Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3, 20-35
Jesus came home with his disciples.
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,”
and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself
and is divided, he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder the house.
Amen, I say to you,
all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be
forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
His mother and his brothers arrived.
Standing outside they sent word to him and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”
Doing God’s will
1. Demons. Satan is the absence of God and causes division. Today you have to struggle in your heart because the devil always tempts you. And in addition to this, he produces division. Many people live without God, and this results in friction and division. But sadly, there are people who like to split, separate, and divide even within the Church. When there is internal division everything collapses. That’s why we must always pray for the Church, because when people start taking sides or gossiping there is bound to be conflict. And the same thing happens within the family. Do you have a tendency to divide or to unite people? Are there words of love or words of poison on your tongue?
2. The Spirit is strong. Every single person who has been baptized has the fire of the Spirit in them. We cannot let this fire extinguish because it leads us on towards happiness with Christ. We all have this supernatural seed that gives us the strength of the Holy Spirit. And it’s the Spirit that leads us to help one another because life is difficult and hurts. That’s why we speak of the Church as a family in which we accompany one another. We are called to grow in fraternity because no one can be saved alone. The strength of Christianity is to live in community and it’s the Holy Spirit that forges unity.
3. The will of God. Jesus says, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother”. This is a compliment to his mother, his family, and the apostles because they followed Jesus. You, too, should follow him. You’re not alone, we’re a family, we’re a Church family. We’re brothers and sisters and should always help one another. Mary fulfilled God’s will. Let’s place our family and the Church in Mary’s hands, so that we may learn how to care for and protect one another. May she help us to be strong and smart, to be able to become aware of the things that are not good for us, for our families and for the Church. Always remember that something good is on the way!God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
