A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 3:20-21
Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them to even eat. When His relatives heard of this they set out to seize Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”
The Gospel of the Lord
REFLECTION
Again the crowd gathered.
This is a very short passage. Yet we learn so much about Jesus and His disciples, the crowd, His family, misunderstanding, obedience, priorities, doing God’s work, sacrifice and safety. Jesus shows us the way to carry on His work and that He, too, met with man made obstacles.
There are no side roads to take, holidays or vacations, sleeping late, restructuring priorities, and worrying about safety issues. There were even relatives of Jesus who did not believe and regarded Jesus as out of His mind. Jesus and His disciples did not tell the crowds to go home but continued to be with them. His family did not understand what dedication to God’s work entails.
Today we celebrate the Memorial of St Frances de Sales who exemplified what a true disciple is. He lived during a time of religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants. He worked tirelessly to bring people back to the Catholic faith through kindness, patience and clear teaching. He would evangelize by writing pamphlets and leaving them in homes, offices, parks, etc. Best known for his books, especially Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God, he taught that holiness can be achieved not only by the religious but by lay people. He is the patron saint of writers and journalists.
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