“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”

 

St. Thomas Aquinas, priest & doctor

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Hebrews 10:1-10

The religion of the law

Is only a shadow of the good things to come; it has the patterns but not the realities.

So, year after year, the same sacrifices are offered, without bringing the worshipers to what is the end.

If they had been cleansed once and for all, they would no longer have felt guilt,

and would have stopped offering the same sacrifices. But no, year after year their sacrifices witness to their sins,

and never, will the blood of bulls and goats take away these sins.

 

This is why, on entering the world, Christ says: You did not desire sacrifice and offering;

you were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said:

"Here I am. It was written of me in the scroll. I will do your will, O God."

 

First he says: Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire nor were you pleased with them

– although they were required by the law. Then he says: Here I am to do your will.

This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new. Now, by this will of God, we are sanctified, once, and for all, by the sacrifice of the body of Christ Jesus.

 

Ps 40:2 & 4ab, 7-8a, 10, 11 Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Mark 3:31-35

Then his mother and his brothers came. As they stood outside, they sent someone to call him. The crowd sitting around Jesus told him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you." He replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"

And looking around at those who sat there, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me."

 

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Who are my mother and my brothers?"

At first, the words of Jesus might seem to be pushing his family away. "Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you." He replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" But Christ's words are not words of exclusion or distancing. Rather, they are words which include and widen the sense of belonging. His family is not only his relatives, but all who do the will of God. "Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me." You can be a member of a family but not have much interest or involvement in it, or you can have a strong bond with your family. Through our Baptism we become adopted members of God's family. We are related to Christ, but the choice is up to us whether we want to be closely united to him. Jesus wants there to be a deeper connection between him and us; to be true, close brothers and sisters. That deeper connection is fostered through daily prayer. It is that prayer, both public and private, which Saint Thomas Aquinas saw as central to his very existence, making all his intellectual achievements seem slight in comparison.