English podcast – The Redemptorists: Recent Episodes
English podcast – The Redemptorists
Hello and welcome to the Word, bringing you the Good News of Jesus Christ every day from the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province. I am Fr. Karl Esker from the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY. Today is Friday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time. Our reading is from the
In the middle of the Third Century, it was still illegal to be a Christian. That would not change until Emperor Constantine in 313. Still, the Church was growing and the Roman Emperors were getting worried. So much so, that Emperor Decius, in 250 A.D., issued an edict that every person in the Roman Empire
Hello and welcome to the Word, bringing you the Good News of Jesus Christ every day from the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province. I am Fr. Karl Esker from the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY. Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Today’s reading
There is so much going on in our world today that it is hard to know what our response should be. Is our only recourse to the war in Ukraine to passively sit back and wait until it is over? Shall we hope that the forest fires out west do not destroy too many homes
The Gospel today is just three short verses and has to be one of the shortest readings in the Lectionary. Its length, however, does not mean that it is lacking in depth or inspiration.
Jesus has just arrived by boat with his disciples to the lakefront village of Gennesaret. He is immediately recognized and the townspeople scatter to their homes or neighborhoods to gather all the people who are sick or otherwise troubled. They lay them out on the streets and even in the market area, knowing that Jesus need only to pass them by and they would be healed.
I would like to look at the three different “players” in the this wonderful story of healing. First, of course, is Jesus. Jesus knows that miracles are not the main reason for his coming. He has come to gather all people to himself by the blood of his cross and his glorious resurrection. Miracles are only part of his message of new life and the hope that he brings. Still, these people are in need and he gladly attends to them.
The second group to reflect upon are the people who are in need of healing. They believe that Jesus can help them. They have the faith necessary for Jesus to set them free. Some even reach out to touch the tassel of his garment as he passes by. The shouts of joy emanating from the small village of Gennesaret must have been heard for miles across the Sea of Galilee.
Thirdly, and importantly, there are the people who gathered the people who were sick. The Gospel says, “They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.” They were spreading the good news. They were facilitators of the Gospel message. They were aware of who needed help in their community and they promptly assisted as best they could, even anticipating where Jesus would walk when he visited their village.
We are probably most like this third group of people. We read the newspaper everyday or watch the world and local news and learn about triumphs and tragedies around the globe. We know who to bring to Jesus in our prayers. When we do this, we are stepping out in faith, like the friends of the people who were infirm in Gennesaret. We pray for healing in our troubled world. We pray for peace makers in the Congo and Ukraine. We pray for Olympic athletes and college presidents. We pray for health care workers and religious sisters and brothers. We pray for scientists helping us to fight the scourge of COVID. We pray for our parishioners and friends in hospitals and nursing homes.
In other words, we realize “when one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Cor. 1:26) Jesus relies on our faith. He said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20-21)
And to conclude with the words of St. Paul: “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Blessings,
Fr. Kevin MacDonald, C.Ss.R.