Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I: Ezekiel 17:22-24
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16
Reading II: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10
Gospel: Mark 4:26-34
The gospel stresses the value of patience. First and foremost, patience to ourselves, for we are the first to suffer
from our shortcomings like being over-sensitive, being a worrier or perfectionist. We may
have to plant the seed of understanding to convince ourselves that very few people want
to be bad, but that all people make mistakes. We need to believe that increasing our love
for the person who lacks love for us is the most convincing way to come to terms. Jesus
tells us to be patient, to keep doing the right thing, for there will be a positive result. Jesus
came to plant the kingdom of heaven. The disciples were scared, and the Church was in
disarray, but Jesus rose, and the Spirit descended on them, and new life was born. Very
soon though Christianity met resistance wherever it appeared and endless persecutions
followed. Yet the number of believers kept growing.
We are worried about the future of our Church since we see all kinds of sects arising in our midst. Yet even here we believe that the Church is a seed planted by Christ. It has survived many onslaughts during her history and will withstand many trials as long as she is willing to grow and renew herself constantly through the vitality of God’s word.
Efren Tomas
In 2004, Father Efren arrived on Maui, Hawaii to be the Pastor of Christ The King Catholic Church in Kahului, Maui until 2012. He calls Christ The King his home because this was his first parish in Hawaii.
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