14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 4, 2021)

[Ezek 2.3-5; 2 Cor 12.7-10; Mk 6.1-6]

• We’ve all heard the phrase, “familiarity breeds contempt” and in today’s Gospel, we see this maxim proved true. Our Blessed Lord returned to His hometown to teach in the synagogue and “astounded” His listeners, who were buzzing with infectious excitement. Soon after, however, envy arose and they “took offense at him.”

• Likewise, our Western culture, once a vibrant Christian civilization, now rejects the Gospel once received from the Saints. As Catholics, even in the face of such opposition, we are mandated to proclaim the Gospel of Life. “Whether they hear or refuse to hear..., they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.”

• Jesus is surely saddened and disappointed by our culture, for as illustrated in the Gospel, in the economy of healing and salvation, little, if anything, can happen without living faith.

Pro-Life Intercession

For those who speak up for the sanctity of life, but find ridicule and rejection in return, that they may have the blessings that belong to the prophets, we pray to the Lord...