Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 9, 41-50
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward. ‘But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire go out. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if salt has become insipid, how can you season it again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.’
Salt your life
1) Reward. When you work for God, you receive more than you imagine and I’m sure you can testify to that! It is important for every Christian to be able to carry out his apostleship, perhaps visiting a sick person, listening to someone, or getting together with others and cooking for people in need. I can assure you that what is felt in your heart is great. Lent is coming shortly, why don’t you think of something you can do for someone? Prepare some food and take it to people who don’t have enough to eat or go visit someone close to you and share some time with them, do something to help you remember that in this life, there is nothing that you do for someone else that is without a reward.
2) Scandal. I know we are living hard times as a Church. Every now and then there is a scandal. We cannot be indifferent to this and we cannot say: “nothing has happened here.” In every family there are problems and things that hurt and our family, the Church, is just like any other family in that respect. The problem is that as this family is so large, there are many problems and they become known very quickly. Let us pray for the Church today. Jesus told us that no one will destroy it, but we must pray for those of us who are part of it so that we may be strong in these difficult times and for those who are not part of it and attack it. Difficult times, times of saints.
3) Peace. This is how the gospel ends, reminding us that there are two things that we have to work towards in this life: salting our life to give it flavor and finding peace through that flavor. Today, ask yourself if you are doing what you like, and if what you like fills you with peace. If so, I can assure you you’re walking on the right road to holiness. Let’s go on! Remember Heaven is our goal.
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
