Fr. Rick’s One Minute Homily for Thursday – 01-13-2022

Thursday 1st Week in Ordinary Time 2022  
Mark 1: 40-45 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011322.cfm    

OUR WISH VS JESUS’ “I DO.”  

Go back to when you were a kid. It’s your birthday. You watch Mom light the candles on your birthday cake, and everybody starts singing happy birthday to you. And then you hear those words, “Make a wish before you blow out the candles.” In my head, I’m thinking, “I really want a bite like Tommy’s. Whatever you wish for, how much did you really feel that you would get it? Did you ever throw a penny in wishing well? 

A wish is something only in our heads. Nothing in the world can make that wish come true, and that bike becomes real unless someone does something about it. And you’re hoping Mom and Dad will do something about it. How many times our prayers are only wishes, hoping God will do something about it. It’s like I ask for a bike, and Mom and Dad want to give me a car with a motor in it and the bike as well.   

The man in the gospel today said to Jesus, “If you wish, you can make my leprosy go away.” But Jesus wanted to do more. He wanted to remove the man’s isolation and loneliness and return him to his family. Jesus comes back with the reply, “I do.” He wills the man clean, and he is freed from his leprosy and isolation.  

A wish is only an idea that something good might happen. The words “I do” are words of a commitment. I am learning to pray with an openness for Jesus to take care of everything, not just what I ask for in prayer. I invite you to pray with abandonment to Jesus, a complete surrender that he will indeed give you more than you could ever ask for or dream. The heart of Jesus is so big, so generous.  

IGNITE THE FIRE      

Fr. Rick Pilger, IC     

www.bscchurch.com