Prayer Prompt before reading MK 4:21-25: Come, Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray well, interpret the Scriptures for me so that I may know the Truth about who God the Father is and who God the Son is so that I may know who I am.
“FOR THERE IS NOTHING HIDDEN EXCEPT TO BE MADE VISIBLE; NOTHING IS SECRET EXCEPT TO COME TO LIGHT.” MK 4:21-25
Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
Jesus teaches us today that He sees everything. He is the Light. The Light casts away darkness. St. Francis says, “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” Jesus conquered sin and death and saved us. We will be judged by this Light.
Bishop Barron uses the analogy to teach that judgment by God is like driving into the sun or away from it. When driving a car into the sun, we can see a collection of things on the glass. Its imperfections, bird droppings, bugs. When we drive away from the sun, we don’t see them.
The Light, Jesus Christ, reveals everything we have tried to push away or not deal with on judgement day. We tend to lie to ourselves. It’s hard not to, we are fighting a fallen nature and Satan. A world full of distractions. Our ego gets in the way or puts up blinders. Those things others see in us that we don’t see in ourselves. Forgiveness we have not asked for or given away. Sins we have committed but did not confess.
God is merciful, but also just! God made us in His image and likeness, takes away our Original Sin and replaces it with sanctifying grace, and Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit into us so that we would have nothing to hide. What are you hiding? What do you not want others to know and see. Work on it, bring it to Jesus and ask Him to uproot it.
The Truths revealed by Christ for the salvation of the world are not to be hidden. We are made out of love, it is not made to be held on to. We are called to read these Truths, memorize them, and live them in our actions. There is nothing more important than the Good News, Christ has risen, our sins are forgiven through baptism, and we are free from the bondage of sin and death.
We get so distracted from the most important thing that has been passed down to us. Jesus has risen. He is fully alive in the Eucharist, the Word, and the Holy Spirit is in us! Pass it on! The more love and compassion we give the more we recognize God’s love and compassion on us.
The more we recognize the generosity God has with us the more generous we are with others. The more we forgive the more we learn of God’s mercy on us. The more we search out our identity and gifts God gave us to share with others and glorify Him, the more we recognize our purpose and live with passion and mission.
Today’s challenge: Find Truth, share love, live with passion! God is waiting for you to cooperate with Him and set the world on fire!
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YODO (You Only Die Once; we will live again!)
“Our ego gets in the way or puts up blinders. Those things others see in us that we don’t see in ourselves. Forgiveness we have not asked for or given away. Sins we have committed but did not confess.” This stood out to me because I struggle with this a lot and can sometimes forget that I am not the center of the universe and that God loves me more. I think that everyone struggles with this at some point. We have all thought that God loves us more or less than someone else. What helps me to combat this is slowing down, being more quiet and reading the Bible a lot.
In today’s gospel Jesus tells us to use our gifts for God. He does not want us to hide our gifts but to share them. He also tells us that if we share our talents, we will receive a great reward, the greatest reward, spending eternity with the one Lord our God. Don’t worry about peer pressure, because this world is temporary. Share your God-given talents and you won’t regret it.
In today’s gospel Jesus tells us to use our talents for God. We should use our talents to improve the lives of our neighbors, all those we encounter, especially those we see every day. Our gifts do us no good if we hide them, so let us share them with the world. Let us use them to spread the gospel through our example. If we use our God-given talents for God we shall surely be rewarded.