“Daddy, can we play Avengers?” asked my eldest son, Zion. Avengers is a rough wrestling game we play, with me as the villain Thanos and my three little boys as Ironman, Hulk, and Captain America. “Next time. Daddy is too tired,” I replied. The next day, Zion again said, “Daddy, let’s play Avengers!” I answered, “Next time. I’m still tired.”

Not to be denied again, my son changed the way he asked on the third day. With eager eyes, he said, “Daddy, if you want, why don’t we play Avengers?” How can I say no to that? He asked with so much hope that his dad would grant his request, at the same time speaking with humility. No hard feelings if his request wasn’t granted, but I sensed expectant joy if he got his wish.

How do you ask from the Lord? Are you a demanding beggar who twists God’s arm until He says yes? Or are you a trusting child who is hopeful and humble? May your heart never be afraid to ask, always ready to receive what our loving God has in store for you. 

Velden Lim (veldenlim.firedup@gmail.com)

reflect

God longs to bless you with good things, but are you ready to receive His version of what you want? 

Lord, I am asking again. I will persist, but I won’t insist. Whatever You have for me, I will not resist.

St. Paul the Hermit, pray for us.

Our faith is not a talisman or good luck charm. It is based on our personal relationship with God, and how we reflect it in our lives. Luck has nothing to do with God’s relationship with us; He created us and desires to be with us. Are we willing to commit to the relationship that God desires? Let us pray to be men and women who have given service for the sake of Gospel because we love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.

¹ The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel. Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. ² The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel. After a fierce struggle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield. ³ When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the Lord from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies.” ⁴ So the people went to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God. ⁵ When the ark of the Lord arrived in the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded. ⁶ The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked, “What can this loud shouting in the camp of the. Hebrews mean?” On learning that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, ⁷ the Philistines were frightened. They said, “Gods have come to their camp.” They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with various plagues and with pestilence. ⁹ Take courage and be manly, Philistines; otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they were your slaves. So fight manfully!” ¹⁰ The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated; every man fled to his own tent. It was a disastrous defeat, in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. ¹¹ The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25

R:Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.

¹⁰ Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace, and you go not forth with our armies. ¹¹ You have let us be driven back by our foes; those who hated us plundered us at will. (R) ¹⁴ You made us the reproach of our neighbors, the mockery and the scorn of those around us. ¹⁵ You made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. (R) ²⁴ Why do you hide your face, forgetting our woe and our oppression? ²⁵ For our souls are bowed down to the dust, our bodies are pressed to the earth. (R)

Gospel | Mark 1:40-45

It is simple to know if you have been converted to the Lord. Do you feel driven to share your experience with others? Are you willing to stand up in the crowd and proclaim your faith? Are you convinced that everyone needs to know God’s love? And are you willing to do whatever is possible to make this truth known?

Gospel Acclamation

Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people.

⁴⁰ A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” ⁴² The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. ⁴³ Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. ⁴⁴ Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” ⁴⁵ The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

Read the Bible in one year! Read MARK 9 - 12 today.

Today’s Gospel is a continuation of yesterday’s account of the many healings that Jesus performed. As a result, more people came to see Him and have the sick healed.

Today, Jesus healed a man afflicted with leprosy. After the healing, Jesus gave him two admonitions that seem to contradict one another. On the one hand, He warned the leper to remain hidden so as not to cause a frenzy: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone.” But then, He immediately followed it with: “Show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing as a testimony to them.”

One curious fact in the life of the Lord is that He always seems to “shy away” from the limelight every time the crowd seems to get excited over the wonders He performs. It’s not unusual to read that, after rounds of healing and miracles, Jesus withdraws to a lonely place in the desert.

Jesus is not being aloof, nor is He being painfully shy. The irony is, while Jesus often avoids the limelight, He presents Himself when needed. In fact, many times in the Gospel, Jesus boldly calls attention to Himself and gives Himself titles like “I am the Good Shepherd,” “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” “I am the vine . . .” and so on.

I believe that Jesus is teaching us something about self-promotion. Self-promotion is not bad. At times, it can actually be a Christian duty. Self-promotion—when placed under the aegis of service, charity, duty, and testimony—is a virtue. Otherwise, self-promotion becomes vanity—nothing but an ego trip, an ego massage, and therefore, fruitless.

Yes, Christians, broadcast yourself. Promote yourself. Mark out yourself. But only for the sake of service and charity, so that in all things, the Lord may be praised.

Fr. Joel O. Jason

reflection questions

Do you feel the need to call attention to yourself? Do you seek self-promotion for its own sake?

“Lord, teach me to be generous, to labor and ask not for reward, save that of knowing that I do Your most holy will.” Amen.

Today, I pray for: ________________________________________