Monday,
February 13, 2017
6th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: GEN. 4:1-15. 25
Gospel: Mk 8:11–13
The Pharisees came and started to argue with Jesus. Hoping to embarrass him, they asked for some heavenly sign. Then his spirit was moved. He gave a deep sigh and said, “Why do the people of this present time ask for a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this people.” Then he left them, got into the boat again and went to the other side of the lake.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
The Pharisees put Jesus on the spot by asking him to make extraordinary signs. Their intention was to embarrass him. Suppose their intention was noble, would Jesus still show reluctance in showing extraordinary signs? Probably he would still give this same answer to the Pharisees: “Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this people.”
Jesus loved the ordinary. In fact, he went through the ordinary process of human existence from birth to death. At Calvary he never came down from the cross, but went through the normal course of death of a convicted criminal. His disciples were taken from ordinary men. Even his foster father was a lowly carpenter, not a learned scholar of the Law.
What is in the ordinary that God values so much? The saints can help us answer the question. St. John Bosco found out one day that his student named Dominic Savio was doing extraordinary sacrifices to become a saint. He would put sharp objects under his mat so that he would be suffering even while sleeping. St. John Bosco told him that the secret of sanctity is doing one’s ordinary duties extraordinarily well.
Faith grows strong not when a person makes extraordinary manifestations of his religiosity. Faith deepens through performance of the daily duties. Thus, a woman who prays all day in Church and neglects her duty to her family pleases the Lord no more than a person who hardly prays. Ordinary life is the seedbed of faith. Outside the ordinary, faith grows no roots; it wilts and withers away.
This is probably one reason why in the calendar of the Church that begins with Advent and ends with the celebration of Christ the King, the so-called “Ordinary Time” is the longest, spanning more than 33 Sundays. It is in the ordinary grind that we assimilate the fruits of our devotions. The real test of our fervor is not during fiestas but during ordinary times where there is no funfair. At this time we assimilate the spiritual lessons derived from the special celebrations and, like trees growing silently in a forest, grow strong in our faith in the Lord.
Now we understand why God is reluctant in performing miracles. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya?
I-type ang BANDERA REACT <message/ name/age/address> at i-send sa 4467.