Daily Gospel Reflection for January 25, 2014

Today's Gospel: Mark 16:15-18

In this Gospel, Jesus appears to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” He goes on to talk about the signs that will accompany those who believe (drive out demons, speak new languages, pick up serpents with their hands, drink poison and not be harmed, heal the sick and they will recover).

I believe! Thank you, God, for the gift of faith. And, when I struggle with any belief, the thought in my head is (although usually not vocalized), “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!”

Yet, I’m pretty sure that poison would kill me (not going to try it to find out!), and my worst subject in high school (besides Calculus) was French (I only took a third year of a language at all because my guidance counselor thought it would look good on my college application!)…so, English will probably always be my one and only language!

I wonder if my faith is simply not strong enough (probably). So today, I ask for the gift of more faith.

And I pray for more courage to proclaim the Gospel. I try to make my life a proclamation (and many people guess that I’m Catholic when they see my six young children!), but I often lose my voice when I have an opportunity to evangelize. It is much easier for me to write about my faith (with no one challenging me directly) than to explain or defend it orally.

As I reflect further, I realize that my very presence seems to calm my little ones when they are afraid or hurt or sick. So, in a way, maybe my hands do have “healing powers!”

Ponder:

How would our lives be different if we believed more?

Pray:

Lord, please give us all the graces we need to proclaim your Gospel through our lives.

Copyright 2014 Trish Bolster