Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Mark 4:21-25 Christians: Lamps Set on a Lampstand Reflecting the Light of Christ
We are often attracted by alluring things—such as delicious food crafted by human hands, social fame, or status—and become deeply entangled, unable to extricate ourselves. When we harbor such thoughts, we neglect God. We forget how He has guided us step by step, drawing us to Himself; we even forget that we were once Christians, sometimes overlooking how God called us. In truth, God constantly reveals His mercy in our lives. Through all that we encounter, He helps us discern His holy will and allows us to experience His infinite love at every moment, like the oxygen that sustains our life, the sunlight, and the clear spring water—always present.
We often experience God’s love as we listen to the Gospel proclaimed to us by our elders, relatives, friends, and even unknown brothers and sisters. Gradually gaining a deeper understanding and knowledge of faith, we develop a desire to establish a closer relationship with God. We wish to receive the Sacrament of Baptism instituted by Jesus Christ, being washed of original sin once and for all in the Most Precious Blood of Christ. Through anointing with the Holy Spirit, we are freed from sin and death, no longer called children of darkness or of the devil, but children of God. When we receive the initiation sacraments, the ministering priest (bishop, cardinal, or Pope) takes fire from the Paschal candle blessed for the celebration of the glorious Resurrection of the Lord. A candle lit from this sacred flame is passed to us through our godparents, so that through the light of Christ we receive, we become children of light. By these sacraments, we are consecrated and share in the triple ministry of king, priest, and prophet. Thus, we are called to proclaim all that Christ taught to the world, sharing the light of Christ with our neighbors, that they may live in the light as we do, through all that we do.
Today, let us pray to Jesus, asking Him to grant us wisdom and understanding, to fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit in communion with Him. May we bring the true light that enlightens everyone to those living in darkness, the love of Christ to those forgotten by all, and let the comforting light of Christ be present in every corner of the world. Amen.
Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church Gospel: Mark 4:1-20 The Sower
Today the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas. As we know, Saint Thomas Aquinas is known as the Angelic Doctor. He marvelously expounded the Divine Word and revealed the nature of God through his “Summa Theologiae.”
Today’s passage from the Gospel of Saint Mark recounts how Jesus told the Parable of the Sower to His followers and subsequently explained its meaning in conversation with the Apostles. From His narrative, we observe a frequently recurring word: seed. The seed represents the smallest form of life and, more profoundly, the relationship between the Divine Word of God and this world. For the Divine Word of God often appears among us in the most unobtrusive forms and, now deemed appropriate by God, opens the door for us to approach Him, enabling us to embark on a journey alongside Him toward our heavenly homeland.
All that God has bestowed upon us is holy and good, just as He once bestowed upon our first parents, allowing them to enjoy all blessings in the Garden of Eden. However, due to the disobedience of our first parents, we are stained with original sin at the moment of our birth. God, who loves us, desires that through His infinite mercy, we may regain the righteousness that was lost due to original sin, a righteousness that the adopted sons and daughters of God should originally possess. Therefore, He sent His only Son, our Lord, God, Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God. Through His proclamation, His personal practice, and His self-sacrifice on the cross to save us from the bondage of the devil and to reconcile us with the Heavenly Father, we are enabled, through all that He has done, to be reconciled with the Heavenly Father and the world He created.
Today, God calls upon us to emulate the virtuous example of Saint Thomas Aquinas, to sow the seeds of God’s Word throughout the world, and to nourish those seeds within our hearts through prayer and actions befitting God’s Word, so that they may bear abundant fruit. Therefore, let us pray to God, saying:
O God, who made Saint Thomas Aquinas outstanding in his zeal for holiness and his study of sacred doctrine, grant us, we pray, that we may understand what he taught and imitate what he accomplished. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Mark 3:31-35 The True Relatives of Jesus
We live in a society that values human relationships. When seeking employment, money is often used to facilitate connections; when interests align, the leaders we encounter in the workplace seem to become our relatives. Similarly, we also apply this (human) relationship model to our relationship with Jesus.
When we immerse ourselves in such social relationships for a long time, we lose ourselves and consequently lose direction in our faith life. Our eyes are bound by worldly concerns, and our hearts are entangled by human nature. Over time, we will realize that those siblings who treat us like brothers and sisters, especially the spiritual leaders who care for us, are gradually disappearing from our field of vision. These disappeared individuals play a decisive role in our spiritual life.
Today, the Mother of Jesus and His brothers stand outside the house, unwilling to enter the room where He is. This is because they cannot accept the new world revealed by Jesus, remaining trapped in the old framework depicted by the Pharisees, Sadducees, and rabbis, and failing to practice the commandments of the “True God” proclaimed by Jesus. This True God has only one commandment for His children – love: first, it requires us to love Him filially, and second, it requires us to love others as ourselves. Whenever we practice in this way, we become brothers, sisters, and mothers of Jesus.
Today, let us supplicate the Blessed and Most Holy Virgin Mary, imploring her to intercede for us, so that we may emulate her virtues and always and everywhere conform to God’s holy will. Amen.
全属于祢 
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