“Being open and docile to the presence of the Lord in our lives!”

(Based on Gn 4:1-15, 25 and Mk 8:11-13 – Monday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle A)

The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 film which dramatizes the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous.

St Bernadette, reported eighteen visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Lourdes, France, from February to July 1858.

This movie begins with a prologue-dialogue, which goes thus…
“For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary.

For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible”

This statement casts light on an important aspect of the nature of faith and belief:
To those who believe, miracles are an aid…

To those choose not to believe, no miracles can come to aid!

The Gospel of the Day is clear example of this aspect of the nature of faith and belief…
… the constant refusal of the Pharisees to believe in Jesus
… the adamant denial of the Pharisees to accept Jesus

We are in the eighth chapter of the Gospel of St Mark.

Jesus performed an amazing miracle of the multiplication of the loaves…for about four thousand people (Mk 8:1-9)

From there, Jesus proceeds to the region of Dalmanutha (Mk 8:10)

On reaching this place, the religious leaders namely the Pharisees, came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test Him (Mk 8:11).

But the Lord responded with a “sigh, from the depth of His spirit” (Mk 8:12)

What made Jesus to respond so strongly?

Is Jesus against asking signs?

Is Jesus against lack of faith?
Is Jesus against having doubts?

The answer to all the three questions above is…
… not in the affirmative!

Jesus is NOT necessarily against asking signs…

The Bible is a witness to many people asking for signs from God…

Gideon asked for a sign from God (Judg 6:17)
Moses asked God what sign would prove to Pharaoh that he was sent by God ( Ex 4:1)
Elijah promises what Elisha had asked for, on the condition of a sign (2 Kg 2:10)

Jesus is NOT out rightly against lack of belief or unbelief…

The unbelieving Thomas, was chided, but not condemned by Jesus, after His resurrection (Jn 20:27-28)
The lack of faith of the disciples is saddening for Jesus, but He does not reject them (Mk 4:40)
The father, whose boy was possessed with a demon was blessed with a healing, on his acknowledgment of littleness in faith (Mk 9:24)
The emotionally unsettled and wavering Peter is given another chance to prove his loyalty despite his rejection and denial of faith in Jesus (Jn 21:15-17)

Then what is Jesus against?

Jesus is terribly against those people…
… who reject faith, despite many signs and wonders that are plainly presented
… who demand for greater miracles for merely curiosity and excitement
… who make use of the powers of God for personal satisfaction and gratification
… who remain stone-hearted, unmoved and indifferent despite clear indications and signals from God.

The Pharisees represented this class of people, whom the Lord had a terrible dislike and aversion…
… because of their attitude of indifference
… because of their mentality of coldness
… because of their outlook of rejection

Am I also a person who constantly rejects signs and wonders from the Lord, and fail to grow in faith?

Am I also a person who remains obstinate and indifferent to God’s powers, and fail to be open to God’s movements in my life?

The Lord is constantly speaking to us through various miracles.

The Lord is constantly moving our hearts through many blessings.
Let us be open and docile to Him!

Yes, let us realize, that…
“To those who believe, miracles are an aid…

To those choose not to believe, no miracles can come to aid!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
THE SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION

Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist are sacraments of Christian initiation.
They ground the common vocation of all Christ’s disciples, a vocation to holiness and to the mission of evangelizing the world.

They confer the graces needed for the life according to the Spirit during this life as pilgrims on the march towards the homeland. (CCC #1533)