Fr. James Marchionda, OP

In today's Gospel Jesus returns to his hometown. After being initially impressed, the town turned suspicious of him, and Jesus could not do any great miracles because of their lack of faith.Two lessons: 1) jealousy is not helpful and not of God, and 2) we have to trust God in faith for God to be able to heal us.

Fr. Jimmy Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time around the theme that, through no merit of our own, God moves us from unworthiness to worthiness. We can see this in the call of Isaiah the prophet, Peter's response to the miracle catch of fish by saying, "Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man," and by Paul telling us that he went from persecuting Christians to being an Apostle solely by the grace of God. God does not define us by our flaws, but by our grace-fueled potential.

Readings: Isaiah 6:1–2a, 3–8; 1 Corinthians 15:1–11; Luke 5:1–11

The psalmist says, "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will." That is what God is looking for, and what we saw in the human response to the tragic fires in Los Angeles. People came from all over to help, to donate money, to distribute food, to so something to help in response to the devastation. God surely smiled.

On this day when the Church prays for the the legal protection of unborn children, we hear of how Jesus heals a man with a withered hand. Thus we pray for legal protections for the unborn and the born, so that everyone might have what they need to live a fulfilling life.

Fr. James Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Feast of the Holy Family, which celebrates Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, but which also calls all families to holiness. In the Gospel, Joseph and Mary move towards letting Jesus go, allowing him to be part of something larger than their own family, a practice we can all try in our own families.

Readings: 1 Samuel 1:20–22, 24–28; 1 John 3:1–2, 21–24; Luke 2:41–52

When Jesus was born, the angels announced to the shepherds "Peace on Earth!" There is nothing that we need more in this world right now than peace over all the Earth. Let us pray for that, and look for that gift from God.