Today's Gospel

Don’t Ridicule God

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant. Today's reading is from the Gospel of Matthew 9:18-26. While He was thus speaking to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before Him, saying, "My daughter has just died. But come and lay your hands on her, and she will live." And Jesus rose and followed him, and His disciples followed. And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment, for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be healed." And Jesus turned, and seeing her, He said, "Take heart, daughter. Your faith has made you well," and instantly, the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a tumult, he said, "Depart, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping," and they laughed at Him. But when the crowd had been put aside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all the district.

What jumps out at you today? A couple things from me like, "Wow, the faith of these people." His daughter is dead. He comes to Jesus just with complete faith and says, "I know if you lay your hands on her, she will live." That's astounding faith. And then this woman like, "If I can just touch His cloak, this illness I've been suffering for years, gone." And I can't help but think how would these people with this faith-- how would they approach the Eucharist? How would they receive the Eucharist? With what reverence and gratitude and awe and wonder would they consume Jesus' body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist? And the other thing that stands out at me is this phrase, "And they laughed at Him." Okay? They laughed at Jesus. They laughed at God. They ridiculed God. And we see a lot of that in our society, right? We see a lot of that in our society. It was there when Jesus was walking the Earth. We see it a lot today. We shouldn't be surprised, but we should pray intensely for these people. Have an amazing day. Remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.

The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality has just been released. I want to read you just the first line. What if everything the Catholic Church teaches is true? This is the one question most people never consider when it comes to the Catholic faith. The Seven Pillars transformed my life when I was a teenager. I was 15 years old. A spiritual mentor entered my life and taught me about the Seven Pillars, challenged me to ingrain them into my life as habits, and I would not be sitting here today if it were not The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality. They are ancient habits that are ever-new, that are ever-relevant, that are ever-willing to transform our lives if we're willing to embrace them. Question is, are we willing to embrace them? And that's my challenge for you today. Wherever you are in your journey, maybe you've practiced the Seven Pillars for a long time. Discover them anew. Enter into them at a new level, at a new depth with new commitment. Have a great day. Enjoy The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality. And remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.