Meditation

Today, we hear our Lord teaching the “Sower's parable”. The example is very current. Our Lord is always “sowing”. Lots of people today also listen to Jesus through his Vicar —the Pope—, his ministers and... his faithful laymen and women: Christ has given a share in his priestly mission to all of us, who have been baptized. 
 

Jesus' answer is by no means a rejection towards His relatives. Jesus just moved away from them to follow the divine call and now, He also means that, intimately, He has given them up too: not because of lack of feelings or scorn of His family ties, but because He completely belongs to God the Father. Jesus Christ actually lived what He precisely expects from His disciples.
 

Today, when we read about this event in the Gospel we are more than a little surprised when “The scribes who had come from Jerusalem” recognize Jesus' compassion for the oppressed and witness the divine miracles with which He blesses them, but then say, “He is possessed by Beelzebul”, and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.” (Mk 3, 22).
 

Every human action connects with God's eternal plan for us and the calling to listen to Jesus, to follow Him in everything and for everything, and to proclaim Him as the first disciples did, as millions have done and we strive to do.
 

Today, we see how Jesus' own relatives react “He is out of his mind” (Mk 3, 21). Once again, the old proverb “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house” (Mt 13, 57), is seen to be true. It is unnecessary to say this complaint does not “taint” the Blessed Virgin Mary, because from the beginning to the last moment —when she was at the foot of the Cross...
 

Today, the Gospel considers the theology of Christian vocation: “The Lord called those he wanted to be with him and sent them to be apostles” (cf. Mk 3,13-14). First, He calls them: For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy (cf. Eph 1, 4). God loves us, shaping us in Christ, encouraging us to develop the characteristics necessary for us to become His children. 

Today, with the baptisms by John in the Jordan still recent, we should all remember the kind of conversion brought about as a result of our baptism. We have all been baptized into one Lord, into one only faith, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1Co 12, 13). This is the aim of unity: to form a single body, to be a single unity in Christ, so that the world may believe.
 

Today, Jesus tells us we must always do good: There is no such thing as a time to do good and a time to overlook our love for others. The love we receive through God brings us to the supreme Law that Jesus left us in the new commandment: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (Jn 13, 34). 
 

Today, as yesterday, Jesus has to contend with the Pharisees, who are distorting Moses' Law, by highlighting the letter of the law while ignoring the actual spirit of the Law. Indeed, the Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples of violating the Sabbath (cf. Mk 2, 24). According to their annoying arguments, to pick the heads of grain means “to reap”,...
 

The Church has remained faithful to Christ's teaching on fasting which, though coming from the prophets and even being a natural and spontaneous practice in many religions, our Lord confirms with a new meaning. Fasting can be used as preparation; it strengthens prayer and contemplation. Jesus fasts in the desert as a preparation for His public life.
 

Today, we see Jesus walking along the banks of the Jordan: Christ is passing by! It was about four in the afternoon when, seeing two young men following him, he turned to ask them, "What are you looking for?" (Jn 1, 38). Surprised by the question, they responded, “‘Rabbi’ — which translated means Teacher —, ‘where are you staying?’ … 'Come, and you will see'" (Jn 1, 39).
 

Today, Saint Mark tells us how Jesus taught and how the crowd came to Him. In those days, they were as hungry for doctrine as we are today, ignorance being always our worst enemy. Let us not forget the expression: “They will hate no more when they ignore no more”...
 

Today, we see the Lord surrounded once more by crowds: “Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door” (Mk 2, 2). His heart is melted by people's needs and provides them as much relief as possible; by forgiving, teaching and healing them at the same time. 
 

During our daily prayer we long for and hope to hear our Lord's voice. But, perhaps more often than not, we fill it with our own words without allowing time to listen to what the Lord may wish to tell us. Let us, therefore, take care of our inner silence, which —by avoiding distractions and centering our attention...
 

Today, we are clearly shown how Jesus split His working hours. On one hand, He prayed; on the other, He consecrated time to His mission of praying with words and deeds. Contemplation and Action. Prayer and Work. Being with God while amongst men.
 

Today, first Tuesday in Ordinary Time, Saint Mark presents Jesus teaching in the synagogue, and immediately he comments: “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes” (Mk 1, 21). This is quite an extraordinary comment. 
 

Today, on the solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, the cycle of Christmas festivities concludes. The Gospel tells us that John had “appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mk 1, 4). People went to listen to him, confessed their sins, and were baptized by him in the Jordan River. And among those people, Jesus also presented Himself to be baptized.
 

Jesus Christ crosses the paths of the lives of many people who are not interested in Him. A little effort would have changed their lives; they would have found the King of Joy and Peace. This requires a willingness to look for Him, to move around, to ask without losing heart —like the Three Wise Men— to leave our comfort, our routine. 
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Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. That day, the world's waters were purified and were given the power to clean away sin. Although the Baptism administered by John had only the implication of our conversion and acceptance of our sinfulness, Jesus, solidary with all men, decided to go through it too, as the Leader of a renewed Manhood. 
 

We cannot give what we do not have. So, before we can tell others about the Master, we must already have encountered Him and come to know Him. Only when we know Him well and have allowed Him to enter into and direct our lives, can we share Him with others, as Philip did, and as His disciples have done throughout history.
 

Today, the Gospel reminds us of the vocational circumstances of Jesus' first disciples. To get ready for the advent of the Messiah, John and his friend Andrew had listened to, and followed for a while, John the Baptist. One day, John the Baptist, points out to Jesus, by calling Him the Lamb of God. 

Today, St. John the Baptist testifies about the baptism of Jesus. Pope Francis reminded us “Baptism is the Sacrament on which our very faith is founded and which grafts us as a living member onto Christ and his Church”; and added: "It is not a formality! It is an act that touches the depths of our existence. 

The mystery of salvation in Christ is accompanied always by the testimony. Jesus Christ himself is “The Amen, the faithful and true witness” (Rev 3, 14). It is John the Baptist who bears witness with his vision and gaze as a prophet: “There is one among you whom… is coming after me” (Jn 1,26-27).
 

Today, the Church gratefully reflects on the Virgin's maternity as a model of her own motherhood to all of us. Luke offers the “meeting” of the shepherds and the Boy, who is with Mary —His mother— and with Joseph. Joseph's discreet presence reflects his important mission as guardian of the great mystery of the Son of God. 

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. Our gaze shifts from the center of the nativity scene—Jesus—to contemplate Mary and Joseph close to Him. The eternal Son of the Father goes from the eternal family, which is the Holy Trinity, to the earthly family formed by Mary and Joseph. How important the family must be in the eyes of God when the first thing He provides for His Son is a family!
 

Today, Joseph and Mary have just celebrated the presentation rites of their first-born, Jesus, at the Temple in Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph observe what the law says, because doing what God wants is a sign of faithfulness and love for God.
 

Let us be, along with Simeon, prophets because of the death of the “old self”! As Saint John Paul II said “The fullness of the Spirit of God is accompanied (…) first of all through that interior availability which comes from faith. The aged Simeon, the ‘righteous and devout man’ upon whom ‘rested the Holy Spirit’, sensed this at the moment of Jesus' presentation in the Temple.”
 

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs. Embedded within the Christmas celebrations, we cannot ignore the message the liturgy wants to convey to us clarifying two main points regarding the good news of the birth of Jesus. In the first place, St. Joseph's predisposition in God's design for our salvation, by accepting God's will. 
 

Today, the liturgy celebrates the festivity of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist. The first day after Christmas, the Church celebrates Saint Stephen's day, the first martyr of the Christian faith. And the following day is the feast of Saint John. Saint John is the one who better and most deeply understood the mystery of the Word Incarnate.
 

The martyrdom of St. Stephen, whom we revere as the First Martyr of Christianity, falls squarely into the theology of the Incarnate Son of God. Jesus came into this world to shed His Blood for us. Stephen was the first who shed his blood for Jesus. We read in this Gospel as Jesus Himself announces it: they will hand you over to courts and…