Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

  Wednesday – 5 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Mark 7:14-23 Temper, Temper! Nailing It! There once was a young boy with a very bad temper. The boy’s father wanted to teach him a lesson, so he gave him a bag of nails and told him that, every time he lost his temper he must hammer a nail into their wooden fence. On the first day of this lesson, the little boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. He was really mad! Over the course of the next few weeks, the little boy began to control his temper, so the number of nails that were hammered into the fence dramatically decreased. It wasn’t long before the little boy discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Then, the day finally came when the little boy didn’t lose his temper even once, and he became so proud of himself, he couldn’t wait to tell his father. Pleased, his father suggested that he now pull out one nail for each day that he could hold his temper. Several weeks went by a...

  Tuesday – 5 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Mark 7:1-13 Wash Your Hands! Jordan River, Caesarea Philippi Looking back when we were in the middle of Covid and all its restrictions, I never would have imagined that “Did you wash your hand?”   would have become a part of my (our) daily routine again after all these years.   Back when I was little, I heard it before every meal and, I admit, I was not always conscientious with the ‘washing’ part.   It was more like a quick run of a few drops of water in the vicinity of my fingers.   Sorry, Mom! Throughout the shutdown, we got into the routine of washing/sanitizing our hands as soon as we returned home from shopping or whatever.   I also got rather tired of singing ‘happy birthday’ at the same time.   I may not have always gotten the point when I was little but I certainly understood the importance of washing and sanitizing during the pandemic.   It’s more than just keeping up appearances; ...