“At this the Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?’” (MK 2: 24) 

We know perfectly this way of looking when we are not interested in protecting or defending, but rather of finding ways so that we can accuse somebody of something. Our Lord gave the Pharisees the bigger perspective, but they rejected it. We learn how to protect and how to defend our beloved ones because our life is to love and to respect, not to blame. 

“May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.” (Gospel Acclamation) 

“People came to Jesus and objected, ‘Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.’” (MK 18: 20) 

We have days of comfort and distress. We have better and worst days. It is normal in every relationship, in every person’s life. What is important is to be flexible and faithful at the same moment; faithful to our vocation, to our spouses, and flexible with our actions. We want to be faithful to our daily 20 minutes ritual, but sometimes this 20 minutes sounds like 100 years or eternity. Maybe it would be easier to go outside for a walk because we had a very difficult day, or go outside for a very fast walk to leave stress behind us, or together do the laundry/washing dishes because while we are not in a mood to speak, we still want to be close to each other. And sometimes we can talk and be close for more than 20 minutes – so united and so close – and this 20 minutes can seem like only 1 minute. 

“The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (Gospel Acclamation) 



“It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (IS 49: 6)

Our standards and Our Lord’s standards are different. When we think about being simple, humble believers, He wants to send us “to the ends of the earth.” When we are so grateful that we can call ourselves “Lord’s” servants, to raise up the tribes of “my family,” He wants to make us “a light to the nations.” It is better to listen carefully to Our Lord because our lives belong to Him. 


“The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. To those who accepted him, he gave power to become children of God.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus heard this and said to them, ‘Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.’” (MK 2: 16-17)

The black and white world we see only in very old movies; our world is more colorful. It might be nice to see good things happening to good people and bad things happening to bad people (we, of course, are not perfect, but for sure not bad at all; we can’t say the same about our neighbors). Our Lord’s strategy is different; He “did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” There is always a place in Our Lord’s heart for us sinners. Let’s go for breakfast with Him.

“The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” (MK 2: 4-5)

As we spoke yesterday, those who have experienced some help are invited to share this help with others. Today we have another example—they did everything to help their friend. They didn’t stop because of excuses: too many people, we can’t reach the house, it is impossible to meet Jesus now, let’s try another day, we’d love to help but you see that’s impossible. Why? Because they had faith, and, “when Jesus saw their faith,” two miracles happened—sins were forgiven and health was restored.

“A great prophet has arisen in our midst and God has visited his people.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“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.” (MK 1: 45)

We have been touched by Our Lord. We met Him, we recognized His presence, we became believers, our hearts were cured. Now we have the responsibility to share this with others, to “spread the report abroad.” We can do the same with our Programs: we joined Program 1, we experienced the benefits, our hope came back, and we received a lot of good inspirations and tips. Now it is time to share with friends, to invite them, to help them.

“Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“‘Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.’ So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.” (MK 1: 38-39)

He is coming to our homes, our villages, our cities. Our Lord is always on His way to our destinations—“for this purpose He has come.” We can count on His presence. We will never be alone.

“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord. I know them, and they follow me.” (Gospel Acclamation)

PS. I am back 🙂 Thank U for Your prayers. U are always in mine. 🙂 Let’s start again our adventure—be as close as possible to His words. He knows where to lead us, who we are and what we need to grow. “Receive the word of God, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God.” (1 THESS 2: 13)

From the 3o of December to 13 of January, I will be in my hermitage to be with Our Lord in solitude. Please forgive me for the lack of homilies during these days, but You can count on my prayers. And please pray for me, help me to come closer to Our Lord, to be only with Him, and to learn from Him how to love and how to serve. I hope to serve You better in this coming year. 


with a very special blessing
Fr. Jay