MONDAY, FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
1 Kgs 8: 1-7, 9-13 Ps 132: 6-10 Mk 6: 53-56
LET US BE SPIRITUALLY GENEROUS ORDINARY
In today’s Gospel the sick were brought on mats to Jesus. This is not the faith of individuals alone, but the faith of a community. Some cannot walk, some cannot speak, some cannot even ask. But others carry them. Just like the people who carried the sick and the paralytic to Jesus, we too bear a responsibility towards our fellows. As Catholics, as followers of Christ, we too are to lead others towards Christ the Light. Today we may not be able to carry the sick and the needy physically to Jesus, but we can always carry them through our prayers. Therefore, today’s passage invites us to be spiritually generous, which means we have the duty and the responsibility to pray for the needy ones and the sick. Whenever we see the sick, the needy, the downtrodden, let us not close our eyes; instead, let us be compassionate to them and pray for their needs. As a follower of Jesus, we are invited to pray for others or to carry others to Jesus through prayer.
Like the sick who were brought to Jesus similarly there are people around us who are spiritually sick. Some are weighed down by sin, some by fear, some by illness, grief, addiction, or disappointment. They cannot pray, they are spiritually bed ridden. They do not know how to approach God. Some have even lost the desire to try. Let us pray for them, let us pray for the people that cannot walk towards Jesus, let our prayers carry their intentions to Jesus.
The people who carried the sick also teach us perseverance. The crowd blocks the way, but they do not turn back. True intercessory prayer often faces obstacles: distractions, dryness, unanswered prayers, long waiting. Yet the person who is spiritually generous does not give up. He keeps knocking, lifting, and trusting in the providence of God. Let us ask ourselves: am I spiritually generous, or only spiritually comfortable?
Response: Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest.
Copyright ©2026 ©Springs of Living Water http://springs.carmelmedia.in