“WHO ARE MY MOTHER AND BROTHERS?” (Mk 3:31-35): 29 January 2008 (Tuesday)
Today’s Readings
This photograph won the Pulitzer Prize in 1994 and has been described as the picture that “made the world weep.” It was taken by a freelance South African photographer named Kevin Carter.
“IS IT ALL STRAW?” (Mk 3:22-30): 28 January 2008 (Thomas Aquinas, Monday)
Thomas Aquinas, whose feast we celebrate today, has been declared as the “Angelic and Universal Doctor of the Church” (Doctor Angelicus and Doctor Communis). That’s one helluva title if you ask me! But in his lifetime, Thomas carried another, less flattering title. Because of his slowness and phenomenal silence, his classmates called him “The Big Dumb Ox.” Often mistaken for dullness, his silence made him the frequent victim of his classmates’ pranks.
“DO I SIT IN DARKNESS?” (Mt 4:12-17): 27 January 2008 (3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Today’s Readings
Today’s gospel reading tells us that when Jesus begins his ministry after the arrest of John, he fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy that “the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light.” I think that’s a great image: People sitting in darkness and then seeing light.
I remember when I was growing up, there was a huge oil crisis in the country, and as a result, we experienced frequent power interruptions. We would have no choice but literally sit in the dark, usually around a lighted candle, and because there was nothing else to do, we would talk and play board games until the light finally went back on.
“HAVE YOU GONE CRAZY?” (Mk 3:20-21): 26 January 2008 (Timothy and Titus, Saturday)
Back in the 80s, one group whose songs made a mark was “Tears for Fears,” a duo made of Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. They wrote strange verses and sang their angst-ridden songs like they were on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Later the duo split up. There were even rumors that one of them ended up in a mental institution (Not true). Can’t blame the public, what with all those songs about emotional distress and primal therapy!
“GALILEE OR DAMASCUS?” (Acts 9:1-22): 25 January 2008 (Conversion of St. Paul, Friday)
Today we remember the conversion of St. Paul, one of the greatest and most zealous missionaries in all of Christian history. Before his conversion, Paul was Saul, a typical “bad guy.” He was a strict Pharisee, belonging to that class of Jews known for its excessive allergy to all things unclean and impure. And what could be more impure to Judaism than this new sect that threatened to break away? The first time we encounter his name in the New Testament is at the stoning of Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. After that, he came to be known as one of the fiercest persecutors of the early Christian Church. Small wonder that Saul was hated as much as he was feared.