3rd Friday in Ordinary time, Yr 1, Memorial of Saint John Bosco, January 31, 2025
Heb: 10:32-39; Ps 37:3-6, 23-24, 39-40; Mk 4:26-34
It seems lately there has been a tremendous amount of suffering going around. Be it with friends who are struggling with cancer or other health issues, and some who have died because of it. Suffering in itself is not fun, but those whom I know who have gone through or are going through it, do not look at it as a negative thing. They embrace their suffering and use it as a witness to others. I have talked about my friend who is still suffering from cancer, and how he approaches it. Recently I lost another friend due to his cancer. Both, in their unique ways, are examples of the suffering servant. Both, of course, cared about themselves, but more so they cared about those around them who are suffering not from a physical aliment, but from a wounded soul.
Saint Paul reminds the Hebrews of this today when he says, “We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and will possess life.” Jesus reminds us often that to follow Him, we must accept the persecution and suffering that will become us. I continue to pray for my friends. One, that his earthly life is spared, and the other, for his new life after death. In either case, I believe they will gain the life Saint Paul was speaking of.
Jesus speaks to us again today in parables. Saint Mark, the writer, may not have fully understood Jesus’ message as we interpret it today. But Mark knew that Jesus’ ministry was at its very beginning, and that Christianity, or “The Way,” as it was called, would soon spread out across the world. From those small beginnings, the seeds were planted, and they began to grow and spread. Theologians talk about this parable as four sections comparing them to the Kingdom of God. The seeds are the kingdom prepared for us. The growing of the seeds is us seeking the kingdom. The harvest is us bringing others to Christ (and the kingdom). And lastly, the branches with the birds are the Kingdom of heaven at hand present for us as our everlasting home waiting for us to come and rest in the branches of heaven.
Saint John Bosco, whose feast day we celebrate today, took Jesus’ words to heart and worked tirelessly to spread Jesus’ message. After his ordination in 1841, he attracted hundreds of young people to his chapel services and evening classes. In order to further his work, he laid the Foundation for the Society of Saint Francis de Sales, the Salesians, and later, the Daughters of Our Lady Help of Christians. By the time he died in 1888, the congregation had nearly a thousand priests and nine hundred sisters.
Saint John Bosco helped Christ’s Kingdom grow on earth, but it cannot continue to grow without help, our help. Like Saint John Bosco’s work, God nourishes us, and we spread the good news to those around us as well. Like a mustard seed that starts out small, and then grows into a large bush, strong enough to support a flock of birds, so, too, should we spread the good news of the kingdom here on earth. Then we, too, will become among those who have faith and will possess life.
Saint James Catholic Church 