When I was a new preacher, someone said they didn’t like my talk because I was too young. I was hurt a lot. But that didn’t stop me from preaching again the following week. And the weeks, months, and years after that. 

God calls us to serve Him and share His Good News to the world—even when it’s not easy or popular. 

In Mark 6:1-6, Jesus returned to His hometown and was rejected by the people who knew Him best. Yet, despite their lack of faith in Him, Jesus continued to perform miracles and taught the truth. This reminds us that even when we face opposition or rejection, we can trust God’s plan and His power to work through us. 

In these verses, we see a common thread: God’s power and strength are made perfect in our weakness and willingness to obey and serve Him even when it’s complicated. Let this be an encouragement to trust God and His plan for our lives. He will give us everything we need to fulfill our calling. JPaul Hernandez (jpaulhernandez@feastortigasdistrict.com) 

Reflect:

How is God calling you to love the people who reject you? 

Jesus, can you please bless the person who spurned me? Amen.

Blessed Maria Romero Meneses, pray for us.

First Reading | Ezekiel 2:2-5

The Lord encourages Ezekiel to believe that it is He who speaks when he speaks to the people of Israel. With this encouragement, Ezekiel has a long ministry as a prophet to the people. We, too, are anointed into the prophetic ministry during the sacrament of baptism. We may not receive words from the Lord like the Old Testament prophets had, but we have the Word of God in the Scriptures to live by and give witness to His love and to the gift of salvation. 

² As the Lord spoke to me, spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard the one who was speaking ³ say to me: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day. ⁴ Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you. But you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God! ⁵ And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house—they shall know that a prophet has been among them. 

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 123:1-2, 2, 3-4

R: Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy. 

¹ To you I lift up my eyes who are enthroned in heaven, ² as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters. (R) As the eyes of a maid are on the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes on the Lord, our God, till he have pity on us. (R) ³ Have pity on us, O Lord, have pity on us, for we are more than sated with contempt; ⁴ our souls are more than sated with the mockery of the arrogant, with the contempt of the proud. (R) 

Second Reading | 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

No one knows what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was. There are speculations about the nature of his struggle. However, why does it matter? We also struggle to be holy. Let us pray for the grace to throw ourselves at the feet of the Lord and to beg for His grace to overcome our sins. To be holy means to live a life free of sin. Let us repent and ask the Lord for the grace of conversion every day. 

⁷ Brothers and sisters: That I, Paul, might not become too elated, because of the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. ⁸ Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, ⁹ but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. ¹⁰ Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 

Gospel | Mark 6:1-6 

It is easy for us to doubt that Jesus could amount to anything. It could be jealousy or arrogance of mind and heart that led people to this conclusion about Him. So, let us to avoid doubt and place our trust and hope in Jesus. Trusting in Him will help us overcome sin and grow in holiness. Only with the help of God’s grace will we be saved. 

Gospel Acclamation

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for he sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor. 

¹ Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. ² When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! ³ Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. ⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” ⁵ So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith. 

Read the Bible in one year! Read PSALMS 1 - 5 today.

One day, a lion left his friend lions and visited the place where the pigs were staying. Upon his arrival, he sought out the leader. He liked the place so much and asked the leader if he could stay. The leader said, “I am sorry, you are much different from us; go and cut your tail in order to look more like us.” 

So the lion went and cut his tail because he badly needed the leader’s approval. Then he went a second time, but was told again by the leader: “Shave all your hair in order to look more like us.” Then the third time, “Remove your very long nails in order to look more like us.” 

He did all these things. Finally, he was told, “I am sorry, but it seems that whatever changes you do to yourself, you can never look like us. Maybe you were never meant to be a pig.” When the lion went back home, his friend lions didn’t want to accept him because he no longer looked like a lion.  

At some point in our life, we all have experienced rejection. Rejection becomes more painful when it comes from someone you love. In the case of Jesus, it was His neighbors, friends, relatives, and family. 

Rejection is painful because it scratches the core of our self-esteem. It is painful because it is against our human need for social connection; it deprives us of human affirmations. 

Our culture taught us when we were children that people will like us if we are nice, that being a good boy or a good girl will make people love us. We grew up believing that we are only worthy if people accept or like us. 

Friends, rejection can only shake you when you are not solidly grounded in God. When you do not have a close relationship with Jesus, when you are more concerned in pleasing other people, rejection will trip you off. 

Please God first and no amount of rejection can shake you. Fr. Wen Amit, OCD 

Reflection Question:

How do you handle rejections? 

Dearest God, only Your approval is important to me. I can accept the rejection of the people around me for as long as You are with me. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ___________________________________________