Jesus and His reputation
spread everywhere through the whole region of Galilee.

We all know that though Jesus was God made man, there was no
sin in Him. The Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove
during His baptism in the river Jordan by John the Baptist.
And as Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert, Jesus was
triumphant against the Evil One and his wiles. Jesus had power
over evil, not only during the tempatation in the desert, but
all along, and everywhere in His ministry with the people.
Wherever He encountered people possessed with unclean spirits
and by demons, He was able to cure them. Just by the power of
His Word, He was able to make the unclean spirits come out of
those whom they were tormenting and abusing. And the man in
the synagogue in our present gospel passage is only one of the
many healing miracles and exorcisms that Jesus had performed.

In our modern times, with all the noise around us, many of us
are not aware anymore of the spiritual forces that are within
us and outside of us. St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of
the Jesuits, says in his book "The Spiritual Exercises", that
there are three spirits influencings us: one internal (our
human spirit); and two external (the bad spirit and the good
spirit or angel). If we take on a spiritual discipline of
prayer, silence, solitude, meditation, contemplation, and
sacramental life, we will be made more aware of the spirits
that are influencing us. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit,
we can discern to a certain extent, if the spirit that is
guiding us or influencing us, is good or bad. Our task is
never to rely on our own knowledge or strength alone, but to
depend on the Lord and a confessor or spiritual director -
who will help point us to where the Holy Spirit should be
leading us, and to avoid those occasions where the bad or
evil spirit is tempting us to a direction that is not of
God.

So as we work, pray, and live in the world, even if we are in
the midst of much noise and activity, let us not forget also,
like Jesus, to come away for awhile and to go to a quiet
place (like the adoration chapel), and take moments of
silence and prayer, so that we may discern the way we are
go. Praying for God's help and guidance and seeking those
who can counsel us rightly, will help us hear more the voice
of God and be docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit,
that we may follow a path of simplicity and humility -
avoiding the temptations to covet great riches, honor, and
power.