It is tempting to hear St. Paul’s invitation on this Gaudete Sunday, from the First Letter to the Thessalonians, in which he exhorts us to “rejoice always and pray without ceasing,” and want to dismiss it as not applying to us today in the difficult circumstances of the COVID 19 pandemic. We might think that Paul has no understanding of our difficulties and therefore should not be exhorting us to be joyful, given the realities of our time. Yet, if anyone knew suffering, it was certainly St. Paul during the many trials and sufferings that he endured for the sake of the Gospel. Paul was imprisoned, flogged and ultimately executed for his faith. There are few people who knew the difficulties that he knew.  If anyone has the authority to exhort us to remain joyful and pray through difficulties, it is certainly St. Paul. Continue reading →

As we celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent, we hear this Sunday the beginning of the Gospel of Mark. This is the Gospel that we will hear proclaimed throughout the coming liturgical year, which began last Sunday.

The Gospel of Mark has a message that is particularly important in these difficult times.

Many scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark was written around the year 70 A.D. Mark himself was believed to have been a disciple of St. Peter. When he writes his Gospel, many of the early followers of Jesus are struggling with the problem of suffering. They cannot understand how they have left everything to follow Christ and yet despite being followers of Christ, find themselves experiencing suffering and difficulties. The trials that these early disciples are facing are not agreed upon. Some speculate that Mark’s Gospel may have been written in Rome during the persecutions that the Church experienced there during the time when the great Apostles Peter and Paul were put to death. Others have speculated that the Gospel may have been written in Jerusalem around the same time, when the Temple was destroyed and Christians were no longer granted the protection of worship in the Temple. Regardless of the exact origin of the Gospel, one of its great themes is that of persevering through suffering and hardship.  It is written to bring the Good News of Christ’s resurrection to Christians who cannot understand how they can be experiencing suffering when they are disciples of a loving Saviour. They are struggling to see Christ’s face in the midst of their trials. Continue reading →