These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation." Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore. (Mk 8:11-13)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021224.cfm
Everyone seems to demand a sign so they can have proof of who Jesus is. The Lord doesn’t have much patience for that kind of nonsense. He gets back in the boat and leaves. His words and deeds are proof enough.
Brothers and sisters, Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Cor 10:31-11:1)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021124.cfm
As we prepare to enter Lent this week, Saint Paul reminds us to do “do everything for the glory of God.” The Imitation of Christ is a key element of Christian Spirituality. As we seek to follow Christ by living as He lived, by loving as He loved, by caring for the poor, the suffering, the hungry and the sick, let us touch the world with our hands and our heart so that Christ may truly live in us, we in Him.
In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, Jesus summoned the disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” (Mk 8:1-10)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021024.cfm
The Feeding of the 4,000 is another of the feeding passages which points us to the Eucharist. The gospel tells us that “they ate and were satisfied and then they picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.” The passages of the Loaves and Fishes remind us, the doubting disciples of today, that the Bread of Life satisfies the deepest hungers of the human heart. Saint Scholastica is the twin sister of Saint Benedict. She is considered the founder of organized religious life for women. Today's picture of the Feeding of the 4,000 is by African artist, Bénédicte de La Roncière.
He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to,the more they proclaimed it.They were exceedingly astonished and they said, "He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." (Mk 7:31-37)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020924.cfm
The Messianic Secret is an interesting part of the Gospel According to Mark. Perhaps, the gospel writer wants us to know that it is not through the healings nor any of the other miraculous signs that we know who Jesus truly is. Rather, after Jesus dies on the Cross, it is the pagan centurion who sees the manner of his death and makes the startling confession: “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” (Mk 7:24-30)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020824.cfm
Some folks are shocked by the Lord’s statement about not throwing the food of the children to the dogs. I’m more shocked by the Gentile woman’s response: “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” I think the Lord was shocked too . . . and because of the faith of the mother, the girl was healed. The beautiful Prayer of Humble Access contains the phrase: “We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table.”
