Gospel for September 26 2021 – Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
Gospel Reflections for September 26 2021
Getting home safely
When traffic is heavy and you want to get home, I am sure you rapidly search for alternate routes. You are happy to drive on any road if it gets you safely back to your loved ones. Jesus shows that same resourcefulness in today’s Gospel.
Jesus was very practical about His mission. You can use that same practical wisdom facing today’s moral challenges as well. However, there is much blocking that goal today.
Jesus had a single focus on your salvation and would let no obstacle interfere. In the same way, you should have a single focus on meeting Him, whether in prayer, the sacraments, or scriptures, and never let nothing block your way.
Now more than ever, you need the strength and courage that only He can bring. Only He can make your life more satisfying so you should never allow anything to interfere with meeting Our Lord. Today’s Gospel is, at first glance, a graphic parable about that single-minded focus.
Simply put, if anything is in the way of your meeting the Lord, you should “cut it off” and remove it. If something is helping …then add more of it!
These ideas have been my motto since becoming a pastor years ago. I want to make it easy to meet the Lord and remove obstacles to that meeting, whether bureaucratic office procedures or complicated religious jargon …and add programs that help us better receive His teachings.
Yet, there are new ideas today that directly obstruct the moral teachings we have received from Our Lord, about marriage, gender, the unborn, and even the Eucharist.
Nevertheless, with the help of the Lord, you should always speak the truth, always speak respectfully, but always speak courageously the truth about marriage, gender, the unborn, and the Eucharist. Nothing should ever stop your faithful witness to the truth of Jesus and His Kingdom of love. (You can see these topics in my articles.)
All the articles I write, the programs I promote, the homilies you hear, and the services we have are designed to help you meet the Lord, the source of all the moral teachings that you need to find lasting happiness in life.
The very purpose of every parish is that personal meeting with Our Lord. I will continue to cut away anything that hinders that meeting and also add anything that helps you connect with that source of true and lasting happiness.
Together we will arrive happily and safely at our eternal home.
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
The Ministry of Lector is fascinating to me in proclaiming at Daily Mass. I read the verse, prepare and study pronunciation, then proclaim. The other morning a well attended Service was attended by the Parish School that filled the Church to capacity. Looking out on the Sea of Youth of whom I was once a part was inspiring. A connection is made that is pure Joy.
This results in a better understanding of the Circle of what is truly important in Life. Thanks Father for your tips on how to improve the understanding of our Faith.
How great to hear that your church was filled to capacity with young people!
Dear Father Dave,
Thank you for this powerful reminder of direct focus on the path to our Heavenly Father.
Yes, receiving the Holy Eucharist brings us into a deep and beautiful communion with Christ. In fact, all the topics you’ve referenced shape our humanity.
The “crowded highway” can also include illness. When that strikes, we should try our best to remain solid and faithful and keep in mind the parable of the mustard seed.
God bless you!
Kathleen
Yes, faith is most important in challenging times like when illness strikes.
Thank you Fr. Dave for commenting on the heart of the Christian Message…meeting
the Lord. Jesus wants to meet me. Am I interested in meeting Him?
We need good shepherds like you who will preach the Gospel on the readings
of the day and how they can be applied to our daily living.
I think it works both ways, good preaching and me what I have heard.
May the Holy Spirit guide us to know how to follow the Lord.
Yes, our faith builds on what we hear and then what we do.
Love your precious words Father Dave!!! Live our precious Jesus’ love always and defend and protect our faith with respect and dignity and love!! Be pruned of any negative people and ideas against our precious Faith but stand lovingly for it!!! oveeee our beautiful Jesus!! Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee our precious Blessed Mother!! Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee our loving God!!! Soooooooooooooooooooooooo happy our precious parents gave us this precious miracle faith of love and we will beautifull defend it always!!! and loveeee you for giviang us the precious gift of our Jesus!!!!
Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, franca and Dick
Thank you!
Thanks Fr. Dave for your insight and sharing of your own need to be in communion with Christ. My prayer is that our Catholic Schools will teach the “Personal Relationship” with Jesus in the Eucharist. Our grands who attended 8 years of Catholic School no longer believe in God much less Jesus (except for Jen, PTL and she is doing a great job of passing her Faith along to them.
Somehow our Catholic schools (most? of them?) take it for granted that we ALL solidly believe in the “Real Presence” in the Eucharist.
BUT, the facts are that over 50 % or MORE of Catholics don’t believe in Jesus’s Real Presence in the Bread/Wine on the Altar.
If only ALL our priests would “teach” and speak to this issue like you DO, we’d wouldn’t have SO MANY leaving the Church!
Thanks for sharing your “gifts” with God’s people!! Laus Deo, Patty
(p.s. excellent presentation at Legatus!!!)
Thank you for your kind words. No matter what others may do or not, we each should claim our role as apostles and do what we can do share our faith. Mother Teresa often said, “God calls us not so much to be successful but to be faithful. Keep up the good work no matter what.