Author: turcia

Pharisees. As we read through Mark’s Gospel, we see Jesus making enemies when he is only trying to hold out the truth to them (have you ever felt like this?). The Pharisees are the ones who hold themselves above everyone else because they know the law up and down, inside and out. And they follow the law. Scrupulously. Not just the Scriptural law, but the hundreds – HUNDREDS – of traditional interpretations of that law. In their (self-determined) superiority, they ruled over the people and in their (self-determined) self-righteousness, they looked down on all others.

This is what humans will do. Because we are fallen, and we are free. So wherever there are rules, there will be a tendency for some to act like the Pharisees. There will always be some who assure themselves that they are doing things properly because they are obeying the precise letter of “the law.” And it never ends there! For those who think and operate like the Pharisees, there will always be a tendency to nitpick the (self-determined) failures of others.

At some point on the spiritual journey, most of us become hyper-aware of “the rules” and work hard to conform ourselves, our behavior, our habits, to those rules. Saying specific prayers, attending Mass, confessing our sins, and practicing other devotions are good things! But the enemy can turn these good things into emblems of (self-determined) righteousness, and even tempt us to think we are better than others. We may even be tempted to look down on others or begin to nitpick inessential details. This is not the point of the rules the Church gives us!

If we do these “good things” just to “be good Catholics”, we are missing the essential thing. Religion is not about following rules (though the rules are certainly the guardrails that keep us on the road and not in the ditch!). All of the many practices and devotions in the Church have one essential goal: to help us encounter and love Jesus Christ, who alone is holy!

We are made to glorify HIM, and not ourselves.

The Pharisees were glorifying THEMSELVES, and not God.

In their (self-determined) righteousness, the Pharisees refused to let Jesus’ transforming love heal their hardened hearts so that their lives could open up to the unimaginably broad horizons of God’s will for them. We can do the same thing – God has given us a free will that makes self-determination possible, but what we determine for ourselves will always be so much smaller, so cramped and limited, compared to what God wills for us. Let’s determine to open ourselves and offer ourselves as completely as we can to Him, trusting that He wants more for us than we can imagine!

Lord, I give everything to you and I accept everything that You send, knowing that Your love for me is greater than my weakness and littleness, and will never fail me. Amen.

Contact the author

“The whole town was gathered at the door.” What would this look like if it happened at your house? “After sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.” What would you think about this? What would your friends think about this? What would you do?

Jesus responded by curing many and driving out demons. If we had that ability, maybe we would do this too. But then, Jesus does something we probably would not do – he leaves and goes far away from all the people clamoring for his help, celebrating him, undoubtedly wanting more from him.

He goes away to pray. He leaves the crowd so that he can be alone with his Father.

This is a recurring pattern in the Gospel, so it must have happened often. Jesus, who alone is the Holy One, who alone is the Lord, who alone is the Son of God, goes to be alone with his Father. In his singular power and steadfastness, in his spiritual perfection, in his emotional and psychological integrity, he is utterly independent of every inordinate human influence. He is focused on the Mission from his Father, and neither the criticism of others nor their adulation can move him unless it is the will of the Father. And so, he returns to communion with the Father repeatedly, even when he must get up very early or stay up very late to do so.

His friends go looking for him (in another passage, they seem to think he is losing his mind because they cannot understand his actions). When they tell him “everyone is looking for you,” he responds that he needs to keep moving, to preach in other places, so that others can experience the Good News. Was this the message he received from the Father in prayer? It seems so, by his words, “For this purpose have I come.”

And then he preaches and heals throughout all of Galilee, to fulfill the Mission given to him by the Father.

When we remain firmly in the Truth of our own mission, we too can be less disrupted by the criticism or adulation or advice of others. We all have a mission, we all have tasks put before us by the Father. How do we know what they are? They are usually revealed in the duties, interruptions, and inspirations of the moment: our family, our parish, our job, those in need before us. It is only when we spend quiet time with the Lord, as Jesus did, that our purpose can become clearer to us, and we can fulfill our mission with courage and confidence. Otherwise, we can be like snowflakes in the wind, being blown in every direction by influences that are not holy.

In 2022, let’s resolve to imitate Christ by spending more time in solitary prayer, receiving our mission and the grace to fulfill it from the Father Who loves us.

Contact the author