MARK

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jeremiah 23:1-6 Ephesians 2:13-18 Mark 6:30-34 A. Text/Context • So the gospel story tells us that wherever Jesus and the apostles go they are always followed by many people • It is only in the gospel of Mark that the disciples are called apostles and this happened when the disciples arrived from their mission • Naturally, upon arrival, coming from a difficult mission Jesus gathers them together for a recollection and sharing of their many experiences in the mission • Jesus told his disciples “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a […]

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Amos 7:12-15 Ephesians 1:3-14 Mark 6:7-13 A. Text/Context • So we heard that the 12 disciples were sent by Jesus on a mission. What Jesus can do, the disciples can now also do! • In their missionary journey God accompanied them by giving them the power to heal, the power to cast out demons • Many things happened and they have performed miracles indeed; the lame can walk, the dumb can talk, the blind can see, the deaf can hear, the sick is healed, and the possessed are now freed • And so the disciples […]

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Ezekiel 2:2-5 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Mark 6:1-6 A. Text/Context • Clarification first. It was mentioned in the gospel that Jesus has brothers and sisters • In the culture of the Jews, the family structure is so extended. Sons and daughters are not merely confined to biological parents • Parents also call their nieces and nephews as sons and daughters and so the children also call their cousins as brothers and sisters • The brothers and sisters mentioned in the gospel are actually the cousins of Jesus • Just to clarify matters in case you entertain […]

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9:13-15 Mark 5:21-43 A. Text/Context • The readings we have today tell us of a close encounter with God • And what kind of God is this? The God that we have is a God of life and abundance and this is manifested in all the readings we have today • The 1st reading in the Book of Wisdom tells us that God does not rejoice in the destruction of the living • The 2nd reading in 2 Corinthians tells us that God is rich yet he became poor […]

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time Job 38:1, 8-11 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 Mark 4:35-41 A. Text/Context • So Jesus and his disciples crossed the other side of the lake and there halfway in the journey they were battered by a violent storm • The waves were breaking over the boat and a lot of water is already inside • So with all the pandemonium going on Jesus was sleeping on a cushion all too relax not even thinking that in a few minutes the whole boat could go down into the bottom of the sea • Jesus did not seem to […]

11th Sunday Ordinary Time Ezekiel 17:22-24 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 Mark 4:26-34 A. Text/Context • Jesus has to tell stories in parables so it stir the minds of the faithful to reflect a little more about what he teaches • Reflection and meditation help us obtain the light of understanding what God wants us to do • In the gospel, Jesus describes how the seed is scattered on the soil and the farmer would sleep and rise and sleep and rise again to find out that the seed has grown • When the seeds of the KOG is just freely scattered […]

10th Sunday in Ordinary Time Genesis 3:9-15 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 Mark 3:20-35 A. Text/Context • The 1st part of the gospel deals with the confrontation of Jesus on the accusation concerning his power to exorcise demons • It is a spectacle if Jesus would expel demons in front of the public. Jesus would not want to have a show on this but people followed him everywhere and so it opens the minds of critics who also follow him • There are also scribes from Jerusalem following who witnessed the exorcisms done so if you do not have the benefit of […]

Solemnity of the Corpus Christi Exodus 24:3-8 Hebrews 9:11-15 Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 A. Text/Context • Today, we are celebrating the Feast of the Corpus Christi. The words are in Latin and it means the Body of Christ • Much of the credit why the Corpus Christi becomes a feast in the Church is through St. Juliana of Liege in Belgium • The Church realized that there is not a single feast in the Church where the body of Christ is commemorated as Christ’s gift of the Eucharist • From the year 1258 onwards, the feast is celebrated in the Church […]

Solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension Acts 1:1-11 Ephesians 4:1-13 Mark 16: 15-20 A. Text/Context • Here in the gospel of Mark the details of the Ascension of our Lord is described with just a few words: after he spoke to them he was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God • It is not very much elaborated in the gospel today • But what is not mentioned in the gospel is very clear in the 1st reading in the Acts of the apostles • It was a spectacle to behold that in a […]