We are glad that you found us, the DEACON-5! Here, we will be posting daily Gospel reflections, Mondays through Fridays, each day written by a different permanent deacon in our group. We pray that you find inspiration and a touch of God’s love for sharing some time with us. Please feel free to leave a comment or a prayer request for us!
Blessings to you all! Deacon Ray Gallego, Deacon Mike Hidalgo, Deacon Paul Machuca, Deacon George Mora, Deacon Carlos Porras, Deacon Ray Emnace and Deacon Chuck McDaniels
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
Reflection:
Hello there, DEACON5 family! I was thinking as I was pondering this feast that I had never heard of it in my “pre-Catholic” days. There never was a thought about when the mother of Jesus was born, or any additional thought given to Mary, except during the Nativity play each Christmas. I’m pretty certain that I never heard any mention of Mary in any sermon, or in any Scripture that was read. To the extent that my recollection is correct, I am definitely the poorer for it. I knew that Mary had to be special, but I’m sure I didn’t know fully why that may be.
I remember a particular connection with Mary during my own faith journey, when I participated in RCIA all those years ago at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Claremont, finally learning what it really meant to be Catholic. I recall the priest who journeyed with us, Fr. Jack Beattie, related a very practical and charming story that clarified for me Mary’s role, and I related it to my own experience. When I was little, and I would do some “rule-breaking” that would clearly result in punishment, my older sister, Bobbie, would relish it and remind me of the retribution I faced when my dad got home. As a little kid, that was terrifying enough. But, I realized that if I could share the tale of my misdeed with my mom and maybe have her talk to my dad first, maybe the punishment would not be as bad.
We don’t pray “to” Mary, in the sense that she answers our prayers. We pray “to” her, that she may pray “with” us to the Father, with the love only a perfect mother like Mary could add to that prayer. All of us are her children in that way, and she longs for us all to come to know her Son, and love Him like she does.
This special feast day isn’t something new, either. It has been celebrated at least since the sixth century, and in fact, it was known well enough by then that a basilica church was dedicated in honor of Mary’s own mother, St Anne, in Jerusalem. Linda and I were blessed to visit that church when we were in the Holy Land several years ago. It is one of very few churches that has a statue of Mary as a girl, next to her mother, St Ann.
What shall we take from this special day? First, that God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus, and as such, she was kept pure, for God would not dwell in a vessel that wasn’t completely pure. Second, that Mary was the truest disciple of all, by her “yes”, which we hear during the Christmas season, and in the canticle we pray in Evening Prayer each night in the Liturgy of the Hours. And, third, she is there, praying for each and every one of us, calling us to her Divine Son, asking our Lord to help us to love more like she does, and more like her Son does. If we live that self-sacrificing love each day, what changes could there be in the world!
Action for the Day:
Let us be thankful, especially today, for the great love of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is our Mother as well. Let us ask her to pray with us for everyone on our hearts, that they, also, know her love and be drawn into the love of Jesus. I am blessed to share my birthday with her, and pray that my “yes” today be as full and unqualified as hers was!
On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him. But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up and stand before us.” And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Looking around at them all, he then said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
Reflection:
Most of the time, we only know someone’s intentions when they choose to share them with us. We cannot see into another person’s mind or heart. But Jesus sees every soul clearly and knows every heart completely. So, when someone came to Him with deep faith, He knew it. And when someone approached Him with hidden anger. He knew it. When someone had envy, or bad intentions. He knew that too.
In this Gospel, Jesus knew exactly what was going on inside the scribes and Pharisees. They were not watching Him with openness or faith; they were looking for a reason to accuse Him. So, Jesus exposed their hidden intentions. By healing the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, He revealed both God’s mercy and the hardness in their hearts. Instead of rejoicing that a man had been made whole, they became angry. Jesus knew their reaction would expose what they needed to face within themselves.
This passage invites us to look honestly at our own hearts. God already knows our thoughts, our motives, and the intentions we sometimes hide even from ourselves. But He does not reveal them to shame us. He reveals them because He loves us and wants to heal us. Like the scribes and Pharisees, we each have a choice: we can allow pride, anger, or envy to harden us, or we can let Jesus show us the truth and lead us toward freedom.
Today is Labor Day which gives us a chance to thank God for the gift of work and for the people whose efforts serve others in quiet, faithful ways. This reflection reminds us that what matters is not only what we do, but the heart we bring to it. Whether our work is seen or unseen, paid or unpaid, God knows our intentions. He invites us to approach each task with humility, mercy, and a desire to do good, just as Jesus chose to restore life even when others were watching with hardened hearts.
Action of the Day: Tonight, before you go to sleep, take a quiet moment to look back on your day. Ask Jesus to show you where you may have fallen short and think about how you could respond differently next time. Then ask yourself: How would Jesus have responded in that moment?
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.”Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”And he also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection: The scribes and the Pharisees were always challenging and questioning Jesus about things he did and said. Here they questioned Jesus about why his disciples do not fast and pray. Jesus answered them with a parable, explaining that no one sews a new patch on an old cloak, nor puts new wine into old wineskins. Both the cloak and the wineskin will be ruined. Jesus’ message is clear. Jesus has come to bring something radically new to the people he met. He brings something new that cannot simply fit into their “old” ways.
Jesus gives us two images, new cloth sewn onto an old garment and new wine poured into old wineskins. Both remind us that the Gospel is not simply something we add to our old ways of living. Being a disciple requires a renewed heart.
Today’s Gospel invites us to reflect on how Jesus call us to embrace “new” things. We are called to be open to conversion, transformation and change in our spiritual lives. God’s grace is always new and abundant, asking us to grow in love and faith. As Catholic Christians, we are called to grow in wisdom and knowledge of our faith. We cannot be stuck in our old habits.
I recall our spiritual life being compared to trying to fit into our baptismal or first communion garment. We would not fit into them now because we have grown. Our spiritual life is also called to grow so that the new ways of Jesus can “fit” in.
The newness that Jesus brings and the new life He offers us should transform and reshape our lives to bring us closer to God, if we allow it. That is our choice.
Action of the Day: Think of some of our “old” ways that keep us from experiencing the newness that Jesus brings to us. Are we stuck in our “old” ways? We need to ask ourselves, “is our heart open to the new things Gods wants to do in our lives?” Pray for the grace to help us embrace the new life that Jesus offers to us. May we allow His love to reshape us and bring us closer to God’s kingdom.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 5:1-11
(Glory to you O Lord!)
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.
The Gospel of the Lord (Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!).
Reflection: Jesus calls us to follow Him
Today we are celebrating the memorial of St. Gregory, Pope and Doctor of the church. Gregory was the son of a Roman regionarius. He was educated by the finest teachers of Rome and became an administrator in his late 20s, a prefect of Rome.
When his father died, Gregory sold his possessions, turned his home into a monastery, and he used his inheritance to build 6 more monasteries. He chose to live the contemplative life as a monk. He was later ordained as a deacon by Pope Pelagius 2, and he obeyed the call to serve as an ambassador to Constantinople.
After Pelagius died, Gregory was elected pope. He reformed the papacy and the leadership, he ransomed prisoners from captivity with the church’s treasury and helped the poor. He sent missionaries out to other countries to share about our Lord Jesus and God’s kingdom, and he encouraged everyone to contemplate the teachings of Jesus and to live out the authentic life… to follow Christ in daily life.
Just like Simon and his companions in the Gospel reading of Luke, St. Gregory was called by God to follow Jesus, to deny himself and follow Him.
We … are also called by God to follow Jesus… to make a difference with the blessings, gifts and abilities that we have … to help others, to share Jesus’ message of love, kindness and mercy … to follow Jesus by living out our faith.
Through the busyness of our daily lives, the distractions that we face… at work, with our families, when we are out and about…Jesus calls us to holiness, in our thoughts and actions.
If a choice we face leads to joy and peace, of helping and uplifting one another, …it is our Lord Jesus prompting and calling us! Sisters and brothers, may we always choose the prompting of our Lord Jesus towards helping and loving one another with all our decisions.
Action for the Day:
In silent prayer, share our gratitude to our Lord. Lift our concerns and petitions to God, ask to be guided by his Spirit with his wisdom and strength, then contemplate the promptings that Jesus prompts us in our minds and hearts on how we can make a difference for sharing kindness, joy, mercy, forgiveness, peace and love to everyone that we meet.
After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them.
At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them. And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.” But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.
At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Reflection: Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Gospel we witness the quiet, intimate power of Jesus’ early ministry. He steps into the ordinary home of Simon Peter, and encounters a common human, suffering with a severe fever. What follows, is a beautiful pattern for our own spiritual lives; “He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.”
But the most important detail is, what happens the exact moment the fever left her. Simon’s mother-in-law does not stay lying in bed to recover. She does not complain about her lost time. None of that! The Gospel tells us, she immediately got up and waited on them.
This is how grace works. We are not saved or healed merely for our own comfort. Jesus heals us, so that we can love. He frees us, from the “fevers” of our lives—whether that fever is anger, anxiety, lust, or pride, or other sinful things—so that we can stand up and serve others, the body of Christ.
Notice, also, how Jesus heals the crowds later on that day. He does not wave His hand over the multitude, to heal them all at once, together. The Gospel says; “He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.” This is how the Lord comes to us today. He meets us individually in the confessional. He comes to us personally, in the Holy Eucharist. He knows our specific wounds, and He touches them, with sacramental grace.
Lastly, the Gospel tells us that after all this healing, at daybreak, Jesus departed to a deserted place. My thinking is, that He went there to have a quiet, silent prayer, with the Father. If the son of man, did this with the father, how much more, do we need silence in our noisy world? Our service to others will quickly dry up, into burnout and resentment, if it is not constantly fueled by personal prayer. Afterall, it is in the quiet of the desert, that we find the strength to sustain or work, in His mission.
Action for the day: Brothers and sisters, reflect on today’s Gospel, and Jesus as the Divine Physician, who heals both physical illness and spiritual oppression. Then, in your quite sacred space, bring your hidden fevers to Jesus today. Allow Him to touch you, heal you, and restore you. And when He does, consider in ways you can serve in your home, your parish, and your community, as Simon’s mother-in-law did.
