How did people ever manage before anesthesia? With a rag in their mouth, they bit as hard as they could, enduring the pain. Today, a person doesn’t have to count to three or ten. You are out like a light as soon as you get the shot.
But watch out because when the anesthesia and the nerve block wore off, you will need some heavy drugs to keep you going as pain-free as possible. So, I thought of anesthesia when I read today’s gospel. Speaking to the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus said, "You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment, mercy, and fidelity. But these you should have done without neglecting the others."
Sin is like anesthesia. It dulls us from the pain it brings into our lives and relationships. It starts with little things, and we think it’s okay when there are no consequences. But, according to psychologists, behaviors become our norm over a 4 to 6-week period. Then, we do them without thinking. And with that kind of anesthesia in our minds and hearts, little sins become big sins, and we don’t give them a second thought until we pay the price.
Jesus knows no one can pay the price for any sin, no matter how small. Therefore, He is stern with the scribes and Pharisees, hoping they will change and will not pay the price that only He could pay on the cross.
When we have been away from confession for an extended period, it’s hard to think of anything we did wrong. So, before we can no longer feel the pain of sin, go to confession. The Sacrament of Confession is the antidote that heals sin’s infection, and His grace leaves no trace of sin in us.
February 26, 2026, Matthew 7:7-12 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022626.cfm Ask, Don’t Tell. Have you ever been asked to stand up and share something with a group of people,
February 24, 2026, Matthew 6:7-15 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022426.cfm Your Father. Imagine it! There is Someone Who knows you through and through because He created you. He knew
February 22, 2025, Matthew 4:1-11https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022226.cfm I see a message on my desk after the phone rings. I pick up the phone and return thecall. The
February 21, 2026, Luke 5:27-32 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022126.cfm Our Friend Levi (Matthew). Have you ever struggled with a problem, searching for an answer, only to find that
Tuesday 21st Week in Ordinary Time 2022
Fr. Rick’s Two Minute Tuesday 21st Week in Ordinary Time 08-23 -2022
Tuesday 21st Week in Ordinary Time 2022
Matthew 23:23-26 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082322.cfm
ANESTHESIA IS PAINLESS BUT WATCH OUT.
How did people ever manage before anesthesia? With a rag in their mouth, they bit as hard as they could, enduring the pain. Today, a person doesn’t have to count to three or ten. You are out like a light as soon as you get the shot.
But watch out because when the anesthesia and the nerve block wore off, you will need some heavy drugs to keep you going as pain-free as possible. So, I thought of anesthesia when I read today’s gospel. Speaking to the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus said, "You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment, mercy, and fidelity. But these you should have done without neglecting the others."
Sin is like anesthesia. It dulls us from the pain it brings into our lives and relationships. It starts with little things, and we think it’s okay when there are no consequences. But, according to psychologists, behaviors become our norm over a 4 to 6-week period. Then, we do them without thinking. And with that kind of anesthesia in our minds and hearts, little sins become big sins, and we don’t give them a second thought until we pay the price.
Jesus knows no one can pay the price for any sin, no matter how small. Therefore, He is stern with the scribes and Pharisees, hoping they will change and will not pay the price that only He could pay on the cross.
When we have been away from confession for an extended period, it’s hard to think of anything we did wrong. So, before we can no longer feel the pain of sin, go to confession. The Sacrament of Confession is the antidote that heals sin’s infection, and His grace leaves no trace of sin in us.
IGNITE THE FIRE!
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